Three novel tetracyclic triterpenoids of biogenetic interest from the leaves of Azadirachta indica

From the methanolic extract of Azadirachta indica leaves, we have isolated three new tetracyclic triterpenoids of biogenetic interest, namely, melianol 1, desfurano-desacetylnimbin-17-one 2 and meliatetraone 3. The structure elucidation is based on extensive spectral studies including ¹H–¹H-COSY, NOESY, HMQC, and HMBC experiments.     

PTFE/EP Reinforced MOF/SiO2 Composite as a Superior Mechanically Robust Superhydrophobic Agent towards Corrosion Protection,Self-Cleaning and Anti-Icing

Organic resin cross-linking ZIF-67/SiO₂ superhydrophobic (SHPB) multilayer coating was successfully fabricated on metal substrate. The perfluoro-octyl-triethoxy silane (POTS) modified ZIF-67 and SiO₂ coating was applied on primary coated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and epoxy resin (EP) via spray coating method. Here, we present that the robust superhydrophobicity can be realized by structuring surfaces at two different length scales, with a nanostructure design to provide water repellence and a microstructure design to provide durability. The as-fabricated multilayer coating displayed superior water-repellence (CA=167.4°), chemical robustness (pH=1–14) and mechanical durability undergoing 120th linear abrasion or 35th rotatory abrasion cycle. By applying different acidic and basic corrosive media and various weathering conditions, it can still maintain superior-hydrophobicity. To get a better insight of interaction between inhibitor molecules and metal surface, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed, showing lower energy gap and increased binding energy of ZPS/SiO₂/PTFE/EP (ZPS=ZIF-67+POTS) multilayer coating compared to the ZIF-67/SiO₂/PTFE/EP, thereby supporting the experimental findings. Additionally, such coatings may be useful for applications such as anti-corrosion, self-cleaning, and anti-icing multi-functionalities.     

Metal–Organic Frameworks-Derived Mesoporous Si/SiOx@NC Nanospheres as a Long-Lifespan Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Silicon (Si)-based anode materials with suitable engineered nanostructures generally have improved lithium storage capabilities, which provide great promise for the electrochemical performance in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, a metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived unique core–shell Si/SiO_x@NC structure has been synthesized by a facile magnesio-thermic reduction, in which the Si and SiO_x matrix were encapsulated by nitrogen (N)-doped carbon. Importantly, the well-designed nanostructure has enough space to accommodate the volume change during the lithiation/delithiation process. The conductive porous N-doped carbon was optimized through direct carbonization and reduction of SiO₂ into Si/SiO_x simultaneously. Benefiting from the core–shell structure, the synthesized product exhibited enhanced electrochemical performance as an anode material in LIBs. Particularly, the Si/SiO_x@NC-650 anode showed the best reversible capacities up to 724 and 702 mAh g⁻¹ even after 100 cycles. The excellent cycling stability of Si/SiO_x@NC-650 may be attributed to the core–shell structure as well as the synergistic effect between the Si/SiO_x and MOF-derived N-doped carbon.     

Copper Schiff base functionalized polyaniline (Cu‐SB/PANI): A highly efficient polymer based organometallic catalyst for the synthesis of 2‐amino chromene derivatives

Copper Schiff Base functionalized Polyaniline (Cu‐SB/PANI) has been synthesized as an efficient, recyclable and heterogeneous polymer based organometallic catalyst by simple method. The catalyst has been well characterized with different spectroscopic techniques such as FTIR, SEM/EDX, elemental mapping, XRD, TEM, TG, XPS, EPR and ICP‐AES analyses. The catalytic potential of the catalyst has been explored by synthesizing 2‐amino chromene derivatives. The catalyst efficiently catalyzed the reaction affording excellent yield of the products (95–97%) in very short reaction time period (6–8 min). The catalyst could be reused for five times with insignificant loss in catalytic activity.     

Determination of Alendronate Sodium by Box-Behnken Statistical Design

Spectrophotometric and LC methods have been developed and validated for the analysis of alendronate sodium in tablet dosage forms. Methods were based on reaction of the primary amino group of alendronate with ninhydrin reagent in methanolic solution of sodium bicarbonate. The condensed product exhibited UV absorption maximum at 569 nm whereas neither the reagents nor the analyte had any UV absorption. A Box-Behnken statistical design was employed to study the effect of independent variables, ninhydrin (X ₁ ), NaHCO₃ (X ₂ ) and drug concentration (X ₃ ) on dependent variable, absorption via spectrophotometer. From the point prediction tool of design software, it was observed that ninhydrin (0.26%) and NaHCO₃ (0.048 mol L^?1) produced maximum absorption. These optimized parameters were then selected for method validation. The methods obeyed Beer’s law over a selected concentration range with good correlation co-efficient (>0.99). The limit of detection and limit of quantification were 4.5 and 13.75 μg mL^?1 by spectroscopy, and 87 and 263 ng mL^?1 by LC, respectively. Accuracy, precision and % recovery were satisfactory for the proposed method. The method was highly feasible and reproducible for determination of alendronate sodium in bulk powder and pharmaceutical dosage form.     

Photoinduced charge carrier generation in a poly(3-hexylthiophene) and methanofullerene bulk heterojunction investigated by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

We report on the ultrafast photoinduced charge separation processes in varying compositions of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) blended with the electron acceptor [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Through the use of time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy, the time- and frequency-dependent complex photoconductivity is measured for samples with PCBM weight fractions (WPCBM) of 0, 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8. By analysis of the frequency-dependent complex conductivity, both the charge carrier yield and the average charge carrier mobility have been determined analytically and indicate a short (<0.2 nm) carrier mean free path and a suppressed long-range transport that is characteristic of carrier localization. Studies on pure films of P3HT demonstrate that charge carrier generation is an intrinsic feature of the polymer that occurs on the time scale of the excitation light, and this is attributed to the dissociation of bound polaron pairs that reside on adjacent polymer chains due to interchain charge transfer. Both interchain and interfacial charge transfer contribute to the measured photoconductivity from the blended samples; interfacial charge transfer increases as a function of increasing PCBM. The addition of PCBM to the polymer films surprisingly does not dramatically increase the production of charge carriers within the first 2 ps. However, charge carriers in the 0.2 and 0.5 blended films survive to much longer times than those in the P3HT and 0.8 films.     

Perfection for pomonoids

A pomonoid S is a monoid equipped with a partial order that is compatible with the binary operation. In the same way that M-acts over a monoid M correspond to the representation of M by transformations of sets, S-posets correspond to the representation of a pomonoid S by order preserving transformations of posets.