This research aims to create lightweight concrete mixtures containing waste from local sources, such as expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads and waste plastic fibers (WPFs), all are cheap or free in the Republic of Iraq and without charge. The modern, rigid, and mechanical properties of LWC were investigated, and the results were evaluated. Three mixtures were made, each with different proportions of plastic fibers (0.4%, 0.8%, 1.2%), in addition to a lightweight concrete mixture containing steak fibers (0.4%, 0.8%, 1.2%), in addition to a lightweight concrete mixture. It contains 20% EPS. The study found that the LWC caused by the addition of WPFs reduced the density (lightweight) of the concrete mixtures because EPS tends to form more blocks, absorb water, and dry the mixture. While the increase in WPF content increased in compressive strength, as the compressive strength of the concrete mix containing (EPS) was only 13.6 MPa, the compressive strength increased to 17.6 MPa when WPFs were added. The addition of plastic also increased the bending resistance, where the bending resistance of the concrete mix containing (EPS) was only 2.26 MPa and increased to 2.66 MPa when (WPFs) were added.
Copper zinc tin sulfide selenide, Cu2 ZnSn(S1−x Se x)4 , absorbers are promising earth-abundant and environmentally benign materials for low-cost photovoltaic applications. This study investigates the structural and optical properties of Cu 2 ZnSn(S1−x Se x)4 nanostructured thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition using melt-quenched targets with selenium compositions x = 0.0–1.0. X-ray diffraction revealed that films with low selenium content remained amorphous, whereas higher selenium incorporation promoted the formation of polycrystalline kesterite–stannite phases with preferred orientations along (112), (200), (220), and (312). The crystallite size increased from 12.3 to 17.9 nm as selenium reached x = 1.0, indicating enha
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