Sheikhi Moghaddam K., Ataie A.,
Volume 2, Issue 4 (12-2005)
Abstract
Ultra-fine particles of barium hexaferrite have been synthesized by co-precipitation method using barium nitride and iron chloride precursors with a Fe/Ba molar ratio of 11. Co-precipitation was carried out at 25 and 80°C using NaOH as a precipitant. Effect of coprecipitation and annealing temperatures on the phase composition and morphology of the products have been investigated using XRD and SEM, respectively. XRD results indicated existence of BaFeO3-x as a major phase in co-precipitated samples. Analysis of the XRD results also revealed that barium hexaferrite starts to form at a relatively low temperature of 700°C for sample synthesized at 80°C. SEM micrographs exhibit plate-like hexagonal particles of barium hexaferrite for calcined samples. The SEM results showed that the mean particle size of co-precipitated sample at 25°C is smaller than that of 80°C after calcining.
M. Krishna, R. Nandini, A.v. Suresh, K. Narasimha Rao ,
Volume 15, Issue 2 (6-2018)
Abstract
An efficient solid-state approach was established to synthesize (K0.5Na0.5) NbO3 ceramics using calcination kinetics and microwave assisted sintering. Milling of carbonate and oxide raw materials were carried out for 15h to obtain homogeneous nano particles. The crystallite size of 5.30 nm was obtained for the KNN system after calcination through optimized parameters and observed to be stoichiometric in nature. The obtained nano particles showed phase transition from orthorhombic to tetragonal crystal structure without any secondary phases. The high relative density and tetragonality ratio of KNN ceramics obtained through optimized sintering parameters yielded with significant piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties.
S.m. Moussavi Janbesarayi, M. Mohebi, S. Baghshahi, S.a. Ahmad Alem, E. Irom,
Volume 17, Issue 2 (6-2020)
Abstract
Overusing nitrogen fertilizer causes some serious problems for water resources, soil, and agriculture products. Researchers have been trying to develop effective means which may use less amount of fertilizers containing nitrogen. In this work, cost-effective ceramic granule adsorbent was prepared to be used as a fertilizer carrier of controlled release behavior. A mixture of 70 wt.% domestic kaolin and 30 wt.% gibbsite was used to produce the granules. By utilizing thermal analysis of raw granule, the calcination temperatures were obtained and the effect of various calcination temperatures of 500, 600, and 700˚C on the water adsorption was studied. The characteristics of granules were investigated by XRD, BET, FTIR, and SEM analyses. The results showed that by increasing the calcination temperature, the crystal structure of the granules was transformed into a dehydrated form and by calcination at 600°C the specific surface area of granules increased from 7.50 to 53.45m2/g. The granules were soaked in a 500g/lit solution of urea, where they adsorbed about 10wt.% urea. The dried urea-loaded granules were placed in water where the release of urea was measured by UV-vis spectrophotometry. Finally, different portions of urea-loaded granules were evaluated as fertilizer in the growing bed of corn plant where the height and the stem diameter of samples were compared with a control sample as well as a sample fertilized by urea directly. The results showed that by using the loaded granules, the urea consumption can be reduced by 50%.
Adil Kadum Shakir, Ebrahim Ghanbari-Adivi, Aref S. Baron Baron, Morteza Soltani,
Volume 21, Issue 0 (3-2024)
Abstract
Nanomaterials have significantly transformed multiple scientific and technological fields due to their exceptional properties, which result from their quantum confinement effects and high surface-to-volume ratios. Among these materials, zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles have attracted considerable interest because of their diverse applications.
In this study, TiO2-ZnO nanocomposites were synthesized using varying calcination times of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 hours. Characterization of fabricated samples through X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) confirmed the successful fabrication of the nanocomposites. In this regard, XRD analysis revealed anatase TiO2 and hexagonal wurtzite ZnO phases. Raman spectroscopy also supported these findings, identifying characteristic peaks of both TiO2 and ZnO.
The calcination time had a minimal effect on the crystal structures and also morphology of the nanocomposites, which gave rise to its negligible impact on optical properties and biological activities of the samples. Optical properties assessed by means of UV-visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy showed consistent band gap absorption and emission profiles across all samples, among which the nanocomposite calcined for 1 hour exhibited the best optical properties.
The sample prepared at 1 hour not only showed the most favorable optical properties, but also demonstrated significant antibacterial, antifungal, and cytotoxic activities, which make it suitable for various applications. In this regard, a reduction of more than 99.9% occurred in the number of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and also Candida albicans fungus by using TiO2-ZnO nanocomposite. Besides, addition of 500 µg/ml of nanocomposite decreased the cell viability to 34.47%, which signifies its high cytotoxicity activity.
