Mohamed Shahin Thayyil

Molecular dynamics, physical and thermal stability of neat amorphous amlodipine besylate and in binary mixture

ABSTRACT In this paper, a stable amorphous solid dispersion of an antihypertensive drug, amlodipine besylate (AMB) was prepared by entrapping it in a polymer matrix, polyvinyl pyrrollidone, in different weight ratios (AMB/PVP 05:95, 10:90, 20:80, 30:70). The glass forming ability of all binary dispersions were studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry and found good correlation between experimental Tg and Fox Florys prediction. By considering the daily dosage limit of 5mg, a weight ratio of 05:95 was further considered for the study. The structures of neat and binary of AMB were characterized by density functional theory, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy and UV–visible spectroscopy. Further, detailed molecular dynamics of both pure and binary were investigated using broadband dielectric spectroscopy to judge the physical stability of the amorphous dispersions. Translation‐rotation coupling of AMB possibly explains the dual conductivity and dipolar nature of the secondary relaxation in neat AMB. Thus, the binary dispersion of AMB with commercially acceptable weight ratio with strong glass forming behaviour and better shelf life was prepared and characterized for practical applications.

Photoluminescent behavior of propylene carbonate and poly (methylmethacrylate) blend for transparent optoelectronic devices

Polymer blend formed by propylene carbonate with poly (methylmethacrylate) bypassed the degradation of PMMA. The miscibility of the blend was studied by SEM and XRD. The transparency and also the absorbance of the film were measured victimization UV-Vis spectroscopy and showed that it is transparent above 90%. It was found from the emission spectroscopy that, it exhibits strong luminescence. Thus, the blend can be used as a matrix to entrap novel conducting materials (rare earth metals, complexes, ionic liquids, conducting materials etc.,) to get a stable miscible, transparent, conducting and luminescent glass film for optoelectronic devices.

Electrochemical Investigation of Activated Carbon Electrode Supercapacitors

Supercapacitors, also called as ultracapacitors, are electrochemical energy-storage devices that exploit the electrostatic interaction between high-surface-area nanoporous electrodes and electrolyte ions, combining properties of conventional batteries and conventional capacitors. A symmetrical activated carbon (AC) electrode supercapacitor has been fabricated in a simple and inexpensive manner. The AC has been synthesized from Charcoal, has activated in a furnace at high temperatures. The electrode was fabricated by casting slurry made of AC and blended in a polymer solution on the counter electrode (current collector), appeared to have high mechanical strength. The electrochemical performance of the prepared samples was tested in 1 M KCl solution by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge discharge technique, and impedance spectroscopy. The surface and cross-section of electrode was observed with SEM. Capacitance of fabricated supercapacitor has a favorable capacitance in the range of 65–70 F/g with low resistance. The AC electrode supercapacitor has excellent electro chemical reversibility, good cycle stability with a low fading rate of specific capacitance even after 500 cycles, which is promising for energy storage applications.

Molecular dynamics and the translational–rotational coupling of an ionically conducting glass-former: amlodipine besylate

We studied the conductivity relaxation originating from a glass-former composed of cations and anions, and the relation to the structural α-relaxation at temperatures above and below the glass transition temperature. The material chosen was amorphous amlodipine besylate (AMB), which is also a pharmaceutical with a complex chemical structure. Measurements were made using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and X-ray diffraction, and the characterization was assisted using density functional theory (DFT). The X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the amorphous nature of vitrified AMB. Both the ionic and dipolar aspects of the dynamics of AMB were examined using these measurements and were used to probe the nature of the secondary conductivity and dipolar relaxations and their relation to the conductivity α-relaxation and the structural α-relaxation. The coupling model predictions and quantum mechanical simulations were used side by side to reveal the properties and nature of the secondary conductivity relaxation and the secondary dipolar relaxation. Remarkably, the two secondary relaxations have the same relaxation times, and are one and the same process performing dual roles in conductivity and dipolar relaxations. This is caused by the translation–rotation coupling of the AMB molecule. Thus, AMB has both conductivity α- and β-relaxations, and application of the coupling model shows that these two relaxations are related in the same way as the structural α-relaxation and the Johari–Goldstein β-relaxation are. This important result has an impact on the fundamental understanding of the dynamics of ionic conductivity.