Bio-grafted silica to make an asphalt road a sink for reactive environmental pollutants.

Asphalt-surfaced areas such as roads have been reported as major non-combustion sources of reactive organic compounds in urban areas. Emission of latter compounds from asphalt is exacerbated due to exposure to sunlight and high temperature, contributing to negative human and environmental health outcomes. Furthermore, loss of asphalt components over time is linked to bitumen's aging that reduces service life of roads.

Identification of the preferential CO and SO adsorption sites within NOTT-401.

NOTT-401 was found to be a highly stable adsorbent for SO2 and CO with excellent cyclability and a straightforward regeneration at room temperature. Moreover, the preferential CO binding sites within the MOF material have been identified by experimental in situ DRIFT spectroscopy coupled with DFT and QTAIM calculations. Such preferential CO adsorption sites were correlated to identify the most significant SO2 interactions within NOTT-401.

Functionalized NU-1000 with an Iridium Organometallic Fragment: SO Capture Enhancement.

A new material, MOF-type [Ir]@NU-1000, was accessed from the incorporation of the iridium organometallic fragment [Ir{κ(P,Si,Si)PhP(-CHCHSiPr)}] into NU-1000. The new material incorporates less than 1 wt % of Ir(III) (molar ratio Ir to NU-1000, 1:11), but the heat of adsorption for SO is significantly enhanced with respect to that of NU-1000. Being a highly promising adsorbent for SO capture, [Ir]@NU-1000 combines exceptional SO uptake at room temperature and outstanding cyclability.

Postsynthetic Functionalization of Mg-MOF-74 with Tetraethylenepentamine: Structural Characterization and Enhanced CO Adsorption.

Postsynthetic functionalization of magnesium 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalate (Mg-MOF-74) with tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) resulted in improved CO adsorption performance under dry and humid conditions. XPS, elemental analysis, and neutron powder diffraction studies indicated that TEPA was incorporated throughout the MOF particle, although it coordinated preferentially with the unsaturated metal sites located in the immediate proximity to the surface. Neutron and X-ray powder diffraction analyses showed that the MOF structure was preserved after amine incorporation, with slight changes in the lattice parameters.

Self-Decontaminating Fibrous Materials Reactive toward Chemical Threats.

Polymers that possess highly nucleophilic pyrrolidinopyridine (Pyr) and primary amino (vinylamine, VAm) groups were prepared by free-radical copolymerization of N,N-diallylpyridin-4-amine (DAAP) and N-vinylformamide (NVF) followed by acidic hydrolysis of NVF into VAm. The resulting poly(DAAP-co-VAm-co-NVF) copolymers were water-soluble and reacted with water-dispersible polyurethane possessing a high content of unreacted isocyanate groups. Spray-coating of the nylon-cotton (NYCO), rayon, and poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (Kevlar 119) fibers pretreated with phosphoric acid resulted in covalent bonding of the polyurethane with the hydroxyl groups on the fiber surface.

Energy-resolved electron-yield XAS studies of nanoporous CoAlPO-18 and CoAlPO-34 catalysts.

Energy-resolved electron-yield X-ray absorption spectroscopy is a promising technique for probing the near-surface structure of nanomaterials because of its ability to discriminate between the near-surface and bulk of materials. So far, the technique has only been used in model systems. Here, the local structural characterization of nanoporous cobalt-substituted aluminophosphates is reported and it is shown that the technique can be employed for the study of open-framework catalytically active systems.

A high-pressure and controlled-flow gas system for catalysis research.

A high-pressure gas rig for in situ catalytic reactions at X-ray absorption spectroscopy beamline (BM26A) has been developed. The rig enables catalysts to be studied in a variety of cells under well controlled and industrially relevant operation conditions. A large variety of gas mixtures can be generated and pressures of up to 50 bar with dry gas and 20 bar with wet gas (steam) can be obtained.

Structure and speciation of chromium ions in chromium doped Fe2O3 catalysts.

In this paper, we report a detailed characterisation of chromium doped iron oxide catalysts using a range of techniques to establish the nature of chromium species in the near surface and bulk of iron oxide, high-temperature shift (HTS) catalysts. In particular we have employed X-ray absorption spectroscopy Cr K-edge near edge and extended fine structure data for comparison with chemical and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. There was excellent agreement between the techniques in terms of identification and quantification of Cr(6+) and Cr(3+) species as a function of calcination temperatures between 100 and 500 °C.

Elucidating the genesis of Bi2MoO6 catalyst by combination of synchrotron radiation experiments and Raman scattering.

Combination of in situ Raman scattering with high-resolution XRD and XAS techniques has proven to be a powerful tool to elucidate the crystal growth of gamma-Bi2MoO6 under hydrothermal conditions.