Sharif Digital Repository

The wide utilization of nanomanipulation as a promising approach in microorganisms, nanoelectromechanical systems, and assembly of nanostructures remarks the importance of nanostructures' motion in electric fields. Here, we study the rotational dynamics of metallic and non-metallic nanowires (NWs) in a static uniform electric field in viscous dielectric liquids. For metallic NWs, it has been theoretically shown that the electric field-induced rotation is practically independent of the geometrical dimensions and the electrical properties of NWs. Our experimental results for suspended silver (Ag) NWs in microscope oil are perfectly in agreement with this model. However, in the case of TiO2... 

We report an approach for collecting, charging, and exceedingly fast motion of silver nanowires (Ag NWs) using an external static electric field. With a proper choice of suspension medium, dispersed Ag NWs can be efficiently driven to align and accumulate vertically on the edges of two parallel gold microelectrodes on a glass substrate surface by dielectrophoresis. Then, at sufficiently high electric fields (> 2.0 × 10 5 V/m), these NWs break at the electrode contact point while carrying some net charge. Afterwards, they immediately accelerate in the field direction and, despite an extremely low Reynolds number for the motion of NWs in viscous liquids, move with high speeds (> 25 mm/s)... 

In this investigation, we have studied the elemental diffusion coefficients of the Cu/Ta and Ta/Si interfaces in the Cu/Ta/Si(1 1 1) structure. The diffusion parameters for Cu diffusion into the Ta barrier layer, Ta diffusion into the Si substrate and diffusion of Si atoms into the Ta layer have been calculated using conversion of RBS data to concentration-depth profile curves and the solution of Fick's equation based on a constant diffusing amount boundary conditions. Furthermore, by calculating grain boundary diffusion coefficients, we have estimated grain boundary slabs of the Ta layer at different temperatures. It was shown that, the width of grain boundary slabs in the Ta layer at 700°C... 

To investigate the Ta/Co/Cu/Co/NiO/Si(100) spin valve structure, fabrication and characterization of the Cu/Co/NiO/Si(100) system was studied for further understanding the structure. The system was grown by employing combinative DC sputtering-evaporation technique. Nickel oxide with a thickness of about 30 nm was deposited on Si(100) substrate using thermal evaporation technique.The cobalt film, then, with a thickness of about 3 nm was grown by DC sputtering under various applied negative bias voltages ranging from 0 to - 80 V. The optimum bias voltage (Vb = -60 V) for the growth of Co layer was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), four-point probe sheet measurement (Rs) and scanning... 

In this investigation, we have studied the kinetics and mechanism of photocatalytic conversion of methane into methanol reaction over the MoO 3(010) surface using a computer simulation method. Methane and oxygen as the reactants are used at room temperature and atmospheric pressure under UV photoirradiation of the catalyst. According to our data analysis, the order of methanol formation reaction with respect to CH4 and O 2 was determined to be l = 0.30 and m = -1.03, respectively. The highest methanol formation rate (TOF) value was obtained at about 0.05 molecule/s.site in a range of 25-35 W/cm2 incident light intensity with energy hv ≥ Eg. The selectivity of CH3OH was increased with... 

In this investigation, we have studied the effect of negative bias voltage on the properties of a sputtered Ta layer deposited at high Ar pressure (13.3 Pa) which is used as a diffusion barrier in a Cu/Ta/Si structure focusing on its silicidation process. According to Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, the Cu(85 nm)/Ta(100 nm, unbiased)/Si(111) structure was found to be stable up to 300°C in a N2 environment for 30 min. At a temperature of 450°C, TaSi2 was formed at the Ta/Si(111) interface, and the Ta diffusion barrier completely failed. By applying various negative bias voltages ranging from 0 to -150 V, an optimum bias voltage of Vb = -50 V for the sputtered Ta layer was found from... 

We have studied systematically photocatalytic properties of the vertically aligned ZnO@CdS core-shell nanorods where the features were grown through a multistep procedure including sol-gel for the formation of ZnO seed layer, hydrothermal process to grow ZnO nanorods, and successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) process to deposit CdS nanoshells onto the ZnO nanorods. Formation of the ZnO seed layer and vertically aligned ZnO nanorods (d ∼ 40 nm) with a hexagonal cross-section was confirmed by AFM and SEM imaging. Successful capping of ZnO nanorods with homogeneous CdS nanocrystallites (∼5 nm) was ascertained by HRTEM diffraction and imaging. Optical properties of the samples... 

ZnO/gC 3 N 4 hybrid nanofibers containing different concentrations of gC 3 N 4 nanosheets were prepared using electrospinning technique; this was followed by annealing at 460 forC for one hour in a box furnace. Based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image analysis, the mean diameter of the nanofibers was measured to be ~ 55 nm. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the presence of ZnO and gC 3 N 4 in the prepared nanofibers. The photocatalytic activity of the nanofibers was examined under UV photoirradiation, showing that the ZCN0.5 nanofibers containing 0.5 wt% of gC 3 N 4exhibited the highest performance, as compared to other photocatalysts. The observed improvement... 

Lithium intercalation is a convenient method to prepare few-layer and single-layer MS2 (M=Mo, W) nanosheets. This method is, however, very time-consuming (few days) and it is difficult to control the reaction parameters. To overcome these drawbacks, we have proposed a method to use an Li battery set-up to significantly reduce the reaction time (few hours) and electrochemically intercalate lithium ions into MS2 layers in a controllable manner. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy results revealed that MoS2 and WS2 single-layer (thickness of ~ 1 nm) nanosheets with the 1T phase were prepared after intercalation in an Li battery set-up.... 

Lithium intercalation is a convenient method to prepare few-layer and single-layer MS2 (M=Mo, W) nanosheets. This method is, however, very time-consuming (few days) and it is difficult to control the reaction parameters. To overcome these drawbacks, we have proposed a method to use an Li battery set-up to significantly reduce the reaction time (few hours) and electrochemically intercalate lithium ions into MS2 layers in a controllable manner. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy results revealed that MoS2 and WS2 single-layer (thickness of ~ 1 nm) nanosheets with the 1T phase were prepared after intercalation in an Li battery set-up.... 

In this investigation, we have studied the kinetics and mechanism of formation and desorption of H2S on the Pt(111) surface using a kinetic random walk model. The effect of temperature on the H2S formation was studied in the range of 85-150 K. It was observed that a maximum amount of H2S is formed at 90 K and the amount is reduced at higher temperatures. H2S production yield as a function of time at different initial sulfur coverage ranging from 0.02 to 0.33 ML (1 ML ≃ 1 x 1015 atoms/cm2) was also examined. It was obvious that as the initial S coverage increases, the rate of H2S formation rapidly increases and reaches a maximum value and then declines gradually. Furthermore, according to our... 

Novel ZnO-carbon and ZnO nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning of polymer precursor followed by subsequent annealing in nitrogen and air, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated the smooth and beadless nanofibers with wurtzite crystal structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the presence of oxygen vacancies (VO) and chemisorbed O2 on the surface of the samples. Band gap narrowing of the ZnO-carbon nanofibers in comparison to ZnO were measured by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Photo-degradation of azo dye under the UV and visible light was evaluated and ZnO-carbon showed an enhancement in... 

In this work, we have studied thermal stability of nanoscale Ag metallization and its contact with CoSi 2 in heat-treated Ag(50 nm)/W(10 nm)/Co(10 nm)/Si(1 0 0) multilayer fabricated by sputtering method. To evaluate thermal stability of the systems, heat-treatment was performed from 300 to 900 °C in an N 2 ambient for 30 min. All the samples were analyzed by four-point-probe sheet resistance measurement (R s ), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Based on our data analysis, no interdiffiusion, phase formation, and R s variation was observed up to 500 °C in which the Ag layer showed a (1 1 1) preferred crystallographic... 

In this research, we have focused on the formation of Ag nanoparticles dispersed in SiO2 matrix using sol-gel method. The influences of the metal concentration on the size variation of Ag nanoparticles and the size effect on the surface plasmon absorption have been studied. Sol-gel silica thin films containing Ag particles were synthesized by dip-coating on soda-lime glasses. The molar ratio of Ag / Si was chosen from 0.2% to 8%. All films were dried in air at 100 °C for 1 h. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the Ag / Si ratios in the prepared films have been measured. In addition, it was shown that the prepared matrix was a stoichiometric composition as SiO2, and the synthesized... 

The fabrication of supported noble metal nanocrystals (NCs) with well-controlled morphologies have been attracted considerable interests due to their merits in a wide variety of applications. Photodeposition is a facile and effective method to load metals over semiconductors in a simple slurry reactor under irradiation. By optimizing the photodeposition process, the size, chemical states, and the geometrical distribution of metal NCs have been successfully tuned. However, metal NCs with well-controlled shapes through the photodeposition process have not been reported until now. Here, we report our important advances in the controlled photodeposition process to load regular noble metal NCs.... 

The Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/WO3 nanocomposite thin films with different MWCNT's weight percentages were prepared by sol-gel method as visible light induced photoanode in water splitting reaction. Weight percentage of MWCNT in the all nanocomposite thin films was confirmed by TGA/DSC analysis. According to XPS analysis, oxygenated groups at the surface of the MWCNT and stoichiometric formation of WO3 thin films were determined, while the crystalline structure of the nanocomposite samples was studied by XRD indicating (0 0 2) peak of MWCNT in the monoclinic phase of WO3. The influence of different weight percentage (wt%) of MWCNT on WO3 photoactivity showed that the electron... 

The ZnO nanowires have been synthesized using vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process on Au catalyst thin film deposited on different substrates including Si(1 0 0), epi-Si(1 0 0), quartz and alumina. The influence of surface roughness of different substrates and two different environments (Ar + H2 and N2) on formation of ZnO nanostructures was investigated. According to AFM observations, the degree of surface roughness of the different substrates is an important factor to form Au islands for growing ZnO nanostructures (nanowires and nanobelts) with different diameters and lengths. Si substrate (without epi-taxy layer) was found that is the best substrate among Si (with epi-taxy layer), alumina and... 

In this research, initially anodization process was used to fabricate ZnO nanorods on Zn substrate and then RF sputtering technique was applied to grow a thin layer of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon) on the coated ZnO nanorods for producing a superhydrophobic surface. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, ZnO nanorods were formed with average diameter and length of about ∼180 nm and 14 μm, respectively. Superhydrophilic property of ZnO nanorods and superhydrophobic property of PTFE/ZnO nanorods was investigated by water contact angle (WCA) measurements. It was found that the contact angle varied with the PTFE deposition time. The highest contact angle... 

Energy and environment crises motivated scientists to develop sustainable, renewable, and clean energy resources mainly based on solar hydrogen. For this purpose, one main challenge is the low cost flexible substrates for designing earth abundant efficient cocatalysts to reduce required water oxidation overpotential. Here, a systematic morphological and electrochemical study has been reported for cobalt oxide/hydroxide nanoflakes simply electrodeposited on four different commercially available substrates, titanium, copper sheet, steel mesh, and nickel foam. Remarkable dependence between the used substrate, morphology, and electrocatalytic properties of nanoflakes introduced flexible porous...