p-sulfonic acid calix[4]arene: An efficient reusable organocatalyst for the synthesis of bis(indolyl)methanes derivatives in water and under solvent-free conditions

In this work, a green, simple and highly efficient procedure for the synthesis of bis(indolyl)methanes is described. The condensation of indoles catalyzed by p-sulfonic acid calix[4]arene in water and under solvent-free conditions afford the title compounds in high yields and relatively short reaction times.     

DFT calculations of NMR properties for GaP nanotubes

Abstract  

We performed density functional theory calculations for nitrogen-doped models of the representative structures of (6,0) zigzag and (4,4) armchair aluminum phosphide nanotubes (AlPNTs). Our results indicate that the optimized bond distances and tip diameters do not detect the effects of the N-doped regions; however, the effects are observed for the band gap energies and dipole moments. It is noted that substitution of the P atom by the N atom does not influence the value of band gap energy for this N-doped model. The results also indicate that the tendency of the Al atom for contribution to the Al–N bond is stronger than the tendency of the P atom for contribution to the N–P bond; therefore, the latter form of substitution makes the AlPNTs interesting as reactive materials towards other atoms or molecules, especially for the the zigzag AlPNT.     

Incidence angle dependence on structural and optical properties of UHV deposited copper nano layers

Copper nano-layers with different incident angles as vertical, 20 and 30 degrees, same 73.3 nm thicknesses, and same deposition rate, were deposited on glass substrates, at 373K temperature, under UHV conditions. Their nano-structures were determined by AFM and XRD methods. Their optical properties were measured by spectrophotometry in the spectral range of 300–1100 nm. Kramers–Kronig relations were used for the analysis of the reflectivity curves of Cu films to obtain the optical constants of the nano layers. Different incident angles show important effects on both structural and optical properties. The effective medium approximation was employed to establish the relation between structure zone model (SZM) and EMA predictions. By increasing incidence angle the separation of metallic grains increases, hence the volume fraction of voids increases. That is in agreement with AFM analysis. The predictions of Drude free-electron theory are compared with experimental results for dielectric functions of these nano layers. There is a good agreement between our optical results and Hangman's optical results for a bulk standard Cu sample.     

Extending the dynamic range of an energy harvester using nonlinear damping

This paper introduces the use of nonlinear damping for extending the dynamic range of vibration energy harvesters. A cubic nonlinear damper is initially considered and the average harvested power and the throw are obtained for different sinusoidal base excitation amplitudes and frequencies, both numerically and analytically. It is demonstrated that when excited at resonance, at an amplitude below its maximum operational limit, the harvested power using a nonlinear damper can be significantly larger than that of a linear energy harvester, therefore expanding its dynamic range. A potential approach to implementing cubic nonlinearity using a shunted electromagnetic device is also presented.     

Ylide stabilized carbenes: a computational study

High‐level Density Functional Theory calculations, coupled with appropriate isodesmic reaction, are employed to investigate the effects of α‐carbon, ammonium, phosphorus, and sulfur ylides, cyclization, and unsaturation on the stability, multiplicity, and reactivity of novel singlet (S) and triplet (T) carbenes. Among them the highly π‐donating α‐ammonium ylide is found to exert the highest stabilizing effect on the carbenic center. α‐Ammonium ylides resist dimerization and hydrogenation. They show wider singlet–triplet energy gap (ΔΕ_S–T), broader band gap (ΔΕ_HOMO–LUMO), and higher nucleophilicity compared to the reported stable N‐heterocyclic carbenes. Aromatic cyclic unsaturated ammonium, phosphorus, and sulfur ylide carbenes appear more stable than their saturated cyclic analogs which are in turn more viable than their acyclic counterparts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Entanglement dynamics of a strongly driven trapped atom

We study the entanglement between the internal electronic and the external vibrational degrees of freedom of a trapped atom which is driven by two lasers into electromagnetically induced transparency. It is shown that basic features of the intricate entanglement dynamics can be traced to Landau-Zener splittings (avoided crossings) in the spectrum of the atom-laser field Hamiltonian. We further construct an effective Hamiltonian that describes the behavior of entanglement under dissipation induced by spontaneous emission processes. The proposed approach is applicable to a broad range of scenarios for the control of entanglement between electronic and translational degrees of freedom of trapped atoms through suitable laser fields.     

Surface properties of polypropylene/organoclay nanocomposites

Influence of nanoclay amount on surface properties of the nanocomposites was investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission spectroscopy (TS). Polypropylene based nanocomposites containing various loads of nanoclay were prepared by melt compounding. X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterized the dispersion of nanoclay in polymer matrix. AFM and SEM studies have shown increase in surface roughness by raising the amount of nanoclay. Contact angle measurements of the resultant nanocomposites have also shown improvement in wettability related to disperse part of surface tension. POM images illustrated an increase in the number of spherulite simultaneously with a decrease in their size; this result was also supported by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).     

New way to produce dense double-antikaonic dibaryon system, KKNN, through Λ(1405)-doorway sticking in p+p collisions

A recent successful observation of a dense and deeply bound K nuclear system, K-pp, in the p+p→K++K-pp reaction in a DISTO experiment indicates that the double-K dibaryon, K-K-pp, which was predicted to be a dense nuclear system, can also be formed in p+p collisions. We find theoretically that the K--K- repulsion plays no significant role in reducing the density and binding energy of K-K-pp and that, when two Λ(1405) resonances are produced simultaneously in a short-range p+p collision, they act as doorways to copious formation of K-K-pp, if and only if K-K-pp is a dense object, as predicted.