Studies in sesquiterpenes—LVI: Isolongifolene (part 7): mechanism of rearrangement of longifolene to isolongifolene—II

The question of possible neutral intermediates which may lie on the reaction pathway in going from longifolene to isolongifolene has been investigated using BF₃·Et₂O-AcOD and D₃PO₄-dioxane, as reagents. It has been found that longicyclene is not an obligatory intermediate. The mode of cleavage of cyclopropane ring in longicyclene has been investigated.     

Novelties of solid-liquid phase transfer catalysed synthesis of p-toluenesulfonyl fluoride from p-toluenesulfonyl chloride

Organic sulfonyl fluorides are of interest owing to their insecticidal, germicidal and enzyme inhibitory properties. In the current work, synthesis of p-toluenesufonyl fluoride was accomplished by reacting p-toluenesulfonyl chloride with solid potassium fluoride using PEG-400 as a catalyst under solid-liquid phase transfer catalysis (S-L PTC) at 30 °C. p-Toluenesulfonyl fluoride is used as peroxygen bleach activator. It also finds use in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The mechanism is based on homogeneous solubilization of solid. PEG forms a complex with metal cation which associates with the nucleophile and it participates in SN₂ type reactions. The reaction is intrinsically kinetically controlled. A complete theoretical analysis is done to determine both the rate constant and equilibrium constant from the same set of data. The activation energy and Gibbs free energy are also calculated.     

4-Oxatricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]decan-10-one and 4-oxatricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]dec-8-en-10-one. Experimental and DFT investigations of the pi-selectivities.

Ab initio MO and experimental pi-selectivities of hydride additions to 4-oxatricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]decan-10-one and 4-oxatricyclo[5.2.1.0(2,6)]dec-8-en-10-one are described. The interactions of sigma(C1-C2) and sigma(C6-C7) with pi(C=O), on one hand, and those of sigma(C1-C9) and sigma(C7-C8) with pi(C=O), on the other hand, support anti-selectivities for both. This is in full accordance with the experiments. The arguments that are based on electrostatic interactions and electron donation from the ring oxygen do not apply.     

Fenugreek mucilage as a flocculating agent for sewage treatment

The use of fenugreek mucilage, a natural polysaccharide and a direct food additive, as a flocculating agent for removal of suspended and dissolved solids from sewage effluent has been reported. A flocculation study has been done by the standard jar test method. The percent removal of suspended solid (SS) and dissolved solid (TDS) was determined by varying the polymer dose, pH and contact time. X-ray diffraction patterns of the solid waste material of mucilage and flocs (so obtained after treatment) were used to suggest the incorporation of the crystalline waste material in the mucilage. The optimal mucilage concentration was found to be 0.16 mg/l. The suitable pH range for maximum solid removal (SS and TDS) was alkaline and the time required for treatment was 1-3 h.     

Phosphomolybdic acid-catalyzed efficient one-pot three-component aza-Diels-Alder reactions under solvent-free conditions: a facile synthesis of trans-fused pyrano- and furanotetrahydroquinolines

trans-Fused pyrano- and furanotetrahydroquinoline derivatives have been synthesized via a one-pot three-component aza-Diels-Alder reaction of aryl imines formed in situ from aromatic amines and arylaldehydes with cyclic enol ethers,such as 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran and 2,3-dihydrofuran,in the presence of 1 mol % of phosphomolybdic acid under solvent-free conditions at room temperature in good to excellent yields.     

Determination of H2 and D2 content in metals and alloys using hot vacuum extraction

A hot vacuum extraction technique for the determination of hydrogen in metal and alloy samples has been standardised. After measuring the total pressure of the evolved gases, individual hydrogen and deuterium intensities are measured using an on-line quadrupole mass spectrometer. Synthetic mixtures of H₂ and D₂, in known concentrations, have been analysed by QMS and an analytical expression correlating the measured [D₂]/[HD] intensity ratio with the mole fraction of deuterium in the synthetic mixture has been arrived at. The precision and accuracy in the measurement of hydrogen is about 10% at 50 ppmw level.     

Synthesis of Pharmaceutical Intermediates by Toluene Benzylation over Heteropoly Acids on Different Support

Selective formation of pharmaceutical intermediates like diphenylmethane, dimethyl- diphenylmethane, benzyl toluene and benzoic acid by liquid phase, toluene benzylation with benzyl chloride as a benzylating agent, was systematically studied over plane clay (K-10, montmorillonite), plane H-Beta, plane MFI structured titanosilicate (TS-1) and heteropoly acids [HPA, namely dodeca-tungstophosphoric acid [H3PO4.12WO3.xH2O] (TPA), dodeca-molybdo phosphoric acid ammonium salt hydrate [H12Mo12N3O40P aq] (DMAA), sodium tungstate hydrated purified [Na12WO4.2H2O] (STH)] supported on clay, H-beta and TS-1. The 20%TPA/Clay, 30%TPA/H-Beta and 30%TPA/TS-l, were observed to be the best catalyst samples over plane clay, plane H-Beta and plane TS-1. The catalyst samples are compared with respect to benzyl chloride conversion and selectivities for diphenylmethane, dimethyl-diphenylmethane, benzyl toluene and benzoic acid. The reaction follows the pseudo-first order rate power law model. The apparent rate constants are calculated and compared with the reported ones.     

Linear and Nonlinear Analyses of the Onset of Buoyancy-Induced Instability in an Unbounded Porous Medium Saturated by Miscible Fluids

This study analyzes the stability of an initially sharp interface between two miscible fluids in a porous medium. Linear stability equations are first derived using the similarity variable of the basic state, and then transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations using a spectral expansion with and without quasi-steady-state approximation (QSSA). These transformed equations are solved using the eigenanalysis and initial value problem approach. The initial growth rate analysis shows that initially the system is unconditionally stable. The stability characteristics obtained under the present QSSA are quantitatively same as those obtained without the QSSA. To support these theoretical results, numerical simulations are conducted using the Fourier-spectral method. The results of theoretical linear stability analyses and the numerical simulations validate to each other.     

Green synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles by Allium cepa L. to produce silver nano‐coated fabric and their antimicrobial evaluation

This research work was proposed to study the antimicrobial activity of the silver nanocoated fabric with the purpose of producing good dressing and clothing material. We synthesized simple, ecofriendly, cost‐effective and sustainable silver nanoparticles by using the aqueous extract of Allium cepa L. Here, A. cepa L. acts as a good reducing and capping agent that produced stable silver nanoparticles having particle size of range 36 ± 1 to 98 ± 2 nm, Poly dispersiblity index 0.234 ± 0.61 to 1.023 ± 0.33 and Zeta potential ‐12 ± 1.5 mV to ‐26 ± 1.2 mV. The effect of temperature and extract volume used was considered for optimization of synthetic procedure. The nanocoated fabric was characterized for morphological study, size (using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) and zeta‐potential (Zeta Potentiometer). The presence of functional groups were observed by using attenuated total reflection‐Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. The crystallinity and structural property of the synthesized silver nanoparticles were studied in terms of Powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD). An IC₅₀ value and zone of inhibition was studied which demonstrate that the silver nanocoated fabric have an excellent antibacterial property against Gram‐negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram‐positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. Further nanocoated fabric material was washed (with function of time 0, 10, 25, and 50 laundry cycles) and still retained their anti‐bacterial activity towards both strain. Initially there was 52 μg/ml of silver nanoparticles on the cotton fabric but after 50 laundry cycle in 500 ml of distilled water the fabric showed 92% efficiency against gram positive and 90% efficacy toward gram negative bacteria. It was found that 4.16 μg/ml nano particles leached in case of S. Aureus and 5.2 μg/mL silver nanoparticles leached in case of E. coli. Nanocoated fabric material synthesized using green synthesis was found to be economical with good resistance to washing.