Chemistry Commons^™

Facile Molten-Salt Synthesis Of Double Perovskite La2bmno 6 Nanoparticles, Yuanbing Mao

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Crystalline double perovskite La2BMnO6 (B = Ni and Co) nanoparticles with an average grain size of ∼64 nm were successfully prepared using a facile, environmentally friendly, scalable molten-salt reaction at 700 °C in air. Their composition and structural and magnetic properties have been characterized.

Synthesis And Luminescence Properties Of Core-Shell Structured (Lanthanum(1-X)Europium(X))(2)Zirconium Heptoxid[At]Yttrium Orthoborate Spherical Nanoparticles, Suresh Babu Alaparthi

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Many rare earth compounds have photoluminescent characteristics for various important applications. In this study, europium doped La2Zr2O7 nanoparticles were first synthesized morphology-controllably by using a molten-salt synthesis method. These nanoparticles were used as the core for coating with YBO3 shell. We then explored the effect of different experimental processing parameters, such as annealing temperatures, reaction times and different ratios of salt mixtures on the structure and morphology of these nanoparticles. The overall core size and shell thickness can be controlled by varying the reactant concentration both the core and shell material. These core@shell nanoparticles were then characterized mainly using power …

Titanium Dioxide Nanofibers And Microparticles Containing Nickel Nanoparticles, Faheem A. Sheikh, Javier Macossay-Torres, M. A. Kanjwal, Abdalla Abdal-Hay, Mudasir A. Tantry, Hern Kim

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The present study reports on the introduction of various nanocatalysts containing nickel (Ni) nanoparticles (NPs) embedded within TiO2 nanofibers and TiO2 microparticles. Typically, a sol-gel consisting of titanium isopropoxide and Ni NPs was prepared to produce TiO2 nanofibers by the electrospinning process. Similarly, TiO2 microparticles containing Ni were prepared using a sol-gel syntheses process. The resultant structures were studied by SEM analyses, which confirmed well-obtained nanofibers and microparticles. Further, the XRD results demonstrated the crystalline feature of both TiO2 and Ni in the obtained composites. Internal morphology of prepared nanofibers and microparticles containing Ni NPs was characterized by TEM, which …

An Expeditious Iodine-Catalyzed Synthesis Of 3-Pyrrole-Substituted 2-Azetidinones, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Jessica Cruz, Ram N. Yadav, Bimal K. Banik

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

2-Azetidinones and pyrroles are two highly important classes of molecules in organic and medicinal chemistry. A green and practical method for the synthesis of 3-pyrrole-substituted 2-azetidinones using catalytic amounts of molecular iodine under microwave irradiation has been developed. Following this method, a series of 3-pyrrole-substituted 2-azetidinones have been synthesized with a variety of substituents at N-1 and at C-4. The procedure is equally effective for mono-as well as polyaromatic groups at the N-1 position of the 2-azetidinone ring. The C-4 substituent has no influence either on the yield or the rate of the reaction. Optically pure 3-pyrrole-substituted 2-azetidinones have also …

Cop1 Mediates The Coordination Of Root And Shoot Growth By Light Through Modulation Of Pin1- And Pin2-Dependent Auxin Transport In Arabidopsis, Massimiliano Sassi, Yanfen Lu, Yonghong Zhang, Juan Wang, Pankaj Dhonukshe, Ikram Blilou, Minqiu Dai, Juan Li, Ximing Gong, Yvon Jaillais, Xuhong Yu, Jan Traas, Ida Ruberti, Haiyang Wang, Ben Scheres, Teva Vernoux, Jian Xu

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

When a plant germinates in the soil, elongation of stem-like organs is enhanced whereas leaf and root growth is inhibited. How these differential growth responses are orchestrated by light and integrated at the organismal level to shape the plant remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that light signals through the master photomorphogenesis repressor COP1 to coordinate root and shoot growth in Arabidopsis. In the shoot, COP1 regulates shoot-to-root auxin transport by controlling the transcription of the auxin efflux carrier gene PIN-FORMED1 (PIN1), thus appropriately tuning shoot-derived auxin levels in the root. This in turn directly influences root elongation and …

Synthesis Of Novel Bis-Β-Lactams, Jocabed Marquez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study presents the synthesis and structure of newly discovered β-lactams and the mechanism of their synthesis via the Staudinger reaction. β-lactams known as 2-azetidinones, are four membered cyclic amides that have been extensively used and recognized as the central motif of the β-lactam antibiotics, the most widely employed family of antimicrobial agent to date. The Staudinger reaction involves the cycloaddition between an acid chloride with an imine, in presence of a tertiary base. The possibility of cooperative effects from two therapeutic functionalities in drug molecules, has prompted interest in the synthesis of Bis-β-lactams. The synthesis of 2 novel Bis-β-lactams …

Microwave-Induced Bismuth Nitrate-Catalyzed Multicomponent Reaction Toward Heterocycles, Ashwini Bobbala

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The microwave-induced reaction for the synthesis of nitrogen containing heterocyclesis very important in medicinal chemistry. The synthesis of various other valuable compounds is also done by employing this reaction. The aza Diels-Alder reaction is one of the most powerful synthetic tools for the synthesis of nitrogen containing heterocycles. The main goal of the research is to synthesize the nitrogen containing heterocycles using Bismuth nitrate as the catalyst in the presence of microwave irradiation. In the present study we explore the catalytic activity of bismuth nitrate and the role of microwave reactor in the synthesis of 2, 3-diaryl substituted bicyclic octanone …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Biodegradable Electrospun Polyurethanes For Biomedical Applications, Xujun Zhang

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Two types of polyesters [(Poly(ε-caprolactone) and Poly(δ-valerolactone)] were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization with diethylene glycol as a initiator and stannous octate as a catalyst. The corresponding polyurethanes were synthesized by two-step polymerization with 1,4-diisocyanate butane (BDI) and reacted with 1,4-diamino butane (Putrescine) chain extender. The polymers were characterized by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman Spectroscopy, Size-exclusive Chromatography (SEC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The resulting polyurethanes were fabricated into nanofibers using an electrospinning technique. The morphological, structural characterizations and thermal properties of the bulk polyurethanes and electrospun polyurethanes nanofibers were …

Electrospun Biocompatible Polyurethanes With The Addition Of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Travis Cantu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Three different Polyurethanes (PUs) Lycra®, HydroThaneTM, and BioSpan®, were electrospun and characterized using Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), & Raman spectroscopy. Nanofiber composites were made by incorporating MWCNTs at three different concentration 0.1wt% 0.5wt% and 1.0wt% to the three PUs. These samples were characterized and mechanical and thermal test were done. The TEM images showed MWCNT bundling in the polymer matrix at the highest concentration, the FTIR showed shifts in characteristic urethane bands indicating an interaction with the polymer and MWCNTs. Mechanical test showed a decrease in the Young’s modulus (E’) in most …

Derivative Couplings With Built-In Electron-Translation Factors: Application To Benzene, Shervin Fatehi, Joseph E. Subotnik

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Derivative couplings are the essential quantities at the interface between electronic-structure calculations and nonadiabatic dynamics. Unfortunately, standard approaches for calculating these couplings usually neglect electronic motion, which can lead to spurious electronic transitions. Here we provide a general framework for correcting these anomalies by incorporating perturbative electron-translation factors (ETFs) into the atomic-orbital basis. For a range of representative organic molecules, we find that our ETF correction is often small but can be qualitatively important, especially for few-atom systems or highly symmetric molecules. Our method entails no additional computational cost, such that ETFs are “built-in,” and it is equivalent to a …

Microwave-Assisted Polystyrene Sulfonatecatalyzed Synthesis Of Novel Pyrroles, Rosario Astrid Vargas Cardenas, Blanca Olinda Quintanilla Leal, Ashwini Reddy, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Bimal K. Banik

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Pyrroles are widely distributed in nature and important biologically active molecules. The reaction of amines with 2,5-dimethoxytetrahydrofuran is a promising pathway for the synthesis of pharmacologically active pyrroles under microwave irradiation.

Results: Microwave-induced polystyrenesulfonate-catalyzed synthesis of pyrroles from amines and 2,5- diemthoxytetrahydrofuran has been accomplished with excellent yield. This method produces pyrroles with polyaromatic amines.

Conclusion: The present procedure for the synthesis of N-aromatic substituted pyrroles will find useful application in the area of pharmacologically active molecules.

Nanoenergetic Composite Based On I2o5/Al For Biological Agent Defeat, Mkhitar Hobosyan, Alexander V. Kazanksy, Karen S. Martirosyan

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The risk of bioterrorism events involving the intentional airborne release of contagious agents has led to development of new approaches for bio agent defeat technologies both indoors and outdoors. This report describes nanoenergetic gas generators (NGG) system that exhibit long term stability and superior release of biocidal substances for destruction of pathogenic bacteria. The effect of iodine vaporization on destroying of Escherichia coli (E-coli, HB101 K-12 strain) by using expressing Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) was investigated. HB101 K-12 has been genetically modified to prevent its growth unless grown on an enriched medium. To obtain quantitative data we used pGLO transformation …

Development Of An Assay To Screen For Novel Proteins From Bacillus Thuringiensis With Antibacterial Activity, Auriole T. Tamegnon

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produces the non specific Cyt protein and the specific Cry protein. Past research has shown these proteins are toxic to insects, red blood cells, cancer cells, and some bacteria. While many antibacterial substances are known to exist, efforts to find new ones still continue. In this project we used Bt 6-2-56 (containing a novel filament associated parasporal body which appears non-toxic to insects and protozoan) and Bt 4Q13 (which has been shown to have activity against E. coli and S. aureus) to develop a simple, easy, scalable assay in a 96 well Microtitre plate to look for …

Communication: Adjusting Charge Transfer State Energies For Configuration Interaction Singles: Without Any Parameterization And With Minimal Cost, Xinle Liu, Shervin Fatehi, Yihan Shao, Brad S. Veldkamp, Joseph Subotnik

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

In a recent article, we showed that configuration interaction singles (CIS) has a systematic bias against charge-transfer (CT) states: CT vertical excitation energies are consistently too high (by 1-2 eV) as compared with non-CT energies [J. E. Subotnik, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 071104 (2011)]. We now show that this CIS error can be corrected approximately by performing a single Newton- Raphson step to reoptimize orbitals, thus establishing a new set of orbitals which better balances ground and excited state energies. The computational cost of this correction is exactly that of one coupled-perturbed Hartree-Fock calculation, which is effectively the cost of …

Sorption Kinetic Study Of Selenite And Selenate Onto A High And Low Pressure Aged Iron Oxide Nanomaterial, Christina M. Gonzalez, Jeffrey Hernandez, Jose R. Peralta-Videa, Cristian E. Botez, Jason Parsons, Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The sorption of selenite (SeO32−) and selenate (SeO42−) onto Fe3O4 nanomaterials produced by non microwave-assisted or microwave-assisted synthetic techniques was investigated through use of the batch technique. The phase of both synthetic nanomaterials was determined to be magnetite by X-ray diffraction. The average grain sizes of non microwave-assisted and microwave-assisted synthetic Fe3O4 were determined to be 27 and 25 nm, respectively through use of the Scherrer's equation. Sorption of selenite was pH independent in the pH range of 2-6, while sorption of selenate decreased at pH 5 and 6. The addition of Cl− had no significant effect on selenite or …

Polystyrenesulfonate-Catalyzed Synthesis Of Novel Pyrroles Through Paal-Knorr Reaction, Mandira Banik, Bianca Ramirez, Ashwini Reddy, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Bimal K. Banik

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: The classical Paal-Knorr reaction is one of the simplest and most economical methods for the synthesis of biologically important and pharmacologically useful pyrrole derivatives.

Results: Polystyrenesulfonate-catalyzed simple synthesis of substituted pyrroles following Paal-Knorr reaction has been accomplished with an excellent yield in aqueous solution. This method also produces pyrroles with multicyclic polyaromatic amines.

Conclusions: The present procedure for the synthesis of N-polyaromatic substituted pyrroles will find application in the synthesis of potent biologically active molecules.

Structural Basis For Ca 2+-Induced Activation And Dimerization Of Estrogen Receptor Alpha By Calmodulin, Yonghong Zhang, Zhigang Li, David B. Sacks, James B. Ames

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The estrogen receptor α (ER-α) regulates expression of target genes implicated in development, metabolism, and breast cancer. Calcium-dependent regulation of ER-α is critical for activating gene expression and is controlled by calmodulin (CaM). Here, we present the NMR structures for the two lobes of CaM each bound to a localized region of ER-α (residues 287–305). A model of the complete CaM·ER-α complex was constructed by combining these two structures with additional data. The two lobes of CaM both compete for binding at the same site on ER-α (residues 292, 296, 299, 302, and 303), which explains why full-length CaM binds …

A Microwave-Assisted Bismuth Nitrate-Catalyzed Unique Route Toward 1,4-Dihydropyridines, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Stephanie Maldonado, Bimal K. Banik

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The classical Hantzsch reaction is one of the simplest and most economical methods for the synthesis of biologically important and pharmacologically useful 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives. Bismuth nitrate pentahydrate under microwave irradiation is proven to act as a very efficient catalyst for a one-pot, three-component synthesis of 1,4-dihydropyridines in excellent yields from diverse amines/ammonium acetate, aldehydes and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds within 1-3 min under solvent-free conditions. The present environmentally benign procedure for the synthesis of 1,4-dihydropyridines is suitable for library synthesis and it will find application in the synthesis of potent biologically active molecules. The excellent yield and extreme rapidity of the method …

A Simple Approach For Synthesis, Characterization And Bioactivity Of Bovine Bones To Fabricate The Polyurethane Nanofiber Containing Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles, Faheem A. Sheikh, M. A. Kanjwal, Javier Macossay-Torres, N. A. M. Barakat, H. Y. Kim

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the present study, we had introduced polyurethane (PU) nanofibers that contain hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles (NPs) as a result of an electrospinning process. A simple method that does not depend on additional foreign chemicals had been employed to synthesize HAp NPs through the calcination of bovine bones. Typically, a colloidal gel consisting of HAp/PU had been electrospun to form nanofibers. In this communication, physiochemical aspects of prepared nanofibers were characterized by FE-SEM, TEM and TEM-EDS, which confirmed that nanofibers were well-oriented and good dispersion of HAp NPs, over the prepared nanofibers. Parameters, affecting the utilization of the prepared nanofibers in …

Ultrasound-Assisted Aza-Michael Reaction In Water: A Green Procedure, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Sanghamitra Mukherjee, Luis C. Turrubiartes, Bimal K. Banik

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The conjugate addition of amines to conjugated alkenes (commonly known as aza-Michael reaction) constitutes a key step for the synthesis of various complex natural products, antibiotics, α-amino alcohols and chiral auxiliaries. Ultrasound-induced addition of several amines to α, β-unsaturated ketones, esters and nitriles has been carried out very efficiently in water as well as under solvent-free conditions. No catalysts or solid supports have been used in this method. Remarkable enhancement of reaction rate has been observed in water under ultrasound-induced method. This environmentally benign procedure has provided clean formation of the products with better selectivity.

Bismuth Nitrate-Induced Microwave-Assisted Expeditious Synthesis Of Vanillin From Curcumin, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Bimal K. Banik

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Curcumin and vanillin are the two useful compounds in food and medicine. Bismuth nitrate pentahydrate is an economical and ecofriendly reagent.

Method: Bismuth nitrate pentahydrate impregnated montmorillonite KSF clay and curcumin were subjected to microwave irradiation.

Results: Microwave-induced bismuth nitrate-promoted synthesis of vanillin from curcumin has been accomplished in good yield under solvent-free condition. Twenty-five different reaction conditions have been studied to optimize the process.

Conclusion: The present procedure for the synthesis of vanillin may find useful application in the area of industrial process development.