Synthesis, structural and electrical properties of La and Nb modified Bi4Ti3O12 ferroelectric ceramics

Polycrystalline ceramic samples of Bi_4−xLa_xTi₃O₁₂ (x=0.0, 0.5 and 1) and Bi_3.5La_0.5Ti_3−yNb_yO₁₂ (y=0.02 and 0.04) have been synthesized by standard high temperature solid state reaction method using high purity oxides and carbonates. The effect of lanthanum doping on Bi-site and Nb doping on Ti-site on the structural and electrical properties of Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ powders was investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, dc conductivity and dielectric studies. A better agreement between the observed and calculated X-ray diffraction pattern was obtained by performing the Rietveld refinement with a structural model using the non-centrosymmetric space group Fmmm in all the cases. A better agreement between observed and calculated d-values also shows that the lattice parameters calculated using the Rietveld refinement analysis are better. The increase in lanthanum and niobium contents does not lead to any secondary phases. It is found that La³⁺ doping reduces the material grain size and changes its morphology from the plate-like form to a spherical staking like form. The substitution of Nb for Ti ions affected the degree of disorder and modified the dielectric properties leading to more resistive ceramic compounds. The shape and size of the grains are strongly influenced by the addition of niobium to the system. The activation energies of all the compounds were calculated by measuring their dc electrical conductivities. The frequency and temperature dependent dielectric behavior of all the compounds have also been studied and the results are discussed in detail. The substitution of La and Nb on the Bi and Ti sites decreased the T_c and improved the dielectric and ferroelectric behavior.     

Synthesis,characterization and role of zero-valent iron nanoparticle in removal of hexavalent chromium from chromium-spiked soil

Chromium is an important industrial metal used in various products/processes. Remediation of Cr contaminated sites present both technological and economic challenges, as conventional methods are often too expensive and difficult to operate. In the present investigation, Zero-valent iron (Fe⁰) nanoparticles were synthesized, characterized, and were tested for removal of Cr(VI) from the soil spiked with Cr(VI). Fe⁰ nanoparticles were synthesized by the reduction of ferric chloride with sodium borohydride and were characterized by UV–Vis (Ultra violet–Visible) and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy. The UV–Vis spectrum of Fe⁰ nanoparticles suspended in 0.8% Carboxymethyl cellulose showed its absorption maxima at 235 nm. The presence of one band at 3,421 cm⁻¹ ascribed to OH stretching vibration and the second at 1,641 cm⁻¹ to OH bending vibration of surface-adsorbed water indicates the formation of ferrioxyhydroxide (FeOOH) layer on Fe⁰ nanoparticles. The mean crystalline dimension of Fe⁰ nanoparticles calculated by XRD (X-ray diffraction) using Scherer equation was 15.9 nm. Average size of Fe⁰ nanoparticles calculated from TEM (Transmission electron microscopy) images was found around 26 nm. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) also showed approximately the same size. Batch experiments were performed using various concentration of Fe⁰ nanoparticles for reduction of soil spiked with 100 mg kg⁻¹ Cr(VI). The reduction potential of Fe⁰ nanoparticles at a concentration of 0.27 g L⁻¹ was found to be 100% in 3 h. Reaction kinetics revealed a pseudo-first order kinetics. Factors like pH, contact time, stabilizer, and humic acid facilitates the reduction of Cr(VI).     

Electric field and temperature dependence of hole mobility in electroluminescent PDY 132 polymer thin films

The current density–voltage ($J\text{–}V$) behavior of polymer PDY 132 thin films has been investigated in hole-only device configuration, viz., ITO/poly(ethylene-dioxthiophene):polystyrenesulphonate (PEDOT:PSS)/PDY 132/Au, as a function of polymer (PDY) film thickness (150 nm and 200 nm) and temperature (290–90 K). Hole current density was found to follow two distinct modes of conduction, (i) low electric field region I: ohmic conduction where slope $～1$, and (ii) intermediate and high electric field region II: non ohmic conduction where slope $～2$. Region I has been attributed to the transport of intrinsic background charge carriers while region II has been found to be governed by space charge limited currents (SCLC) with hole mobility strongly dependent on electric field and temperature. The respective hole transport parameters determined from the SCLC regime, ${\mu }_{p0}$ is $3.7\times 10^{?3}{m}^2/Vs$, ${\mu }_p(0,T)$ is $3.7\times 10^{?8}{m}^2/Vs$, and zero field activation energy (${\Delta }_0$) of 0.48 eV is obtained.     

Charged-particle multiplicity density at midrapidity in central Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt[S(NN)] = 2.76 TeV

The first measurement of the charged-particle multiplicity density at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair √ S NN = 2.76 TeV is presented. For an event sample corresponding to the most central 5% of the hadronic cross section, the pseudorapidity density of primary charged particles at midrapidity is 1584 ± 4(stat) ± 76(syst), which corresponds to 8.3 ± 0.4(syst) per participating nucleon pair. This represents an increase of about a factor 1.9 relative to pp collisions at similar collision energies, and about a factor 2.2 to central Au-Au collisions at √ S NN = 2.76 TeV. This measurement provides the first experimental constraint for models of nucleus-nucleus collisions at LHC energies.     

Greener route for microwave enhanced syntheses of bioactive 1,5-benzodiazepines using heterogeneous calcium ferrite/graphene oxide nanocomposite as a novel and sustainable catalyst

In the present paper, a novel and benign protocol for microwave enhanced one pot syntheses of 2,3-dihydro-1,5 benzodiazepine derivatives from substituted acetophenones, aryl-aldehydes and o-phenylene diamine using heterogeneous calcium ferrite/graphene oxide (CF/GO) nanocomposite has been reported. The catalyst was prepared by ultrasonication method and characterized by spectral and analytical techniques. The CF/GO nanocomposite was employed for environmentally benign synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-1,5 benzodiazepines. The synthesized benzodiazepine derivatives were screened for their antimicrobial activities against various bacteria and fungi. The present synthetic strategy offered several advantages such as excellent yields in short span of time, simple modus operandi, ease of isolation and purification of products, simple recovery and reusability of the catalyst. A tentative mechanism for synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-1,5 benzodiazepine using CF/GO nanocatalyst has also been proposed.     

Performance of a 4×10 Gbit/s optical time domain multiplexed system using SMZ switching

Optical time division multiplexing (OTDM) is emerging and promising alternative for future high-speed photonic networks because of its ability to accommodate higher bit rate and flexible bandwidth. Among other factors the performance of an OTDM system largely depends upon the switching characteristics of a de-multiplexer (DEMUX). Symmetric Mach-Zehnder (SMZ) have been found to be most suitable than all the available de-multiplexing switches because of compact size, thermal stability, and low power operation. In this paper, we simulate four-channel OTDM systems (all channel multiplexer (MUX) and DEMUX) with a Mach-Zehnder modulator and SMZ DEMUX to investigate the impact of signal power, pulse width and control signal power on BER.     

Green synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles by Allium cepa L. to produce silver nano‐coated fabric and their antimicrobial evaluation

This research work was proposed to study the antimicrobial activity of the silver nanocoated fabric with the purpose of producing good dressing and clothing material. We synthesized simple, ecofriendly, cost‐effective and sustainable silver nanoparticles by using the aqueous extract of Allium cepa L. Here, A. cepa L. acts as a good reducing and capping agent that produced stable silver nanoparticles having particle size of range 36 ± 1 to 98 ± 2 nm, Poly dispersiblity index 0.234 ± 0.61 to 1.023 ± 0.33 and Zeta potential ‐12 ± 1.5 mV to ‐26 ± 1.2 mV. The effect of temperature and extract volume used was considered for optimization of synthetic procedure. The nanocoated fabric was characterized for morphological study, size (using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) and zeta‐potential (Zeta Potentiometer). The presence of functional groups were observed by using attenuated total reflection‐Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. The crystallinity and structural property of the synthesized silver nanoparticles were studied in terms of Powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD). An IC₅₀ value and zone of inhibition was studied which demonstrate that the silver nanocoated fabric have an excellent antibacterial property against Gram‐negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram‐positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. Further nanocoated fabric material was washed (with function of time 0, 10, 25, and 50 laundry cycles) and still retained their anti‐bacterial activity towards both strain. Initially there was 52 μg/ml of silver nanoparticles on the cotton fabric but after 50 laundry cycle in 500 ml of distilled water the fabric showed 92% efficiency against gram positive and 90% efficacy toward gram negative bacteria. It was found that 4.16 μg/ml nano particles leached in case of S. Aureus and 5.2 μg/mL silver nanoparticles leached in case of E. coli. Nanocoated fabric material synthesized using green synthesis was found to be economical with good resistance to washing.     

Modular assembly of a preorganised, ditopic receptor for dicarboxylates

Two types of calix[4]arene derived hosts for anions with, respectively, 1,3-alternate and cone conformations have been prepared; the 1,3-alternate system binds dicarboxylate anions in a ditopic manner while the cone compounds are deprotonated by carboxylates.     

Binding of permanganate anion to pentaammineazidocobalt(III) cation in solution and solid phases: synthesis,characterization, X-ray structure,and genotoxic effects of [Co(NH3)5N3](MnO4)2⋅H2O

A pentaammineazidocobalt(III) complex, [Co(NH₃)₅N₃](MnO₄)₂XH₂O has been synthesized by an one-pot synthesis method. It was characterized by studies such as infrared (IR) and UV-visible spectroscopy. The single crystal X-ray structure analysis revealed that the title complex crystallizes in space group Cc. The cobalt center is six coordinated with slightly octahedral geometry. The supramolecular architecture is also formed by intermolecular N-H…O (anion and H₂O) and Mn-O…O-H hydrogen bonds. The binding property of the cation, [Co(NH₃)₅N₃]²⁺ with the anion, MnO₄^– has also been determined (in solution phase) with the help of UV-visible spectroscopic titrations. Further, the genotoxic effects of KMnO₄, [Co(NH₃)₅N₃]Cl₂ and [Co(NH₃)₅N₃](MnO₄)₂XH₂O were studied using Allium cepa root chromosomal aberration assay and it revealed that the genotoxicity of the newly synthesized complex is 1.97–1.76 fold, which is less compared to KMnO₄. The order of genotoxic potential has been observed to be KMnO₄ > [Co(NH₃)₅N₃](MnO₄)₂XH₂O > [Co(NH₃)₅N₃]Cl₂.