Upgrading of light cycle oil by partial hydrogenation and selective ring opening over an iridium bifunctional catalyst

An iridium catalyst supported on USY zeolite has been evaluated for hydrotreating of light cycle oil (LCO) to reduce its aromaticity and improve its cetane index. The products were analyzed by GC and ¹³C NMR spectrometry to determine quantitatively the aromatic carbon content and the increase in cetane index. Addition of an appropriate amount of potassium was found to be an effective way of optimizing the acid properties of the catalyst; reducing the number of strongly acid sites reduced its cracking activity. The results confirm that 0.9% (w/w) Ir/USY zeolite catalyst doped with 0.75% (w/w) K was highly suitable for partial hydrogenation and ring opening of LCO to improve cetane quality, thus increasing the extent of its blending ratio with the diesel pool.     

Fenugreek hydrogel–agarose composite entrapped gold nanoparticles for acetylcholinesterase based biosensor for carbamates detection

A biosensor was fabricated to detect pesticides in food samples. Acetylcholinesterase was immobilized in a novel fenugreek hydrogel–agarose matrix with gold nanoparticles. Transparent thin films with superior mechanical strength and stability were obtained with 2% fenugreek hydrogel and 2% agarose. Immobilization of acetylcholinesterase on the membrane resulted in high enzyme retention efficiency (92%) and a significantly prolonged shelf life of the enzyme (half-life, 55 days). Transmission electron microscopy revealed that, gold nanoparticles (10–20 nm in diameter) were uniformly dispersed in the fenugreek hydrogel–agarose–acetylcholinesterase membrane. This immobilized enzyme-gold nanoparticle dip-strip system detected various carbamates, including carbofuran, oxamyl, methomyl, and carbaryl, with limits of detection of 2, 21, 113, and 236 nM (S/N = 3), respectively. Furthermore, the fabricated biosensor exhibited good testing capabilities when used to detect carbamates added to various fruit and vegetable samples.     

Effect of β-cyclodextrin complexation on physicochemical properties of zaleplon

The physicochemical properties and dissolution profile of zaleplon (ZPN) β-cyclodextrin (βCD) inclusion complex were investigated. The phase solubility profile of ZPN with β-cyclodextrin was classified as A_L-type. Stability constant with 1:1 molar ratio was calculated from the phase solubility diagram and the aqueous solubility of ZPN was found to be enhanced by 714% (p < 0.001) for β-cyclodextrin. Binary systems of ZPN with βCD were prepared by kneading method. The solid-state properties of complex were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transformation-infrared spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffractometry. It could be concluded that ZPN could form inclusion complex with β-cyclodextrin. The dissolution profile of inclusion complex was determined and compared with those of ZPN alone and its physical mixture. The dissolution rate of ZPN was significantly increased by complexation with βCD, as compared with pure drug and physical mixture.     

Apparent molar volume and apparent molar adiabatic compressibility of 2-hydroxy-5-methyl acetophenone in <Emphasis Type="Italic">N,N</Emphasis>-dimethylformamide at different temperatures

The speed of sound and density of 2-hydroxy-5-methyl acetophenone in dimethylformamide have been measured over the range of temperatures 25–40 °C. From the experimentally determined data, values of apparent molar volume (V _ϕ), adiabatic compressibility (β_s), apparent molar adiabatic compressibility (K _s,ϕ) and their limiting values have been computed. Values at infinite dilution provide information regarding solute–solvent interaction. The density and velocity increases with increase in concentration and decreases with increase in temperature. These results have been analyzed in terms of molecular interactions between acetophenone and dimethylformamide.     

Performance enhancement of phosphoric acid fuel cell using phosphosilicate gel based electrolyte

Replacement of phosphoric acid electrolyte by phosphosilicate gel based electrolytes is proposed for performance enhancement of phosphoric acid fuel cell(PAFC).Phosphosilicate gel in paste form and in powder form is synthesized from tetraethoxysilane and orthophosphoric acid using sol-gel method for two different P/Si ratio of 5 and 1.5 respectively.Replacement of phosphoric acid electrolyte by phosphosilicate gel paste enhances the peak power generation of the fuel cell by 133% at 120 ℃ cell temperature;increases the voltage generation in the ohmic regime and extends the maximum possible load current.Polyinyl alcohol(PVA) is used to bind the phosphosilicate gel powder and to form the hybrid crosslinked gel polymer electrolyte membrane.Soaking the membrane with phosphoric acid solution,instead of that with water improves the proton conductivity of the membrane,enhances the voltage and power generation by the fuel cell and extends the maximum possible operating temperature.At lower operating temperature of 70 ℃,peak power produced by phosphosilicate gel polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell(PGMFC) is increased by 40% compared to that generated by phosphoric acid fuel cell(PAFC).However,the performance of composite membrane diminishes as the cell temperature increases.Thus phosphosilicate gel in paste form is found to be a good alternative of phosphoric acid electrolyte at medium operating temperature range while phosphosilicate gel-PVA composite offers performance enhancement at low operating temperatures.     

Crystal structures and biological activity of homologated (N)-n-alkylammonium salts of 2-bromo-3-oxido-1,4-naphthoquinone

Structural Chemistry - Homologated (N)-n-alkylammonium salts of 2-bromo-3-oxido-1,4-naphthoquinone (BS-1 to BS-8) have been synthesized and characterized from the single crystal X-ray diffraction...     

Selective extraction of calcium on tri-n-butyl phosphate plasticized selective extraction of calcium on tri-n-butyl phosphate plasticized polyurethane foam for its spectrophotometric determination in glass and ceramics.

The present paper describes the application of a solid phase extraction system in order to separate traces of calcium from glass and ceramics for its spectrophotometric determination. The method is based on the extraction of calcium from sodium hydroxide solution by tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) loaded polyurethane foam (PUF), followed by its elution in hydrochloric acid. The spectrophotometric measurement of the absorbance of calcium complex with calconcarboxylic acid (2-hydroxy-1-(2-hydroxy-4-sulfo-1-naphthylazo)-3-naphthoic acid) takes place at pH 12. The following parameters were studied: effects of sodium hydroxide concentration and temperature on the extraction of calcium, time of equilibration for quantitative calcium extraction, effect of TBP concentration, effect of hydrochloric acid concentration for quantitative elution of calcium from PUF, effect of pH and concentration of calconcarboxylic acid for quantitative formation of the complex with calcium, effect of acetone on the stability of calcium-calconcarboxylic acid complex and influence of diverse ions on calcium sorption by TBP-loaded PUF. The results show that calcium traces can be separated onto TBP-loaded PUF from 0.25 mol L(-1) NaOH at 30 +/- 5 degrees C within 30 min. PUF was loaded with TBP in CCl4 (40% v/v). Elution of calcium was done in 1.0 mol l(-1) HCl. The calcium formed a complex with calconcarboxylic acid at pH 12 and absorbance was measured at 560 nm in acetone-water medium. Molar absorptivity was found to be 1.082 x 10(4) l mol(-1) cm(-1). The method obeys Beer's law from 0.10 to 5.0 microg ml(-1) Ca. The validity of the method was established by its successful application in NIST standard reference materials. The method proposed was applied to determine calcium in glass and ceramic materials. The results of the proposed method are comparable with the results of ICP-AES analysis and they are found to be in good agreement.     

An unprecedented Cu–Schiff base complex existing as two different trinuclear units with strong antiferromagnetic couplings

A new tetradentate N₂O₂ donor Schiff base ligand [OHC₆H₄CHNCH₂CH₂CH(CH₂CH₃)NCHC₆H₄OH = H₂L ] was obtained by 1:2 condensation of 1,3-diaminopentane with salicylaldehyde and has been used to synthesise an unusual copper(II) complex whose asymmetric unit presents two structurally different almost linear trinuclear units [Cu₃(μ-L)₂(ClO₄)₂] [Cu₃(μ-L)₂(H₂O)(ClO₄)₂] (1). The ligand and the complex were characterised by elemental analysis, FT-IR, ¹H NMR and UV–Vis spectroscopy in addition electrochemical and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies were performed for the complex. The magnetic properties of 1 reveal the presence of strong intra-trimer (J₁ = −202(3) cm⁻¹ and J₂ = −233(3) cm⁻¹) as well as very weak inter-trimer (zJ′ = −0.11(1) cm⁻¹) antiferromagnetic interactions.