Destructive effect of solar light on morphology of colloidal silver nanocubes

Colloidal silver nanocubes (NCs) were successfully synthesized by reduction of silver nitrate with ethylene glycol and polyvinylpyrrolidon as capping agent. The effect of solar light irradiation on the formation and morphology of silver NCs was investigated. Moreover, altering the amount of sodium sulfide was used to control the morphology and shape of primary silver seeds. Scanning electron microscopy, transmitting electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to characterize silver NCs. The samples prepared under the solar light irradiation do not possess cubic shape while highly monodispersed silver NCs were obtained in dark room conditions. For dark room synthesis, a decrease of the amount of Na₂S by only 10 μL resulted in formation of mixture of silver nanospheres and nanowires in addition to NCs instead of the monodispersed silver NCs. However, similar increase of the amount of sodium sulfide results in distortion of cubic geometry of particles. The results suggest that solar light has a negative effect on the shape evolution of the primary silver seeds.     

Synthesis,characterization, and catalytic activity of supported molybdenum Schiff base complex as a magnetically recoverable nanocatalyst in epoxidation reaction

A heterogeneous nanocatalyst was prepared via covalent anchoring of dioxomolybdenum(VI) Schiff base complex on core–shell structured Fe₃O₄@SiO₂. The properties and the nature of the surface-fixed complex have been identified by a series of characterization techniques such as SEM, EDX, XRD, TGA, FT-IR, and VSM. The synthesized hybrid material was an efficient nanocatalyst for selective oxidation of olefins to corresponding epoxides with t-BuOOH in high yields and selectivity. The catalyst could be conveniently recovered by applying an external magnetic field and reused several times without significant loss of efficiency.     

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of Schiff bases of 5-substituted isatins

Based on the existing reports on the bioactive isatin derivatives, a number of Schiff bases were synthesized by reacting 5-substituted isatins with bioactive amines/hydrazides and their structures were confirmed using spectroscopic methods such as NMR, IR and mass spectrometry. Furthermore, Nbenzylation of isatin followed by the Schiff base formation furnished a new series of compounds(11a–13c) which allowed the analysis of the effect of isatin N-substitution on the bioactivity of the resulting compounds. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized derivatives was evaluated using a microtiter plate method on a series of gram positive and gram negative bacterial strains. Compounds 2d, 3b, 5c and 6a were among the most potent derivatives against Pseudomonas aeruginosa(MIC = 6.25 μg/m L).Analysis of the structure–activity relationship showed that the incorporation of(thio)urea-based Schiff bases lead to more potent derivatives with a broader spectrum of antibacterial activity. In addition,highly lipophilic compounds such as 11a–12c did not show any measurable antibacterial activity, which implies that an optimal lipophilicity might be an important requirement for the antibacterial activity of the studied isatins. Finally, the finding that hydantoin derivatives of N-benzylisatins(13a–13c) still exhibit some antibacterial activity prompted us to consider exploring the bioactivity of more diverse derivatives of isatin-aminohydantoin Schiff bases(compounds 1a–1d) in our future studies.     

Smectic A mesophases from luminescent sandic platinum(II) mesogens

Square planar platinum(II) thienyl pyridyl complexes with board-shaped structures assemble into lamellar (SmA) liquid crystal phases at elevated temperatures. Liquid crystals of this type are expected to have stronger biaxial correlations than typical calamitic mesogens. The mesophase stability improves with decreasing alkyl chain lengths with C₈H₁₇ having the widest range of stability. All complexes are luminescent in solution.     

Simultaneous preconcentration and determination of malachite green and fuchsine dyes in seafood and environmental water samples using nano-alumina-based molecular imprinted polymer solid-phase extraction

Molecular imprinted polymer for determination of malachite green (MG) and fuchsine basic (FU) dyes by spectrophotometry has been used, to develop a novel simultaneous extraction and preconcentration method. Molecularly imprinted layer-coated nano-alumina (MIP@Nano-Al₂O₃) as adsorbent was prepared by surface molecular imprinting technique, and characterised by FTIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The method is based on simultaneous extraction of MG and FU dyes from aqueous solution by using molecularly imprinted polymer and measuring the absorbance at 617 and 546 nm for MG and FU, respectively. Parameters which affect the extraction efficiency such as pH, volume of eluent and amount of adsorbent were investigated and optimised. Linear calibration curves were obtained in the range of 2–750 ng mL^?1 for MG and 1–240 ng mL^?1 for FU under optimum conditions. Detection limit based on three times the standard deviation of the blank (3S_b) was 0.655 and 0.245 ng mL^?1 (n = 10) for MG and FU, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for 100 ng mL^?1 of MG and FU was 2.35 and 3.06% (n = 7), respectively. The method was applied to the simultaneous determination of the dyes in different seafood and environmental water samples.     

The convergence and stability analysis of the Jacobi collocation method for solving nonlinear fractional differential equations with integral boundary conditions

In this paper, we apply the Jacobi collocation method for solving nonlinear fractional differential equations with integral boundary conditions. Due to existence of integral boundary conditions, after reformulation of this equation in the integral form, the method is proposed for solving the obtained integral equation. Also, the convergence and stability analysis of the proposed method are studied in two main theorems. Furthermore, the optimum degree of convergence in the L₂ norm is obtained for this method. Furthermore, some numerical examples are presented in order to illustrate the performance of the presented method. Finally, an application of the model in control theory is introduced. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structures,Unimolecular Fragmentations,and Reactivities of the Self‐Assembled Multimetallic/Peptide Complexes [Mnn(GlyGly‐H)2n−1]+ and [Mnn+1(GlyGly‐H)2n]2+

Complexes of Mn²⁺ with deprotonated GlyGly are investigated by sustained off‐resonance irradiation collision‐induced dissociation (SORI‐CID), infrared multiple‐photon dissociation spectroscopy, ion–molecule reactions, and computational methods. Singly [Mn_n(GlyGly‐H)_2n?1]⁺ and doubly [Mn_n+1(GlyGly‐H)_2n]²⁺ charged clusters are formed from aqueous solutions of MnCl₂ and GlyGly by electrospray ionization. The most intense ion produced was the singly charged [M₂(GlyGly‐H)₃]⁺ cluster. Singly charged clusters show extensive fragmentations of small neutral molecules such as water and carbon dioxide as well as dissociation pathways related to the loss of NH₂CHCO and GlyGly. For the doubly charged clusters, however, loss of GlyGly is observed as the main dissociation pathway. Structure elucidation of [Mn₃(GlyGly‐H)₄]²⁺ clusters has also been done by IRMPD spectroscopy as well as DFT calculations. It is shown that the lowest energy structure of the [Mn₃(GlyGly‐H)₄]²⁺ cluster is deprotonated at all carboxylic acid groups and metal ions are coordinated with carbonyl oxygen atoms, and that all amine nitrogen atoms are hydrogen bonded to the amide hydrogen. A comparison of the calculated high‐spin (sextet) and low‐spin (quartet) state structures of [Mn₃(GlyGly‐H)₄]²⁺ is provided. IRMPD spectroscopic results are in agreement with the lowest energy high‐spin structure computed. Also, the gas‐phase reactivity of these complexes towards neutral CO and water was investigated. The parent complexes did not add any water or CO, presumably due to saturation at the metal cation. However, once some of the ligand was removed via CO₂ laser IRMPD, water was seen to add to the complex. These results are consistent with high‐spin Mn²⁺ complexes.     

Application of DFT and MP2 calculations on structural and water-assisted proton transfer in 3-amino-4-nitrofurazan

Density functional theory (DFT) and MP2 calculations have been employed to study of 3-amino-4-nitrofurazan molecule using the standard 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. The chemical properties of the 3-amino-4-nitrofurazan have been extensively studied. The geometries of molecules in the gas phase were optimized and compared with the crystallography of this substance. The results suggest that A form is the most stable form in the gas phase and it is the predominant tautomer in solution according to the DFT and MP2 calculations, respectively. In addition, variation of dipole moments in the gas phase, the specific solvent effects with addition of one molecule of water near the electrophilic centers of tautomers, the transition state of proton transfer assisted by a water molecule, the NBO charges of atoms and the potential energy surface were investigated. The calculated highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) are presented.     

Density functional theory of tautomerism and water-assisted proton transfer of glycoluril

Density functional theory and MP2 methods have been employed to study of proton transfer reaction in annular tautomerization of tetrahydroimidazo[4,5-d]imidazole-2,5(1H,3H)-dione (glycoluril). Ten different tautomers are possible for the tetrahydroimidazo[4,5-d]imidazole-2,5(1H,3H)-dione. For all molecules, the Gibbs free energy at 0 and 298 K was estimated. In addition variation of dipole moments and charges on atoms are studied in the gas phase and solution, the specific solvent effects with addition of one molecule of water near the electrophilic centers of tautomer and the NBO charges of atoms were investigated. NBO analysis shows that there is a strong interaction between nitrogen lone pairs and double bonds.     

Investigation of the Effect of Various Substituents on the Density of Tetrazolium Nitrate Salts as Green Energetic Materials

The substitution effect of various functional groups such as –NO₂, –CN, –N₃, –NF₂, and –NH₂ on the density of tetrazolium nitrate salts is investigated through multiple linear regression method. The methodology of this work introduces a new model, which related density of tetrazolium nitrate salts to the number of fluorine and nitrogen atoms, the presence of NF₂ groups, NO₂ groups, as well as CH₃ groups in the structural formula. The new reliable correlation shows that the NF₂ and NO₂ group can cause increasing the density of tetrazolium nitrate salts, especially NO₂, whereas the CH₃ group can decrease their density. The new proposed relationship has good reliability and predictability, so it can be used to design new rich nitrogen compounds based on tetrazolium nitrate salts as green energetic materials. These results are also tested for N,N′‐azo‐1,2,4‐triazolium nitrate salts, which is caused to derive another correlation. This correlation shows that the presence of NF₂ functional groups increases the density of N,N′‐azo‐1,2,4‐triazolium nitrate salts as well as the value of n_O/n_C.