Synthesis and Characterization of Dichlorotin(IV)trithiophosphates and Their Adducts with Nitrogen Donor Bases

Abstract

Dichlorotin(IV)trithiophosphates [(RO)P(S)S ₂ ]SnCl ₂ were prepared by the reaction of methanolic solution of SnCl ₄ and dipotassium salt of trithiophosphates in a 1:1 molar ratio and their adducts [(RO)P(S)S ₂ ]SnCl _2.N ₂ C ₁₂ H ₈ and [(RO)P(S)S ₂ ]SnCl _2.N ₂ C ₁₀ H ₈ were prepared by the reaction of methanolic solution of [(RO)P(S)S ₂ ]SnCl ₂ and N-donor bases in a 1:1 molar ratio. These newly synthesised derivatives have been characterized by elemental analysis; molecular weight measurements; and IR, ¹³ C, ³¹ p and ¹¹⁹ Sn NMR spectral studies. Coordination number of four and six was suggested for dichlorotin (IV)trithiophosphates and their adducts with N-donor bases respectively.     

New chalcone based liquid crystals with allylidene amino linking unit: Synthesis and characterization

In this study, the synthesis, structural characterization and mesomorphic properties of newly thirteen calamitic shaped compounds derived from allylidene amino chalcone and 4-n-alkoxy benzoyloxy benzoic acid. Comp.H₁ to H₃ exhibited nonliquid crystalline nature, while comp.H₄ to comp.H₁₈ displayed enantiotropical smectic C phase. Phase transition temperatures of present synthesised compounds were determined by optical polarising microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) techniques. Thermal stabilities of smectic to isotropic phase are 150.0 °C and temperature range of mesophase is in decreasing order from comp.H₃ to comp.H₁₈ respectively. The presences of SmC phase are the type of broken fan and needle type in present synthesized series. It is also shown that presence of chalcone amino allylidene central linking group favors a calamitic liquid crystalline behaviour in molecules with lower member to higher member aliphatic side chain in alkoxy group (-OR).     

Modeling and dynamic simulation of mixed feed multi-effect evaporators in paper industry

A wide range of mathematical models for multiple effect evaporators in process industry including paper industry are well reported in the literature but not so extensive work on the dynamic behavior of MEE system is available in the literature. In the present study dynamic behavior of multi-effect evaporator system of a paper industry is obtained by disturbing the feed flow rate, feed concentration, live steam temperature and feed temperature. For this purpose an unsteady-state model for the multi-effect evaporator system is developed. Each effect in the process is represented by a number of variables which are related by the energy and material balance equations for the feed, product and vapor flow. A generalized mathematical model which could be applied to any number of effects and all kinds of feeding arrangements like forward feed, backward feed, mixed feed and spilt feed in the MEE system with simple modifications was finally obtained. Finally model for mixed feed sextuple effect falling film evaporators system was solved using MATLAB. For the steady state and dynamic simulation the ‘fsolve’ and ‘ode45’ solvers in MATLAB source code is used respectively.     

Strategic engineering of alkyl spacer length for a pH-tolerant lysosome marker and dual organelle localization

Long-term visualization of lysosomal properties is extremely crucial to evaluate diseases related to their dysfunction. However, many of the reported lysotrackers are less conducive to imaging lysosomes precisely because they suffer from fluorescence quenching and other inherent drawbacks such as pH-sensitivity, polarity insensitivity, water insolubility, slow diffusibility, and poor photostability. To overcome these limitations, we have utilized an alkyl chain length engineering strategy and synthesized a series of lysosome targeting fluorescent derivatives namely NIMCs by attaching a morpholine moiety at the peri position of the 1,8-naphthalimide (NI) ring through varying alkyl spacers between morpholine and 1,8-naphthalimide. The structural and optical properties of the synthesized NIMCs were explored by ¹H-NMR, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Afterward, optical spectroscopic measurements were carefully performed to identify a pH-tolerant, polarity sensitive, and highly photostable fluoroprobes for further live-cell imaging applications. NIMC6 displayed excellent pH-tolerant and polarity-sensitive properties. Consequently, all NIMCs were employed in kidney fibroblast cells (BHK-21) to investigate their applicability for lysosome targeting and probing lysosomal micropolarity. Interestingly, a switching of localization from lysosomes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was also achieved by controlling the linker length and this phenomenon was subsequently applied in determining ER micropolarity. Additionally, the selected probe NIMC6 was also employed in BHK-21 cells for 3-D spheroid imaging and in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) for in vivo imaging, to evaluate its efficacy for imaging animal models.

A series naphthalimide-based fluorophores were designed by alkyl spacer length engineering to discover a pH-tolerant lysosomal marker. This approach also allows to probe lysosome-related organelles in C. elegans and communication between organelles.     

UHV STM I(V) and XPS studies of aryl diazonium molecules assembled on Si(111)

Molecular layers formed from 4-trifluoromethylbenzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate and 4-Methylbenzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate have been assembled on H-passivated Si(111) and studied by UHV STM and XPS. STM imaging shows well-developed Si(111) step edges and terraces both on Si(111):H and Si(111) substrates covered with a molecular layer. STM I(V) data acquired at different tip-substrate separations reveals a factor of approximately 10 enhancement in current for positive bias voltage when current flows through the 4-trifluoromethyl molecule when compared to the 4-methyl variant. The observed current enhancement in I(V) can be understood by comparing the projected density of states of the two molecule-Si systems calculated using a density functional theory local density approximation after geometry optimization was performed via the conjugate gradient method. XPS data independently confirm that H-passivated Si(111) remains oxygen free for short exposures to ambient conditions and provide evidence that the molecules chemically react with the silicon surface.     

Application of Doehlert design in optimizing the determination of degraded products of nerve agents by ion-pair liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A qualitative method was developed for the determination of degraded products of nerve agents by using ion-pair liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (IP-LC-ESI-MS(n)). Generally, alkylphosphonic acids (APAs) and O-alkyl alkylphosphonic acids (AAPAs) give deprotonated molecular ion [M-H](-) in negative mode. Interestingly, first time we obtained the molecular radical anion [M](.-) of phosphonic acids in negative mode by using tri-n-butyl amine as an ion-pairing agent. We interpreted this observation as an indication of electrochemical reduction of phosphonic acids in electrospray needle. Three variables such as sheath gas flow, electrospray needle voltage and pH of the mobile phase were investigated to enhance the molecular radical anion [M](.-) signal of each analyte. The Doehlert design was used to obtain the region in which the optimum value of such variables is simultaneously achieved. Limit of detection achieved was 0.5 microg mL(-1) for AAPAs and 10 microg mL(-1) for APAs. Excellent precision was observed with less than 8.61% RSD. Finally, the method was applied for the detection of ethyl methylphosphonic in aqueous extract of soil sample.     

Constraints on dark energy from the lookback time versus redshift test

We use lookback time versus redshift data from galaxy clusters (Capozziello et al., 2004 [9]) and passively evolving galaxies (Simon et al., 2005 [62]), and apply a Bayesian prior on the total age of the Universe based on WMAP measurements, to constrain dark energy cosmological model parameters. Current lookback time data provide interesting and moderately restrictive constraints on cosmological parameters. When used jointly with current baryon acoustic peak and Type Ia supernovae apparent magnitude versus redshift data, lookback time data tighten the constraints on parameters and favor slightly smaller values of the nonrelativistic matter energy density.     

Direct synthesis of Poly(Ԑ-Caprolactone)-block-poly (glycidyl methacrylate) copolymer and its usage as a potential nano micelles carrier for hydrophobic drugs

Ring-opening (ROP) and enzymatic copolymerization (ECP) are among the most widely used approaches for synthesizing copolymers of polycaprolactone (PCL). It involves multiple-step reactions and the utilization of enzymes that make the process a lot more complicated, time consuming, and expensive. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has been adopted to synthesize a novel amphiphilic copolymer in our study. The study presents a method to eliminate the ROP/ECP multiple steps in monomer polymerization thus making the process simpler and smoother. The synthesis of cationic polymer micelles copolymer of PCL-PGMA (polycaprolactone grafted poly glycidyl methacrylate) was carried out using direct functionalization of hydroxy group in crude PCL to achieve a higher degree of functionalization, i.e., 12.8% for macroinitiator. FTIR and ¹H-NMR confirmed the successful synthesis of the copolymer with better control over the molecular weight with a PDI (1.84). DSC and XRD results showed the reduction of crystallinity by 86.81%, making copolymer more compatible for drug delivery application. The synthesized copolymer was further converted to nano-micelles drug carrier having an average size of 96.08 ± 21.22 nm. The drug encapsulation efficiency achieved was 60.0 ± 1.7%, and nano-micelles rendered a slow and controlled release of naproxen with long-term storage stability.     

Nelumbo nucifera leaves as source of water-repellent wax: Extraction through polar and non-polar organic solvents

Nelumbo nucifera leaves are rich source of natural wax possessing super-hydrophobic properties. It provides protection to them from ecological turbulences and climatic wear and tear. In this study, various experiments have been conducted to observe the yield of extraction and the determination of various functional groups, which are present in natural wax, derived from Nelumbo nucifera leaves. The natural wax has been extracted from lotus leaves through non-polar (hexane) and polar (ethanol) solvent via different extraction methods. The superhydrophobic wax has been successfully extracted with hexane. Whereas, ethanol did not extract the water-repellent wax of lotus leaf. Considering the cumulative amount, i.e. (desired + undesired), the maceration shows the extraction of 2.9% (%w/w, through hexane) and 10.2% (%w/w, through ethanol), while it was found 2.5% (%w/w, cycle period 15 min) and 9.0% (%w/w, cycle period 26 min) respectively, in case of Soxhlet extraction technique. For this specific case of natural wax recovery from biomass (lotus leaf), the maceration (traditional method) resulted a little bit superior extraction yield in comparison to the Soxhlet extraction method for extraction of crude wax. In the case of non-polar solvent (hexane), an extraction yield of 1.97% (%w/w) through maceration method was observed while in the case of non-polar solvent (ethanol), an extraction yield of 1.62% (%w/w) through Soxhlet extraction was observed. The TLC analysis on both types of extracts was performed. For the detection of various hydrocarbon chains in the crude wax extracts, FTIR was also performed. Topography of wax surface and wax-coated waterproof fabric was compared through SEM.     

Application of advanced nuclear analytical techniques for the electrocatalyst's characterization: Paving the path for mechanistic investigations

As the application of electrocatalyst continues to expand, envisaging the hidden mechanisms occurring at various length scale affecting the catalytic efficiency became important. To enhance the stability of electrocatalyst and reduce the cost, it is of paramount importance to reveal the active site's dynamics (using in situ techniques for getting the real-time information) which directly affect the reactions such as oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, and so on. Since such reactions are crucial for many engineering and scientific applications, in situ characterization techniques are required, which could capture such reactions happening at a different length and time scale. This article analyzes the recent progress made in the field of electrocatalyst's characterization using in situ neutron techniques. The article also paves the future path and has delineated the future challenges involved in multiscale correlative techniques (e.g., neutron techniques in the combination of synchrotron or microscopic techniques) used for getting the multiscale (atomic to micrometer range) mechanistic information about the electrocatalyst's working and degradation.