Role of IUC-DAEF in promoting neutron beam research in India

Inter University Consortium for Department of Atomic Energy Facilities (IUC-DAEF) is an autonomous institute of the University Grants Commission and provides an interface between the university fraternity and the institutions of Department of Atomic Energy. Mumbai Centre of IUC-DAEF promotes and supports the use of neutron facilities at Dhruva reactor by the university scientists. To augment the existing neutron scattering facilities, IUC-DAEF has developed a neutron beam line at Dhruva reactor. The present paper gives a brief survey of the activities and achievements of Mumbai Centre of IUC-DAEF.     

Classification of Nonorientable 3-Manifolds Admitting Decompositions into ≤ 26 Coloured Tetrahedra

The present paper adopts a computational approach to the study of nonorientable 3-manifolds: in fact, we describe how to create an automaticcatalogue of all nonorientable 3-manifolds admitting coloured triangulationswith a fixed number of tetrahedra. In particular, the catalogue has been effectively produced and analysed for up to 26 tetrahedra, to reach the complete classification of all involved 3-manifolds. As a consequence, the following summarising result can be stated:THEOREM I. Exactly seven closed connected prime nonorientable3-manifolds exist, which admit a coloured triangulation consisting of atmost 26 tetrahedra.More precisely, they are the four Euclidean nonorientable 3-manifolds, the nontrivial S2 bundle overS1, the topological product between thereal projective plane RP2 andS1, and the torus bundle overS1, with monodromy induced by matrix(10 -11).     

Electrochemical oxidation of ethyl 3-oxo-3-phenyl-2-phenylhydrazonopropionate

The electrochemical oxidation of ethyl 3-oxo-3-phenyl-2-phenylhydrazonopropionate has been studied in the pH range 3.0–11.0 at a pyrolytic graphite electrode by linear and cyclic sweep voltammetry, coulometry and spectral studies. The results indicate that the 2 e⁻, 2 H⁺ oxidation of this compound gives phenol and ethyl 3-phenyl-2,3-dioxopropionate as the major products of electrooxidation.     

MNDO study of reaction paths: Diboration of acetylene

The reaction of B₂H₄ with acetylene has been studied by the MNDO method. It is shown that the reaction is exothermic and proceeds in two steps. The first step is the formation of a three-center -complex and this is the rate-determining step of the reaction. The second step is the rearrangement of the -complex to the product and this step requires a very small amount of activation energy. The activation barrier for the diboration reaction is 12.8 kcal/mol.The proposed mechanism is significantly different from those proposed earlier and explains all experimental data relating to this reaction.     

A Sensitive HPTLC method for Estimation of Swertiamarin in Enicostemma littorale Blume,Swertia chirata (Wall) Clarke,and in formulations containing E. littorale

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Swertiamarin is a secoiridoid glucoside present in members of the Gentianaceae family, including Swertia chirata (Wall) Clarke, S....     

Theoretical study of unimolecular rearrangements of vinylidenes to acetylenes

The rearrangement of vinylidene to acetylene has been studied in detail by the density functional method, using Becke's three‐parameter exchange functional and the gradient‐corrected functional of Lee, Yang, and Parr. The rearrangement of the anion, as well as that of fluoro‐substituted systems, has also been investigated, in order to determine the effect of fluorine substitution on the activation barrier to the 1,2‐hydrogen shift, as well as the relative migratory aptitudes of hydrogen and fluorine. Natural bond orbital analysis is invoked to gain insight into the mechanisms of the rearrangements. Basis size effects are also discussed, particularly in relation to anionic systems. The need to include diffuse functions in geometry optimizations of anionic systems is reinforced by the present calculations. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005     

Determination of thickness, dielectric constant of thiol films, and kinetics of adsorption using surface plasmon resonance

This paper describes the formation of a self-assembled monolayer of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) under different concentrations on a gold sensor disk, monitoring in situ and in real time using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR). The film thickness and dielectric constant were determined for a fully formed monolayer using one-color approach SPR. The kinetic studies of the film formation in ethanol solution indicated that the self-assembled monolayer is formed in a two-step adsorption process. In this sense, this unpublished route was applied on the basis of a model where many molecules are adsorbed at an initial step and then can be desorbed and/or rearranged to form a perfect monolayer.