Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Catalytic Activities of Different Zeolites for the Nitration of Toluene

Zeolites are used in the field of toluene nitrification reactions, but their intrinsic mechanism is not well explained. In this work, three typical zeolites including HZSM-5, HY, and Hβ are selected as catalysts and used for the nitration of toluene and typical monosubstituted benzenes with NO2, and it explores the intrinsic influences on the nitrification of toluene on various zeolites through experimental and theoretical methods. The acidic properties and pore structures of three different zeolites were investigated through appropriate characterization techniques. Hβ zeolite exhibited the highest catalytic performance among the three zeolites, attributable to its unique pore structure and acidic properties. The theoretical analysis of various zeolites indicates that the Hβ zeolite can effectively reduce the activation energy barrier, thereby significantly enhancing the transfer nitration performance. The theoretical calculations also suggest that the para-nitration product is more readily formed within the pores of Hβ zeolite, resulting in high para-selectivity. This study provides a theoretical basis for the selective catalysis of aromatics on zeolites.

Toluene catalytic oxidation over gold catalysts supported on cerium-based high-entropy oxides

A series of cerium-based high-entropy oxide catalysts (the ratio of CeO2 and HEO is 1:1) was prepared by a solid-state reaction method, which exploit their unique structural and performance advantages. The Ce-HEO-T samples can achieve 100% toluene conversion rate above 328°C when they were used as catalysts directly. Subsequently, the Ce-HEO-500 exhibited the lowest temperature for toluene oxidation was used as a support to deposit different amounts of Au for a further performance improvement. Among all of prepared samples, Au/Ce-HEO-500 with a moderate content of Au (0.5 wt%) exhibited the lowest temperature for complete combustion of toluene (260°C), which decreased nearly 70°C compared with Ce-HEO-500 support. Moreover, it also showed excellent stability for 60 h with 98% toluene conversion rate. Most importantly, under the condition of 5 vol.% H2O vapour, the toluene conversion rate remained unchanged and even increased slightly compared with that in dry air, exhibiting excellent water resistance. Combined with the characterizations of XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, Raman, H2-TPR and XPS, it was found that the high dispersion of active Au NPs, the special high-entropy structure and the synergistic effect between Au and Ce, Co, Cu are the key factors when improving the catalytic performance in the Au/Ce-HEO-500 catalyst.

The interplay of Ag and ferromagnetic MgFe2O4 for optimized oxygen-promoted hydrogen evolution via formaldehyde reforming

The interplay of Ag and ferromagnetic MgFe2O4 for optimized oxygen-promoted hydrogen evolution via formaldehyde reforming.

Removal of cadmium(II) from aqueous solution by hydroxyapatite-encapsulated zinc ferrite (HAP/ZnFe2O4) nanocomposite: kinetics and isotherm study

In this study, HAP/ZnFe₂O₄ nanocomposite has been synthesized in two simple steps. The different characterization techniques confirm the fabrication of HAP/ZnFe₂O₄ magnetic binary nanocomposite. The composite was successfully applied as nanoadsorbent for the elimination of Cd(II) ions from its aqueous solution. The composite was able to remove 89.6% of Cd(II) ions under optimum experimental conditions. The equilibrium sorption data were very much in agreement with the Freundlich adsorption model, and the maximum sorption capacity was recorded to be 120.33 mg/g. Kinetic data of the cadmium ion removal was well concurrent with the pseudo-second-order kinetics rate model. This magnetic HAP/ZnFe₂O₄ nanocomposite can be applied as an environmentally friendly, low-cost, productive sorbent for the evacuation of Cd(II) ions from wastewater in light of its high sorption capacity.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants over MFe2O4 (M = Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) Nanoparticles at Neutral pH

In this study, we report a surfactant-mediated synthesis of ferrites (MFe2O4: M = Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) using the co-precipitation-oxidation method. The band gap calculated from UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectra were found in the range of 1.11-1.81 eV. These ferrite nanocatalysts were studied for the photocatalytic degradation of multiple organic dyes in a 32 W UV-C/H2O2 system. All the four ferrites showed an excellent dye degradation rate in the range of 2.065-2.417 min-1 at neutral pH. In the optimized condition, NiF was found to degrade 89%, 92%, 93%, and 78% of methylene blue, methyl orange, bromo green, and methyl red, respectively within 1 min of UV-irradiation. A 40% TOC removal was recorded after 5 min of degradation reaction, which increased to 60% after 50 min. Mechanism elucidated by scavenger studies and fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that •OH and holes were the primary reactive radicals responsible for the degradation process. Ferrite photocatalysts showed an insignificant performance loss in seven consecutive cycles. The photocatalyst was found efficient in the presence of a high concentration of salts. Thus, it was concluded that these photocatalysts are highly suitable for the remediation of dye-contaminated wastewater.

Low-temperature wet chemistry synthetic approaches towards ferrites

Solution chemistry allows the crystallisation of range of iron oxides, including MFe₂O₄ spinels, MFeO₃ perovskites and hexaferrites, such as BaFe₁₂O₁₉, with nanoscale crystallinity and properties suitable for fields such as catalysis and electronics.

Unprecedented Behavior of (9 R)-9-Hydroxystearic Acid-Loaded Keratin Nanoparticles on Cancer Cell Cycle

Histone deacetylases, HDACs, have been demonstrated to play a critical role in epigenetic signaling and were found to be overexpressed in several type of cancers; therefore, they represent valuable targets for anticancer therapy. 9-Hydroxystearic acid has been shown to bind the catalytic site of HDAC1, inducing G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest and activation of the p21^WAF1 gene, thus promoting cell growth inhibition and differentiation in many cancer cells. Despite the ( R) enantiomer of 9-hydroxystearic acid (9R) displaying a promising in vitro growth-inhibitory effect on the HT29 cell line, its scarce water solubility and micromolar activity require novel solutions for improving its efficacy and bioavailability. In this work, we describe the synthesis and in vitro biological profiling of 9R keratin nanoparticles (9R@ker) obtained through an in-water drug-induced aggregation process. The anticancer activity of 9R@ker was investigated in the HT29 cell line; the results indicate an increased fluidity of cell membrane and a higher intracellular ROS formation, resulting in an unexpected S phase cell cycle arrest (25% increase as compared to the control) induced by 9R@ker with respect to free 9R and an induction of cell death.

Structural characterization and magnetic properties of undoped and copper-doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles prepared by the octanoate coprecipitation route at very low dopant concentrations

Nanoparticles of undoped and copper-doped cobalt ferrite Co_1−xCu_xFe₂O₄ at very low dopant concentrations (x = 0; 0.02; 0.04; 0.06; 0.08) were successfully synthesized by pyrolysis of the corresponding hetero metal octanoate precursors obtained via coprecipitation using the octanoate ligand as precipitating agent. The precursors were then characterized by FTIR, ICP-AES and TG-DTA analyses and the results reveal the formation of a copper-cobalt-iron hydroxooctanoate represented by the formula [Co_1−xCu_xFe₂(C₈H₁₅O₂)₆(OH)₂·2H₂O]. The decomposition products obtained upon pyrolysis in air at 400 °C for 3 h were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and VSM analyses. FTIR and XRD analyses showed the formation of a single phase mixed spinel ferrite while TEM analysis showed that the particles have a spherical shape with a mean size of 20 nm and form spherical agglomerates with sizes reaching 500 nm in some cases as the SEM images show. The chemical states of the metallic species in the samples were revealed by XPS to be Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Fe³⁺. These results combined with XRD confirmed the mixed spinel structure, Co_1−xCu_xFe₂O₄ in which Cu²⁺ ions substitute Co²⁺ ions in tetrahedral sites for x lower than 0.06 and in octahedral sites for x between 0.06 and 0.08. Magnetic parameters such as saturation magnetization (M_s), coercivity (H_c), remanent magnetization (M_r), magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant (K) and reduced magnetization (M_r/M_s), obtained from magnetic hysteresis loops measured at room temperature, are in agreement with this mixed spinel structure and also indicate that these materials are ferromagnetic and could be good candidates for applications in biomedicine and in microwave devices.

Low level copper-doped CoFe₂O₄ has been synthesized and shows an increasing of saturation magnetization up to 6% Cu, subsequently decreasing above 6%.

Augmenting the catalytic performance of spinel nanoferrites (CoFe2O4 and NiFe2O4) via incorporation of Al into the lattice

Augmentation in the catalytic performance via incorporation of Al³⁺ ions into the lattice of spinel nanoferrites owing to the synergistic interactions among the metal ions present in the surface exposed catalytically active octahedral sites.