Adsorption of Metanil Yellow Azoic Dye from Aqueous Solution onto Mg‐Fe‐NO3 Layered Double Hydroxide

We report the preparation and characterization of a layered double hydroxide (LDH) adsorbent for azoic dye, metanil yellow (yellow GX; YGX) removal. The nanoparticles of Mg‐Fe‐LDH‐NO₃ adsorbent were prepared with Mg/Fe molar ratio of 3:1 by a hydrothermal process and coprecipitation method at pH 9.5 and were characterized by X‐ray powder diffraction (XRPD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR). The size and morphology of nanoparticles were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD patterns indicate that the intercalation of YGX between the LDH layers has not occurred and surface adsorption has happened. In the adsorption experiments, the Gibbs free energy ΔG⁰ values, the enthalpy ΔH⁰, and entropy ΔS⁰ was determined. The isotherms showed that the adsorption of YGX by Mg‐Fe‐LDH‐NO₃ was both consistent with Langmuir and Freundlich equations.     

Fabrication of Ti2SnC-MAX Phase Blended PES Membranes with Improved Hydrophilicity and Antifouling Properties for Oil/Water Separation

In this research work, the Ti₂SnC MAX phase (MP) was synthesized via the reactive sintering procedure. The layered and crystalline structure of this MP was verified by SEM, HRTEM, and XRD analyses. This nano-additive was used for improvement of different features of the polyethersulfone (PES) polymeric membranes. The blended membranes containing diverse quantities of the MP (0–1 wt%) were fabricated by a non-solvent-induced phase inversion method. The asymmetric structure of the membranes with small holes in the top layer and coarse finger-like holes and macro-voids in the sublayer was observed by applying SEM analysis. The improvement of the membrane’s hydrophilicity was verified via reducing the contact angle of the membranes from 63.38° to 49.77° (for bare and optimum membranes, respectively). Additionally, in the presence of 0.5 wt% MP, the pure water flux increased from 286 h to 355 L/m² h. The average roughness of this membrane increased in comparison with the bare membrane, which shows the increase in the filtration-available area. The high separation efficiency of the oil/water emulsion (80%) with an improved flux recovery ratio of 65% was illustrated by the optimum blended membrane.     

Circular chromatic index of graphs of maximum degree 3

This paper proves that if G is a graph (parallel edges allowed) of maximum degree 3, then χ′_c(G) ≤ 11/3 provided that G does not contain H₁ or H₂ as a subgraph, where H₁ and H₂ are obtained by subdividing one edge of K (the graph with three parallel edges between two vertices) and K₄, respectively. As χ′_c(H₁) = χ′_c(H₂) = 4, our result implies that there is no graph G with 11/3 < χ′_c(G) < 4. It also implies that if G is a 2‐edge connected cubic graph, then χ′_c(G) ≤ 11/3. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 49: 325–335, 2005     

Fabrication of graphene‐silver/polyurethane nanofibrous scaffolds for cardiac tissue engineering

The graphene‐based nanocomposites are considered as great candidates for enhancing electrical and mechanical properties of nonconductive scaffolds in cardiac tissue engineering. In this study, reduced graphene oxide‐silver (rGO‐Ag) nanocomposites (1 and 2 wt%) were synthesized and incorporated into polyurethane (PU) nanofibers via electrospinning technique. Next, the human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) were seed on these scaffolds for in vitro studies. The rGO‐Ag nanocomposites were studied by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscope (TEM). After incorporation of rGO‐Ag into PU nanofibers, the related characterizations were carried out including scanning electron microscope (SEM), TEM, water contact angle, and mechanical properties. Furthermore, PU and PU/nanocomposites scaffolds were used for in vitro studies, wherein hCPCs showed good cytocompatibility via 3‐(4, 5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and considerable attachment on the scaffold using SEM studies. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunostaining studies confirmed the upregulation of cardiac specific genes including GATA‐4, T‐box 18 (TBX 18), cardiac troponin T (cTnT), and alpha‐myosin heavy chain (α‐MHC) in the PU/rGO‐Ag scaffolds in comparison with neat PU ones. Therefore, these nanofibrous rGO‐Ag–reinforced PU scaffolds can be considered as suitable candidates in cardiac tissue engineering.     

Detection of acetone in the human breath as diabetes biomarker based on PPy/WO3 nanocomposite sensor by FFT continuous cyclic voltammetry method

This research represents a novel detection method of acetone level in the exhaled breath samples (RH=88 %) based on polypyrrole/tungsten oxide (PPy/WO₃) nanocomposite sensor. The PPy/WO₃ sensor was fabricated by the deposition of nanocomposite on/between interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) through electrospray coating and was then characterized by FE-SEM imaging. In this detection method, the coulometric signal of the sensor was calculated using Fast Fourier Continuous Cyclic Voltammetry (FFTCCV), where cyclic voltammetry (CV) was applied to the sensor in the defined potential rang and then charge changes of the sensor was obtained by integration of the current in all scanned potential ranges. FFTCCV method enhances the sensitivity of the sensor when exposed to the gas mixtures containing acetone. In addition to its fast coulometric response time (≤5 s) in the two linear ranges of 0.7–2.8 ppm and 2.8–28.2 ppm (R²=0.99), FFTCCV method provides the low detection limit of 70 ppb, and high sensitivity toward acetone at the optimum values of the parameters. The fabricated sensor showed great selectivity toward acetone when exposed to humid air and some exhaled gas like carbon dioxide, ammonia, methanol, ethanol and alkyl amines. The results were very satisfying as the sensor was capable to detect different acetone levels in human exhaled breath as non-invasive diagnosis of diabetes with a good correlation (R²≃0.9) to the routine blood sugar test taken by different commercial glucometers results.     

Simulations of Co‐GISAXS during kinetic roughening of growth surfaces

The recent development of surface growth studies using X‐ray photon correlation spectroscopy in a grazing‐incidence small‐angle X‐ray scattering (Co‐GISAXS) geometry enables the investigation of dynamical processes during kinetic roughening in greater detail than was previously possible. In order to investigate the Co‐GISAXS behavior expected from existing growth models, calculations and (2+1)‐dimension simulations of linear Kuramoto–Sivashinsky and non‐linear Kardar–Parisi–Zhang surface growth equations are presented which analyze the temporal correlation functions of the height–height structure factor. Calculations of the GISAXS intensity auto‐correlation functions are also performed within the Born/distorted‐wave Born approximation for comparison with the scaling behavior of the height–height structure factor and its correlation functions.     

T-shaped channel drop filter based on photonic crystal ring resonator

Photonic crystal ring resonators are promising candidates for realizing all optical filters with acceptable transmission efficiency and quality factor values. In this paper, by putting a12-fold quasi crystal at the middle of on 7 × 7 square cavity we created a ring resonator structure and designed a T-shaped channel drop filter. The drop wavelength of our filter is at 1551 nm, with transmission efficiency and quality factor equal to 90% and 387. Our structure is composed of dielectric rods immersed in air. Because in this kind of structures the dominant band gap is in TM mode, all of our simulations have been done in TM mode. The total footprint of our filter is 242.4 μm², which makes it suitable for all optical integrated circuits.     

Breakdown voltage improvement of LDMOSs by charge balancing: An inserted P-layer in trench oxide (IPT-LDMOS)

For the first time, the novel inserted P-layer in trench oxide of LDMOS structure (IPT-LDMOS) is proposed in which a trench oxide with inserted P-layer is considered in the drift region to improve the breakdown voltage. Our simulation with two dimensional ALTAS simulator shows that by determining the optimum doping concentration of the P-layer, the charges of the N-drift and P-layer regions would be balanced. Therefore, complete depletion at the breakdown voltage in the drift region happens. Also, electric field in the IPT-LDMOS is modified by producing additional peaks which decrease the common peaks near the drain and source junctions.