Optical,Electrical and Morphological Studies of SnSe2 Crystals Grown by Physical Vapour Transport Method

Tin diselenide single crystals have been grown by the physical vapour transport (PVT) method. Optical absorption studies give an indirect allowed transition at 1.03 eV at room temperature. The electrical resistivity parallel and perpendicular to c-axis, mobility and carrier concentration have been determined. Dependence of resistivity parallel to c-axis on temperature gives an activation energy of 0.072 eV. Growth spirals observed for the first time on the as grown faces of these crystals are also presented here.     

Self‐Assembled Helical Arrays for the Stabilization of the Triplet State

Room‐temperature phosphorescence of metal and heavy atom‐free organic molecules has emerged as an area of great potential in recent years. A rational design played a critical role in controlling the molecular ordering to impart efficient intersystem crossing and stabilize the triplet state to achieve room‐temperature ultralong phosphorescence. However, in most cases, the strategies to strengthen phosphorescence efficiency have resulted in a reduced lifetime, and the available nearly degenerate singlet‐triplet energy levels impart a natural competition between delayed fluorescence and phosphorescence, with the former one having the advantage. Herein, an organic helical assembly supports the exhibition of an ultralong phosphorescence lifetime. In contrary to other molecules, 3,6‐phenylmethanone functionalized 9‐hexylcarbazole exhibits a remarkable improvement in phosphorescence lifetime (>4.1 s) and quantum yield (11 %) owing to an efficient molecular packing in the crystal state. A right‐handed helical molecular array act as a trap and exhibits triplet exciton migration to support the exceptionally longer phosphorescence lifetime.     

Characterization of lead(II)chloride single crystals grown in silica gel

Acousto‐optical materials play an important role in acousto‐optic devices as acousto‐optic modulators. Lead(II) chloride is an acousto‐optical material, having high figure of merit approximately ten times greater than that of lead molybdate, which is an efficient acousto‐optical material. It also possesses high birefringence, low attenuation coefficient, wide transparency range and good mechanical properties. This paper discusses in detail, the growth of single crystals of lead(II) chloride in silica gel by the process of diffusion in a highly acidic medium. Needle‐type lead(II) chloride crystals have been obtained. The crystal system is confirmed to be orthorhombic by powder X‐ray diffraction analysis. To study the optical transparency of the grown crystal, the transmission spectrum has been recorded in the range 190 – 1100 nm. Thermal stability of the crystal is also studied. Results are discussed in detail. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Synthesis,structure and optical properties of zinc oxide hexagonal microprisms

Zinc oxide (ZnO) pencil‐head‐like (PHL) microprisms were synthesized by a hydrothermal route using a zinc (Zn) plate as a source and substrate. The structural analysis confirmed the formation of ZnO with hexagonal wurtzite phase on the hexagonal Zn substrate and the growth of the ZnO microparticles along the [101] direction. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) of the ZnO microprisms showed a sharp UV emission band located at around 380 nm, which is expected to originate from the radiative recombination of free excitons. The sharp UV emission band, with a full width at half‐maximum of about 15 nm and an extremely weak visible emission, confirms the high crystal quality of the synthesized ZnO microprisms. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Hydrogenation of acetophenone over bifunctional multi metal oxide catalysts

The vapor phase hydrogenation of acetophenone at atmospheric pressure is carried out for the synthesis of 1-phenylethanol in a fixed bed reactor using Cu-Zn-Al-O (LTS-1) and LTS-2, Zn-Cr-Al-O (HTS-1) and Zn-Cu-Cr-Al-O (HTS-2) metal oxide catalysts. Our studies clearly indicate that a catalyst of low temperature hydrogenation activity, when modified for its acidity with magnesium oxide, shows maximum selectivity of 1-phenylethanol. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Uniformly convergent scheme for two‐parameter singularly perturbed problems with non‐smooth data

A numerical scheme is constructed for the problems in which the diffusion and convection parameters (?₁ and ?₂ , respectively) both are small, and the convection and source terms have a jump discontinuity in the domain of consideration. Depending on the magnitude of the ratios , and two different cases have been considered separately. Through rigorous analysis, the theoretical error bounds on the singular and regular components of the solution are obtained separately, which shows that in both cases the method is convergent uniformly irrespective of the size of the parameters ?₁, ?₂ . Two test problems are included to validate the theoretical results.     

Promising Roles of Alternative Medicine and Plant-Based Nanotechnology as Remedies for Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are considered to be the most common infections worldwide, having an incidence rate of 40−60% in women. Moreover, the prevalence of this disorder in adult women is 30 times more than in men. UTIs are usually found in many hospitals and clinical practice; as disorders, they are complicated and uncomplicated; in uncomplicated cases, there is no structural or functional abnormality in the urogenital tract. However, obstruction, retention of urine flow and use of catheters increase the complexity. There are several bacteria (e.g., E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, etc.) successfully residing in the tract. The diagnosis must not only be accurate but rapid, so early detection is an important step in the control of UTIs caused by uropathogens. The treatment of UTIs includes appropriate antimicrobial therapy to control the infection and kill the causal microbes inside the body. A long-time usage of antibiotics has resulted in multidrug resistance causing an impediment in treatment. Thus, alternative, combinatorial medication approaches have given some hope. Available treatments considered Homeopathic, Ayurvedic, Unani, and other herbal-based drugs. There are new upcoming roles of nanoparticles in combating UTIs which needs further validation. The role of medicinal plant-based nanotechnology approaches has shown promising results. Therefore, there must be active research in phyto-based therapies of UTIs, such as Ayurvedic Biology.     

Mixed convection in non-Newtonian fluids along a vertical plate with variable surface heat flux in a porous medium

A nonsimilar boundary layer analysis is presented for the problem of mixed convection in power-law type non-Newtonian fluids along a vertical plate with power-law surface heat flux distribution. The mixed convection regime is divided into two regions, namely, the forced convection dominated regime and the free convection dominated regime. The two solutions are matched. Numerical results are presented for the details of the velocity and temperature fields. A discussion is provided for the effect of viscosity index on the surface heat transfer rate. Received on 13 October 1998     

Insecticidal Activity of Extracts,Fractions, and Pure Molecules of Cissampelos pareira Linnaeus against Aphid,Aphis craccivora Koch

Aphis craccivora Koch is a polyphagous and major pest of leguminous crops causing significant damage by reducing the yield. Repeated application of synthetic insecticides for the control of aphids has led to development of resistance. Therefore, the present study aimed to screen the insecticidal activity of root/stem extracts/fractions, and pure molecules from Cissampelos pareira Linnaeus against A. craccivora for identification of lead(s). Among root extract/fractions, the n-hexane fraction was found most effective (LC₅₀ = 1828.19 mg/L) against A. craccivora, followed by parent extract (LC₅₀ = 2211.54 mg/L). Among stem extract/fractions, the n-hexane fraction (LC₅₀ = 1246.92 mg/L) was more effective than the water and n-butanol fractions. Based on GC and GC-MS analysis, among different compounds identified in the n-hexane fraction of root and stem, ethyl palmitate (known to possess insecticidal activity) was present in the highest concentration (24.94 to 52.95%) in both the fractions. Among pure molecules, pareirarineformate was found most effective (LC₅₀ = 1491.93 mg/L) against A. craccivora, followed by cissamine (LC₅₀ = 1556.31 mg/L). Parent extract and fractions of C. pareira possess promising activity against aphid. Further, field bio-efficacy studies are necessary to validate the current findings for the development of botanical formulation.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of highly crystalline nanotubes/nanoplates of pure and silver-doped anatase-titania using acid-catalyst-modified sol–gel precursors

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Highly crystalline nanotubes/nanoplates of pure and Ag-doped anatase-titania (TiO2) having high aspect-ratio have been synthesized, without the...