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Selective hydrogenation over earth-abundant metal catalysts is challenging but particularly valuable for practical applications in heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, we demonstrate that the catalytic selectivity of the commercial Raney nickel catalyst can be greatly tuned by modulation of the nickel surface by silica. Using quinoline hydrogenation as a model, we show that the silica-modified Raney nickel catalysts exhibit good activity, excellent selectivity, and long stability, whereas the undesired overhydrogenation reactions are effectively hindered. In contrast, the pristine Raney nickel catalyst shows inferior selectivity for the targeted product. Mechanistic studies confirm a positive role of silica to facilitate the desorption of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline from the catalyst surface, thus enhancing the product selectivity.

A combination of ab initio electronic structure theory, transition state theory and master equation modeling was used to study the kinetics of the reaction CO H[O.sub.2] -> C[O.sub.2] OH. The results have shown that the overall rate coefficient is independent of pressure up to 500 atm for temperature ranging from 300 to 2500 K.

A new type of hybrid gel matrix, which is prepared by the sol-gel process of tetrakis (2-hydroxyethyl) orthosilicates (THEOS), a completely water-soluble silica precursor, is developed and used for the construction of the amperometric hydrogen peroxide biosensor. The fabricated hydrogen peroxide biosensor has the characteristics of good analytical performance, reproducibility, and storage stability under the optimized experimental conditions.

The unimolecular decomposition of ethylene oxide and the oxiranyl radical is examined by molecular orbital calculations, Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM)/Master Equation analysis, and detailed kinetic modeling of ethylene oxide pyrolysis in a single pulse shock tube. It was found that the largest energy barrier to the decomposition of ethylene oxide lies in its initial isomerization to form acetaldehyde.

A study was conducted to investigate the thermal stability of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles produced by flame synthesis. Phase-pure anatase particles of ~4 nm in size could be reproducibly synthesized by using a tubular burner and rotating sampler.

The interactions of styrene and phenylacetylene and their isotope substitutions with a Si(111)-7x7 surface are studied to understand the chemical binding of conjugated pi-electron systems to di-radical-like silicon dangling bonds of the adjacent adatom-rest atom pair. The study shows that styrene mainly binds to the surface through a diradical reaction involving both the external C=C and is conjugated internal C=C of the phenyl ring with an adjacent adatom-rest atom pair, forming a 5-ethlidene-1, 3-cyclohexadiene-like skeleton.

The formation of fiberlike micelles in hexane with a very narrow weight-average distribution of lengths and the nature of their fragmentation following exposure to ultrasound are described. The results have shown that these fibers also rupture according to Gaussian fragmentation model and display a fracture rate that is very sensitive to fiber length.

A new approach is described for the synthesis and encapsulation of silver and silver halide nanoparticles inside shell-cross-linked cylindrical block copolymer polyisoprene-block-polyferrocenyldimethylsilane (PI-b-PFS) micelles by using in situ redox reactions. The small encapsulated AgI nanoparticles have served as seeds for the formation of larger Ag nanoparticles when a silver salt is added.

A biocompatible sol-gel silica matrix is developed for the encapsulation of biomolecules by using a novel water-soluble silica precursor, tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)orthosilicates (THEOS), along with a water-soluble polysaccharide derivative, hydroxypropyl guar gum (HPGG). The controlled release of vitamin [B.sub.12] from the sol-gel silica matrixes has shown a strong dependence of the release profile on the amount of introduced HPGG.

The reaction kinetics for gaseous hydroxyl radicals (OH) with deliquesced sodium chloride particles (Na[Cl.sub.aq]) are investigated using a novel experimental technique. The application of this novel method to the reaction of gaseous OH with deliquesced NaCl particles have given a lower limit to the reaction probability of [gamma.sub.net] > = 0.1 with an uncertainty of a factor of 2.

The synthesis of shell-cross-linked organometallic nanotubes of silver that contain a polyferrocenylsilane (PFS) inner wall covered by a cross-linked network of polymethylvinylsiloxane chains is reported. The result showed that pretreatment of PFS with organic oxidants such as dichloromethane is the key step to obtain silver particles within the tubes in high yields and the resulting soluble peapod-like hybrid nanostructures may ultimately be useful for the fabrication of nanodevices.

Nanosize effect of ZrO2 in Au/ZrO2 catalyst was studied by deposition-precipitation of Au nanoparticles in similar sizes (4-5 nm) on ZrO2 nanoparticles of varying sizes. The findings indicate that nanocomposite Au/ZrO2 consisting of comparably sized Au-metal (4-5 nm) and ZrO2 (5-15nm) nanoparticles are found advantageous over those containing similar sized Au-metal but larger ZrO2 (40-200nm) particles for CO oxidations.

The reaction of C2 with water and the possible subsequent reactions were investigated using ab initio methods. The most feasible reaction following the formation of association intermediate (CCOH2) is the intramolecular hydrogen migration leading to hydroxythyne (HCCOH).

The attachment chemistry of pyridine on Si(100) was studied using thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) and DFT theoretical calculations. Experimental results and DFT calculations show that pyridine molecules interact with Si (100) through both Si: N dative bonding and the [4+2] - like cycloaddition between the N1 and C4 atoms of the pyridine molecules with a Si=Si dimer, forming pyridine like and 1, 4- dihydropyridine like adducts respectively.

The cumulative double bond (C=C=N), an important intermediate in synthetic organic chemistry, was successfully prepared through the selective attachment of acrylonitrile to Si(111)-7 x 7. The observation of the characteristic vibrational modes and electronic structures of the C=C=N group in the surface species demonstrates the [4 + 2]-like cycloaddition occurring between the terminal C and N atoms of acrylonitrile and the neighboring adatom-rest atom pair, consistent with the prediction of DFT calculations.

The investigation on the covalent binding and structure of acetonitrile on Si(111)-7 * 7 is done to provide information on the interaction of pi-electrons of the C triple bond N group with the dangling bonds of Si(111)-7 * 7. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation results and all the experimental evidence revealed that functional organic monolayer of acetonitrile on Si(111)-7 * 7 are formed through a di-sigma binding mechanism involving the coupling of one pi(sub CN) bond with an adatom-rest atom pair at the interface.

A new approach to the synthesis of 2-phosphinoylindoles through photoredox catalysis without external oxidants has been developed. Promoted by a ruthenium photoredox catalyst, a broad scope of 2-phosphinoylindoles can be synthesized through phosphinoylation/cyclization of diphenylphosphine oxide at room temperature under irradiation without external oxidants. The estrone skeleton isocyan is also an amenable substrate for this cyclization, yielding a molecule that has potential medicinal applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]