Preparation of Silver Nanofluids with High Electrical Conductivity

Silver nanofluids have been prepared by single-step chemical reduction method starting with silver nitrate metal precursor. Electrical conductivity of nanofluids has been investigated, as it has largely been overlooked despite immense technological importance. Extremely low yield nanofluid (0.013 wt%) is found to give high electrical conductivity attributed to smaller size monodisperse nanoparticles obtained (16.3 nm). Increased precursor concentration has lead to high yield and high electrical conductivity. Larger particle sizes obtained are optimized by reducing the yield at high concentration, as well as by dilution. The stability is exceptionally higher than the reported results for copper nanofluids.     

Synthesis of copper sulphide and copper nanoparticles with microemulsion method

The present work is focused on the synthesis of nanocopper and nanocopper sulphide metallic particles. The precise control of size and shape is best achievable with microemulsion technique, with in situ synthesis in microemulsion. The effect of most crucial operating parameter, water-to-surfactant molar ratio (w), on the product specification including size as well as size distribution and morphology were investigated. The variation of size was observed with variation in w for copper sulphide and copper. Product specifications were analyzed using transmission electron microscope imaging, dynamic light scattering with particle size analyzer and absorption spectra using UV-visible spectrophotometer. It was observed that bigger particles were achieved at higher water-to-surfactant ratio. From systematic study of effect of w on the size and size distribution of copper nanoparticles, the optimum value was chosen for preparation of in situ catalyst. As copper on alumina catalyst has wide catalytic applications of commercial importance, alumina was selected as support. A novel deposition method is developed successfully to deposit the copper nanoparticles from microemulsion on the support. Thus prepared catalyst was analyzed with UV-visible spectrophotometer and found to contain characteristic peak of copper at 655 nm, indicating proper copper deposition on support. XRD analysis of copper on alumina catalyst confirmed presence of metallic copper.     

TiO2 nanoparticles synthesis for application in proton exchange membranes

In the present paper, suitable TiO₂ nanoparticles are successfully synthesized by sol‐gel method, in order to utilize the freshly prepared TiO₂ nanoparticles for proton exchange membrane (PEM) preparation. Titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄) is used as precursor and ethanol as a solvent. The optimum and suitable TiO₂ nanoparticles were obtained by varying gelatinisation time (4–120 h), concentration of precursor (TiCl₄) in ethanol (2–15 vol%), and reaction temperature (15–35 °C). The morphology, size and purity of the nanoparticles are investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Optimum results were found at 4 h of gelatinisation time, 10% precursor concentration and 25 °C temperature for preparation of TiO₂ nanoparticles. Thus prepared nanoparticles are found to be suitable for preparation of nanocomposite PEM, and consequently the prepared PEM indicates enhanced properties, such as, higher thermal stability (high glass transition temperature of 184.1 °C), excellent proton conductivity (0.0822 S cm⁻¹ at room temperature) and low methanol permeability (1.11 × 10⁻⁹ cm2 s⁻¹).     

Quasi solid-state quantum dot–sensitized solar cells with polysulfide gel polymer electrolyte for superior stability

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In the case of sensitized solar cells, liquid electrolyte materials are the fundamental components due to its advantage of superior conductivity. However,...     

Syntheses and structures of thermally stable diketiminato complexes of gold and copper

While most metallic elements across the Periodic Table form stable chelating β-diketiminato complexes, examples of Au(I) are conspicuous by their absence. We report here the reaction of K[HC(F(3)CC=NR)(2)] with AuCl(PPh(3)) which provides a rare example of a thermally stable gold(I) diketiminato complex, (Ph(3)P)Au[RN=C(CF(3))CH(CF(3))C=NR] [R = 3,5-C(6)H(3)(CF(3))(2)]. The complex is highly fluxional in solution but in the solid state adopts a U-conformation. By contrast, the analogous reaction of K[HC(F(3)CC=NR)(2)] with CuBr(PPh(3))(3) gives the rigid 18-electron chelate complex (Ph(3)P)(2)Cu[κ(2)-HC{(CF(3))C=NR}(2)].     

Drug Design,Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Heterocyclic Molecules as Anti-Inflammatory Agents

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are generally utilized for numerous inflammatory ailments. The long-term utilization of NSAIDs prompts adverse reactions such as gastrointestinal ulceration, renal dysfunction and hepatotoxicity; however, selective COX-2 inhibitors prevent these adverse events. Various scientific approaches have been employed to identify safer COX-2 inhibitors, as in any case, a large portion of particular COX-2 inhibitors have been retracted from the market because of severe cardiovascular events. This study aimed to develop and synthesize a novel series of indomethacin analogues with potential anti-inflammatory properties and fewer side effects, wherein carboxylic acid moiety was substituted using DCC/DMAP coupling. This study incorporates the docking of various indomethacin analogues to detect the binding interactions with COX-2 protein (PDB ID: 3NT1). MD simulation was performed to measure the stability and flexibility of ligand–protein interactions at the atomic level, for which the top-scoring ligand–protein complex was selected. These compounds were evaluated in vitro for COX enzymes inhibition. Likewise, selected compounds were screened in vivo for anti-inflammatory potential using the carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema method and their ulcerogenic potential. The acute toxicity of compounds was also predicted using in silico tools. Most of the compounds exhibited the potent inhibition of both COX enzymes; however, 3e and 3c showed the most potent COX-2 inhibition having IC50 0.34 µM and 1.39 µM, respectively. These compounds also demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory potential without ulcerogenic liability. The biological evaluation revealed that the compound substituted with 4-nitrophenyl was most active.     

Selective visual detection of Pb(II) ion via gold nanoparticles coated with a dithiocarbamate-modified 4′-aminobenzo-18-crown-6

We have developed a crown ether based selective colorimetric sensing scheme for the determination of Pb(II) ion by using gold nanoparticles modified with dithiocarbamate derivative of 4′-aminobenzo-18-crown-6 that acts as a colorimetric probe. Monodisperse Au-NPs were prepared by reacting 4′-aminobenzo-18-crown-6 with carbon disulfide to generate the dithiocarbamate ligand which was then added to the Au-NPs to form a supramolecular assembly on their surface. The Au-NPs modified in this way undergo aggregation in the presence of Pb(II) ions, and this causes the color to change from red to blue. The Pb(II)-induced aggregation can be monitored by using UV-visible spectrometry and even with the bare eye. The absorbance ratio (A_650nm/A_520nm) is linearly related to the concentration of Pb(II) in the 0.1 to 75 μM range (with a correlation coefficient of 0.9957), and the detection limit is 50 nM which is lower than the allowable level (75 nM) as defined by the US EPA. The method was successfully applied to the determination of Pb(II) in spiked water samples.

Schematic representation of Pb²⁺ ion-induced DTC-CE-Au NPs aggregation via sandwich complex formation.