The present study focuses on synthesizing solar selective absorber thin films, combining nanostructured, binary transition metal spinel features and a composite oxide of Co and Ni. Single-layered designs of crystalline spinel-type oxides using a facile, easy and relatively cost-effective wet chemical spray pyrolysis method were prepared with a crystalline structure of MxCo3−xO4. The role of the annealing temperature on the solar selective performance of nickel-cobalt oxide thin films (∼725 ± 20 nm thick) was investigated. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of high crystalline quality thin films with a crystallite size in the range of 27–52 nm. The highest solar absorptance (∼85.2%) and the lowest thermal emittance (∼4.45%) along with the highest values of both hardness and the Young’s modulus (19.1 GPa and 104 GPa, respectively) were obtained for the film annealed at 600 °C. In addition, the synthesized nickel-cobalt oxide thin films show band gap energies in the range of 1.15–1.38 eV and excellent thermal stability at higher temperatures, which makes them interesting candidates for solar absorbing applications.
Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye grown for use as animal feed. In Florida, due to its soft coat, triticale is highly vulnerable to Sitophilus oryzae L. (rice weevil) and there is interest in development of methods to detect early-instar larvae so that infestations can be targeted before they become economically damaging. The objective of this study was to develop prediction models of the infestation degree for triticale seed infested with rice weevils of different growth stages. Spectral signatures were tested as a method to detect rice weevils in triticale seed. Groups of seeds at 11 different levels (degrees) of infestation, 0–62%, were obtained by combining different ratios of infested and uninfested seeds. A spectrophotometer wa
... Show MoreCarbon dioxide geo-sequestration (CGS) into sediments in the form of (gas) hydrates is one proposed method for reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and, thus reducing global warming and climate change. However, there is a serious lack of understanding of how such CO2 hydrate forms and exists in sediments. We thus imaged CO2 hydrate distribution in sandstone, and investigated the hydrate morphology and cluster characteristics via x-ray micro-computed tomography in 3D in-situ. A substantial amount of gas hydrate (∼17% saturation) was observed, and the stochastically distributed hydrate clusters followed power-law relations with respect to their size distributions and surface area-volume relationships. The layer-
... Show MoreThe new of compounds synthesized by sequence reactions starting from a reaction of 3-phenylenediamine or 4-phenylenediamine with chloroacetyl chloride to produce the compounds [I]a,b, then the compounds[I]a,b reacted with sodium azide to yield compounds[II]a,b that reacted 1,3-dipolarcycloaddition reaction with acrylic acid to give compounds [III]a,b these compounds reacted with methanol led to ester compounds[IV]a,b then reacted with hydrazine to give acid hydrazide [V]a,b . Finally compounds [V]a,b reacted with aromatic aldehydes to product shiff bases derivatives. The compounds characterized by mp. , IR, 1HNMR in addition to mass spectroscopy for some of them the liquid crystals properties were studied by using polarized optical microsco
... Show MoreSol-gel derived CuCo-oxide coatings as solar selective surfaces, synthesized onto aluminium substrates at various annealing temperatures, are analysed by correlating their structural, chemical bonding states, and surface morphological topographies. As the annealing progressed, all the coatings displayed a Cu0.56Co2.44O4 (ICSD 78-2175) phase with preferential orientation along (400) reflection plane. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) data indicate that residual stress and microstrains developed around the coating surfaces are reduced resulting in mechanically stable thin films. Enhancement of the crystallite size and preferred orientation of the surface were confirmed via XRD, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM),
... Show MoreThe aim of this work is to enhance the mechanical properties of the glass ionomer cement GIC (dental materials) by adding Zirconium Oxide ZrO2 in both micro and nano particles. GIC were mixed with (3, 5 and 7) wt% of both ZrO2 micro and nanoparticles separately. Compressive strength (CS), biaxial flexural strength (BFS), Vickers Microhardness (VH) and wear rate losses (WR) were investigated. The maximum compression strength was 122.31 MPa with 5 wt. % ZrO2 micro particle, while 3wt% nanoparticles give highest Microhardness and biaxial flexural strength of 88.8 VHN and 35.79 MPa respectively. The minimum wear rate losses were 3.776µg/m with 7 wt. % ZrO2 nanoparticle. GIC-contai
... Show MoreIn this work we used the environmentally friendly method to prepared ZrO2 nanoparticles utilizing the extract of Thyms plant In basic medium and at pH 12, the ZrO2 NPs was characterized by different techniques such as FTIR, ultraviolet visible, Atomic force microscope, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Energy dispersive X-ray. The average crystalline size was calculated using the Debye Scherres equation in value 7.65 nm. Atomic force microscope results showed the size values for ZrO2 NPs were 45.11nm, and there are several distortions due to the presence of some large sizes. Atomic force microscope results showed the typical size values for ZrO2 NPs were 45.11 nm, and there are several distortions due to the presence of so
... Show MoreVisceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease on the rise in different regions of Iraq, especially in areas with poor hygiene and among refugee populations. The effectiveness of existing chemotherapy for leishmaniasis is constrained by its high toxicity, cost, and the development of drug resistance. The current research examined various concentrations (ranging from 125 to 1000 μM) of lupeol to evaluate its ability to boost the generation of nitric oxide, which has anti-leishmanial properties, in an ex-vivo macrophage model. Griess assay was used to detect the nitric oxide (NO) production in Leishmania donovani infected U937 cell-line macrophages along 24 and 48 hours post treated. The nitric oxide concentration was signifi
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