A metal-assisted chemical etching process employing p-type silicon wafers with varied etching durations is used to produce silicon nanowires. Silver nanoparticles prepared by chemical deposition are utilized as a catalyst in the formation of silicon nanowires. Images from field emission scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the diameter of SiNWs grows when the etching duration is increased. The photoelectrochemical cell's characteristics were investigated using p-type silicon nanowires as working electrodes. Linear sweep voltammetry (J-V) measurements on p-SiNWs confirmed that photocurrent density rose from 0.20 mA cm-2 to 0.92 mA cm-2 as the etching duration of prepared SiNWs increased from 15 to 30 min. The conversion efficiency (ƞ) was 0.47 for p-SiNWs prepared with a 15-minute etching time and 0.75 for p-SiNWs prepared with a 30-minute etching time. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments performed at various scan rates validated the faradic behavior of p-SiNWS prepared for 15 and 30 min of etching. Because of the slow ion diffusion and the increased scanning rate, the capacitance decreased with increasing scanning rate. Mott-Schottky (M-S) investigation showed a significant carriers concentration of 3.66×1020 cm-3. According to the results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), the SiNWs photocathode prepared by etching for 30 min had a charge transfer resistance of 25.27 Ω, which is low enough to enhance interfacial charge transfer.
Natural bitumen (NB) is a highly precious material and has drawn increasing attention due to its unique properties, especially since it is available in large quantities and has been used in limited fields. In this research, the exploitation of NB from sulfur springs as an alternative energy resource in the production of asphalt pavement is evaluated. It can be concluded from the experimental results that the chemical composition and surface morphology of NB samples are different from those of base asphalt. Besides, the rheological properties of virgin NB are not sufficient for paving work. To overcome this obstacle, NB from five different springs is modified with limestone filler (LSF) to enhance its properties. LSF is a natural material an
... Show MoreUV-Vis technique has been used to study the adsorption of para-nitroaniline (PNA) on Iraqi siliceous rocks powder. Adsorption isotherms were investigated, temperature effect on adsorption was calculated, Results showed that the adsorption was an exothermic process and the thermodynamic functions were calculated. The effect of the pH on adsorption was studied and the ionic strength effect on adsorption was studied, It was found that adsorption increases with the presence of sodium chloride ions. The kinetic study of adsorption before equilibrium showed that the adsorption was pseudo first order according to according (Lagergren equation).
The present paper is an experimental study to improve the productivity of the conventional solar still. This done by modifying conventional still in a way that the distilled basin is larger than distillation basin, thus providing an increase in the condensation surface and speeding up the condensation process. Moreover, increase in the dimensions of the distilled base helps coupling reflective panels to the distilled base to reflect incident solar radiation to the distillation basin. For this purpose , two solar stills were made, one conventional designand another made according to the proposed design. The two solar stills were tested during the period from February to July 2009 under varying weather conditions of Basra, Iraq (latitude o
... Show MoreFor the most reliable and reproducible results for calibration or general testing purposes of two immiscible liquids, such as water in engine oil, good emulsification is vital. This study explores the impact of emulsion quality on the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy calibration standards for measuring water contamination in used or in-service engine oil, in an attempt to strengthen the specific guidelines of ASTM International standards for sample preparation. By using different emulsification techniques and readily available laboratory equipment, this work is an attempt to establish the ideal sample preparation technique for reliability, repeatability, and reproducibility for FT-IR analysis while still considering t
... Show MoreIn this study, dead and live anaerobic biomass was used in biosorption of Pb(II), Cr(III) and Cd(II) ions from a synthetic wastewater. The biosorption was investigated by batch adsorption experiments. It was found that, the biosorption capacities were significantly affected by biosorbent dosage. The process follows Langmuir isotherm (regression coefficient 0.995, 0.99 and 0.987 for Pb(II), Cr(III) and Cd(II) ions, respectively, onto dead anaerobic biomass) model with uniform distribution over the biomass surface. The experimental uptake capacity was 51.56, 29.2 and 28 mg/g for Pb(II), Cr(III) and Cd(II), respectively, onto dead anaerobic biomass, compared with 35, 13.6 and 11.8 mg/g for Pb(II), Cr(III) and Cd(II), respectively, onto live
... Show MoreDate palm silver nanoparticles are a green synthesis method used as antibacterial agents. Today,
there is a considerable interest in it because it is safe, nontoxic, low costly and ecofriendly. Biofilm bacteria
existing in marketed local milk is at highly risk on population health and may be life-threatening as most
biofilm-forming bacteria are multidrug resistance. The goal of current study is to eradicate biofilm-forming
bacteria by alternative treatment green synthesis silver nanoparticles. The biofilm formation by bacterial
isolates was detected by Congo red method. The silver nanoparticles were prepared from date palm
(khestawy) fruit extract. The formed nanoparticles were characterized with UV-Vis
In this study, a one-dimensional model represented by Butler-Volmer-Monod (BVM) model was proposed to compute the anode overpotential and current density in a mediator-less MFC system. The system was fueled with various organic loadings of real field petroleum refinery oily sludge to optimize the favorable organic loading for biomass to operate the suggested system. The increase in each organic loading showed higher resistance to electrons transport to the anode represented by ohmic loss. On the contrary, both activation and mass transfer losses exhibited a noticeable decrement upon the increased organic loadings. However, current density was improved throughout all increased loads achieving a maximum current density of 5.2 A/m3
... Show MoreIn recent years, there has been growing interest in using Nanosystems in different biomedical applications. Among all metal nanoparticles, selenium nanoparticles have attracted the attention of many researchers due to its low toxicity and nutritional supplementation value. The purpose of the current study was designed to examine the possible effect of selenium nanoparticles in combination with fenugreek leaves extract (an edible herb with good medicinal properties) in the treatment of oxidative stress status-related to polycystic ovary syndrome in letrozole-induced PCOS (an imbalance of reproductive hormones that causes infertility) in adult female rats. Cold plasma was used in the preparation of selenium nanoparticles subsequently the prod
... Show MoreThis study aims to fabricate and assess the β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) bioactive ceramic coat layer on bioinert ceramic zirconia implants through the direct laser melting technique by applying a long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser of 1064 nm. Surface morphologies, adherence, and structural change in the coatings were evaluated by optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, hardness, and x-ray diffractometer. The elastic modulus (EM) of the coating was also determined using the nanoindentation test. The quality of the coating was improved when the laser power was 90 W with a decrease in the scan speed to 4 mm s−1. The chemical composition of the coat was maintained after laser processing; also, the Energy Dispersive
... Show MoreNew chelating ligand derived from triazole and its complexes with metal ions Rhodium, Platinum and Gold were synthesized. Through a copper (I)-catalyzed click reaction, the ligand produced 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between 2,6-bis((prop-2-yn-1-yloxy) methyl) pyridine and 1-azidododecane. All structures of these new compounds were rigorously characterized in the solid state using spectroscopic techniques like: 1HNMR, 13CNMR, Uv-Vis, FTIR, metal and elemental analyses, magnetic susceptibility and conductivity measurements at room temperature, it was found that the ligand acts as a penta and tetradentate chelate through N3O2, N2O2, and the geometry of the new complex
... Show More