Cu(I)‐Catalyzed Regioselective and Highly Efficient One‐Pot Synthesis of Novel 1,2,3‐Triazoles Decorated with Pyridine and Heterocyclic Amines

An efficient one‐pot synthesis of 1,2,3‐triazoles via the three‐component coupling reaction between propargyl bromide, secondary amines, and 3‐azidopyridine in the presence of CuI as catalyst has been presented. The reaction is highly regioselective and afforded novel 1,4‐disubstituted‐1,2,3‐triazoles in excellent yields by the [3 + 2] Huisgen cycloaddition reaction. This method avoids isolation and handling of terminal acetylenes. The ease of purification has made this methodology clean and safe for the synthesis of 1,2,3‐triazoles with a broad scope.     

Synthesis and pharmacological activity evaluation of curcumin derivatives

Curcumin 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones/thiones/imines have been synthesized using one-pot cyclocondensation of curcumin with substituted aromatic aldehydes and urea/thiourea/guanidine in the presence of chitosamine hydrochloride as a biodegradable and nontoxic catalyst under solvent-free microwave irradiation. The synthesized product was purified by crystallization from ethanol and the process does not involve any hazardous solvent. All the synthesized curcumin derivatives 4a-o were screened for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Biological activity data of the synthesized showed that most of the synthesized compounds exhibited greater antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity than curcumin.     

AFM nanoindentations of diatom biosilica surfaces

Diatoms have intricately and uniquely nanopatterned silica exoskeletons (frustules) and are a common target of biomimetic investigations. A better understanding of the diatom frustule structure and function at the nanoscale could provide new insights for the biomimetic fabrication of nanostructured ceramic materials and lightweight, yet strong, scaffold architectures. Here, we have mapped the nanoscale mechanical properties of Coscinodiscus sp. diatoms using atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanoindentation. Mechanical properties were correlated with the frustule structures obtained from high-resolution AFM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Significant differences in the micromechanical properties for the different frustule layers were observed. A comparative study of other related inorganic material including porous silicon films and free-standing membranes as well as porous alumina was also undertaken.     

Olefin polymerization with Me4Cp–Amido complexes with electron‐withdrawing groups

A series of Me₄Cp–amido complexes {[η⁵:η¹‐(Me₄C₅)SiMe₂NR]TiCl₂; R = t‐Bu, 1 ; C₆H₅, 2 ; C₆F₅, 3 ; SO₂Ph, 4 ; or SO₂Me, 5 } were prepared and investigated for olefin polymerization in the presence of methylaluminoxane (MAO). X‐ray crystallography of complexes 3 and 4 revealed very long Ti N bonds relative to the bonds of 1 . These complexes were employed for ethylene–styrene copolymerizations, styrene homopolymerizations, and propylene homopolymerizations in the presence of MAO. The productivities of the catalysts derived from 3 – 5 were much lower than the productivity of the catalyst derived from 1 for the propylene polymerizations and ethylene–styrene copolymerizations, whereas the styrene polymerization activities were much higher for the catalysts derived from 3 – 5 than for the catalyst derived from 1 . The polymerization behavior of the catalysts derived from the metallocenes 3 – 5 were more reminiscent of monocyclopentadienyl titanocene Cp′TiX₃/MAO catalysts than of CpATiX₂/MAO catalysts such as 1 containing alkylamido ligands. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 4649–4660, 2000     

Structure and dynamics of solutions of a polystyrene–polybutadiene pentablock copolymer in a styrene‐selective solvent

We have examined solutions of a polystyrene–polybutadiene pentablock copolymer in 1,4‐dioxane, a slightly selective solvent for polystyrene and a θ solvent for polybutadiene, with static light scattering (SLS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and small‐angle neutron scattering (SANS). The SANS data have been analyzed with the Percus–Yevick model to represent the scattering from interacting cores, approximated as hard spheres, and with a Lorentzian function to represent the scattering from unassociated and associated polymer chains. The SANS data at 25 °C clearly reveal interacting domains, approximately 6 nm in radius, formed by the association of the insoluble polybutadiene block in the 20% sample. The 4% sample does not show such domains, whereas the 7% sample represents an intermediate situation, with both unassociated polymer and associated polymer. At higher temperatures, the domains dissolve. The DLS data for samples with concentrations of 2–22% show two diffusive modes: a fast mode corresponding to the cooperative dynamics of concentration fluctuations and a slow mode corresponding to the diffusion of clusters. The large length‐scale heterogeneities, indicated by the strong angular dependence of SLS, implies that the small microdomains of about 10–15 polybutadiene blocks are bridged by the polystyrene chains, forming large aggregates with randomly distributed crosslinks on length scales much larger than the domain size. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 2807–2816, 2002     

Multifunctional polymers as multi-role materials for photonics

Multifunctional polymers can play multi-roles such as laser light source, passive interconnects, optical signal processing and optical data storage in the development of photonics technology. In this paper, two approaches to achieve nanostructure control to introduce multifunctionality at both molecular and bulk levels are presented. A novel concept of multiphasic nanostructured composites is discussed. Various applications of a specific multifunctional property introduced by strong two-photon absorption and efficient fluorescence are presented. The combined action of these two functions produces upconverted emission. Specific applications discussed are upconversion lasing, optical data storage, confocal microscopy, and photodynamic therapy.     

Passive Boundary Layer Flow Control Using Porous Lamination

The flow over a porous laminated flat plate is investigated from a flow control perspective through experiments and computations. A square array of circular cylinders is used to model the porous lamination. We determine the velocities at the fluid–porous interface by solving the two-dimensional Navier–Stokes and the continuity equations using a staggered flow solver and using LDV in experiments. The control parameters for the porous region are porosity, \(\phi \) and Reynolds number, Re, based on the diameter of the circular cylinders used to model the porous lamination. Computations are conducted for \(0.4< \phi < 0.9\) and \(25< Re < 1000\), and the experiments are conducted for \(\phi = 0.65\) and 0.8 at \(Re \approx 391,\ 497\) and 803. The permeability of the porous lamination is observed to induce a slip velocity at the interface, effectively making it a slip wall. The slip velocity is seen to be increasing functions of \(\phi \) and Re. For higher porosities at higher Re, the slip velocity shows non-uniform and unsteady behavior and a breakdown Reynolds number is defined based on this characteristic. A map demarcating the two regimes of flow is drawn from the computational and experimental data. We observe that the boundary layer over the porous lamination is thinner than the Blasius boundary layer and the shear stress is higher at locations over the porous lamination. We note that the porous lamination helps maintain a favorable pressure gradient at the interface which delays separation. The suitable range of porosities for effective passive separation control is deduced from the results.     

Effect of spin paramagnetism on upper critical field of disordered nanocrystalline PbMo6S8 superconductor

Ignoring the paramagnetic effect Niu and Hampshire [H.J. Niu, D.P. Hampshire, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91 (2003) 027002] have claimed that a disordered nanocrystalline sample of the Chevrel phase superconductor PbMo₆S₈, having a grain size of 20 nm, corresponds to an upper critical field of 110 T. Whether the paramagnetic effect is indeed negligible in this sample or not has been investigated here by using the Werthamer–Helfand–Hohenberg theory of upper critical field of dirty superconductors. The extent of the paramagnetic effect is obtained by matching the experimental values of the upper critical field for various temperatures with those calculated from the Werthamer–Helfand–Hohenberg theory. It has been found that the 20 nm superconductor involves sufficient paramagnetic effect such that the value of the upper critical field cannot be larger than ～70 T.     

The first ionic liquid-promoted three-component coupling strategy for an expeditious synthesis of β-nitrocarbonitriles/thiocyanates

A novel and convenient three-component coupling reaction of nitromethane, aromatic aldehydes and trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) or ammonium thiocyanate has been developed for an expeditious synthesis of β-nitrocarbonitriles or β-nitrothiocyanates, respectively, via C-C and C-S bond-forming reactions. The synthetic protocol strategically involves a one-pot sequential Henry reaction and a Michael addition efficiently promoted by the same ionic liquid [bmim]OH. The main advantages of the present approach include the use of inexpensive simple substrates and an ionic liquid as an efficient reaction promoter for the mild synthesis in a one-pot procedure.