Cross-linked Chitosan/Thermoplastic Starch Reinforced with Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Using Maleate Esters as Coupling Agent: Mechanical, Tribological and Thermal Characteristics

Bio-nanocomposites have been developed using cross-linked chitosan and cross-linked thermoplastic starch along with acid functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNT). The nanocomposites developed were characterized for mechanical, wear, and thermal properties. The results revealed that the nanocomposites exhibited enhanced mechanical properties. The composites containing 3% f-MWCNT showed maximum compression strength. Tribological studies revealed that, with the addition of small amount of f-MWCNTs the slide wear loss reduced up to 25%. SEM analysis of the nanocomposites showed predominantly brittle fractured surface. Thermal analysis showed that the incorporation of f-MWCNTs has improved the thermal stability for the nanocomposites.

Raman Evidence for Coupling of Superconducting Quasi-Particles with a Phonon and Crystal Field Excitation in Superconductor Ce0.6Y0.4FeAsO0.8F0.2

We report inelastic light scattering experiments on superconductor Ce0.6Y0.4FeAsO0.8F0.2 from 4K to 300K covering the superconducting transition temperature T-c similar to 48.6K. A strong evidence of the superconductivity induced phonon renormalization for the A(1g) phonon mode near 150cm(-1) associated with the Ce/Y vibrations is observed as reflected in the anomalous red-shift and decrease in the linewidth below T-c. Invoking the coupling of this mode with the superconducting gap, the superconducting gap (2 Delta) at zero temperature is estimated to be similar to 20meV i.e the ratio 2 Delta(0)/k(B)T(c) is similar to 5, suggesting Ce0.6Y0.4FeAsO0.8F0.2 to belong to the class of strong coupling superconductors. In addition, the mode near 430cm(-1) associated with Ce3+ crystal field excitation also shows anomalous increase in its linewidth below T-c suggesting strong coupling between crystal field excitation and the superconducting quasi-particles.

An easily prepared palladium-hydrogel nanocomposite catalyst for C-C coupling reactions

Supported metallic nanoparticles are important composite materials owing to their enormous potential for applications in various fields. In this work, palladium nanoparticles were prepared in situ in a calcium-cholate (Ca-Ch) hydrogel by reduction with sodium cyanoborohydride. The hydrogel matrix appeared to assist the controlled growth as well as stabilization of palladium nanoparticles. The palladium nanoparticle/Ca-Ch hydrogel hybrid was characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Furthermore, the PdNP/Ca-Ch hybrid xerogel was shown to act as an active catalyst for the Suzuki reaction under aqueous aerobic conditions. The PdNP/Ca-Ch xerogel retains its catalytic activities on storage for several months.

Evidence for phase transitions and pseudospin phonon coupling in K-0.9(NH4)(0.1)H2AsO4

This work reports a detailed temperature dependent Raman study on the mixed crystals of K-0.9(NH4)(0.1)H2AsO4 (KADA) from 5K to 300K in the spectral range of 60-1200cm(-1), covering tetragonal to orthorhombic structural phase transition accompanied by paraelectric to ferroelectric transition at T-c* similar to 60K. Multiple phase transitions below transition temperature (Tc* similar to 60K) are marked by the appearance of new modes, splitting of existing ones as well as anomalies in the self-energy parameters (i.e. mode frequencies and damping coefficient) of the phonon modes. Temperature independent behaviour of damping coefficient and abrupt jump in the mode frequency of some of the internal vibrations of AsO4 tetrahedra as well as external vibrations clearly signal long range ferroelectric ordering and proton ordering below T-c*. In addition, we observed that temperature dependence of many prominent phonon modes diverges significantly from their normal anharmonic behaviour below T-c* suggesting potential coupling between pseudospins and phonons. (C) 2015 Author(s).

Mode coupling theory analysis of electrolyte solutions: Time dependent diffusion, intermediate scattering function, and ion solvation dynamics

A self-consistent mode coupling theory (MCT) with microscopic inputs of equilibrium pair correlation functions is developed to analyze electrolyte dynamics. We apply the theory to calculate concentration dependence of (i) time dependent ion diffusion, (ii) intermediate scattering function of the constituent ions, and (iii) ion solvation dynamics in electrolyte solution. Brownian dynamics with implicit water molecules and molecular dynamics method with explicit water are used to check the theoretical predictions. The time dependence of ionic self-diffusion coefficient and the corresponding intermediate scattering function evaluated from our MCT approach show quantitative agreement with early experimental and present Brownian dynamic simulation results. With increasing concentration, the dispersion of electrolyte friction is found to occur at increasingly higher frequency, due to the faster relaxation of the ion atmosphere. The wave number dependence of intermediate scattering function, F(k, t), exhibits markedly different relaxation dynamics at different length scales. At small wave numbers, we find the emergence of a step-like relaxation, indicating the presence of both fast and slow time scales in the system. Such behavior allows an intriguing analogy with temperature dependent relaxation dynamics of supercooled liquids. We find that solvation dynamics of a tagged ion exhibits a power law decay at long times-the decay can also be fitted to a stretched exponential form. The emergence of the power law in solvation dynamics has been tested by carrying out long Brownian dynamics simulations with varying ionic concentrations. The solvation time correlation and ion-ion intermediate scattering function indeed exhibit highly interesting, non-trivial dynamical behavior at intermediate to longer times that require further experimental and theoretical studies. (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Role of supersymmetric heavy Higgs boson production in the self-coupling measurement of 125 GeV Higgs boson at the LHC

Measurement of the self-coupling of the 125 GeV Higgs boson is one of the most crucial tasks for a high luminosity run of the LHC, and it can only be measured in the di-Higgs final state. In the minimal supersymmetric standard model, heavy CP even Higgs (H) can decay into a lighter 125 GeV Higgs boson (h) and, therefore, can influence the rate of di-Higgs production. We investigate the role of single H production in the context of measuring the self-coupling of h. We have found that the H -> hh decay can change the value of Higgs (h) self-coupling substantially, in a low tan beta regime where the mass of the heavy Higgs boson lies between 250 and 600 GeV and, depending on the parameter space, it may be seen as an enhancement of the self-coupling of the 125 GeV Higgs boson.

Postsynthetic Exterior Decoration of an Organic Cage by Copper(I)-Catalysed A(3)-Coupling and Detection of Nitroaromatics

A new synthetic protocol based on one-pot, copper(I)-catalysed multicomponent reaction of formaldehyde, secondary amine and terminal alkyne has been employed to postsynthetically modify a self-assembled nanoscopic organic cage. By employing this synthetic strategy, three new cages appended with phenyl-, xylyl-and naphthyl-acetylene moieties have been synthesised. The resulting modified cages were characterised by using a range of spectroscopic techniques. The synthesised cages were fluorescent and thus one of them was tested to explore the potential use of such compounds as chemosensors for the detection of nitroaromatics. Experimental findings suggest a high selective quenching of initial fluorescence intensity in the presence of nitroaromatic compounds. Furthermore, it has been observed that among the various nitroaromatics tested, nitrophenolic compounds have better quenching ability.

Inter molecular azide-diisocyanate coupling: new insights for energetic solid propellants

Hydroxyl terminated azide binders can undergo a spurious reaction with diisocyanates to form tetrazoline-5-one via an inter molecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction apart from urethane/allophanate groups which has been overlooked. This has serious implications on solid propellants. The computed activation barrier using density functional theory (DFT) for urethane formation reaction is 28.4 kJ mol(-1) and that for tetrazoline-5-one formation reaction is 108.0 kJ mol(-1). DFT studies reveal that the rate limiting step of the reaction is 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between azide and isocyanate. A dual cure was observed in the temperature ranges 42-77 degrees C and 78-146 degrees C by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and rheological studies, confirming multiple reactions. Tetrazoline-5-one formation was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR).

Processing of EEG Signals for Study of Coupling in Brain Regions for Eyes Open and Eyes Closed Conditions

This paper deals with processing the EEG signals obtained from 16 spatially arranged electrodes to measure coupling or synchrony between the frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal lobes of the cerebrum under the eyes open and eyes closed conditions. This synchrony was measured using magnitude squared coherence, Short Time Fourier Transform and wavelet based coherences. We found a pattern in the time-frequency coherence as we moved from the nasion to the inion of the subject's head. The coherence pattern obtained from the wavelet approach was found to be far more capable of picking up peaks in coherence with respect to frequency when compared to the regular Fourier based coherence. We detected high synchrony between frontal polar electrodes that is missing in coherence plots between other electrode pairs. The study has potential applications in healthcare.

Coupling geomorphology parameters with lithology for micro-level groundwater resource assessment: a case study from semi-arid hard rock terrain in Tamil Nadu, India

The standard procedure of groundwater resource estimation in India till date is based on the specific yield parameters of each rock type (lithology) derived through pumping test analysis. Using the change in groundwater level, specific yield, and area of influence, groundwater storage change could be estimated. However, terrain conditions in the form of geomorphological variations have an important bearing on the net groundwater recharge. In this study, an attempt was made to use both lithology and geomorphology as input variables to estimate the recharge from different sources in each lithology unit influenced by the geomorphic conditions (lith-geom), season wise separately. The study provided a methodological approach for an evaluation of groundwater in a semi-arid hard rock terrain in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India. While characterizing the gneissic rock, it was found that the geomorphologic variations in the gneissic rock due to weathering and deposition behaved differently with respect to aquifer recharge. The three different geomorphic units identified in gneissic rock (pediplain shallow weathered (PPS), pediplain moderate weathered (PPM), and buried pediplain moderate (BPM)) showed a significant variation in recharge conditions among themselves. It was found from the study that Peninsular gneiss gives a net recharge value of 0.13 m/year/unit area when considered as a single unit w.r.t. lithology, whereas the same area considered with lith-geom classes gives recharge values between 0.1 and 0.41 m/year presenting a different assessment. It is also found from this study that the stage of development (SOD) for each lith-geom unit in Peninsular gneiss varies from 168 to 230 %, whereas the SOD is 223 % for the lithology as a single unit.

A method for coupling the phase-field model based on a grand-potential formalism to thermodynamic databases

In this paper we derive an approach for the effective utilization of thermodynamic data in phase-field simulations. While the most widely used methodology for multi-component alloys is following the work by Eiken et al. (2006), wherein, an extrapolative scheme is utilized in conjunction with the TQ interface for deriving the driving force for phase transformation, a corresponding simplistic method based on the formulation of a parabolic free-energy model incorporating all the thermodynamics has been laid out for binary alloys in the work by Folch and Plapp (2005). In the following, we extend this latter approach for multi-component alloys in the framework of the grand-potential formalism. The coupling is applied for the case of the binary eutectic solidification in the Cr-Ni alloy and two-phase solidification in the ternary eutectic alloy (Al-Cr-Ni). A thermodynamic justification entails the basis of the formulation and places it in context of the bigger picture of Integrated Computational Materials Engineering. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal top polarisation measurement and anomalous Wtb coupling

Kinematical distributions of decay products of the top quark carry information on the polarisation of the top as well as on any possible new physics in the decay of the top quark. We construct observables in the form of asymmetries in the kinematical distributions to probe their effects. Charged-lepton angular distributions in the decay are insensitive to anomalous couplings to leading order. Hence these can be a robust probe of top polarisation. However, these are difficult to measure in the case of highly boosted top quarks as compared to energy distributions of decay products. These are then sensitive, in general, to both top polarisation and top anomalous couplings. We compare various asymmetries for their sensitivities to the longitudinal polarisation of the top quark as well as to possible new physics in the Wtb vertex, paying special attention to the case of highly boosted top quarks. We perform a chi(2) analysis to determine the regions in the plane of longitudinal polarisation of the top quark and the couplings of the Wtb vertex constrained by different combinations of the asymmetries. Moreover, we find that the use of observables sensitive to the longitudinal top polarisation can add to the sensitivity to which the Wtb vertex can be probed.

Nonlinear mode coupling and internal resonances in MoS2 nanoelectromechanical system

Atomically thin two dimensional (2D) layered materials have emerged as a new class of material for nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) due to their extraordinary mechanical properties and ultralow mass density. Among them, graphene has been the material of choice for nanomechanical resonator. However, recent interest in 2D chalcogenide compounds has also spurred research in using materials such as MoS2 for the NEMS applications. As the dimensions of devices fabricated using these materials shrink down to atomically thin membrane, strain and nonlinear effects have become important. A clear understanding of the nonlinear effects and the ability to manipulate them is essential for next generation sensors. Here, we report on all electrical actuation and detection of few-layer MoS2 resonator. The ability to electrically detect multiple modes and actuate the modes deep into the nonlinear regime enables us to probe the nonlinear coupling between various vibrational modes. The modal coupling in our device is strong enough to detect three distinct internal resonances. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Anomalous transport at weak coupling

We evaluate the contribution of chiral fermions in d = 2, 4, 6, chiral bosons, a chiral gravitino like theory in d = 2 and chiral gravitinos in d = 6 to all the leading parity odd transport coefficients at one loop. This is done by using finite temperature field theory to evaluate the relevant Kubo formulae. For chiral fermions and chiral bosons the relation between the parity odd transport coefficient and the microscopic anomalies including gravitational anomalies agree with that found by using the general methods of hydrodynamics and the argument involving the consistency of the Euclidean vacuum. For the gravitino like theory in d = 2 and chiral gravitinos in d = 6, we show that relation between the pure gravitational anomaly and parity odd transport breaks down. From the perturbative calculation we clearly identify the terms that contribute to the anomaly polynomial, but not to the transport coefficient for gravitinos. We also develop a simple method for evaluating the angular integrals in the one loop diagrams involved in the Kubo formulae. Finally we show that charge diffusion mode of an ideal 2 dimensional Weyl gas in the presence of a finite chemical potential acquires a speed, which is equal to half the speed of light.

A chemoselective alpha-aminoxylation of aryl ketones: a cross dehydrogenative coupling reaction catalysed by Bu4NI

Tetrabutyl ammonium iodide (TBAI) catalyzed alpha-aminoxylation of ketones using aq. TBHP as an oxidant has been accomplished. We have shown that the CDC (cross dehydrogenative coupling) reactions of ketones with N-hydroxyimidates such as N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHSI), N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI), N-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) and 1-hydroxy-7-azabenzotriazole (HOAt) lead to the corresponding oxygenated products in good to moderate yields. The application of this method has been demonstrated by transforming a few coupled products into synthetically useful intermediates and products.