Characterization of the new Bi∼6.2Cu∼6.2O8(PO4)5 oxyphosphate; a disordered compound containing 2- and 3-O(Bi, Cu)4 tetrahedra—wide polycationic ribbons

The present work is dedicated to the XRD, ED and HREM characterization of a new bismuth copper oxyphosphate Bi_∼6.2Cu_∼6.2O₈(PO₄)₅ (a=11.599(2)Å, , c=37.541(5)Å, R₁=0.0755, Rw₂₌0.174, G.S Pn2₁a). The relatively long size of its c parameter is due to the arrangement along this direction of two kinds of ribbon-like polycations formed by edge sharing O(Bi, Cu)₄ tetrahedra. The existence of such cations is characterized by the b∼5.2 Å value intrinsic to the ribbons structure and commonly found in bismuth oxyphosphate materials. In the title compound, 2-tetrahedra wide [Bi_∼2.4Cu_∼3.6O₄]^6.4+ and 3-tetrahedra wide [Bi_∼5Cu_∼3O₆]⁹⁺ ribbons are isolated by phosphate groups and alternate along c. The interstitial site created between two different sizes ribbons is occupied by Cu²⁺ cations disordered over several close crystallographic sites. The mixed Bi³⁺/Cu²⁺ nature of certain edge-of-ribbons positions induces a disorder over several configurations of the phosphate groups. The concerned oxygen atoms form the environment of the disordered interstitial Cu²⁺ cations which occupy tunnels formed by the phosphate anions. The high-resolution electron microscope study enables a precise correlation between the observed images and the refined crystal structure, evidencing the polycations visualization. Furthermore, this material being the second example of partially disordered compound similar chemical system, some topological rules can be deduced. The b-axis doubling was observed by ED and HREM and is assigned to the ordering of interstitial Cu²⁺ within tunnels cations. A partial intra-tunnel ordering was also observed.     

Spectroscopic and Quantum Mechanical Studies of Substituted Anilines and their Charge-Transfer Complexes with Iodine in Different Solvents

Summary. Equilibrium constants and molar extinction coefficients for 1:1 charge-transfer complexes between 2-hydroxyaniline (HA), 5-chloro-2-hydroxyaniline (CHA), and 4-bromo-2,6-dimethylaniline (BMA) as donors and iodine, as a typical σ-acceptor were determined spectrophotometrically in chloroform, dichloromethane, and carbontetrachloride solutions. Spectral characteristics and formation constants are discussed in terms of donor molecular structure and solvent polarity. The stoichiometry of the complexes was established to be 1:1. For this purpose, optical data were subjected to the form of the Rose-Drago equation for 1:1 equilibria. Electronic absorption spectra of the studied anilines were measured in different solvents. Spectral data were reported and band maxima were assigned to the appropriate molecular orbital transitions (π–π^* and n–π^* electronic transition). Solvent effects on the electronic transitions were discussed. Optimized geometry of the studied anilines was obtained at B3LYP/6-31 + G(d). The effect of the electronic factors of the substituents on the geometrical parameters of the ring has been explored. Geometrical values of the ring deviate from the regular hexagonal ring. Intramolecular H-bonds in HA and CHA have been computed at B3LYP/6-31 + G(d) and MP2/6-31 + G(d) levels. The H-bonding distance was calculated to be 2.105 ? in HA and 2.127 ? in CHA. Abstracted from her M.Sc. thesis     

Energetic Bio-Activation of Some Organic Molecules and Their Antioxidant Activity in the Pulp of the Moroccan Argan Tree «Argania spinosa L.»

Argania spinosa L. Skeels is an emblematic tree in Morocco, known worldwide for its medicinal and nutritional value. Its fruits contain kernels used to prepare an edible oil, the leaves are used to feed livestock, and its wood is used as fuel. If the oil acquires high importance, the other components of the fruit of the argan are undervalued. Our objective is to invest the waste of the argan industry. Particularly, our study aimed to assess the effect of thermal activation of argan pulp on its therapeutic value, its phenolic profile and its functional and physicochemical properties. After heat treatment, the HPLC analysis for the average total phenolic content varied from 2% to 37%, depending on temperature. The antioxidant activity was increased with heat treatment. Higher values of antioxidant activity, polyphenol and pigment content were recorded at 70 °C. Functional properties analysis indicated that water solubility index and water absorption capacity were significantly affected by heat stress. Physicochemical analysis showed that moisture content, titratable acidity and soluble solids were affected.     

Host–guest system of etodolac in native and modified β-cyclodextrins: preparation and physicochemical characterization

Etodolac, being a practically insoluble candidate, exhibits certain toxic effects and a limited bioavailability. Upon chronic use, it causes gastro-intestinal injury and increases the risk of ulcer complications. The approach of this study was to improve the physicochemical properties of the drug utilizing complexation phenomenon with β-, methyl-β- and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrins, which may enhance the aqueous solubility and dissolution rate of etodolac, in an effort to increase oral bioavailability. In certain instances, this approach can be used to increase drug solubility, improve organoleptic properties and maximize the gastrointestinal tolerance by reducing drug irritation after oral administration. Differential UV measurements as well as continuous variation plots revealed the formation of equimolar complex with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and 1:2 complexes with β-cyclodextrin and its methyl derivative. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray and FT-IR measurements were applied to prove inclusion complex formation and characterize the complexes. These results lend support to the idea that solubilization of etodolac is mainly related to inclusion complex formation and to a lesser extent to cyclodextrin aggregates. Understanding the factors that influence the performance of etodolac, will allow us to state that molecular encapsulation of the drug and other modifications with appropriate hydroxylation or methylation of parent β-cyclodextrin is able to overcome its problems and facilitate safe and efficient delivery of the drug.     

Acoustic scattering characteristics of a thick-walled orthotropic cylindrical shell at oblique incidence

The method of wave function expansion is adopted to study the scattering of a plane harmonic acoustic wave incident at an arbitrary angle upon an arbitrarily thick cylindrically orthotropic homogeneous cylindrical shell submerged in and filled with compressible ideal fluids. A laminate approximate model and the so-called state space formulation in conjunction with the classical transfer matrix (T-matrix) approach are employed to present an analytical solution based on the three-dimensional exact equations of anisotropic elasticity. The solution is used to correlate the perturbation in the material elastic constants of an air-filled and water-submerged aluminium cylindrical shell to the sensitivity of resonances associated with various modes of wave propagation appearing in the backscattered amplitude spectrum (i.e., axially guided, Lamb, Rayleigh and Whispering Gallery waves). The effects of shell wall thickness as well as inner fluid loading on the frequency response of the shell are also examined. A limiting case is considered and good agreement with the solution available in the literature is obtained.     

Transport properties in non-oxide perovskite ferroelectric relaxors

Electric transport in a Cu-doped Cd salt [(CH₂)₃(NH₃)₂Cd_{1? x} Cu _x Cl₄, x?=?0.0, 0.07, 0.395 and 0.69] was investigated in the frequency range 60?Hz–100?kHz and the temperature range 290–450?K. The conductivity increases with increasing copper doping. Samples with x?=?0.0 and 0.07 undergo phase transitions at 374?K and 369?K, respectively. Ferroelectric relaxor-like behaviour appears for x?=?0.395 and 0.69. The conduction mechanism of the samples with x?=?0.0 and 0.07 depends on the temperature region. Below the transition temperatures chlorine vacancy and proton hopping prevails, whereas above the transition temperatures mainly proton conduction dominates. Transport in the new non-oxide ferroelectric relaxors, where x?=?0.395 and 0.69, can be explained by the jump relaxation model where proton and ionic hopping contribute to the conductivity throughout the whole temperature range.     

Transient creep during transformation in Cd-Zn alloys

Transient creep of Cd-2 wt. % Zn and Cd-17·4 wt. % Zn alloys has been studied under different constant stresses ranging from 6·4 MPa to 12·7 MPa near the transformation temperature. The results of both compositions showed two transient deformation regions, the low temperature region (below 483 K) and the high temperature region (above 483 K). From the transient creep described by the equation _tr=Bt ⁿ, where _tr andt are the transient creep strain and time. The parametersB andn were calculated. The parameterB was found to change with the applied stress from 0·3×10^–4 to 3×10^–4 and from 0·6×10^–4 to 18×10^–4 for Cd-2 wt. % Zn and Cd-17·4 wt. % Zn, respectively. The exponentn was found to change from 0·8 to 0·95 for both alloys. The parameterB was related to the steady state creep rate through the equation , the exponent was found to be 0·5 for Cd-2 wt. % Zn and 0·6 for the eutectic composition. The activation energies of transient creep in the vicinity of the transformation regions (above 483 K) were found to be 50·2 kJ/mole for Cd-2 wt. % Zn and 104·7 kJ/mole for the eutectic composition characterizing the mechanisms of grain boundary diffusion and volume diffusion in Cd, respectively.     

Prediction of the particle-laden jet with a two-equation turbulence model

A two-equation turbulence model for two-phase flows has recently been proposed by Elghobashi & Abou-Arab (1983). They derived the exact equations of the kinetic energy of turbulence and the rate of dissipation of that energy, and modeled the turbulent correlations, resulting from time-averaging, up to third order. In order to validate the proposed model, a turbulent axisymmetric gaseous jet laden with spherical uniform-size solid particles is studied here. The predictions of the mean flow properties of the two-phases and the turbulence kinetic energy and shear stress of the carrier phase show good agreement with the experimental data.     

Implementation of three reliable methods for finding the exact solutions of (2 + 1) dimensional generalized fractional evolution equations

In this study, we have implemented the three methods namely extended \((G^{\prime}/G)\)-expansion, extended \((1/G^{\prime})\)-expansion and \((G^{\prime}/G,\,\,1/G)\)-expansion methods to determine exact solutions for the (2 + 1) dimensional generalized time–space fractional differential equations. We use Conformable fractional derivative and its properties in this research to convert fractional differential equations to ordinary differential equations with integer order. By using above mentioned methods, three types of traveling wave solutions are successfully obtained which have been expressed by the hyperbolic, trigonometric, and rational function solutions. The considered methods and transformation techniques are efficient and consistent for solving nonlinear time and space-fractional differential equations.