Supported Au nanoclusters are well-known for their unusual properties in catalysis. We describe here that nanostructured porous Au made via dealloying represents a new class of unsupported catalysts with extraordinary activities in important reactions such as CO oxidation. Although nanoporous Au may contain some oxides on the surface, our results demonstrate that it is metallic Au that plays the main role in this catalytic reaction. Furthermore, this material has good low-temperature catalytic stability and is extremely CO tolerant.

No abstract

Dealloyed forces: Nanoporous gold, made by selective etching of Ag–Au alloys, exhibits extraordinary catalytic activity towards the gas‐phase oxidation of benzyl alcohol to form benzaldehyde with selectivities up to 98.2 %, using molecular oxygen as an oxidant under relatively low‐temperature conditions.

Novel Cu-Mg/Al mixed oxides (designated as i-CMAO-800) were prepared by calcinations of Cu-Mg/Al-hydrotalcites [(Cu 2þ +Mg 2þ )/Al 3þ = 3] at 800 C. Their performance for the catalytic combustion of methane was investigated. The oxides and their precursors were characterized by XRD, TG-DSC, TPR and N 2 adsorption/desorption techniques. The results showed that BET surface areas and the stability of the resultant oxides were greatly influenced by the copper contents in hydrotalcite precursors, bringing about difference in their activities for methane catalytic combustion. XRD results indicated that Cu was highly dispersed in hydrotalcite precursors in case of low copper contents, (Cu 40 wt%). For higher Cu contents, Cu(OH) 2 was formed, and, consequently, a separate phase of CuO was detected in the oxide catalysts after calcination. As indicated by the TG-DSC results, different decomposition behaviors were observed for various hydrotalcites. Thermal calcination promoted the formation of copper aluminates and segregation of CuO from the bulk phases. TPR results showed 15CMAO-800 has the highest reduction rate, and the catalytic activities of iCMAO-800 mixed oxides depend on both the reduction rates and the amounts of copper ions in mixed oxides. The catalyst 15-CMAO-800 showed the best performance.

Treatment and disposal of fly ash in China are becoming increasingly difficult, since its production has steadily risen and its features are uncertain. The excess pollutant components of fly ash are the key factor affecting its treatment and resource utilization. In this study, fly ash samples collected from a power plant with circulating fluidized incinerators of municipal solid waste (MSW) located in Shandong Province (eastern China) were studied. The results showed that there were no obvious seasonal differences in properties of fly ash. The content of total salt, Zn, and pH exceeded the national standards and low-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and dibenzofurans (Fs) were the main organic components of fly ash for this power plant, which posed great threats to the surrounding environment. The amount of Zn of fly ash was higher than other heavy metals, which should be due to alkaline batteries of MSW. The leachate of fly ash had low concentrations of heavy metals and the main soluble components were sulfates and chlorides. The major mineral crystals of fly ash were SiO2, CaSO4, and Fe2O3. The main organic pollutants were low-ring PAHs, polychlorinated PCDDs, and low-chlorinated PCDFs, and concentrations were lower than the limiting values of the national regulations. Additionally, the distribution of PCDD/Fs had either a positive or a negative linear correlation with fly ash and flue gas, which was associated with the chlorinated degree of PCDD/Fs. The analysis was conducted to fully understand the properties of fly ash and to take appropriate methods for further comprehensive utilization.