The effect of heating on polyaniline powders studied by real-time synchrotron radiation diffraction,mass spectrometry and thermal analysis

The effect of heating on four chemically synthesized polyanilines, three of which were doped by HCI, H₂SO₄, HCIO₄, and one sample which was dedoped, was investigated. The structural variations during thermal decomposition were studied by real-time synchrotron radiation diffractometry and correlated with mass spectrometry (MS), thermal gravimetry (TG), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). These macroscopic and microscopic techniques were combined in order to shed more light on the role played by the water and the counteranion molecules on the structure of doped polyaniline. Evidence for two H₂O fractions was found for HCI-doped polyaniline. Chain degradation was observed for HCIO₄ and H₂SO₄-doped polyaniline. The results indicate that intermediate sulphonation of polymer chains occurs in the latter case.     

The isotropic invariants of fifth-rank cartesian tensors

An orthonormal set of irreducible fifth-rank tensors having the required permutation symmetry is constructed. Various problems not encountered in the analogous problem for tensors of ranks two, three, four and six are discussed.     

The symmetrized powers of group representations

Tables of symmetrized powers of the irreducible representations of point groups are presented together with a derivation of the formula used to obtain them. It is shown how these tables may be applied to various quantum-chemical problems.     

Novel low temperature solution deposition of perpendicularly orientated rods of ZnO: substrate effects and evidence of the importance of counter-ions in the control of crystallite growth

Perpendicularly orientated ZnO rods have been grown on thin ZnO templates, from aqueous solutions of zinc acetate and hexamethylenetetraamine (HMT); growth along the c-axis of the ZnO crystallites is promoted by the presence of acetate in the bath.     

Humulene Diepoxides from the Australian Arid Zone Herb Dysphania: Assignment of Aged Hops Constituents

Dysphania is an abundant genus of plants, many of which are endemic to the Australian continent, occurring primarily in arid and temperate zones. Despite their prevalence, very few investigations into the phytochemistry of native Dysphania have been undertaken. Described herein, is the isolation and elucidation of two enantiomeric diastereomers of humulene diepoxide C from D. kalpari and D. rhadinostachya, of which unassigned diastereomers of humulene diepoxide C have been previously reported as components in beer brewed from aged hops. In addition, two (+)-humulene diepoxiols (humulene diepoxiol C-I and C-II) were isolated from D. rhadinostachya. Analysis of Chinook hops oil confirmed the presence of both humulene diepoxide C-I and C-II as trace components, and in turn enabled GC-MS peak assignment to the relative stereochemistry. Anticancer assays did not reveal any significant activity for the (+)-humulene diepoxides. Antifungal assays showed good activity against a drug-resistant strain of C. auris, with MIC₅₀ values of 8.53 and 4.91 μm obtained for (+)-humulene diepoxide C-I and C-II, respectively.     

Gold‐Catalyzed Sequential Cyclization of 1‐En‐3,9‐Diyne Esters to Partially Hydrogenated 3H‐Dicyclopenta[a,b]naphthalenes

A synthetic method that relies on a gold(I)‐catalyzed cycloisomerization of 1‐en‐3,9‐diyne esters to spiro[4.4]non‐2‐ene‐substituted 1,2‐dihydronaphthalenes is described. Robust with a wide variety of substitution patterns tolerated, the reaction provides the first example of a one‐step strategy to construct such novel and architecturally challenging members of the carbocycle family in good to excellent yields. A mechanism is proposed in which the sequential cycloisomerization pathway was thought to involve a gold‐catalyzed 1,3‐acyloxy migration/Nazarov cyclization followed by a formal [4+2] cycloaddition to give the tetracarbocyclic product.     

New Casbanes and the First trans-Cyclopropane seco-Casbane from the Australian Rainforest Plant Croton insularis

Investigation of the Australian rainforest plant Croton insularis revealed seven new cis-, two new trans-cyclopropane casbanes, and the first trans-cyclopropane seco-casbane. The relative configuration of the cyclopropane moiety for all compounds (EBC-182, 217, 218, 220, 343, 357, 358, 361, 365, 373; EBC=EcoBiotics Compound) was assigned using ¹³C NMR data. Comparison of the experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra with the theoretical curves, calculated by TD-DFT at the B3LYP/6-31+G**//B3LYP/6-31+G** level, in conjunction with NOE data afforded the absolute configuration. EBC-180, 181 and 220 displayed potent activity against cervical carcinoma (HeLa cells).     

Measurements of higher order flow harmonics in Au+Au collisions at √s(NN)=200 GeV

Flow coefficients ν(n) for n=2, 3, 4, characterizing the anisotropic collective flow in Au+Au collisions at √s(NN)=200 GeV, are measured relative to event planes Ψ(n), determined at large rapidity. We report ν(n) as a function of transverse momentum and collision centrality, and study the correlations among the event planes of different order n. The ν(n) are well described by hydrodynamic models which employ a Glauber Monte Carlo initial state geometry with fluctuations, providing additional constraining power on the interplay between initial conditions and the effects of viscosity as the system evolves. This new constraint can serve to improve the precision of the extracted shear viscosity to entropy density ratio η/s.     

Suppression of back-to-back hadron pairs at forward rapidity in d+Au collisions at √s(NN)=200 GeV

Back-to-back hadron pair yields in d+Au and p+p collisions at √s(NN)=200 GeV were measured with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Rapidity separated hadron pairs were detected with the trigger hadron at pseudorapidity |η|<0.35 and the associated hadron at forward rapidity (deuteron direction, 3.0<η<3.8). Pairs were also detected with both hadrons measured at forward rapidity; in this case, the yield of back-to-back hadron pairs in d+Au collisions with small impact parameters is observed to be suppressed by a factor of 10 relative to p+p collisions. The kinematics of these pairs is expected to probe partons in the Au nucleus with a low fraction x of the nucleon momenta, where the gluon densities rise sharply. The observed suppression as a function of nuclear thickness, p(T), and η points to cold nuclear matter effects arising at high parton densities.