Mattia Bartoli

Protocol: A simple protocol for quantitative analysis of bio-oils through gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry

A new and simple protocol for quantitative analysis of bio-oils using gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry is suggested. Compounds were identified via their mass spectra, and then unavailable response factors were calculated with respect to diphenyl as the internal standard using a modified method previously suggested for gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. This new protocol was applied to the characterization of bio-oils obtained from the pyrolysis of woods of different sources or using different pyrolysis procedures. This protocol allowed evaluation of the yields of products from poplar pyrolysis (among 50% and 99%), while a reduced amounts of products were identified from the pyrolysis of cellulose (between 46% and 58%). The main product was always acetic acid, but it was formed in very large yields from poplar while lower yields were obtained from cellulose.

Microwave assisted pyrolysis of halogenated plastics recovered from waste computers

Microwave Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP) of the plastic fraction of Waste from Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) from end-life computers was run with different absorbers and set-ups in a multimode batch reactor. A large amount of various different liquid fractions (up to 76.6wt%) were formed together with a remarkable reduction of the solid residue (up to 14.2wt%). The liquid fractions were characterized using the following different techniques: FT-IR ATR, 1H NMR and a quantitative GC-MS analysis. The liquid fractions showed low density and viscosity, together with a high concentration of useful chemicals such as styrene (up to 117.7mg/mL), xylenes (up to 25.6mg/mL for p-xylene) whereas halogenated compounds were absent or present in a very low amounts.

Palladium nanoparticles supported onto stereocomplexed poly(lactic acid)-poly(ε-caprolactone) copolymers for selective partial hydrogenation of phenylacetylene

AbstractPalladium nanoparticles, generated by hydrogen reduction of Pd acetate, coordinated to a stereocomplexed 2,2′-bipyridine end-functionalized poly(lactic acid)-poly(ε-caprolactone) copolymer showed enhanced catalytic activity and chemoselectivity for the partial reduction of phenylacetylene compared to the reference system which did not contain the poly(ε-caprolactone). The obtained heterogeneous catalyst proved to be recyclable and suitable for selective phenylacetylene hydrogenation to styrene in solution and under solventless conditions.

Palladium‐Based Catalysts‐Supported onto End‐Functionalized Poly(lactide) for C–C Double and Triple Bond Hydrogenation Reactions

Poly(lactide) (PLA), which is the polymer that will be discussed in this chapter, was functionalized with nitrogen containing aromatic groups by means ring opening polymerization (ROP) reactions. The obtained macroligands were successfully employed to coordinate Pd(II), which chemoselectively hydrogenated αβ–unsaturated carbonyl compounds to give the saturated counterparts as main product. The catalyst could be easily recycled upon a simple filtration process. End-functionalized isotactic PLA chains were used to generate stereocomplexes, featured by a higher thermal and hydrolytic resistance. The chemical nature of the nitrogen ligand introduced at the chain end of PLA was exploited to stabilize Pdnanoparticles (Pd-NPs) by interactions of the aromatic or nitrogen functionality with the NPs– surface. The polymer-anchored Pd-NPs were generated by a classical approach which comprised the coordination of Pd(II) by the functional group followed by reduction with hydrogen or by the metal vapor synthesis technique. The polymersupported Pd-NPs were successfully applied to catalyze the selective hydrogenation of alkynes to the corresponding alkene and cinnamylalcohol to the corresponding saturated aldehyde. In this book chapter the synthesis and structure-performance relationship of the new hydrogenation catalysts will be discussed.