Nanoporous morphology of alumina films prepared by sol–gel dip coating method on alumina substrate

Nanoporous crack free alumina thin films were fabricated in two phases gamma (??) and alpha (??) by sol?Cgel dip coating method. The thickness of the mesoporous films was increased with binder by varying its concentration, and with increasing the number of coating. The porosity, pore size, surface area and phase were controlled by sintering temperature. Interconnected pore structure of 8?C15?nm diameter were successfully prepared by repeating the deposition several times. FESEM, BET, AFM and XRD techniques were employed for the microstructural characterization.     

Design and characterization of a modified WDM ring network – An analytical approach

The present paper proposes the design of a modified ring network topology with a significant improvement in average delay and blocking probability over the simple ring network. The backbone ring network is modified by connecting the alternate nodes in regions identified statistically as of high traffic density. A mathematical model for the proposed modified network has been developed to investigate the blocking probability and average delay as the data traverses from source to destination. The analysis reports an improvement in the average delay performance with the inception of call priority at the processing node and thus provides a scope to implement the given grade of service.     

Spectrally Efficient 3D Optical CDMA Using Coherent Spatial Phase–Time Coding/Decoding

We demonstrate a WDM compatible optical CDMA system incorporating 3D spectral phase–time encoding/decoding. We provide coding and decoding using binary [0, π] phase chips for six users at 6 Gb/s, with a single coded signal separated with an acceptable bit-error rate ≤10 ^?9. The coding and decoding method is based on 3D coding of tightly spaced phase-locked laser lines that is compatible with conventional WDM networking. In optical CDMA systems, we propose to provide encoding and decoding done by converting Hadamard codes (used for conventional CDMA system) to the phase codes. We report that duo-binary modulation format is the best with adequate bandwidth compression. We confirm that better simulation results are reached in terms of the Q factor and bit error rate.     

The dynamics of unfolded versus folded tRNA: the role of electrostatic interactions

The dynamics of RNA contributes to its biological functions such as ligand recognition and catalysis. Using quasielastic neutron scattering spectroscopy, we show that Mg(2+) greatly increases the picosecond to nanosecond dynamics of hydrated tRNA while stabilizing its folded structure. Analyses of the atomic mean-squared displacement, relaxation time, persistence length, and fraction of mobile atoms showed that unfolded tRNA is more rigid than folded tRNA. This same result was found for a sulfonated polystyrene, indicating that the increased dynamics in Mg(2+) arises from improved charge screening of the polyelectrolyte rather than specific interactions with the folded tRNA. These results are opposite to the relationship between structural compactness and internal dynamics for proteins in which the folded state is more rigid than the denatured state. We conclude that RNA dynamics are strongly influenced by the electrostatic environment, in addition to the motions of local waters.     

Sorption of plutonium from low level liquid waste using nano MnO2

Nano-crystalline MnO₂ has been synthesized by the method of alcoholic hydrolysis of KMnO₄ and its potential as a sorbent for plutonium present in the low level liquid waste (LLW) solutions was investigated. The kinetic studies on the sorption of Pu by MnO₂ reveal the attainment of equilibrium sorption in 15 h, however 90 % of sorption could be achieved within an hour. In the studies on optimization of the solution conditions for sorption, it was observed that the sorption increases with the pH of the aqueous solution, attains the maximum value of 100 % at pH = 3 and remains constant thereafter. The sorption was found to be nearly independent of the ionic strength (0.01–1.0 M) of the aqueous solutions maintained using NaClO₄, indicating the inner sphere complexation between the Pu⁴⁺ ions and the surface sites on MnO₂. Interference studies with different fission products, viz., Cs⁺, Sr²⁺ and Nd³⁺, revealed decrease in the percentage sorption with increasing pH of the suspension indicating the competition between the metal ions. However, at the metal ion concentrations prevalent in the low level liquid waste solutions, the decrease in the Pu sorption was only marginally decreased to 90 % at pH = 3, the decrease being more in the case of Nd³⁺ than that in the case of Cs⁺. This study, therefore, shows nano-crystalline MnO₂ can be used as a sorbent for separation of Pu from LLW solutions.     

Synthesis,Structural, and Antibacterial Studies of Some Transition Metal Complexes Derived from Thiosemicarbazone and Semicarbazone

A series of metal complexes of Pd(II), Pt(II), Rh(III), Ir(III), and Ru(III) with thiosemicarbazone and semicarbazone of 2-acetyl thiophene have been synthesized. Their structures were determined on the basis of elemental analyses; molar conductance; magnetic susceptibility measurements; and IR, ¹ H NMR, and electronic spectral studies. On the basis of molar conductance, the complexes may be formulated as [M(L)₂]Cl₂ and [M′(L)₂Cl₂]Cl [where M = Pd(II), Pt(II) and M′ = Rh(III), Ir(III), and Ru(III)] due to their 1:2 and 1:1 electrolytic nature. On the basis of IR, ¹ West, D. X., Liberta, A. E., Padhye, S. B., Chikate, R. C., Sonawane, P. B. V., Kumbhar, A. S. and Yerande, R. G. 1993. Coord. Chem. Rev., 123: 49[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]H NMR, and electronic spectral studies, an octahedral geometry has been assigned for Rh(III), Ir(III), and Ru(III), while square planar geometry has been assigned for the Pd(II) and Pt(II) complexes. The synthesized ligands and their complexes have been screened for bactericidal activity against several bacterial species (i.e., B. macerans, A. aureus, E. coli), and it is shown that the metal complexes act as more active antimicrobial agents than the uncomplexed ligands from which they derive.     

One-pot synthesis of CuInS2 and CuInS2/MS (M=Cd,Zn) core–shell luminescent nanocrystals: a low-temperature and low-cost approach

The single-pot synthesis of highly crystalline and fluorescent chalcopyrite CuInS₂ (CIS) colloidal nanoparticles has been reported by thermal decomposition of metal ethyl xanthate (at ~110 °C) for the first time. The fluorescence emission wavelength can also be readily tuned from the UV to the visible region by merely prolonging the reaction time, as the PL emission may be varied from 550 to 675 nm. The synthesized CIS is subjected to postdeposition treatment with CdS/ZnS in one pot route using cadmium/zinc xanthate at low temperature (~80 °C) to improve the quantum yield of core–shell (CIS/CdS or ZnS) nanocrystallites as compared to CIS core. The stability of core–shell particularly CIS/ZnS system upon continuous laser exposure suggests the formation of surface bonds with superior mechanical stability. This low-cost synthesis of such nontoxic QDs using green chemical routes is a promising approach for the fabrication of optoelectronic and biosensing devices. Graphical Abstract

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Concomitant degradation of bisphenol A during ultrasonication and Fenton oxidation and production of biofertilizer from wastewater sludge

Degradation of bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor, from wastewater sludge (WWS) has attracted great interest recently. In the present study, the effects of different pre-treatment methods, including ultrasonication (US), Fenton's oxidation (FO) and ferro-sonication (FS) was assessed in terms of increase in solubilization of WWS and simultaneous degradation of BPA. Among US, FO and FS pre-treatment, higher suspended solids (SS), volatile suspended solids (VSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and soluble organic carbon (SOC) solubilization (39.7%, 51.2%, 64.5% and 17.6%, respectively) was observed during a ferro-sonication pre-treatment process carried out for 180 min, resulting in higher degradation of BPA (82.7%). In addition, the effect of rheological parameters (viscosity and particle size) and zeta potential on the degradation of BPA in raw and different pre-treated sludges were also investigated. The results showed that a decrease in viscosity and particle size and an increase in zeta potential resulted in higher degradation of BPA. BPA degradation by laccases produced by Sinorhizobium meliloti in raw and pre-treated sludge was also determined. Higher activity of laccases (207.9 U L(-1)) was observed in ferro-sonicated pre-treated sludge (180 min ultrasonic time), resulting in higher removal of BPA (0.083 μg g(-1)), suggesting concomitant biological degradation of BPA.     

Performance studies of compact GGAG:Ce,B thermal neutron detector coupled to Si-based photosensors

Pramana - This work concerns the modelling of the dynamics of polarisation of a centrosymmetric material subjected to an amplitude-modulated excitation (AME). The dynamic equation obtained for the...     

Rigid Nanoporous Urea-Based Covalent Triazine Frameworks for C2/C1 and CO2/CH4 Gas Separation

C2/C1 hydrocarbon separation is an important industrial process that relies on energy-intensive cryogenic distillation methods. The use of porous adsorbents to selectively separate these gases is a viable alternative. Highly stable covalent triazine frameworks (urea-CTFs) have been synthesized using 1,3-bis(4-cyanophenyl)urea. Urea-CTFs exhibited gas uptakes of C₂H₂ (3.86 mmol/g) and C₂H₄ (2.92 mmol/g) at 273 K and 1 bar and is selective over CH₄. Breakthrough simulations show the potential of urea-CTFs for C2/C1 separation.