Sharif Digital Repository

Convective heat transfer plays a significant role in numerous industrial cooling and heating applications. This method of heat transfer can be passively improved by reconfiguring flow passage, fluid thermophysical properties, or boundary conditions. The broader scope of nanotechnology introduced several studies of thermal engineering and heat transfer. Nano-fluids are one of such technology which can be thought of engineered colloidal fluids with nano-sized particles. In the present study, turbulent forced convection heat transfer to nanofluids in an axisymmetric abrupt expansion heat exchanger was investigated experimentally. During heat transfer investigation, the functionalized... 

ZnO nanoparticles were fabricated via hydrothermal method and an amorphous TiO2 layer was then coated on the nanoparticles via sol-gel route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies showed that the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were hexagonal with wurtzite structure and an average particle size of 38 nm. The thickness of the titanium oxide layer was determined to be 20-40 nm. The photocatalytic decolorization of Methylene blue under UV irradiation indicated that as-prepared TiO 2-capped ZnO is inferior than ZnO particles. Nevertheless, calcinations of the particles at 350 °C for 24 h significantly improved the photo-activity of the ZnO/TiO2 core/shell... 

Hybrid bioactive inorganic-organic carbon-based nanocomposites of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets enlarged with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were decorated to provide a suitable space forin situgrowth of CoNi2S4and green-synthesized ZnO nanoparticles. The ensuing nanocarrier supplied π-π interactions between the DOX drug and a stabilizing agent derived from leaf extracts on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles and hydrogen bonds; gene delivery of (p)CRISPR was also facilitated by chitosan and alginate renewable macromolecules. Also, these polymers can inhibit the potential interactions between the inorganic parts and cellular membranes to reduce the potential cytotoxicity.... 

Covalently functionalized carbon nanoplatelets and non-covalent functionalized metal oxides nanoparticles (surfactant-treated) have been used to synthesize water-based nanofluids in this paper. To prove nanofluid stability, ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy is used, and the results show that nanofluid is stable for sixty days for carbon and thirty days for metal oxides. The thermophysical properties are evaluated experimentally and validated with theoretical models. Thermal conductivities of f-GNPs, SiO2, and ZnO nanofluids are enhanced by 25.68%, 11.49%, and 15.42%, respectively. Lu-Li and Bruggeman's thermal conductivity models are correctly matched with the experimental data.... 

Covalently functionalized carbon nanoplatelets and non-covalent functionalized metal oxides nanoparticles (surfactant-treated) have been used to synthesize water-based nanofluids in this paper. To prove nanofluid stability, ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy is used, and the results show that nanofluid is stable for sixty days for carbon and thirty days for metal oxides. The thermophysical properties are evaluated experimentally and validated with theoretical models. Thermal conductivities of f-GNPs, SiO2, and ZnO nanofluids are enhanced by 25.68%, 11.49%, and 15.42%, respectively. Lu-Li and Bruggeman's thermal conductivity models are correctly matched with the experimental data.... 

Ce-doped ZnO and pure ZnO nanocomposite thin films with different Ce/Zn ratios (0, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 at.%) have been prepared by sol-gel method at optimum annealing temperature of 500 °C. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis spectrophotometry. According to our XPS data analysis, there are three major metal ions namely Ce3+, Ce4+ and Zn 2+ that coexist on the surface. The XRD measurements indicate that the ZnO thin films have a hexagonal wurtzite structure, and CeO2 crystallites formed in the Ce-doped ZnO nanocomposite thin films. Photoelectrochemical property of the samples was studied by three... 

Nanocrystalline zinc titanate (ZnTiO3) thin films and powders with purity of 94% were produced at the low sintering temperature of 500 °C and the short sintering time of 1 h by a straightforward aqueous particulate sol-gel route. The effect of Zn:Ti molar ratio was studied on the crystallisation behaviour of zinc titanates. The prepared sols showed a narrow particle size distribution in the range 17-19 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that the powders contained mixtures of the rhombohedral-ZnTiO3, cubic-ZnO, cubic-Zn2TiO4 phases, as well as the anatase-TiO2 and the rutile-TiO2 depending on the sintering temperature and Zn:Ti molar ratio.... 

Arrays of ZnO nanorods were synthesized on ZnO seed layer/glass substrates by a hydrothermal method at a low temperature of 70 °C. The effect of pH > 7 of the hydrated zinc nitrate-NaOH precursor on the morphology and topography (e.g. size, surface area and roughness), the optical characteristics (e.g. optical transmission and band-gap energy), hydrophilicity and antibacterial activity of the grown ZnO nanostructure and nanorod coatings were investigated. For pH = 11.33 of the precursor (NaOH concentration of 0.10M), a fast growth of ZnO nanorods on the seed layer (length of ∼1 νm in 1.5 h) was observed. The fast growth of the ZnO nanorods resulted in a significant reduction in the optical... 

With continual rapid developments in the biomedical field and understanding of the important mechanisms and pharmacokinetics of biological molecules, controlled drug delivery systems (CDDSs) have been at the forefront over conventional drug delivery systems. Over the past several years, scientists have placed boundless energy and time into exploiting a wide variety of excipients, particularly diverse polymers, both natural and synthetic. More recently, the development of nano polymer blends has achieved noteworthy attention due to their amazing properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and more importantly, their pivotal role in controlled and sustained drug release in vitro and... 

Acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also called COVID-19, is one of the most contagious viruses resulting in a progressive pandemic. Since specific antiviral treatments have not been developed yet and its fatal rate is almost high, early and fast detection is critical for controlling the outbreak. In this study, a piezoelectric microcantilever biosensor has been designed for detecting COVID-19 samples directly without requiring preparation steps. The biosensor acts as a transducer and is coated with the related antibody. When the SARS-CoV-2 antigens adsorbed on the microcantilever top surface through their spike proteins, a surface stress due to the mass change would be... 

Overexpression of proteins/antigens and other gene-related sequences in the bodies could lead to significant mutations and refractory diseases. Detection and identification of assorted trace concentrations of such proteins/antigens and/or gene-related sequences remain challenging, affecting different pathogens and making viruses stronger. Correspondingly, coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) mutations/alterations and spread could lead to overexpression of ssDNA and the related antigens in the population and brisk activity in gene-editing technologies in the treatment/detection may lead to the presence of pCRISPR in the blood. Therefore, the detection and evaluation of their trace concentrations are of... 

Viral diseases have long been among the biggest challenges for healthcare systems around the world. The recent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an example of how complicated the situation can get if we are not prepared to combat a viral outbreak in time, which brings up the need for quick and affordable biosensing platforms and vast knowledge of potential antiviral effects and drug/gene delivery opportunities. The same challenges have also existed for nonviral immunogenic disorders. Nanomedicine is considered a novel candidate for effectively overcoming these worldwide challenges. Among the versatile nanomaterials commonly used in biomedical applications, graphene has recently...