The methane reforming reaction with carbon dioxide as the oxidant over alumina-supported nickel and gold-doped nickel catalysts is studied using a variety of techniques such as reaction testing, vibrational spectroscopy (inelastic neutron scattering (INS), Raman scattering and infrared absorption), temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO), transmission electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The quantities of retained carbon and hydrogen are determined by TPO and INS, respectively. Minimal hydrogen retention indicates these catalysts to be very efficient at cycling hydrogen. The relative partitioning of hydrogen within the reaction media is used to formulate a qualitative description of the reaction kinetics. The presence of the gold modifier does not appear to provide any improvement in catalyst performance under the specified reaction conditions.

We report that the release of manganese ions from bioactive glass provoked human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) differentiation down a bone pathway, whereas hMSCs exposed to the Mn-free glass did not differentiate. Bioactive glasses (BGs) are widely used for bone regeneration, and allow the incorporation of different ions with therapeutic properties into the glass network. Amongst the different ions with therapeutic benefits, manganese (Mn) has been shown to influence bone metabolism and activate human osteoblasts integrins, improving cell adhesion, proliferation and spreading. Mn has also been incorporated into bioceramics as a therapeutic ion for improved osteogenesis. Here, up to 4.4 mol% MnO was substituted for CaO in the 58S composition (60 mol% SiO2, 36 mol% CaO, 4 mol% P2O5) and its effects on the glass properties and capability to influence the osteogenic differentiation were evaluated. Mncontaining BGs with amorphous structure, high specific surface area and nanoporosity were obtained. The presence of Mn 2+ species was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Mn-containing BGs presented no cytotoxic effect on human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and enabled sustained ion release in culture medium. hMSCs osteogenic differentiation stimulation and influence on the mineralisation process was also confirmed through the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and expression of osteogenic differentiation markers, such as collagen type I, osteopontin and osteocalcin, which presented higher expression in the presence of Mn-containing samples compared to control. Mn incorporation offers great promise for obtaining glasses with superior properties for bone tissue regeneration.

The application of inelastic neutron scattering to investigate the 'dry' reforming of methane over an alumina-supported nickel catalyst operating under conditions where filamentous carbon formation is prevalent. RSC Advances, 37(3). pp. 16577-16589.

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