(±)‐2‐Aryl‐2,3‐dihydro‐4(1H)‐quinolinones by a tandem reduction–Michael addition reaction

An efficient synthesis of (±)‐2‐aryl‐2,3‐dihydro‐4(1H)‐quinolinones has been developed from chalcones prepared from 2′‐nitroacetophenone and a series of substituted benzaldehydes. The cyclization sequence is initiated by reduction of the nitro group under dissolving metal conditions using iron powder in concentrated hydrochloric acid. Milder conditions, using acetic acid or acetic acid–phosphoric acid as the reaction medium, were less satisfactory. Procedural details as well as a mechanistic discussion and reaction optimization studies are presented. J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2011).     

Selective area growth of GaInNAs/GaAs by MOVPE

Selective area growth (SAG) of GaInNAs/GaAs systems has been studied by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) for the first time. This also includes a comparative study of SAG of the GaInAs/GaAs. The patterns consisted of various filling factors (F). The band gap changes and the growth morphology have been investigated. A red-shift observed for SAG GaInAs is 100 nm with respect to the planar GaInAs which can be attributed to both In enrichment and quantum well (QW) thickness enhancement. Selectively grown GaInNAs structures exhibit a maximum wavelength of 1.3 μm, corresponding to a red-shift of 80 nm with respect to the planar GaInNAs. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) scans reveal a three-dimensional growth behaviour for SAG GaInNAs unlike SAG GaInAs. This can be related to a certain amount of phase separation or strain that are often the signatures of N incorporation. The cathodoluminescence (CL) intensities (spectral line width) for SAG GaInNAs are larger (smaller) than those for SAG GaInAs at low F's but smaller (larger) at high F's. This indicates that at low F's, GaInAs has degraded due to very high strain but certain amount of strain compensation occurs in GaInNAs.     

Supramolecular Assemblies of Sulfur- and Selenium- Containing Expanded Porphyrins Mediated Through Noncovalent Interactions

Abstract

Various supramolecular assemblies based on expanded porphyrins building blocks containing sulfur and/or selenium in the core, formed through multiple non-covalent hydrogen bonding interactions are highlighted. Specifically, modified expanded porphyrins such as 22 π sapphyrins, 26 π rubyrins, and 34 π octaphyrins self assemble in solid state through C–H…O, C–H…N, C–H…S, C–H…Se, C–H…π, and C–H…Cl interactions to form dimeric, oligomeric, and three dimensional networks. Furthermore, the supramolecular networks promoted by trapped solvent molecules such as nitrobenzene and bound anions such as chloride or trifluoroacetate through noncovalent interactions will be discussed.     

Studies on the effect of ammonia flow rate induced defects in gallium nitride grown by MOCVD

Gallium nitride (GaN) epitaxial layers were grown with different V/III ratios by varying the ammonia (NH₃) flow rate, keeping the flow rate of the other precursor, trimethylgallium (TMG), constant, in an MOCVD system. X-ray rocking curve widths of a (1 0 2) reflection increase with an increase in V/III ratio while the (0 0 2) rocking curve widths decrease. The dislocation density was found to increase with an increase in ammonia flow rate, as determined by hot-wet chemical etching and atomic force microscopy. 77 K photoluminescence studies show near band emission at 3.49 eV and yellow luminescence peaking at 2.2 eV. The yellow luminescence (YL) intensity decreases with an increase in V/III ratio. Positron annihilation spectroscopy studies show that the concentration of Ga-like vacancies increases with an increase in ammonia flow rate. This study confirms that the yellow luminescence in the GaN arises due to deep levels formed by gallium vacancies decorated with oxygen atoms.     

Novel Chemoselective Reduction of Aldehydes in the Presence of Other Carbonyl Moieties with Thiourea Dioxide

Reduction of a variety of aldehydes in the presence of other carbonyl moieties to the corresponding alcohols occurs chemoselectively in high yields upon treatment with inexpensive reagent thiourea dioxide (TUDO) in aqueous alkali–ethanolic system for 2 h at 90 °C.     

Lanthanide hydroxide cubane clusters anchoring ferrocenes: model compounds for fixation of organometallic fragments on a lanthanide oxide surface

The reaction of the lanthanide trichloride hexahydrates [LnCl(3).6H(2)O] (Ln = Yb, Lu) with two equivalents of benzoylferrocenoylmethane resulted in the tetranuclear lanthanide hydroxo clusters [Ln(4)(mu(3)-OH)(4)(FcacacPh)(8)] (Ln = Yb (1), Lu (2); FcacacPh = benzoylferrocenoylmethanide). Compounds 1 and 2 are made up of a distorted tetranuclear lanthanide Ln(4)O(4) cubane core consisting of four mu(3)-oxygen atoms while the eight FcacacPh ligands build up the peripheral part of the cluster. These compounds contain the maximum number of ferrocene units anchored to any molecular metal-heteroatom framework reported so far and for which the X-ray structures are known.     

Energy material - the role of silicotungstic acid and fly ash in sulfonated poly (ether sulfone) composites for PEMFC applications

The composite polymer electrolyte membranes were prepared from sulfonated poly (ether sulfone) (SPES), silicotungstic acid (STA) and fly ash (FA). Post sulfonation process was adopted to synthesize SPES using sulphuric and chlorosulfonic acid. The prepared electrolyte membranes were examined by water uptake capacity, swelling ratio, ion-exchange ability, proton conductivity, thermal stability and electrochemical performance for evaluating the pertinence of these membranes in fuel cell applications. As such the pristine membrane restricts with the proton conductivity of 0.042?S cm^?1 at 30?°C and 0.060?S cm^?1 at 90?°C while the polymer composite membrane, SP-STA-FA-10 reveals the maximum conductivity of 0.054?S cm^?1 at 30?°C and 0.073?S cm^?1 at 90?°C. It also exhibits good thermal stability than that of the pure membrane. The membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) have been successfully developed from SPES as well as SP-STA-FA-10 membranes and their electrochemical performance were studied the wide range of current density. Herein, the composite membranes derived from SPES, STA and FA can be viable candidates for fuel cell applications.     

Deracemisation of aryl substituted α-hydroxy esters using Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330: effect of substrate structure and mechanism

Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330 was found to be an efficient biocatalyst for the deracemisation of aryl α-hydroxy esters (65–85% yield and 90–99% ee). A variety of aryl and aryl substituted α-hydroxy esters were synthesized to reflect steric and electronic effects on biocatalytic deracemisation. The mechanism of this biocatalytic deracemisation was found to be stereoinversion.     

MOCVD growth of high-quality AlGaAs on Si substrates for high-efficiency solar cells

The crystallinity and solar cell efficiency of Al_0.22Ga_0.78As layers grown on Si substrates have been studied by varying the thermal cycle annealing (TCA) temperature. The optimum TCA temperature to obtain an Al_0.22Ga_0.78As layer with long minority carrier lifetime and high conversion efficiency has been presented. The active-area conversion efficiency of an Al_0.22Ga_0.78As solar cell on a Si substrate as high as 10.2% has been obtained under AM0 and 1 sun conditions.     

Langmuir-Blodgett-Kuhn and self-assembled films of asymmetrically substituted poly(paraphenylene)

Asymmetrically substituted poly(paraphenylene) (PhPPP) with hydrophilic and hydrophobic side chains was investigated. The polymer behavior at the air-water interface was studied on the basis of surface pressure-area (pi-A) isotherms and compression/expansion hysteresis measurements. PhPPP can form stable monolayers with an area per repeat unit of A=0.20+/-0.02 nm2 and a collapse pressure in the range of pi=25 mN/m. Then, Langmuir-Blodgett-Kuhn (LBK) films of PhPPP were prepared by horizontally and vertically transferring the Langmuir monolayers onto hydrophilic solid substrates at pi=12 mN/m. Cross-section analysis of the AFM tapping-mode topography images of a single transferred monolayer reveals a thickness of d0=0.9+/-0.1 nm. Taking into account the obtained monolayer thickness, curve-fitting calculations of angular scan data of LB monolayers measured using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy lead to a value for the refractive index of n=1.78+/-0.02 at lambda=632.8 nm. Next, the spontaneous formation of a PhPPP monolayer by adsorption from solution was studied ex situ by atomic force microscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy and in situ by using SPR spectroscopy. Stable self-assembled monolayers of PhPPP can be formed on hydrophilic surfaces with a thickness similar to that of the monolayer obtained using the LB method. The characterization results confirmed the amphiphilic character and the self-assembly properties of PhPPP, as well as the possibility of preparing homogeneous monolayer and multilayer films.