Physicochemical properties of V5+ doped LiCoPO4 as cathode materials for Li-ion batteries

Phase pure olivine type V⁵⁺ doped and un-doped LiCoPO₄ (LiCo_1?xV_xPO₄ & LiCoP_1?xV_xO₄; x = 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06) were synthesized by combustion method. Compound formation temperature and thermal stability of the materials were studied through thermal analysis. X-ray diffraction pattern shows the prepared material possesses an orthorhombic structure with Pnmb space group. Further the functional group and vibrational analysis were carried out by Fourier Transform Infra-red and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The Scanning Electron Micrographs depicts the irregular shaped morphology with particle agglomeration of the pristine and doped LiCoPO₄ materials. The structural variation on addition of dopant on both sites Co²⁺ & P⁵⁺ were revealed from XPS spectra. The electrochemical aspects of these materials were investigated by cyclic voltammetry studies in conjunction with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperommetry measurements to understand the redox reactions and their capacity contribution at higher voltages. The EIS analysis shows that the conductance value was decreased for the vanadium doped samples for both the Co site and P site, which infers that the V⁵⁺ addition doesn’t make any significant enhancement in the electrochemical performance of the LiCoPO₄.     

Synthesis, growth, thermal, optical and mechanical properties of 2-Aminopyridinium 4-methylbenzoate Dihydrate

Organic NLO material of 2-Aminopyridinium 4-methylbenzoate Dihydrate (2A4M) was synthesized using 2-Aminopyridinium and 4-methylbenzoic acid as starting materials. Single crystals of 2A4M were grown by the slow evaporation solution growth technique at room temperature using water as a solvent. The grown crystal was characterized by single crystal XRD to confirm the crystal system and lattice parameters. From the optical studies the optical band gap and the refractive index of the material are found to be 2.9 eV and 1.40 at 1200 nm. Functional groups of the crystallised material were confirmed by FTIR vibrational spectrum. Thermal behaviour of the title compound was studied using thermogravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analyses (DTA). The initial weight loss is found up to 125°C, which corresponds to 13.2% i.e. presence of 2 mole of water in the lattice. The grown crystal was subjected to Vickers hardness test and the brittleness index, fracture toughness, yield strength were estimated. The etching studies reveal the growth pattern and dislocations present in the grown crystal. The second harmonic generation (SHG) behaviour of 2A4M was tested by Kurtz-Perry powder technique. The relative SHG efficiency of 2A4M is found to be 3.03 times that of the reference material KDP.     

Dynamics of conformations,hydrogen bonds and translational diffusion of poly(methacrylic acid) in aqueous solution and the concentration transition in MD simulations

The dynamic behaviour of chain conformations, hydrogen bonds and translational diffusion of aqueous poly(methacrylic acid) (PMA) solution as a function of polymer volume fraction Φ_p across dilute to concentrated regimes inclusive of the pure polymer amorphous state was studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The behaviour of the relaxation time (τ) of the backbone dihedral angle auto-correlation function (ACF) reveals slower relaxation at higher level of polymer concentration and the existence of a concentration-driven relaxation transition for the aqueous polymer solution which occurs in the polymer volume fraction range, specifically 54% < Φ_p < 82% for this system. The relaxation constant τ for backbone dihedral angle exhibits a linear variation with Φ_p, indicating a first-order kinetic transition. The intermittent ACF for decay of the H-bond correlation shows that H-bonds among water molecules relax faster than those of the PMA–PMA and PMA–water type. The relaxation rate of PMA–water H-bonds shows a decrease up to Φ_p = 72% and becomes faster at Φ_p = 82% due to the confining influence of neighbouring PMA chains. PMA–water and water–water H-bond dynamics show transitions around Φ_p = 72% PMA. With increase in Φ_p PMA diffusion coefficient decreases exponentially and water diffusion coefficient decreases linearly, in agreement with experimental observations using fluorescence and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic studies.     

Molecular Packing Coefficients of the Homologous Series Cholesteryl Alkanoates

The properties of cholesterol derivatives are important owing to the involvement of these compounds in a myriad of industrial and biological research areas such as thermography, display devices and the formation in atherosclerosis of arterial deposits containing cholesteryl esters. Molecular structural studies of mesogens in the crystalline state have been carried out in search of a better understanding of the physical properties which lead to mesophase formation. It has been demonstrated previously for a homologous series of nematogens¹ how the molecular packing coefficients of the solid phase vary with increasing chain length and how this throws light upon the variation of other physical properties. Here, we extend this treatment to the cholesteryl alkanoates. Detailed crystal structure analysis is available for only one member of this series: cholesteryl tetradecanoate, which was studied by Craven and de Titta.² Prior to this, unit cell dimensions and space groups has been obtained for 13 members by Barnard and Lydon.³ They found the crystallography of these compounds to be complex. No overall homology of crystal structure was apparent and at least eight different types of crystal structure occur.     

Mesoporous platinum as sulfur-tolerant catalyst for PEMFC cathodes

The performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is highly influenced by its operating conditions. One of the vital parameter is the purity of feed gases. The cathode of PEMFC is normally fed with air from the atmosphere containing certain impurities like CO₂, NO₂, and SO₂, which are the major contaminants for the electrocatalysts used in the fuel cell, causing both reversible and irreversible damages. The irreversible effect is caused due to adsorption of impurities like SO₂ on the conventionally used platinum catalyst supported on carbon (Pt/C). It has been observed that carbon facilitates the absorption of SO₂ on platinum. Hence, the present objective is to identify the catalysts containing no carbon and study their impurity tolerance in the fuel cell environment. In the present paper, we have attempted to synthesize unsupported mesoporous platinum by hard template method and studied its SO₂ impurity tolerance at the cathode side for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for PEMFC application. The mesoporous platinum showed for a higher tolerance towards SO₂ compared to its counterpart, viz., platinum black. Sulfur tolerance was evaluated by the sulfur coverage on the catalyst and its rate of recovery through electrochemical experiments. Mesoporous platinum has also exhibited a faster removal of adsorbed sulfur compared to the commercial microporous platinum black, revealing that the recovery is also fast comparatively for meso-structured platinum.

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Graphical abstract Morphology and cyclic voltammogram of mesoporous platinum (inset: sulfur coverage for mesoporous platinum and platinum black)

     

24(R)‐Acetyl­oxy‐1α,2α‐epoxy­cholesta‐4,6‐dien‐3‐one hydrate

In the title compound, C₂₉H₄₂O₄·H₂O, cyclo­hexane rings A and B are in the sofa conformation, ring C is in a chair conformation and the five‐membered ring D is in an envelope conformation. The structure is stabilized by inter‐ and intramolecular C—H?O and O—H?O hydrogen bonds.     

Poly (vinyl alcohol – aniline) water soluble composite as corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1 M HCl

Poly (vinyl alcohol – aniline) PVAA composite was tested for its performance in protecting mild steel MS against corrosion in 1 M HCl. The inhibitive parameters were evaluated by means of weight loss, electrochemical polarization and impedance methods. Results indicated that the addition of PVAA to the acid reduces the corrosion of the metal. Inhibition efficiency increases with increase in inhibitor concentration. The results further revealed that PVAA at a concentration of 2000 ppm furnishes a maximum of 92% inhibition efficiency. Thermodynamic parameters such as free energy of adsorption, heat of adsorption, etc., had been evaluated from temperature studies. The adsorption of PVAA followed Langmuir and Temkin adsorption isotherms. Polarization curves revealed that PVAA is a mixed inhibitor.     

Supramolecular networks in (9‐fluoro‐4H‐chromeno[4,3‐c]isoxazol‐3‐yl)methanol and its 9‐chloro analogue at 100 K

The title compounds, (9‐fluoro‐4H‐chromeno[4,3‐c]isoxazol‐3‐yl)methanol, C₁₁H₈FNO₃, (I), and (9‐chloro‐4H‐chromeno[4,3‐c]isoxazol‐3‐yl)methanol, C₁₁H₈ClNO₃, (II), crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Pbca with Z′ = 1 and the triclinic space group P with Z′ = 6, respectively. The simple replacement of F by Cl in the main molecular scaffold of (I) and (II) results in significant differences in the intermolecular interaction patterns and a corresponding change in the point‐group symmetry from D_2h to C_i = S₂. These striking differences are manifested through the presence of C—H...F and the absence of O—H...O and C—H...O interactions in (I), and the absence of C—H...Cl and the presence of O—H...O and C—H...O interactions in (II). However, the geometry of the synthons formed by the O—H...N and O—H...X (X = F or Cl) interactions observed in the constitution of the supramolecular networks of both (I) and (II) remains similar. Also, C—H...O interactions are not preferred in the presence of F in (I), while they are much preferred in the presence of Cl in (II).     

Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of the Nematogenic Homologous Series p−(p−ethoxyphenylazo) phenyl alkanoates

Abstract

Infrared (500–2000 cm^?1) spectra of p-(p-ethoxyphenylazo)phenyl alkanoates (valerate, hexanoate, heptanoate and undecylenate) have been examined in the solid state. An attempt has been made to correlate the variations in the intensities and frequency shifts with the known crystal structures determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The gradual shift towards smaller wavelength in the carbonyl (C=O) stretching frequency and the relative increase in the intensity of the carbonyl frequency as the chainlength increases may be correlated with the increased deviation from planarity of the molecule.     

Crystal and Molecular Structure of Ethyl 2-[（4-Hydroxy-phenyl）hydrazono]-3-oxobutanoate

The title compound,C 12 N 2 O 4 H 14 (M r=250.3),crystallizes in triclinic P1 space group with a=7.7709(9),b=8.7534(11),c=9.6958(12),α=77.103(2),β=80.496(2),γ=86.726(2)o,V=633.9(1) 3,Z=2,F(000)=264,D c=1.311 Mg/m 3,μ(MoKα)=0.1 mm-1,the final R=0.056,and wR=0.15 for 2239 observed reflections (I > 2σ(Ⅰ)).The molecules in the crystal are linked through O-H···O type of hydrogen bonding interaction forming an infinite chainlike structure.The phenylhydrazone ring and oxobutanoate groups are almost planar.The keto hydrazo group adopts a Z-configuration in the molecule and the torsion angle is-177.6(2)°.