Enhanced photocatalytic activity and stability of AgBr/BiOBr/graphene heterojunction for phenol degradation under visible light

In this work, we have reported synthesis of AgBr/BiOBr photocatalyst supported on graphene (Gr) using facile precipitation method. AgBr/BiOBr/Gr was characterized using various spectral techniques like FESEM, TEM, XRD, FTIR, XPS, Raman and PL analyses. AgBr/BiOBr/Gr had improved visible light absorption. PL studies indicated the reduction in recombination of photogenerated electron hole pair of AGBr/BiOBr/Gr. AFM analysis confirmed the thickness of AGBr/BiOBr/Gr was less than 8.0 nm. The higher dispersibility of photocatalyst was ascertained by Tyndall effect. AgBr/BiOBr/Gr photocatalyst was effectively used for the photodegradation of phenol from simulated water. The phenol degradation process was remarkably influenced by adsorption process. The concurrent adsorption and photocatalytic was effective for degradation of phenol. The phenol was completely mineralized into CO₂ and H₂O in 6 h. The degradation process followed pseudo first order kinetics. The results confirmed that integration of AgBr/BiOBr with graphene caused an increase in photocatalytic activity due to reduced recombination of photogenerated electron hole pair and electron sink behavior of graphene for photogenerated electrons of BiOBr. AgBr/BiOBr/Gr photocatalyst displayed significant stability and recyclability for ten catalytic cycles.     

1,8‐Diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene: A Highly Efficient Catalyst for One‐Pot Synthesis of Substituted Tetrahydro‐4H‐chromenes,Tetrahydro[b]pyrans,Pyrano[d]pyrimidines,and 4H‐Pyrans in Aqueous Medium

We have reported 1,8‐diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene catalyzed one‐pot synthesis of tetrahydro‐4H‐chromenes, tetrahydro[b]pyrans, pyrano[d]pyrimidines and 4H‐pyrans from aldehydes, active methylene compounds malononitrile/ethyl cyanocacetate and activated C–H acids such as dimedone, 1,3‐cyclohexanedione, 1,3‐cyclopentanedione, 1,3‐dimethylbarbituric acid, and ethyl acetoacetate in water under reflux. The attractive features of this process are mild reaction conditions, reusability of the reaction media, short reaction times, easy isolation of products, and excellent yields. Copyright © 2013 HeteroCorporation     

Study of phase transition in ZrO2 doped with Pb3O4

Electrical conductivity of ZrO₂ doped with Pb₃O₄ has been measured at different temperatures for different molar ratios (x=0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05 and 0.06). The conductivity increases due to migration of vacancies, created by doping. The conductivity increases with increase in temperature till 180 °C and thereby decreases due to collapse of the fluorite framework. A second rise in conductivity at higher temperatures beyond 500-618 °C is due to phase transition of ZrO₂. DTA and X-ray powder diffraction were carried out for confirming doping effect and transition in ZrO₂.The addition of Pb₃O₄ to ZrO₂ shifted the phase transition of ZrO₂ due to the interaction between Pb₃O₄ and ZrO₂.     

Seven and higher-membered oxygen heterocycles: Metal and non-metal

The investigation of methods for the chemical synthesis is a growing area of interest due to increasing environmental issues. The use of catalysts in organic reactions has gained extensive interest. Metal and nonmetal catalysts provided a new improved alternative to traditional methods in modern synthetic chemistry. The aim of present review is to focus on the applications of metals and nonmetals for the synthesis of seven and higher-membered O-heterocycles.     

Fluorinated piperidine iminosugars and their N-alkylated derivatives: Synthesis,conformational analysis,immunosuppressive and glycosidase inhibitory activity studies

The fluorinated piperidine iminosugars 2a-4a and their N-octyl and N-decyl derivatives 2b,c-4b,c were synthesized from d-mannose/d-xylose using nucleophilic fluorination as the key step. The conformation of iminosugars 2/3, either ²C₅ or ⁵C₂, was assigned based on the ¹H NMR studies at different pH. Immunomodulatory activity of 2a,c-4a,c was examined using Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction (MLR) and B-cell assay. The N-alkylated fluorinated d-manno-iminosugars 3b/4b were found to be better immunosuppressive agents (IC₅₀?=?5–6?μM) on T-cells. The fluorinated iminosugar 3a/4a act as potent and selective inhibitors of β-glucosidase (IC₅₀?=?4–8?μM). The N-alkyl-iminosugars 4b-c were found to be moderate inhibitors of α-glucosidase (yeast) and α-galactosidase (coffee beans), respectively.     

Structural, high pressure and elastic properties of transition metal monocarbides: A FP-LAPW study

The structural, elastic and thermal properties of four transition metal monocarbides ScC, YC (group III), VC and NbC (group V) have been investigated using full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within generalized gradient approximation (GGA) both at ambient and high pressure. We predict a B₁ to B₂ structural phase transition at 127.8 and 80.4 GPa for ScC and YC along with the volume collapse percentage of 7.6 and 8.4%, respectively. No phase transition is observed in case of VC and NbC up to pressure 400 and 360 GPa, respectively. The ground state properties such as equilibrium lattice constant (a₀), bulk modulus (B) and its pressure derivative (B′) are determined and compared with available data. We have computed the elastic moduli and Debye temperature and report their variation as a function of pressure.     

One-Pot Synthesis of Some New Semicarbazone,Thiosemicarbazone, and Hydrazone Derivatives of 1-Phenyl-3-Arylpyrazole-4-Carboxaldehyde from Acetophenone Phenylhydrazones Using Vilsmeier–Haack Reagent

Semicarbazone derivatives 3 of 1,3-diphenylpyrazole-4-carboxaldehyde have been synthesized in high yields through a one-pot procedure involving acetophenone phenylhydrazones 1 subjected to Vilsmeier double formylation and workup under new conditions (i.e., treatment with semicarbazide followed by sodium bicarbonate). This method is even suitable for preparing other derivatives (i.e., thiosemicarbazones 4 and hydrazones 5) in high yields.     

A kernel machine-based fMRI physiological noise removal method

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique with blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast is a powerful tool for noninvasive mapping of brain function under task and resting states. The removal of cardiac- and respiration-induced physiological noise in fMRI data has been a significant challenge as fMRI studies seek to achieve higher spatial resolutions and characterize more subtle neuronal changes. The low temporal sampling rate of most multi-slice fMRI experiments often causes aliasing of physiological noise into the frequency range of BOLD activation signal. In addition, changes of heartbeat and respiration patterns also generate physiological fluctuations that have similar frequencies with BOLD activation. Most existing physiological noise-removal methods either place restrictive limitations on image acquisition or utilize filtering or regression based post-processing algorithms, which cannot distinguish the frequency-overlapping BOLD activation and the physiological noise. In this work, we address the challenge of physiological noise removal via the kernel machine technique, where a nonlinear kernel machine technique, kernel principal component analysis, is used with a specifically identified kernel function to differentiate BOLD signal from the physiological noise of the frequency. The proposed method was evaluated in human fMRI data acquired from multiple task-related and resting state fMRI experiments. A comparison study was also performed with an existing adaptive filtering method. The results indicate that the proposed method can effectively identify and reduce the physiological noise in fMRI data. The comparison study shows that the proposed method can provide comparable or better noise removal performance than the adaptive filtering approach.     

Lanthanum Triflate–Catalyzed Rapid Oxidation of Secondary Alcohols Using Hydrogen Peroxide Urea Adduct (UHP) in Ionic Liquid

A convenient and efficient protocol for the oxidation of secondary hydroxyl group to ketone using hydrogen peroxide–urea adduct and catalytic (CF₃SO₃)₃La in ionic liquid has been developed. A number of 1,2-diols, α-hydroxyketones, and other aromatic and aliphatic secondary alcohols have been successfully oxidized to the corresponding ketones using this protocol in good yields and short reaction times.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® for the following free supplemental resource(s): Full experimental and spectral details.]     

Synthesis, characterization, and dynamic DSC curing kinetics of novel epoxy resin of 2,4,6-tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-3-5-triazine

2,4,6-Tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3,5-triazine was synthesized by cyclotrimerization of 4-cyanophenol using trifluromethanesulphonic acid as a catalyst at room temperature. 2,4,6-Tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3,5-triazine was epoxidized using alkali as a catalyst at 60 °C for 1 h. Epoxy resin was cured by DSC at multiple heating rates under nitrogen atmosphere by using 20 % of 4,4′-diamino diphenylsulphone, 4,4′-diaminodiphenylether, and 4,4′-diaminodiphenylcyclohexane as hardeners. Cured and uncured reins were also analyzed by TG analysis. Kinetic parameters were determined and discussed in light of nature of curing agents. Thermal decomposition behavior of the samples is also discussed in detail.