Trends in C-O and C-N bond formations over transition metal surfaces: An insight into kinetic sensitivity in catalytic reactions

Transition metal catalyzed bond formation is a fundamental process in catalysis and is of general interest throughout chemistry. To date, however, the knowledge of association reactions is rather limited, relative to what is known about dissociative processes. For example, surprisingly little is known about how the bond-forming ability of a metal, in general, varies across the Periodic Table. In particular, the effect of reactant valency on such trends is poorly understood. Herein, the authors examine these key issues by using density functional theory calculations to study CO and CN formations over the 4d metals. The calculations reveal that the chemistries differ in a fundamental way. In the case of CO formation, the reaction enthalpies span a much greater range than those of CN formation. Moreover, CO formation is found to be kinetically sensitive to the metal; here the reaction barriers (E-a) are found to be influenced by the reaction enthalpy. CN formation, conversely, is found to be relatively kinetically insensitive to the metal, and there is no correlation found between the reaction barriers and the reaction enthalpy. Analysis has shown that at the final adsorbed state, the interaction between N and the surface is relatively greater than that of O. Furthermore, in comparison with O, relatively less bonding between the surface and N is observed to be lost during transition state formation. These greater interactions between N and the surface, which can be related to the larger valency of N, are found to be responsible for the relatively smaller enthalpy range and limited variation in E-a for CN formation. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

General trends in the barriers of catalytic reactions on transition metal surfaces

A catalyst preparation by design is one of the ultimate goals in chemistry. The first step towards this goal is to understand the origin of reaction barriers. In this study, we have investigated several catalytic reactions on some transition metal surfaces, using density functional theory. All the reaction barriers have been determined. By detailed analyses we obtain some insight into the reaction barrier. Each barrier is related to (i) the potential energy surface of reactants on the surface, (ii) the total chemisorption energy of reactants, and (iii) the metal d orbital occupancy and the reactant valency. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

General trends in CO dissociation on transition metal surfaces

Dissociative adsorption is one of the most important reactions in catalysis. In this communication we propose a model aiming to generalize the important factors that affect dissociation reactions. Specifically, for a dissociation reaction, say AB -->A + B, the model connects the dissociation barrier with the association barrier, the chemisorption energies of A and B at the final state and the bonding energy of AB in the gas phase. To apply this model, we have calculated CO dissociation on Ru(0001), Rh(111), Pd(111) (4d transition metals), Os(0001), Ir(111), and Pt(111) (5d transition metals) using density function theory (DFT). All the barriers are determined. We find that the DFT results can be rationalized within the model. The model can also be used to explain many experimental observations. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

What the Papers Say: Trends in Sustainability

This paper presents an overview of the results of a longitudinal analysis of the coverage of sustainability-related concepts in 115 leading national newspapers worldwide between January 1990 and July 2008, covering approximately 20,500,000 articles in 340,000 newspaper issues in 39 countries. On a global level, sustainable development and corporate social responsibility seem to have reached the mainstream public arena, whereas the coverage of corporate citizenship and corporate sustainability remains marginal. The increase in sustainability related media coverage since 1990 largely seems to be of an incremental nature, rather than clearly associated with specific events. Only very few truly global events can be identified that triggered a substantial amount of media coverage globally. Furthermore, marked regional and national differences in the coverage of sustainability related concepts can be identified.

Personal Injury Liability in Sport: Emerging Trends

Violent play during the course of a game or sport is not a new phenomenon; accompanying legal proceedings are. This article considers personal injury liability for injuries inflicted by a participant upon an opponent during a sporting pursuit. The jurisdictional focus is on England and Wales. The sporting emphasis of the article is on competitive, body contact games. The legal emphasis is on the tort of negligence. Analogous to the law of criminal assault, breach of "implied sporting consent" or the volenti of the claimant will be seen as central in application, as assessed through a number of objective criteria, including the skill level of the injuring party and whether that defendant was acting in "reckless disregard" of the claimant's safety. These criteria or evidential guidelines, which emerge from a careful doctrinal analysis of the relevant case law, are seen as crucial to the examination of the appropriate degree of care in negligence within the prevailing circumstances of sport. The article also searches for some theoretical coherency within the case law, premising it on Fletcher's idea of reciprocal risk-taking. In addition, the underlying policy-related issue of sport's social utility is discussed, as are practical matters relating to vicarious liability, insurance and the measure of damages for "lost sporting opportunity". Moreover, it will be shown that personal injury claims relating to sports participant liability now extend to a consideration of the duties of coaches, referees, sports governing bodies and schools. Finally, this article is set against the backdrop of an apparently spiralling "compensation culture" and the concomitant threat that that "blame culture" poses for the future promotion, operation and administration of sport.

An array-based study of reactivity under solvent-free mechanochemical conditions-insights and trends

An array-based approach is put forward to obtain insight into reactivity under mechanochemical solvent-free conditions. We describe a survey of sixty potential reactions between twelve metal salts MX2 {(M = Cu, X-2 = (OAc)(2), (HCO2)(2), (F3CCO2)(2), (acac)(2), (F(6)acac)(2), (NO3)(2), SO4; M = Ni, X-2 = (OAc)(2), (NO3)(2), SO4; M = Zn, X-2 (OAc)(2), (NO3)(2)} and five bridging organic ligands {isonicotinic acid (HINA), 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H2BDC), acetylenedicarboxylic acid (H(2)ADC), 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (H3BTC), 4,4'-bipyridyl (BIPY). Reaction conditions involved a ball mill, applied for 15 min at 30 Hz, without external heating. When examined by XRPD, forty of the combinations gave detectable reactions, thirty-eight with crystalline products. Of these, twenty-nine reactions were quantitative (consuming all of at least one reactant). Comparison of XRPD patterns with patterns simulated from single crystal X-ray diffraction data in the Cambridge Structural Database allowed structural identification of six products. Of particular interest are the microporous framework materials [Cu(INA)(2)] and [Cu-3(BTC)(2)] (HKUST-1) obtained by reaction of the corresponding carboxylic acids with copper acetate. Other non-porous polymers with 3-dimensional connectivity, [Ni(ADC)(H2O)(4)], or 1-dimensional connectivity, [Cu(acac)(2)(BIPY)] and [Cu(F6acac)(BIPY)] were also obtained. Reaction between zinc acetate and H2ADC gave a new product which had not previously been characterised by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, but whose XRPD pattern suggests that it is isostructural with the known nickel polymer [Ni(ADC)(H2O)(4)]. Two further isostructural nickel and zinc products were obtained in reactions between HINA and nickel nitrate and zinc nitrate. Trends observed within the array are discussed. Copper acetate and copper formate were the most effective starting materials for reaction with carboxylic acids, potentially related to the basicity of their anions and the solvating effects of the formic and acetic acid byproducts. Amongst the ligands there was a general negative corelation between melting point and reactivity. The issue of pore templating in microporous phases and the generation of new structures is also discussed in relation to the Cu(INA)(2), Cu-3(BTC)(2) and nickel nitrate-BIPY systems. Overall, the study suggests that mechanochemical reactivity between metal salts and organic ligands under solvent free conditions is remarkably general. Use of array-based approaches as demonstrated here is advocated a useful way to reveal underlying trends in reactivity under solvent free mechanochemical conditions and to highlight particular cases for more detailed study.

Disparities in breast cancer mortality trends between 30 European countries: Retrospective trend analysis of WHO mortality database

Objective: To examine changes in temporal trends in breast cancer mortality in women living in 30 European countries.
Design: Retrospective trend analysis.
Data source: WHO mortality database on causes of deaths
Subjects reviewed: Female deaths from breast cancer from 1989 to 2006
Main outcome measures: Changes in breast cancer mortality for all women and by age group (<50, 50-69, and >= 70 years) calculated from linear regressions of log transformed, age adjusted death rates. Joinpoint analysis was used to identify the year when trends in all age mortality began to change.
Results: From 1989 to 2006, there was a median reduction in breast cancer mortality of 19%, ranging from a 45% reduction in Iceland to a 17% increase in Romania. Breast cancer mortality decreased by >= 20% in 15 countries, and the reduction tended to be greater in countries with higher mortality in 1987-9. England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland had the second, third, and fourth largest decreases of 35%, 29%, and 30%, respectively. In France, Finland, and Sweden, mortality decreased by 11%, 12%, and 16%, respectively. In central European countries mortality did not decline or even increased during the period. Downward mortality trends usually started between 1988 and 1996, and the persistent reduction from 1999 to 2006 indicates that these trends may continue. The median changes in the age groups were -37% (range -76% to -14%) in women aged <50, -21% (-40% to 14%) in 50-69 year olds, and -2% (-42% to 80%) in >= 70 year olds.
Conclusions: Changes in breast cancer mortality after 1988 varied widely between European countries, and the UK is among the countries with the largest reductions. Women aged <50 years showed the greatest reductions in mortality, also in countries where screening at that age is uncommon. The increasing mortality in some central European countries reflects avoidable mortality.