Abstract Background: The daily usage of maxillofacial prostheses causes them to mechanically deteriorate with time. This study was aimed to evaluate the reinforcement of VST50F maxillofacial silicone by using yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) to resist aging and mechanical deterioration. Materials and Method: Y2O3 NPs (30–45nm) were loaded into VST50F maxillofacial silicone in two weight percentages (1 and 1.5 wt%), which were predetermined in a pilot study as the best rates for improving tear strength with minimum increase in hardness values. A total of 120 specimens were prepared and divided into the control and experimental groups (with 1 and 1.5 wt% Y2O3 addition). Each group included 40 specimens, 10 specimens for each parameter tested (i.e., tear strength, surface roughness, hardness, tensile strength and elongation percentage). Specimens were artificially aged in a weathering chamber for 150 h and then tested. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD). Statistical significance was set to P ≤ 0.05. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were also conducted. Results and Discussion: SEM results showed that Y2O3 NPs were distributed well within the silicon matrix. FTIR results indicated that the NPs were physically dispersed within VST50F silicone without chemical interaction. After 150 h of accelerated artificial aging, adding Y2O3 NPs significantly increased the tear strength, hardness, surface roughness, and elongation percentage. Tensile strength increased non significantly. Conclusion: Adding Y2O3 NPs as fillers improved the mechanical properties of artificially aged maxillofacial silicone elastomer. Keywords: maxillofacial silicone, Y2O3, nanoparticles, fillers, artificial aging.
A competitive adsorption of Cu2+, Ni2+, and Cd2+ ions from a synthetic wastewater onto nanomaterial was studied.(Fe3O4) nanoparticles obtained from US Research Nanomaterials, Inc., Houston, TX 77084, (USA), was used as nanosorbent. Experimental parameters included pH, initial metal concentrations, and temperature were studied for nanosorbent. The uptake capacity 11.5, 6.07 and 11.1 mg/g for Cu2+, Ni2+and Cd2+, respectively, onto nanosorbent . The optimum pH values was 6 and the contact time was 50 min. for Cu2+, Ni2+and Cd2+, respectively. The equilibrium isotherm for
... Show MoreIn this study, Zinc oxide nanostructures were synthesized via a hydrothermal method by using zinc nitrate hexahydrate and sodium hydroxide as a precursor. Three different annealing temperatures were used to study their effect on ZnO NSs properties. The synthesized nanostructure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Atomic force microscope (AFM), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Their optical properties were studied by using UV -visible spectroscopy. The XRD analysis confirms that all ZnO nanostructures have the hexagonal wurtzite structure with average crystallite size within the range of (30.59 - 34
... Show MoreIndium oxide In2O3 thin films fabricated using thermal evaporation of indium metal in vacuum on a glass substrate at 25oC using array mask, after deposition the indium films have been subjected to thermal oxidation at temperature 400 °C for 1h. The results of prepared Indium oxide reveal the oxidation method as a strong effect on the morphology and optical properties of the samples as fabricated. The band gap (Eg) of In2O3 films at 400 °C is 2.7 eV. Then, SEM and XRD measurements are also used to investigate the morphology and structure of the indium oxide In2O3 thin films. The antimicrobial activity of indium oxide In2O3 thin films was assessed against gram-negative bacterium using inhibition zone of bacteria which improved higher ina
... Show MoreInvestigation of the adsorption of Chromium (VI) on Fe3O4 is carried out using batch scale experiments according to statistical design using a software program minitab17 (Box-Behnken design). Experiments were carried out as per Box-Behnken design with four input parameters such as pH (2-8), initial concentration (50–150mg/L), adsorbent dosage (0.05–0.3 g) and time of adsorption (10–60min). The better conditions were showed at pH: 2; contact time: 60 min; chromium concentration: 50 mg/L and magnetite dosage: 0.3 g for maximum Chromium (VI) removal of (98.95%) with an error of 1.08%. The three models (Freundlich, Langmuir, and Temkin) were fitted to experimental data, Langmuir isotherm has bette
... Show MorePositron annihilation lifetime (PAL) technique has been employed to
study the microstructural changes of polyurethane (PU), EUXIT 101
and epoxy risen (EP), EUXIT 60 by Gamma-ray irradiation with the
dose range (95.76 - 957.6) kGy. The size of the free volume hole and
their fraction in PU and EP were determined from ortho-positronium
lifetime component and its intensity in the measured lifetime spectra.
The results show that the irradiation causes significant changes in the
free volume hole size (Vh) and the fractional free volume (Fh), and
thereby the microstructure of PU and EP. The results indicate that
the γ-dose increases the crystallinity in the amorphous regions of PU
and increas
Ten isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae, seven isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and nine isolates of Staphylococcus aureus, were obtained from 100 urine samples collected from Baghdad hospitals. All isolates were identified biochemically and confirmed by using VITEK 2 and were then tested for their susceptibility towards 6 antibiotics and for phenolic extracts of Thymus vulgaris and Cinnamomum cassia. All bacteria were greatly affected by T. vulgaris, especially K. pneumoniae. Viable count was performed, it was noted that the number of bacterial cells reduced from 1×108 CFU to 1.2× 103, 2×105 and 1.8×106CFU of K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus respectively. While C. cassiahad a slight effect on them. K. pneumoniae isola
... Show MoreSolar module operating temperature is the second major factor affects the performance of solar photovoltaic panels after the amount of solar radiation. This paper presents a performance comparison of mono-crystalline Silicon (mc-Si), poly-crystalline Silicon (pc-Si), amorphous Silicon (a-Si) and Cupper Indium Gallium di-selenide (CIGS) photovoltaic technologies under Climate Conditions of Baghdad city. Temperature influence on the solar modules electric output parameters was investigated experimentally and their temperature coefficients was calculated. These temperature coefficients are important for all systems design and sizing. The experimental results revealed that the pc-Si module showed a decrease in open circuit v
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