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This paper presents the photophysical investigations of two organic compounds synthesised directly by the aminolysis depolymerisation of the waste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (rPET) with aromatic amines, i.e., aniline and 3-amino-N-hexyl-1,8-naphthalimide without use of a catalyst. The chemical structure was confirmed by 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR, as well as FT-IR. The thermal, electrochemical and optical studies of the obtained derivatives were performed. The presented compounds were thermally stable up to 360 °C, and the glass transition temperature (Tg) occurred for the compound with the 1,8-naphthalimide units. The electrochemical investigations of the synthesised compounds have revealed one oxidation process and two reduction processes for the compound with the 1,8-naphthalimide fragments. The tested derivatives were characterised by a low-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level (below –6.09 eV) and an energy-band gap (Eg) below 3.10 eV. The obtained molecules were absorbed in the range of 204 nm - 445 nm and emitted light from a purple to a green spectral region deepened on the used solvent with low quantum yields. The blends with poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT), which is used as a donor in the bulk heterojunction solar cells (BHJ), and amide derivative with 1,8-naphthalimide fragments were made, and the emission quenching of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) was recorded. The presented results of the photophysical investigations have opened new possibilities for obtaining functional materials from recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (rPET). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper introduces spatially stable Ni-supported bimetallic catalysts for CO2 methanation. The catalysts are a combination of sintered nickel mesh or wool fibers and nanometal particles, such as Au, Pd, Re, or Ru. The preparation involves the nickel wool or mesh forming and sintering into a stable shape and then impregnating them with metal nanoparticles generated by a silica matrix digestion method. This procedure can be scaled up for commercial use. The catalyst candidates were analyzed using SEM, XRD, and EDXRF and tested in a fixed-bed flow reactor. The best results were obtained with the Ru/Ni-wool combination, which yields nearly 100% conversion at 248 °C, with the onset of reaction at 186 °C. When we tested this catalyst under inductive heating, the highest conversion was observed already at 194 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated different metal pairings of Au nanoparticles (NPs) as potential catalysts for glycerol dehydration for the first time. All of the systems preferred the formation of hydroxyacetone (HYNE). Although the bimetallics that were tested, i.e., Au NPs supported on Ni, Fe and Cu appeared to be more active than the Au/SiO2 system, only Cu supported Au NPs gave high conversion (ca. 63%) and selectivity (ca. 70%) to HYNE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption steadily increases and energy production is associated with many environmental risks, e.g., generating the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. The primary gas pollution concern is CO2, CH4, and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Environmental catalysis plays a pivotal role in NOx mitigation (DeNOx). This study investigated, for the first time, a collection of ceramic foams as potential catalyst support for selective catalytic NOx reduction (SCR). Ceramic foams could be an attractive support option for NOx removal. However, we should functionalize the surface of raw foams for such applications. A library of ceramic SiC, Al2O3, and ZrO2 foams ornamented with nanorod ZnO and TiO2 as W and V oxide support was obtained for the first time. We characterized the surface layer coating structure using the XPS, XRF and SEM, and TEM microscopy to optimize the W to V molar ratio and examine NO2 mitigation as the SCR model, which was tested only very rarely. Comparing TiO2 and ZnO systems reveals that the SCR conversion on ZnO appeared superior vs. the conversion on TiO2, while the SiC-supported catalysts were less efficient than Al2O3 and ZrO2-supported catalysts. The energy bands in optical spectra correlate with the observed activity rank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), combined with its ecotoxicity, is the reason for the intensification of research on the new technology of CO2 management. Currently, it is believed that it is not possible to eliminate whole CO2 emissions. However, a sustainable balance sheet is possible. The solution is technologies that use carbon dioxide as a raw material. Many of these methods are based on CO2 methanation, for example, projects such as Power-to-Gas, production of fuels, or polymers. This article presents the concept of using CO2 as a raw material, the catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methane, and consideration on CO2 methanation catalysts and their design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants are masterpieces of evolution that is based on carbon chemistry. In particular, plant leaves are biosynthetic factories able to convert CO 2 into carbohydrates and oxygen. It is worth noting that mimicking the efficiency of a natural plant and natural leaf is still a challenge for contemporary chemistry. We can even better realize this when we notice that a plant and an industrial factory are equivalent in meaning. On the other hand, green technologies are under development in a quest for the artificial leaf. If we could modify the synthetic pathways in leaves, we could also design green chemistry schemes in natural leaves to produce useful chemicals or to digest wastes or toxins. Specifically, can we intensify the potential for capturing atmospheric CO 2 in leaves? Auxins are plant hormones that control the growth and development of plants. Herein, we determined whether we could efficiently transport xenobiotic auxin into leaves and if so, whether this supply could enhance the metabolism and CO 2 capturing ability. By exploring a series of dioxolanes as potential enhancers of auxin transport, we discovered for the first time that a small molecular compound, 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane (DMD), enhances the xenobiotic auxin transport to leaves, which boosts the metabolism that is measured by H 2 O 2 production as well as CO 2 capturing ability in leaves., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)