Sharif Digital Repository

Two-dimensional MXenes are the newly emerging family of nanomaterials with competitive performance for nano-device development. Surface functional groups and abundant binding sites make these materials ideal candidates for sensor applications. Herein, we report the successful fabrication of a MXene-based nano-bio device for capturing, sensing, and filtering the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. Mannose carbohydrate, which binds strongly to E.coli's fimH protein via glucan multivalent interactions, is used as the bio-receptor element. MXene's structure was engineered to guarantee efficient E. coli capturing without mannose detachment. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic... 

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) has been studied in 0.1 M of KCl (pH of 6.96), NaHCO3 (pH of 8.3) and K2CO3 (pH of 11.36) cathodic solutions with various counter electrodes including graphite rod, SS316 rod and Pt mesh at different potential ranges on the Znx-Ni1-x bimetallic electrocatalysts. Among the Znx-Ni1-x electrocatalysts, the Zn-Ni electrode with a composition of 65 wt% Zn and 35 wt% Ni and cluster-like microstructure has the best performance for CO2RR by according to minimum coke formation and optimum CO and H2 faradaic efficiencies (CO FE% = 55% and H2 FE% = 45%). The cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements and gas chromatography (GC) analysis for the CO2RR showed that... 

Simultaneous enhancement of osseointegration and bacterial infection prohibition through surface modifications is a challenging but promising approach to achieve durable implantation. To that end, we present a multifunctional surface coating composed of graphene nanolayers and hierarchical well-aligned TiO2 nanotubes with a nanoporous top layer (cRTNT). FESEM studies reveal tunable increasing island morphologies of graphene nanolayers (G) on cRTNT by a cyclic voltammetry process. XPS analysis shows that the enhanced interface chemistry is due to TiO2-carbon bonding. The roughness of the sample containing a medium amount of graphene, cRTNT-75%GO, was calculated ∼289 nm, which was 543% higher... 

Low-cost inorganic hole-transporting materials (HTMs) accompanied by a printable carbon electrode is an efficient approach to address the limitation of material cost of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and get this technology closer to commercialization. The present work is focused on optimizing the Zn/Sn ratio of Cu2ZnSnS4/carbon hole collectors in n-i-p structured PSCs, where CuInS2/carbon is applied as the reference hole collector. This composition regulation is a solution to address the challenge of composition-related defects of the Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) material. The Zn/Sn ratio was tuned by the initial proportion of the zinc precursor during the nanoparticle (NP) synthesis using a heating-up... 

This work suggests a green method for synthesizing Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) using the aqueous extract of Salix aegyptiaca extract. The mechanism of green synthesized AuNPs was examined by molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) calculations. AuNPs were characterized with different techniques such as Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical investigation of modified glassy carbon electrode using AuNPs (AuNPs/GCE) shows that the electronic transmission rate between the modified electrode and [Fe (CN)6]3−/4− increased. Process of oxidation, energy... 

Herein, the effect of electrodeposition time on the super-capacitive performance of three-dimensional (3D) MnO2/g-C3N4 heterostructured electrodes was investigated. MnO2 nanoparticles were electrodeposited on the g-C3N4 nanosheets drop-casted on the Ni foam substrate. The microstructural analysis, carried out by FE-SEM and TEM, confirmed the homogeneous distribution of MnO2 nanoparticles on g-C3N4 nano-sheet layers. The electrochemical capacitive performances of the MnO2/g-C3N4 electrodes were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge tests, and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). The obtained results suggested that the supercapacitor (SC) performance of all... 

Two electrochemical sensors based on modified glassy carbon electrodes with carbon nanostructures as graphene (GCE–EG) and carbon nanotubes (GCE–CNT) were evaluated for morpholine analysis. The carbon nanostructures were obtained and characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. All spectroscopic and microscopic techniques confirmed the procurement of graphene and CNT. The electrochemical studies proved the efficient behaviour of both electrodes GCE–EG and GCE–CNT in sensing and detection of morpholine via differential pulse voltammetry.... 

Active edge sites of MoS2 nanosheets exhibit promising futures for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), comparable with remarkable performances of highly cost platinum. However, 3D structures of MoS2 suffer from a lack of high mobility and unexposed active sites which lower the electrocatalytic activity. In this study, we show that there is a balance between increasing the active sites on the one hand and managing the charge transfer to facilitate the reaction on the other hand, and achieving this balance increases the efficiency of the electrocatalyst tremendously. For this purpose, we directly attached exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets onto carbon cloth (CC) substrate as a 3D network of conductive... 

Manganese dioxide/reduced graphene oxide (MnO2/RGO) nanocomposite material was synthesized by the in-situ anodic pulse electrodeposition method to fabricate symmetric supercapacitors. The effects of the pH value of the electrodeposition bath were considered on the properties of fabricated electrodes. Three pH values of 4, 7, and 10 were evaluated, and physicochemical properties were studied using field-emission scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen gas sorption isotherm, and thermogravimetric analysis. The electrochemical evaluation was performed by galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD), cyclic voltammetry (CV),... 

In this study, we have investigated the use of electrodeposited Au-Pt nanoparticles (AuPtNPs) on indium tin oxide (ITO) for the detection of Hg2+ heavy ions in water samples. The mechanism of AuPtNP electrocrystallization on ITO glass in an aqueous solution containing 0.5 mM HAuCl4 + 0.5 mM H2PtCl6 is described for the first time. The nucleation mechanism of monometallic AuNPs on ITO was found to be progressive; however, a transition from progressive to instantaneous was observed for bimetallic AuPtNPs at elevated overpotentials. The modified ITOs were then assessed for the electrodetection of Hg2+ in aqueous media. It was shown by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) that the sensitivity of... 

Surface modification of SnO2 electron transporting layer (ETL) plays a critical role in the performance of SnO2-based planar perovskite solar cells (PSC). Here, we show how long-time NH4F-based water bath treatment of SnO2 layer makes smoothing and morphological improvements and enhances the device performance. Recently it was shown that short-time NH4F treatment (2 sec) with spin coating method reduces interface traps by improving surface chemistry. Here we observe the smoothing of SnO2 films as a result of long-time NH4F treatment, which could be a result of a slight etching-deposition process. Absorption and resistivity measurements indicate that SnO2 etching process is involved in... 

A pseudocapacitive electrode based on mesoporous manganese dioxide (MnO2) was fabricated via the anodic pulse electrodeposition method. Pulse current (PC) has many parameters that affect the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of the material. PC parameters are generally divided into independent and dependent types. Independent pulse parameters consist of the time of applying current (ton), interval time with zero current (toff), and peak current density (Ip). Dependent pulse parameters include duty cycle (θ), frequency (f), and average current density (Ia). In this work, the changes of two independent parameters (ton and toff) at the constant Ip = 2 mA cm-2 on the anodic pulse... 

In this article, the novel concept of using magnetic nanofluidic electrolyte for redox flow batteries is demonstrated for the first time. In this regard, the stable magnetic nanofluidic electrolytes are prepared by dispersing magnetic modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MMWCNTs) in the positive electrolyte of a polysulfide-iodide redox flow battery at mass concentrations of less than 0.3 g L−1. The electrochemical behavior of magnetic nanofluidic electrolyte was examined using cyclic voltammetry at different mass concentrations of MMWCNTs with a carbon felt electrode. Higher and stable peak current densities were observed at larger mass concentrations of MMWCNTs. A polysulfide-iodide... 

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... 

Active edge sites of MoS2 nanosheets exhibit promising futures for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), comparable with remarkable performances of highly cost platinum. However, 3D structures of MoS2 suffer from a lack of high mobility and unexposed active sites which lower the electrocatalytic activity. In this study, we show that there is a balance between increasing the active sites on the one hand and managing the charge transfer to facilitate the reaction on the other hand, and achieving this balance increases the efficiency of the electrocatalyst tremendously. For this purpose, we directly attached exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets onto carbon cloth (CC) substrate as a 3D network of conductive... 

In the present study, an in-situ, two-step, highly controllable, fast, green, and facile strategy for fabricating the bimetallic cobalt-zinc-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is employed for designing a non-enzymatic glucose sensing platform. The structural characterization, as well as the phase investigation of materials in each step, are assessed by X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, elemental mapping, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic activity of the CoZn-BTC/GC fabricated electrode toward the electro-oxidation of glucose is examined by various electrochemical techniques,... 

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... 

Flexibility and human-body compatibility have been emerged through the use of commercial fabrics (CFs) in designing wearable non-enzymatic glucose sensing platforms. In this work, electrodes fabricated through direct synthesis of ternary nickel–cobalt sulfide nanostructures (Ni-Co-S NSs) on the CFs (Ni-Co-S@CFs) using a fast and facile one-step microwave-assisted method for this purpose. Fabrication was followed by the structural and electrochemical characterization of the electrodes. The glucose-sensing ability of the prepared wearable electrodes was investigated via cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometry techniques in alkaline media. Two linear-responses in wide detection ranges of... 

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... 

In this study, an enzymatic pathway has been developed to replicate the Calvin Cycle by creating the individual steps of the carbon cycle in a bioreactor. The technology known as “artificial photosynthesis” converts CO2 emissions into a variety of intermediates that serve as precursors to high-value products. CO2, light, water, and electricity were used as feedstock. An electrochemical reactor was also studied for the regeneration of active NADH operating at constant electrode potential. Initially, a batch electrochemical reactor containing 80 mL of 0.2 mM NAD+ in Tris-buffer (pH 7.40) was used to evaluate the electrode material operating at normal temperature and pressure. The results...