Role of defects in carbon materials during metal-free formic acid dehydrogenation.

Commercial graphite (GP), graphite oxide (GO), and two carbon nanofibers (CNF-PR24-PS and CNF-PR24-LHT) were used as catalysts for the metal-free dehydrogenation reaction of formic acid (FA) in the liquid phase. Raman and XPS spectroscopy demonstrated that the activity is directly correlated with the defectiveness of the carbon material (GO > CNF-PR24-PS > CNF-PR24-LHT > GP). Strong deactivation phenomena were observed for all the catalysts after 5 minutes of reaction.

Effect of Carbon Support, Capping Agent Amount, and Pd NPs Size for Bio-Adipic Acid Production from Muconic Acid and Sodium Muconate.

The effect of support, stabilizing agent, and Pd nanoparticles (NPs) size was studied for sodium muconate and t,t-muconic acid hydrogenation to bio-adipic acid. Three different activated carbons (AC) were used (Norit, KB, and G60) and carbon morphology did not affect the substrate conversion, but it greatly influenced the adipic acid yield. 1% Pd/KB Darco catalyst, which has the highest surface area and Pd surface exposure, and the smallest NPs size displayed the highest activity.

CNF-Functionalization as Versatile Tool for Tuning Activity in Cellulose-Derived Product Hydrogenation.

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) have been functionalized by introducing O, N, and P containing groups in order to investigate the effect of support functionalization in Ru catalysed hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) and levulinic acid (LA) hydrogenation. In the case of HMF, despite the fact that no effect on selectivity was observed (all the catalysts produced selectively gamma-valerolactone (GVL)), the functionalization strongly affected the activity of the reaction. O-containing and N-containing supports presented a higher activity compared to the bare support.

Micro-sized TiO as photoactive catalyst coated on industrial porcelain grès tiles to photodegrade drugs in water.

Pharmaceutical compounds and their metabolites raise worrying questions because of their continuous release and lack of efficient removal by conventional wastewater treatments; therefore, they are being detected in groundwater, surface water and drinking water in increasing concentrations. Paracetamol and aspirin are two of the most commonly used drugs employed as fever reducer, analgesic and anti-inflammatory. They and their metabolites are very often found in river water, so their degradation is necessary in order to render water suitable for human consumption.