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At least 559 records · Page 31

Facile Synthesis of Boron-Doped rGO as Cathode Material for High Energy Li–O 2 Batteries

To improve the electrochemical performance of the high energy Li–O2 batteries, it is important to design and construct a suitable and effective oxygen-breathing cathode. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) porous boron-doped reduction graphite oxide (B-rGO) material with a hierarchical structure has been prepared by a facile freeze-drying method. In this design, boric acid as the boron source helps to form the 3D porous structure, owing to its cross-linking and pore-forming function. This architecture facilitates the rapid oxygen diffusion and electrolyte penetration in the electrode. Meanwhile, the boron–oxygen functional groups linking to the carbon surface or edge serve as additional reaction sites to activate the ORR process. It is vital that boron atoms have been doped into the carbon lattices to greatly activate the electrons in the carbon π system, which is beneficial for fast charge under large current densities. Density functional theory calculation demonstrates that B-rGO exhibits much stronger interactions with Li5O6 clusters, so that B-rGO more effectively activates Li–O bonds to decompose Li2O2 during charge than rGO does. With B-rGO as a catalytic substrate, the Li–O2 battery achieves a high discharge capacity and excellent rate capability. Moreover, catalysts could be added into the B-rGO substrate to further lower the overpotential and enhance the cycling performance in future.

Wu, Feng↗

Reactivity of a Carbon-Supported Single-Site Molybdenum Dioxo Catalyst for Biodiesel Synthesis

A single-site molybdenum dioxo catalyst, (O c ) 2 Mo(=O)2@C, was prepared via direct grafting of MoO 2 Cl 2 (dme) (dme = 1,2-dimethoxyethane) on high-surface-area activated carbon. The physicochemical and chemical properties of this catalyst were fully characterized by N 2 physisorption, ICP-AES/OES, PXRD, STEM, XPS, XAS, temperature-programmed reduction with H 2 (TPR-H 2 ), and temperature-programmed NH 3 desorption (TPD-NH 3 ). The single-site nature of the Mo species is corroborated by XPS and TPR-H2 data, and it exhibits the lowest reported MoO x T max of reduction reported to date, suggesting a highly reactive Mo VI center. (O c ) 2 Mo(=O) 2 @C catalyzes the transesterification of a variety of esters and triglycerides with ethanol, exhibiting high activity at moderate temperatures (60–90 °C) and with negligible deactivation. (O c ) 2 Mo(=O) 2 @C is resistant to water and can be recycled at least three times with no loss of activity. The transesterification reaction is determined experimentally to be first order in [ethanol] and first order in [Mo] with ΔH ‡ = 10.5(8) kcal mol –1 and ΔS ‡ = –32(2) eu. Here, the low energy of activation is consistent with the moderate conditions needed to achieve rapid turnover. This highly active carbon-supported single-site molybdenum dioxo species is thus an efficient, robust, and low-cost catalyst with significant potential for transesterification processes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Synthesis, Structure, and Spectroscopy of Epitaxial EuFeO 3 Thin Films

Rare earth iron perovskites RFeO3, where R is a rare earth cation, exhibit an array of magnetic, catalytic, optical, and electrochemical properties. Here we study EuFeO3 films synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy to improve our understanding of the optical properties of ferrites. A combination of X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the film structure and cation composition. X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirms the nominal 3+ valence states of Eu and Fe. The optical properties of EuFeO3 were investigated using variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry between the photon energies of 1.25 and 5 eV. We find that EuFeO3 is a semiconductor with an onset of optical absorption near 2.5 eV. The absorption spectrum of EuFeO3 is blue-shifted with respect to LaFeO3 films, a result that is attributed to the structural differences between the two materials.

Choquette, Amber K.↗

Light-Mediated Synthesis and Reprocessing of Dynamic Bottlebrush Elastomers under Ambient Conditions

We introduce a novel grafting-through polymerization strategy to synthesize dynamic bottlebrush polymers and elastomers in one step using light to construct a disulfide-containing backbone. The key starting material—α-lipoic acid (LA)—is commercially available, inexpensive, and biocompatible. When installed on the chain end(s) of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), the cyclic disulfide unit derived from LA polymerizes under ultraviolet (UV) light in ambient conditions. Significantly, no additives such as initiator, solvent, or catalyst are required for efficient gelation. Formulations that include bis-LA-functionalized cross-linker yield bottlebrush elastomers with high gel fractions (83–98%) and tunable, supersoft shear moduli in the ~20–200 kPa range. An added advantage of these materials is the dynamic disulfide bonds along each bottlebrush backbone, which allow for light-mediated self-healing and on-demand chemical degradation. These results highlight the potential of simple and scalable synthetic routes to generate unique bottlebrush polymers and elastomers based on PDMS.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Synthesis and Structure–Activity Characterization of a Single-Site MoO 2 Catalytic Center Anchored on Reduced Graphene Oxide

Molecularly derived single-site heterogeneous catalysts can bridge the understanding and performance gaps between conventional homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, guiding the rational design of next-generation catalysts. While impressive advances have been made with well-defined oxide supports, the structural complexity of other supports and the nature of the grafted surface species present an intriguing challenge. In this study, single-site Mo(=O) 2 species grafted onto reduced graphene oxide (rGO/MoO 2 ) are characterized by XPS, DRIFTS, powder XRD, N 2 physisorption, NH 3 -TPD, aqueous contact angle, active site poisoning assay, Mo EXAFS, model compound single-crystal XRD, DFT, and catalytic performance. NH 3 -TPD reveals that the anchored MoO 2 moiety is not strongly acidic, while Mo 3d 5/2 XPS assigns the oxidation state as Mo(VI), and XRD shows little rGO periodicity change on MoO 2 grafting. Contact angle analysis shows that MoO 2 grafting consumes rGO surface polar groups, yielding a more hydrophobic surface. The rGO/MoO 2 DRIFTS assigns features at 959 and 927 cm –1 to the symmetric and antisymmetric Mo=O stretching modes, respectively, of an isolated cis-(O=Mo=O) moiety, in agreement with DFT computation. Moreover, the Mo EXAFS rGO/MoO 2 structural data are consistent with isolated (C–O) 2– Mo(=O) 2 species having two Mo=O bonds and two Mo–O bonds at distances of 1.69(3) and 1.90(3) Å, respectively. rGO/MoO 2 is also more active than the previously reported AC/MoO 2 catalyst, with reductive carbonyl coupling TOFs approaching 1.81 × 10 3 h –1 . rGO/MoO 2 is environmentally robust and multiply recyclable with 69 ± 2% of the Mo sites catalytically significant. Altogether, rGO/MoO 2 is a structurally well-defined and versatile single-site Mo(VI) dioxo heterogeneous catalytic system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Catalytic Synthesis of “Super” Linear Alkenyl Arenes Using an Easily Prepared Rh(I) Catalyst

Linear alkyl benzenes (LAB) are global chemicals that are produced by acid-catalyzed reactions that involve the formation of carbocationic intermediates. One outcome of the acid-based catalysis is that 1-phenylalkanes cannot be produced. Furthermore, it is reported that [Rh(μ-OAc)(η 2 -C 2 H 4 ) 2 ] 2 catalyzes production of 1-phenyl substituted alkene products via oxidative arene vinylation. Since C=C bonds can be used for many chemical transformations, the formation of unsaturated products provides a potential advantage over current processes that produce saturated alkyl arenes. Conditions that provide up to a 10:1 linear:branched ratio have been achieved, and catalytic turnovers >1470 have been demonstrated. In addition, electron-deficient and electron-rich substituted benzenes are successfully alkylated. The Rh catalysis offers ortho : meta : para selectivity that is opposite to traditional acid-based catalysis

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Catalytic Silylation of N 2 and Synthesis of NH 3 and N 2 H 4 by Net Hydrogen Atom Transfer Reactions Using a Chromium P 4 Macrocycle

We report the first discrete molecular Cr-based catalysts for the reduction of N2. This study is focused on the reactivity of the Cr-N2 complex, trans-[Cr(N2)2(PPh4NBn4)] P4Cr(N2)2, bearing a 16-membered tetraphosphine macrocycle. The architecture of the [16]-PPh4NBn4 ligand is critical to preserve the structural integrity of the catalyst. P4Cr(N2)2 was found to mediate the reduction of N2 by three complementary reaction pathways: (1) Cr-catalyzed reduction of N2 to N(SiMe3)3 by Na and Me3SiCl affording up to 34 equiv N(SiMe3)3; (2) stoichiometric reduction of N2 by protons and electrons. For example, the reaction of cobaltocene (CoCp2) and collidinium triflate (ColH[OTf]) at room temperature to afforded 1.9 equiv of NH3, or at -78 °C to afforded a mixture of NH3 and N2H4; (3) the first example of NH3 formation from the reaction of a terminally bound N2 ligand with a traditional H atom source, TEMPOH, (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-ol). We found that trans-[Cr(15N2)2(PPh4NBn4)] reacts with excess TEMPOH to afford a 1.4 equiv of 15NH3.

Kendall, Alexander J.↗