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.
The current research reports the preparation and fabrication of the silver paste conductor which is employed as a soldering material for electro – optical components ohmic interconnections. The prepared paste possesses electrical characteristics identical to the ohmic connectors as its observable from resistance – temperature variation. Moreover, the I – V characteristics obeys Ohm’s law and this dependency was further confirmed by the nearly constant capacitance measurements with voltage and frequency. A noticeable improvement in electrical conductivity, compared to the pure silver paste sample, was noted for samples prepared by mixing predetermined weight ratios of brass and copper. Furthermore, stability of electrical resistan
... Show MoreNanomaterials, including nanoparticles such as iron oxide nanoparticles, have received great attention from researchers due to their unique properties and applications. There are several diverse methods, including chemical, physical, and green biological methods, to prepare iron oxide nanoparticles. The green method was chosen because it is safer, purer, and less toxic compared to other methods. Therefore, the green method is a promising and environmentally friendly method in the near future. The aqueous extract of Iraqi orange leaves was used to prepare nano iron oxide, it was examined structurally and spectrally by several techniques (X-ray diffraction- XRD, Fourier transform infrared - FT-IR, field emission scanning electron micr
... Show MoreHydrogen sulfide removal catalyst was prepared chemically by precipitation of zinc bicarbonate at a controlled pH. The physical and chemical catalyst characterization properties were investigated. The catalyst was tested for its activity in adsorption of H2S using a plant that generates the H2S from naphtha hydrodesulphurization and a unit for the adsorption of H2S. The results comparison between the prepared and commercial catalysts revealed that the chemical method can be used to prepare the catalyst with a very good activity.
It has observed that the hydrogen sulfide removal over zinc oxide catalyst follows first order reaction kinetics with activation energy of 19.26 kJ/mole and enthalpy and e
... Show MoreMetal oxide nanoparticles, including iron oxide, are highly considered as one of the most important species of nanomaterials in a varied range of applications due to their optical, magnetic, and electrical properties. Iron oxides are common compounds, extensive in nature, and easily synthesized in the laboratory. In this paper, iron oxide nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation of (Fe+2) and (Fe+3) ions, using iron (II and III) sulfate as precursor material and NH4OH solution as solvent at 90°C. After the synthesis of iron oxide particles, it was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These tests confirmed the obtaining o
... Show MoreIn this study, stabilization of expansive soils using waste materials namely; Cement Kiln Dust (CKD), and waste plastic bottles (WPB) was experimentally investigated. Using CKD and WPB are exponentially increasing day by day, due to their capability to solve both environmental and geotechnical problems successfully. Expansive soils were collected from locations with a wide range of plasticity index (PI) (15 - 27) and liquid limit (LL) (35% - 64%). Stabilizer percentages were varied from 0% to 20%, and curing durations for CKD cases were 7 and 28 days. Results showed the best percentages of CKD and WPB are 12% of each one respectively. LL, plastic limit (PL), and swelling percent (SP) loss were observed, which are 46%, 55%, and 96% respec
... Show MoreThis research aims to study and reveal the influence of Bauhaus principles in contemporary graphic design. The researcher determined the objective/spatial/temporal limit: Study of the Bauhaus influence in the design of the graphic poster in Germany in 2020. The theoretical framework in the first section dealt with (the emergence and factors of the emergence of the Bauhaus school and its characteristics), while the second topic dealt with (the intellectual, functional and aesthetic data of the Bauhaus School), after which the indicators that resulted from the theoretical framework were produced.
He mentioned four previous studies, one of them was discussed in detail. In the third chapter he defined the methodology, society, and sam
... Show MoreFlexible pavement design and analysis were carried out in the past with semi-experimental methods, using elastic characteristics of pavement layers. Due to the complex interferences between various layers and their time consumption, the traditional pavement analysis, and design methods were replaced with fast and powerful methods including the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Discrete Element Method (DEM). FEM requires less computational power and is more appropriate for continuous environments. In this study, flexible pavement consisting of 5 layers (surface, binder, base, subbase, and subgrade) had been analyzed using FEM. The ABAQUS (6.14-2) software had been utilized to investigate the influence of the base layer depth on ver
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