Characteristics of electron beam evaporated nanocrystalline SnO2 thin films annealed in air

Tin oxide (SnO₂) thin films (about 200 nm thick) have been deposited by electron beam evaporation followed by annealing in air at 350-550 °C for two hours. Optical, electrical and structural properties were studied as a function of annealing temperature. The as-deposited film is amorphous, while all other annealed films are crystalline (having tetragonal structure). XRD suggest that the films are composed of nanoparticles of 5-10 nm. Raman analysis and optical measurements suggest quantum confinement effects that are enhanced with annealing temperature. For instance, Raman peaks of the as-deposited films are blue-shifted as compared to those for bulk SnO₂. Blue shift becomes more pronounced with annealing temperature. Optical band gap energy of amorphous SnO₂ film is 3.61 eV, which increases to about 4.22 eV after crystallization. Two orders of magnitude decrease in resistivity is observed after annealing at 350-400 °C due to structural ordering and crystallization. The resistivity, however, increases slightly with annealing temperature above 400 °C, possibly due to improvement in stoichiometry and associated decrease in charge carrier density.     

A Review on Effects of Lubricant Formulations on Tribological Performance and Boundary Lubrication Mechanisms of Non-Doped DLC/DLC Contacts

Tribological efficiency of industrial applications involving boundary lubrication regime can be improved to an appreciable extent by the deposition of hard coatings on interacting surfaces. Among such coatings, diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are considered to be one of the most suitable ones for the said role. DLC coatings possess a unique combination of physical, chemical, and material properties due to which they can help in minimizing friction-induced energy and material losses even under starved lubrication conditions. Since commercial lubricants are optimized for steel surfaces, therefore, a lot of experimental investigations were carried out to analyze the tribological compatibility of these lubricants with various DLC coatings. However, there is still a lack of understanding about how DLC coatings interact with conventional lubricant additives. Some researchers reported tribologically beneficial interactions between DLC coatings and formulated lubricants while others observed no such behavior. To address these inconsistencies, there is a need to rearrange the published data in a more apprehensible and organized manner with a special emphasis on the mechanisms responsible for a particular tribological behavior. In this way, it can be determined whether synergistic or antagonistic correlation exists between a particular DLC-lubricant combination and research on DLC coatings can be continued in a logical way. In this article, most widely investigated non-doped DLC coatings (ta-C, a-C:H, a-C, and ta-C:H) are tribologically analyzed. Average values of friction and wear coefficients are calculated for various DLC-lubricant combinations using already published data and compared to quantify the effectiveness of a particular lubricant additive in enhancing tribological characteristics of symmetrical non-doped DLC contacts. Moreover, tribological performance parameters of non-doped DLC coatings are compared with those of doped-DLC coatings to understand differences in their tribological behavior in combination with additives.     

Line Profile Measure as a Stopping Criterion in CG-SENSE Algorithm

Conjugate gradient SENSE (CG-SENSE) is a parallel magnetic resonance imaging reconstruction algorithm which solves the inversion problem of SENSE iteratively. One major limitation of CG-SENSE is the appropriate choice of the number of iterations required for good reconstruction results. Fewer iterations result in aliasing artifacts and too many iterations result in an increased noise level. This paper proposes a novel method to define the stopping criterion of CG-SENSE algorithm which is based on the use of correlation measure between the line profiles of the reconstructed images in the current and the previous iterations. The results are compared with Bregman distance-stopping criterion. Artifact power and peak signal-to-noise ratio are used to quantify the quality of the reconstructed images. The results demonstrate that the line profile correlation measure acts as an effective stopping criterion in CG-SENSE.     

Efficient photodegradation of methylthioninium chloride dye in aqueous using barium tungstate nanoparticles

BaWO₄ nanoparticles were successfully used as the photocatalysts in the degradation of methylthioninium chloride (MTC) dye at different pH levels of aqueous solution. Pure phase of barium tungstate (BaWO₄) nanoparticles was synthesized by modified molten salt process at 500 °C for 6 h. Structural and morphological characterizations of BaWO₄ nanoparticles (average particle size of ~40 nm) were studied in details using powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR, Raman, energy-dispersive, electron microscopic, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. Direct band gap energy of BaWO₄ nanoparticles was found to be ~3.06 eV from the UV–visible absorption spectroscopy followed by Tauc’s model. Photocatalytic properties of the nanoparticles were also investigated systematically for the degradation of MTC dye solution in various mediums. BaWO₄ nanoparticles claim the significant enhancement of the photocatalytic degradation of aqueous MTC dye to non-hazardous inorganic constitutes under alkaline, neutral, and acidic mediums.

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Graphical abstract BaWO₄ nanoparticles enhance the rate of photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes in various mediums.

     

Synthetic approaches toward stilbenes and their related structures

Compounds belonging to the stilbene family have gained remarkable significance in pharmaceutical as well as material chemistry. The current review covers the various synthetic approaches for the syntheses of stilbene scaffold and related structures over last 30 years. In addition, this review also highlights the role of stilbene intermediates used in the synthesis of important molecules with diverse applications in the field of pharmaceutics and material science.     

Closed solution to electromagnetic scattering of a plane wave by an eccentric cylinder coated with metamaterials

Closed series solution of electromagnetic scattering by an eccentric coated cylinder is achieved in matrix form. Diffracted field patterns are examined for an incident plane transverse magnetic (TM) wave. The solution is found by the classical separation of variables technique and the translational addition theorems. Wave transformation and orthogonality of the complex exponentials are employed to produce an infinite series. Numerical results are then shown by shortening the infinite series to a limited number of terms. Solutions are discussed for a dielectric or a metamaterial coating.     

Centrality dependence of charged-hadron transverse-momentum spectra in d+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV

We have measured transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in d+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV. The spectra were obtained for transverse momenta 0.25相似文献   

Thermal radiation effects on Williamson fluid flow due to an expanding/contracting cylinder with nanomaterials: Dual solutions

The phenomena of heat and mass transfer during the flow of non-Newtonian transfer are amongst the core subjects in mechanical sciences. Recently, the nanomaterials are among the eminent tools for improving the low thermal conductivity of working fluids. Therefore, in view of the existing contributions, this article presents a two-dimensional numerical simulation for the transient flow of a non-Newtonian nanofluid generated by an expanding/contracting circular cylinder. This critical review further explores the impacts of variable magnetic field, thermal radiation, velocity slip and convective boundary conditions. The basic governing equations for Williamson fluid flow are formulated with the assistance of boundary layer approximations. The non-dimensional form of partially coupled ordinary differential equations has been tackled numerically by utilizing versatile Runge–Kutta integration scheme. The momentum, thermal and concentration characteristics are investigated with respect to several critical parameters, like, Weissenberg number, unsteadiness parameter, viscosity ratio parameter, slip parameter, suction parameter, magnetic parameter, thermophoresis parameter, Brownian motion parameter, Prandtl number, Lewis number and Biot number. The outcomes of the systematic reviews of these parameters and forest plots are illustrated. The study reveals that multiple solutions for the considered problem occurs for diverse values of involved physical parameters. The computed results indicate that the friction and heat transfer coefficients are significantly raised by the magnetic parameter for upper branch solutions.     

Transfer of radioactivity from soil to vegetation in Rechna Doab,Pakistan

In Rechna Doab, samples of the most common vegetation, perennial grass Desmostachya bipinnata (dab), were collected along with soil samples from 29 sites. Natural radioactivity of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th/²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K was measured by using high purity germanium-based gamma ray spectrometer. Activity concentration levels of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th/²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K in soil were found to be 46.8±6.2 (36.0–57.6), 61.4±5.9 (48.2–73.2) and 644.8±73.9 (537.7–868.4) Bq kg^?1 (dry mass), respectively, and those in vegetation were 2.74±1.70 (1.00–6.39), 2.24±0.59 (1.56–2.61) and 172.72±113.37 (53.14–469.24) Bq kg^?1 (dry mass), respectively. The measured values of the activity concentration in vegetation are comparable with some other international data. Calculated soil to vegetation transfer factors of ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K were 0.06±0.03 (0.02–0.14), 0.04±0.01 (0.03–0.04) and 0.26±0.16 (0.09–0.69). The mean outdoor absorbed dose rate in air for the area under study was determined as 8.22 nGy h^?1 and the mean indoor absorbed dose rate in air was 11.52 nGy h^?1. The total annual effective dose to the general public from the vegetation was found to be (0.02–0.16) mSv, which is below the recommended limit value of 1 mSv y^?1 for the general public. The dab vegetation under study was found to be radiologically safe for the population and environment.