Reaction of dimethoxycarbene-DMAD zwitterion with 1,2-diones and anhydrides: a novel synthesis of highly substituted dihydrofurans and spirodihydrofurans

The zwitterion formed by the reaction of dimethoxycarbene and DMAD adds efficiently to one of the carbonyl groups of 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds and anhydrides to generate dihydrofurans and spirodihydrofurans in good yields. In many cases, the carbene inserts into the C-C bond of the dione to yield masked vicinal tricarbonyl systems.     

Microscopic observations and simulations of Bloch walls in nematic thin films

We study Bloch wall defects formed by quenching nematic thin films from planar anchoring to homeotropic anchoring through a temperature-driven anchoring transition. The director profiles of the walls are directly visualized using fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy, and shown to agree well with the simulation based on the Frank elasticity theory. A pure twist wall exists if the ratio of sample thickness to surface extrapolation length p is smaller than or close to 1; while a diffuse Bloch wall is obtained if p is much greater than 1.     

A brief survey on numerical methods for solving singularly perturbed problems

In the present paper, a brief survey on computational techniques for the different classes of singularly perturbed problems is given. This survey is a continuation of work performed earlier by the first author and contains the literature of the work done by the researchers during the years 2000-2009. However some older important relevant papers are also included in this survey. We also mentioned those papers which are not surveyed in the previous survey papers by the first author of this paper, see [Appl. Math. Comput. 30 (1989) 223-259, 130 (2002) 457-510, 134 (2003) 371-429] for details. Thus this survey paper contains a surprisingly large amount of literature on singularly perturbed problems and indeed can serve as an introduction to some of the ideas and methods for the singular perturbation problems.     

Comparison of aromatic NH···π, OH···π, and CH···π interactions of alanine using MP2, CCSD, and DFT methods

A comparison of the performance of various density functional methods including long‐range corrected and dispersion corrected methods [MPW1PW91, B3LYP, B3PW91, B97‐D, B1B95, MPWB1K, M06‐2X, SVWN5, ωB97XD, long‐range correction (LC)‐ωPBE, and CAM‐B3LYP using 6‐31+G(d,p) basis set] in the study of CH···π, OH···π, and NH···π interactions were done using weak complexes of neutral (A) and cationic (A⁺) forms of alanine with benzene by taking the Møller–Plesset (MP2)/6‐31+G(d,p) results as the reference. Further, the binding energies of the neutral alanine–benzene complexes were assessed at coupled cluster (CCSD)/6‐31G(d,p) method. Analysis of the molecular geometries and interaction energies at density functional theory (DFT), MP2, CCSD methods and CCSD(T) single point level reveal that MP2 is the best overall performer for noncovalent interactions giving accuracy close to CCSD method. MPWB1K fared better in interaction energy calculations than other DFT methods. In the case of M06‐2X, SVWN5, and the dispersion corrected B97‐D, the interaction energies are significantly overrated for neutral systems compared to other methods. However, for cationic systems, B97‐D yields structures and interaction energies similar to MP2 and MPWB1K methods. Among the long‐range corrected methods, LC‐ωPBE and CAM‐B3LYP methods show close agreement with MP2 values while ωB97XD energies are notably higher than MP2 values. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2010     

Kinetics and mechanism of the ligand substitution reaction between aquapentacyanoruthenate(II) and 4-cyanopyridine in the presence of anionic surfactant micelles

The kinetics of ligand substitution between aquapentacyanoruthenate(II) ion, [Ru(CN)₅H₂O]³⁻ and 4-cyanopyridine (4-CNpy) has been investigated spectrophotometrically in the presence of anionic surfactant micelle, namely sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) at 400 nm (λ_max of the intense yellow product [Ru(CN)₅4-CNpy]³⁻) under pseudo-first-order conditions using at least 10% excess of 4-CNpy over [Ru(CN)₅H₂O]³⁻. The reaction was studied as a function of [Ru(CN)₅H₂O³⁻], [4-CNpy], [SDS], pH, ionic strength and temperature, by varying each of these variables one at a time. The reaction exhibited overall second-order kinetics, being first order each in [4-CNpy] and [Ru(CN)₅H₂O³⁻] over a wide concentration range. Variation of ionic strength of the medium had a significant negative effect on the rate. The SDS micelle, being negatively charged, does not reveal any regular effect except at or near its critical micelle concentration (c.m.c). The rate of reaction was measured at different temperatures, and the activation parameters were computed using Arrhenius and Eyring plots. A plausible mechanism consistent with the experimental results has been proposed.     

Embedded template-assisted fabrication of complex microchannels in PDMS and design of a microfluidic adhesive

In this paper, we describe a novel method for fabricating 2-D and 3-D microchannel patterns in a flexible platform of cross-linked poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). Here, a slender nylon thread formed into different 2-D and 3-D shapes is used as a template that is embedded inside a block of cross-linked PDMS. The cross-linked network is then allowed to swell in a suitable solvent that swells the network selectively but leaves the nylon thread unaltered. The thread is then gently removed from the swollen network leaving behind a microchannel. Channels of a variety of topologically complex orientations like knots, helices, super-helices, and channels of a variety of cross-sections can be generated using this simple method. Finally, we have presented an application by generating inside layers of adhesive in these microchannels, which are observed to enhance the adhesion strength significantly.     

Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectral investigations of 5-aminoindole

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman (FT-Raman) spectra of 5-aminoindole has been recorded and analysed. The FT-IR spectrum of the compound was recorded in a BrukerIFS 66 V spectrometer in the range 4000-400 cm(-1) and the FT-Raman spectrum was also recorded in the same instrument in the region 3500-100 cm(-1). Observed frequencies for normal modes are compared with those calculated form normal co-ordinate analysis. The shift in the frequencies of the fundamental modes with the substituent amino group and the mixing of different normal modes are discussed with the help of potential energy distribution (PED) calculated through normal co-ordinate analysis.     

Preparation and characterization of Nd3+ doped sodium leadbismuthate glass

Nd(3+) doped unconventional sodium leadbismuthate glass is prepared through the melt quenching method. The amorphous nature of the glass is confirmed through the X-ray diffraction study. The differential thermal study was performed to identify the glass transition and approximate glass thermal stability measurements. To identify the local structure of the glass, Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis was also carried out. By performing the Judd-Ofelt theory, the theoretical and experimental oscillator strengths were calculated.     

Simulation of FTTH at 10 Gbit/s for 8 OTU by GE-PON Architecture

In this paper a fiber communication system is employed using Giga Ethernet Passive Optical Network (GE-PON) architecture. In this architecture an optical fiber is employed directly from a Central Office to the home. A 1:8 splitter is used as a PON element which establishes communication between a Central Office to different users. In this paper GE-PON architecture has investigated for different lengths from a Central Office to the PON in the terms of BER. For 10 Gbit/s system the plots between the BER and transmission distance is plotted and it is seen that as the distance increases beyond the 15 km the BER is increased very sharply. Results in the form of Voice and Data spectrum for different users of FTTH with GE-PON architecture are shown.