Development of cellulose acetate poly acrylonitrile (CAPA)-SiC/epoxy coating to mitigate corrosion of copper in chloride containing solutions.

A new conducting polymer of the cellulose acetate poly acrylonitrile (CAPA)-SiC composite was produced using an in situ oxidative polymerization technique in an aqueous medium. SiC was synthesized from Cinachyrella sp. as a source of carbon and silicon at 1200 °C under an argon atmosphere via a catalytic reduction process.

Impact of BiO on prepared nano (SiO-NaO-CaO-BO) glass as radiation shielding material.

Melt quenching technique was used to create Bismuth Boro-Silicate nano glasses with compositions of 45SiO-10CaO- 25NaO- xBiO- (20-x) BO (where x is 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mol %). Standard point sources AM-241, Ba-133, Co-60, Cs-137, and Eu-152 were used in the radiation experiment to evaluate the attenuation coefficients spanning the energy range of 59.51 keV to 1048.

Comprehensive study of nanostructured BiTe thermoelectric materials - insights from synchrotron radiation XRD, XAFS, and XRF techniques.

In this contribution, a comprehensive study of nanostructured BiTe (BT) thermoelectric material was performed using a combination of synchrotron radiation-based techniques such as XAFS, and XRF, along with some other laboratory techniques such as XRD, XPS, FESEM, and HRTEM. This study aims to track the change in morphological, compositional, average and local/electronic structures of BiTe of two different phases; nanostructure (thin film) and nanopowders (NPs). BiTe nanomaterial was fabricated as pellets using zone melting process in a one step process, while BiTe thin film was deposited on sodalime glass substrate using a vacuum thermal evaporation technique.

Novel slag/natural rubber composite as flexible material for protecting workers against radiation hazards.

This work is an attempt to employ the electric arc furnace (EAF) slag as a by-product material to develop an alternative and environmentally friendly material for gamma-radiation protection applications such as in medical and industrial areas. For this purpose, different concentrations of micro-sized EAF slag (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 500, and 800 phr) were incorporated as fillers in the natural rubber (NR) matrix to produce the shielding composites. In addition, nano-sized EAF slag particles were prepared by using a high-energy ball milling technique to investigate the effect of particle size on the gamma-radiation shielding properties.

Correction: Controlling barrier height and spectral responsivity of p-i-n based GeSn photodetectors arsenic incorporation.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D3RA00805C.].

Controlling barrier height and spectral responsivity of p-i-n based GeSn photodetectors arsenic incorporation.

GeSn compounds have made many interesting contributions in photodetectors (PDs) over the last ten years, as they have a detection limit in the NIR and mid-IR region. Sn incorporation in Ge alters the cut off wavelength. In the present article, p-i-n structures based on GeSn junctions were fabricated to serve as PDs.

Ultra-fast green microwave assisted synthesis of NaFePO-C nanocomposites for sodium ion batteries and supercapacitors.

Sodium ion batteries are favored in stationary and large scale power storage due to their low cost and nontoxicity. As the lithium is replaced with sodium due to the cost motive, a cheap processing method is needed to maintain the cell price as low as possible. We report an ultra-fast synthesis method that utilizes the high microwave absorbance of silicon carbide content in rice straw ash.

Impact of strain engineering and Sn content on GeSn heterostructured nanomaterials for nanoelectronics and photonic devices.

Heterostructures based on the GeSn nanocompound have high impact on integrated photonics devices. The promising feature of GeSn nanostructures is its direct bandgap transition that is a result of Sn incorporation in the Ge networks, forming a strained structure. Herein, we demonstrate a deep survey of the strain-controlling mechanisms in GeSn nanomaterials with different methodologies.

Simple and Fast Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Methods of Nanocrystalline TiO and rGO Materials for Low-Cost Metal-Free DSSC Applications.

Nanocrystalline TiO and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) materials have been synthesized by a simple and low-cost microwave-assisted hydrothermal method and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as photoactive and metal-free counter electrodes, respectively. Different TiO nanocrystalline materials have been synthesized via the acid hydrolysis sol-gel method, followed by microwave hydrothermal treatment at 210 °C and 300 psi and at different microwave irradiation times (20, 30, 45, and 60 min) instead of the usual hydrothermal time of 12 h. The properties of the produced mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO are investigated in terms of their morphology, crystal structure, optical properties, and surface area behavior using relevant characterization techniques.

Hybrid renewable energy/hybrid desalination potentials for remote areas: selected cases studied in Egypt.

For many socio-economic and demographic issues, majority of the Egyptian population live near the Nile River for thousands of years. Shortage of freshwater resources at remote and rural areas is limiting population settlement and development. Therefore, it is necessary to find alternative solutions including saline water desalination processes to assist obtaining fresh water for domestic and industrial purposes in these remote areas.

One-pot fabrication of Ag @AgO core-shell nanostructures for biosafe antimicrobial and antibiofilm applications.

Microbial contamination is one of the major dreadful problems that raises hospitalization, morbidity and mortality rates globally, which subsequently obstructs socio-economic progress. The continuous misuse and overutilization of antibiotics participate mainly in the emergence of microbial resistance. To circumvent such a multidrug-resistance phenomenon, well-defined nanocomposite structures have recently been employed.

Crystal Growth of Cubic and Hexagonal GaN Bulk Alloys and Their Thermal-Vacuum-Evaporated Nano-Thin Films.

In this study, we investigate a novel simple methodology to synthesize gallium nitride nanoparticles (GaN) that could be used as an active layer in light-emitting diode (LED) devices by combining the crystal growth technique with thermal vacuum evaporation. The characterizations of structural and optical properties are carried out with different techniques to investigate the main featured properties of GaN bulk alloys and their thin films. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) delivered images in bulk structures that show micro rods with an average diameter of 0.

Fabrication of High Yield Photoluminescent Quantized Graphene Nanodiscs for Supercapacitor Devices.

In this work, we produced high yield quantized nitrogen-doped graphene nanodiscs from waste tires via a one-step process under high pressure and temperature using a homemade stainless steel reactor without using any chemical additives. Reaction temperature played a vital role in the preparation process. By increasing the temperature to a level between 600 and 1100 °C, the carbon atoms rearranged themselves to build a mixed graphene structure of nanodiscs and quantum dots.

Enhancement of the Silicon Solar Cell Efficiency by Spin-Coated Polythiophene Films Embedded with Gold or Palladium Nanoparticles on the Rear Contact.

In this article, we investigate the application of polythiophene (PT), polythiophene with embedded gold nanoparticles (PT-Au), and polythiophene with embedded palladium nanoparticles (PT-Pd) via the spin coating technique on the rear contact of single-crystalline silicon solar cells. Several layers of coating (up to four layers) were applied, followed by a simple heat treatment at 70 °C for 30 min. The morphology, particles distribution in the polymer, and crystal structure of the colloid PT, PT-Au, and PT-Pd were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Fabrication of Nanocrystalline Silicon Thin Films Utilized for Optoelectronic Devices Prepared by Thermal Vacuum Evaporation.

Metal-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon is a promising technique for developing high-quality and cheap optoelectronic devices. Many attempts tried to enhance the crystal growth of polycrystalline silicon via aluminum-induced crystallization at different annealing times and temperatures. In this research, thin films of aluminum/silicon (Al/Si) and aluminum/silicon/tin (Al/Si/Sn) layers were fabricated using the thermal evaporation technique with a designed wire tungsten boat.

Bacterial nanocellulose from agro-industrial wastes: low-cost and enhanced production by Komagataeibacter saccharivorans MD1.

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) has been drawing enormous attention because of its versatile properties. Herein, we shed light on the BNC production by a novel bacterial isolate (MD1) utilizing various agro-industrial wastes. Using 16S rRNA nucleotide sequences, the isolate was identified as Komagataeibacter saccharivorans MD1.