Graphene-Based Material Supports for Ni- and Ru- Catalysts in CO Hydrogenation: Ruling out Performances and Impurity Role.

Laboratory-prepared Gnp using molten salt, commercial Gnp and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have been characterized and utilized as support for CO hydrogenation catalysts. Ni- and Ru- catalysts supported over Gnp, commercial Gnp and rGO have been deeply characterized at different stages using Raman, IR, XRD, FE-SEM-EDXS, SEM-EDXS, XPS, and TEM, also addressing carbon loss before reaction and evolved species, thus allowing a better comprehension of the produced materials. Ni and Ru/rGO were inactive while Gnp-supported ones were active.

Investigating the Effect of Operational Variables on the Yield, Characterization, and Properties of End-of-Life Olive Stone Biomass Pyrolysis Products.

In recent years, biomass has emerged as a promising raw material to produce various products, including hydrocarbons, platform chemicals, and fuels. However, a more comprehensive evaluation of the potential production of desirable value-added products and chemical intermediates is required. For these reasons, this study aimed to investigate the impact of various operating parameters on the pyrolysis of end-of-life olive stone, an agriculture and food industry waste, using a tubular quartz reactor operated at 773 K.

Reutilization of silicon- and aluminum- containing wastes in the perspective of the preparation of SiO-AlO based porous materials for adsorbents and catalysts.

The waste materials available as sources of silicon and aluminum for producing porous materials like amorphous silicas, aluminas, amorphous silica-aluminas, and zeolites, to be used as catalyst and adsorbents, are briefly summarized. The procedures for preparing these materials from wastes are also taken into account. The limits of this approach in terms of economy and environmental protection are also briefly considered.

Enzymatically promoted release of organic molecules linked to magnetic nanoparticles.

Magnetite-based magnetic nanoparticles have been successfully coupled to an organic system constituted of a fluorescent molecule, a tripeptide specifier and a spacer. The system is able to selectively release the fluorescent molecule upon targeted enzymatic hydrolysis promoted by a lysine/arginine specific protease.

Functionalization of Fe₃O₄ NPs by Silanization: Use of Amine (APTES) and Thiol (MPTMS) Silanes and Their Physical Characterization.

In this paper the results concerning the synthesis of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles (NPs), their functionalization using silane derivatives, such as (3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTMS), and their exhaustive morphological and physical characterization by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy dispersion X-ray spectrometer (EDX) analysis, AC magnetic susceptibility, UV-VIS and IR spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric (TGA) analyses are reported. Two different paths were adopted to achieve the desired functionalization: (1) the direct reaction between the functionalized organo-silane molecule and the surface of the magnetite nanoparticle; and (2) the use of an intermediate silica coating. Finally, the occurrence of both the functionalization with amino and thiol groups has been demonstrated by the reaction with ninhydrin and the capture of Au NPs, respectively.

Experimental investigation of the Cu-Si phase diagram at (Cu)>0.72.

Cu-Si phase equilibria have been investigated at compositions greater than 72 at.% Cu by X-ray diffraction, optical and electronic microscopy, electron probe microanalysis and differential thermal analysis. The general aspects of the phase equilibria already reported in literature have been substantially confirmed, but selected composition ranges and the nature of a few invariant equilibria have been modified.

Characterization of Pd-Cu alloy nanoparticles on gamma-Al2O3-supported catalysts.

Cu-Pd/Al2O3 bimetallic catalysts have been characterized by XRD, TEM, and EDX techniques. The surface structure has been investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy of low-temperature adsorbed CO in the reduced and in the oxidized state. Evidence has been provided of the formation of Cu-Pd alloy nanoparticles, both of the alpha-phase (disordered fcc) and of the beta-phase (ordered CsCl-type).