Banghao Chen

A solid-state NMR study of the formation of molecular sieve SAPO-34

This work examined the formation of a catalytically important microporous material, SAPO-34, in the presence of HF under hydrothermal synthesis conditions. The local environments of P, Al, F and Si atoms in several solid phases obtained at different stages of crystallization were characterized by several solid-state NMR techniques including (31)P, (27)Al, (19)F and (29)Si MAS, (27)Al triple-quantum MAS, (31)P{(27)Al} transfer of populations in double-resonance, (27)Al{(31)P} rotational-echo double-resonance (REDOR), (27)Al-->(31)P heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy, (31)P{(19)F} and (27)Al{(19)F} REDOR as well as (1)H-->(31)P cross polarization. The NMR results provide the new insights into the formation of SAPO-34.

Solid-state 17O NMR study of benzoic acid adsorption on metal oxide surfaces

Solid-state (17)O NMR spectra of (17)O-labeled benzoic and anisic acids are reported and benzoic acid is used to probe the surface of metal oxides. Complexes formed when benzoic acid is dry mixed with mesoporous silica, and nonporous titania and alumina are characterized. Chemical reactions with silica are not observed. The nature of benzoic acid on silica is a function of the water content of the oxide. The acid disperses in the pores of the silica if the silica is in equilibrium with ambient laboratory humidity. The acid displays high mobility as evidenced by a liquid-like, Lorentzian resonance. Excess benzoic acid remains as the crystalline hydrogen-bonded dimer. Benzoic acid reacts with titania and alumina surfaces in equilibrium with laboratory air to form the corresponding titanium and aluminum benzoates. In both materials the oxygen of the (17)O-labeled acid is bound to the metal, showing the reaction proceeds by bond formation between oxygen deficient metal sites and the oxygen of the carboxylic acid. (27)Al MAS NMR confirms this mechanism for the reaction on alumina. Dry mixing of benzoic acid with alumina rapidly quenches pentacoordinate aluminum sites, excellent evidence that these sites are confined to the surface of the alumina particles.

Comprehensive Chemical Characterization of Complexes Involving Lead-Amino Acid Interactions

Complexes of lead with L-phenylalanine, L-isoleucine, L-valine, or L-arginine have been isolated from reaction mixtures containing lead nitrate and the respective amino acid in acidic aqueous solution. The compounds have been comprehensively characterized using X-ray crystallography, solid state NMR spectroscopy and solution state NMR spectroscopy, IR and Raman spectroscopies, and electrospray ionization mass-spectrometry. The solid state structures of lead-phenylalanine, lead-valine, and lead-valine-isoleucine complexes show a lead center coordinated by two amino acid ligands, while the lead-arginine complex is a cluster involving two lead centers and three arginine molecules. The structural, spectroscopic, and spectrometric characterization of the complexes provides a basis to establish a fundamental understanding of heavy metal-amino acid interactions.

Surface alumina species on modified titanium dioxide: A solid-state 27Al MAS and 3QMAS NMR investigation of catalyst supports

(27)Al MAS and 3QMAS NMR have been used to study Al(2)O(3)/TiO(2) catalyst supports synthesized via excess-solution impregnation and surface sol-gel methods. Temperature and alumina loading level strongly affect chemical states of aluminum oxide species observed. Surface cations, Al(H2O)6(3+), a surface alumina monolayer, and disordered transitional aluminas (multilayers) and alpha-alumina, coexist on the TiO(2) surface. Chemical shift and quadrupole coupling constants are reported for the major species identified in 3QMAS experiments. Gold particle catalysts prepared from supports calcined at 500 degrees C have optimum catalytic activity in CO oxidation, and smallest gold particle size for supports, which show maximum monolayer type octahedral alumina on the titania surface.

A tale of two metals: new cerium iron borocarbide intermetallics grown from rare-earth/transition metal eutectic fluxes.

R(33)Fe(14-x)Al(x+y)B(25-y)C(34) (R = La or Ce; x ≤ 0.9; y ≤ 0.2) and R(33)Fe(13-x)Al(x)B(18)C(34) (R = Ce or Pr; x < 0.1) were synthesized from reactions of iron with boron, carbon, and aluminum in R-T eutectic fluxes (T = Fe, Co, or Ni). These phases crystallize in the cubic space group Im3m (a = 14.617(1) Å, Z = 2, R(1) = 0.0155 for Ce(33)Fe(13.1)Al(1.1)B(24.8)C(34), and a = 14.246(8) Å, Z = 2, R(1) = 0.0142 for Ce(33)Fe(13)B(18)C(34)). Their structures can be described as body-centered cubic arrays of large Fe(13) or Fe(14) clusters which are capped by borocarbide chains and surrounded by rare earth cations. The magnetic behavior of the cerium-containing analogs is complicated by the possibility of two valence states for cerium and possible presence of magnetic moments on the iron sites. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements and Mössbauer data show that the boron-centered Fe(14) clusters in Ce(33)Fe(14-x)Al(x+y)B(25-y)C(34) are not magnetic. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data indicate that the cerium is trivalent at room temperature, but the temperature dependence of the resistivity and the magnetic susceptibility data suggest Ce(3+/4+) valence fluctuation beginning at 120 K. Bond length analysis and XPS studies of Ce(33)Fe(13)B(18)C(34) indicate the cerium in this phase is tetravalent, and the observed magnetic ordering at T(C) = 180 K is due to magnetic moments on the Fe(13) clusters.

Facile Conversion of Red Phosphorus into Soluble Polyphosphide Anions by Reaction with Potassium Ethoxide.

Soluble polyphosphide anions were successfully generated in a number of organic solvents by the reaction between shelf-stable red phosphorus and potassium ethoxide. The species were identified by (31)P NMR spectroscopy in solution and by X-ray crystal-structure determination of (Bu4N)2P16 in the solid state. The reaction was scaled up to gram quantities by using a flow-chemistry process.

Synthesis and Properties of New Multinary Silicides R5Mg5Fe4AlxSi18–x (R = Gd, Dy, Y, x ≈ 12) Grown in Mg/Al Flux

Reactions of iron, silicon, and R = Gd, Dy, or Y in 1:1 Mg/Al mixed flux produce well-formed crystals of R(5)Mg(5)Fe(4)Al(x)Si(18-x) (x ≈ 12). These phases have a new structure type in tetragonal space group P4/mmm (a = 11.655(2) Å, c = 4.0668(8) Å, Z = 1 and R(1) = 0.0155 for the Dy analogue). The structure features two rare earth sites and one iron site; the latter is in monocapped trigonal prismatic coordination surrounded by silicon and aluminum atoms. Siting of Al and Si was investigated using bond length analysis and (27)Al and (29)Si MAS NMR studies. The magnetic properties are determined by the R elements, with the Gd and Dy analogues exhibiting antiferromagnetic ordering at T(N) = 11.9 and 6.9 K respectively; both phases exhibit complex metamagnetic behavior with varying field.

A 43Ca and 13C NMR study of the chemical interaction between poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate) and white cement during hydration.

(43)Ca and (13)C NMR methods were used to study the chemical interaction of poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate) (PEVAc) admixture in commercial-grade white cement. From (43)Ca NMR it is shown both that PEVAc induces modest changes in the hydrated cement structure, and that hydrated commercial cement is significantly more complex than models that have been used for its structure in past work. The (13)C NMR results show that the PEVAc hydrolysis occurs early in the cement hydration acceleration period, with a rate well-fit by an exponential decay using a time constant of 6±1 days.

Highly Efficient Broadband Yellow Phosphor Based on Zero-Dimensional Tin Mixed-Halide Perovskite

Organic-inorganic hybrid metal halide perovskites have emerged as a highly promising class of light emitters, which can be used as phosphors for optically pumped white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs). By controlling the structural dimensionality, metal halide perovskites can exhibit tunable narrow and broadband emissions from the free-exciton and self-trapped excited states, respectively. Here, we report a highly efficient broadband yellow light emitter based on zero-dimensional tin mixed-halide perovskite (C4N2H14Br)4SnBrxI6-x (x = 3). This rare-earth-free ionically bonded crystalline material possesses a perfect host-dopant structure, in which the light-emitting metal halide species (SnBrxI6-x4-, x = 3) are completely isolated from each other and embedded in the wide band gap organic matrix composed of C4N2H14Br-. The strongly Stokes-shifted broadband yellow emission that peaked at 582 nm from this phosphor, which is a result of excited state structural reorganization, has an extremely large full width at half-maximum of 126 nm and a high photoluminescence quantum efficiency of ∼85% at room temperature. UV-pumped WLEDs fabricated using this yellow emitter together with a commercial europium-doped barium magnesium aluminate blue phosphor (BaMgAl10O17:Eu2+) can exhibit high color rendering indexes of up to 85.

Controlled Synthesis of Silica Capsules: Taming the Reactivity of SiCl4 Using Flow and Chemistry

Monodisperse silica microcapsules are typically fabricated using hard templating methods. Though soft templating methods are known, none yet provides a fast and easy method to produce monodisperse capsules. Herein, we describe a mesofluidic strategy whereby monodisperse droplets of reactive silica precursors are formed using a snap-off mechanism via a T junction. Both the mesofluidic system and the composition of the reactive silica formulation are critical features. Using solid- and solution-state 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy, we have developed models for why some formulations form exploding capsules, why some capsules contain crystalline materials, and why some capsules have thin or thick walls.