Facile Synthesis of 3,6‐Disubstituted‐1,2,4‐triazolo‐[3,4‐b]‐1,3,4‐thiadiazoles via Oxidative Cyclization of n‐Heteroaryl‐Substituted Hydrazones and Their Biological Activity

Fused 3,6‐disubstituted triazolothiadiazoles were synthesized in good yield from a rapid and convenient oxidative cyclization of N‐heteroaryl‐substituted hydrazones promoted by chloramine‐T trihydrate at ambient temperature. The structure of the synthesized compounds was confirmed by FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and mass spectral data. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant and antitubercular activities. All the compounds 5a‐i and 6a‐i showed good antitubercular activity. However, only compounds 5a‐i showed good antioxidant activity.     

Structural consequences of weak interactions in dispirooxindole derivatives

Spiro scaffolds are being increasingly utilized in drug discovery due to their inherent three‐dimensionality and structural variations, resulting in new synthetic routes to introduce spiro building blocks into more pharmaceutically active molecules. Multicomponent cascade reactions, involving the in situ generation of carbonyl ylides from α‐diazocarbonyl compounds and aldehydes, and 1,3‐dipolar cycloadditon with 3‐arylideneoxindoles gave a novel class of dispirooxindole derivatives, namely 1,1′′‐dibenzyl‐5′‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐4′‐phenyl‐4′,5′‐dihydrodispiro[indoline‐3,2′‐furan‐3′,3′′‐indoline]‐2,2′′‐dione, C₄₄H₃₃ClN₂O₃, (I), 1′′‐acetyl‐1‐benzyl‐5′‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐4′‐phenyl‐4′,5′‐dihydrodispiro[indoline‐3,2′‐furan‐3′,3′′‐indoline]‐2,2′′‐dione, C₃₉H₂₉ClN₂O₄, (II), 1′′‐acetyl‐1‐benzyl‐4′,5′‐diphenyl‐4′,5′‐dihydrodispiro[indoline‐3,2′‐furan‐3′,3′′‐indoline]‐2,2′′‐dione, C₃₉H₃₀N₂O₄, (III), and 1′′‐acetyl‐1‐benzyl‐4′,5′‐diphenyl‐4′,5′‐dihydrodispiro[indoline‐3,2′‐furan‐3′,3′′‐indoline]‐2,2′′‐dione acetonitrile hemisolvate, C₃₉H₃₀N₂O₄·0.5C₂H₃N, (IV). All four compounds exist as racemic mixtures of the SSSR and RRRS stereoisomers. In these structures, the two H atoms of the dihydrofuran ring and the two substituted oxindole rings are in a trans orientation, facilitating intramolecular C—H...O and π–π interactions. These weak interactions play a prominent role in the structural stability and aid the highly regio‐ and diastereoselective synthesis. In each of the four structures, the molecular assembly in the crystal is also governed by weak noncovalent interactions. Compound (IV) is the solvated analogue of (III) and the two compounds show similar structural features.     

Ruthenium(III) – catalyzed oxidative cleavage of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-aminoazobenzene by chloramine-B in alkaline medium and uncatalyzed reaction in acid medium: spectrophotometric kinetic and mechanistic study

p-Aminoazobenzene (PAAB) is one of the important monoazo dyes and its oxidation kinetic study is of much use in understanding the mechanistic profile of PAAB in redox reactions. Consequently, the kinetics of oxidation of PAAB by sodium N-chlorobenzenesulfonamide or chloramine-B (CAB) in HClO₄ medium and in NaOH medium catalyzed by ruthenium(III) chloride (Ru^III) have been investigated at 298 K. U.v.–vis spectrophotometry was used as a basic analytical approach in this study. Under an identical set of experimental conditions, the reactions of PAAB–CAB in HClO₄ medium were facile, but the reactions became too slow to be studied in alkaline medium and hence ruthenium(III) chloride has been used as a catalyst in alkaline medium. The stoichiometry (1:2) and oxidation products (nitrosobenzene and p-nitrosoaniline) are the same in both media, but the kinetic and mechanistic patterns were found to be different. The experimental rate laws obtained are: − d[CAB]/dt = k [CAB]₀ [PAAB]₀ [H⁺] in acid medium and − d[CAB]₀/dt = k [CAB]₀ [PAAB]₀[OH⁻] ^x [Ru^III] ^y in alkaline medium, where x and y are less than unity. The reaction was examined with reference to changes in (a) concentration of benzenesulfonamide, (b) concentration of added neutral salts, (c) ionic strength, (d) dielectric permitivity and (e) solvent isotope effect. The reaction was also studied at different temperatures and the overall activation parameters have been evaluated. The oxidation reaction fails to induce the polymerization of added acrylonitrile. C₆H₄SO₂NHCl and C₆H₄SO₂NCl⁻ have been postulated as the reactive oxidizing species in acidic and alkaline media, respectively. It was found that the reactions are nearly 20 times faster in acid medium in comparison with alkaline medium. It was also observed that ruthenium(III) was an efficient catalyst for the facile oxidation of PAAB by CAB in alkaline medium by making the reaction go twelve-fold faster than the uncatalyzed reactions. The catalytic constant (K _C) has been calculated at different temperatures and the values of activation parameters with respect to ruthenium(III) have also been evaluated in alkaline medium. The observed results have been explained by plausible mechanisms and the relative rate laws have been deduced.     

A convenient and general ruthenium-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of nitro- and azobenzenes

An easily accessible in situ catalyst composed of [{RuCl(2)(p-cymene)}(2)] and terpyridine has been developed for the selective transfer hydrogenation of aromatic nitro and azo compounds. The procedure is general and the selectivity of the catalyst has been demonstrated by applying a series of structurally diverse nitro and azo compounds (see scheme).     

Visualization of unsteady shock oscillations in the High-enthalpy flow field around double cones

The presence of an adverse pressure gradient, shock/shock interaction and shock wave/boundary layer interaction often induces flow separation around bodies. However, the effect of dissociated flow on separated flow characteristics, especially at hypersonic speeds, is still not clear, and considerable differences are observed between experiments and numerical simulations. In this investigation, the unsteady separated flow features around double cones are visualized in the Shock Wave Research Center (SWRC) free-piston driven shock tunnel at a nominal Mach Number of 6.99 using multiple optical techniques. The time resolved shock structure oscillations in the flow field around double cones (first cone, semi-apex angle = 25°; second cone, semi-apex angles=50°, 65°, 68° and 70°) have been visualized using a high-speed image converter camera (IMACON) at a nominal stagnation enthalpy of 4.8 MJ/kg. In addition, flow visualization studies around the double cone is also carried out using Schlieren and double exposure holographic interferometry in order to precisely locate the separation point and measure the separation length. The presence of a triple shock structure in front of the second cone and a non-linear unsteady shock structure oscillation in the flow field are the significant results from visualization studies on the 25° /65°, 25° /68° and 25°/70° double cones. On the other hand, the flow field around 25° /50° is relatively steady and Type V shock/shock interaction is observed. Illustrative numerical simulation studies are carried out by solving N-S equations to complement the experiments. The simulated flow features around a double cone agree well qualitatively with experiments.     

Facile Electrochemical Synthesis of Nanoscale (TiNbTaZrHf)C High‐Entropy Carbide Powder

High‐entropy alloys and compounds are becoming an important class of new materials due to their outstanding refractory and high‐temperature properties. However, preparation in bulk quantities and in powder form via classical metallurgical methods is challenging. Here, we report the first synthesis of an ultra‐high‐temperature high‐entropy carbide, (TiNbTaZrHf)C, via a facile electrochemical process. In this, a mixture of the individual metal oxides and graphite is deoxidised in a melt of CaCl₂ at a temperature of only 1173 K. The (TiNbTaZrHf)C prepared is single‐phase fcc and has a powdery morphology with a particle‐size range of 15–80 nm. Such materials are in demand for modern additive manufacturing techniques, while preliminary tests have also indicated a possible application in supercapacitors. The successful synthesis of (TiNbTaZrHf)C powder may now guide the way towards establishing the electrochemical route for the preparation of many other entropy‐stabilised materials.     

Facile Electrochemical Synthesis of Nanoscale (TiNbTaZrHf)C High-Entropy Carbide Powder

High-entropy alloys and compounds are becoming an important class of new materials due to their outstanding refractory and high-temperature properties. However, preparation in bulk quantities and in powder form via classical metallurgical methods is challenging. Here, we report the first synthesis of an ultra-high-temperature high-entropy carbide, (TiNbTaZrHf)C, via a facile electrochemical process. In this, a mixture of the individual metal oxides and graphite is deoxidised in a melt of CaCl₂ at a temperature of only 1173 K. The (TiNbTaZrHf)C prepared is single-phase fcc and has a powdery morphology with a particle-size range of 15–80 nm. Such materials are in demand for modern additive manufacturing techniques, while preliminary tests have also indicated a possible application in supercapacitors. The successful synthesis of (TiNbTaZrHf)C powder may now guide the way towards establishing the electrochemical route for the preparation of many other entropy-stabilised materials.     

Highly water-soluble,near-infrared emissive BODIPY polymeric dye bearing RGD peptide residues for cancer imaging

Near-infrared emissive BODIPY polymeric dye bearing cancer-homing cyclic arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD) peptide residues (polymer B) was prepared by post-polymerization functionalization of BODIPY polymeric dye bearing bromo groups through tetra(ethylene glycol) tethered spacers (polymer A) with thiol-functionalized RGD cancer-homing peptide through thioether bonds under a mild basic condition. Polymer B possesses excellent water solubility, good photostability, biocompatibility and resistance to nonspecific interactions to normal endothelial cells, and can efficiently detect breast tumor cells through specific cooperative binding of cancer-homing RGD peptides to αvβ3 integrins of cancer cells while its parent polymer A without RGD residues fails to target cancer cells.     

Photodissociation effects on pulsed laser deposited silver oxide thin films: surface‐enhanced resonance Raman scattering

Temporal Raman scattering measurements with 488, 532 and 632 nm excitation wavelengths and normal Raman studies by varying the power (from 30 W/cm² to 2 MW/cm²) at 488 nm were performed on silver oxide thin films prepared by pulsed‐laser deposition. Initially, silver oxide Raman spectra were observed with all three excitation wavelengths. With further increase in time and power, silver oxide photodissociated into silver nanostructures. High‐intensity spectral lines were observed at 1336 ± 25 and 1596 ± 10 cm⁻¹ with 488 nm excitation. No spectral features were observed with 633 nm excitation. Surface‐enhanced resonance Raman scattering theory is used to explain the complex behavior in the intensity of the 1336/1596 cm⁻¹ lines with varying power of 488 nm excitation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Colour centre studies in MoO3 films

The growth of defects in vacuum-evaporated MoO₃ films has been studied by optical absorption in the present work. The as-grown films were subjected to different kinds of treatment such as thermal annealing, UV and X-ray irradiation, and their optical absorption spectra were recorded between 300 and 1500 nm at room temperature as well as at liquid N₂ temperature The films were found to be amorphous from X-ray and electron-microscopic studies. From these studies it is observed that in addition to point defects, defect aggregates similar to the colloidal centres in silver and alkali halides, are present in these films.