Mesomorphic and fluorescence properties of methyl 4-(4-alkoxystyryl)benzoates

A series of methyl 4-(4-alkoxystyryl)benzoates was synthesised and studied for liquid crystalline and fluorescence properties. The peculiarity of the reaction scheme involved condensation between 4-alkoxybenzaldehyde and 4-(methoxycarbonyl)benzyltriphenyl phosphonium bromide in dichloromethane without any phase separation. The compounds were found thermally stable up to 200°C. The banded or arced focal-conic fan texture of CrE phase was exhibited on cooling the compounds (with chain length > C₄) below the SmA phase. It was observed that increasing chain length up to C₁₀ enhances mesophase stability. No LC behaviour was manifested by small (up to C₃) and branched small chain (up to C₄) members of the series.     

Electron Transport in Quasi‐Two‐Dimensional Porous Network of Titania Nanoparticles,Incorporating Electrical and Optical Advantages in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

The integration of fast electron transport and large effective surface area is critical to attaining higher gains in the nanostructured photovoltaic devices. Here, we report facilitated electron transport in the quasi‐two‐dimensional (Q2D) porous TiO₂. Liquid electrolyte dye‐sensitized solar cells were prepared by utilizing photoanodes based on the Q2D porous substructures. Due to electron confinement in a microscale porous medium, directional diffusion toward collecting electrode is induced into the electron transport. Our measurements based on the photocurrent and photovoltage time‐of‐flight transients show that at higher Fermi levels, the electron diffusion coefficient in the Q2D porous TiO₂ is about one order of magnitude higher when compared with the conventional layer of porous TiO₂. The results show that microstructuring of the porous TiO₂ leads to an approximately threefold improvement in the electron diffusion length. Such a modification may considerably affects the electrical functionality of moderate or low performance dye‐sensitized solar cells for which the internal gain or collection efficiency is typically low.     

Aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohols through biosynthesized palladium nanoparticles mediated by Oak fruit bark extract as an efficient heterogeneous nanocatalyst

In this study, green synthesis of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) is outlined through application of Oak fruit bark extract as a reducing, capping and stabilizing agent. The characteristics and properties of the biosynthesized Pd NPs were revealed by FESEM, EDX, XRD, TEM, UV–Vis, and FT-IR spectroscopies. So that, UV–Vis spectroscopy of the Pd colloidal solution confirmed reduction of Pd ions, and XRD and TEM analysis identified fcc unit cell structure forming 5–7 nm spherical Pd NPs. Furthermore, catalytic activity of the prepared catalyst was investigated through aerobic oxidation of alcohols, as model reactions. Catalytic evaluations demonstrated achievement of good yields from primary and secondary benzyl alcohols. In general, the devised synthesis method is advantageous from several perspectives. For example, the synthesized catalysts give high product yields and are efficient, they eliminate the need for surfactant, chemical reductants, ligand and organic solvents, the approach is economically inexpensive, it results in cleaner reaction profiles, application of the simply prepared heterogeneous catalyst is convenient, and the catalyst is recoverable and reusable for at least six times without any significant loss of its catalytic activity.     

CuI catalyst heterogenized on melamine-pyridines immobilized SBA-15: Heterogeneous and recyclable nanocatalyst for Ullmann-type CN coupling reactions

The present study reports the procedure conducted in SBA-15/CCPy/CuI preparation as a new Mesoporous nanocatalyst, whereas melamine bearing pyridine groups on SBA-15 are used to secure CuI catalyst as capping agent. The resultant catalyst was specified by conducting TEM, FESEM, WDX, ICP, and EDS. The SBA-15/CCPy/CuI catalytic behavior was studied to N-arylation of indole, imidazole, pyrazole, benzyl amine, and aniline by coupling reactions of Ullmann-type CN. Also, the heterogeneous catalyst may simply be recovered via filtration and used again for seven cycles with no considerable loss in activity. The findings revealed the privileges of the present method, including the high product yield, experimental simplicity, low catalyst loading, broad substrate scope, and short reaction times.     

Long phase coherence time and number squeezing of two Bose-Einstein condensates on an atom chip

We measure the relative phase of two Bose-Einstein condensates confined in a radio frequency induced double-well potential on an atom chip. We observe phase coherence between the separated condensates for times up to approximately 200 ms after splitting, a factor of 10 longer than the phase diffusion time expected for a coherent state for our experimental conditions. The enhanced coherence time is attributed to number squeezing of the initial state by a factor of 10. In addition, we demonstrate a rotationally sensitive (Sagnac) geometry for a guided atom interferometer by propagating the split condensates.     

Particle shape consideration in numerical simulation of assemblies of irregularly shaped particles

The mechanical behavior of granular materials depends much on the shape of the constituent particles. Therefore appropriate modeling of particle, or grain, shape is quite important. This study employed the method of direct modeling of grain shape (Matsushima & Saomto, 2002), in which, the real shape of a grain is modeled by combining arbitrary number of overlapping circular elements which are connected to each other in a rigid way. Then, accordingly, a discrete-element program is used to simulate the assembly of grains. In order to measure the effects of grain shape on mechanical properties of assembly of grains, three types of grains—high angular grains, medium angular grains and round grains are considered where several biaxial tests are conducted on assemblies with different grain types. The results show that the angularity of grains greatly affects the behavior of granular soil.     

Effect of foreign ions for the determination of metal ion in the presence of surfactants

Aluminum is the third most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust. Despite its ubiquitous nature it is present in small amount in living organisms. Aluminum toxicity has been implicated in the pathogenesis of renal distinct clinical syndromes, including progressive and fatal encephalopathy and bone diseases. In the present study, Al was selected for the analysis by complexometric method. This method was based on the formation of a red colored ternary complex by the reaction of Aluminum with Aluminon (Aurin tricarboxylic acid triammonium salt) in the presence of micellar medium. The ternary complex of Aluminum with the surfactant Triton X-100 shows a maximum absorbance at 530 nm wavelength at pH 4.0 while with the sodium dodecyl sulfate it shows a maximum absorbance at 525 nm and at pH 5.0. The reaction was proceeded by the variation in pH and concentrations of surfactants, aluminon, aluminum. Their effects on the reaction of aluminum with aluminon complex in micellar media were recorded by UV-visible spectrophotometer. The reaction was found to be extremely rapid at room temperature. The system obeys Lambert Beer’s law between 0.24 and 21.74 μg/mL concentrations with Triton X-100. The values of slope, intercept and correlation coefficients were 0.07, 0.348 and 0.989, respectively. The concentration varied between 0.24 and 24.14 μg/mL with sodium dodecyl sulfate and the values of slope, intercept and correlation coefficients were 0.029, 0.148 and 0.962, respectively. The foreign ion effect was also tested by keeping the constant concentration of metal ion and determining its concentration in the presence of different foreign ions. The method was also applied for the determination of Al(III) in pharmaceutical formulations and water samples, which showed an excellent resemblance between reported and obtained results.     

A new eudesmane sesquiterpene from Pluchea arguta

A new eudesmane sesquiterpene, pluchargen A (3-beta-[3'-chloro-2'-hydroxy-2'-methyl butyroyl]-cuauhtemone), was isolated from the whole plant of Pluchea arguta, and the structure was elucidated on the basis of 1- and 2-D NMR spectroscopic studies.     

Synthesis of 4H-chromene derivatives by reaction between alkyl isocyanides and dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylate in the presence of 6-hydroxyquinoline

The reactive intermediate generated by the addition of alkyl isocyanides to dialkyi acetyienedicarboxyiate was trapped by 6- quinolinol to produce highlyfunctionalized 4H-chromenes in fairly good yields.