Synthesis,characterization, molecular and supramolecular structures of nickel(II) complexes derived from α-diketone and α-ketoaldehyde bisaroylhydrazones

A new series of nickel(II) complexes derived from symmetrical diacetyl bisaroylhydrazones [Ni(L¹-R)] and unsymmetric phenylglyoxal bisaroylhydrazones [Ni(L²-R)] have been prepared and characterized. X-ray crystal and molecular structures of [Ni(L¹-H)], [Ni(L¹-pCH₃O)] and [Ni(L¹-pNO₂)] have been determined. In these complexes, the Ni(II) is in a distorted square planar environment and the aroylhydrazone acts as dinegative tetradentate ligand forming a 5,5,5-tricyclic chelate ring. Reaction of [Ni(L¹-R)] with aqueous ammonia afforded the paramagnetic five coordinate [Ni(L¹-R)(NH₃)] while [Ni(L²-R)] gave the diamagnetic square planar [Ni(L²-R)(NH₃)] complexes. Reaction of [Ni(L¹-R)] complexes with imidazole gave the corresponding paramagnetic octahedral bis(imidazole) adducts. X-ray structures of both [Ni(L¹-H)(HIm)₂] and [Ni(L¹-pNO₂)(HIm)₂] suggest a distorted octahedral structure where the bisaroylhydrazone occupies the basal plane while the two imidazoles occupy the axial sites. The molecular units are associated together forming triple stranded helical chains. With imidazole the [Ni(L²-R)] series gave the corresponding diamagnetic mono(imidazole) [Ni(L²-R)(HIm)] complexes, The X-ray structure of {Ni(L²-pCH₃)(HIm)] suggest square planar arrangement around the Ni(II) where the bisaroylhydrazone acts as dinegative NNO tridentate ligand forming with the Ni(II) a 5,6-bicyclic chelate ring the fourth coordination site is occupied by imidazole nitrogen.     

Double sampling derivatives and truncation error estimates

This paper investigates double sampling series derivatives for bivariate functions defined on R² that are in the Bernstein space. For this sampling series, we estimate some of the pointwise and uniform bounds when the function satisfies some decay conditions. The truncated series of this formula allow us to approximate any order of partial derivatives for function from Bernstein space using only a finite number of samples from the function itself. This sampling formula will be useful in the approximation theory and its applications, especially after having the truncation error well-established. Examples with tables and figures are given at the end of the paper to illustrate the advantages of this formula.     

Effect of suction/injection on free convection along a vertical plate in a nanofluid saturated non-Darcy porous medium with internal heat generation

The effect of internal heat generation on free convection along a vertical plate embedded in a nanofluid saturated non-Darcy porous medium in the presence of suction/injection is analyzed. The non-linear governing equations and their associated boundary conditions are initially cast into dimensionless forms by non-dimensional variables. The resulting equations are solved numerically by an accurate, implicit, iterative finite-difference methodology and the obtained results are compared favorably with previously published work. A parametric study is performed to illustrate influence of the temperature exponent, non-Darcy, suction/injection, Brownian motion and thermophoresis parameters on the profiles of the velocity components, temperature and nanoparticle volume fraction. The numerical data for the heat and nanoparticle mass transfer rates have been tabulated for various parametric conditions.     

A facile low temperature synthesis of TiO2 nanorods for high efficiency dye sensitized solar cells

Titania (TiO₂) nanorods have been synthesized with controlled size for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) via hydrothermal route at low hydrothermal temperature of 100 °C for 24 h. The titania nanorods were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM/HRTEM, UV-vis Spectroscopy, FTIR and BET specific surface area (S _BET), as well as pore-size distribution by BJH. The results indicated that the bulk traps and the surface states within the TiO₂ nanorods films have enhanced the efficiency of DSSCs. The size of the titania nanorods was 6.7 nm in width and 22 nm in length. The high surface area can provide more sites for dye adsorption, while the fast photoelectron-transfer channel can enhance the photogenerated electron transfer to complete the circuit. The specific surface area S _BET was 77.14 m²?g^?1 at the synthesis conditions. However, the band gap energy of the obtained titania nanorods was 3.2 eV. The oriented nanorods with appropriate lengths are beneficial in improving the electron transport property and thus leading to the increase of photocurrent, together enhancing the power conversion efficiency. A nearly quantitative absorbed photon-to-electrical current conversion achieved upon excitation at wave length of 550 nm and the power efficiency was enhanced from 5.6 % for commercial TiO₂ nanoparticles Degussa (P25) cells to 7.2 % for TiO₂ nanorods cells under AM 1.5 illumination (100 mW?cm^?2). The TiO₂ cells performance was improved due to their high surface area, hierarchically mesoporous structures and fast electron-transfer rate compared with the Degussa (P25).     

Lipoic Acid Combined with Melatonin Mitigates Oxidative Stress and Promotes Root Formation and Growth in Salt-Stressed Canola Seedlings (Brassica napus L.)

Lipoic acid (LA) and melatonin (MT) are pleiotropic molecules participating in plant stress resistance by modulating cellular biochemical changes, ion homeostasis, and antioxidant enzyme activities. However, the combined role of these two molecules in counteracting the detrimental impacts of salinity stress is still unknown. In the present study, we determined the effects of exogenous LA (0.5 µM), MT (1 µM) and their combination (LA + MT) on growth performance and biomass accumulation, photosynthetic pigments, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities, and ions homeostatic in canola (Brassica napus L.) seedlings under salinity stress (0, 100 mM) for 40 days. The results indicate that exogenous application of LA + MT improved the phenotypic growth (by 25 to 45%), root thickness (by 68%), number of later lateral roots (by 52%), root viability (by 44%), and root length (by 50%) under salinity stress. Moreover, total soluble protein, chlorophyll pigments, the concentration of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase peroxidase (CAT), and ascorbic peroxidase (ASA) increased with the presence of salt concentration into the growth media and then decreased with the addition of LA + MT to saline solution. Leaf protein contents and the degradation of photosynthetic pigments were lower when LA + MT treatments were added into NaCl media. The proline and phenol contents decreased in the exogenous application of LA + MT treatments more than individual LA or MT treatments under the salinity stress. The incorporation of LA or MT or a combination of LA + MT to saline solution decreased salinity-induced malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage. In conclusion, the alteration of metabolic pathways, redox modulation, and ions homeostasis in plant tissues by the combined LA and MT application are helpful towards the adaptation of Brassica napus L. seedlings in a saline environment. The results of this study provide, for the first time, conclusive evidence about the protective role of exogenous LA + MT in canola seedlings under salinity stress.     

Effect of synthesis conditions on the preparation of YIG powders via co-precipitation method

Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) (Y₃Fe₅O₁₂) powders have been synthesized through a co-precipitation method in the presence of sodium bis(2-ethylhexylsulfosuccinate), AOT as an anionic surfactant. The garnet precursors produced were obtained from aqueous iron and yttrium nitrates mixtures using 5 M sodium hydroxide at pH 10. A statistical Box–Behnken experimental design was used to investigate the effect of the main parameters (i.e. AOT surfactant concentration, annealing time and temperature) on YIG powder formation, crystallite size, morphology and magnetic properties. YIG particles were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer. XRD revealed that the formation of single cubic phase of YIG was temperature dependent and increased by increasing the annealing temperature from 800 to 1200 °C. SEM micrographs showed that the addition of AOT surfactant promoted the microstructure of YIG in crystalline cubic-like structure. The magnetic properties were sensitive to the synthesis variables of annealing temperature, time and AOT surfactant concentration. The maximum saturation magnetization (28.13 emu/g), remanence magnetization (21.57 emu/g) and coercive force (703 Oe) were achieved at an annealing temperature of 1200 °C, time 2 h and 500 ppm of AOT surfactant concentration.     

Group method analysis of combined heat and mass transfer by MHD non-Darcy non-Newtonian natural convection adjacent to horizontal cylinder in a saturated porous medium

The group theoretic method is applied for solving problem of combined magneto-hydrodynamic heat and mass transfer of non-Darcy natural convection about an impermeable horizontal cylinder in a non-Newtonian power law fluid embedded in porous medium under coupled thermal and mass diffusion, inertia resistance, magnetic field, thermal radiation effects. The application of one-parameter groups reduces the number of independent variables by one and consequently, the system of governing partial differential equations with the boundary conditions reduces to a system of ordinary differential equations with appropriate boundary conditions. The ordinary differential equations are solved numerically for the velocity using shooting method. The effects of magnetic parameter M, Ergun number Er, power law (viscosity) index n, buoyancy ratio N, radiation parameter R_d, Prandtl number Pr and Lewis number Le on the velocity, temperature fields within the boundary layer, heat and mass transfer are presented graphically and discussed.     

Formation of Ge35In8S57 amorphous films for optical applications

Thin films of In-doped Ge-S in the form of Ge₃₅In₈S₅₇ with different film thickness were deposited using an evaporation method. The X-ray diffraction studies demonstrate that the as-prepared films are amorphous in nature for these films. Some optical constants were calculated at a thickness of 150, 300, 450 and 900?nm and annealing temperature of 373, 413, 437 and 513?K. Our optical observations show that the mechanism of the optical transition obeys the indirect transition. It was found that the energy gap, E_g, decreases from 2.44 to 2.20?eV with expanding the thickness of the film from 150 to 900?nm. On the other hand, it was found that E_g increases with annealing temperature from 373 to 513?K. The increment in the band gap can be attributed to the gradual annealing out of the unsaturated bonds delivering a decreasing the density of localized states in the band structure. Using the single oscillator model, the dispersion of the refractive index is described. The dispersion constants of these films were calculated with different both thickness and annealing temperatures. Additionally, both of nonlinear susceptibility, χ⁽³⁾ and nonlinear refractive index, n₂ were calculated.