Sharif Digital Repository

In this thesis, photocatalytic oxidation as a potential method for the treatment of organic environmental contaminants is deeply investigated. While the photocatalytic degradation of various organic compounds under UV light irradiation has been widely investigated, visible-light-induced photocatalytic degradation of low-levels of the pollutants such as Dibenzothiophene (DBT) and 2-Nitrophenol (2-NP) are occasionally reported. In the present work, Lanthanide / Polyethylene glycol -modified TiO2 (La/PEG/TiO2) and Fe,Cu,S/TiO2 have been successfully synthesized by a sol–gel method. The photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission... 

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are Photoelectrochemical cells using wide band gap nanoporous oxide semiconductors sensitized by dye molecules. For achieving high efficiency DSSCs preparation of photoanode electrode with high surface aea which leads to adequate dye absorption is necessary. In order to achieve proper morphology, thickness, particles size and porosity, producing a TiO2 nano-structured paste is required. TiO2 powder was prepared using sol-gel method. following a calcination process at 300 degrees, XRD patterns showed presence of anatase and brookite structures with average crystallite size of 9 nm. Additives such as diethylene glycol, acetylacetone and Triton X-100 were used... 

In this research, initially, thin film of TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNA) was deposited on Titanium foil (Ti), using anodization technique under an optimized applied voltage of 60 V, for 200 minutes. Highly smooth and ordered TNA formed by effective two-step anodization method. The TNA synthesized by this procedure, showed a better surface smoothness and tube order as compared with the TNA prepared in one-step anodization process. The electrolyte which was utilized for the anodization process, contained 90% of Ethylene Glycol (EG) in volume, 10% de-ionized water (DI) in volume, 0.1M Ammonium Fluoride (NH4F), and 0.5 ml Phosphoric Acid (H3PO4) 1M in order to adjust the pH about 5.6. Moreover, the... 

In First part, 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 (RSM) 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 (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to evaluate the effects of the parameters on degradation efficiency. The optimum applied voltage, calcination... 

In this research we focus on study and fabrication of ordered nanotube arrays of titanium oxide and their applications in photoelectrochemical cell. Nanotubular films of titanium oxide have been fabricated using anodization method. Short-length nanotubes, less than one micrometer, have been synthesized in aqueous electrolyte containing deionized water, hydrofluoric acid and phosphoric acid. To get Micron-length nanotubes, we have employed organic electrolyte containing ethylene glycol, deionized water and fluoride ammonium. After fabrication, the photo-catalytic activity of nanotubular structures was evaluated by measuring the rate of degradation of in methylene blue aqueous solution. The... 

Dye-Sensitized solar cells are the third generation of solar cells that have the potential to increase efficiency as much as solar cells of previous generations, along with lower prices. The cathode electrode of the pigmented solar cell as one of the essential components of the cell plays the role of accelerating the oxidation reaction reduction of the electrolyte. Platinum often is used as a catalyst layer. To reduce production costs and maintain cell viability, platinum should replace with other materials at a lower cost and higher electrochemical activity. Recently, carbon materials have been considered for the production of inexpensive solar cells with suitable performance. Among... 

Nowadays, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are highly regarded as a cheap alternative for conventional silicon-based solar cells. Improvements of their efficiency and performance sustainability are two major challenges of their commercialization. Engineering of the photoanode electrode by controlling its thickness, chemical composition, and morphology was proposed as effective method in increasing the light conversion efficiency of the cells. In the present study, mesoporous TiO2 beads with different arrangements including pristine mesoporous beads, mixtures of mesoporous beads with nanoparticles, and in the form of two-layer structure of nanoparticles (as an active layer) and mesoporous... 

Nanotechnology as an interdisciplinary science is used in many fields. The use of nanomaterial, make new opportunities in the industry. However, safety issues and environmental risks of the consequences of their use in various applications are the matters of concern. Because of the new emergence of this technology, it is essential that all aspects including possible harmful effects on the environment will also be considered. One way to remove the nanoparticles, is electrocoagulation method, assemble nanoparticles into larger particles with an electric current. In this study, the removal of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, due to its high use in the industry, with electrocoagulation method and... 

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is an attractive biomaterial due to its close chemical composition to bone and teeth. However, HA is brittle and has low strength under bearing loads, resulting in limition for orthopedic and dental applications. Two creative approaches have been developed to overcome this problem, using bioactive HA as coatings on metallic implants or as ceramic/metal composites. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) possess excellent mechanical properties to play the role as reinforcement for imparting strength and toughness to brittle hydroxyapatite (HA) bioceramic coating. Moreover, The addition of TiO2 to HA coatings has attracted considerable attention, since TiO2 is capable of increasing the... 

Over the past several years, TiO2 has become a focus of considerable researches as it possesses unique optical, catalytic and electrical properties in different applications such as sensors, water purification and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The goal of this research was synthesis of 1-Dimentional TiO2 nanostructure with suitable properties for DSSC applications. Two different TiO2 powders including micron-size anatase and mesoporous powders (produced from reaction of TiC and HNO3) along with KOH or NaOH were employed in hydrothermal process. The process was performed in two different containers including autoclave and balloon-shaped flask. The products were characterized by X-Ray... 

Tissue engineering is a science that tries to create new tissues by using cells, growth factors and appropriate biological materials in order to repair damaged organs and replace parts lost due to various reasons. In this research, the effect of adding mxene sheets on the oxidized alginate-gelatin hydrogel scaffold was investigated. For this purpose, mxene nanosheets were first synthesized by Max phase chemical etching and its synthesis was confirmed by X-ray diffraction spectroscoy, field emission scanning electron microscope, X-ray energy diffraction spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy. Then, in order to prepare the scaffolds, different amounts of... 

Antibacterial coatings are a branch of paints and coatings industry that has a wide application from Clothing and Textiles to Floor and Medical instrument. Different antibacterial agents such as silver, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, gold, chitosan, Silicon dioxide, Magnesium hydroxide and carbon nanotubes have been used. UV curable coatings are economic and environmentally friendly coatings and they are one of the fastest growing segments in the paint and coatings industry. Many studies have been conducted on UV curable coatings and their properties. Among different resins, The UV curable polyurethane offer properties such as: Excellent hardness, High gloss, good chemical and weather... 

The aim of this research is to create coatings with antibacterial and superhydrophobic properties. To evaluate this, the sourness angle test, bacterial culture and halo diameter test have been used. The results show that 316L stainless steel containing PDMS+TiO2+7%Ag3PO4 coating, which is applied by immersion method on the substrate, has a water contact angle of 152 degrees, the number of bacteria cfu.cm2 is 44000 and the halo diameter is 24 mm. which has the best performance among other examples. In order to increase the adhesion of coatings on 316L stainless steel, first heat treatment was performed and then the samples were placed in H2SO4:H2O2 solution for 1 hour to form its OH- groups... 

The 21st century is facing two major obstacles on the way of accessing clean and renewable energies: first, the rapidly increasing need to the energy resources; and second, the limitations - as well as side-effects - of the conventional fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the production of the solar hydrogen, through water splitting, has been proposed as a promising solution to find a clean and effective source of energy. This process occurs in photo-electro-chemical systems with the activation energy that lies within the range of visible light. One approach that herewith comes to mind, is to start the process by utilizing semiconductors to absorb the sunlight. In order to overcome the overpotential... 

In this research, first thin films with nanostructures of titanium nanotube arrays (TNAs) synthesized by anodization under different applied voltage (20- 60 V) and different reaction times (120 and 200 min). The electrolyte solution for synthesizing the samples contained 90% ethylene glycol (EG), 10% DI water, 0.1 M NHR4RF and a little HR3RPOR4R to reach the pH to 5.6. The synthesized samples crystallized under annealing treatment at 500 °C (with heating rate of 9.5 °CminP -1 P). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was indicate that the length and the inner diameter of the nanotubes have increased from 1.6 μm and 67 nm (for 30 V anodization and for 2h) to 4.2 μm and 125 nm (for... 

These days, technological advances and industrial expansion cause to increase environmental pollution. Using different kinds of chemicals in textile industries, agriculture, ... led to enter huge amount of pollutant to natural ecosystems, especially in aquatic ecosystems. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on the generation of very reactive species such as hydroxyl radicals (•OH) oxidize a broad range of pollutants quickly and non selectively. Among AOPs, heterogeneous photocatalysis using TiO2 as photo-catalyst appears as the most emerging destructive technology. In this project, TiO2 nanostructured hybrid materials were synthesized as photocatalysts by various methods including... 

The novel Micro Arc Oxidation technique (MAO) is gaining increased attention for depositing thick, dense, corrosion resistant and hard ceramic coating on metals. In this research, the effects of parameters including electrolyte composition and coating time on properties of MAO coatings formed on NiTi were investigated. The surface morphology, thickness and phase composition of coatings were investigated using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Corrosion behavior of the coatings was examined by potentiodynamic polarization. Also wear resistance was examined by pin on disk test. It was found that MAO coatings improve corrosion resistance of NiTi. All of these applied... 

Metal foams are considered as a group of new materials and are applied widely in various areas due to their particular properties such as low density, high strength-to-weight ratio and appropriate mechanical, thermal, physical, electrical and magnetic properties. The aim of the present study is acquiring the technical knowledge of Zinc foam production by melting route and also optimizing the effective parameters on the foam stability. For this reason, 4 Zinc foams were produced at different times and temperatures. The amount of Calcium as the melt fluidity reducing agent and Titanium hydride and Zinc carbonate as the blowing agent were the same in all the specimens. The effect of heat... 

Currently, fossil fuels are the primary source of energy in the world. The increasing human need for energy and the limited resources of fossil fuels and their environmental side effects necessitate the search for other sources of energy. Considering its abundance and eco-compatibility, using solar energy is one of the best candidates for future. One of the methods to use solar energy is to convert and store it as hydrogen fuel by photoelectrochemical cells. In recent years, the main challenge with the production of hydrogen fuel in photoelectrochemical is optimizing them to increase efficiency. For this purpose, various approaches have been proposed such as the fabrication and use of...