Irreversibility of mixed convection peristalsis flow of nanofluid under the influence of heat mass flux with slip and thermal radiation

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This analysis communicates the thermophoretic and Brownian motion aspects in magneto-peristalsis with variable viscosity characteristics of viscous...     

Artificial intelligence model and correlation for characterization and viscosity measurements of mono & hybrid nanofluids concerned graphene oxide/silica

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Graphene oxide/silica composite’s rheological behavior was studied in this investigation. This composite was made to reduce the cost of...     

Uniform-sized silicone oil microemulsions: preparation, investigation of stability and deposition on hair surface

Emulsions are commonly used in foods, pharmaceuticals and home-personal-care products. For emulsion based products, it is highly desirable to control the droplet size distribution to improve storage stability, appearance and in-use property. We report preparation of uniform-sized silicone oil microemulsions with different droplets diameters (1.4-40.0 μm) using SPG membrane emulsification technique. These microemulsions were then added into model shampoos and conditioners to investigate the effects of size, uniformity, and storage stability on silicone oil deposition on hair surface. We observed much improved storage stability of uniform-sized microemulsions when the droplets diameter was ≤22.7 μm. The uniform-sized microemulsion of 40.0 μm was less stable but still more stable than non-uniform sized microemulsions prepared by conventional homogenizer. The results clearly indicated that uniform-sized droplets enhanced the deposition of silicone oil on hair and deposition increased with decreasing droplet size. Hair switches washed with small uniform-sized droplets had lower values of coefficient of friction compared with those washed with larger uniform and non-uniform droplets. Moreover the addition of alginate thickener in the shampoos and conditioners further enhanced the deposition of silicone oil on hair. The good correlation between silicone oil droplets stability, deposition on hair and resultant friction of hair support that droplet size and uniformity are important factors for controlling the stability and deposition property of emulsion based products such as shampoo and conditioner.     

Micellization of Cationic Surfactant Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide in Mixed Water-Alcohol Media

The effect of methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol on cmc and degree of counter ion binding, β, of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) has been studied conductometrically. The micellization of CTAB in these water-alcohol media have been found to be both dependent on nature as well as the concentration of alcohol in water. The cmc values shift toward higher concentration with increase in alcoholic content up to certain concentration beyond which decrease in cmc is registered in case of all the alcohols. However, the maximum in the cmc versus concentration of alcohol shifts to lower concentration with the increase in number of carbons in alcohol. β shows the inverse peaked behaviour in conformity with the cmc variation. The effects viz. solvent modifying tendency of alcohols and their tendency of penetration into the micelles have been used to interpret their effect on micellization of CTAB.     

Thermal degradation pathways of nickel(II) bipyridine complexes to size-controlled nickel nanoparticles

Tris(bipyridine)nickel(II) chloride (1) and bis(bipyridine)nickel(II) chloride (2) pyrolize at heating rate of 50 °C/min to a maximum of 450 °C for 24 h under an inert atmosphere of flowing argon gas, to yield size-controlled nickel nanoparticles. Thermogravimetric studies of the complexes (1) and (2) and GC–MS analysis of the trapped volatile matter evolved during thermal degradation of the complexes indicate their clean decomposition pathway to zero-valent nickel. Both heating rate and argon gas flow rate affect purity, particle size, and shape of the particles. X-ray powder diffractometry and atomic force microscopy showed the formation of face-centered cubic (fcc) structured nickel particles having particle size in the range of 3.5–5.0 nm. Magnetic susceptibility measurements suggest nickel nanoparticles to be ferromagnetic in nature characterized by particle size–dependent Curie temperature and high coercivity that is comparable to the bulk iron.     

Nanostructure Engineering of Metal–Organic Derived Frameworks: Cobalt Phosphide Embedded in Carbon Nanotubes as an Efficient ORR Catalyst

Heteroatom doping is considered an efficient strategy when tuning the electronic and structural modulation of catalysts to achieve improved performance towards renewable energy applications. Herein, we synthesized a series of carbon-based hierarchical nanostructures through the controlled pyrolysis of Co-MOF (metal organic framework) precursors followed by in situ phosphidation. Two kinds of catalysts were prepared: metal nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanotubes, and metal nanoparticles dispersed on the carbon surface. The results proved that the metal nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanotubes exhibit enhanced ORR electrocatalytic performance, owed to the enriched catalytic sites and the mass transfer facilitating channels provided by the hierarchical porous structure of the carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, the phosphidation of the metal nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanotubes (P-Co-CNTs) increases the surface area and porosity, resulting in faster electron transfer, greater conductivity, and lower charge transfer resistance towards ORR pathways. The P-Co-CNT catalyst shows a half-wave potential of 0.887 V, a Tafel slope of 67 mV dec⁻¹, and robust stability, which are comparatively better than the precious metal catalyst (Pt/C). Conclusively, this study delivers a novel path for designing multiple crystal phases with improved catalytic performance for energy devices.     

A note on sinusoidal motion of a viscoelastic non-Newtonian fluid

In this note, the exact solutions of velocity field and associated shear stress corresponding to the flow of second-grade fluid in a cylindrical pipe, subject to a sinusoidal shear stress, are determined by means of Laplace and finite Hankel transform. These solutions are written as sum of steady-state and transient solutions, and they satisfy governing equations and all imposed initial and boundary conditions. The corresponding solutions for the Newtonian fluid, performing the same motion, can be obtained from our general solutions. At the end of this note, the effects of different parameters are presented and discussed by showing flow profiles graphically.     

Radon mapping in groundwater and indoor environs of Budgam,Jammu and Kashmir

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Radiation exposure, an inescapable share of our everyday life, primarily arises from terrestrial or cosmic sources. A small fragment of the total...