Mn (II) and Zn (II) complexes of a benzimidazole ligand having undecyl chains: Crystal structures,photophysical and thermal properties

A new tridentate benzimidazole ligand (L‐C¹¹) containing undecyl chains and its Mn (II) and Zn (II) complexes were synthesised and characterized by spectroscopic and analytical methods. Molecular structures of complexes [Mn(L‐C¹¹)Cl₂] and [Zn(L‐C¹¹)Cl₂] were evaluated by X‐ray diffraction studies. The X‐ray data showed metal ions in both complexes are five‐coordinate with distorted square pyramidal geometry around the metal centres. The undecyl chains in the structure of the complexes are aligned in an interdigitated manner (head to tail) forming a non‐polar domain. The aggregation properties of the ligand and its complexes were investigated by UV–Vis. absorption and emission spectroscopies in DMF‐water mixtures. The emission spectral data revealed that the compounds showed aggregation induced quenching (AIQ) in DMF‐water solutions. Moreover, thermal properties of the compounds were investigated by TG, DTG and DSC analysis.     

Principal component analysis calibration method for dual-luminophore oxygen and temperature sensor films: application to luminescence imaging

Oxygen sensor films are frequently used to image air-pressure distributions on surfaces in aerodynamic wind tunnels. In this application, the sensor film is referred to as a pressure-sensitive paint (PSP). A Stern-Volmer calibration is used to relate the emission intensity ratio of a long-lifetime luminescent dye (the pressure-sensitive luminophore, PSL) to surface air pressure. A major problem in PSP measurements arises because the Stern-Volmer calibration of the PSL's emission varies with temperature. To correct for the temperature dependence, a second luminescent dye that has an emission that varies with temperature (the temperature-sensitive luminophore, TSL) is incorporated into the sensor film. With such a dual-luminophore PSP (DL-PSP), it is possible to measure the surface-temperature distribution with the TSL emission, and this information is then used to correct the temperature dependence of the PSL's pressure response. In the present article, we report the application of a DL-PSP to obtain high-resolution air-pressure distributions on a surface that is subjected to a 20 degrees C temperature gradient. Two different calibration methods are used to generate surface-temperature and air-pressure distributions from the luminescence imaging data, and a quantitative comparison of the results obtained from the two methods is provided. The first method is based on an intensity-ratio calibration that uses luminescence images collected at two wavelengths, one corresponding to the TSL emission and the second corresponding to the PSL emission. The second method is based on principal component analysis (PCA) of luminescence images obtained at four wavelengths throughout the spectral region of the TSL and PSL emission (hyperspectral imaging, 550-750 nm). The results demonstrate that the PCA method allows the measurement of surface air pressure with higher accuracy and precision compared to those of the intensity-ratio method. The improvement is especially significant at pressures near 1 atm, where the temperature interference is most pronounced. Surface-pressure distributions are measured with comparable accuracy and precision with the two methods.     

A C Symmetric Nitrate Complex with a Thiophene-Based Tripodal Receptor

A thiophene-based tripodal receptor has been synthesized and its complexes with nitrate and iodide have determined by single-crystal X-ray analysis. In the nitrate complex, one nitrate is encapsulated in a selective orientation forming a C(3) symmetric complex, which is bonded to three protonated secondary amines with six NH···O bonds. The anion is coordinated in a plane perpendicular to the principal rotation axis passing through the tertiary nitrogen of the receptor and the nitrogen of the encapsulated nitrate. High-level DFT calculations support the crystallographic results demonstrating that an adduct with trigonal binding of three oxygen atoms is more stable than that of one oxygen atom of the encapsulate nitrate. On the other hand, in the structure of the iodide complex, all three iodides lie outside the cavity. (1)H NMR titration studies indicate that the receptor forms a 1:1 complex with nitrate with a binding constant of K = 315 M(-1) in chloroform, showing a moderate selectivity over halides and perchlorate.     

Copper-deposited aluminum anode for aluminum-air battery

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - For Al-air batteries, it is important to develop efficient and economical anodes. In this study, the effect of aluminum anodes treated with copper by...     

Performance evaluation of adaptive meshing algorithms for fluorescence diffuse optical tomography using experimental data

Fluorescence diffuse optical tomography (FDOT) is a computationally demanding imaging problem. The discretizations of FDOT forward and inverse problems pose a trade-off between the accuracy and the computational efficiency of the image reconstruction. To address this trade-off, we analyzed the effect of discretization on the accuracy of FDOT imaging and proposed novel adaptive meshing algorithms for FDOT in a series of studies. In this Letter, we apply these new adaptive meshing algorithms to FDOT imaging using real data from a phantom experiment to demonstrate the practical advantages of our algorithms in FDOT image reconstruction.     

On Minimal Defining Sets of Full Designs and Self-Complementary Designs, and a New Algorithm for Finding Defining Sets of t-Designs

A defining set of a t-(v, k, λ) design is a partial design which is contained in a unique t-design with the given parameters. A minimal defining set is a defining set, none of whose proper partial designs is a defining set. This paper proposes a new and more efficient algorithm that finds all non-isomorphic minimal defining sets of a given t-design. The complete list of minimal defining sets of 2-(6, 3, 6) designs, 2-(7, 3, 4) designs, the full 2-(7, 3, 5) design, a 2-(10, 4, 4) design, 2-(10, 5, 4) designs, 2-(13, 3, 1) designs, 2-(15, 3, 1) designs, the 2-(25, 5, 1) design, 3-(8, 4, 2) designs, the 3-(12, 6, 2) design, and 3-(16, 8, 3) designs are given to illustrate the efficiency of the algorithm. Also, corrections to the literature are made for the minimal defining sets of four 2-(7, 3, 3) designs, two 2-(6, 3, 4) designs and the 2-(21, 5, 1) design. Moreover, an infinite class of minimal defining sets for 2-((v) || 3){v\choose3} designs, where v ≥ 5, has been constructed which helped to show that the difference between the sizes of the largest and the smallest minimal defining sets of 2-((v) || 3){v\choose3} designs gets arbitrarily large as v → ∞. Some results in the literature for the smallest defining sets of t-designs have been generalized to all minimal defining sets of these designs. We have also shown that all minimal defining sets of t-(2n, n, λ) designs can be constructed from the minimal defining sets of their restrictions when t is odd and all t-(2n, n, λ) designs are self-complementary. This theorem can be applied to 3-(8, 4, 3) designs, 3-(8, 4, 4) designs and the full 3-(8 || 4)3-{8 \choose 4} design using the previous results on minimal defining sets of their restrictions. Furthermore we proved that when n is even all (n − 1)-(2n, n, λ) designs are self-complementary.     

Efficient quenching of photoluminescence from functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes by nitroaromatic molecules

The photoluminescence from functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes was found to be highly sensitive to the presence of nitroaromatic compounds such as nitrobenzene, 4-nitrotoluene, and 2,4-dinitrotoluene. The strong luminescence quenching in solution was at the upper limit of diffusion-control and also showed significant static quenching contributions. Mechanistic implication of the results and potential applications are discussed.     

Phosphorus–nitrogen compounds. Part VI. Aminolysis of octachlorocyclotetraphosphazatetraene and the crystal structure of 2-trans-6-bis(n-propylamino)-2,4,4,6,8,8-hexakis-tert-butylaminocyclo-2λ, 4λ, 6λ, 8λ-tetraphosphazatetraene

The reactions of 2-trans-6-N₄P₄(NHPrⁿ)₂Cl₆ (2), which was obtained from N₄P₄Cl₈ (1) and n-propylamine, with pyrrolidine and t-butylamine in different solvents have been studied. Compound (2) gave two different products, namely monocyclic (3 and 5) and bicyclic (4 and 6) phosphazenes. Compounds (2–6) have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H-, ¹³C-, ³¹P NMR, HETCOR and MS and the structure of compound (5) has been examined crystallographically. The bicyclic phosphazene (6) is the first exciting example of bicyclic phosphazenes containing chlorine atoms, in the literature. The formation mechanisms of bicyclic phosphazenes are re-considered by taking into account the synthesis of compound (6), which contains three stereogenic phosphorus atoms. Compound (5) crystallizes in the monocyclic space group P2₁/n with a=13.974(2), b=17.836(5), and c=18.683(4) Å, β=98.50(1)°, V=4605.4(2) Å³, Z=4 and D_x=1.051 g cm^−3. It consists of a non-centrosymmetric, non-planar phosphazene ring in a saddle conformation, with two n-propylamino (in 2-trans-6 positions) and six bulky t-butylamino side groups. The bulky substituents are instrumental in determining the molecular geometry.     

Quantum-sized carbon dots for bright and colorful photoluminescence

We report that nanoscale carbon particles (carbon dots) upon simple surface passivation are strongly photoluminescent in both solution and the solid state. The luminescence emission of the carbon dots is stable against photobleaching, and there is no blinking effect. These strongly emissive carbon dots may find applications similar to or beyond those of their widely pursued silicon counterparts.