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.
Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease on the rise in different regions of Iraq, especially in areas with poor hygiene and among refugee populations. The effectiveness of existing chemotherapy for leishmaniasis is constrained by its high toxicity, cost, and the development of drug resistance. The current research examined various concentrations (ranging from 125 to 1000 μM) of lupeol to evaluate its ability to boost the generation of nitric oxide, which has anti-leishmanial properties, in an ex-vivo macrophage model. Griess assay was used to detect the nitric oxide (NO) production in Leishmania donovani infected U937 cell-line macrophages along 24 and 48 hours post treated. The nitric oxide concentration was signifi
... Show MoreThe extract of fig fruit has shown significant medical usefulness in various fields. The entrance of nanotechnology into the field of medicinal and pharmacology has shown remarkable advantages. Plants contain diverse molecules thatcan reduce metals, and provide a safe, eco-friendly approach for synthesizing nanoparticles. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have been reported to possess an antimicrobial effect against some strains of bacteria and moulds. We have aimed to synthesize IONPs from fig fruit extract and investigate the influence of fig extract and IONPs in wound healing of mice. UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the IONPs that were produced
... Show MoreIn this contribution, density functional theory-based calculations have been carried out to assess the electronic, photocatalytic and optical properties of Ce1-xTixO2 system. Ti incorporation leads to a decrease of Ce 4f states and enhancement of Ti 3d states in the bottom of conduction band. Furthermore, it was found that doping ceria with Ti-like transition metals could evidently shift the absorption of pure CeO2 towards higher wavelength range. These findings can provide some new insights for designing CeO2-based photocatalysts with high photocatalytic performance. To the best of our knowledge, this investigation calculates Mullikan’s charge transfer of Ce1-xTixO2 system for the first time. Charge transfer reveals an ionic bond between
... Show MoreA simulated ion/electron optical transport and focusing system has been put forward to
be mounted on high voltage transmission electron microscope for in situ investigations.
The suggested system consists of three axially symmetric electrostatic lenses namely an
einzel lens, an accelerating immersion lens, and a decelerating immersion lens, in addition
to an electrostatic quadrupole doublet lens placed on the image side. The electrodes
profile of these lenses is determined from the proposed axial field distributions. The
optical properties of the whole system have been computed together with the trajectory of
the accelerated charged-particles beam along the optical axis of the system. The computed
dimensions of th
Ni2O3 nanomaterial, a phase of nickel oxide, is synthesized by a simple chemical process. The pure raw materials used in the present process were nickel chloride hexahydrate NiCl2.6H2O and potassium hydroxide KOH by utilizing temperature at 250 oC for 2 hour. The structural, morphological and optical properties of the synthesized specimens of Ni2O3 were investigated employing diverse techniques such as XRD, AFM, SEM and UV-Vis, respectively. The XRD technique confirms the presence of Ni2O3 nanomaterial with crystal size of 57.083 nm which indexing to the (2θ) of 31.82; this results revealed the Ni2O3 was a phase of nickel oxide with Nano structure. The synthesized Ni2O3 will be useful in manufacturng electrodes materials f
... Show MoreLength of plasma generated by dc gas discharge under different vacuum pressures was studied experimentally. The cylindrical discharge tube of length 2m was evacuated under vacuum pressure range (0.1-0.5) mbar at constant external working dc voltage 1500V. It was found that the plasma length (L) increased exponentially with increasing of background vacuum air pressure. Empirical equation has been obtained between plasma length and gas pressure by using Logistic model of curve fitting. As vacuum pressure increases the plasma length increases due to collisions, ionizations, and diffusions of electrons and ions.
A statistical study was made to know the characteristics of Decametric (DAM) emission emitted from Jupiter's planet. These characteristics are the sporadic nature, time, type and the frequency. Period of 11 years was taken to study the first and year 2004 was taken to study the others. Data were provided from Radio Jove project, which gave information about the observer's location, date, time, type and the frequency. The results indicated that the DAM emission was sporadic, the time was between (00:01-05:31) hour, it was found that (Io-B) is the largest number, as compared with others , a large number emission occurred at frequency range (20-21) MHz. The results were compared with results of Radio Jove software, which indicated that the DAM
... Show MoreA new derivative of PAM, acrylamide was copolymerized with succinic anhydride, and the reaction product reacted with three dyes, anthocyanin, bromophenol, and thymol. The prepared polymers were characterized by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and UV-visible spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, and thermal analysis. FT-IR spectroscopy showed the disappearance of two bands near 3450 and 3380 cm-1 for the stretching vibrations of the primary amine which indicates for the formation of amides. The UV-photolysis of aqueous solutions of different concentrations of the polymers was studied. Polyacrylamide-g-succinic anhydride showed an increase in polymerization under light. An increase of ~ 50% was observed for a 200 mg/L
... Show MoreThe study aimed to assess Milk Thistle oi reducing the aflatoxin damage and improve the health status of local breed hens. The study was performed on 60 hens aged 35 weeks, weighing 2-2.5 kg of the body was obtained and housed on a private poultry farm in north of Baghdad (Altaji) for a period of 9 weeks from 22 October until 22 December 2020. Hens were divided to three treatments (20 hens). The first was fed a basal diet free of aflatoxin. The 2nd fed on a contaminated diet with aflatoxin (14.6 ppb) while the 3rd fed as in the 2nd with 0.5% of Milk Thistle oil /kg feed. A 5 hens from each group were slaughtered at the end of the trial for the histopathological inspection of liver, spleen and intestine tissues to evaluate the harmfu
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