Stable amorphous georgeite as a precursor to a high-activity catalyst.

Copper and zinc form an important group of hydroxycarbonate minerals that include zincian malachite, aurichalcite, rosasite and the exceptionally rare and unstable--and hence little known and largely ignored--georgeite. The first three of these minerals are widely used as catalyst precursors for the industrially important methanol-synthesis and low-temperature water-gas shift (LTS) reactions, with the choice of precursor phase strongly influencing the activity of the final catalyst. The preferred phase is usually zincian malachite. This is prepared by a co-precipitation method that involves the transient formation of georgeite; with few exceptions it uses sodium carbonate as the carbonate source, but this also introduces sodium ions--a potential catalyst poison. Here we show that supercritical antisolvent (SAS) precipitation using carbon dioxide (refs 13, 14), a process that exploits the high diffusion rates and solvation power of supercritical carbon dioxide to rapidly expand and supersaturate solutions, can be used to prepare copper/zinc hydroxycarbonate precursors with low sodium content. These include stable georgeite, which we find to be a precursor to highly active methanol-synthesis and superior LTS catalysts. Our findings highlight the value of advanced synthesis methods in accessing unusual mineral phases, and show that there is room for exploring improvements to established industrial catalysts.

Control of ß-Site Amyloid Precursor Protein-Cleaving Enzyme-1 Expression by Protein Kinase C-λ/ι and Nuclear Factor κ-B.

Βackground: ß-Amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme-1 (BACE1) initiates the production of Aß-peptides that form Aß-plaque in Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: Reportedly, acute insulin treatment in normal mice, and hyperinsulinemia in high-fat-fed (HFF) obese/diabetic mice, increase BACE1 activity and levels of Aß-peptides and phospho- -thr-231-tau in the brain; moreover, these effects are blocked by PKC-λ/ι inhibitors. However, as chemical inhibitors may affect unsuspected targets, we presently used knockout methodology to further examine PKC-λ/ι requirements. We found that total-body heterozygous PKC-λ knockout reduced acute stimulatory effects of insulin and chronic effects of hyperinsulinemia in HFF/obese/diabetic mice, on brain PKC-λ activity and production of Aß1-40/42 and phospho-thr-231-tau. This protection in HFF mice may reflect that hepatic PKC-λ haploinsufficiency prevents the development of glucose intolerance and hyperinsulinemia. RESULTS: On the other hand, heterozygous knockout of PKC-λ markedly reduced brain levels of BACE1 protein and mRNA, and this may reflect diminished activation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NFκB), which is activated by PKC-λ and increases BACE1 and proinflammatory cytokine transcription. Accordingly, whereas intravenous administration of aPKC inhibitor diminished aPKC activity and BACE1 levels by 50% in the brain and 90% in the liver, nasally-administered inhibitor reduced aPKC activity and BACE1 mRNA and protein levels by 50-70% in the brain while sparing the liver. Additionally, 24-hour insulin treatment in cultured human-derived neurons increased NFκB activity and BACE1 levels, and these effects were blocked by various PKC-λ/ι inhibitors. CONCLUSION: PKC-λ/ι controls NFκB activity and BACE1 expression; PKC-λ/ι inhibitors may be used nasally to target brain PKC-λ/ι or systemically to block both liver and brain PKC-λ/ι, to regulate NFκB-dependent BACE1 and proinflammatory cytokine expression.

A new class of Cu/ZnO catalysts derived from zincian georgeite precursors prepared by co-precipitation.

Zincian georgeite, an amorphous copper-zinc hydroxycarbonate, has been prepared by co-precipitation using acetate salts and ammonium carbonate. Incorporation of zinc into the georgeite phase and mild ageing conditions inhibits crystallisation into zincian malachite or aurichalcite. This zincian georgeite precursor was used to prepare a Cu/ZnO catalyst, which exhibits a superior performance to a zincian malachite derived catalyst for methanol synthesis and the low temperature water-gas shift (LTS) reaction. Furthermore, the enhanced LTS activity and stability in comparison to that of a commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst, indicates that the addition of alumina as a stabiliser may not be required for the zincian georgeite derived Cu/ZnO catalyst. The enhanced performance is partly attributed to the exclusion of alkali metals from the synthesis procedure, which are known to act as catalyst poisons. The effect of residual sodium on the microstructural properties of the catalyst precursor was investigated further from preparations using sodium carbonate.

Catalyst support effects: gas-phase hydrogenation of phenol over palladium.

The catalytic action of 10% w/w Pd supported on two forms of graphitic carbon nanofibers (GCN) has been assessed and compared with the performance of 10% w/w Pd on SiO(2), Ta(2)O(5), activated carbon (AC), and graphite. Palladium nitrate served as metal precursor in each case but the role of the starting metal salt was also considered by examining the action of palladium acetate impregnated SiO(2). The activated catalysts have been characterized by hydrogen chemisorption, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Phenol hydrogenation served as the test reaction, which proceeds in a stepwise fashion involving the partially hydrogenated cyclohexanone as a reactive intermediate. The occurrence and ramifications of Pd/support interaction(s) are related to hydrogenation activity and selectivity. The effects of contact time and reaction temperature (398-448 K) are reported and discussed in terms of phenol/catalyst interaction(s). Hydrogenation kinetics have been adequately represented by a standard pseudo-first-order approximation. The specific activities exhibited the following sequence of increasing values: Pd/AC

Growth of filamentous carbon from the surface of Ni/SiO2 doped with alkali metal bromides.

The growth of ordered filamentous carbon, catalytically generated from the decomposition of ethylene, has been studied over the temperature range 673-898 K using an 11% w/w Ni/SiO2 catalyst doped to varying degrees (0.1-9.3% w/w) with a range of alkali metal bromides. The effect of these alkali metal/halogen adatoms in promoting/inhibiting carbon growth has been assessed and variations in the associated carbon structural characteristics have been examined. The introduction of Li consistently promoted filamentous carbon growth (where 723 K