Multicomponent flame retardant systems containing aluminum diethylphosphinate in thermoplastic styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene elastomers are investigated (oxygen index, UL 94, cone calorimeter, and mechanical testing). Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy, and elemental analysis illuminate the interactions in the condensed phase. Thermoplastic styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene elastomers are a challenge for flame retardancy (peak heat release rate at 50 kW m 22. 2000 kW m 22 , oxygen index = 17.2 vol%, no UL-94 horizontal burn rating) since it burns without residue and with a very high effective heat of combustion. Adding aluminum diethylphosphinate results in efficient flame inhibition and improves the reaction to small flame, but it is less effective in the cone calorimeter. Its efficacy levels off for amounts .;25 wt%. As the most promising synergistic system, aluminum diethylphosphinate/ melamine polyphosphate was identified, combining the main gas action of aluminum diethylphosphinate with condensed phase mechanisms. The protection layer was further improved with several adjuvants. Keeping the overall flame retardant content at 30 wt%, aluminum diethylphosphinate/melamine polyphosphate/titanium dioxide and aluminum diethylphosphinate/ melamine polyphosphate/boehmite were the best approaches. An oxygen index of up to 27 vol%

Developing flame retarded thermoplastic elastomers (TPE-S) based on styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene, polypropylene, and mineral oil is a challenging task because of their very high fire loads and flammability. A promising approach is the synergistic combination of expandable graphite (EG) and ammonium polyphosphate (APP). Cone calorimetry, oxygen index, and UL 94 classification were applied. The optimal EG:APP ratio is 3:1, due to the most effective fire residue morphology. Exchanging APP with melamine-coated APPm yielded crucial improvement in fire properties, whereas replacing EG/APP with melamine polyphosphate did not. Adjuvants, such as aluminum diethyl phosphinate (AlPi), zinc borate, melamine cyanurate, titanium dioxide, dipentaerylthritol, diphenyl-2-ethyl phosphate, boehmite, SiO2, chalk, and talcum, were tested. All flame retardants reinforced the TPE-S. The combination with AlPi is proposed, because with 30 wt % flame retardants a maximum averaged rate of heat emission below 200 kW m–2 and a V-0 rating was achieved. Multicomponent EG/APP/adjuvants systems are proposed as a suitable route to achieve efficient halogen-free flame retarded TPE-S.

The synthesis of selected state-of-the-art catalysts providing high performances in the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) with O2 was reproduced according to the respective recipes reported in literature. A reference material with identical stoichiometric composition was further synthesized by applying the cellulose templating method. This method increases the surface area and affects the phase composition and crystallite size of the catalysts as determined by N2-physisoprtion, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. This, however, is in most cases detrimental to the catalytic OCM performance due to enhanced global activity resulting in hot spots in the catalyst bed. Catalysts were tested in the OCM under variation of temperature (973–1073 K), GHSV (3600–100,000 h−1) and oxidizing agent (O2 and N2O). In general, conversions of CH4 when using N2O are lower than in the presence of O2, however, the selectivities to C2 products ethane and ethylene are higher even at a similar level of CH4 conversion. This confirms the presence of different oxygen species formed by activation of these oxidizing agents

A facile and rapid preparation method for a wide variety of medium surface area perovskite-type catalysts on the laboratory scale is presented. The cellulose templating method allows for catalysts with high phase purity, even at the relatively low calcination temperatures. Among the versatile compositions of perovskites based on the SrCoOx system, straightforward modifications could be performed to optimize the catalytic performance in the oxidation of CH4. Substitutions in both the A and B positions in the ABO3 lattice can remarkably affect the catalytic activity. Compared to other preparation methods, the cellulose templating method is a rapid process and the catalytic performances obtained with SrCoOx and LaCoOx are at least as good as with materials prepared by conventional methods

Nanostructured perovskite-type SrCoO x catalysts were prepared using a w/o-microemulsion as a soft template. Conventional co-precipitation and citric acid solgel were used as reference methods with regard to surface and bulk physico-chemical properties as well as catalytic performance in methane oxidation. The solids were characterised by XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, N 2 -physisorption, TG-DTA-MS, ICP-OES, and H 2 -TPR techniques. The phase transformation temperature of the microemulsiontemplated perovskites is by 150 K lower than that in the conventionally prepared ones. Therefore, this material is characterized by smaller crystallite sizes and higher surface areas. As result, it shows a higher activity in oxidative coupling of methane as compared to sol-gel and co-precipitated catalysts. The properties of the catalysts are weakly influenced by changing the specific synthesis parameters of the microemulsions.