Sharif Digital Repository

Over the last few years, substantial efforts have been made to develop earth-abundant bi-functional catalysts for urea oxidation and energy-saving electrolytic hydrogen production due to their low cost and the potential to replace traditional noble-metal-based catalysts. Nevertheless, finding a straightforward and effective route to prepare efficient catalysts with unique structural features and optimal supports still is a big challenge. Among the various candidates, metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived materials show great advantages as new kinds of active non-precious catalysts. On the other hand, the controllable integration of MOFs and carbon-based nanomaterials leads to further... 

Effective diffusion coefficient is an important parameter which needs to be determined in different fields of study, such as cathode catalyst layers of PEM fuel. For this purpose, a Loschmidt diffusion cell can be used. When a porous medium is placed in Loschmidt apparatus, the effective gas diffusion coefficient (EGDC) of this section must be correlated by diffusion coefficient in absence of a porous medium. In the previous researches studying the Loschmidt diffusion cell, a simplifying infinite-length assumption was used in the analytical solution. Therefore, the solution is only applicable for a short time range, and this can result in high error. In order to overcome this challenge, the... 

Layers of cobalt and manganese oxides were co-deposited or deposited on top of each other or next to each other by potentiostatic method onto stainless steel substrate. Deposition potentials of 1 and -1 V for the anodic and cathodic depositions were employed. Specific capacitance values in the range of 38.5-78 F g -1 were found with cobalt oxide on top of manganese oxide having the lowest and manganese oxide on top of cobalt oxide having the highest capacitances. The usefulness of the electrodes was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, charge-discharge cycling, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 2 M NaOH electrolyte for redox supercapacitor applications. The latter presented the... 

TiO2/ZnO and ZnO/TiO2 nanolayer thin films were synthesized using sol-gel method. Optical analysis revealed high transmittance of the films in the visible range with almost the same bandgap energy for the both systems. XPS technique shows stoichiometric formation of TiO2 and ZnO on the surface of TiO2/ZnO and ZnO/TiO2 layers, respectively. According to AFM observations and its data analysis, the TiO2/ZnO films exhibited a higher surface roughness and more effective interfaces with electrolyte during redox reactions. Based on photoelectrochemical measurements, TiO2/ZnO nanolayer photoanode possesses a lower charge transfer resistance and higher transient time for charge carriers (e- and h+)... 

The mean spherical approximation (MSA) model, coupled with two hard sphere models, was used to predict the activity coefficients of mixtures of electrolyte solutions at different temperatures and concentrations. The models, namely the Ghotbi-Vera-MSA (GV-MSA) and Mansoori et al.-MSA (BMCSL-MSA), were directly used without introducing any new adjustable parameters for mixing of electrolyte solutions. In the correlation step, the anion diameters were considered to be constant, whereas the cation diameters were considered to be concentration dependent. The adjustable parameters were determined by fitting the models to the experimental mean ionic activity coefficients for single aqueous... 

The activity coefficient data were reported for (water + potassium chloride + DL-valine) at T = 298.15 K and (water + sodium chloride + L-valine) at T = 308.15 K. The measurements were performed in an electrochemical cell using ion-selective electrodes. The maximum concentrations of the electrolytes and the amino acids studied were 1.0 molality and 0.4 molality, respectively. The results of the activity coefficients of DL-valine are compared with the activity coefficients of DL-valine in (water + sodium chloride + DL-valine) system obtained from the previous study. The results show that the presence of an electrolyte and the nature of its cation have a significant effect on the activity... 

The present study dealt with the mechanism of competitive adsorption of Sb(III) and Fe(II) ions from a copper-containing aqueous solution on Purolite S957, a commercially available cationic ion-exchange adsorbent. Experiments were conducted using aqueous copper sulfate solutions containing either single or conjoint ions, using both sedentary and batch adsorption techniques to ascertain the sensitivity of the adsorption process to variation in pH, mass of resin, contact time, and temperature as well as establishing the optimal range of variables for maximum ion removal. The data from single ion adsorption tests were fitted by non-linear regression techniques to Henry, Langmuir, Freundlich,... 

In this study, kinetics, equilibrium, and mechanisms of SDBS adsorption onto carbonate rock in presence/absence of alkaline/electrolyte, which is not well discussed in the available literature, is analyzed through batch experiments. Analysis of kinetic data showed that adsorption rate of SDBS onto carbonate is controlled by both boundary layer and intraparticle diffusion, also adsorption kinetics meets pseudo second-order model. The coefficient of kinetic model is a linear function of initial and equilibrium concentrations. The adsorption isotherm experiences four distinct regions, with a rising trend in the first regions until reaching to a maximum after which decreases slightly, as the... 

In this study, kinetics, equilibrium, and mechanisms of SDBS adsorption onto carbonate rock in presence/absence of alkaline/electrolyte, which is not well discussed in the available literature, is analyzed through batch experiments. Analysis of kinetic data showed that adsorption rate of SDBS onto carbonate is controlled by both boundary layer and intraparticle diffusion, also adsorption kinetics meets pseudo second-order model. The coefficient of kinetic model is a linear function of initial and equilibrium concentrations. The adsorption isotherm experiences four distinct regions, with a rising trend in the first regions until reaching to a maximum after which decreases slightly, as the... 

We report improved performance of Li-ion polymer batteries through advanced gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs). Compared to solid and liquid electrolytes, GPEs are advantageous as they can be fabricated in different shapes and geometries; also ionic properties are significantly superior to that of solid and liquid electrolytes. We have synthetized GPE in form of membranes by trapping ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate in a composite of polyvinylidene fluoride and N-methylpyrrolidinore. By applying phase-transfer method, we synthetized membranes with micro-pores, which led to higher ionic conductivity. The proposed membrane is to be modified further to have higher capacity, stronger... 

The planned design of nanocomposites combined with manageable production processes, which can offer controllability over the nanomaterial structure, promises the practical applications of functional nanomaterials. Hollow core-shell nanostructure architectures represent an emerging category of advanced functional nanomaterials, whose benefits derived from their notable properties may be hampered by complicated construction processes, especially in the sensing domain. In this regard, we designed a highly porous three-dimensional array of hierarchical hetero Cu(OH)2@CoNi-LDH core-shell nanotubes via a quick, very simple, green, and highly controllable three-step in situ method; they were... 

RGO/Ag/TiO2-nanotubes/Ti plates with high photocatalytic activity were fabricated via electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide on Ag/TiO2-nanotubes. The loading of silver nanoparticles was carried out by electroless reduction of Ag1+ onto TiO2 nanotubes previously formed by anodizing titanium. Microstructure studies show that reduced graphene oxide (RGO) layers having high surface area have been deposited on the as-prepared Ag/TiO2-nanotubes, where nanoparticles of Ag had grown on the walls of TiO2-nanotubes. The results of photocatalytic experiments demonstrate that the RGO/Ag/TiO2-nanotubes/Ti plate exhibits significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity for the photocatalytic... 

The objective of this study was to construct a novel model to be applied in a general manner to simulate microbial electrochemical cells (MXCs); for both microbial fuel cell (MFC) and microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). The liquid bulk was modeled based on the organic matters degradation to acetate via the anaerobic digestion process. Biofilm simulation was established based upon one-dimensional distribution and the dynamical electron transfer was completed by means of the conduction-based mechanism. We, for the first time, introduced biofilm local potential modeling for MEC simulation with general and simplified linear boundary conditions. The MFC-related part of the model was evaluated... 

A simple and low-cost electrochemical deposition method is used to prepare reduced graphene oxide/polypyrrole/Cu2O-Cu(OH)2 (RGO/PPy/Cu2O-Cu(OH)2) ternary nanocomposites as the electrode material for supercapacitor application. First, graphene oxide-polypyrrole (GO/PPy) nanocomposite is electrochemically synthesized on Ni foam by electro-oxidation of pyrrole monomer in an aqueous solution containing GO and Tiron. Subsequently, the GO/PPy film is converted to the corresponding reduced form (RGO/PPy) by an effective and eco-friendly electrochemical reduction method. Then, a thin layer of Cu2O-Cu(OH)2 is formed on RGO/PPy film by chronoamperometry. The RGO/PPy/Cu2O-Cu(OH)2 nanocomposite is... 

An Al2O3/Si3N4 nanocomposite coating was successfully fabricated on commercial aluminum alloy. Hardness measurements, polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were employed to study the mechanical and corrosion behaviors of the coatings. Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were utilized to characterize the surface morphology and phase composition of the coatings. Also, coatings abrasive wear properties were evaluated with a modified ASTM G105 standard. FE-SEM image, EDS and XRD analysis revealed the presence of Si3N4 in the coating. Furthermore, the results showed hardness of... 

Alumina-zirconia nanostructured coatings were formed on 7075 Al alloy through Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) operated in aDC potentiostatic mode. The composite coatings were produced in the range of 425-500 V in an alkaline electrolyte containing 4 g/LK2ZrF6. Tribological properties of coatings were investigated using dry sliding wear test against WC balls with a pin-on-disc tribometer. Wear rates were evaluated using optical profilometer. It was shown that the nanostructured alumina-zirconia composite coatings can be formed at voltages 450 V. The coating thickness and roughness were in the range of 15.2-24.2 μm and 0.68-2.35 μm, respectively. The distribution of Al, Zr and O in the... 

Cubic phase Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) is a promising solid electrolyte for next-generation Li-ion batteries. In this work, the combustion sol–gel technique is used to prepare an Al-doped LLZO solid electrolyte. The crystal structure is investigated, and the cubic phase is confirmed. Densification properties were investigated using SEM and optical dilatometry. The densification of the Al-doped sample takes place in two stages through two different shrinkage rates. Using 0.25 mol Al-dopant 94% relative density is achieved at 1100 °C. The effect of Al-doping on electrochemical properties is investigated in detail using AC impedance spectroscopy. The result indicates that the optimum concentration of... 

In this paper, a reliable low power single phase grid-connected inverter for photovoltaic modules is proposed. The inverter has improved lifetime since large electrolytic capacitor is replaced with small film capacitor due to circuit topology, power processing and proper control scheme. Thus the main limiting component in single phase grid connected inverters is obviated. The proposed inverter consists of two power processing stages. First a dual active bridge (DAB) converter boosts the voltage of PV panel to approximately 440 V and eliminates impact of high dc bus voltage ripples. A proper feed forward control is proposed to regulate the dc bus voltage with high ripple. Simulation results... 

It is well known that electro-hydrodynamical effects in freely suspended liquid films can force liquids to flow. Here, we report a purely electrically driven rotation in water and some other liquid suspended films with full control on the velocity and the chirality of the rotating vortices. The device, which is called "film motor", consists of a quasi two-dimensional electrolysis cell in an external in-plane electric field, crossing the mean electrolysis current density. If either the external field or the electrolysis voltage exceeds some threshold (while the other does not vanish), the liquid film begins to rotate. The device works perfectly with both DC and AC fields. © Springer-Verlag... 

A metal organic framework-polyaniline (MOF/PANI) nanocomposite was electrodeposited on a stainless steel wire and used as a solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coating. The electropolymerization process was carried out under a constant deposition potential and applied to the corresponding aqueous electrolyte containing aniline and MOF particles. The employment of MOFs with their large and small cages and 3-D structures in synthesizing a nanocomposite was assumed to be efficient constitutes to induce more non-smooth and porous structures, approved by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Three different MOFs were incorporated to synthesize the desired nanocomposites and the...