Sharif Digital Repository

Droplet generation is very important in biochemical processes such as cell encapsulation, digital PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), and drug delivery. In the present paper, a density-based method called “fluidic barrier” is introduced to produce multiple emulsions on a centrifugal microfluidic platform or Lab-on-a-CD (LOCD). We show that the density and the viscosity of the fluids involved are important parameters for predicting the characteristics of the droplets generated with this method. Moreover, we broadened this concept by using the fluidic barriers to separate reactive chemicals. As a proof of concept, alginate and CaCl2 solutions are separated by an oil barrier to control the... 

In this work, a facile ionic liquid-mediated method was utilized to fabricate an efficient photocatalyst for environmental remediation. The eco-friendly aspect of the treatment was explored through an in-vivo toxicity bioassay. ZnO particles, prepared by a combined solid state-pyrolysis method, were coated by 1-methyl-3-(oxiran-2ylmethyl)-1H-imidazolium-3-chloride ([MOYI]Cl) ionic liquid. Then, Ag/AgCl species were grown on the surface to make a heterojunction system leading to efficient charge separation and light absorption extension to the visible domain. The products were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, DRS, BET, and PL analysis. Photocatalytic performance of the nanostructures was... 

A reinforced double network (DN) hydrogel as a candidate for skin scaffold was prepared. It consists of O-carboxymethyl chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol, honey, CaCl2, and graphene oxide. The various concentrations of CaCl2, namely, 30, 45, and 60 wt% were investigated. Besides, the GO content was studied as 3, 5, and 10 wt%. The structure of the DN was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller were evaluated. The mechanical properties were studied, too. It showed that the DN with 45 wt% CaCl2 was optimized. Also, swelling mechanism was investigated.... 

In this study, for the first time, we reported a fast and facile three-step in situ strategy for direct controllable growth of the Co3(BTC)2 MOFs thin films on the GCE, through the rapid conversion of the electrodeposited Co(OH)2 nano-flakes on rGO/GCE, to crystalline rectangular bar-shape structures of MOFs. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and elemental mapping analysis used to the structural and morphological characterization of the well-synthesized MOFs. The as-prepared Co3(BTC)2 MOFs were used to construct a non-enzymatic sensing platform for determining the glucose... 

In this paper, the hydrodynamic behaviour of the chemical reaction system (selenium, tellurium, and TBP) was interpreted in the Oldshue-Rushton extraction column. The optimum operating parameters for extracting the selenium and tellurium from chloride medium were carried out by using the batch experiments. The feed acidity of 5 molar and solvent phase with 20% (v/v) TBP in kerosene were optimised to examine the hydrodynamic parameters of the mentioned column. The impacts of operating variables such as rotor speed, inlet aqueous phase velocity, and inlet solvent phase velocity on the dispersed phase hold-up, mean drop size, slip velocity, drop size distribution, and extraction rate were... 

In this paper, ultra-small CuO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized through a mechanochemical method using two different Cu-containing precursors (i.e. CuSO4·5H2O and CuCl2·2H2O), and their structure and antibacterial activity were studied. From the microstructural studies, it was observed that CuO NPs have a spherical morphology and a narrow size distribution with 7 and 14 nm median particle sizes for CuCl2·2H2O and CuSO4.5H2O precursors, respectively. The CuCl2·2H2O derived nanoparticles showed more antibacterial activity than CuSO4.5H2O derived nanoparticles. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the synthesized nanoparticles (derived from both precursors) against E. coli and... 

The phase-pure multiple ternary or quaternary metal selenides in energy boosting, have not been reported yet. Here, self-supported porous crystalline Zn–Ni–Co/Cu selenides microballs arrays were constructed by selenation of the designed tubular Cu(OH)2 arrays decorated with ultrathin Zn–Co–Ni tri-metallic hydroxide on carbon cloth substrate. For this rational engineering, a novel precursor sample was firstly prepared by conversion of deposited Cu layer to hollow tubular Cu(OH)2 arrays on carbon cloth, then, Zn-Co–Ni layered ternary hydroxides with a thin layer structure was deposited around this tubular arrays. The selenation with an exciting morphology change from amorphous tube to highly... 

In this work, we present the design and fabrication of a novel nanocomposite based on noble metal and metal oxide nanoparticles dispersed on highly porous carbon obtained via the pyrolysis of an inorganic complex and metal-organic frameworks. This nanocomposite is prepared by a two-step procedure: first, the composite support of nanoporous carbon (NPC) is obtained by the direct carbonization of the Cr-benzene dicarboxylic ligand (BDC) MOF in an Argon atmosphere at 500 °C (Cr2O3-NPC). A mixture containing Cr2O3-NPC and [PtCl(SnCl3)(SMe2)2] is then prepared, and underflow of Argon is heated to 380 °C. Finally, Pt-SnO2 nanoparticles are loaded on the Cr2O3-NPC support, and the obtained... 

The influx of solid or liquid particles of drilling mud into the pores of rock or mud loss phenomenon and clay swelling can sometimes lead to severe productive formation damage and cause to wettability alterations of reservoir rock from hydrophilic to oleophilic. Therefore, designing an appropriate fluid that is compatible with formation fluids and could reduce reservoir damage and increase the productivity of wells is very important. The two main mechanisms of surfactants are reduction of the surface tension and wettability alteration of rock reservoir that are effective in taking the oil. Regarding the importance of the wettability in reservoir productivity, this article is aimed to study... 

The quality of perovskite films plays a crucial role in improving the optoelectronic properties and performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, high-quality CsxFA1−xPbI3 perovskite films with different compositions (x = 0, 5, 10, and 15) are achieved by controlling the amount of cesium chloride (CsCl) in the respective FAPbI3 precursor solution. The effects of CsCl addition on the morphological and optoelectronic properties of the resulting perovskite films and on the performance of the corresponding devices are systematically studied. Introduction of CsCl into FAPbI3 shows a great potential to stabilize the α-FAPbI3 perovskite phase by forming CsxFA1−xPbI3 films with improved... 

This study is aimed at optimizing the rice husk ash (RHA) content and bacterial concentration in self-compacting concrete (SCC). For this purpose, cement was partially replaced with RHA at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30% by weight of cement. In addition, micro-silica (MS) was added to all mixes at a dosage of 10% by weight of cementitious materials. The mix with the optimum RHA content was supplied with bacterial cells with concentrations of 103, 105, and 107 cells/ml to reduce the formation of micro-cracks. The RHA concretes showed reduced workability with increasing RHA content. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were performed on... 

Skeletal muscle tissue engineering aims to fabricate tissue constructs to replace or restore diseased or injured skeletal muscle tissues in the body. Several biomaterials and microscale technologies have been used in muscle tissue engineering. However, it is still challenging to mimic the function and structure of the native muscle tissues. Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is a powerful tool to mimic the hierarchical structure of native tissues. Here, 3D bioprinting was used to fabricate tissue constructs using gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)-alginate bioinks. Mechanical and rheological properties of GelMA-alginate hydrogels were characterized. C2C12 myoblasts at the density 8 × 106 cells/mL... 

A new zwitterionic Palladium (II) complex has been synthesized by the one-pot mixing of Pd(OAc)2, 2-aminophenol and (3-formyl-4-hydroxy-5-methylbenzyl) triphenylphosphonium chloride, in refluxing ethanol. The metal complex formed was characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 31P NMR and X-ray crystallographic technique and its efficiency tested as a homogeneous pre-catalyst in Heck-Mizoroki cross coupling reaction using γ-Valerolactone (GVL) as a biomass-derived green medium. All the products were obtained in good to excellent yields. © 2019  

Hexagonal core–shell SiO2[–MOYI]Cl–]Ag nanoframeworks were synthesized via surface modification of hexagonal silica nanoparticles prepared from perlite (EP) as a cheap and abundant raw material. The prepared samples were well characterized by X-ray diffraction powder (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area analysis, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD patterns confirmed that Ag and AgCl crystalline phases were successfully loaded on the surface. The TEM images were also implied that the... 

A new non-enzymatic sensor for glucose is prepared by using of Ni(II)-one dimensional coordination polymer (Ni(II)-Cp) and C 60 . The Ni(II)-Cp prepared by slow diffusion and evaporation of two solution layers of NiCl 2 and diaza-macrocycle bearing two pyridine side arms (as the reported tecton) in DMF. The Ni(II)-Cp was characterized by powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). C 60 as modified was added to Ni(II)-Cp for improving the electrical and chemical stability of the composite. The newly assembled Ni(II)-Cp/C 60 also coated on glassy carbon electrode (GC) to... 

Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) nano-powders were synthesized by a gel combustion method. To analyse the effect of processing factors and their interactions and to achieve an equation for nano-powder particle size in terms of code factors, D-optimal factorial design was used. Stannous chloride penta-hydride, ammonium fluoride and citric acid were used to synthesize the FTO nano-powders. The structure, morphology and composition of the synthesized powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The results revealed the formation of homogenous FTO nano-powders with an average particle size of 20 nm... 

Engineering the chemical composition of inorganic-organic hybrid perovskite materials is an effective strategy to boost the performance and operational stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Among the diverse family of ABX3 perovskites, methylammonium-free mixed A-site cation CsxFA1-xPbI3 perovskites appear as attractive light-absorber materials because of their optimum band gap, superior optoelectronic property, and good thermal stability. Here, we develop a simple and very effective one-step solution method for the preparation of high-quality (Cs)x(FA)1-xPbI3 perovskite films upon the addition of excess CsCl to the FAPbI3 precursor solution. It is found that the addition of CsCl as a... 

Alumina nanofluids are one of the most useful nanofluids. In order to evaluate the colloidal behavior of nanoparticles in alumina/water nanofluid, the influence of effective factors such as pH, ionic strength and surfactants, was studied. Zeta potential, particle size and turbidity change of each nanofluid was investigated. According to the results for 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mass% nanofluid, point of zero charge was obtained at pH values of 9.5, 10.2 and 10.5, respectively. The highest nanofluid stability occurred at pH 4 and its lowest was at pH 10. The anionic surfactant had a greater effect on the stability in compared with cationic and nonionic surfactants. By increasing in ionic strength,... 

FAPbI3 perovskites are excellent candidates for fabrication of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with high efficiency and stability. However, these perovskites exhibit phase instability problem at room temperature. In this work, to address this challenge we use methylammonium chloride (MACl) as an additive and employed a layer-by-layer thermal evaporation technique to fabricate high-quality perovskite films on a large scale of 25 cm2. The optimized perovskite films show high crystallinity with large grains in the μm-range and reveals phase stability due to the presence of MACl after the annealing process. Finally, we achieved PSCs with 17.7% and 15.9% for active areas of 0.1 cm2 and 0.8 cm2,... 

Owing to the exceptional properties of graphene and the crucial role of substrate on the performance of electrochemical biosensors, several graphene-based hybrid structures have recently emerged, yielding improved selectivity and sensitivity. To date, most of the reported biosensors utilize solution-driven graphene flakes with drawbacks of low conductivity (due to high inter-junction contact resistant) and structural fragility. Herein, we present a conductive three-dimensional CeO2 semiconductor nanoparticles/graphene nanocomposite, as a platform for sensitive detection of hydrogen peroxide, an important molecule in fundamental biological processes. The 3D conductive graphene architecture is...