Regular Article
Applied Physics
Aya Talal Sami; Selma M. H. Al-Jawad; Natheer Jamal Imran
Abstract
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has attracted significant interest for water treatment applications due to its non-toxic nature and high photocatalytic activity. In this study, TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using two different methods to evaluate their photocatalytic performance in degrading organic contaminants ...
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Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has attracted significant interest for water treatment applications due to its non-toxic nature and high photocatalytic activity. In this study, TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using two different methods to evaluate their photocatalytic performance in degrading organic contaminants from wastewater. Sample S1 was prepared via the sol–gel method, while sample S2 was synthesized using a hydrothermal approach. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that both samples crystallized in the tetragonal anatase phase, with average crystallite sizes of 12 nm for S1 and 29 nm for S2. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) revealed spherical particles with uniform morphology for both samples. Optical absorbance measurements conducted using UV–vis spectrophotometry yielded estimated band gap energies of 3.2 eV for S1 and 3.0 eV for S2. Both samples demonstrated notable photocatalytic activity; however, S2 exhibited superior degradation efficiency against organic pollutants, indicating that the hydrothermally synthesized TiO2 possesses enhanced photocatalytic properties. These results underscore the potential of TiO2 particularly that synthesized via hydrothermal methods, as an effective photocatalyst for wastewater treatment applications.
Regular Article
Nanotechnology
Noor E. Naji; Ali A. Aljubouri; Raid A. Ismail
Abstract
In this work, Al2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized using the DC reactive sputtering technique. A highly pure aluminum target was sputtered within a gas mixture containing oxygen. The structural characteristics of the synthesized nanoparticles were introduced by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission ...
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In this work, Al2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized using the DC reactive sputtering technique. A highly pure aluminum target was sputtered within a gas mixture containing oxygen. The structural characteristics of the synthesized nanoparticles were introduced by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). An inter-electrode distance of 4 cm can describe the operation parameters, Ar: O2 gas mixing ratio of 50:50, applied voltage of 1500 V and discharge current of 25 mA. The prepared samples showed a polycrystalline structure with an amorphous nature due to the formation of nanoparticles, which were approximately spherical with a minimum size of 21 nm and an average grain size of 40.7 nm. Some agglomerations were observed in the prepared samples. The elemental composition analysis revealed that the prepared material contains aluminum and oxygen with no traces of other elements. The stoichiometry and homogeneity of the prepared material were also shown. All functional groups corresponding to the vibrational modes of the Al2O3 molecule were confirmed. The energy band gap of the prepared nanomaterial was determined based on its absorption spectrum and measured to be 4.46 eV; this demonstrates a promising approach for producing highly pure metal oxide nanomaterial by the DC reactive sputtering technique.
Regular Article
Materials Science
Ansam Ali Hashim; Rana Afif Anaee; Mohammed Salah Nasr
Abstract
This study seeks to identify an environmentally sustainable method for utilizing the synergetic effects of window glass (WG), ceramic powder (CP), and ultrafine cerium oxide (UFC) in developing concrete containing 25% coarse ceramic aggregate. Four different mixtures were formulated. The first represents ...
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This study seeks to identify an environmentally sustainable method for utilizing the synergetic effects of window glass (WG), ceramic powder (CP), and ultrafine cerium oxide (UFC) in developing concrete containing 25% coarse ceramic aggregate. Four different mixtures were formulated. The first represents control, consisting of 100% ordinary Portland cement (OPC), two other mixtures were composed of 10% WG, 10% CP and 80% OPC, and the fourth mixture consisted of four compositions of 79.5% OPC, 10% WG, 10% CP, and 0.5% UFC. The effect of these additives on recycled ceramic concrete (RA) properties, including workability and setting time, compressive strength, total water absorption, permeable pore ratio, electrical resistivity, and corrosion resistance, was studied. The results showed that when 10% WG and 0.5% UFC were combined, the components' synergistic effect was more noticeable. It had a compressive strength of 44.53, 48.83, and 56.17MPa after 28, 90, and 180 days, which is higher than the ternary mixtures of Portland cement, ultrafine cerium oxide, and ceramic powder, as well as the quaternary mixtures of Portland cement, WG powder, CP, and UFC. Moreover, it recorded a lower corrosion rate than the reference mix (RA-C), ternary mix (RA-CP10UFC0.5), and quaternary mixes (RA-CP10WG10UFC0.5) mixes. Meanwhile, the quaternary mix (RA-CP10WG10UFC0.5) showed 40% and 45% lower porosity and water absorption than the control mixture and 54% higher electrical resistivity values compared to the control mixture and ternary mixtures (RA-WG10UFC0.5 and RA-CP10UFC0.5) at 180 days.
