Abstract Carbonylation gets a phase lift : The usual liquid‐phase, high‐pressure processes for carbonylating formaldehydes are avoided in a novel vapor‐phase reaction. Using an acid zeolite (Faujasite) at near‐atmospheric pressure dimethoxymethane (DMM; the dimethyl acetal of formaldehyde; see scheme) is carbonylated to produce methyl methoxyacetate (MMAc). This approach provides a new route to ethylene glycol under mild conditions. magnified image

Donation is not from an sp3 orbital: Decomposition analysis, based on absolutely localized molecular orbitals, provides an alternative and somewhat unconventional view of hydrogen bonding in the water dimer. A new description of the electron-donating orbital is uncovered: unlike sp3 lone pairs, a single donor–acceptor orbital pair forms, in which the donating orbital changes its orientation according to the relative positions of the two molecules.

Lignocellulosic biomass is an attractive resource for producing transportation fuels, and consequently novel approaches are being sought for transforming the lignin and cellulosic constituents of biomass to fuels or fuel additives. Glucose, the monomer of cellulose, is a good starting material for exploring such chemistries. We report here the results of an investigation aimed at identifying catalysts for the dehydration of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) dissolved in ionic liquids and the subsequent conversion of HMF to 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF), a high-energy content product that could be used as a fuel or fuel additive. Heteropoly acids were found to be exceptionally active and selective catalysts for the dehydration of glucose. Nearly 100% yield of HMF could be achieved using 12-molybdophosphoric acid (12-MPA) in a solution of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (EMIMCl) and acetonitrile. The addition of acetonitrile to EMIMCl suppressed the formation of humins from glucose. The high HMF selectivity achievable with heteropoly acid catalysts is ascribed to stabilization of 1,2-enediol and other intermediates involved in the dehydration of glucose and the avoidance of forming the 2,3-enediol intermediate leading to furylhydroxymethyl ketone (FHMK). Carbon-supported metals, and in particular Pd/C, were effective in promoting the hydrogenation of HMF dissolved in EMIMCl and acetonitrile to DMF. The following intermediates were observed in the hydrogenation of HMF to DMF: 5-methylfurfural (MF), 5-methylfurfyl alcohol (MFA), and 2,5-dihydroxymethylfuran (DHMF). The relative rate of formation and consumption of these compounds was explored by using each of them as a reactant in order to identify the reaction pathway from HMF to DMF. It was also observed that HMF produced via glucose dehydration could be converted to DMF without isolation, if the dehydration catalyst, 12 MPA, was replaced by the hydrogenation catalyst, Pd/C. This two-step catalytic approach provides the basis for completely converting glucose to HMF and further converting HMF to DMF.

A study of the influence of lanthana promotion on the hydrogenation of CO over Rh/SiO/sub 2/ has been conducted. Lanthana-promoted Rh/SiO/sub 2/ exhibits higher turnover frequencies for the synthesis of CH/sub 4/, C/sub 2/-C/sub 4/ hydrocarbons, CH/sub 3/OH, and C/sub 2/ oxygenates than unpromoted Rh/SiO/sub 2/. The turnover frequency for each product goes through a maximum with increasing lanthana addition. Lanthana promotion is also found to increase the selectivity for the formation of CH/sub 3/OH, C/sub 2/ oxygenates, and C/sub 2/-C/sub 4/ hydrocarbons and to decrease the selectivity for CH/sub 4/. The selectivity for C/sub 2/ oxygenates is optimized at low levels of lanthana addition. In situ infrared observations show that lanthana promotion blocks the chemisorption of CO onto surface Rh sites. Of particular interest is the observation of a band at 1725 cm/sup -1/. This feature is assigned to CO adsorbed on a Rh site immediately adjacent to an LaO/sub x/ island. The low frequency of this vibration is attributed to a weakening of the C-O bond caused by the interaction of lanthana cations with the oxygen end of the adsorbed CO. It is postulated that the interaction of the lanthana with the CO is responsible for the enhancedmore » rates of CO dissociation and the formation CH/sub 4/ and C/sub 2+/ products. Infrared spectroscopy also provides evidence for acyl, formate, and acetate groups on the surface of lanthana-promoted Rh/SiO/sub 2/. The possible role of these species in the synthesis of products is discussed. 26 references.« less

Heterogeneous catalysts, used in industry for the production of fuels and chemicals, are microporous solids characterized by a high internal surface area. The catalyticly active sites may occur at the surface of the bulk solid or of small crystallites deposited on a porous support. An example of the former case would be a zeolite, and of the latter, a supported metal catalyst. Since the activity and selectivity of a catalyst are known to be a function of surface composition and structure, it is highly desirable to characterize catalyst surfaces with atomic scale resolution. Where the active phase is dispersed on a support, it is also important to know the dispersion of the deposited phase, as well as its structural and compositional uniformity, the latter characteristics being particularly important in the case of multicomponent catalysts. Knowledge of the pore size and shape is also important, since these can influence the transport of reactants and products through a catalyst and the dynamics of catalyst deactivation.

The coordination of divalent metal cations to ZSM-5 has been investigated using gradient-corrected density functional theory (DFT). Coordination at both isolated charge-exchange sites and pairs of charge-exchange sites was considered for Co2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Ni2+, Pd2+, Pt2+, Ru2+, Rh2+, and Zn2+. Thermodynamic calculations of the stability of M2+ to reduction to M0 and demetalation to form MOx particles were also carried out. The results indicate that Cu2+, Co2+, Fe2+, and Ni2+ are coordinated preferentially to five-membered rings containing two Al atoms, which are located on the walls of the sinusoidal channels, whereas Pd2+, Pt2+, Ru2+, Rh2+, and Zn2+ are coordinated preferentially to six-membered rings located on the walls of the sinusoidal channels. Examination of the stability of dimer cations of the form [M-O-M]2+ shows that such structures are not generally stable to hydrolysis, with the possible exception of [Cu-O-Cu]2+. The findings of these calculations are in good general agreement with experimental results.

The influence of dispersion on the interactions of H/sub 2/ and CO with Pd/SiO/sub 2/ has been investigated. The distribution of H/sub 2/ adstates changes with dispersion, due possibly to a change in the morphology of the Pd crystallites or in the coordination of adsorbed H atoms with the Pd atoms. The ratio of linearly held CO to bridge-bonded CO decreases with the dispersion, as does the ratio of Pd(100) to Pd(111) planes on the surfaces of the Pd crystallites. CO dissociation occurs preferentially from bridge sites and proceeds more readily with decreasing dispersion. Consistent with this, the turn-over frequency for methanation increases with decreasing dispersion. 34 references.

This paper reports an investigation of a variety of (InGa)N/GaN multi-quantum-well (MQW) samples grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on sapphire substrates. Dynamical scattering theory has been used to simulate the x-ray diffraction profiles so as to model the structures and to assess the quality of the grown interfaces. There is good agreement between the theoretical predictions and the experimental data. A systematic comparison of a set of ten-period MQWs with different well widths is also reported together with a discussion of the comparison between a single quantum well (QW) with five- and ten-period MQWs all with the same well and barrier widths and alloy composition. The well and barrier widths deduced from the x-ray measurements agree within experimental error with those predicted from the growth parameters, however, the In content of the wells appears to be substantially lower than that expected. This is discussed in terms of a carbon incorporation model. In the better samples, the (InGa)N/GaN interface is good to within a few monolayers—this is comparable with the best that can be achieved in (AlGa)As/GaAs QWs.

By means of 29Si NMR spectroscopy, it is established that the distribution of silicate anions in alkaline silicate solutions is a moderate function of base composition. At a fixed SiO2 concentration and silicate ratio, the proportion of Si present in oligomeric and cage-like structures increases in progressing from Li to Cs hydroxide. This trend is ascribed to cation-silicate anion pairing and to a higher selectivity for ion pairing by large silicate anions as cation size increases.

A recently improved ionic liquid force field was used to compute the viscosity for binary and ternary mixtures of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([emim][Cl]) with water, acetonitrile, and glucose. For the same systems, experimental viscosity data are provided. The simulation and experimental results were in reasonable agreement. Simulations consistently overestimate the viscosities for the mixtures of [emim][Cl] and glucose while the viscosities of the mixtures of glucose and water are well reproduced. Both experiments and simulations show that the addition of acetonitrile reduces the viscosity of a solution of [emim][Cl] and glucose by more than an order of magnitude.