Sharif Digital Repository

Separators are one of the most critically important components of lithium-ion batteries to ensure the safe performance of the battery. Commercial polyolefin separators have high thermal shrinkage and low electrolyte uptake, which confines the application of the battery. By using the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) method, we successfully prepared HDPE/sepiolite nanocomposite separators with high thermal stability and electrolyte wettability. The sepiolite nanofibers are modified with the Vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) as a coupling agent for better dispersion and interaction in the HDPE matrix. The purpose of fabricating this separator is to decrease the thermal shrinkage and... 

In this work, cycling-induced aging occurring in 18650-type LiFePO4/graphite full cells at different C-rates is studied extensively. The mechanism of performance degradation is investigated using a combination of electrochemical and microstructural analyses. Half-cell studies are carried out after dismantling the full cells, using fresh and cycled LiFePO4 cathode and graphite anode to independently study them. The results show that the capacity of LiFePO4 electrodes is significantly recovered. The rate of capacity fading in the discharge state considered as irreversible capacity in the graphite is higher than LiFePO4 half cells, indicating a greater degradation in the performance of this... 

In this work, cycling-induced aging occurring in 18650-type LiFePO4/graphite full cells at different C-rates is studied extensively. The mechanism of performance degradation is investigated using a combination of electrochemical and microstructural analyses. Half-cell studies are carried out after dismantling the full cells, using fresh and cycled LiFePO4 cathode and graphite anode to independently study them. The results show that the capacity of LiFePO4 electrodes is significantly recovered. The rate of capacity fading in the discharge state considered as irreversible capacity in the graphite is higher than LiFePO4 half cells, indicating a greater degradation in the performance of this... 

Optical fibers, in particular, glass fibers, are mostly used in the field of optical communication, however in recent years new optical sensors based on the optical fibers have been reported in literature and produced commercially. Extrinsic and intrinsic character of the fibers have been implemented in development of such sensing devices. Glass Optical Fibers (GOF) because of low attenuation are more suitable for the optical communication purposes while Plastic Optical Fibers are advantageous for the linking purpose and some sensing operations. Considering this point different (POF) optical fiber sensors have been developed by author to show potential applications of POFs in sensor... 

By making aligned and suspended copper nanowires, a high performance, transferable, and flexible transparent electrode is reported. Indium tin oxide is often used in devices such as displays, solar cells, and touchscreens that require transparent and conductive plates. Because of problems such as brittleness, high cost, and environmental effects, this material is facing rivals, the most serious of which are metallic nanowire meshes, especially copper. We developed a simple technique which uses a U-shaped collector in the electrospinning process with three advantages including the enhancement of the figure of merit (which is related to the surface resistance Rs and the transmittance T) by... 

Cordierite monolith were prepared by acid treatment followed by coating of the CNT onto it through the catalytic chemical-vapor deposition. The resulting material was used as support for the HDS catalyst onto which deposited Co and Mo species. These materials were utilized in an HDS reaction in which naphtha was fed into a concurrent fixed-bed of stainless steel reactor with 1cm ID. The CNT-cordierite monolith was stable and effective as catalyst support possessing desirable specific surface area, suitable pore-size distribution, and good attachment of the CNTs onto the substrate. HDS monolithic catalysts with the same significance (i.e.; activity > 90%) as the powder catalysts were... 

In the present study, an acid treatment of the cordierite monolith followed by coating of the CNT onto it by means of catalytic chemical-vapor deposition (CCVD) of methane over CoMo catalyst was performed. The resulting material utilized as the supports for the HDS catalyst onto which was deposited Co and Mo species. The as-prepared samples were characterized by the BET, XRD, FESEM and ICP-MS techniques. BET experiments showed that a significant increase in specific surface area and pore volume was observed, and a suitable pore size distribution was obtained after acid pretreatment. The FESEM images of CNT coated monolith showed that CNTs were distributed uniformly on the surface of monolith... 

Highly active unsupported MoO3 and Co -MoO3 catalysts were prepared by a simple solution reaction method in the presence of different organic additives. Catalysts were characterized by the XRD, BET surface area measurement, SEM and TEM techniques. Results suggested that utilizing different additives produced different morphologies OfMoO3 microstructures. Optimizing reaction conditions was found to produce more active molybdenum oxide nanoparticles when urea and PEG200 additives were utilized. XRD and TEM results indicated crystal growth restriction after cobalt incorporation. Catalytic activities of prepared materials were evaluated in the hydrodesulfurization reaction of Naphtha. Products... 

Molybdenum oxide nanostructures were synthesized utilizing the solution combustion method where the ammonium molybdate powder and an organic additive were used as precursors. Different organic additives including ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG 200), sorbitol and urea were used as surfactants in order to investigate the effect of additive structure on morphology and particle size of products. Also various reaction parameters such as the additive/Mo molar ratio, concentration of metal ion in solution, pH of the reaction, and temperature of the synthesis media were changed to study effects on product morphology and size. Outcomes were characterized by... 

In order to produce a thick near equi-atomic NiTi intermetallic layer on the surface of titanium plate, layers of nickel with thicknesses of 30 μm and 60 μm were electroplated on commercial pure (Cp) titanium and subsequently were heat treated at 850°C and 900°C. The effects of heat treating temperature and the thickness of electroplated nickel on the evolution of the microstructure and mechanical properties were studied. The results confirm the formation of various intermetallic layers in the coatings that substantially affect their hardness. The optimum condition for the formation of a thick NiTi intermetallic layer on the outer surface of the titanium was diffusion treatment of the sample... 

Two-step sintering (TSS) was applied to suppress the accelerated grain growth of sub-micron (∼150 nm) alumina powder. The application of an optimum TSS regime led to a remarkable decrease of grain size down to ∼500 nm; while the grain size of the full-dense structures produced by conventional sintering ranged between 1 and 2 μm. To find how important the temperatures at sintering steps might be, several TSS regimes were conducted. The results showed that the temperatures at both sintering steps play vital roles in densification and grain growth of the alumina compacts. Based on the results, the optimum regime consisted of heating the green bodies up to 1250 °C (first step) and then holding... 

In this paper, the impact of three parameters including nanoparticles geometry, particles aggregation and borehole inclination on induced formation damage from water based drilling fluids were investigated by means of experimental studies. Accordingly, we designed a dynamic filtration setup capable to rotate and change well inclination. Nano-based drilling fluids consisting of spherical, cubical and tubular shapes nanoparticles as fluid loss additives were used. Mud cake quality, core permeability impairment and degree of formation damage at various well inclinations were examined. The cluster structure of aggregated particles were determined using fractal theory and applying dynamic light... 

During recent years, many investigations have been carried out to determine how to select different materials for the making of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and bio-MEMS. The NiTi shape memory alloy thin film has been much regarded as a promising candidate for MEMS due. to its unique shape memory effect and high energy output. In this research, NiTi thin film was fabricated using a sputtering technique from separate elemental Ni and Ti targets. The characterizations of the deposited films were, investigated using different analysis techniques, such as Field Emission SEM, DSC, XR.D, electrical resistivity measurement and nanoindentation. © Sharif University of Technology, June 2009... 

This paper investigates the mixture of hybrid nanofluid (NF) flow between two concentric cylinders numerically. Ethylene glycol (80%) and water (20%) comprise the base fluid. Additionally, copper oxide (CuO) and silver (Ag) NPs are added. The hybrid NF flows between the two coaxial cylinders is studied. The inner cylinder is fixed and the outer cylinder is rotating. A radial magnetic field also affects fluid flow, and joule heating joule heating is also considered. The transformed system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations is solved numerically using the fifth-order Runge-Kutta method. Numerical solutions are obtained for fluid velocity and velocity gradient, fluid temperature and... 

Analysis of an extensive air shower (EAS) detected by surface arrays highly depends on the determination of core locations. Here we present a new method to find the core location of an EAS that, unlike the common methods, does not depend on the lateral distribution function and uses arrival times of secondary particles. This method improves the accuracy of finding the core location of a low-energy EAS in the internal parts of an array, in comparison with common methods  

The most important goal of studying an extensive air shower is to find the energy, mass and arrival direction of its primary cosmic ray. In order to find these parameters, the core position and arrival direction of the shower should be determined. In this paper, a new method for finding core location has been introduced that utilizes trigger time information of particle detectors. We have also developed a simple technique to reconstruct the arrival direction. Our method is not based upon density-sensitive detectors which are sensitive to the number of crossing particles and is also independent of lateral distribution models. This model has been developed and examined by the analysis of... 

Fe-Ni nano-particles were synthesized by mechanical alloying and subsequent low-temperature hydrogen reduction of oxide mixtures. First, single-phase nickel ferrite was mechanically synthesized for 30 h with steel balls to powder weight ratio of 20 while the milling was operated at 300 rpm. The as-milled powder was then placed in contact with hydrogen at 600 °C for 1 h. Reduction reactions resulted in production of Fe-Ni nano-particles. Phase identification, morphological and microstructural studies, chemical analysis and magnetic property determination were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transition electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive... 

Effect of thermal conduction on radiation from a single cavitating bubble has been studied in a hydrochemical framework including variation of heat conductivity of noble gases up to 2500 K. Results of numerical simulation show that thermal conductivity plays an important role in determining ultimate cavitation temperature. Higher thermal conductivity of lighter noble gases causes to more thermal dissipation during the bubble collapse, leading to a lower peak temperature. Moreover, at the same driving conditions, radius of light emitting region is greater for heavier noble bubbles. Therefore, sonoluminescence radiation is more intensive from heavier noble gases. Phase diagrams of... 

One-dimensional nanostructures of tin oxide nanotubes were fabricated by carbothermal evaporation at 900°C in air. The synthesized film was grown on Au-coated (100) Si substrate. Heterogeneous catalysis by Au/Sn droplets assisted the formation of the tin oxide nanotubes of less than 40 nm diameter at Sn vapor pressures around 1.4×10 -7 Pa. In order to reduce the nanotube diameter further, an increase in the Sn vapor pressure by changing the source materials' ratio seemed viable. © 2009 Springer-Verlag