In this study, an improved process was proposed for the synthesis of structure-controlled Cu2O nanoparticles, using a simplified wet chemical method at room temperature. A chemical solution route was established to synthesize Cu2O crystals with various sizes and morphologies. The structure, morphology, and optical properties of Cu2O nanoparticles were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, SEM (scanning electron microscope), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. By adjusting the aqueous mixture solutions of NaOH and NH2OH•HCl, the synthesis of Cu2O crystals with different morphology and size could be realized. Strangely, it was found that the change in the ratio of de-ionized water and NaOH aqueous solution led to the synthesis of Cu2O crystals of different sizes, while the morphology of Cu2O crystals was not affected. The synthesized Cu2O crystal samples were used as photocatalysts for methyl orange (MO) dye decomposition, as a model molecule, to evaluate the photocatalytic activities. However, under 200 watts of a visible light source, there are four samples with and without graphene-based nanocomposite of Cu2O NPs. The results showed that, compared with roughly spherical, irregular but thick plates, brick and small granule spheres shaped Cu2O nanoparticles provided better activity. The Cu2O sample with irregular but thick platelet-like shapes, having an average particle size of 0.53 µm, exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity (99.08% degradation). In addition, by reducing the size of Cu2O particles and preparing their graphene composition, one can fabricate a sample (Cu2-Cu2Gr) with the highest efficiency which has significantly better photocatalytic activity in comparison to the others. This work represents an innovative strategy for pre-the-case production of nanomaterials with shapes and sizes, that is, Cu2O crystals, with excellent photocatalytic activity through compositing with graphene
Background: Deterioration of maxillofacial silicone properties due to microbial colonization is a common problem and leads to the replacement of the prosthesis. Incorporation of the antimicrobial agent into the silicone could be a solution. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of silver-zinc zeolite addition on some mechanical properties of a maxillofacial silicone (VST-50). Materials and methods: Total 120 specimens were fabricated and divided into 3 groups: 40 specimens for tear strength test, 40 specimens for tensile and percentage of elongation tests and 40 specimens for Shore A hardness and surface roughness. Each group was divided into 4 subgroups according to the amount of zeolite added (0% “control”, 0.5%, 1% and
... Show MoreNo-fine concrete (NFC) is cellular concrete and it’s light weight concrete produced with the exclusion of sand from the concrete. This study includes the mechanical properties of lightweight reinforced by steel fiber, containing different proportions of steel fiber. This study was done using number of tests. These tests were density, compressive strength, flexural strength and absorption. These tests of the molds at different curing time. The results of tests that implication of fiber to No. fine concrete did not affect significantly on the compressive strength, While the flexural strength were gets better. Results explained that, the flexural strength of (1%) fiber No- fine concrete molds are four times that of the reference mold
... Show MoreOne of the most important problems that faces the concrete industry in Iraq is the deterioration due to internal sulfate attack , since it reduces the compressive strength and increases the expansion of concrete. Consequently, the concrete structure may be damage .The effects of total and total effective sulfate contents on high strength concrete (HSC) have been studied in the present study.
The research studied the effect of sulfate content in cement , sand and gravel , as well as comparing the total sulfate content with the total effective SO3 content. Materials used were divided into two groups of SO3 in cement ,three groups of SO3 in sand ,and two groups of SO
... Show MoreThis research aims to investigate and evaluate a reactive powder concrete (RPC) cast using economical materials. Its mechanical properties were investigated and evaluated by studying the effects of using different cement and silica fume contents and locally steel fibers aspect ratios as reinforcement for this concrete. A compressive strength of about 155.2MPa, indirect tensile strength of 16.0MPa, modulus of elasticity of 48.7GPa, flexural strength of 43.5MPa, impact energy of 3294.4kN.m and abrasion loss 0.59% have been achieved for reinforced RPC contains 910 kg/m3 cement content, silica fume content 185 kg/m3 of cement weight and fiber volume fraction 2%. The water absorption values w
... Show MoreFree cement refractory concrete is a type of refractory concrete with replacing alumina cement by bonding materials such as white kaolin, red kaolin and fumed silica. The free cement refractory concrete used in many applications like Petrochemicals, iron furnaces and cement production industries. The research clarifies the effect of steel fibers with two types crimped steel fibers and hooked steel
fibers with percentages 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% by volume from weight of bauxite aggregates. The additions of steel fibers with two types gave good properties in high temperatures where the specimens keep the dimension without failure and the properties made the best. the percentage of increasing for thermal conductivity was 44% for 1.5% crimped
Recently, a great rise in the population and fast manufacturing processes were noticed. These processes release significant magnitudes of waste. These wastes occupied a notable ground region, generating big issues for the earth and the environment. To enhance the geotechnical properties of fine-grained soil, a sequence of research projects in the lab were conducted to analyze the impacts of adding sludge waste (SW). The tests were done on both natural and mixed soil with SW at various proportions (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10%) based on the dry mass of the soil used. The experiments conducted focused on consistency, compaction, and shear strength. With the addition of 10% of SW, the values of LL and PI decreased by 29.7% and 3
... Show MoreThis study was conducted on the effect of the sedimentary source (the sediments coming from both the Iraqi-Iranian borderline and the Tigris river) on the optical and textural features, especially sphericity and roundness of feldspar minerals (potassium and plagioclase types) in soils of the southern part of the alluvial plain. Eight pedons were selected to represent the study area, five of them represented sediments coming from the borderline, which included pedons of (Badra, Taj Al-Din, Al-Shihabi, Jassan, and Galati), while two of them represent the sediments of the Tigris River (Essaouira, Al-Dabouni), the pedon of Ali Al-Gharbi was represented the mixing area of sediments of all the floods coming from the borderline and the sediments o
... Show MoreThe atomic properties have been studied for He-like ions (He atom, Li+, Be2+ and B3+ions). These properties included, the atomic form factor f(S), electron density at the nucleus , nuclear magnetic shielding constant and diamagnetic susceptibility ,which are very important in the study of physical properties of the atoms and ions. For these purpose two types of the wave functions applied are used, the Hartree-Fock (HF) waves function (uncorrelated) and the Configuration interaction (CI) wave function (correlated). All the results and the behaviors obtained in this work have been discussed, interpreted and compared with those previously obtained.