Self-optimized and renewable Ni–Co alloy@Co–Co2C catalyst for higher alcohols synthesis from syngas

Higher alcohols synthesis (HAS) from syngas (CO/H₂) has attracted widespread attention, while the low selectivity and poor stability of the catalysts mainly stumbled its industrial application. In the work, Ni–Co alloy nanoparticles (NPs) derived from Co_1-xNi_xAl₂O₄ loaded on the SiO₂ with large specific surface area were prepared; and during reaction, the highly dispersed Ni–Co alloys were self-optimized to Ni–Co alloy@Co–Co₂C. Importantly, Ni–Co alloy@Co–Co₂C can be regenerated through oxidation - reduction - self-optimization process. Characteristic results indicated that the structural liberalization during the reaction process inhibited the loss of Ni, regulated and balanced the dual active sites of the catalyst and the Ni–Co alloys were regenerated after the re-oxidation and re-reduction process. The optimized catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance, including a high total selectivity to alcohols of 39.3% and an excellent catalytic stability at 250 °C, 3.5 MPa (H₂/CO = 2) and a space velocity of 6000 mL (g_cat h)^?1. In addition, the Ni–Co alloy@Co–Co₂C catalyst after stability test could recover its original catalytic performance after re-oxidation and re-reduction. The renewable characteristics and superior catalytic performance of Ni–Co alloy@Co–Co₂C made the catalyst to be one of the potential industrial catalysts for HAS.     

Imidazolium functionalized poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes for direct methanol alkaline fuel cell applications

In this study, imidazolium functionalized poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was synthesized by acetalization and direct quaternization reaction. Afterwards, composite anion exchange membranes based on imidazolium‐ and quaternary ammonium‐ functionalized PVA were used for direct methanol alkaline fuel cell applications. ¹H NMR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy data indicated that imidazole functionalized PVA was successfully synthesized. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry data demonstrated that the imidazolium structure was efficiently obtained by direct quaternization of the imidazole group. Composite anion exchange membranes were fabricated by application of the functionalized PVA solution on the surface of porous polycarbonate (PC) membranes. Fuel cell related properties of all prepared membranes were investigated systematically. The imidazolium functionalized composite membrane (PVA‐Im/PC) exhibited higher ionic conductivity (7.8 mS cm^?1 at 30 °C) despite a lower water uptake and ion exchange capacity value compared to that of quaternary ammonium. In addition, PVA‐Im/PC showed the lowest methanol permeation rate and the highest membrane selectivity as well as high alkaline and oxidative stability. Dynamic mechanical analysis results reveal that both composite membranes were mechanically resistant up to 10⁷ Pa at 140 °C. The superior performance of imidazolium functionalized PVA composite membrane compared to quaternary ammonium functionalized membrane makes it a promising candidate for direct methanol alkaline fuel cell applications. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry     

聚乙烯醇/牛I型胶原支架材料的制备及评价

研究了一种聚乙烯醇(PVA)和胶原(COL)复合支架材料的制备方法。采用氨基硅烷对PVA海绵表面进行了氨基化修饰后，通过戊二醛溶液交联牛Ⅰ型胶原(COL)，最后通过赖氨酸溶液封闭，获得一种PVA/COL复合支架材料。采用扫描电镜(SEM)、X光电子能谱仪(XPS)、傅里叶红外光谱(FT-IR)等手段对支架材料的理化性能进行表征，并通过细胞实验对支架材料的生物学性能进行评价。结果表明，经过COL修饰的PVA孔隙率为21.33%，平均孔径为168.68 ?m且均匀分布，支架材料接触角为20.03°。对支架材料的生物学评价结果表明C3A细胞在复合材料上黏附良好，优于PVA组；CCK-8增殖检测结果表明细胞在复合材料上呈增殖生长趋势，与对照组PVA相比差异显著(P?0.01)。将PVA和COL复合制备得到的支架材料具有良好的理化及生物学特性，具有广阔的应用前景。     

The Modification of Chrome Tanned Leather by Polyethylene Glycol-Linked Gemini Fatty Alcohol Phosphate

A series of polyethylene glycol-linked Gemini fatty alcohol phosphate surfactants (GFAP) were prepared with long chain n-alkanol (C = 8, 12, 16, 18), polyethylene glycol (PEG-200, PEG-400, PEG-600, PEG-800, PEG-1000) and phosphorus oxychloride (POCl₃). The structure of the prepared surfactants was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR). The surfactants were employed for the modification of chrome-tanned leather. The morphological changes of chrome-tanned leather and modified chrome-tanned leather were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The relationship between the alkyl chain length and molecular weight of the PEG and the hydrophobicity, softness, mechanical strength of modified chrome-tanned leather was also discussed. The experimental results showed that the mechanical strength and softness of modified chrome-tanned leather were enhanced with an increase of alkyl chain length, while the hydrophobicity, mechanical strength and softness were decreased with an increase of molecular weight of the PEG. The hydrophobicity, mechanical strength and softness of modified chrome-tanned leather were optimized for an alkyl chain length of 16. Therefore, 16–200 Gemini phosphate surfactants with an alkyl chain length of 16 and a PEG molecular weight of 200 have a good comprehensive modification effect on Chrome-tanned leather, the tensile strength, tear strength and softness of modified chrome-tanned leather are 57.07 N mm⁻², 79.49 N mm⁻¹, 9.73 mm, respectively.     

Modeling Alcohol Dehydrogenase Catalysis in Deep Eutectic Solvent/Water Mixtures

The use of oxidoreductases (EC1) in non-conventional reaction media has been increasingly explored. In particular, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as a novel class of solvents. Herein, an in-depth study of bioreduction with an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in the DES glyceline is presented. The activity and stability of ADH in mixtures of glyceline/water with varying water contents were measured. Furthermore, the thermodynamic water activity and viscosity of mixtures of glyceline/water have been determined. For a better understanding of the observations, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to quantify the molecular flexibility, hydration layer, and intraprotein hydrogen bonds of ADH. The behavior of the enzyme in DESs follows the classic dependence of water activity (a_W) in non-conventional media. At low a_W values (<0.2), ADH does not show any activity; at higher a_W values, the activity was still lower than that in pure water due to the high viscosities of the DES. These findings could be further explained by increased enzyme flexibility with increasing water content.     

铜吡啶配合物催化合成1-甲氧基-2,2,6,6-四甲基哌啶-4-醇

目前1-烷氧基-2,2,6,6-四甲基哌啶基化合物的合成主要是以醛酮法为主。醇法合成虽然醇价格便宜，但合成效率很低。为解决这一问题，本文对醇法合成工艺进行了深入探讨，并以乙醇和4-羟基-2,2,6,6-四甲基哌啶氮氧自由基（ZJ-701）为原料，30%过氧化氢为氧化剂，氯化铜和吡啶配合物为催化剂，通过氧化和自由基偶合合成了1-甲氧基-2,2,6,6-四甲基哌啶-4-醇，通过红外光谱、核磁共振谱和质谱表征了其结构。通过实验进一步优化了反应时间、温度等一系列合成条件。研究结果表明：当反应时间为12h，反应温度为78℃，n(ZJ-701)∶n(乙醇)∶n(H₂O₂)∶n(CuCl₂)∶n(吡啶)=1∶39.25∶17.01∶0.034∶0.36时，产品产率最高，为60.6%，质量分数为98.8%，熔点为87～90℃。该方法具有原料乙醇便宜易得、反应条件温和、产品提纯容易等优点。     

离子色谱同时测定果汁中22种糖、糖醇和醇

目的建立积分安培-离子色谱法同时测果汁中22种糖、糖醇和醇定的方法。方法在流速为0.40 mL/min, pH值在6.5～8.6,柱温为30℃条件下,在CarboPacTM MA1(4 mm×250 mm)色谱柱中进行分离。结果 22种组分在测定浓度范围内具有良好的线性关系(r~20.999);除了甲醇外,其他21种组分检出限在0.006～0.203 mg/L之间;在0.50、1.00、5.00 mg/L 3个添加浓度水平下,回收率为75.83%～105.89%,相对标准偏差(RSD)在1.03%～10.39%范围内。结论该方法简便、快速、准确、灵敏,完全适于果汁中22种糖、糖醇和醇的分析测定。     

Hydroxyl Group Separation Distances in Anti-Freeze Compounds and Their Effects on Ice Nucleation

Since the discovery of biological antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs), which can inhibit ice nucleation, there has been considerable interest in understanding their mechanisms and mimicking them in synthetic polymers. In this study, we used molecular dynamics simulations of modified polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) compounds to show that the hydroxyl (OH) group distance is a key factor in whether certain compounds promote or inhibit ice nucleation. A hydroxyl distance smaller than ~2.8 Å but greater than ~7.1 Å in modified PVA (MPVA) compounds was associated with the promotion of ice nucleation, while a hydroxyl group separation distance of approximately ~5.0 Å was correlated with a delay in ice nucleation, owing to changes in the energy of the system. Thus, these results may help explain some of the mechanisms of current known anti-freeze compounds and may have implications for designing new anti-freeze compounds in the future.