A one-pot synthesis of functionalized 2,2-disubstituted 2H-1-benzopyrans

The synthesis of functionalized 2,2-disubstituted 2H-1-benzopyrans was achieved by condensing 2,3,5-trimethylhydroquinone (TMHQ) with ,β-unsaturated aldehydes or ,β-unsaturated acetals under acidic conditions.     

Growth and optical characterization of organic nonlinear optical crystal: indole-3-aldehyde

The metastable zone width for the solution of organic nonlinear material: indole-3-aldehyde (IA) has been determined for the various solvents of acetone, methanol and ethyl acetate and the corresponding IA crystals have been grown by temperature lowering technique. The surface analysis on different planes of the grown crystals has been carried out. The range of transmission and powder second harmonic generation efficiency of IA have been reported.     

Direct temperature measurement in alkali halide cluster beam

The temperature of a sodium fluoride cluster beam produced by laser vaporization is estimated from the rotationally-resolved laser spectroscopy of the Na₂ dimer. The cluster beam is obtained by laser vaporization of a sodium rod in a mixture of helium containing a small amount (1%) of SF₆. Both rotational and vibrational temperatures (respectively 170 K and 400 K) are much higher than expected from a simple theoretical model of a supersonic beam. These temperatures can be lowered to 70 K and 250 K respectively by cooling the nozzle to liquid nitrogen temperature.     

High‐Performance Photoinitiating Systems for Free Radical Photopolymerization. Application to Holographic Recording

The photoinitiating systems (PIS) usable in free radical photopolymerization are briefly reviewed. Apart conventional Type I and Type II photoinitiators, three‐component PIS exhibiting a photocyclic behavior are discussed. The mechanisms of photoreaction are presented, highlighting the role of a redox additive which reacts with the photoinitiator photoproduct. Recent applications in holography recording are described showing that the selection of a PIS plays a crucial role in this application.     

Characterization studies on the additives mixed l-arginine phosphate monohydrate (LAP) crystals

l-arginine phosphate monohydrate (LAP), potassium thiocyanate (KSCN) mixed LAP (LAP:KSCN) and sodium sulfite (Na₂SO₃) mixed LAP (LAP:Na₂SO₃) single crystals were grown by slow cooling technique. The effect of microbial contamination and coloration on the growth solutions was studied. The crystalline powders of the grown crystals were examined by X-ray diffraction and the lattice parameters of the crystals were estimated. From the FTIR spectroscopic analysis, various functional group frequencies associated with the crystals were assigned. Vickers microhardness studies were done on {1 0 0} faces for pure and additives mixed LAP crystals. From the preliminary surface second harmonic generation (SHG) results, it was found that the SHG intensity at (1 0 0) face of LAP:KSCN crystal was much stronger than that of pure LAP.     

Nucleation, growth and characterization of L-tartaric acid—nicotinamide NLO crystals

The solubility, metastable zone width and nucleation parameters of organic nonlinear optical material L-tartaric acid–nicotinamide (LTN) have been determined. The crystals of LTN are grown by the slow cooling method. The grown crystals are morphologically interpreted. The crystalline powder of the grown crystals has been examined by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. The different modes of vibrations present in the crystal are identified by the Fourier infrared spectroscopy analysis. The powder SHG efficiency of LTN is comparable with that of KDP.     

Facile fabrication of mesoporous ZnO nanospheres for the controlled delivery of captopril

We numerically investigate the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) mode patterns in periodic silver-shell nanopearl arrays and its dimer arrays with the core relative permittivities filled inside the dielectric holes (DHs) by means of finite element method with three-dimensional calculations. Numerical results of resonant wavelengths corresponding to the effects of different period of unit cells, radii of DHs, illumination wavelengths, field propagation, electrical field stream lines, charge distributions, charge densities, half- body charge densities, and the DH core relative permittivities of periodic silver-shell nanopearls are also reported. It can be seen that the periodic silver-shell nanopearl arrays and its dimer arrays with DHs exhibit tunable SPR modes corresponding to the bonding and anti-bonding modes, respectively, that are not observed for the solid silver cases with the same volume. These results are crucial in designing localized SPR sensors and other optical devices based on periodic metal nanoparticle array structures.     

Iterative Reconstructions in Irregular Sampling With Derivatives

Finite energy band-limited functions are reconstructed iteratively from nonuniform sample values of the functions and its derivatives. It is shown that the maximum gap allowed between the sampling points increases linearly with the number of derivatives considered. Moreover, a more precise result is presented for the first derivative case and another reconstruction of the functions using the frame algorithm is deduced.     

Metal–ligand cooperativity in the soluble hydrogenase-1 from Pyrococcus furiosus

Metal–ligand cooperativity is an essential feature of bioinorganic catalysis. The design principles of such cooperativity in metalloenzymes are underexplored, but are critical to understand for developing efficient catalysts designed with earth abundant metals for small molecule activation. The simple substrate requirements of reversible proton reduction by the [NiFe]-hydrogenases make them a model bioinorganic system. A highly conserved arginine residue (R355) directly above the exogenous ligand binding position of the [NiFe]-catalytic core is known to be essential for optimal function because mutation to a lysine results in lower catalytic rates. To expand on our studies of soluble hydrogenase-1 from Pyrococcus furiosus (Pf SH1), we investigated the role of R355 by site-directed-mutagenesis to a lysine (R355K) using infrared and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic probes sensitive to active site redox and protonation events. It was found the mutation resulted in an altered ligand binding environment at the [NiFe] centre. A key observation was destabilization of the Ni_a³⁺–C state, which contains a bridging hydride. Instead, the tautomeric Ni_a⁺–L states were observed. Overall, the results provided insight into complex metal–ligand cooperativity between the active site and protein scaffold that modulates the bridging hydride stability and the proton inventory, which should prove valuable to design principles for efficient bioinspired catalysts.

Metal–ligand cooperativity is an essential feature of bioinorganic catalysis.