Sharif Digital Repository

Poly (vinyl alcohol) and nano-diamond, PVA/ND, hydrogels were prepared and assessed as prosthetic material suitable for replacement of the nucleus pulposus. The hydrogels were prepared by gamma irradiation at various doses (15 kGy, 25 kGy, 35 kGy, 45 kGy) and at various ND concentrations ranging from 0.25 wt.% to 3 wt.%. Extent of gelation, equilibrium water content, and viscoelastic properties of swelled hydrogels at definite water contents were measured and examined as a function of ND concentration as well as gamma dose. According to viscoelastic measurements, the strength of hydrogels increased considerably over that of pure PVA at a low concentration of ND. By increasing irradiation... 

In this paper, we consider a multiple-input single-output (MISO) linear time-varying system whose output is a superposition of scaled and time-frequency shifted versions of inputs. The goal of this paper is to determine system characteristics and input signals from the single output signal. More precisely, we want to recover the continuous time-frequency shift pairs, the corresponding (complex-valued) amplitudes and the input signals from only one output vector. This problem arises in a variety of applications such as radar imaging, microscopy, channel estimation and localization problems. While this problem is naturally ill-posed, by constraining the unknown input waveforms to lie in... 

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a 2D layered structure, because of its unique properties has widely attracted many researchers. In this study, by employing physical and chemical methods, not only layers of MoS2 have been intercalated, but also their surface properties enhanced. Low-dimensional and potential properties of intercalated MoS2 nanosheets are the aim of many researches. Here, we report a novel four step method to intercalate the layers of MoS2 nanosheets successfully using acid treatment, sonication, oxidization and thermal shocking. The other goal in this study is to evaluate the cation exchange ability and anticorrosion performance of the Ce3+ doped MoS2 nanosheets. The... 

The effects of hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanosilica (SiO2) on the morphology, mean diameter distribution of fibers, mechanical and piezoelectric properties of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers were studies. We prepared Nanofibers by the electrospinning of PVDF solutions containing 1.5 wt.% both hydrophilic and hydrophobic nano-SiO2 loadings. Morphology and diameter distribution of the electrospun nanofibers were studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis. Tensile test was used to study the effect of both types of nanosilica on the tensile strength, young's modulus and strain at break. Piezoelectric characterization of the electrospun fibers were... 

In this study, the effect of surface modified nano-zirconia (nano-ZrO2) on the corrosion protection of epoxy coating on mild steel was investigated. An organosilane (trimethoxy methyl silane) was used as a surface modifier to improve the dispersability of the inorganic nanoparticles in the organic coating matrix. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the sol-gel surface modified nanoparticles. The dispersability of the modified and unmodified nano-zirconia in an epoxy coating was examined by field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and salt spray were employed to... 

The effects of different nano-SiO2 contents on the rheological properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) solution and mechanical, thermal, structural, and piezoelectric properties of composite nanofibers were investigated. Results showed an increase in fiber diameter (∼125 to 350 nm) and ∼450% increase in tensile strength as the content of nano-SiO2 particles increased. The degree of crystallinity decreased by 19% as the nano-SiO2 content increased by 2% (w/w). Further investigation demonstrated that silica could significantly improve the piezoelectric properties of PVDF nanofibers as the output voltage showed an increase in the presence of silica attributed to change in the crystalline... 

In this study, water-soluble terpolymers containing highly hydrophilic monomers of acrylamide and maleic anhydride and highly hydrophobic monomers of styrene were synthesized (ASM) through the one-step inverse emulsion polymerization. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) were performed to investigate the chemical structures and structural transformations of ASM. Thermal stability and thermal decomposition steps of ASM were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). An Ubbelhode capillary viscometer and a rheological mechanical spectrometer (RMS) were employed to obtain the specific, relative, and... 

In this work, the effects of the surface-modified nanodiamond particles (NDs) on the barrier, rheological, mechanical and thermal properties of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) composites for the packaging applications were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, as well as thermal gravimetric analysis were employed to study the grafting of vinyltriethoxy silane (VTS) on the surface of NDs. Afterwards, EVA samples containing 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 wt% of surface-modified NDs were prepared by a two-stage process including the solution and injection processes. In order to evaluate the physicochemical, rheological, mechanical and thermal properties of the EVA/NDs samples, field... 

In this work, the addition of a novel polyaniline (PANI)/silica (SiO2) nanostructure (PSn) in chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers (CP) was evaluated to enhance the dye removal capacity of CP. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results confirmed the chemical grafting of SiO2 on PANI nanoparticles. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) results showed a specific surface area of 61 m2 g−1 for the PSn filled CP nanofiber (CP-PSn). FE-SEM and EDS-elemental mapping results showed the uniform dispersibility of PSn in CP nanofibers. After the addition of PSn into CP, the adsorption capacity of... 

In this study, the different parts of carthamus tinctorius plant, including petal (SPE), leaf (SLE), and shoot (SSE), have been extracted. Adsorption of the extracts on mild steel in 3.5 wt. % NaCl solution was evaluated employing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical noise measurements (EN). The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) were employed to appraise the morphology of the samples surface subjected to the test solutions. According to the EIS results, the maximum adsorption efficiency belonged to the solution containing 1 g L−1 of... 

This study reports the fabrication of a new cathode electrode assembly using polyaniline (PANI) and graphene on a stainless steel mesh (SSM) as an alternative for the conventional expensive cathode of microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). With respect to the previous efforts to propose an efficient and cost-effective alternative for platinum (Pt) catalysts and cathode electrodes, the present study investigates the assessment of different catalysts to elucidate the potential of the modified SSM cathode electrode for larger-scale MECs. In the case of feeding dairy wastewater to the MEC, the maximum hydrogen production rate and COD removal were obtained by SSM/PANI/graphene cathode and had the... 

In this article, the synthesis procedure of mesoporous carbon nanospheres (MCNSs) using silica hard-templates, doping of the nanospheres with walnut extract, and their impact on active protective properties of an epoxy coating are presented. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) results showed that the synthesis of these nanocontainers was successfully done in spherical form. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) results showed that walnut extract as a green inhibitor was doped into the pores of nanocapsules. Corrosion resistance of the mild steel samples in the 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution in the presence and absence of walnut extract... 

The present study is concerned with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of turbulent dispersion of immiscible liquids, namely, water–silicone oil and water–benzene through Kenics static mixers using the Eulerian–Eulerian and Eulerian–Lagrangian approaches of the ANSYS Fluent 16.0 software. To study the droplet size distribution (DSD), the Eulerian formulation incorporating a population balance model (PBM) was employed. For the Eulerian–Lagrangian approach, a discrete phase model (DPM) in conjunction with the Eulerian approach for continuous phase simulation was used to predict the residence time distribution (RTD) of droplets. In both approaches, a shear stress transport (SST)... 

The flow and mixing behavior of two miscible liquids has been studied in an innovative static mixer by using CFD, with Reynolds numbers ranging from 20 to 160. The performance of the new mixer is compared with those of Kenics, SMX, and Komax static mixers. The pressure drop ratio (Z-factor), coefficient of variation (CoV), and extensional efficiency (α) features have been used to evaluate power consumption, distributive mixing, and dispersive mixing performances, respectively, in all mixers. The model is firstly validated based on experimental data measured for the pressure drop ratio and the coefficient of variation. CFD results are consistent with measured data and those obtained by... 

In this study, reinforcement of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) was investigated using the sol-gel surface modified diamond nanoparticles (NDs). Nanocomposite samples were synthesized via in-situ polymerization using bi-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and contact angle measurements proved the proper silanization (∼1.9%) of NDs. Characterization of the catalysts revealed decrease in the activity of catalysts in presence of NDs which were responsible for the lower average molecular weight of the samples. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed an improved dispersion of the modified NDs in... 

Graphene-based carbon hollow spheres (CHSs) fabrication, doped with 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (MBI) was successfully done in previous work. The active/barrier corrosion protection performance (CPP) of epoxy coatings was evaluated using salt spray test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET). Results proved the active/barrier CPP enhancement of epoxy coatings in the presence of 3 wt. % MBI@CHSs. While the presence of MBI and empty CHSs in epoxy coatings did not further improve the active performance. An improvement in the adhesion loss of the epoxy coating, ca. 58 %, was observed in the presence of 3 wt. % MBI@CHSs. © 2021  

The high aspect ratio and unique thermal and electrical characteristics of carbon nanofiber (CNF) made it an ideal physical barrier against the penetration of corrosive ions. However, the poor compatibility of the CNF with the polymer matrix and the lack of active corrosion inhibitors are the key limitations of this nanomaterial, resulting in short-term anti-corrosion resistance. An intelligent self-healing epoxy (EP) coating, including CNF modified with a polydopamine (PDA)-La3+ complex, was successfully fabricated to overcome these issues. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) evaluation implied that mild steel (MS) submerged in a 3.5 wt % NaCl solution containing the CNF-PDA-La... 

Polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) nanocomposites for wood adhesives containing different amounts of colloidal silica nanoparticles (CSNs) were synthesized via in situ one-step emulsion polymerization. The adhesion strength of wood specimens bonded by PVAc nanocomposites was investigated by the tensile test. Thermal properties of PVAc nanocomposites were also characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Rheological and morphological properties of the PVAc nanocomposites were investigated using rheometric mechanical spectrometry and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), respectively. The obtaining results showed that the shear strength of PVAc... 

Carbon nanocapsules doped separately with epoxy and polyamine were used to fabricate an epoxy nanocomposite coating. Carbon nanospheres with dual-encapsulated epoxy/polyamine were dispersed uniformly in the epoxy resin at concentrations of 2, 5, and 10 wt %. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were studied by tensile testing and scratch hardness measurements. Furthermore, nanocomposites were applied on mild steel substrates, and their corrosion protection and barrier performance were evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Adhesion loss measurements of coatings after 240 h exposure to 3.5 wt % NaCl solution were performed by pull-off adhesion testing. Also,... 

Seawater, which has been frequently applied in cooling and injection water systems, imposes severe pitting corrosion to mild steel. Addition of green and sustainable inhibitors based on renewable sources is one of the promising methodologies for restricting metal corrosion in chloride-containing electrolytes. In this study, for the first time, from both theoretical and experimental faces, the role of Juglans regia green fruit shell (JRS) extract as a sustainable potent corrosion inhibitor for mild steel was studied. The chemical structure of the JRS extract was deliberated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). By electrochemical techniques including polarization, EIS and...