Synthesis of a heterojunction CoTiO3/Co3O4 nano-composite thin film with superior photocatalytic activity and reusability: Effect of calcination temperature on phase transformation and effect of oxidants on enhanced degradation of Indo Light Blue dye.

CoTiO3/Co3O4 heterojunction nano-composite was grown by a coprecipitation method at low temperature. The effects of calcination temperature on the phase composition, crystallization and morphology of the cobalt titanates were also examined. Notably, the novel nano-crystalline cobalt titanate with a narrow band gap to coulpe with cobalt oxide (Co3O4) by a direct coprecipitation method (CoTiO3/Co3O4) was attained. The Nano-crystalline samples were systematically characterized by TG/DTG, XRD, DRS, FESEM, FT-IR, EDX and XPS techniques. The results showed that CoTiO3/Co3O4 nano-composite hetero-junction was formed at 650 °C, while at 750 °C a single phase CoTiO3 nano-crystal was prepared. Photocatalytic activities indicated the heterostructured CoTiO3/Co3O4 nano-composite exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity for degradation of Indo Light blue under visible light irradiation with added oxidants (K2S2O8, KBrO3, and H2O2). The charge separation of CoTiO3 and Co3O4 would result the enhanced visible-light harvesting ability and longer lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers. The stability and reusability of catalysts during four successive cycles were resulted. Finally, a possible mechanism responsible for the charge separation and improved photocatalytic activity was proposed.

X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopic study of trans-bis(acetylacetonato)-bis(4-methylpyridine)cobalt(III).

Trans-bis(acetylacetonato)-bis(4-methylpyridine)cobalt(III)hexafluorophosphate, [AMPC]PF6, was synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy. The title compound C22H28N2O4Co crystallizes with Z=2 in space group P-1 (#2). The molecular structure and vibrational spectra of this compound were investigated by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and the results were compared with the experimental data. The measured IR bands were interpreted in terms of the calculated vibrational normal modes and compared with the tris(acetylacetonate)Co(III) (Co(acac)3) and 4-methylpyridine (4-Mepy) vibrational spectra. The scaled theoretical wavenumbers and the structural parameters were in excellent agreement with the experimental data.

Computational and spectroscopic studies of a new Schiff base 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzylidene(2-hydroxyphenyl)amine and molecular structure of its corresponding zwitterionic form.

Computational and spectroscopic properties of a novel Schiff base compound, 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzylidene(2-hydroxyphenyl)amine were studied. The crystal structures of the title compound and its corresponding zwitterionic form were analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The presence of N-H, C-O and C=N stretching vibrations in IR spectrum strongly suggest that the title compound has zwitterionic form in the solid state. Molecular geometry of the title compound in the ground state has been calculated using the density functional method (DFT) at B3LYP 6-31++G(d,p) basis set and was compared with the experimental data. The calculated results of the title compound show that the optimized geometry can well reproduce the crystal structure. The molecule shows absorption bands at 345 and 363 nm in EtOH. The shoulder-shaped bands at 415 nm can be assigned to n→π(*) transitions. The absorption band is observed at 285 nm in EtOH corresponds to the π→π(*) transitions.

Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and crystal structure of novel NNNN-donor µ-bis(bidentate) tetraaza acyclic Schiff base ligands.

Novel NNNN-donor µ-bis(bidentate) tetraaza acyclic Schiff base ligands with different substituents (CF(3), N(CH(3))(2) or OH groups) were synthesized by the condensation reaction of triethylenetetramine with 4-substituted benzaldehydes. Triethylenetetramine tris(4-trifluoromethylbenzylidene) (TTFMB), triethylenetetramine tris(4-dimethylaminobenzylidene) (TTDMB) and triethylenetetramine tris(2,4-dihydroxybenzylidene) (TTDHB) were formed as N(4) donor ligands. The formation of a five-membered imidazolidine ring from the ethylenediamine backbone as a spacer-cumbridging unit gives rise to a new type of imidazolidine ligand. The structure of the TTFMB and TTDMB were determined by single crystal X-ray crystallography. The synthesized ligands have been characterized on the basis of the results of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and spectroscopic studies viz. FT-IR spectroscopy (FT-IR), mass spectroscopy (MS) and UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV-Vis).