The oxidation of toluene in air was investigated using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) combined with a Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. When using only plasma, rather low selectivity toward CO2 was obtained: 32-35%. By filling the DBD reactor with Pd/Al2O3 catalyst the CO2 selectivity was significantly enhanced (80-90%), however, a large amount of toluene was desorbed from the catalyst when the discharg...

In general, Lewis acid catalysts are metal-based compounds that owe their reactivity to a low-lying empty orbital. However, one potential Lewis acid that has received negligible attention as a catalyst is the carbocation. We have demonstrated the potential of the carbocation as a highly powerful Lewis acid catalyst for organic reactions. The stable and easily available triphenylmethyl (trityl) ...

The oligonucleotide [5'-32P]pdT8d(-)dT., containing an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site [d(-)], yields three radioactive products when incubated at alkaline pH: two of them, forming a doublet approximately at the level of pdT8dA when analysed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, are the result of the f-elimination reaction, whereas the third is pdT8p resulting from ,8-elimination. The incubati...

A series of Pd-supported metal oxides (Al2O3, Fe2O3 and CeO2) have been prepared by a single step solution combustion synthesis (SCS). Their catalytic performance was evaluated for selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde (CAL) to hydrocinnamaldehyde (HCAL) under atmospheric pressure of hydrogen at 100 °C. Among these materials, combustion synthesized Pd (2 at.%)/Al2O3 catalyst exhibits the hi...

N-methylol compounds, such as dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU), are the most commonly used durable press finishing agents for cotton fabrics by the industry. In this research, we have examined the effects of the catalyst systems used for DMDHEU on the mechanical strength of the crosslinked cotton fabric. The catalysts induce degradation of cellulose as indicated by the decrease in the t...

Natural gas may be used instead of hydrogen as fuel for the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) by steam reforming the natural gas inside the MCFC, using a nickel catalyst (internal reforming). The severe conditions inside the MCFC, however, require that the catalyst has a very high stability. In order to find suitable types of nickel catalysts and to obtain more knowledge about the deactivation ...

The performance of a direct methanol alkaline anion-exchange membrane (Fumatech FAA3) fuel cell with Pt-free nitrogen-doped few-walled carbon nanotubes (N-FWCNT) as the cathode catalyst is compared with a commercial supported Pt catalyst. The ionomer content of the N-FWCNT cathode catalyst layer is therefore optimized and it is shown to be 40 wt% of FAA3. Scanning electron microscopy images of ...

Here we demonstrate an approach to enhance the growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by including a catalyst reservoir underneath the thin-film alumina catalyst underlayer. This reservoir led to enhanced CNT growth due to the migration of catalytic material from below the underlayer up to the surface through alumina pinholes during processing. This led to the formation of large F...

Abstraet--Jordanian natural kaolin and bentonite show good catalytic activity towards debutylating 2tert-butylphenol, and varying debutylation vs. isomerization selectivity after acid activation. The resulting catalytic activity of these samples is dependent on the acid employed for activation; the samples treated with acetic acid showed relatively low conversions, whereas those treated with hy...

The selective hydrogenation of dimedone (1) to the corresponding monoketone 2 over palladium and Amberlyst 15 ® is reported. The product is a synthetic building block for the fragrance and pharmaceutical industry. Advantages of the new catalytic procedure are the high catalyst activity and selectivity, less by-product formation, avoidance of the presence of acid, and consequently, less salt for...