Sharif Digital Repository

For the first time, the effect of calcination process on characteristics and catalytic performances of Pd supported on different MOFs (MIL-101(Cr), NH2-MIL-101(Cr), and HKUST-1) was evaluated. Besides, the various orders of calcination process and reduction one on Pd/MOF and Pd/calcinated-MOF were studied, and their performances in CO oxidation reaction were presented to find the effect of H2 and O2. Results showed that the effect of calcination and reduction processes on the catalytic activities and characteristics strongly depends on the nature of MOF. Among MIL-based catalysts, the catalyst with no calcination treatment showed the best activity. Among MNH2-based catalysts, high activity... 

For the first time, the effect of calcination process on characteristics and catalytic performances of Pd supported on different MOFs (MIL-101(Cr), NH2-MIL-101(Cr), and HKUST-1) was evaluated. Besides, the various orders of calcination process and reduction one on Pd/MOF and Pd/calcinated-MOF were studied, and their performances in CO oxidation reaction were presented to find the effect of H2 and O2. Results showed that the effect of calcination and reduction processes on the catalytic activities and characteristics strongly depends on the nature of MOF. Among MIL-based catalysts, the catalyst with no calcination treatment showed the best activity. Among MNH2-based catalysts, high activity... 

Dynamic hydrosalinity models are available, but are not used extensively on a large scale soil which receives wastewater from industrial areas, partly because adequate database are expensive to be obtained. Thus, for this reason, there is an urgent need to assess the salt and other pollutant loads collected in wastewater flows into the soil and/ or ground water systems. A conceptual hydrosalinity model was used on two major underlying principals of mass balance and steady state. This model was initially tested on the 4,117 km2 plains west of the Yazd-Ardakan district in the central part of Iran. This model was used at a time when the soil and ground water salinity problem was serious due to... 

Higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in cancer cells than normal cells have long been recognized, which makes cancer cells more susceptible to excess ROS. Thus oxidation (also called pro-oxidant) therapy has been explored as new cancer therapy regimens. To produce additional ROS, e.g. H2O2 in situ within tumor, we encapsulated glucose oxidase in chitosan-coated alginate-calcium microspheres (GOX-MS) for locoregional treatment and demonstrated its efficacy against cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Owing to the complex biological functions of ROS, the production rate and amount of H2O2 are critical to achieve therapeutic benefits without causing normal tissue toxicity. This work was... 

A theoretical model concerning simultaneous diffusion and reaction was developed to describe the steady state behavior of a cationic glucose-sensitive membrane with consideration of oxygen limitation and swelling-dependent diffusivities of involved species inside the membrane. Donnan equilibrium was used to find concentrations of buffer ions inside the membrane. The profiles of species concentrations, pH, polymer volume fraction and solute diffusivity inside the membrane were predicted by the model in response to step changes of glucose concentration in the external solution. The influence of various factors on the responsiveness of the membrane was analyzed using the model. The results... 

Water-quality modeling and prediction is a complicated task because of inherent randomness and uncertainties associated with various processes and variables throughout the stream environment and the lack of appropriate data. Hence, the results of mathematical models are always approximate, lying within an uncertainty. This paper describes and demonstrates the application of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's water-quality model, QUAL2E-UNCAS, to the Zayandeh-Rood River in Iran. First-order reliability analysis is used to examine the variability of predicted water-quality parameters of total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, and biochemical oxygen demand. This analysis also... 

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... 

High performance Fe-Gd-P tri-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (1 at% for each dopant) were successfully synthesized by a modified sol–gel method. Various analytical and spectroscopic techniques were carried out to determine the physicochemical properties of the prepared samples, including XRD, EDX, FESEM, BET, FTIR, XPS, PL, EIS and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of prepared samples were evaluated by photo degradation of methyl orange (MO) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) as model pollutants under visible light irradiation. Effects of each dopant on different properties of TiO2 nanoparticles were investigated. Results show that Gd and P doping enhances TiO2 surface... 

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has spread around the world, caused the death of many affected patients, partly because of the lack of oxygen arising from impaired respiration or blood circulation. Thus, maintaining an appropriate level of oxygen in the patients' blood by devising alternatives to ventilator systems is a top priority goal for clinicians. The present review highlights the ever-increasing application of nanobubbles (NBs), miniature gaseous vesicles, for the oxygenation of hypoxic patients. Oxygen-containing NBs can exert a range of beneficial physiologic and pharmacologic effects that include tissue oxygenation, as well as tissue repair mechanisms,... 

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has spread around the world, caused the death of many affected patients, partly because of the lack of oxygen arising from impaired respiration or blood circulation. Thus, maintaining an appropriate level of oxygen in the patients' blood by devising alternatives to ventilator systems is a top priority goal for clinicians. The present review highlights the ever-increasing application of nanobubbles (NBs), miniature gaseous vesicles, for the oxygenation of hypoxic patients. Oxygen-containing NBs can exert a range of beneficial physiologic and pharmacologic effects that include tissue oxygenation, as well as tissue repair mechanisms,... 

Bismuth ferrite, BiFeO 3, is almost the only material that is simultaneously magnetic and a strong ferroelectric at room temperature. As a result it is the most investigated multiferroic material. In this study, bismuth ferrite thin films were deposited on silicon wafer (100) and glass by pulsed-laser deposition and their structural, optical, and electrical properties were measured. Our study indicates that Bi richness in these films can stimulate formation of oxygen vacancy in the system which in its turn leads to delocalization of carriers and a more intensified photoconductivity response. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed formation of BiFeO 3 (BFO), but it also showed formation of Bi 2O... 

In our previous report (J. Phys. Org. Chem., 2017), we discussed the dual behavior of gold nanocluster (Au3 NC), where it scavenged reactive oxygen species (ROS) while promoted their generation to a lesser extent. Continuing this quest, we investigate the effects of Au3 NC on common reactive nitrogen species (RNS: O=N˙ and O=N-O) and their precursors (O=N-H and O=N-O-H, respectively), at B3LYP/LACVP+* level of theory. We compare the results with those of prevalent ROS (H-O˙ and H-O-O˙) and their precursors (H-O-H and H-O-O-H, respectively). To this end, various parameters are probed such as binding energy (Eb), bond dissociation energy (BDE), bond lengths, Mullikan spin density (MSD),... 

In our previous report (J. Phys. Org. Chem., 2017), we discussed the dual behavior of gold nanocluster (Au3 NC), where it scavenged reactive oxygen species (ROS) while promoted their generation to a lesser extent. Continuing this quest, we investigate the effects of Au3 NC on common reactive nitrogen species (RNS: O=N˙ and O=N-O) and their precursors (O=N-H and O=N-O-H, respectively), at B3LYP/LACVP+* level of theory. We compare the results with those of prevalent ROS (H-O˙ and H-O-O˙) and their precursors (H-O-H and H-O-O-H, respectively). To this end, various parameters are probed such as binding energy (Eb), bond dissociation energy (BDE), bond lengths, Mullikan spin density (MSD),... 

Performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) at high current densities is limited to transport reactants and products. Furthermore, large amounts of water are generated and may be condensed due to the low temperature of the PEMFC. Development of a two-phase flow model is necessary in order to predict water flooding and its effects on the PEMFC performance. In this paper, a multiphase mixture model (M2) is used, accurately, to model two-phase transport in porous media of a PEMFC. The cathode side, which includes channel, gas diffusion layer (GDL), microporous layer (MPL), and catalyst layer (CL), is considered as the computational domain. A multidomain approach has been used... 

ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized through a one-step precipitation process. Effect of time and temperature on the formation reaction was investigated. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet (UV) visible absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometry. Based on XRD and UV-Vis data, the particles produced at 70 °C had a mean particle size of about 5 nm. Increasing time and temperature of the synthesis reaction resulted in photoluminescence intensification. PL spectroscopy helped understanding the adsorption kinetics of oxygen on ZnS nanoparticles during the precipitation synthesis process. Fabrication of ZnS structures with appropriate... 

In this study, antibacterial activity, biocompatibility, and corrosion resistance of 316 LVM implants were improved using the development of HAp/GO/Ag nanocomposite coatings by the dip-coating method. The XRD and FTIR results confirmed the synthesis of HAp/GO/Ag nanocomposites. HAp/Ag nanoparticles (68 nm) bound to epoxy, hydroxyl, and carboxyl functional groups on GO sheets (size of GO sheets varies from 255 to 1480 nm) by electrostatic interaction. FESEM images showed that HAp/GO/Ag coatings had higher density and fewer micro-cracks than pure HAp coatings. In addition, HAp/GO/Ag coatings showed optimized nano-hardness (4.5 GPa) and elasticity modulus (123 GPa). The results of... 

Single-layer reduced graphene oxide nanoribbons (rGONRs) were obtained through an oxidative unzipping of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and a subsequent deoxygenation by hydrazine and bovine serum albumin. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were isolated from umbilical cord blood and used for checking the concentration- and time-dependent cyto- and geno-toxic effects of the rGONRs and reduced graphene oxide sheets (rGOSs). The cell viability assay indicated significant cytotoxic effects of 10 μg/mL rGONRs after 1 h exposure time, while the rGOSs exhibited the same cytotoxicity at concentration of 100 μg/mL after 96 h. The oxidative stress was found as the main mechanism involved in the... 

The adverse effect of graphene-titanium oxide composite films (containing sheet-like surface morphology) on Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes (as a model for minuscule animals) was investigated in a solar light-induced photocatalytic process. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated photocatalytic reduction of the chemically exfoliated graphene oxide sheets included in the TiO 2 film. Furthermore, formation of TiC and Ti-O-C bonds in the composite film (obtained through annealing at 450 °C in air) resulted in a substantial delay in the recombination rate of the photoexcited electron-hole pairs and more efficient photocatalytic processes. The composite film showed a type of... 

Two types of unfunctionalized and functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared to be applied in fabrication of MWCNT-ZnO nanocomposite thin films with various MWCNT contents. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated formation of functional groups on surface of the functionalized MWCNTs in the MWCNT-ZnO nanocomposite. Formation of the effective carbonaceous bonds between the ZnO and the MWCNTs was also investigated through photoinactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria on surface of the both unfunctionalized and functionalized MWCNT-ZnO nanocomposites. The functionalized MWCNT-ZnO nanocomposites showed significantly stronger photoinactivation of the bacteria than the... 

Vertically aligned multi-wall carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays were fabricated in tip-growth mode on Ni/Si substrates using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. In a purification process including hydrogenation and acid washing of the Ni/CNTs, the oxygen-containing functional groups were substantially reduced and a wide hollow core at the tip of the CNTs was formed by removing the Ni seeds. Sol-gel silver nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of the unpurified Ni/CNTs, while they could also be embedded within the hollow core of the Ni-removed CNTs. The persistency of the silver ions in the Ni-removed Ag-CNTs in comparison to the release of the silver ions from the Ag-Ni/CNTs in a...