the direct conversion of methane to c2 hydrocarbons, in a quartz tube reactor enforced by a dc corona discharge, was investigated at atmospheric pressure. the process was carried out in the presence of metal oxide catalysts of mn/w/sio2, mn/w/sio2 (tetraethyl orthosilicate, teos), and mn/w/cnt (supported on carbon nanotubes). the total yield to c2 hydrocarbons in the presence of metal oxide cat...

Chiral trivalent phosphorus species are the dominant class of ligands and the key controlling element in asymmetric homogeneous transition-metal catalysis. Here, novel chiral diaminophosphine oxide ligands are described. The arising catalyst system with nickel(0) and trimethylaluminum efficiently activates formamide C-H bonds under mild conditions providing pyrrolidones via intramolecular hydro...

Supported catalysts are widely used in industry and can be optimized by tuning the composition and interface of the metal nanoparticles and oxide supports. Rational design of metal-metal oxide interfaces in nanostructured catalysts is critical to achieve better reaction activities and selectivities. We introduce here a new class of nanocrystal tandem catalysts that have multiple metal-metal oxi...

Flammability properties of plasma pretreated cotton fabrics subjected to flame-retardant treatment were studied. Plasma pretreatment, using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ), was applied to cotton fabrics to enhance material properties, while retaining inherent advantages of the substrates. An organic phosphorus compound (flame-retardant agent, FR) together with a melamine resin (crossl...

The influence of catalysts on the compositions of char and pyrolysis oil obtained by pyrolysis of wood biomass with pulse current heating was studied. The effects of catalysts on product compositions were analyzed using GC-MS and TEM. The compositions of some aromatic compounds changed noticeably when using a metal oxide species as the catalyst. The coexistence or dissolution of amorphous carbo...

In any artificial photosynthetic system, the oxidation of water to molecular oxygen provides the electrons needed for the reduction of protons or carbon dioxide to a fuel. Understanding how this four-electron reaction works in detail is important for the development of improved robust catalysts made of Earth-abundant materials, like first-row transition-metal oxides. Here, using time-resolved F...

The selective hydrogenation of fatty acids to fatty alcohols can be achieved under moderate conditions (180 °C, 30 bar H2) by simultaneously supporting copper and iron oxides on mesoporous silica nanoparticles. The activity of the cosupported oxides is significantly higher than that of each supported metal oxide and of a physical mixture of both individually supported metal oxides. A strong int...

Zinc oxide nanowires generated by hydrothermal method present superior physical and chemical characteristics. Quality control of the growth has been very challenging and controlled growth is only achievable under very limited conditions using homogeneous seed layers with high temperature processes. Here we show the controlled ZnO nanowire growth on various organic and inorganic materials withou...

1359-0286/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. A doi:10.1016/j.cossms.2011.06.001 ⇑ Corresponding authors. Addresses: Departmen Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA Materials Science and Engineering, Lehigh Univer USA(C.J. Kiely). E-mail addresses: [email protected] (W (C.J. Kiely). The performance of catalyst materials are usually governed by the precise atomic structure and c...