Guangmei Bai

Manganese oxides with rod-, wire-, tube-, and flower-like morphologies: highly effective catalysts for the removal of toluene.

Nanosized rod-like, wire-like, and tubular α-MnO(2) and flower-like spherical Mn(2)O(3) have been prepared via the hydrothermal method and the CCl(4) solution method, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized using numerous analytical techniques. The catalytic activities of the catalysts were evaluated for toluene oxidation. It is shown that α-MnO(2) nanorods, nanowires, and nanotubes with a surface area of 45-83 m(2)/g were tetragonal in crystal structure, whereas flower-like spherical Mn(2)O(3) with a surface area of 162 m(2)/g was of cubic crystal structure. There were the presence of surface Mn ions in multiple oxidation states (e.g., Mn(3+), Mn(4+), or even Mn(2+)) and the formation of surface oxygen vacancies. The oxygen adspecies concentration and low-temperature reducibility decreased in the order of rod-like α-MnO(2) > tube-like α-MnO(2) > flower-like Mn(2)O(3) > wire-like α-MnO(2), in good agreement with the sequence of the catalytic performance of these samples. The best-performing rod-like α-MnO(2) catalyst could effectively catalyze the total oxidation of toluene at lower temperatures (T(50%) = 210 °C and T(90%) = 225 °C at space velocity = 20,000 mL/(g h)). It is concluded that the excellent catalytic performance of α-MnO(2) nanorods might be associated with the high oxygen adspecies concentration and good low-temperature reducibility. We are sure that such one-dimensional well-defined morphological manganese oxides are promising materials for the catalytic elimination of air pollutants.

A pcu-type metal–organic framework based on covalently quadruple cross-linked supramolecular building blocks (SBBs): structure and adsorption properties

A flexible ligand with two 1,3-benzenedicarboxylate units has been used to construct a microporous metal–organic framework with pcu topology based on supramolecular building blocks (SBBs). The obtained Cu(II) MOF exhibits a noticeable CO2 adsorption hysteresis and a comparable methane adsorption capacity at room temperature.

Porous FeOx/BiVO4–δS0.08: Highly efficient photocatalysts for the degradation of Methylene Blue under visible-light illumination

Porous S-doped bismuth vanadate with an olive-like morphology and its supported iron oxide (y wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08, y = 0.06, 0.76, and 1.40) photocatalysts were fabricated using the dodecylamine-assisted alcohol-hydrothermal and incipient wetness impregnation methods, respectively. It is shown that the y wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08 photocatalysts contained a monoclinic scheetlite BiVO4 phase with a porous olive-like morphology, a surface area of 8.8-9.2 m2/g, and a bandgap energy of 2.38-2.42 eV. There was co-presence of surface Bi5+, Bi3+, V5+, V3+, Fe3+, and Fe2+ species in y wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08. The 1.40 wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08 sample performed the best for Methylene Blue degradation under visible-light illumination. The photocatalytic mechanism was also discussed. We believe that the sulfur and FeOx co-doping, higher oxygen adspecies concentration, and lower bandgap energy were responsible for the excellent visible-light-driven catalytic activity of 1.40 wt.% FeOx/BiVO4-deltaS0.08.

A Copper-Based Metal-Organic Framework as an Efficient and Reusable Heterogeneous Catalyst for Ullmann and Goldberg Type C–N Coupling Reactions

A highly porous metal-organic framework (Cu-TDPAT), constructed from a paddle-wheel type dinuclear copper cluster and 2,4,6-tris(3,5-dicarboxylphenylamino)-1,3,5-triazine (H6TDPAT), has been tested in Ullmann and Goldberg type C–N coupling reactions of a wide range of primary and secondary amines with halobenzenes, affording the corresponding N-arylation compounds in moderate to excellent yields. The Cu-TDPAT catalyst could be easily separated from the reaction mixtures by simple filtration, and could be reused at least five times without any significant degradation in catalytic activity.

Direct synthesis of N-sulfenylimines through oxidative coupling of amines with disulfides/thiols over copper based metal–organic frameworks

A highly porous metal–organic framework based on supramolecular building blocks with pcu-topology (pcu-MOF) has been tested for the oxidative coupling of amines and disulfides or thiols to afford the N-sulfenylimines directly in good yields without the formation of N-sulfinyl- and N-sulfonylimines. The pcu-MOF catalyst could be easily recovered from the reaction mixture by simple filtration, and could be reused at least five times without any substantial loss in the yield. The control experiments and mechanistic studies suggested that the oxidative coupling process involved the imine formation and the N–S coupling reaction.