Catalyst and solvent-free, ultrasound promoted rapid protocol for the one-pot synthesis of α-aminophosphonates at room temperature

An ultrasound promoted easy, efficient, and environment friendly process has been devised for the synthesis of α-aminophosphonates within seconds through a one-pot three-component condensation of the aldehydes, amines, and triethylphosphite. The desired products were obtained in excellent yields and in high purity under solvent-free and catalyst-free conditions. Study with various aldehydes and amines reveals that ultrasound radiation plays a key role in the direct synthesis of α-aminophosphonates.     

Synthesis of Substituted Pyrimidinones Catalyzed by Boric Acid and Glycerol in Aqueous Medium

An expeditious one-pot synthesis of substituted pyrimidinone derivatives with aromatic aldehydes, cyclopentanone, and urea (or thiourea) was developed with boric acid (10 mol%) and glycerol (0.1 mL) in aqueous medium at 45–50 °C. The methodology is simple, highly efficient, and high yielding. The idea behind this methodology is that boric acid, being a weak acid, behaves as a strong acid in presence of glycerol in aqueous medium.     

Boron trifluoride–etherate in fluorinated alcohols: A powerful promoter system for intramolecular alkyne–aldehyde metathesis of o-(3-arylpropargyloxy)benzaldehydes

Boron trifluoride–etherate (BF₃·OEt₂) in 2,2,2‐trifluoroethanol (TFE) was found to be a highly efficient promoter system for the intramolecular alkyne–aldehyde metathesis of o-(3-arylpropargyloxy)benzaldehydes. The reaction produces the corresponding 3-aroyl-2H-chromenes in excellent yields under metal-free conditions.     

How universal are hydrogen bond correlations? A density functional study of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in low-energy conformers of α-amino acids

Hydrogen bonding is one of the most important and ubiquitous interactions present in Nature. Several studies have attempted to characterise and understand the nature of this very basic interaction. These include both experimental and theoretical investigations of different types of chemical compounds, as well as systems subjected to high pressure. The O–H..O bond is of course the best studied hydrogen bond, and most studies have concentrated on intermolecular hydrogen bonding in solids and liquids. In this paper, we analyse and characterise normal hydrogen bonding of the general type, D–H...A, in intramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions. Using a first-principles density functional theory approach, we investigate low energy conformers of the twenty α-amino acids. Within these conformers, several different types of intramolecular hydrogen bonds are identified. The hydrogen bond within a given conformer occurs between two molecular groups, either both within the backbone itself, or one in the backbone and one in the side chain. In a few conformers, more than one (type of) hydrogen bond is seen to occur.

Interestingly, the strength of the hydrogen bonds in the amino acids spans quite a large range, from weak to strong. The signature of hydrogen bonding in these molecules, as reflected in their theoretical vibrational spectra, is analysed. With the new first-principles data from 51 hydrogen bonds, various parameters relating to the hydrogen bond, such as hydrogen bond length, hydrogen bond angle, bond length and vibrational frequencies are studied. Interestingly, the correlation between these parameters in these bonds is found to be in consonance with those obtained in earlier experimental studies of normal hydrogen bonds on vastly different systems. Our study provides some of the most detailed first-principles support, and the first involving vibrational frequencies, for the universality of hydrogen bond correlations in materials.     

The role of thiophosphoryl disulfide on the co‐cure of CR‐EPDM blends

Bis(diisopropyl)thiophosphoryl disulfide (DIPDIS) has been used as a coupling cum curing agent for the compatibilization of blends of ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM) with chloroprene rubber (CR). Electrical and mechanical properties of the blend vulcanizates have been studied to find the efficiency of the vulcanizing cum coupling activity of DIPDIS. The study reveals that CR in the presence of DIPDIS greatly improves the physical properties of EPDM. It is noted that the physical properties of the vulcanizates obtained from CR‐EPDM blend depend upon CR:EPDM ratio. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study reveals that it is possible to form a coherent blend of CR and EPDM in the presence of DIPDIS. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The design of a radio frequency quadrupole LINAC for the RIB project at VECC Kolkata

A radio frequency quadrupole LINAC has been designed for the VECC-RIB project for an input beam energy of 1.0 keV/u and q/A≥1/16. The output energy will be about 90 keV/u for a 3.4 m long, 35 MHz structure. A half-scale cold model of the RFQ has been fabricated and tested for rf structure design study. The beam dynamics and rf-structure design along with the results of the cold model tests will be presented.     

Core–shell functionalized MWCNT/poly(m‐aminophenol) nanocomposite with large dielectric permittivity and low dielectric loss

Core–shell carboxyl‐functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube (c‐MWCNT)/poly(m‐aminophenol) (PmAP) nanocomposite were prepared through in‐situ polymerization of m‐aminophenol (m‐AP) in the presence of MWCNTs, and explicated as a dielectric material for electronic applications. The formation of thin PmAP layer on individual c‐MWCNT with excellent molecular level interactions at interfaces was confirmed by morphological and spectroscopic analyses. Here we conducted a comparative study of the dielectric performances of PmAP based nanocomposite films with pristine MWCNTs and c‐MWCNTs as fillers. Compared to PmAP/MWCNT nanocomposites, the PmAP/c‐MWCNT nanocomposites exhibited higher dielectric permittivity and lower dielectric loss. The well dispersed c‐MWCNTs in PmAP/c‐MWCNT nanocomposite produce huge interfacial area together with numerous active polarized centers (crystallographic defects), which in turn intensified the Maxwell‐Wagner‐Sillars (MWS) effect based on excellent molecular level interactions and thus, produce large dielectric permittivity (8810 at 1 kHz). The percolation threshold of PmAP/c‐MWCNT nanocomposites is found lower than that of the PmAP/MWCNT nanocomposites, which could be attributed to homogeneous distribution of c‐MWCNTs and strong c‐MWCNT//PmAP interfacial interactions in the nanocomposites. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stepwise hydration of phosphate anion: A microscopic theory connecting domain of instability and stability

Present theoretical calculations predict that the phosphate–water clusters, are unstable due to spontaneous electron loss. Microscopic theory‐based expression is applied to extract vertical detachment energies for the larger clusters (n > 8) including the bulk (n = ∞). We do observe an excellent agreement (within 5.1%) between theory and experiment for the bulk detachment energy. It is observed that at least 14 water molecules are essential to stabilize the phosphate anion against spontaneous electron loss. Present theoretical investigations can provide information about the domain of stability (experimentally accessible region) from the knowledge of the domain of instability (experimentally inaccessible region). Bulk solvation energy of phosphate anion is also calculated from the microscopic theory‐based expression. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.