Size control synthesis of sulfur doped titanium dioxide （anatase） nanoparticles, its optical property and its photo catalytic reactivity for CO2 ＋ H2O conversion and phenol degradation

Sulfur doped anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (3 nm−12 nm) were synthesized by the reaction of titanium tetrachloride, water and sulfuric acidwith addition of 3M NaOH at room temperature. The electro-optical and photocatalytic properties of the synthesized sulfur doped TiO2nanoparticles were studied along with Degussa commercial TiO2 particles (24 nm). The results show that band gap of TiO2 particles decreasesfrom 3.31 to 3.25 eV and for that of commercial TiO2 to 3.2 eV when the particle sizes increased from 3 nm to 12 nm with increase in sulfurdoping. The results of the photocatalytic activity under UV and sun radiation show maximum phenol conversion at the particle size of 4 nm at4.80% S-doping. Similar results are obtained using UV energy for both phenol conversion and conversion of CO2+H2O in which formationof methanol, ethanol and proponal is observed. Production of methanol is also achieved on samples with a particle size of 8 and 12 nm andsulfur doping of 4.80% and 5.26%. For TiO2 particle of 4 nm without S doping, the production of methanol, ethanol and proponal was loweras compared to the S-doped particles. This is attributed to the combined electronic effect and band gap change, S dopant, specific surface areaand the light source used.     

Nano gold-coated surface patterned mesoporous titanium tin oxide sol–gel thin film: fabrication,optical and photoelectrochemical properties

Nano noble metal coating on surface patterned mesoporous semiconductor thin film can play an important role in enhancing visible light harvesting efficiency (LHE) towards improvement in photoelectrochemical (PEC) activity of the material. In this work, one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) mesoscale surface patterns have been created on sol–gel-based titanium tin oxide (TSO) nanostructured thin film on pure silica/indium tin oxide-coated glass by soft lithography. The TSO film matrix is observed to be mesoporous and semicrystalline as evidenced from the structural characterization by transmission electron microscopy and measurement of atmospheric ellipso-porosimetry, respectively. The 2D patterned film exhibits maximum LHE value in visible wavelength region. Further film surface modification has been carried out by depositing nano Au coating onto the bare patterned TSO films by a low temperature solution technique. Under visible light, a significant improvement in PEC activity is found and the gold-coated patterned 2D film shows higher visible LHE as well as >2.7 times higher photocurrent density than bare 2D film. This facile fabrication strategy can create an avenue toward improvement in LHE vis-à-vis the PEC activity of mesoporous mixed metal oxide semiconductor thin film.

Open image in new window

     

An unexpected acid mediated rearrangement of monoethylene ketal of 2-methyl-2-(3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)cyclohex-4-ene-1,3-diones to chromane

We herein report a serendipitously observed acid mediated rearrangement of monoethylene ketal of 2-methyl-2-(3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)cyclohex-4-ene-1,3-diones to Dihydrobenzopyran and demonstrated the application of this methodology in the construction of core carbon scaffolds of dimethoxyajacareubin, cariphenone-A and crotamadine.     

A chiral pool approach to the synthesis of optically active tetrahalo norbornyl building blocks

Optical antipodes of the mono- and disubstituted polyhalo norbornyl derivatives were prepared in excellent yields. The monosubstituted derivatives 7 were obtained with good enantiopurities. A kaleidoscopic change in the product formation and distribution was observed by changing the chronology of reactions.     

Effects of substituents in the beta-position of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in bromodimethylsulfonium bromide-catalyzed multicomponent reactions: a facile access to functionalized piperidines

1,3-Dicarbonyl compounds can be converted to Mannich-type products A or highly functionalized piperidines B in the presence of a catalytic amount of bromodimethylsulfonium bromide (BDMS). The combination of aromatic aldehyde, amine, and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in the presence of a catalytic amount of BDMS leads to the formation of Mannich-type product A when R is a non-enolizable carbon or an alkoxy group, whereas in cases when R = CH3, the same combination yielded highly functionalized piperidines B. A synthetic study and mechanistic proposal are presented.