Metal–Sulfur Linkages Achieved by Organic Tethering of Ruthenium Nanocrystals for Enhanced Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction

Inspired by the metal–sulfur (M-S) linkages in the nitrogenase enzyme, here we show a surface modification strategy to modulate the electronic structure and improve the N₂ availability on a catalytic surface, which suppresses the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and improves the rate of NH₃ production. Ruthenium nanocrystals anchored on reduced graphene oxide (Ru/rGO) are modified with different aliphatic thiols to achieve M-S linkages. A high faradaic efficiency (11 %) with an improved NH₃ yield (50 μg h⁻¹ mg⁻¹) is achieved at −0.1 V vs. RHE in acidic conditions by using dodecanethiol. DFT calculations reveal intermediate N₂ adsorption and desorption of the product is achieved by electronic structure modification along with the suppression of the HER by surface modification. The modified catalyst shows excellent stability and recyclability for NH₃ production, as confirmed by rigorous control experiments including ¹⁵N isotope labeling experiments.     

First-principle investigation of XSrH3 (X = K and Rb) perovskite-type hydrides for hydrogen storage

Hydrogen can be utilized as an energy source; therefore, hydrogen storage has received the most appealing examination interest in recent years. The investigations of hydrogen storage applications center fundamentally around the examination of hydrogen capacity abilities of recently presented compounds. XSrH₃ (X = K and Rb) compounds have been examined by density functional theory (DFT) calculations to uncover their different characteristics, as well as hydrogen capacity properties, for the first time. Studied compounds are optimized in the cubic phase, and optimized lattice constants are obtained as 4.77 and 4.99 Å for KSrH₃ and RbSrH₃, respectively. These hydrides have shown negative values of formation enthalpies as they are stable thermodynamically. XSrH₃ might be used in hydrogen storage applications because of high gravimetric hydrogen storage densities, which are 2.33 and 1.71 wt% for KSrH₃ and RbSrH₃, respectively. Moreover, electronic properties confirm the semiconductor nature of these compounds having indirect band gaps of values 1.41 and 1.23 eV for KSrH₃ and RbSrH₃, respectively. In addition, mechanical properties from elastic constants such as Young modulus and Pugh's ratio, also have been investigated, and these compounds were found to satisfy born stability conditions. Furthermore, Pugh's ratio and Cauchy pressure show that these hydrides have a brittle nature. Furthermore, thermodynamic properties such as entropy and Debye temperature have been examined using the quasiharmonic Debye model for different temperatures and pressures.     

Synthesis,anticancer, and computational studies of 1, 3, 4-oxadiazole-purine derivatives

Theophylline-7-acetic acid (acefylline) ( 3 ) and its derivatives are pharmacologically active compounds and generally recognized as bronchodilators for the treatment of respiratory diseases like acute asthma for over 70 years. In this article, synthesis of 2-((5-((1,3-dimethyl-2,6-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-purin-7(6H)-yl)methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)thio)-N-arylacetamides ( 10a-j ) has been reported. All the synthesized derivatives ( 10a-j) were structurally verified by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and evaluated for their anti-cancer (using MTT assay), hemolytic and thrombolytic potential. N-(4-Chlorophenyl)-2-(5-((1,3-dimethyl-2,6-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-purin-7(6H)-yl)methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ylthio)acetamide ( 10g ) was found to be the most active against human liver cancer cell lines (Huh7) having cell viability 53.58 ± 1.28 using 100 μg/mL concentration of compound which was further in-silico modelled to describe the possible mechanistic insights for its anti-proliferative activity. The results of hemolytic and thrombolytic activities indicated that these derivatives were less toxic and hold considerable potential as a drug candidate. 2-(5-((1,3-Dimethyl-2,6-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-purin-7(6H)-yl)methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ylthio)-N-(2-fluorophenyl)acetamide ( 10c ) of the series was found to be least toxic with 0.1% hemolysis relative to ABTS (95.5%) as positive control. 2-(5-((1,3-Dimethyl-2,6-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-purin-7(6H)-yl)methyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ylthio)-N-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)acetamide ( 10j ) exhibited potent clot lysis activity (90%) as compared to negative control DMSO (0.57%).     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of benzimidazole pendant cyanopyrimidine derivatives as anticancer agents

Thirteen new benzimidazole pendant cyanopyrimidine derivatives were synthesized. The compounds were synthesized through multistep reaction protocol. The structures of synthesized derivatives were studied by EI-MS, ¹H NMR, FT-IR and elemental analysis. All the compounds were studied for their anticancer activity at National Cancer Institute. Except compound 7j , all the compounds unveiled cytotoxicity against cancer cells. The most active compound 7a had shown highest value of growth inhibition of 88.44% and 84.19% against HOP-92 and T-47D cancer cell lines.     

Synthesis of heterocycles using nanomagnetic nickel catalysts

Abstract

Heterocyclic scaffolds are important components in the structure of many drugs and natural products. They are well-known compounds because of their broad spectrum of pharmaceutical and biological activities. In this paper, we provide an overview of the utilization of nickel complexes immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles as attractive and efficient catalytic systems for synthesis of heterocyclic molecules.     

Synthesis,Structure and Elastic Properties of a New Hybrid Perovskite Material: [C6H14N2]KBr3

A new hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite(HOIP)material,[C6H14N2]KBr3,has been synthesized via hydrothermal method and fully characterized.[C6H14N2]KBr3 has a three-dimensional perovskite structure and crystalizes in a trigonal P3121 space group.The elastic properties of[C6H14N2]KBr3 were fully calculated via the density functional theory calculations,which reveal the elastic moduli(11.54~14.07 GPa),shear moduli(4.56~5.68 GPa),Poisson’s ratios(0.18~0.32),bulk modulus(8.51 GPa)and acoustic velocity(2.57~2.74 kms^-1).Additional nanoindentation experiments in the form of single-crystals confirmed the validity of our theoretical approach.[C6H14N2]KBr3 exhibits higher stiffness and thermal stability than the well-known photovoltaic CH3NH3PbI3,which makes it worthwhile for exploring optoelectronic properties.     

Selective cytotoxicity of organotin(IV) compounds with 2,3-dihydroxybenzyldithiocarbazate Schiff bases

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A series of tridentate ONS Schiff bases were synthesised via condensation by reacting 2,3-dihydroxybenzaldehyde with S-2-methylbenzyldithiocarbazate (S2MBDTC)...     

Thermal dry reforming of methane over La2O3 co-supported Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst for hydrogen-rich syngas production

Research on Chemical Intermediates - The excess emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as CO2 and CH4 is posing an acute threat to the environment, and efficient ways are being sought to utilize...     

Study of the interfacial charge transfer in bismuth vanadate/reduce graphene oxide (BiVO4/rGO) composite and evaluation of its photocatalytic activity

Research on Chemical Intermediates - We prepared unique BiVO4/reduce graphene oxide (BiVO4/rGO) nanocomposite with enhanced photocatalytic ability by hydrothermal method applying...     

Structures,g-tensors,and hyperfine coupling constants of L-α-alanine radicals in radiation dosimetry: An ab initio molecular dynamics simulation study

Alanine is used as a transfer standard dosimeter for gamma ray and electron beam calibration. An important factor affecting its dosimetric response is humidity which can lead to errors in absorbed dose calculations. Ab initio molecular dynamics calculations were performed to determine the environmental effects on the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) parameters of L-α-alanine radicals in acidic and alkaline solutions. A new result, not dissimilar to the closed-shell amino acid molecule alanine, is that the non-zwitterionic form of the alanine radical is the stable form in the gas phase while the zwitterionic neutral alanine radical is not a stable structure in the gas phase. Geometric and EPR parameters of radicals in both gas and solution phases are found to be dependent on hydrogen bonding of water molecules with the polar groups and on dynamic solvation. Calculations on the optimized free radicals in the gas phase revealed that for the neutral radical, hydrogen bonding to water molecules drives a decrease in the magnitudes of g-tensor components g _xx and g _yy without affecting neither g _zz component nor the hyperfine coupling constants (HFCCs). The transfer from the gas to solution phase of the alanine radical anion is accompanied with an increase in the spin density on the carboxylic group's oxygen atoms. However, for the neutral radical, this transfer from gas to solution phase is accompanied with the decrease in the spin density on oxygen atoms. Calculated isotropic HFCCs and g-tensor of all radicals are in good agreement with experiment in both acidic and alkaline solutions.