Sharif Digital Repository

The effect of etching time on the statistical properties of hydrophilic surfaces of SiO2/TiO2/glass nano bilayers has been studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a stochastic approach based on a level crossing analysis. We have created rough surfaces of the hydrophilic SiO 2/TiO2 nano bilayer system by using 26% potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution. Measuring the average apparent contact angle allowed us to assess the degree of hydrophilicity, and the optimum condition was determined to be 10 min etching time. A level crossing analysis based on AFM images provided deeper insight into the microscopic details of the surface topography. With different etching times, it has been shown... 

In the present work the production of biodiesel using bitter almond oil (BAO) in a potassium hydroxide catalyzed transesterification reaction was investigated. The BAO was obtained from resources available in Iran and its physical and chemical properties including iodine value, acid value, density, kinematic viscosity, fatty acid composition and mean molecular weight were specified. The low acid value of BAO (0.24. mg. KOH/g) indicated that the pretreatment of raw oil with acid was not required. The fatty acid content analysis confirmed that the contribution of unsaturated fatty acids in the BAO is high (84.7. wt.%). Effect of different parameters including methanol to oil molar ratio (3-11.... 

In this study, pure TiO2 and Au:TiO2 nanocomposite thin films are both synthesized using sol-gel and RF reactive co-sputtering methods. Physical and photoelectrochemical properties of the thin films deposited by each method are compared. The optical density spectra and scanning electron microscopy images of the Au:TiO2 films reveal formation of gold nanoparticles in the all nanocomposite films synthesized by two methods. Moreover, the optical bandgap energy of the thin films decreases with addition of Au nanoparticles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that the presence of gold in metallic state and the formation of TiO2 is stoichiometric. The photoelectrochemical properties of the... 

The synthesis of cheap and environmental friendly adsorbent from residual sugarcane bagasse was done for the removal of naphthalene from aqueous solution. The activated carbon dot was obtained by KOH chemical activation of carbon dots. The characteristics of carbon dots and activated carbon dots were determined using field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. A series of experiments were conducted in a batch system to assess the effect of the system variables, i.e., initial pH, initial naphthalene concentration, adsorbent dosage, and contact time. The kinetic data showed better fit to the... 

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is one of the most physiological active fatty acids due to its positive effect on prevention of diseases such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis and cancer. The aim of this study was to optimize the production of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)% in alkali isomerization of safflower oil including 71% linoleic acid (LA) using response surface methodology (RSM). The effect of three reaction variables such as temperature, reaction time and amount of KOH on CLA production was investigated using design-expert software. The optimal condition determined at this point, 72% total CLA with the yield of 84% temperature reaction time and the amount of KOH were 187.6... 

Here, controlled growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) on free-standing porous activated reduced graphene oxide (a-rGO) paper was fabricated using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. The electrochemical performance of prepared film was investigated to provide effective electrode for 3D flexible high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapacitors. The results revealed that the prepared electrode exhibited a high specific capacitance of 347 F/g at 0.5 A/g in 1 M KOH electrolyte, 60% more than non-activated rGO-paper (218 F/g). The VACNTs on a-rGO have increased the accessible surface area and acted as efficient electrical conducting paths, which... 

One of the efficient solar energy harvesting technics is the parabolic trough concentrated solar power plant. However, if the concentrated solar power plant were not equipped with a storage system, the power plant capacity factor would be deficient. Latent thermal energy storage system using phase change material (PCM) is a high energy density storage system to provide durable energy with a constant temperature. In this study, first, a dynamic analysis is performed implementing TRNSYS software on the parabolic trough concentrated solar power plant located in Shiraz, Iran. Consequently, this system is assisted by the latent thermal energy storage system to improve its performance and capacity... 

Developing advanced electrode materials with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has increasingly attracted attentions as an effective method for improving supercapacitors performances. However, their poor conductivity has limited their use in energy applications. In this paper, an effective strategy is presented to reduce the electric resistance of MOFs by the in situ synthesis of Ni-based MOFs with graphene (Ni-MOF/graphene). The fabricated Ni-MOF/graphene composite was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Raman spectra, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and... 

Desulfurization by molten caustic leaching (MCL) at 400–500 °C has been investigated in order to reduce the sulfur content of petroleum coke. Effective parameters on desulfurization of petroleum coke, other than temperature, include alkali to feed (petroleum coke) mass ratio, time and mesh size in the ranges of 0.5–1.5, 1–3 h and 200–600 µm, respectively. In this work, petroleum coke desulfurization conditions using solid KOH have been studied. Maximum petroleum coke desulfurization by MCL method has been obtained by Taguchi L9 design using alkali to feed mass ratio of 1, temperature of 600 °C, time of 2 h and mesh size of 200 µm. The changes in the main groups on the coke surface have been... 

Design and fabrication of highly efficient and low-cost oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts is of paramount importance for practical applications. Herein, we proposed a cost-effective, metal-free catalyst based on ZIF-8 metal-organic framework nanoparticles/electro-polymerized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) film on the surface of flexible carbon cloth (CC) electrode (ZIF-8/PEDOT/CC) via a two-step procedure. For this purpose, worm-like PEDOT nanostructures were deposited on the surface of carbon fibers using a pulse electro-polymerization technique followed by facile growth of ZIF-8 polyhedra nanoparticles via a chemical bath deposition method. The ORR measurements in... 

Design and fabrication of highly efficient and low-cost oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts is of paramount importance for practical applications. Herein, we proposed a cost-effective, metal-free catalyst based on ZIF-8 metal-organic framework nanoparticles/electro-polymerized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) film on the surface of flexible carbon cloth (CC) electrode (ZIF-8/PEDOT/CC) via a two-step procedure. For this purpose, worm-like PEDOT nanostructures were deposited on the surface of carbon fibers using a pulse electro-polymerization technique followed by facile growth of ZIF-8 polyhedra nanoparticles via a chemical bath deposition method. The ORR measurements in... 

The reduced graphene oxide-Fe2O3 (rGO-Fe2O3) nanocomposites were synthesized by a facile and low-cost hydrothermal method employing rGO and Iron (III) nitrate precursors. The synthesis parameters including the reduction time and presence of reduction aid are studied. The structural and morphological studies of the nanocomposites were investigated by using Raman spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that Fe2O3 nanoparticles with average particle size of 25 nm are well anchored on graphene sheets and the weight percent of the nanoparticles in the nanocomposites was influenced by the reduction... 

Recently, development of advanced materials of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has attracted attention for the fabrication of supercapacitors (SCs) because of their high surface area and high level of porosity. However, poor electrical conductivity and weak mechanical properties of the MOFs have restricted their applications in the field. In this study, a one-step, in-situ synthesis of Cobalt-based MOF with graphene (CoMG nanocomposite) was employed to overcome the poor properties of MOFs. Accordingly, when the nanocomposite (CoMG5) was use as a supercapacitor electrode material, a specific capacitance (CS) of 549.96 F g−1 was observed in a three-electrode system with 6 M KOH electrolyte... 

Growing demands for clean and renewable energy technologies have sparked broad research on the development of highly efficient and stable non-noble metal electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this regard, in the present work a three-dimensional Fe2TiO5/nitrogen-doped graphene (denoted as 3D FTO/NG) hybrid electrocatalyst was synthesized via a facile in-situ process using a hydrothermal method. Structural characterization of the prepared nanocomposite is performed by various techniques e.g. field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra (XPS),... 

In this research, we investigate the effect of alkali metal cations including Li, Na and Cs in hydrothermal solution on the morphology, stability, and photoactivity of nanostructured TiO2 nanoflakes as a photoanode. The TiO2 nanoflakes are formed through hydrothermal treatment of Ti foil in 1.0 M LiOH, NaOH or CsOH at 100 °C for 3 h. By subsequent thermal reduction of the structure in an optimized Ar/H2 environment, conductive TiO2 nanoflakes were formed. The reduction treatment remarkably improves the photocurrent density of the TiO2 nanoflakes and has the highest impact on the sample treated in the NaOH alkali solution. For the nanoflakes produced in NaOH alkali solution, the bandgap is... 

In this study, we prepared cerium oxide (CeO2) hybridized with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets using the hydrothermal method. CeO2 and CeO2/rGO were evaluated as electrode materials for use in supercapacitor applications. The structure and morphology of the synthesized materials were investigated. Cyclic voltammetry tests determined a high specific capacitance of 581 F g−1 for CeO2/rGO at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1 in 2 M KOH. In addition, the CeO2/rGO electrode retained 91 % of its initial capacitance after 5000 consecutive cycles, thereby indicating its excellent electrochemical stability. The excellent stability of CeO2/rGO was due to a synergistic effect between CeO2 and rGO. CeO2... 

Increasing energy demands for pollution-free and renewable energy technologies have stimulated intense research on the development of inexpensive, highly efficient, and stable non-noble metal electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, a superior OER performance was achieved using a tri-metallic (Zn, Co, Ni) high-performance electrocatalyst. We successfully fabricated a peony-flower-like hierarchical ZnCo2O4 through an additive-free hydrothermal reaction followed by heat treatment. Then NiCo-LDH (layered double hydroxides) nano-flakes was electrodeposited on the ZnCo2O4/GCE surface to prepare NiCo-LDH/ZnCo2O4/GCE which was used as electrode for OER. The structure and... 

Synthesis of efficient, low-cost, and stable bifunctional electrocatalysts with earth-abundant resources for electrochemical water electrolysis is a challenging subject for large-scale energy conversion processes. Herein, we report a high-performance electrocatalyst based on vanadium oxysulfide/cobalt-cobalt sulfonitride (VOS/Co-CoSN) for oxygen and hydrogen evolution reaction (OER and HER). The Co-CoSN film was synthesized on a copper sheet (CS) by a facile electrodeposition method. Then, VOS was electrochemically grown onto the Co-CoSN@CS electrode at various deposition times. At the optimal deposition time (300 s), the obtained VOS-300/Co-CoSN catalyst was studied for OER and HER in...