Mechanical Properties and Chemical Stability of Bathroom Wall Composites Manufactured from Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Mixed with Cocoa Hulls Powder

The need to protect our environment by eliminating plastic waste as much as possible and by recycling waste from agricultural residue, has led us to formulate composites based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) loaded with powder from the cocoa shell. The cocoa hulls were prior treated with organosolv process to improve the fiber-matrix interaction. This research is aimed at manufacturing composite wall tiles from recycled PET reinforced with cocoa hull powder (CCP). The composites were manufactured by the melt-mixing method followed by compression molding. The mechanical, physico-chemical properties and the stability to environmental conditions were evaluated. The results showed that the incorporation of cocoa powder at a content of 20-30% in the matrix consisting of PET gave rise to a composite material with good physico-mechanical and chemical properties suitable for use in several sectors. In the construction industry, in particular as wall covering as a replacement for tiles, these x from an economic point of view cost less and compared to clays which consumes enormous amount of energy for the elaboration of ceramics. The study showed that the optimum powder weight proportion for the optimal properties of the composite were achieved at 30% powder weight proportion. The maximum tensile strength of 60.3 MPa, flexural strength of 19.5 MPa, impact strength of 10.3 MPa and water absorption 1.34% were obtained. Water absorption of the tiles increased with the cocoa powder weight. Compare to the ceramic tile this value of water absorption test is in range and show that this composite tile is suitable for use as bathroom tile.

Study on Spectro-Electrochemical Behaviour of Thin-Layer Polymer of 3-(9H-Carbazol-9-yl)propanenitrile

A film of electrically active poly(3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propanenitrile) was prepared on platinum (Pt) electrode surface by oxidative electro-polymerization of 3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propanenitrile monomer. The polymerization reaction was performed in a reaction medium containing monomer, and 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TBABF4 ) mixture in acetonitrile (ACN) using repeated cycling at a scanning rate of 250 mV. Electrochemical polymerization of carbazole (Cz) and 3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propanenitrile (25 mM) were studied with cyclic voltammetry on both Pt and ITO electrodes. The structure of the poly(3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propanenitrile) was elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The weight average molecular weight (Mw) of the electrochemically synthesized poly(3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propanenitrile) was determined using gel permeation chromatography (GPC), where it was found that the Mw of the polymer is equal to 37900 g/mol. The polymer was characterized using dry conductivity measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy, while the spectro-electrochemical studies indicated that poly(3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propanenitrile) films revealed a green color in the oxidized state and a high transmittance in the neutral state. Moreover the poly(3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propanenitrile) film is soluble in common organic solvents, like DMSO, THF, NMP and DMAC. The conductivity of poly(3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propanenitrile) was found to be 1.62x10-4 S/cm.

Synthesis, Characterization and Magnetic Susceptibility of Novel Transition Metal Ion Complexes with (E)-2-((7H-Purin-6-ylimino)methyl)phenol and Its Antibacterial Efficiency

The novel transition metal ion complexes were synthesized by refluxing the ethanolic solutions of metal acetates with Schiff base in 1:2 ratios. The structure and characterization of synthesized complexes of Mn (II), Co (II), Ni (II), Cu (II) and Zn (II) with Schiff base (E)-2-((7H-purin-6-ylimino)methyl)phenol were elucidated by using 1H NMR, FT-IR and UV-Visible spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized compounds were also been screened against gram positive and gram-negative bacteria. The novel compounds were further carried out for the study of magnetic susceptibility.

Potentiometric Determination of Prednisolone in Pharmaceutical Formulations

In this present work, a prednisolone ion selective electrode (PRED-ISE) has been developed. The electrode shows linear response towards prednisolone in the range 3.0×10−6 – 8.6×10−3 M with a detection limit of 2.5×10−6. PRED-ISE was used as an indicator electrode for the potentiometric titration of different concentrations of standard prednisolone against standardized sodium tetraphenyl borate solution and in tablets. The electrode manifests advantages of low resistance, fast response and, most importantly, good selective relativity to a variety of other cations.

Use of Pyrimidine and Its Derivative in Pharmaceuticals: A Review

The pharmacological activities of the pyrimidine nucleus were impressive. Compounds with a pyrimidine nucleus have a broad variety of pharmaceutical applications, including antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, sedatives and hypnotics, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, anti-thyroid, anti-Alzheimer and, according to the literature. As a result, the focus of this review is on research on various pharmaceuticals activities of pyrimidine analogs that has recently been published in the scientific literature.

Characterization of Blends of Virgin Nitrile Rubber and Compounded Nitrile Rubber Latex Waste Reclaimed with Urea: Part II - Physico-Mechanical Properties

Recycling of rubber waste materials in order to convert these to usable products is one of the main challenges in the rubber industry. Reclaiming of rubber waste and blending it with virgin rubber have increased during the past due to the growing concern on the environment and increase in the prices of synthetic rubbers. Hence, the aim of this study is to partially replace virgin nitrile rubber (NBR) with reclaimed compounded NBR latex waste to develop new rubber blends suitable for special applications. In this study, physico-mechanical properties, ageing performance and swelling behaviour of virgin NBR / reclaimed NBR blend vulcanizates were evaluated and compared with those of the control vulcanizate produced solely with virgin NBR. Results showed that replacement of 50% virgin NBR with reclaimed NBR retained 71-86% of tensile strength, elongation at break and resilience. Hardness and modulus of this blend vulcanizate increased by less than 18%, whereas abrasion volume loss and compression set increased by 27%. Ageing resistance is similar to that of the control vulcanizate. Interestingly, resistance to swelling in toluene and ASTM oil No.3 increased by 14% and 32%, respectively. Hence, the 50:50 virgin NBR / reclaimed NBR vulcanizate would be suitable for oil resistant applications.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Malachite Green using Undoped and Carbon-Doped Calcium Molybdate Catalysts

Calcium molybdates (undoped and carbon-doped) have been used as a photocatalyst for the degradation of malachite green. These have been characterized by different techniques such as FE-SEM, EDX and XRD. The progress of the reaction has been monitored spectrophotometrically. Different rate affecting parameters like pH, concentration of dye, amount of semiconductor and light intensity have been studied and their optimum values obtained are pH 9.7, concentration of malachite green as 5.00 × 10-4 M, 0.12 g of CaMoO4 and light intensity as 50.0 mWcm–2. A tentative mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of dye has been proposed, where hydroxyl radical has been observed as an active oxidizing species.

Synthesis, Characterization and Theoretical Insights into Molecular Properties of 2-(4-fluorophenyl)-4H-chromen-4-one

Flavone scaffold is one of the most often perceived parts in biologically active organic compounds. In light of this, a flavone; 2-(4-fluorophenyl)-4H-chromen-4-one (FPC) has been synthesized, characterized and studied by using density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) basis set. The geometry of the FPC molecules has been optimized by using B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) basis set and in-depth structural analysis on bond lengths and bond angles has been discussed. The HOMO-LUMO analysis and various quantum chemical parameters are computed and discussed for the better understanding of chemical behaviour of the title molecule. Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) surface investigation is presented to understand the reactivity sites of the title molecule.

DFT Exploration on Molecular Characteristics of 6-Methyl-2-oxo-4-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxylate

Present investigation deals with the synthesis and density functional theory study (DFT) of a Biginelli adduct; 6-methyl-2-oxo-4-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxylate (MOPTHPC). The synthesis of a MOPTHPC has been carried out by the reaction of benzaldehyde, ethyl acetoacetate and urea in ethanol 70-80 ℃ under stirring condition in presence of catalytic amount of sulfamic acid. The structure of a synthesized chalcone is affirmed on the basis of 1H NMR and 13C NMR. The geometry of a MOPTHPC is optimized by using the density functional theory method at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) basis set. The optimized geometrical parameters like bond length and bond angles have been computed. Quantum chemical parameters have been determined and examined. Molecular electrostatic surface potential (MESP) surface plot analysis has been carried out at the same level of theory. Mulliken atomic charge study is also discussed in the present study.

Application of Digital Image Processing to Determine the Properties of Aggregates and Soil using MATLAB: A Case Study

The vital physical characteristics of aggregates used in engineering and for interpretation of the genesis of naturally occurring sediment are shape and size of rocks. The mineralogical and physical composition of the rock is necessary to cater to the interaction within bounded space and soundings. Several image processing programs are available to measure the size and shape of various types of objects. The accuracy and reproducibility of the results of these imaging methods could be bettered. This paper aims to determine the aggregate dimension and volume to space behaviors through image processing tools. This study is extended investigation of the coarse aggregate shape properties such as area, volume, center of gravity (CG), elongation and flakiness index. Also, this paper discuss the development of an easy to use image processing tool to determine the shrinkage of soils due to lack of moisture content either because of natural ways/artificial ways. Two different types of soils including first sample near the SNU lake and second sample near Business Management School at Shiv Nadar University (SNU), India were collected. The samples were oven-dried over a period and shrinkage values were determined by Digital Image Processing (DIP) using MATLAB. The results are compared to wax-water method (manual method) results of shrinkage. The properties found by DIP method are reasonably agreeable for multiple aggregates and minor percentage differences in the soil shrinkage results.