Thermal stability of UNEX/HCCD-PEG diluent FS-13

Phenyl trifluoromethyl sulfone (FS-13) is an inert diluent used in HCCD/PEG process for isolation and recovery of cesium and strontium from highly radioactive raffinate waste. There is no experimental data available in open literature describing pressurization due to the thermal decomposition of FS-13 at elevated temperatures. Experiments were conducted for determination of flash point and heating of FS-13 under pressurized closed-vent conditions in an adiabatic calorimeter. During adiabatic experiments, negligible pressurization was observed.     

Ru(III) complexes containing 3,5-pyrazole dicarboxylic acid and triphenylphosphine/triphenylarsine: Synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity

New hexa-coordinated Ru(III) complexes of the type [Ru(H₂Pzdc)(EPh₃)₃X₂] have been synthesized by reacting 3,5-pyrazole dicarboxylic acid (H₃Pzdc) with the appropriate starting complexes [RuX₃(EPh₃)₃] (where X = Cl or Br; E = P or As). The ligand behaves as a bidentate monobasic chelate. All the complexes have been characterized by analytical and spectroscopic (IR, electronic and EPR) data. Single-crystal X-ray analysis of the complex [Ru(H₂Pzdc)(PPh₃)₂Cl₂]·C₆H₆·C₂H₅OH revealed that the coordination environment around the ruthenium center consists of an NOP₂Cl₂ octahedron. The planar ligand occupies the equatorial position along with two chlorine atoms, while the triphenylphosphine groups occupy the axial positions. The electrochemical behavior of the new complexes was studied using cyclic voltammetry. The new mononuclear ruthenium complexes are capable of acting as catalysts for the oxidation of alcohols.     

Effect of terminal N-substitution in 2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazones on the mode of coordination, structure, interaction with protein, radical scavenging and cytotoxic activity of copper(II) complexes

Four 2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carbaldehyde N-substituted thiosemicarbazone ligands (H(2)-OQtsc-R, where R = H, Me, Et or Ph) and their corresponding new copper(II) complexes [CuCl(2)(H(2)-OQtsc-H)]·2H(2)O (1), [CuCl(2)(H(2)-OQtsc-Me)]·2H(2)O (2), [CuCl(2)(H(2)-OQtsc-Et)(CH(3)OH)]Cl (3) and [CuCl(H-OQtsc-Ph)]·CH(3)OH (4) have been synthesized in order to correlate the effect of terminal N-substitution on coordination behaviour, structure and biological activity. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the complexes 1, 2 and 3 have square pyramidal geometry around the central metal ion. In the complexes 1 and 2, the copper ion is coordinated by the ligand with ONS donor atoms, one chloride ion in apical position and the other chloride in the basal plane. Complex 3 consists of [CuCl(2)(H(2)-OQtsc-Et)(CH(3)OH)](+) cation and a chloride as counter ion. The copper ion is coordinated by the ligand with ONS donor atoms and by one chloride ion in the basal plane. One methanol molecule is bonded through its neutral oxygen in the apical position. Complex 4 is square planar with the ligand coordinating through uni-negative tridentate ONS(-) and by one chloride ion in the basal plane. The binding of complexes with lysozyme protein was carried out by fluorescence spectroscopy. Investigations of antioxidation properties showed that all the copper(II) complexes have strong radical scavenging properties. The cytotoxicity of the complexes 3 and 4 against NIH 3T3 and HeLa cell lines showed that synergy between the metal and ligands results in a significant enhancement in the cell death with IC(50) of ~10-40 μM. A size dependence of substitution at terminal N in the thiosemicarbazones on the biological activities of the complexes has been observed.     

Green synthesis of biogenic metal nanoparticles by terrestrial and aquatic phototrophic and heterotrophic eukaryotes and biocompatible agents

The size, shape and controlled dispersity of nanoparticles play a vital role in determining the physical, chemical, optical and electronic properties attributing its applications in environmental, biotechnological and biomedical fields. Various physical and chemical processes have been exploited in the synthesis of several inorganic metal nanoparticles by wet and dry approaches viz., ultraviolet irradiation, aerosol technologies, lithography, laser ablation, ultrasonic fields, and photochemical reduction techniques. However, these methodologies remain expensive and involve the use of hazardous chemicals. Therefore, there is a growing concern for the development of alternative environment friendly and sustainable methods. Increasing awareness towards green chemistry and biological processes has led to a necessity to develop simple, cost-effective and eco-friendly procedures. Phototrophic eukaryotes such as plants, algae, and diatoms and heterotrophic human cell lines and some biocompatible agents have been reported to synthesize greener nanoparticles like cobalt, copper, silver, gold, bimetallic alloys, silica, palladium, platinum, iridium, magnetite and quantum dots. Owing to the diversity and sustainability, the use of phototrophic and heterotrophic eukaryotes and biocompatible agents for the synthesis of nanomaterials is yet to be fully explored. This review describes the recent advancements in the green synthesis and applications of metal nanoparticles by plants, aquatic autotrophs, human cell lines, biocompatible agents and biomolecules.     

Interfacial regions governing internal cavities of dendrimers. Studies of poly(alkyl aryl ether) dendrimers constituted with linkers of varying alkyl chain length

This report deals with a study of the properties of internal cavities of dendritic macromolecules that are capable of encapsulating and mediating photoreactions of guest molecules. The internal cavity structures of dendrimers are determined by the interfacial regions between the aqueous exterior and hydrocarbon like interior constituted by the linkers that connect symmetrically sited branch points constituting the dendrimer and head groups that cap the dendrimers. Phloroglucinol-based poly(alkyl aryl ether) dendrimers constituted with a homologous series of alkyl linkers were undertaken for the current study. Twelve dendrimers within first, second, and third generations, having ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, and n-pentyl groups as the linkers and hydroxyl groups at peripheries in each generation, were synthesized. Encapsulation of pyrene and coumarins by aqueous basic solutions of dendrimers were monitored by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopies, which showed that a lower generation dendrimer with an optimal alkyl linker presented better encapsulation abilities than a higher generation dendrimer. Norrish type I photoreaction of dibenzyl ketone was carried out within the above series of dendrimers to probe their abilities to hold guests and reactive intermediate radical pairs within themselves. The extent of cage effect from the series of third generation dendrimers was observed to be higher with dendrimers having an n-pentyl group as the linker.     

Simulation of beam plastic forming with variable bending moments

A versatile generic elastic/plastic moment/curvature equation is used to simulate beam deflections. Solutions are obtained numerically and used to investigate whether forming equations based on the assumption of pure bending can be extended in a rational way to more complicated loadings. It is concluded that the answer is affirmative, with only knowledge of the elastic/plastic behavior associated with pure bending and the elastic behavior associated with the actual loading being needed to make the extension.     

Convergence analysis of virtual element methods for semilinear parabolic problems on polygonal meshes

In this article, we discuss and analyze new conforming virtual element methods (VEMs) for the approximation of semilinear parabolic problems on convex polygonal meshes in two spatial dimension. The spatial discretization is based on polynomial and suitable nonpolynomial functions, and a Euler backward scheme is employed for time discretization. The discrete formulation of both the proposed schemes—semidiscrete and fully discrete (with time discretization) is discussed in detail, and the unique solvability of the resulted schemes is discussed. A priori error estimates for the proposed schemes (semidiscrete and fully discrete) in H¹‐ and L²‐norms are derived under the assumption that the source term f is Lipschitz continuous. Some numerical experiments are conducted to illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme and to confirm the theoretical convergence rates.     

Electrical characterization of PVA-based nanocomposite electrolyte nanofibre mats doped with a multiwalled carbon nanotube

An attempt has been made to prepare and characterise ammonium thiocyanate (NH₄SCN) salt and a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT)-doped polyvinyl alcohol-based nanofibre mats using an electrospinning process. The X-ray diffraction result shows an improvement in the amorphous nature of composite electrolyte fibre mats with increasing concentrations of the MWNT filler. The DSC behaviour of these nanofibre mat exhibits better thermal response upon dispersal of the filler. Composite electrolyte nanofibre mat doped with 6 wt% MWNT shows optimum conductivity, viz., 5.8?×?10^?4 Scm^?1. The temperature dependence of the bulk electrical conductivity displays a combination of Arrhenius and Vogel–Tammam–Fulcher nature. Dielectric loss studies have also been used to understand the conduction process in the system. Jonscher power law seems to be obeyed during ac conductivity measurements of the fibre mats.     

Mn site substitution of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 with closed shell ions: Effect on magnetic transition temperature

Mn site is substituted with closed shell ions (Al, Ga, Ti, Zr and a certain combination of Zr and Al) and also with Fe and Ru ions carrying the magnetic moment (S=5/2 and 2 respectively) at a fixed concentration of 5 at %. Substitution did not change either the crystal symmetry or the oxygen stoichiometry. All substituents were found to suppress both the metal-insulator and ferromagnetic transition temperatures (T _p(ρ) and T _C, respectively) to varied extents. Two main contributions identified for the suppression are the lattice disorder arising due to difference in the ionic radii between the substituent (r _M) and the Mn³⁺ ion (r _Mn ³⁺) and in the case of the substituents carrying a magnetic moment, the type of magnetic coupling between the substituent and that of the neighboring Mn ion.