Functional Properties and Molecular Degradation of Schizostachyum Brachycladum Bamboo Cellulose Nanofibre in PLA-Chitosan Bionanocomposites

The degradation and mechanical properties of potential polymeric materials used for green manufacturing are significant determinants. In this study, cellulose nanofibre was prepared from Schizostachyum brachycladum bamboo and used as reinforcement in the PLA/chitosan matrix using melt extrusion and compression moulding method. The cellulose nanofibre(CNF) was isolated using supercritical carbon dioxide and high-pressure homogenisation. The isolated CNF was characterised with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), FT-IR, zeta potential and particle size analysis. The mechanical, physical, and degradation properties of the resulting biocomposite were studied with moisture content, density, thickness swelling, tensile, flexural, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, and biodegradability analysis. The TEM, FT-IR, and particle size results showed successful isolation of cellulose nanofibre using this method. The result showed that the physical, mechanical, and degradation properties of PLA/chitosan/CNF biocomposite were significantly enhanced with cellulose nanofibre. The density, thickness swelling, and moisture content increased with the addition of CNF. Also, tensile strength and modulus; flexural strength and modulus increased; while the elongation reduced. The carbon residue from the thermal degradation and the glass transition temperature of the PLA/chitosan/CNF biocomposite was observed to increase with the addition of CNF. The result showed that the biocomposite has potential for green and sustainable industrial application.     

Numerical analysis of dual variable of conductivity in bioconvection flow of Carreau–Yasuda nanofluid containing gyrotactic motile microorganisms over a porous medium

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The increasing need of the modern era of technology for better ways to increase the heat transfer performance of thermal systems has made nanoliquids...     

Organocatalytic Stereoselective Iodoamination of Alkenes

A new chiral thiohydantoin catalyst is used for the stereoselective iodoamination of alkenes. N‐iodosuccinimide as the source of the electrophilic iodine is activated by catalytic amounts of different additives which also influence the regioselectivity of some cyclizations.     

A Gas Chromatography-Molecular Rotational Resonance Spectroscopy Based System of Singular Specificity

We designed and demonstrated the unique abilities of the first gas chromatography–molecular rotational resonance spectrometer (GC-MRR). While broadly and routinely applicable, its capabilities can exceed those of high-resolution MS and NMR spectroscopy in terms of selectivity, resolution, and compound identification. A series of 24 isotopologues and isotopomers of five organic compounds are separated, identified, and quantified in a single run. Natural isotopic abundances of mixtures of compounds containing chlorine, bromine, and sulfur heteroatoms are easily determined. MRR detection provides the added high specificity for these selective gas-phase separations. GC-MRR is shown to be ideal for compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA). Different bacterial cultures and groundwater were shown to have contrasting isotopic selectivities for common organic compounds. The ease of such GC-MRR measurements may initiate a new era in biosynthetic/degradation and geochemical isotopic compound studies.     

Study of the interfacial charge transfer in bismuth vanadate/reduce graphene oxide (BiVO4/rGO) composite and evaluation of its photocatalytic activity

Research on Chemical Intermediates - We prepared unique BiVO4/reduce graphene oxide (BiVO4/rGO) nanocomposite with enhanced photocatalytic ability by hydrothermal method applying...     

Wavelet transforms in separation science for denoising and peak overlap detection

Wavelet transform is a versatile time‐frequency analysis technique, which allows localization of useful signals in time or space and separates them from noise. The detector output from any analytical instrument is mathematically equivalent to a digital image. Signals obtained in chemical separations that vary in time (e.g., high‐performance liquid chromatography) or space (e.g., planar chromatography) are amenable to wavelet analysis. This article gives an overview of wavelet analysis, and graphically explains all the relevant concepts. Continuous wavelet transform and discrete wavelet transform concepts are pictorially explained along with their chromatographic applications. An example is shown for qualitative peak overlap detection in a noisy chromatogram using continuous wavelet transform. The concept of signal decomposition, denoising, and then signal reconstruction is graphically discussed for discrete wavelet transform. All the digital filters in chromatographic instruments used today potentially broaden and distort narrow peaks. Finally, a low signal‐to‐noise ratio chromatogram is denoised using the procedure. Significant gains (>tenfold) in signal‐to‐noise ratio are shown with wavelet analysis. Peaks that were not initially visible were recovered with good accuracy. Since discrete wavelet transform denoising analysis applies to any detector used in separation science, researchers should strongly consider using wavelets for their research.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Polyesters Based on Diethylketone Moiety

A new class of unsaturated polyesters based on diethylketone have been prepared by interfacial polymerization of 2,4-bis（4-hydroxybenzylidene）-3-pentanone（I） and 2,4-bis（4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene）-3-pentanone（II） with 4,4’-azodibenzoyl chloride and 3,3’-azodibenzoyl chloride at ambient temperature. The model compounds were synthesized by reaction of（I） and（II） with benzoyl chloride. The new monomers, model compounds and polyesters have been characterized by different spectral analyses. The polyesters have inherent viscosity of 0.55-0.80 d L/g and moderate number average molecular weight（Mn） in the range of 6150-7400 g/mol. Most of the compounds exhibited their solubility in aprotic solvents while partial solubility in various halogenated organic solvents was observed. The temperatures of 10% weight loss were high（225-330 °C） in nitrogen, indicating that these polyesters have excellent thermal stability. Doping with iodine dramatically raised the conductivity and produced brown colored semiconductive polymers with a maximum conductivity of 2.7 × 10-6 --1cm-1. Moreover, the morphological properties of selected example of polyesters were detected by SEM.     

Magnetic,Electrical and Thermal Studies of Polypyrrole-Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> Nanocomposites

This research paper comprises of the synthesis of polypyrrole (PPy)-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites by employing the in situ chemical oxidative polymerization method. The concentration of the filler material was adjusted between 10–50 wt % of PPy. The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Magnetic analysis and DC electrical conductivity of the samples were carried out using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and two probe DC conductivity method, point towards magnetically active and electrically conductive samples. The magnetic parameters under applied magnetic field demonstrated that the values of coercivity (H _c ), saturation magnetization (M _s ) and remanence (M _r ) can be tailored by carefully controlling the amount of dopant material into the nanocomposites indicating their suitability for controllable switching devices and microwave absorption applications. The DC electrical conductivity showed an increase up to 20 wt % of filler material and thereafter a decrease in the conductivity of nanocomposites with increase in filler content is observed. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed an increase in thermal stability with an increase in ferrite content in nanocomposites.