Showing papers in "Physica E-low-dimensional Systems & Nanostructures in 2016"

Wave propagation in viscoelastic single-walled carbon nanotubes with surface effect under magnetic field based on nonlocal strain gradient theory

Abstract: The governing equation of wave motion of viscoelastic SWCNTs (single-walled carbon nanotubes) with surface effect under magnetic field is formulated on the basis of the nonlocal strain gradient theory. Based on the formulated equation of wave motion, the closed-form dispersion relation between the wave frequency (or phase velocity) and the wave number is derived. It is found that the size-dependent effects on the phase velocity may be ignored at low wave numbers, however, is significant at high wave numbers. Phase velocity can increase by decreasing damping or increasing the intensity of magnetic field. The damping ratio considering surface effect is larger than that without considering surface effect. Damping ratio can increase by increasing damping, increasing wave number, or decreasing the intensity of magnetic field.

Effects of temperature and particles concentration on the dynamic viscosity of MgO-MWCNT/ethylene glycol hybrid nanofluid: Experimental study

Abstract: In this paper, the effects of temperature and particles concentration on the dynamic viscosity of MgO-MWCNT/ethylene glycol hybrid nanofluid is examined. The experiments carried out in the solid volume fraction range of 0 to 1.0% under the temperature ranging from 30 °C to 60 °C. The results showed that the hybrid nanofluid behaves as a Newtonian fluid for all solid volume fractions and temperatures considered. The measurements also indicated that the dynamic viscosity increases with increasing the solid volume fraction and decreases with the temperature rising. The relative viscosity revealed that when the solid volume fraction enhances from 0.1 to 1%, the dynamic viscosity increases up to 168%. Finally, using experimental data, in order to predict the dynamic viscosity of MgO-MWCNT/ethylene glycol hybrid nanofluids, a new correlation has been suggested. The comparisons between the correlation outputs and experimental results showed that the suggested correlation has an acceptable accuracy.

Sensing properties of BN nanotube toward carcinogenic 4-chloroaniline: A computational study

Abstract: The viability of using a BN nanotube for detection of para -chloroaniline molecule was studied by means of density functional theory calculations. The results indicate that the molecule prefers to be adsorbed on the intrinsic BN nanotube from its N atom, releasing energy of 0.65 eV without significant effect on the electrical conductivity of the tube. Thus, para -chloroaniline cannot be detected using this intrinsic nanotube. To overcome this problem, a nitrogen atom of the tube wall was replaced by a Si atom. It was shown that the Si-doped tube not only can adsorb the molecule strongly, but also may detect its presence because of the drastic increase of the electrical conductivity of the tube.

Density Functional Theory (DFT) modeling and Monte Carlo simulation assessment of inhibition performance of some carbohydrazide Schiff bases for steel corrosion

Abstract: DFT and Monte Carlo simulation were performed on three Schiff bases namely, 4-(4-bromophenyl)-N′-(4-methoxybenzylidene)thiazole-2-carbohydrazide (BMTC), 4-(4-bromophenyl)-N′-(2,4-dimethoxybenzylidene)thiazole-2-carbohydrazide (BDTC), 4-(4-bromophenyl)-N′-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)thiazole-2-carbohydrazide (BHTC) recently studied as corrosion inhibitor for steel in acid medium. Electronic parameters relevant to their inhibition activity such as EHOMO, ELUMO, Energy gap (ΔE), hardness (η), softness ( σ ), the absolute electronegativity (χ), proton affinity ( PA ) and nucleophilicity (ω) etc., were computed and discussed. Monte Carlo simulations were applied to search for the most stable configuration and adsorption energies for the interaction of the inhibitors with Fe (110) surface. The theoretical data obtained are in most cases in agreement with experimental results.

Molecular dynamic simulation of Copper and Platinum nanoparticles Poiseuille flow in a nanochannels

Abstract: In this paper, simulation of Poiseuille flow within nanochannel containing Copper and Platinum particles has been performed using molecular dynamic (MD). In this simulation LAMMPS code is used to simulate three-dimensional Poiseuille flow. The atomic interaction is governed by the modified Lennard–Jones potential. To study the wall effects on the surface tension and density profile, we placed two solid walls, one at the bottom boundary and the other at the top boundary. For solid–liquid interactions, the modified Lennard–Jones potential function was used. Velocity profiles and distribution of temperature and density have been obtained, and agglutination of nanoparticles has been discussed. It has also shown that with more particles, less time is required for the particles to fuse or agglutinate. Also, we can conclude that the agglutination time in nanochannel with Copper particles is faster that in Platinum nanoparticles. Finally, it is demonstrated that using nanoparticles raises thermal conduction in the channel.

Quinoxaline derivatives as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in hydrochloric acid medium: Electrochemical and quantum chemical studies

Abstract: The corrosion inhibition potential of four quinoxaline derivatives namely, 1-[3-(4-methylphenyl)-5-(quinoxalin-6-yl)-4,5-dihydropyrazol-1-yl]butan-1-one (Me-4-PQPB), 1-(3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-(quinoxalin-6-yl)-4,5-dihydropyrazol-1-yl)butan-1-one (Mt-4-PQPB), 1-[3-(3-methoxyphenyl)-5-(quinoxalin-6-yl)-4,5-dihydropyrazol-1-yl]butan-1-one (Mt-3-PQPB) and 1-[3-(2H-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-5-(quinoxalin-6-yl)-4,5-dihydropyrazol-1-yl]butan-1-one (Oxo-1,3-PQPB) was studied for mild steel corrosion in 1 M HCl solution using electrochemical, spectroscopic techniques and quantum chemical calculations. The results of both potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic studies revealed that the compounds are mixed-type inhibitors and the order of corrosion inhibition efficiency at 100 ppm is Me-4-PQPB>Mt-3-PQPB>Oxo-1,3-PQPB>Mt-4-PQPB. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopic analyses confirmed the presence of chemical interactions between the inhibitors and mild steel surface. The adsorption of the inhibitor molecules on mild steel surface was found to be both physisorption and chemisorption but predominantly chemisorption. The experimental data obey Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed the formation of protective films of the inhibitors on mild steel surface. Quantum chemical parameters obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations support experimental results.

Numerical thermal analysis of water's boiling heat transfer based on a turbulent jet impingement on heated surface

Abstract: In this study, a numerical method for simulation of flow boiling through subcooled jet on a hot surface with 800 °C has been presented. Volume fraction (VOF) has been used to simulate boiling heat transfer and investigation of the quench phenomena through fluid jet on a hot horizontal surface. Simulation has been done in a fixed Tsub=55 °C, Re=5000 to Re=50,000 and also in different T s u b = T s a t − T f between 10 °C and 95 °C. The effect of fluid jet velocity and subcooled temperature on the rewetting temperature, wet zone propagation, cooling rate and maximum heat flux has been investigated. The results of this study show that by increasing the velocity of fluid jet of water, convective heat transfer coefficient at stagnation point increases. More ever, by decreasing the temperature of the fluid jet, convective heat transfer coefficient increases.

XPS studies and photocurrent applications of alkali-metals-doped ZnO nanoparticles under visible illumination conditions

Abstract: The present work is a study about a relationship between X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) results and photocurrent intensity of alkali-metals-elements doped ZnO nanoparticles, which is carried out under visible illumination conditions. The nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple sol–gel method. Structure and morphology studies of the NPs were carried out by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effect of doping on the optical band-gap was investigated by using UV–visible spectrometer. The absorption peak of the doped ZnO NPs was red-shifted with respect to that of the undoped ZnO NPs. After that, the photocurrent application of the products was examined under a white light source at 2 V bias. The photocurrent results showed that, the current intensity of the ZnO NPs was increased by doping materials. However, K-doped ZnO NPs showed the highest photocurrent intensity. Finally, a discussion was carried out about the obtained photocurrent results by the O-1s spectra of the XPS of the samples. Our results suggest that the alkali-metals-doped ZnO NPs exhibit considerable promise for highly sensitive visible-light photodetectors.

The variations of heat transfer and slip velocity of FMWNT-water nano-fluid along the micro-channel in the lack and presence of a magnetic field

Abstract: Simulation of forced convection of FMWNT-water (functionalized multi-walled carbon nano-tubes) nano-fluid in a micro-channel under a magnetic field in slip flow regime is performed. The micro-channel wall is divided into two portions. The micro-channel entrance is insulated while the rest of length of the micro-channel has constant temperature ( T C ). Moreover, the micro-channel domain is exposed to a magnetic field with constant strength of B 0 . High temperature nano-fluid ( T H ) enters the micro-channel and exposed to its cold walls. Slip velocity boundary condition along the walls of the micro-channel is considered. Governing equations are numerically solved using FORTRAN computer code based on the SIMPLE algorithm. Results are presented as the velocity, temperature, and Nusselt number profiles. Greater Reynolds number, Hartmann number, and volume fraction related to more heat transfer rate; however, the effects of Ha and ϕ are more noteworthy at higher Re.

Wigner time delay and related concepts: Application to transport in coherent conductors

Abstract: The concepts of Wigner time delay and Wigner–Smith matrix allow us to characterise temporal aspects of a quantum scattering process. The paper reviews the statistical properties of the Wigner time delay for disordered systems; the case of disorder in 1D with a chiral symmetry is discussed and the relation with exponential functionals of the Brownian motion is underlined. Another approach for the analysis of time delay statistics is the random matrix approach, from which we review few results. As a practical illustration, we briefly outline a theory of non-linear transport and AC transport developed by Buttiker and coworkers, where the concept of Wigner–Smith time delay matrix is a central piece allowing us to describe screening properties in out-of-equilibrium coherent conductors.

Nonlocal and surface effects on the buckling behavior of functionally graded nanoplates: An isogeometric analysis

Abstract: The size-dependent static buckling responses of circular, elliptical and skew nanoplates made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are investigated in this article based on an isogeometric model. The Eringen nonlocal continuum theory is implemented to capture nonlocal effects. According to the Gurtin–Murdoch surface elasticity theory, surface energy influences are also taken into account by the consideration of two thin surface layers at the top and bottom of nanoplate. The material properties vary in the thickness direction and are evaluated using the Mori–Tanaka homogenization scheme. The governing equations of buckled nanoplate are achieved by the minimum total potential energy principle. To perform the isogeometric analysis as a solution methodology, a novel matrix-vector form of formulation is presented. Numerical examples are given to study the effects of surface stress as well as other important parameters on the critical buckling loads of functionally graded nanoplates. It is found that the buckling configuration of nanoplates at small scales is significantly affected by the surface free energy.

Preparation and photocatalytic properties of magnetically reusable Fe3O4@ZnO core/shell nanoparticles

Abstract: Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO binary nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple two-step chemical method and characterized using various analytical instruments TEM result proved the binary nanoparticles have core/shell structures and average particle size is 60 nm Photocatalytic investigation of Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO core/shell nanoparticles was carried out using rhodamine B (RhB) solution under UV light Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO core/shell nanoparticles showed enhanced photocatalytic performance in comparison with the as prepared ZnO nanoparticles The enhanced photocatalytic activity for Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO might be resulting from the higher concentration of surface oxygen vacancies and the suppressing effect of the Fe 3+ ions on the recombination of photoinduced electron–hole pairs Magnetization saturation value (596 emu/g) of Fe 3 O 4 @ZnO core/shell nanoparticles is high enough to be magnetically removed by applying a magnetic field The core/shell photocatalyst can be easily separated by using a commercial magnet and almost no decrease in photocatalytic efficiency was observed even after recycling six times

RF sputtered CuO thin films: Structural, optical and photo-catalytic behavior

Abstract: Nanocrystalline CuO thin films were deposited for 600, 1200 and 1800 s on glass substrate using RF magnetron sputtering technique. The films deposited at room temperature were crystalline and showed Tenorite phase of CuO. The increase in average particle size from 6.67 nm to 9.09 nm and the thickness from 160 nm to 490 nm was observed with the increase in deposition time. The optical band gap was decreased from 2.2 eV to 1.73 eV as the film thickness was increased. The intensity of PL peak showed its maximum for the film deposited for 600 s and minimum for 1800 s. Some unusual emission peaks were observed due to the quantization effect and lattice/surface defects. The CuO films with different thicknesses could be used as photo-catalysts for the degradation of Methylene blue (MB) from the wastewater. Under the exposure of 200 W energy of tungsten lamp, CuO thin films showed excellent photo-catalytic activities. CuO thin film of minimum thickness of around 160 nm responded as a best catalyst for MB degradation. The films were very stable and have a speciality to be recycled without much loss of their photo-catalytic activity. These characteristics have proved the high possibility of commercial applications of CuO thin films in environmental remediation.

Application of self-collimated beams to realization of all optical photonic crystal encoder

Abstract: In this paper a 4×2 optical encoder is proposed by employing the self-collimation effect in 2D photonic crystals. The total structure of the proposed device is a combination of so called “beam splitters” and “mirrors”. The simulation result indicates that, this design can operate as 4×2 optical encoder, the footprint of structure is about 69 µm×55 µm and response time is about 1.4 ps.

Longitudinal vibration and instabilities of carbon nanotubes conveying fluid considering size effects of nanoflow and nanostructure

Abstract: In this study, the effects of small-scale of the both nanoflow and nanostructure on the vibrational response of fluid flowing single-walled carbon nanotubes are investigated. To this purpose, two various flowing fluids, the air-nano-flow and the water nano-flow using Knudsen number, and two different continuum theories, the nonlocal theory and the strain-inertia gradient theory are studied. Nano-rod model is used to model the fluid-structure interaction, and Galerkin method of weighted residual is utilizing to solve and discretize the governing obtained equations. It is found that the critical flow velocity decreases as the wave number increases, excluding the first mode divergence that it has the least value among of the other instabilities if the strain-inertia gradient theory is employed. Moreover, it is observed that Kn effect has considerable impact on the reduction of critical velocities especially for the air-flow flowing through the CNT. In addition, by increasing a nonlocal parameter and Knudsen number the critical flow velocity decreases but it increases as the characteristic length related to the strain-inertia gradient theory increases.

Successive approximation-like 4-bit full-optical analog-to-digital converter based on Kerr-like nonlinear photonic crystal ring resonators

Abstract: Implementing of photonic sampling and quantizing analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) enable us to extract a single binary word from optical signals without need for extra electronic assisting parts. This would enormously increase the sampling and quantizing time as well as decreasing the consumed power. To this end, based on the concept of successive approximation method, a 4-bit full-optical ADC that operates using the intensity-dependent Kerr-like nonlinearity in a two dimensional photonic crystal (2DPhC) platform is proposed. The Silicon (Si) nanocrystal is chosen because of the suitable nonlinear material characteristic. An optical limiter is used for the clamping and quantization of each successive levels that represent the ADC bits. In the proposal, an energy efficient optical ADC circuit is implemented by controlling the system parameters such as ring-to-waveguide coupling coefficients, the ring’s nonlinear refractive index, and the ring’s length. The performance of the ADC structure is verified by the simulation using finite difference time domain (FDTD) method.

Size-dependent geometrically nonlinear free vibration analysis of fractional viscoelastic nanobeams based on the nonlocal elasticity theory

Abstract: In recent decades, mathematical modeling and engineering applications of fractional-order calculus have been extensively utilized to provide efficient simulation tools in the field of solid mechanics. In this paper, a nonlinear fractional nonlocal Euler–Bernoulli beam model is established using the concept of fractional derivative and nonlocal elasticity theory to investigate the size-dependent geometrically nonlinear free vibration of fractional viscoelastic nanobeams. The non-classical fractional integro-differential Euler–Bernoulli beam model contains the nonlocal parameter, viscoelasticity coefficient and order of the fractional derivative to interpret the size effect, viscoelastic material and fractional behavior in the nanoscale fractional viscoelastic structures, respectively. In the solution procedure, the Galerkin method is employed to reduce the fractional integro-partial differential governing equation to a fractional ordinary differential equation in the time domain. Afterwards, the predictor–corrector method is used to solve the nonlinear fractional time-dependent equation. Finally, the influences of nonlocal parameter, order of fractional derivative and viscoelasticity coefficient on the nonlinear time response of fractional viscoelastic nanobeams are discussed in detail. Moreover, comparisons are made between the time responses of linear and nonlinear models.

Nonlocal transient thermal analysis of a single-layered graphene sheet embedded in viscoelastic medium

Abstract: The transient thermal analysis of a single-layered graphene sheet (SLGS) embedded in viscoelastic medium is presented by using the nonlocal elasticity theory. The elastic medium, which characterized by the linear Winkler’s modulus and Pasternak’s (shear) foundation modulus, is changed to a viscoelastic one by including the viscous damping term. The governing dynamical equation is obtained and solved for simply-supported SLGSs. Firstly; the effect of the nonlocal parameter is discussed carefully for the vibration and bending problems. Secondly, the effects of other parameter like aspect ratio, thickness-to-length ratio, Winkler-Pasternak’s foundation, viscous damping coefficient on bending field quantities of the SLGSs are investigated in detail. The present results are compared with the corresponding available in the literature. Additional results for thermal local and nonlocal deflections and stresses are presented to investigate the thermal visco-Pasternak’s parameters for future comparisons.

Longitudinal vibration and stability analysis of carbon nanotubes conveying viscous fluid

Abstract: Nowadays, carbon nanotubes (CNT) play an important role in practical applications in fluidic devices. To this end, researchers have studied various aspects of vibration analysis of a behavior of CNT conveying fluid. In this paper, based on nonlocal elasticity theory, single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) is simulated. To investigate and analyze the effect of internal fluid flow on the longitudinal vibration and stability of SWCNT, the equation of motion for longitudinal vibration is obtained by using Navier-Stokes equations. In the governing equation of motion, the interaction of fluid-structure, dynamic and fluid flow velocity along the axial coordinate of the nanotube and the nano-scale effect of the structure are considered. To solve the nonlocal longitudinal vibration equation, the approximate Galerkin method is employed and appropriate simply supported boundary conditions are applied. The results show that the axial vibrations of the nanotubesstrongly depend on the small-size effect. In addition, the fluid flowing in nanotube causes a decrease in the natural frequency of the system. It is obvious that the system natural frequencies reach zero at lower critical flow velocities as the wave number increases. Moreover, the critical flow velocity decreases as the nonlocal parameter increases.

Impact of thermal annealing on physical properties of vacuum evaporated polycrystalline CdTe thin films for solar cell applications

Abstract: A study on impact of post-deposition thermal annealing on the physical properties of CdTe thin films is undertaken in this paper. The thin films of thickness 500 nm were grown on ITO and glass substrates employing thermal vacuum evaporation followed by post-deposition thermal annealing in air atmosphere within low temperature range 150–350 °C. These films were subjected to the XRD, UV‐Vis NIR spectrophotometer, source meter, SEM coupled with EDS and AFM for structural, optical, electrical and surface topographical analysis respectively. The diffraction patterns reveal that the films are having zinc-blende cubic structure with preferred orientation along (111) and polycrystalline in nature. The crystallographic parameters are calculated and discussed in detail. The optical band gap is found in the range 1.48–1.64 eV and observed to decrease with thermal annealing. The current–voltage characteristics show that the CdTe films exhibit linear ohmic behavior. The SEM studies show that the as-grown films are homogeneous, uniform and free from defects. The AFM studies reveal that the surface roughness of films is observed to increase with annealing. The experimental results reveal that the thermal annealing has significant impact on the physical properties of CdTe thin films and may be used as absorber layer to the CdTe/CdS thin films solar cells.

Effect of electrostatic interaction on the methylene blue and methyl orange adsorption by the pristine and functionalized carbon nanotubes

Abstract: Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were functionalized with cysteamine groups by several percentage of mass as adsorbents, then kinetics adsorption capacity was investigated for methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) as anionic and cationic dyes adsorbate molecules, respectively. The effect of temperature (from 283 to 303 K), contact time and initial concentration of the MB and MO dyes in a solution (10 to 40 ppm) was considered. The optimal contact time was found to be about 60 min. Some kinetics model such as pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, intra-particle diffusion and the Elovich were tested. The adsorptions of MB dye on the pristine and functionalized MWCNT surfaces were found to be the intra-particle diffusion and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, respectively and for adsorption of MO dye by the pristine and low functionalized MWCNTs and highly functionalized tubes, found to be the pseudo-second-order and intra-particle diffusion kinetic model, respectively, based on the chi-square statistic ( X 2 ) and also high correlation coefficient ( R 2 ) values.

Implementation of nanoscale circuits using dual metal gate engineered nanowire MOSFET with high-k dielectrics for low power applications

Abstract: This work covers the impact of dual metal gate engineered Junctionless MOSFET with various high-k dielectric in Nanoscale circuits for low power applications. Due to gate engineering in junctionless MOSFET, graded potential is obtained and results in higher electron velocity of about 31% for HfO2 than SiO2 in the channel region, which in turn improves the carrier transport efficiency. The simulation is done using sentaurus TCAD, ON current, OFF current, ION/IOFF ratio, DIBL, gain, transconductance and transconductance generation factor parameters are analysed. When using HfO2, DIBL shows a reduction of 61.5% over SiO2. The transconductance and transconductance generation factor shows an improvement of 44% and 35% respectively. The gain and output resistance also shows considerable improvement with high-k dielectrics. Using this device, inverter circuit is implemented with different high-k dielectric material and delay have been decreased by 4% with HfO2 when compared to SiO2. In addition, a significant reduction in power dissipation of the inverter circuit is obtained with high-k dielectric Dual Metal Surround Gate Junctionless Transistor than SiO2 based device. From the analysis, it is found that HfO2 will be a better alternative for the future nanoscale device.

Viscoelastic wave propagation in the viscoelastic single walled carbon nanotubes based on nonlocal strain gradient theory

Abstract: In this paper, the viscoelastic wave propagation in an embedded viscoelastic single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) is studied based on the nonlocal strain gradient theory. The characteristic equation for the viscoelastic wave in SWCNTs is derived. The emphasis is placed on the influence of the tube diameter on the viscoelastic wave dispersion. A blocking diameter is observed, above which the wave could not propagate in SWCNTs. The results show that the blocking diameter is greatly dependent on the damping coefficient, the nonlocal and the strain gradient length scale parameters, as well as the Winkler modulus of the surrounding elastic medium. These findings may provide a prospective application of SWCNTs in nanodevices and nanocomposites.

Magnetic properties of a hexagonal prismatic nanoparticle with ferrimagnetic core–shell structure

Abstract: Based on Monte Carlo simulation a hexagonal prismatic nanoparticle consisting of a ferromagnetic core of spin-1 surrounded by a ferromagnetic shell of spin-3/2 with ferrimagnetic interface exchange coupling has been investigated. Curves of magnetizations, magnetic susceptibilities, internal energy of the system and phase diagrams are obtained and discussed in detail. It has shown that exchange couplings and single-ion anisotropies of core and shell sublattice play important roles in magnetic properties of the system. A number of characteristic types of magnetization curves have been plotted. The occupation of shell sublattice by spin-3/2 results in the different initial values of total magnetization. The internal energy of the system shows a different variation when different parameters change. For the appropriate parameters, the nanoparticle may exhibit compensation behavior. Especially, two compensation temperatures have been found in this system.

Electronic and magnetic behaviors of graphene with 5d series transition metal atom substitutions: A first-principles study

Abstract: The electronic structures and magnetic behaviors of graphene with 5d series transition metal atom substitutions are investigated by performing first-principles calculations. All the impurities are tightly bonded to single vacancy in a graphene sheet. The substitutions of La and Ta lead to Fermi level shifting to valence and conduction band, respectively. Both the two substitutions result in metallic properties. Moreover, the Hf, Os and Pt-substituted systems exhibit semiconductor properties, while the Re and Ir-substituted ones exhibit robust half-metallic properties. Interestingly, W-substituted system shows dilute magnetic semiconductor property. On the other hand, the substitution of Ta, W, Re and Ir induce 0.86 μB, 2 μB, 1 μB and 0.99 μB magnetic moment, respectively. Our studies demonstrate that the 5d series transition metal substituted graphene have potential applications in nanoelectronics, spintronics and magnetic storage devices.

Comparison of modeling of the rotating tapered axially functionally graded Timoshenko and Euler–Bernoulli microbeams

Abstract: The target of this paper is to present an exhaustive study on the small scale effect on vibrational behavior of a rotary tapered axially functionally graded (AFG) microbeam on the basis of Timoshenko and Euler–Bernoulli beam and modified couple stress theories. The variation of the material properties and cross section along the longitudinal direction of the microbeam are taken into consideration as a linear function. Hamilton's principle is used to derive the equations for cantilever and propped cantilever boundary conditions and the generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) is employed to solve the equations. By parametric study, the effects of small-scale parameter, rates of cross section change of the microbeam and angular velocity on the fundamental and second frequencies of the microbeam are studied. Also, comparison between the frequencies of Timoshenko and Euler–Bernoulli microbeams are presented. The results can be used in many applications such as micro-robots and biomedical microsystems.

Comparative investigation of CuFe 2 O 4 nano and microstructures for structural, morphological, optical and magnetic properties

Abstract: CuFe2O4 nanocrystals were synthesized by the sol–gel method (SGM) and microwave method (MM) by using sucrose as a fuel. The structural, morphological, optical and magnetic properties of the products were determined and characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD results confirmed the formation of cubic phase CuFe2O4. The formation of CuFe2O4 nano and microstructures were confirmed by HR-SEM. Photoluminescence emissions were determined by PL spectra, respectively. The relatively high saturation magnetization (78.22 emu/g) of CuFe2O4-MM shows that it is ferromagnetic and low saturation magnetization (35.98 emu/g) of CuFe2O4O-SGM confirms the super paramagnetic behavior.

Thermoelectricity without absorbing energy from the heat sources

Abstract: We analyze the power output of a quantum dot machine coupled to two electronic reservoirs via thermoelectric contacts, and to two thermal reservoirs - one hot and one cold. This machine is a nanoscale analogue of a conventional thermocouple heat-engine, in which the active region being heated is unavoidably also exchanging heat with its cold environment. Heat exchange between the clot and the thermal reservoirs is treated as a capacitive coupling to electronic fluctuations in localized levels, modeled as two additional quantum dots. The resulting multiple-dot setup is described using a master equation approach. We observe an "exotic" power generation, which remains finite even when the heat absorbed from the thermal reservoirs is zero (in other words the heat coming from the hot reservoir all escapes into the cold environment). This effect can be understood in terms of a non local effect in which the heat flow from heat source to the cold environment generates power via a mechanism which we refer to as Coulomb heat drag. It relies on the fact that there is no relaxation in the quantum dot system, so electrons within it have a non thermal energy distribution. More poetically, one can say that we find a spatial separation of the first law of thermodynamics (heat to work conversion) from the second law of thermodynamics (generation of entropy). We present circumstances in which this non thermal system can generate more power than any conventional macroscopic thermocouple (with local thermalizalion), even when the latter works with Gamut efficiency.

Density functional theory study of the adsorption of MeOH and EtOH on the surface of Pt-decorated graphene

Abstract: The adsorption energies and orientation of single alcohol molecule (methanol and ethanol) on the surface of Pt-decorated graphene (PtG) were determined from first-principles density functional (DFT) calculations. We found the same adsorption energies as well as connecting distances upon adsorption of MeOH and EtOH on PtG surface, in which at their relaxed structures, the O atom of alcohol is closed to the Pt of PtG surface. We found high adsorption energies, low connecting distances, and high orbital hybridizing upon adsorption of EtOH and MeOH molecules on PtG surface. There are significant shifts in the location of both the HOMO and LUMO, in addition to variation in the charge transfer when the MeOH and EtOH are adsorbed on PtG surface.

Synthesis and properties of Au/ZnO nanorods as a plasmonic photocatalyst

Abstract: It is of great interest to develop plasmonic photocatalysts with high activity and stability recently. In this paper, Au/ZnO nanorods were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method and used as photocatalysts for methyl orange dye degradation. The results revealed an interesting phenomenon that photocorrosion cracks were produced specially along the c-axis of pure ZnO nanorods for five cycles photodegradation experiments under UV–vis. light irradiation, while Au nanoparticles surface modification can effectively inhibit the occurrence of photocorrosion and improve its photocatalytic activity. The formation of photocorrossion cracks along the c-axis of pure ZnO nanorods verifies the photogenerated charges may follow the route that electrons migrate to Zn-terminated (0001) plane and holes to O-terminated ( 000 1 − ) plane. SPR effect of Au nanoparticles enhances the light absorption ability and the electrons capture ability of Au/ZnO nanorods. Moreover, the surface adsorbed hydroxyl groups content is also increased due to Au nanoparticles modification. As Au nanoparticles can capture photogenerated electrons and hydroxyl groups are the favorable holes scavenger, the charges generation and separation in photocatalysis are strengthened. Especially, the charges separation path in Au/ZnO nanorods have changed, thus inhibiting the occurrence of photocorrosion along the c-axis of ZnO nanorods and improving the photocatalytic activity.