Peacock feather supported self assembled ZnO nanostructures for tuning photonic properties

Barbules of the peacock feather have been used as the natural template for developing assemblies of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanospheres. The different colored barbules consisting of various photonic crystals (extracted from eye-pattern) were characterized in terms of the stop-bands identified in the respective Reflectance spectra. The stop-bands of the photonic crystals are found to get red-shifted after the loading of ZnO nanospheres and was reasoned to the modification of photonic band gap. The ZnO nanosphere decorated barbules show well defined photoluminescence response with dominant defect related emission of ZnO. The artificially grown inorganic structures on natural templates form a basis of new hybrid system that can help in exploiting photonic band gap engineering and light wave modulation with high selectivity.     

Syntheses, molecular and supramolecular structures, electrochemistry and magnetic properties of two macrocyclic dinickel(II) complexes

The work in this paper reports syntheses, molecular and supramolecular structures, electrochemistry and magnetic properties of two diphenoxo-bridged dinickel(II) compounds [Ni^II₂L(N₃)₂(H₂O)₂]·CH₃CN (1) and [Ni^II₂L(N₃)₂(H₂O)] (2), where H₂L is the tetraimino diphenolate macrocyclic ligand, obtained on [2 + 2] condensation of 4-methyl-2,6-diformylphenol and 2,2′-dimethyl-1,3-diaminopropane. Brown colored compound 1 and green colored compound 2 are produced from the same reaction mixture as a function of temperature; 1 is formed from the reaction mixture in acetonitrile at low temperature (ca. 5 °C), while 2 is formed on heating the reaction mixture in acetonitrile. Crystals of compounds 1 and 2 are monoclinic (space group P2₁/c) and orthorhombic (space group P2₁2₁2₁), respectively. Analyses of the crystal packing of the crystalline phases reveal that two-dimensional topologies are resulted in both 1 and 2 due to hydrogen bonding interactions. Variable-temperature (2-300 K) magnetic susceptibility measurements of the two compounds reveal that the metal centers in both the complexes are coupled by moderate antiferromagnetic interactions with J values (H = -2JS₁·S₂) −18.8 and −34.2 cm⁻¹ for 1 and 2, respectively. Electrochemical analyses of 2 reveal that this compound exhibits two-step reduction couples at E_½ = −977 and −1155 mV.     

Hydrazine reduced exfoliated graphene/graphene oxide layers and?magnetoconductance measurements of Ge-supported graphene layers

Inexpensive production and characteristic magnetoconductance fluctuation of Ge-supported stable graphene/graphene oxide layers are being reported. The changeover from graphite to graphene oxide structure during synthesis was evident from X-ray diffraction patterns whereas development of mono and bilayer graphene/graphene oxide was confirmed by electron microscopy studies. Responding to applied magnetic fields (up to 0.3 T), the Ge-supported graphene layers are shown to exhibit prominent magnetoconductance steps and are attributed to the alteration of Landau levels across the Fermi surface. While low-cost fabrication process is attractive for large scale production, the advantage of short synthesis time and understanding magneto-transport mechanism would find relevance in graphene-based nanodevices and circuits.     

Defect induced magnetism in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite: bulk magnetization and 19F hyperfine interaction studies

We have made bulk and local investigations on defect induced magnetism in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) irradiated with a 40 MeV carbon beam. The local magnetic response of irradiated HOPG was studied by measuring the hyperfine field of recoil implanted (19)F using γ-ray time differential perturbed angular distribution (TDPAD) measurements. While the bulk magnetic properties of the irradiated sample show features characteristic of room temperature ferromagnetism, the hyperfine field data reflect enhanced paramagnetism with no indication of long range magnetic ordering. The experimental studies are further supported by ab initio density functional calculations. We believe that the ferromagnetic response in irradiated HOPG arises mostly from defect induced magnetic moments of carbon atoms in the near surface region, while those deep inside the host matrix remain paramagnetic.     

Application of similarity theory to predict operational characteristics of a DC plasma torch under low-pressure condition

The European Physical Journal D - In the present work, we report an investigation on the importance of using realistic partition functions in the opacity calculations of lanthanide ions whether...     

Chemodosimetric Mechanistic Insight through Trapping Intermediate for Selective Detection of Picric Acid in Aqueous Medium by a Dinuclear CdII Complex

A fluorescent dinuclear cadmium(II) based discrete metal complex of composition [Cd^II₂L(μ-Cl)Cl₂]( 1 ) is used {HL=2,6-bis[2-(methylamino)ethyliminomethyl]-4-Ethylphenol} for the specific recognition of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (picric acid; PA) via fluorescence quenching phenomenon among various nitroaromatic compounds through a chemodosimetric approach. It has been established that 1 is a chemodosimeter in pure water. We have successfully been able to isolate three compounds: chemodosimeter 1 ; an intermediate complex 2 of composition [Cd^II(LH₂)Cl₂](Picrate) and final association complex 3 of composition [NH₃(CH₂CH₂)NH₂CH₃](Picrate)₂. Compounds have been characterised by CHN elemental analyses, single crystal X-ray crystallography, PXRD, NMR and FTIR. Selective interaction of 1 with PA was evaluated by fluorescence, UV-Vis and life time measurements. Fluorescence quenching of 1 occurs definitely due to the formation of compound 3 via intermediate 2 involving partial decomplexation, hydrolysis and proton transfer phenomena in solution during the course of sensing. The quenching constant (K_sv), association constant (K_a) and detection limit (LOD) of the complex 1 for picric acid are ∼1.55×10⁵ M⁻¹, ∼1.8×10¹⁰ M⁻² and ∼0.47 μM (0.108 ppm), respectively. Mechanism of sensing is proposed and the very rare case of isolation and characterization of intermediate in picric acid sensing is discussed.     

Syntheses,structures, and electrochemistry of a dinuclear compound and a mononuclear–mononuclear cocrystalline compound of uranyl(VI)

Syntheses, structures, and electrochemistry of a dialkoxo‐bridged diuranyl(VI) compound [(UO₂)₂(L¹)₂(dimethylformamide)₂] ( 1 ) and a mononuclear–mononuclear cocrystalline compound [(UO₂)(L²)(H₂O)⊂(H₂O)]·[(UO₂)(L²)(H₂O)] ( 2 ) derived from Schiff base ligands are reported (H₂L¹ = Schiff base ligand obtained on condensation of 3‐ethoxysalicylaldehyde with 2‐aminoethanol; H₂L² = N,N ′‐o ‐phenylenebis(3‐ethoxysalicylaldimine)). The compounds 1 and 2 crystallize in the space groups P 2₁/c and P 1, respectively. Compound 1 is a dialkoxo‐bridged dinuclear compound of uranium(VI) containing two deprotonated ligands, [L]^2–, two dimethylformamide (dmf) molecules and two UO₂²⁺ centers. Three C–H···O type hydrogen bonds involving one uranyl oxygen, two dmf hydrogens, and the imine hydrogen link the dinuclear units into a two‐dimensional network. Compound 2 is a cocrystal of two mononuclear units, [(UO₂)(L²)(H₂O)⊂(H₂O)] (unit 1) and [(UO₂)(L²)(H₂O)] (unit 2). In unit 1, the non‐coordinated water molecule forms hydrogen bonds with oxygens of phenoxo, ethoxy, and coordinated water molecules resulting in the formation of an inclusion product. The overall supramolecular structure of compound 2 is one‐dimensional and consists of interlinked self‐assembled dimeric unit of unit 1 and unit 2. Cyclic voltammetric measurements reveal that the uranium(VI) center in [(UO₂)₂(L¹)₂(dimethylformamide)₂] ( 1 ) is reduced quasireversibly at E_1/2 = –773 mV with ΔE_P = 121 mV, while the metal center in [(UO₂)(L²)(H₂O)⊂(H₂O)]·[(UO₂)(L²)(H₂O)] ( 2 ) is reduced reversibly with E_1/2 = –765 mV with ΔE_P = 68 mV. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)