Synthesis,X-ray crystal structure,DFT calculations,spectroscopic characterization and redox behaviour of a rhodium(III) complex of an anthracene–pyridylhydrazone ligand

Transition Metal Chemistry - A pyridylhydrazone incorporating an anthracene moiety, designated as HLAnc, has been synthesized in order to examine its coordination behaviour towards rhodium(III)....     

Estimation of underground water radon danger in Bakreswar and Tantloi Geothermal Region,India

The main aim of the study is to present an evaluation of radon concentration in underground water of Bakreswar and Tantloi geothermal region which is mainly used for drinking purposes of the local people. Water samples were collected from tube-wells at 173 different locations. The radon (²²²Rn) concentration level was observed to fluctuate widely between 3.3 and 803.8 Bq/l with an average of 106.8 Bq/l. Nearly 42% of the samples had radon concentration above the safe limit of 100 Bq/l recommended by World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Union Commission (EU). Considering the WHO and International Commission on Radiological Protection recommended water consumption rate for adults (730 l/year) the corresponding total annual effective dose of the samples were estimated to assess the probable health risk. Total annual effective dose of the samples were varied between 16.72 and 4079.47 µSv/year with an average value of 541.92 µSv/year. About 95% samples exceed the WHO and EU Commission proposed safe limit of 100 µSv/year.     

Role of plant alkaloids on human health: A review of biological activities

Alkaloids are plant secondary metabolite. They are well known nitrogen-containing natural bioactive compounds. Cutting edge research is going on alkaloids to unravel novel therapeutic approaches. Literature reveals that alkaloids contribute multiple biological activities and some alkaloids transform into active metabolites too. In this review, we have focused on marketed and experimental alkaloids. We have summarized sources and biological activities of reported alkaloids in past decades.     

Dynamics of L-tryptophan in aqueous solution by simultaneous laser induced fluorescence (LIF) and photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS)

An experimental system for measuring simultaneously photoacoustic (PA) and fluorescence signals is described. The simultaneous measurement of laser induced fluorescence and photoacoustic signals provide a suitable method for the study of different quenching phenomena occurring in fluorescent systems. In this paper we report tryptophan solvation dynamics in water using fluorescence and photoacoustic spectra recorded simultaneously by photoacoustic and fluorescence signals as functions of concentration, indicate that quantum yield is maximum at low concentrations. Also, the energy lost in the fluorescence path of tryptophan, due to different quenching phenomena like self quenching, Resonance energy transfer (RET), solvation relaxation, etc. is clearly seen from the photoacoustic signal intensity which increases as the fluorescence intensity decreases.     

Effect of nitrogen on mechanical,oxidation and structural behaviour of Ti–Si–B–C–N nanocomposite hard coatings deposited by DC sputtering

Ti–Si–B–C–N film was deposited by DC magnetron sputtering at different argon and nitrogen ratios such as N₂/Ar = 1 : 5, 2 : 4, 3 : 3, 4 : 1 and 5 : 0. The formation of TiN and TiB phases was observed because of incorporation of nitrogen. The hardness, modulus, microstructure, structure and bond formation with different nitrogen contents during the deposition were studied by nanoindentation, scanning electron microscope, X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The oxidation kinetics of Ti–Si–B–C–N was investigated. The nitrogen incorporation during deposition influences different properties of the coating. Hardness and modulus decreased, and microstructure showed very fine grain presence, and film changes to fully amorphous because of incorporation of nitrogen in the film. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enantiomeric discrimination by double quantum excited selective refocusing (DQ-SERF) experiment

The differences in chemical shift anisotropies, dipolar couplings, and quadrupolar couplings of two enantiomers in the chiral liquid crystalline media are employed to visualize enantiomers. In spite of the fact that proton has high magnetic moment and is abundantly present in all the chiral molecules, 1H NMR is not exploited to its full potential because of severe overlap of unresolved transitions arising from long- and short-distance couplings. Furthermore, the two spectra from R and S enantiomers result in doubling of the number of observable transitions. The present study demonstrates the application of the selectively excited homonuclear double quantum (DQ) coherence correlated to its single quantum coherence of an isolated methyl group in a chiral molecule. The DQ dimension retains only the passive couplings within the protons of the methyl group while the long-distance passive couplings are refocused, removing the overlap of central transitions, and each enantiomer displays a doublet instead of a triplet unlike in regular selective refocusing experiment. The doublet separation being different for each enantiomer results in their discrimination. The cross section taken along the single quantum dimension pertaining to each transition in the DQ dimension provides the one-dimensional spectra for each individual enantiomer with the complete removal of the overlapped transitions from the other enantiomer. The experiment is robust, the pulse sequence is easy to implement, and the methodology has been demonstrated on different chiral molecules.     

Two-dimensional supramolecular assembly of phenylmercury(II) and cadmium(II) complexes with a tridentate thiohydrazone NNS donor ligand: Synthesis,coordination behavior and crystal structure

The reaction of phenylmercury(II) acetate and cadmium(II) acetate with a refluxed solution of diacetylmonoxime and morpholine N-thiohydrazide formed a novel phenylmercury(II) complex, [PhHg(Hdammthiol)] (1) and a cadmium(II) complex, [Cd(Hdammthiol)₂] (2), respectively (where H₂dammthiol is the thiol form of diacetylmonoximemorpholine N-thiohydrazone (Hdammth) formed by the condensation of diacetylmonoxime and morpholine N-thiohydrazide in the presence of phenylmercury(II) and cadmium(II) ions). The complexes were characterised by elemental analyses and spectral data (electronic, infrared and ¹H NMR) and also by X-ray crystal structure analysis. The X-ray crystallography shows that the phenylmercury(II) complex attained a tricoordinated distorted T-shaped structure, while the cadmium(II) complex attained a trapezoidal bipyramidal geometry. The phenylmercury(II) complex forms a two-dimensional sheet via C–H?O and O–H?N hydrogen bonding and also forms a two-dimensional supramolecular dimer, having C–H?π synthons. Intermolecular C–H?O and O–H?O hydrogen bonding of the cadmium(II) complex forms a two-dimensional supramolecular sheet along the bc plane and posses an impressively short intermolecular C(sp³)?O(sp³) contact.     

Synthesis of flower-like gold nanoparticles and their electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of methanol and the reduction of oxygen

This article describes the synthesis of branched flower-like gold (Au) nanocrystals and their electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of methanol and the reduction of oxygen. Gold nanoflowers (GNFs) were obtained by a one-pot synthesis using N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N-2-ethanesulphonic acid (HEPES) as a reducing/stabilizing agent. The GNFs have been characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electrochemical measurements. The UV-visible spectra show two bands corresponding to the transverse and longitudinal surface plasmon (SP) absorption at 532 and 720 nm, respectively, for the colloidal GNFs. The GNFs were self-assembled on a sol-gel-derived silicate network, which was preassembled on a polycrystalline Au electrode and used for electrocatalytic applications. The GNFs retain their morphology on the silicate network; the UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) of GNFs on the silicate network show longitudinal and transverse bands as in the case of colloidal GNFs. The GNFs show excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of methanol and the reduction of oxygen. Oxidation of methanol in alkaline solution was observed at approximately 0.245 V, which is much less positive than that on an unmodified polycrystalline gold electrode. Reduction of oxygen to H2O2 and the further reduction of H2O2 to water in neutral pH were observed at less negative potentials on the GNFs electrode. The electrocatalytic activity of GNFs is significantly higher than that of the spherically shaped citrate-stabilized Au nanoparticles (SGNs).     

Adsorption of gold on hydrogen terminated Si(0 0 1): Formation of chain structure

Possible formation of stable Au atomic wire on the hydrogen terminated Si(0 0 1): 3×1 surface is investigated under the density functional formalism. The hydrogen terminated Si(0 0 1): 3×1 surface is patterned in two different ways by removing selective hydrogen atoms from the surface. The adsorption of Au on such surfaces is studied at different sub-monolayer coverages. At 4/9 monolayer (ML) coverage, zigzag continuous Au chains are found to be stable on the patterned hydrogen terminated Si(0 0 1): 3×1 surface. The reason for the stability of the wire structures at 4/9 ML coverage is explained. It is to be noted that beyond 4/9 ML coverage, the additional Au atoms may introduce clusters on the surface. The continuous atomic gold chains on the substrate may be useful for the fabrication of atomic scale devices.     

Effects of partial slip,viscous dissipation and Joule heating on Von Kármán flow and heat transfer of an electrically conducting non-Newtonian fluid

The steady Von Kármán flow and heat transfer of an electrically conducting non-Newtonian fluid is extended to the case where the disk surface admits partial slip. The fluid is subjected to an external uniform magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the disk. The constitutive equation of the non-Newtonian fluid is modeled by that for a Reiner–Rivlin fluid. The momentum equations give rise to highly non-linear boundary value problem. Numerical solutions for the governing non-linear equations are obtained over the entire range of the physical parameters. The effects of slip, magnetic parameter and non-Newtonian fluid characteristics on the velocity and temperature fields are discussed in detail and shown graphically. Emphasis has been laid to study the effects of viscous dissipation and Joule heating on the thermal boundary layer. It is interesting to find that the non-Newtonian cross-viscous parameter has an opposite effect to that of the slip and the magnetic parameter on the velocity and the temperature fields.