Magnesium oxide loaded mesoporous silica: Synthesis, characterisation and use in removing lead and cadmium from water supplies (2023)
Journal Article
Saod, W., Oliver, I., Thompson, D., Holborn, S., Contini, A., Zholobenko, V., & Zholobenko, V. (2023). Magnesium oxide loaded mesoporous silica: Synthesis, characterisation and use in removing lead and cadmium from water supplies. Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enmm.2023.100817

Water pollution by potentially toxic elements such as cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) is a persistent problem in many parts of the world. It continues to have profound implications for drinking water supplies, wastewater discharge and environmental qualit... Read More about Magnesium oxide loaded mesoporous silica: Synthesis, characterisation and use in removing lead and cadmium from water supplies.

Environmental Applications of Zeolites: Hydrophobic Sn-BEA as a Selective Gas Sensor for Exhaust Fumes (2023)
Journal Article
Dubray, F., Jendrlin, M., Grand, J., Lakiss, L., El Fallah, J., Mintova, S., …Zholobenko, V. (2023). Environmental Applications of Zeolites: Hydrophobic Sn-BEA as a Selective Gas Sensor for Exhaust Fumes. Chemistry, 334 - 347. https://doi.org/10.3390/chemistry5010025

Environmental monitoring of pollutants, such as NOx and COx, which can be facilitated by a range of gas sensors, is of considerable fundamental and practical importance. This work has been focused on the synthesis and evaluation of zeolite beta with... Read More about Environmental Applications of Zeolites: Hydrophobic Sn-BEA as a Selective Gas Sensor for Exhaust Fumes.

Thinglink and the Laboratory: Interactive Simulations of Analytical Instrumentation for HE Science Curricula (2022)
Journal Article
Jeffery, A. J., Rogers, S. L., Pringle, J. K., Zholobenko, V. L., Jeffery, K. L., Wisniewski, K. D., …Emley, D. W. (2022). Thinglink and the Laboratory: Interactive Simulations of Analytical Instrumentation for HE Science Curricula. Journal of Chemical Education, 2277-2290. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c01067

Access to laboratory facilities and associated instrumentation represents a major barrier to learning in physical science education, due to constraints introduced by limited time and financial resources, cost 20 of acquisition, and health and safety... Read More about Thinglink and the Laboratory: Interactive Simulations of Analytical Instrumentation for HE Science Curricula.

A Pencil-Drawn Electronic Tongue for Environmental Applications. (2021)
Journal Article
Kirsanov, D., Mukherjee, S., Pal, S., Ghosh, K., Bhattacharyya, N., Bandyopadhyay, R., …Legin, A. (2021). A Pencil-Drawn Electronic Tongue for Environmental Applications. Sensors, https://doi.org/10.3390/s21134471

We report on the development of a simple and cost-effective potentiometric sensor array that is based on manual "drawing" on the polymeric support with the pencils composed of graphite and different types of zeolites. The sensor array demonstrates di... Read More about A Pencil-Drawn Electronic Tongue for Environmental Applications..

Ion sensing pencil: Draw your own sensor (2021)
Journal Article
Kirsanov, D., Jendrlin, M., Khumngern, S., Numnuam, A., Thavarungkul, P., Kanatharana, P., …Radu, A. (2021). Ion sensing pencil: Draw your own sensor. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemicall, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2021.129751

We demonstrate for the first time the concept of ion sensing pencil (ISP). The pencil’s lead carries chemical sensing functionality and is constructed by compression of graphite and zeolite, while the clutch is prepared by 3D printing. The ISP can be... Read More about Ion sensing pencil: Draw your own sensor.

Stoichiometric methane conversion to ethane using photochemical looping at ambient temperature (2020)
Journal Article
Yu, X., Hu, D., Wu, D., Ordomsky, V., Khodakov, A., Zholobenko, V., & Moldovan, S. (2020). Stoichiometric methane conversion to ethane using photochemical looping at ambient temperature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-0616-7

Methane activation and utilization are among the major challenges of modern science. Methane is potentially an important feedstock for manufacturing value-added fuels and chemicals. However, most known processes require excessive operating temperatur... Read More about Stoichiometric methane conversion to ethane using photochemical looping at ambient temperature.

Probing the acid sites of zeolites with pyridine: quantitative AGIR measurements of the molar absorption coefficients (2020)
Journal Article
Zholobenko. (2020). Probing the acid sites of zeolites with pyridine: quantitative AGIR measurements of the molar absorption coefficients. Journal of Catalysis, 52-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2020.03.003

This study presents a detailed methodology, which combines high-precision thermogravimetry and FTIR spectroscopy, aiming to establish the most accurate and reliable means of measuring the molar absorption coefficients of adsorbed species. As the inte... Read More about Probing the acid sites of zeolites with pyridine: quantitative AGIR measurements of the molar absorption coefficients.

The effect of ZSM-5 zeolite crystal size on p-xylene selectivity in toluene disproportionation (2020)
Journal Article
Albahar, M., Li, C., Zholobenko, V., & Garforth, A. (2020). The effect of ZSM-5 zeolite crystal size on p-xylene selectivity in toluene disproportionation. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micromeso.2020.110221

The effect of crystal size was explored in this work aiming at enhancing p-xylene selectivity through toluene disproportionation over ZSM-5 zeolite. The different physicochemical properties of ZSM-5 were investigated using various characterization te... Read More about The effect of ZSM-5 zeolite crystal size on p-xylene selectivity in toluene disproportionation.

Ion-exchanged Zeolite P as a Nanostructured Catalyst for Biodiesel Production (2019)
Journal Article
Al-Ani, A., Mordvinova, N., Lebedev, O., Khodakov, A., & Zholobenko, V. (2019). Ion-exchanged Zeolite P as a Nanostructured Catalyst for Biodiesel Production. Energy Reports, 357 -363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2019.03.003

Nano-crystalline synthetic gismondine modified via cation exchange has been utilised as a highly active and selective catalyst for the production of biofuel. In comparison with low silica zeolites FAU and LTA, K-form of gismondine, based on the maxim... Read More about Ion-exchanged Zeolite P as a Nanostructured Catalyst for Biodiesel Production.

External surface phenomena in dealumination and desilication of large single crystals of ZSM-5 zeolite synthesized from a sustainable source (2019)
Journal Article
Zholobenko, V., de Melo, J., Peron, D., Khodakov, A., Capron, M., Nuns, N., …Ordomsky, V. (2019). External surface phenomena in dealumination and desilication of large single crystals of ZSM-5 zeolite synthesized from a sustainable source. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 57-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micromeso.2019.05.033

Zeolite dealumination and desilication are common methods, which improve accessibility of the active sites located inside the zeolite crystallites and tune the zeolite acidity. The exact mechanism of these post-synthesis zeolite treatments remains un... Read More about External surface phenomena in dealumination and desilication of large single crystals of ZSM-5 zeolite synthesized from a sustainable source.

The influence of precursors on the induction period and transition-regime of dimethyl ether conversion to hydrocarbons over ZSM-5 catalysts (2019)
Journal Article
Omojola, T., Lukyanov, D., Cherkasov, N., Zholobenko, V., & van Veen, A. (2019). The influence of precursors on the induction period and transition-regime of dimethyl ether conversion to hydrocarbons over ZSM-5 catalysts. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 16479-16488. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.9b03344

ZSM-5 catalysts were subjected to step response cycles of dimethyl ether (DME) at 300 °C in a temporal analysis of products (TAP) reactor. Propylene is the major olefin and displays an S-shaped profile. A 44-min induction period occurs before primary... Read More about The influence of precursors on the induction period and transition-regime of dimethyl ether conversion to hydrocarbons over ZSM-5 catalysts.

Synthesis of Nanostructured Catalysts by Surfactant-Templating of Large-Pore Zeolites (2019)
Journal Article
Zholobenko, V., Mordvinova, N., Lebedev, O., Vicente, A., Haslam, J., Al-Ani, A., & fernandez, C. (2019). Synthesis of Nanostructured Catalysts by Surfactant-Templating of Large-Pore Zeolites. RSC advances, 2029-2039. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9NA00004F

Zeolites and related crystalline molecular sieves are utilised in a wide range of reactions and processes due to their regular microporous structure, strong acidity, shape selectivity and ion-exchange properties. However, their practical applications... Read More about Synthesis of Nanostructured Catalysts by Surfactant-Templating of Large-Pore Zeolites.

Catalytic performance of microporous materials for the production of renewable fuels (2019)
Journal Article
Al-Ani, A., Drijfhout, F., Crickett, S., & Zholobenko, V. (2019). Catalytic performance of microporous materials for the production of renewable fuels. Journal of Porous Materials, 26, 69-76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10934-018-0610-7

ETS-10, zeolite A and sepiolite based nano-structured materials were prepared and modified with potassium containing compounds using ion-exchange or impregnation and evaluated as basic catalysts for transesterification of vegetable oils using microwa... Read More about Catalytic performance of microporous materials for the production of renewable fuels.

Ketone Formation via Decarboxylation Reactions of Fatty Acids Using Solid Hydroxide/Oxide Catalysts (2018)
Journal Article
Smith, B., Li, L., Perera-Solis, D., Gildea, L., Zholobenko, V., Dyer, P., & Greenwell, H. (2018). Ketone Formation via Decarboxylation Reactions of Fatty Acids Using Solid Hydroxide/Oxide Catalysts. Inorganics, https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics6040121

A sustainable route to ketones is described where stearone is produced via ketonic decarboxylation of stearic acid mediated by solid base catalysts in yields of up to 97%, at 250 °C. A range of Mg/Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) and mixed metal... Read More about Ketone Formation via Decarboxylation Reactions of Fatty Acids Using Solid Hydroxide/Oxide Catalysts.

Structural features and stability of Spanish sepiolite as a potential catalyst (2018)
Journal Article
Al-Ani, . A., Gertisser, R., & Zholobenko, V. (2018). Structural features and stability of Spanish sepiolite as a potential catalyst. Applied Clay Science, 297 -304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2018.06.021

Abstract Sepiolite-based catalysts loaded with potassium hydroxide were prepared via the wet impregnation and ion-exchange methods and evaluated as catalysts in base-assisted reactions, such as transesterification of renewable oils. The structural fe... Read More about Structural features and stability of Spanish sepiolite as a potential catalyst.

Direct Production of Iso-Paraffins from Syngas over Hierarchical Cobalt-ZSM-5 Nanocomposites Synthetized using Carbon Nanotubes as Sacrificial Templates (2018)
Journal Article
Khodakov, A., Marcilio, N., Ordomsky, V., Zholobenko, V., Baaziz, W., Flores, C., & Batalha, N. (2018). Direct Production of Iso-Paraffins from Syngas over Hierarchical Cobalt-ZSM-5 Nanocomposites Synthetized using Carbon Nanotubes as Sacrificial Templates. ChemCatChem, 2291-2299. https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201701848

his paper focuses on the effect of synthesis conditions on the structure of cobalt-ZSM-5 zeolites and the localization, dispersion, and reducibility of cobalt species and their catalytic performance in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. The zeolite catalysts... Read More about Direct Production of Iso-Paraffins from Syngas over Hierarchical Cobalt-ZSM-5 Nanocomposites Synthetized using Carbon Nanotubes as Sacrificial Templates.

Nanostructured Zeolites: The Introduction of Intracrystalline Mesoporosity in Basic Faujasite-Type Catalysts (2018)
Journal Article
Al-Ani, A., Darton, R. J., Sneddon, S., & Zholobenko, V. (2018). Nanostructured Zeolites: The Introduction of Intracrystalline Mesoporosity in Basic Faujasite-Type Catalysts. ACS Applied Nano Material, 1(1), 310-318. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.7b00169

A combination of postsynthesis modifications and ion exchange aiming to obtain basic cation-rich hierarchical zeolites X and Y was utilized in this work for the preparation of catalysts for biofuel production from vegetable oils. The secondary mesopo... Read More about Nanostructured Zeolites: The Introduction of Intracrystalline Mesoporosity in Basic Faujasite-Type Catalysts.

Transalkylation of Toluene with 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene over Large Pore Zeolites (2017)
Journal Article
Chansai, S., Garforth, A., Zholobenko, V., Almulla, F., & Hill, P. (2017). Transalkylation of Toluene with 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene over Large Pore Zeolites. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 9799 -9808. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.7b01388

Using industrially relevant operating parameters, the transalkylation of 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (TMB) with toluene was studied. The effect of acidity and structure, increased reaction pressure, and very low levels of Pt impregnation have been investi... Read More about Transalkylation of Toluene with 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene over Large Pore Zeolites.

On the enhancing effect of Ce in Pd-MOR catalysts for NOx CH4-SCR: a structure-reactivity study (2016)
Journal Article
Mendes, A., Zholobenko, V., Thibault-Starzyk, F., Da Costa, P., & Henriques, C. (2016). On the enhancing effect of Ce in Pd-MOR catalysts for NOx CH4-SCR: a structure-reactivity study. Journal of Catalysis, 121-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2016.05.004

The effect of palladium and cerium species on the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx using methane as reductant (NOx CH4-SCR) has been investigated using Pd-HMOR and PdCe-HMOR system. The catalysts have been characterised by H2-TPR, DRS UV–Vi... Read More about On the enhancing effect of Ce in Pd-MOR catalysts for NOx CH4-SCR: a structure-reactivity study.

The role of steric effects and acidity in direct synthesis of iso-paraffins from syngas on cobalt zeolite catalysts (2015)
Journal Article
Zholobenko. (2015). The role of steric effects and acidity in direct synthesis of iso-paraffins from syngas on cobalt zeolite catalysts. ChemCatChem, 380-389. https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201500777

This study focuses on the effects of the localization of Co species, zeolite structure, and acidity on the performance of Co bifunctional catalysts promoted with Pt for the direct synthesis of iso-paraffins from syngas. ZSM-5, MOR, and BEA were chose... Read More about The role of steric effects and acidity in direct synthesis of iso-paraffins from syngas on cobalt zeolite catalysts.