Effect of different dopant elements (Al,Mg and Ni) on microstructural,optical and electrochemical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis (SP)

In the present work we studied the influence of the dopant elements and concentration on the microstructural and electrochemical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis. Transparent conductive thin films of zinc oxide (ZnO) were prepared by the spray pyrolysis process using an aqueous solution of zinc acetate dehydrate [Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O] on soda glass substrate heated at 400 ± 5 °C. AlCl₃, MgCl₂ and NiCl₂ were used as dopant. The effect of doping percentage (2–4%) has been investigated. Afterwards the samples were thermally annealed in an ambient air during one hour at 500 °C. X-ray diffraction showed that films have a wurtzite structure with a preferential orientation along the (0 0 2) direction for doped ZnO. The lattice parameters a and c are estimated to be 3.24 and 5.20 ?, respectively. Transmission allowed to estimate the band gaps of ZnO layers. The electrochemical studies revealed that the corrosion resistance of the films depended on the concentration of dopants.     

Numerical analysis of mixed convection heat transfer and laminar flow in a rectangular inclined micro-channel totally filled with Water/Al2O3 Nano fluid

A numerical analysis was carried out of mixed convection heat transfer for a laminar flow in a rectangular inclined microchannel totally filled with a water/Al2O3 nanofluid. The governing conservation equations are translated into a dimensionless form using the thermal single relaxation time and they modify the lattice Boltzmann method with double distribution functions. The viscous dissipation effects are adapted to the energy equation. The effects of nanoparticle volume fractions ? (0?≤???≤?0.04) and inclination angles γ (0°?≤?γ?≤?60°) on the flow of the nanofluid and the heat transfer are investigated. The obtained results are presented in terms of streamlines, isotherms, slip velocity, wall temperature and Nusselt number. The results show that the higher values of the volume fraction of Al2O3 and the large values of inclination angles improve the heat transfer rate.