Photoinitiated polymerization of β-cyclodextrin/methyl methacrylate host/guest complex in the presence of water soluble photoinitiator, thioxanthone-catechol-O,O′-diacetic acid

β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) was used to complex the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA), yielding a water-soluble host/guest complex. Photoinitiated polymerization of β-CD/MMA complex was achieved in the presence of thioxanthone-catechol-O,O′-diacetic acid (TX-Ct), a one component water soluble photoinitiator. Photodecarboxylation of TX-Ct in water seems to be an important reaction mechanism. Therefore, resulting alkyl radicals are able to initiate the polymerization of β-CD/MMA host/guest complex in water.     

Determination of some trace elements in food and soil samples by atomic absorption spectrometry after coprecipitation with holmium hydroxide

The determination of trace elements in food and soil samples by atomic absorption spectrometry was investigated. A coprecipitation procedure with holmium hydroxide was used for separation-preconcentration of trace elements. Trace amounts of copper(II), manganese(II), cobalt(II), nickel(ll), chromium(lll), iron(Ill), cadmium(ll), and lead(ll) ions were coprecipitated with holmium hydroxide in 2.0 M NaOH medium. The optimum conditions for the coprecipitation process were investigated for several commonly tested experimental parameters, such as amount of coprecipitant, effect of standing time, centrifugation rate and time, and sample volume. The precision, based on replicate analysis, was lower than 10% for the analytes. In order to verify the accuracy of the method, the certified reference materials BCR 141 R calcareous loam soil and CRM 025-050 soil were analyzed. The procedure was successfully applied for separation and preconcentration of the investigated ions in various food and soil samples. An amount of the solid samples was decomposed with 15 mL concentrated hydrochloric acid-concentrated nitric acid (3 + 1). The preconcentration procedure was then applied to the final solutions. The concentration of trace elements in samples was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry.     

Oligomeric rod-disc nematic liquid crystals

Six new oligomeric nematic liquid crystals are reported consisting of a triphenylene-based core attached to which are six 4-cyanobiphenyl units via flexible alkyl spacers.     

Radiation Parameters of Some Potential Bioactive Compounds

In this study,we aimed to determine the radiation parameters of some potential bioactive compounds.1-Aryl-3-dibenzylamino-propane-1-on hydrochloride type Mannich bases were synthesized via classical conventional heating method.Aryl part was changed as phenyl(C6H5),4-methylphenyl(4-CH3C6H4),4-fluorophenyl(4-FC6H4),4-nitrophenyl(4-NO2C6H4),4-chlorophenyl(4-ClC6H4),4-bromophenyl(4-BrC6H4),and 2-thienyl(C4H3S-2-yl).Mass attenuation coefficient(μm),effective atomic number(Zeff)and effective electron density(Nel)of compounds were determined experimentally and theoretically for at 8.040,8.910,13.40,14.96,17.48,19.61,22.16,24.94,32.19,36.38,44.48,50.38and 59.54keV photon energies by using an HPGe detector with a resolution of 182eV at 5.9keV.Radiation parameters of these compounds which can be anti-cancer drug candidate were given in the tables.The results show that phenyl ring behave like thiophene ring in terms of radiation absorption.It is thought that the results of study may drive allow the development of drug candidate new compounds in medical oncology.     

Chemical effects on the K<Subscript>β</Subscript>/K<Subscript>α</Subscript> X-ray intensity ratios of Mn,Ni and Cu complexes

Chemical effects on the K_β/K_α X-ray intensity ratios for some Mn, Ni, and Cu complexes of a new schiff-base with salen N₂H₂ type were investigated. The samples were excited by 59.543 keV γ-rays from a ²⁴¹Am annular radioactive source. K X-rays emitted by samples were counted by a Si(Li) detector with resolution 157 eV at 5.9 keV. We observed the chemical effect on the K_β/K_α X-ray intensity ratios for Mn, Ni and Cu complexes. The experimental results showed that the K_β/K_α X-ray intensity ratios for compounds with complexes are generally larger than those with salt form. The experimental values have been compared with the other experimental and the theoretically calculated values of pure elements. The results are in very good agreement with the others.     

EPR Studies of Copper-Doped Potassium Dihydrogen Citrate (C<Subscript>6</Subscript>H<Subscript>7</Subscript>KO<Subscript>7</Subscript>) Single Crystal

The magnetic environments of Cu²⁺-doped potassium hydrogen citrate (C₆H₇KO₇) complex have been identified by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technique. The angular variation of the EPR spectra has shown that three different Cu²⁺ complexes are located in different chemical environments, and each environment contains one magnetic Cu²⁺ site occupying substantial positions in the lattice and showing a very high angular dependence. The principal g and the hyperfine structure parameter (A) values of three sets of Cu²⁺ complex groups are determined. The covalency parameter, mixing coefficients and Fermi-contact term of the complex are obtained, and the ground-state wave function of the Cu²⁺ ion in the lattice has been constructed.     

Photons for Photography: A First Diagnostic Approach to Polaroid Emulsion Transfer on Paper in Paolo Gioli’s Artworks

The aim of this research is to study and diagnose for the first time the Polaroid emulsion transfer in the contemporary artist Paolo Gioli’s artworks to provide preliminary knowledge about the materials of his artworks and the appropriate protocols which can be applied for future studies. The spectral analysis performed followed a multi-technical approach first on the mock-up samples created following Gioli’s technique and on one original artwork of Gioli, composed by: FORS (Fiber Optics Reflectance), Raman, and FTIR (Fourier-Transform InfraRed) spectroscopies. These techniques were chosen according to their completely non-invasiveness and no requirement for sample collection. The obtained spectra from FTIR were not sufficient to assign the dyes found in the transferred Polaroid emulsion. However, they provided significant information about the cellulose-based materials. The most diagnostic results were obtained from FORS for the determination of the dye developers present in the mock-up sample which was obtained from Polacolor Type 88 and from Paolo Gioli’s original artwork created with Polacolor type 89.     

Structure and dynamics of a discotic liquid-crystalline charge-transfer complex.

The structure of the charge-transfer complex hexakis(n-hexyloxy)triphenylene-2,4,7-trinitro-9-fluorenone (HAT6-TNF) has been characterized by neutron scattering, X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy, and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS). On the basis of these data and the 1:1 stoichiometry, a consistent structure for the complex is proposed. This structure differs markedly from structures previously proposed for similar materials, because the TNF molecules are found to be situated between the discotic columns rather than sandwiched between the discotic molecules of a given column. The addition of TNF to HAT6 is found to stiffen the structure, and quasi-elastic neutron scattering shows that the local dynamics of the discotic molecules in HAT6-TNF is slowed by the presence of the TNF molecules. This scenario is consistent with the observation of two VFT-type (VFT=Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman) dielectric relaxation processes that relate to the columnar glass transition and a polyethylene-like hindered glass transition originating from the nano-phase-separated fraction of the aliphatic tails.     

Universality in gelation of epoxy acrylate with various photoinitiators: a photo differential scanning calorimetric study

Photo-differential scanning calorimetric (Photo-DSC) technique was used to study the gelation of P-3038 (epoxy acrylate (EA) 75% and tripropyleneglycoldiacrylate (TPGDA) 25%) in the presence of various thioxanthone-based initiators, namely, thioxanthone (TX), 5-thia-naphtacene-12-one (TX-NP), 2-(carboxymethoxy) thioxanthone (TX-OCH₂COOH), 2-thioxanthone-thioacetic acid (TX-SCH₂COOH), and 2-mercaptothioxanthone (TX-SH). Photopolymerization reactions were performed under identical conditions of temperature, initiator concentration, and UV light intensity. Photo-DSC technique allowed us to monitor the gelation, without disturbing the system mechanically, and to test the universality of the gelation as a function of some kinetic parameters like initiator concentration. During gelation, it was observed that all conversion curves present a good sigmoidal behavior by predicting to employ percolation model. Observations around the glass transition point, t _g shows that the gel fraction exponents β obeyed the percolation picture. On the other hand, t _g was found to be much higher for the crosslinked networks obtained with TX-OCH₂COOH and TX-SCH₂COOH initiators than those with the other initiators.