Surface modification of platinum by laser-produced X-rays

Laser-induced plasma is used as an X-ray source for the growth of hillocks like nanostructures on platinum surface. To generate X-rays, plasma is produced by Nd:YAG laser, which is operated at second harmonics (λ?=?532?nm, E?=?400?mJ). Analytical grade 5?N pure Al, Cu and W are used as laser targets for X-rays production. X-rays produced from Al, Cu and W plasmas are used to irradiate three analytical grade (5?N pure) platinum substrates, respectively, under the vacuum ～10^?4 torr. XRD analysis shows considerable structural changes in the exposed platinum. The decrement in reflection intensities, increment in dislocation line density, change in d-spacing and disturbance in the periodicity of planes evidently prove these structural changes. Atomic force microscope AFM topographic analysis of the platinum exposed to X-rays emitted from Al, Cu and W targets showed that nanometer-size hillocks are produced on the platinum surface irrespective of the source. It has also been observed that due to these hillocks, the roughness of the surface has increased. Conductivity of hillocks produced from X-rays produced by Al, Cu and W targets is compared and it is shown that the hillocks produced by Al target X-rays have better conductivity compared to the hillocks produced by X-rays from Cu and W targets.     

SEM and Raman spectroscopy analyses of laser-induced periodic surface structures grown by ethanol-assisted femtosecond laser ablation of chromium

The effect of fluence and pulse duration on the growth of nanostructures on chromium (Cr) surfaces has been investigated upon irradiation of femtosecond (fs) laser pulses in a liquid confined environment of ethanol. In order to explore the effect of fluence, targets were exposed to 1000 pulses at various peak fluences ranging from 4.7 to 11.8?J?cm^–2 for pulse duration of ～25?fs. In order to explore the effect of pulse duration, targets were exposed to fs laser pulses of various pulse durations ranging from 25 to 100?fs, for a constant fluence of 11.8?J?cm^–2. Surface morphology and structural transformations have been analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. After laser irradiation, disordered sputtered surface with intense melting and cracking is obtained at the central ablated areas, which are augmented with increasing laser fluence due to enhanced thermal effects. At the peripheral ablated areas, where local fluence is approximately in the range of 1.4–4?mJ?cm^–2, very well-defined laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) with periodicity ranging from 270 to 370?nm along with dot-like structures are formed. As far as the pulse duration is concerned, a significant effect on the surface modification of Cr has been revealed. In the central ablated areas, for the shortest pulse duration (25?fs), only melting has been observed. However, LIPSS with dot-like structures and droplets have been grown for longer pulse durations. The periodicity of LIPSS increases and density of dot-like structures decreases with increasing pulse duration. The chemical and structural modifications of irradiated Cr have been revealed by Raman spectroscopy. It confirms the formation of new bands of chromium oxides and enol complexes or Cr-carbonyl compounds. The peak intensities of identified bands are dependent upon laser fluence and pulse duration.     

Impact of laser produced X-rays on the surface of gold

In the paper an attempt has been made to use the laser-induced plasma as an X-ray source for the growth of nanostructures on the surface of gold. For this purpose, an Nd:YAG laser operated at second harmonics (λ = 532 nm, E = 400 mJ) is used to produce plasma from analytical grade 5N pure Al, Cu and W targets. An analytical grade (5N pure) gold substrate was irradiated by X-rays generated from Al, Cu and W plasma under the vacuum ∼10⁻⁴ Torr. The surface was analyzed by two techniques, XRD and AFM. The aberrations in the XRD peaks show that there are significant structural changes in the exposed gold, in terms of decreased reflection intensities, increased dislocation line density, changes in the d-spacing and disturbance in the periodicity of the planes. AFM used to explore the topography of the irradiated gold reveals that regardless of the source, nm sized hillocks have been produced on the gold surface. The roughness of the surface has increased due to the growth of these hillocks.     

Lipase-catalyzed green synthesis of starch–maleate monoesters and its characterization

The present study reports the green synthesis of starch–maleate (SM) at ambient temperature in solvent-free system using Rhizopus arrhizus lipase as a biocatalyst and maleic acid (MA) as an esterification agent. The synthetic scheme was found to be efficient, economical, and ecofriendly. The newly synthesized SM samples were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopic techniques. The degree of substitution (DS) was found in the range of 0.53–0.62. Moreover, DS was found to be temperature and time-dependent. X-ray diffraction (XRD) exhibited that maleation did not change the crystalline nature of native starch. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that size of SM granules was in the range of 4–18 µm. The activation energy (E_a) of SM formation was calculated to be 42.94 kcal mol^?1 which clearly indicated the effective and rapid interaction of functional groups. Hence, the solvent-free solid-state synthetic methodology proved to be excellent for the synthesis of novel biomaterials with appreciable high DS for drug delivery and sorption of heavy metal ions from water.     

NH4I-catalyzed chalcogen(S/Se)-functionalization of 5-membered N-heteroaryls under metal-free conditions

Herein, we described the NH₄I-catalyzed CH bond chalcogenation of N-heteroaryls in the presence of a minimum amount of DMSO/H₂O/acetic acid as additives (2.5/2.5/1?M equiv., respectively), under metal-free conditions. Under optimized conditions, a wide variety of sulfenyl/selenyl imidazo[1,2-α]pyridines were prepared in very good yields. Moreover, the present approach was also highly efficient for the chalcogenation of different 5-membered N-heteroaryls, e.g., indole, imidazothiazole, indazole and imidazopyrimidine derivatives.     

Investigation of 500 keV Si ion induced surface structuring of Ni and Ti for enhancement of field emission properties

The present paper reports the investigation of surface morphology, elemental composition, phase changes and field emission properties of Si ion irradiated nickel (Ni) and titanium (Ti). The Ni and Ti targets have been irradiated with 500 keV Si ions generated by Pelletron accelerator at various fluences ranging from 6.9 × 10¹³ to 77.1 × 10¹³ ions/cm². Stopping range of ions in matter analysis revealed higher values of electronic stopping and sputtering yield for Ni as compared with Ti. For both irradiated metals, electronic energy loss dominant over the nuclear stopping. The growth of induced surface structures have been analysed by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis. In case of Ni, as the ion fluence increases from 6.9 × 10¹³ to 65.8 × 10¹³ ions/cm², the formation of spherical particulates, agglomers and sputtering is observed. Although in the case of Ti, with the increase of Si ion fluence from 11.6 × 10¹³ to 77.1 × 10¹³ ions/cm², the formation of irregular-shaped particulates along with crater and sputtered channels is observed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that no new phase is identified. However, a significant increase in peak intensity is observed with increasing ion fluence. The variation in crystallite size and dislocation line density is also observed as a function of Si ion fluence. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis shows that no bands are formed after the Si ion irradiation. Field emission properties of ion-structured Ni and Ti are well correlated with the growth of surface structures observed by SEM and dislocation line density evaluated by XRD analysis.     

Regioselective,Solvent‐ and Metal‐Free Chalcogenation of Imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridines by Employing I2/DMSO as the Catalytic Oxidation System

Highly efficient molecular‐iodine‐catalyzed chalcogenations (S and Se) of imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridines were achieved by using diorganoyl dichalcogenides under solvent‐free conditions. This approach afforded the desired products that had been chalcogenated regioselectively at the C3 position in up to 96 % yield by using DMSO as an oxidant, in the absence of a metal catalyst, and under an inert atmosphere. This mild, green approach allowed the preparation of different types of chalcogenated imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridines with structural diversity. Furthermore, the current protocol was also extended to other N‐heterocyclic cores.     

Manipulation of inherent characteristics of graphene through N and Mg atom co-doping; a DFT study

First-principles calculations were performed to investigate the structural, electronic, magnetic and optical properties of nitrogen (N) and magnesium (Mg) atom co-doped graphene systems. We observed that, N and Mg atom co-doping in graphene, introduces half-metallic properties in the electronic structure of graphene, introduces ferromagnetism behavior along with new trends in optical properties of graphene. Doping site and concentration of N and Mg atoms in graphene was changed and resulting effects of these changes on aforementioned properties were investigated. Through density of states plots we observed that, Mg atom sp orbitals mainly induced magnetic moments in graphene. It was revealed that, N/Mg atoms substitution in graphene introduces a red shift in absorption spectrum towards visible range and a finite absorption coefficient quantity value in 0 to 3 eV and 7 to 11 eV energy intervals is also produced, that is unavailable for absorption spectrum of intrinsic graphene. Moreover, N/Mg atoms co-doping produces increment in the reflectivity parameter of graphene in low lying energy region, while producing diminishing behavior in the higher energy range. These results offer a possibility to tune electronic, magnetic and optical characteristics of graphene sufficiently for utilization in graphene based spintronic and optoelectronic devices.     

Benzimidazole tethered thioureas as a new entry to elastase inhibition and free radical scavenging: Synthesis,molecular docking,and enzyme inhibitory kinetics

The porcine pancreatic elastase inhibition and free-radical scavenging play a crucial role in age progression. All the series of 10 newly synthesized benzimidazole thioureas ( 4a-j ) were assessed for elastase inhibition and radical scavenging activity to identify the suitable anti-aging ingredient for cosmetics products. The compounds 4e , 4f , 4g , and 4h showed inhibition better than the standard, while compound 4f showed the most significant elastase inhibition with the IC₅₀ value of 1.318 ± 0.025 μM compared with oleanic acid IC₅₀ 13.451 ± 0.014 used ±1.989 and 41.563 ± 0.824, respectively, as standard. Molecular docking studies were performed and the compound 4f showed binding energy of 7.2 kcal/mol. Kinetics studies revealed inhibition of the pancreatic elastase in a competitive manner. The relative binding energy and structure activity relationship (SAR) identified compound 4f as an effective inhibitor of porcine pancreatic elastase. Compounds 4e and 4i showed remarkable free-radical scavenging activity with SC₅₀ values of 26.421.