Disordered bcc γ-phase to δ-phase transformation in Zr-rich U-Zr alloy

The transformation mechanism of hexagonal delta phase from the disordered bcc gamma phase has not been reported before in the Zr-rich U–Zr alloy system. With the help of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM analyses it was shown that the gamma to delta conversion takes place by the lattice collapse mechanism of omega transformation. It was also ascertained that a higher aging temperature or time promotes the growth of all four variants of the delta phase within a parent gamma grain. In addition, ab initio electronic structure calculations showed that the bcc to hexagonal transformation, involving partial ordering of the parent bcc phase followed by (111) plane collapse, is energetically favorable.     

A Garratt-Braverman cyclization route towards the synthesis of phenanthridine derivatives and their DNA-binding studies

Garratt-Braverman cyclization has been employed to synthesize a series of dihydroisofuran fused phenanthridine derivatives. The established protocol proposes a simpler synthetic alternative to have access to these therapeutically relevant cytotoxic scaffolds. Single crystal X-ray data unambiguously confirmed the structures of the synthesized phenanthridine derivatives. UV–Vis absorption titration with calf-thymus DNA followed by fluorescence-based competitive ethidium bromide displacement assay established the synthesized target compounds as potent DNA-intercalating agents with intrinsic binding constant of the range 10³-10⁵. Results obtained from the molecular docking further justified the spectroscopically obtained results.     

Thermal behaviour and the cone calorimetric analysis of the jute fabric treated in different pH condition

In this paper, the effect of pH, i.e. acid and alkali was investigated on thermal stability of ligno-cellulosic polymeric fibrous (jute) material. The jute fabric was subjected to treatment under different pH, namely 4.5, 7, 10, 12, i.e. in acidic, neutral and alkaline conditions followed by drying prior to any thermal and physical characterization. The improvement in the thermal stability of jute to flame was measured in terms of limiting oxygen index value, vertical flammability and temperature profile of burning zone. Likewise thermo-gravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry and cone calorimeter analysis were also used to elucidate the improvement in thermal stability of the treated fabric. The changes in heat release rate, mass loss rate, heat of combustion, smoke production, etc., in the untreated and treated sample were measured in detail in cone calorimeter. Only the alkali-treated jute fabric samples showed profound improvement in thermal stability.

     

Identification of Amino Acids with Modified Ninhydrin Reagents on Thin-Layer Chromatography Plates

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - The four new spray reagents (Benzoic acid and some of its parahaloderivatives) have been introduced. These reagents enable...     

Photosensitization of multiwalled carbon nanotube scaffolds with ZnO quantum dots for photovoltaic applications

In this article, we have decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) scaffold with ZnO quantum dots (QDs, size in the range of 2.9–4.5 nm) and investigated their prospects for photovoltaic applications. ZnO QDs, in the present study, work as photosensitizer instead of electron transporting media as used in recent conventional strategic solar cells. ZnO QDs/MWCNTs composite shows an increased visible absorbance and quenching of the broad visible emission at around ~560 nm, while only ZnO QDs exhibit a strong visible emission. An efficient electron–hole separation facilitates an increase in the short-circuit current. These results show a possibility of developing a nontoxic, ZnO QDs sensitized MWCNTs composite-based photovoltaic solar cell.