Abstract Background: The daily usage of maxillofacial prostheses causes them to mechanically deteriorate with time. This study was aimed to evaluate the reinforcement of VST50F maxillofacial silicone by using yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) to resist aging and mechanical deterioration. Materials and Method: Y2O3 NPs (30–45nm) were loaded into VST50F maxillofacial silicone in two weight percentages (1 and 1.5 wt%), which were predetermined in a pilot study as the best rates for improving tear strength with minimum increase in hardness values. A total of 120 specimens were prepared and divided into the control and experimental groups (with 1 and 1.5 wt% Y2O3 addition). Each group included 40 specimens, 10 specimens for each parameter tested (i.e., tear strength, surface roughness, hardness, tensile strength and elongation percentage). Specimens were artificially aged in a weathering chamber for 150 h and then tested. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD). Statistical significance was set to P ≤ 0.05. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were also conducted. Results and Discussion: SEM results showed that Y2O3 NPs were distributed well within the silicon matrix. FTIR results indicated that the NPs were physically dispersed within VST50F silicone without chemical interaction. After 150 h of accelerated artificial aging, adding Y2O3 NPs significantly increased the tear strength, hardness, surface roughness, and elongation percentage. Tensile strength increased non significantly. Conclusion: Adding Y2O3 NPs as fillers improved the mechanical properties of artificially aged maxillofacial silicone elastomer. Keywords: maxillofacial silicone, Y2O3, nanoparticles, fillers, artificial aging.
Iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were synthesized via an eco-friendly green approach by adding Phoenix dactylifera extract to the aqueous solution of ferric chloride. The effect of annealing temperature (Ta) (100-150) °C on particle size was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to evaluate the produced nanoparticles. According to XRD spectra, the crystallite size of the samples was determined using the Scherrer formula. AFM and FE-SEM were used to determine surface morphology. A UV-Vis optical spectroscopic examination was carried out to determine the band gap energy of the iron oxide nanoparticles. It was found th
... Show MoreModified algae with nano copper oxide (CuO) were used as adsorption media to remove tetracycline (TEC) from aqueous solutions. Functional groups, morphology, structure, and percentages of surfactants before and after adsorption were characterised through Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Several variables, including pH, connection time, dosage, initial concentrations, and temperature, were controlled to obtain the optimum condition. Thermodynamic studies, adsorption isotherm, and kinetics models were examined to describe and recognise the type of interactions involved. Resultantly, the best operation conditions were at pH 7, contact time
... Show MoreAlO-doped ZnO nanocrystalline thin films from with nano crystallite size in the range (19-15 nm) were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition technique. The reduction of crystallite size by increasing of doping ratio shift the bandgap to IR region the optical band gap decreases in a consistent manner, from 3.21to 2.1 eV by increasing AlO doping ratio from 0 to 7wt% but then returns to grow up to 3.21 eV by a further increase the doping ratio. The bandgap increment obtained for 9% AlO dopant concentration can be clarified in terms of the Burstein–Moss effect whereas the aluminum donor atom increased the carrier's concentration which in turn shifts the Fermi level and widened the bandgap (blue-shift). The engineering of the bandgap by low
... Show MoreThe present study develops the sorption model for simulating the effects of pH and temperature on the uptake of cadmium from contaminated water using waste foundry sand (WFS) by allowing the variation of the maximum adsorption capacity and affinity constant. The presence of two acidic functional groups with the same or different affinity is the basis in the derivation of the two models; Model 1 and Model 2 respectively. The developed Bi-Langmuir model with different affinity (Model 2) has a remarkable ability in the description of process under consideration with coefficient of determination > 0.9838 and sum of squared error < 0.08514. This result is proved by FTIR test where the weak acids responsible of cadmium ions removal
... Show MorePorcelain is one of the most important ceramic materials with a wide range of traditional and technical applications. Since most mixtures of porcelain have a high sintering temperature, bentonite has been added in this research to improve the characteristics of sintering and burning. The porcelain mixture consisted of the following Iraqi raw materials: 30% wt kaolin, 30 wt% non-plastic clay (grog), 10% wt sodium feldspar, 10 wt% potassium feldspar and 20 wt% flint. After the mechanical mixing process and transfer the powder mixture to the slurry by adding distilled water, then different weight percentage of the sodium bentonite(0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10) wt% was added. The specimens were prepared by using the solid casting m
... Show MoreAlginate from Large brown seaweeds act as natural polymer has been investigated as polymer and has been added to concrete in different percentages ( 0% , 0.5% , 1% and 1.5% ) by the cement weight and the study show the effect of using alginate biopolymer admixtures on some of the fresh properties of the concrete (slump & the density fresh) also in the hardened state ( Compressive strength , Splitting tensile strength and Flexural strength ) at 28 days. The mix proportion was (1:2.26:2.26) (cement: sand: gravel) respectively and at constant w/c equal to 0.47. The results indicate that the use of alginate as a percent of the cement weight possess a positive effect on fresh properties of co
... Show MoreThe adsorption of Malonic acid, Succinic acid, Adipic acid, and Azelaic acid from their aqueous solutions on zinc oxide surface were investigated. The adsorption efficiency was investigated using various factors such as adsorbent amount, contact time, initial concentration, and temperature. Optimum conditions for acids removal from its aqueous solutions were found to be adsorbent dose (0.2 g), equilibrium contact time (40 minutes), initial acids concentration (0.005 M). Variation of temperature as a function of adsorption efficiency showed that increasing the temperature would result in decreasing the adsorption ability. Kinetic modeling by applying the pseudo-second order model can provide a better fit of the data with a greater correla
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