Concomitant synthesis of highly crystalline Zn-Al layered double hydroxide and ZnO: phase interconversion and enhanced photocatalytic activity

Metal oxide/hydroxide with hierarchical nanostructures has emerged as one of the most promising materials for their unique, attractive properties and feasibility of applications in various fields. In this report, a concomitant synthesis of crystalline zinc aluminum layered double hydroxide (ZnAl-LDH) nanostructure and ZnO is presented using Al substrate as template. Studies on interconversion of ZnO to LDH phase in bulk solution under hydrothermal conditions produced Al-doped ZnO (AZO) in one case, and in other, it improves the crystallinity of LDH film templated on Al substrate. In presence of Al salt, the self-limiting growth nature of plate LDH turned to non-self-limiting. Materials obtained during phase transition, AZO in bulk solution and crystalline porous ZnAl-LDH on substrate, have been demonstrated as effective photocatalysts for decomposition of congo red in aqueous medium.     

Effect of pullulan/poly(vinyl alcohol) blend system on the montmorillonite structure with property characterization of electrospun pullulan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/montmorillonite nanofibers

Nanofibers of the composite of pullulan (PULL), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and montmorillonite clay (MMT) were prepared using electrospinning method in aqueous solutions. Pullulan is an interesting natural polymer for many of its merits and good properties. Because of biocompatibility and non-toxicity of PVA, it could be used in numerous fields. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were done to characterize the PULL/PVA/MMT nanofibers morphology and properties. XRD patterns and FTIR data demonstrated that there were good interactions between PULL and PVA caused by possibly hydrogen bonds. Moreover, XRD data and TEM images indicated that intercalated and exfoliated MMT nanoplatelets can be obtained within the PULL/PVA/MMT nanofibers depending on the PULL/PVA blend ratios. Furthermore, the thermal stability and mechanical property (tensile strength) of PULL/PVA/MMT nanofibers could be enhanced more by exfoliated MMT nanoplatelets than intercalated structures of that nanoplatelets.     

Diorganotin(IV) complexes of polyaromatic azo‐azomethine ligand derived from salicylaldehyde and ortho‐aminophenol: Synthesis,characterization, and molecular structures

The diorganotin(IV) complexes of methyl 2‐{4‐hydroxy‐3‐[(2‐hydroxy‐phenylimino)‐methyl]‐phenylazo}‐benzoate (H2L) were obtained by the reaction of ortho‐aminophenol, R₂SnO (R = Me, ⁿBu, or Ph) and methyl 2‐[(E)‐(3‐formyl‐4‐hydroxy)diazenyl]benzoate (H2PL²) in ethanol, which led to diorganotin(IV) compounds of composition [Me₂SnL]₂ ( 1 ), ⁿBu₂SnL ( 2 ), and Ph₂SnL ( 3 ) in good yield. The ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹¹⁹Sn NMR, IR, the mass spectrometry along with elemental analyses allowed establishing the structure of ligand (H2L) and compounds 1–3 . In all the three cases, ¹¹⁹Sn chemical shifts are indicators of five‐coordinated Sn atoms in a solution state. The crystal structures of ligand H2L and complexes 1 and 2 were determined by a single crystal X‐ray diffraction study. In the solid state, the ligand H2L exists as a keto‐enamine tautomeric form. The molecular structure of complex 1 in the solid state shows a distorted octahedral geometry around a tin atom due to additional coordination with an oxygen atom from a neighboring molecule leading to a four‐membered ring with Sn‐O···Sn‐O intermolecular coordination, leading to a dimeric species. On the other hand, complex 2 is a monomer with trigonal bipyramidal geometry surrounding the tin atom. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 23:457–465, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.21037     

A standardless approach of INAA for grouping study of ancient potteries

The k ₀ based internal monostandard neutron activation analysis was used to analyze 41 ancient pottery samples from three major locations of Andhra Pradesh state, India, belonging to two different age groups namely Megalithic and Buddhist periods. Samples were irradiated with neutron flux obtained from CIRUS reactor and radioactive assay was carried out using a 40% relative efficiency HPGe detector coupled to 8?k MCA. Concentration ratios of 21 elements were calculated with respect to internal monostandard Sc. Absolute concentrations for six (three each from both Megalithic and Buddhist periods) representative samples along with a modern pottery were obtained for comparison. Elemental concentration ratios with respect to Sc were used for grouping of these archaeological samples. Preliminary grouping of these artifacts was done using La/Ce values, and the grouping was confirmed by statistical cluster analysis using eleven selected trace elements. The IAEA RM SL-3 sample was analysed for validation of the method, where in both concentration ratios and absolute concentrations were calculated.     

Synthesis and characterization of red-oil from tri <Emphasis Type="Italic">iso</Emphasis>-amyl phosphate/<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-dodecane/nitric acid mixtures at elevated temperature

Red-oil is a mixture of nonspecific composition consisting of extractant, degradation products, nitrated solvent and unidentified red-coloured nitro-organics. Red-oil formation is coupled with decomposition of extractant and diluent into gases of explosive nature. If ignited or incinerated, these gases may cause rapid pressurization and endanger the integrity of containment. Such an event occurred at Tomsk-7 facility in 1993. To ensure safe operation, red-oil formation has to be avoided in the fuel cycle facilities by a careful combination of several independent measures like strict control over temperature, limiting organic entrainment in the aqueous streams (which are to be concentrated by evaporation) and control over acidity of aqueous phases. Since tri-iso amyl phosphate (TiAP) has much lower aqueous solubility as compared to TBP, it is visualized as alternate solvent for PUREX process. In this work, TiAP red-oil was synthesized and characterized.     

Time dependent stretching of aging dynamics in a generalized hydrodynamic model for supercooled liquids

The nonequilibrium dynamics and aging behavior of a supercooled liquid is investigated from an analysis of the correlation of density fluctuations at two different times. The dynamic correlation functions are computed by solving numerically the equations of nonlinear fluctuating hydrodynamics. The aging time dependence follows a modified stretched exponential form with a relaxation time which is dependent on the aging time. This is similar to the behavior seen in the aging data of dielectric response functions of a typical glass forming liquid.     

The adiabatic‐to‐diabatic transformation angle and the berry phase for coupled jahn–teller/renner–teller systems: The F + H2 as a case study

The approach to calculate improved, two‐state, adiabatic‐to‐diabatic transformation angles (also known as mixing angles), presented before (see Das et al., J Chem Phys 2010, 133, 084107), was used here while studying the F + H₂ system. However, this study is characterized by two new features: (a) it is the first of its kind in which is studied the interplay between Renner–Teller (RT) and Jahn–Teller (JT) nonadiabatic coupling terms (NACT); (b) it is the first of its kind in which is reported the effect of an upper singular RT‐NACT on a lower two‐state (JT) mixing angle. The fact that the upper NACT is singular (it is shown to be a quasi‐Dirac δ‐function) enables a semi‐analytical solution for this perturbed mixing angle. The present treatment, performed for the F + H₂ system, revealed the existence of a novel parameter, η, the Jahn–Renner coupling parameter (JRCP), which yields, in an unambiguous way, the right intensity of the RT coupling (as resembled, in this case, by the quasi‐Dirac δ‐function) responsible for the fact that the final end‐of‐the contour angle (identified with the Berry phase) is properly quantized. This study implies that the numerical value of this parameter is a pure number (independent of the molecular system): η = $ 2\sqrt 2 /\pi $ (= 0.9003) and that there is a good possibility that this value is a novel characteristic molecular constant for a certain class of tri‐atomic systems. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

The adiabatic‐to‐diabatic transformation angle and topological phases for strongly interacting states: Solution with four states

A few years back T. Vértesi et al. (J Phys Chem A 2005, 109, 3476) gave an elegant procedure to derive the adiabatic‐to‐diabatic transformation angle (ADT‐angle) for lowest two states, γ₁₂, in presence of their interaction with the higher states. In this article, we explicitly solved the coupled differential equations involving the ADT‐angles describing the mixing of four interacting states for the first time to get all the ADT‐angles, γ_ij's (including the γ₁₂) associated with well‐defined topological phases. In application to a suitable configuration space (CS) of a molecular system, we have demonstrated well‐defined Berry phases (Berry M. V., R Soc London Ser A 1984, 45, 392) for an isolated system with as many as four strongly interacting states. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reversible Solvatomagnetic Effect in Novel Tetranuclear Cubane-Type Ni(4) Complexes and Magnetostructural Correlations for the [Ni(4)(μ(3)-O)(4)] Core

A new family of tetranuclear nickel cube complexes [Ni(4)L(4)(solv)(4)] (1, solv = MeOH; 2, solv = H(2)O; H(2)L = pyrazole-based tridentate {ONO} ligand) has been studied in detail, in particular by X-ray diffraction and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. Different solvates 1·H(2)O, 2·4C(3)H(6)O, 2·CH(2)Cl(2), and 2·H(2)O were obtained in crystalline form. Only small structural variations were found for the Ni-O-Ni angles of the [Ni(4)O(4)] cores of those compounds, but these slight variations have dramatic consequences for the magnetic properties. [Ni(4)L(4)(MeOH)(4)]·H(2)O (1·H(2)O) and [Ni(4)L(4)(H(2)O)(4)]·H(2)O (2·H(2)O) can be reversibly interconverted in the solid state by exposure to the respective solvent, MeOH or H(2)O, and this goes along with a switching of the spin ground state from magnetic (S(T) = 4) to diamagnetic (S(T) = 0). Likewise the (irreversible) loss of lattice solvent in [Ni(4)L(4)(H(2)O)(4)]·4C(3)H(6)O (2·4C(3)H(6)O) to give 2·2C(3)H(6)O changes the ground state from S(T) = 4 to S(T) = 0. In view of these dramatic solvatomagnetic effects for the present [Ni(4)L(4)(solv)(4)] complexes, which occur upon extrusion of lattice solvent or facile exchange of coordinated solvent molecules while keeping the robust [Ni(4)O(4)] core intact, a note of care is issued: whenever magnetic data are obtained for powdered material or for crystals that easily loose lattice solvent molecules, the magnetic properties may not necessarily reflect the situation observed in the corresponding single crystal diffraction study. Finally, a thorough analysis of the present series of complexes as well as other {Ni(4)(μ(3)-OR)(4)} cubes reported in the literature confirms that a correlation between the (Ni-O-Ni)(av) bond angle and J in [Ni(4)O(4)] cubane complexes does indeed exist.