Effect of rhodium incorporation in KTiOPO4 single crystals grown from self‐flux

The presence of an impurity like rhodium in the platinum crucible used for the growth of KTiOPO₄ (KTP) single crystals can have severe consequences in the performance of devices made from these crystals. In the present study the effect of rhodium incorporation has been investigated. Rhodium‐incorporated KTP crystals have a lower ionic conductivity (1.3 × 10^–7 S/cm at 100 kHz) than pure KTP crystals (3.5 × 10^–6 S/cm at 100 kHz) along the c‐axis. And the optical absorption in the green‐wavelength regime leads to a detrimental effect on their SHG performance. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Luminescent bis-tridentate ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) complexes based on terpyridyl-imidazole ligand: synthesis, structural characterization, photophysical, electrochemical, and solvent dependence studies

Homo- and heteroleptic bis-tridentate ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) complexes of compositions [(tpy-PhCH(3))Ru(tpy-HImzPh(3))](ClO(4))(2) (1), [(H(2)pbbzim)Ru(tpy-HImzPh(3))] (ClO(4))(2) (2) and [M(tpy-HImzPh(3))(2)](ClO(4))(2) [M = Ru(II) (3) and Os(II) (4)], where tpy-PhCH(3) = p-methylphenyl terpyridine, H(2)pbbzim = 2,6-bis(benzimidazole-2-yl)pyridine and tpy-HImzPh(3) = 4'-[4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-phenyl]-[2,2':6',2']terpyridine, have been synthesized and characterized by using standard analytical and spectroscopic techniques. These compounds were designed to increase the room temperature excited-state lifetimes of bisterpyridine-type ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) complexes. The X-ray crystal structures of two homoleptic complexes 3 and 4 have been determined and show that both the compounds crystallized in orthorhombic form with space group Fddd. The photophysical and redox properties of the complexes have been thoroughly investigated. All the complexes display moderately strong luminescence at room temperature with lifetimes in the range of 6-35 ns. The complexes are found to undergo one reversible oxidation in the positive potential window (0 to +1.6 V) and one irreversible and two successive quasi-reversible reductions in the negative potential window (0 to -2.0 V). The influence of solvents on the photophysical properties of the complexes has also been investigated in detail.     

Synthesis,spectroscopic properties,crystal structures,antioxidant activities and enzyme inhibition determination of Co(II) and Fe(II) complexes of Schiff base

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Considering the importance of metal complexes in the development of medical science, two different Schiff base Fe(II) and Co(II) metal complex compounds were...     

Electric field enhanced spreading of partially wetting thin liquid films

Equilibrium and dynamic electrowetting behavior of ultrathin liquid films of surfactant (SDS) laden water over silicon substrate (with native oxide) is investigated. A nonobtrusive optical method, namely, image analyzing interferometry, is used to measure the meniscus profile, adsorbed film thickness, and the curvature of the capillary meniscus. Significant advancement of the contact line of the liquid meniscus, as a result of the application of electric field, is observed even at relatively lower values of applied voltages. The results clearly demonstrate the balance of intermolecular and surface forces with additional contribution from Maxwell stress at the interline. The singular nature of Maxwell stress is exploited in this analysis to model the equilibrium meniscus profile using the augmented Young-Laplace equation, leading to the in situ evaluation of the dispersion constant. The electrowetting dynamics has been explored by measuring the velocity of the advancing interline. The interplay of different forces at the interface is modeled using a control volume approach, leading to an expression for the interline velocity. The model-predicted interline velocities are successfully compared with the experimentally measured velocities. Beyond a critical voltage, contact line instability resulting in emission of droplets from the curved meniscus has been observed.     

Resonant Raman scattering in single crystal of congruent LiTaO3 : Effect of excitation energy

Large dispersion in the peak position of the OH⁻ stretching mode (∼687.9 and ∼2167.7 cm⁻¹/eV for fundamental and 3rd harmonic, respectively) is observed by Resonance Raman studies in congruent lithium tantalate single crystal under varying excitation energies. This is explained by considering the involvement of multiple LO phonons in the interaction with OH⁻ stretching vibration and the resonantly excited electrons. The intensity of the peaks is also found to vary with the excitation energy. FWHM increases with the increase in excitation energy because of individual contributions of the increasing number of resonance steps to the broadening.     

Modeling of Swelling Behaviors of Acrylamide-Based Polymeric Hydrogels by Intelligent System

Hydrogels based on acrylamide (AAm) were synthesized by free radical polymerization in an aqueous solution using N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAAm) as crosslinker. To obtain anionic hydrogels, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid sodium salt (AMPS) and acrylic acid (AAc) were used as comonomers. The swelling behaviors of all hydrogel systems were modeled using an artificial neural network (ANN) and compared with a multivariable least squares regression (MLSR) model and phenomenal model. The predictions from the ANN model, which associated input parameters, including the amounts of crosslinker (MBA) and comonomer, and swelling values with time, produce results that show excellent correlation with experimental data. The parameters of swelling kinetics and water diffusion mechanisms of the hydrogels were calculated using the obtained experimental data. Model analysis indicated that the ANN models could accurately describe complex swelling behaviors of highly swellable hydrogels.     

Preparation of LDPE-acetylated/butyrylated starch blend blow films and characterization

Development of modified plastics has been studied through the LDPE-acylated starch blend films to examine the effect of different acyl groups and degrees of substitution(DS) on properties of films.Corn starch was modified with acetyl and butyryl groups and films were prepared by blending acylated starch with low density polyethylene(LDPE).Systematic studies were done to observe the effect of acyl groups,DS and starch concentration on the properties and biodegradability of the blend films.It was observed that blend films containing 5% acetylated and butyrylated starches of high DS(2.5,1.7) maintained 75% and 83% of tensile strength of LDPE films.Thermal analysis results indicated that acetylated and butyrylated starch blend films decomposed at 370 °C and 389 °C which were higher than the decomposition temperature of native starch film(349 °C).Scanning electron micrographs of blend films containing high DS acylated starch showed well dispersed starch particles due to improvement in dispersion between starch and LDPE.Water absorption capacity of high DS acetylated and butyrylated starch blend films(4.18% and 3.76%,respectively) was lower than that of native starch films(5%).This study has an advantage because of blown films prepared can be integrated with the present manufacturing systems without any other requirement.     

Optimization of metformin HCl 500 mg sustained release matrix tablets using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based on Multilayer Perceptrons (MLP) model

The aim of the present study was to apply the simultaneous optimization method incorporating Artificial Neural Network (ANN) using Multi-layer Perceptron (MLP) model to the development of a metformin HCl 500 mg sustained release matrix tablets with an optimized in vitro release profile. The amounts of HPMC K15M and PVP K30 at three levels (-1, 0, +1) for each were selected as casual factors. In vitro dissolution time profiles at four different sampling times (1 h, 2 h, 4 h and 8 h) were chosen as output variables. 13 kinds of metformin matrix tablets were prepared according to a 2(3) factorial design (central composite) with five extra center points, and their dissolution tests were performed. Commercially available STATISTICA Neural Network software (Stat Soft, Inc., Tulsa, OK, U.S.A.) was used throughout the study. The training process of MLP was completed until a satisfactory value of root square mean (RSM) for the test data was obtained using feed forward back propagation method. The root mean square value for the trained network was 0.000097, which indicated that the optimal MLP model was reached. The optimal tablet formulation based on some predetermined release criteria predicted by MLP was 336 mg of HPMC K15M and 130 mg of PVP K30. Calculated difference (f(1) 2.19) and similarity (f(2) 89.79) factors indicated that there was no difference between predicted and experimentally observed drug release profiles for the optimal formulation. This work illustrates the potential for an artificial neural network with MLP, to assist in development of sustained release dosage forms.