Sharif Digital Repository

Herein, we report a modified two-step method to construct a uniform and pinhole-free polycrystalline perovskite film with large grains up to the microscale using lead mixed-halide (PbI2-PbCl2) precursor solutions to guarantee the device functioning. Commonly used sequential deposition methods based on dip- and spin-coatings are combined with a vapor-assisted solution process to improve the perovskite morphology and tune the residual lead mixed-halides. These can enhance the optical absorption and efficiency of perovskite solar cell (PSC) devices. The impact of the Cl content in the lead mixed-halide precursors and the employed preparation methods on the photovoltaic performance of PSCs are... 

CdS nanoparticles were grown using CdSO4 and Na 2S2O3 as the precursors and thioglycerol (TG) as the capping agent. TG was shown to exhibit a catalytic role in the reaction and also acted as a capping agent. It was demonstrated that size growth is linearly related to the temperature of the reaction, i.e.the sizes can be controllably adjusted by temperature. The crystalline phase of the nanocrystals was also dependent on the temperature of growth: higher temperature favours the cubic phase. The pH also plays an important role in nanoparticle growth, as lower pH leads to a higher release rate of sulfur species. At pH as high as 10, the growth rate remains slow even at boiling temperature. This... 

The cell membrane is responsible for the transportation of heat between inside and outside the cell. Whether the thermal properties of the cell membrane are affected by the cholesterol concentration or the membrane proteins has not been investigated so far. Although the experimental measurement of the membrane thermal conductivity was not available until very recently, computational methods have been widely used for this purpose. In this study, we carry out molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the relation between the concentration of cholesterol and the thermal conductivity of a model membrane. Our results suggest an increase in the membrane thermal conductivity upon increasing the... 

Soluble N-functionalized basic and cationic polysaccharides have been synthesized using polysaccharide phenyl carbonate as a precursor. The products and intermediates were thoroughly characterized by conventional methods. The quaternization of amino intermediates in various conditions was studied. Moreover, the potential of basic polymers as green and selective catalysts in Knoevenagel reaction was investigated. In all cases, only one isomer was obtained  

Three new binucleating S-protected ligand precursors, 2-(N,N-dimethylthiocarbamato)-5-methylisophthalaldehyde di-2′-hydroxy 5′-methylanil (1b), 2-(N,N-dimethylthiocarbamato)-5-tert-butylisophthalaldehyde di-2′-hydroxyanil (2a) and 2-(N,N-dimethylthiocarbamato)-5-tert-butylisophthalaldehyde di-2′-hydroxy 5′-methylanil (2b), have been synthesized. The reaction of these ligand precursors with PdCl2 in the presence of pyrazole under Pd-mediated S-C cleavage yielded a series of binuclear palladium(II) complexes of general formula [LPd2(pz)], where pz is the exogenous bridging pyrazolyl ligand and L3- represents a series of pentadentate thiophenol-based bridging ligands originated from their... 

Efficient electron transport layers (ETLs) play a pivotal role in the performance of solar cells. In recent years, Indium sulfide (In2S3) has been studied as a promising ETL in CuInGaS(e)2, Cu2ZnSnS(e)4, and perovskite solar cells. Despite several studies on spray-deposited In2S3, there is no complete experimental investigation on In2S3 thin films. The effect of the molar ratio of S/In and the type of indium precursor on the structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of sprayed-In2S3 layers has been studied. Films were characterized using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical transmission (UV-Vis), Mott-Schottky analysis, four-point probe, and... 

An attempt to synthesize pyrochlore free (x)PMN-(1 - x)PZT ceramics (where x is 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, and 1) by a mixed powder method was made. In this work, a sol-gel prepared PZT powder was mixed with the mixture of milled PbO, MgO and Nb2O5, and sintered in a two step sintering process. The produced samples with high PZT content showed low densities due to the low compaction ratio of PZT powder. The dielectric properties of PZT-rich and PMN-rich materials were high (with dielectric constant of about 19,000 and 33,000 for PZT-rich and PMN-rich ceramics, respectively) while the other samples exhibited low dielectric properties. Also, the effect of combining PMN with PZT on Curie... 

This work presents a simple solvent-free route based on solid-state thermal decomposition approach to synthesize magnetic copper ferrite (CuFe2O4) microspheres and copper ferrite/metal oxide composites. For this purpose, [Cu(en)3]3[Fe(ox)3]2 complex (where en = ethylenediamine and ox = oxalate) was introduced as a new single-source precursor. Ferromagnetic property of the nanostructures was determined by alternating gradient force magnetometer. The effect of different ligands and temperatures on the morphology of the products was investigated. Solid-state thermal decomposition of the precursor at different temperatures in the range of 400–800 °C led to the fabrication of magnetic copper... 

Chalcostibite copper antimony sulfide (CuSbS2) micro- and nanoparticles with a different shape and size have been prepared by a new approach to hot injection route. In this method, sulfur in oleylamine (OLA) is employed as a sulfonating agent providing a simple route to control the shape and size of the particles, which enables the optimization of CuSbS2 for a variety of applications. The sulfur to metallic precursor ratio appears to be one of the most effective parameters along with the temperature and time for controlling the size and morphology of the particles. The growth mechanism study shows in addition to the CuSbS2 phase the presence of not previously observed intermediate phases... 

In the past few years, most studies have focused on smart substances that can respond to changes in the environment, as they can be appropriately applied in different fields, including biosensing, biotechnology, and drug delivery. Here, new fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) are synthesized by Terebinth by designing a simple and single-stage hydrothermal path, which facilitates the manufacture of CDs with no need for boring artificial methods, or using poisonous/costly solvents and starting substances. The method is used to concurrently form CDs and passivate their surface, which results in inherently emitted fluorescence. The study of the structure and optical features of the resulting CDs... 

Nanostructured and mesoporous TiO2-Ga2O3 thin films with various Ti:Ga atomic ratios were prepared by a new straightforward particulate sol-gel route. Titanium isopropoxide and gallium (III) nitrate hydrate were used as precursors, and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) was used as a polymeric fugitive agent (PFA) in order to increase the specific surface area (SSA). XRD and TEM analysis of the powders revealed that the Ga2O3 formed from the nitrate precursor retarded anatase-to-rutile transformation, crystallization and crystal growth. The average crystallite size of pure TiO2 powder annealed at 600-1000 °C were in the range 4-10 nm; the values that could be decreased to 2-6 nm for TiO2-Ga2O3... 

Chemical processing of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides has attracted immense attention due to their unique optical, electrical, and catalytic properties. In this paper, we show that under special conditions during seedless chemical vapor deposition (CVD), it is possible to grow large-area 2D WS2 layers with disc-shaped morphology, which has been scarcely reported. Detailed characterizations of the CVD-grown layers by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have revealed that a gradient in the precursor concentration in the gas phase and strain energy in the deposited hexagonal clusters favor... 

To evaluate the selectivity and efficiency of solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coatings, synthesized by sol-gel technology, roles of precursors and coating polymers were extensively investigated. An on-line combination of capillary microextraction (CME) technique and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was set up to perform the investigation. Ten different fiber coatings were synthesized in which five of them contained only the precursor and the rests were prepared using both the precursor and coating polymer. All the coatings were chemically bonded to the inner surface of copper tubes, intended to be used as the CME device and already functionalized by self-assembly... 

(ZnO)1-x(CdO)x nanofibers were fabricated via electrospinning of polymer precursor by subsequent annealing in air. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) showed the smooth and beadless nanofibers and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the ZnO hexagonal and the CdO cubic structure. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) showed the band gap energy reduction by increasing the amount of CdO in (ZnO)1-x(CdO)x nanofibers that resulted in the photocatalytic activity under the visible light for dye degradation. Under the UV light CdO acted as both electron and hole sink in the (ZnO) 1-x(CdO)x nanofibers and a possible photocatalytic activity... 

It is reported that approximately 40 million people are suffering from dementia, globally. Dementia is a group of symptoms that affect neurons and cause some mental disorders, such as losing memory. Alzheimer's disease (AD) which is known as the most common cause of dementia, is one of the top medical care concerns across the world. Although the exact sources of the disease are not understood, is it believed that aggregation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) outside of neuron cells and tau aggregation or neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) formation inside the cell may play crucial roles. In this paper, we are going to review studies that targeted inhibition of amyloid plaque and tau protein tangle formation,... 

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible neurological disorder that progresses gradually and can cause severe cognitive and behavioral impairments. This disease is currently considered a social and economic incurable issue due to its complicated and multifactorial characteristics. Despite decades of extensive research, we still lack definitive AD diagnostic and effective therapeutic tools. Consequently, one of the most challenging subjects in modern medicine is the need for the development of new strategies for the treatment of AD. A large body of evidence indicates that amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide fibrillation plays a key role in the onset and progression of AD. Recent studies have reported... 

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanostrips were rapidly obtained during a mild microwave heating method. Applying microwave irradiation to Ca(NO3)2·4H2O/CTAB/Na2HPO4 precursor solution, the HAp precipitation process was occurred directly and without common crystallographic transformations including dissolution and slow recrystallization. The cationic surfactant CTAB was used as a soft template to modify nucleation and growth process. TEM investigations showed that the fabricated nanostrips had a width and length of about 10 and 55 nm, respectively. The X-ray diffraction pattern revealed that the fabricated well-crystallized and high purity hydroxyapatite nanostrips had a pattern similar to the bone... 

The purpose of this study is to investigate production of high quality ammonium uranyl carbonate (AUC) from “uranyl nitrate + ammonium bicarbonate”, or “uranyl nitrate + sodium carbonate” precursor solutions, by controlled injection of ammonium carbonate solution which could be applicable in material testing reactor (MTR) fuel production plant for recycling of rejected uranium oxide powder. The experimental observations revealed: at pHs higher than 6, precipitation proceeds with formation of no intermediate, thus ensuing a better morphology and size distribution of the AUC products. The results of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, particle size analysis, and uranium content... 

Ultra fine CuO nanoparticles In the range of 2 ± 0.2 nm were synthesized by the supercritical hiydrotliermal method in a batch reactor. Itwas demonstrated that elevating the pH of the Cu2+ precursor solution to around 6 (neutral condition) not only does not lead to excessive agglomeration of the particles, but also reduces particle size and in general promotes their nanoscale characteristics. Prepared nanoparticles were immobilized in the biopolymcric matrix of barium alginate and calcined at different temperatures resulting in micro spherical granules of high porosity and elevated mechanical strength. The fabricated samples were characterized using x-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission... 

Scalable coating methods have recently emerged as practical alternative deposition techniques to the conventional spin-coating despite their lower yielding power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). The most important barrier acting against the use of scalable deposition methods to get a highly absorbing (>95%) film with controlled morphology in the high crystallinity of perovskite particles is the impossibility of antisolvent dripping during the deposition. Here, we demonstrate the positive role of both the surfactant-engineering and the vacuum-annealing (<100 Pa) process in improving the device performance to overcome this limit. A detailed optimization of the vacuum-assisted meniscus printing...