In the present work, a density functional theory (DFT) calculation to simulate reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle's sensitivity to NO2 gas is performed. In comparison with the experiment, DFT calculations give acceptable results to available bond lengths, lattice parameters, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy gaps, Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, entropy, etc. to ZnO, rGO, and ZnO/rGO hybrid. ZnO and rGO show n-type and p-type semiconductor behavior, respectively. The formed p-n heterojunction between rGO and ZnO is of the staggering gap type. Results show that rGO increases the sensitivity of ZnO to NO2 gas as they form a hybrid. ZnO/rGO hybrid has a higher number of vacancies that can be used to attract oxygen atoms from NO2 and change the resistivity of the hybrid. The combined reduction of oxygen from NO2 and NO can give a very high value of the Gibbs free energy of reaction that explains the ppb level sensitivity of the ZnO/rGO hybrid. The dissociation of NO2 in the air reduces the sensitivity of the ZnO/rGO hybrid at temperatures higher than 300 ̊C.
This project sought to fabricate a flexible gas sensor based on a short functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) network for nitrogen dioxide gas detection. The network was prepared by filtration from the suspension (FFS) method and modified by coating with a layer of polypyrrole conductive polymer (PPy) prepared by the oxidative chemical polymerization to improve the properties of the network. The structural, optical, and morphological properties of the f-MWCNTs and f-MWCNTs/PPy network were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourie-transform infrared (FTIR), with an AFM (atomic force microscopy). XRD proved that the structure of f-MWCNTs is unaffected by the synthesis procedure. The FTIR spectra verified the existence o
... Show MoreThe present work reports an approach of hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods, which simplifies the production of low cost films with controlled morphology for H2S gas sensor application. The prepared ZnO nanorods exhibit a hexagonal wurtzite phase analyzed by the X-ray diffraction analysis. The FTIR spectra provide information that the band located between 465-570 cm-1 corresponds to the stretching bond of Zn-O, which confirms the creation of ZnO. PL spectroscopic studies showed that the doping of Ag NPs and f-MWCNT in the ZnO matrix leads to the tuning of the bandgap. The SEM analysis showed the morphology of ZnO was the nanorods. The nanocomposites Ag/ZnO and F-MWCNT/ZnO which prepared, sep
... Show MoreIn this work, PAni nanofibers (NFs) are successfully synthesized via hydrothermal method. The structural, surface morphological, optical, electrical and H2S gas sensing properties have been investigated for PAni thin films deposited by spin coating technique. The XRD pattern reveals crystalline nature of PAni NFs with crystallite size of 9.2 nm. The SEM image of Polyaniline clearly indicates that the polymer possesses nanofiber like structure. The optical properties show that the optical energy gap follows allowed direct electronic transition calculated using Tauc’s equation. Intense hotoluminescence (PL) peaks at 309, 340 and 605 nm are observed. The electrical properties such as D.C. conductivity and Hall effect have been studied wher
... Show MoreSuccessfully, theoretical equations were established to study the effect of solvent polarities on the electron current density, fill factor and efficiencies of Tris (8-hydroxy) quinoline aluminum (Alq3)/ ZnO solar cells. Three different solvents studied in this theoretical works, namely 1-propanol, ethanol and acetonitrile. The quantum model of transition energy in donor–acceptor system was used to derive a current formula. After that, it has been used to calculate the fill factor and the efficiency of the solar cell. The calculations indicated that the efficiency of the solar cell is influenced by the polarity of solvents. The best performance was for the solar cell based on acetonitrile as a solvent with electron current density of (5.0
... Show MoreIn this study tungsten oxide and graphene oxide (GO-WO2.89) were successfully combined using the ultra-sonication method and embedded with polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) to prepare novel low-fouling membranes for ultrafiltration applications. The properties of the modified membranes and performance were investigated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle (CA), water permeation flux, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection. It was found that the modified PPSU membrane fabricated from 0.1 wt.% of GO-WO2.89 possessed the best characteristics, with a 40.82° contact angle and 92.94% porosity. The permeation flux of the best membrane was the highest. The pure water permeation f
... Show MoreThis work deals with the production of light fuel cuts of (gasoline, kerosene and gas oil) by catalytic cracking treatment of secondary product mater (heavy vacuum gas oil) which was produced from the vacuum distillation unit in any petroleum refinery. The objective of this research was to study the effect of the catalyst -to- oil ratio parameter on catalytic cracking process of heavy vacuum gas oil feed at constant temperature (450 °C). The first step of this treatment was, catalytic cracking of this material by constructed batch reactor occupied with auxiliary control devices, at selective range of the catalyst –to- oil ratio parameter ( 2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5) respectively. The conversion of heavy vacuum gas
... Show MoreIn this research, a novel thin film Si-GO10 and nanopowders Si-GO30 of silica-graphene oxide (GO) composite were prepared via the sol–gel method and deposited on glass substrates using spray pyrolysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed a relatively strong peak in the graphite layer that corresponds to the (002) plane. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images showed that SiO2 nanoparticles were randomly distributed on the surface of GO plates, and the particle size in these nanopowders was below 50 nm. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis demonstrated that silica nanoparticles on the surface of GO plates exhibited almost spherical and rod-like nanoparticle shape, which in tur
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