A study on the radon concentration in water in Coonoor, India

The gas collection measurement method was employed to determine radon activity concentrations in the water of Coonoor. Open well water, dam water and stream water have been investigated for their radon concentrations. It is observed that the highest radon concentration is in the open well water and the lowest in stream water. From these measurements, the corresponding annual effective ingestion dose is determined.     

Copper(II) azide complexes of aliphatic and aromatic amine based tridentate ligands: novel structure, spectroscopy, and magnetic properties

Copper(II) azide complexes of three tridentate ligands namely 2,6-(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-ylmethyl)pyridine (L), 2,6-(pyrazol-1-ylmethyl)pyridine (L'), and dipropylenetriamine (dpt) yield three kinds of complexes with different azide-binding modes. The ligand L forms two end-on-end (mu-1,3) diazido-bridged binuclear complexes, [CuL(mu-N(3))](2)(ClO(4))(2) (1) and [CuL(mu-N(3))(ClO(4))](2).2CH(3)CN (2), and L' forms a perchlorato-bridged quasi-one-dimensional chain complex, [CuL'(N(3))(ClO(4))](n)() (3) with monodentate azide coordination. The ligation of dipropylenetriamine (dpt) gives a end-on (mu-1,1) diazido-bridged binuclear copper complex [Cu(dpt)(mu-N(3))](2)(ClO(4))(2) (4). The crystal and molecular structures of these complexes have been solved. Variable-temperature EPR results of 1 and 2 are identical and indicate the presence of both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions within the dimer, the former dominating at low temperatures and the latter at high temperatures. The unusual temperature-dependent magnetic moment and EPR spectra of this dimer reveal the presence of temperature-dependent population of two triplet states, one being caused by antiferromagnetic and the other by ferromagnetic interaction, the former transforming to the latter on cooling. While the interaction of ground spin doublets of the two metal centers gives rise to a ferromagnetic coupling of J(g) = 90.73 cm(-1), the other coupling of J(e) = -185.64 cm(-1) is suggested to be caused by the interaction between an electron in one metal center and an electron from the azide of the other monomer by excitation of a d-electron to the empty ligand orbital. The ferromagnetic state is energetically favored by 104.39 cm(-1). Compound 3 exhibits axial spectra at room temperature and 77 K, and variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility data indicate that the copper centers form a weakly antiferromagnetic one-dimensional chain with J = -0.11 cm(-1). In the case of 4, the unique presence of two nonidentical dimeric units with different bond lengths and bond angles within the unit cell as inferred by crystal structure is proved by single-crystal EPR spectroscopy.     

Experimental analysis of tamarind seed powder-based flash powder composition for eco-friendly firecrackers

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In this work, considering the various practical concerns during storage, processing, handling and emission of flash powder used for making firecracker,...     

Greener synthetic approach for the preparation of substituted flexible dimeric pyridinium salts and its importance

We have prepared substituted flexible dimeric pyridinium bromide using conventional and greener approach. Solvent-free solid phase (greener) approach is superior than the conventional owing to nontoxic, easy workup procedure, and 20 times lesser reaction time. Toxic organic solvents and column chromatography are avoided. Aldol condensation reaction is studied with various substituted aromatic aldehyde and compared with available recent literatures. Synthesized substituted flexible dimeric pyridinium salts acted as potential catalysts because of their better performance even in low concentration, recyclability, and activation of two molecules of aldehydes at the same time for aldol condensation reaction.     

Biogenic synthesis from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prunus</Emphasis> × <Emphasis Type="Italic">yedoensis</Emphasis> leaf extract,characterization, and photocatalytic and antibacterial activity of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles

Green synthesis of TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) from Prunus × yedoensis leaf extract (PYLE), and their application for removal of phosphate and their antibacterial activity, were studied for the first time. NPs were obtained using a green chemistry approach from 0.1 M TiO₂ and PYLE at ratio of 1:1 (v/w). Initial confirmation of production of TiO₂ NPs was provided by a color change from white to light yellow, then calcination was performed at 500 °C for 1 h. The TiO₂ NPs were characterized using various analytical techniques such as ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that the optimal amount of TiO₂ NPs for removal of phosphate was 10 mg/l (10 ppm) with duration of 25 min. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of TiO₂ NPs was also investigated using two different bacteria (Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli) in aqueous medium. The results revealed highly efficient sunlight-driven photocatalytic and antibacterial activity of TiO₂ NPs.     

Green Tea Versus Traditional Korean Teas: Antibacterial/Antifungal or Both?

The feasibility of utilizing the antimicrobial activity of naturally available teas was studied. Eleven teas including 2 green teas and 9 other traditional Korean mixed teas were tested for their antimicrobial properties. Antibacterial and antifungal properties were assessed. The results showed that green teas possessed significant antifungal and antibacterial properties, while most of the mixed teas showed some amount of antifungal activity and almost insignificant antibacterial properties. Confocal microscopic imaging revealed mycelial damage as well as attack on sporophores rather than spores/spore germination to be the reason behind the antifungal activity. EGCG was identified as the crucial catechin for antimicrobial activity. The study confirmed that green tea had a clear edge over the traditional mixed teas when it comes to antimicrobial activity.     

Algorithms for sampling a quantum microcanonical ensemble of harmonic oscillators at potential minima and conical intersections

Algorithms are presented for sampling quantum microcanonical ensembles for a potential energy minimum and for the conical intersection at the minimum energy crossing point of two coupled electronic states. These ensembles may be used to initialize trajectories for chemical dynamics simulations. The unimolecular dynamics of a microcanonical ensemble about a potential energy minimum may be compared with the dynamics predicted by quantum Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory. If the dynamics is non-RRKM, it will be of particular interest to determine which states have particularly long lifetimes. Initializing a microcanonical ensemble for the electronically excited state at a conical intersection is a model for electronic nonadiabatic dynamics. The trajectory surface-hopping approach may be used to study the ensuing chemical dynamics. A strength of the model is that zero-point energy conditions are included for the initial nonadiabatic dynamics at the conical intersection.     

Controlled hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanostructures by sequestering the Zn metal ions with the chelating agent EDTA

In the present work, a controlled growth of ZnO nanostructures by manipulating Zn metal ion concentration by the chelating action of ethylene diaminetetra acetic acid in hydrothermal method is studied. EDTA produces metal–chelate complex by the formation of bidentate ligand with Zn²⁺ in the solution and diminishes the reactivity of Zn metal cations. Concentration of EDTA in the mother solution was varied in different ranges like 3, 5 and 10 mM while retaining the zinc metal salt and the NaOH concentration the same. Three different morphologies of wurtzite structured ZnO nanostructures such as nanorods-bunch, separate/discrete uniformly sized hexagonal nanorods and tapered flower petals like shapes are achieved by 3, 5 and 10 mM strengths of EDTA, respectively. The medium concentration 5 mM of EDTA is found to have moderate control over producing ZnO nanostructures of uniform diameter and a high aspect (length to diameter) ratio. An array of vertically aligned free standing ZnO nanorods with uniform spacing is successfully achieved by the addition of 5 mM of EDTA in the mother solution and the same is studied for its fluorescence property at an excitation of 325 nm and it has exhibited a characteristic UV emission of ZnO around 383 nm.