2,5-dioxido-1,4-benzoquinonediimine (H2L2-), a hydrogen-bonding noninnocent bridging ligand related to aminated topaquinone: different oxidation state distributions in complexes [(bpy)(2)Ru(2)(mu-H2L)](n) (n=0,+,2+,3+,4+) and [(acac)(2)Ru(2)(mu-H2L)] - Kar, S.; Sarkar, B.; Ghumaan, Sandeep; Janardanan, D.; van Slageren, J.; Fiedler, Jan; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Sunoj, R. B.; Kaim, Wolfgang; Lahiri, Goutam Kumar (Chemistry - a European Journal, 2005)
{The symmetrically dinuclear title compounds were isolated as diamagnetic [(bpy)(2)Ru(mu-H2L)Ru(bpy)(2)]- (ClO4)(2) (1-(ClO4)(2)) and as paramagnetic [(acac)(2)Ru(mu-H2L)Ru(acac)(2)] (2) complexes (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; acac(-) -
Keywords: bridging ligands; Density functional calculations; EPR spectroscopy; N; O ligands; ruthenium

Arrhythmia classification using local Holder exponents and support vector machine - Joshi, Aniruddha; Rajshekhar; Chandran, S.; Phadke, S.; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, B. D. (1st International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, 2005)
We propose a novel hybrid Holder-SVM detection algorithm for arrhythmia classification. The Holder exponents are computed efficiently using the wavelet transform modulus maxima (WTMM) method. The hybrid system performance is evaluated using the benchmark MIT-BIH arrhythmia database. The implemented model classifies 160 of Normal sinus rhythm, 25 of Ventricular bigeminy, 155 of Atrial fibrillation and 146 of Nodal (A-V junctional) rhythm with 96.94% accuracy. The distinct scaling properties of different types of heart rhythms may be of clinical importance.
1st International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, Statist Inst Kolkata, Kolkata, INDIA, DEC 20-22, 2005

Bacterial aerobic synthesis of nanocrystalline magnetite - Bharde, Atul A.; Wani, A.; Shouche, Y.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad; Sastry, M. (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2005)

Bis(2-[alpha-hydroxyethyl]benzimidazolato)copper(II) anchored onto chloromethylated polystyrene for the biomimetic oxidative coupling of 2-aminophenol to 2-aminophenoxazine-3-one - Maurya, Mannar R.; Sikarwar, S.; Joseph, Trissa; Halligudi, Shivappa B. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A - Chemical, 2005)
2-(alpha-Hydroxyethyl)benzimidazole (Hhebmz) has been covalently anchored to chloromethylated polystyrene cross-linked with 5% divinylbenzene. This polymer-anchored chelating resin reacts with cupric acetate in presence of Hhebmz to give polymer-anchored copper(II) complex PS-[Cu(hebmz)(2)]. Elemental analyses, FT-IR, electronic, scanning electron micrographs (SEM) and TGA-DTA pattern have been used to characterize the complex. Oxidative coupling of 2-aminophenol (OAP) to 2-aminophenoxazine-3-one (APX) catalyzed by PS-[Cu(hebmz)(2)] in presence of air at 70 degrees C in DMF gave 62% substrate conversion over a period of 8 h. Kinetics of the above reaction indicated that the rate of oxidative coupling of OAP has a first order dependence with respect to substrate, catalyst and air pressure (dissolved O-2) concentrations in the range of conditions evaluated. Based on these observations, a plausible mechanism for the above reaction has been proposed. From, the study on the effect of temperature on the rates of oxidative coupling, an activation energy 34.2 kcal/degree mole was evaluated from Arrhenius plot of -ln rate versus 1/T. Enthalpy, entropy and free energy were calculated using standard thermodynamic equations for the above reaction. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 2-aminophenol; 2-aminophenoxazine-3-one; bis(2-[alpha-hydroxyethyl]benzimidazolato)copper(II); chloromethylated polystyrene; oxidative coupling

Bronsted acidic ionic liquids: a green, efficient and reusable catalyst system and reaction medium for fischer esterification - Joseph, Trissa; Sahoo, S.; Halligudi, Shivappa B. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A - Chemical, 2005)
Bronsted acidic ionic liquid containing nitrogen-based organic cations 1-methylimidazole and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium and inorganic anions of the type BF4-, PF6- and PTSA(-) has been synthesized in good yields and used as a catalysts and reaction medium for Fischer esterification of alcohols with acids. These were characterized using FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. Ionic liquids as catalyst afforded good alcohol conversion and excellent ester selectivity. Fischer esterification of acetic acid with benzyl alcohol with different Bronsted acidic ionic liquids was carried out. Maximum substrate conversion 100 % and product selectivity 100 % was observed on using [BMIM](+)PTSAas catalyst over a period of 2 h. The ester was easily separated from the reaction mixture and the ionic liquid was reused four times after removing water. No significant loss in catalytic activity was observed on recycling. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: acids; alcohol and reaction medium; Fischer esterification; Ionic liquid

Carbon-free dry reforming of methane to syngas over NdCoO3 perovskite-type mixed metal oxide catalyst - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Mondal, Kartick C.; Mamman, Ajit Singh; Joshi, Upendra A. (Catalysis Letters, 2005)
CoNdOx (Co/Nd = 1) is a highly promising catalyst for the carbon-free CO2 reforming of methane. Influence of the Co/Nd ratio on the catalyst performance in the CO2 reforming and also on the crystalline phases and reduction by temperature programmed reduction (TPR) of the CoNdOx catalyst has also been investigated. The CoNdOx (CoNd = 1.0) catalyst consisted of mainly NdCoO3 perovskite- type mixed metal oxide and it showed not only a high resistance to carbon formation at different process conditions ( viz. temperature = 750 - 900 degrees C and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) = 10000 - 50000 cm(3) g(-1) h(-1)) but also high activity and selectivity in the CO2 reforming process. The high resistance to carbon formation for this catalyst is attributed mostly to strong metal (Co degrees) - support (Nd2O3) interactions.
Keywords: CO2 reforming of methane to syngas; CoNdOx catalyst; NdCoO3 perovskite; resistance to carbon formation in CO2 reforming

Characterization of nanocrystalline anatase titania: an in situ HTXRD study - Jagtap, Neelam; Bhagwat, Mahesh; Awati, Preeti; Ramaswamy, Veda (Thermochimica Acta, 2005)
Nanocrystalline titania was synthesized by the hydrolysis of titanium iso-propoxide using ultrasonication. The powder XRD patterns of the sample were recorded in static air and vacuum using a Philips X-pert Pro diffractometer equipped with a high-temperature attachment (HTK16) from room temperature (298 K) to 1173 K and were analyzed by the Rietveld refinement technique. The anatase to rutile phase transformation was observed at 1173 K for the data collected in static air. Only 3% of anatase titania transformed to rutile when the experiments were carried out at H 73 K in vacuum. The phase transformation from anatase to rutile is accompanied by a continuous increase in the crystallite size of the anatase phase from 9 nm at room temperature to 28 nm at 873 K and then to 50 nm at 1173 K in air while the process of crystallite growth was suppressed in vacuum. A linear increase in the unit cell parameters `a' and `c', and thus, an overall linear increase in the unit cell volume was observed as a function of temperature in static air as well as vacuum. The lattice and volume thermal expansion coefficients (TEC), alpha(a), alpha(c), and alpha(v) at 873 K are 8.57 x 10(-6), 8.71 x 10(-6) and 25.91 x 10(-6) K-1 in air and 18.01 x 10(-6), 14.95 x 10(-6) and 51.13 x 10(-6) K-1 in vacuum, respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Anatase; HTXRD; Rietveld refinement; rutile; thermal expansion coefficient; titania

Cobalt and magnesium ferrite nanoparticles: preparation using liquid foams as templates and their magnetic characteristics - Bala, Tanushree; Sankar, C. R.; Baidakova, Marina; Osipov, V.; Enoki, Toshiaki; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad; Sastry, M. (Langmuir, 2005)
An easy and convenient method for the synthesis of cobalt and magnesium ferrite nanoparticles is demonstrated using liquid foams as templates. The foam is formed from an aqueous mixture of an anionic surfactant and the desired metal ions, where the metal ions are electrostatically entrapped by the surfactant at the thin borders between the foam bubbles and their junctions. The hydrolysis is carried out using alkali resulting in the formation of desired nanoparticles, with the foam playing the role of a template. However, in the formation of ferrites with the formula MFe2O4, where the metal ion and iron possess oxidation states of +2 and +3, respectively, forming a foam from a 1:2 mixture of the desired ionic solutions would lead to a foam composition at variance with the original solution mixture because of greater electrostatic binding of ions possessing a greater charge with the surfactant. In our procedure, we circumvent this problem by preparing the foam from a 1:2 mixture of M2+ and Fe2+ ions and then utilizing the in situ conversion of Fe2+ to Fe3+ under basic conditions inside the foam matrix to get the desired composition of the metal ions with the required oxidation states. The fact that we could prepare both CoFe2O4 and MgFe2O4 particles shows the vast scope of this method for making even multicomponent oxides. The magnetic nanoparticles thus obtained exhibit a good crystalline nature and are characterized by superparamagnetic properties. The magnetic features observed for CoFe2O4 and MgFe2O4 nanoparticles are well in accordance with the expected behaviors, with CoFe2O4 particles showing higher blocking temperatures and larger coercivities. These features can easily be explained by the contribution of Co2+ sites to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and the absence of the same from the Mg2+ ions.

Convenient synthesis of the enantiomerically pure beta-blocker (S)-betaxolol using hydrolytic kinetic resolution - Joshi, Ramesh A.; Garud, Dinesh R.; Muthukrishnan, Murugan; Joshi, Rohini R.; Gurjar, M. K. (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2005)
Enantiopure (S)-betaxolol was prepared in an extremely simple and practical way using hydrolytic kinetic resolution of a terminal epoxide by Jacobsen's catalyst. High enantiomeric purity (99% ee) has been achieved and the method is amenable to industrial scale-up. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conversion of fly ash - an environmentally detrimental waste to zeolite beta (BEA) for commercial catalytic applications - Kasture, M. W.; Bokade, Vijay V.; Joshi, P. N. (Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 2005)
Zeolite beta (BEA) was synthesized hydrothermally using fly ash as a combined source of alumina and silica. The overall crystallization period required to obtain pure crystalline BEA zeolite was found to be slightly longer when fly ash was used. The physicochemical properties of BEA phases obtained using fly ash (FLBEA) and conventional source materials (CONBEA) were compared. The H/FLBEA catalyst has exhibited excellent catalytic performance in commercially important benzene isopropylation process. These results have demonstrated that converting fly ash into BEA zeolite not only alleviates the disposal problem but also turns an otherwise waste material into a marketable commodity.

Copper(II) ion-exchanged montmorillonite as catalyst for the direct addition of N-H bond to CC triple bond - Joseph, Trissa; Shanbhag, G. V.; Halligudi, Shivappa B. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A - Chemical, 2005)
An efficient synthesis of phenyl-(1-phenylethylidene)amine using copper-exchanged montmorillonite clay (Cu K-10) is demonstrated. The catalyst was characterized using UV-vis, XRD, BET surface area measurements, pyridine adsorption etc. The XRD and surface area measurement show that the structural characteristics of the support montmorillonite K-10 (K-10) are preserved after Cu exchange. The hydroamination of phenyl acetylene with aniline was carried out in toluene under reflux condition in N-2 atmosphere at 393 K. The reaction is highly regio-selective for only Markovnikoff's addition of an-tine to CC multiple bond and proceeded smoothly to completion. The reaction conditions were optimized to obtain complete conversion with respect to phenyl acetylene. Reaction data showed that the activity of the catalyst in hydroamination reaction is greater at higher reaction temperatures and nonpolar solvents and NZ pressure promotes the reaction drastically. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: alkyne; Aniline; Catalyst; hydroamination; K-10 montmorillonite clay; phenyl acetylene

Cure characteristics and dielectric properties of magnetic composites containing strontium ferrite - Soloman, M. A.; Kurian, P.; Anantharaman, Maliemadom R.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Journal of Elastomers and Plastics, 2005)
Hexagonal strontium ferrite (SrFe12O19) powders were synthesized by the conventional ceramic techniques. They were then characterized by the X-ray diffraction method and incorporated in the natural rubber matrix according to a specific recipe for various loadings of ferrite to produce rubber ferrite composites (RFCs). The processability of these compounds was determined by evaluating the cure characteristics namely, scorch time, cure time, minimum and maximum torque. The evaluation of the dielectric properties of ceramic strontium ferrite (SrF), natural rubber gum vulcanizate, and RFCs were done with the help of a Hewlett Packard (HP) impedance analyzer. The magnetic properties of these composites were studied using a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). The effect of carbon black on the processability, and the magnetic and dielectric properties were also studied by the incorporation of carbon black into these composites. It has been found that the addition of these ferrites and carbon black does not affect the processability of these composites, whereas the physical properties are found to be modified. From the magnetic and dielectric measurements it has been found that flexible magnets having appropriate dielectric strength can be prepared by the incorporation of appropriate amount of SrF and carbon black in the natural rubber matrix.
Keywords: hexagonal ferrites; Magnetic materials; permanent magnets; rubber ferrite composites (RFCs); strontium ferrite

Effect of disorder on the magnetic properties of LaMn0.5Fe0.5O3 - Bhame, Shekhar D.; Joly, V. L. Joseph; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Physical Review B, 2005)
Polycrystalline LaMn0.5Fe0.5O3 is synthesized by a low-temperature method and the magnetic properties of the resulting powder have been studied after annealing the sample in air at different temperatures in the range 200 degrees C-1350 degrees C. Room temperature Mossbauer spectroscopic studies show that the Fe ions are present in the +3 oxidation state in the material. However, the magnetic properties vary widely in an unexpected manner when samples are annealed at different temperatures. Zero field cooled magnetization studies show a cusp below 100 K, for the sample annealed at 200 degrees C, indicating a spin-glass-like or superparamagnetic behavior. However, this cusp disappears completely when the sample is annealed at 700 degrees C but still showing a magnetic hysteresis loop with reduced magnetization at low temperatures. The cusp again appears when the sample is annealed at higher temperatures with increasing low-temperature magnetization. EPR and IR spectroscopic studies indicate changes in the distribution of Mn3+ and Fe3+ ions in the lattice. The overall results can be explained in terms of random distribution of Mn3+ and Fe3+ ions in the lattice and formation of some magnetic clusters, with the degree of distribution of the ions varying for samples annealed at different temperatures.

Electronic structure and ferromagnetism of polycrystalline Zn1-xCoxO (0 <= x <= 0.15) - Deka, Sasanka; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Solid State Communications, 2005)
The electronic structure of polycrystalline ferromagnetic Zn1-x,CoxO (0.05 <= x <= 0.15) and the oxidation state of Co in it, have been investigated. The Co-doped polycrystalline samples are synthesized by a combustion method and are ferromagnetic at room temperature. XPS and optical absorption studies show evidence for Co2+ ions in the tetrahedral symmetry, indicating, substitution of Co2+ in the ZnO lattice. However, powder XRD and electron diffraction data shock the presence of Co metal in the samples. This give evidence to the fact that some Co2+ ion are incorporated in the ZnO lattice which gives changes in the electronic structure whereas ferromagnetism comes from the Co metal impurities present in the samples. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Magnetically ordered materials; Optical properties; Semiconductors

Facile oxidation of flavanones to flavones using [hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodo]benzene in an ionic liquid - Muthukrishnan, Murugan; Patil, P. S.; More, Shivaji V.; Joshi, Ramesh A. (Mendeleev Communications, 2005)
A method for the oxidation of flavationes to flavones has been developed using [hydroxy(tosyloxy)iodo] benzene (HTIB) in the room-temperature ionic liquid 1,3-di-n-butylimidazolium bromide ([bbim]Br-+(-)).

Formation of nanosized zirconia-supported 12-tungstophosphoric acid in mesoporous silica SBA-15: a stable and versatile solid acid catalyst for benzylation of phenol - Sawant, D. P.; Vinu, A.; Jacob, Nalini E.; Lefebvre, F.; Halligudi, Shivappa B. (Journal of Catalysis, 2005)
A nanosized zirconia-supported 12-tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) in SBA-15 composite was prepared by wet impregnation of TPA/ZrO2 nanoparticles inside the mesoporous channels of SBA-15. The resulting composite material was calcined at 1123 K and characterized by elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption isotherms, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), solid-state P-31 CP-MAS NMR, Si-29 MAS NMR, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, FTIR, TPD of ammonia, FTIR pyridine adsorption, and thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTG). The synthesized TPA/ZrO2/SBA-15 showed a well-ordered hexagonal inesoporous structure and mesoporous support SBA-15 stabilized ZrO2-t (tetragonal) phase with crystal size in the range of 3-4 nm. SBA-15 was a better support than MCM-41 and MCM-48 because it retained its mesostructure even after high TPA loading and high calcination temperatures. Mesoporous silica support plays an important role in stabilizing the catalytically active tetragonal phase of zirconia, which gave the most active catalysts. The catalysts were examined for their catalytic activities in the liquid phase benzylation of phenol with benzyl alcohol and the catalyst 15 wt% TPA/ 22.4 wt% ZrO2/SBA-15 calcined at 1123 K was found to have high acidity and to be 10 times more active than neat TPA/ZrO2 Under the reaction conditions studied in benzylation of phenol. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: nanosized; phenol benzylation reaction; terragonal phase; TPA/ZrO2

Green process for chlorine-free benzaldehyde from the solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol with molecular oxygen over a supported nano-size gold catalyst - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Dhar, A.; Jana, Prabhas; Jha, Rani; Uphade, B. S. (Green Chemistry, 2005)
Benzyl alcohol is oxidized selectively to benzaldehyde with high yield, with a little formation of benzylbenzoate, by molecular oxygen over a reusable nano-size gold catalyst supported on U3O8, MgO, Al2O3 or ZrO2 in the absence of any solvent.

High magnetic aspects of nanosized NiZn ferrite powders synthesized by an autocombustion method - Deka, Sasanka; Date, Sadgopal K.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (9th International Conference on Ferrites (ICF-9), 2005)
Nanocrystalline NiZn ferrite, Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4, having particle size in the range 6-10 mn, has been synthesized by an auto-combustion method. The nanosized ferrite powder formed at a low temperature is annealed at different temperatures in the range 473-1273 K and characterized by X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry, Mossbauer spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Magnetic transition temperature broadening up to 773 K is observed for the nanosized sample, compared to the T-c = 563 K for the bulk material. Critical particle diameter (D-c) is found to be similar to 40 nm at which maximum coercivity is obtained for the powder sample annealed at 973 K. Similarly, high room temperature magnetization, comparable to that of the bulk material, is obtained for the powders annealed at 1073 K, with a maximum particle size of similar to 50 nm. Very little grain growth is observed for the powders annealed above 1073 K. The results show that, optimum magnetic properties can be achieved for fine particle NiZn ferrite powders synthesized by a low-temperature auto-combustion method and processed at relatively lower temperatures.
9th International Conference on Ferrites (ICF-9), San Francisco, CA, AUG 22-27, 2004

Highly active and reusable catalyst from Fe-Mg-hydrotalcite anionic clay for friedel-crafts type benzylation reactions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jha, Rani; Choudhari, P. A. (Journal of Chemical Sciences, 2005)
Fe-Mg-hydrotalcite (Mg/Fe = 3) anionic clay with or without calcination (at 200-800 degrees C) has been used for the benzylation of toluene and other aromatic compounds by benzyl chloride. Hydrotalcite before and after its calcination was characterized for surface area, crystalline phases and basicity. Both the hydrotalcite, particularly after its use in the benzylation reaction, and the catalyst derived from it by its calcination at 200-800 degrees C show high catalytic activity for the benzylation of toluene and other aromatic compounds. The catalytically active species present in the catalyst in its most active form are the chlorides and oxides of iron on the catalyst surface.
Keywords: activation by calcinations; benzylation of aromatic compounds; benzylation of toluene; Fe-Mg-hydrotalcite

Identification of coding and non-coding sequences using local holder exponent formalism - Kulkarni, O. C.; Vigneshwar, R.; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Bioinformatics, 2005)
Motivation: Accurate prediction of genes in genomes has always been a challenging task for bioinformaticians and computational biologists. The discovery of existence of distinct scaling relations in coding and non-coding sequences has led to new perspectives in the understanding of the DNA sequences. This has motivated us to exploit the differences in the local singularity distributions for characterization and classification of coding and non-coding sequences. Results: The local singularity density distribution in the coding and non-coding sequences of four genomes was first estimated using the wavelet transform modulus maxima methodology. Support vector machines classifier was then trained with the extracted features. The trained classifier is able to provide an average test accuracy of 97.7%. The local singularity features in a DNA sequence can be exploited for successful identification of coding and non-coding sequences.

Immobilization of metallporphyrins on polystyrene: efficient catalysts for aerobic oxidation of alcohols - Naik, R.; Joshi, P.; Deshpande, R. K. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2005)
Metalloporphyrins of iron and cobalt have been successfully encapsulated for the first time using polystyrene matrix, exhibiting high activity for aerobic oxidation of alcohols mimicking cytochrome P-450 dependent mono oxygenases. This communication provides a simple and environmentally friendly protocol for immobilization of metalloporphyrins (MPs) on to polystyrenes in general, which gives stable,I reusable (see Footnote 1) and efficient catalysts for aerobic oxidation of alcohols. These catalysts were characterized by UV-vis as well as diffuse reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy. These catalysts not only have high turnover frequencies but also could be recovered quantitatively by simple filtration and reused without loss of activity. Considering their high dispersing capacity in organic solvents, they will definitely find broad spectrum of applications in the electronic as well as optical fields. This methodology will lead to a potential model to mimic the catalytic action of metalloporphyrins in the niche areas such as catalytic oxidations, drug metabolism, DNA cleavage, photodynamic therapy and many others. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: aerobic oxidation; Immobilization; metalloporphyrins; micro-encapsulation; Polystyrene; turnover frequency

Immobilized molybdovanadophosphoric acids on SBA-15 for selective oxidation of alkenes - Raj, N. K. K.; Deshpande, S. S.; Ingle, Rohit H.; Raja, T.; Manikandan, Palanichamy (4th International Symposium on Nanoporous Materials, 2005)
Vanadium substituted molybdophosphoric acids have been immobilized on amine functionalized SBA-15 and characterized by different techniques. Small angle X-ray scattering analysis and SEM technique provide evidence for the structural integrity of the samples. UV-Vis, NMR and IR data confirm the incorporation of molybdovanadophosphoric acids onto the amine functionalized SBA-15. The textural properties of these materials were studied by nitrogen sorption studies. Oxidation of cyclooctene and norbornene was carried out with oxidants in aqueous (aq. H2O2) and non-aqueous (TBHP extracted in dichloroethane) medium. The reactions were carried out with both the neat catalysts (homogeneous) and the immobilized catalysts (heterogenized) and the results were compared. The selectivity of the desired products was always > 99% with the immobilized catalyst with both aq.H2O2 and TBHP. However, while the leaching was negligible in the non-aqueous medium, the aqueous medium leads to considerable leaching. The immobilized catalysts could be separated after the reaction and the reusability of the catalyst has also been demonstrated especially with oxidant in the nonaqueous medium.
4th International Symposium on Nanoporous Materials, Niagara Falls, CANADA, JUN 07-10, 2005

Influence of process pressure on HW-CVD deposited a-Si : H films - Jadkar, Sandesh R.; Sali, J. V.; Kshirsagar, S. T.; Takwale, M. G. (Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 2005)
Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films were deposited using pure silane (SiH4) without hydrogen dilution by hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HW-CVD) technique. The electrical, optical, and structural properties of these films are systematically studied as a function of process pressure (P-r). The device quality a-Si:H films with a photosensitivity > 10(5) were deposited at a deposition rate >40 Angstrom/s at low process pressure. However, a-Si:H films deposited at higher process pressures show degradation in their electrical and structural properties. The FTIR spectroscopic analysis showed that a-Si:H films deposited at low process pressure contain hydrogen mainly in mono-hydrogen (Si-H) configuration whereas films deposited at higher process pressure have hydrogen in di-hydrogen (Si-H-2) or poly hydrogen (SiH2)(n) complexes. The hydrogen content (C-H) in the films was found to be less than 4 at.% over the entire range of process pressure studied. This indicates that the growth of a-Si:H films is mainly from the atomic species (Si and H) evaporated from the hot filament and hydrogen gets incorporated in the film via gas-phase reactions and substrate gas interactions. The band gap, however was found similar to1.71 eV or much higher. We attribute high band gap at low hydrogen content may be due to presence of microvoids. Raman spectroscopic analysis showed increase in structural disorder and Rayleigh scattering with increase in the process pressure. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
2nd International Conference on Cat-CVD (Hot-Wire CVD) Process, DENVER, CO, SEP 10-14, 2002
Keywords: Electrical properties; FTIR spectroscopy; hot wire chemical vapor deposition; hydrogenated amorphous silicon; Raman spectroscopy

In-Mg-hydrotalcite anionic clay as catalyst or catalyst precursor for friedel-crafts type benzylation reactions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jha, Rani; Narkhede, V. S. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2005)
In-Mg-hydrotalcite (Mg/In = 3) anionic clay with or without calcination (at 200-800 degrees C) or HCl pretreatment at different temperatures (26 and 80 degrees C) and periods (0.1 or 1.0 h) has been used for the benzylation of benzene and/or substituted benzenes by benzyl chloride. The hydrotalcite before and after its calcination or HCl pretreatment was characterized for its surface area, crystalline phases and basicity. The hydrotalcite particularly after its use in the benzylation reaction, and the catalyst derived from it by its calcination at 800 degrees C followed by HCl pretreatment (at 80 degrees C for 1.0 h), shows high catalytic activity even for the benzylation of benzene. The catalytically active species present in the catalyst in its most active form are the chlorides and oxides of indium on the catalyst surface. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: activation of In-Mg-hydrotalcite by calcination; activation of In-Mg-hydrotalcite by HCl pretreatment; benzylation of benzene; benzylation of substituted benzenes; In-Mg-hydrotalcite

Kinetic modeling of reductive alkylation of aniline with acetone using Pd/Al2O3 catalyst in a batch slurry reactor - Roy, D.; Jaganathan, Rengaswamy; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2005)
The kinetics of reductive alkylation of aniline with acetone was studied in a slurry reactor under isothermal conditions in a temperature range of 378-408 K using 3% Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. Experimental data on concentration-time as well as hydrogen consumption-time profiles were obtained to study the effect of concentration of aniline, catalyst loading, and partial pressure of hydrogen. Separate controlled experiments were performed to understand the nature of the condensation reaction between aniline and acetone, which forms the Shiff's base intermediate. From the concentration-time profiles and the effect of reaction conditions, it was found that the noncatalytic equilibrium formation of the Shiff base intermediate was the slowest step in the multistep reaction sequence. Several rate equations were considered to fit the batch slurry reactor data, and rate models based on competitive dissociative adsorption of hydrogen and the reactive substrates in the rate-limiting catalytic steps were found to represent the experimental data. The kinetic parameters were evaluated by fitting the integral batch reactor data at different temperatures. The activation energies, heat of adsorption, and entropy of adsorption of all the reactant species were also evaluated.

Knowledge incorporated support vector machines to detect faults in Tennessee Eastman Process - Kulkarni, A.; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Computers & Chemical Engineering, 2005)
A support vector machine with knowledge incorporation is applied to detect the faults in Tennessee Eastman Process, a benchmark problem in chemical engineering. The knowledge incorporated algorithm takes advantage of the information on horizontal translation invariance in tangent direction of the instances in dataset. This essentially changes the representation of the input data while training the algorithm. These local translations do not alter the class membership of the instances in the dataset. The results on binary as well as multiple fault detection justify the use of knowledge incorporation. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: fault detection; knowledge; support vector machines; Tennessee Eastman Process

Lilliputian hardware platform for scientific applications - Iyer, Neelima; Khatavkar, Rupali; Joshi, Bhagyashree; Upadhye, V. (International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering, 2005)
Microcontroller plays an important role in gearing up scientific applications for measurements, data acquisition and controls. With the advent of technology in microcontrollers, a new era in the form of microconverter is available at the user's doorstep. Benefited by the excellent features of Analog Devices' microconverter chip ADuC 842, an attempt has been made to develop a Lilliputian platform for scientific applications at National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune. A real time system has been developed for measuring surface tension exerted by Langmuir films formed at air water interface. The films are compressed by smooth and precision barrier mechanism through DC motor in a controlled manner. (IC)-C-2 compatible EEPROM is provided on board for data storage and it can be communicated to a PC through RS232 link for further analysis. The other features provided are, In-circuit programming for firmware updating, keyboard functioning for special routine executions, (IC)-C-2 compatible RTC and battery backup. The software has been completely developed using assembly language programming. Intelligent Lilliputian platform designed using ADuC 842 chip and graphic LCD for real time plotting of surface pressure area isotherm of Langmuir films has been developed and tested successfully at NCL.
1st International Embedded and Hybrid Systems Conference, Singapore, SINGAPORE, MAY 11-13, 2005
Keywords: Langmuir films; microconverter

Low-temperature synthesis of nanocrystalline powders of lithium ferrite by an autocombustion method using citric acid and glycine - Verma, S.; Karande, J.; Patidar, A.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Materials Letters, 2005)
Nanocrystalline lithium ferrite is synthesized by an autocombustion method from the corresponding metal nitrates using citric acid as well as glycine as fuels. The ordered phase of lithium ferrite, in single phase form, with particle size of 32-36 nm and large coercivity, is obtained by this method at a low temperature of 200 degrees C. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Combustion synthesis; LiFe5O8; lithium ferrite; low-temperature synthesis; Magnetic materials; Nanomaterials

Magnetic and processability studies of nitrile rubber vulcanisates containing barium ferrite and carbon black - Soloman, M. A.; Kurian, P.; Anantharaman, Maliemadom R.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Indian Journal of Chemical Technology, 2005)
Fine particles of barium ferrite (BaFe12O19) belonging to the M-type hexagonal ferrites were prepared by the conventional ceramic techniques. They were incorporated into a nitrile rubber matrix according to a specific recipe for various loadings to produce rubber ferrite composites (RFC)The percolation threshold is not reached for a maximum loading of 130 phr (parts per hundred rubber). Here in this paper, the magnetic properties and processability of the nitrile rubber based RFCs containing barium ferrite (BaF) and HAF carbon black is reported. The magnetic properties of the ceramic ferrite and these rubber ferrite composites were evaluated and it was found that the coercivity values of RFCs were less than that of the ceramic BaF, but remained constant with the loading of both the ferrite filler and carbon black. However, other properties like saturation magnetization and magnetic remanence increased with the loading of ferrite filler.
Keywords: barium ferrite; carbon black; Magnetic materials; nitrile rubber; rubber ferrite composites

Magnetic properties of nanosized ferrite powders synthesized by microwave-hydrothermal method - Khollam, Y. B.; Dhage, S. R.; Verma, S.; Potdar, H. S.; Deshpande, S. B.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Date, Sadgopal K. (Ninth International Conference on Ferrites (ICF-9), 2005)
Nanosized powders of Fe3O4 and MgFe2O4 are synthesized by microwave-hydrothermal (MH) method. The ferrite powders thus obtained are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Mossbauer spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, vibrating sample magnetometer and AC magnetic susceptibility studies. Stoichiometric, nanosized (similar to 34 nm) Fe3O4 particles, having cubic symmetry with a(0) approximate to 8.39 angstrom, are obtained when molar ratio of Fe/NaOH used for the synthesis is 0.133. On the other hand, non-stoichiometric Fe3O4 is obtained when Fe/NaOH molar ratio is increased to 0.4. Though the powder XRD patterns of both stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric Fe3O4 are identical, Mossbauer spectroscopic studies showed different features in terms of asymmetry, intensity, isomer shift, etc. Saturation magnetization, M-s = 70 emu/g and coercivity, H-c = 178 Oe, at room temperature, are obtained for stoichiometric Fe3O4 powders. In the case of MgFe2O4, spherical, nanosized (similar to 3 nm) powders with cubic symmetry (a(0) approximate to 8.30 angstrom) and having very narrow size distribution are obtained under the MH conditions. The temperature and field dependent magnetic measurements on MgFe2O4 powders confirmed the existence of superparamagnetic state in this material with a superparamagnetic blocking temperature of 38 K below which typical magnetic hysteresis behaviour is observed.
9th International Conference on Ferrites (ICF-9), San Francisco, CA, AUG 22-27, 2004

Magnetic properties of the self-doped lanthanum manganites La1-xMnO3 - Sankar, C. R.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Physical Review B, 2005)
The magnetic properties of different compositions in the self-doped lanthanum manganites, La1-xMnO3, have been studied by ac susceptibility and dc magnetization measurements in the temperature range 10-300 K. All compositions with x < 0.125 show an anomalous decrease in the ac susceptibility and zero field cooled (ZFC) dc magnetization at low temperatures, below the ferromagnetic ordering temperature. The temperature below which this anomalous behavior is observed, T-a, varies with the degree of La vacancy in the series where the Mn4+ concentration decreases with increasing x. Moreover, T-a varies with the Mn4+ content for a given composition. However, in both cases, this temperature levels off when the concentration of Mn4+ is above 23%. The magnetic-transition-like feature broadens and shifts to further lower temperatures with increasing magnetic fields and vanishes when measured above a certain field. A small but drastic increase in the coercivity is observed below T-a. There is a direct correlation between the shapes of the curves of the inverse of the coercivity as a function of temperature and ac susceptibility, indicating the influence of magnetic anisotropy on the characteristics of the ac susceptibility and zero field cooled magnetization curves of the self-doped compounds. The direct correlation between the changes in the coercivity and ac susceptibility as well as ZFC magnetization when measured at low magnetic fields give evidence to the role of domain wall pinning effects, which varies with the degree of self-doping or Mn4+ concentration.

Microwave promoted solvent-free one-pot synthesis of N,N `-disubstituted urea derivatives - Jadhav, Vinod H.; Deshpande, S. S.; Borate, Hanumant B.; Wakharkar, R. D. (Journal of Chemical Research-S, 2005)
An efficient one-pot synthesis of N,N -disubstituted urea derivatives from substituted anilines, ethyl chloroformate and methyl anthranilate or methyl 3-amino-2-butenoate under microwave irradiation is reported.
Keywords: Anilines; methyl 3-amino-2-butenoate; methyl anthranilate; Microwave; urea derivatives

Modeling of vaporization and cracking of liquid oil injected in a gas-solid riser - Nayak, S. V.; Joshi, S. L.; Ranade, V. V. (Chemical Engineering Science, 2005)
Vaporization and cracking of liquid oil injected in a gas-solid riser (fluid catalytic cracking riser reactor) was computationally studied in this work. Evaporation of a single drop injected in a stream of gas-solid mixture was analyzed first. A model for simulating evaporation of a drop considering heat transfer from the gas phase as well as from the solid particles was developed. The model relates the evaporation rate of droplet with rate of collisions of solid particles, specific heat capacities of solid and liquid, latent heat of vaporization, relative velocity of gas and liquid and temperatures of three phases. The understanding gained from such a model was then extended to simulate evaporation of liquid drops injected in FCC risers. The Eulerian-Lagrangian approach was used to simulate simultaneous evaporation and cracking reactions occurring in FCC riser reactors. A commercial CFD code, FLUENT (of Fluent Inc., USA) was used. Four and ten lump models were used for simulating cracking reactions. Appropriate user defined functions were developed to implement heterogeneous kinetics and heat transfer models in FLUENT. A special algorithm was developed to calculate accumulated coke on catalyst particles. A boiling point range was considered for simulating realistic oil feedstock. The model was first evaluated by comparing predicted results with published industrial data. The simulations were then carried out to understand influence of key design and operating parameters on performance of FCC riser reactors. The parameters studied included; initial oil droplet distribution, catalyst inlet temperature, catalyst to oil ratio and thermal cracking. The approach, model and results presented here would be useful for optimization of FCC operation, cost to benefit analysis of new FCC nozzles and related decision-making. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
7th International Conference on Gas-Liquid and Gas-Liquid-Solid, Strasbourg, FRANCE, FEB, 2005
Keywords: cracking reactions; Evaporation; FCC; heat transfer; riser

Morphology and chain dynamics during collapse transition of PNIPAM gels studied by combined imaging, relaxometry and Xe-129 spectroscopy techniques - Kariyo, Sobiroh; Kuppers, Markus; Badiger, Manohar V.; Prabhakar, A.; Jagadeesh, Bharatam; Stapf, S.; Blumich, B. (Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2005)
The temperature-induced shape transition of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) gels of different cross-link densities was investigated by a combination of NMR techniques allowing the characterization of both the macroscopic collapse as well as the changes on a molecular scale related to the expulsion of water from the gel network. The proton-containing gel phase was visualized by swelling in heavy water, and the volume change was monitored by proton imaging for cross-link densities between 0.5 % and 2.5 %. Above the transition temperature of 35 degrees C, gel collapse led to a volume change of up to a factor of 17 for the gel of smallest cross-link density. Two spectral lines of Xe-129 are found in the gel state and are assigned to the hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts of the network. In the collapsed state, the hydrophobic peak shows a strong shift while the hydrophilic peak disappears. A considerable shortening of both T-1 and T-2 of the gel protons upon collapse was found at a field of 4.7 T. At lower fields, the effect becomes more pronounced and qualitatively different dispersion behaviors between the swollen and the collapsed states are observed. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
7th International Conference on Magnetic Resonance in Porous Media (MRPM7), Palaiseau, FRANCE, JUL 04-08, 2004
Keywords: gel; networks; phase transition; relaxometry; Xe-129 spectroscopy

Nanostructured tin oxide: synthesis and gas-sensing properties - Niranjan, R. S.; Hwang, Young Kyu; Kim, D. K.; Jhung, S. H.; Chang, J. S.; Mulla, Imtiaz S. (Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2005)
Pure and Ru-doped nanostructured SnO2 sensing materials were synthesized using a modified Pechini route. Incorporation of Ru in SnO2 results in the reduction of particle size (8.3 nm) compared with that of the pure SnO2 (28.2 nm). Moreover, the sensor exhibited a reasonably good sensitivity towards both H-2 and liquified petroleum gas (LPG). The effect of Ru incorporation, operating temperature, and gas concentration on the structure, morphology, and sensitivity is discussed using the results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with sensing performance. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: hydrogen and hydrocarbon sensor; Nanostructure; ruthenium; tin oxide

Novel low-temperature synthesis of nanosized NiZn ferrite - Verma, S.; Pradhan, S. D.; Pasricha, R.; Sainkar, S. R.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 2005)
Nanosized NiZn ferrite powder is synthesized by a low-temperature method, using a unique combination of citric acid and glycine. An appropriate molar ratio of both citric acid and glycine offers a low-temperature synthetic route by incorporating the complexation behavior of citric acid and the combustion nature of glycine. Thermal decomposition/controlled autocatalytic combustion of the composite gel occurs at a low temperature of around 175 degrees C, with the evolution of a large amount of gases. Transmission electron microscopic studies showed that the average particle size of the ferrite obtained is similar to 2.5 nm, with a narrow size distribution. Uniformly distributed fine-grained microstructure with low porosity is obtained for a sample sintered at 1000 degrees C.

Novel route for in-situ H2O2 generation from selective reduction of O-2 by hydrazine using heterogeneous Pd catalyst in an aqueous medium - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Samanta, C.; Jana, Prabhas (Chemical Communications, 2005)
Hydrogen peroxide in high yields can be generated with high efficiency at mild conditions (25 degrees C and atmospheric pressure) with the formation of only environment-friendly by-products (N-2 and H2O) by a reduction of O-2 by hydrazine from its hydrate/salt with its complete conversion in a short reaction period (<= 0.5 h) using a easily separable supported Pd catalyst (Pd/Al2O3, Pd/Ga2O3 or Pd/C) in an acidic aqueous medium in the presence of bromide anions; the presence of both acid (protons) and bromide anions is essential for the selective reduction of O-2 by hydrazine to H2O2 and in their absence, the reaction leads only to the formation of water.

Optimization and scale up of production of alkaline protease from Conidiobolus coronatus - Laxman, Ryali Seeta; Sonawane, A. P.; More, Shivaji V.; Rao, B. S.; Rele, M. V.; Jogdand, Vitthal V.; Deshpande, V. V.; Rao, M. B. (Process Biochemistry, 2005)
Alkaline protease secreted by Conidiobolus coronatus has been evaluated extensively in tanneries and finds application in pre-tanning operations in leather manufacture. It is important to produce the enzyme in inexpensive and optimized media on large scale for the process to be commercially viable. The present paper describes optimization of fermentation conditions in shake flasks and scale up of production to 100 L in fermentors. The production is complete in 2-3 days comparable to bacterial fermentations. The organism utilized several carbon sources such as starch, sucrose, lactose, glucose and fructose for production. Soyabean meal at an optimum concentration of 2-3% was found to be best inducer. Diammonium hydrogen phosphate, casamino acids and Hi-media peptone gave activities comparable to yeast extract. Preservation and stabilization studies showed that glycerol conferred considerable stabilization at room temperature while ammonium sulphate precipitated enzyme at 0.9 saturation was best with stability up to 2 years even at room temperature. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Alkaline Protease; Conidiobolus; Fermentation; Optimization; scale up

Oxyfunctionalization of limonene using vanadium complex anchored on functionalized SBA-15 - Joseph, Trissa; Halligudi, Shivappa B. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2005)
VO(Salten) complexes, where Salten = 3-[N,N'-bis-3(salicylidenamino)ethyltriamine], have been covalently anchored on to functionalized SBA-15. The formation and integrity of the complex have been confirmed by elemental analysis, Fr-IR, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET measurements and the complex was used for the oxyfunctionalization of limonene in presence of urea hydroperoxide (UHP) as the oxidizing agent. The oxyfunctionalization of limonene resulted in limonene oxide, carvone, carvacrol and carveol. Anchored complex showed better catalytic activity than the neat complex, while the neat complexes has deactivated in the reaction due to formation of inactive alpha-oxo-bridged dimers, the covalently anchored complexes remained stable throughout the reaction. The anchored complex could be easily separated from the products and could be reused. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: covalently anchored vanadium complex; functionalized Si-SBA-15; limonene; oxofunctionalization; UHP

Purification and properties of a low molecular weight 1,4-beta-D-glucan glucohydrolase having one active site for carboxymethyl cellulose and xylan from an alkalothermophilic Thermomonospora sp - Jagtap, Sharmili; Rao, M (Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2005)
A low molecular weight 1,4-beta-D-glucan glucohydrolase from an extracellular culture filtrate of Thermomonospora sp. was purified to homogeneity. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was 14.2 kDa by MALDI-TOF analysis and is in agreement with SDS-PAGE and gel filtration chromatography. The purified enzyme exhibited both endocarboxymethyl cellulase and endoxylanase activities. A kinetic method was employed to study the active site of the enzyme that hydrolyzes both carboxymethyl cellulose and xylan. The experimental data coincide well with the theoretical values calculated for the case of a single active site. Conformation and microenvironment at the active site was probed with fluorescent chemo-affinity labeling using o-phthalaidehyde as the chemical initiator. Formation of isoindole derivative resulted in complete inactivation of the enzyme to hydrolyze both xylan and CMC as judged by fluorescence studies corroborating a single active site for the hydrolysis of xylan and CMC. (C) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Cellulase; CMC; OPTA; single active site; Thermomonospora sp.; xylan; Xylanase

Rearrangement of allyl phenyl ether over Al-MCM-41 - Mathew, Nevin T.; Khaire, S.; Mayadevi, S.; Jha, Ratnesh Kumar; Sivasanker, S. (Journal of Catalysis, 2005)
Claisen rearrangement of allyl phenyl ether to o-allylphenol and a dihydrobenzofuran derivative was investigated over MCM-41 with different Si/Al ratios. Higher aluminum content, higher reaction temperatures, and longer run duration favor the formation of the ring compound 2,3-dihydro-2-methyl benzofuran. There is a close relationship between acidity and conversion, which suggests that the reaction occurs inside the large pores of MCM-41. The influence of temperature and catalyst Si/Al ratio on the reaction are examined by kinetic analysis, under the assumption of a first-order consecutive reaction. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Al-MCM-41; allyl phenyl ether; Claisen rearrangement; Mesoporous material; molecular rearrangement; Solid acids

Regression models using pattern search assisted least square support vector machines - Patil, N. S.; Shelokar, P. S.; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 2005)
Least Square Support Vector Machines (LS-SVM), a new machine-learning tool has been employed for developing data driven models of non-linear processes. The method is firmly rooted in the statistical learning theory and transforms the input data to a higher dimensional feature space where the use of appropriate kernel functions avoid computational difficulty. Further, a pattern search algorithm, which explores multiple directions and utilizes coordinate search with fixed step size, is employed for selecting optimal LS-SVM model that produces a minimum possible prediction error. To show the efficacy and efficiency of the fully automated pattern search assisted LS-SVM methodology, we have tested it on several benchmark examples. The study suggests that proposed paradigm can be a useful and viable tool in building data driven models of non-linear processes.
Keywords: equality constraints; LS-SVM; model selection; Optimization; pattern search

Response of trichogramma chilonis to infochemicals: an SEM and electrophysiological investigation - Sen, A; Raina, R; Joseph, Mary P.; Tungikar, VB (Biocontrol, 2005)
The external morphology and peripheral olfactory responses of antennal chemoreceptors of Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Hymenoptera:Trichogrammatidae) to host related stimuli were examined by SEM and EAG technique respectively. The antennae of male and female T. chilonis reveal strong sexual dimorphism in structure as well as in types, density and distribution of individual sensillar types. The female antennae are characterized by the presence of a single uniporous sensilla on the apical tip of the dome and numerous multiporous pitted sensilla. Sensilla common to both males and females include the multiporous plate sensilla, the peg sensilla and trichoid sensilla. Differences between males and females occur with respect to their EAG profiles to 22 chemicals commonly found in plants viz., hexanal, β-pinene, citronellal, terpinene, citronellol, phytol, caryophyllene, R-(+)-limonene, linalool, carvacrol, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, ethanol, α-pinene, trans-2-hexanal, α-phellandrene, amyl acetate, cineole, quinolene, S-(-)limonene, β-myrcene, carvone, terpineol; hexane leaf extracts of three host plants of Helicoverpa armigera (cotton, chickpea and pigeon pea) and hexane scale extracts of adult males and females of H. armigera. Individually, the largest peak amplitudes in females were obtained with citronellal, phytol, caryophyllene, R-(+)-limonene, linalool, carvacrol and citronellol while in males citronellol, caryophyllene, linalool, R-(+)-limonene and amyl acetate caused the highest response. Among the different chemical classes, the largest peak amplitudes in females were obtained with oxygenated monoterpenes, while in males, fatty acid derivatives caused the highest response. In both males and females, the hydrocarbon monoterpenes caused the least response. Thus, the wide spectrum response of Trichogramma chilonis, to a wide group of chemicals belonging to different chemical classes, though varying, nevertheless suggests that using plant information enhances its parasitization efficiency.
Keywords: antennae; Chickpea; cotton; EAG; parasitoid; pigeon pea; scanning electron microscopy; Trichogramma chilonis; Volatiles

Review on bubble formation, rise and break-up in a gas-liquid system - Kulkarni, Amol A.; Joshi, Jyeshtharaj B. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2005)
The formation of gas bubbles and their subsequent rise due to buoyancy are very important fundamental phenomena that contribute significantly to the hydrodynamics in gas−liquid reactors. The rise of a bubble in dispersion can be associated with possible coalescence and dispersion followed by its disengagement from the system. The phenomenon of bubble formation decides the primitive bubble size in the system (which latter attains an equilibrium size), whereas the rise velocity decides the characteristic contact time between the phases which governs the interfacial transport phenomena as well as mixing. In view of their importance, we herein present a comprehensive review of bubble formation and bubble rise velocity in gas−liquid systems. The emphasis of this review is to illustrate the present status of the subjects under consideration and to highlight the possible future directions for further understanding of the subject. The bubble formation at a single submerged orifice and on multipoint sieve trays in Newtonian as well as non-Newtonian stagnant and flowing liquids is discussed in detail, which includes its mechanism as well as the effect of several system and operating parameters on the bubble size. The comparison of results has shown that the formulation of Gaddis and Vogelpohl22 is the most suitable for the estimation of bubble size in stagnant liquids. The special cases, such as bubble formation in reduced gravity conditions and weeping and in flowing liquids, are discussed in detail. The section on the rise of a gas bubble in liquid covers the various parameters governing bubble rise and their effect on the rise velocity. A comprehensive comparison of the various formulations is made by validating the predictions with experimental data for Newtonian as well as non-Newtonian liquids, published over last several decades. The results highlight that for the estimation of rise velocity in (i) pure Newtonian liquids, (ii) contaminated Newtonian liquids, and (iii) non-Newtonian liquids, the formulation based on the wave theory by Mendelson,190 Nguyen's formulation,155 and the formulation by Rodrigues,153 (last two, based on the dimensional analysis), respectively are the most suitable. The motion of bubbles in non-Newtonian liquids and the reason behind the discontinuity in the velocity are also discussed in detail. The bubble rise is also analyzed in terms of the drag coefficient for different system parameters and bubble sizes.

Superspin glass behavior of a nonstoichiometric lanthanum manganite LaMnO3.13 - Sankar, C. R.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Physical Review B, 2005)
Aging and memory effects are observed in an oxygen nonstoichiometric lanthanum manganite LaMnO3.13 from time-dependent dc magnetic measurements by employing various cooling protocols. The results can be best described by the superspin glass model of interacting magnetic nanoparticles system. The possible origin of such a behavior is the confinement of interacting small magnetic clusters formed as a result of the formation of manganese vacancies, along with the random distribution of tetravalent manganese ions in the lattice.

SVM classifier incorporating simultaneous noise reduction and feature selection: illustrative case examples - Kumar, R.; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Pattern Recognition, 2005)
A hybrid technique involving symbolization of data to remove noise and use of conditional entropy minima to extract relevant and non-redundant features is proposed in conjunction with support vector machines to obtain more robust classification algorithm. The technique tested on three data sets shows improvements in classification efficiencies. (C) 2004 Pattern Recognition Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: classification; conditional entropy; SVM; symbolization

Synthesis and magnetic properties of polycrystalline Co-doped ZnO - Deka, Sasanka; Date, Sadgopal K.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (9th International Conference on Ferrites (ICF-9), 2005)
Nanocrystalline Zn1-xCoxO powders have been synthesized by a glycine-nitrate (GNP) and modified GNP methods. Ferromagnetism at room temperature and above is observed for the powder samples synthesized by GNP method. The saturation magnetization value at 300 K is obtained as 0.08 and 0.28 emu/g (at 1 T), respectively, for x = 0.05 and 0.1. Ferromagnetic transition occurs at 740 K and 770 K for the respective samples, which is much larger than that the reported in the literature for thin film samples. On the other hand, no ferromagnetism was observed, down to 10 K, for the compounds synthesized by the modified GNP method.
9th International Conference on Ferrites (ICF-9), San Francisco, CA, AUG 22-27, 2004

Synthesis, characterization and catalytic potentials of polymer anchored copper(II), oxovanadium(IV) and dioxomolybdenum(VI) complexes of 2-(alpha-hydroxymethyl)benzimidazole - Maurya, Mannar R.; Sikarwar, S.; Joseph, Trissa; Manikandan, Palanichamy; Halligudi, Shivappa B. (Reactive & Functional Polymers, 2005)
{2-(alpha-Hydroxymethyl)benzimidazole (Hhmbmz) has been covalently anchored to chloromethylated polystyrene cross-linked with 5% divinylbenzene. This chelating resin reacts with cupric acetate, vanadyl sulphate and [MoO(2)-(acac)(2)] (Hacac = acetylacetone) in presence of Hhmbmz to give complexes PS-[Cu(hmbmz)(2)], PS-[VO(hmbmz)(2)] and PS-[MoO(2)(hmbmz)(2)] (where
Keywords: 2-(alpha-hydroxymethyl)benzimidazole; oxidation of styrene and ethyl benzene; oxidative bromination of salicylaldehyde; polymer anchored-complexes

Synthesis, characterization, and performance evaluation of polymeric HALS in ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) - Lonkar, Sunil P.; Rana, S.; Singh, R. P.; Lacoste, Jacques; Gardette, Jean Luc; Jestin, F.; Brocord, E. (Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part A: Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2005)
A polymeric hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS), wherein the hindered amine functionality was attached to the maleic anhydride graft ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) was synthesized. This involves photoinduced grafting of maleic anhydride groups on unsaturated sites of EPDM, followed by incorporation of amino terminated HALS. The grafting and functionalization reactions were characterized by FTIR and C-13 NMR spectroscopy. The surface changes upon degradation are studied by SEM. The photostabilizing efficiency of this polymeric HALS was studied and compared with conventional HALS under accelerated weathering conditions. The HALS grafted EPDM showed significantly improved photostabilizing efficiency.
Keywords: EPDM; light induced grafting; Photostabilization; polymeric HALS

Synthesis, characterization and photo catalytic degradation of aqueous eosin over Cr containing Ti/MCM-41 and SiO2-TiO2 catalysts using visible light - Awate, S. V.; Jacob, Nalini E.; Deshpande, Suvarna S.; Gaydhankar, T. R.; Belhekar, Anagha A. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A - Chemical, 2005)
Two series of samples were prepared namely Cr-Ti/MCM-41 and Cr/SiO2-TiO2 keeping Si/Ti mole ratio same, with different Cr loading. The physico-chemical properties of the samples were characterized by different analytical techniques such as XRD, FTIR, TEM, low temperature N-2 sorption, and UV-vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy. The impregnated TiO2 was in anatase form. The crystallite size was determined from Scherrer equation as well as by TEM. There is a difference between the shapes of nitrogen adsorption isotherms with and without Cr-loaded Ti/MCM-41 samples. The rate of nitrogen adsorption was found to increase with decrease in Cr content at lower P/P-0 for Cr-Ti/MCM-41 samples due to the blocking of the pores with Cr. All MCM-41 samples exhibited pore sizes from 24 nm to 32 nm. UV-vis diffused reflectance spectra of all Cr-loaded samples showed red shift of their absorption edges. Photo degradation of eosin dye was studied using visible light. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Cr-Ti/MCM-41; Cr/SiO2-TiO2; eosin; photo degradation; visible light

Synthesis of bismuth oxide nanoparticles using bismuth nitrate and urea - Jha, Ratnesh Kumar; Pasricha, R.; Ravi, V. (Ceramics International, 2005)
A mixture of bismuth nitrate and urea is taken in 1:5 molar ratio and heated on hot water bath. A precipitate is formed on evaporation of the water which on decomposition at 400 degrees C produces nanocrystalline Bi2O3 particles. Formation of nano crystallites of Bi2O3 is confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) study. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations revealed for these powders an average particle size of 50 nm. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.
Keywords: calcination; Electron microscopy; X-ray methods

Synthesis of chromium substituted nano particles of cobalt zinc ferrites by coprecipitation - Sharma, R. K.; Suwalka, O.; Lakshmi, N.; Venugopalan, K.; Banerjee, Abhik; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Materials Letters, 2005)
Nano particles of chromium substituted cobalt zinc ferrite have been synthesized by a chemical co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction studies of the nano particles of CrxCo0.5-xZn0.5Fe2O4 (x = 0.1 to 0.5) heat-treated at 300 degrees C show that the particle sizes are in the range of 2 to 7 nm. Room temperature Fe-57 Mossbauer spectra of all the samples show only two doublets, confirming the presence of superparamagnetic relaxation in the nano particles. An exponential decrease in the superparamagnetic blocking temperature, with increasing chromium concentration, is observed for these samples. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Co0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4; Mossbauer spectroscopy; nano materials

Synthesis of fine PbE (E = S, Se) powder from direct in situ reduction of sulphur or selenium - Khanna, P. K.; Subbarao, VVVS; Wagh, M.; Jadhav, P.; Patil, K. R. (Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2005)
Lead sulphide and lead selenide have been prepared for the first time, by in situ reduction of elemental S or Se by using aqueous DMF or aqueous SFS as reducing agents and their reaction with lead acetate. The grayish-black powder has been characterized by powder XRD measurement, XPS and SEM/EDAX analysis. Powder X-ray diffraction pattern revealed that cubic PbE (E = S, Se) is formed with a little impurities of lead in case of PbSe. Slightly broader peaks in XRD measurement suggest small particles diameter in the powder. The particle size by using Scheffer's formula is found to be about 100 nm. Peaks due to free lead particles are observed in XPS and EDS (in case of PbSe) analysis and SEM analysis indicates agglomerated particles. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chemical synthesis; electronic materials; reduction; Semiconductor

Textural/structural, stability and morphological properties of mesostructured silicas (MCM-41 and MCM-48) prepared using different silica sources - Gaydhankar, T. R.; Taralkar, U. S.; Jha, Ratnesh Kumar; Joshi, P. N.; Kumar, R (Catalysis Communications, 2005)
A series of MCM-41 and MCM-48 samples have been synthesized under hydrothermal and static conditions using different silica sources (fumed silica, silica sot and ethyl silicate) and characterized by powder XRD, scanning electron microscopy and N-2 adsorption. The silica source reactivity trend observed was as: ethyl silicate > fumed silica > silica sot. However, the extent of contraction caused by calcination, magnitude of the wall thickness and stability were found to depend not only upon the type of silica source used but also on the type of structure formed. Noticeable morphological differences were observed in case of only MCM-41 when silica sources were varied. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermal degradation kinetics of polyesters containing mesogenic aromatic diols - Mule, Smita Atmaram; Ghadage, R. S.; Jacob, Nalini E.; Rajan, C. R.; Ponrathnam, Surendra (Journal Applied Polymer Science, 2005)
A series of polyesters were synthesized by reacting structurally differing aromatic diols with either saturated (flexible) or unsaturated (rigid) dicarboxylic acid halide by a stirred interfacial polycondensation technique. Thermal degradation kinetics of these polyesters were investigated by applying Coats-Redfern and Horowitz-Metzger nonisothermal procedures. The dynamic thermogravimetry experiments were conducted in nitrogen to obtain differential thermogravimetric plots. Thermal stability of these polyesters was discussed on the basis of semiquantitative methods such as differential procedural decomposition temperature, integral procedural decomposition temperature, and fraction decomposition temperature (e.g., 10 % DT). Degradation proceeded in multiple stages. The thermal degradation patterns and activation energies in these stages were discussed in relation to central bridging moieties of aromatic diol. The activation energies of these polyesters were found to be in the range of 100 to 200 kJ/mol. The effect of spacer type on activation energy was also reported. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: Activation energy; Degradation; kinetics (polym.); Polycondensation; polyesters

Unusual monodentate binding mode of 2,2 `-dipyridylamine (L) in isomeric trans(acac)(2)Ru-II(L)2, trans-[(acac)(2)Ru-III(L)(2)]ClO4, and cis-(acac)(2)Ru-II(L)(2) (acac = acetylacetonate). Synthesis, structures, and spectroscopic, electrochemical, and magn - Kar, S.; Chanda, N.; Mobin, Shaikh M.; Urbanos, F. A.; Niemeyer, M.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Jimenez-Aparicio, Reyes; Lahiri, Goutam Kumar (Inorganic Chemistry, 2005)
{The reaction of cis-Ru(acac)(2)(CH3CN)(2) (acac = acetylacetonate) with 2,2'-dipyridylamine (L) in ethanolic medium resulted in facile one-pot synthesis of stable [(acac)(2)Ru-III(L)]ClO4 ([1]ClO4), trans-[(acac)(2)Ru-II(L)2] (2), trans[(acac)(2)Ru-III(L)(2)[ClO4 ([2]ClO4), and cis-[(acac)(2)Ru-II(L)(2)] (3). The bivalent congener 1 was generated via electrochemical reduction Of [1]ClO4. Although in [1](+) the dipyridylamine ligand (L) is bonded to the metal ion in usual bidentate fashion, in 2/[2](+) and 3, the unusual monodentate binding mode of L has been preferentially stabilized. Moreover, in 2/[2](+) and 3, two such monodentate L's have been oriented in the trans- and cis-configurations, respectively. The binding mode of L and the isomeric geometries of the complexes were established by their single-crystal X-ray structures. The redox stability of the Ru(II) state follows the order 1 < 2 much less than 3. In contrast to the magnetic moment obtained for [1]ClO4

Adsorption of methanol on Si(100)/SiO(2)and mesoporous SBA-15 - Mirji, S. A.; Halligudi, Shivaraj B.; Mathew, Nevin T.; Ravi, V.; Jacob, Nalini E.; Patil, K. R. (Colloids and Surfaces A-Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2006)
Adsorption of methanol on SiO(100)/SiO2 substrate and mesoporous SBA-15 has been studied by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Contact angle technique is employed to study the adsorption kinetics of methanol on SiO(100)/SiO2 and thermal stability of adlayer. Thermogravimetric (TGA) technique is used to understand the thermal behavior of methanol layer on SBA-15. Adsorption kinetics fit fairly well with Langmuir isotherms giving adsorption rate constant, k(a) = 0.0021 W s(-1). FTIR results show formation of methoxy silicon (SiOCHA silicon polyhydride (SiH2), carboxylate, molecular water and hydroxyl groups on Si(100)/SiO2 surface and only methoxy silicon on SBA-15. XPS results confirm methanol adsorption and support FTIR results. The methanol adlayers are found to be thermally stable up to a temperature of similar to 262 degrees C on both Si(100)/SiO2 and SBA-15 and decompose between 262 and 450 degrees C. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Adsorption; desorption; kinetics; Methanol; SBA-15; Si(100)/SiO2; thermal stability

Adsorption of octadecyltrichlorosilane on mesoporous SBA-15 - Mirji, S. A.; Halligudi, Shivaraj B.; Sawant, Dhanashri P.; Jacob, Nalini E.; Patil, K. R.; Gaikwad, A. B.; Pradhan, S. D. (Applied Surface Science, 2006)
Adsorption of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) on mesoporous SBA-15 has been studied by using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. BET surface area analysis shows decrease of surface area from 930 to 416 m(2)/g after OTS adsorption. SEM pictures show close attachment of SBA-15 particles. EDAX measurements show increase of carbon weight percentage and decrease of oxygen and silicon weight percentage. XPS results closely support EDAX analysis. FTIR spectra shows presence of methyl (-CH3) and methylene (-CH2) bands and oriented OTS monolayer on SBA-15. Thermo-gravimetric analysis shows that the OTS adsorbed on SBA-15 are stable up to a temperature of 230 degrees C and that the OTS monolayers decompose between 230 and 400 degrees C. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Adsorption; OTS; SBA-15; Self-assembly; thermal stability

Assembly of hydrothermally stable ethane-bridged periodic mesoporous organosilicas with spherical and wormlike structures - Shylesh, S.; Jha, Ratnesh Kumar; Singh, A. P. (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2006)
Hydrothermally stable periodic mesoporous organosilicas with spherical as well as wormlike frame structures were synthesised by two different synthesis routes using the silsesquioxane precursor, 1,2-bis (triethoxy silyl) ethane (BTEE) and surfactant octadecyl trimethyl ammonium (ODTA), under basic conditions. The materials were characterized by PXRD, SEM, TEM, N-2 adsorption-desorption, FT-IR, Si-29 MAS NMR, C-13 CP MAS NMR and TG-DTA techniques. Characterization techniques revealed that the morphology of the hybrid material prepared from pure silsesquioxane precursor resulted in spherical particles while a combination of tetra ethyl orthosilicate and 1,2-bis (triethoxy silyl) ethane (90:10 ratio) resulted in materials having wormlike structures. Hydrothermal stability of the hybrid material was evaluated by refluxing the sample under boiling water for various time periods and was compared with that of a periodic mesoporous silica material, Si-MCM-41. Results showed that the hybrid material is stable up to 100 h in boiling water, with the existence of d(100) peak, while the mesopore structure of Si-MCM-41 get destroyed even after a 12 h reflux time. The improved hydrothermal stability of the hybrid material is related to the more hydrophobic environment induced inside the pore channels, due to the presence of integrating ethane groups in the wall channels. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: hybrid mesoporous materials; Hydrothermal stability; spherical particles; wormlike structures

Assembly of phase transferred nickel nanoparticles at air-water interface using Langmuir-Blodgett technique - Bala, Tanushree; Joshi, Bhagyashree; Iyer, Neelima; Sastry, Murali; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad (Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2006)
Development of simple and efficient protocol for the synthesis of Ni nanoparticles in aqueous media and their subsequent phase transfer to organic media is reported. The synthesis of nickel nanoparticles in aqueous medium is accomplished by reducing the nickel nitrate with sodium borohydricle in presence of oleic acid. It results in the formation of nickel nanoparticles capped with oleic acid. The pristine oleic acid capped nickel nanoparticles were then phase transferred to nonpolar solvents such as toluene using stearic acid. The phase transfer was effective probably due to the space exchange between the oleic acid moiety and stearic acid molecules. The hydrophobized Ni thus obtained was organized at the air-water interface and it was observed that by controlling the pressure and concentration of hydrophobized Ni nanoparticles at air-water interface, linear ribbon like assemblies could be obtained. The organization process was followed by surface pressure-area isotherm measurement and Brewster Angle Microscopy.
Keywords: assembly; Langmuir-Blodgett technique; Ni nanoparticles; Phase transfer

Brewster angle microscope - an excellent tool for nanoscience researchers - Joshi, Bhagyashree; Khatavkar, Rupali; Iyer, Neelima (Synthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic Metal - Organic and Nano-Metal Chemistry, 2006)

Characterization of nanosized NiZn ferrite powders synthesized by an autocombustion method - Deka, Sasanka; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2006)
Nanocrystalline Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 with average particle size of similar to 9 nm has been synthesized by an autocombustion method and characterized by powder XRD, TEM and room temperature magnetic measurements. High room temperature magnetization comparable to that of the bulk material is obtained for the nanosized powders annealed at 800 degrees C, with a maximum particle size of similar to 54 nm. The results show that optimum properties can be achieved for NiZn ferrite powders synthesized by the present autocombustion method and processed at relatively lower temperatures. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chemical synthesis; Magnetic materials; magnetic properties; Oxides

Chemoselective anti-Markovnikov hydroamination of alpha,beta-ethylenic compounds with amines using montmorillonite clay - Joseph, Trissa; Shanbhag, G. V.; Sawant, D. P.; Halligudi, Shivappa B. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2006)
The catalytic activity of montmorillonite clays as a catalyst for the hydroamination of alpha,beta-ethylenic compounds with amines was tested. Aniline and substituted amines reacted with alpha,beta-ethylenic compounds in the presence of catalytic amount of commercially available clay to afford exclusively anti-Markovnikov adduct in excellent yields. Aniline reacted with ethyl acrylate to yield only anti-Markovnikov adduct N-[2-(ethoxycarbonyl)ethyl] aniline (mono-addition product). No Markovnikov adduct (N-[1-(ethoxycarbonyl)ethyl]aniline and double addition product N,N-bis[2-(ethoxycarbonyl)ethyl]aniline were formed under selected reaction conditions. For a better exploitation of the catalytic activity in terms of increased activity and improved selectivity for the mono-addition product, the reaction parameters were optimized in terms of temperature, solvent, reactant mole ratio. Under optimized reaction conditions, montmorillonite clay K-10 showed a superior catalytic performance in the hydroamination of ethyl acrylate with aniline with a conversion of aniline to mono-addition product (almost 100% chemoselectivity) with a high rate constant 0.3414 min(-1) compared to the reported protocols. The dependence of conversion of aniline over different types of montmorillonite clays (K-10, K-20, K-30, Al-Pillared clay and untreated clay) has also been discussed. The activities of clay for the hydroamination of different aromatic and aliphatic amines have also been investigated. Under harsh reaction conditions (increased temperature and long reaction time) small amounts of di-addition products were observed. The kinetics data has been interpreted using the initial rate approach model. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: alpha; amines; anti-Markovnikov addition product; beta-ethylenic compounds; chemo-selective; hydroamination; K-10 montmorillonite clay

Claisen rearrangement of allyl phenyl ether over zeolites beta, mordenite and Y - Wagholikar, S. G.; Mayadevi, S.; Jacob, Nalini E.; Sivasanker, S. (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2006)
The Claisen rearrangement of allyl phenyl ether (APE) to o-allylphenol was investigated over zeolites beta (BEA), mordenite (MOR) and Y (FAU) with different Si/Al ratios. Over the zeolite catalysts, the allylphenol cyclized to produce 2,3-dihydro-2-methyl benzofuran. Larger catalyst loading, higher reaction temperatures and longer run duration favored the formation of the ring compound. Conversion was small over MOR and FAU although they possessed higher acidity (as measured by the temperature programmed desorption of ammonia) compared to BEA. Studies using BEA revealed that the nature of the solvent influenced the reaction rate. The order of reactivity in the solvents was, benzene > EDC (1,2-dichloroethane) > toluene > TCE (1, 1,2,2-tetrachloroethane) >> ACN (acetonitrile). The intermediate allylphenol reacted with the aromatic solvents to produce byproducts when benzene and toluene were used as solvents. A kinetic analysis assuming first order series and parallel reactions is presented. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: allyl phenyl ether; allylphenol; Benzofuran; Claisen rearrangement; zeolites

Comparative assessment of downstream processing options for lactic acid - Joglekar, H. G.; Rahman, Imran; Babu, Suresh; Kulkarni, B. D.; Joshi, Ajit (Separation and Purification Technology, 2006)
The possibility of manufacturing a biodegradable polymer from lactic acid has led to extensive research in recovery of lactic acid produced by fermentation, by different downstream processing routes. This paper assesses the suitability of different downstream processing options such as reactive extraction, adsorption, electrodialysis, esterification and reactive distillation. It compares the costs of different process routes. The assessment indicates that the conventional precipitation of calcium lactate, followed by acidification, esterification and hydrolysis will be the most economical route although it generates large quantity of gypsum sludge. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Adsorption; electrodialysis; Esterification; Lactic acid; Reactive distillation; reactive extraction

Conformation and microenvironment of the active site of a low molecular weight 1,4-beta-D-glucan glucanohydrolase from an alkalothermophilic thermomonospora sp.: involvement of lysine and cysteine residues - Jagtap, Sharmili; Rao, Mala (Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2006)
Conformation and microenvironment at the active site of 1,4-beta-D-glucan glucanohydrolase was probed with fluorescent chemo-affinity labeling using o-phthalaldehyde. OPTA has been known to form a fluorescent isoindole derivative by cross-linking the proximal thiol and amino groups of cysteine and lysine. Modification of lysine of the enzyme by TNBS and of cysteine residue by PHMB abolished the ability of the enzyme to form an isoindole derivative with OPTA. Kinetic analysis of the TNBS and PHMB-modified enzyme suggested the presence of essential lysine and cysteine residues, respectively, at the active site of the enzyme. The substrate protection of the enzyme with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) confirmed the involvement of lysine and cysteine residues in the active site of the enzyme. Multiple sequence alignment of peptides obtained by tryptic digestion of the enzyme showed cysteine is one of the conserved amino acids corroborating the chemical modification studies. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 1; 4-beta-D-glucan glucanohydrolase; active site microenvironment; Cysteine; lysine; OPTA; PHMB; Thermomonospora sp.; TNBS

Control of molecular structure in the generation of highly luminescent liquid crystalline perylenebisimide derivatives: synthesis, liquid crystalline and photophysical properties - Jancy, B.; Asha, S. K. (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2006)
We report here, for the first time, the role of the molecular design on the liquid crystalline and solid-state photoluminescent properties of soluble and thermally stable liquid crystalline perylenebisimide derivatives. A new series of perylenebisimides were designed and developed for this purpose by adopting the stoichiometry-control approach, and amine-, hydroxyl-, ester-, and amide-functionalized molecules were synthesized. Various types of spacers with different lengths (C2 to C12), types (linear, cyclohexyl, and tricyclodecane), and end-capped by phenyl or tridodecyloxy gallic units were introduced in the perylenebisimide core. The molecules were completely characterized by NMR, FT-IR, SEC, and MALDI-TOF mass techniques. Thermal analysis revealed that the perylenebisimide derivatives were thermotropic liquid crystalline, and threadlike nematic phases were observed under a polarizing light microscope. The spacer length and the rigidity of the spacers play a major role in the liquid crystalline properties of the materials. In phenyl systems, the C6 chain with ester- and the C12 chain with amide-end-capped molecules showed a nematic phase, whereas the C6 chain with an amide end cap and their cyclic and tricyclic counterparts did not show any LC property. The introduction of a tridodecyloxy gallic unit induced the LC property in C12 and the cyclohexyl system; however, it failed to do so in the tricyclodecane molecule. The absorption properties of the molecules were almost unchanged by the structural variation; however, the emission quantum yield in solution and photoluminescent (PL) intensity in the solid state were significantly different. Though the gallic unit induced liquid crystallinity in the perylenebisimide core, the quantum yield and PL intensity are 4−5 times less compared to those of the simple phenyl-capped liquid crystalline system. Among the various types of spacers, the tricyclodecane induced strong molecular aggregates via π-stacking, which in turn increased the rigidity of the entire perylenebisimide core, resulting in the absence of liquid crystallinity and low luminescence compared to their linear and cyclohexyl analogues. The molecular aggregates were very stable even at very dilute concentration and also at high temperatures. The aggregates disappeared immediately upon addition of trifluoroacetic acid, thus confirming the strong hydrogen bonding in the aggregated states. In a nutshell, the present report demonstrates the importance of molecular design for introducing liquid crystalline phases in perylenebisimides and also the development of novel highly luminescent n-type π-conjugated material for application in optoelectronics.

Copper-, ligand- and solvent-free synthesis of ynones by coupling acid chlorides with terminal alkynes - Palimkar, Sanjay S.; Kumar, P. Harish; Jogdand, Nivrutti R.; Daniel, Thomas; Lahoti, Rajgopal J.; Srinivasan, Kumar V. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2006)
A general and efficient copper-, ligand- and solvent-free synthesis of ynones by coupling of a wide range of acid chlorides with terminal alkynes catalyzed by palladium(II) acetate at room temperature is reported. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: ligandless; neat; ynones

Crystallisation in polymer nanocomposites - Jog, Jyoti Prakash (Materials Science and Technology, 2006)
Polymer nanocomposites are of interest as they exhibit extraordinary properties compared with the base polymer. The second phase dispersed in the polymer matrix can be carbon nanotubes, semi-conducting inorganic nanoparticles or layer silicates such as clay. Crystallisation in these materials is also of great interest. Polymers exhibit structures at various scales (e.g. lamella, unit cell and spherulites) and the presence of a second phase has a profound effect on crystallisation. General trends observed include acceleration/retardation of crystallisation, changes in spherulite morphology and, in a few cases, changes in the crystal structure. All these observations relate to the presence of a micrometre scale second phase. However, when the dimensions of the second phase are close to the chain dimensions, the effects on crystallisation become particularly interesting. An attempt is made in the present review to address the effect of a nanoscale second phase on aspects such as isothermal and non-isothermal crystallisation, spherulite growth, phase transformation and polymorphism.
Keywords: clay; crystallisation; Nanocomposites; polymer matrix composites

Crystallization and phase transformation kinetics of poly(1-butene)/MWCNT nanocomposites - Wanjale, Santosh D.; Jog, Jyoti Prakash (Polymer, 2006)
Poly(1-butene)/MWCNT nanocomposites were prepared by simple melt processing technique. Crystallization, crystal-to-crystal phase transformation and spherulitic morphology were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and optical microscopy (OM). The non-isothermal crystallization exhibited higher values of Z, derived from Avrami theory and lower values of F(T) obtained from Avrami-Ozawa analysis, while the isothermal crystallization revealed a significant increase in crystallization temperatures and lower crystallization half times compared to pristine PB. The observed changes in the crystallization kinetics were ascribed to the enhanced nucleation of PB in the presence of MWCNT. The nucleating activity calculated from the non-isothermal crystallization data revealed that the MWCNTs provide an active surface for the nucleation of PB. The optical micrographs exhibited significantly smaller crystallites with disordered morphology for the nanocomposites compared to the well defined spherulitic morphology for pristine PB. The rate of phase transformation from kinetically favored tetragonal to thermodynamically stable hexagonal form was noticeably enhanced as evidenced by the reduction in the half time for phase transformation from 58 h to 25 h for PB reinforced with 7% MWCNT. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: MWCNT; Phase transformation; poly(1-butene)

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray characterization of a thermostable low-molecular-weight 1,4-beta-D-glucan glucohydrolase from an alkalothermophilic thermomonospora sp. - Manikandan, K.; Jagtap, Sharmili; Rao, M.; Ramakumar, S. (Acta Crystallographica Section F-Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications, 2006)
{Cellulases catalyze the hydrolysis of beta-1,4-glycosidic linkages within cellulose, the most abundant organic polymer on earth. The cellulase (TSC; EC 3.2.1.4) from an alkalothermophilic Thermomonospora sp. has a low molecular weight of 14.2 kDa. It is optimally active at 323 K and stable over the wide pH range of 5 - 9. Moreover, it has bifunctional activity against cellulose and xylan polymers. In this study, TSC was purified from the native source and crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 49.9

Effect of thermal annealing on Fe40Ni38B18Mo4 thin films: modified Herzer model for magnetic evolution - Hysen, T.; Deepa, S.; Saravanan, S.; Ramanujan, R. V.; Avasthi, D. K.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; D Kulkarni, S.; Anantharaman, Maliemadom R. (Journal of Physics D-Applied Physics, 2006)
Magnetic properties of nano-crystalline soft magnetic alloys have usually been correlated to structural evolution with heat treatment. However, literature reports pertaining to the study of nano-crystalline thin films are less abundant. Thin films of Fe40Ni38B18Mo4 were deposited on glass substrates under a high vacuum of approximate to 10(-6) Torr by employing resistive heating. They were annealed at various temperatures ranging from 373 to 773K based on differential scanning calorimetric studies carried out on the ribbons. The magnetic characteristics were investigated using vibrating sample magnetometry. Morphological characterizations were carried out using atomic force microscopy (AFM), and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) imaging is used to study the domain characteristics. The variation of magnetic properties with thermal annealing is also investigated. From AFM and MFM images it can be inferred that the crystallization temperature of the as-prepared films are lower than their bulk counterparts. Also there is a progressive evolution of coercivity up to 573 K, which is an indication of the lowering of nano-crystallization temperature in thin films. The variation of coercivity with the structural evolution of the thin films with annealing is discussed and a plausible explanation is provided using the modified random anisotropy model.

Efficient deprotection of dithioacetals to carbonyls using Oxone-KBr in aqueous acetonitrile - Desai, Uday V.; Pore, D. M.; Tamhankar, B. V.; Jadhav, Sushilkumar A.; Wadgaonkar, P. P. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2006)
A simple and efficient method has been developed for the chemoselective dethioacetalization of dithioacetals to aldehydes and ketones using Oxone-KBr in aqueous acetonitrile at room temperature. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: deprotection; dethioacetalization; Oxone

Enhanced magnetostrictive properties of Mn substituted cobalt ferrite Co1.2Fe1.8O4 - Bhame, Shekhar D.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Journal of Applied Physics, 2006)
The effect of substitution of Fe and Co by Mn on the magnetostrictive properties of the cobalt ferrite Co1.2Fe1.8O4 has been studied and compared. The studies on Co1.2-xMnxFe1.8O4 and Co1.2Fe1.8-xMnxO4 (0 <= x <= 0.4) showed a marked dependence of magnetostriction on the substitution of both Fe and Co by Mn. Higher magnetostriction is obtained for the substitution of Co by Mn whereas the magnetostriction is reduced substantially on the substitution of Fe by Mn. Higher magnetostriction at low magnetic fields and enhancement of the strain ratio have been observed for the substitution of Co by Mn. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Evidence for intergranular tunnelling in polyaniline passivated alpha-Fe nanoparticles - Sunny, Vijutha; Narayanan, T. N.; Sajeev, U. S.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Kumar, D. Sakthi; Yoshida, Yasuhiko; Anantharaman, Maliemadom R. (Nanotechnology, 2006)
Nanoparticles are of immense importance both from the fundamental and application points of view. They exhibit quantum size effects which are manifested in their improved magnetic and electric properties. Mechanical attrition by high energy ball milling (HEBM) is a top down process for producing fine particles. However, fineness is associated with high surface area and hence is prone to oxidation which has a detrimental effect on the useful properties of these materials. Passivation of nanoparticles is known to inhibit surface oxidation. At the same time, coating polymer film on inorganic materials modifies the surface properties drastically. In this work a modified set-up consisting of an RF plasma polymerization technique is employed to coat a thin layer of a polymer film on Fe nanoparticles produced by HEBM. Ball-milled particles having different particle size ranges are coated with polyaniline. Their electrical properties are investigated by measuring the dc conductivity in the temperature range 10-300 K. The low temperature dc conductivity (I-V) exhibited nonlinearity. This nonlinearity observed is explained on the basis of the critical path model. There is clear-cut evidence for the occurrence of intergranular tunnelling. The results are presented here in this paper.

Evolution of the stereoselective pinacol coupling reaction - Chatterjee, A.; Joshi, Navalkishore N. (Tetrahedron, 2006)
Keywords: diastereoselective; enantioselective.; pinacol coupling; reductive dimerization

Experimental comparison of the structural, magnetic, electronic, and optical properties of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic polycrystalline Zn1-xCoxO (x=0,0.05,0.1) - Deka, Sasanka; Pasricha, Renu; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Physical Review B, 2006)
Ferromagnetism at room temperature is observed in one case whereas paramagnetism down to 12 K is observed in the second case when polycrystalline Zn1-xCoxO is synthesized under almost identical conditions. Identical x-ray diffraction, optical absorption, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicate the incorporation of Co2+ ions in the ZnO lattice in both cases. However, electron diffraction studies show the presence of Co metal impurities in the ferromagnetic samples, indicating that pure Co doped ZnO is not likely to be ferromagnetic.

Ferromagnetism induced by hydrogen in polycrystalline nonmagnetic Zn0.95Co0.05O - Deka, Sasanka; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Applied Physics Letters, 2006)
Polycrystalline Zn0.95Co0.05O is found to be paramagnetic at room temperature and down to 12 K. Optical measurements prove the incorporation of Co2+ ions inside the ZnO lattice in the tetrahedral site. When the paramagnetic sample is heated in Ar/H-2 at 1125 K for 2 h, ferromagnetism with a very high value of magnetization is observed at room temperature. Hydrogen reduction does not affect the substituted Co2+ ions inside the wurtzite crystal lattice as evidenced from optical studies. X-ray diffraction studies show the presence of Co metal after the reduction process which is the origin of room temperature ferromagnetism. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Field emission from oriented tin oxide rods - Deshpande, A. C.; Koinkar, Pankaj M.; Ashtaputre, S. S.; More, Mahendra A.; Gosavi, S. W.; Godbole, P. D.; Joag, Dilip S.; Kulkarni, S. K. (Thin Solid Films, 2006)
Tin oxide (SnO2) films were grown on silicon substrates by a wet chemical route. It was found from scanning electron microscopy investigations that oriented SnO2 rods normal to the substrates were obtained. Field emission studies were carried out in diode configuration in an all metal ultra high vacuum chamber at a base pressure similar to 1.33 x 10(-8) mbar. The `onset' field required to draw 0.1 mu A/cm(2) current density from the emitter cathode was found to be similar to 3.4 V/mu m for SnO2 rods. The field emission current and applied field follows the Folwer-Nordheim relationship in low field regime. The observed results indicate that the field emission characteristics of chemically grown SnO2 structures are comparable to the vapor grown nanostructures. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: field emission; microstructures; scanning electron microscopy; tin oxide

Field emission studies of novel ZnO nanostructures in high and low field regions - Ramgir, Niranjan S.; Late, Dattatray J.; Bhise, Ashok B.; Mulla, Imtiaz S.; More, Mahendra A.; Joag, Dilip S.; Pillai, Vijayamohanan K. (Nanotechnology, 2006)
A study of the field emission characteristics of novel structures of ZnO, namely marigolds, multipods and microbelts, has been carried out in both the close proximity configuration and the conventional field emission microscope. The use of a conventional field emission microscope overcomes the drawback of arc formation at high field values. The nonlinearity in the Fowler - Nordheim ( F - N) plot, a characteristic feature of semiconductors has been observed and explained on the basis of electron emission from both the conduction and the valence bands. The current stability exhibited by these structures is also promising for future device applications.

Finite size effects on the structural and magnetic properties of sol-gel synthesized NiFe2O4 powders - George, M.; John, A. M.; Nair, S. S.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Anantharaman, Maliemadom R. (Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2006)
Nanoparticles of nickel ferrite have been synthesized by the sol-gel method and the effect of grain size oil its structural and magnetic properties have been Studied in detail. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies revealed that all the samples are single phasic possessing the inverse spinel structure. Grain size of the sol-gel synthesized powders has been determined from the XRD data and the strain graph. A grain size of 9 nm was observed for the as prepared powders of NiFe2O4 obtained through the sol-gel method. It was also observed that strain was induced during the firing process. Magnetization measurements have been carried out on all the samples prepared in the present series. It was found that the specific magnetization of the nanosized NiFe2O4 powders was lower than that of the corresponding coarse-grained counterparts and decreased with a decrease in grain size. The coercivity of the sol-gel synthesized NiFe2O4 nanoparticles attained a maximum value when the grain size was 15 nm and then decreased as the grain size was increased further. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: grain size; magnetic properties; Nanoparticles; Nickel ferrite; strain

First enantiospecific synthesis of (-)-parvifoline and (-)-curcuquinone - Chavan, Subhash P.; Thakkar, Mahesh; Jogdand, Ganesh F.; Kalkote, Uttam R. (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2006)
The first enantiospecific synthesis of (-)-parvifoline, employing ring-closing metathesis as the key step, and (-)-curcuquinone from naturally occurring (R)-(+)-citronellal is described.

Flexible ring polymers in an obstacle environment: Molecular theory of linear viscoelasticity - Iyer, Balaji V. S.; Lele, Ashish K.; Juvekar, Vinay A. (Physical Review E, 2006)
We formulate a coarse-grained mean-field approach to study the dynamics of the flexible ring polymer in any given obstacle (gel or melt) environment. The similarity of the static structure of the ring polymer with that of the ideal randomly branched polymer is exploited in formulating the dynamical model using aspects of the pom-pom model for branched polymers. The topological constraints are handled via the tube model framework. Based on our formulation we obtain expressions for diffusion coefficient D, relaxation times tau, and dynamic structure factor g(k,t). Further, based on the framework we develop a molecular theory of linear viscoelasticity for ring polymers in a given obstacle environment and derive the expression for the relaxation modulus G(t). The predictions of the theoretical model are in agreement with previously proposed scaling arguments and in qualitative agreement with the available experimental results for the melt of rings.

Hydrothermal synthesis of MCM-41 using differently manufactured amorphous dioxosilicon sources - Gaydhankar, T. R.; Samuel, V.; Joshi, P. N. (Materials Letters, 2006)
The influence of differently manufactured amorphous dioxosilicon sources such as fumed silica (FS), spray dried precipitated silica (PSI) and flash dried precipitated silica (PS,) on the course of structural development and properties of hydrothermally prepared siliceous MCM-41 phases have been investigated. Powder XRD, N-2 adsorption/desorption and scanning electron microscopy techniques were used for sample characterization. On the basis of results obtained from time dependent study on the progressive development of MCM-41 mesophases, the reactivity trend of dioxosilicon sources observed was as: FS > PS1 > PS2. MCM-41 synthesized using least expensive PS2 having less surface area has exhibited thicker pore walls but poor orderness, while MCM-41 prepared from expensive FS having high surface area has thinner pore walls and was well ordered. The extent of contraction caused by calcination, magnitude of the wall thickness and structural stability were found to be dependent on manufacturing process of dioxosilicon sources. The noticeable morphological differences were also observed by variations in the type of dioxosilicon sources used in the hydrothermal synthesis MCM-41 materials. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Characterization; dioxosilicon sources; Hydrothermal synthesis; MCM-41; porosity; Structural stability

Improved time series prediction with a new method for selection of model parameters - Jade, A. M.; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Journal of Physics A-Mathematical and General, 2006)
A new method for model selection in prediction of time series is proposed. Apart from the conventional criterion of minimizing RMS error, the method also minimizes the error on the distribution of singularities, evaluated through the local Holder estimates and its probability density spectrum. Predictions of two simulated and one real time series have been done using kernel principal component regression (KPCR) and model parameters of KPCR have been selected employing the proposed as well as the conventional method. Results obtained demonstrate that the proposed method takes into account the sharp changes in a time series and improves the generalization capability of the KPCR model for better prediction of the unseen test data.

In situ optical emission spectroscopic investigations during arc plasma synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles by thermal plasma - Banerjee, Indrani; Joshi, N. K.; Sahasrabudhe, S. N.; Kulkarni, Naveen V.; Karmakar, Soumen; Pasricha, R.; Ghorui, S.; Tak, Atul K.; Murthy, Shri P. S. S.; Bhoraskar, S. V.; Das, A. K. (IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 2006)
Investigations using in situ precursor spectroscopy during the growth of nanoparticles of iron oxide by thermal plasma induced gas phase condensation method have been shown to be useful for correlating the size of nanoparticles with existing plasma parameters. The relative abundance of ionized Fe species inside the plasma plume is seen to directly establish the relation between particle size, arc current, arc length, and ambient pressure of the reacting oxygen gas. The argon plasma from a transferred arc reactor is made to impinge on the anode that is allowed to vaporize and react with oxygen. The spectral line profiles of both Ar and Fe along the plasma column during the synthesis of nanoparticles have been proved to be useful in understanding the growth mechanism. Band intensities of FeO molecular states indicated the inverse relation with particle sizes that have been correlated to the two competitive processes in which energy is released, namely: 1) one involving the radiative transition and 2) the other that of the growth by coagulation. Atomic Boltzmann plots are used for estimating the temperatures of the zones, whereas particle sizes have been inferred using transmission electron microscopic measurements.
Keywords: plasma arc device; plasma-materials processing applications; spectroscopy

Influence of extended pi-conjugation units on carrier mobilities in conducting polymers - Harima, Yutaka; Kim, D. H.; Tsutitori, Y.; Jiang, Xiaoqing; Patil, R.; Ooyama, Y.; Ohshita, J.; Kunai, A. (Chemical Physics Letters, 2006)
Carrier mobilities in thin films of copolymers with repeat units consisting of oligothiophenes bridged by Si atoms are measured over a range of doping levels, where the numbers of thienylenes in the repeat unit are 7, 8, 10, 12, and 14. The mobilities for these polymer films increased with the increase in doping level and the mobility enhancement followed an increasing order of the pi-conjugation length. The magnitude of the mobility increase for the Si polymer comprising 14 thiophene units reached ca. 10(4), implying that this pi-conjugation length is almost sufficient to reproduce transport properties of polythiophenes. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microconverter ADuC842 and LabVIEW platform ? a best suitable approach for real time plotting of pressure area isotherm of a monolayer - Iyer, Neelima; Khatavkar, Rupali; Joshi, Bhagyashree (Proceedings of the 5th WSEAS Int. Conf. on Electronics, Hardware, Wireless and Optical Communications, 2006)

Modifications in magnetic anisotropy of M-type strontium hexaferrite crystals by swift heavy ion irradiation - Kaur, Balwinder; Bhat, Monita; Licci, F.; Kumar, Ravi; Kulkarni, S. D.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Bamzai, K. K.; Kotru, P. N. (Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2006)
Using vibrating sample magnetometery (VSM) 50 MeV Li(3+) ion irradiation effects on magnetic properties of single crystals of SrGa(x)In(y)Fe(12-(x+y))O(19) (where x = 0, 5, 7, 9; y = 0, 0.8, 1.3, 1.0), are reported. The substitution of Ga and In in strontium hexaferrite crystals decreases the value of magnetization sharply, which is attributed to shifting of collinear magnetic order to a non-collinear one. Reduction of magnetization is also explained to be as a result of the occupation of the crystallographic sites of Fe(3+) by Ga(3+) and In(3+). The Li(3+) ion irradiation decreases the value of magnetization, irrespective of whether the crystals are Ga-In substituted or unsubstituted crystals of SrFe(12)O(19). The result is interpreted in terms of the occurrence of a paramagnetic doublet in crystals replacing magnetic sextuplet as a result of irradiation. Substitution of Ga-In in Strontium hexaferrite decreases the value of anisotropy constant. Irradiation with Li(3+) ions increases the values of anisotropy field for both substituted as well as unsubstituted crystals. Substitution with Ga-In also decreases the Curie temperature (T(c)) but the irradiation with Li(3+) ions does not affect the curie temperature of either Ga-In substituted or pure SrFe(12)O(19) crystals. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: anisotropy field; Curie temperature; irradiation; Magnetic anisotropy; Magnetization

Morphological mutants of gibberella fujikuroi for enhanced production of gibberellic acid - Lale, Geetanjali; Jogdand, Vitthal V.; Gadre, Ramchandra V. (Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2006)
Aims: To examine the production of gibberellic acid by selected morphological mutants of Gibberella fujikuroi in liquid cultures. Methods and Results: Mutants of G. fujikuroi having different morphological characteristics were selected after UV irradiation. The production of gibberellic acid by mutants that had different hyphal lengths was examined in shake flasks in media with different concentrations of nutrients as well as different volumes of the medium. Fed-batch fermenter study was performed to evaluate the mutant Mor-25 for growth and production of gibberellic acid. The broth was analysed by high performance liquid chromatography for fusaric acid, the common mycotoxin produced by strains of Fusarium. A variety of morphological mutants having different mycelial and soluble pigmentation as well as colony morphologies were generated from G. fujikuroi upon exposure to UV radiation. A nonpigmented mutant (Car-1) was selected as intermediate parent and later, mutants Mor-1 and Mor-25 were selected based on their distinct morphology. The colonies on regeneration agar plates were small, compact and dry. In liquid medium, mutant Mor-25 grew in a micro-pelleted form and the mycelium had short, highly branched hyphae, curly at tips with thick, swollen cells. Mutant Mor-25 grew rapidly in a low-cost medium containing defatted groundnut flour, sucrose and salts. In media with higher nutrient concentrations as well as larger volumes, it produced twofold more gibberellic acid than the parent. Fusaric acid, the common mycotoxin, was absent in the fermentation broth of mutant Mor-25. The mutants have been deposited in National Collection of Industrial Microorganisms (NCIM), National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India under following culture collection numbers (Car-1, NCIM 1323; Mor-1, NCIM 1322; and Mor-25, NCIM 1321). Conclusion: Growth of unpigmented, morphological mutants of G. fujikuroi that led to lower viscosity in fermentation broth resulted in increased production of gibberellic acid. Significance and Impact of Study: The use of morphological mutants that have lower viscosity in liquid cultures for gibberellic acid production is not reported earlier. Similar mutants can be useful for other types of fungal fermentations also.

Natural kaolinitic clay: a remarkable catalyst for highly regioselective chlorination of arenes with Cl-2 or SO2Cl2 - Jayachandran, B.; Phukan, P.; Daniel, Thomas; Sudalai, A. (Indian Journal of Chemistry Section B-Organic Chemistry Including Medicinal Chemistry, 2006)
Natural kaolinitic clay containing transition metals such as Fe and Ti in its lattice has been found to exhibit unusual regioselectivity in the liquid-phase chlorination of arenes with either Cl-2 or SO2Cl2 as the chlorinating agent para-Chlorinated products are predominant for most of the substrates with an exceptional case of ortho-selectivity for the chlorination of aniline.
Keywords: Aniline; chlorination; chlorine; ortho-chloroaniline; sulfuryl chloride

Optically transparent magnetic nanocomposites based on encapsulated Fe3O4 nanoparticles in a sol-gel silica network - Thomas, Senoy; Sakthikumar, D.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Yoshida, Yasuhiko; Anantharaman, Maliemadom R. (Nanotechnology, 2006)
Composite Fe3O4-SiO2 materials were prepared by the sol-gel method with tetraethoxysilane and aqueous-based Fe3O4 ferrofluids as precursors. The monoliths obtained were crack free and showed both optical and magnetic properties. The structural properties were determined by infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy. Fe3O4 particles of 20 nm size lie within the pores of the matrix without any strong Si-O-Fe bonding. The well established silica network provides effective confinement to these nanoparticles. The composites were transparent in the 600-800 nm regime and the field dependent magnetization curves suggest that the composite exhibits superparamagnetic characteristics.

Oxidation of aniline over titania pillared montmorillonite clays - Jagtap, Neelam; Ramaswamy, Veda (Applied Clay Science, 2006)
Titania pillared clays (Ti-PILC) have been synthesized employing conventional stirring (method I) and ultrasonic agitation (method II) techniques followed by hydrothermal treatment. The characterization results revealed the formation of Ti-PILC with significant reduction of time when ultrasonic method was used. Subsequent hydrothermal treatment on the samples has resulted in the increase in the crystallinity and the transformation of anatase TiO2 to rutile TiO2. The rutile phase is more prominent in the samples prepared by stirring method. UV-Vis studies on the samples exhibit blue shift in the absorption band due to the quantum size effect. This indicates that a major part of TiO2 in the pillared clay could be well below 10 nm in size, which is supported by XRD and the average pore size. The pillared clay catalysts have proved to be promising in aniline oxidation with H2O2, selectively forming azoxybenzene under the working conditions. The aniline conversion and the product distribution largely depended on the catalyst concentration, H2O2 to aniline mole ratio, the nature of the solvent and the oxidant. Higher conversion of aniline and greater selectivity for azoxybenzene was obtained with methanol as the solvent. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: aniline oxidation; Azoxybenzene; hydrothermal treatment; pillared clays

Oxidation of ethyl benzene and diphenyl methane over ordered mesoporous M-MCM-41 (M = Ti, V, Cr): synthesis, characterization and structure-activity correlations - Jha, Ratnesh Kumar; Shylesh, S.; Bhoware, Shrikant S.; Singh, A. P. (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2006)
Transition metals (M = Ti, V, Cr) were incorporated into the MCM-41 framework by surfactant-assisted direct hydrothermal (DHT) methods and were characterized in detail by XRD, N-2 adsorption-desorption, TG-DTG/DTA, SEM/TEM, DR UV-Vis, XPS and EPR. The structural regularity as well as the textural properties of the M-MCM-41 materials was confirmed by XRD, TEM and adsorption-desorption techniques. Nature of metal species and the percentage of framework as well as extra framework metal sites in the MCM-41 matrix are discussed in detail by various spectroscopic techniques. The catalytic activity as well as the selectivity of the M-MCM-41 catalysts were explored in the one-step liquid-phase oxidation reaction of ethyl benzene and diphenyl methane. Reaction data showed that the oxidation activity is more when H2O2 was used an oxidant, acetonitrile as solvent and V-MCM-41 as catalyst. However, the selectivity towards the desired keto derivatives (ethyl benzene to acetophenone and diphenyl methane to benzophenone) follows the order, Ti-MCM-41 > V-MCM-41 > Cr-MCM-41. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: diphenyl methane; Ethyl benzene; MCM-41; Oxidation

Pictet-Spengler cyclization in room temperature ionic liquid: a convenient access to tetrahydro beta-carbolines - Muthukrishnan, Murugan; More, Shivaji V.; Garud, Dinesh R.; Ramana, C. V.; Joshi, Rohini R.; Joshi, Ramesh A. (Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry, 2006)
1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-beta-carbolines have been synthesized in moderate to good yields in short reaction time using the ionic liquid [bbim] BF4 as reaction medium and promoter. There was no need for the use of an additional catalyst normally employed in Pictet-Spengler condensation.

Role of ligands in the formation, phase stabilization, structural and magnetic properties of alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles - Joshi, Satyawati S.; Patil, Prajakta R.; Nimase, Madhav S.; Bakare, P. P. (Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 2006)
The electrochemical synthesis of alpha Fe2O3 nanoparticles was performed using quaternary ammonium salts viz. TPAB, TBAB and TOAB in an organic medium by optimizing current density and molar concentration of the ligand. The role of ligands in the formation of alpha phase, structure and magnetic properties was investigated in details. The effect of increasing chain length on the particle size confirmed that as the chain length increases from propyl to octyl, the particle size decreases. X-ray diffraction spectra of as prepared samples and TEM analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of iron oxide. TEM showed beads of iron oxide joined together with a size distribution in the range of 6-30 nm. The Mossbauer studies also support this observation that for the lowest particle size, the line width is broader which successively reduces with increase in particle size. Iron oxide capped with TOAB indicated superparamagnetic nature at room temperature. The resultant internal magnetic field of 506 mm/s due to hyperfine splitting clearly established the formation of alpha-Fe2O3 The infrared spectroscopy and pH measurements revealed the binding of tetra alkyl ligand with iron oxide. The IR spectra and the increase in basicity of as prepared samples confirmed the formation of hydrated iron oxide. Above 800 degrees C the spectra indicated only iron oxide. Surface area obtained by BET method was 205 m(2)/g.
Keywords: Alkyl chain length; alpha-Fe2O3; Electrochemistry; magnetic properties; Nanoparticles; narrow size distribution

Room temperature synthesis of mesoporous aggregates of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles - Deshpande, S. B.; Potdar, H. S.; Khollam, Y. B.; Patil, K. R.; Pasricha, R.; Jacob, Nalini E. (Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2006)
The controlled hydrolysis reaction of titanium tetrabutoxide in presence of acetic acid in isopropanol, i.e. in non-aqueous media was adopted in the present work for the synthesis of nanocrystalline titania followed by aging at ambient conditions for longer duration. The powder XRD shows that the as-dried precursor (without any aging) is non-crystalline in nature. However, room temperature aging for longer duration > 120 days not only helped to develop crystallinity in TiO2 nanoparticles but also led to the formation of their self-assembly towards mesoporous aggregates creating sponge like TiO2 nano-structure having high surface area similar to 250m (2) g(-1)and narrow pore size distribution of 4-5 nm. TEM observations revealed the generation of spherical TiO2 nanoparticles (4-5 nm) assembled to form stable spongy scaffold having porous network structure with pore size 5-6 nm. Also, presence of a pronounced hysteresis loop in BET isotherm is indicative of a 3D-intersection network of the pores of size 4-5 nm. Further heat-treatment to the aged precursor at 400 degrees C/2 h in air modify pore network structure due to sintering of TiO2 particles as is observed in TEM studies and lowering thereby the surface area to 125 m(2) g(-1) (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Microstructure; porous materials; sol-gel processing; titania

Shape selective synthesis of long-chain linear alkyl benzene (LAB) with AIMCM-41/beta zeolite composite catalyst - Bordoloi, Ankur; Devassy, Biju M.; Niphadkar, P. S.; Joshi, P. N.; Halligudi, Shivaraj B. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2006)
The liquid-phase alkylation of benzene with long-chain olefins such as 1-decene, 1-octene and 1-dodecene was carried out over AIMCM-41/Beta zeolite composite material as catalyst. The catalyst was prepared by seeding method and characterized by XRD, N-2 sorption, FTIR pyridine adsorption, NH3-TPD and SEM. Powder XRD of AlMCM-41/Beta zeolite composite material showed the co-existence of well-structured microporous and mesophase of AlMCM-41. The typical textural characteristics of micro- and meso-structured phases were observed in the composite material. The effect of temperature, reactant molar ratios and catalyst weight on 1-dodecene conversion and products selectivity was studied. The composite catalyst was found to be the highly selective towards the formation 2-dodecylbenzene. Under the reaction conditions of 120 degrees C, benzene/1-dodecene molar ratio 10 and time 2h, the catalyst gave 48% dodecene conversion with 76%, 2-dodecylbenzene selectivity. Significant improvement in catalytic activity has been achieved by composite material as compared to Al-MCM-41. Although zeolite beta and composite material gave similar conversion of dodecene, the composite material showed higher selectivity towards 2-dodecylbenzene, which could be due to higher diffusibility of 2-dodecylbenzene isomer in the composite material. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: AIMCM-41/beta zeolite composite; Alkylation; Benzene; long-chain olefins

Size-dependent magnetic properties of nanocrystalline yttrium iron garnet powders - Rajendran, M.; Deka, Sasanka; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Bhattacharya, Asish K. (Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2006)
Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) powders with particle sizes of 9, 14, 25 and 60 nm have been synthesised and their magnetic properties have been studied as a function of particle size and temperature. The particles with sizes of 9 and 14 nm exhibited superparamagnetism. The blocking temperature (T-B) decreased with decreasing particle size, whereas the anisotropy constant (K) increased. The saturation magnetisation (M-s) decreased with decreasing particle size. These variations are attributed to large surface-to-volume ratios in nanoparticles where the surface moments are predominant. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: anisotropy constant; Magnetism; Nanoparticles; Superparamagnetism; YIG

Surface characterization of diblock copolymers containing poly(ethylene oxide) and various hydrophobic moieties - Logan, Jennifer; Marcano, Kyle; Palaskar, Dnyaneshwar; Wadgaonkar, Prakash; Jost, Robert W.; Wudl, Fred; Baker, Shenda M. (231st National Meeting of the American-Chemical-Society, 2006)
231st National Meeting of the American-Chemical-Society, Atlanta, GA, MAR 26-30, 2006

Syntheses and applications of C-2-symmetric chiral diols - Bhowmick, Kartick C.; Joshi, Navalkishore N. (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2006)
Synthetic procedures for a large variety of C-2-symmetric chiral diols are reviewed. Prominent among these procedures are enantioselective reductions, epoxide-cleavages, dihydroxylation of olefins, and synthetic transformations. Applications of these diols as chiral auxiliaries/ligands for several important reactions are also highlighted. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and characterization of cholesteric thermotropic liquid crystalline polyesters - Jadhav, Sushilkumar A.; Chougule, Rahul R.; Shinde, Yogesh A.; Chavan, Nayaku (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2006)
Cholesteric liquid crystalline polyesters were successfully synthesized from isosorbide, methyl hydroquinone, and isophthaloyl chloride. Homo/copolyesters were synthesized by the solution polycondensation method, for which a mild organic base such as pyridine was employed. Inherent viscosities of polyesters P-3-P-5 were in the range of 0.31-0.39 dL/g at 25 degrees C in chloroform, and polyesters P-1 and P-2 were insoluble in chloroform. Homo/copolyesters based on isosorbide, methyl hydroquinone, and isophthalic acid had thermal stability at more than 300 degrees C on the basis of 10% weight loss. The thermotropic liquid crystalline properties were examined by differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing optical microscopy. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction study demonstrated that polyesters P-1, P-2, and P-3 were semicrystalline, whereas the degree of crystallinity of polyesters P-4 and P-5 was less than 5%. Copolyester P-4 showed formation of a yellow iridescent streak at 209 degrees C on heating and development of a Grand-jean texture at 270 degrees C on heating. These are typical textures of the cholesteric liquid crystalline phase. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: cholesteric liquid crystalline polymers (ChLCP); Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); optical microscopy; solution polycondensation; Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA); viscosity

Synthesis, characterization, and molecular modeling studies of novel polyurethanes based on 2,2 '-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(nitrilomethylylidene)]diphenol and 2,2 '-[hexane-1,6-diylbis(nitrilomethylylidene)]diphenol hard segments - Raghu, A. V.; Gadaginamath, G. S.; Jawalkar, S. S.; Halligudi, Shivaraj B.; Aminabhavi, T. A. (Journal of Polymer Science Part A-Polymer Chemistry, 2006)
Novel polyurethanes (PUS) based on 2,2 `-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(nitrilomethylylidene)]diphenol and 2,2 `-[hexane-1,6-diylbis(nitrilomethylylidene)]diphenol as hard segments containing four aromatic diisocyanates (4,4 `-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, toluene 2,4-diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate, and hexamethylene diisocyanate) have been prepared. Fourier transform infrared, UV spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, H-1 NMR and C-13 NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential thermal analysis have been used to determine the structural characterization and thermal properties of the segmented PUS. All the PUS contain domains of both semicrystalline and amorphous structures, as indicated by X-ray diffraction. The acoustic properties have been calculated with the group contribution method. Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed on all the PUS to estimate the cohesive energy density and solubility parameter values, which compare well with the values calculated with the group contribution method. Furthermore, the simulation protocols have been applied to the PUS to produce X-ray diffraction plots to determine the phase morphology of the PUS. The surface properties of the PUS have been estimated from the simulation protocols. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: amorphous; hard segments; molecular dynamics; Morphology; polyurethanes; Schiff base containing polymers; Thermal properties

Synthesis, characterization, X-ray structure and DNA photocleavage by cis-dichloro bis(diimine) Co(III) complexes - Ghosh, Smita; Barve, A. C.; Kumbhar, A. A.; Kumbhar, A. S.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Datar, P. A.; Sonawane, U. B.; Joshi, Rohini R. (Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 2006)
Keywords: Acetic acid; acrylic acid; oxidative conversion of propane; rare earth-doped Mo-V-Sb catalysts

Tuning of the magnetostrictive properties of CoFe2O4 by Mn substitution for Co - Bhame, Shekhar D.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Journal of Applied Physics, 2006)
Marked changes in the magnetostriction of CoFe2O4 in the substitution of Mn for Co has been observed. The magnetostriction parallel to the applied field direction decreases with increasing Mn content, whereas the magnetostriction perpendicular to the field showed a marked increase for 10% of the Mn substitution. The observed magnetostrictive properties are correlated with the magnetic properties. The results suggest the possibility of tuning the magnetostrictive properties of cobalt ferrite for various applications by proper substitution. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Viscoelastic and dielectric behavior of poly(1-butene)/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites - Wanjale, Santosh D.; Jog, Jyoti Prakash (Journal of Macromolecular Science Part B-Physics, 2006)
Linear viscoelastic properties and dielectric behavior of poly(1-butene)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites were investigated. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed significant increase in storage modulus in the rubbery regime. The tan delta peak temperature remained constant; however, the peak intensity was lowered for the nanocomposites. In melt rheological studies the nanocomposites showed a shift in crossover frequency to the lower side, suggesting delayed relaxation of the molecular chains in the presence of MWCNT and this shift was found to depend on the content of MWCNT. The dielectric constant increased from 2.2 to 70 for the nanocomposite with 7 wt. % MWCNT. The electrical conductivity increased significantly, from 10(-15) to 10(-3) S/cm. The results of rheology and dielectric studies indicate that a percolation network is formed that is responsible for the observed changes.
Keywords: Dielectric; MWCNT; poly(1-butene); viscoelastic

ZnO multipods, submicron wires, and spherical structures and their unique field emission behavior - Ramgir, Niranjan S.; Late, Dattatray J.; Bhise, Ashok B.; More, Mahendra A.; Mulla, Imtiaz S.; Joag, Dilip S.; Vijayamohanan, K. (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2006)
A simple method of vapor deposition for the shape selective synthesis of ZnO structures, namely, multipods, submicron wires, and spheres, has been successfully demonstrated. A plausible growth mechanism based on the studies of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is proposed. Our studies suggest that the growth of a multipod structure is governed by the screw dislocation propagation while the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism is responsible for the formation of submicron wires and spheres. Moreover, the flow rate of the carrier gas plays a crucial role in governing the morphology. Further, these structures exhibit an enhanced field emission behavior. The nonlinearity in the Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) plot, a characteristic feature of electron emission from semiconductors, is explained by considering the contributions from both the conduction and the valence bands of ZnO.

Adsorption of methanol on mesoporous SBA-15 - Mirji, S. A.; Halligudi, Shivaraj B.; Mathew, Nevin T.; Jacob, Nalini E.; Patil, K. R.; Gaikwad, A. B. (Materials Letter, 2007)
The adsorption of methanol onmesoporous SBA-15 has been studiedbyrising Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoclectrom spectroscopy (XPS) and tbennogravimettic analysis (TGA). The BET surface area analysis shows decreases of the surface area from 387 to 383 m(2)/g, pore volume from 0.88 to 0.81 cm(3)/g and pore diameter from 9.07 to 8.4 mm after methanol adsorption. The appearance of strong IR bands at 2862 and 2964cm(-1) due to methyl (-CH3) symmetric and asymmetric stretching demonstrate the presence of methanol and evidence of successful methanol adsorption. XPS results show increase of carbon and oxygen content on the surface of SBA-15. Thermogravirriettic analysis shows that the methanol adsorbed on SBA-15 is stable up to a temperature of 265 degrees C and that the methanol adlayers decompose between 265 and 588 degrees C. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Adsorption; Electron microscopy; Methanol; SBA-15; Surfaces; thermal stability

Assessing feasibility of polyarylate-clay nanocomposites towards improvement of gas selectivity - Bhole, Yogesh S.; Wanjale, Santosh D.; Kharul, Ulhas K.; Jog, Jyoti Prakash (Journal of Membrane Science, 2007)
Polymer-clay nanocomposites are well known to reduce the penetrant permeability by following tortuous path. Effects of such reduction in gas permeability on variation in selectivity of nanocomposites prepared using a high permeability polymer were examined. The polyarylate: poly (tetramethyl bisphenolA-iso/terephthalate) that exhibits high permeability and moderate selectivity was chosen for making nanocomposites with two organically modified clays (Cloisite 6A and 10A) by solution intercalation method. The nanocomposite formation for various clay loadings (3, 5 and 7% w/w) in polyarylate was ascertained by change in physical properties (X-ray diffraction, DMA, TEM). Behavior of solution viscosity and nanocomposite density indicated existence of polymer-clay layer interactions. As anticipated, though the gas permeability of pure gases, viz., He, N-2, CH4 and CO2 exhibited decrease, it was not monotonous. This decrease was more for larger gases (N-2, CH4 and CO2) in comparison to the decrease for smaller gas (He) permeability. This led to a decrease in CO2/N-2 and CO2/CH4 selectivities and increase in He/CO2 selectivity; while He/CH4 selectivity was increased substantially at 7% clay loading. This variation indicated feasibility of nanocomposites formation as a tool for improving selectivity of certain gas pairs. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Gas permeation; Nanocomposites; polyarylates; selectivity; solution intercalation

Au-Pt nanoparticles in amine functionalized MCM-41: catalytic evaluation in hydrogenation reactions - Joseph, Trissa; Kumar, K. Vijay; Ramaswamy, A. V.; Halligudi, Shivaraj B. (Catalysis Communications, 2007)
Nano-sized Au-Pt nanoparticles (Au-Pt-bi-MNPs) have been synthesized by the simultaneous reduction of HAuCl4 and HPtCl6 by NaBH4 inside the channels of amine functionalized Si-MCM-41 (NH2-Si-MCM-41) at ambient conditions. These materials were characterized using chemical analysis, UV-vis, XPS, XRD, FT-IR, Surface area and TEM analysis. The size of these alloyed nanoparticles (bi-MNPs) were found in the range of 2-4 nm. These nanoparticles were evaluated to study their catalytic activities towards hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds. The catalytic activity of the Au-Pt bi-MNPs was found to be superior to monometallic An nanoparticles. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: amine-functionalized MCM-41; Au-Pt nanoparticles; Catalytic hydrogenation

Catalytic performances of silicotungstic acid/zirconia supported SBA-15 in an esterification of benzyl alcohol with acetic acid - Sawant, Dhanashri P.; Vinu, A.; Justus, Josena; Srinivasu, P.; Halligudi, Shivaraj B. (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2007)
Liquid phase esterification of benzyl alcohol (BA) to benzyl acetate (Peach fragrance) with an acetic acid (AA) has been investigated with 12-silicotungstic acid supported on zirconia embedded inside SBA-15 (STA/ZrO2/SBA- 15) as the catalyst. Catalysts were unambiguously characterized by XRD, N-2 adsorption-desorption, FF-IR pyridine adsorption techniques and the total amount of acidity of different STA loaded catalysts was estimated by TPD of NH3. The optimization of reaction conditions of an esterification of BA with AA was performed with 15 wt.% STA/22.4 wt.% ZrO2/SBA-15 calcined at 1123 K by varying catalyst concentration (1-10 wt.% of reaction mixture); temperature, 353-383 K and AA:BA molar ratio as 0.5-3. The 15 wt.% STA/22.4 wt.% ZrO2/SBA-15 calcined at 1123 K was found to have the highest acidity and more active in the reaction. Under the optimized reaction conditions, the 15 wt.% STA/22.4 wt.%ZrO2/SBA-15 calcined at 1123 K gave 59% BA conversion with selectivity for benzyl acetate as high as 96% within 2 h of reaction time. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 12-silicotungstic acid; Benzyl acetate; Benzyl alcohol; Esterification; SBA-15

Cephalexin-mediated synthesis of quasi-spherical and anisotropic gold nanoparticles and their in situ capping by the antibiotic - Jagannathan, Ramya; Poddar, Pankaj; Prabhune, Asmita (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2007)
Here we report, for the first time, synthesis of gold nanostructures in aqueous medium by reducing gold ions using cephalexin, a potent broad-spectrum antibiotic, where the morphology of the gold nanoparticles is found to be dependent on the concentration of chloroauric acid. The characterization techniques indicate that particle surfaces are coated with the robust layer of the antibiotic making them stable for a long time. Thus, cephalexin acts as both the reducing and the capping agent. NMR and XPS analysis indicate that the sulfur moiety is responsible for the reduction and binding process.

CO2 reforming of methane to syngas over highly active and stable supported CoOx (accompanied with MgO, ZrO2 or CeO2) catalysts - Mondal, Kartick C.; Choudhary, Vasant R.; Joshi, Upendra A. (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2007)
{Catalytically inactive CoOx-MgO (calcined at 900 degrees C) becomes highly active and selective in the CO2 reforming of methane to syngas when it is deposited on a commercial low surface-area macro-porous silica-alumina support (SA-5205) or when CoOx is deposited on the support precoated with MgO. Both the supported CoOx and MgO containing catalysts (CoOx -MgO/SA-5205 and CoOx/MgO/SA-5205) show high methane conversion (> 98%) activity and H-2 selectivity (> 94%) and also high stability against carbon deposition [
Keywords: arylboronic acids; diarylmethylidenefluorene; dibromomethylidenefluorene; Pd-mediated coupling; Suzuki reaction

Concise synthesis of beta-blockers (S)-metoprolol and (S)-betaxolol using hydrolytic kinetic resolution - Muthukrishnan, Murugan; Garud, Dinesh R.; Joshi, Rohini R.; Joshi, Ramesh A. (Tetrahedron, 2007)
Enantiopure (S)-metoprolol and (S)-betaxolol were prepared in an extremely simple and practical way using Jacobsen's hydrolytic kinetic resolution of terminal epoxides in isopropanol. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: beta-blockers; betaxolol; Hydrolytic kinetic resolution; metoprolol

Controlled covalent functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes using [4+2] cycloaddition of benzocyclobutenes - Sakellariou, Georgios; Ji, Haining; Mays, Jimmy W.; Hadjichristidis, Nikos; Baskaran, Durairaj (Chemistry of Materials, 2007)

Copper(II) ion exchanged A1SBA-15: a versatile catalyst for intermolecular hydroamination of terminal alkynes with aromatic amines - Shanbhag, Ganapati V.; Joseph, Trissa; Halligudi, Shivaraj B. (Journal of Catalysis, 2007)
The hydroarnination reaction offers a very attractive route for the synthesis of alkylated amines and their derivatives with no byproduct formation. AISBA-15 was synthesized by isomorphous substitution of aluminum into the framework of SBA-15, which induces the Bronsted acid sites, and these were exchanged with metal ions such as Cu2+, Zn2+, and Pd2+. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, N-2-sOrption, SEM, TEM, acidity measurements by FT-IR pyridine adsorption, H-2-TPR, (27)AI MAS NMR, and Si-29 MAS NMR. Hydroamination of phenylacetylene (PhAc) with 2,4-xylidine has been used as a test reaction, which gave N-(1-phenylethylidene)-2,4-dimethylaniline with no byproduct formation. CuAlSBA-15 and CuAIMCM-41 showed around three times greater activity in hydroamination of PhAc compared with Cu-clay and Cu-beta, due to the moderate Lewis acidity of Cu2+ present in mesoporous supports. The performance of the CuAlSBA-15 was also determined with different alkynes and amines to evaluate the catalyst's general applicability in hydroamination reactions. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: A1SBA-15; addition; alkyne; Amine; Copper catalyst; heterogeneous; hydroamination; ion exchange; Mesoporous

Coprecipitation technique to prepare NiNb2O6 - Samuel, V.; Gaikwad, A. B.; Jadhav, A. D.; Natarajan, N.; Ravi, V. (Materials Letter, 2007)
A mixture of ammonium carbonate and ammonium hydroxide was used to coprecipitate nickel and niobium ions as nickel carbonate and niobium hydroxide under basic conditions. This precursor yielded NiNb2O6 (NN) ceramics on calcining at 700 degrees C (at a temperature lower than 800 degrees C which is necessary for the formation of NiNb2O6 when prepared by the traditional solid state method). The average particle size and morphology of these powders were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chemical synthesis; Electron microscopy; electronic materials; Oxides; X-ray methods

Correlation between mobility enhancement and conformational change in polyaniline and its derivatives: polaron lattice formation - Harima, Yutaka; Ogawa, Fumiyuki; Patil, Rahul; Jiang, Xiaoqing (Electrochimica Acta, 2007)
Conformational changes in polyaniline, poly(methyl aniline), and poly(methoxyaniline) are studied in perchloric acid and acetonitrile by means of an in situ reflection technique with oxidation level as a parameter. Stretching of polymer chains leading to enhancement of specular reflection at the polymer-coated electrodes is found to be well correlated with the increase in carrier mobility. The concomitant change in mobility and chain conformation observed with the polyaniline family is explained in terms of the formation of polaron lattice at increased oxidation levels. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Conformation; polyaniline; reflection; scattering : mobility

Data-driven dynamic modeling and control of a surface aeration system - Gandhi, Ankit B.; Joshi, Jyeshtharaj B.; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, Bhaskar D. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2007)
In this study we have developed a support vector regression (SVR) based data-driven model for predicting two important design parameters of surface aerators, namely, the volumetric mass transfer coefficient (k(L)(a) under bar) and fractional gas hold-up (epsilon(G)). The dynamical state of the surface aerator system was captured by acquiring pressure fluctuation signals (PFSs) at various design and operating conditions. The most informative features from PFS were extracted using the chaos analysis technique, which includes estimation of Lyapunov exponent, correlation dimensions, and Kolmogorov entropy. At similar conditions the values of k(L)(a) under bar and epsilon(G) were also measured. Two different SVR models for predicting the volumetric mass transfer coefficient (k(L)(a) under bar) and overall gas hold-up (epsilon(G)) as a function of chaotic invariants, design parameters, and operating parameters were developed showing test accuracies of 98.8% and 97.1%, respectively. Such SVM based models for the surface aerator can be potentially useful on a commercial scale for online monitoring and control of desired process output variables.
Joint 6th International Symposium on Catalysis in Multiphase Reactors/5th International Symposium on Multifunctional Reactors (CAMURE-6/ISMR-5-), Pune, INDIA, JAN 14-17, 2007

Decomposition and/or hydrogenation of hydrogen peroxide over Pd/Al2O3 catalyst in aqueous medium: factors affecting the rate of H2O2 destruction in presence of hydrogen - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Samanta, Chanchal; Jana, Prabhas (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2007)
Hydrogen peroxide destruction by its decomposition and/or hydrogenation to water in the presence of H-2 over Pd(5 wt.%)/Al2O3 catalyst in an aqueous reaction medium, similar to that used in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation, has been thoroughly investigated at different reaction conditions. The H2O2 destruction is strongly influenced by the oxidation state of Pd in the catalyst and also by the presence of different halide anions (viz. F-, Cl-, Br- and I-) in the acidic aqueous medium or in the catalyst, depending upon the concentration of halide anions. The cations associated with halide anions have, however, a little or no influence on the H2O2 destruction. The iodide anions strongly poisoned the catalyst, even at their very low concentration. The fluoride anions have only a small effect on the H2O2 destruction. The chloride or bromide anions drastically inhibit the rapid H2O2 decomposition, but promote the slower H2O2 hydrogenation. The H2O2 destruction reactions are strongly influenced by the halide anion and acid concentrations. The presence of acid (protons) plays a very important role in drastically reducing the H2O2 destruction, particularly in the presence of chloride anions. Both in the presence and absence of Cl- or Br- anions, the H2O2 destruction activity of the catalyst is markedly reduced because of the oxidation of Pd but it is drastically increased due to the presence of H-2. A plausible reaction mechanism for the rapid H2O2 decomposition and slower H2O2 hydrogenation reactions, prevailing under the different reaction conditions, has also been discussed. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: decomposition of H2O2; halide anions as catalyst promoter or indicator; Hydrogen peroxide; hydrogenation of H2O2; Pd/Al2O3

Development of a soft sensor for a batch distillation column using support vector regression techniques - Jain, P.; Rahman, I.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Chemical Engineering Research & Design, 2007)
A support vector regression (SVR)-based model is developed for a batch distillation process in order to estimate the product compositions from temperature measurements. Kernel function such as linear, polynomial and RBF are employed for SVR modelling. The original process data was generated by simulating the batch distillation process, varying the initial feed composition and boilup rate from batch to batch. Within each batch reflux ratio was also randomly changed to represent the true dynamics of the batch distillation. The results show the potential of the method for developing softsensor for chemical processes.
Keywords: Batch distillation; composition estimation; soft sensor; support vector regression

Development of support vector regression (SVR)-based correlation for prediction of overall gas hold-up in bubble column reactors for various gas-liquid systems - Gandhi, Ankit B.; Joshi, Jyeshtharaj B.; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, Bhaskar D. (Chemical Engineering Science, 2007)
The objective of this study was to develop a unified data-driven correlation for the overall gas hold-up for various gas-liquid systems using support vector regression (SVR)-based modeling technique. Over the years, researchers have amply quantified the hydrodynamics of bubble column reactors in terms of the overall gas hold-up. In this work, about 1810 experimental points were collected from 40 open sources spanning the years 1965-2007. The model for overall gas hold-up was established as a function of several parameters which include superficial gas velocity, superficial liquid velocity, gas density, molecular weight of gas, sparger type, sparger hole diameter, number of sparger holes, liquid viscosity, liquid density, liquid surface tension, operating temperature, operating pressure and column diameter of the gas-liquid system. For understanding the hold-up behavior, the data used for training the model was grouped into various gas-liquid systems viz., air-water, gas-aqueous viscous liquids, gas-organic liquids, gas-aqueous electrolyte solutions and gas-liquid systems operated over a wide range of pressure. A generalized model established using SVR was evaluated for its performance for various gas-liquid systems. Statistical analysis showed that the proposed generalized SVR-based correlation for overall gas hold-up has prediction accuracy of 97% with average absolute relative error (% AARE) of 12.11%. A comparison of this correlation with the selected system specific correlations in the literature showed that the developed SVR-based correlation significantly gives enhanced prediction of overall gas hold-up. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
8th International Conference on Gas-Liquid and Gas-Liquid-Solid Reactor Engineering, Indian Inst Technol Delhi, New Delhi, INDIA, DEC 16-19, 2007
Keywords: bubble column reactor; overall gas hold-up; support vector regression

Direct comparison of the aging and memory effects of magnetic nanoclusters and nanoparticles - Sankar, C. Raj; Vijayanand, S.; Verma, Seema; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Solid State Communications, 2007)
The magnetic characteristics of a dense magnetic nanoparticle system and a spin glass system consisting of magnetic nanoclusters are compared. Zero field cooled and field cooled magnetization measurements, including aging and memory experiments, of the nanoparticle and the magnetic cluster systems show similar characteristics, suggesting a common origin for the spin glass-type behavior of the magnetic nanoparticle and nanocluster systems. (C) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Magnetic nanoparticles; magnetic properties; spin glasses

Direct oxidation of H-2 to H2O2 over Br and F-promoted Pd/Al2O3 in aqueous acidic medium: influence of the concentration of Br and F and the method of incorporation of the two halogens in the catalyst on their beneficial synergetic effect on the net H2O2 - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2007)
Influence of the addition of F (0-1.1 mmol/g) in the pre-brominated Pd/Al2O3 (Br loading = 0.13 mmol/g) and also that of Br (0.13 mmol/g) in the pre-fluorinated Pd/Al2O3 (F loading = 0.53 mmol/g) on the net H2O2 formation in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation (with H-2/O-2 mole ratio of 1.0) over the halogenated catalysts in aqueous acidic (0.1 M H3PO4) medium have been investigated. In both the cases, the highest synergetic effect (resulting in the highest net H2O2 formation) produced by the addition of other halogen is observed at its optimum concentration (viz. 0.13 mmol Br/g in the fluorinated Pd/Al2O3 and 0.13 mmol F/g in the pre-brominated Pd/Al2O3). The beneficial synergetic effect of the two halogens is also found to be strongly influenced by the way of incorporation of the two halogens in the catalyst. The enhancement in the net rate of H2O2 formation due to the synergetic effect for the different methods of Pd/Al2O3 halogenation is in the following order: simultaneous bromination and fluorination < first fluorination and then bromination < first bromination and then fluorination. The fluorination (at optimum concentration of 0.13 mmol F/g) of the pre-brominated (0.13 mmol Br/g) Pd/Al2O3 led to the best catalyst for the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation with 100% H-2 conversion and 78% H2O2 yield/selectivity. The destruction of H2O2 by its decomposition and/or hydrogenation over the halogenated catalysts has also been studied. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: F and Br-promoted Pd/Al2O3; Hydrogen peroxide; oxidation of H-2-to-H2O2; synergetic effect of F and Br

Direct oxidation of hydrogen to hydrogen peroxide over Pd (or PdO)/Al2O3 in aqueous reaction medium: influence of different acids and halide anions in reaction medium on formation and destruction of H2O2 - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Ingole, Yugesh V.; Samanta, Chanchal; Jana, Prabhas (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2007)
Effects of different mineral acids (viz. H2SO4, H3PO4, HNO3, HCl, HBr, and HI), acid (H3PO4) concentration, different halide anions (viz. F-, Cl-, Br-, and I-), and halide anion concentration in aqueous reaction medium on the H2O2 formation (in H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation) and/or on the H2O2 destruction (by H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation) activities of Pd (or PdO)/Al2O3 catalyst (at 300 K and atmospheric pressure) have been thoroughly investigated. Among the different halide anions, Br- anions are most effective for promoting the H2O2 formation and inhibiting the H2O2 destruction by both the H2O2 decomposition and/or hydrogenation. The cations associated with the halide anions, however, have only a little or no influence on both the H2O2 formation and destruction. The concentration of the different halide anions has a strong influence on the H-2 conversion and H2O2 formation and destruction activities of the Pd/Al2O3. The H2O2 formation activity in the presence of Br- or Cl- anions is highest at the optimum concentration of halide (about 1.0 mmol/dm(3)). it is also highest at the optimum concentration of phosphoric acid (between 0.1 and 0.3 mol/dm(3)). In general, the H2O2 formation is increased with decreasing the H2O2 destruction activity of the catalyst, indicating a close relationship between the two. Br- anions act as an excellent catalyst promoter for Pd/Al2O3 catalyst, but they show only a small promoting effect for PdO/Al2O3 catalyst. The next choice for halide promoter for Pd/Al2O3 catalyst is Cl- anions. F- and I- anions are, however, catalyst inhibitor and strong poison, respectively, for the H2O2 formation. At the same concentration, Br- anions are more effective than Cl- anions for inhibiting the H2O2 destruction reactions over Pd/Al2O3 Catalyst. For both halide promoters (Cl- and Br-), the net H2O2 formation is controlled by the H2O2 hydrogenation rather than by the H2O2 decomposition.
Joint 6th International Symposium on Catalysis in Multiphase Reactors/5th International Symposium on Multifunctional Reactors (CAMURE-6/ISMR-5-), Pune, INDIA, JAN 14-17, 2007

Effect of sparger design on the flow in a bubble column: symbolic analysis of LDA data - Kulkarni, A. A.; Deshpande, Suvarna S.; Joshi, J. B.; Kumar, V. Ravi; Kulkarni, B. D. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2007)
This paper aims at developing a methodology that helps in the characterization of the effects of a single point and multipoint sparger on the flow patterns in a bubble column reactor. The methodology uses the simultaneously measured instantaneous velocity-time data (two orthogonal velocity components) using LDA at different measurement locations. The data sets are transformed into their equivalent description in terms of polar coordinates, viz., resultant velocity vector and angle. This information is further transformed in terms of symbolic representation in a binary number format. The covariance matrices obtained from the binary data are analyzed for their eigenvalues, and the spectrum is used for the identification of the dominant, energy containing modes in the data. In the vicinity of the sparger, the nature of covariance matrix and the eigenvalue spectrum for the single point sparger (SPS) data was significantly different from that of the multipoint sparger (MPS). In the bulk region, for both types of spargers, the nature of the eigenvalues and the number of dominant modes is seen to be different from the near sparger region. In general, more numbers of eigenvalues are required to capture the total energy in the data for a multipoint sparger when compared to a single point sparger. This suggests a higher level of complexities existing due to the intricate hydrodynamics for the multipoint sparger. The possible use of this methodology for practical purposes, e.g., identification of malfunctioning of gas-liquid sparger reactors is discussed.

Efficient N-arylation of amines catalyzed by Cu-Fe-hydrotalcite - Jadhav, Vinod H.; Dumbre, Deepa K.; Phapale, Vilas B.; Borate, Hanumant B.; Wakharkar, Radhika D. (Catalysis Communications, 2007)
An efficient N-arylation of amines with aryl halides in presence of heterogeneous recyclable Cu-Fe-hydrotalcite catalyst has been developed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: amines; Aryl halides; Cu-Fe-hydrotalcite; heterogeneous catalyst; N-arylation

Electrochromic device (ECD) cell characterization on electron beam evaporated MoO3 films by intercalating/deintercalating the H+ ions - Sivakumar, R.; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Jayachandran, M.; Sanjeeviraja, C. (Current Applied Physics, 2007)
Thin films of molybdenum oxide (MoO3) is one of the most interesting layered intercalation materials because of its excellent application in solid state batteries, large-area window and display systems. In recent years there has been considerable interest in variable transmittance electrochromic devices (ECD) based on Li+, H+ and K+ intercalation in transition metal oxide (MoO3) thin films. In the present investigation, thin films of MoO3 were prepared by electron beam evaporation technique on microscopic glass and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates for the application in electrochromic device cells. The compositional stoichiometry of the films was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrochromic nature of the films has been analyzed by inserting H+ ions from the H2SO4 electrolyte solution using the cyclic-voltammetry (CV) technique. We studied the electrochromic device cells (ECD) incorporating an evaporated MoO3 thin films as electrochromic layers. The devices exhibit good optical properties with low transmittance values in the colored state, which make them suitable for large-area window applications. The maximum coloration efficiency of the cell was observed at about 70 cm(2)/c. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: coloration efficiency; electrochromic device cells; molybdenum oxide thin films; optical density; stoichiometry

Enantiomeric separation of novel anticancer agent 5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2-en- 1-one - Shinde, Popat D.; Jadhav, Vinod H.; Borate, Hanumant B.; Bhide, Sunil R.; Sonawane, Kiran B.; Wakharkar, Radhika D. (Journal of Chromatography A, 2007)
The enantiomers of 5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2-en- 1-one, a novel anticancer agent, were separated by derivatisation with caronaldehyde, separation of the resulting diastereoisomers of the corresponding esters by silica gel column chromatography and regeneration of alcohols (S)-5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2 -en-1-one and (R)5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2- en- 1-one under aqueous conditions. The absolute configuration of the enantiomers was determined by H-1 NMR studies of the corresponding Mosher esters. Alternatively, the enantiomers were separated by preparative HPLC to collect the (S)- and (R)-5-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-cyclopent-2 -en-1-ones with high purity which was comparable with that obtained by the chemical method. The details of these methods have been presented herein. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Anticancer; column chromatography; diaryl cyclopentenone; diastereoisomers; enantioseparation; HPLC; Resolution

Energy analysis of field emitted electrons from a ZnO tetrapod - Al-Tabbakh, Ahmed A.; More, Mahendra A.; Joag, Dilip S.; Ramgir, Niranjan S.; Mulla, Imtiaz S.; Pillai, Vijayamohanan K. (Applied Physics Letters, 2007)
The experimental total energy distribution (TED) of the field emitted electrons from a single pod of a ZnO tetrapod has been obtained, exhibiting a two-peak feature. The energy difference between the two peaks in the TED is found to be nearly equal to the band gap of the bulk ZnO. The results show that field emitted electrons originate from both the conduction and valence bands. The peak position dependence on the applied voltage has also been observed. In the present case, the size of the ZnO tetrapod is not small enough to reflect the quantum confinement effects.

Enhanced permeability and dielectric constant of NiZn ferrite synthesized in nanocrystalline form by a combustion method - Deka, Sasanka; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 2007)
The performance parameters of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4, synthesized in the nanocrystalline form by an autocombustion method, have been investigated. The sample sintered at 1200 degrees C, with Bi2O3 as additive shows a very high value of initial permeability mu'(i) of > 400 at 1 MHz, with low loss. Similarly, a very high dielectric constant is obtained at lower frequencies. The results show that optimum magnetic and electrical properties can be achieved for the NiZn ferrite nanocrystalline powders synthesized by the present autocombustion method and sintered at a relatively lower temperature of 1200 degrees C when compared with a temperature of 1400 degrees C required for the materials synthesized by the conventional ceramic method.

Enhancement of the phase transformation temperature of gamma-Fe2O3 by Zn2+ doping - Deka, Sasanka; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2007)
The phase transformation temperature of gamma-Fe2O3 to alpha-Fe2O3 is increased with Zn2+ doping and enhancement of the transition temperature by similar to 100 degrees C is obtained for doping of >= 15 mol% Zn in nanocrystalline gamma-Fe2O3 synthesized by an autocombustion method.

Environmentally benign catalytic hydroformylation-oxidation route for naproxen synthesis - Rajurkar, Kalpendra B.; Tonde, Sunil S.; Didgikar, Mahesh R.; Joshi, Sunil S.; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2007)
Hydroformylation of 6-methoxy-2-vinylnaphthalene (MVN), using homogeneous Rh(CO)acac) as a catalyst and a chelating bidentate ligand (1,2-bis-(diphenylphosphino) ethane, dppe), followed by oxidation of the product (2-(6-methoxynaphthyl) propanal, 2-MNP) has been studied as an alternative route for the synthesis Of D,L-naproxen. The feasibility of the MVN hydroformylation route has been demonstrated, and a detailed study has been reported on the key hydroformylation step. The roles of the catalyst, ligands, and solvents, as well as the effect of reaction conditions on the reaction rate and regioselectivity of the product 2-MNP, have been investigated. With Rh(CO)2(acac) as a catalyst and dppe as a ligand, > 98% selectivity to 2-MNP (an important precursor to D,L-naproxen) has been achieved. A possible mechanism to explain the variation in regioselectivity with Rh(CO)(2)(acac) as a catalyst and dppe as a ligand has been discussed. The kinetics of the hydroformylation step has been investigated and a rate equation has been proposed. The second step in the proposed route for naproxen-the oxidation of 2-MNP to 2-(6-methoxynaphthyl) propanoic acid (2-MNPA, or naproxen) - has been studied using Na2WO4 as a catalyst and tetrabutyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate (TBAHS) as the phase-transfer catalyst with H2O2 as the oxidant for the first time. Screening of the catalysts that consisted of the early transition metals, such as salts of tungsten, vanadium, and molybdenum showed that Na2WO4 gives the best performance for the oxidation step with > 80% selectivity to 2-(6-methoxynaphthyl)propanoic acid (2-MNPA/naproxen). This study would be valuable in developing a new environmentally benign route for naproxen synthesis.
Joint 6th International Symposium on Catalysis in Multiphase Reactors/5th International Symposium on Multifunctional Reactors (CAMURE-6/ISMR-5-), Pune, INDIA, JAN 14-17, 2007

Fault diagnosis using dynamic time warping - Rajshekhar; Gupta, Ankur; Samanta, A. N.; Kulkarni, B. D.; Jayaraman, Valadi K. (Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, Proceedings, 2007)
Owing to the superiority of Dynamic Time Warping as a similarity measure of time series, it can become an effective tool for fault diagnosis in chemical process plants. However, direct application of Dynamic Time Warping can be computationally inefficient, given the complexity involved. In this work we have tackled this problem by employing a warping window constraint and a Lower Bounding measure. A novel methodology for online fault diagnosis with Dynamic Time Warping has been suggested and its performance has been investigated using two simulated case studies.
2nd International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, Calcutta, INDIA, DEC 18-22, 2007

Field emission investigations of RuO2-doped SnO2 wires - Bhise, Ashok B.; Late, Dattatray J.; Ramgir, Niranjan S.; More, Mahendra A.; Mulla, Imtiaz S.; Pillai, Vijayamohanan K.; Joag, Dilip S. (Applied Surface Science, 2007)
Field emission studies of a bunch and a single isolated RuO2:SnO2 wire have been performed. A current density of 5.73 x 10(4) A/cm(2) is drawn from the single wire emitter at an applied field of 8.46 x 10(4) V/mu m. Nonlinearity in the Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) plot has been observed and explained on the basis of electron emission from both the conduction and the valence bands of the semiconductor. The current stability recorded at the preset value of 1.5 LA is observed to be good. Overall the high emission current density, good stability and mechanically robust nature of the RuO2:SnO2 wires offer advantages as field emitters for many potential applications. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: doped semiconductor; field emission; field enhancement factor; RuO2; SnO2

Finite size effects on the electrical properties of sol-gel synthesized CoFe2O4 powders: deviation from Maxwell-Wagner theory and evidence of surface polarization effects - George, Mathew; Nair, Swapna S.; Malini, K. A.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Anantharaman, Maliemadom R. (Journal of Physics D-Applied Physics, 2007)
Fine particles of cobalt ferrite were synthesized by the sol-gel method. Subsequent heat treatment at different temperatures yielded cobalt ferrites having different grain sizes. X-ray diffraction studies were carried out to elucidate the structure of all the samples. Dielectric permittivity and ac conductivity of all the samples were evaluated as a function of frequency, temperature and grain size. The variation of permittivity and ac conductivity with frequency reveals that the dispersion is due to Maxwell-Wagner type interfacial polarization in general, with a noted variation from the expected behaviour for the cold synthesized samples. High permittivity and conductivity for small grains were explained on the basis of the correlated barrier-hopping model.

Formation from direct oxidation of H-2 and destruction by decomposition/hydrogenation of H2O2 over Pd/C catalyst in aqueous medium containing different acids and halide anions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Samanta, Chanchal; Jana, Prabhas (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2007)
Direct oxidation of H-2 by O-2 to H2O2 and decomposition/hydrogenation of H2O2 (at 27 degrees C and atmospheric pressure) over Pd/C catalyst in an aqueous acidic reaction medium have been thoroughly investigated using different mineral acids (viz. 0.1 N H2SO4, H3PO4, H3BO3, HNO3, HCl, HBr or HI) and/or halide anions (viz. F-, Cl-, Br- or I-), covering their wide concentration range (0-24 mmol/dm(3)), in the reaction medium. In the absence of any externally added halide, appreciable H2O2 formation in the H2 oxidation occurred only when the medium contained HCl. However, the rates of H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation are greatly reduced because of the presence of any acid; the influence on the H2O2 decomposition was, however, much larger for the halo acids. In the presence of acid (0.1 N H3PO4 or H2SO4), the H-2-to-H2O2 formation reaction is greatly enhanced by the externally added halide anions up to their optimum concentrations. However, above the optimum halide anion concentration, it is inhibited more than the H-2-to-water formation (parallel) reaction, causing a decrease in both the H2O2 yield and selectivity. Whereas, the H-2 conversion and H2O2 destruction activities of the catalyst are decreased continuously with increasing the halide anion (except F-) concentration. Among the halides, chloride is the best halide promoter for Pd/C catalyst in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation. At the optimum Cl-concentration (5.4 mmol/dm(3)), both the H-2 conversion and H2O2 yield are passed through a maximum and the H2O2 decomposition is greatly inhibited with increasing the phosphoric acid concentration. In the absence of either the chloride anions or the acid (or both) in the reaction medium, only a little or no H2O2 is formed in the H-2 oxidation and also the rate of H2O2 destruction is very fast, particularly in the presence of H-2; the rapid destruction of H2O2 is mainly due to its decomposition rather than its hydrogenation. The best H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation results are obtained at the optimum concentrations of both the acid and halide anions. In the presence of acid and chloride (or bromide) promoter, the H2O2 hydrogenation dominates the H2O2 destruction and hence the net H2O2 formation is mainly controlled by the H2O2 hydrogenation. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: H2O2 decomposition; H2O2 hydrogenation; halide anion promoters; Hydrogen peroxide; oxidation of H-2-to-H2O2; Pd/C catalyst

Fungus-based synthesis of chemically difficult-to-synthesize multifunctional nanoparticles of CuAlO2 - Ahmad, Absar; Jagadale, Tushar C.; Dhas, Vivek V.; Khan, Shadab; Patil, Shankar; Pasricha, Renu; Ravi, Venkat; Ogale, Satishchandra B. (Advanced Materials, 2007)
Fungal nanosynthesis of ternary CuAlO2 phase is achieved at 50 degrees C. This phase is chemically difficult to synthesize at low temperatures because of the incompatible oxidation chemistry of Cu and Al. The synthesized protein-capped water-dispersible nanoparticles show blue luminescence and radio-frequency absorption (see figure).

GaClx- or GaAlClx-grafted Si-MCM-41: highly active and moisture insensitive/stable catalyst for the acylation and benzylation of benzene, naphthalene and substituted benzenes - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jha, Rani (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2007)
GaClx- and GaAlClx-grafted Si-MCM-41 catalysts were prepared by reacting anhydrous GaCl3 and mixed anhydrous GaCl3 and AlCl3, respectively, with the terminal hydroxyl groups of Si-MCM-41 (pore size: 2.5 nm) in a dry non-aqueous reaction medium (CCl4) under reflux. The catalysts showed high activity for both the acylation and benzylation (with benzoyl chloride and benzyl chloride, respectively) of benzene, toluene, p-xylene, cumene, mesitylene, anisole and naphthalene. Both the catalysts are moisture insensitive or less moisture sensitive; the presence of moisture has a beneficial effect in the acylation over both the catalysts. The catalytically active sites of the GaClx-grafted Si-MCM-41 are (-O-)(2)GaCl (i.e. partially chlorided Ga anchored to Si through -O- linkage) species and the equivalent sites of the GaAlClx-grafted Si-MCM-41 are (-O-)(2)Ga(or Al)Cl and (-O-)(3)Ga(or Al) species. The high acylation/benzylation activities of both the catalysts even in the presence of moisture are attributed to their redox properties (Ga3+ -> Ga1+) rather than to their Lewis acid properties. After the grafting/chemical bonding, the grafted gallium chloride catalyst showed much higher acylation activity but lower benzylation activity than the physically deposited (on Si-MCM-41) or unsupported GaCl3. The GaAlClx-grafted Si-MCM-41 showed higher acylation activity than the GaClx-grafted Si-MCM-41, due to a synergetic effect of the Ga and Al species. However, the relative benzylation activity of the two catalysts showed strong dependence upon the presence or absence of electron donating group(s) and also upon the electron donating ability of the group(s) attached to the aromatic nucleus. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: acylation benzylation; GaAlClx-grafted Si-MCM-41; GaClx-grafted Si-MCM-41; moisture insensitive

Generation of hydrogen peroxide via the selective reduction of oxygen by hydrazine sulfate over Br-promoted Pd/Al2O3 catalyst in an aqueous medium at ambient conditions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas; Samanta, Chanchal (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2007)
The in situ generation of H2O2 via the selective reduction of OZ by hydrazine sulfate (in an aqueous medium) has been thoroughly investigated over the Br-promoted Pd(or PdO)/Al2O3 catalyst. The influence of the following factors have been addressed in this study: (a) Br concentration (in the reaction medium or incorporated in the catalyst); (b) reaction conditions (viz. reaction time, temperature); (c) concentrations of reducing agent and phosphoric acid in the reaction medium. Decomposition of N2H4 (from NH4-H2SO4) and its reaction with H2O2 under similar reaction conditions (in the absence of O-2) have also been studied. H2O2, which is an intermediate product of the O-2 reduction, is involved in further consecutive reactions. It can be converted to water via its decomposition and/or reaction with the unconverted NZH(4). In the presence of Br promoter, the later (reaction with unconverted N2H4) is more dominant. Both the consecutive reactions are drastically retarded in the presence of protons and Br promoter. A plausible reaction mechanism has been proposed for illustrating the role of the protons and Br promoter in the selective formation of H2O2 in the O-2 reduction process. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: brominated Pd/Al2O3 catalyst; hydrazine sulfate; Hydrogen peroxide; in situ H2O2 generation; oxygen reduction; Pd/Al2O3 catalyst

Genetic diversity analysis of mango cultivars using inter simple sequence repeat markers - Pandit, Sagar S.; Mitra, Sirsha Sribas; Giri, Ashok P.; Pujari, Keshav H.; Patil, Bhimarao P.; Jambhale, Narayan D.; Gupta, Vidya S. (Current Science, 2007)
With 33 polymorphic Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers, genetic diversity among 70 mango cultivars and a distant outgroup was analysed. Clustering was done using Dice and Jaccard coefficients with bootstrapping. Multivariate analysis was conducted using the Euclidean distances. Among the total 420 bands, 408 were polymorphic. Probability that any ISSR fragment is shared by two different cultivars was calculated to be 2.54 x 10(-1). Non-Indian mango cultivars were found genetically diverged from Indian mango germ pool. No separation was observed between North Indian and South Indian cultivars. Twelve different cultivar-specific bands were detected for six cultivars, which approved the effectiveness of ISSR markers in mango genetic diversity analysis.
Keywords: DNA finger printing; inter simple sequence repeat; Mangifera indica; principle coordinate analysis

Geometrical solution to the sharkskin instability - Pol, Harshawardhan V.; Joshi, Yogesh M.; Tapadia, Prashant S.; Lele, Ashish K.; Mashelkar, Raghunath Anant (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2007)
We study the effect of die exit divergence on the sharkskin behavior, both experimentally as well as through the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Sharkskin or surface fracture is known to occur immediately after the die exit, because of the large elongational deformation that a polymer melt experiences as it exits the die. We show that the diverging taper at the die exit postpones or completely removes the occurrence of sharkskin. The corresponding CFD simulations of an equivalent K-BKZ fluid show that the taper at the die exit significantly reduces the severity of the elongational flow, thereby reducing the normal stresses as the polymer melt leaves the die. We believe that, in an extrusion operation, the provision of a diverging taper at the die exit is one of the potential measures by which sharkskin instability can be eliminated on an industrial scale.

Granular support vector machine based method for prediction of solubility of proteins on overexpression in Escherichia coli - Kumar, Pankaj; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, B. D. (Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, Proceedings, 2007)
We employed a granular support vector Machines(GSVM) for prediction of soluble proteins on over expression in Escherichia coli. Granular computing splits the feature space into a set of subspaces (or information granules) such as classes, subsets, clusters and intervals [14]. By the principle of divide and conquer it decomposes a. bigger complex problem into smaller and computationally simpler problems. Each of the granules is then solved independently and all the results are aggregated to form the final solution. For the purpose of granulation association rules was employed. The results indicate that a difficult imbalanced classification problem can be successfully solved by employing GSVM.
2nd International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence, Calcutta, INDIA, DEC 18-22, 2007

Hydrogenation of hydrogen peroxide over palladium/carbon in aqueous acidic medium containing different halide anions under static/flowing hydrogen - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Samanta, Chanchal; Jana, Prabhas (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2007)
Kinetics of the hydrogenation of hydrogen peroxide (at 278 and/or 300 K) over Pd(5 wt%)/carbon in aqueous medium with or without containing acid or different halide anions (F-, Cl-, Br-, or I-) under static H-2 (i.e. batchwise) or flowing H-2 (i.e. semi-batchwise) at atmospheric pressure have been thoroughly studied. In the absence of protons or halide anions and also in the presence of F- anions, a very rapid decomposition of H2O2 (H2O2 -> H2O + 0.5O(2)) predominates over the H2O2 hydrogenation (H2O2 + H-2 -> 2H(2)O). However, in the presence of both the protons and Cl- or Br- anions, the H2O2 conversion occurs mainly by the hydrogenation reaction. The hydrogenation is found to be a zero-order reaction with respect to the H2O2 concentration, and its activation energy and frequency factor are strongly influenced by the halide anions. The hydrogenation is found to be more and more inhibited with increasing halide (Cl- or Br-) anion concentration. The cations associated with the halide anions have, however, only a very little influence on the hydrogenation. Iodide anions act as a very strong catalyst poison for the hydrogenation. In the presence of acid, the hydrogenation is very strongly influenced by the different halides, but, in the presence of halide anions (5.4 mmol/dm(3)), it is very mildly influenced by the different mineral acids (except HI). In the absence of protons, the Cl- and Br- anions are ineffective for inhibiting the rapid H2O2 decomposition. A role played by protons and halide anions for drastically inhibiting the rapid H2O2 decomposition is discussed.

In situ generation of hydrogen peroxide from reaction of O-2 with hydroxylamine from hydroxylammonium salt in neutral aqueous or non-aqueous medium using reusable Pd/Al2O3 catalyst - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Catalysis Communications, 2007)
In situ generation of H2O2 with high yield can be accomplished by reacting 02 with NH2OH from hydroxylammonium salt [NH2OH.HCl or (NH2OH)(2) . H2SO4] in a neutral aqueous medium using a reusable heterogeneous Pd (1.0 wt%)/Al2O3 catalyst, even at low temperature (10 degrees C), with the formation of harmless by-products (viz. N-2 and water). The presence of KCl or KBr in the medium has beneficial effect. The H2O2 generation is strongly influenced by the pH of medium, reaction period and temperature; best results are obtained at the optimum pH and reaction medium. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide; hydroxylamine; Hydroxylammonium salt; in situ H2O2 generation; oxygen; Pd/AlO3 catalyst

Influence of film structure on mobilities of charge carriers in conducting polymers - Harima, Yutaka; Jiang, Xiaoqing; Patil, Rahul; Komaguchi, Kenji; Mizota, Haruo (Electrochimica Acta, 2007)
Two sorts of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (PHT) films with the same chemical compositions were prepared, and their electrochemical, spectroscopic, and transport properties were studied with a special interest in a possible influence of film structure on mobilities of charge carriers. One of the PHT films was electrochemically synthesized using 3-hexylthiophene as a monomer (as-grown film) and the other was obtained by dissolving the as-grown film in chloroform and then casting the polymer solution (cast film). A clear difference was observed in the mobility versus doping level plot between the two sorts of PHT films, demonstrating that the difference is caused only by a distinction in film structure. An initial decreasing feature of the mobility plot observed for the cast films was accounted for in terms of swelling of the films at an early stage of doping. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Doping; electrosynthesis; mobility; poly(3-hexylthiophene); swelling

Low temperature route to prepare LaFeO3 and LaCoO3 - Jadhav, A. D.; Gaikwad, A. B.; Samuel, V.; Ravi, V. (Materials Letters, 2007)
A combination of digestion and further low temperature calcination to crystallize the product was employed to prepare LaFeO3 (LF) and LaCoO3 (LC) powders. Freshly co-precipitated lanthanum and ferric (or cobalt) hydroxide gels by sodium hydroxide were allowed to react at 100 degrees C under refluxing and stirring conditions for 4-6 h. These oven dried powders were heated at 450 degrees C to from crystalline LF (or LC) powders. The phase contents and lattice parameters were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Transmission electron microscope (TEM) investigations were carried out to examine the morphology and average particle size of these powders. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chemical synthesis; LaFeO3; Precipitation; transmission electron microscopy; X-ray diffraction

Low temperature synthesis of magnetite and maghemite nanoparticles - Bhagwat, Shrikant; Singh, Hema; Athawale, Anjali; Hannoyer, Beatrice; Jouen, Samuel; Lefez, Benoit; Kundaliya, Darshan; Pasricha, Renu; Kulkarni, Shailaja; Ogale, Satishchandra B. (Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2007)
We report on the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles below 100 degrees C by a simple chemical protocol. The uniqueness of the method lies in the use of Ferrous ammoniurn sulphate (in conjugation with FeCl3) which helps maintain the stability of Fe-2+ state in the reaction sequence thereby controlling the phase formation. Hexamine was added as the stabilizer. The nanoparticles synthesized at three different temperatures viz, 5 degrees, 27 degrees, and 95 degrees C are characterized by several techniques. Generally, when a mixture of Fe3+ and Fe2+ is added to sodium hydroxide, alpha-Fe2O3 (the anti-ferromagnetic phase) is formed after the dehydration process of the hydroxide. In our case however, the phases formed at all the three temperatures were found to be ferro (ferri) magnetic, implying modification of the formation chemistry due to the specifics of our method. The nanoparticles synthesized at the lowest temperature exhibit magnetite phase, while increase in growth temperature to 95 degrees C leads to the maghemite phase.
Keywords: low temperature synthesis; maghemite; magnetite; Nanoparticles

Macroporous beads for lipase immobilization: kinetic resolution of a racemic drug intermediate - Bhushan, Indu; Parshad, Rajinder; Qazi, G. N.; Ingavle, Ganesh C.; Jamalpure, Trupti M.; Rajan, C. R.; Ponrathnam, Surendra; Gupta, V. K. (Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers, 2007)
{Lipase isolated from Arthrobacter sp. (RRLJ-1, MTCC No. 5125, named ABL), is effective in resolving a wide range of racemic drug intermediates. In this study, ABL was immobilized on a series of synthetic macroporous epoxy copolymers beads with varying pore sizes, surface area and hydrophobicity. Poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) beads, with 75% crosslink density and 10% of epoxy groups modified with dibutyl amine [
Keywords: auxin pulse; coco-peat; grape; micropropagation; plantlet survival

Modeling of bubble column slurry reactor for reductive alkylation of p-phenylenediamine - Chaudhari, Amit S.; Rampure, Mohan R.; Ranade, Vivek V.; Jaganathan, Rengaswamy; Chaudhari, Raghunath V. (Chemical Engineering Science, 2007)
A bubble column slurry reactor (BCSR) model has been developed for the reductive alkylation of p-phenylenediamine (PPDA) with methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) to N, N'-di-secondary-alkyl-p-phenylenediamine (Di-amine). This particular reaction system is commercially relevant and involves a combination of parallel and consecutive reactions comprising equilibrium non-catalytic (homogeneous) and catalytic (heterogeneous) steps. The proposed model is based on the `mixing cell approach'. In this work the mixing cell approach has been extended by including a liquid backflow stream from all but the bottommost mixing cell. The model incorporates the contributions of gas-liquid and liquid-solid mass transfer, heat effects, and complex multistep reaction kinetics. CFD model is used to estimate the extent of backflow among mixing cells and its dependence on operating parameters. The effect of gas and liquid velocities, catalyst loading, inlet PPDA concentration, and temperature on the conversion, selectivity, global rate of hydrogenation, and temperature rise is discussed. The comparison of the current approach with the traditional mixing cell model is discussed. The BCSR model presented here will be useful to provide guidelines for designing and improving overall performance of bubble column reactors. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
8th International Conference on Gas-Liquid and Gas-Liquid-Solid Reactor Engineering, Indian Inst Technol Delhi, New Delhi, INDIA, DEC 16-19, 2007
Keywords: bubble columns; CFD; kinetics; Mathematical modeling; Reductive alkylation

Multiutility sophorolipids as nanoparticle capping agents: synthesis of stable and water dispersible Co nanoparticles - Kasture, Manasi; Singh, Sanjay; Patel, Pitamber; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Prabhune, Asmita; Ramana, C. V.; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad (Langmuir, 2007)
Sophorolipids are a class of glycolipids that can be obtained from fatty acids by simply treating them with yeast cells (Candida bombicola, ATCC 22214) and glucose. In this letter, we demonstrate the application of sophorolipids obtained from oleic acid as a capping agent for Co nanoparticles. Upon capping the nanoparticle surface, the sugar moiety of these sophorolipids is exposed to the solvent environment, making the nanoparticles stable and water-redispersible.

NCL-7, a novel all silica analog of polymorph B rich member of BEA family: synthesis and characterization - Kadgaonkar, Mahesh D.; Kasture, Mahesh W.; Bhange, Deu S.; Joshi, Praphulla N.; Ramaswamy, Veda; Kumar, Rajiv (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2007)
{Polymorph B-rich BEA type structure, NCL-7, was synthesized using hydrothermal method in fluoride medium using perchloric acid as promoter. The samples were characterized using XRD, low temperature N-2-adsorption and Si-29 MASNMR. As the structure of beta is highly disordered Rietveld refinement of powder XRD patterns is precluded. Phase composition is derived using the simulated patterns for the random intergrowths of polymorph A and B by DIFFaX. The stacking direction c' is perpendicular to the a'b' plane of the layer. The composition of polymorph B is found to be ca. 60-65%. Two other structures namely NCL-5 and NCL-6 with varying degree of polymorph B enrichment were also synthesized. Synthesis parameters such as effect of H2O/SiO2, TEAOH/SiO2, HClO4/SiO2 and crystallization temperature were studied thoroughly. The present article explains for the first time the synthesis and characterization of NCL-7, an analog of BEA type family with enrichment of polymorph B and its comparison with normal beta (*
International Symposium on Zeolite and Microporous Crystals (ZMPC 2006), Yonago, JAPAN, JUL 30-AUG 02, 2006
Keywords: B-polymorph; DIFFaX; Promoter; Reitveld refinement; synthesis; zeolite beta

New technique to study kinetics of chain conformation in polyaniline films - Harima, Yutaka; Kishimoto, Kazuya; Ogawa, Fumiyuki; Jiang, Xiaoqing; Patil, Rahul (Polymer Journal, 2007)
Keywords: Conformation; kinetics; laser; polyaniline; reflection

Novel technique to prepare LiNbO3 at low temperature - Samuel, V.; Gaikwad, A. B.; Jadhav, A. D.; Mirji, S. A.; Ravi, V. (Materials Letter, 2007)
Fresh niobium hydroxide was first precipitated from NbF5 solution using an aqueous ammonium hydroxide under basic conditions. Then a simple procedure of mixing lithium and niobium hydroxides together and heating at a low temperature (400 degrees C) produced pure ultrafine single phase LiNbO3 (LN). In the literature, this is the lowest temperature so far reported on the formation of LN. The phase content and lattice parameters are determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The average particle size and morphology were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chemical synthesis; Electron microscopy; electronic materials; LiNbO3; X-ray diffraction

One-step preparation of nanosized Ag-PdCo-powder and its alloy formation at low temperature - Khanna, P. K.; Singh, N.; Kulkarni, D.; Marimuthu, R.; Charan, Shobhit; Patil, K. R.; Jain, G. H. (Synthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic Metal-Organic and Nano-Metal Chemistry, 2007)
Nano-sized silver-palladium co-powder has been synthesized from silver nitrate-palladium chloride by wet chemical method. The present experimental conditions are applied for the first time for Ag-Pd co-powders wherein sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate (SFS) has been used as an external reducing agent to simultaneously reduce respective metal salts. SFS reduces the metal salts at room temperature thus prevents formation of bigger particles of the respective metals in co-powder. Powder X-ray diffraction measurements ( XRD) and Transmission electron microscopy ( TEM) suggest the formation of nano-sized Ag-Pd co-powder with particle diameter in the range of about 25 nm. SEM shows that the powder morphology changes with temperature. Heat treatment of 90: 10 (Ag:Pd) composition showed shift in XRD peaks indicating alloy formation of Ag/Pd at lower temperature. Thick-films generated by use of the co-powder resulted in Ag/Pd alloy at about 500 degrees C as confirmed by the XRD. Thermal analysis showed that Ag/Pd co-powders initially gain the weight due to oxidation followed by the weight loss.
Keywords: alloy; Chemical synthesis; nano-powder; noble metal; Transition Metal

PET-SWNT nanocomposites through ultrasound assisted dissolution-evaporation - Anoop, Anand K.; Agarwal, U. S.; Nisal, Anuya; Joseph, Rani (European Polymer Journal, 2007)
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) based nanocomposites have been prepared with single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) through an ultrasound assisted dissolution-evaporation method. Differential scanning calorimetry studies showed that SWNTs nucleate crystallization in PET at weight fractions as low as 0.3%, as the nanocomposite melt crystallized during cooling at temperature 24 degrees C higher than neat PET of identical molecular weight. Isothermal crystallization studies also revealed that SWNTs significantly accelerate the crystallization process. Mechanical properties of the PET-SWNT nanocomposites improved as compared to neat PET indicating the effective reinforcement provided by nanotubes in the polymer matrix. Electrical conductivity measurements on the nanocomposite films showed that SWNTs at concentrations exceeding 1 wt% in the PET matrix result in electrical percolation. Comparison of crystallization, conductivity and transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that ultrasound assisted dissolution-evaporation method enables more effective dispersion of SWNTs in the PET matrix as compared to the melt compounding method. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparation of enantiopure trans-1,2-cyclohexanediol and trans-2-aminocyclohexanol - Chatterjee, A.; Sasikumar, M.; Joshi, Navalkishore N. (Synthetic Communications, 2007)
Trans-1,2-cyclohexanediol and trans-2-aminocycloxexanol are useful chiral auxiliaries. Simple chemical resolution procedures for these molecules are presented.
Keywords: chemical resolution; chiral auxiliaries; epoxide-cleavage

Reduction of oxygen by hydroxylammonium salt or hydroxylamine over supported Au nanoparticles for in situ generation of hydrogen peroxide in aqueous or non-aqueous medium - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas; Bhargava, Suresh Kumar (Catalysis Communications, 2007)
Reaction of O-2 with hydroxylamine or its salts over a number of supported gold catalysts containing An nanoparticles (at 10-70 degrees C) has been studied at atmospheric pressure for the in situ generation of H2O2 (required for organic oxidation reactions in the synthesis of fine/specialty chemicals) in aqueous (water) or non-aqueous medium. Hydrogen peroxide in high yields with harmless by-products (viz. water and nitrogen) can be generated in situ by the reduction Of O-2 by hydroxylammonium sulfate (or chloride) or hydroxylamine using the supported gold catalysts particularly Au/Gd2O3, Au/La2O3 and Au/MgO, in aqueous (water) or non-aqueous (viz. methanol) medium at close to ambient conditions. The reduction of O-2 by hydroxylammonium salt to H2O2, however, requires preneutralization of the salt by alkali; in the absence of the neutralization, only water is formed in the reaction. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Au Nanoparticles; Au/Gd2O3; Au/La2O3; Au/MgO; Hydrogen peroxide; hydroxylamine; hydroxylammonium salts; in situ H2O2 generation

Solvent-free selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol by molecular oxygen over uranium oxide supported nano-gold catalyst for the production of chlorine-free benzaldehyde - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jha, Rani; Jana, Prabhas (Green Chemistry, 2007)
A detailed investigation on the production of chlorine-free benzaldehyde in the solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol by O-2 over nano-gold supported on U3O8 has been carried out. Influence of different catalyst parameters (different methods of gold deposition on U3O8, gold loading and particle size, and catalyst calcination temperature) and reaction conditions (reaction period and temperature) on the process performance has been studied. The catalyst containing gold at higher concentration and with smaller gold particles showed the better process performance (higher benzyl alcohol conversion and benzaldehyde yield or selectivity). The benzyl alcohol conversion is largely increased but the selectivity for benzaldehyde is slightly decreased (while that of benzyl benzoate is increased) with increasing the reaction period or temperature. In the presence of solvent (viz. tolune, p-xylene, DMF or DMSO), the process performance was found to be inferior to that observed in the absence of any solvent. Substituted benzyl alcohols also can be oxidized by O-2 to corresponding aldehydes with high yield and/or selectivity, using the catalyst in the absence of any solvent.

Structural evolutions of hydrothermally prepared mesostructured MCM-48 silica using differently manufactured amorphous silica powders - Taralkar, U. S.; Jha, Ratnesh Kumar; Joshi, P. N. (Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 2007)
The hydrothermal synthesis of Si-MCM-48 mesoporous molecular sieves was carried out using a ternary SiO2:CTAOH:H2O System wherein differently manufactured amorphous silica powders such as fumed silica (FMDS), spray dried precipitated silica (SDPS) and flash dried precipitated silica (FDPS) were used as silica source materials. The changes in structural/textural properties were evaluated using powder XRD, N-2 adsorption-desorption and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Studies on the progressive development of MCM-48 mesophases revealed that, the reactivity of the silica source follow the trend: FMDS > SDPS > FDPS. MCM-48 synthesized using low cost FDPS has exhibited thicker pore walls but poorer orderness, while MCM-48 prepared from relatively expensive FMDS has thinner pore walls and more ordered structure. Moreover, the extent of contraction caused by calcinations, agglomerate size and structural stability were found to depend on the reactivity of the silica source used. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: long-range order; micelles; scanning electron microscopy; silica; silicates; sol-gels (xerogels); X-ray diffraction

Studies on gas sensing performance of pure and modified barium strontium titanate thick film resistors - Jain, G. H.; Patil, L. A.; Patil, P. P.; Mulik, Uttam P.; Patil, K. R. (Bulletin of Materials Science, 2007)
Barium strontium titanate ((Ba0.87Sr0.13)TiO3-BST) ceramic powder was prepared by mechanochemical process. The thick films of different thicknesses of BST were prepared by screen-printing technique and gas-sensing performance of these films was tested for various gases. The films showed highest response and selectivity to ammonia gas. The effect of film thickness on gas response was also studied. As prepared BST thick films were surface modified by dipping them into an aqueous solution of titanium chloride (TiCl3) for different intervals of time. Surface modification shifted response to H2S gas suppressing the responses to ammonia and other gases. The surface modification, using dipping process, altered the adsorbate-adsorbent interactions, which gave the unusual sensitivity and selectivity effect. Sensitivity, selectivity, thermal stability, response and recovery time of the sensor were measured and presented.
Keywords: (Ba0.87Sr0.13)TiO3 thick films; ammonia gas sensor; II2S gas sensor; selectivity; sensitivity

Supported copper oxide as a highly active/selective catalyst for the epoxidation of styrene by TBHP to styrene oxide - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jha, Rani; Chaudhari, Nitin K.; Jana, Prabhas (Catalysis Communications, 2007)
Liquid phase epoxidation of styrene by anhydrous and aqueous TBHP to styrene oxide has been studied under reflux, using different supported CuO (viz. Cuo/Si-MCM-41, CuO/Al2O3, CuO/Ga2O3 and CuO/In2O3) as easily separable and reusable heterogeneous catalysts. The CuO/Ga2O3 catalyst showed the best performance in the epoxidation by aqueous TBHP. The CuO supported on In2O3 or Si-MCM-41 also showed very good performance in the epoxidation but only by anhydrous TBHP. However, the CUO/SiO2 catalyst, however, showed very good performance in the epoxidation by both the anhydrous and aqueous TBHP. Influence of the reaction conditions (temperature, time and TBHP/styrene ratio) on the epoxidation by aqueous TBHP over the best catalyst (CuO/Ga2O3) has been investigated. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: CuO/Al2O3; CuO/Ga2O3; CuO/In2O3; Cuo/Si-MCM-41; CuO/SiO2; epoxidation; styrene; Styrene oxide; tertiary butyl hydroperoxide

Swelling and mechanical behavior of modified poly(vinyl alcohol)/laponite nanocomposite membranes - Nair, Shubhangi H.; Pawar, Kiran C.; Jog, Jyoti Prakash; Badiger, Manohar V. (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2007)
Nanocomposite (NC) membranes based on hydrophobically modified PVA and laponite were synthesized with varying laponite content in the feed. The incorporation of laponite in NC membranes was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The swelling ratio of membranes was determined as a function of temperature and laponite content. Swelling studies of NC membranes exhibited the decrease in swelling with an increase in laponite content in the NC membranes. The swelling ratio of NC membrane with 20% laponite slightly increased with an increase in temperature. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed the systematic increase in storage modulus with laponite content, which indicates the enhancement of mechanical property upon laponite addition. There was also a decrease in the tan 6 peak values of NC membranes with an increase in laponite content in NCs. The permeabilities through NC membranes as a function of solute size and laponite content were studied and the results showed molecular screening based on size. The permeability of solute reduced due to the presence of well-dispersed laponite in the NC. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: Dynamic mechanical analysis; laponite; membranes; nanocomposite hydrogel; poly(vinyl alcohol)

Synergetic effect of two halogen promoters present in acidic reaction medium or catalyst on the H2O2 formation (in H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation) and destruction over Pd/C (or Al2O3) catalyst - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Journal of Catalysis, 2007)
A strong synergetic effect of two different halide anions (F- and I-, Cl- and I-, Cl- and Br-, and F- and Br-) at optimum concentration in the catalyst or in an acidic reaction medium was observed in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation over Pd/C, Pd/Al2O3, and halogenated Pd/Al2O3 catalysts. The synergetic effect promote, the net H2O2 formation by inhibiting the H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation reactions. The effect is most pronounced for the combination of fluoride (or chloride) and iodide anions. The Br (1 wt%)-F (1 wt%)-Pd (5 wt%)/Al2O3 catalyst showed very high H2O2 yield (59%)/selectivity (60%) in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation; H2O2 decomposition H2O2 hydrogenation; halogen promoter; Hydrogen peroxide; Pd/Al2O3; Pd/C; synergetic effect

Synthesis and characterization of NCL-5, NCL-6 and NCL-7: new zeolites enriched with polymorph B of the BEA family - Kadgaonkar, Mahesh D.; Kasture, Mahesh W.; Bhange, Deu S.; Joshi, Praphulla N.; Ramaswamy, Veda; Gupta, Narendra M.; Kumar, Rajiv (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 2007)
The synthesis of all-silica analogs of polymorph B-enriched zeolites of the BEA family denoted as NCL-5, NCL-6 and NCL-7 was realized hydrothermally at lower water content in fluoride medium using perchloric acid as promoter and terraethylammonium hydroxide as template. The present article explains the effect of different synthesis parameters on NCL-5, NCL-6 and NCL-7. The samples were characterized using XRD, low temperature N-2-adsorption, Si-29 MAS NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. The phase composition of the structures was derived using simulated patterns for the random intergrowths of polymorphs A and B using DIFFaX Code. The stacking direction c' is perpendicular to the a'b' plane of the layer. The phase composition of polymorph B derived using DIFFaX code was found to be 90-95%. 70-75% and 60-65% in NCL-5, NCL-6 and NCL-7, respectively. The gradual decrease of polymorph B concentration in these samples showed a correlation with the decrease in water/SiO2 molar ratio in gel. The framework FTIR spectral analysis of NCL-5 and all-silica-beta supported the postulation that significant enrichment of polymorph B in NCL-5 compared to that in all-silica-beta, as indicated by the relative intensities of pair of bands at 1097 and 1018 cm(-1) and 460 and 423 cm(-1) vibrations, leads to more tortuous channel structure associated with polymorph B. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All riahts reserved.
Keywords: BEA family; NCL-5; NCL-6; NCL-7; polymorph B enrichment; synthesis; zeolites

Synthesis and characterization of value added catalysts zeolite beta using environmentally detrimental flyash - Kasture, M. W.; Bokade, Vijay V.; Joshi, P. N.; Kumar, R. (From Zeolites to Porous Mof Materials: the 40th Anniversary of International Zeolite Conference, Proceedings of the 15th International Zeolite Conference, 2007)
Fly ash is a major byproduct of Thermal power plant, which makes a lot of pollution to the environment due to its fineness. When a large amount of fly ash is dumped in the places near to power plants, it mixes in all segment of environment like water, air as well as soil. Though it can be utilized for different useful purposes, due to the lack of technical knowledge about how and proper motivation, no progress has been made in its utilization. It has been demonstrated that the fly ash can be used for making a value added catalyst zeolite beta by using simple and low cost process. In the present paper it is demonstrated that the fly ash can be used as a source of silica and alumina in the synthesis of value added catalyst zeolite beta. Moreover, the influence of different silica sources such as tetraethylortho silicate, silica sol and fumed silica on the physiochemical characteristics of well crystallized zeolite beta was also studied. The detailed characterization was carried out by using powder XRD, (27)Al and (29)Si MAS NMR, chemical analysis and low temperature nitrogen adsorption. Based on the data obtained from various systems containing different silica source, fumed silica is found to be most efficient source materials and showed superiority in the uniformity of aluminum distribution and possesses higher surface area.
15th International Zeolite Conference, Beijing, PEOPLES R CHINA, AUG 12-17, 2007

Synthesis and evaluation of 4/5-hydroxy-2,3-diaryl(substituted)-cyclopent-2-en-1-ones as cis-restricted analogues of combretastatin A-4 as novel anticancer agents - Gurjar, Mukund K.; Wakharkar, Radhika D.; Singh, Anu T.; Jaggi, Manu; Borate, Hanumant B.; Shinde, Popat D.; Verma, Ritu; Rajendran, Praveen; Dutt, Sarjana; Singh, Gurvinder; Sanna, Vinod K.; Singh, Manoj K.; et al. (Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2007)
A new series of 2,3-diaryl-4/5-hydroxy-cyclopent-2-en-1-one analogues replacing the cis double bond of combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) by 4/5-hydroxy cyclopentenone moieties was designed and synthesized. The analogues displayed potent cytotoxic activity (IC50 < 1 mu g/mL) against a panel of human cancer cell lines and endothelial cells. The most potent analogues 11 and 42 belonging to the 5-hydroxy cyclopentenone class were further evaluated for their mechanism of action. Both of the analogues led to cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase and induced apoptosis in endothelial cells. Antitubulin property of 42 was superior to 11 and comparable to CA-4. The compound 42 had better aqueous solubility, metabolic stability, and pharmacokinetic profile than CA-4 and also demonstrated significant tumor regression in the human colon xenograft model. Our data suggests that cis-restricted analogues of CA-4 are a new class of molecules that have the potential to be developed as novel agents for the treatment of cancer.

Synthesis and magnetic properties of Mn doped ZnO nanowires - Deka, Sasanka; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Solid State Communications, 2007)
Mn doped ZnO nanowires have been synthesized using a simple autocombustion method. The as-synthesized Mn doped ZnO nanowires were characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. An increase in the hexagonal lattice parameters of ZnO is observed on increasing the Mn concentration. Optical absorption studies show an increment in the band gap with increasing Mn content, and also give evidence for the presence of Mn2+ ions in tetrahedral sites. All Zn1-xMnxO (0 <= x <= 0.25) samples are paramagnetic at room temperature. However, a large increase in the magnetization is observed below 50 K. This behavior, along with the negative value of the Weiss constant obtained from the linear fit to the susceptibility data below room temperature, indicate ferrimagnetic behavior. The origin of ferrimagnetism is likely to be either the intrinsic characteristics of the Mn doped samples, or due to some spinel-type impurity phases present in the samples that could not be detected. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Combustion synthesis; diluted magnetic semiconductor; magnetic properties; Mn doped ZnO

Synthesis of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 at 800 degrees C using citrate gel method - Ravi, V.; Kulkarni, S. D.; Samuel, V.; Kale, Sangeeta N.; Mona, J.; Rajgopal, R.; Daundkar, A.; Lahoti, P. S.; Joshi, Rakesh S. (Ceramics International, 2007)
Manganite systems have been of considerable interest in the recent past due to their potential to operate in wide property range and also to serve as effective magnetic sensing and storing devices when synthesized using stringent conditions. We report a novel citrate gel method, in which La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 system has been synthesized at temperature 800 degrees C (LSMO800) with the synthesis duration is 6 h. The results have been compared with the sample synthesized at 1050 degrees C (LSMO1050). The synthesized bulk polycrystalline sample shows single-phase nature with the increase in particle size from similar to 50 nm to 300 nm with the increase in the sintering temperature. The magnetization data for LSMO800 shows well-defined hysteresis with saturation magnetization at around 1800 Oe and Curie temperature at 360 K, which is slightly lower than that of LSMO1050, which is 375 K. The results can be well attributed to the grain boundary effects. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Ceramics; Citrate gel method; CMR; Oxides

Toluene alkylation with methanol to p-xylene over heteropoly acids supported by clay - Bokade, Vijay V.; Deshpande, Suvarna S.; Patil, R.; Jain, S.; Yadav, G. D. (Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry, 2007)
{The alkylation of toluene with methanol for the selective formation of p-xylene was systematically studied. Very few studies have been reported on the use of superacids such as heteropolyacids on cheap supports, such as clay. This article deals with the use of different heteropoly acids (HPAs), viz, Dodeca-Tungstophosphoric acid [
Keywords: co-crystalline; p-xylene; toluene alkylation; ZSM-12; ZSM-5

Transport study on as-grown and cast films of electrogenerated poly(3-hexylthiophene) - Jiang, Xiaoqing; Harima, Yutaka; Patil, Rahul (Materials Letter, 2007)
Two kinds of poly(3-hexylthiophene) films with identical chemical compositions are prepared. One of the films is obtained by electropolymerization of 3-hexylthiophene (as-grown film) and the other is prepared by casting a solution dissolving the as-grown film (cast film). A clear difference is found in the mobility vs. doping level plots between the as-grown and cast films and its reason is discussed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: mobility; poly(3-hexylthiophene); swelling; thin film; transport mechanism

Two new eudesmanolides from sphaeranthus indicus (Linn) - Jadhav, Ravindra B.; Sonawane, Kiran B.; Deshpande, Nirmala R.; Rojatkar, Supada R. (Indian Journal of Chemistry Section B-Organic Chemistry Including Medicinal Chemistry, 2007)
Two new eudesmanolides have been isolated from the aerial part of Sphaeranthus indicus and their structures have been established as 11 alpha,13-dihydro-3 alpha,7 alpha-dihydroxyeudesm-4-en 6 alpha, 12-olide 1, 4-en-6 beta,7 alpha-eudesmanolide 3, on the basis of spectral data and comparison of spectral data with those of reported data of compounds 2, 4 and 5.
Keywords: eudesmanolides; olide; Sphaeranthus indicus

Unprecedented two-dimensional polymeric [Zn(OOC-C6H4-COO)(2)](2_)(n)[+H3N-(CH2)(3)-NH(3])(+)n system bearing one-dimensional chain of zinc(II) bis(phthalate) dianions held by propane-1,3-diammonium cations: crystal structure, thermal and fluorescent pr - Padmanabhan, A.; Joseph, K. C.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Huang, Xiaoying; Li, Jing (Solid State Sciences, 2007)
A novel zinc(II) phthalate compound, [Zn{C6H4(COO)(2)}(2)](n)(2-)[NH3-(CH2)(3)-NH3](n)(2+), 1 Which contains four different phthalate moieties coordinated to the Zn(II) ion through one each of their carboxyl ate moieties in a eta(1)-form and each phthalate moiety acting as a bridging unit with an overall tetrahedral geometry around the metal ion has been prepared and structurally characterized. The structure is unique in the sense that the dianionic moieties [Zn{C6H4(COO)(2)}(2)](2-) form an infinite one-dimensional network composed of 14-membered cyclic units interconnected in a way that they are disposed alternatively in almost perpendicular planes. The dicationic [NH3-(CH2)(3)-NH3](2+) units are seen to hold these one-dimensional chains by strong coulombic and hydrogen bond interaction, resulting in an infinite two-dimensional layered structure of 1. The compound is thermally stable up to 250 degrees C. Above this temperature it loses one equivalent of phthalate moiety along with the diammonium unit to yield Zn(II) phthalate. The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters associated with this process could be evaluated using Coats-Redfern equation which shows the activation energy Ea for the process as 305.0 kJ mol(-1), the frequency factor A as 1.49 x 10(11) s(-1) and the entropy change Delta S as -35.90 JK(-1) mol(-1). Fluorescent emission properties of 1 was studied by exciting the compound at 380 nm and also at 322 nm which were found to be the two lambda(max) corresponding to absorptions of the molecule. Interestingly, the compound gave same type of emission spectra showing a maximum around 444 nm on exciting at these two different wavelengths, indicating that the molecule comes to the first excited state from the higher excited state by a fast non-radiative process before it exhibits singlet emission to come to the ground state. (C) 2007 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 1; 3-diammonium; cyclic chain; fluorescent emission; layered structure; propane; zinc(II) bis(phthalate) dianion; zinc-phthatate

Using pseudo amino acid composition to predict protein subnuclear localization: approached with PSSM - Mundra, Piyushkumar; Kumar, Madhan; Kumar, K. Krishna; Jayaraman, Valadi K.; Kulkarni, Bhaskar D. (Pattern Recognition Letters, 2007)
Identification of Nuclear protein localization assumes significance as it can provide in depth insight for genome regulation and function annotation of novel proteins. A multiclass SVM classifier with various input features was employed for nuclear protein compartment identification. The input features include factor solution scores and evolutionary information (position specific scoring matrix (PSSM) score) apart from conventional dipeptide composition and pseudo amino acid composition. All the SVM classifiers with different sets of input features performed better than the previously available prediction classifiers. The jack-knife success rate thus obtained on the benchmark dataset constructed by Shen and Chou [Shen, H.B., Chou, K.C., 2005, Predicting protein subnuclear location with optimized evidence-theoretic K-nearest classifier and pseudo amino acid composition. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 337, 752-756] is 71.23%, indicating that the novel pseudo amino acid composition approach with PSSM and SVM classifier is very promising and may at least play a complimentary role to the existing methods. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: factor solution score; multiclass SVM; nuclear protein; PSSM; subnuclear localization

Using recurrence quantification analysis descriptors for protein sequence classification with support vector machines - Mitra, Joydeep; Mundra, Piyushkumar; Kulkarni, B. D.; Jayaraman, Valadi K. (Journal of Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics, 2007)
In this work, we integrate a non-linear signal analysis method, recurrence quantification analysis (RQA), with the well-known machine-learning algorithm, support vector machines for the binary classification of protein sequences. Two different classification problems were selected, discriminating between aggregating and non-aggregating proteins and mostly disordered and completely ordered proteins, respectively. It has also been shown that classification performance of SVM models improve on selection of the most informative RQA descriptors as SVM input features.

Bacteria-mediated precursor-dependent biosynthesis of superparamagnetic iron oxide and iron sulfide nanoparticles - Bharde, Atul A.; Parikh, Rasesh Y.; Baidakova, Marina; Jouen, Samuel; Hannoyer, Beatrice; Enoki, Toshiaki; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad; Shouche, Yogesh S.; Ogale, Satishchandra B.; Sastry, Murali (Langmuir, 2008)
The bacterium Actinobacter sp. has been shown to be capable of extracellularly synthesizing iron based magnetic nanoparticles, namely maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3) and greigite (Fe3S4) Under ambient conditions depending on the nature of precursors used. More precisely, the bacterium synthesized maghemite when reacted with ferric chloride and iron sulfide when exposed to the aqueous solution of ferric chloride-ferrous sulfate. Challenging the bacterium with different metal ions resulted in induction of different proteins, which bring about the specific biochemical transformations in each case leading to the observed products. Maghemite and iron sulfide nanoparticles show superparamagnetic characteristics as expected. Compared to the earlier reports of magnetite and greigite synthesis by magnetotactic bacteria and iron reducing bacteria, which take place strictly under anaerobic conditions, the present procedure offers significant advancement since the reaction occurs under aerobic condition. Moreover, reaction end products can be tuned by the choice of precursors used.

Blob-spring model for the dynamics of ring polymer in obstacle environment - Lele, Ashish K.; Iyer, Balaji V. S.; Juvekar, Vinay A. (XVTH International Congress on Rheology - the Society of Rheology 80th Annual Meeting, Pts 1 and 2, 2008)
The dynamical behavior of cyclic macromolecules in a fixed obstacle (FO) environment is very different than the behavior of linear chains in the same topological environment; while the latter relax by a snake-like reptational motion from their chain ends(1) the former can relax only by contour length fluctuations since they are endless.(2) Duke, Obukhov and Rubinstein proposed a scaling model (the DOR model) to interpret the dynamical scaling exponents shown by Monte Carlo simulations of rings in a FO environment.(2) We present a model (blob-spring model) to describe the dynamics of flexible and non-concatenated ring polymer in FO environment based on a theoretical formulation developed for the dynamics of an unentangled fractal polymer.(3) We argue that the perpetual evolution of ring perimeter by the motion of contour segments results in an extra frictional load. Our model predicts self-similar dynamics with scaling exponents for the molecular weight dependence of diffusion coefficient and relaxation times that are in agreement with the scaling model proposed by Obukhov et al.(2).
15th International Congress on Rheology/80th Annual Meeting of the Society-of-Rheology, Monterey, CA, AUG 03-08, 2008
Keywords: fractal polymer dynamics; linear viscoelasticity; ring polymer dynamics

Carbon nano horn and bovine serum albumin hierarchical composite: towards bio-friendly superhydrophobic protein film surfaces - Jadhav, Anil D.; Ogale, Satishchandra B.; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad (Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2008)
Highly hydrophilic glass substrates when coated with films of carbon nano horns dispersed in the ubiquitous protein bovine serum albumin display hydrophobic characteristics. Incidentally both the materials used to create the final hydrophobic surface are known to be highly bio-compatible. The features observed are accredited to the replication of the micro and nanoscale hierarchical structures of carbon nano horns in the final film composite.

Co-catalyzed mild and chemoselective reduction of phenyl esters with NaBH(4): a practical synthesis of (R)-tolterodine - Jagdale, Arun R.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Tetrahedron Letters, 2008)
CoCl(2) catalyzes effectively the chemoselective reduction of phenyl carboxylic esters to the corresponding saturated alcohols in high yields using NaBH(4) at ambient conditions. By employing this methodology, the synthesis of (R)-tolterodine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist, has been achieved in high yield and optical purity. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuous flow nitration of salicylic acid - Kulkarni, Amol A.; Nivangune, Nayana T.; Kalyani, Vishwanath S.; Joshi, Ramesh A.; Joshi, Rohini R. (Organic Process Research & Development, 2008)
Continuous flow nitration of salicylic acid using HNO3/AcOH was studied in the SS316 tubular microreactor. At specific reaction conditions, complete conversion of the reactant was achieved in less than 7 min. It yielded only mononitro derivatives with a higher selectivity of 5-nitrosalicylic acid. Presence of the lower amount of acetic acid in the reaction mixture was seen to be detrimental, leading to precipitation of the desired product (5-nitrosalicylic acid). Reaction at higher temperatures yielded byproducts. The continuous mode operation using the system comprising the microdevices was demonstrated for 2 h with consistent composition at the outlet.

Copolyester nanocomposites based on carbon nanotubes: reinforcement effect of carbon nanotubes on viscoelastic and dielectric properties of nanocomposites - Kalgaonkar, Rajendra A.; Jog, Jyoti Prakash (Polymer International, 2008)
Nanocomposites based on an amorphous copolyester, poly(ethylene glycol-co-cyclohexane-1,4-dimethanol terephthalate) and carbon nanotubes were fabricated using a simple melt processing technique. The reinforcement effect of carbon nanotubes in the copolyester was investigated experimentally using different approaches based on dynamic mechanical analysis, theology and dielectric analysis. The nanocomposites show a mechanical reinforcement effect with significant increase in the stiffness especially in the rubbery regime with increasing nanotube content. An increase in T-g and a decrease in damping are seen, which are derived from the presence of a percolating superstructure of the filler. Rheological experiments show an increase in storage modulus up to four orders of magnitude. Viscolelastic characterization shows that the percolation threshold is at 3 wt% of nanotubes. Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy confirms the presence of this percolating structure. We conclude that the responses of both rheological and electrical properties are different, although both are related to the formation of a percolating network superstructure of the filler. (c) 2007 Society of Chemical Industry.
Keywords: Carbon nanotubes; dielectric analysis; nanocomposites.; reinforcement; viscoelastic properties

Cu(OTf)(2) catalyzed Biginelli type condensation of aldehydes, beta-keto esters and carbamates: synthesis of 3,4-dihydro[1,3]oxazin-2-ones - Jagdale, Arun R.; Paraskar, Abhimanyu S.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Indian Journal of Chemistry Section B-Organic Chemistry including Medicinal Chemistry, 2008)
Cu(OTf)(2) catalyzes effectively a new multicomponent reaction comprising aldehydes, beta-ketoester and methy carbamate in acetonitrile to afford substituted 3,4-dihydro[1,3]oxazin-2-ones in 60-82% yields. These compounds have been found to show inhibition activity against HL-60 cancer cell.
Keywords: aldehydes; Catalysts; Copper; Multicomponent reaction

Dielectric relaxations in PVDF/BaTiO3 nanocomposites - Chanmal, Chetan; Jog, Jyoti Prakash (Express Polymer Letters, 2008)
The present work aims at the study of molecular relaxations in PVDF/BaTiO3 nanocomposites using broadband dielectric spectroscopy. The nanocomposites of PVDF with BaTiO3 ( 10-30% by wt%) are prepared using simple melt mixing method. In dielectric permittivity study, two relaxation processes are identified corresponding to the crystalline, glass transition in the PVDF/BaTiO3 nanocomposites. The peaks shift to higher frequencies as the temperature is increased. Electric modulus formalism is used to analyze the dielectric relaxations to overcome the conductivity effects at low frequencies. In M `' spectra two peaks are observed only at high temperature and low frequency whereas a single relaxation peak appears at low temperatures. The single relaxation peak appearing at low temperatures is the alpha(c) relaxation attributed to crystalline chain relaxation in PVDF and the second relaxation peak which appears only at high temperatures and at a frequency lower than alpha(c) relaxation is identified as MWS relaxation. The temperature dependence of alpha(c) relaxation and MWS relaxation follows Arrhenius type behavior.
Keywords: dielectric spectroscopy; Interfacial polarization; MWS relaxation; Nanocomposites

Digestive duet: midgut digestive proteinases of manduca sexta ingesting nicotiana attenuata with manipulated trypsin proteinase inhibitor expression - Zavala, Jorge A.; Giri, Ashok P.; Jongsma, Maarten A.; Baldwin, Ian T. (Plos One, 2008)
Background: The defensive effect of endogenous trypsin proteinase inhibitors (NaTPIs) on the herbivore Manduca sexta was demonstrated by genetically altering NaTPI production in M. sexta's host plant, Nicotiana attenuata. To understand how this defense works, we studied the effects of NaTPI on M. sexta gut proteinase activity levels in different larval instars of caterpillars feeding freely on untransformed and transformed plants. Methodology/Principal Findings: Second and third instars larvae that fed on NaTPI-producing (WT) genotypes were lighter and had less gut proteinase activity compared to those that fed on genotypes with either little or no NaTPI activity. Unexpectedly, NaTPI activity in vitro assays not only inhibited the trypsin sensitive fraction of gut proteinase activity but also halved the NaTPI-insensitive fraction in third-instar larvae. Unable to degrade NaTPI, larvae apparently lacked the means to adapt to NaTPI in their diet. However, caterpillars recovered at least part of their gut proteinase activity when they were transferred from NaTPI-producing host plants to NaTPI-free host plants. In addition extracts of basal leaves inhibited more gut proteinase activity than did extracts of middle stem leaves with the same protein content. Conclusions/Significance: Although larvae can minimize the effects of high NaTPI levels by feeding on leaves with high protein and low NaTPI activity, the host plant's endogenous NaTPIs remain an effective defense against M. sexta, inhibiting gut proteinase and affecting larval performance.

Direct H(2)-to-H(2)O(2) oxidation in aqueous acidic medium containing Br promoter over Pd/Al(2)O(3) and Pd/C catalysts thermally pretreated under different conditions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas; Bhargava, Suresh Kumar (Catalysis Letters, 2008)
Influence of thermal pretreatments (under N(2), air or H(2) gas atmosphere at 500 degrees C or 700 degrees C) has been investigated for the Pd/Al(2)O(3) and Pd/Carbon catalysts in terms of its effect on their Pd particle size and performance in the H(2)-to-H(2)O(2) oxidation and H(2)O(2) destruction (by decomposition and/or hydrogenation) reactions in aqueous acidic medium containing Br promoter. The influence on the net H(2)O(2) formation is found to depend strongly upon the catalyst support due to support-Pd cluster interactions. For both the catalysts, the thermal treatments (except in air) caused a large increase in their Pd particle size. The increase in Pd particle size caused an increase in the H(2)O(2) formation activity of Pd/Al(2)O(3) but a decrease in the H(2)O(2) formation activity of Pd/C.
Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide; oxidation of H(2) to H(2)O(2); Pd/Al(2)O(3); Pd/C

Direct oxidation of H-2 to H2O2 over different supported PdO catalysts in aqueous acidic medium: Influence of the reduction, calcination temperature and support of the catalyst on its net H2O2 formation activity - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
Effects of the catalyst reduction (by hydrazine), calcination temperature (400-800 degrees C) and support (viz. Al2O3, SiO2, CeO2, ZrO2, HP or HM) on the performance of supported PdO (2.5 wt%) catalyst in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation (with H-2:O-2 = 1: 1) in an aqueous acidic (0.1 M H3PO4) medium under ambient conditions have been investigated. All the supported PdO catalysts showed lower H2 conversion activity, but higher H2O2 selectivity, as compared to their reduced counter parts. The catalyst performance for the net H2O2 formation is strongly influenced by both the support and calcination temperature of the supported PdO catalysts. The catalysts calcined at 400 degrees C showed better performance. Among the catalysts, PdO/Al2O3 catalyst (calcined at 400 degrees C) showed the best performance (17.0% H2O2 yield) in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation. The influence of the calcination temperature of PdO/Al2O3 catalyst on its H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation activities has also been investigated. Both the H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation activities increased with increasing the calcination temperature. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide; oxidation of H-2 to H2O2; supported PdO catalysts

Direct oxidation of H-2 to H2O2 over PdO/Al2O3 catalysts in aqueous acidic medium: influence on H2O2 formation of Pd loading, calcination temperature and reduction of catalyst and presence of halide anions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
Effects of the Pd loading (0.2-10 wt%), calcination temperature (400-900 degrees C) and reduction of PdO/Al2O3 on its performance in the H-2-to-H2O2 oxidation (with H-2/O-2 = 1:1) in an aqueous 0.1 M H3PO4 medium, in the absence and presence of different halide anions, under ambient conditions have been investigated. The effect of calcination temperature on the H2O2 formation varied depending upon the Pd loading. The influence of the different halide anions was found to depend strongly on the nature of halide anion (F-, Cl-, Br- or I-) and the oxidation state of Pd and its loading in the catalyst. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: halide catalyst promoters; Hydrogen peroxide; oxidation of H-2 to H2O2; Pd/Al2O3; PdO/Al2O3

Divergent nanostructures from identical ingredients: unique amphiphilic micelle template for polyaniline nanofibers, tubes, rods, and spheres - Anilkumar, P.; Jayakannan, M. (Macromolecules, 2008)
Here, we report a unique soft templating approach based oil all in-built amphiphilic azobenze-nesulfonic acid for tuning various types of polyaniline nanomaterials Such as fibers, rods, spheres, and tubes. The dopant molecule is freely soluble in water, and DLS measurements Of the resultant Solution revealed that it forms spherical micelles of diameter similar to 4.29 nm. The addition of aniline induces self-organization in the dopant micelles which produce micrometer-sized cylindrical aggregates or layerlike assemblies depending upon the aniline/dopant composition in the feed. In the emulsion route. the oxidation of these cylindrical or layerlike micelle aggregates produce nanofibers and nanotubes, respectively. The dilution of thick emulsion microaggregates led to the formation Of uniformly distributed small 175 nm aggregated micelles. which template for the nanorods (dilution route). Alternatively, the dopant micelles form spherical shape aggregates with oxidizing agent ammonium persulfate (APS) in water. Aniline molecules diffuse through the organic/aqueous interface and get absorbed at these spherical aggregates, and subsequent chemical oxidation produces exclusively polyaniline nanospheres (interfacial route). The mechanism of the polyaniline nanomaterials formation was investigated by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). DLS studies of the polymerization mixtures in water evident for the formation of micrometer range aggregates. TEM analysis confirmed the shape of the template as cylindrical, cylindrical + spherical, and spherical geometry for the complexes of dopant with aniline and APS in the emulsion, dilution, and interfacial routes, respectively. The amphiphilic nature of the dopant solubilizes the nanomaterials in water and organic solvents, and the optical properties of nanomaterials were studied in various solvents by UV-vis spectroscopy. The wide-angle X-ray diffraction Studies confirmed the appearance of a new peak at lower angle (d = 13.6 angstrom) corresponding to the highly crystalline and ordered polyaniline nanomaterials. The solid-state properties of the nanomaterials were found to he highly dependent on the size and shape of polymerization templates employed for the synthesis.

Effect of sintering conditions and microstructure on the magnetostrictive properties of cobalt ferrite - Bhame, Shekhar D.; Joy, Pattayil Alias (Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 2008)
The effects of sintering temperature and dwell time on the magnetostrictive properties of polycrystalline cobalt ferrite synthesized by the conventional ceramic method have been investigated. The present study showed that the magnitude of magnetostriction strongly depends on the microstructure of the final sintered product. The presence of small and uniform grains with less porous structure in the sintered material leads to enhancement of the magnetostrictive strain. Higher magnetostriction is obtained for samples sintered at a relatively lower temperature of 1100 degrees C. These results are further corroborated by analyzing the effect of some additives during sintering on the microstructural and magnetostrictive properties.

Effect of TDZ and 2, 4-D on peanut somatic embryogenesis and in vitro bud development - Joshi, Madhumita; Sujatha, K.; Hazra, Sulekha (Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture, 2008)
Failure of peanut somatic embryos to convert into plantlets is attributed to the abnormal development of the plumule. Thidiazuron (TDZ) was effective in the conversion of peanut somatic embryos to plantlets by triggering morphogenetic activity in the abnormal plumules of the rooted somatic embryos. The present study aimed to induce normal embryo differentiation by culturing the embryogenic masses in embryo development medium containing 2,4-D and various concentrations of TDZ. Although this was not achieved due to restricted somatic embryo development in the presence of TDZ, bud-like projections appeared in the embryogenic masses when these were cultured in media containing combinations of 2,4-D and TDZ. These projections developed into buds, which subsequently formed shoots and plantlets. The response varied with the concentration and exposure of TDZ. At lower concentrations, the buds appeared in a defined row in the equatorial region of the explant, and with extended incubation, more and more buds appeared in rows alongside the initial row. Induction of multiple buds in a defined row in this specific site (equatorial region) suggested the presence of potent cells around this region. At higher concentrations, these projections appeared in large numbers spread over the whole upper part of the embryogenic mass starting from the equatorial region. The ability of embryogenic mass to convert into organogenic mass and to produce large number of organogenic buds provides an excellent system for basic studies and for the genetic transformation of peanut.
Keywords: Arachis hypogaea; embyogenic mass; somatic embryogenesis; thidiazuron

Efficacy of 4-methyl-7-hydroxy coumarin derivatives against vectors aedes aegypti and culex quinquefasciatus - Deshmukh, Madhavi; Pawar, Pushpa; Joseph, Mary P.; Phalgune, Usha; Kashalkar, Rajashree; Deshpande, Nirmala R. (Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, 2008)
4-Methyl-7-hydroxy coumarin is considered as a lead molecule as a biopesticide. Its mono bromo and tribromo derivatives were synthesized. Two more derivatives were synthesized by acylation. Compound 1 (3.6,8-tribromo-7-hydroxy-4-methyl-chromen-2-one) was found to be the most potent against IV(th) instar larvae of C. quinquefasciatus and A. aegypti the LC(50) being 1.49 and 2.23 ppm respectively. It showed 100% larval mortality at 25 ppm against A. aegypti and at 10 ppm against C. quinquefasciatus. Compounds 1 and 2 (3,6,8-tribromo-7-hydroxy-4-methyl-chromen-2'-oxo-2H-chromen-7-yl acetate) showed remarkable ovicidal activity. Significant reduction of 80-85%, hatching of eggs of both mosquito species was observed at the highest dose of 100 ppm. The hatched larvae showed 100% mortality in the successive instars. Compounds 3 and 4 (3-bromo-7-hydroxy-4-methyl-chromen-2-one and 3-bromo-4-methyl-2'-oxo-2H-chromen-7-yl acetate) showed moderate activity against both mosquito species.
Keywords: 4-Methyl-7-hydroxy coumarin; Aedes aegypti; Culex quinquefasciatus; Larval mortality; Ovicidal activity

Enhanced field emission from hexagonal rhodium nanostructures - Sathe, Bhaskar R.; Kakade, Bhalchandra A.; Mulla, Imtiaz S.; Pillai, Vijayamohanan K.; Late, Dattatray J.; More, Mahendra A.; Joag, Dilip S. (Applied Physics Letters, 2008)
Shape selective synthesis of nanostructured Rh hexagons has been demonstrated with the help of a modified chemical vapor deposition using rhodium acetate. An ultralow threshold field of 0.72 V/mu m is observed to generate a field emission current density of 4 x 10(-3) mu A/cm(2). The high enhancement factor (9325) indicates that the origin of electron emission is from nanostructured features. The smaller size of emitting area, excellent current density, and stability over a period of more than 3 h are promising characteristics for the development of electron sources. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Enhanced shape anisotropy and magneto-optical birefringence by high energy ball milling in NixFe1-xFe2O4 ferrofluids - Nair, Swapna S.; Xavier, Francis; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Kulkarni, S. D.; Anantharaman, Maliemadom R. (Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2008)
Ferrofluids belonging to the series NixFe1-xFe2O4 were synthesised by two different procedures-one by standard co-precipitation techniques, the other by co-precipitation for synthesis of particles and dispersion aided by high-energy ball milling with a view to understand the effect of strain and size anisotropy on the magneto-optical properties of ferrofluids. The birefringence measurements were carried out using a standard ellipsometer. The birefringence signal obtained for chemically synthesised samples was satisfactorily fitted to the standard second Langevin function. The ball-milled ferrofluids showed a deviation and their birefringence was enhanced by an order. This large enhancement in the birefringence value cannot be attributed to the increase in grain size of the samples, considering that the grain sizes of sample synthesised by both modes are comparable; instead, it can be attributed to the lattice strain-induced shape anisotropy(oblation) arising from the high-energy ball-milling process. Thus magnetic-optical (MO) signals can be tuned by ball-milling process, which can find potential applications. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: birefringence; Co-precipitation; ferrofluid; HEBM

Factors influencing the in situ generation of hydrogen peroxide from the reduction of oxygen by hydroxylamine from hydroxylammonium sulfate over Pd/alumina - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jana, Prabhas (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2008)
Influence of the concentration of bromide (KBr) promoter, reaction period, temperature, catalyst loading and initial concentration of hydroxylammonium sulfate on the formation of H2O2 due to the reaction between hydroxylamine from the hydroxylammonium salt and molecular oxygen over Pd (1 wt%)/Al2O3 catalyst in a neutral aqueous medium at close to the ambient conditions has been investigated. Effect of pH and temperature on the destruction of H2O2, Occurring in the consecutive reactions, over the catalyst in the presence or absence of bromide promoter and hydroxylamine has also been studied. In the absence of O-2, the conversion of hydroxylamine by its decomposition over the catalyst increases sharply with increasing the pH, particularly above the pH of 7.0; at or below the pH of 7.0, it is quite small. The H2O2 destruction increases markedly with increasing the pH of medium and reaction temperature but it is found to decrease in the presence of hydroxylamine. For the highest net H2O2 formation, not only the optimum pH (7.0) of reaction medium but also the optimum other reaction conditions (viz. bromide promoter concentration, reaction period, temperature or catalyst loading) are necessary. The reaction path and mechanism for the generation of H2O2 have also been suggested. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: H2O2 destruction; Hydrogen peroxide; hydroxylamine; Hydroxylammonium sulfate; Pd/Al2O3 catalyst; reduction of O-2

Feasibility studies and dynamics of catalytic liquid phase esterification reactions in a micro plant - Kulkarni, A. A.; Zeyer, K. -P.; Jacobs, T.; Kaspereit, M.; Kienle, Achim (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2008)
We present a new micro reactor concept which is suitable for investigations of heterogeneously catalyzed liquid phase reactions. In the set-up two reactants are mixed in a commercially available interdigital micro mixer. The outlet of the micro mixer is connected to a modular micro reactor that consists of stacked plates. Each plate contains a milled meandering channel filled with catalyst beads. By using a variable number of plates the residence time can be manipulated and thus adjusted for a specific task. The synthesis of butyl acetate is considered as a model reaction since it has been investigated in detail in conventional reaction systems. In a first step, some experimental results of the heterogeneously catalyzed reaction are presented. In the second part, the set-up is operated as a chromatographic reactor. Dynamic behaviour is investigated applying the frontal analysis mode and the elution chromatography mode. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
9th International Conference on Microreaction Technology, Berlin, GERMANY, SEP 06-08, 2006
Keywords: chromatographic reactor; heterogeneous catalysis; integrated process; modular micro reactor

GaAlCl(x)-grafted Mont.K-10 clay: highly active and stable solid catalyst for the friedel-crafts type benzylation and acylation reactions - Choudhary, Vasant R.; Jha, Rani (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
A liquid phase reaction of anhydrous GaCl(3) and AlCl(3) with the surface hydroxyl groups (with HCl evolution) of Mont. K-10 clay in dry CCL(4) under reflux resulted in a novel GaAlCl(x),-grafted Mont.K-10 catalyst [with Cl/(Ga + Al) = 1]. The catalyst showed high activity and stability in the Freidel-Crafts type benzylation and benzoylation (by benzyl chloride and benzoyl chloride, respectively) of benzene, naphthalene and substituted benzenes, even in the presence of moisture. It also showed good activity for the benzoylation of nitrobenzene (i.e. even in the presence of strong electron withdrawing group, like nitro group, attached to the benzene ring). The catalytically active surface species in the catalyst are -(O)(2)-Ga(or Al)Cl. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: benzoylation of aromatics; benzylation of aromatics; GaAlCl(x)-grafted Mont.K-10

Heteropoly acid encapsulated SBA-15/TiO(2) nanocomposites and their unusual performance in acid-catalysed organic transformations - Sawant, Dhanashri P.; Justus, Josena; Balasubramanian, Veerappan V.; Ariga, Katsuhiko; Srinivasu, Pavuluri; Velmathi, Sivan; Halligudi, Shivappa B.; Vinu, Ajayan (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2008)
The preparation of SBA-15/TiO(2) nanocomposites with different loadings of Keggin-type 12-tungsto-phosphoric acid (TPA) nanocrystals in their mesochannels through a simple and effective vacuum impregnation method is reported for the first time. The catalysts have been characterised by various sophisticated techniques, including XRD, HRSEM, and TEM. It has been found that the acidity and the textural parameters of the nanocomposites can be controlled by simply changing the loadings of TPA and TiO(2) or the calcination temperature. TPA and TiO(2) loadings of 15 and 22.4 wt %, respectively, and a calcination temperature of 1123 K have proved to be optimal for obtaining mesoporous nanocomposite materials with the highest acidity. Moreover, the activities of these catalysts in promoting hydroamination as well as Mannich and Claisen rearrangement reactions have been extensively investigated. The results show that the amount of TPA has a great influence on the activity of the nanocomposites in all of the reactions studied. The effects of other reaction parameters, such as temperature and reaction time, on the conversion and product selectivity have also been studied in detail. A kinetic analysis of the formation of the products under various reaction conditions is presented. It has been found that the activity of the nanocomposite composed of 15 wt % TPA deposited on 22.4 wt of TiO(2) on SBA-15 in promoting the studied reaction is remarkably higher than the catalytic activities shown by pure TPA, TiO(2)-loaded SBA-15, or TPA-loaded SBA-15. The results obtained have indicated that the acidity and the structural control of the nanocomposite materials are highly critical for obtaining excellent catalytic activity, and the presented highly acidic nanocomposites are considered to show great potential for use as catalysts in promoting many acid-catalysed organic transformations.
Keywords: Bronsted acids; mesoporous materials; nanoreactors; nanotechnology; supported catalysts

Highly active nanostructured Co3O4 catalyst with tunable selectivity for liquid phase air oxidation of p-cresol - Kshirsagar, Vikas S.; Vijayanand, Subramanian; Potdar, Hari S.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Patil, Kashinath R.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V. (Chemistry Letters, 2008)
This is a first report of highly efficient heterogeneous nanostructured Co3O4 catalyst (6-8 nm) having high surface area (95 m(2)/g) developed for selective liquid phase air oxidation of p-cresol under atmospheric pressure conditions.

Highly efficient and chemo selective catalyst system for the synthesis of blossom orange fragrance and flavoring compounds - Justus, Josena; Vinu, Ajayan; Devassy, Biju M.; Balasubramanian, Veerappan V.; Bohringer, Walter; Fletcher, Jack C. Q.; Halligudi, Shivaraj B. (Catalysis Communications, 2008)
{Acetal and acylal formation reactions of organic compounds are efficiently catalyzed by zirconia-supported mixed oxide systems under liquid-phase reaction conditions. 15WZ-750 (where
Keywords: Acetal; acylal; Silicotungstic acid; tungsten oxide; tungstophosphoric acid; Zirconia

Hydrazine based facile synthesis and ordered assembly of metal nanoparticles (Au, Ag) on a bacterial surface layer protein template - Puranik, Sarang S.; Joshi, Hrushikesh M.; Ogale, S. B.; Paknikar, K. M. (Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 2008)
An efficient and facile procedure is developed for concurrent in situ synthesis and ordered assembly of metal nanoparticles on a periodic two dimensional protein array. The S-layer protein of Bacillus subtilis exhibiting uniform pore size is used as template. Synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles anchoring on the pores of S-layer is achieved by chemical reduction of respective metal salt laden protein template. Transmission electron microscopy reveals formation of well ordered and separated gold and silver nanoparticles with an average diameter of 6 +/- 1 nm and 4 +/- 1 nm, respectively. The periodic arrangement of nanoparticles is dictated by the native structure of S-layer protein array as the nanoparticle locations are found to be correlated to the nanosized pores of the crystalline S-layer array.
Keywords: Bacteria; Metal Nanoparticles; synthesis