Mono- and di-substituted urea derivatives of cyclodiphosphazane: [ClP(μ-NBu)2PN(Me)CON(H)Me] and [Me(H)NCON(Me)P(μ-NBu)]2

The reaction of cis-[ClP(μ-N^tBu)]₂ with N,N′-dimethylurea leads to the formation of both mono- and di-substituted derivatives [ClP(μ-N^tBu)₂P(NMeCON(H)Me)] and [(μ-N^tBu)P(NMeCON(H)Me)]₂, instead of monomeric, dimeric or higher oligomeric macrocycles. The structure of [ClP(μ-N^tBu)₂P(NMeCON(H)Me)] shows rare non-bonded P?Cl and intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions leading to a 2D-sheet like structure.     

Biosynthesis of TiO2 Nanoparticles Using Edible Mushroom (Pleurotus djamor) Extract: Mosquito Larvicidal,Histopathological, Antibacterial and Anticancer Effect

Journal of Cluster Science - The titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) were synthesized by the aqueous extract from P. djamor. The UV–Vis spectrum of TiO2NPs showed maximum absorption at...     

CeO2/Pd Nanoparticles Incorporated Fly Ash Zeolite: An Efficient and Recyclable Catalyst for Csp2-Csp2 Bond Formation Reactions

The catalytic activity of CeO₂ and palladium nanoparticles supported fly ash zeolite (CeO₂/Pd@FAZ) for C_sp²-C_sp² bond formation was studied. CeO₂/Pd@FAZ was characterized by FTIR, XRD, EDAX and TEM studies. In the Suzuki-Miyauracross-coupling reaction, biphenyl derivatives with excellent yields were obtained, and the reaction conditions were optimized. The catalytic activity was explored using a wide variety of diversely substituted aryl bromides and chlorides with aryl boronic acid under optimized reaction conditions. The recyclability of the catalyst was established for three cycles, with the conversion rate from 99 to 40%, which gained the advantage of heterogeneous catalysis.     

Biological Applications of Synthesized ZnO Nanoparticles Using Pleurotus djamor Against Mosquito Larvicidal,Histopathology, Antibacterial,Antioxidant and Anticancer Effect

The present study pertained to biosynthesis, characterization and biomedical application (larvicidal, histopathology, antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer activity) of Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) from Pleurotus djamor. The synthesized NPs were characterized using spectral and microscopic analyses and further confirmed by UV–Visible spectrophotometer with apeak of 350 nm. The ZnONPs showed strong antioxidant property (DPPH, H₂O₂ and ABTS⁺ radical assay) and expressed good larval toxicity against Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus (IVth instar larvae) with the least LC₅₀ and LC₉₀ values (10.1, 25.6 and 14.4, 31.7 mg/l) after 24 h treatment, respectively. We noticed the morphological changes (damaged anal papillae area and the cuticle layers) in the treated larvae. For the antibacterial assay, the highest growth inhibition zone was recorded in C. diphteriae (28.6?±?0.3 mm), followed by P. fluorescens (27?±?0.5 mm) and S. aureus (26.6?±?1.5 mm). The in vitro cytotoxicity assay depicted a significant level of cytotoxic effects (LC₅₀ values 42.26 μg/ml) of ZnONPs against the A549 lung cancer cells, even at low dose. The overall findings of the study suggest that P. djamor had the ability for the biosynthesis of ZnONPs and could act as an alternative biomedical agent for future therapeutic applications in medical avenues.

     

Determination of Young's modulus of epoxy coated polyethylene micro-cantilever using phase-shift shadow moiré method

Young′s moduli of various epoxy coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) micro-cantilevers were determined from the deflection results obtained using the phase-shift shadow moiré (PSSM) method. The filler materials for epoxy coatings were aluminum and graphite powders that were mixed with epoxy at various percentages. Young′s moduli were calculated from theory based on the deflection results. The PET micro-cantilever coated with aluminum-epoxy coating showed increasing value of Young′s modulus when the ratios of the aluminum-epoxy were increased. The graphite-epoxy coating on the PET micro-cantilever also showed the same trend. The experimental results also show that Young′s modulus of the graphite-epoxy coating is higher than aluminum-epoxy coating in comparison at the same mixing ratio.     

Synthesis and characterization of water-soluble carbon nanotubes from mustard soot

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) has been synthesized by pyrolysing mustard oil using an oil lamp. It was made water-soluble (wsCNT) through oxidative treatment by dilute nitric acid and was characterized by SEM, AFM, XRD, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. The synthesized wsCNT showed the presence of several junctions and defects in it. The presence of curved graphene structure (sp²) with frequent sp³ hybridized carbon is found to be responsible for the observed defects. These defects along with the presence of di- and tri-podal junctions showed interesting magnetic properties of carbon radicals formed by spin frustration. This trapped carbon radical showed ESR signal in aqueous solution and was very stable even under drastic treatment by strong oxidizing or reducing agents. Oxidative acid treatment of CNT introduced several carboxylic acid group functionalities in wsCNT along with the nicking of the CNT at different lengths with varied molecular weight. To evaluate molecular weights of these wsCNTs, an innovative method like gel electrophoresis using high molecular weight DNA as marker was introduced.     

Influence of Sm<Superscript>3+</Superscript> ion in structural,morphological, and electrochemical properties of LiMn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> synthesized by microwave calcination

LiSm_xMn_2–xO₄ samples were synthesized via co-precipitation technique. The structural properties of the synthesized materials were studied using X-ray diffraction analysis and it confirmed the cubic spinel structure for all the compounds. The lattice parameter of LiMn₂O₄ was observed to be 8.2347 Ǻ and it decreased with Sm³⁺ concentration, due to the shrinkage in cell volume aided by higher binding energy between Sm-O bond. The SEM micrographs were analyzed using Image processing software (Image-J) to ascertain the pore and grain properties. The microwave synthesis had been observed to control the bulk grain formation and had yielded lesser porous and nanoparticles. The particle size distributions obtained through photocross correlation laser diffraction analysis had shown that LiMn₂O₄ with 60 nm and Sm-doped compounds with ∼30 nm, respectively. The cyclic voltammetry studies had revealed the decrease in electrocatalytic behavior in the initial cycle for compounds doped with Sm³⁺ ion. The initial capacities of LiMn₂O₄, LiSm_0.05Mn_1.95O₄ and LiSm_0.10Mn_1.90O₄ substituted compounds were observed to be 134.87 mAhg⁻¹, 132.22 mAhg⁻¹ and 126.41 mAhg⁻¹, respectively. The cells were simulated using 1D model namely Dualfoil5.1 program. The simulated results coincide well with the measured results. The cycle life studies reveal 93% capacity retention of samarium-0.05-doped samples when compared with 78.4% of the LiMn₂O₄.     

Generalized van Vleck perturbation theory (GVVPT2) study of the excited states of benzene and the azabenzenes

Generalized van Vleck perturbation theory (GVVPT2) for molecular electronic structures is applied to examine the azabenzene series: benzene, pyridine, pyrazine, symmetric triazine and symmetric tetrazine. The spectra of azabenzenes are complex with large numbers of excited states at low energies comprising n --> pi* and pi --> pi* excited states and also doubly excited states of the n,n --> pi*,pi* type. The calculations are complicated due to strong correlation effects in the nitrogen lone-pair orbitals and the pi electrons. This study is the first to use GVVPT2 on conjugated systems. Comparison is made with experimental data and complete active space second-order perturbation theory, equation of motion coupled cluster and similarity transformed equation of motion coupled cluster theory data. Using polarized valence double split basis sets for benzene and pyrazine (cc-pVDZ) and pyridine (ANO-S) and polarized triple split basis sets (ANO-L) for triazine and tetrazine, the n --> pi* and pi --> pi* states are computed with an average error of 0.28 eV in comparison with available experimental data.     

Electrodeposited three dimensional tin nano wire anode for thin film Li-Ion micro batteries

The tin wire grown over anodic aluminium oxide template is used as anode for Li ion batteries. This work entails porous template formation through double step electrochemical oxidation method optimized by design of experiment and Tafel polarization. The X-ray diffraction results of different anodized specimens show amorphous alumina layer formation. The pores in alumina matrix and the filamentous outward projection of Sn wires are observed from micrographs. The initial discharge capacity of Sn wire and Sn planar thin film is observed to be around 850 and 531 mA h/g respectively. The 50th cycle capacity of Sn wire is observed to be around 494 mA h/g which is very high when compared to theoretical capacity of graphite anodes.     

Heat transfer enhancement in MOSFET mounted on different FR4 substrates by thermal transient measurement

Miniaturization of electronic package leads to high heat density and heat accumulation in electronics device, resulting in short life time and premature failure of the device. Junction temperature and thermal resistance are the critical parameters that determine the thermal management and reliability in electronics cooling. Metal oxide field effect transistor (MOSFET) is an important semiconductor device for light emitting diode-integrated circuit (LED IC) driver application, and thermal management in MOSFET is a major challenge. In this study, investigations on thermal performance of MOSFET are performed for evaluating the junction temperature and thermal resistance. Suitable modifications in FR4 substrates are proposed by introducing thermal vias and copper layer coating to improve the thermal performance of MOSFET. Experiments are conducted using thermal transient tester (T3ster) at 2.0 A input current and ambient temperature varying from 25 ℃to 75 °C. The thermal parameters are measured for three proposed designs: FR4 with circular thermal vias, FR4 with single strip of copper layer and embedded vias, and FR4 with I-shaped copper layer, and compared with that of plain FR4 substrate. From the experimental results, FR4_I-shaped shows promising results by 33.71% reduction in junction temperature and 54.19% reduction in thermal resistance. For elevated temperature, the relative increases in junction temperature and thermal resistance are lower for FR4_I-shaped than those for other substrates considered. The introduction of thermal vias and copper layer plays a significant role in thermal performance.