Synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose over chromium-exchanged hydroxyapatite encapsulated γ-Fe2O3

Hydroxyapatite with magnetic core: Synthesis methods, properties, adsorption and medical applications

This review presents the actual state of knowledge and recent research results on the magnetic composite synthesized from iron oxide (γ-Fe₂O₃ or Fe₃O₄) and hydroxyapatite. It can be obtained applying some methods, i.e. chemical precipitation, hydrothermal, sol-gel, and biomimetic or combined techniques which exhibit characteristic properties affecting the form of the prepared product. More specific details are discussed in this paper. A comparison of the discussed synthesis methods is presented. On the basis of selected publications, a comparison of the results of the analysis by XRD, FTIR, SEM and EDX methods for hydroxyapatite with a magnetic core was also presented. Moreover, the characteristics large adsorption capacity and specific area allow employing nanocomposites as adsorbents particularly in removal of toxic metal ions. Nowadays this issue is extremely vital due to large amounts of pollutants in the environment and greater ecological awareness of people. Moreover, magnetic hydroxyapatite can be also applied as a catalyst in various syntheses or oxidation reactions as well as in medicine in magnetic resonance imaging, hyperthermia treatment, drug delivery and release, bone regeneration or cell therapy.

Earth-abundant 3d-transition-metal catalysts for lignocellulosic biomass conversion

Transformation of biomass to chemicals and fuels is a long-term goal in both science and industry. However, high cost is one of the major obstacles to the industrialization of this sustainable technology. Thus, developing catalysts with high activity and low-cost is of great importance for biomass conversion. The last two decades have witnessed the increasing achievement of the use of earth-abundant 3d-transition-metals in catalysis due to their low-cost, high efficiency and excellent stability. Here, we aim to review the fast development and recent advances of 3d-metal-based catalysts including Cu, Fe, Co, Ni and Mn in lignocellulosic biomass conversion. Moreover, present research trends and invigorating perspectives on future development are given.

Lactic Acid Conversion to Acrylic Acid Over Fluoride-Substituted Hydroxyapatites

One of the most interesting intermediates for the chemical industry is acrylic acid, which can be derived from lactic acid by catalytic dehydration in the gas phase. The realization of this reaction is complex due to a strong thermal activation leading to the formation of undesired by-products (acetaldehyde, propanoic acid…) as well as polymerization. We studied this reaction over hydroxyapatites modified by substitution of the hydroxyl groups by fluoride. This notably enabled increasing the selectivity to acrylic acid while reducing the formation of the undesired acetaldehyde. Introduction of fluoride induced a modification of the phosphate (PO 4 3 - ) groups. In the presence of water, fluoride prevented the formation of hydrogenophosphate species (HPO 4 2 - ), which are well-known acid sites responsible for the formation of acetaldehyde by decarboxylation/decarbonylation. Further, we evidenced an important impact of fluoride substitution on crystallinity, specific surface area and on the surface Ca/P ratio. This latter is known to be a key parameter to control the acidity and the basicity of the hydroxyapatites. Using FT-IR spectroscopy with propyne as a probe molecule, we could show that lactic acid was concertedly adsorbed on basic and acid sites, which might be at the origin of the observed superior performances.

A biological method for in-situ synthesis of hydroxyapatite-coated magnetite nanoparticles using Enterobacter aerogenes: Characterization and acute toxicity assessments

Hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) are being widely investigated for various applications in medical engineering and wastewater treatment. In this work, the MNPs were thoroughly coated by bacterial synthesized HA nanoparticles during biomineralization process using Enterobacter aerogenes. The resulting bacterial-induced precipitate was then calcined at 600°C and investigated with respect to structural characteristics, particle size and magnetic strength by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, EDS, TEM and VSM analyses. The effects of MNPs and HA-coated MNPs (HA-MNPs) on the viability of human MCF-7 cell lines were also investigated via mitochondrial activity test (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. The powder characterization results showed appropriate structural properties for HA-MNPs samples. The particles diameter size of the MNPs and HA-MNPs were in the range of 3-25nm and 20-80nm, respectively. The biologically-synthesized HA-MNPs formed a stable suspension in water while keeping their magnetic property. The saturation magnetization (Ms) of HA-MNPs was measured at ~10emug^-1 which was in good agreement with the structural composition of this sample. Finally, the results of the cell lines viability indicated that coating of toxic MNPs via biomineralization was a promising approach in order to synthesize bio-compatible magnetic nanoparticles with suitable physical and chemical structural characteristics. The toxicity level of MNPs was reduced by 10 fold when coated by bacterial-synthesized HA.