• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.82-89
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• 2011

Ruthenium(Ru)-doped $TiO_2$ nanofibers were prepared using electrospun Ru-$TiO_2$/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) fibers and subsequent annealing for 1 h at temperatures in the range of $500^{\circ}C$ to $1000^{\circ}C$ in air. The properties of the Ru-$TiO_2$ fibers were characterized as a function of the Ru content and calcination temperature using X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetry with differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and viscometer, pycnometer and dynamic tensiometer measurements. Although the diameter of the fiber decreased slightly with increasing calcination temperature, no dramatic changes were observed with respect to the ruthenium content. The XRD and FT-IR results revealed that anatase phase and ruthenium metal began to be formed after calcination at temperatures above $500^{\circ}C$. Anatase and rutile phases and ruthenium metal coexisted in the fibers calcined above $600^{\circ}C$. No anatase phase was detected in the fibers containing ruthenium when they were calcined at $1000^{\circ}C$. The morphology of the fibers changed from smooth and uniform to porous with increasing temperature. The experimental results suggest that the calcination temperature and Ru content were influential in determining the morphology and structure of the fibers.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.1428-1438
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• 2016

In the present work, Arthrobacter sp. 25, a lead-tolerant bacterium, was assayed to remove lead(II) from aqueous solution. The biosorption process was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) based on the Box-Behnken design. The relationships between dependent and independent variables were quantitatively determined by second-order polynomial equation and 3D response surface plots. The biosorption mechanism was explored by characterization of the biosorbent before and after biosorption using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of 9.6 mg/g was obtained at the initial lead ion concentration of 108.79 mg/l, pH value of 5.75, and biosorbent dosage of 9.9 g/l (fresh weight), which was close to the theoretically expected value of 9.88 mg/g. Arthrobacter sp. 25 is an ellipsoidal-shaped bacterium covered with extracellular polymeric substances. The biosorption mechanism involved physical adsorption and microprecipitation as well as ion exchange, and functional groups such as phosphoryl, hydroxyl, amino, amide, carbonyl, and phosphate groups played vital roles in adsorption. The results indicate that Arthrobacter sp. 25 may be potentially used as a biosorbent for low-concentration lead(II) removal from wastewater.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.77-91
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• 2013

High quality nanoparticles of neodymium barium niobium ($NdBa_2NbO_6$) perovskites have been synthesized using an auto ignition combustion technique for the first time. The nanoparticles thus obtained have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, thermo gravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. UV-Visible absorption and photoluminescence spectra of the samples are also recorded. The structural analysis shows that the nano powder is phase pure with the average particle size of 35 nm. The band gap determined for $NdBa_2NbO_6$ is 3.9 eV which corresponds to UV-radiation for optical inter band transition with a wavelength of 370nm. The nanopowder could be sintered to 96% of the theoretical density at $1325^{\circ}C$ for 2h. The ultrafine cuboidal nature of nanopowders with fewer degree of agglomeration improved the sinterability for compactness at relatively lower temperature and time. During the sintering process the wide band gap semiconducting behavior diminishes and the material turns to a high permittivity dielectric. The microstructure of the sintered surface was examined using scanning electron microscopy. The striking value of dielectric constant ${\varepsilon}_r=43$, loss factor tan ${\delta}=1.97{\times}10^{-4}$ and the observed band gap value make it suitable for many dielectric devices.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2009

The structural and physicochemical properties of dried aloe vera gel by DIS (dewatering impregnation soaking) process under optimum conditions were investigated. FT-IR spectra for dried samples of DIS aloes showed the typical patterns of standard aloe polysaccharide, and surface structures by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) were similar to a gel-like structure. In case of physicochemical properties of dried aloe samples by DIS process, solubilities and swelling powers of control (not osmotic treated aloe), DIS (S) and DIS (G), samples treated by osmotic solution of 60% sucrose/0.25% NaCl and 50% glucose/0.5% NaCl, were 48.3-57.3% and 8.3-11.7%, respectively, showing no significant differences among samples, but swelling power of DIS (PEG), sample treated by using 50% polyethylene glycol as an osmotic agent was about 5 times higher that of control. Also, water holding capacities of control, DIS (S) and DIS (G) were similar to each other, but that of DIS (PEG) was about 5 times higher that of control. Oil holding capacities of control and DIS aloes maintained the 50.9-86.4% levels of water holding capacities showing no significant differences among samples. Rehydration ratio of DIS (PEG) aloes were significantly dependent on the temperature of rehydrated solvent (water), and rehydration ratio of not-fileted aloe was about two folds higher than that of fileted aloe.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.72-81
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• 2019

Objective: To determine the effect of gut pH and rumen microbial fermentation on glycerol encapsulated in alginate and alginate-chitosan polymers. Methods: Glycerol was encapsulated at 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, or 10% (w/w) with sodium alginate (A) and alginate-chitosan (AC) polymers. Surface morphology and chemical modifications of the beads were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. Encapsulation efficiency was determined at the 5% glycerol inclusion level in two experiments. In experiment 1, 0.5 g of alginate-glycerol (AG) and alginate-chitosan glycerol (ACG) beads were incubated for 2 h at $39^{\circ}C$ in pH 2 buffer followed by 24 h in pH 8 buffer to simulate gastric and intestinal conditions, respectively. In experiment 2, 0.5 g of AG and ACG beads were incubated in pH 6 buffer at $39^{\circ}C$ for 8 h to simulate rumen conditions. All incubations were replicated four times. Free glycerol content was determined using a spectrophotometer and used to assess loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency. An in vitro experiment with mixed cultures of rumen microbes was conducted to determine effect of encapsulation on microbial fermentation. Data were analyzed according to a complete block design using the MIXED procedure of SAS (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). Results: For AG and ACG, loading capacity and efficiency were 64.7%, 74.7%, 70.3%, and 78.1%, respectively. Based on the FTIR spectra and scanning electron microscopy, ACG treatment demonstrated more intense and stronger ionic bonds. At pH 6, 36.1% and 29.7% of glycerol was released from AG and ACG, respectively. At pH 2 minimal glycerol was released but pH 8 resulted in 95.7% and 93.9% of glycerol released from AG and ACG, respectively. In vitro microbial data show reduced (p<0.05) fermentation of encapsulated glycerol after 24 h of incubation. Conclusion: The AC polymer provided greater protection in acidic pH with a gradual release of intact glycerol when exposed to an alkaline pH.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.491-496
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• 2019

In this study, we prepare pure $WO_3$ inverse opal(IO) film with a thickness of approximately $3{\mu}m$ by electrodeposition, and an ultra-thin $TiO_2$ layer having a thickness of 2 nm is deposited on $WO_3$ IO film by atomic layer deposition. Both sets of photoelectrochemical properties are evaluated after developing dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs). In addition, morphological, crystalline and optical properties of the developed films are evaluated through field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and UV/visible/infrared spectrophotometry. In particular, pure $WO_3$ IO based DSSCs show low $V_{OC}$, $J_{SC}$ and fill factor of 0.25 V, $0.89mA/cm^2$ and 18.9 %, achieving an efficiency of 0.04 %, whereas the $TiO_2/WO_3$ IO based DSSCs exhibit $V_{OC}$, $J_{SC}$ and fill factor of 0.57 V, $1.18mA/cm^2$ and 50.1 %, revealing an overall conversion efficiency of 0.34 %, probably attributable to the high dye adsorption and suppressed charge recombination reaction.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.15-19
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• 2021

In this study, we studied a facile method for the synthesis of stable and nearly spherical gold nanoparticles using a tyrosine-rich peptide, Tyr-Tyr-Gly-Tyr-Tyr (YYGYY), as both the reducing and capping agent. The peptide coated spherical and polycrystalline gold nanoparticles with diameters from 3 to 15 nm were successfully synthesized by varying the concentration of the peptide and metal precursor under UV irradiation. The nanoparticles were then characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Furthermore, the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles was confirmed by the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, in which the catalytic reaction rate constant was 7.3 × 10-3 s-1.

• Journal of Ceramic Processing Research
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.589-596
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• 2019

Pigments with minute particle sizes, such as carbon black (CB) and pigment red 48:2 (P.R.48:2), are the most important types of pigment and have been widely used in many industrial applications. However, minute particles have large surface areas, high oil absorption and low surface energy. They therefore tend to be repellent to the vehicle and lose stability, resulting in significant increases in viscosity or reaggregation in the vehicle. Therefore, finding the best way to improve the dispersion properties of minute particle size pigments presents a major technical challenge. In this study, minute particle types of CB and P.R.48:2 were treated with nitrogen gas plasma generated via radio frequency-plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) to increase the dispersion properties of minute particles in deionized (DI) water. The morphologies and particle sizes of untreated and plasma treated particles were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The average distributions of particle size were measured using a laser particle sizer. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was carried out on the samples to identify changes in molecular interactions during plasma processing. The results of our analysis indicate that N2 plasma treatment is an effective method for improving the dispersibility of minute particles of pigment in DI water.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.522-530
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• 2022

In this study we aimed to develop novel ZnO-NP/chitosan/β-glycerophosphate (ZnO-NP/CS/β-GP) antibacterial hydrogels for biomedical applications. According to the mass fraction ratio of ZnO-NPs to chitosan, mixtures of 1, 3, and 5% ZnO-NPs/CS/β-GP were prepared. Using the test-tube inversion method, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, the influence of ZnO-NPs on gelation time, chemical composition, and cross-sectional microstructures were evaluated. Adding ZnO-NPs significantly improved the hydrogel's antibacterial activity as determined by bacteriostatic zone and colony counting. The hydrogel's bacteriostatic mechanism was investigated using live/dead fluorescent staining and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, crystal violet staining and MTT assay demonstrated that ZnO-NPs/CS/β-GP exhibited good antibacterial activity in inhibiting the formation of biofilms and eradicating existing biofilms. CCK-8 and live/dead cell staining methods revealed that the cell viability of gingival fibroblasts (L929) cocultured with hydrogel in each group was above 90% after 24, 48, and 72 h. These results suggest that ZnO-NPs improve the temperature sensitivity and bacteriostatic performance of chitosan/β-glycerophosphate (CS/β-GP), which could be injected into the periodontal pocket in solution form and quickly transformed into hydrogel adhesion on the gingiva, allowing for a straightforward and convenient procedure. In conclusion, ZnO-NP/CS/β-GP thermosensitive hydrogels could be expected to be utilized as adjuvant drugs for clinical prevention and treatment of peri-implant inflammation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.1062-1070
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• 2022

In the present communication, pure and stable α-Bismuth Oxide (Bi₂O₃) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by low temperature solution combustion method using urea as a fuel and calcined at 500℃. The synthesized sample was characterized by using powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy. The PXRD pattern confirms the formation of mono-clinic, stable and low temperature phase α-Bi₂O₃. The direct optical energy band gap was estimated by using Wood and Tauc's relation which was found to be 2.81 eV. The characterized sample was studied for X-ray/gamma ray shielding properties in the energy range 0.081-1.332 MeV using NaI (Tl) detector and multi channel analyzer (MCA). The measured shielding parameters agrees well with the theory, whereas, slight deviation up to 20% is observed below 356 keV. This deviation is mainly due to the influence of atomic size of the target medium. Furthermore an accurate theory is necessary to explain the interaction of X-ray/gamma ray with the NPs.The present work opens new window to use this facile, economical, efficient, low temperature method to synthesize nanomaterials for X-ray/gamma ray shielding purpose.