Selected parameters leading to an optimized DSSC performance

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC), the third generation of photovoltaic devices, can be considered as most promising among renewable energy sources. Although DSSCs are devices very easy to fabricate, there is a large number of design parameters upon which their performance depends. In this review paper a lay out is given of the various parameters at which research groups focus aiming towards optimum performance of the DSSCs.     

Development of Hydroprocessing Route to Transportation Fuels from Non-Edible Plant-Oils

Catalysts with tunable porosity, crystallinity and acidity can selectively produce aviation fuels and road transportation fuels via hydroprocessing of non-edible oils. Here we discuss several catalyst supports—mesoporous alumina, silica–alumina and hierarchical mesoporous zeolites, developed and used as support for hydroprocessing catalysts (Ni–Mo, Co–Mo, Ni–W), for the selective production of transportation fuels. These developed catalysts were used for the hydroconversion of waste cooking-oil, jatropha-oil, algal-oil and their mixtures with petroleum refinery oils. The physicochemical properties of the catalyst were tuned for optimal performance on the basis of evaluation results on high pressure fixed bed microreactors and pilot scale reactors. These studies targeted the production of transportation fuels (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) by hydroprocessing (hydrotreating or hydrocracking) renewable feed stocks or co-processing with fossil based oils. Modelling and process optimization studies for prediction of kinetic rate parameters and to know the reaction pathways for the conversion of these feed stocks to various range of hydrocarbon fuels, were also carried out. These studies provided the vital information that the reaction pathways were temperature dependent.     

Synthesis of Bioactive Pyrethroid, 3-Phenoxybenzyl 1R-trans-2, 2-Dimethyl-3-(2-chloro-1-propenyl) Cyclopropanecarboxylate

The title compound 1 has been prepared from (+)-3-carene (2) and found to have the same order of activity as its IR-cis isomer 3 reported by us earlier¹ The key intermediate methyl IR-trans-2, 2-dimethyl-3-(2-oxopropyl)cyclopropanecarboxylate (4) has been characterised.     

New Method for the Synthesis of Benzyl Alkyl Ethers Mediated by FeSO4

The synthesis of benzyl alkyl ethers from benzyl bromides and alcohols using FeSO₄ as a recoverable and reusable mediator has been described without use of base and cosolvent under mild conditions.     

Conductometry and Thermodynamics Study of Metal Dodecyl Sulfates in Aqueous Solution

The aggregation behavior of metal dodecyl sulfates (MDS), [Na¹⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Co²⁺, and Ni²⁺] in water has been studied by electrical conductivity (at 293.15–333.15 K) and surface tension methods (at 303.15 K). Critical micelle concentrations (CMCs), degree of counterion dissociation (β) evaluated from conductivity data. Using law of mass action model, the thermodynamic parameters viz. Gibbs energy (ΔG_m ⁰), enthalpy (ΔH_m ⁰), and entropy (ΔS_m ⁰) were evaluated. The enthalpy of micellization decreases strongly with increasing temperature. ΔG is always negative (thermodynamically favored process) and slightly temperature and counterion dependent. Gibbs energy and entropy exploit micellization as thermodynamic favorable process. The electrostatic repulsions between ionic head groups, which prevent the aggregation, are progressively screened as the ionic character decreases with the size of the counterion. The plots of differential conductivity, (dk/dc) _T,P , versus the total surfactant concentration enables us to determine the CMC values more precisely than the conventional method. Surfactants with strong condense counterion are adapted to rodlike micelle better than to a spherical micelle. The data are explained in terms of molecular characteristics of surfactants viz. degree of dissociation, polar head group size and counterion.     

Atoms of multistationarity in chemical reaction networks

Chemical reaction systems are dynamical systems that arise in chemical engineering and systems biology. In this work, we consider the question of whether the minimal (in a precise sense) multistationary chemical reaction networks, which we propose to call ‘atoms of multistationarity,’ characterize the entire set of multistationary networks. Our main result states that the answer to this question is ‘yes’ in the context of fully open continuous-flow stirred-tank reactors (CFSTRs), which are networks in which all chemical species take part in the inflow and outflow. In order to prove this result, we show that if a subnetwork admits multiple steady states, then these steady states can be lifted to a larger network, provided that the two networks share the same stoichiometric subspace. We also prove an analogous result when a smaller network is obtained from a larger network by ‘removing species.’ Our results provide the mathematical foundation for a technique used by Siegal- Gaskins et al. of establishing bistability by way of ‘network ancestry.’ Additionally, our work provides sufficient conditions for establishing multistationarity by way of atoms and moreover reduces the problem of classifying multistationary CFSTRs to that of cataloging atoms of multistationarity. As an application, we enumerate and classify all 386 bimolecular and reversible two-reaction networks. Of these, exactly 35 admit multiple positive steady states. Moreover, each admits a unique minimal multistationary subnetwork, and these subnetworks form a poset (with respect to the relation of ‘removing species’) which has 11 minimal elements (the atoms of multistationarity).     

Enhanced dielectric and electro-optical properties of a newly synthesised ferroelectric liquid crystal material by doping gold nanoparticle-decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes

In this article, a newly synthesised ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) material, namely LAHS 22, has been characterised. The characterisation of the FLC material has been performed using dielectric relaxation spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and polarisation optical microscopy. We observed an enhancement in the dielectric and electro-optical properties of the FLC material by incorporating gold nanoparticles (GNPs)-decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The GNPs-decorated MWCNTs cause an increment in dielectric dispersion (up to kHz), absorption, spontaneous polarisation and rotational viscosity of the FLC material. The pure and GNPs-decorated MWCNTs doped FLC cells were analysed by means of various dielectric spectroscopic and optical measurements. The observed enhancement in the dielectric and electro-optical properties of the FLC material has also been studied with concentration of GNPs-decorated MWCNTs in FLC material. The GNPs-decorated MWCNTs/FLC composites are not only of fundamental importance, but also useful materials for device applications such as liquid crystal displays and memory devices.     

Magnetic and dielectric response of M-type barium hexaferrite

Barium hexaferrite (BaFe₁₂O₁₉) is a promising candidate for ceramics, microwave devices and numerous applications. Barium hexaferrite was synthesised via the sol-gel auto-combustion technique using glycine fuel. The X-ray diffraction technique confirmed the hexagonal structure of the particles with space group P63/mmc. The morphological analysis was performed using the field-emission scanning microscope, and the images displayed the plate-like particle formation. Transmission electron microscopy was employed to determine the average particle size of the sample, which was estimated to be 155.93 nm. The magnetic studies were taken through the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) at 300 K, with which the saturation magnetization (M_s), coercivity (H_c), squareness ratio (M_r/M_s), and energy product (BH_max) was calculated, and the particles were validated to be in single domain arrangement. The dielectric properties were investigated through the LCR meter. Koop and Maxwell-Wagner's model was used to interpret charge conduction and the occurrence of relaxations in the system.     

A simple and cost-effective synthesis of sulfated β-cyclodextrin and its application as chiral mobile phase additive in the separation of cloperastine enantiomers

Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry - A simple and cost-effective method for the synthesis of sulfated β-cyclodextrin, one of the most widely used chiral mobile phase...     

Green and Catalyst-Free Synthesis of Some New Benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine Derivatives as Antimicrobial and Antitubercular Agents

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - A new series of 4-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)-2-(substituted phenyl)-1,4-dihydrobenzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]­pyrimidines have been synthesized via a one-pot reaction...