A study on the stability of carbon nanoforms–polyimidazolium network hybrids in the conversion of co2 into cyclic carbonates
Three different carbon nanoforms (CNFs), single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs, MWCNTs) and carbon nanohorns (CNHs), have been used as supports for the direct polymerization of variable amounts of a bis-vinylimidazolium salt. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that all CNFs act as templates on the growth of the polymeric network, which perfectly covers the nanocarbons forming a cylindrical (SWCNTs, MWCNTs) or spherical (CNHs) coating. The stability of these hybrid materials was investigated in the conversion of CO2 into cyclic carbonate under high temperature and CO2 pressure. Compared with the homopolymerized monomer, nanotube-based materials display an improved c…
Catechol-Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes as Support for Pd Nanoparticles
Carbon nanotubes have been covalently functionalized with catechol moieties through the formation of the corresponding aryl radicals obtained by reacting 4-aminocatechol with isoamyl nitrite. The functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been in turn used to immobilize Pd(II) ions on its surface forming catechol-Pd complexes, which were reduced to Pd nanoparticles (NPs). The so-obtained hybrid material has been characterized by means of thermogravimetric analysis coupled with differential scanning calorimetry (TGA-DSC), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This latter technique allowed to estimate the nanoparticle size (5.7 +/- 2.8 nm) wh…
POSS-based 3D functional networks as catalysts for the conversion of carbon dioxide
Oggi lo sviluppo di processi sostenibili è al centro dell'attenzione a causa delle emergenze climatiche. La Chimica Verde, con i suoi dodici principi sviluppati da Paul Anastas, si concentra sullo sviluppo di processi alternativi e più rispettosi dell'ambiente. Questa branca della chimica mostra come concetti quali la prevenzione dei rifiuti, l'uso di materie prime rinnovabili e la catalisi siano di grande importanza per rendere un processo più sostenibile. In questo contesto, l'anidride carbonica (CO2) rappresenta una delle materie prime più abbondanti, non tossiche e rinnovabili. La possibilità di riutilizzare la CO2 e di trasformare questa molecola in prodotti a valore aggiunto come i ca…
Carbon nanotube supported aluminum porphyrin-imidazolium bromide crosslinked copolymer
The increased awareness of the catastrophic consequences caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has generated a large mobilization aimed at CO2 mitigation. Herein, in the spirit of the transformation of a waste as CO2 into value added products, we propose an efficient preparation of two different hybrid systems based on aluminum chloride tetrastyrylporphyrin (TSP-Al-Cl) and 1,4-butanediyl-3,3′-bis-1-vinylimidazolium dibromide copolymerized in the presence (MWCNT-TSP-AlCl-imi) and in absence (TSP-AlCl-imi) of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for the CO2 utilization in the synthesis of cyclic carbonates. The so-prepared materials have been thoroughly characte…
POSS-Al-porphyrin-imidazolium cross-linked network as catalytic bifunctional platform for the conversion of CO2 with epoxides
Two heterogeneous catalysts were prepared with the aim of following the promising path of CO2 fixation into epoxides. The synthetic procedure involves a radical copolymerization of an octavinylsilsesquioxane as inorganic core building block and tetrastyrylporphyrin aluminum chloride monomer (TSP-AlCl) in presence (POSS-TSP-AlCl-imiBr) or in absence (POSS-TSP-AlCl) of a bis-vinylimidazolium bromide salt (bis-imiBr), in order to investigate if the bifunctional heterogeneous material can display better catalytic performance than the separate species. All the solids were fully characterized and tested in the synthesis of cyclic carbonates starting from CO2 and several epoxides. The synergic coo…