Catalysis Science & Technology Blog

C-H activation: an article collection

14 Nov 2012

A collection of high impact articles focusing on C-H activation, from the RSC’s Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (OBC), Green Chemistry, ChemComm, RSC Advances, Chemical Science, Chem. Soc. Rev and Catalysis Science & Technology.

One of the simplest and most utilised chemical reactions is the burning of hydrocarbons and while combustion is an excellent way to exploit the energy content of this naturally occurring resource, there is a lot more we can do with the ‘inert’ C-H bond.

C-H activation allows us to convert cheaper hydrocarbon starting materials into more valuable and versatile products; leading to the development of a wide range of reagents and catalysts that activate C-H bonds. To keep you up to date with the latest developments in the field we have created this article collection, where all articles are free to download until 15^th December.

Click here for the full list of articles

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Hydroformylation for the higher alkenes

14 Nov 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

Hydroformylation (or the oxo process) is an important industrial procedure which combines alkenes with carbon monoxide and hydrogen to produce aldehydes, which are easily hydrogenated to alcohols and then plasticizers or detergents. Hydroformylation is used to produce around 9 million tons of aldehyde per year world-wide and is one of the largest industrial applications of homogeneous catalysis.

Catalyst recycling is highly desirable to reduce costs and was effectively implemented for short chain alkenes with the development of the aqueous biphasic Ruhrchemie/Rhone-Poulenc (RCH/RP) process, however due to mass-transfer limitations the application of this process is constrained to the short chain hydrocarbons. This Hot Perspective by Lorenz Obrecht, Paul C. J. Kamer and Wouter Laan details some of the alternative approaches which have been developed for the aqueous–organic biphasic hydroformylation for higher alkenes.

Alternative approaches for the aqueous–organic biphasic hydroformylation of higher alkenes
Lorenz Obrecht, Paul C. J. Kamer and Wouter Laan
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2013, Advance Article

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FineCat 2013 – Symposium on heterogeneous catalysis for fine chemicals

22 Oct 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

10-11 April 2013, Palazzo Steri, University of Palermo, Italy

Following the success of the 2012 edition, the 2013 FineCat Symposium will be held on April 2013 in the splendid conference venue of the Steri Palace, hall of Palermo’s University Rectorate. The meeting aims to provide an opportunity for contact between academic and industrial researchers, manufacturers and users of solid catalysts for the efficient and selective production of fine chemicals.

The following eminent scientists have confirmed their Symposium attendance as plenary lecturers in 2013:

Claudio Bianchini (CNR, Italy): Electrochemical Valorisation of Alcohols
D. Tyler McQuade (Florida State University): A Flow Chemistry Approach to Catalysis

Call for Papers and Abstract Submission
A call for Oral and Poster presentation is now open within one of the 2013 Symposium themes:

Green catalytic processes
Organo- and biocatalysis
Selective photocatalysis for organic chemistry
Asymmetric heterogeneous catalysis
Atom economy and clean technology
Green reaction media
Heterogeneous catalysis under flow conditions

For more details about the symposium, including how to submit your abstract and register to attend FineCat 2013, visit the website.

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Making the most of zeolites with graphite oxide

22 Oct 2012

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

Alexander Todd and Christopher Bielawski from the University of Texas, at Austin have combined zeolites with graphite oxide to enhance their catalytic activities when dehydrating alcohols.

Although both catalysts can be used independently, the team observed a synergistic activity when the catalysts were used in tandem.

Protic zeolites (where H⁺ is the counter cation) are usually prepared by either ion exchange or high temperature calcination of an ammonium ion exchanged precursor, although ion exchange is not really viable for zeolites with low silica content (such as NaY zeolites). However, Bielawski found that NaY zeolites could be used without either preparation step due to a little help from graphite oxide.

The researchers propose that H⁺ is released from the graphite oxide upon its dispersion in solvent which exchanges with the Na⁺ ion in the zeolites to produce the protic form. The graphite oxide–zeolite duo was found to catalyse the dehydration of secondary, tertiary and primary aliphatic alcohols to the corresponding olefinic products with very favourable conversions.

Download the Catalysis Science & Technology article now for more details…

Graphite oxide activated zeolite NaY: applications in alcohol dehydration
Alexander D. Todd and Christopher W. Bielawski

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RSC poster prizes awarded at Carbohydrate COST Meeting 2012

12 Oct 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

Congratulations to Dirk Heyl (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry), Richard Blackburn (Chemical Science) and Hilde van Hattum (Catalysis Science & Technology) who were the winners of the RSC poster prizes at the RSC Carbohydrate COST Meeting held at University of Birmingham on September 27^th-28^th:

Congratulations also go to Myriam Bergmann for winning the Buchanan Memorial Prize for best student talk, and to Professor David Bundle for being awarded the Haworth Medal.

Thank you to Professor Nigel Simpkins & Professor Rob Field for presenting the prizes, and to all those who participated for making this a success.

View more photos of the winners here

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Submissions open for Photocatalysis themed issue

11 Oct 2012

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

Submissions are now open for Catalysis Science & Technology‘s upcoming themed issue on photocatalysis.

The themed issue, guest edited by Professors Kazunari Domen and Licheng Sun, will focus on both homogeneous and heterogeneous photocatalysis research, providing insight into the fundamentals as well as the applicational development of photocatalytic reactions.

Manuscript deadline: 7^th January 2013

See our author guidelines, for information on article types. Please note that all manuscripts will undergo the usual standard of peer-review.

SUBMIT your manuscript now.
For any queries, please contact the Editorial Office.

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Cheaper component for greenhouse gas reduction catalyst

10 Oct 2012

By Kate Bandoo, Publishing Assistant.

Scientists from China have replaced the tungsten oxide in a widely used greenhouse gas reduction catalyst with iron oxide, which improves the selectivity and reduces the cost of the catalyst.

Produced at any combustion site, nitrogen oxides (a mixture of NO and NO₂) – common greenhouse gases – are found anywhere from industrial sites to car exhausts and are regulated by a number of international agencies. As such, several catalytic reactions can be used to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides produced. One of the most common is selective catalytic reduction (SCR), which converts nitrogen oxides into N₂ and H₂O using a reducing agent, commonly ammonia, and a catalyst.

Catalytic reactions are used to reduce nitrogen oxides (a mixture of NO and NO2 – common greenhouse gases) on industrial sites

To read the full article visit Chemistry World.

Substitution of WO₃ in V₂O₅/WO₃–TiO₂ by Fe₂O₃ for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH₃
Shijian Yang, Chizhong Wang, Lei Ma, Yue Peng, Zan Qu, Naiqiang Yan, Jinghuan Chen, Huazhen Chang and Junhua Li
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CY20383A

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Frontiers of Organometallic Chemistry (FOC-2012)

10 Oct 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

September 21st-22nd 2012, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Last month ‘Frontiers of Organometallic Chemistry’ was held in Saint Petersburg and saw researchers from around the world come together to talk about the latest developments in organometallic chemistry. Nobel laureate Professor Ei-ichi Negishi opened the conference with his talk ‘ZACA Reaction (Zr-Catalyzed Asymmetric Carboalumination of Alkenes) as an Emerging Tool for Asymmetric Synthesis of Feebly Chiral Compounds of High (>99%) Enantiomeric Purity’. The symposium continued with top quality talks by researchers from around the world, more details of the conference speakers can be found here.

Professor Vadim Yu Kukushkin, Saint-Petersburg State University, discussing the posters

The prize winners with Professor Kukushkin after the award ceremony

: G.A. Silantyev receiving a copy of ‘Organometallic Chemistry’ and a certificate, winning first prize

Catalysis Science & Tehcnology was very pleased to sponsor the poster prizes for this great international event, congratulations to the winners:

1^st Prize: G.A. Silantyev “Structural peculiarities of dibenzobarrelene-based PCP pincer iridium complexes”

2^nd Prize: W. Harnying “Zwitterionic-type molten salt: an efficient mild organocatalyst for synthesis of 2-aryl-5-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1h-3-pyrazolones by a four- component sequential reaction in water”

3^rd Prize: N.A. Bumagin “A highly active heterogeneous palladium catalysts supported on silica-carbon nanotubes hybrids”

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Biocatalysis: an article collection

05 Oct 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

A collection of high impact articles focusing on biocatalysis, from the RSC’s Catalysis Science & Technology, Green Chemistry, RSC Advances, Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (OBC) and ChemComm.

Beers, wines and cheeses are enjoyed around the world today and have been for millennia. In fact the practices of brewing and cheese-making pre-date recorded history so it is difficult to accurately determine when we first started using naturally occurring enzymes and microorganisms to create valuable (and in this case, tastier!) products.

Biocatalysts are of course used in far more diverse applications than the creation of food-stuffs, including in many organic syntheses and in the generation of fine chemicals. Due to their natural design, they can offer superior selectivity for particular products and have a far lower environmental impact than many traditional catalysts. Our knowledge and understanding of biocatalysts has increased dramatically in the last few decades, which has allowed us to develop biologically modified and biomimetic catalysts for a range of applications.

To keep you up to date with the latest advances in this rapidly expanding field we have collected together these high impact articles and made them free to access until the 31^st October!

Click here for the full list of free articles

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Catalysis Science & Technology Blog

C-H activation: an article collection

Hydroformylation for the higher alkenes

Top ten most accessed articles in September

FineCat 2013 – Symposium on heterogeneous catalysis for fine chemicals

Making the most of zeolites with graphite oxide

RSC poster prizes awarded at Carbohydrate COST Meeting 2012

Submissions open for Photocatalysis themed issue

Cheaper component for greenhouse gas reduction catalyst

Frontiers of Organometallic Chemistry (FOC-2012)

Biocatalysis: an article collection

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