Selective catalytic reduction of NO by ammonia using mesoporous Fe-containing HZSM-5 and HZSM-12 zeolite catalysts: An option for automotive applications

Mesoporous and conventional Fe-containing ZSM-5 and ZSM-12 catalysts (0.5–8 wt% Fe) were prepared using a simple impregnation method and tested in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH₃. It was found that for both Fe/HZSM-5 and Fe/HZSM-12 catalysts with similar Fe contents, the activity of the mesoporous samples in NO SCR with NH₃ is significantly higher than for conventional samples. Such a difference in the activity is probably related with the better diffusion of reactants and products in the mesopores and better dispersion of the iron particles in the mesoporous zeolite as was confirmed by SEM analysis. Moreover, the maximum activity for the mesoporous zeolites is found at higher Fe concentrations than for the conventional zeolites. This also illustrates that the mesoporous zeolites allow a better dispersion of the metal component than the conventional zeolites. Finally, the influence of different pretreatment conditions on the catalytic activity was studied and interestingly, it was found that it is possible to increase the SCR performance significantly by preactivation of the catalysts in a 1% NH₃/N₂ mixture at 500 °C for 5 h. After preactivation, the activity of mesoporous 6 wt% Fe/HZSM-5 and 6 wt% Fe/HZSM-12 catalyst is comparable with that of traditional 3 wt% V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst used as a reference at temperatures below 400 °C and even more active at higher temperatures.     

Synthesis and magnetic properties of a new hexanuclear iron(III) compound

A hexanuclear Fe(III) compound with new core topology, [Fe₆(OMe)₂(DHMP)₄(AD)₂] (1, H₃DHMP = (E)-2-((1,3-dihydroxy-2-methylpropan-2-ylimino)methyl)phenol, H₂AD = adipic acid), is reported. The hexanuclear Fe(III) core can be viewed as two Fe₃(DHMP)₂ units connected through double μ₂-OMe^? bridges, featuring adjacent Fe···Fe distances of 3.105 and 3.109 Å within unit and 3.111 Å between units, respectively. Variable temperature magnetic studies indicate antiferromagnetic exchanges between adjacent Fe(III) ions and which mediated by μ₂-OMe^? bridges is stronger than those by DHMP alkoxo bridges. Magnetic-structural correlation is also proposed.     

From tetranuclear cluster with single-molecule-magnet behavior to 1D alternating spin-canting chain in a Fe(III)–Mn(III) bimetallic system

A tetranuclear cluster and an alternating zigzag chain were synthesized via rational assembly of the same cyanometalate building blocks with different Mn(III) Schiff bases possessing varying proportions of sterically hindered groups causing steric hindrances. The tetranuclear cluster [(Tp*)Fe(CN)₃]₂[Mn(salen)]₂·H₂O [1; [(Tp*)Fe(CN)₃]⁻ [Tp* = hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl) borate], salen = N,N′-ethylenebis(salicylideneiminato) dianion] was formed with Schiff bases possessing smaller steric hindrances, whereas the one-dimensional alternating zigzag chain {[(Tp*)Fe(CN)₃Mn(salcyen)]·2CH₃OH·H₂O}_n [2; salcyen = N,N′-(1,2-cyclohexanediylethylene)bis(salicylideneiminato) dianion] was formed with Schiff bases possessing larger steric hindrances. Magnetic measurements revealed that 1 exhibits single-molecule-magnet behavior with dominant ferromagnetic interactions, whereas 2 exhibits spin-canting behavior with dominant antiferromagnetic interactions.     

Single-source-precursor synthesis of soft magnetic Fe3Si- and Fe5Si3-containing SiOC ceramic nanocomposites

We present here the single-source-precursor synthesis of Fe₃Si and Fe₅Si₃-containing SiOC ceramic nanocomposites and investigation of their magnetic properties. The materials were prepared upon chemical modification of a hydroxy- and ethoxy-substituted polymethylsilsesquioxane with iron (III) acetylacetonate (Fe(acac)₃) in different amounts (5, 15, 30 and 50 wt%), followed by cross-linking at 180 °C and pyrolysis in argon at temperatures ranging from 1000 °C to 1500 °C. The polymer-to-ceramic transformation of the iron-modified polysilsesquioxane and the evolution at high temperatures of the synthesized SiFeOC-based nanocomposite were studied by means of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with evolved gas analysis (EGA) as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD). Upon pyrolysis at 1100 °C, the non-modified polysilsesquioxane converts into an amorphous SiOC ceramic; whereas the iron-modified precursors lead to Fe₃Si/SiOC nanocomposites. Annealing of Fe₃Si/SiOC at temperatures exceeding 1300 °C induced the crystallization of Fe₅Si₃ and β-SiC. The crystallization of the different iron-containing phases at different temperatures is considered to be a consequence of the in situ generation of a Fe–C–Si alloy within the materials during pyrolysis. Depending on the Fe and Si content in the alloy, either Fe₃Si and graphitic carbon (at 1000–1200 °C) or Fe₅Si₃ and β-SiC (at T > 1300 °C) crystallize. All SiFeOC-based ceramic samples were found to exhibit soft magnetic properties. Magnetization versus applied field measurements of the samples show a saturation magnetization up to 26.0 emu/g, depending on the Fe content within the SiFeOC-based samples as well as on the crystalline iron silicide phases formed during pyrolysis.     

Near-infrared luminescent mesoporous MCM-41 materials covalently bonded with ternary thulium complexes

Two β-diketones 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-2-thenoyl-1,3-butanedione (Htta) and 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-naphthyl)-1,3-butanedione (Htfnb), which contain trifluoroalkyl chain, were selected as the main sensitizer for synthesizing Tm(L)₃phen (L = tta, tfnb) complexes. The two near-infrared (NIR) luminescent thulium complexes have been covalently bonded to the ordered mesoporous material MCM-41 via a functionalized 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) group 5-(N,N-bis-3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl)ureyl-1,10-phenanthroline (phen-Si) [The resultant mesoporous materials are denoted as Tm(L)₃phen–MCM-41 (L = tta, tfnb)]. The Tm(L)₃phen–MCM-41 (L = tta, tfnb) mesoporous materials were characterized by small-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) and N₂ adsorption/desorption, and they show characteristic mesoporous structure of MCM-41. Luminescence spectra of the Tm(L)₃phen–MCM-41 (L = tta, tfnb) mesoporous materials were recorded and the corresponding luminescence decay curves were obtained. After ligand-mediated excitation, the emission spectra of the Tm(L)₃phen–MCM-41 (L = tta, tfnb) mesoporous materials show the characteristic NIR-luminescence of the Tm³⁺ ion. The full width at half maximum (fwhm) of the 1474-nm emission band are 96 and 100 nm for Tm(tta)₃phen–MCM-41 and Tm(tfnb)₃phen–MCM-41, respectively. The good luminescent performances enable these NIR-luminescent mesoporous materials to have potential applications in optical amplification [broadening amplification band from C band (1530–1560 nm) to S⁺ band (1450–1500 nm)]. Furthermore, the comparison of the luminescence behavior for Tm(tta)₃phen–MCM-41 and Tm(tfnb)₃phen–MCM-41 mesoporous materials was investigated. It shows that Tm(tfnb)₃phen–MCM-41 is somewhat superior to Tm(tta)₃phen–MCM-41 as optical amplifier.     

The effect of synthesis conditions on the phase composition and structure of thorium bearing murataite ceramics

Samples of thorium-bearing ceramic with a target composition (wt%) 5 Al₂O₃, 10 CaO, 55 TiO₂, 10 MnO, 5 Fe₂O₃, 5 ZrO₂, 10 ThO₂ were produced by melting in glassy carbon crucibles in a resistive furnace and by cold crucible inductive melting (CCIM) at a vibration power of 10 kW and operation frequency of 5.28 MHz. All the samples contained 85–95 vol% murataite polytypes with 5- (5C), 8- (8C), and 3-fold (3C) elementary fluorite unit cell composing core, intermediate zone and rim of the grains, respectively, and minor crichtonite, perovskite, pyrochlore, rutile, etc. A feature of the ceramics obtained by melting in glassy carbon crucibles is formation of Fe (II) titanate whereas the inductive-melted ceramics contained traces of vitreous phase due to melt contamination with a cold crucible putty material. Melting rate in the cold crucible of up to 350 kg/(m² × h) has been achieved. The ceramics obtained have excellent chemical durability.     

New spin crossover polymeric composite and another way to describe the result

Firstly, we synthesized a novel spin crossover coordination compound 1 {[Fe(MPEG-trz)₃](BF₄)₂}(MPEG-trz: polymeric ligand obtained by amidation reaction between methoxy polyethylene glycol (MPEG) and 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole (NH₂-trz)). And then a suite of coordination compounds {[Fe(MPEG-trz)_m(NH2-trz)_n](BF₄)₂}(m = 2, n = 1, 2; m = 1.5, n = 1.5, 3; m = 1, n = 2, 4;) have been successively synthesized by self-assembly reaction between Fe(BF₄)₂·6H₂O and MPEG-trz/NH₂-trz in different proportion respectively. The structure detail is obtained through FT-IR, XRD and ¹H NMR measurements, while spin crossover behavior of these coordination compounds are inspected by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and DSC. The new polymeric composites not only show mechanical behavior particular the malleability but also exhibit an abrupt spin crossover behavior with a slender hysteresis loop. Simultaneously we speculated the probably cooperative formation mechanism of spin crossover system on the based of analysis upon the magnetic performance among these coordination compounds with different proportions in MPEG-trz and NH₂-trz.     

Bi-metallic catalysts of mesoporous Al2O3 supported on Fe,Ni and Mn for methane decomposition: Effect of activation temperature

Methane decomposition reaction has been studied at three different activation temperatures (500 °C, 800 °C and 950 °C) over mesoporous alumina supported Ni–Fe and Mn–Fe based bimetallic catalysts. On co-impregnation of Ni on Fe/Al₂O₃ the activity of the catalyst was retained even at the high activation temperature at 950 °C and up to 180 min. The Ni promotion enhanced the reducibility of Fe/Al₂O₃ oxides showing higher catalytic activity with a hydrogen yield of 69%. The reactivity of bimetallic Mn and Fe over Al₂O₃ catalyst decreased at 800 °C and 950 °C activation temperatures. Regeneration studies revealed that the catalyst could be effectively recycled up to 9 times. The addition of O₂ (1 ml, 2 ml, 4 ml) in the feed enhanced substantially CH₄ conversion, the yield of hydrogen and the stability of the catalyst.     

Synthesis and characterization of robust zero valent iron/mesoporous carbon composites and their applications in arsenic removal

Nanoscale zero valent iron particles (nZVI) have been developed by in situ reduction of Fe³⁺ ions onto a mesoporous type of carbon matrix – Starch-Derived Mesoporous Carbonaceous Material previously reported and marketed commercially as “Starbon”. The obtained nZVI/Starbon hybrid material exhibits homogeneous distribution of nZVI (10–20 nm) within the carbon matrix, surface area of 141 m²/g and a total iron loading of 1 mmol per gram of the composite, in accordance with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption–desorption measurements, Infrared (IR)/Raman spectroscopy and Thermal gravimetric (TG)/Differential Thermal analysis (DTA). Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and proton binding measurements show that the nanoparticles have a core–shell structure with iron(III) oxide/hydroxide shell due to partial air-oxidation of nZVI and the composite exhibits four different types of proton binding groups. Most importantly, the nZVI/Starbon hybrid has been tested as absorbent for As(III) removal showing a total removal of 358 μmol (26.8 mg) of As(III) per gram of the composite at pH = 7. We also discuss the principal role of surface OH groups of iron oxide in arsenic uptake and the crucial effect of pH on removal efficiency.     

A novel Fe(III) salt-catalyzed monoterpene aerobic oxidation in methyl alcohol

The Fe(III)-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of monoterpenes in CH₃OH has been developed, in which simple Fe(III) salts are used as catalysts in the absence of stabilizing ligands. Remarkably, Fe(NO₃)₃ catalyst efficiently promotes the oxidation of monoterpenes under air or dioxygen. The highest TON and TOF reached 476 and 162 h^− 1, respectively. In general, reactions with 1.0–9.0 mol% of catalyst reached high conversions (ca. 90–99%) and high oxidation products selectivity (ca. 80%). Notably, α-pinene and β-pinene were selectively oxidized into only allylic product, myrtenol methyl ether. The significant breakthroughs of this simple oxidative process are the use of inexpensive Fe(III) salts as catalysts and environmentally-friendly oxidants (air or dioxygen).     

Oxidation resistance and strength retention of ZrB2–SiC ceramics

Oxidation behavior and effect of oxidation on the room-temperature flexural strength were investigated for ZrB₂–10 vol% SiC (ZB10S) and ZrB₂–30 vol% SiC (ZB30S) in air at 1500 °C with times ranging from 0.5 h to 10 h. The oxide scale of both ZB10S and ZB30S was composed of an outer glassy layer and an inner extended SiC-depleted layer. The changes in weight gain, glass layer thickness, and extended SiC-depleted layer thickness with oxidation were measured. Analysis suggested that the extended SiC-depleted layer was most indicative for evaluating the oxidation resistance. Compared to the ZB10S, the improved oxidation resistance in ZB30S was attributed to the viscosity increase of glassy layer and the lower number of ZrO₂ inclusions in the glassy layer. Because of the healing of surface flaws by the glassy layer, the strength increased significantly by ～110% for ZB10S and by ～130% for ZB30S after oxidation for 0.5 h.     

Triton X-100 directed synthesis of mesoporous γ-Al2O3 from coal-series kaolin

Mesoporous γ-Al₂O₃ has been successfully synthesized by using calcined coal-series kaolin as raw material and Triton X-100 (TX-100) as template. The effect of TX-100/Al^3 + ratio on the structural and textural properties of mesoporous γ-Al₂O₃ was investigated. Physical properties of obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption–desorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results indicated that the amount of TX-100 influenced the structure and porous properties of mesoporous γ-Al₂O₃ significantly. When TX-100/Al^3 + ratio was in the range of 0.03–0.15, all samples had mesoporous structures with BET surface area of 193.0–261.0 m²/g and pore size of 5.04–6.71 nm. In addition, the reaction mechanism involved in the process was proposed and discussed.     

Synthesis,crystal structure and magnetic properties of a new 2D cyanide-bridged heterobimetallic Cr(I)–Mn(III) complex

A new two-dimensional cyanide-bridged Cr(I)–Mn(III) coordination polymer {K[Mn(L)]₂[Cr(CN)₅NO]}·CH₃CN (1) (L = N,N-ethylene-bis(3-methoxysalicylideneiminate)) has been successfully synthesized by the reaction of K₃[Cr(CN)₅NO] with [Mn(L)(H₂O)₂]ClO₄ and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR and X-ray structure determination. Investigation systematic over magnetic susceptibility of the complex reveals the overall antiferromagnetic interaction between the cyanide-bridged Cr(I) ion and Mn(III) ion and its 3D antiferromagnetic ordering behavior with typical metamagnetic character below 12.5 K.     

Tetrachloroferrate containing ionic liquids: Magnetic- and aggregation behavior

The magnetic behavior of a binary salt of tricaprylylmethylammonium tetrachloroferrate and tricaprylylmethylammonium chloride, [A336][FeCl₄]_0.73[Cl]_0.27, was evaluated. With a magnetic susceptibility of 0.011 emu mol^? 1 this binary salt exhibited a remarkable response to an external magnetic field. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements allowed to study the aggregation behavior of [A336][FeCl₄]_0.73[Cl]_0.27 as well as of further magnetic ionic liquids [PR_6,6,6,14][FeCl₄] and (BMIM)[FeCl₄] in ethylacetate and ethanol.     

Highly mesoporous LaNiO3/NiO composite with high specific surface area as a battery-type electrode

This study reports the fabrication and characterization of mesoporous LaNiO₃/NiO composite with a very high specific surface area for a battery-type electrode. The mesoporous LaNiO₃/NiO composite was synthesized via a sol–gel method by using silica gel as a template, the colloidal silica gel was obtained by the hydrolysis and polymerization of tetraethoxysilane in the presence of La and Ni salts. We investigated the structure and the electrochemical properties of mesoporous LaNiO₃/NiO composite in detail. The mesoporous composite sample showed a specific surface area of 372 m² g⁻¹ with 92.7% mesoporous area and displayed remarkable electrochemical performance as a battery-type electrode material for supercapacitor. The specific capacity values were found to be 237.2 mAh g⁻¹ at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹ and 128.6 mAh g⁻¹ at a high current density of 20 A g⁻¹ in 1 M KOH aqueous electrolyte. More importantly, this mesoporous composite also showed an excellent cycling performance with the retention of 92.6% specific capacitance after 60,000 charging and discharging cycles.     

Au anchored to (α-Fe2O3)-MCM-41-HS as a novel magnetic nanocatalyst for water-medium and solvent-free alkyne hydration

A novel catalytic system based on Au nanoparticle functionalized magnetic mesoporous silica was prepared as (α-Fe₂O₃)-MCM-41-HS-Au. This material was obtained through the reaction of ordered mesoporous silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (α-Fe₂O₃)-MCM-41, (3-mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) and HAuCl₄. This catalyst was extensively characterized by various techniques such as SEM, TEM, XRD, EDX, IR and N₂-sorption isotherm. Very uniform dispersion and ordered mesopores of (α-Fe₂O₃)-MCM-41-SH (about 2–3 nm) causes Au nanoparticles to be distributed very finely on the pore surfaces, resulting in a very useful and robust magnetically recyclable catalyst for water-medium and solvent-free alkyne hydration.     

Room-temperature large magnetocaloric effect and critical behavior in La0.6Dy0.1Sr0.3MnO3

The effect of dysprosium incorporation in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ perovskite manganite on its magnetic properties, magnetocaloric effect and critical behavior was investigated. The temperature dependent magnetization data exhibit a sharp paramagnetic–ferromagnetic transition at T_C=307 K, which nature has been identified to be a second-order transition by the scaling laws for magnetocaloric effect. The maximum magnetic entropy change and the relative cooling power are found to be, respectively, 8.314 J/kg K and 187 J/kg for a 5 T magnetic field change without a hysteresis loss, making this material a promising candidate for magnetic refrigeration at room temperature. To study the critical behavior of the paramagnetic–ferromagnetic transition, some related critical exponents (β, γ, and δ) have been also calculated. The values of critical exponents indicate that the present phase transition does not belong to the common transition classes but shows some abnormal variation. We suggest that the induced lattice disordering and magnetic disordering due to Dysprosium incorporation are essential reasons for the presence of a large magnetocaloric effect and of an anomalous ferromagnetic phase transition in the present material     

Effect of calcination temperature on morphology of mesoporous YSZ

A nano-structured mesoporous yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) powders were prepared for the first time using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the surfactant and urea as the hydrolyzing agent and using ZrO(NO₃)·6H₂O and Y(NO₃)₃·6H₂O as inorganic precursors. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, Barrett–Joyner–Halender (BJH) pore size distribution and crystallite/particle size of mesoporous YSZ varied with calcine temperatures were studied. Characterizations revealed that the mesoporous YSZ powder calcined at 600 °C was weakly agglomerated and had a high surface area of 137 m²/g with an average grain size of ∼5.8 nm. It was demonstrated that the mesoporous structure remained up to 900 °C. The low-densified YSZ sample with porosity as high as 33% was prepared from mesoporous YSZ powder sintered at 1500 °C for 6 h.     

Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous carbon through inexpensive mesoporous silica as template

Mesoporous silica materials have been synthesized through sol–gel reaction using inexpensive sodium silicate as source of silica and low cost hydroxy carboxylic acid compounds as templates/pore forming agents. The material measured surface area of 1014 m²/g, pore diameter of 65 Å and pore volume of 1.4 cc/g when parameters like time and temperature of synthesis along with mole ratio of TA/SiO₂ were optimized. Here TA stands for tartaric acid. Carbonization of sucrose inside the pores of above silica material at 900 °C followed by removal of silica framework using aqueous ethanoic solution of NaOH gave rise to mesoporous carbon material. The resulting materials were characterized by N₂-sorption, FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermal analysis and cyclic voltammetry. Three dimensional interconnecting wormhole channel arrangement of mesoporous silica template leads to mesoporous carbon replica with surface area of 1200 m²/g. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study (XPS) of the mesoporous carbon material shows the concentration of carbon atom in the range of 97–98% with 1–2% oxygen and negligible amount of silica. The electrochemical double layer capacitance behavior of carbon material with the specific capacitance value of 88.0 F/g at the scan rate of 1 mV/s appears to be promising.     

Polarization origin and iron positions in indium doped barium hexaferrites

M-type hexaferrite BaFe_12?xIn_xO₁₉ (x = 0.1, 1.2) samples were investigated by high resolution neutron powder diffraction and vibration sample magnetometry in a wide temperature range of 4–730 K. Structural and magnetic parameters were determined including the unit cell parameters, ionic coordinates, thermal isotropic factors, occupation positions, bond lengths and bond angles, microstrain values and magnetic moments. In³⁺ cations may be located only in the Fe1 - 2a and Fe2 - 2b crystallographic positions with equal probability for the x = 0.1 sample. At x = 1.2 about half of In³⁺ cations occupy the Fe5 - 12k positions whilst the other half are equiprobably located in the Fe1 – 2a and Fe2 – 2b positions. The spontaneous polarization was observed for these compositions at 300 K. The influence of structural parameters on the temperature behavior of Fe³⁺(i) - O^2- - Fe³⁺(j) (i, j = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) indirect superexchange interactions was established. With the substitution level increase the superexchange interactions between the magnetic positions inside and outside the sublattices are broken which leads to a decrease in the value of the corresponding magnetic moments.