A new series of luminescent phosphine stabilised platinum ethynyl complexes

A series of cis-platinum ethynyl complexes with the general formula cis-[Pt(dppe)(C[triple bond]CR)2](dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane; R = C6H4-p-NO2 1, C6H4-p-CH3 2, C6H4-p-C[triple bond]CH 3 and C6H4-p-C6H4-p-C[triple bond]CH 4) have been prepared by the coupling reaction of cis-[Pt(dppe)Cl2] with two equivalents of the appropriate alkyne. The new complexes have been fully characterized by spectroscopic techniques, and the cis square planar arrangement at the platinum centre has been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of complexes 1, 2 and 4. The absorption spectra of the complexes 1-4 are dominated by a pi-->pi* band that contains some platinum (n + 1) p orbital character. The position of the band is dependent on the electron donating or withdrawing properties of the ethynyl substituents, R. Complex 1 displays a triplet emission in the green, at room temperature, while complexes 2-4, display singlet emissions in the blue. Again, the difference can be attributed to the nature of the R substituents.     

A quasi-tetrahedral Cu4 cluster and a helical-chain copper (II) complex with single syn-anti carboxylate bridges: crystal structure and magnetic properties

A tridentate Schiff base carboxylate ligand, derived from the condensation of pyridine 2-carboxaldehyde with anthranilic acid, reacts with copper trifluoroacetate salt to give rise to the helical chain complex [Cu(C(13)H(9)N(2)O(2))(F(3)CCO(2))](n)() (1) and with copper nitrate to give rise to the tetranuclear complex [[Cu(4)(C(13)H(9)N(2)O(2))(4)(H(2)O)(4)].3.5NO(3).0.5N(3)] (2) with the addition of azide salt. The structures of these complexes have been solved by X-ray crystallography. The Cu(II) ions are in a distorted square-pyramidal environment in complex 1. They are sequentially bridged by carboxylate groups in the syn-anti conformation, resulting in the formation of an infinite helix like chain along the crystallographic c-axis. The crystal structure of complex 2 consists of tetranuclear [Cu(4)(L)(4)(H(2)O)(4)](4+) (L = C(13)H(9)N(2)O(2)(-)) cations and isolated NO(3)(-) and N(3)(-) anions in the ratio 1:3.5:0.5, respectively, involving bridging carboxylate groups in the syn-anti conformation. For 1 the carboxylato-Cu(II) coordination is apical-basal, while for 2 it is basal-basal. From the magnetic susceptibility measurements the complex 1 is found to exhibit very weak antiferromagnetic interaction whereas a weak ferromagnetic coupling has been established for complex 2. The magnetic behavior can be satisfactorily explained on the basis of the structural data for these and related complexes.     

Determination of nanomolar concentrations of phosphate in freshwaters using flow injection with luminol chemiluminescence detection

A simple and rapid flow injection (FI) method is reported for the determination of phosphate (as molybdate reactive P) in freshwaters based on luminol chemiluminescence (CL) detection. The molybdophosphoric heteropoly acid formed by phosphate and ammonium molybdate in acidic conditions generated chemiluminescence emission via the oxidation of luminol. The detection limit (3× standard deviation of blank) was 0.03 μg P l⁻¹ (1.0 nM), with a sample throughput of 180 h⁻¹. The calibration graph was linear over the range 0.032–3.26 μg P l⁻¹ (r²=0.9880) with relative standard deviations (n=4) in the range 1.2–4.7%. Interfering cations (Ca(II), Mg(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Cu(II), Co(II), Fe(II) and Fe(III)) were removed by passing the sample through an in-line iminodiacetate chelating column. Silicate interference (at 5 mg Si l⁻¹) was effectively masked by the addition of tartaric acid and other common anions (Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, HCO₃⁻, NO₃⁻ and NO₂⁻) did not interfere at their maximum admissible concentrations in freshwaters. The method was applied to freshwater samples and the results (26.1±1.1–62.0±0.4 μg P l⁻¹) were not significantly different (P=0.05) from results obtained using a segmented flow analyser method with spectrophotometric detection (24.4±4.45–84.0±16.0 μg P l⁻¹).     

Determination,by dynamic surface-tension analysis,of the molar mass of proteins denatured in guanidine thiocyanate

A drop-based dynamic surface-tension detector (DSTD) has been used to study the dynamic surface tension behavior of proteins denatured in guanidine thiocyanate (GndSCN). The dynamic surface tension at the air–liquid interface is obtained by measuring the internal pressure of drops that grow and detach at a specified rate. In the method the sample of interest is injected and subsequently flows to the DSTD-sensing capillary tip. For this work, a novel DSTD calibration procedure utilizing two distinct mobile phases is applied. Here, the mobile phases are aqueous with different constituents, for example GndSCN and phosphate buffer, either added or omitted. The dual-mobile phase calibration procedure gives the analyst the capability of making protein measurements in a GndSCN–phosphate buffer mobile phase, while measuring a calibration standard in another mobile phase, such as water, in which the surface tension of the calibration standard is readily available. Results are presented with drop volumes of either 2 L (i.e. 2-s drops) or 7 L (i.e. 7-s drops) for proteins varying in molar mass from 12,000 to 330,000 g mol^–1. We demonstrate that the DSTD can be used to determine the molar mass of proteins denatured in GndSCN. The method applies a regime where the denatured protein is detected by surface-active properties, and selectivity with regard to molar mass is contained in the dynamic component of the DSTD signal. The dynamic surface pressure signals of the denatured proteins suggest that diffusion plays a large role in the kinetics of the surface activity. The limit of detection for the denatured proteins studied ranged from 3 mg L^–1 to 14 mg L^–1. The DSTD, coupled with the novel dual-mobile phase calibration procedure, can be used to investigate the fundamental properties of proteins. Insight into the behavior at the air–liquid interface for native and denatured proteins is achieved; this is a novel tool for studying protein denaturation, complementary to other common approaches such as spectroscopy and calorimetry. Furthermore, the reported method could be widely applied to the study of effects on the interfacial properties of proteins after a variety of chemical and physical modifications that are possible with the dual-mobile phase calibration procedure.     

Solution properties of phenothiazine drug promazine hydrochloride with cationic hydrotropes in aqueous/electrolyte solution at different temperature

The current work deals with the mixed micellization phenomena of surface active promazine hydrochloride (PMZ) drug with cationic hydrotropes (para‐toluidine hydrochloride and ortho‐toluidine hydrochloride) in absence and occurrence of 50 mmol kg^?1 NaCl at five different temperature (293.15–313.15 K). PMZ is an amphiphilic phenothiazine drug and employed for the cure of mania and schizophrenia. Conductometry measurement was employed to gain a detailed picture of the interactions between drug and hydrotrope molecules. The experimental data were analyzed according to different mixing models within the outline of the pseudophase separation model. The evaluated values of critical micelle concentration (cmc) were found to be inferior than cmc^id values signifying attractive interactions involving the both components in the solutions. NaCl further reduces the cmc of pure amphiphiles and their mixed systems as a result of screening of the electrostatic repulsion between the polar head groups. The micellar mole fractions (X₁) of hydrotropes evaluated by various proposed models were constantly more than ideal values ( ) signifying high involvements of hydrotrope in mixed micelles. Activity coefficients ( and ) were always below one in all cases signifying synergism in mixed micelles. Thermodynamic parameters favor the process of micellization which is found to be entropy driven. The negative values of free energies of mixing demonstrated the stability of the mixed systems of drug and hydrotrope. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of variable particle size reinforcement on mechanical and wear properties of 6061Al–SiCp composite

Abstract

The influence of reinforcement particle size variation plays a major role on the properties of Al–SiC_p composite. Therefore, this study aim to investigate the mechanical and wear performance of single particle size (SPS) and multiple particle size (MPS) Al–SiC_p composite prepared by stir casting process. The SPS comprises three categories; fine (15 μm), intermediate (40 μm) and coarse (80 μm) particle sizes and combination of the three sizes accounts for the MPS in the ratio 1:1:2, respectively. Oxidation of the SiC_p and addition of 1 wt% Mg during composite processing resulted to interface reaction products such as MgO (magnesium oxide) and MgAl₂O₄ (magnesium aluminate) which suppresses the potential formation of undesired Al₃C₄ (aluminium carbide). The study reveals that MPS composite improved the hardness and impact properties with enhanced wear performance compared to SPS composite. Characterization of the composite morphology and phases was performed using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction analysis. This study provides an effective method of optimizing the properties of Al–SiC_p composite by integrating MPS with low volume fraction of reinforcement phase.     

Phenolic,flavonoid contents,anticholinesterase and antioxidant evaluation of Iris germanica var; florentina

This study was designed to investigate antioxidant and anticholinesterase potential of Iris germanica var; florentina. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory potential of plant samples were investigated by Ellman’s assay. Antioxidant activity was performed using DPPH, H₂O₂ and ABTS free radical scavenging assays. Total phenolics and flavonoids contents were expressed in mg GAE/g dry weight and mg RTE/g, respectively. In AChE inhibition assay, Ig.Fl, Ig.Sp and Ig.Cf fractions exhibited highest activity with IC₅₀ values of < 0.1, 5.64 and 19 μg/mL, respectively. In BChE inhibitory assay, Ig.Fl, Ig.Sp, Ig.Cf and Ig.Cr were most active with IC₅₀ of < 0.1, < 0.1, 31 and 78 μg/mL, respectively. In DPPH assay, Ig.Fl and Ig.Cf exhibited highest inhibition of free radicals, 80.52% (IC₅₀ = 9 μg/mL) and 78.30% (IC₅₀ = 8 μg/mL), respectively. In ABTS assay Ig.Cr, Ig.Cf, Ig.Fl and Ig.Sp exhibited IC₅₀ values of < 0.1, 2, 2 and 3 μg/mL, respectively.     

Effect of ZnNiCrFe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> content on structural and dielectric properties of polyaniline based nanocomposites,synthesized via in-situ chemical polymerization

Zn_0.5Ni_0.4Cr_0.1Fe₂O₄ nanopowder and its composite with polyaniline were successfully prepared by using wow sol-gel and in situ chemical polymerization respectively. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Dielectric properties were investigated as function of frequency by using impedance analyzer. The results showed the presence of the two intended phases. The ac conductivity was found to obey Jonscher’s universal power law. The dielectric constant and loss showed dispersion in low frequency region. Impedance analysis revealed the semiconducting behavior of the investigated samples.     

High performance dye-sensitized solar cell based on 2-mercaptobenzimidazole doped poly(vinylidinefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) based polymer electrolyte

In this work, the influence of 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (2-MCBI) on poly(vinylidinefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)/KI/I₂ (PVDF-HFP/KI/I₂) polymer electrolytes were studied. The pure and different weight percentage ratios (20, 30, 40 and 50%) of 2-MCBI doped PVDF-HFP/KI/I₂ electrolytes were prepared by a solution casting technique. The as-prepared polymer electrolyte films were characterized using various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), alternating current (AC)-impedance analysis. The addition of 2-MCBI with pure PVDF-HFP/KI/I₂ was found to increase the ionic conductivity of electrolyte. Among the various additions, 30 wt% 2-MCBI doped PVDF-HFP/KI/I₂ showed the highest room temperature ionic conductivity values than the others. The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) fabricated using this optimized polymer electrolyte achieved a high power conversion efficiency of 4.40% than the pure PVDF-HFP/KI/I₂ (1.74%) at similar experimental conditions. Thus, the 2-MCBI doped polymer electrolyte has proven to be an effective substitute to the liquid electrolyte in DSSCs.     

Negative‐order modified KdV equations: multiple soliton and multiple singular soliton solutions

In this work, we develop the negative‐order modified Korteweg–de Vries (nMKdV) equation. By means of the recursion operator of the modified KdV equation, we derive negative order forms, one for the focusing branch and the other for the defocusing form. Using the Weiss–Tabor–Carnevale method and Kruskal's simplification, we prove the Painlevé integrability of the nMKdV equations. We derive multiple soliton solutions for the first form and multiple singular soliton solutions for the second form. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.