Isostructural Atomically Dispersed Rhodium Catalysts Supported on SAPO-37 and on HY Zeolite.

Zeolites are widely applied supports for metal catalysts, but molecular sieves with comparable structures-silicoaluminophosphates (SAPOs)-have drawn much less attention and been overlooked as supports for atomically dispersed metals. Now, we report SAPO-37 as a support for atomically dispersed rhodium in rhodium diethylene complexes, made by the reaction of Rh(η2-C2H4)2(acetylacetonate) with the support and anchored by two Rh-O bonds at framework tetrahedral sites, as shown by infrared and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectra. The ethylene ligands were readily replaced with CO, giving sharp νCO bands indicating highly uniform supported species. A comparison of the spectra with those of comparable rhodium complexes on zeolite HY shows that the SAPO- and zeolite-supported complexes are isostructural, providing an unmatched opportunity for determining support effects in catalysis. The two catalysts had similar initial room-temperature activities per Rh atom for ethylene conversion in the presence of H2, but the SAPO-supported catalyst was selective for ethylene hydrogenation and the zeolite-supported catalyst selective for ethylene dimerization; correspondingly, the catalyst on the SAPO was more stable than that on the zeolite during operation in a flow reactor.

A Stable Silanol Triad in the Zeolite Catalyst SSZ-70.

Nests of three silanol groups are located on the internal pore surface of calcined zeolite SSZ-70. 2D 1 H double/triple-quantum single-quantum correlation NMR experiments enable a rigorous identification of these silanol triad nests. They reveal a close proximity to the structure directing agent (SDA), that is, N,N'-diisobutyl imidazolium cations, in the as-synthesized material, in which the defects are negatively charged (silanol dyad plus one charged SiO- siloxy group) for charge balance. It is inferred that ring strain prevents the condensation of silanol groups upon calcination and removal of the SDA to avoid energetically unfavorable three-rings. In contrast, tetrad nests, created by boron extraction from B-SSZ-70 at various other locations, are not stable and silanol condensation occurs. Infrared spectroscopic investigations of adsorbed pyridine indicate an enhanced acidity of the silanol triads, suggesting important implications in catalysis.

Further Studies on How the Nature of Zeolite Cavities That Are Bounded by Small Pores Influences the Conversion of Methanol to Light Olefins.

A series of small-pore zeolites are synthesized and investigated as catalysts for the methanol-to-olefins (MTO) reaction. Small-pore zeolites SSZ-13, SSZ-16, SSZ-27, SSZ-28, SSZ-52, SSZ-98, SSZ-99, SSZ-104, SSZ-105 and an ITQ-3-type material are synthesized, and the results from their use as catalytic materials in the MTO reaction compared to those obtained from SAPO-34. The production of propane that tends to correlate with catalytic material lifetime (higher initial propane yields lead to shorter lifetimes) declines with increasing Si/Al (as has been observed previously for SSZ-13), and a larger cage dimension leads to higher propane yields at a fixed Si/Al. Data from these materials and others reported previously, for example, SSZ-39 and Rho, that were tested at the same reaction conditions, revealed four different patterns of light olefin selectivities: 1) ethylene greater than propylene with low butene, for example, SSZ-17, SSZ-98, SSZ-105, 2) ethylene equal to propylene and low butene, for example, SAPO-34, SSZ-13, SSZ-16, SSZ-27, SSZ-52, SSZ-99, SSZ-104, 3) propylene greater than ethylene with butene similar to ethylene, for example, SSZ-28, SSZ-39, and 4) ethylene equal to propylene equal to butene, for example, Rho. No clear relationships between zeolite cage architecture and light olefin selectivity emerged from this investigation, although several trends are presented as suggestions for further study.

Facile Synthesis, Characterization, and Catalytic Behavior of a Large-Pore Zeolite with the IWV Framework.

Large-pore microporous materials are of great interest to process bulky hydrocarbon and biomass-derived molecules. ITQ-27 (IWV) has a two-dimensional pore system bounded by 12-membered rings (MRs) that lead to internal cross-sections containing 14 MRs. Investigations into the catalytic behavior of aluminosilicate (zeolite) materials with this framework structure have been limited until now due to barriers in synthesis. The facile synthesis of aluminosilicate IWV in both hydroxide and fluoride media is reported herein using simple, diquaternary organic structure-directing agents (OSDAs) that are based on tetramethylimidazole. In hydroxide media, a zeolite product with Si/Al=14.8-23.2 is obtained, while in fluoride media an aluminosilicate product with Si/Al up to 82 is synthesized. The material produced in hydroxide media is tested for the hydroisomerization of n-hexane, and results from this test reaction suggest that the effective pore size of zeolites with the IWV framework structure is similar to but slightly larger than that of ZSM-12 (MTW), in fairly good agreement with crystallographic data.

SSZ-87: a borosilicate zeolite with unusually flexible 10-ring pore openings.

The structure of the as-synthesized borosilicate zeolite SSZ-87 has been solved by combining high-resolution X-ray powder diffraction (XPD) and rotation electron diffraction (RED) techniques. The unit cell and space group symmetry were found from the XPD data, and were essential for the initial analysis of the RED data. Although the RED data were only 15% complete, this proved to be enough for structure solution with the program Focus. The framework topology is the same as that of ITQ-52 (IFW), but for SSZ-87 the locations of the structure directing agent (SDA) and the B atoms could also be determined. SSZ-87 has large cages interconnected by 8- and 10-rings. However, results of hydroisomerization and Al insertion experiments are much more in line with those found for 12-ring zeolites. This prompted the structure analyses of SSZ-87 after calcination, and Al insertion. During calcination, the material is also partially deboronated, and the location of the resulting vacancies is consistent with those of the B atoms in the as-synthesized material. After Al insertion, SSZ-87 was found to contain almost no B and to be defect free. In its calcined and deboronated form, the pore system of SSZ-87 is more flexible than those of other 10-ring zeolites. This can be explained by the fact that the large cages in SSZ-87 are connected via single rather than double 10-ring windows and that there are vacancies in some of these 10-rings.

A single-site platinum CO oxidation catalyst in zeolite KLTL: microscopic and spectroscopic determination of the locations of the platinum atoms.

A stable site-isolated mononuclear platinum catalyst with a well-defined structure is presented. Platinum complexes supported in zeolite KLTL were synthesized from [Pt(NH3)4](NO3)2, oxidized at 633 K, and used to catalyze CO oxidation. IR and X-ray absorption spectra and electron micrographs determine the structures and locations of the platinum complexes in the zeolite pores, demonstrate the platinum-support bonding, and show that the platinum remained site isolated after oxidation and catalysis.

WSSV early protein WSSV004 enhances viral replication by suppressing LDH activity.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is known to upregulate glycolysis to supply biomolecules and energy for the virus's replication. At the viral genome replication stage, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a glycolytic enzyme, shows increased activity without any increase in expression. In the present study, yeast 2-hybrid screening was used to identify WSSV proteins that interacted with LvLDH isoform 1 and 2, and these included the WSSV early protein WSSV004. The interaction between WSSV004 and LvLDH1/2 was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation. Immunofluorescence showed that WSSV004 co-localized with LvLDH1/2 in the cytoplasm. dsRNA silencing experiments showed that WSSV004 was crucial for WSSV replication. However, although WSSV004 silencing led to the suppression of total LvLDH gene expression during the viral late stage, there was nevertheless a significant increase in LvLDH activity at this time. We also used affinity purification-mass spectrometry to identify cellular proteins that interact with WSSV004, and found a total of 108 host proteins and 3 WSSV proteins with which it potentially interacts. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that WSSV004 and its interacting proteins might be responsible for various biological pathways during infection, including vesicular transport machinery and RNA-related functions. Collectively, our study suggests that WSSV004 serves as a multifunctional modulator to facilitate WSSV replication.

Tracking iridium atoms with electron microscopy: first steps of metal nanocluster formation in one-dimensional zeolite channels.

Using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), we imaged iridium atoms in isolated iridium complexes in the one-dimensional nonintersecting 14-ring channels of zeolite SSZ-53. STEM allows tracking of the movement of atoms in the channels, demonstrating the interaction of iridium with the zeolite framework (channel confinement) and providing a direct visualization of the initial steps of metal nanocluster formation. The results demonstrate how STEM can be used to help design improved catalysts by identifying the catalytic sites and observing how they change in reactive atmospheres.

A novel 16-gene alternative mRNA splicing signature predicts tumor relapse and indicates immune activity in stage I-III hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a lethal disease with high relapse and dismal survival rates. Alternative splicing (AS) plays a crucial role in tumor progression. Herein, we aim to integratedly analyze the relapse-associated AS events and construct a signature predicting tumor relapse in stage I-III HCC. Methods: AS events of stage I-III HCC with tumor relapse or long-term relapse-free survival were profiled to identify the relapse-associated AS events. A splicing network was set up to analyze the correlation between the relapse-associated AS events and splicing factors. Cox regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve were performed to develop and validate the relapse-predictive AS signature. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and the ESTIMATE algorithm were used to assess the immune infiltration status of the HCC microenvironment between different risk subgroups. Unsupervised cluster analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between molecular subtypes and local immune status and clinicopathological features. Results: In total, 2441 ASs derived from 1634 mRNA were identified as relapse-associated AS events. By analyzing the proteins involved in the relapse-associated AS events, 1573 proteins with 11590 interactions were included in the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. In total, 16 splicing factors and 61 relapse-associated AS events with 85 interactions were involved in the splicing network. The relevant genes involved in the PPI network and splicing network were also analyzed by Gene Ontology enrichment analysis. Finally, we established a robust 16-gene AS signature for predicting tumor relapse in stage I-III HCC with considerable AUC values in all of the training cohort, testing cohort, and entire cohort. The ssGSEA and ESTIMATE analyses showed that the AS signature was significantly associated with the immune status of the HCC microenvironment. Moreover, four molecular subgroups with distinguishing tumor relapse modes and local immune status were also revealed. Conclusion: Our study built a novel 16-gene AS signature that robustly predicts tumor relapse and indicates immune activity in stage I-III HCC, which may facilitate the deep mining of the mechanisms associated with tumor relapse and tumor immunity and the development of novel individualized treatment targets for HCC.

Zeolite-supported metal complexes of rhodium and of ruthenium: a general synthesis method influenced by molecular sieving effects.

A general method for synthesis of supported metal complexes having a high degree of uniformity is presented, whereby organometallic precursors incorporating acetylacetonate (C(5)H(7)O(2)(-), acac) ligands react with zeolites incorporating OH groups near Al sites. The method is illustrated by the reactions of Rh(acac)(CO)(2) and of cis-Ru(acac)(2)(eta(2)-C(2)H(4))(2) with zeolites slurried in n-pentane at room temperature. The zeolites were H-Beta, H-SSZ-42, H-Mordenite, and HZSM-5. Infrared (IR) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectra of the zeolites incorporating rhodium complexes indicate the formation of Rh(CO)(2)(+) bonded near Al sites; similar results have been reported for the formation of zeolite-supported Rh(eta(2)-C(2)H(4))(2)(+) from Rh(acac)(eta(2)-C(2)H(4))(2). IR spectra of the supported rhodium gem-dicarbonyls include sharp, well-resolved nu(CO) bands, demonstrating that the sites surrounding each metal complex are nearly equivalent. The frequencies of the nu(CO) bands show how the composition of the zeolite influences the bonding of the supported species, demonstrating subtle differences in the roles of the zeolite as ligands. When the zeolite has pore openings larger than the critical diameter of the precursor organometallic compound, the latter undergoes facile transport into the interior of the zeolite, so that a uniform distribution of the supported species results, but when the precursors barely fit through the zeolite apertures, the mass transport resistance is significant and the supported metal complexes are concentrated near the pore mouths.

The synthesis, characterization, and structure solution of SSZ-58: a novel two-dimensional 10-ring pore zeolite with previously unseen double 5-ring subunits.

The synthesis, structure solution, and characterization of the novel zeolite SSZ-58 are described. SSZ-58 was synthesized under hydrothermal conditions using 1-butyl-1-cyclooctylpyrrolidinium cation as a structure-directing agent. The framework topology of SSZ-58 was determined with the FOCUS Fourier recycling method. SSZ-58 possesses 12 tetrahedral atoms in the asymmetric unit of its highest topological symmetry, and to date it is the most complex zeolite structure solved from powder data. Rietveld refinement of synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction data in space group Pmma confirmed the proposed model. SSZ-58 contains layers of atoms that are linked together by double five-membered rings (D5R), or 5(2)4(5) subunits, that have not been observed before in any zeolite or zeotype structures. SSZ-58 possesses a two-dimensional channel system consisting of 10-membered ring pores that intersect to form large cavities circumscribed by 12- and 16-membered ring pores.

SSZ-53 and SSZ-59: two novel extra-large pore zeolites.

The syntheses, structure solutions, and physicochemical and catalytic characterizations of the novel zeolites SSZ-53 and SSZ-59 are described. SSZ-53 and SSZ-59 were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions with the [1-(4-fluorophenyl)cyclopentylmethyl]trimethyl ammonium cation and 1-[1-(4-chlorophenyl)cyclopentylmethyl]-1-methyl azocanium cation, respectively, as structure-directing agents. The framework topology of SSZ-53 was solved with the FOCUS method, and the structure of SSZ-59 was determined by model building. Rietveld refinement of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data confirms each proposed model. SSZ-53 and SSZ-59 each possess a one-dimensional channel system delimited by 14-membered rings. Results from transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, catalytic experiments (spaciousness index and constraint index tests), and argon and hydrocarbon adsorption experiments are consistent with the proposed structures.