Sharif Digital Repository

In this study, spinel CuCo2O4 (CCO) with a hierarchical hollow sphere morphology was encapsulated in V2O5-decorated ultra-wrinkled graphitic carbon-nitride (VO-UCN) for the first time via a facile glycerol-assisted solvothermal method in the interest of developing a novel high-efficiency double Z-type nano-photocatalyst (denoted as VO-UCN@CCO). The remarkable physicochemical features of the as-prepared nano-photocatalysts were verified using diverse characterization techniques including TGA, XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, TEM, BET, UV–vis DRS, PL, EIS, and transient photocurrent techniques. Herein, VO-UCN@CCO nanocomposite was employed for the photodisintegration of levofloxacin (LVOF) antibiotic under... 

Developing extremely efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) is a decisive step toward the progression of rechargeable metal-oxygen batteries, CO2 reduction, and water-splitting. Nanoporous high-entropy transition-metal sulfides (np-HETMS) represent a new generation of promising OER catalysts by virtue of their exceptional catalytic activity. However, their synthesis maintains to be a challenge by reason of the thermodynamic immiscibility of the constituting multi-principal metallic elements in the sulfide structure. Herein, for the first time, the np-HETMS ((CoFeNiMnCu)S2) nanoparticles with pyrite-phase was synthesized via a facile and easy adaptable... 

In this study, a ternary ZnO@spinel cobalt ferrite@carbon nanotube magnetic photocatalyst (ZSCF@CNT) was successfully synthesized and used to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for Cefixime (CFX) antibiotic degradation under UVC irradiation. The morphology, optical, structural, and physicochemical properties of ZSCF@CNT were characterized and analyzed by XPS, XRD, FESEM-EDX, TEM, BET, VSM, UV–vis DRS and PL analysis. The results indicated that the ternary ZSCF@CNT photocatalyst exhibited superior catalytic activity on CFX elimination than that of individual components and binary composite catalysts, in which CFX with was rapidly removed under UVC irradiation and PMS. The effect of operational... 

In this study, both CuO nanoparticles and ZnO nanorods were anchored on thermally-exfoliated g-C3N4 nanosheets (denoted as CZ@T-GCN) via isoelectric point-mediated annealing process as a novel nano-photocatalyst towards degradation of amoxicillin (AMOX). The features of prepared materials were characterized using BET, UV–vis DRS, XRD, FT-IR, XPS, FE-SEM, TEM, EIS and transient photocurrent techniques. These analyses demonstrated the successful formation of heterojunctions between components of CZ@T-GCN nanocomposite, which reflected in significantly increased electron-hole separation and enhanced degradation of AMOX as compared with pure substances. The investigation of influential operative... 

In this research, the potential of bismuth chromate (BCO), a new bismuth-based semiconductor belongs to the family of Bi2XO6 (X = Mo, W, or Cr), was introduced by a novel 1D/2D structure consist of BCO nanobelts and N2-freezed ultra-wrinkled graphitic carbon nitride (N–CN) nanosheets. To enhance intimate contact between BCO and N–CN (BCO/N–CN composite), surface oxygen vacancy (VO) was created as an efficient electron transfer highway using a simple alkaline-treatment-assisted method. Various characterization techniques, including XRD, FT-IR, EPR, FE-SEM, TEM, BET, DRS, PL, EIS, and photocurrent transient analyses were conducted to elucidate the physicochemical aspects of catalysts. The... 

The metal sulfides with highly negative reduction potential and long life-span of photocreated electrons are conducive to being exceptional candidates for CO2 photoreduction, whereas they suffer from self-photo-oxidation (or photocorrosion) that puts the greatest impediment to their practical application. Up to now, the Z-type strategy is stated as a favorable solution to overtake photocorrosion of metal sulfides, while the eligible choice for coupling with these materials is still challenging. TiO2 with more negative onset potential holds favorable inherent peculiarities over other materials, which produces overlapped potential with various ranges of metal sulfides. In this investigation,... 

Aromatic and cyclic organic compounds such as nitrobenzene (NB) are widely used in various industries and are present in their wastewater. In addition, the photocatalytic process has received considerable attention due to its lower chemical consumption and more efficient degradation of refractory pollutants. In this study, a CoFe2O4-ZnO (CFZ) composite was prepared and evaluated its efficiency in the degradation of NB from aqueous solution under UV light. The optical, structural, and physicochemical properties of catalysts were characterized using PL, UV–vis DRS, XRD, TEM, FESEM-EDS, and VSM techniques and then discussed in detail. It was found that not only does the use of CF facilitate the... 

A ternary hetero-junction was prepared by anchoring ZnO@CoFe2O4 (ZCF) on activated carbon (AC) and employed as a UV-assisted peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator to boost the degradation of diazinon (DZN) pesticide. The structure, morphology, and optical properties of the ZCFAC hetero-junction were characterized through a series of techniques. The highest degradation efficiency of DZN (100% in 90 min) was achieved by the PMS-mediated ZCFAC/UV system, superior to other single or binary catalytic systems due to the strong synergistic effect between ZCFAC, PMS, and UV. The operating reaction conditions, synergistic effects, and the possible pathways of DZN degradation were investigated and... 

Multi-shelled configurations of mixed bimetallic oxides, which are well-known candidates for CO2 photoreduction, were prepared via the calcination of rigid spheres of the self-template glycerate-assisted metal-organic structure. However, the fabrication of highly efficient, stable constructions is still a significant challenge. The effectiveness of this strategy is restricted by the questionable stability of the structure, which collapses under harsh calcination conditions. Herein, we focused our attention on manipulating the initial solvothermal reaction, through which MnCo2O4 yolk-in-double-shell hollow spheres (YDSHS-MCO) were engineered via the formation of two sequential yolk-shells,... 

Developing heterogeneous catalysts with high performance for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to decontaminate organic pollutants from wastewater is of prominent importance. In this study, spinel cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) materials were coated on the surface of powdered activated carbon (CoFe2O4@PAC) via the facile co-precipitation method. The high specific surface area of PAC was beneficial for the adsorption of both bisphenol A (BP-A) and PMS molecules. The CoFe2O4@PAC-mediated PMS activation process under UV light could effectively eliminate 99.4% of the BP-A within 60 min of reaction. A significant synergy effect was attained between CoFe2O4 and PAC towards PMS activation and subsequent... 

γ-Alumina is used to catalyze the Cannizzaro reaction in the absence of any base under microwave irradiation in high yields. In the case of terephthalaldehyde the reaction is carried out with high selectivity  

Enolizable ketones have been reacted in a one-pot method with aromatic aldehydes, acetyl chloride and acetonitrile at room temperature in the presence of SnCl4/SiO2 to furnish the corresponding β-acetamidoketones in improved yields. Acetylation of an aromatic hydroxyl group was observed while using 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde or vanillin and the corresponding β-acetamidoketones were isolated in an excellent yield  

The boundary layer integral method is used to investigate the development of the turbulent swirling flow at the entrance region of a conical nozzle. The governing equations in the spherical coordinate system are simplified with the boundary layer assumptions and integrated through the boundary layer. The resulting sets of differential equations are then solved by the fourth-order Adams predictor-corrector method. The free vortex and uniform velocity profiles are applied for the tangential and axial velocities at the inlet region, respectively. Due to the lack of experimental data for swirling flows in converging nozzles, the developed model is validated against the numerical simulations. The... 

The governing equations of two-dimensional steady density currents are solved numerically using a finite volume method. The v2̄-f turbulence model, based on standard k - s model, is used for the turbulence closure. In this method, all Reynolds stress equations are replaced with both a transport equation for v2̄ and an elliptic relaxation equation for f, a parameter closely related to the pressure strain redistribution term. The Simple-C procedure is used for pressure-velocity coupling. In addition, Boussinesq's approximation is used to obtain the momentum equation. The computed height of the progressive density current is compared to the measured data in the literature, resulting in good... 

The deposition behavior of fine sediment is an important phenomenon, and yet unclear to engineers concerned about reservoir sedimentation. An elliptic relaxation turbulence model (v2̄ - f model) has been used to simulate the motion of turbid density currents laden whit fine solid particles. During the last few years, the v2̄ - f turbulence model has become increasingly popular due to its ability to account for near-wall damping without use of damping functions. In addition, it has been proved that the v2̄ - f model to be superior to other RANS methods in many fluid flows where complex flow features are present. Due to low Reynolds number turbulence of turbidity current,(its critical Reynolds... 

In this paper, an analytical solution for steady creeping motion of viscoelastic drop falling through a viscous Newtonian fluid is presented. The Oldroyd-B model is used as the constitutive equation. The analytical solutions for both interior and exterior flows are obtained using the perturbation method. Deborah number and capillary numbers are considered as the perturbation parameters. The effect of viscoelastic properties on drop shape and motion are studied in detail. The previous empirical studies indicated that unlike the Newtonian creeping drop in which the drop shape is exactly spherical, a dimpled shape appears in viscoelastic drops. It is shown that the results of the present... 

In this paper, creeping motion of a viscoelastic drop falling through a Newtonian fluid is investigated experimentally and analytically. A polymeric solution of 0.08 % xanthan gum in 80:20 glycerol/water and silicon oil is implemented as the viscoelastic drop and the bulk viscous fluids, respectively. The shape and motion of falling drops are visualized using a high speed camera. The perturbation technique is employed for both interior and exterior flows, and Deborah and capillary numbers are considered as perturbation parameters up to second order. The product of Deborah and capillary numbers is also used as a perturbation parameter to apply the boundary condition on the deformation on the... 

In this paper, we consider the problem of minimizing the uplink delays of users in a 5G cellular network. Such cellular network is based on a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) architecture with limited fronthaul capacity, where our goal is to minimize delays of all users through an optimal resource allocation. Earlier works minimize average delay of each user assuming same transmit power for all users. Combining Pareto optimization and Markov Decision Process (MDP), we show that every desired balance in the trade-off among infinite-horizon average-reward delays, is achievable by minimizing a properly weighted sum delays. In addition, we solve the problem in two realistic scenarios;... 

Microwave induced Cannizzaro reaction, which was performed in presence of neutral γ-alumina as a polymeric catalyst, was discussed. Cannizzaro reaction was carried out on alumina surface and other unknown products were also obtained. Solvent extraction method was utilized to isolate mild and selective benzyl alcohol and carboxylic acids