Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Jhonny Azuaje, Adrian Rama, Ana Mallo-Abreu, Monica G. Boado, Maria Majellaro, Carmen R. Tubio, Ruben Prieto, Xerardo Garcia-Mera, Francisco Guitian, Eddy Sotelo, Alvaro Gil
Summary: This paper introduces a novel 3D printed metal-free graphene oxide-Al2O3 (GO-Al2O3) catalytic system, which combines the excellent catalytic effect and reaction scope of graphene oxide, the chemical stability and recyclability of the ceramic support, and the versatility and control over size of 3D printing technology, representing a significant step in the development of highly active, heterogeneous, and reusable ceramic catalysts.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Andres Mollar-Cuni, David Ventura-Espinosa, Santiago Martin, Hermenegildo Garcia, Jose A. Mata
Summary: Graphene-derived materials, specifically reduced graphene oxides, exhibit efficient catalytic properties in the acceptorless dehydrogenation of N-heterocycles, with ketone carbonyl groups identified as potential active sites for the transformation. The materials show reusability and stability over multiple runs, making them promising heterogeneous carbocatalysts for this reaction.
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Sebastiano Mantovani, Angela Pintus, Alessandro Kovtun, Giulio Bertuzzi, Manuela Melucci, Marco Bandini
Summary: A metal-free synthetic approach to functionalized indenes using graphene oxide (GO) is presented in this article. The method involves intramolecular Friedel-Crafts-type allylic alkylations with Morita-Baylis-Hillman alcohols. Experimental and spectroscopic investigations were conducted to understand the reaction mechanism involving a nanostructured carbon material-based C-C bond forming reaction. The results showed that this carbocatalysis approach is a viable option for the synthesis of indenes, with a wide scope and moderate to high yield under mild reaction conditions.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Peng Zhang, Qi Xu, Xiao-Mei Wang, Jia Feng, Chuan-Jun Lu, Yingzi Li, Ren-Rong Liu
Summary: The first enantioselective synthesis of N-N bisindole atropisomers via palladium-catalyzed construction of one indole skeleton is reported in this study. A wide variety of N-N axially chiral bisindoles were generated with good yields and excellent enantioselectivities through a cascade condensation/N-arylation reaction. The reaction mechanism and enantiocontrol were further investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Yeqing Xia, Shixiong He, Junhui Bao, Hajime Hirao, Shek-Man Yiu, Michael C. W. Chan
Summary: This study describes a series of conformationally rigid (Zn-salphen)(2) complexes with potential enhanced catalytic activity for the coupling of CO2 with epoxides by fine-tuning the intermetallic separation and geometry. Some dibenzofuran derivatives exhibit significantly higher activity for the production of cyclic carbonate compared to their mononuclear analogues under identical conditions. Experimental results provide strong evidence of cooperative reactivity in these Zn-2 catalysts.
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Huixue Gong, Shaoze Zhang, Nan Liu, Jingjing Zhang, Qibin Chen, Honglai Liu
Summary: The separation of racemates is a challenge, especially in chiral environments. Recent research has found that modifying graphene oxide membranes with dipeptides as chiral selectors can improve the efficiency of chiral separation, increase flux, and change the transport mechanism.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Xiaoxiao Li, Qibin Chen, Xuefeng Tong, Shaoze Zhang, Honglai Liu
Summary: The study shows that membranes modified with fl-CD-GOM based on graphene oxide can achieve high permeation flux and enantioselectivity, displaying superior enantioselectivity and significantly higher flux compared to traditional enantioseparation membranes.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jia Feng, Ren-Rong Liu
Summary: This article summarizes the asymmetric synthesis of N-N biaryl atropisomers and their importance in natural products, drug design, and asymmetric synthesis. The article introduces several synthetic strategies for N-N biaryl atropisomers and offers an outlook for future research.
CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Applied
Sankaran Radhika, Thaipparambil Aneeja, Rose Mary Philip, Gopinathan Anilkumar
Summary: Enantiomerically pure epoxides are important structural scaffolds in synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry. Iron complexes with oxygen or nitrogen atom donors have gained recognition in catalysis, especially in asymmetric epoxidation. This review focuses on the recent prospects and developments in biomimetic iron-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation from 2014 to 2020.
APPLIED ORGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guoqiang Yang, Jiaoting Pan, Ya-Ming Ke, Yongbing Liu, Yu Zhao
Summary: An efficient tandem catalysis method has been developed for the direct conversion of alcohol-containing alkynyl anilines to valuable chiral 2,3-fused tricyclic indoles. Highly diastereoselective transformations of the tricyclic indole products also provide efficient access to a diverse array of complex polycyclic indoline compounds.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yue Deng, Meiling Zheng, Rui Liu, Jingling Diao, Ran Xiao, Xiaoxuan Su
Summary: Replacing chair fungicide racemate with its enantiomer is a more environmentally friendly method for controlling crop diseases. Carbon-based nanomaterials have the potential to reduce fungicide toxicity, but their mechanism of action is not well understood. In this study, the toxicity of rac-metconazole and its cis-enantiomers, as well as the repairing effect of reduced graphene oxide, on Xenopus Laevis larvae was investigated.
PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Duan-Jian Tao, Xin Zhao, Yanxin Wang, Xixi Liu, Hong -Ping Li, Zhang-Min Li, Yan Zhou, Ziliang Yuan, Zehui Zhang
Summary: A superior carbocatalyst, ultrahigh N-doped graphene, was prepared using a self-sacrificial templating method. The catalyst exhibited high activity for the oxidation of bio-based alcohols and terpenes without any additives. The high content of graphitic N and pyridinic N species in the catalyst promoted the generation of active reactants and improved the catalytic performance.
GREEN ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Ying Wang, Yanni Xia, Zhengjiang Hua, Chengjian Zhang, Xinghong Zhang
Summary: This work presents the copolymerization of propylene carbonate with carbonyl sulfide to prepare poly(thioether)s, which provides a new approach for the application of cyclic carbonates and the synthesis of thioether-based polymers.
Article
Polymer Science
Dipannita Ghosh, Seema Agarwal
Summary: This study presents a chemical approach to graft polyesters onto poly(limonene carbonate) (PLimC) in order to improve its brittleness and degradation, enhancing its utility as an environmentally friendly polymer for real-world applications. The graft polymers with microphase separation and enhanced hydrophilicity were thoroughly characterized for their structural, thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties. The effects of the polymer structure on enzymatic and wastewater degradation were studied by different analytical methods, showing the improved hydrophilicity, elastic behavior, and degradation performance of the polyester-grafted poly(limonene carbonate) under enzymatic and wastewater conditions.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jordan P. Liles, Caroline Rouget-Virbel, Julie L. H. Wahlman, Rene Rahimoff, Jennifer M. Crawford, Abby Medlin, Veronica S. O'Connor, Junqi Li, Vladislav A. Roytman, F. Dean Toste, Matthew S. Sigman
Summary: Researchers developed a novel phosphoric acid catalyst with a minimalistic backbone that incorporates only a single instance of point chirality. Data science techniques were used to identify key features of the catalyst and develop a simple model for predicting selectivity. This approach was successfully applied to two other reaction transformations.
Article
Polymer Science
Antonietta Cozzolino, Baku Nagendra, Paola Rizzo, Christophe Daniel, Gaetano Guerra
Summary: The ability of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene)oxide (PPO) films to absorb organic pollutants dissolved in water is shown. The crystalline structure and orientation on the film surface play a significant role in determining the absorption efficiency.
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Baku Nagendra, Antonietta Cozzolino, Christophe Daniel, Paola Rizzo, Gaetano Guerra
Summary: This study presents nano-porous-crystalline polymer films with a high surface area and fast organic pollutant uptakes, based on a commercially available thermoplastic polymer. These films exhibit much higher diffusivities for organic pollutant sorption and desorption compared to other high-diffusivity polymer films. These new high-SA polymer films are expected to find many applications due to their extremely fast kinetics of pollutant uptakes and high thermal and mechanical stability.
Article
Polymer Science
Baku Nagendra, Christophe Daniel, Paola Rizzo, Gaetano Guerra
Summary: Four different preparation methods for nanoporous-crystalline films of PPO with high crystallinity and high c-perpendicular orientation, even for thickness as low as 5 μm, are described in this paper. The results support the hypothesis that the c-perpendicular orientation is due to the formation of flat-on crystalline lamellae through nanoconfined co-crystallization of PPO. An anomalous temperature dependence of c-perpendicular orientation for limonene-induced co-crystallization with PPO is also explained.
POLYMERS FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Luciana D'Urso, Maria Rosaria Acocella, Felice De Santis, Gaetano Guerra, Roberto Pantani
Summary: Biodegradable polymers, particularly poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), are attracting attention as an alternative to oil-based materials. However, PLLA has processing limitations due to slow melt crystallization kinetics. This study proposes the use of carbon-based nanofillers to overcome these limitations and improve the crystallization behavior of PLLA.
Article
Polymer Science
Finizia Auriemma, Christophe Daniel, Manohar Golla, Baku Nagendra, Paola Rizzo, Oreste Tarallo, Gaetano Guerra
Summary: This review focuses on relevant information about PPO crystallization, with a particular emphasis on nanoporous crystalline and co-crystalline forms. It discusses preparation methods, structures, properties, and applications of NC and CC samples, with a particular emphasis on the impressive solubility and diffusivity of organic guests in NC PPO samples. The study mainly examines films, especially axially oriented NC films, revealing their structural features and future research prospects.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Arianna Melillo, Aida Kiani, Rosaria Schettini, Maria Rosaria Acocella
Summary: In this study, carbon black intercalation compound was used as a heterogeneous phase-transfer-catalyst for the S(N)2 type reaction of NaSCN with 4-nitrobenzyl bromide for the first time. The reaction achieved 98% conversion in just 4 hours in a liquid-liquid biphasic system (CHCl3/H2O) with 5 mol% catalyst. Moreover, an unprecedented efficient nucleophilic substitution was achieved in water solution with the new catalyst, providing a 95% yield in 8 hours. The reaction is environmentally friendly, and the heterogeneous catalyst can be recovered and reused without losing efficiency.
MOLECULAR CATALYSIS
(2023)
Article
Crystallography
Aida Kiani, Giuseppe Valvano, Maria Rosaria Acocella
Summary: This paper discusses the ability of charcoal, a low-cost material derived from biomass pyrolysis, to be functionalized via cation exchange in an aqueous solution, which provides new fillers with potential antimicrobial and flame-retardant properties. The adducts obtained from a sustainable procedure showed significant weight uptake of up to 30% with quaternary phosphonium salts. The functionalized materials were characterized using various analytical techniques, and dispersion tests demonstrated the modification of carbon materials' polarities and their interaction with different media.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Baku Nagendra, Syed Salman, Hans Peter Bloch, Christophe Daniel, Paola Rizzo, Rosalba Fittipaldi, Gaetano Guerra
Summary: The study investigates the properties of sulfonated poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) films with both hydrophilic amorphous phase and hydrophobic crystalline phase, achieved through solid-state film sulfonation. The semicrystalline-sulfonated PPO (SPPO) films exhibit superior hydrothermal and solvent stability compared to amorphous SPPO films. Moreover, the semicrystalline SPPO films demonstrate faster guest sorption kinetics due to the nanoporous-crystalline (NC) morphology.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Baku Nagendra, Antonietta Cozzolino, Maria Rosaria Acocella, Christophe Daniel, Paola Rizzo, Gaetano Guerra
Summary: Films of nanoporous-crystalline poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene) oxide (PPO) can absorb apolar organic guest molecules effectively and also polar molecules from concentrated organic solutions. When obtained by spontaneous oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BAL) in aqueous solution, benzyl alcohol and benzoic acid (BA) in a 1/1 hydrogen-bonded dimer can be greatly absorbed by the NC PPO films, which is unprecedented for absorbent materials. This ability to absorb the BAL/BA dimer can be utilized in water purification.
CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Salman Syed, Baku Nagendra, Antonietta Cozzolino, Maria Rosaria Acocella, Christophe Daniel, Paola Rizzo, Gaetano Guerra
Summary: Nanoporous-crystalline (NC) alpha and beta forms of Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene) oxide (PPO) can include low-molecular-mass guests. The transitions between alpha and beta forms can be achieved by sorption of beta-guests and alpha-guests. The loss of crystalline phase orientation occurs during the transitions and is only observed for guests that are good PPO solvents.
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Gianluca Viscusi, Elena Lamberti, Maria Rosaria Acocella, Giuliana Gorrasi
Summary: This paper focuses on fabricating hybrid materials using electrospun polyamide fibers reinforced with hemp fibers dissolved in an ionic liquid. The physical properties of the hybrid materials are evaluated, showing an interconnected structure between polyamide 6 and the dissolved hemp fibers. Analysis of X-ray, FTIR, DSC, TGA, and barrier properties suggests improvements in thermal stability, water sensitivity, water clustering phenomena, and mechanical properties. The enhanced antioxidant properties and surface energy distribution are also reported.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Simona Russo, Maria Rosaria Acocella, Annaluisa Mariconda, Valentina Volpe, Roberto Pantani, Pasquale Longo
Summary: An effective non-covalent compatibilization method for graphite and low-density polyethylene is achieved by synthesizing and mixing pyren-1-yl-stearate (P1S) with graphite. The P1S improves the dispersion of carbon filler in polyethylene through π-π stacking interactions with graphite and van der Waals interactions with the polymer chain. Ball-milling mixing is more effective in promoting the interactions between P1S and graphite, as demonstrated by thermogravimetric analyses and X-ray diffraction measurements.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Aida Kiani, Daniele Coscia, Rosaria Schettini, Maria Rosaria Acocella
Summary: This article describes the use of phosphonium-carbon-based PTC catalyst in water solution, synthesized through a mechanochemical process in solvent-free conditions. The catalyst provides high efficiency reaction and can be easily recycled, contributing to a green procedure.
MOLECULAR CATALYSIS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Aida Kiani, Elena Lamberti, Gianluca Viscusi, Paola Giudicianni, Corinna Maria Grottola, Raffaele Ragucci, Giuliana Gorrasi, Maria Rosaria Acocella
Summary: A green and sustainable functionalization approach for the solid residue from low-temperature treated populous nigra is reported. By choosing the right pyrolysis temperature, oxygen functionalities can be obtained on the carbon surface without additional oxidation step. The filler material is nanometrically reduced and functionalized through cation exchange in a one-step procedure.
MATERIALS ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Baku Nagendra, Syed Salman, Christophe Daniel, Paola Rizzo, Gaetano Guerra
Summary: This study explores the influence of guest and processing conditions on the high surface area nanoporous-crystalline PPO films. The researchers found suitable preparation procedures that lead to high transparency and toughness, making them suitable for organic pollution remediation, molecular separations, and molecular sensing.
MATERIALS ADVANCES
(2023)
