Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Study of the Stoichiometry and Stability of Several Li+‐Crown Ether Complexes in Various Acetonitrile‐Nitrobenzene Mixtures

Lithium‐7 NMR spectrometry was used to study the complexation reaction between lithium ions and several 12‐, 15‐ and 18‐membered crown ethers in a number of binary acetonitrile‐nitrobenzene mixtures. Formation constants of the resulting 1:1 complexes in different solvent mixtures were determined by computer fitting of the chemical shift‐mole ratio data. There is an inverse relationship between the complex stability and the amount of acetonitrile in the mixed solvent. Among different sized crown ethers used, 15‐crowns were found to form the most stable Li⁺ complexes in the series. The influence of substitution on the macrocyclic rings on the stability of the resulting complexes is discussed.     

Influence of crucible geometry and position on the induction heating process in crystal growth systems

A series of 2D finite element numerical simulations of induction heating process for an oxide Czochralski crystal growth system has been done for different shapes and locations of a metal crucible. Comparison between the computational results shows the importance of crucible shape, geometry and its position with respect to the RF-coil on the electromagnetic field and heat generation distribution in the growth setup.     

Pion asymmetry in the three-body radiative decays of polarized hyperons

We have calculated the energy dependence of pion asymmetry relative to the direction of hyperon polarization in the three-body radiative decays of polarized hyperons, using the inner bremsstrahlung model. We find that in the low pion energy region, the pion asymmetry in the radiative decay relative to the non-radiative decay is kinematically enhanced. For certain decays, this effect could be exploited experimentally to obtain additional information about the properties of the hyperons.     

One-Pot Three-Component Synthesis of β -Acylaminoketones Containing a Thiophene Ring by the Use of Tetrachlorosilane-Zinc Chloride as a Binary Reagent Under Ambient Conditions

A new route for the synthesis of β -acylaminoketones containing a thiophene ring through multicomponent condensation reaction of different ketones, different aldehydes, and different nitriles with tetrachlorosilane (TCS) and zinc chloride as the binary reagent is described.     

Quantitative and qualitative studies of silica in different rice samples grown in north of Iran using UV-vis, XRD and IR spectroscopy techniques

Silicon is an essential trace element and is found in vegetables, fruits, cereals, water, pasta and rice (Oryza sativa). In this work, the silica content of different types of rice grains were measured. Here, we used the heteropoly blue photometric method with a double beam UV-vis spectrophotometer to determine the amount of silicon in rice samples (n = 7) that were collected in the north of Iran. The samples were digested with wet-ashing method by microwave-assisted heating and then treated with ammonium molybdate to produce a yellow color compound in acidic solution (ca. pH 1.2) and then reduced to give a heteropoly compound with a blue color. Analyses were performed using standard addition method and absorbance values were measured with double beam UV-vis spectrophotometer at λ_max = 815 nm. Results indicated that the silica content was 307-451 mg/kg for the samples. X-ray diffraction patterns and infra-red spectra were obtained from rice samples without any sample treatment.     

Tin(II) Chloride Dihydrate Catalyzed Groebke Condensation: An Efficient Protocol for the Synthesis of 3-Aminoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines

The ability of tin(II) chloride dihydrate as a catalyst to promote the three-component condensation reaction from a diversity of aromatic aldehydes, 2-aminopyridines and isonitriles at room temperature is described. This methodology affords a number of 3-aminoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines in the presence of tin(II) chloride dihydrate as a new and mild Lewis acid catalyst in the multi-component reaction in reasonable yields and short reaction time without any significant optimization of the reaction conditions.     

Rheological and swelling behavior of semi‐interpenetrating networks of polyacrylamide and scleroglucan

Preparation and characterization of novel semi‐interpenetrating polymer network (semi‐IPN) hydrogels based on partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and scleroglucan solution crosslinked with chromium triacetate are described. Effects of scleroglucan concentration on the gelation process and swelling behavior of synthesized hydrogels in different media were investigated using dynamic rheometery and swelling tests, respectively. Oscillatory shear rheology showed that the limiting storage modulus of the semi‐IPN gels increased with increase in scleroglucan concentration. It was also found that the viscous energy dissipating properties of the semi‐IPN gels decreased with increase in the crosslinker concentration of the gelation system. In addition, the loss factor slightly decreased by increasing the scleroglucan content, indicating that the viscous properties of this gelling system decreased more than its elastic properties. The swelling tests showed that the equilibrium swelling ratio (ESR) of the semi‐IPN networks decreased with increase in scleroglucan content, due to the decrease of ionic groups of polyelectrolyte hydrogel. However, the semi‐IPN gels showed lower salt sensitivity in synthetic oil reservoir water as compared with HPAM gels. Therefore, these semi‐IPN hydrogels may be considered potentially good candidates for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of efficient method for preconcentration and determination of copper, nickel, zinc and iron ions in environmental samples by combination of cloud point extraction and flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A cloud point extraction procedure for the preconcentration of copper, nickel, iron and zinc ions in various samples has been described. Analyte ions in aqueous phase are complexed with 3-((indolin-3-yl)(phenyl)methyl)indoline (IYPMI) and following centrifugation quantitatively extracted to the aqueous phase rich in Triton X-114. The surfactant-rich phase was dissolved in 2.0 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃ in methanol prior to metal content determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The effects of some parameters including, the concentrations of IYPMI, Triton X-114 and HNO₃, bath temperature, centrifuge rate and time were investigated on the recoveries of analyte ions. At optimum conditions, the detection limits of (3 SDb m⁻¹) of 1.6, 2.8, 2.1 and 1.1 ng mL⁻¹ for Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺ and Zn²⁺ along with preconcentration factors of 30 and enrichment factor of 48, 39, 34 and 52 for Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe³⁺ and Zn²⁺ respectively, were obtained. The proposed cloud point extraction has been successfully applied for the determination of metal ions in real samples with complicated matrix such as biological, soil and blood samples with high efficiency.      

Wrapped branes as qubits

Recent work has established a correspondence between the tripartite entanglement measure of three qubits and the macroscopic entropy of the four-dimensional 8-charge STU black hole of supergravity. Here we consider the configurations of intersecting D3-branes, whose wrapping around the six compact dimensions T6 provides the microscopic string-theoretic interpretation of the charges, and associate the three-qubit basis vectors |ABC>, (A, B, C=0 or 1) with the corresponding 8 wrapping cycles. In particular, we relate a well-known fact of quantum information theory, that the most general real three-qubit state can be parameterized by four real numbers and an angle, to a well-known fact of string theory, that the most general STU black hole can be described by four D3-branes intersecting at an angle.