Volume 59, Nº 3 (2018)

Polymerization of methyl methacrylate, initiated by benzoyl peroxide in the presence of titanocene dichloride, is considered from the point of view of formal kinetics. Based on the kinetic scheme of the process (which includes the reactions of classical radical polymerization, the reaction of benzoyl peroxide with titanocene dichloride, the reactions of the controlled radical polymerization of organometallic mediated radical polymerization (OMRP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), the reaction of the formation of a coordinating active site and the coordinating chain propagation on a mathematical model of the kinetics of the process is created. This model also makes it possible to calculate the molecular-mass characteristics of poly(methyl methacrylate). As a result of the solution of the inverse kinetic problem at a temperature of 343 K, the values of the reaction rate constants of the kinetic scheme are found under which the discrepancy between the calculated models and experimental data is minimal. Using the developed model of the kinetics of the process, a numerical experiment is performed (i.e., a direct kinetic problem is solved). This problem revealed the following regularities of the process. (1) An increase in the initial concentration of titanocene dichloride at a constant initial concentration of benzoyl peroxide leads to an increase in the rate of consumption of benzoyl peroxide but not to an increase in the initial rate of the process compared to classical radical polymerization. (2) With an increase in the initial concentration of titanocene dichloride, the lifetime of the macroradicals at the initial stage of the process is reduced, and hence the molecular weight of the resulting polymethyl methacrylate is less than that of the polymethyl methacrylate obtained in the absence of titanocene dichloride, and it will increase during the process of approaching the final values. (3) During the polymerization of methyl methacrylate, initiated by benzoyl peroxide in the presence of titanocene dichloride, a smoothing gel effect (as in the case of the polymerization of methyl methacrylate initiated by benzoyl peroxide in the presence of ferrocene) does not occur since titanocene dichloride forms stable complexes with methyl methacrylate and, consequently, it participates in reactions consuming macroradicals to a lesser degree than ferrocene.

The kinetics of the reaction of CO₂ with propylene oxide utilizing a salenCrCl/PPNCl active catalytic system is studied with varying reaction conditions (temperature, pressure, and cocatalyst/catalyst ratio). The reaction proceeds selectively to form cyclic propylene carbonate (PC) at [PPNCl]/[salenCrCl] ratios above two. The value of the effective activation energy of PC formation is found.

This work is a continuation of the studies devoted to the synthesis of nanostructured carbon (NSC) as a result of the pyrolysis of a mixture of H₂ + C₃–C₄ alkanes on supported Ni catalysts. Mesoporous alumina (γ-Al₂O₃) and titania (TiO₂), on which Ni(II) compounds are deposited by impregnation or homogeneous precipitation, are studied as carriers. Using the methods of thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy, it is shown that the activity of Ni catalysts (carbon yield) and the morphology of synthesized NSC are largely determined by the chemical nature of the support. It is found that the synthesis of NSC in the form of carbon nanofibers with a pronounced filamentary structure proceeds only on a Ni catalyst supported on titanium dioxide. The mesoporous carbon–mineral supports obtained after catalytic pyrolysis were studied in the adsorptive immobilization of the enzyme such as Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase. The adsorption properties of the supports, as well as the enzymatic activity and stability of the prepared biocatalysts in the esterification of saturated fatty acids (capric, C10: 0) with aliphatic alcohols (isopentanol, C₅) in the non-aqueous media of organic solvents (hexane and diethyl ether) at ambient temperature, are studied. Biocatalysts prepared by lipase adsorption on NSC/TiO₂ show the maximum esterification activity of 100 EA/g, which is 20–45 times higher than the activity of lipase adsorbed on NSC/Al₂O₃.

In this work, we report a simple, efficient and green protocol for the synthesis of dihydropyrimidinones/thiones (products of Biginelli reaction) by the use of white marble as an effective heterogeneous catalyst. Short reaction times, high product yields, simple processing procedure and reusability of the catalyst are the superior characteristics of this protocol.

The influence of ZSM-5 (SiO₂/Al₂O₃ = 50) treatment with a tetrabutylamine hydroxide (TBAOH)/NaOH mixture having different mole ratios on its physicochemical properties and catalytic performance in the reaction of methanol to gasoline (MTG) was investigated. It was found that, with increasing ratio TBA⁺/OH^–, the crystallinities, micropore surface areas, micropore volumes, the amounts of strong acid sites and Brönsted acid sites gradually increased, and the mesopore volumes decreased. The treatment with pure TBAOH (TBA⁺/OH^– = 1.0) ensured the formation of narrow and uniform intracrystalline mesoporosity and the large amounts of strong or Brönsted acid sites on the zeolite, which contribute to the highest liquid hydrocarbon yield in the reaction of MTG.

In the conditions of ethanol conversion on the surface of a 5%Cu/CeO₂ catalyst, the method of in situ IR spectroscopy reveals ethoxy groups, acetate and formiate complexes, and consolidation products. Acetaldehyde, acetone, croton aldehyde, butadiene, hydrogen, CO, and CO₂ are observed in the reaction products. As the temperature of the experiment increases, the concentration of acetaldehyde passes through a maximum at T = 250°C. This product is formed due to the interaction of ethoxy and hydroxyl surface groups. The concentration of acetone, croton aldehyde, and butadiene also passes through a maximum in the 350–400°C range. These products are associated with the decomposition of the consolidation products. The concentration of hydrogen, CO and CO₂ steadily increases with temperature and only these reaction products are left at T > 400°C. A mechanism of hydrogen formation based on the conversion of the highest temperature formiate surface complex is discussed.

A quantum chemical study of the possible routes of the phenylacetylene (PA) hydrogenation to styrene on a Pd(111) surface is carried out by the DFT-PBE method in the scalar-relativistic approximation. It is shown that the routes associated with the formation of the Ph–C–CH₂ or Ph–CH–CH intermediates at the first stage have similar values of the turnover frequency (156 and 48 h^–1, respectively). The route associated with the 1,2-hydride transfer in the adsorbed PA molecule is improbable due to the formation of a thermodynamically stable intermediate, Ph–CH–C. The interaction of the Ph group in the adsorbed PA molecule with the metal surface leads to the nonselective hydrogenation of the PA.

Finely divided polymer-stabilized PdZn bimetallic nanoclusters are prepared by the polyol method. TiO₂ matrix-impregnated nanoclusters coated on the inner surface of a capillary microreactor are used as catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol. The effect of the activation conditions (duration, temperature, and gas medium composition) on the physicochemical and catalytic properties of the coatings is studied. It is shown that their catalytic activities decrease and the reaction’s selectivity increases with an increase in the reaction time and the time of hydrogen reduction at 573 K. The highest selectivity (96.5% at a conversion rate of 99%) is reached on the coatings reduced with hydrogen for 6 h. The coatings remain highly active and stable for 1 month in the continuous flow mode of the reaction. Kinetic simulation showed that a high selectivity level is ensured by a decrease in the rate constants of hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol and the ratio of the alkene/alkyne adsorption constants after reductive treatment.

A series of model microdisperse Ni_1–xPt_x alloys (x =0–0.05) was synthesized by a coprecipitation method with the subsequent sintering of the precipitate in an atmosphere of H₂ at 800°C. Their chemical and phase compositions were determined (by AAS and XRD analysis, respectively), and it was found that the synthesis method proposed afforded Ni–Pt solid solutions based on the face-centered nickel lattice. The kinetic features of the carbon erosion of Ni_1–xPt_x alloys in their contact with 1,2-dichloroethane vapor in a temperature range of 550–700°C were studied. It was found that the presence of Pt in the alloy increased the rate of accumulation of carbon product by a factor of ~1.5 regardless of the concentration of Pt. The catalyst did not undergo deactivation for 5 h of reaction to ensure a high yield of carbon material (103 g/g_Cat). With the use of electron microscopy (SEM and TEM techniques), it was found that the carbon product consisted of carbon fibers with a segmented structure. An increase in the concentration of Pt in the alloy to 4.3 wt % sharply changed the disintegration of the alloy to cause the formation of carbon product with a bimodal fiber diameter distribution (d_av = 0.4 and 1.2 μm).

The state and size of the metal on the surface of aluminum oxide and the acidic properties of the support depending on the concentration of supported platinum were studied in this work. The effect of the Pt content of the alumina–platinum catalyst on the activation (chemisorption) of methane was investigated, and the composition of hydrocarbon fragments formed in this case was calculated. The sample most active in a reaction of the joint conversion of methane with n-pentane, which was performed for the production of aromatic hydrocarbons under nonoxidizing conditions, was established. The effect of the temperature of n-pentane supply to the reaction atmosphere was studied for the 0.6%Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The degree of enrichment of the resulting aromatic hydrocarbons and the quantity of incorporated methane activated on the catalyst surface were determined with the use of isotope mass spectrometry.