Room temperature thermoelectric performance of Methyl Ammonium Lead Iodide Perovskite and their MWCNT-PANI composites

The excellent properties of Methyl Ammonium Lead Iodide (MAPI) have already created an extensive research interest in photovoltaic applications. However, their utility in thermoelectric application is still not realized thoroughly by researchers. By continuing this interest, we have explored the formation of low dimensional CH₃NH₃PbI₃ (MAPI) perovskite in presence of Polyaniline (PANI) and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) and its thermoelectric performance. For this purpose, a two stage, in-situ synthesis method was developed to prepare various composites such as MAPI-PANI, MWCNT-MAPI and MWCNT-PANI-MAPI. The as-formed MWCNT-PANI-MAPI composite revealed p-type conductivity with enhanced ZT (up to ~20,000 times) and power factor (3000 times) at room temperature as compared to pristine MAPI sample. Finally, we have demonstrated a proto-type thermoelectric power generator (TE device) fabricated using the best performing composite sample and measured its power output and efficiency at varied δT.     

Nanoparticle Size‐Fractionation through Self‐Standing Porous Covalent Organic Framework Films

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have attracted attention due to their ordered pores leading to important industrial applications like storage and separation. Combined with their modular synthesis and pore engineering, COFs could become ideal candidates for nanoseparations. However, the fabrication of these microcrystalline powders as continuous, crack‐free, robust films remains a challenge. Herein, we report a simple, slow annealing strategy to construct centimeter‐scale COF films ( Tp‐Azo and Tp‐TTA ) with micrometer thickness. The as‐synthesized films are porous (SA_BET=2033 m² g^?1 for Tp‐Azo ) and chemically stable. These COFs have distinct size cut‐offs (ca. 2.7 and ca. 1.6 nm for Tp‐Azo and Tp‐TTA , respectively), which allow the size‐selective separation of gold nanoparticles. Unlike, other conventional membranes, the durable structure of the COF films allow for excellent recyclability (up to 4 consecutive cycles) and easy recovery of the gold nanoparticles from the solution.     

Parallel Homochiral and Anti‐Parallel Heterochiral Hydrogen‐Bonding Interfaces in Multi‐Helical Abiotic Foldamers

A hydrogen‐bonding interface between helical aromatic oligoamide foldamers has been designed to promote the folding of a helix‐turn‐helix motif with a head‐to‐tail arrangement of two helices of opposite handedness. This design complements an earlier helix‐turn‐helix motif with a head‐to‐head arrangement of two helices of identical handedness interface. The two motifs were shown to have comparable stability and were combined in a unimolecular tetra‐helix fold constituting the largest abiotic tertiary structure to date.     

Highly Mesoporous Metal‐Organic Frameworks as Synergistic Multimodal Catalytic Platforms for Divergent Cascade Reactions

Rational engineering and assimilation of diverse chemo‐ and biocatalytic functionalities in a single nanostructure is highly desired for efficient multistep chemical reactions but has so far remained elusive. Here, we design and synthesize multimodal catalytic nanoreactors (MCNRs) based on a mesoporous metal‐organic framework (MOF). The MCNRs consist of customizable metal nanocrystals and stably anchored enzymes in the mesopores, as well as coordinatively unsaturated cationic metal MOF nodes, all within a single nanoreactor space. The highly intimate and diverse catalytic mesoporous microenvironments and facile accessibility to the active site in the MCNR enables the cooperative and synergistic participation from different chemo‐ and biocatalytic components. This was shown by one‐pot multistep cascade reactions involving a heterogeneous catalytic nitroaldol reaction followed by a [Pd/lipase]‐catalyzed chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution to yield optically pure (>99 % ee) nitroalcohol derivatives in quantitative yields.     

Metal‐like Ductility in Organic Plastic Crystals: Role of Molecular Shape and Dihydrogen Bonding Interactions in Aminoboranes

Ductility is a common phenomenon in many metals but is difficult to achieve in molecular crystals. Organic crystals bend plastically on one or two face‐specific directions but fracture when stressed in any other arbitrary directions. An exceptional metal‐like ductility and malleability in the isomorphous crystals of two globular molecules, BH₃NMe₃ and BF₃NMe₃, is reported, with characteristic tensile stretching, compression, twisting, and thinning. The mechanically deformed samples, which transition to lower symmetry phases, retain good long‐range order amenable to structure determination by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Molecules in these high‐symmetry crystals interact through electrostatic forces (B^??N⁺) to form columnar structures with multiple slip planes and weak dispersive forces between columns. On the other hand, the limited number of facile slip planes and strong dihydrogen bonding in BH₃NHMe₂ negates ductility. Our study has implications for the design of soft ferroelectrics, solid electrolytes, barocalorics, and soft robotics.     

Correlation of soft magnetic properties with free volume and medium range ordering in metallic glasses probed by fluctuation microscopy and positron annihilation technique

Amorphous ribbons of different thicknesses of Co_64.5Fe_3.5Si₁₆B₁₄Ni₂ alloy were synthesized using the melt spinning technique by varying wheel speed. The effect of cooling rate on the ribbon thickness and their soft magnetic properties have been studied. The amorphous structure has been characterized in terms of structural free volume and medium range order (MRO) by positron annihilation spectroscopy and fluctuation electron microscopy techniques. Positron lifetime spectra of amorphous samples showed two lifetime components. The first component was found to be correlated with MRO whereas, the second lifetime component was found to be associated with nanovoid type of defects, and the second component was strongly dependent on processing conditions. It could be established that the coercivity of the amorphous samples produced by the rapid solidification technique mainly depends on the defects formed during processing rather than change induced in MRO.     

Visibility with One Reflection

We extend the concept of the polygon visible from a source point S in a simple polygon by considering visibility with two types of reflection, specular and diffuse. In specular reflection a light ray reflects from an edge of the polygon according to the rule: the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. In diffuse reflection a light ray reflects from an edge of the polygon in all inward directions. Several geometric and combinatorial properties of visibility polygons under these two types of reflection are described, when at most one reflection is permitted. We show that the visibility polygon Vs(S) under specular reflection may be nonsimple, while the visibility polygon Vd(S) under diffuse reflection is always simple. We present a Θ(n ² ) worst-case bound on the combinatorial complexity of both Vs(S) and Vd(S) and describe simple O(n ² log ² n) time algorithms for constructing the sets. Received September 27, 1995, and in revised form October 24, 1997.     

Preparation of some nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of the SCHIFF-Base derived from Acetophenone and Ethylenediamine

Preparation and properties of the following Ni^II and Cu^II complexes of the Schiff base derived from acetophenone and ethylenediamine (BAPE) and also of the mixed Ni^II and Cu^II chelates with BAPE and acetylacetone (acac-H) are described: In each case the Schiff base, BAPE, acts as a neutral bidentate ligand. The complexes are characterised by electronic spectra, magnetic susceptibilities, conductivities and elemental analyses. Pseudotetrahedral structure is proposed for M(BAPE)C1₂, while tetragonal structure for [M(BAPE)(acac)(H₂O)₂]C_lO₄ (M = Ni and Cu). The complex [Ni(BAPE) (acac)]ClO₄ has been found to be square planar.