Facile synthesis of bis(arylmethylidene)cycloalkanones mediated by lithium perchlorate under solvent-free conditions

Lithium perchlorate-mediated double crossed aldol condensations of a variety of aromatic aldehydes with cycloalkanones at room temperature in the presence of (trimethylsilyl)diethylamine and under solvent-free conditions are described. High to excellent yields of bis(arylmethylidene)cyclohexanones and bis(arylmethylidene)cyclopentanones are achieved within a few minutes in this facile one-pot procedure.     

Theoretical calculation and prediction for experimental design to obtain spin crossover complexes

DFT methods were utilized to study SCO complexes. [Fe(2btz)₂(NCX)₂] (2btz = 2,2′‐bithiazoline, X = S ( 1 ) and Se ( 2 )), [Fe(phen)₂(NCX)₂] (phen = 1,10‐phenantroline, X = S ( 3 ) and Se ( 4 )), and [Fe(bpy)₂(NCS)₂] ( 5 ) (bpy = 2,2′‐bipyridine) compounds, which have experimentally shown SCO behavior, were calculated. B3LYP, B3LYP*, OPBE, and OLYP with 6‐31G* and 6‐311 + G** basis sets were employed to calculate the ΔE_HS/LS energy gap as a clue to find complexes with SCO behavior. It is found that calculated result by B3LYP* with c₃ = 0.14 and OPBE methods and 6‐31G* basis set are in agreement with experimentally observed SCO complexes. Then, newly designed Fe(N‐N)₂(X)₂ complexes, where N‐N are bidentate nitrogen donor chelating ligands and X= SCN^‐, SeCN^‐, Cl^‐, Br^‐, I^‐, were chosen to see their potential to be SCO compounds. ΔE_HS/LS for potential SCO complexes are estimated from 0.8 to 6.5 kcal/mol in B3LYP* and 0.6–5.7 kcal/mol in OPBE. These calculations suggest [Fe(bpy)₂(NCSe)₂], [Fe(5dmbpy)₂(NCS)₂], and [Fe(3‐BrPhen)₂(NCSe)₂] compounds have the ability to show SCO behavior. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

On homotopy analysis method applied to linear optimal control problems

In this paper, the homotopy analysis method (HAM) is employed to solve the linear optimal control problems (OCPs), which have a quadratic performance index. The study examines the application of the homotopy analysis method in obtaining the solution of equations that have previously been obtained using the Pontryagin’s maximum principle (PMP). The HAM approach is also applied in obtaining the solution of the matrix Riccati equation. Numerical results are presented for several test examples involving scalar and 2nd-order systems to demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of the method.     

A hybrid imperialist competitive algorithm for minimizing makespan in a multi-processor open shop

In this paper a new mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is proposed for the multi-processor open shop scheduling (MPOS) problems to minimize the makespan with considering independent setup time and sequence dependent removal time. A hybrid imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) with genetic algorithm (GA) is presented to solve this problem. The parameters of the proposed algorithm are tuned by response surface methodology (RSM). The performance of the algorithm to solve small, medium and large sized instances of the problem is evaluated by introducing two performance metrics. The quality of obtained solutions is compared with that of the optimal solutions for small sized instances and with the lower bounds for medium sized instances. Also some computational results are presented for large sized instances.     

A Theoretical Study of NBO,NICS, and 14N NQR Parameters of Adenine Tautomers in the Gas Phase via DFT

The natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS), and ¹⁴N NQR parameters of the most stable tautomers of adenine in the gas phase were predicted using density functional theory method. The NBO analysis revealed that the resonance interaction between lone pair of the nitrogen atom and empty non‐Lewis NBO increases with increasing the p character of the nitrogen lone pair. The present investigation indicated the π clouds in both the considered heterocyclic rings containing six electrons, and these tautomers has the aromatic character. The NICS study utilizing the gauge‐invariant atomic orbital method showed that there are diatropic currents in the heterocyclic rings of the tautomers, so we determined the order of overall aromaticity of these tautomers. The results of NQR parameter calculations showed three parameters are effective on nuclear quadrupole coupling constant; the p character value of lone pair electrons of nitrogens, and the related occupancies and whenever, the lone pair electrons of nitrogens participate in the formation of chemical bond and/or π system of the ring, the q_zz and consequently its χ decreases.     

DFT Calculations and NBO Analysis of 2-Chloroethylethyldichlorosilane Unimolecular Elimination Kinetics in the Gas Phase

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been used to investigate the thermal decomposition kinetics of 2-chloroethylethyldichlorosilane at the B3LYP/6-311+G**,B3PW91/6-311+G**,and MPW1PW91/6-311+G** levels of theory.Among these methods,the results(activation parameters) obtained using the B3LYP/6-311+G** level are in good agreement with the available experimental data.The calculated data imply that in the unimolecular β-elimination reactions of the studied compound in the gas phase,the polarization of C(1)-Cl(3) and C(1)-H(4) bonds in the sense of C(1)δ+-Cl(3)δ-and C(1)δ+-H(4)δ-,respectively,is a determining factor in the gas phase elimination reactions 1,2 and 3.Analysis of bond order,natural bond orbital charges,bond indexes,synchro-nicity parameters,and IRC calculations suggest the elimination of 2-chloroethylethyldichlorosilane via reactions 1～3 can be described as concerted and slightly asynchronous.The transition state structures of these reactions are a four-membered cyclic structure.     

Exohedral chemical functionalization of C48B6N6 with NH3: Binding energies and electronic structures of C48B6N6–(NH3)n=1−6

Theoretical study of exohedral chemical functionalization of C₄₈B₆N₆ with NH₃ molecules has been investigated using DFT. It was found that NH₃ molecule can be chemically adsorbed on boron sites of C₄₈B₆N₆, with a charge transfer from NH₃ to C₄₈B₆N₆. Adsorption energy and the quantity of electron charge transfer from latest adsorbed ammonia to C₄₈B₆N₆ decreased with increasing in the adsorbed NH₃ molecules. Despite the strong adsorption energies, electronic properties of C₄₈B₆N₆ is preserved after modification(s) with NH₃ molecule(s) and chemical modification of C₄₈B₆N₆ with NH₃ molecules can be viewed as some kind of safe modification.     

DFT-NEGF study of transport properties and NDR behavior in fused furan and thiophene dimmers

The nonequilibrium Green's function approach in combination with density-functional theory is used to perform quantum mechanical calculations of the electron transport properties of furan and thiophene dimmers. Both the molecular systems have two S-linker and translated into the Gold junction with (1 1 1) surfaces. The studied molecular junctions at zero bias voltage are HOMO-based junctions and currents through these systems are driven by hole transport. The current–voltage characteristics of the both studied molecular junctions illustrate that negative differential resistance (NDR) feature is observed over the bias voltage of 2.0 V. Higher conductivity of fused furan dimmer and NDR character have been explained by the monitoring of the transmission resonance peak across the bias window against varying bias voltages.     

A Non-Parametric Approach to Model Evaluation

All existing tests and criteria for model evaluation are based on the sum of squared residuals. These measures do not evaluate the performance of a model in predicting turning points in the variable of interest. Here, three tests are proposed to evaluate models on the basis of their ability to predict turning points and to give an unbiased prediction of the relative order of magnitude of changes. Five models are evaluated using the proposed tests. Results indicate that the tests expose facets of models that R² and sum of squared residuals are unable to highlight. Hence, the tests are suggested to complement existing model evaluation techniques.     

Kinetics and Mechanism of the Autocatalytic Oxidation of L-Asparagine in a Moderately Concentrated Sulfuric Acid Medium

The reaction kinetics of the Autocatalytic Oxidation of L-asparagine by permanganate ions has been investigated in moderately strong acid medium using the spectrophotometric technique. In all cases studied, an autocatalytic effect due to Mn²⁺ ions formed as a reaction product was observed. Both catalytic and noncatalytic processes were determined to be first order with respect to the permanganate ions while a first and a fractional order with respect to the amino acid for noncatalytic and catalytic reactions were obtained, respectively. The overall rate equation for this process may be written asd[MO₄ ^–]/dt= k´₁[MnO₄ ^–]+k´₂[MnO₄ ^–][Mn⁺²],where k´₁ and k´₂ are rate pseudoconstants for noncatalytic and catalytic reactions, respectively. The influence of some factors such as temperature and reactant concentration on the rate constants has been studied, and the activation parameters have been calculated. Reaction mechanisms satisfying observations for both catalytic and noncatalytic routes have been presented.