Design and synthesis of certain substituted cycloalkanecarboxamides structurally related to safinamide with anticonvulsant potential

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A series of novel safinamide derivatives were synthesized and biologically evaluated for their anticonvulsant activity against maximal electroshock seizure...     

Improved photoelectrochemical hydrogen production over decorated titania with copper and nickel oxides by optimizing the photoanode and reaction characteristics

We optimized photocatalytic hydrogen production over TiO₂-based photocatalyst by varying the dopant (nickel and copper oxide), thin film active area, nature and concentration of sacrificial agents, and light intensity in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell/dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Various characterization techniques have been used to investigate the structural, morphological, optical, and PEC behavior of single and codoped TiO₂. The TiO₂ decorated with both Cu and Ni oxides with active area of 1 cm² in a mixture of 5 vol % glycerol and 1 M KOH under light intensity of 100 mWcm^?2 produced the maximum hydrogen of 338.4 μmol cm^?2 for 2 h. The superior photocatalyst performance of this photocatalyst is attributed to its small crystallite size and large pore size, as confirmed by X-ray diffractometer, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and surface area of Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (S_BET). The absorption edges of this photocatalyst had the highest red shift compared with single doped and pure TiO₂ because of more indirect transitions of the photoexcited electrons, greater charge carrier separation, and lower recombination rate. The photoanode active area of 1 cm² with better photocatalytic performance correlated with the number of defects and grain boundaries. Glycerol shifted the conduction band of the photocatalyst to more negative flat potential compared with others. Increasing the concentration of glycerol further than 5 vol% saturated the photocatalyst active sites, increased photooxidation intermediates of glycerol, and reduced the hydrogen production. The light intensity had the maximum impact on the hydrogen production and could strongly control the number of charge carriers in both the PEC cell and the DSSC.     

Slippage of a Porphyrin Macrocycle over Threads of Varying Bulkiness: Implications for the Mechanism of Threading Polymers through a Macrocyclic Ring

Threading of a polymer through a macrocyclic ring may occur directly, that is, by finding the end of the polymer chain, or by a process in which the polymer chain first folds and then threads through the macrocyclic ring in a hairpin‐like conformation. We present kinetic and thermodynamic studies on the threading of a macrocyclic porphyrin receptor ( H₂1 ) onto molecular threads that are blocked on one side and are open on the other side. The open side is modified by groups that vary in ease of folding and in bulkiness. Additionally, the threads contain a viologen binding site for the macrocyclic receptor, which is located close to the blocking group. The rates of threading of H₂1 were measured under various conditions, by recording as a function of time the quenching of the fluorescence of the porphyrin, which occurs when receptor H₂1 reaches the viologen binding site. The kinetic data suggest that threading is impossible if the receptor encounters an open side that is sterically encumbered in a similar way as a folded polymer chain. This indicates that threading of polymers through macrocyclic compounds through a folded chain mechanism is unlikely.     

A unified model for electrostatic sensors in fluid media

Nonlinear Dynamics - We present a unified model of electrostatic sensors comprising cantilever microbeam resonators in fluid media. The model couples Euler–Bernoulli beam equation to the...     

Structural,vibrational and thermal properties of a new inorganic compound: Tl0.92(NH4)0.08(SO4)0.65(SeO4)0.35Te(OH)6

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A new compound thallium ammonium sulfate selenate tellurate: Tl0.92(NH4)0.08(SO4)0.65(SeO4)0.35Te(OH)6 (TlNSSeTe) has been synthesized by slow evaporation at...     

Synthesis and evaluation of some new hydrazones as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in acidic media

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Mild steel corrosion in HCl solution is an example of corrosion in acidic mediums. The ongoing research efforts to develop novel environmentally friendly...     

Polar Order,Mirror Symmetry Breaking,and Photoswitching of Chirality and Polarity in Functional Bent-Core Mesogens

In recent years, liquid crystals (LCs) responding to light or electrical fields have gained significant importance as multifunctional materials. Herein, two new series of photoswitchable bent-core liquid crystals (BCLCs) derived from 4-cyanoresorcinol as the central core connected to an azobenzene based wing and a phenyl benzoate wing are reported. The self-assembly of these molecules was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing light microscopy (POM), electro-optical, dielectric, second harmonic generation (SHG) studies, and XRD. Depending on the direction of the COO group in the phenyl benzoate wing, core-fluorination, temperature, and the terminal alkyl chain length, cybotactic nematic and lamellar (smectic) LC phases were observed. The coherence length of the ferroelectric fluctuations increases continuously with decreasing temperature and adopts antipolar correlation upon the condensation into superparaelectric states of the paraelectric smectic phases. Finally, long-range polar order develops at distinct phase transitions; first leading to polarization modulated and then to nonmodulated antiferroelectric smectic phases. Conglomerates of chiral domains were observed in the high permittivity ranges of the synclinic tilted paraelectric smectic phases of these achiral molecules, indicating mirror symmetry breaking. Fine-tuning of the molecular structure leads to photoresponsive bent-core (BC)LCs exhibiting a fast and reversible photoinduced change of the mode of the switching between ferroelectric- and antiferroelectric-like as well as a light-induced switching between an achiral and a spontaneous mirror-symmetry-broken LC phase.     

Thermodynamic analysis of two air conditioning systems with ice thermal storage in Egypt

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - An evaluation of using a thermal storage system utilized with air conditioning cycle in Egypt is the main aim of this paper. This study includes the...