Synthesis of Nano-Crystalline Materials in Open-Air Laboratory: A Case Study of Tobacco.

The work deals with synthesis of nano-crystalline materials in open-air laboratory and in-depth investigation of the tobacco sample of one branded cigarette and its ash using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and associated techniques. It exhibits the presence of nanocrystals and nanorods of various oxides in cigarette ash. The structure, shape, size and composition of these nanocrystals and nanorods are explored. The energy dispersive X-ray spectra from different regions of the tobacco sample and its ash using high-angle annular dark field scanning/transmission electron microscopy mode are utilized to obtain elemental composition and their relative abundances. For a detailed distribution of different elements in the nanorods, elemental mapping using energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy is also presented. The results highlight the conversion of amorphous constituents of tobacco to nanomaterials on combustion at low temperatures, thus mixing up in the atmosphere.

Magnetic particulate matters in the ashes of few commonly used Indian cigarettes.

Physical aspects of tobacco samples, used in some commonly available Indian brands of cigarettes, with emphasis on their magnetic characterization before and after they get burnt into ashes, are described. The present work highlights the ultrafine nature of the cigarette ashes and provides a compositional insight of their constituent particulate matters as revealed by the XRD and SEM studies. Based on the EDX spectra, elemental distributions of different tobacco samples, before and after they get burnt, are presented. In this work, magnetic measurements of the un-burnt tobacco samples are reported. An attempt is made to shed light on the origin of magnetism observed in these samples.

Comparative study of the microstructural and magnetic properties of fly ashes obtained from different thermal power plants in West Bengal, India.

This paper deals with the physical nature of the fly ashes obtained from two thermal power plants, situated in West Bengal, India. The fly ash samples are characterized by using comprehensive techniques with an emphasis on their ultrafine nature. The particle sizes of the samples are estimated using scanning electron microcopy (SEM) and found to lie within 0.18-5.90 µm. For morphology and compositional analysis, we also use SEM coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. From X-ray study of the fly ashes the nature of conglomeration is seen to be crystalline, and the major components are mullite (Al6Si2O13) and quartz (SiO2). The magnetic measurement of the fly ash samples was carried out by SQUID magnetometer. (57)Fe Mössbauer spectra are obtained using a conventional constant-acceleration spectrometer with a (57)Co/Rh Mössbauer source. The hyperfine parameters obtained, in general, support the findings as made from XRD analysis and provide a quantitative measure of different iron ions present in the samples. The paper presents experimental data on the physical aspects of the fly ash samples of the thermal power plants which comprise coarse, fine, and ultrafine magnetic particulate materials and attempts to provide an exhaustive analysis.

Polymer Composites with Quantum Dots as Potential Electrode Materials for Supercapacitors Application: A Review.

Owing to the nanometer size range, Quantum Dots (QDs) have exhibited unique physical and chemical properties which are favourable for different applications. Especially, due to their quantum confinement effect, excellent optoelectronic characteristics is been observed. This considerable progress has not only uplifted the singular usage of QDs, but also encouraged to prepare various hybrid materials to achieve superior efficiency by eliminating certain shortcomings. Such issues can be overcome by compositing QDs with polymers. Via employing polymer composite with QDs (PQDs) for supercapacitor applications, adequate conductivity, stability, excellent energy density, and better specific capacitance is been achieved which we have elaborately discussed in this review. Researchers have already explored various types of polymer nanocomposite with different QDs such as carbonaceous QDs, transition metal oxide/sulphide QDs etc. as electrode material for supercapacitor application. Synthesis, application outcome, benefits, and drawbacks of these are explained to portray a better understanding. From the existing studies it is clearly confirmed that with using PQDs electrical conductivity, electrochemical reactivity, and the charge accumulation on the surface have prominently been improved which effected the fabricated supercapacitor device performance. More comprehensive fundamentals and observations are explained in the current review which indicates their promising scopes in upcoming times.

A preliminary study on the nature of particulate matters in vehicle fuel wastes.

Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tunneling electron microscopy (TEM) studies of two solid vehicle wastes (pollutants) from petrol- and diesel-fueled engines of Kolkata (India) have detected a significant amount of ultrafine particles in the nanometer scale in these wastes. Both powder XRD and selected area electron diffraction from TEM have confirmed the existence of inhomogeneous distribution of nanocrystallites in these pollutants. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry shows that these wastes contain mainly carbon and oxygen as the constituent components. These pollutants are magnetic in nature as seen with SQUID magnetometry, and the presence of a high amount of carbon presumably is likely the origin of the magnetic property.

Structures of aniline(pyrrole)+, aniline(ethanol)+, and aniline-(benzene).

Molecular structures of aniline(pyrrole)+, aniline(ethanol)+, and aniline(benzene)+ produced via resonance two-photon ionization at 266 nm were analyzed by infrared predissociation spectroscopy coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Structural optimization and frequency calculation using density functional theory were carried out to suggest the most probable isomers which are in good agreement with the observed infrared absorption spectra. Intermolecular bonds in the cluster ions were formed such that the electronegative oxygen atom of the solvent molecule or the pi electron of the aromatic ring forms a hydrogen bonding to NH of aniline.

Photoacoustic imaging of nanoparticle- containing cells using single-element focused transducer: a simulation study.

A new theoretical approach for photoacoustic (PA) image simulation of an ensemble of cells with endocytosed gold nanoparticles is presented. Each cell was approximated as a fluid sphere and suspended in a nonabsorbing fluid medium. It was assumed that the cellular optical absorption coefficient changed greatly because of endocytosis of nanoparticles; however, thermophysical parameters remained unchanged because nanoparticles occupied negligible intracellular volume. A frequency-domain method was used to obtain a PA signal from a single cell and resultant signal detected by a focused single-element transducer was evaluated by convolving signals from many cells with the spatial impulse response function of the receiver. The proposed model was explored to simulate PA images of numerical phantoms. It was observed that features of the phantoms are retained precisely in those simulated images. Also, speckles in PA images are significantly suppressed because of strong boundary buildup when cells are bounded to a region. Nevertheless, speckle visibility increases when cells are not bounded to a region. This approach may be developed as a realistic simulation tool for PA imaging of tissue medium utilizing its cellular feature.

Thermally induced single crystal to single crystal transformation leading to polymorphism.

The robust complex [La(1,10-phen)2(NO3)3] (1,10-phen=1,10-phenanthroline) exhibits thermally induced single crystal to single crystal transformation from one polymorphic phase to another. The complex crystallizes in monoclinic C2/c space group with C2 molecular symmetry at 293K while at 100K it shows P21/c space group with C1 molecular symmetry. Supramolecular investigation shows that at 100K the complex forms 2D achiral sheets whereas at 293K forms two different homochiral 2D sheets. Low temperature DSC analysis indicates that this structural transformation occurs at 246K and also this transformation is reversible in nature. We have shown that thermally induced coherent movement of ligands changes the molecular symmetry of the complex and leads to polymorphism. Photoluminescence property of complex has been studied in both solid state and in methanolic solution at room temperature. The effect of the presence low-lying LUMO orbital of π-character in the complex is elucidated by theoretical calculation using DFT method.

Computational investigation on the photoacoustics of malaria infected red blood cells.

A computer simulation study on the possibility of using photoacoustic (PA) technique to differentiate intraerythrocytic stages of malarial parasite is reported. This parasite during its development substantially converts hemoglobin into hemozoin. This conversion is expected to alter the cellular absorption leading to changes in the PA emission of a red blood cell (RBC) at certain incident optical wavelengths. The PA signals from blood samples corresponding to ring, trophozoite and schizont stages were computed and compared with that of normal blood. A Monte Carlo algorithm was implemented generating random locations of RBCs in 3D to simulate blood samples. The average PA amplitude for wide bandwidth signals decreases for 434 nm incident radiation, but increases for 700 nm as the parasite matures. The spectral power at 7.5 MHz for the blood sample at the schizont stage compared to the normal blood is nearly reduced by 6 dB and enhanced by 22 dB at those incident wavelengths, respectively. Bandlimited signals for transducers of 15 and 50 MHz center frequencies were studied and found to exhibit similar characteristics. The presence of hemozoin inside the cells was examined and an excellent estimation was made. The simulation results suggest that intraerythrocytic stages of malarial parasite may be assessed using the PA technique.

Validity of a theoretical model to examine blood oxygenation dependent optoacoustics.

A theoretical model investigating the dependence of optoacoustic (OA) signal on blood oxygen saturation (SO(2)) is discussed. The derivations for the nonbandlimited and bandlimited OA signals from many red blood cells (RBCs) are presented. The OA field generated by many RBCs was obtained by summing the OA field emitted by each RBC approximated as a fluid sphere. A Monte Carlo technique was employed generating the spatial organizations of RBCs in two-dimensional. The RBCs were assumed to have the same SO(2) level in a simulated configuration. The fractional number of oxyhemoglobin molecules, confined in a cell, determined the cellular SO(2) and also defined the blood SO(2). For the nonbandlimited case, the OA signal amplitude decreased and increased linearly with blood SO(2) when illuminated by 700 and 1000 nm radiations, respectively. The power spectra exhibited similar trends over the entire frequency range (MHz to GHz). For the bandlimited case, three acoustic receivers with 2, 10, and 50 MHz as the center frequencies were considered. The linear variations of the OA amplitude with blood SO(2) were also observed for each receiver at those laser sources. The good agreement between simulated and published experimental results validates the model qualitatively.