Novel monofunctionalized electron-deficient anthraquinone-based discotic liquid crystals

A series of electron-deficient 1-hydroxy-2,3,5,6,7-pentaalkoxyanthra-9,10-quinones has been synthesized. All nine members of the series were found to be liquid crystalline, forming columnar mesophases over a broad temperature range. Such supramolecular building blocks can be used for the preparation of novel discotic dimers, oligomers, polymers and metallomesogens.     

A novel approach to the synthesis of bicyclic lactones via an interrupted Nazarov reaction of gem-divinyl dihydrofurans

[reaction: see text] A facile Lewis acid induced interrupted Nazarov reaction of gem-divinyl dihydrofurans to bicyclic lactones is described.     

Two unprecedented multicomponent reactions involving N-heterocyclic carbenes, activated acetylenes, and aldehydes

[reaction: see text] Two unprecedented multicomponent reactions of N-heterocyclic carbenes involving activated acetylenes and aldehydes are described.     

Pyridine based cerium(IV) phosphate hybrid fibrous ion exchanger

Both temperatures, T _C, (T _C —Curie temperature) and heat of the phase transition: ferroelectric-paraelectric, ΔH, in the Ba_xSr_1−xTiO₃ materials have been studied by means of the microcalorimetric method. The determined parameters were verified by either temperature dependence of the dielectric permittivity (Curie-Weiss law) or thermodynamic method. The effect of strontium content on T _C has been discussed. It was found that microcalorimetry is useful tool studying phase transition phenomena in ferroelectric perovskites.     

The Effect of Morphologies of Embedded Plasmonic Cu-nanoparticles on Solar Absorption of Perovskite Solar Cells. A Comprehensive Study

Optics and Spectroscopy - In this work we aim to reduce the production costs of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and achieve high solar absorbance with the inclusion of different shapes of plasmonic...     

Baryon asymmetry, inflation and squeezed states

We use the general formalism of squeezed rotated states to calculate baryon asymmetry in the wake of inflation through parametric amplification. We base our analysis on a B and CP violating Lagrangian in an isotropically expanding universe. The B and CP violating terms originate from the coupling of complex fields with non-zero baryon number to a complex background inflaton field. We show that a differential amplification of particle and antiparticle modes gives rise to baryon asymmetry.     

Design and fabrication of an intrinsically gain flattened Erbium doped fiber amplifier

We report design and subsequent fabrication of an intrinsically gain flattened Erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) based on a highly asymmetrical and concentric dual-core fiber, inner core of which was only partially doped. Phase-resonant optical coupling between the two cores was so tailored through optimization of its refractive index profile parameters that the longer wavelengths within the C-band experience relatively higher amplification compared to the shorter wavelengths thereby reducing the difference in the well-known tilt in the gains between the shorter and longer wavelength regions. The fabricated EDFA exhibited a median gain ?28 dB (gain excursion below ±2.2 dB within the C-band) when 16 simultaneous standard signal channels were launched by keeping the I/P level for each at −20 dBm/channel. Such EDFAs should be attractive for deployment in metro networks, where economics is a premium, because it would cut down the cost on gain flattening filter head.     

Pressure dependent elastic properties of diluted magnetic semiconductors: Hg1−xMnxS (x=0.02 and 0.07)

A theoretical study of the elastic properties in diluted magnetic semiconductors Hg_1−xMn_xS (x=0.02 and 0.07) using an effective interionic interaction potential (EIoIP) in which long-range Coulomb interactions, charge transfer mechanism (three body interaction) and the Hafemeister and Flygare type short-range overlap repulsion extending up to the second neighbor ions and the van der Waals (vdW) interaction is considered. Particular attention is devoted to evaluate Poisson's ratio ν, the ratio R_S/B of S (Voigt averaged shear modulus) over B (bulk modulus), elastic anisotropy parameter, elastic wave velocity, average wave velocity and thermodynamic property as Debye temperature is calculated. By analyzing Poisson's ratio ν and the ratio R_S/B we conclude that Hg_1−xMn_xS is brittle in zinc blende (B3). To our knowledge this is the first quantitative theoretical prediction of the pressure dependence of ductile (brittle) nature of Hg_1−xMn_xS compounds and still awaits experimental confirmations.