A thin film analog of the corneal mucus layer of the tear film: an enigmatic long range non-classical DLVO interaction in the breakup of thin polymer films

We present experimental results on the instability and dewetting of thin liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films intercalated between an aqueous medium and a silicon wafer grafted with PDMS ‘brushes’. This is a thin film analog of the precorneal thin mucus coating sandwiched between the aqueous tear film and the glycocalyx carrying corneal epithelial surface. Lowering of the PDMS–water interfacial tension by a surfactant results in dewetting even of micrometer thick films within a few minutes. The instability appears to be induced by a long range non-classical DLVO force which has the same decay behavior as the nonretarded van der Waals force, but a magnitude which is about 2–3 orders higher. Implications for the breakup of the precorneal mucus layer and the tear film are discussed.     

Magnetization of Gd cluster: Anomalous thermal behavior

Theoretical studies of the temperature (T) dependence of magnetization of Gd₁₃ clusters have been carried out within a classical Heisenberg model using Monte-Carlo simulations. It is shown that for a broad range of values of , defined as the ratio between competing ferro and anti-ferro magnetic couplings, the cluster magnetization increases with T in the low T region, as seen in experiment. The clusters are also shown to exhibit a wide distribution of moments at a given T, which broadens significantly with increasing T. It is suggested that this may affect the observed magnetic behavior of magnetic clusters in Stern-Gerlach experiments. Received 29 May 1999 and Received in final form 5 September 1999     

On a Lagrangian formulation of gravitoelectromagnetism

We examine a Lagrangian formulation of gravity based on an approach analogous to electromagnetism, called Gravitoelectromagnetism (GEM). The gravitational analogue of the electromagnetic field tensor is a three-index tensor, \({\mathcal {F}_{\mu\nu\lambda}}\), defined in terms of a two-index gravitoelectromagnetic potential, \({\mathcal {A}_{\mu\nu}}\). The energy-momentum tensor is derived and is symmetric. We construct a Lagrangian which allows us to describe interactions between fermions, photons and gravitons. We calculate transition amplitudes of various processes involving gravitons: gravitational Møller scattering, gravitational Compton scattering, and the graviton photoproduction.     

The saturated five‐membered heterocyclic molecules as organic hydride donors: a computational study

Several five‐membered heterocyclic molecules were studied theoretically as organic hydride donors. The density functional theory and ab initio methods are employed to study the direct one‐step or multistep sequence suggested for the hydride transfer from the selected molecules: H atom/electron, electron/proton/electron or electron/H atom. Out of the three multistep mechanisms, electron/H atom seems to be a probable pathway in the presence of suitable catalyst/photoreaction that can cause ionization. In the lack of such catalyst/photoreaction, the direct hydride transfer seems to be most probable with the presence of suitable hydride acceptor. A detailed mechanism of the hydride transfer from the five‐membered heterocylic compounds is important in understanding chemical and biological reactions and required for scientifically designing and synthesizing new desired five‐membered heterocyclic compounds as organic hydride donor. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Carbenylative amination with N-tosylhydrazones

A Pd-catalyzed reaction of vinyl iodides and N-tosylhydrazones that assembles η(3)-allyl ligands through carbene insertion is demonstrated. Intramolecular trapping with nitrogen nucleophiles generates good yields of cinnamyl and pentadienyl amines like those found in alkaloid natural products. Carbenylative amination was the key reaction to complete the synthesis of the alkaloid caulophyllumine B. Migratory insertion was biased to provide allylamines with optical purity up to 64% ee, but in a lower yield.     

2-Benzoylpyridine thiosemicarbazone as a novel reagent for the single pot synthesis of dinuclear Cu(I)-Cu(II) complexes: formation of stable copper(II)-iodide bonds

2-Benzoylpyridine thiosemicarbazone {R(1)R(2)C(2)=N(2)·N(3)H-C(1)(=S)-N(4)H(2), R(1) = py-N(1), R(2) = Ph; Hbpytsc} with copper(I) iodide in acetonitrile-dichloromethane mixture has formed stable Cu(II)-I bonds in a dark green Cu(II) iodo-bridged dimer, [Cu(2)(II)(μ-I)(2)(η(3)-N(1),N(2),S-bpytsc)(2)] 1. Copper(I) bromide also formed similar Cu(II)-Br bonds in a dark green Cu(II) bromo-bridged dimer, [Cu(2)(II)(μ-Br)(2)(η(3)-N(1),N(2),S-bpytsc)(2)] 3. The formation of dimers 1 and 3 appears to be due to a proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) process wherein copper(I) loses an electron to form copper(II), and this is accompanied by a loss of -N(3)H proton of Hbpytsc ligand resulting in the formation of anionic bpytsc(-). When copper(I) iodide was reacted with triphenylphosphine (PPh(3)) in acetonitrile followed by the addition of 2-benzoylpyridine thiosemicarbazone in dichloromethane (Cu?:?PPh(3)?:?Hbpytsc in the molar ratio 1:1:1), both Cu(II) dimer 1 and an orange Cu(I) sulfur-bridged dimer, [Cu(2)(I)I(2)(μ-S-Hbpytsc)(2)(PPh(3))(2)] 2 were formed. Copper(I) bromide with PPh(3) and Hbpytsc also formed Cu(II) dimer 3 and an orange Cu(I) sulfur-bridged dimer, [Cu(2)(I)Br(2)(μ-S-Hbpytsc)(2)(PPh(3))(2)] 4. While complexes 2 and 4 exist as sulfur-bridged Cu(I) dimers, 1 and 3 are halogen-bridged. The central Cu(2)S(2) cores of 2 and 4 as well as Cu(2)X(2) of 1 (X = I) and 3 (X = Br) are parallelograms. One set of Cu(II)-I and Cu(II)-Br bonds are short, while the second set is very long {1, Cu-I, 2.565(1), 3.313(1) ?; 3, Cu-Br, 2.391(1), 3.111(1) ?}. The Cu···Cu separations are long in all four complexes {1, 4.126(1); 2, 3.857(1); 3, 3.227(1); 4, 3.285(1) ?}, more than twice the van der Waals radius of a Cu atom, 2.80 ?. The pyridyl group appears to be necessary for stabilizing the Cu(II)-I bond, as this group can accept π-electrons from the metal.     

On the stability of an unsupported mercury-mercury bond linking group 15 Zintl clusters

The dimeric Zintl ion [Hg(2)(As(7))(2)](4-) has been synthesized with high crystalline yield from the reaction of an ethylendiamine solution of the intermetallic Zintl phase K(3)As(7) with diphenyl mercury. Single crystal X-ray diffraction of [K(2,2,2-crypt)](4)[Hg(2)As(14)], 1 (2,2,2-crypt = 4,7,13,16,21,24-hexaoxa-1,10-diazabicyclo[8.8.8]-hexacosane), reveals that the cluster anion exhibits a Hg-Hg bond and the compound has been further characterized using Raman spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and its band gap energy was measured. Theoretical studies provide a microscopic understanding of the bonding in this unusual compound.