Sharif Digital Repository

Vertically aligned ZnO@CdS nanorod heterostructure films with various loadings of CdS nanoparticle shell were synthesized and applied in photoinactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria under visible light irradiation. While neither the bare ZnO nanorods (with band-gap energy (Eg) of ∼3.28 eV) under visible light irradiation nor the nanorod heterostructures in dark exhibited any significant antibacterial activity, the ZnO@CdS nanorod heterostructures (with Eg ∼2.5-2.6 eV) could successfully inactivate the bacteria under visible light irradiation. Furthermore, it was found that an optimum loading of the CdS shell (corresponding to the effective thickness less than ∼15 nm) is required to achieve... 

In this study, four types of mixed matrix membranes were fabricated using polysulfone (as the base polymer) and different contents of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets (as modifier) through wet phase inversion method. Based on the amounts of GO (0, 0.5, 1, and 2 wt%), the synthesized membranes named as M1, M2, M3, and M4, respectively. The membranes characteristics were evaluated using FE-SEM, FT-IR, and water contact angle measurements. In addition, the performance of the prepared membranes was investigated in terms of basic parameters: filtrate water flux, nitrate removal efficiency, and antifouling properties. Results showed significant improvements of the characteristics of modified... 

In this study, four types of mixed matrix membranes were fabricated using polysulfone (as the base polymer) and different contents of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets (as modifier) through wet phase inversion method. Based on the amounts of GO (0, 0.5, 1, and 2 wt%), the synthesized membranes named as M1, M2, M3, and M4, respectively. The membranes characteristics were evaluated using FE-SEM, FT-IR, and water contact angle measurements. In addition, the performance of the prepared membranes was investigated in terms of basic parameters: filtrate water flux, nitrate removal efficiency, and antifouling properties. Results showed significant improvements of the characteristics of modified... 

Peripheral nerve injuries remain among the most challenging medical issues despite numerous efforts to devise methods in fabrication of nerve conduits to functionally regenerate axonal defects. In this regard, the current study offers a holistic perspective in design by considering the mechanical, topographical and structural aspects which are crucial for a successful nerve guide conduit. Poly(e-caprolactone) and gelatin were employed to serve this purpose in the form of dual-electrospun films which were rolled and later shaped the assembly of a multichannel conduit. Polyaniline/graphene (PAG) nanocomposite was incorporated to endow the conduit with conductive properties. FTIR analysis,... 

In the present work, G-TiO2 and G-ODA-TiO2 hybrids were prepared by concurrent surface functionalization and reducing of graphene oxide (GO) using octadecylamine (ODA). The G-TiO2 and G-ODA-TiO2 powders were deposited on the copper surface by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique. The wettability of coatings revealed the preferable hydrophobic characteristic of G-ODA-TiO2 compared to G-TiO2 and bare copper with water contact angles of 130°, 101°, and 87°, respectively. The anti-corrosion performance of specimens in a 0.5 M H2SO4 solution was appraised by the potentiodynamic polarization (Tafel analysis), which clearly showed that G-TiO2 and G-ODA-TiO2 coatings can act as a great barrier... 

A straightforward three-stage method was applied to fabricate a super-hydrophobic mixed-matrix nanofiber membrane using the electrospinning method for desalination purpose. First, a hydrothermal technique was applied to synthesize a super-hydrophobic nano-sheet, called octadecylamine-reduced graphene oxide (ODA-rGO) with a water contact angle of 162°, which was then added to PVDF-HFP dope solution. After, 0.005 wt% LiCl was added to the dope solution to decrease the mean pore size by increasing solution conductivity. Moreover, some membranes were hot-pressed to improve liquid entry pressure (LEP). Eventually, a top-quality nanofiber membrane was synthesized using 0.1 wt% ODA-rGO and 0.005... 

PEG-modification is a proven method to enhance the hydrophilicity, protein resistance, and anti-biofouling properties of polymer coatings. It is considered as the gold standard interfacial modification technique such that the higher PEG content, the higher hydrophilicity, and lower protein adsorption, i.e., the initial stage of the biofouling process. Nevertheless, increasing the PEG content causes a higher water uptake, which declines the polymer mechanical strength and increases its hydrolytic degradation rate. Thus, an effective strategy to produce a limited-water-absorbing PEG-modified polymer is to force the majority of PEG molecules to migrate towards the interfacial region while the... 

In this research, an attempt was made to improve TiO2 photo-catalyst properties, thus pure, N-Ce co-doped TiO2 thin films were prepared on glass-ceramic substrate using a sol-gel dip-coating technique. The samples were calcinated in air at 475 °C, 550°C, and 650°C for 2 h. The result of simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the presence of Ce in TiO2 could inhibit the phase transformation from anatase to rutile and enhance the thermal stability, and anatase was the dominant phase in N-Ce co-doped TiO2 samples. Also based on the results, the doping results in decreasing the size of TiO 2 crystallite. The results of ultra violet-visible light diffuse... 

In this research, we have used glancing angle deposition (GLAD) RF sputtering technique with various angular speeds ranging from 5 to 30 RPM to fabricate polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon) coated Tungsten on glass substrate for producing hydrophobic surface. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, Tungsten nanorods were formed on the substrate with average diameter and length of about ∼50 nm and 300 nm, respectively. Hydrophobic property of W/Glass and PTFE/W/Glass systems was investigated by water contact angle measurements and we have found that the contact angle varied with the substrate angular speed. Maximum contact angle of 121 was measured for the... 

In this study, TiO 2-SiO 2 nanocomposite films with different amounts of SiO 2 were prepared by sol-gel process and were coated onto stainless steel 316L. The effect of addition of various amount of SiO 2 in the precursor solution on the photocatalysis, photo-generated hydrophilicity and self-cleaning property of TiO 2 thin films was investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, water contact angle measurements and UV spectroscopy. In the tested ranges of SiO 2 content and sintering temperature, the highest photocatalytic activity and self-cleaning property were observed in the 15 mol% SiO 2 sample sintered at 750 °C. Addition of less than 30 mol% SiO 2 had a... 

Low-frequency O 2 plasma was used to modify the surface of polysulfone gas-separation membranes. The effects of the treatment time and plasma power input on the membranes were also investigated. Pure CO 2 and CH 4 gas-permeation measurements were performed before and after plasma treatment. The results show the increase of permeability of the treated membranes due to surface ablation and surface polarization up to 5.63 and 68.80 gas-permeation units for CH 4 and CO 2, respectively, whereas, the CO 2/CH 4 selectivity of the treated membranes varied from 7.7 to 45.3, depending on the treatment conditions. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy determined the... 

Linear silicone rubber and polyethylene alloy produced from extrusion-injecting process will be present in separate phases. While samples are mixed with 1% dicumylperoxide, DCP, and injected in extruder, an alloy is almost formed. In addition, when the samples containing silicon rubber with vinyl group are mixed with polyethylene and passed in the vicinity of electron beam, a similar reaction occurs, as confirmed from FTIR spectrum. The water contact angles for the samples has been listed in the article. Furthermore, the crystallinity of samples produced via electron beam method is more than that obtained from peroxide method. On the other hand, the tensile strengths of produced samples via... 

In this research, initially anodization process was used to fabricate ZnO nanorods on Zn substrate and then RF sputtering technique was applied to grow a thin layer of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon) on the coated ZnO nanorods for producing a superhydrophobic surface. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, ZnO nanorods were formed with average diameter and length of about ∼180 nm and 14 μm, respectively. Superhydrophilic property of ZnO nanorods and superhydrophobic property of PTFE/ZnO nanorods was investigated by water contact angle (WCA) measurements. It was found that the contact angle varied with the PTFE deposition time. The highest contact angle... 

On silicon substrates, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) consisting of interconnected hexagonal boron nitride nano-layers were produced via chemical vapor deposition process at 1200 °C whose roughness's are at the micrometer- and nanometer-scale. The BNNS were functionalized in argon plasma admixed with ammonia or nitrogen or oxygen. The samples were characterized to investigate the surface chemistry and structural changes after plasma treatment using X-ray photoelectron spectroscope and Micro-Raman spectroscope techniques, respectively. While no significant changes in the surface features, upon plasma treatments of the BNNS, were noticed during SEM and TEM examination, the oxygen functional... 

Biodegradable acrylate-terminated polyurethane/acrylate (APUA) filled with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate functionalized carbon nanotube (CNT-HEMA) was prepared by in situ free radical crosslinking. CNT-HEMA enhanced crystallinity of soft domain and caused more phase separation between hard and soft domains of APUA. Tensile testing showed a considerable improvement in elastic modulus (∼160%) and tensile strength (∼30%) at 1 wt% loading. Morphological features of APUA induced by nanotubes were found to be dominant on mechanical properties of APUA/CNT-HEMA. CNT-HEMA increased water contact angle of APUA; however, wettability of APUA/CNT-HEMA maintained in acceptable range for biomedical... 

A superhydrophobic nanocomposite coating was fabricated using a simple procedure. The nanocomposite is composed of an acrylic copolymer and modified silica nanoparticles. The acrylic copolymer was prepared by free radical copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and dodeycl methacrylate monomers. Silica nanoparticles were synthesized and modified with an alkyl silane reagent, hexadecyltrimethoxysilane. A mixture of acrylic copolymer and modified silica nanoparticles, dispersed in dichloromethane, was then sprayed on glass and filter paper surface. Chemical composition and structure of the coatings were investigated by FTIR, FESEM, AFM, 1H-NMR and GPC. The wettability of the prepared coating... 

Biodegradable acrylate-terminated polyurethane/acrylate (APUA) filled with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate functionalized carbon nanotube (CNT-HEMA) was prepared by in situ free radical crosslinking. CNT-HEMA enhanced crystallinity of soft domain and caused more phase separation between hard and soft domains of APUA. Tensile testing showed a considerable improvement in elastic modulus (∼160%) and tensile strength (∼30%) at 1 wt% loading. Morphological features of APUA induced by nanotubes were found to be dominant on mechanical properties of APUA/CNT-HEMA. CNT-HEMA increased water contact angle of APUA; however, wettability of APUA/CNT-HEMA maintained in acceptable range for biomedical... 

The separation of water-oil mixtures has attracted widespread attention because of the increasing amounts of oily wastewater produced from the daily activities of humans and different industrial processes. Therefore, the development of facile and efficient oil-water separation technologies is imperative. In this work, a new highly superhydrophilic-superoleophobic coated stainless steel mesh was fabricated using virtue of the surface modification of poly (BzVimBr-Vim)@PFOA@SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) through a facile preparation process. The new fabricated superhydrophilic and highly oleophobic coating exhibits good adhesive properties. The oil contact angle (OCA) and water contact angle (WCA)... 

A surface to separate oil–water mixtures is a global concern and highly needed particularly in oil industries. The present study was conducted to create a novel superhydrophilic/superoleophobic nanocomposite coating on the stainless-steel mesh for the aim of oil/water separation. Different hydrophilic resins along with PFOA as oleophobic agent with 15 flours in its chemical structure and various oxide nanoparticles containing SiO2 and TiO2 at different concentrations were studied to achieve superhydrophilic/superoleophobic surface. The fabricated nanocomposites were fully characterized via field-emission scanning microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier-transform... 

The design and development of efficient approaches for water–oil separation have had widespread interest. Most previously introduced techniques and materials used for development of the successful separation of oily wastewater could not answer all the desired demands, such as being efficient and environmentally and economically friendly. Therefore, in seeking a novel method capable of answering these expectations, surfaces with special wettability were introduced. A novel, reusable, and recyclable superhydrophilic and superoleophobic poly(Vsim-Vim)@PFOA@SiO2 nanocomposite-coated stainless steel mesh was synthesized through a facile preparation process. Since the most important factors of...