Selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde, 1‐phenylethanol to acetophenone and fluorene to fluorenol catalysed by iron (II) complexes supported by pincer‐type ligands: Studies on rapid degradation of organic dyes

Hexacoordinated non‐heme iron complexes [Fe^II(L¹)₂](ClO₄)₂ ( 1 ) and [Fe^II(L²)₂](PF₆)₂ ( 2 ) have been synthesized using ligands L¹ = (E)‐2‐chloro‐6‐(2‐(pyridin‐2ylmethylene) hydrazinyl)pyridine and L² = (E)‐2‐chloro‐6‐(2‐(1‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)ethylidene)hydrazinyl) pyridine]. These complexes are highly active non‐heme iron catalysts to catalyze the C (sp³)?H bonds of alkanes. These iron complexes have been characterized using ESI?MS analysis and molecular structures were determined by X‐ray crystallography. ESI ? MS analysis also helped to understand the generation of intermediate species like Fe^III?OOH and Fe^IV=O. DFT and TD?DFT calculations revealed that the oxidation reactions were performed through high‐valent iron center and a probable reaction mechanism was proposed. These complexes were also utilized for the degradation of orange II and methylene blue dyes.     

Observation of Slow Relaxation and Single‐Molecule Toroidal Behavior in a Family of Butterfly‐Shaped Ln4 Complexes

A family of five isostructural butterfly complexes with a tetranuclear [Ln₄] core of the general formula [Ln₄(LH)₂(μ₂‐η¹η¹Piv)(η²‐Piv)(μ₃‐OH)₂]?x H₂O?y MeOH?z CHCl₃ ( 1 : Ln=Dy^III, x=2, y=2, z=0; 2 : Ln=Tb^III, x=0, y=0, z=6; 3 : Ln=Er^III, x=2, y=2, z=0; 4 : Ln=Ho^III, x=2, y=2, z=0; 5 : Ln=Yb^III, x=2, y=2, z=0; LH₄=6‐{[bis(2‐hydroxyethyl)amino]methyl}‐N′‐(2‐hydroxy‐3‐methoxybenzylidene)picolinohydrazide; PivH=pivalic acid) was isolated and characterized both structurally and magnetically. Complexes 1 – 5 were probed by direct and alternating current (dc and ac) magnetic susceptibility measurements and, except for 1 , they did not display single‐molecule magnetism (SMM) behavior. The ac magnetic susceptibility measurements show frequency‐dependent out‐of‐phase signals with one relaxation process for complex 1 and the estimated effective energy barrier for the relaxation process was found to be 49 K. We have carried out extensive ab initio (CASSCF+RASSI‐SO+SINGLE_ANISO+POLY_ANISO) calculations on all the five complexes to gain deeper insights into the nature of magnetic anisotropy and the presence and absence of slow relaxation in these complexes. Our calculations yield three different exchange coupling for these Ln₄ complexes and all the extracted J values are found to be weakly ferro/antiferromagentic in nature (J₁=+2.35, J₂=?0.58, and J₃=?0.29 cm^?1 for 1 ; J₁=+0.45, J₂=?0.68, and J₃=?0.29 cm^?1 for 2 ; J₁=+0.03, J₂=?0.98, and J₃=?0.19 cm^?1 for 3 ; J₁=+4.15, J₂=?0.23, and J₃=?0.54 cm^?1 for 4 and J₁=+0.15, J₂=?0.28, and J₃=?1.18 cm^?1 for 5 ). Our calculations reveal the presence of very large mixed toroidal moment in complex 1 and this is essentially due to the specific exchange topology present in this cluster. Our calculations also suggest presence of single‐molecule toroics (SMTs) in complex 2 . For complexes 3 – 5 on the other hand, the transverse anisotropy was computed to be large, leading to the absence of slow relaxation of magnetization. As the magnetic field produced by SMTs decays faster than the normal spin moments, the concept of SMTs can be exploited to build qubits in which less interference and dense packing are possible. Our systematic study on these series of Ln₄ complexes suggest how the ligand design can help to bring forth such SMT characteristics in lanthanide complexes.     

Normal vibrations and their dispersion in syndiotactic polystyrene

Normal modes and their dispersion are obtained for syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) in the planar zigzag and s(2/1)2 helical conformations. Comparison is made with the spectra of isotactic polystyrene (ips) to identify the conformation-sensitive modes; for example, the 1221 cm^?1 mode is identified as a skeletal mode sensitive to chain structure and it also shows maximum dispersion. Bunching of dispersion curves and their intersection are among the characteristic features which are discussed. A check on the dispersion curves below 400 cm^?1 is made from the spectra of polystyrene oligomers.     

Validated Simultaneous High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic Analysis of Ursolic Acid, β-Sitosterol,Lupeol and Quercetin in the Methanolic Fraction of Ichnocarpus frutescens

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - A high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method for the simultaneous quantitative determination and validation of...     

Facile Chan‐Lam coupling using ferrocene tethered N‐heterocyclic carbene‐copper complex anchored on graphene

Ferrocene tethered N‐heterocyclic carbene‐copper complex anchored on graphene ([GrFemImi]NHC@Cu complex) has been synthesized by covalent grafting of ferrocenyl ionic liquid in the matrix of graphene followed by metallation with copper (I) iodide. The [GrFemImi]NHC@Cu complex has been characterized by fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR), fourier transform Raman (FT‐Raman), CP‐MAS ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX) analysis, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis and X‐ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis. This novel complex served as a robust heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of bioactive N‐aryl sulfonamides from variety of aryl boronic acids and sulfonyl azides in ethanol by Chan‐Lam coupling. Recyclability experiments were executed successfully for six consecutive runs.     

Radionuclide production with cyclotrons (RAPUNCL)

ABSTRACT

RAPUNCL, a study course on Radionuclide Production with Cyclotrons, was organized in September 2017 in Mannheim. The intention was to test the feasibility of an educational program which is mainly driven by the input of the participating students. All aspects of target construction and operation have been covered in detail. Also the relevant aspects of Radiation Protection have been discussed. The students used intensively IAEA databases and MC simulation programs to model target design and operations. Topics for improvement have been identified and will be realized in the next course. Sources of funding have to be found to be able to organize the summer school in a sustainable way.     

Thermal,mechanical, and topographical evaluation of nonstoichiometric α-cyclodextrin/poly(ε-caprolactone) pseudorotaxane nucleated poly(ε-caprolactone) composite films

Three pseudorotaxanes (PpR) comprised of poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) with varying stoichiometric ratios were synthesized and characterized. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and thermogravimetric (TGA) analyses provided conclusive evidence for complexation between the guest PCL and host α-CD. The as-synthesized and characterized PpRs were used at 10 and 20% concentrations as nucleants to promote the bulk PCL crystallization in composite films. Both WAXD and TGA provided evidence for intact PpR structures in the composite films. Isothermal differential scanning calorimetric (I-DSC) analyses, performed at various crystallization temperatures demonstrated significant differences in the crystallization patterns among the composite films. In addition, I-DSC analyses showed higher Avrami constant values (n) in the PpR-nucleated composite PCL films (n ~ 3), indicating 3-dimensional crystal growth. In the case of neat PCL films, however, lower n values indicated crystal growth in 1-dimensions or 2-dimensions. Moreover, atomic force microscopic analyses showed large crests and pits in PpR-nucleated PCL composites, with irregular morphologies leading to higher surface roughness. To the contrary, the crests and pits were much smaller in the neat PCL films, resulting in lower surface roughness values. Finally, mechanical testing revealed higher tensile strength for PpR-nucleated PCL composites films, demonstrating larger load bearing capabilities. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 1529–1537     

Studies on the changes in the composition of solvent during photochemical generation of uranous ions in uranium loaded 30 % TBP-n-dodecane-HNO3 system

Present investigation describes our study on photochemical generation of uranous ions and consequent degradation of solvent in the uranium loaded 30 % Tributyl phosphate-n-dodecane-nitric acid system. Samples of 30 % TBP-n-dodecane loaded with uranium were subjected to UV photolysis at 254, 300 and 350 nm respectively. Wavelength dependent formation of U(IV) has been determined spectrophotometrically by measuring absorbance at 656 nm. Additionally, photochemical yield of U(IV) has also been estimated semi quantitatively as a function of time of photolysis. The changes in the solvent composition under different photochemical conditions have been studied by examination of comparative gas chromatographic profiles of the solvent before and after photolysis. Among the wavelength of photo irradiation studied, the yield of U(IV) was found to be optimum at 300 nm with least degradation of PUREX solvent.