The advantages of in-situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry to coke deposition during catalytic process of Petrochemical industry, including catalytic isomerization, reduction, and cracking are reviewed in this paper. The mechanisms of coke deposition over solid acid catalysts and bi-functional noble metal acid catalysts are summarized. The causes of coke formation under different temperatures are also discussed. Bases on the preliminary results of catalytic cracking of n-heptane over zeolites in our work, identification and assignment of IR absorption bands for coked substances as the key issues on application of in sute FTIR are put forword. Extended applications to the mechanisms of other catalytic reactions and the properties of catalysts are proposed.

The catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) at low temperature has attracted considerable attention because of its wide applications in exhaust abatement for CO₂ lasers, trace CO removal in enclosed atmospheres, automotive emission control, and CO preferential oxidation (PROX) for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Progress in low-temperature catalytic oxidation of CO is summarized. Catalysts and preparation method, reaction mechanisms of CO oxidation and the effects of different coexisted atmospheres on the catalytic performance of the catalysts are reviewed. The preparation methods include impregnation, coprecipitation, deposition-precipitation, sol-gel, ion exchange, chemical vapor deposition, electrochemistry deposition, inert gases condensation, and solvated metal atom impregnation so on. The catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation consist of noble metal catalysts, non-noble metal catalysts, catalysts supported on molecular sieves and alloy catalysts. The mechanisms on low-temperature CO oxidation are reported by many researchers, and plentiful hypothesises are put forward on different catalysts. The effect of H₂O, CO₂, H₂ and many other coreactants on the performance of low-temperature are expatiated on. The prospects for this field are brought forward at last.

In this paper we examine the progress of synthesis of main types of non-silicious mesoporous materials. Specifically, we review the synthesis of mesoporous alumina and transtion metal oxides, metals (elementary semiconductors), chalkogenides as well as carbons dated to the time when non-silicious mesoporous materials was first synthesized. For the categrories we discuss, we mainly focus on the representative and important progresses in the early stages, and give particular comments to the breakthroughs. Meanwhile, we emphasize the most recent advances in this field.

With the rapid development of biodiesel worldwide, the amount of glycerol, as by-product of biodiesel processes, is increasing so greatly that the effective utilization of glycerol becomes a challenging topic with great significance. Here the recent progress of research and development on the catalytic selective oxidation of glycerol, are specifically reviewed. The reaction networks of catalytic oxidation of glycerol, and related products and their potential applications are summarized. Especially, the catalysts and catalytic mechanism during the process of chemoselective catalytic oxidation of the glycerol are discussed The influence of different catalysts, supported noble or non-noble metal catalysts, porous oxides, and reaction conditions on selectivity, conversion during the oxidation processes of glycerol are summarized and remarked, together with the discussion of catalytic mechanism. The present situation of electrocatalytic selective oxidation of glycerol and novel oxidation-assisted polymerization of glycerol to Polyketomalonate and related catalytic mechanism are introduced. The recent progress of research and process development on production of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) by biocatalytic oxidation of glycerol is summarized. The pending problems and the prospects in the catalytic oxidation of glycerol are stated.

COSMO-RS (conductor-like screening model for real solvents) is a modern quantum chemical method for the calculation of solvent effects based on a solvation model (COSMO) combined with a statistical mechanical treatment of inter-segment contacts. The principal theory of COSMO-RS, the basic concept used in the model and the procedure to apply the model are described in detail in the first part of this review. Then the application of the model to ionic liquids, polymer solutions, high pressure and high temperature fluids is reviewed. After that, different applications of COSMO-RS to predict the partition coefficients of various complex systems, such as biological systems are reviewed, followed by methods to simplify the calculation of the molecular-specific surface screening charge density distribution (COSMOfrag and GC-COSMO(group contribution COSMO)). A comparison of the results of the different COSMO-RS versions with sigma profiles based on different model chemistries and group contribution models such as UNIFAC and modified UNIFAC(Do) is presented. The deficiencies of COSMO-RS and strategies for improvement are discussed and possible revisions are proposed. An outlook on the future development of COSMO-RS is given in the last part of this review.

Electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLC) have been expected as a secondary electric power supplier for the automobiles with hybrid engine or fuel cell motors because of their rapid charging/discharging. Activated carbons are the electrode materials used most frequently for electrode of EDLC. But activated carbon presents several intrinsic disadvantages that result in limited energy and power density as well as limited rated voltage. Researchers have demonstrated that improved performance of EDLC can be achieved based on other novel carbon materials. These alternatives include graphite based Nanogate Carbon, carbon nanotube array based carbon nanotube fur, Skeleton C, and nanoporous glassy carbon. Their characteristics, electrochemical properties and applications in EDLC are introduced in this paper. EDLCs assembled with these four novel carbon materials obtain higher specific power or specific energy than activated carbons based EDLCs, and then have nice application prospects.

Straight carbon nanotubes can be connected into multi-terminal carbon nanotube junctions (MTCNTs) by the introduction of defect rings to the perfect hexagonal lattice. Typical MTCNTs include X-、Y-、and T-type junctions. Since the potential applications for the miniaturization of electronic devices, MTCNTs have attracted the attention of many researchers focusing on the preparations and properties both experimentally and theoretically. In this paper, the synthetic methods of MTCNTs, the relationship between the structure and stability, their electrical, mechanical, thermal and optical properties, as well as the applications of molecular simulation methods in the formation processes of MTCNTs, are summarized. IOur theoretical study on the formation of Y- and T-type junctions from multi-layered graphite flakes, and investigation on the structural stability of MTCNTs and the effect factors are also include. In addition, their possible applications in nano-electronic devices, hydrogen storage and functional materials are introduced. Furthermore, some questions and the research trends of MTCNTs are discussed.

In this paper, the research on surface modification of nanosilica and its action mode with polymer are reviewed. After nanosilica is surface-modified, its compatibility with polymeric matrix is improved. In the mean time, the surface of nanosilica is functionalized, which is propitious for strong bonding force with polymer. The combining modes such as adsorption affinity, hydrogen bond and covalent bond can be formed between the silica and the polymeric matrix, which affect the performance of the formed nanocomposites.

The cationic complexes of transition metals serve as catalytically active species for olefin polymerization. Their structures and properties directly influence the resulting polymers in terms of microstructure and function. The intensive investigation about cationic alkyl complexes of group 4 metals has recently prompted interest in cationic early transition metal complexes and rare earth metal complexes. In contrast to the large number of neutral and anionic complexes of rare earth metals, the cationic complexes have remained scarce until recently due to their high reactivity and synthetic difficulties. This review summarizes the recent progress in the synthesis, structural characterization and olefin polymerization catalysis of these cationic complexes of rare earth metals.

Metal-free organic photosensitizers were widely used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), of which D-π-A molecules with aromatic amine as electron donor (D) represent one of the most important types. On the basis of the structures of the aromatic amine moiety, more than 100 D-π-A type organic photosensitizers utilized in DSCs over the past five years were classified into 4 categories, including D-π-A dyes based on N-alkyl-aniline, D-π-A dyes based on triphenylamine, D-π-A dyes based on fluorene-containing triphenylamine, and other types of aromatic amine-containing D-π-A dyes, and their photoelectric conversion properties are reviewed.

The chiral phosphoric acid is a fairly strong Bronsted acid with novel structure which was first reported in 2004. It has been developed rapidly in recent years and become a very important branch of organocatalysis. Excellent enantioselectivities and good yields can be obtained in a series of asymmetric addition and reduction reactions of imines when catalyzed by chiral phosphoric acid catalysts, such as Mannich reaction, asymmetric transfer hydrogenation reaction, hydrophosphonylation reaction, Pictet-Spengler reaction, Strecker reaction, aza-Diels-Alder reaction, Friedel-Craft reaction, alkylation of diazoester reaction and so on. In this paper, the latest progress in the research of chiral phosphoric acid catalysts for relevant asymmetric reactions is reviewed.

Ketenes have very broad applied scope as an important intermediate in organic synthesis. This paper mainly reviews the structure and preparation of ketene intermediates, the recent advance in asymmetric organic synthesis application of ketene intermediates in [2+2] cycloaddition reactions with aldehyde and imine, as well as in [2+2] and [4+2] cycloaddition reactions with active unsaturated double-bonds, including the reaction stereoselective controlling and mechanism using different catalysts.

Hydrogen can be obtained from organic compounds by Supercritical Water Gasification (SCWG). In this paper, the influence factors, intermediates and reaction pathway of glucose, methanol, cellulose, lignin, real biomass and organic waste/wastewater by SCWG are summarized. The effect of catalyst such as alkali metals, ZrO₂, activated carbon, noble and transition metal on gasification efficiency and gasification mechanism is illustrated and which is suggested that the study of heterogeneous catalytic reaction is very important for the development of SCWG. The thermodynamics of SCWG is analysed, the difficulty for scale-up of SCWG is discussed and three pilot-scale SCWG units in the world are introduced. The research trends in SCWG are proposed.

The study on star polymers developed so rapidly in recent years. The research of structure, architecture, synthesis methodology, and function has become a hotspot in polymer and biomacromolecules field. In this paper, synthesis of star polymers is classified on living ion polymerization and living/controlled radical polymerization. The monomer choosing strategy, characteristic of the star polymers’ arms, and the functionality of star polymers are generally discussed. The recent progress of synthesis, architecture, construction, function and character of star polymers are introduced. Based on the recent progress, the relationship between the function and application of star polymers is prospected.

The progress regarding the living radical polymerization of N-vinylamides(NVAs) is summarized. The living radical polymerization of the unconjugated NVAs once represented a synthetic challenge, but pleasant progress has been made recently in this field. It is found that selected members of the xanthate family and dithiocarbamate family are able to control the polymerization of NVAs via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization or via the interchange of xanthate (MADIX) under certain conditions, and the tacticity can be simultaneously controlled under specific conditions. The recently developed organobismuth, organostibine and organotellurium compounds are effective mediators for the (co) polymerization of most NVAs, expanding the spectra of polymer composition. Additionally, some of the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) systems are applicable to the polymerization of NVAs.

The star-shaped polylactic acid (SPLA) have received considerable attention due to their unique structure and good properties. Usually, SPLA are synthesized by the “core first” method., which classified by different “core” in SPLA, such as small molecular polyol (including natural sugar alcohols), hydroxyl-terminated (cyclotri)phosphazene derivatives, hydroxyl-terminated metallic organic compounds, hydroxyl-terminated phenolic derivatives, and some star-shaped macroinitiator. The progress on their synthesis, especially via the ring-opening polymerization of lactide, properties and application are summarized. It is pointed out that the higher mulecular weight and lower viscosity, better solubility and thermal properties made SPLA have more application in biomedical material (including drug delivery carrier) than linear polylactic acid (LPLA).

The recent progress of direct recycling of L-lactide from poly L-lactide (PLLA) with high molecular weight through thermal degradation is reviewed. The thermal degradation of pure PLLA proceeds mainly through a random scission reaction, but PLLA thermally degrades with the metal catalyst through a dominant degradatin pathway, producing principally L-lactide. In this paper, not only the mechanism of thermal degradation of polylactide is introduced, but also the kinds of metal catalysts, their influence on L-lactide formation and racemization through thermal degradation of PLLA are referred. Research on the direct recycling of L-lactide from PLLA with high mulecular weight through thermal degradation, which could shorten the recycling use period of PLLA, reduce production cost, make full use of the resources and achieve the development of recycling economy.

As a new generation of solar cell, dye-sensitized solar cell(DSC) shows an optimistic foreground for the application. The electrolytes play an important role on the DSC performance. Here we introduce the structure and mechanism of DSC, and then we also discuss the current progress of electrolytes used in DSC by classing the electrolyte as liquid,quasi-solid and solid based on the states of the electrolyte in details. At last, the future of development tendency of electrolytes used in dye-sensitized solar cells is prospected.

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄ ) has been attracting enomous research interest for its lower cost, high stability, non-toxicity. The extensive use of LiFePO₄ in Li-ion batteries is limited by poor electronic conductivity and low lithium ion diffusion limited the application of non-nanos-cale LiFePO₄. Nano-scale electrode materials overcome these disadvantages. This paper overcomes chiefly the methods of synthesizing nano-scale LiFePO₄, the electrochemical performance of nano-scale LiFePO₄, the mechanism of nano-scale LiFePO₄ some problems of nano-LiFePO₄ as cathode in Li-ion batteries.

A new kind of energy conservation process for zero emission of carbon dioxide, chemical looping combustion process，is reviewed in this article. It covers several key issues such as thermodynamic analysis on the process, oxygen carrier and the reactor design. The development of the chemical looping combustion technique in the field of clean fuel combustion is further addressed. As a conceptual development of the chemical looping technique, the chemical looping reforming process is also introduced. The demand on the research and development of the chemical looping combustion is discussed.

Sono-photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater is a newly-developed Advanced Oxidateion Processes (AOPs). In this process, the efficiency of photocatalysis is promoted by ultrasonic cavitation, free-radical and mechanical effects, and thus synergetic degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater is achieved. The sono-photocatalytic combined process displays a big potential because of its advantages such as simpleness, environmentally friendly and widely applications. In this paper, degradation mechanism, kinetics, influence factors (the type and concentration of photocatalyst, ultrasonic frequency and intensity, pH values, temperature, initial concentration of organic pollutants, dissolved gas and ionic strength) the type of reactor (suspension and fix bed) for the sono-photocatalytic combined process are reviewed. The main problems and prospect of sono-photocatalytic combined process for wastewater treatment are presented.

The cell membrane establishes an important paradigm for the surface modification of implantable devices because of its intrinsic biocompatibility. Numerous researches have suggested that the biocompatibility of materials can be improved remarkably after modified with phosphorylcholine group, which is the major head group of the phospholipid of the cells outer membrane. This kind of membrane mimetic surfaces shows practical and scientifically importance in variety of biomaterials. The methods of fabricating membrane mimetic surfaces are categorized and the resulting surface properties are discussed along with introducing the representative researches. Several important mechanisms of biocompatibiliy are also summarized. Finally, the prospects of the research on membrane mimetic surfaces are suggested.