Multiferroic properties of Ba(FexTi1 − x)O3 nanorods

Multiferroic Ba(Fe_xTi_1 ? x)O₃ (BFT) nanorods were prepared by a chemical route using polyvinyl alcohol as surfactant. The presence of PVA in excess is responsible to convert cubic or spherical shaped nanoparticles into rodlike structure. Tetragonal phase and nano dimensions in the form of rods of BFT specimens are identified. These BFT nanorods show improvement in the coexistence of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism of multiferroic properties than their nanoparticles. The effect of low dimensions of BFT rods to control dielectric constant with low loss up to higher frequency region has been observed. With 1% of Fe-doping BFT shows higher value of spontaneous polarization, saturation magnetization and dielectric constant than with other dopants.     

Relationships between various physicochemical,thermal and rheological properties of starches separated from different potato cultivars

Various physicochemical, thermal and rheological properties of starches separated from Indian potato cultivars were related to each other using the Pearson correlation. Amylose content, water‐binding capacity (WBC), swelling power, solubility, ash content, transmittance, syneresis and consistency coefficient (K) were determined. Amylose content was significantly correlated with swelling power (r = 0.904), transmittance (r = 0.656) and syneresis (r = 0.777) of the starches. Thermal properties such as transition temperatures (T_o, T_p and T_c), gelatinisation range (R), gelatinisation enthalpy (ΔH_gel) and peak height index (PHI) of the starches were measured using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). T_o, T_p and T_c were positively correlated with swelling power and negatively correlated with solubility and WBC. PHI was positively correlated with WBC and negatively correlated with ash content and swelling power. R had a negative correlation with WBC (r = ?0.726) and PHI (r = ?0.737). A positive correlation between R and T_c was observed. WBC was negatively correlated with swelling power (r = ?0.749). Syneresis of potato starches was positively correlated with transmittance, ash content, swelling power and amylose content. K was positively correlated with amylose content (r = 0.587). The results showed a significant variation in various functional and thermal properties of starches separated from different potato cultivars. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of cross‐linking on some properties of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) starches

Starches separated from different potato cultivars were modified using two different cross‐linking agents: epichlorohydrin (EPI) and phosphoryl chloride (POCl₃) at different concentrations (1.0 and 2.0 g kg^?1 POCl₃; 2.5, 5.0 and 10 g kg^?1 EPI). Differential scanning calorimetry, rheological and retrogradation measurements were performed to characterise the influence of cross‐linking on the properties of potato starches. Cross‐linking considerably reduced swelling power, solubility, water‐binding capacity and paste clarity. The decrease became greater as the reagent concentration increased. The starches treated with 1.0 g kg^?1 POCl₃ exhibited exceptionally higher swelling power than their counterpart native starches. Neither cross‐linking agent caused any change in morphology of the starch granules. Studies on the phase transitions associated with the gelatinisation showed significantly higher values for the onset temperature (T_o), peak temperature (T_p), conclusion temperature (T_c) and enthalpy of gelatinisation (ΔH_gel) for the cross‐linked starches than the native starches. Starches treated with both the reagents showed lower peak storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) than their native counterparts. The tendency of the starch pastes towards retrogradation increased considerably with increases in storage duration. However, the starches treated with 1 g kg^?1 POCl₃ exhibited much lower syneresis than the other cross‐linked starches. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Color Generation and Refractive Index Sensing Using Diffraction from 2D Silicon Nanowire Arrays

Tunable structural color generation from vertical silicon nanowires arranged in different square lattices is demonstrated. The generated colors are adjustable using well‐defined Bragg diffraction theory, and only depend on the lattice spacing and angles of incidence. Vivid colors spanning from bright red to blue are easily achieved. In keeping with this, a single square lattice of silicon nanowires is also able to produce different colors spanning the entire visible range. It is also shown that the 2D gratings also have a third grating direction when rotated 45 degrees. These simple and elegant solutions to color generation from silicon are used to demonstrate a cost‐effective refractive index sensor. The sensor works by measuring color changes resulting from changes in the refractive index of the medium surrounding the nanowires using a trichromatic RGB decomposition. Moreover, the sensor produces linear responses in the trichromatic decomposition values versus the surrounding medium index. An index resolution of 10^?4 is achieved by performing basic image processing on the collected images, without the need for a laser or a spectrometer. Spectral analysis enables an increase in the index resolution of the sensor to a value of 10^?6, with a sensitivity of 400 nm/RIU.     

Chelation and calcination promoted preparation of perovskite-structured BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanoparticles: a novel magnetic catalyst for the synthesis of dihydro-2-oxypyrroles

Perovskite-structured Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) nanoparticles as a novel heterogeneous catalyst were designed by an auto combustion route using a different chelating agent and calcination temperature. The effect of different chelating agents like disaccharide (sucrose), α-hydroxy acid (citric acid, tartaric acid), amide (urea) and calcination (150–750 °C) temperature on structure and the catalytic performance of BiFeO₃ have been analyzed. The catalytic performance of BiFeO₃ has been increased by modifying its synthesis with the addition of suitable organic compound and calcination. BiFeO₃ synthesized without the use of chelating agent gave very poor yield, i.e., 36.89%. The augmented effect of the chelating agent on the catalytic performance of BiFeO₃ was obtained in the order of blank < tartaric acid < sucrose < urea < citric acid, whereas the enhancing effect of calcination temperature in the order 150 °C < 450 °C < 550 °C < 650 °C > 750 °C. The calcination temperature results in augmentation in yield of approximately 30% with model reaction on increasing temperature from 150 to 650 °C. Different calcination temperatures (150–750 °C) have been employed to obtain single phase BiFeO₃ nanoparticles. All synthesized BiFeO₃ nanoparticles were fully characterized by FT-IR; XRD; VSM; BET; TGA; XPS and Raman spectroscopy. For the very first time ever we have used them as a recyclable magnetic nanocatalyst in the formation of highly substituted dihydro-2-oxypyrrole by using one-pot, three-component reaction of DMAD, aniline and formaldehyde in methanol at room temperature with 63–88% yield. All the synthesized oxypyrroles have been characterized by various spectroscopic techniques.     

Investigations for mechanical properties and biocompatibility of SS-316L implant prepared as rapid investment casting for batch production

In this work, a detailed procedure for the development of biomedical implant (SS-316L) by combining fused deposition modeling (FDM), chemical vapor smoothing (CVS), silicon molding (SM) and investment casting (IC) for batch production has been outlined. In spite of being biocompatible and bioactive within the body, the implant must possess good surface quality and dimensional accuracy along with sufficient hardness in order to reduce the wear inside the body. So in this research work, investigations have been made on the surface finish, dimensional accuracy and hardness of the implants by varying two controllable factors of the IC process (drying time of primary coating and mould thickness). The tolerance grades for the selected dimension of the casted implants were within the allowable range as defined in UNI EN 20286-I (1995) standard of ISO. The process capability indices (C_p and C_pk) values greater than 1.33 for the surface hardness and radial dimension indicated that the proposed process is statistically controlled. Further, in order to evaluate the biocompatibility, an in vitro study was conducted to ensure the attachment of mouse embryonic fibroblasts cells (NIH-3T3) to the casted samples. The results of invitro study indicated that samples were capable of supporting cell adhesion and cell proliferation and hence can be used for tissue engineering.     

CPW fed miniaturized dual‐band short‐ended metamaterial antenna using modified split‐ring resonator for wireless application

A miniaturized dual‐band metamaterial (MTM) antenna has been designed in this article. The designed coplanar waveguide fed antenna has composed of inner split‐ring resonator and an outer open ring resonator with rectangular stub. The series parameter of the antenna is used to determine the zeroth order resonance frequency due to short‐ended boundary condition. The whole size of proposed structure is 20 × 25.5 mm². This MTM antenna exhibits dual‐band operation at 3.17 GHz (3.1–3.22 GHz) and 5.39 GHz (5.27–5.47 GHz). The proposed MTM structure achieves measured peak gain of 0.71 and 1.89 dB at 3.17 and 5.39 GHz, respectively. The proposed antenna can be used for recent radio communication in form of S‐band application and Wi‐MAX.     

Corrosion resistance properties of Ormosil coatings on 2024-T3 aluminum alloy

The corrosion resistance behavior of organically modified silane (Ormosil) thin films on 2024-T3 aluminum alloy substrates was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and accelerated salt spray analysis techniques. Coatings were prepared containing 0–16.6 vol.% alkyl-modified silane, X_n---Si(OR)_4−n, where X=methyl, dimethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, i-butyl, n-hexyl, n-octyl, or i-octyl. Coating thicknesses were measured to be in the 6–16 μm range, with the thickest coatings being observed for the highest concentrations of alkyl-modified silane. Contact angle measurements showed an enhancement in hydrophobicity of the Ormosil film imparted by increasing size and concentration of the alkyl-modifiers in the coating. In general, corrosion resistance characteristics, as determined using EIS and salt spray techniques, were found to increase with increasing alkyl-modified silane concentration and alkyl chain length. The best overall corrosion resistance was observed for coating systems containing ≥10.4 vol.% alkyl-modified silane; the hexyl-modified films exhibited corrosion resistance properties superior to the other Ormosil coatings. Immersion studies conducted in 0.5 M K₂SO₄ indicated that coating degradation occurs via hydration of the dense linear chain silicate network leading to the formation of porous cyclic structures.