Effect of NiO on organic framework functionalized ZnO nanoparticles for energy storage application

Functionalization of metal oxides nanomaterial by different organic and inorganic species could considerably enhance the electrochemical performance of a supercapacitor. Here, we have synthesized and functionalized ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) via organic compounds of E. cognate and then doped the synthesized nanomaterials by NiO following hydrothermal route involving the bioactive compounds. As synthesized ZnO@NiO was analyzed by field emission-scanning electron microscopy at nanoscale. The organic functional groups were delineated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as well as by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. What is more, Tauc plot revealed drastically decreased band gap energy of ZnO@NiO to 2.48 eV resulting in an enhanced electrochemical properties. Therefore, organic framework derived ZnO@NiO nanomaterial was scrutinized as an electrode for supercapacitor by galvanostatic charge-discharge, cyclicvoltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. ZnO@NiO electrode demonstrated specific capacitance of 185 Fg⁻¹ by cyclicvoltammetry, proposing its potential towards supercapacitor due to nanoscale particles and incorporated C, O, and N atoms of organic compounds.     

On efficient construction and evaluation of runs rules–based control chart for known and unknown parameters under different distributions

In this study, we have considered two design structures of control chart by covering the situations of known and unknown parameters, variety of probability distributions, and runs rules. The design structures are dependent on constants which generally considered hard to compute analytically. For construction of constants and also for evaluating performance of the design structures through performance measures, we have illustrated Monte Carlo simulation procedure/algorithm for researcher and practitioners. Furthermore, based on the Monte Carlo simulation procedures, we have established a program in R language to compute values of different constants and performance measures. Results illustrated that design structures for known and unknown parameters under variety of runs rules and probability distributions have outstanding performance in contrast to existing structures. Moreover, design structure for unknown parameters behaves alike the design structure for known parameters. This indicates that design structure for unknown parameters has the ability to resolve the issue of runs rules which generally occur when parameters are estimated. Besides, two real‐life examples have been included in which physicochemical characteristic of groundwater and plasticizer characteristic of petrochemical process are monitored through design structures.     

Correction to a novel framework for rapid diagnosis of COVID-19 on computed tomography scans

Pattern Analysis and Applications - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10044-021-00969-x     

Surface characterization and influence of anodizing process on fatigue life of Al 7050 alloy

The present study investigates the influence of anodizing process on fatigue life of aluminium alloy 7050-T7451 by performing axial fatigue tests at stress ratio ‘R’ of 0.1. Effects of pre-treatments like degreasing and pickling employed prior to anodizing on fatigue life were studied. The post-exposure surface observations were made by scanning electron microscope (SEM) to characterize the effect of each treatment before fatigue testing. The surface observations have revealed that degreasing did not change the surface topography while pickling solution resulted in the formation of pits at the surface. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was used to identify those constituent particles which were responsible for the pits formation. These pits are of primary concern with respect to accelerated fatigue crack initiation and subsequent anodic coating formation. The fatigue test results have shown that pickling process was detrimental in reducing the fatigue life significantly while less decrease has been observed for anodized specimens. Analyses of fracture surfaces of pickled specimens have revealed that the process completely changed the crack initiation mechanisms as compared to non-treated specimens and the crack initiation started at the pits. For most of the anodized specimens, fatigue cracks still initiated at the pits with very few cracks initiated from anodic coating. The decrease in fatigue life for pickled and anodized specimens as compared to bare condition has been attributed to decrease in initiation period and multi-site crack initiations. Multi-site crack initiation has resulted in rougher fractured surfaces for the pickled and anodized specimens as compare to bare specimens tested at same stress levels.     

Dependence of Structural and Optoelectrical Properties on the Composition of Electron Beam Evaporated Zn_xCd_(1-x)S Thin Films

Thin films of ZnxCd1-xS have been prepared by electron beam evaporation of a mixture of ZnS & CdS powders. The films are deposited onto sodalime glass slides under similar conditions.The composition of the films is varied from CdS to ZnS (x=0 to 1). The films show a regular change in color from toner red to orange yellow as Zn concentration increases to maximum.These films are characterized for their optical, electricaI and structural properties. The bandgap value of ZnxCd1-xS films is found to vary linearIy from 2.20 eV to 3.44 eV with change in the x value from 0 to 1. The resistivity of these films is in the range of 171.0 Ωcm to 5.5× 106Ωcm for x=0~0.6. All the samples show cubic structure after annealing in air at 250℃ for 40 min.The lattice constant ao varies from 0.5884 nm to 0.54109 nm linearly.     

Dielectric behavior of insulating materials under liquid nitrogen

Measurements were made to assess the AC breakdown voltages in liquid nitrogen (LN/sub 2/) with different electrode configurations such as sphere-sphere, needle-needle, hemisphere-hemisphere, plane-plane, sphere-needle, etc. Experimental results reveal that the breakdown voltage is a function of electrode geometry and gap length. This study also addresses the effect on the breakdown strength of solid insulating materials under LN/sub 2/ environment with a sphere-sphere electrode configuration. In this paper, special emphasis has been attributed to the effect on loss index of a variety of dielectrics dipped in LN/sub 2/. The measured values of breakdown strength and loss index have been compared with those obtained under atmospheric condition. The study reveals that the breakdown strength of cellulosic materials like paper or pressboard increases manifold while the loss index decreases significantly when dipped in LN/sub 2/ with variations of the order of 50% to 90%. However, for impervious noncellulosic materials like Perspex (acrylic glass) or presspahn, the increase in breakdown strength is not that pronounced and the decrease in loss index is of the order of 2 to 30%.