Adsorption/desorption of acid violet-7 onto magnetic MnO2 prior to its quantification by UV–visible spectroscopy: optimized by fractional factorial design

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A highly efficient magnetic adsorbent is presented to preconcentrate acid violet-7 (AV-7) prior quantifying by UV–visible spectroscopy...     

Physico-Chemical and Phytochemical Characterization of Moroccan Wild Jujube “Zizyphus lotus (L.)” Fruit Crude Extract and Fractions

Wild jujube “Ziziphus lotus (L.) Desf.” belongs to the Rhamnaceae family and is a traditionally herbaceous medicinal plant. It is very common in arid and semi-arid regions and is currently used for its antidiabetic, sedative, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and hypoglycemic activities. The aim of the present work was to characterize the physico-chemical properties and the phytochemical profile of wild jujube sample collected from the Guercif region, in order to determine the polyphenolic compounds and the antioxidant ability Analyses were carried out directly after the harvest for the determination of pH, refractive index, total soluble solid (°Brix), dry matter, sugar/acidity, total sugars, reducing sugars, as well as lipid and protein content. Results showed that the investigated fruit is acidic (pH 4.9 ± 0.23) and rich in sugars (80.2 g/100 g ± 3.81). The GC-MS analysis of the fruit revealed a number of volatile compounds, as many as 97, belonging to different chemical classes. The HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS analysis showed the presence of a total of 20 polyphenolic compounds in both EtOAc and MeOH-water extracts. Among them, p-Hydroxybenzoic acid was the most abundant in the EtOAc extract (185.68 µg/100 mg ± 0.5) whereas Quercetin 3-O-rhamnoside-7-O-glucoside was found in higher amounts in the MeOH-water extract (25.40 µg/100 mg ± 0.5). These components have medical interest, notably for human nutrition, as well as health benefits and therapeutic effects. Therefore, Moroccan jujube “Zizyphus lotus (L.)” fruit may have potential industrial applications for food formulations.     

Efficient eco-friendly syntheses of dithiocarbazates and thiosemicarbazones

ABSTRACT

Eight Schiff bases have been synthesized by conventional and three different eco-friendly methods, whereby two aromatic carbonyl compounds viz. 2-thiophenecarboxaldehyde and salicylaldehyde were reacted with S-methyl, S-benzyl, and S-n-octyl-dithiocarbazates and thiosemicarbazide. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the synthesis methods, the time to complete the reaction and the yield of the Schiff base synthezised by eco-friendly methods, such as solvent-free grinding, water as a solvent, and lemon juice as catalyst, were compared with those synthesized by the conventional method. The chemical structures of all the synthesized Schiff bases, where two of them are novel and reported for the first time, were fully characterized by a variety of physico-chemical, analytical, and spectroscopic techniques. The molecular and crystal structures of the Schiff bases especially those having 2-thiophene moiety were further elucidated by single crystal X-ray diffraction analyzes.     

Synthesis, characterization and properties of novel thermally stable poly(urethane-oxazolidone) elastomers

Oxazolidone-incorporated polyurethane elastomers based on hydroxyl terminated polycaprolactone, were synthesized and characterized. Reaction of epoxy-terminated polyurethane with isocyanate librated from a blocked polyisocyanate was the strategy followed. The reaction condition was optimized through preparation of model oxazolidones. Epoxy-terminated polyurethanes were prepared from reaction of glycidol with NCO-terminated polyurethane prepolymers and curing agent was synthesized from the reaction of trimethylol propane, toluene diisocyanate and N-methyl-aniline. Incorporation of heterocyclic oxazolidone groups into the polyurethane backbone caused improvements in thermal and mechanical properties. Investigation of structure-property relationship for prepared elastomers showed that the main determining factors for observed properties were crosslink density, crystallinity and content of oxazolidone rings.     

Hotel Performance in the UK: The Role of Information Entropy in a Novel Slack-Based Data Envelopment Analysis

Previous hotel performance studies neglected the role of information entropy in feedback processes between input and output management. This paper focuses on this gap by exploring the relationship between hotel performance at the industry level and the capability of learning by doing and adopting best practices using a sample of 153 UK hotels over a 10-year period between 2008–2017. Besides, this research also fills a literature gap by addressing the issues of measuring hotel performance in light of negative outputs. In order to achieve this, we apply a novel Modified slack-based model for the efficiency analysis and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator to examine the influence of entropy related variable on efficiency score. The Results indicate that less can be learnt from inputs than from outputs to improve efficiency levels and resource allocation is more balanced than cash flow and liquidity. The findings suggest that market dynamics explains the cash flow generation potential and liquidity. We find that market conditions are increasingly offering the opportunities for learning and improving hotel efficiency. The results report that the distinctive characteristic of superior performance in hotel operations is the capability to match the cash flow generation potential with market opportunities.     

Theoretical investigation of the weak interactions of rare gas atoms with silver clusters by resonance Raman spectroscopy modeling

The interactions of rare gas atoms (Rg = Ar, Kr, and Xe) with small neutral and cationic silver clusters have been investigated by density functional methods and the effect of these weak interactions on the resonance Raman spectra of the complexes has been evaluated. The resonance Raman technique that depends on the properties of ground and excited state, seems deeply sensitive to the weak rare gas–metal cluster interactions, and the use of inert gases has been proven to be an excellent approach to recognize the ability of this technique to detect extremely weak interactions. In this work, for , and complexes the IR, normal and resonance Raman spectra have been calculated and the effect of rare gas–cluster stretching vibration ( ) on the pattern and the relative intensities of different spectra have been investigated. The resonance Raman spectra for the weakly interacted complexes (with the interaction energies less than ?2.0 kcal/mol) exhibit the vibration with the detectable intensity that its intensity increases by going from Ag₆–Ar to Ag₆–Xe complex. Moreover, the resonance Raman spectra (based on the excited state gradient approximation) for high intensity nearly degenerate excited states, proved the effect of accumulation of the excited state charge density on the relative intensity of vibration.     

Synthesis of 2-arylbenzimidazoles catalyzed by transition metal nitrates

A simple and practical procedure for synthesis of 2-arylbenzimidazoles by a one-pot condensation of o-phenylenediamine with aromatic aldehydes in the presence of a catalytic amount of M(NO₃)₂·6H₂O (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) in ethanol at room temperature is described. Major advantages of this practical procedure are use of a readily available catalyst, high yields, short reaction times, and simplicity of the reaction and workup.     

A Novel Approach for the Synthesis of Furopyrimidine and Oxobenzofuran Derivatives

A novel, efficient one‐pot approach for the synthesis of furopyrimidine and oxobenzofuran derivatives 4 by a multicomponent reaction of an isocyanide, an aldehyde, and a CH‐acid compound in CH₂Cl₂ is reported (Scheme 1 and Table). The reactions were completed after 20 h at room temperature. This method has the advantages of high yields, simple methodology, and easy workup.     

Microwave‐Assisted Catalyst Free Three Component Synthesis of Mono and Bis Spiro Pyrazolopyridines in Solvent Free Reaction

Multicomponent synthesis of mono and bis‐spiro pyrazolopyridines from isatin derivatives, indanedione, and 3‐methyl‐5‐aminopyrazole under microwave irradiation in the absence of any catalyst or solvent with high yield and short reaction time is reported.