Synthesis, Characterization and Application of A Novel Carbon Bridged Half-metallocene Chromium Catalyst for Methyl Methacrylate Polymerization

A new carbon bridged cyclopentadienyl chromium complex of the type [（C5H4）C（CH3）2 CH2（C5H4N）]CrCl2 was prepared by treatment of CrCl3·（THF）3 in THF solution with the lithium salt of ligand containing cyclopentadienyl and pyridyl groups. The chromium complex was characterized by 1H NMR and elemental analysis（EA）, and the crystal structure was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. Activated by Al（i-Bu）3, the chromium complex displayed a very high activity for methyl methacrylate（MMA） polymerization. After 24 hours,more than 95.5% MMA was converted to polymethyl methacrylate（PMMA） with a viscosity average molecular weight（Wη） of 416000 g·mol-1 at 60 ℃ for MMA/ Al（i-Bu）3 /chromium catalyst molar ratio of up to 2000：20：1. Effects of temperature, molar ratios of MMA/catalyst and catalyst/cocatalyst on the polymerization have been studied. The high conversion of MMA and high molecular weight of PMMA with narrow molecular weight distribution is caused by the unique stable active site formed by the new chromium complex and aluminum cocatalyst.

Rapid synthesis of CNTs@MIL-101(Cr) using multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) as crystal growth accelerator

In this work,hybrid material CNTs@MIL-101(Cr) was synthesized in 2 h using multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) as the crystal growth accelerator with hydrothermal method.The characteristic differences between the crystals of CNTs@MIL-101(Cr) and MIL-101 were investigated by N_2 adsorption–desorption isotherms,X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscope(SEM) and thermogravimetric analyzer(TGA).The results showed that MWCNTs embedding in the hybrid material provide more mesoporous volumes than that of MIL-101.Moreover,the fast synthesized crystals of CNTs@MIL-101(Cr) still preserve the octahedral shape like MIL-101 and have a larger size ranging from 1.5 to 2.0 μm which were approximately three times larger than that of MIL-101.In the proposed mechanism,the roles of MWCNTs played in the crystallization were discussed where MWCNTs can be seen as coaxial cylindrical tubes composed of multi-layer graphenes and the place where nucleation and crystal growth processes occur at the tubes' out surface.Then,a crystal seeding layer bonding with the MWCNTs may be easily formed which accelerates the growth rate of MIL-101 crystals.Thus,larger crystals of CNTs@MIL-101(Cr) were formed due to the faster crystal growth rate of MIL-101.

Diffusion-reaction compromise the polymorphs of precipitated calcium carbonate

Diffusion is seldom considered by chemists and materialists in the preparation of materials while it plays an important role in the field of chemical engineering. If we look at crystallization at the atomic level, crystal growth in a solution starts from the diffusion of ions to the growing surface followed by the incorporation of ions into its lattice. Diffusion can be a rate determining step for the growth of crystals. In this paper, we take the crystallization of calcium carbonate as an example to illustrate the microscopic processes of diffusion and reaction and their compromising influence on the morphology of the crystals produced. The diffusion effect is studied in a specially designed three-cell reactor. Experiments show that a decrease of diffusion leads to retardation of supersaturation and the formation of a continuous concen- tration gradient in the reaction cell, thus promoting the formation of cubic calcite particles. The reaction rate is regulated by temperature. Increase of reaction rate favors the formation of needle-like aragonite particles. When diffusion and reaction play joint roles in the reaction system, their compromise dominates the formation of products, leading to a mixture of cubic and needle-like particles with a controllable ratio. Since diffusion and reaction are universal factors in the preparation of materials, the finding of this paper could be helpful in the controlled synthesis of other materials.

Enhancements of dimethyl carbonate synthesis from methanol and carbon dioxide:The in situ hydrolysis of 2-cyanopyridine and crystal face effect of ceria

This paper describes the effect of the in situ hydrolysis of 2-cyanopyridine and its derivatives on the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate（DMC） from CO2 and methanol over CeO2.2-Cyanopyridine.with the highest electronic charge number of the carbon in the cyanogroup,is the most effective agent to accelerate the desired reaction by a decrease of water.CeO2（110） planes are active for the hydrolysis of 2-cyanopyridine,further enhancing the DMC formation by in situ removal of water effectively.The DMC yield is improved drastically up to 378.5 mmol g cat^-1 from 12.8 mmol g cat^-1 with the in situ hydrolysis of 2-cyanopyridine over rod-CeO2（1 1 0） catalyst.