Crystal growth, structural, optical, dielectric and thermal studies of an amino acid based organic NLO material: L-phenylalanine L-phenylalaninium malonate

The mineral crandallite CaAl₃(PO₄)₂(OH)₅·(H₂O) has been identified in deposits found in the Jenolan Caves, New South Wales, Australia by using a combination of X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic techniques. A comparison is made between the vibrational spectra of crandallite found in the Jenolan Caves and a standard crandallite. Raman and infrared bands are assigned to PO₄³⁻ and HPO₄²⁻ stretching and bending modes. The predominant features are the internal vibrations of the PO₄³⁻ and HPO₄²⁻ groups. A mechanism for the formation of crandallite is presented and the conditions for the formation are elucidated.     

Crystal growth, structural, optical, spectral and thermal studies of tris(L-phenylalanine)L-phenylalaninium nitrate: a new organic nonlinear optical material

Tris(L-phenylalanine)L-phenylalaninium nitrate, C(9)H(12)NO(2)(+)·NO(3)(-)·3C(9)H(11)NO(2) (TPLPN), a new organic nonlinear optical material was grown from aqueous solution by slow evaporation solution growth at room temperature. The grown crystals were subjected to powder X-ray diffraction and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies to confirm the crystalline nature and crystal structure. The modes of vibration of different molecular groups present in TPLPN have been identified by FTIR spectral analysis. The presence of hydrogen and carbon in the grown crystal were confirmed by using proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral analyses. The optical transmission spectral study establishes good transmitting ability of the crystal in the entire visible region. The thermogravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analyses (DTA) were carried out to understand the thermal stability of the sample. The nonlinear optical property of the compound observed using Kurtz powder second harmonic generation test assets the suitability of the grown material for the frequency conversion of laser radiation of Nd:YAG.     

Growth, structural, vibrational, optical, laser and dielectric aspects of L-alanine alaninium nitrate single crystal

Bulk single crystals of l-alanine alaninium nitrate [abbreviated as LAAN], an intriguing material for frequency conversion has been grown from its aqueous solution by both slow solvent evaporation and by slow cooling techniques. The optimized pH value to grow good quality LAAN single crystal was found to be 2.5. The grown crystals were subjected to single crystal X-ray diffraction studies to determine the unit cell dimensions and morphology. Vibrational frequencies of the grown crystals by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic technique were investigated. Also, the presence of hydrogen and carbon atoms in the grown sample was confirmed using proton and carbon NMR analyses. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss measurements of the as grown crystal at different temperatures and frequencies of the applied field are measured and reported. LAAN has good optical transmission in the entire visible region with cutoff wavelength within the UV region confirms its suitability for device fabrications. The existence of second harmonic generation signals was observed using Nd:YAG laser with fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm. Its Laser Damage Threshold (LDT) was measured and also tested by using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and the value of LDT of LAAN is 17.76GW/cm2 respectively, is found to be better than certain organic and semiorganic materials.     

Phthalocyanine analogues: unexpectedly facile access to non-peripherally substituted octaalkyl tetrabenzotriazaporphyrins, tetrabenzodiazaporphyrins, tetrabenzomonoazaporphyrins and tetrabenzoporphyrins

Controlled syntheses of phthalocyanine/benzoporphyrin hybrid structures have been achieved. We report a simple means for obtaining non-peripherally octaalkyl-substituted derivatives of tetrabenzotriazaporphyrin (TBTAP), tetrabenzodiazaporphyrin (TBDAP), tetrabenzomonoazaporphyrin (TBMAP) and tetrabenzoporphyrin (TBP) macrocycles by treating 3,6-dialkyl phthalonitriles with differing amounts of the Grignard reagent MeMgBr. This range of macrocyclic products is not obtained from corresponding reactions of a Grignard reagent with 4-substituted phthalonitriles, reported previously, or reaction of MeMgBr with a 4,5-dialkyl phthalonitrile. Attempts to form a meso-substituted TBTAP from 3,6-dialkyl phthalonitriles by reaction with benzyl and long-chain alkyl Grignard reagents unexpectedly gave only the parent macrocycle unsubstituted at the meso position. The synthetic protocols are by far the most straightforward and convenient means to access these interesting, but scarcely studied, classes of material. The new series of substituted macrocyclic compounds, obtained as the metal-free and magnesium- and copper(II)-metallated derivatives, show trends in the UV/Vis spectra consistent with those predicted elsewhere by Kobayashi. Characterisation of the new families allows further trends to be identified as meso-nitrogen atoms are sequentially replaced by methine bridges, for example, the compounds provide novel examples of macrocyclic structures that show columnar mesophase behaviour. Single-crystal X-ray structure determinations have been obtained for three magnesium-metallated derivatives bearing eight hexyl substituents and constitute the first set of structural data obtained for such a series.     

Oriented confined water induced by cationic lipids

We report on attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR FTIR) spectroscopic measurements on oriented lipid multilayers of N,N-dimethyl-N,N-dioctadecyl-ammonium halides (DODAX, X = F, Cl, Br, I). The main goal of this study is the investigation of the structure and spectroscopic properties of water absorbed to these model membranes. Intensities of the water stretch absorptions were used to determine the amount of bound water. At high water activity, DODAF membranes bind ~11 water molecules/lipid while DODAC and DODAB adsorb 1-2 water/lipid and DODAI was hydrophobic. By adjustment of DODAF hydration to ~2 water molecules, stretching absorptions from water of the first hydration shell were accessible for the fluoride, chloride, and bromide analogs. The polarized measurements demonstrate highly confined and oriented water with infrared (IR) order parameters ranging from 0.2 to -0.4. Resolved IR water band components are attributed to different hydrogen-bonded populations. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations of DODAB strongly support the existence of differently hydrogen-bonded and oriented water within DODAB multilayers. A combination of both techniques was used for an assignment of water stretch band components to structures. The described cationic lipid systems are a prototype for a bottom-up approach to understand the IR spectroscopy of structured water at biological interfaces since they permit a defined increase of hydrophilic water-anionic interactions leading to extended water networks at membranes.     

A study of the atmospherically important reactions of dimethylsulfide (DMS) with I2 and ICl using infrared matrix isolation spectroscopy and electronic structure calculations

The reactions of dimethylsulfide (DMS) with molecular iodine (I(2)) and iodine monochloride (ICl) have been studied by infrared matrix isolation spectroscopy by co-condensation of the reagents in an inert gas matrix. Molecular adducts of DMS + I(2) and DMS + ICl have also been prepared using standard synthetic methods. The vapour above each of these adducts trapped in an inert gas matrix gave the same infrared spectrum as that recorded for the corresponding co-condensation reaction. In each case, the infrared spectrum has been interpreted in terms of a van der Waals adduct, DMS?:?I(2) and DMS?:?ICl, with the aid of infrared spectra computed for their minimum energy structures at the MP2 level. Computed relative energies of minima and transition states on the potential energy surfaces of these reactions were used to understand why they do not proceed further than the reactant complexes DMS?:?I(2) and DMS?:?ICl. The main findings of this research are compared with results obtained earlier for the DMS + Cl(2) and DMS + Br(2) reactions, and the atmospheric implications of the conclusions are also considered.     

Enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO(2) nanopowders for H(2) production by using non-noble transition metal co-catalysts

Co and Ni-nanoclusters are attractive alternatives to Pt catalysts for hydrogen generation. These earth abundant elements when loaded onto the TiO(2) nanopowders surface act as efficient co-catalysts. Co, Ni-decorated TiO(2) photocatalysts display only three (3) times lower catalytic activities for H(2) evolution under UV illumination compared with Pt-decorated TiO(2) photocatalysts.     

Semi-invariants of actions of multiplier hopf algebras

Let A be a multiplier Hopf algebra which acts on an algebra R. In this paper we study semi-invariants of this action. This idea has proved interesting in the case thatA is a Hopf algebra.     

Dye molecular structure device open-circuit voltage correlation in Ru(II) sensitizers with heteroleptic tridentate chelates for dye-sensitized solar cells

Dicarboxyterpyridine chelates with π-conjugated pendant groups attached at the 5- or 6-position of the terminal pyridyl unit were synthesized. Together with 2,6-bis(5-pyrazolyl)pyridine, these were used successfully to prepare a series of novel heteroleptic, bis-tridentate Ru(II) sensitizers, denoted as TF-11-14. These dyes show excellent performance in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) under AM1.5G simulated sunlight at a light intensity of 100 mW cm(-2) in comparison with a reference device containing [Ru(Htctpy)(NCS)(3)][TBA](3) (N749), where H(3)tctpy and TBA are 4,4',4"-tricarboxy-2,2':6',2"-terpyridine and tetra-n-butylammonium cation, respectively. In particular, the sensitizer TF-12 gave a short-circuit photocurrent of 19.0 mA cm(-2), an open-circuit voltage (V(OC)) of 0.71 V, and a fill factor of 0.68, affording an overall conversion efficiency of 9.21%. The increased conjugation conferred to the TF dyes by the addition of the π-conjugated pendant groups increases both their light-harvesting and photovoltaic energy conversion capability in comparison with N749. Detailed recombination processes in these devices were probed by various spectroscopic and dynamics measurements, and a clear correlation between the device V(OC) and the cell electron lifetime was established. In agreement with several other recent studies, the results demonstrate that high efficiencies can also be achieved with Ru(II) sensitizers that do not contain thiocyanate ancillaries. This bis-tridentate, dual-carboxy anchor configuration thus serves as a prototype for future omnibearing design of highly efficient Ru(II) sensitizers suited for use in DSCs.     

The Cartesian product of hypergraphs

We show that every simple, (weakly) connected, possibly directed and infinite, hypergraph has a unique prime factor decomposition with respect to the (weak) Cartesian product, even if it has infinitely many factors. This generalizes previous results for graphs and undirected hypergraphs to directed and infinite hypergraphs. The proof adopts the strategy outlined by Imrich and ?erovnik for the case of graphs and introduces the notion of diagonal‐free grids as a replacement of the chord‐free 4‐cycles that play a crucial role in the case of graphs. This leads to a generalization of relation Δ on the arc set, whose convex hull is shown to coincide with the product relation of the prime factorization. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory