Hydrogenation catalysts for aromatic hydrogenation including an organosilica material support, which is a polymer comprising independent units of a monomer of Formula [Z.sup.1OZ.sup.2OSiCH.sub.2].sub.3 (I), wherein each Z.sup.1 and Z.sup.2 independently represent a hydrogen atom, a C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alkyl group or a bond to a silicon atom of another monomer; and at least one catalyst metal are provided herein. Methods of making the hydrogenation catalysts and processes of using, e.g., aromatic hydrogenation, the hydrogenation catalyst are also provided herein.

Methods for fabricating a membrane with an organosilica material which is a polymer comprising independent units of Formula [Z.sup.3Z.sup.4SiCH.sub.2].sub.3 (I), wherein each Z.sup.3 represents a hydroxyl group, a C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alkoxy group or an oxygen atom bonded to a silicon atom of another unit or an active site on the support and each Z.sup.4 represents a hydroxyl group, a C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alkoxy group, a C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alkyl group, an oxygen atom bonded to a silicon atom of another unit or an active site on the support are provided. Methods of removing a contaminant from a hydrocarbon stream are also provided.

Organosilica materials, which are a polymer of at least one independent monomer of Formula [Z.sup.1OZ.sup.2OSiCH.sub.2].sub.3 (I), wherein each Z.sup.1 and Z.sup.2 independently represent a hydrogen atom, a C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alkyl group or a bond to a silicon atom of another monomer and at least one other trivalent metal oxide monomer are provided herein. Methods of preparing and processes of using the organosilica materials, e.g., for catalysis etc., are also provided herein.

The present invention relates to novel Ruthenium complexes of formulae A1-A4 and their use, inter alia, for (1) dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols to esters; (2) hydrogenation of esters to alcohols (including hydrogenation of cyclic esters (lactones) or cyclic di-esters (di-lactones), or polyesters); (3) preparing amides from alcohols and amines(including the preparation of polyamides (e.g., polypeptides) by reacting dialcohols and diamines and/or polymerization of amino alcohols and/or forming cyclic dipeptides from p-aminoalcohols; (4) hydrogenation of amides (including cyclic dipeptides, polypeptides and polyamides) to alcohols and amines; (5) hydrogenation of organic carbonates (including polycarbonates) to alcohols or hydrogenation of carbamates (including polycarbamates) or urea derivatives to alcohols and amines; (6) dehydrogenation of secondary alcohols to ketones; (7) amidation of esters (i.e., synthesis of amides from esters and amines); (8) acylation of alcohols using esters; (9) coupling of alcohols with water and a base to form carboxylic acids; and (10) preparation of amino acids or their salts by coupling of amino alcohols with water and a base. The present, invention further relates to the use of certain known Ruthenium complexes for the preparation of amino acids or their salts from amino alcohols.

The present invention provides a method for preparing 1,5-pentanediol via hydrogenolysis of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. The catalyst used in the method is prepared by supporting a noble metal and a promoter on an organic polymer supporter or an inorganic hybrid material supporter, wherein the supporter is functionalized by a nitrogen-containing ligand. When the catalyst is used in the hydrogenolysis of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol to prepare 1,5-pentanediol, a good reaction activity and a high selectivity can be achieved. The promoter and the nitrogen-containing ligand in the supporter are bound to the catalyst through coordination, thereby the loss of the promoter is significantly decreased, and the catalyst has a particularly high stability. The lifetime investigation of the catalyst, which has been reused many times or used continuously for a long term, suggests that the catalyst has no obvious change in performance, thus reducing the overall process production cost.

A catalytic membrane composite that includes porous supported catalyst particles durably enmeshed in a porous fibrillated polymer membrane is provided. The porous fibrillated polymer membrane may be manipulated to take the form of a tube, disc, or diced tape and used in multiphase reaction systems. The supported catalyst particles are composed of at least one finely divided metal catalyst dispersed on a porous support substrate. High catalytic activity is gained by the effective fine dispersion of the finely divided metal catalyst such that the metal catalyst covers the support substrate and/or is interspersed in the pores of the support substrate. In some embodiments, the catalytic membrane composite may be introduced to a stirred tank autoclave reactor system, a continuous flow reactor system, or a Parr Shaker reaction system and used to effect the catalytic reaction.

A slurry-phase catalyst composition may include a disulfide oil and a first metal complex. The first metal complex may include at least one transition metal selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, cobalt, nickel, tungsten, iron, and combinations of these. The first metal complex may also include a plurality of ligands bonded to the at least one transition metal. The plurality of ligands may include at least one first ligand selected from the group consisting of dim ethyl sulfide, dimethyldisulfide, diethyl sulfide, diethyldisulfide, methyl ethyl sulfide, methylethyldisulfide, and combinations thereof, and the transition metal may be bonded to a sulfur atom of the at least one first ligand.

This invention relates to novel catalyst compositions based on Ruthenium- or Osmium-based complex catalysts of the Grubbs-Hoveyda, Grela or Zhan type and specific co-catalysts comprising at least one vinyl group, pref. ethyl vinyl ether, and to a process for selectively hydrogenating nitrile rubbers in the presence of such catalyst compositions, preferably with a preceding metathesis step using the same complex catalyst as in the hydrogenation step.

A catalytic nanoparticle can include a nanodiamond core, a thin-layer polymeric film applied to an outer surface of the nanodiamond core, and a catalyst immobilized at an outer surface of the thin-layer polymeric film. The nanoparticles can also be used in connection with a transducer to form a sensor. A method of catalysis can include contacting the catalytic nanoparticle with a reactant in a reaction area. The reactant can be capable of forming a reaction product via a reaction catalyzed by the catalyst. The method of catalysis can also include facilitating a catalytic interaction between the catalytic nanoparticle and the reactant.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of chiral and achiral macrocyclic polydentate ligands and methods of preparing the same. Disclosed herein are also embodiments of metal coordination complexes derived from these macrocyclic polydentate ligands and methods of preparing the same. The metal coordination complexes described herein, can be used for a variety of catalytic reactions, including hydrogenation and transfer hydrogenation of unsaturated organic compounds, dehydrogenation of alcohols and boranes, an asymmetric Michael-type addition reaction, or an aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution of an organic compound, dehydrogenative couplings and other catalytic transformations.