Liquid‐crystalline azobenzene‐containing ferrocene‐based polymers: study on synthesis and properties of main‐chain ferrocene‐based polyesters with azobenzene in the side chain

Ferrocene‐based polymers are characterized by their electrochemical activity, good redox properties, thermal, photochemical stability, and liquid crystallinity, and thus they have various applications in different fields. A comprehensive investigation on the synthesis and properties of three novel main‐chain ferrocene‐based polyesters with azobenzene in the side chain (MFPAS) was carried out. The main‐chain ferrocene‐based polyester, poly(N‐phenyldiethanolamine 1,1′‐ferrocene dicarboxylate (PPFD), was synthesized via the solution polycondensation reaction of 1,1′‐ferrocenedicarbonyl chloride with phenyldiethanolamine (PDE). The novel MFPAS were synthesized via the post‐polymerization azo‐coupling reaction of PPFD with three different 4‐substituted anilines including 4‐nitroaniline, 4‐aminobenzoic acid, and 4‐aminobenzonitrile to produce 4‐nitrophenylazo‐functionalized‐PPFD (PPFD‐NT), 4‐carboxyphenylazo‐functionalized‐PPFD (PPFD‐CA), and 4‐cyanophenylazo‐functionalized‐PPFD (PPFD‐CN), respectively. All the synthesized polymers were characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV–visible spectroscopy. In addition, powder X‐ray diffraction patterns were measured for the synthesized polymers. The photoisomerization of the MFPAS was studied. The thermal properties of the MFPAS were studied using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. PPFD‐CA and PPFD‐CN were found to be more thermally stable than PPFD‐NT. Finally, the liquid‐crystalline properties of PPFD and the MFPAS were examined using polarized optical microscope. It was found that all the polymers possessed nematic phases and exhibited textures with schlieren disclinations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rational design of a BiFeWO6 nanostructure for supercapacitor applications

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Scientists are increasingly interested in improving electroactive technologies for supercapacitor applications, since energy storage devices have improved...     

Low-cost Imaging of Fluorescent DNA in Agarose Gel Electrophoresis using Raspberry Pi cameras

Low-cost analytical solutions built around microcomputers like the Raspberry Pi help to facilitate laboratory investigations in resource limited venues. Here, three camera modules (V1.3 with and without filter, as well as NoIR) that work with this microcomputer were assessed for their suitability in imaging fluorescent DNA following agarose gel electrophoresis. Evaluation of their utility was based on signal-to-noise (SNR) and noise variance metrics that were developed. Experiments conducted with samples were subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and the amplified products were separated using gel electrophoresis and stained with Midori green. Image analysis revealed the NoIR camera performed the best with SNR and noise variance values of 21.7 and 0.222 respectively. In experiments conducted using UV LED lighting to simulate ethidium bromide (EtBr) excitation, the NoIR and V1.3 with filter removed cameras showed comparable SNR values.

     

DFT/TD-DFT investigation of novel D–π–A configuration dyes for improving solar cell efficiency

Structural Chemistry - A new series of donor–π–acceptor–based dyes were proposed depending on 9-ethyl-9H-carbazole as a donor group and ortho-fluorine-substituted phenyl as...     

Vortex states in soft magnets in two and three dimensions

The magnetization curves of arrays of near-spherical soft ferromagnetic particles are compared with those of quasi-two-dimensional dots with similar radius prepared by a rapid e-beam lithographic technique. Curves for the three-dimensional particles are anhysteretic and fit a M(H)/M_s=tanh(cμ₀H) law, whereas the two-dimensional arrays show irreversible segments in the first and third quadrants where the planar vortex state transforms to a collinear state by discontinuous rotation of magnetization about an axis perpendicular to the vortex axis. The additional symmetry of the spherical particle allows this rotation to occur continuously, without energy barriers due to the demagnetizing field.     

Synthesis of 1,4-diaryl-2-naphthoates based on site-selective Suzuki-Miyaura reactions

The palladium(0)-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reaction of the bis(triflates) of phenyl 1,4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoate afforded various 1,4-diaryl-2-naphthoates. The reactions proceeded with very good site-selectivity. Due to electronic reasons, the first attack occurred at the sterically more hindered position C-1.     

New ceramides from Platytaenia multicaule

Phytochemical investigation of Platytaenia multicaule resulted in the isolation of two new ceramides, N-triacontylpentadecanamide and 1,3,4-trihydroxy-2,dodecanoylamino-(24E)-unacotenene, along with two known compounds, beta-sitosterol and beta-sitosterol glycoside. The structure elucidation of the isolated compounds was based primarily on 1D and 2D NMR analyses, including COSY, NOESY, HMQC, and HMBC correlations.     

Application of the wavelet transform in the laminar turbulent transition for a flow in a mixed convection phenomenon

The aim of this paper is to show the effect of secondary flows caused by natural convection on the laminar-turbulent hydrodynamic transition. It is not a question of measuring a critical threshold value of Reynolds number of transition but only to estimate the degree of turbulence in the transition regime, i.e. weak turbulence in the case of superposition (mixed convection) or not (forced convection) of secondary flows on the forced flow. This is possible thanks to the application of the wavelet transform. The calculation of the H?lder exponent, associated with the maximum value of the singularity spectrum for two configurations, vertical (forced convection) and horizontal (mixed convection) allows the degree of turbulence to be measured in both cases. The variation of the H?lder exponent versus the Reynolds number has enabled it to be shown that the secondary flows stabilise the main flow and stifle the beginnings of the turbulence during the regime of transition to turbulence; these kinds of results have also been shown in literature. Generally, large-sized secondary flows (for example Dean's flows) stabilise the turbulence. Our work confirms this, through an experiment carried out in identical conditions for mixed convection (horizontal flow) and forced convection (vertical flow). Received 30 March 1998 and Received in final form 28 April 1999     

Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Carotenoids from Carrot Pomace and Their Optimization through Response Surface Methodology

Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was used to extract carotenoids from the carrot pomace. To investigate the effect of independent variables on the UAE, the response surface methodology (RSM) with central-composite design (CCD) was employed. The study was conducted with three independent variables including extraction time (min), temperature (°C), and ethanol concentration (%). The results showed that the optimal conditions for UAE were achieved with an extraction time of 17 min, temperature of 32 °C, and ethanol concentration of 51% of total carotenoids (31.82 ± 0.55); extraction time of 16 min, temperature of 29 °C, and ethanol concentration of 59% for a combination of β-carotene (14.89 ± 0.40), lutein (5.77 ± 0.19), and lycopene (2.65 ± 0.12). The non-significant (p > 0.05) correlation under optimal extraction conditions between predicted and experimental values suggested that UAE is the more productive process than conventional techniques for the extraction of carotenoids from the carrot pomace.