Preparation and Characterization of Self Assembled Gold Nanoparticles on Amino Functionalized SiO2 Dielectric Core

Wet chemistry methods are used to prepare the SiO2/Au nanoshells. The purpose of this research was to synthesize gold coated SiO2 nanoshells for biomedical applications. Tunable nanoshells were prepared by using different colloidal concentrations. The nanoshells are characterized by FTIR, XRD, UV-Vis spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The FTIR results confirmed the functionalization of the surfaces of silica nanoparticles with NH2 terminal groups. A tunable absorption was observed between 470-600 nm with a maximum range of 530-560 nm. Based on the XRD results three main peaks of Au (111), (200) and (220) were identified. Also AFM results showed that the silica core diameter was about 100 nm and the thickness of gold shell about 10 nm.

New SUZ-4 Zeolite Membrane from Sol-Gel Technique

A new SUZ-4 zeolite membrane with tetraethlyammonium hydroxide as the template was fabricated on mullite tube via hydrothermal sol-gel synthesis in a rotating autoclave reactor. The suitable synthesis condition was SiO2:Al2O3 ratio of 21.2 for 4 days at 155 °C crystallization under autogenous pressure. The obtained SUZ-4 possessed a high BET surface area of 396.4 m2/g, total pore volume at 2.611 cm3/g, and narrow pore size distribution with 97 nm mean diameter and 760 nm long of needle crystal shape. The SUZ-4 layer obtained from seeding crystallization was thicker than that of without seeds or in situ crystallization.

Successful Straw Combustion Technology in Zluticka Heating Plant

We successfully developed and tested a new separation layer solving problems with unmanageable deposits inside the boilers of Zluticka Heating Plant. The deposits are mainly created by glass-forming melts. We plotted straw ash compositions in K2OCaO- SiO2 phase diagram and illustrated that they are in the area of low-melting eutectic points. To prevent the melting of ash and the formation of deposits, we modified ash compositions by injecting additives into biomass fuel, and thus effectively suppressed deposits in a burner.

Li4SiO4 Prepared by Sol-gel Method as Potential Host for LISICON Structured Solid Electrolytes

In this study, Li4SiO4 powder was successfully synthesized via sol gel method followed by drying at 150oC. Lithium oxide, Li2O and silicon oxide, SiO2 were used as the starting materials with citric acid as the chelating agent. The obtained powder was then sintered at various temperatures. Crystallographic phase analysis, morphology and ionic conductivity were investigated systematically employing X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared, Scanning Electron Microscopy and AC impedance spectroscopy. XRD result showed the formation of pure monoclinic Li4SiO4 crystal structure with lattice parameters a = 5.140 Å, b = 6.094 Å, c = 5.293 Å, β = 90o in the sample sintered at 750oC. This observation was confirmed by FTIR analysis. The bulk conductivity of this sample at room temperature was 3.35 × 10-6 S cm-1 and the highest bulk conductivity of 1.16 × 10-4 S cm-1 was obtained at 100°C. The results indicated that, the Li4SiO4 compound has potential to be used as host for LISICON structured solid electrolyte for low temperature application.

Fabrication and Electrical Characterization of Al/BaxSr1-xTiO3/Pt/SiO2/Si Configuration for FeFET Applications

The ferroelectric behavior of barium strontium titanate (BST) in thin film form has been investigated in order to study the possibility of using BST for ferroelectric gate-field effect transistor (FeFET) for memory devices application. BST thin films have been fabricated as Al/BST/Pt/SiO2/Si-gate configuration. The variation of the dielectric constant (ε) and tan δ with frequency have been studied to ensure the dielectric quality of the material. The results show that at low frequencies, ε increases as the Ba content increases, whereas at high frequencies, it shows the opposite variation, which is attributed to the dipole dynamics. tan δ shows low values with a peak at the mid-frequency range. The ferroelectric behavior of the Al/BST/Pt/SiO2/Si has been investigated using C-V characteristics. The results show that the strength of the ferroelectric hysteresis loop increases as the Ba content increases; this is attributed to the grain size and dipole dynamics effect.

Characterization of Silica Nanoparticles in Interaction with Escherichia coli Bacteria

The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the morphology of Escherchia coli bacteria in interaction with SiO2 nanoparticles. This study was made by atomic force microscopy and quartz crystal microbalance using SiO2 nanoparticles with 10nm, 50nm and 100nm diameter and bacteria immobilized on polyelectrolyte multilayer films obtained by spin coating or by “layer by layer” (LbL) method.

On the Oil Repellency of Nanotextured Aluminum Surface

Two different superhydrophobic surfaces were elaborated and their oil repellency behavior was evaluated using several liquid with different surface tension. A silicone rubber/SiO2 nanocomposite coated (A) on aluminum substrate by “spin-coating" and the sample B was an anodized aluminum surface covered by Teflon-like coating. A high static contact angle about ∼162° was measured for two prepared surfaces on which the water droplet rolloff. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the presence of micro/nanostructures for both sample A and B similar to that of lotus leaf. However the sample A presented significantly different behaviour of wettability against the low surface tension liquid. Sample A has been wetted totally by oil (dodecan) droplet while sample B showed oleophobic behaviour. Oleophobic property of Teflon like coating can be contributed to the presence of CF2 and CF3 functional group which was shown by XPS analysis.

Thermo-Mechanical Characterization of Skin Laser Soldering using Au Coated SiO2 Nanoshells

Gold coated silica core nanoparticles have an optical response dictated by the plasmon resonance. The wavelength at which the resonance occurs depends on the core and shell sizes, allowing nanoshells to be tailored for particular applications. The purposes of this study was to synthesize and use different concentration of gold nanoshells as exogenous material for skin tissue soldering and also to examine the effect of laser soldering parameters on the properties of repaired skin. Two mixtures of albumin solder and different concentration of gold nanoshells were prepared. A full thickness incision of 2×20 mm2 was made on the surface and after addition of mixtures it was irradiated by an 810nm diode laser at different power densities. The changes of tensile strength σt due to temperature rise, number of scan (Ns), and scan velocity (Vs) were investigated. The results showed at constant laser power density (I), σt of repaired incisions increases by increasing the concentration of gold nanoshells, Ns and decreasing Vs. It is therefore important to consider the trade off between the scan velocity and the surface temperature for achieving an optimum operating condition. In our case this corresponds to σt =1610 gr/cm2 at I~ 60 Wcm-2, T ~ 65ºC, Ns =10 and Vs=0.2mms-1.

Two-dimensional Analytical Drain Current Model for Multilayered-Gate Material Engineered Trapezoidal Recessed Channel(MLGME-TRC) MOSFET: a Novel Design

In this paper, for the first time, a two-dimensional (2D) analytical drain current model for sub-100 nm multi-layered gate material engineered trapezoidal recessed channel (MLGMETRC) MOSFET: a novel design is presented and investigated using ATLAS and DEVEDIT device simulators, to mitigate the large gate leakages and increased standby power consumption that arise due to continued scaling of SiO2-based gate dielectrics. The twodimensional (2D) analytical model based on solution of Poisson-s equation in cylindrical coordinates, utilizing the cylindrical approximation, has been developed which evaluate the surface potential, electric field, drain current, switching metric: ION/IOFF ratio and transconductance for the proposed design. A good agreement between the model predictions and device simulation results is obtained, verifying the accuracy of the proposed analytical model.

Investigation of Shear Thickening Liquid Protection Fibrous Material

The stab resistance performance of newly developed fabric composites composed of hexagonal paper honeycombs, filled with shear thickening fluid (STF), and woven Kevlar® fabric or UHMPE was investigated in this study. The STF was prepared by dispersing submicron SiO2 particles into polyethylene glycol (PEG). Our results indicate that the STF-Kevlar composite possessed lower penetration depth than that of neat Kevlar. In other words, the STF-Kevlar composite can attain the same energy level in stab-resistance test with fewer layers of Kevlar fabrics than that of the neat Kevlar fabrics. It also indicates that STF can be used for the fabrication of flexible body armors and can provide improved protection against stab threats. We found that the stab resistance of the STF-Kevlar composite increases with the increase of SiO2 concentration in STF. Moreover, the silica particles functionalized with silane coupling agent can further improve the stab resistance.

Enhanced Quality of Zeolite LSX: Studying Effect of Crystallized Containers

Low silica type X (LSX) Zeolite is one of useful material in many manufacturing due to the advantage properties including high surface area, stability, microporous crystalline aluminosilicates and positive ion in an extra–framework. The LSX was used rice husk silica source which obtained by leaching with hydrochloric acid and calcination at 500C. To improve the synthesis method, the LSX was crystallizated in Teflon–lined autoclave will expedite deceasing of the amorphous particles. The mixed gel with composition of 5.5 Na2O : 1.65 K2O : Al2O3 : 2.2 SiO2 : 122 H2O was crystallized in different container (Polypropylene bottom and Teflon–lined autoclave). The obtained powder was characterized by X–ray diffraction (XRD), X–ray fluorescence spectrometry, N2 adsorption-desorption analysis BET surface area Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to justify the quality of zeolite. The results showed the crystallized zeolite in Teflon lined autoclave has 102.8 nm of crystal size, 286 m2/g of surface area and fewer amounts of round amorphous particles when compared with the crystallized zeolite in Polypropylene.

The Effect of Silicon on Cadmium Stress in Echium amoenum

The beneficial effects of Si are mainly associated with its high deposition in plant tissue and enhancing their strength and rigidity. We investigated the role of Si against cadmium stress in (Echium C) in house green condition. When the seventh leaves was be appeared, plants were pretreated with five levels of Si: 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.7and 1.5 mM Si (as sodium trisilicate, Na2(SiO2)3) and after that plants were treated with two levels of Cd (30 and 90 mM). The effects of Silicon and Cd were investigated on some physiological and biochemical parameters such as: lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde (MDA) and other aldehydes, antocyanin and flavonoid content. Our results showed that Cd significantly increased MDA, other aldehydes, antocyanin and flavonoids content in Echium and silicon offset the negative effect and increased tolerance of Echium against Cd stress. From this results we concluded that Si increase membrane integrity and antioxidative ability in this plant against cd stress.

New Straw Combustion Technology for Cleaner Energy

We successfully developed a new straw combustion technology that efficiently reduces problems with unmanageable deposits inside straw fueled boilers in Zluticka Heating Plant. The deposits are mainly created by glass-forming melts. We plotted straw compositions in K2O-CaO-SiO2 phase diagram and illustrated they are in the area of low-melting eutectic poi melting of ash and the formation of deposits compositions by injecting additives into biomass fuel ueled points. To prevent the deposits, we modified ash fuel.

Non-Isothermal Kinetics of Crystallization and Phase Transformation of SiO2-Al2O3-P2O5-CaO-CaF Glass

The crystallization kinetics and phase transformation of SiO2.Al2O3.0,56P2O5.1,8CaO.0,56CaF2 glass have been investigated using differential thermal analysis (DTA), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Glass samples were obtained by melting the glass mixture at 14500С/120 min. in platinum crucibles. The mixture were prepared from chemically pure reagents: SiO2, Al(OH)3, H3PO4, CaCO3 and CaF2. The non-isothermal kinetics of crystallization was studied by applying the DTA measurements carried out at various heating rates. The activation energies of crystallization and viscous flow were measured as 348,4 kJ.mol–1 and 479,7 kJ.mol–1 respectively. Value of Avrami parameter n ≈ 3 correspond to a three dimensional of crystal growth mechanism. The major crystalline phase determined by XRD analysis was fluorapatite (Ca(PO4)3F) and as the minor phases – fluormargarite (CaAl2(Al2SiO2)10F2) and vitlokite (Ca9P6O24). The resulting glass-ceramic has a homogeneous microstructure, composed of prismatic crystals, evenly distributed in glass phase.

Study on the Particle Removal Efficiency of Multi Inner Stage Cyclone by CFD Simulation

A new multi inner stage (MIS) cyclone was designed to remove the acidic gas and fine particles produced from electronic industry. To characterize gas flow in MIS cyclone, pressure and velocity distribution were calculated by means of CFD program. Also, the flow locus of fine particles and particle removal efficiency were analyzed by Lagrangian method. When outlet pressure condition was –100mmAq, the efficiency was the best in this study.

Effect of Nanofluids on the Saturated Pool Film Boiling

In this study, the effect of nanofluids on the pool film boiling was experimentally investigated at saturated condition under atmospheric pressure. For this purpose, four different water-based nanofluids (Al2O3, SiO2, TiO2 and CuO) with 0.1% particle volume fraction were prepared. To investigate the boiling heat transfer, a cylindrical rod with high temperature was used. The rod heated up to high temperatures was immersed into nanofluids. The center temperature of rod during the cooling process was recorded by using a K-type thermocouple. The quenching curves showed that the pool boiling heat transfer was strongly dependent on the nanoparticle materials. During the repetitive quenching tests, the cooling time decreased and thus, the film boiling vanished. Consequently, the primary reason of this was the change of the surface characteristics due to the nanoparticles deposition on the rod-s surface.

Phase Behavior and Structure Properties of Supported Lipid Monolayers and Bilayers in Interaction with Silica Nanoparticles

In this study we investigate silica nanoparticle (SiO2- NP) effects on the structure and phase properties of supported lipid monolayers and bilayers, coupling surface pressure measurements, fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy. SiO2-NPs typically in size range of 10nm to 100 nm in diameter are tested. Our results suggest first that lipid molecules organization depends to their nature. Secondly, lipid molecules in the vinicity of big aggregates nanoparticles organize in liquid condensed phase whereas small aggregates are localized in both fluid liquid-expanded (LE) and liquid-condenced (LC). We demonstrated also by atomic force microscopy that by measuring friction forces it is possible to get information as if nanoparticle aggregates are recovered or not by lipid monolayers and bilayers.

Zinc Sulfide Concentrates and Optimization of their Roasting in Fluidezed Bed Reactor

The production of glass, ceramic materials and many non-ferrous metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, etc.), ferrous metals (pig iron) and others is connected with the use of a considerable number of initial solid raw materials. Before carrying out the basic technological processes (oxidized roasting, melting, agglomeration, baking) it is necessary to mix and homogenize the raw materials that have different chemical and phase content, granulometry and humidity. For this purpose zinc sulfide concentrates differing in origin are studied for their more complete characteristics using chemical, X-ray diffraction analyses, DTA and TGA as well as Mössbauer spectroscopy. The phases established in most concentrates are: β-ZnS, mZnS.nFeS, FeS2, CuFeS2, PbS, SiO2 (α-quartz). With the help of the developed by us a Web-based information system for a continued period of time different mix proportions from zinc concentrates are calculated and used in practice (roasting in fluidized bed reactor), which have to conform to the technological requirements of the zinc hydrometallurgical technological scheme.

Improved p-Xylene Selectivity of n-Pentane Aromatization over Silylated Ga-exchanged HZSM- 5 Catalysts

In this study, the conversion of n-pentane to aromatics is investigated on HZSM-5 zeolites modified by Ga ion-exchange and silylation using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) via chemical liquid deposition (CLD). The effect of SiO2/Al2O3 ratios of HZSM-5 was also studied. Parameters in preparing catalysts i.e. TEOS loading and cycles of deposition were varied to obtain the optimal condition for enhancing p-xylene selectivity. The highest p-xylene selectivity 99.7% was achieved when the amount of TEOS was 20 vol.%.The catalysts were characterized by TPD, TPO, XRF, and BET. Results show that the conversion of n-pentane was influenced remarkably by the SiO2/Al2O3 ratios of HZSM-5. The highest p-xylene selectivity 99.7% was achieved when the amount of TEOS was 20 vol.%. And cycles of deposition greatly improves HZSM-5 shape-selectivity.

Gasoline and Diesel Production via Fischer- Tropsch Synthesis over Cobalt Based Catalyst

Performance of a cobalt doped sol-gel derived silica (Co/SiO2) catalyst for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) in slurryphase reactor was studied using paraffin wax as initial liquid media. The reactive mixed gas, hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO) in a molar ratio of 2:1, was flowed at 50 ml/min. Braunauer-Emmett- Teller (BET) surface area and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were employed to characterize both the specific surface area and crystallinity of the catalyst, respectively. The reduction behavior of Co/SiO2 catalyst was investigated using the Temperature Programmmed Reduction (TPR) method. Operating temperatures were varied from 493 to 533K to find the optimum conditions to maximize liquid fuels production, gasoline and diesel.