Synergetic combination of a mesoporous polymeric acid and a base enables highly efficient heterogeneous catalytic one-pot conversion of crude Jatropha oil into biodiesel

Highly efficient conversion of crude Jatropha oil to biodiesel was realized under mild conditions via a synergistic catalytic system consisting of acid (MICPHPW) and base (MICPOH) catalysts using a ‘one-pot, two-step’ strategy.

A highly durable, stretchable, transparent and conductive carbon nanotube–polymeric acid hybrid film

A highly durable and stretchable carbon nanotube–polymeric acid transparent conductive film by utilizing polymer wrapping is demonstrated.

Elucidating the Energetics and Effects of Solvents on Cellulose Hydrolysis Using a Polymeric Acid Catalyst

A novel polymeric acid catalyst immobilized on a membrane substrate was found to possess superior catalytic activity and selectivity for biomass hydrolysis. The catalyst consists of two polymer chains, a poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PSSA) polymer chain for catalyzing carbohydrate substrate, and a neighboring poly(vinyl imidazolium chloride) ionic liquid (PIL) polymer chain for promoting the solvation of the PSSA chain to enhance the catalytic activity. In order to elucidate the mechanism and determine the energetics of biomass catalytic processing using this unique catalyst, classical molecular dynamics (MD) coupled with metadynamics (MTD) simulations were conducted to determine the free energy surfaces (FES) of cellulose hydrolysis. The critical role that PIL plays in the catalytic conversion is elucidated. The solvation free energy and the interactions between PSSA, PIL, and cellulose chains are found to be significantly affected by the solvent.

Polymeric acid-doped transparent carbon nanotube electrodes for organic solar cells with the longest doping durability

This communication reports the discovery of an effective and long-lasting p-type dopant polymeric acid for transparent carbon electrodes.