Sharif Digital Repository

Up to now, attempts for developing coarse-grained SnO2-based varistors which exhibit high nonlinearity property at lower voltage have become a challenge without any prominent result because of its unknown grain growth mechanism. In this study, the effect of CuO addition to SnO2-based varistors as a grain growth enhancer additive on microstructural development, grain growth kinetics, and electrical properties was investigated. The characterization of grain growth kinetics showed that CuO addition encouraged grain growth and enhanced the grains size as it could be seen in the activation energy which decreased from 594 kJ/mol to 364 kJ/mol. In the samples with a low amount of CuO, the solute... 

This research focused on making novel low-voltage SnO2 varistors by CuO addition on conventional high-voltage SnO2 varistors. Moreover, the withstand surge capability of samples was studied. The results showed that CuO addition enhances grain growth of SnO2 and coarse-grained SnO2 varistors with simple microstructures were acquired in 1 mol% CuO-doped sample. This coarse-grained SnO2 varistor presented a high nonlinear coefficient (23) and low leakage current density (23 µA/cm2) with low breakdown field value of 0.6 kV/cm. Despite the large grain size, the low residual voltage ratio (2.3) was obtained for this sample compared to the CuO-free sample. The decrease in grain electric resistivity... 

In this research, fine-grained SnO2-based varistors with a simple microstructure and the mean grain size of 0.8 µm were obtained by the microwave sintering method. The breakdown electric field measured for these varistors was 12 kV/cm that is 3 times higher than the conventional-sintered varistors. The high nonlinear coefficient (60) and low leakage current density (9 µA/cm2) were achieved in fine-grained SnO2 varistors. The fine-grained SnO2 varistors appropriately clamped pulse current surges and the calculated value of the clamping voltage ratio of these varistors was 2. The excellent electrical properties and protective effect of fine-grained SnO2 varistors showed that these varistors... 

One of the significant drawbacks of SnO2 varistors compared to their old counterpart, ZnO varistors, in high-voltage applications is their higher sintering temperature. Although the researchers have been attempting to lower the sintering temperature by employing new techniques, the obtained varistors do not show an acceptable capability to absorb surge currents. In this research, by optimizing the Bi2O3 amount added to the well-known SnO2 varistor system, the sintering temperature of varistors reduced to 1250 °C. It is for the first time that the reduction in sintering temperature of SnO2 varistors was accompanied not only with maintaining the nonlinearity of the obtained varistors, but also... 

In this research, for the first time, the effect of air quenching on the microstructural and electrical properties of (In, Nb) co-doped TiO2 was investigated. The FE-SEM images showed that the air quenching has no effect on microstructure of co-doped TiO2. However, air quenching affected the electrical properties so that the dielectric constant in the frequency of 1 kHz at room temperature sharply enhanced from 21*103 to 26*104 and the dielectric loss surprisingly decreased from 0.6 to 0.1. This incredible improvement in the dielectric properties is attributed to the electron-pined defect dipoles which has been activated through air quenching. © 2020 Elsevier B.V  

In this research, the microstructure, dielectric, and non-Ohmic properties of (Cr, Nb) co-doped SnO2 ceramics, (Cr0.5, Nb0.5)xSn1-xO2 with x% = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, and 10.0, as a colossal dielectric material and a prospective alternative to co-doped TiO2 ceramics were studied. The X-ray diffraction results indicated that in all compositions, the cassiterite phase was achieved without any secondary phases. Moreover, field-emission secondary electron microscopy showed that the microstructure of samples has different morphologies including typical grains, enlarged grains and prism-like grains microstructure for various sintered samples. The maximum dielectric constant (2737) accompanied by... 

In this research, full density, single phase microstructure (in the XRD and SEM detection limits), and fine-grained SnO2 varistors with an average grain size of 0.65 μm was acquired at low temperature by the two-step sintering technique. The sintering temperature was successfully decreased from 1300 °C in the normal sintering to 1150 °C and 1100 °C of respectively the first and the second stage in the two-step sintering. The mechanism of grain growth suppression of the two-step sintered samples was discussed and it was suggested that in addition to triple point junction, solute drag and/or nano-secondary phases contribute to cease the grain growth. These SnO2 varistors exhibited ultra-high... 

In this research, for the first time, SnO2-based varistors were fabricated via spark plasma sintering technique (SPS) and the microstructure and electrical properties of these varistors were investigated. Furthermore, the effect of post-annealing temperature in oxygen atmosphere on electrical properties of the SPSed samples was studied. The SPS process was performed at the sintering temperatures of 600, 650, and 700 ᵒC for 15 min with a maximum pressure of 90 MPa under vacuum condition. The SPSed sample which was sintered at 650 ᵒC possessed maximum density of 98% and the ultra-fine-grained microstructure with the mean grain size of 380 nm. Surprisingly, all SPSed samples exhibited Ohmic... 

Up to now, multifunctional varistor-capacitor materials were based on TiO2, even though these materials failed to have practical applications. For the first time, in this research, multifunctional varistor-capacitor properties are observed in the CuO-doped SnO2-CoO-Sb2O3 system. The XRD analysis showed that this system has a single phase microstructure. SEM images indicated that the CuO addition resulted in a better densification and larger grain size. The very low electric breakdown field of the CuO-doped SnO2-CoO-Sb2O3 system (12 V/mm, similar to TiO2), is a consequence of coarse-grained microstructure. This varistor had a suitable surge withstand capability as well. The colossal... 

In this research, effects of two-step sintering parameters, such as first and second step sintering temperatures (T1 and T2, respectively) and soaking time in the second step, on microstructure and electrical properties of ZnO varistors have been studied. In addition, slow rate of grain growth in the second step of sintering has also been investigated. Near fully dense (higher than 99%) and sub-micron grain size (1-0.75 μm) ZnO varistors have been fabricated by different two-step sintering cycles. Decreasing T1 and T2 result in longer necessary time in the second step to reach near full density with smaller final grain size. The superior electrical properties of varistors (VB: 2050-1022 V/mm... 

The development of noble-metal-free electrocatalysts with enhanced active sites is of great significance for the production of renewable energy on large scale. Ultrathin transition metal compounds (e.g., phosphides and sulfides) have unique structural features but their stability and electroactivity must still be improved for practical applications. We propose a new strategy to synthesis ultrathin sheets of Ni-Cu-Co transition metals on porous nickel and self-assemble them into yarn-shaped microspheres. Enhance catalytic activity and stability are then attained by thermochemical phosphorization without morphological modifications. We employed various analytical techniques including XRD, SEM,... 

Biosensors could be used as digital devices to measure the sample infield. Consequently, computational programming along with experimental achievements are required. In this study, a novel biosensor/artificial neural network (ANN) integrated system was developed. Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene)(PEDOT), graphene oxide nano-sheets (GONs) and laccase (Lac) were used to construct a biosensor. The simple and one-pot process was accomplished by electropolymerizing 3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene (EDOT) along with GONs and Lac as dopants on glassy carbon electrode. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical characterization were conducted to confirm successful enzyme entrapment. The... 

The cavity quantum electrodynamics of various complex systems is here analyzed using a general versatile code developed in this research. Such quantum multi-partite systems normally consist of an arbitrary number of quantum dots in interaction with an arbitrary number of cavity modes. As an example, a nine-partition system is simulated under different coupling regimes, consisting of eight emitters interacting with one cavity mode. Two-level emitters (e.g. quantum dots) are assumed to have an arrangement in the form of a linear chain, defining the mutual dipole-dipole interactions. It was observed that plotting the system trajectory in the phase space reveals a chaotic behavior in the... 

Up to 8wt. % of Nano-iron oxide was added to CaO refractory matrix. The crystalline phases and microstructure characteristics of specimens sintered at 1650°C for 5h in an electric furnace were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The physical properties are reported in terms of bulk density, apparent porosity and hydration resistance. The mechanical behavior was studied by a cold crushing strength (CCS) and flexural strength at 1200°C test. As a result, it was found that the presence of Nano-iron oxide in the CaO refractory matrix induced 2CaO.Fe2O3 (C2F), CaO.Fe2O3 (CF) and 3CaO.Al2O3 (C3A) phase's formation, which improved the sintering... 

Due to unique advantages, the development of high-performance supercapacitors has stimulated a great deal of scientific research over the past decade. The electrochemical performance of a supercapacitor is strongly affected by the surface and structural properties of its electrode materials. Herein, we report a facile synthesis of high-performance supercapacitor electrode material based on CuS nano-hollow spheres with nanoporous structures, large specific surface area (97 m2 g−1) and nanoscale shell thickness (<20 nm). This interesting electrode structure plays a key role in providing more active sites for electrochemical reactions, short ion and electron diffusion pathways and facilitated... 

In recent years, development of high-performance supercapacitor electrode materials has stimulated a great deal of scientific research. The electrochemical performance of a supercapacitor strongly depends on its material structures. Herein, we report a simple strategy for high-performance supercapacitors by building pseudocapacitive CuS nanospheres with nanoporous structures, nanosized walls (<10 nm) and relatively large specific surface area of 65 m2/g. This electrode demonstrates excellent electrochemical performance including a maximum specific capacitance of 814 F/g at 1 A/g, significant rate capability of 42% capacitance retention at an ultrafast rate of 50 A/g, and outstanding... 

In this study, SnO 2-based varistors were prepared from mechanically activated nanocrystalline powders. Nanocrystalline powders were derived by subjecting the initial powders to intensive high-energy activation with different times and ball to powder ratio. The effect of activation parameters on the powder properties and sintering temperature, as well as microstructural, micro-electrical and macro-electrical properties of the final specimens was evaluated. Varistors derived from high-energy mechanical activation exhibit a higher density (98.3% relative density) and more refined microstructure upon sintering at 1,300 °C in comparison varistors prepared from conventional powders. Breakdown...