Theoretical Studies on Interaction Between Methanol and Functionalized Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We study the adsorption of a methanol molecule on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with various diameters and chiral angles by using the density functional theory based calculations. We find that methanol prefers to be adsorbed physically on the exterior surface of chiral nanotubes in comparison to the armchair and zigzag tubes with binding energy of about-2.76 kcal/mol, which is consistent with recent experimental andtheoretical investigation results. We further consider the adsorption of methanol on the exterior surface and edge site of functionalized SWCNTs. The obtained results indicate that the binding energy of methanol is significantly increased for adsorption on the sidewall of functionalized nanotubes. It is also found that the adsorption of methanol at the edge site of both functionalizedand pristine SWCNT is remarkably different (chemisoption process) incomparison to the exterior sidewall of the tubes. Furthermore, the electronic structures and Mulliken charge population of the considered complexes at their ground state are discussed within the context.     

Electroorganic synthesis of new benzofuro[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives

Electrochemical oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (1) in the presence of 1,3-dimethylbarbituric acid (2) and 1,3-diethyl-2-thiobarbituric acid (3) as nucleophiles in aqueous solution has been studied using cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential coulometry. The results indicate that 1 via Michael reaction under electro-decarboxylation reaction converts to benzofuro[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives (6a, 6b). The electrochemical synthesis of 6a, 6b has been successfully performed in an undivided cell in good yields and purity.     

Order acceptance/rejection policies in determining the sequence in mixed model assembly lines

This study presents a decision support system for order acceptance/rejection in a Make-to-Order production environment with the mixed model assembly line approach. Indeed, variety of orders is the parameter under investigation herein. When the company does not have sufficient capacity or the required resources to accept the entirety of all new arrival orders, the following steps are proposed: At first, the customers are prioritized based on their corresponding profit values (at present and in the future) whereas other orders are rejected by the top manager along with some undesirable ones. Then, prices and delivery dates of the non-rejected orders are determined via a mathematical programming model. Quality levels are also reported to the customers based upon which they are allowed to select their desired blend of main components. Afterwards, in the case of customer’s lack of satisfaction with the offered price and due date, further negotiation is proposed. Finally, if the negotiation leads to an agreement, the order is accepted and added to the production schedule of the shop floor. The schedule of accepted orders is performed based on minimizing the work overload. The present study presumes that the processing times of the tasks are affected by both learning effect and deterioration of the jobs, simultaneously. In the last section of the study afoot, numerical experiments as well as the corresponding methodology are presented in order to solve the models. Moreover, a simulated annealing algorithm is utilized to solve the problem in a large scale with little computational time. Numerical experiments confirm that the simulated annealing algorithm tends to yield rather fine results with little discrepancy compared to those of the exact algorithm in small and medium size.     

Insight into detailed mechanism of the atmospheric reaction of imidogen with hydroxyl: a computational study

The details of reaction mechanism of imidogen (NH) and hydroxyl radicals are explored at the UMP2(FC)/cc–pVDZ and PMP4(FC,SDTQ)/cc–pVQZ//UMP2 + ZPE levels, theoretically. The initial association between NH and OH radicals leads to the formation of the intermediates, NH…OH, HN…HO, cis HNOH, and trans HNOH, through the barrierless and exothermic processes. By starting from the initial intermediates, all possible paths for the formation of H + HNO, H₂ + NO, H₂O + ⁴N, H₂N + ³O, and H + ³HON products are investigated on potential energy surface. The results reveal that H₂O + ⁴N is the main product involved in the mechanism of hydrogen atom abstraction of NH by OH radical through the intermediate NH…OH.     

Computational study on the reaction mechanism of the gas-phase atom-negative ion of S?+?NO2 ?: comparative study of mechanism with S?+?O3 reaction as isoelectronic and isostructure systems

The reaction mechanism of sulfur vapor (S) with nitrite ion (NO₂ ⁻) has been investigated theoretically on the triplet and singlet potential energy surfaces (PESs). All stationary points for the title reaction have been optimized at the B3LYP/6-311+G(3df) level. The energetic data have been obtained at the CCSD(T)//B3LYP level employing the 6-311+G(3df) basis set. Five stable collision complexes, ³IN1 (S–ONO⁻), ³IN2 (cyclic SONO⁻), ¹IN1 (cis S–ONO⁻), ¹IN2 (S–NO₂ ⁻), and ¹IN3 (trans S–ONO⁻), have been considered on the triplet and singlet PESs through barrier-less and exothermic processes. By starting from these complexes, a simple mechanism has been obtained on the triplet PES while a complex mechanism has been considered on the singlet PES. The calculated results show that there are no favorable paths for the reaction of S with NO₂ ⁻ on the singlet PES. Therefore, the S + NO₂ ⁻ reaction proceeds only on the triplet PES to produce ³SO + ³NO⁻ as main products. The results from the comparative study of S + NO₂ ⁻ reaction mechanism with S + O₃ (as isoelectronic and isostructure reactions) on the singlet PES show similarities in the overall trend of reaction mechanism and atom connectivity and differences in the stability of intermediates and the energy barriers of transition states.     

Similarity analyses of chromatographic herbal fingerprints: A review

Herbal medicines are becoming again more popular in the developed countries because being “natural” and people thus often assume that they are inherently safe. Herbs have also been used worldwide for many centuries in the traditional medicines. The concern of their safety and efficacy has grown since increasing western interest. Herbal materials and their extracts are very complex, often including hundreds of compounds. A thorough understanding of their chemical composition is essential for conducting a safety risk assessment. However, herbal material can show considerable variability. The chemical constituents and their amounts in a herb can be different, due to growing conditions, such as climate and soil, the drying process, the harvest season, etc. Among the analytical methods, chromatographic fingerprinting has been recommended as a potential and reliable methodology for the identification and quality control of herbal medicines. Identification is needed to avoid fraud and adulteration. Currently, analyzing chromatographic herbal fingerprint data sets has become one of the most applied tools in quality assessment of herbal materials. Mostly, the entire chromatographic profiles are used to identify or to evaluate the quality of the herbs investigated. Occasionally only a limited number of compounds are considered. One approach to the safety risk assessment is to determine whether the herbal material is substantially equivalent to that which is either readily consumed in the diet, has a history of application or has earlier been commercialized i.e. to what is considered as reference material. In order to help determining substantial equivalence using fingerprint approaches, a quantitative measurement of similarity is required. In this paper, different (dis)similarity approaches, such as (dis)similarity metrics or exploratory analysis approaches applied on herbal medicinal fingerprints, are discussed and illustrated with several case studies.     

A computational study of the non-covalent bindings in complexes pairing sulfur tetroxide (SO4(C2V)) with the nitrous oxide (NNO)

The computational investigations are carried out on heterodimers containing sulfur tetroxide (SO₄(C_2V)) with the nitrous oxide (NNO) through MP2/cc–pVDZ and MP2/aug–cc–pVTZ//MP2/cc–pVDZ levels. Eight heterodimers are located on the potential energy surface of SO₄(C_2V)–NNO system. Binding energies of heterodimers in the SO₄(C_2V)–NNO system corrected with BSSE and ZPE are in the range of 1.17–7.90 kJ/mol. The calculated results reveal that the individual interaction of NNO terminal nitrogen atom with one of oxygen atoms of OSO ring in the SO₄(C_2V) monomer leads to the formation of the more stable heterodimer of SO₄(C_2V)–NNO system. The atoms in molecules theory were applied to analyze the nature of intermolecular interactions.