A homogeneous catalyst is provided comprising one or more metals; and at least two metal coordinating ligands wherein the homogeneous catalyst is a multi-ligand metal complex adapted for use with an oxidant in an oxidation reaction to catalytically pretreat lignocellulosic biomass. In one embodiment, the homogenous catalyst is copper (II) 2, 2′ bipyridine ethylenediamine (Cu(bpy)en). Related methods are also disclosed.

A highly active hydroprocessing catalyst that comprises an inorganic oxide support particle having been impregnated with a metals-impregnation solution comprising a complexing agent and a hydrogenation metal that is further incorporated with an organic additive blend.

The present invention relates to catalyst composition for cyclic carbonate production from CO.sub.2 and epoxides under mild conditions, which can effectively catalyze the cyclic carbonate synthesis and provides good selectivity to cyclic carbonate, wherein said catalyst composition comprising: a) the metal complex as shown in structure (I):

##STR00001## wherein, M represents transition metal atom; R.sub.1, R.sub.2, and R.sub.3 represent independent group selected from hydrogen atom, halogen atom, alkyl group, alkenyl group, alkynyl group, alkoxy group, amine group, phenyl group, benzyl group, cyclic hydrocarbon group comprising hetero atom, perfluoroalkyl group, or nitro group; R.sub.4 represents group selected from alkylene group, cycloalkylene group, or phenylene group; X represents group selected from hydrogen atom, acetate group, or triflate group; and b) the organic compound as the co-catalyst selected from compound containing nitrogen, compound of quaternary ammonium salts, or compound of iminium salts.

Metal-organic framework materials (MOFs) are highly porous entities comprising a multidentate organic ligand coordinated to multiple metal centers. MOFs having ambient condition stability may comprise a plurality of metal clusters comprising one or more M.sub.4O clusters (M is a metal), and a plurality of 4-pyrazolecarboxylate ligands coordinated to the plurality of metal clusters to define an at least partially crystalline network structure having a plurality of internal pores. The MOFs may have a Pa3 symmetry, which upon activation may convert into Fm3m symmetry. Methods for synthesizing the MOFs may comprise combining a metal source, such as a preformed metal cluster, with 4-pyrazolecarboxylic acid, and reacting the preformed metal cluster with the 4-pyrazolecarboxylic acid to form a MOF having an at least partially crystalline network structure with a plurality of internal pores defined therein and comprising a plurality of metal clusters coordinated to a multidentate organic ligand comprising 4-pyrazolecarboxylate.

The present application provides a mononuclear transition metal complex, a photocatalyst for carbon dioxide reduction including same, and a method for reducing carbon dioxide to formic acid, the method comprising using the photocatalyst for carbon dioxide reduction.

Methods of polymer and/or oligomer depolymerization are described herein which, in some embodiments, enable facile polymer and/or oligomer decomposition under mild, non-energy intensive conditions. Briefly, a method of depolymerization comprises providing a reaction mixture comprising a transition metal catalyst, and a polymer or oligomer having a backbone including cyclobutane units, and decomposing the polymer or oligomer to provide diene monomer or alkene monomer.

A high-activity double-metal-cyanide catalyst, a method for fabricating the same, and applications of the same are disclosed. An organic complexing ligand, which is formed via mixing fatty alcohols and alicyclic carbonates, is used to generate a high-activity double-metal-cyanide catalyst. The high-activity double-metal-cyanide catalyst includes at least one double-metal-cyanide compound, at least one organic complexing ligand, and an optional functionalized compound. The double-metal-cyanide catalyst of the present invention has a higher activity than the conventional double-metal-cyanide catalysts. The polyols generated by the present invention has an insignificant amount of high-molecular-weight compounds.

A method of producing a catalytic carbon fiber may include: oxidizing a virgin carbon fiber to produce an oxidized carbon fiber; reacting the oxidized carbon fiber with a polyamine compound to produce an amine modified carbon fiber; and reacting the amine modified carbon fiber with an organometallic macrocycle to produce the catalytic carbon fiber.

A method for synthesizing an aliphatic polyester block copolymer regulated by carbon monoxide. The method uses an organic cobalt metal complex as a convertible catalyst and includes: first regulating an anionic ring-opening copolymerization reaction between an aliphatic acid anhydride and an epoxy compound; then using carbon monoxide as a conversion agent for conversion to obtain a catalyst having a new catalytic active site; and regulating a vinyl monomer to perform active free radical polymerization to obtain an aliphatic polyester block copolymer having a controllable structure. The described synthesis method uses a convertible catalyst and a conversion agent, combines two controllable polymerization reactions which have different but compatible mechanisms, and obtains a block copolymer by means of a “one-pot” reaction.

A catalyst is provided having: (a) at least one multimetallic salt; and (b) at least one organic acid, wherein the at least one multimetallic salt to the at least one organic acid weight ratio is in the range of 1:0.01-1:0.5. A process is also provided for the preparation of the catalyst and for the preparation of the multimetallic salt.