Light-Assisted Ullmann Coupling of Phenols and Aryl Halides: The Synergetic Effect Between Plasmonic Copper Nanoparticles and Carbon Nanotubes from Various Sources.

Utilizing light and plastic wastes as resources to turn the wasted phenols and hazardous aryl halides into value added chemicals seems to be an attractive idea for alleviating the energy crisis and environmental problems. In this work, plasmonic copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) were loaded onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) from various sources including commercial CNTs and those derived from plastic wastes. Under visible-light irradiation, the catalyst could efficiently convert phenols and aryl halides to diaryl ethers. Similar with commercial CNTs, excellent activity is also achieved when utilizing CNTs derived from different kinds of plastic wastes as support for the system. Further investigation shows that the visible-light irradiation and light-excited plasmonic Cu NPs are necessary to inhibit the phenol degradation on CNTs and in turn promote the cross-coupling of phenol and aryl halides. Compared with metal oxides and other carbon materials, the excellent capability of CNTs to absorb light, to convert light to heat, and to adsorb both two reactants simultaneously are critical to enhance the activity of Cu NPs, achieving high yields of diaryl ethers. This study could provide a novel strategy for catalyst design and generate a more economically sustainable process.

Rapid Production of High-Purity Hydrogen Fuel through Microwave-Promoted Deep Catalytic Dehydrogenation of Liquid Alkanes with Abundant Metals.

Hydrogen as an energy carrier promises a sustainable energy revolution. However, one of the greatest challenges for any future hydrogen economy is the necessity for large scale hydrogen production not involving concurrent CO2 production. The high intrinsic hydrogen content of liquid-range alkane hydrocarbons (including diesel) offers a potential route to CO2 -free hydrogen production through their catalytic deep dehydrogenation. We report here a means of rapidly liberating high-purity hydrogen by microwave-promoted catalytic dehydrogenation of liquid alkanes using Fe and Ni particles supported on silicon carbide. A H2 production selectivity from all evolved gases of some 98 %, is achieved with less than a fraction of a percent of adventitious CO and CO2 . The major co-product is solid, elemental carbon.

Size-Dependent Microwave Heating and Catalytic Activity of Fine Iron Particles in the Deep Dehydrogenation of Hexadecane.

Knowledge of the electromagnetic microwave radiation-solid matter interaction and ensuing mechanisms at active catalytic sites will enable a deeper understanding of microwave-initiated chemical interactions and processes, and will lead to further optimization of this class of heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we study the fundamental mechanism of the interaction between microwave radiation and solid Fe catalysts and the deep dehydrogenation of a model hydrocarbon, hexadecane. We find that the size-dependent electronic transition of particulate Fe metal from a microwave "reflector" to a microwave "absorber" lies at the heart of efficient metal catalysis in these heterogeneous processes. In this regard, the optimal particle size of a Fe metal catalyst for highly effective microwave-initiated dehydrogenation reactions is approximately 80-120 nm, and the catalytic performance is strongly dependent on the ratio of the mean radius of Fe particles to the microwave skin depth (r/δ) at the operating frequency. Importantly, the particle size of selected Fe catalysts will ultimately affect the basic heating properties of the catalysts and decisively influence their catalytic performance under microwave initiation. In addition, we have found that when two or more materials-present as a mechanical mixture-are simultaneously exposed to microwave irradiation, each constituent material will respond to the microwaves independently. Thus, the interaction between the two materials has been found to have synergistic effects, subsequently contributing to heating and improving the overall catalytic performance.

MicroRNA­199a­5p regulates FOXC2 to control human vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic switch.

Varicose veins are among the most common disorders of the vascular system; however, the pathogenesis of varicose veins remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the roles of microRNA (miR)­199a­5p in varicose veins and in the phenotypic transition of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Bioinformatics analysis confirmed that miR­199a­5p had target sites on the forkhead box C2 (FOXC2) 3'­untranslated region. Reverse transcription­quantitative PCR (RT­qPCR) and western blotting were used to detect the expression levels of miR­199a­5p and FOXC2 in varicose vein and normal great saphenous vein tissues. Cell Counting Kit­8 and Transwell migration assays were performed to validate the effects of miR­199a­5p on VSMCs. Contractile markers, such as smooth muscle 22α, calponin, smooth muscle actin and myosin heavy chain 11 were used to detect phenotypic transition. RT­qPCR revealed that miR­199a­5p was downregulated in varicose veins compared with expression in normal great saphenous veins, whereas FOXC2 was upregulated in varicose veins. In addition, biomarkers of the VSMC contractile phenotype were downregulated in varicose veins. Overexpression of miR­199a­5p by mimics suppressed VSMC proliferation and migration, whereas depletion of miR­199a­5p enhanced VSMC proliferation and migration. Notably, the effects caused by miR­199a­5p could be reversed by FOXC2 overexpression. Dual luciferase reporter analysis confirmed that FOXC2 was a target of miR­199a­5p. In conclusion, miR­199a­5p may be a novel regulator of phenotypic switching in VSMCs by targeting FOXC2 during varicose vein formation.

Yolk-Shell Nanocapsule Catalysts as Nanoreactors with Various Shell Structures and Their Diffusion Effect on the CO2 Reforming of Methane.

Well-geometric-confined yolk-shell catalysts can act as nanoreactors that are of benefit for the antisintering of metals and resistance to coke formation in high-temperature reactions such as the CO2 reforming of methane. Notwithstanding the credible advances of core/yolk-shell catalysts, the enlarged shell diffusion effects that occur under high space velocity can deactivate the catalysts and hence pose a hurdle for the potential application of these types of catalysts. Here, we demonstrated the importance of the shell thickness and porosity of small-sized Ni@SiO2 nanoreactor catalysts, which can vary the diffusional paths/rates of the diffusants that directly affect the catalytic activity. The nanoreactor with an ∼4.5 nm shell thickness and rich pores performed the best in tolerating the shell diffusion effects, and importantly, no catalytic deactivation was observed. We further proposed a shell diffusion effect scheme by modifying the Weisz-Prater and blocker model and found that the "gas wall/hard blocker" formed on the openings of the shell pores can cause reversible/irreversible interruption of the shell mass transfer and thus temporarily/permanently deactivate the nanoreactor catalysts. This work highlights the shell diffusion effects, apart from the metal sintering and coke formation, as an important factor that are ascribed to the deactivation of a nanoreactor catalyst.

Catalytic Activity of Various Carbons during the Microwave-Initiated Deep Dehydrogenation of Hexadecane.

Carbon materials have been widely used as microwave susceptors in many chemical processes because they are highly effective at transforming incoming electromagnetic energy for local (hot spot) heating. This property raises the intriguing possibility of using the all-pervasive carbonaceous deposits in operating heterogeneous catalytic processes to augment the catalytic performance of microwave-initiated reactions. Here, the catalytic activities of a range of carbon materials, together with carbon residues produced from a "test" reaction-the dehydrogenation of hexadecane under microwave-initiated heterogeneous catalytic processes, have been investigated. Despite the excellent microwave absorption properties observed among these various carbons, only activated carbons and graphene nanoplatelets were found to be highly effective for the microwave-initiated dehydrogenation of hexadecane. During the dehydrogenation of hexadecane on a Fe/SiC catalyst, active carbon species were formed at the early stage of the reactions but were subsequently transformed into filamentous but catalytically inert carbons that ultimately deactivated the operating catalyst.

Transforming carbon dioxide into jet fuel using an organic combustion-synthesized Fe-Mn-K catalyst.

With mounting concerns over climate change, the utilisation or conversion of carbon dioxide into sustainable, synthetic hydrocarbons fuels, most notably for transportation purposes, continues to attract worldwide interest. This is particularly true in the search for sustainable or renewable aviation fuels. These offer considerable potential since, instead of consuming fossil crude oil, the fuels are produced from carbon dioxide using sustainable renewable hydrogen and energy. We report here a synthetic protocol to the fixation of carbon dioxide by converting it directly into aviation jet fuel using novel, inexpensive iron-based catalysts. We prepare the Fe-Mn-K catalyst by the so-called Organic Combustion Method, and the catalyst shows a carbon dioxide conversion through hydrogenation to hydrocarbons in the aviation jet fuel range of 38.2%, with a yield of 17.2%, and a selectivity of 47.8%, and with an attendant low carbon monoxide (5.6%) and methane selectivity (10.4%). The conversion reaction also produces light olefins ethylene, propylene, and butenes, totalling a yield of 8.7%, which are important raw materials for the petrochemical industry and are presently also only obtained from fossil crude oil. As this carbon dioxide is extracted from air, and re-emitted from jet fuels when combusted in flight, the overall effect is a carbon-neutral fuel. This contrasts with jet fuels produced from hydrocarbon fossil sources where the combustion process unlocks the fossil carbon and places it into the atmosphere, in longevity, as aerial carbon - carbon dioxide.