The crystallization of zeolites, a disorder-to-order transformation of aluminosilicates, has not been thoroughly understood because the nucleation events in the amorphous matrix are difficult to recognize from the diverse structural changes, especially for the dense hydrogel systems. Therefore, relationships between the synthesis conditions, the generated amorphous species, and the crystallization behavior of zeolites remain unclear. Herein, by comparatively investigating the structural evolution of the aluminosilicate matrix in a dense hydrogel system when different Si reactants (fumed silica and silicate solution) are employed, we demonstrate that the reactivity of the reactants and the kinetics of the condensation reaction is critical to the formation of short-range order in an amorphous matrix, which greatly influences the nucleation frequency of zeolites. It was revealed that an amorphous solid containing plentiful Al-rich four-membered rings and Si-rich six-membered rings could be produced when fumed silica gradually reacted with sodium aluminate solution at 80 °C. It is considered that the interaction between these rings promotes the construction of the essential building units of zeolite X (FAU). In contrast, a complex aluminosilicate matrix was formed immediately when sodium silicate solution was mixed with sodium aluminate solution due to the intense condensation reaction. Furthermore, this complex matrix became more stable when the reactant mixture was hydrothermally treated at 80 °C, which significantly impedes the crystallization process. Aging the reactant mixture at ambient temperature before heating, instead, facilitated the formation of short-range order in the amorphous matrix, which increases the nucleation frequency of zeolites.

What was the biggest surprise?It would be the controllable selectivity to 5-formyl-2-furoic acid (FFCA) and2 ,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). Selectivity to the desired product is alwaysaproblem in the oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), not only because HMF is easily converted to other chemicals, but also because there are several intermediate stages duringt he sequential oxidationp rocess. However,o wing to the different reactionr ates of each intermediate, we found that we are ablet oc ontrol the reaction product to be either FFCA or FDCA by simply adjusting the ratio between HMF and the catalyst.

Core-shell Fe3O4@silica magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with a strong base, triazabicyclodecene (TBD), were successfully synthesized for harvesting microalgae and for one-pot microalgae-to-fatty acid methyl ester (FAME, or so-called biodiesel) conversion. Three types of algae oil sources (i.e., dried algae, algae oil, and algae concentrate) were used and the reaction conditions were optimized to achieve the maximum biodiesel yield. The results obtained in this study show that our TBD-functionalized Fe3O4@silica nanoparticles could effectively convert algae oil to biodiesel with a maximum yield of 97.1 %. Additionally, TBD-Fe3O4@silica nanoparticles act as an efficient algae harvester because of their adsorption and magnetic properties. The method presented in this study demonstrates the wide scope for the use of covalently functionalized core-shell nanoparticles for the production of liquid transportation fuels from algal biomass.

Goodness, gracious, great balls of iron: Fe3O4‐encapsulated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are synthesized and utilized as hosts for the separate immobilization of cellulase and isomerase for a continuous cellulose–glucose–fructose conversion sequence with a high yield of 51 % in aqueous solution.

A zinc-based metal organic framework, Zn-MOF-74, which has a unique one-dimensional (1D) channel and nanoscale aperture size, was rapidly obtained in 10 min using a de novo mild water-based system at room temperature, which is an example of green and sustainable chemistry. First, catalase (CAT) enzyme was encapsulated into Zn-MOF-74 (denoted as CAT@Zn-MOF-74), and comparative assays of biocatalysis, size-selective protection, and framework-confined effects were investigated. Electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction were used for characterization, while electrophoresis and confocal microscopy confirmed the immobilization of CAT molecules inside the single hexagonal MOF crystals at loading of ∼15 wt %. Furthermore, the CAT@Zn-MOF-74 hybrid was exposed to a denaturing reagent (urea) and proteolytic conditions (proteinase K) to evaluate its efficacy. The encapsulated CAT maintained its catalytic activity in the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), even when exposed to 0.05 M urea and proteinase K, yielding an apparent observed rate constant (k obs ) of 6.0 × 10 −2 and 6.6 × 10 −2 s −1 , respectively. In contrast, free CAT exhibited sharply decreased activity under these conditions. Additionally, the bioactivity of CAT@Zn-MOF-74 for H 2 O 2 decomposition was over three times better than that of the biocomposites based on zeolitic imidazolate framework 90 (ZIF-90) owing to the nanometer-scaled apertures, 1D channel, and less confinement effects in Zn-MOF-74 crystallites. To demonstrate the general applicability of this strategy, another enzyme, α-chymotrypsin (CHT), was also encapsulated in Zn-MOF-74 (denoted as CHT@Zn-MOF-74) for action against a substrate larger than H 2 O 2 . In particular, CHT@Zn-MOF-74 demonstrated a biological function in the hydrolysis of Lphenylalanine p-nitroanilide (HPNA), the activity of ZIF-90-encapsulated CHT was undetectable due to aperture size limitations. Thus, we not only present a rapid eco-friendly approach for Zn-MOF-74 synthesis but also demonstrate the broader feasibility of enzyme encapsulation in MOFs, which may help to meet the increasing demand for their industrial applications.