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.
Biodiesel can be prepared from various types of vegetable oils or animal fats with the aid of a catalyst.
Calcium oxide (CaO) is one of the prospective heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel synthesis. Modification
of CaO by impregnation on silica (SiO2) can improve the performance of CaO as catalyst. Egg shells and rice
husks as biomass waste can be used as raw materials for the preparation of the silica modified CaO catalyst.
The present study was directed to synthesize and characterize CaO impregnated SiO2 catalyst from biomass
waste and apply it as catalyst in biodiesel synthesis. The catalyst was synthesized by wet impregnation
method and characterized by x-ray diffraction, x-ray fluorescence, nitr
The Mesopotamian soil is muddy and fertile, and so from ancient eras Iraqis used mud in their building, settlements and architecture in different methodologies according to the nature and the function of the building that was either in its pure form or by mixing it with other materials such as straw . also as raw bricks in different ways either for the whale building or parts of it, or for the finishing parts such as roofing for instance. In this research these different forms and methodologies will permeate through out a chosen examples of historical building, rural buildings and settlements and ancient buildings as well as some current uses of mud in the structures and building in standing cities, this in order to conclude some
... Show MoreTwo field experiments were conducted during the spring season 2020 in Karbala governorate to study the effect of irrigation systems, irrigation intervals, biofertilizers and polymers on some characteristics of vegetative growth and potato production. The results showed that there were significant differences in the values of the average plant height due to the effect of the double interference between the irrigation system and the improvers, The height of potato plant under any irrigation system was superior when adding conditioners compared to the control treatment, as it reached 48.56, 58.00 and 64.33cm when adding polymer, biofertilizer, and polymers+ biofertilizers, respectively compared with the control treatment of 44.64cm in the surf
... Show MoreThe dispersion of supported Pt and Pt–Ir reforming catalysts have been studied, after treatment with oxidative and reducing atmosphere. Methylcyclohexane dehydrogenation reaction in the absence of hydrogen was used as a test reaction. An attempt was made to relate the behavior of the catalysts upon subject to reaction, to the dispersion of the same type of catalysts upon treatment with similar atmosphere and temperatures which appeared in literature. The total conversion of reaction can be explained by a change in metal dispersion. Thus, methylcyclohexane dehydrogenation reaction appears to be a really “structure sensitive” reaction.
The toluene yield increases as the oxidation temperature i
... Show MoreThis study was conducted in the field of the Poultry Research Station of the Department of Animal Production / Department of Agricultural Research / Ministry of Agriculture for the period 4/4/2021 to 16/5/2021, in which 300 one-day-old Ross308 chicks that fed on diets used avocado oil and Chia with percentages 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6% respectively, and their mixture consisting of 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 each of avocado and Chia oil (50% avocado + 50% Chia oil). The experiment included 4 treatments with 3 replicates for each treatment (10 birds/replicates), in order to study the effect of using avocado and chia oil and their mixture in meat broiler diets on some physiological and microbial characteristics of blood plasma. The results indicate a
... Show MoreThe study showed that all extracts (aqueous, ethanolic and acetonic) of the leaves of Eucalyptus and Myrtus plants had a inhibitory effect on the growth of all types of yeasts studied, acetone extract recorded the highest inhibition of yeastat 100ppm concentration,The inhibition was 35mm, 34mm, 24mm and 20mm for Candida parapsilosis, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis and Candida albicans respectively, The experiments above showed the least significant differences at 0.05 level.The results ofE. Cammldulensis ethanolic tincture analysis has shown the presence of 44 biologically active substances. The main Eucalyptus leaves component was: 2-Bicyclo (2-2.1) heptanol (12.37%), Ledol (8.23%),1,2,4- Benzenetriol (8.45%) and that contain spathul
... Show MoreNatural fibers and particles reinforced composites are being broadly used due to their bio and specific properties such as low density and easy to machine and production with low cost. In this work, water absorption and mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength of recycled jute fibers reinforced epoxy resin were enhanced by treating these fibers with alkaline solution. The recycled jute fibers were treated with different concentration of (NaOH) solution at (25 0C) for a period of (24) hours. From the obtained results, it was found that all these properties are improved when fibers treated with (7.5wt% NaOH) related to untreated fibers. Conversely, the mentioned properties of composit
... Show MoreAbstract
Objectives: The main objective of this study is to find the influence level of nursing incivility on psychological well-being among nurses in southeastern Iraq.
Methods: In this descriptive correlational study, a convenience sample of 250 nurses working in three government hospitals in Missan province in the south of Iraq were surveyed using the nursing incivility scale (NIS) and Ryff's psychological well-being scale (PWB) from November 2021, to July 2022. A multivariate multiple regression analysis was done to analyze the multivariate effect of workplace incivility on the psychological well-being of nurses.
Results: The study results show a
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