The influence of the reaction gas composition during the DC magnetron sputtering process on the structural, chemical and optical properties of Ce-oxide thin films was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed that all thin films exhibited a polycrystalline character with cubic fluorite structure for cerium dioxide. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses revealed that cerium is present in two oxidation states, namely as CeO2 and Ce2O3, at the surface of the films prepared at oxygen/argon flow ratios between 0% and 7%, whereas the films are completely oxidized into CeO2 as the aforementioned ratio increases beyond 14%. Various optical parameters for the thin films (including an optical band gap in the range of 2.25–3.1 eV) were derived from the UV–Vis reflectance. A significant change in the band gap was observed as oxygen/argon flow ratio was raised from 7% to 14% and this finding is consistent with the high-resolution XPS analysis of Ce 3d that reports a mixture of Ce2O3 and CeO2 in the films. Density functional theory (DFT+U) implemented in the Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package (CASTEP) was carried out to simulate the optical constants of CeO2 clusters at ground state. The computed electronic density of states (DOSs) of the optimized unit cell of CeO2 yields a band gap that agrees well with the experimentally measured optical band gap. The simulated and measured absorption coefficient (α) exhibited a similar trend and, to some extent, have similar values in the wavelength range from 100 to 2500 nm. The combined results of this study demonstrate good correlation between the theoretical and experimental findings.
Human health can be negatively impacted by exposure to loud noise, which can harm the auditory system. Traffic noise is the leading cause of noise pollution. This paper studies the problem of noise pollution on the roads in Baghdad, Iraq. Due to the increase in vehicle numbers and road network modifications in Baghdad, noise levels became a serious topic to be studied. The aim of the paper was thus to study traffic noise levels and the effect of the traffic stream on noise levels and to formulate a prediction model that identified the guidelines used for designing or developing future roads in the city. Then, the noise levels were measured based on five variables: the functional classification of roads, traffic flow, vehicle speed,
... Show MoreIn this study, the kinetics for the reaction of tert-butanol esterification with acetic acid in the presence of Dowex 50Wx8 catalyst was investigated. The reaction kinetic experiments were conducted in 1000 milliliter vessel at temperatures ranged from 50 - 80 oC, catalyst loading 25-50 g/L, and the molar ratios of acetic acid to tert-butanol from 1/3 – 3/1. The reaction rate was found to increase with increasing temperature and catalyst loading. It was also found the conversion of the tert-butanol increases as the molar ratio of acid to alcohol increases from 1/3 – 3/1. The Non-ideality of the liquid phase was taken into account by using activities instead of molar fractions. The activity coefficients were calculated according to th
... Show MoreZ-scan has been utilized for studying the non-linear properties and optical limiting behaviors of the dye Copper Phthalocyanine thin films. The refractive index is negative, which indicates a self-defocusing behavior and non-linear absorption coefficient (
This research presents a new study in reactive distillation by using consecutive reaction: the saponification reaction of diethyl adipate (DA) with sodium hydroxide solution .
The effect of three parameters were studied through a design of experiments applying 23 factorial design . These parameters were : the mole ratio of DA to NaOH solution (0.1 and 1) , NaOH solution concentration (3 N and 8 N) , and batch time (1.5 hr. and 3.5 hr.) . The conversion of DA to sodium monoethyladipate(SMA)(intermediate product) was the effect of these parameters which was detected . Also , the percentage purity of the intermediate product was recorded . The results showed that increasing mole ratio of DA to NaOHsolutio
... Show MoreLiquid – liquid interface reaction is the method for
preparation nanoparticles (NP'S) which depend on the super
saturation of ions that provide by using the system that consist from
toluene and water, the first one is above the second to obtain
nanoparticles (NP's) CdS at the interface separated between these
two immiscible liquid. The structure properties were characterized by
XRD-diffraction and transmission electron microscopy.
The crystalline size estimate from X-ray diffraction pattern
using Scherer equation to be about 7nm,and by TEM analysis give us
that ananosize is about 5 nm which give a strong comparable with
Bohr radius. Photoluminescence analysis give two emission peak,
the first one around
This paper investigate a sensorless speed control of a separately excited dc motor fed from a buck type dc-dc converter. The control system is designed in digital technique by using a two dimension look-up table. The performance of the drive system was evaluated by digital simulation using Simulink toolbox of Matlab.
Oil well drilling fluid rheology, lubricity, swelling, and fluid loss control are all critical factors to take into account before beginning the hole's construction. Drilling fluids can be made smoother, more cost-effective, and more efficient by investigating and evaluating the effects of various nanoparticles including aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and iron oxide (Fe2O3) on their performance. A drilling fluid's performance can be assessed by comparing its baseline characteristics to those of nanoparticle (NPs) enhanced fluids. It was found that the drilling mud contained NPs in concentrations of 0,0.25, 0. 5, 0.75 and 1 g. According to the results, when drilling fluid was used without NPs, the coeff
... Show MoreAging of asphalt pavements typically occurs through oxidation of the asphalt and evaporation of the lighter maltenes from the binder. The main objective of this study is to evaluate influence of aging on performance of asphalt paving materials.nAsphalt concrete mixtures, were prepared, and subjected to short term aging (STA) procedure which involved heating the loose mixtures in an oven for two aging period of (4 and 8) hours at a temperature of 135 o C. Then it was subject to Long term aging (LTA) procedure using (2 and 5) days aging periods at 85 o C for Marshall compacted specimens. The effect of aging periods on properties of asphalt concrete at optimum asphalt content such as Marshall Properties, indirect tensile strength at 25 o C,
... Show MoreThe adopted accelerated curing methods in the experimental work are 55ºC and 82ºC according to British standard methods. The concrete mix with the characteristics compressive strength of 35MPa is design according to the ACI 211.1, the mix proportion is (1:2.65:3.82) for cement, fine and coarse aggregate, respectively. The concrete reinforced with different volume fraction (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75)% of glass, carbon and polypropylene fibers. The experimental results showed that the accelerated curing method using 82ºC gives a compressive strength higher than 55ºC method for all concrete mixes. In addition, the fiber reinforced concrete with 0.75% gives the maximum compressive strength, flexural and splitting tensile strength for all types of
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