The tungsten-iron-sulfur enzyme acetylene hydratase stands out from its class because it catalyzes a nonredox reaction, the hydration of acetylene to acetaldehyde. Sequence comparisons group the protein into the dimethyl sulfoxide reductase family, and it contains a bis-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide-ligated tungsten atom and a cubane-type [4Fe:4S] cluster. The crystal structure of acetylen...

Nitrogenase (EC 1.7.99.2) activity in pea (Pisum savitum) nodules formed after infection with Rhizobium leguminosarum (lacking uptake hydrogenase) was measured as acetylene reduction, H(2) evolution in air and H(2) evolution in Ar:O(2). With detached roots the relative efficiency, calculated from acetylene reduction, showed a decrease (from 55 to below 0%) with increasing temperature. With exci...

Methane, ethylene, and acetylene ices are irradiated in a ultra high vacuum vessel at 10 K with 9.0 MeV a-particles and 7.3 MeV protons to elucidate mechanisms to form hydrocarbon molecules upon interaction of Galactic cosmic-ray particles with extraterrestrial, organic ices. Theoretical calculations focus on computer simulations of ion-induced collision cascades in irradiated targets. Our expe...

We studied the effects of adding water, nitrate and sucrose on denitrification in a riparian forest that receives nitrate in drainage from cornfields. We used large (3-6 m2) flow-through chambers to sample N 2 0 emissions from surface soils. N2 emissions were estimated by comparing N 2 0 efflux in chambers with or without acetylene addition. Water and solutions of nitrate or sucrose were sprink...

Stag beetles are xylophagous insects that feed mainly on dead wood. They play an important role in the decomposition of dead wood in forest ecosystems. Most dead wood contains 1% nitrogen at most. It is suspected that stag beetles can utilize atmospheric nitrogen. We show that the larvae of Dorcus (Macrodorcus) rectus exposed to nitrogen reduce acetylene to ethylene in a time-dependent fashion....

Catalytic conversion reactions of acetylene on a solid SiC grain surface lead to the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and are expected to mimic chemical processes in certain astrophysical environments. Gas-phase PAHs and intermediates were detected in situ using time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and their formation was confirmed using GC-MS in a separate experiment by flowin...

Acetylene hydratase is a tungsten-containing hydroxylase that converts acetylene to acetaldehyde in a unique reaction that requires a strong reductant. The subsequent disproportionation of acetaldehyde yields acetate and ethanol. Crystals of the tungsten/iron-sulfur protein acetylene hydratase from Pelobacter acetylenicus strain WoAcy 1 (DSM 3246) were grown by the vapour-diffusion method in an...

The chemical reaction dynamics of silylidyne (SiH; XP) with acetylene (C2H2; X Rg ) were studied exploiting the crossed molecular beam approach, and compared with previous studies on D1silylidyne with acetylene. The reaction is initiated by a barrierless addition of silylidyne to one or both carbons of acetylene leading to 1-sila-1-propene-1,3-diylidene and/or the cyclic 1-silacyclopropenyl wit...

We have used complete correlated momentum mapping of the photoelectron and heavy ion products from the dissociation of the di-cation of acetylene, induced by photoionizing the carbon K shell of one of the atoms, to map out the angular correlation between the electron and the axis of the target molecule. The (quasi-) symmetric decay is found to proceed through both acetylene and vinylidene confi...

chemical vapor deposition was employed to synthesize carbon nanotubes with ni-loaded mcm-41 and mcm-48 as catalysts and acetylene as precursor at 750°c. mesoporous ni mcm-41 and ni mcm-48 molecular sieves were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and were characterized by xrd and n2 adsorption isotherm. the catalytically synthesized carbon materials were characterized with raman spectroscopy, n...