Low-temperature hydroformylation of ethylene by phosphorous stabilized Rh sites in a one-pot synthesized Rh-(O)-P-MFI zeolite

Zeolites containing Rh single sites stabilized by phosphorous were prepared through a one-pot synthesis method and are shown to have superior activity and selectivity for ethylene hydroformylation at low temperature (50 °C). Catalytic activity is ascribed to confined Rh2O3 clusters in the zeolite which evolve under reaction conditions into single Rh3+ sites. These Rh3+ sites are effectively stabilized in a Rh-(O)-P structure by using tetraethylphosphonium hydroxide as a template, which generates in situ phosphate species after H2 activation. In contrast to Rh2O3, confined Rh0 clusters appear less active in propanal production and ultimately transform into Rh(I)(CO)2 under similar reaction conditions. As a result, we show that it is possible to reduce the temperature of ethylene hydroformylation with a solid catalyst down to 50 °C, with good activity and high selectivity, by controlling the electronic and morphological properties of Rh species and the reaction conditions.

Low-oxidation-state Ru sites stabilized in carbon-doped RuO2 with low-temperature CO2 activation to yield methane

The generation of methane fuel using surplus renewable energy with CO₂ as the carbon source enables both the decarbonization and substitution of fossil fuel feedstocks. However, high temperatures are usually required for the efficient activation of CO₂. Here we present a solid catalyst synthesized using a mild, green hydrothermal synthesis that involves interstitial carbon doped into ruthenium oxide, which enables the stabilization of Ru cations in a low oxidation state and a ruthenium oxycarbonate phase to form. The catalyst shows an activity and selectivity for the conversion of CO₂ into methane at lower temperatures than those of conventional catalysts, with an excellent long-term stability. Furthermore, this catalyst is able to operate under intermittent power supply conditions, which couples very well with electricity production systems based on renewable energies. The structure of the catalyst and the nature of the ruthenium species were acutely characterized by combining advanced imaging and spectroscopic tools at the macro and atomic scales, which highlighted the low-oxidation-state Ru sites (Ruⁿ⁺, 0 < n < 4) as responsible for the high catalytic activity. This catalyst suggests alternative perspectives for materials design using interstitial dopants.

Relaxation in kinetic models on alternating linear chains

A restricted dynamics, previously introduced in a kinetic model for relaxation phenomena in linear polymer chains, is used to study the dynamic critical exponent of one-dimensional Ising models. Both an alternating isotopic chain and an alternating-bond chain are considered. In contrast with what occurs for Glauber dynamics, in these two models the dynamic critical exponent turns out to be the same. The alternating isotopic chain with the restricted dynamics is shown to lead to Nagel scaling for temperatures above some critical value. Further support is given relating the Nagel scaling to the existence of multiple (simultaneous) relaxation processes, the dynamics apparently not playing the most important role in determining such scaling.