Sharif Digital Repository

The knowledge of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) has expanded considerably in recent years. They are multiparameter and complex systems that work only if various parameters are tuned simultaneously. This makes it difficult to target to a single parameter to improve the efficiency. There is a wealth of knowledge concerning different DSC structures and characteristics. In this review, the present knowledge and recent achievements are surveyed with emphasis on the more promising cell materials and designs  

A red pigment has been prepared by substituting chromium ions in aluminum ion sites in YAlO3 perovskite structure. In a first step, effect of various mineralizers on YAlO3 formation has been investigated, which resulted in decrease of formation temperature down to 1400 °C. In the next step, a red pigment corresponding to YAl1-yCryO3 (y = 0.05), has been prepared by heating a mixture containing Y2O3, Al2O3 and Cr2O3 at 1500 °C for 6 h. Later, effect of the doped chromium amount on the pigment redness (a*) has been studied. The highest redness has been obtained when y was 0.04(YAl1-yCryO3). Application of the prepared red pigment in low and high temperature glazes, demonstrated its high... 

Luminescence downshifting (LDS) of light can be a practical photon management technique to compensate the narrow absorption band of high-extinction-coefficient dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Herein, an optical analysis on the loss mechanisms in a reflective LDS (R-LDS)/DSSC configuration is reported. For squaraine dye (550-700 nm absorption band) and CaAlSiN3:Eu2+ LDS material (550-700 nm emission band), the major loss channels are found to be non-unity luminescence quantum efficiency (QE) and electrolyte absorption. By using an ideal LDS layer (QE=100 %), a less absorbing electrolyte (Co-based), and antireflection coatings, approximately 20% better light harvesting is obtained.... 

Abstract Inorganic NiTiO3 nano-pigments have received recent attentions as possible candidates for cool pigment materials to be used in building roofs and facades. In this paper, we have attempted to develop an innovative low temperature (50 °C) synthesis pathway for obtaining NiTiO3 nanocrystals based on an ultrasound-assisted wet chemical processing method. The crystallite size, average particle size and band gap are found to be 11 nm, in the range of 10-20 nm and 3.72 eV, respectively. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) reflectance spectra show that NiTiO3 nanoparticles have a high reflection peak at ∼580 nm, which is associated with the brilliant yellow color... 

Inorganic NiTiO3 nano-pigments have received recent attentions as possible candidates for cool materials to be used in building roofs and facades. In this paper, we have attempted to develop an innovative low temperature pathway (processed at 50 °C) for obtaining NiTiO3 nanocrystals by an ultrasound-assisted wet chemical processing method. Different characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) were used in order to characterize the size, morphology and optical responses of the obtained NiTiO3... 

Depending on the type of dopant metal, many kinds of zircon based pigments are produced and blue vanadium pigment is the most important one of them. In this study, blue zircon ceramic pigments were synthesized from intermediate product, resulting from decomposition of zircon sand with NaOH. In this regard, various amounts of sulfuric acid, water, NH4VO3 as colorant, NaF as mineralizer and extra quartz were added to the prepared Na 2ZrSiO5. Role of quartz was to omit the repercussions of presence of free zirconia in the composition. The main objective of this work is to assess various reactions at different temperatures during blue pigment synthesis. Phase analysis was done by X ray... 

This study was designed to compare one-step, two-step and spent medium bioleaching of spent catalyst by adapted Penecillum simplicissimum in batch cultures. Penecillum simplicissimum which was adapted to heavy metal ions Ni, Mo, Fe, and W grew in the presence of up to 5 %w/v of spent catalyst in the medium. The main lixiviant in bioleaching was gluconic acid which was produced mainly in present and absence of spent catalyst. A total of 3 %w/v spent catalyst generally gave maximum extraction yields in two-step bioleaching process, which the amounts of leached metals were 100 % of W, 100 % of Fe, 92.7 % of Mo, 66.43 % of Ni, and 25 % of Al. The red pigment produced by fungus could also... 

Despite several different measures of efficiency that are applicable to the photosynthetic systems, a precise degree of efficiency of these systems is not completely determined. Introducing an efficient model for the dynamics of light-harvesting complexes in biological environments is a major purpose in investigating such systems. Here, we investigate the effect of macroscopic quantum behavior of a system of two pigments on the transport phenomena in this system model which interacts with an oscillating environment. We use the second-order perturbation theory to calculate the time-dependent population of excitonic states of a two-dimensional Hamiltonian using a non-master equation approach.... 

Here in this study, successful conversion of visible light into electricity has been achieved through utilizing microalgal pigments as a sensitizer of nanostructured photo-electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). For the first time, photosynthetic pigments extracted from microalgae grown in wastewater is employed to imitate photosynthesis process in bio-molecule-sensitized solar cells. Two designs of photoanode were employed: 10μm nanoparticular TiO2 electrode and 20μm long self-ordered, vertically oriented nanotube arrays of titanium dioxide films. Microalgal photosynthetic pigments are loaded on nanostructured electrodes and their photovoltaic performances have been investigated.... 

Adaptation of Penicillium simplicissimum with different heavy metals present in a spent hydrocracking catalyst, as well as one-step, two-step, and spent medium bioleaching of the spent catalyst by the adapted fungus, was examined in batch cultures. Adaptation experiments with the single metal ions Ni, Mo, Fe, and W showed that the fungus could tolerate up to 1500. mg/L Ni, 8000. mg/L Mo, 3000. mg/L Fe, and 8000. mg/L W. In the presence of multi-metals, the fungus was able to tolerate up to 300. mg/L Ni, 200. mg/L Mo, 150. mg/L Fe and 2500. mg/L W. A total of 3% (w/v) spent catalyst generally gave the maximum extraction yields in the two-step bioleaching process (100% of W, 100% of Fe, 92.7%... 

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Treatment with antioxidants seems to delay progression of AMD. In this study, we suggested an antioxidant delivery system based on redox-sensitive liposome composed of phospholipids and a diselenide centered alkyl chain. Dynamic light scattering assessment indicated that the liposomes had an average size of 140 nm with a polydispersity index below 0.2. The percentage of encapsulation efficiency of the liposomes was calculated by high-performance liquid chromatography. The carriers were loaded with N-acetyl cysteine as a model antioxidant drug. We demonstrated responsiveness of the nanocarrier... 

Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are indispensable for eye organogenesis and vision. To realize the therapeutic potential of in vitro-generated RPE cells for cell-replacement therapy of RPE-related retinopathies, molecular mechanisms of RPE specification and maturation need to be investigated. So far, many attempts have been made to decipher the regulatory networks involved in the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into RPE cells. Here, we exploited a highly-efficient RPE differentiation protocol to determine global expression patterns of microRNAs (miRNAs) during human embryonic stem cell (hESC) differentiation into RPE using small RNA sequencing. Our results revealed a... 

Due to the noise that is present in remote sensing data, a robust method to retrieve information is needed. In this study, the active learning method (ALM) is applied to spectral remote sensing reflectance data to retrieve in-water pigment. The heart of the ALM is a fuzzy interpolation method that is called the ink drop spread (IDS). Three datasets (SeaBAM, synthetic and NOMAD) are used for the evaluation of the selected ALM approach. Comparison of the ALM with the ocean colour 4 (OC4) algorithm and the artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm demonstrated the robustness of the ALM approach in retrieval of in-water constituents from remote sensing reflectance data. In addition, the ALM... 

In this study, aluminum titanate (Al2TiO5)-based nanostructure with the outstanding photocatalytic performance was prepared via the simple citrate sol-gel method. The effects of thee operational variables such as pH, temperature, catalyst dosage, and initial dye concentration on the photodegradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB) were explored in some details. The results showed that compared to TiO2, AT benefits a superior photocatalytic activity due to its narrow band gap (2.88 eV) and low recombination rate of charge carriers. Increasing the wastewater temperature from 25 to 60 °C can improve the degradation percent from 22.15 to 52%. Based on the thermokinetic calculations, the... 

In this study, a novel inorganic/organic hybrid pigment based on zinc cations/Ferula Asafoetida leaves extract (Zn-FALE) was synthesized, and its corrosion protection properties were investigated in a saline solution and an organic coating. Interactions of components between Zn2+ cations and FALE were assessed by thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and ultraviolet-visible (UV–visible) spectroscopy. Corrosion inhibitive performance of FALE and Zn-FALE pigments in the solution phase and coating phase was studied using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). TGA and UV–visible results revealed the proper chelation between inorganic and organic components of... 

The therapeutic effects of carotenoids as dietary supplements to control or even treat some specific diseases including diabetic retinopathy, cardiovascular diseases, bacterial infections, as well as breast, prostate, and skin cancer are discussed in this review and also thoughts on future research for their widespread use are emphasized. From the stability standpoint, carotenoids have low bioavailability and bioaccessibility owing to their poor water solubility, deterioration in the presence of environmental stresses such as oxygen, light, and high heat as well as rapid degradation during digestion. Nanoencapsulation technologies as wall or encapsulation materials have been increasingly... 

In this paper, a high-performance epoxy nanocomposite with dual active/barrier protection ability based on calcium zinc phosphate (CZP) nanopigment was fabricated. Then chemistry, morphology, and anti-corrosion ability of the commercial zinc phosphate (ZP) and CZP pigments were studied. By electrochemical techniques, the inhibition potency of the CZP nanopigment was examined in a NaCl solution on mild steel (MS) substance and compared with that of ZP. Results revealed a higher corrosion inhibition degree of the CZP compared to the ZP. The growth of a protective layer on the metal coupons exposed to the CZP extract was illustrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission... 

In this study, the effects of unmodified calcium zinc phosphate (UCZP) and modified calcium zinc phosphate (MCZP) nanopigments (NPs) on the rheological, mechanical, and corrosion protection performance (CPP) of the epoxy (EP) coatings were investigated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to study morphology and overall chemical structure of synthesized calcium zinc phosphate (CZP) NPs, respectively. The grafting of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) molecules on the surface of CZP was assessed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and...