In situ high-pressure X-ray diffraction study of densification of a molecular chalcogenide glass

Structural mechanisms of densification of a molecular chalcogenide glass of composition Ge_2.5As_51.25S_46.25 have been studied in situ at pressures ranging from 1 atm to 11 GPa at ambient temperature as well as ex situ on a sample quenched from 12 GPa and ambient temperature using high-energy X-ray diffraction. The X-ray structure factors display a reduction in height of the first sharp diffraction peak and a growth of the principal diffraction peak with a concomitant shift to higher Q-values with increasing pressure. At low pressures of at least up to 5 GPa the densification of the structure primarily involves an increase in the packing of the As₄S₃ molecules. At higher pressures the As₄S₃ molecules break up and reconnect to form a high-density network with increased extended-range ordering at the highest pressure of 11 GPa indicating a structural transition. This high-density network structure relaxes only slightly on decompression indicating that the pressure-induced structural changes are quenchable.     

Bromodimethylsulfonium bromide mediated Michael addition of amines to electron deficient alkenes

Bromodimethylsulfonium bromide has been found to be an efficient catalyst for the Michael addition of a wide variety of amines to electron deficient alkenes at room temperature. The protocol is very simple and chemoselective. Aliphatic and benzylic amines undergo conjugate addition within a very short period under solvent-free conditions and provide excellent yields of products.     

Recognition-induced polymersomes: structure and mechanism of formation

Random polystyrene copolymers grafted with complementary recognition elements were combined in chloroform producing vesicular aggregates, that is, recognition-induced polymersomes (RIPs). Reflection interference contrast microscopy (RICM) in solution, coupled with optical microscopy (OM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) on solid substrates, were used to determine the wall thickness of the RIPs. Rather than a conventional mono- or bilayer structure (approximately 10 or approximately 20 nm, respectively) the RIP membrane was 43+/-7 nm thick. Structural arrangement of the polymer chains on the RIP wall were characterized by using angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AR-XPS). The interior portion of the vesicle membrane was found to be more polar, containing more recognition units, than the exterior part. This gradient suggests that a rapid self-sorting of polymers takes place during the formation of RIPs, providing the likely mechanism for vesicle self-assembly.     

Side arm participation in lariat ether carboxylate-alkali metal cation complexes in solution

Lariat ether carboxylic acids of structure CECH₂OCH₂C₆H₄-2-CO₂H with crown ether (CE) ring sizes of 12-crown-4, 15-crown-5 and 18-crown-6 are prepared and converted into alkali metal-lariat ether carboxylate complexes. Absorptions for the diastereotopic benzylic protons in the ¹H NMR spectra of the complexes in CDCl₃ are utilized to probe the extent of side arm interaction with the crown ether-complexed metal ion as a function of the crown ether ring size and identity of the alkali metal cation.     

Adaptive mesh redistribution method for domains with complex boundaries

An adaptive structured mesh redistribution method (ASMRM) that permits smooth transition from non-uniformly distributed boundary points to solution-adaptive interior points and enables the resolution of complex flow in the complex boundary region as well as away from the boundary is proposed. It is a variant of the traditional variational technique. It involves a combination of static and dynamic monitor functions, the former for mesh distribution in the vicinity of a complex boundary and the latter for mesh adaption with the evolving solution elsewhere. Its effectiveness is demonstrated on some example problems, and it is then applied to a chevron nozzle. The proposed method is shown to be capable of generating a mesh with a good balance of orthogonality and smoothness in the entire domain.     

Novel K+-doped Na0.6Mn0.35Fe0.35Co0.3O2 cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries: synthesis,structures, and electrochemical properties

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - A series of novel KxNa0.6-xMn0.35Fe0.35Co0.3O2 (x = 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1) materials were successfully synthesized by the solid-state...     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">bis</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">N,N</Emphasis>-diethylnicotinamide) <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-chlorobenzoate complexes of Ni(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II)

Three novel mixed ligand complexes of Ni(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) with p-chlorobenzote and N,N-diethylnicotinamide were synthesised and characterized on the basis of elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopic analysis, solid state UV-Vis spectrometric and magnetic susceptibility data. The thermal behavior of the complexes was studied by simultaneous TG-DTA methods in static air atmosphere and the mass spectra data were recorded. According to microanalytical results, formulas of complexes are C₃₄H₄₀N₄O₈ClNi, C₃₄H₄₀N₄O₈ClZn and C₃₄H₄₄N₄O₁₀ClCd. The complexes contain two moles of coordination waters, two moles p-chlorobenzoate and two mole N,N-diethylnicotinamide (dena) ligands per formula unit. In these complexes, the p-chlorobenzoate and N,N-diethylnicotinamide behave as monodentate ligand through acidic oxygen and nitrogen of pyridine ring. The decomposition pathways and the stability of the complexes are interpreted in the terms of the structural data. The final decomposition products were found to be as metal oxides.     

Covalent immobilization of invertase on PAMAM-dendrimer modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

In this study, polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer was synthesized on the surface of superparamagnetite nanoparticles to enhance invertase immobilization. The amount of immobilized enzyme on the surface-hyperbranched magnetite nanoparticle was up to 2.5 times (i.e., 250%) as much as that of magnetite nanoparticle modified with only amino silane. Maximum reaction rate (V _max) and Michaelis–Menten constant (K _m) were determined for the free and immobilized enzymes. Various characteristics of immobilized invertase such as; the temperature activity, thermal stability, operational stability, and storage stability were evaluated and results revealed that stability of the enzyme is improved upon immobilization.