Sodium Formate‐Catalyzed One‐Pot Synthesis of Benzopyranopyrimidines and 4‐Thio‐substituted 4H‐Chromenes via Multicomponent Reaction at Room Temperature

A simple, straightforward and highly efficient multicomponent one‐pot synthesis of a series of pharmaceutically interesting benzopyranopyrimidine and 4H‐chromene derivatives has been developed on the basis of low‐cost and environment‐friendly sodium formate catalyst via tandem reactions of salicylic aldehydes, malononitrile, and cyclic secondary amines in ethanol at room temperature. Nature of nucleophile used in this reaction directs the course of the reaction; cyclic secondary amines result in the formation of benzopyrano[2,3‐d]pyrimidines, whereas thiophenol furnish corresponding 4‐thio‐subtituted 4H‐chromenes under the same reaction conditions. High atom‐economy, good yields, eco‐friendly, and mild reaction conditions are some of the important features of this protocol.     

Specular X-ray reflectivity study of interfacial SiO2 layer in thermally annealed NiO/Si assembly

Present report details an analysis of X-ray reflectivity (XRR) for solution processed NiO thin films on Si (100) substrates. The films were annealed at 700–1,000 °C for 1 h in air. XRR data indicated growth of SiO₂ layer from ~8 nm at 700 °C to ~66 nm at 1,000 °C along with significant variation of electron density profile. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies were used as supporting studies for phase purity and oxidation states of the NiO thin films as well as interfacial SiO₂ layer.     

Bismuth nitrate-catalyzed multicomponent reaction for efficient and one-pot synthesis of densely functionalized piperidine scaffolds at room temperature

A simple, straightforward, and highly efficient diastereoselective multicomponent one-pot synthesis of a series of pharmaceutically interesting functionalized piperidine derivatives has been developed based on a low-cost and environmentally benign Bi(NO₃)₃·5H₂O catalyst via tandem reactions of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, aromatic aldehydes, and various amines in ethanol at room temperature. High atom-economy, good yields, eco-friendliness, and mild reaction conditions are some of the important features of this protocol.     

Regioselective Synthesis of Quinazolinone‐/Phenanthridine‐Fused Heteropolycycles by Pd‐Catalyzed Direct Intramolecular Aerobic Oxidative C−H Amination from Aromatic Strained Amides

A new route for the expedient synthesis of specific regioisomer of quinazolinone‐ and phenanthridine‐fused heterocycles through a palladium‐catalyzed regioselective intramolecular oxidative C?H amination from cyclic strained amides of aromatic amido–amidine systems (quinazolinones) has been developed. The amine functionalization of an aromatic C?H bond from a strained amide nitrogen involved in aromaticity has been a challenging work so far. The fusion of two heterocyclic cores, quinazolinone and phenanthridine, can occur in two different ways (linear and angular), but under the conditions reported here, only linear type isomer is exclusively produced. This approach provides a variety of substituted quinazolinone‐ and phenanthridine‐fused derivatives in moderate to excellent yields. Moreover, such fused molecules show excellent fluorescent properties and have great potential to be a new type of fluorophores for the use in medicinal and material science.     

Sedimentation of nanoparticles in nanoscale colloidal suspensions

A theoretical model is developed to study the sedimentation characteristics of nanoscale colloidal suspensions (nanofluids). The influences of various deterministic and stochastic forcing parameters in the transport characteristics of the suspended nanoparticles are investigated by employing a Langevin formalism of particle transport. The role of collective particle interaction phenomena in the sedimentation of nanoparticles is analyzed by invoking the fundamental considerations of agglomeration-deagglomeration kinetics of the particulate phases. The model demonstrates the effect of particle volume fraction, particle size, and aggregate structure on the sedimentation velocity of the suspended nanoparticles. Predictions from the present model agree well with the experimental results reported in the literature.     

Template-directed synthesis of kinetically and thermodynamically stable molecular necklace using ring closing metathesis

We report the template-directed synthesis of a well-defined, kinetically stable [5]molecular necklace with dialkylammonium ion (R(2)NH(2)(+)) as recognition site and DB24C8 as macrocycle. A thread containing four dialkylammonium ions with olefin at both ends was first synthesized and then subjected to threading with an excess amount of DB24C8 to form pseudo[5]rotaxane, which in situ undergoes ring closing metathesis at the termini with second generation Grubbs catalyst to yield the desired [5]molecular necklace. The successful synthesis of [5]molecular necklace is mainly attributed to the self-assembly and dynamic covalent chemistry which allows the formation of thermodynamically most stable product. The self-assembly of the DB24C8 ring onto the recognition site known as templating effect was driven by noncovalent stabilizing interactions like [N(+)-H···O], [C-H···O] hydrogen bonds as well as [π···π] interactions which is facilitated in non-polar solvents. The reversible nature of olefin metathesis reaction makes it suitable for dynamic covalent chemistry since proof-reading and error-checking operates until it generates thermodynamically the most stable interlocked molecule. Riding on the success of [5]molecular necklace, we went a step further and attempted to synthesize [7]molecular necklace using the same protocol. This led to the synthesis of another thread with olefin at both ends but having six dibenzylammonium ions along the thread. However, the extremely poor solubility of this thread containing six secondary ammonium ions limits the self-assembly process even after we replaced the typical PF(6)(-) counter anion with a more lipophilic BPh(4)(-) anion. Although the poor solubility of the thread remains the bottleneck for making higher order molecular necklaces yet this approach of "threading-followed-by-ring-closing-metathesis" for the first time produces kinetically and thermodynamically stable, well-defined, homogeneous molecular necklace which was well characterized by one-dimensional, two-dimensional, variable temperature proton NMR spectroscopy and ESI mass spectroscopy.     

Near horizon data and physical charges of extremal AdS black holes

We compute the physical charges and discuss the properties of a large class of five-dimensional extremal AdS black holes by using the near horizon data. Our examples include baryonic and electromagnetic black branes, as well as supersymmetric spinning black holes. In the presence of the gauge Chern-Simons term, the five-dimensional physical charges are the Page charges. We carry out the near horizon analysis and compute the four-dimensional charges of the corresponding black holes by using the entropy function formalism and show that they match the Page charges.     

Study of anti-clockwise bipolar resistive switching in Ag/NiO/ITO heterojunction assembly

The anti-clockwise bipolar resistive switching in Ag/NiO/ITO (Indium–Tin–Oxide) heterojunctional thin film assembly is investigated. A sequential voltage sweep in 0 → V _max → 0 → ?V _min → 0 order shows intrinsic hysteresis behaviour and resistive switching in current density (J)–voltage (V) measurements at room temperature. Switching is induced by possible rupture and recovery of the conducting filaments in NiO layer mediated by oxygen ion migration and interfacial effects at NiO/ITO junction. In the high-resistance OFF-state space charge limited current passes through the filamentary path created by oxygen ion vacancies. In OFF-state, the resistive switching behaviour is attributed to trapping and detrapping processes in shallow trap states mostly consisting of oxygen vacancies. The slope of Log I vs Log V plots, in shallow trap region of space charge limited conduction is ~2 (I ∝ V ²) followed by trap-filled and trap-free conduction. In the low-resistance ON-state, the observed electrical features are governed by the ohmic conduction.     

Kinetic Analysis, Expression Pattern, and Production of a Recombinant Fungal Protease Inhibitor of Tasar Silkworm Antheraea mylitta

Antheraea mylitta, a tasar silk-producing insect of Saturniidae family, expresses a fungal protease inhibitor named as A. mylitta fungal protease inhibitor-1 (AmFPI-1). AmFPI-1 inhibits alkaline protease of Aspergillus oryzae but its mechanism of action is not known. To understand the mode of inhibition of AmFPI-1 against the fungal protease, it was purified from the hemolymph of A. mylitta larvae and inhibitory activity against A. oryzae protease was studied. Kinetic analysis of purified AmFPI-1 on alkaline protease of A. oryzae showed that AmFPI-1 acts as a canonical-type competitive inhibitor with equilibrium dissociation constant (K _i ) of 60?nM. Expression of AmFPI-1 in different body tissues of fifth instar A. mylitta larvae was determined by real-time PCR, and the highest expression was observed in fat body followed by integument, silk gland, and gut, indicating that AmFPI-1 has pleiotropic functions including protection from invading fungi. The cDNA of AmFPI-1 was expressed in Escherichia coli, and recombinant His-tagged fusion protein was purified by Ni-NTA chromatography. Recombinant AmFPI-1 showed inhibitory activity against A. oryzae protease and suggested its use in various biological applications to prevent proteolysis.     

One‐Pot Synthesis of 3‐[(N‐Alkylanilino)(aryl)methyl]indoles via a Transition Metal Assisted Three‐Component Condensation at Room Temperature

A simple and highly efficient protocol for the one‐pot synthesis of a series of 3‐[(N‐alkylanilino)(aryl)methyl]indoles has been developed based on low‐cost and environmentally benign zirconium oxychloride octahydrate and copper chloride dihydrate catalysts via three‐component condensation between indoles, aromatic aldehydes, and N‐alkylanilines at room temperature under neat condition. Mild reaction conditions, operational simplicity, high atom‐economy, good yields in relatively shorter reaction times, use of low‐cost and eco‐friendly catalysts are some of the salient features of this protocol.