Study of Autoxidation of Ascorbic Acid in Acetonitrile by Electronic Absorption Spectra

The autoxidation of vitamin C has been studied in acetonitrile by electronic spectroscopy. Some interesting data on the role of acetonitrile in autoxidation have been obtained, perhaps for the first time. A parallelism between hydroxyl ions and CH₂CN⁻, the ions from the self-ionization of acetonitrile, has been established. The CH₂CN⁻ anion is similar to hydroxyl anions in initiating and propagating the decomposition of ascorbic acid, at least in this system. The intermediates involved in the overall reaction in nonaqueous media have been identified by simple means.__________Published in Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 72, No. 2, pp. 274–276, March–April, 2005.     

Optical-fiber source of polarization-entangled photons in the 1550 nm telecom band

We present a fiber-based source of polarization-entangled photons that is well suited for quantum communication applications in the 1550 nm band of standard fiber-optic telecommunications. Polarization entanglement is created by pumping a nonlinear-fiber Sagnac interferometer with two time-delayed orthogonally polarized pump pulses and subsequently removing the time distinguishability by passing the parametrically scattered signal and idler photon pairs through a piece of birefringent fiber. Coincidence detection of the signal and idler photons yields biphoton interference with visibility greater than 90%, while no interference is observed in direct detection of either signal or idler photons. All four Bell states can be prepared with our setup and we demonstrate violations of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt form of Bell's inequality by up to 10 standard deviations of measurement uncertainty.     

Confinement-induced ordering of alkanes between an elastomer and a solid surface

We have studied the molecular structure of liquid alkanes confined between a flexible elastomeric poly(dimethyl siloxane) lens and a rigid sapphire substrate using surface-sensitive infrared-visible sum frequency generation spectroscopy. The reduction in the gauche defects suggests ordering of liquid alkanes under confinement. The cooling of confined liquid below the freezing temperature leads to crystallization with alkane molecules lying on the substrate with the symmetry axis parallel to the surface normal. This structure is very different from the bulk alkane crystals next to sapphire or air interfaces.     

Generation of Bianchi type V cosmological models with varying Λ-term

Bianchi type V perfect fluid cosmological models are investigated with cosmological term varying with time. Using a generation technique (Camci et al., 2001), it is shown that Einsteins field equations are solvable for any arbitrary cosmic scale function. Solutions for particular forms of cosmic scale functions are also obtained. The cosmological constant is found to be a decreasing function of time, which is supported by results from recent type Ia supernovae observations. Some physical aspects of the models are also discussed.     

Polymer patterns in evaporating droplets on dissolving substrates

Self-organized polymer patterns resulting from the evaporation of an organic solvent drop on a soluble layer of polymer are investigated. The patterns can be modulated by changing the rate of evaporation and also the rate of substrate dissolution controlled by its solubility. Both of these affect the contact zone motion and its instabilities, leading to spatially variable rates of substrate etching and redeposition that result from a complex interplay of several factors such as Rayleigh-Benard cells, thermocapillary flow, solutal Marangoni flow, flow due to differential evaporation, osmotic-pressure-induced flow, and contact-line pinning-depinning events. The most complex novel pattern, observed at relatively low rates of evaporation, medium solubility, and without macroscopic contact-line stick-slip, consists of a regularly undulating ring made up of a bundle of parallel spaghetti-like threads or striations and radially oriented fingerlike ridges. Increased rate of evaporation obliterates the polymer threads, producing more densely packed fingers and widely separated multiple rings due to a frequent macroscopic pinning-depinning of the contact line. Near-equilibrium conditions such as slow evaporation or increased solubility of the substrate engender a wider and less undulating single ring.     

1-(2-Iodophenyl)-1H-tetrazole as a ligand for Pd(II) catalyzed Heck reaction

1-(2-Iodophenyl)-1H-tetrazole 2 was synthesized by the reaction of 2-iodoaniline, sodium azide and triethyl orthoformate in acetic acid. The newly synthesized ligand 2 was successfully used in Heck reaction to give the cross-coupled products in excellent yields.     

Ionic Interactions of Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate in Aqueous Calcium Chloride Solutions: Solubilities, Densities, Viscosities, and Electrical Conductivities at 30°C

Different physicochemical properties such as solubilities, densities, viscosities, and electrical conductivities of calcium sulfate dihydrate in aqueous calcium chloride solutions have been measured at 30°C to examine the ionic interactions in the system. Density values have been used to calculate the mean apparent molar volumes of ternary mixtures. Viscosity values have been analyzed using different empirical equations and the experimental values of viscosity were combined with conductivity values to get the Walden product. The experimental data have been fitted by a polynomial equation for least-squares analysis to obtain the coefficients and the standard errors. Results have been examined in the light of the structure making or structure breaking effect of the various ions present in the solution.     

Extractive Spectrophotometric Determination of Titanium in Silicate Rocks, Soils and Columbite–Tantalite Minerals

2,3-Dihydroxynaphthalene forms a strong chelate with titanium over the pH range 4 to 9. At pH 4–5, titanium is extracted into ethyl acetate along with iron, leaving behind V, Nb, Mo, and a host of elements present in complex matrices of rock samples. In the extract, titanium is easily separated from iron after raising the pH of the medium and re-extracting. The method is free from any interference. The sensitivity of the method is 3.2×10⁴ L·mol^–1cm^–1. The method has been applied to a number of diverse samples including rocks and minerals. The precision of the Ti method is excellent. This method has been compared with tiron, chromotropic acid, diantipyrilmethane (DAM) and other existing spectrophotometric methods used in the analysis of rocks, ores and minerals. The proposed method has definite advantages over most spectrophotometric methods in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, reproducibility and simplicity.     

Lewis acid-promoted annulation of O-quinonediimines by allylstannane: a facile synthesis of quinoxaline derivatives

[reaction: see text] Lewis acid-promoted addition of allyltri-n-butylstannane to o-quinonediimines afforded tetrahydroquinoxaline derivatives or allylated amides depending on the nature of the substituent on imine nitrogen.