Air-Stable and Reusable Cobalt Phosphide Nanoalloy Catalyst for Selective Hydrogenation of Furfural Derivatives

While metal phosphides have begun to attract attention as electrocatalysts, they remain underutilized in the field of liquid-phase molecular transformations. Herein, we describe a supported cobalt phosphide nanoalloy (nano-Co₂P) that functions as a highly efficient, reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of furfural derivatives. The carbonyl moieties of several furfural derivatives were selectively hydrogenated to produce the desired products in high yields. In contrast to conventional nonprecious metal catalysts, nano-Co₂P uniquely exhibited air stability, which enabled easy and safe handling and precluded the need for H₂ pretreatment. Infrared and density functional theory studies revealed that the highly efficient hydrogenation is due to the favorable activation of the carbonyl moiety of furfural derivatives through the backdonation to its π* orbital from the Co d-electrons.Hiroya Ishikawa, Min Sheng, Ayako Nakata, Kiyotaka Nakajima, Seiji Yamazoe, Jun Yamasaki, Sho Yamaguchi, Tomoo Mizugaki, and Takato Mitsudome. Air-Stable and Reusable Cobalt Phosphide Nanoalloy Catalyst for Selective Hydrogenation of Furfural Derivatives. ACS Catalysis 2021, 11, 750-757, DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.0c03300.This document is the unedited Author’s version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in ACS Catalysis, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.0c03300

Effects of dissolved and ambient gases on sonochemical degradation of methylene blue in high-amplitude resonant mode

In this paper, we show the dominant contribution of an ambient gas to sonochemical reactions in a high-amplitude acoustic resonant mode. A high-amplitude resonant mode in the solution was predicted by the three-layer resonator model, which showed an acoustic amplitude higher than the standard amplitude by a factor of 5. The high-amplitude resonance mode was used to decompose methylene blue in water. The effects of the dissolved gases and the ambient gases of argon, oxygen, and helium on the degradation efficiency were systematically studied using a closed resonant reactor. The maximum efficiency was achieved when the ambient gas was argon regardless of the dissolved gases. The replacement of dissolved gas with ambient gas is enhanced with high-amplitude ultrasonic irradiation.Hirotsugu Ogi, Yusuke Tomiyama, Yusuke Shoji, Tomoo Mizugaki and Masahiko Hirao. Effects of dissolved and ambient gases on sonochemical degradation of methylene blue in high-amplitude resonant mode. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 2006, 45(5S), 4678. https://doi.org/10.1143/JJAP.45.4678

Development of Heterogeneous Olympic Medal Metal Nanoparticle Catalysts for Environmentally Benign Molecular Transformations Based on the Surface Properties of Hydrotalcite

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