Synthesis and Characterization of Polymer Anchored Cu(Ⅱ) Complexes: Heterogeneous Catalysts for Preparation of Diaryl Ethers

Polymer anchored Cu(II) Schiff base complexes have been prepared and characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), elemental analysis, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), spectrometric methods like diffuse reflectance spectra of solid (DRS) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). These catalysts show excellent catalytic activity in the O‐arylation reaction of aryl halides with phenol in acetonitrile using Cs₂CO₃ at 70°C under an open air condition to give diaryl ethers in high yields. The effects of various parameters such as solvent, catalyst from different copper salt and base on the reaction system have been studied. The reaction is applicable to a wide variety of substituted aryl halides and phenols with different steric and electronic properties. These catalysts are recovered by simple filtration and the reusability experiments show that these catalysts can be used five times without much loss in the catalytic activity.     

A new organocatalyst for Friedel-Crafts alkylation of 2-naphthols with isatins: application of an organo-click strategy for the cascade synthesis of highly functionalized molecules

The three-component Friedel-Crafts alkylation/Huisgen cycloaddition (FCA/HC) reactions of 2-naphthols, substituted isatins and azides under dimethylamino-ethanol/Cu^I-catalysis furnished highly functionalized 1,4-disubstituted [1,2,3]-triazoles.     

Attenuation of Centimetre, Millimetre and Sub-Millimetre Waves Due to Rain Over Tropical Indian Stations

The results on attenuation of the radio wave due to rain at frequencies lying in the centimetre, millimetre and submillimetre wave bands for different rain rates over three Indian tropical stations are presented in this paper. The study is possible due to the availability of the rainfall rates measured by rapid response rain gauges and rain height over these stations. The results on attenuation were deduced by taking both 0° C isotherm height and effective height. The Stutzman and Dishman model with -value of 0.033 which is found suitable for the estimation of rain attenuation over the Indian stations has been critically examined in comparison with the attenuations deduced from CCIR (presently known as ITU-R) method.     

Separation of enzymes by sequential macroaffinity ligand-facilitated three-phase partitioning

Pectinase and cellulase were separated from a commercial enzyme preparation called Pectinex Ultra SP-L. This was carried out using a process called macroaffinity ligand-facilitated three-phase partitioning (MLFTPP). In this method, a water-soluble polymer is floated as an interfacial precipitate by adding ammonium sulfate and tert.-butanol. The polymer (appropriately chosen) in the presence of an enzyme for which it shows affinity, selectively binds to the enzyme and floats as a polymer-enzyme complex. In the first step, pectinase was purified (with alginate as the polymer) 13-fold with 96% activity recovery. In the second MLFTPP step, using chitosan, cellulase was purified 16-fold with 92% activity recovery. Both preparations showed a single band on sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This illustrative example shows that the strategy of sequential MLFTPP can be used to separate important biological activities from a crude broth.     

Synthesis of novel antitumor agent 1-methoxy-5,10- dioxo-5,10-dihydro-1H-benzo[g]isochromene carboxylic acid (3-dimethylylaminopropyl)amide with a dual role Pd(II) catalyst

A convenient and simple method for the synthesis of 1-methoxy-5,10-dioxo-5,10-dihydro-1H-benzo[g]isochromene-3-carboxylic acid (3-(dimethylamino)propyl)amide 4c was developed. The key step involves the easy formation of 1,3-disubstituted cyclic alkenyl ether, an important framework of isochromene natural products, with a dual role Pd(II) catalyst.     

A comparative kinetic study of iridium(III) catalysis in cerium(IV) oxidation of dioxane in aqueous sulfuric acid and perchloric acid media

The kinetics and mechanism of IrIII-catalysed oxidation of dioxane by CeIV in both aqueous H2SO4 and HClO4 media have been studied at different temperatures under the conditions: [dioxane]T [CeIV]T [Ir]T (ca. 10–6–10–8moldm–3). In aqueous HClO4 media a slow uncatalysed path exists alongside the catalysed path, while in aqueous H2SO4 media the catalysed path is the only kinetically detectable path. In both media, the overall process shows a first-order dependence on [CeIV]T; the catalytic path is first order in [Ir]T and exhibits a non-linear dependence on [dioxane]T. The catalysed path probably involves a pre-equilibrium interaction between the catalyst and substrate leading to an outer-sphere complex followed by the electron transfer in the rate-determining step involving CeIV and an outer-sphere complex formed in pre-equilibrium steps. The catalytic path presumably involves the IrIII/IrIV cycle. In HClO4 media the catalytic efficiency is greater than in H2SO4 media. Activation parameters for different paths have been determined in order to rationalise the mechanistic steps.     

Substituent effect on diastereoselectivity in Type-II ene cyclisation: a theoretical study

Methyl and methoxy substituted transition states (TS) of Type-II ene cyclisation have been optimized by ab-initio method and relative stability of the diastereomeric TSs have been calculated. In all TSs, equatorial substituent positions have been found to be preferred over the axial positions except for the 4′-substituted methoxy derivative, in which the methoxy group prefers to retain axial position. It has also been noted that the presence of the methoxy group(s) in other position(s) may affect the stability of axially oriented TS and thus alters the overall stereoselectivity of the reaction.     

S2 fluorescence and ultrafast relaxation dynamics of the S2 and S1 states of a ketocyanine dye

Dynamics of the excited singlet (both the S2 and S1) states of a ketocyanine dye, namely, 2,5-bis[(2,3-dihydroindolyl)-propylene]-cyclopentanone (KCD), have been investigated in different kinds of media using steady-state absorption and emission as well as femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopic techniques. Steady-state fluorescence measurements, following photoexcitation of KCD to its second excited singlet state, reveal dual fluorescence (emission from both the S2 and S1 states) behavior. Although the intensity of the S2 --> S0 fluorescence is weaker than that of the S1 --> S0 fluorescence in solutions at room temperature (298 K), the former becomes as much as or more intense than the latter in rigid matrixes at 77 K. The lifetime of the S2 state is short and varies between 0.2 and 0.6 ps in different solvents. After its creation, the S2 state undergoes two simultaneous processes, namely, S2 --> S0 fluorescence and S2 --> S1 internal conversion. Time-resolved measurements reveal the presence of an ultrafast component in the decay dynamics of the S1 state. A good correlation between the lifetime of this component and the longitudinal relaxation times (tauL) of the solvents suggests that this component arises due to solvation in polar solvents. More significant evolution of the spectroscopic properties of the S1 state in alcoholic solvents in the ultrafast time domain has been explained by the occurrence of the repositioning of the hydrogen bonds around the carbonyl group in the excited state of KCD. In 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, a strongly hydrogen bond donating solvent, it has even been possible to establish the existence of two distinct forms of the S1 state, namely, the non-hydrogen-bonded (or free) molecule and the hydrogen-bonded complex.     

Determination of mercury species with a resin functionalized with a 1,2-bis(o-aminophenylthio)ethane moiety

A method for the simultaneous preconcentration and determination of Hg(II) and MeHg(I) at the ng ml⁻¹ level has been developed. This method is based on solid phase extraction using a newly synthesized chelating resin containing nitrogen and sulphur donor sites of the 1,2-bis(o-aminophenylthio)ethane moiety that is very selective for mercury. The characterization of the resin has been carried out by elemental analyses, infrared spectral data, thermogravimetric analysis and metal ion capacities. The resin is highly selective for Hg(II) and MeHg(I) with an exchange capacity of 0.38 and 0.30 mmol g⁻¹, respectively. Various parameters like pH, column flow rate, desorbing agents are optimized. Cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS) was used to measure the concentration of both species of mercury. The calibration graph was linear upto 10 ng ml⁻¹ with a 3σ detection limit of 0.09 ng ml⁻¹. The recovery of Hg(II) and MeHg(I) was found to be 98.9±2.0 and 98.0±1.1%, respectively. The method has been used for routine determination of trace levels of mercury species in natural waters to comply with more stringent regulations.