The effect of magnetic inducement in support preparation was studied to reduce coke and improve the activity of Ni catalysts for ethanol steam reforming (ESR) at 550–650 °C. Magnetic inducement was introduced to prepare 5 mol % CeO2 in Al2O3 support in order to control the composition and the distribution of Ce in Al2O3. The results show that using CeO2–Al2O3 support with magnetic inducement affects both hydrogen production and coke reduction, where Ni/CeO2–Al2O3 support prepared under magnetic inducement with N–N pole arrangement (Ni/CeO2–Al2O3 (N–N)) exhibited the highest hydrogen production and the lowest coke formation among the catalysts used in this work. Compared with Ni/CeO2–Al2O3 (no magnet), Ni/CeO2–Al2O3 (N–N) catalysts yield 14.0% higher H2 production and 31.7% less coke production. The modified catalyst preparation process used in this study could create catalysts for hydrogen production from ESR which are high in performance and stability but low in preparation cost.

Catalytic activity of Ni catalysts for NH3 decomposition can be enhanced by using Ce‐doped Al2O3 support. Magnetic inducement during sol‐gel preparation of supports was studied to enhance the Ce dispersion in Al2O3 framework. In this study, the same poles and different pole of magnetic arrangement were applied during the sol‐gel preparation. Ni catalysts over the supports were investigated for the NH3 decomposition activity along with catalyst and support properties, including Ce dispersion in Al2O3 framework, Ni dispersion, acidic sites, basic sites, and reaction kinetics. The magnetic inducement can control the Ce composition and uniformity in the Al2O3 framework. The Ni/Ce‐doped Al2O3 prepared under the same poles of magnetic inducement show significant improvements in Ni dispersion, and yield highest catalytic activity due to a high Ce composition and uniformity in the framework, as well as the high Lewis basic sites which enhance the limiting step of NH3 decomposition. Thus, combination of the partial doping with magnetic inducement provides a novel approach with low cost to improve the activity of Ni catalyst without changing the reaction mechanism.

Nicotine is widely used in pharmaceutical industries, especially for smoking cessation in the form of transdermal patches. Nicotine gel in the patches has limitations from nicotine instability and high volatility. Thus, a nicotine preservation technique is needed. In this study, a nicotine encapsulation process using methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD) is investigated and compared with β-cyclodextrin (βCD) to evaluate the preservation and skin permeation of nicotine. The M06-2X/6-31G(d,p) density functional theory calculations indicate a 1:1 host–guest molar ratio for the inclusion complex of nicotine with βCD and MβCD, which have been validated by experimental studies. The encapsulation efficiencies of βCD and MβCD to encapsulate nicotine are 59.96% and 63.76%, respectively. The preservation study of the inclusion complexes compared to pure nicotine shows a stability improvement of nicotine after being encapsulated. After 21 days, the percentages of the nicotine/βCD and nicotine/MβCD inclusion complexes that remain are 89.32% and 76.22%, while only 65.56% of pure nicotine remains. Besides the one-hour skin permeation tests, the amounts of nicotine permeated through pig skin from the nicotine/βCD and nicotine/MβCD inclusion complex gels are 14 and 10 times as much as the pure nicotine gel, respectively. Therefore, the encapsulation of nicotine with βCD and MβCD can be used to enhance the stability and skin permeation application of nicotine-containing products.

Linalool, a volatile terpene alcohol, is responsible for a characteristic aroma in food, beverages, and cosmetics. However, linalool’s low aqueous solubility and high volatility limit the applications and shelf life of linalool-containing products. Nanoencapsulation using beta-cyclodextrin (BCD), methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MBCD) and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) was studied to improve the aqueous solubility and stability of linalool. Linalool has two enantiomers with distinct flavors and odors which affect product quality. The enantiomeric selectivity of the cyclodextrins (CDs) toward racemic linalool standard was evaluated. A computational simulation was performed to predict the conformations and interactions of the inclusion complexes. The 1:1 host-guest ratio from the computer simulation was implemented in the experimental study. Phase solubility study shows an improvement in linalool aqueous solubility after being encapsulated by CDs. The encapsulation efficiencies of linalool/BCD, linalool/MBCD, and linalool/HPBCD inclusion complexes are 66.30%, 51.38% and 32.31%, respectively. Nanoencapsulation by CDs can preserve linalool in the form of inclusion complexes compared to its free form. The amount of remaining linalool in linalool/BCD, linalool/MBCD, and linalool/HPBCD inclusion complexes are 89.57%, 87.07%, and 74.86%, respectively which are considerably larger than that of pure linalool (42.30%). CDs also show the enantiomeric selectivity toward (R)-linalool as evident from (R)-linalool percentage of 54.53% in the inclusion complex.

Magnetic inducement was applied during metal loading to enhance Cu-Zn catalysts for methanol steam reforming in the temperature range of 200–300 °C. The supports used in this study were the γ-Al2O3 support and CeO2-Al2O3 supports prepared under different magnetic environments. Cu-Zn loading between the north and south poles (N-S) on the CeO2-Al2O3 support, prepared between two north poles (N-N), led to the highest H2 production at 300 °C (2796 ± 76 µmol/min), which is triple that of Cu-Zn/CeO2-Al2O3 prepared without magnetic inducement and ~11-fold the activity of the Cu-Zn/Al2O3 reference catalyst. The N-S magnetic environment during metal loading leads to lower reduction temperatures and larger Cu(1+):Cu(2+) ratio. These results showed that the pole arrangement of magnets during metal loading could affect the catalytic activity of the Cu-Zn catalyst owing to its influence on the reducibility and the oxidation state of Cu active metal.