Bruceines D,E and H

The absolute stereochemistry of bruceines D, E and H has been confirmed to be 1S, 5S, 7R, 8R, 9R, 10S, 11R, 12S, 13R, 14R, 15R and additionally 2S for bruceine E by a combination of 2D nmr [¹H-¹H and ¹H-¹³C (one-bond and long-range) COSY] nOe and cd spectroscopic analyses.     

Investigating the vortex melting phenomenon in BSCCO crystals using magneto-optical imaging technique

Using a novel differential magneto-optical imaging technique we investigate the phenomenon of vortex lattice melting in crystals of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ (BSCCO). The images of melting reveal complex patterns in the formation and evolution of the vortex solid-liquid interface with varying field (H)/temperature (T). We believe that the complex melting patterns are due to a random distribution of material disorder/inhomogeneities across the sample, which create fluctuations in the local melting temperature or field value. To study the fluctuations in the local melting temperature/field, we have constructed maps of the melting landscape T _m(H, r), viz., the melting temperature (T _m) at a given location (r) in the sample at a given field (H). A study of these melting landscapes reveals an unexpected feature: the melting landscape is not fixed, but changes rather dramatically with varying field and temperature along the melting line. It is concluded that the changes in both the scale and shape of the landscape result from the competing contributions of different types of quenched disorder which have opposite effects on the local melting transition.     

A broad pore size distribution mesoporous SnO2 as anode for lithium-ion batteries

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - We demonstrate here that mesoporous tin dioxide (abbreviated M-SnO2) with a broad pore size distribution can be a prospective anode in lithium-ion...     

Reactivity of ketene dithiolates toward alkyl bromides

The reactivity of barbituric/thiobarbituric ketene dithiolates with bromoacetic ester and phenacyl bromide is studied. J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2011).     

Curcumol and its one-step formation from curdione

The absolute stereochemistry of curcumol ( 1 ) is confirmed on the basis of the spectroscopic data. The existence of two conformations in curdione ( 4 ) is revealed by nOe experiments at ambient temperature. One-step conversion of 4 into 1 stereospecifically proceeds via the ene-reaction without epimerization at any asymmetric center in 4 .     

Electron transfer reactions. Reaction of dibenzobarrelenes with potassium

The results of our studies on potassium-induced transformations of several bridgehead-substituted dibenzobarrelenes are presented. The dibenzobarrelenes 1b,c,e,f having methyl, hydroxymethyl, methoxy and phenyl groups, respectively, at the bridgehead position and the bridgehead-dimethyl derivative 1g give, on treatment with potassium in THF, the corresponding anthracenes 8b,c,e-g, dihydrodibenzobarreneses 6b,c,e-g and benzoic acid (5). The dibenzobarrelenes 1b,g give, in addition to 8b,g, 6b,g and 5, the corresponding mono-debenzoylated products 7b,g, whereas the methoxy derivative 1e gives both anthraquinone (9) and an enol derivaiive 11, besides 8e, 6e and 5. In contrast, the reaction of the hydroxy derivative 1d with potassium in THF gives a mixture of 5, anthracene (8a), the anthrone 10 and the anthrol 12. To assess the role of oxygen in these reactions, if any, the reactions of some representative substrates such as 1b,d,e with potassium in THF, saturated with oxygen and with potassium superoxide have been studied. Cyclic voltammetric studies have been carried out to measuee the reduction potentials for both one electron and two electron processes, leading to the generation of the corresponding radical anions and dianion intermediates. The radical anions of 1b-g have also been generated pulse radiolytically in methanol and their spectra show absorption maxima in the regions 310-390 and 400-450 nm.     

Electron spin relaxation rates for nitridochromium(V) tetratolylporphyrin and nitridochromium(V) octaethylporphyrin in Frozen solution

T ₁ andT _m for nitridochromium(V) tetratolylporphyrin and nitridochromium(V) octaethylporphyrin were measured by saturation recovery and electron spin echo EPR, respectively, between 10 and 130 K. The temperature dependence of 1/T ₁ was similar to that observed previously for chromium(V) complexes of hydroxycarboxylic acids. The spin lattice relaxation rate was faster in the perpendicular plane (the porphyrin plane) than normal to this plane. 1/T _m was orientation dependent with the fastest rates observed for orientations intermediate between the principal axes. The orientation dependence of 1/T _m increased with increasing temperature and decreasing rigidity of the matrix, and is attributed to molecular motion.     

Aroylethenesulfonylacetic acid methyl ester: a synthon for novel sulfone linked bis heterocycles

Novel sulfone linked bis heterocycles containing two different heterocyclic rings viz., pyrazoline in combination with thiadiazole, oxadiazole and triazole were synthesized and studied their antimicrobial activity.