Sharif Digital Repository

Vertically aligned ZnO@CdS nanorod heterostructure films with various loadings of CdS nanoparticle shell were synthesized and applied in photoinactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria under visible light irradiation. While neither the bare ZnO nanorods (with band-gap energy (Eg) of ∼3.28 eV) under visible light irradiation nor the nanorod heterostructures in dark exhibited any significant antibacterial activity, the ZnO@CdS nanorod heterostructures (with Eg ∼2.5-2.6 eV) could successfully inactivate the bacteria under visible light irradiation. Furthermore, it was found that an optimum loading of the CdS shell (corresponding to the effective thickness less than ∼15 nm) is required to achieve... 

The physical and photoelectrochemical properties of the anodized ZnO-TiO2 thin films were investigated in this study. Impedance spectroscopy revealed a decrease in charge transfer resistance and Tafel plots determined enhancement of about 200 times in the exchange current (i 0) after anodization at high positive potential. It was found from XPS analysis that after applying the potential of 5 V to the ZnO-TiO2 photoelectrode, the lattice oxygen (O2-) in the thin film is oxidized to molecular oxygen and then, cations such as Zn2+ can be solved in the basic electrolyte and passed to the solution. Moreover, according to AFM analysis it was observed that the surface of the samples has been... 

Free-standing TiO2 nanotube array (TNA) films were fabricated via two-step anodization of a titanium sheet. The X-ray diffraction pattern indicated amorphous TNAs were transformed into anatase after annealing the films at 500 °C in air. The surface of TNA was modified by a sequential-chemical bath deposition (S-CBD) method to fabricate Ag2S nanoparticles and forming TNA/Ag2S-n nanostructure, by varying the number of cycles (n). Based on SEM observations, the produced films consisted of vertically ordered tubular structure arrays, each with 125 nm in diameter and 4.1 μm in length containing silver sulphide nanoparticles of ∼12 nm diameter. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the... 

In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotube array (TNA) films are fabricated via anodization of titanium (Ti) sheet. After annealing, the films consisted of well ordered, vertically oriented TNAs of 125±6nm diameter, 38±3nm wall thickness, and 2.9±0.3μm in length. Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles are deposited on the synthesized TNAs by sequential-chemical bath deposition (S-CBD) method with different immersion cycle (n) to produce heterogeneous TNA/CdS-n (n=10, 20 and 30) nanostructures. UV-visible absorption spectra of the samples revealed that the absorption edge of CdS modified TNAs was shifted to a higher wavelength with respect to the pure TNAs indicating band gap reduction of... 

Utilizing earth-abundant seawater over scarce freshwater for hydrogen fuel production via water electrolysis is a promising/sustainable strategy. However, the serious anodic corrosion due to the competing chloride oxidation reaction significantly hampers the overall stability of the electrolyzer. Therefore, it demands an efficient and robust catalyst with high selectivity and corrosion resistance for direct seawater splitting. Here, we present a bifunctional catalyst developed by morphology engineering to form nanorod array-based hierarchical NiO microspheres (NRAHM-NiO) as a three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical oxide/hydroxide urchin-like structure material for highly selective seawater... 

In the present research, we investigate the synergistic effects of Ru-doping and Ar/H2 reduction treatment on the photoelectrochemical water splitting performance and hydrogen evolution rate of TiO2 nanotube array photoelectrodes. The Ti-Ru alloy with 0.2 at. % Ru was used to grow anodic self-organized Ru-doped TiO2 nanotube layers. An ideal synergy between Ar/H2 reduction treatment and Ru-doping results in the extended absorption toward the visible light region and improved photoelectrocatalytic activity. The black Ru-doped TiO2-x photoanode's water splitting rate improves remarkably (∼ninefold) compared to the black TiO2-x sample (∼twofold). Moreover, the black Ru-doped TiO2-x photoanode... 

Abstract We report the well-controlled preparation of WS2 nanosheets-CdS nanoparticle heterojunction for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting application. The WS2 nanosheets with an average thickness of ~5 nm and lateral dimensions of ~200 nm were synthesized via liquid phase exfoliation of bulk WS2 in water/ethanol solution, followed by deposition onto ITO substrate via electrophoretic method. CdS nanoparticles were grown via facile successive ion layer absorption and reaction (SILAR) method. Using these two well-controlled methods, CdS/WS2/ITO and WS2/CdS/ITO systems were fabricated. The loading of WS2 nanosheets was... 

A very simple and well-controlled procedure was employed to prepare CdS nanoparticle/few-layer MoS2 nanosheet/Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film heterostructures. To tune and fabricate the CdS/MoS2(t)/ITO thin films with various surface topographies, first electrophoretic deposition (EPD) was used to deposit MoS2 nanosheets on the ITO substrate under an optimized applied potential difference (8 V) for different deposition times (t) of 30, 60, 120 and 240 s. Then, CdS nanoparticles were deposited via a successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The highest photo-current density of 285 μA cm-2 was measured for the CdS/MoS2(60 s)/ITO sample, which was about 2.3 times higher... 

In this research, we investigate the effect of alkali metal cations including Li, Na and Cs in hydrothermal solution on the morphology, stability, and photoactivity of nanostructured TiO2 nanoflakes as a photoanode. The TiO2 nanoflakes are formed through hydrothermal treatment of Ti foil in 1.0 M LiOH, NaOH or CsOH at 100 °C for 3 h. By subsequent thermal reduction of the structure in an optimized Ar/H2 environment, conductive TiO2 nanoflakes were formed. The reduction treatment remarkably improves the photocurrent density of the TiO2 nanoflakes and has the highest impact on the sample treated in the NaOH alkali solution. For the nanoflakes produced in NaOH alkali solution, the bandgap is... 

A series of reduced graphene oxide/ZnxCd1-xS (RGO/ZnxCd1-xS) nanocomposites (0 < x < 1) with different ratios of Zn/Cd were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route under optimized experimental conditions and were carefully characterized by various techniques. Because very little is known about the morphology, specific surface area, and crystal phase effects of RGO/ZnxCd1-xS crystals on their photoresponsivity, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), BET surface area analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) data were studied to investigate their effects on photoactivity. Based on the results, a crystal phase transition from a cubic phase in RGO/Zn0.9Cd0.1S to a hexagonal... 

We introduce dynamic plastic continuous neural network (DPCNN), which is comprised of neurons distributed in a nonlinear plastic medium where wire-like connections of neural networks are replaced with the continuous medium. We use finite element method to model the dynamic phenomenon of information processing within the DPCNNs. During the training, instead of weights, the properties of the continuous material at its different locations and some properties of neurons are modified. Input and output can be vectors and/or continuous functions over lines and/or areas. Delay and feedback from neurons to themselves and from outputs occur in the DPCNNs. We model a simple form of the DPCNN where the... 

Real-time detection of Covid-19 has definitely been the most widely-used world-wide classification problem since the start of the pandemic from 2020 until now. In the meantime, airspace opacities spreads related to lung have been of the most challenging problems in this area. A common approach to do on that score has been using chest X-ray images to better diagnose positive Covid-19 cases. Similar to most other classification problems, machine learning-based approaches have been the first/most-used candidates in this application. Many schemes based on machine/deep learning have been proposed in recent years though increasing the performance and accuracy of the system has still remained an... 

Travel speeds between 25–300 mm/min and tool rotational speeds of 800 and 1250 rpm were employed for this study. The microstructure, mechanical properties and fracture surfaces of the joints were studied. Underwater environment and an increase in travel speed significantly increase the precipitates’ volume fraction, reduce the average grain and precipitate sizes of the weld nugget zones. A critical travel speed of 150 mm/min is attained in underwater welds beyond which the average grain sizes remain relatively the same. Average grain and precipitate sizes have linear relationships with the tool rotational and travel speed ratio. Optimum weld strengths of 396 and 360 MPa were obtained in the... 

This paper examines the use of pre-fabricated interlocking arms/threading in enhancing the strength of friction stir spot welded hybrid joints of AA2219/PP-C30S polypropylene polymer by varying parameter combination. The process involves the fabrication of a pre-threaded hole on the Al alloy prior to the joining process, and the threading/crest-pitch profile aids mechanical interlocking. The peak temperature, crest-pitch interlocked profiles, microstructural and mechanical properties of the joints were examined. The results show that an increase in the tool rotational speed increases the thickness of the reaction layer (between the Al and the polymer substrates), the shear-tensile load... 

Graphene oxide (GO)–chitosan composite layers with stacked layer structures were synthesized using chemically exfoliated GO sheets (with lateral dimensions of ∼1 μm and thickness of ∼1 nm), and applied as antibacterial and flexible nanostructured templates for stem cell proliferation. By increasing the GO content from zero to 6 wt%, the strength and elastic modulus of the layers increased ∼80% and 45%, respectively. Similar to the chitosan layer, the GO–chitosan composite layers showed significant antibacterial activity (>77% inactivation after only 3 h) against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Surface density of the actin cytoskeleton fibers of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) cultured... 

Superparamagnetic ZnFe2O4/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites containing ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (with ∼5-20 nm sizes) attached onto rGO sheets (with ∼1 μm lateral dimensions) were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction method. By increasing the graphene content of the composite from 0 to 40 wt%, the size as well as the number of the ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles decreased and the saturated magnetization of the composites reduced from 10.2 to 1.8 emu/g, resulting in lower responses to external magnetic fields. Concerning this, the time needed for 90% separation of ZnFe2O4/rGO (40 wt%) composite from its solution (2 mg/mL in ethanol) was found 60 min in the presence of an external magnetic field (∼1...