Sharif Digital Repository

In this work, asphaltene adsorption in a sandstone core sample under dynamic conditions and during miscible CO2 injection was studied using live oil sample which is close to real conditions in petroleum reservoirs. In order to investigate of damage in sandstone core sample by the deposited material such as asphaltene, the morphology analysis of sandstone core sample using scanning electron microscopic method was studied. Also analyses of the adsorbed material in sandstone core sample by Soxhlet extraction using an azeotrope mixture and with SARA method were performed. The experimental results show that by increasing the flow rate of injected CO2, the amount of asphaltene in retained material... 

In this work, the electrophoretic deposition method was utilized to immobilize TiO2 particles on stainless steel substrates. In addition, for the first time, statistics-based experimental design using response surface methodology was employed to investigate the effect of four key coating parameters (i.e. applied voltage, calcination temperature, photocatalyst weight percentage, and deposition time) on the photocatalytic degradation. Analysis of variance revealed that the proposed model was adequate. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope were used to evaluate the effects of the parameters on degradation efficiency. The optimum applied voltage, calcination temperature, catalyst... 

A new strategy for enhancing the efficiency of TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by design of a new double-layer film doped with Zn ions, with various morphologies and phase compositions, is reported. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that Zn2+ (in the range 0.25-0.1 at.%) was successfully incorporated into the TiO2 lattice without forming secondary phases. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) analyses showed that the synthesized nanoparticles had nanometer grains with different phase compositions and average crystallite sizes in the range of 8-48 nm, depending upon Zn atomic percentage. UV-vis absorption verified that Zn... 

Titanium anodes coated with noble metal oxides are widely used in chlorate industry. In fact, these anodes are dimensionally stable. In this article, the electrochemical characteristics of the ternary oxide coating created by sol-gel on titanium, which consisted of Ti, Ru and Ir, were investigated in the number of different layers. The electrochemical properties of anodes, morphology of samples, and phase analysis were investigated respectively by cyclic voltammetry and polarization measurements, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and XRD. The result indicated that the application of the more layer number increases the rate of chlorine evolution. Also, The morphology of the... 

Titanium(IV) tetraisopropoxide was employed as a metal oxide sol-gel precursor to prepare ceramic composite nanofibers by the electrospinning system. To facilitate this process and obtain the desired nanofibers with higher aspect ratios and surface area, poly(vinylpyrrolidone) was added to the sol of titania. Four ceramic nanofibers sheets based on titania were prepared while each sheet contained different transition metals such as Fe-Mn, Fe-Ni, Fe-Co, and Fe-Mn-Co-Ni. The scanning electron microscope images showed good homogeneity for all the prepared ceramic composites with a diameter range of 100-250 nm. The sorption efficiency was investigated by a micro-solid-phase extraction setup in... 

In this study, the effect of carboxyl-terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile liquid rubber on fracture toughness of glass-reinforced epoxy composites has been investigated. Fracture toughness tests were conducted in modes I, II and different mixed mode ratios. The data obtained from these tests have been analyzed by using different methods. Results indicated that interlaminar fracture toughness of composite specimens improved considerably through addition of carboxyl-terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile in modes I, II and mixed mode. Interlaminar fracture surfaces of the specimens were also characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope  

Y2 O3:Eu3+ nanostructures with bright red emitting phosphors have been synthesized by the combustion method using water and water/ethanol mixture as solvents. The effect of the solvents on nanostructure and luminescence properties of combustion synthesized Y2 O3:Eu3+ was explored. The synthesized nanostructures were calcined at 400 ° C and 1000 ° C to remove the organic phases and enhance the crystallinity. The crystal structures were characterized by an X-ray diffractometer and the particle size and morphology of the synthesized nanostructures were studies using a field emission scanning electron microscope and a transmission electron microscope. We found that the solvent choice has a... 

The low temperature perovskite-type calcium titanate (CaTiO3) thin films and powders with nanocrystalline and mesoporous structure were prepared by a straightforward particulate sol-gel route. The prepared sol had a narrow particle size distribution about 17 nm. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that, the synthesized powders had highly pure and crystallized CaTiO3 structure with preferable orientation growth along (1 2 1) direction at 400-800 °C. The activation energy of crystal growth was calculated 5.73 kJ/mol. Furthermore, transmission electron microscope images showed that the average crystallite size of the powders annealed at 400 °C was around 3.5... 

Hydrocarbon production decline as a result of formation damage caused by fines migration has been widely observed in laboratory corefloods and natural flows in porous media. Permeability impairment due to fines migration is explained by different capture mechanisms of already released particles at some pore sites. Preventing detachment of in-situ particles from the rock surface during enhanced oil recovery (EOR) agent injection into the porous media has been reported recently. In this experimental study, the effect of five types of metal oxide nanoparticles; γ-AI2O3, ZnO, CuO, MgO and SiO: to adsorb the fine particles existing in the flowing suspension has been investigated. In each test,... 

In the present work, we focused on simultaneously control electron injection and electron transport, in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), aided by introducing Cr3+ and CNTs into a TiO2 photoanode, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that, Cr 3+ and CNTs were successfully incorporated into the TiO2 lattice without forming secondary phases. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that Cr introduction has perfectly balanced the amount of anatase and rutile phases in order to accomplish a more efficient cell. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) images showed deposited films to have a porous morphology composed of nanoparticles and TiO2 nanoparticles... 

In the present work a new strategy for straightforward fabrication of CdS/CdTe solar cells, containing CdS nanowires and nanoparticles as a window layer and CdTe nanoparticles and microparticles as an absorber layer, are reported. CdS and CdTe nanostructures were synthesized by solvothermal method. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that highly pure and crystallized CdS nanowires and nanoparticles with hexagonal structure and CdTe nanoparticles with cubic structure were obtained. Atomic force microscope and field emission scanning electron microscope images showed that CdS nanowires with length of several μm and average diameter of 35 nm, CdS nanoparticles with average particle size of 32... 

A new facile strategy for fabrication of high surface area electrode in the form of mixtures of coated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and TiO2 nanoparticles with various weight ratios is reported. The so-called polymeric gel process was used to deposit thick film containing uniform distribution of TiO2 nanoparticles and coated CNTs with high porosity by dip coating for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) applications. Based on simultaneous differential thermal analysis, the minimum annealing temperature to obtain inorganic- and organic-free films was determined at 500°C. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that deposited films were composed of primary nanoparticles with crystallite size in the range... 

A new strategy for enhancing the efficiency of TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by design of a new double layer film doped with Cr ions, with various morphologies, is reported. X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) analyses revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles had uniform and nanometer grains with different phase compositions and average crystallite size in the range of 10-12 nm depending upon Cr atomic percentage. UV-vis absorption showed that Cr introduction enhanced the visible light absorption of TiO2 nanoparticles by shifting the absorption onset to visible light region. Furthermore, the band gap energy of nanoparticles decreased with... 

Nanostructured Cu and Cu-2. vol% SiC nanocomposite were produced by high energy mechanical milling and hot pressing technique. Microstructure development during fabrication process was investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, scanning transmission electron microscope, and electron backscatter diffraction techniques. The results showed that the microstructure of copper and copper-based nanoco mposite composed of a mixture of equiaxed nanograins with bimodal and non-random misorientation distribution. The presence of SiC nanoparticles refined the grain structure of the copper matrix while the fraction of low angle grain boundaries was increased. Evaluation of mechanical... 

A novel simple synthetic procedure for fabrication of high surface area nanostructured TiO2 electrode with uniform particles for photovoltaic application is reported. Modifying the TiO2 particulate sol by pH adjustment together with employment of a polymeric agent, so-called polymeric gel process, was developed. The polymeric gel process was used to deposit nanostructured thick electrode by dip coating incorporated in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that deposited film was composed of primary nanoparticles with average crystallite size in the range 21-39 nm. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) images showed that deposited film... 

It has been found that the high wear resistance of NiTi alloy is mainly attributed to its pseudoelasticity which is only effective within a small temperature range. It is believed that pseudoelasticity becomes ineffective by applying high-load wear condition which yields plastic deformation and temperature increment during wear test. Therefore, the enhanced wear resistance can be obtained from the improvement of mechanical property of the alloy without much reduction of pseudoelasticity. In this study, a low weight percentage of hard Al2O3 nanoparticles were added to NiTi atomized powders. The resultant powder mixture was homogenized by ball milling and sintered in a vacuum furnace in order... 

A simple method for synthesising W17O47 nanowires on tungsten oxide thin films deposited by sol-gel method on mica substrate has been reported. After thermally annealing thin films at 700 C in H2 ambient for different durations and subsequently in N2 ambient for 60 min, single-crystalline W17O47 nanowires along h0 01i direction were formed on the surface. Experimental results revealed that annealing under H2 ambient has an important effect on the growth of W17O47 nanowires. According to scanning electron microscopic observations, the synthesised nanowires have ∼70 nm in width and a few microns in length after annealing under H2 ambient for 30min and subsequently under N2 ambient for 60min. A... 

The morphological manipulation and structural characterisation of TiO 2-MgO binary system by an aqueous particulate sol-gel route were reported. Different crystal structures including pure MgTiO 3, mixtures of MgTiO 3 and TiO 2 and mixtures of MgTiO 3 and Mg 2TiO 4 were tailored by controlling Mg:Ti molar ratio and annealing temperatures as the processing parameters. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that all compounds crystallised at the low temperature of 500 °C. Furthermore, it was found that the average crystallite size of the compounds depends upon the Mg:Ti molar ratio as well as the annealing temperature, being in the range 3-5 nm at... 

One of the main subjects in automotive industries is to enhance the efficiency of internal combustion engines. Wear between cylinder and ring is one of the major parameters reducing the engine performance. So many parameters are affecting the wear losses. Temperature plays a key role on the severity of wear condition in internal combustion engines. In conventional cast iron cylinders, it is not possible to increase the temperature from a defined level, as it causes excessive wear in contact area between cylinder liner and piston ring. One of the major benefits of using ceramic coating is their ability to withstand in higher temperatures, while having adequate hardness to improve wear rate... 

Pb(Zr 0.52Ti 0.48)O 3 (PZT) nanotubes with diameters of 80-100 nm and a wall thickness of 15-20 nm were prepared by sol-gel template technique and using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) as sacrificial templates. The coating process of MWCNT with PZT precursor sol and removal of the carbon nanotubes by an interrupt heat treatment were discussed and studied by Raman spectroscopy. Simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) revealed that PZT nanotube crystallized at the low temperature of 410°C by the significantly low activation energy of crystallization of 103.7 kJ/mol. Moreover, based on the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and selected area electron diffraction pattern the crystal structure of...