18^th International Conference on Emerging Materials and Nanotechnology August 31-01, 2020 Rome, Italy

Biography:

Asitha Udayanga Malikaramage holds a B. Sc. Degree in Chemistry and Physics stream from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and currently he is reading for his M.Phil. Degree attached to the Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya. His research focuses on photon upconversion as a tool to harvest infrared radiation for direct illumination in the dark and to fabricate dye-sensitized solar cells to generate electricity under illumination as well as in the dark and is carried out under the supervision of the co-authors of this abstract. He has one international publication and a several communications at international conferences to his credit and he is currently engaged with student mobility programme between Sri Lanka and Norway.

Abstract:

The natural dye pigment of blueberry was extracted from its peals using acetonitrile as solvent. This dye was used in a liquid electrolyte-free, natural dye-sensitized solid solar cell (NDSSSC). Natural dyes are inexpensive, non-toxic and are reliable and redily available sources of dyes. However, the typical problem associated with them is their instability towards iodide/tri-iodide electrolyte. This was addressed by introducing p-CuI as the hole-conductor in place of iodide/tri-iodide electrolyte. The hole conductor was applied on dyed nonporous TiO₂ films from a solution containing a crystal growth inhibitor triethylammium thiocyanate (THT) using drop-casting method. I-V characteristics and impedance measurements were carried out to   investigate the photovoltaic performance and further characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and SEM.  to achieve a highest efficiency(ɳ) of 1.7% with a short circuit current density (Jsc) of 11 mA cm^-2, open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.30 V and fill factor (ff) of 51.8. These are the highest recorded values so far achieved for such solar cells. Stability measurements were carried out for a period of 30 days and promisingly showed a good stability over the liquid type natural dye sensitised solar.

Biography:

Sanaa CHEMCHOUB has completed her post-graduation on Chemistry and Material Science from Hassan II University. She is currently a Catalysis and analytical Chemistry Ph.D. student at The National Superior School of Chemistry of Lille in France and she has published one paper in reputed journal, submitted her second article, the third being written. She has presented her research accomplishment in numerous International Congress.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: Energy consumption and production that rely on the combustion of fossil fuels is forecast to have a severe future impact on world economics and ecology ^{1, 2}. As a result, it was settled to decrease worldwide pollution to support the ecological balance by adopting Direct Ethanol fuel cells as clean, low-cost, and sustainable power source substitute ^{3, 4, 5}. The purpose of this study is to accelerate the kinetics of anodic oxidation of ethanol in Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells therefore improving the fuel cell performance by using an electro catalyst with a low production cost, good catalytic activity, high resistance to poisoning species and long term stability. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: poly-pyrrole (PPy) and nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs) based electro catalyst was synthesized by galvanostatic and potentiostatic modes respectively using an economical method by adopting a creative approach, which is the regeneration of the modified electrode. The electro catalytic activities of the carbon paste electrode modified (PPY) and n (NiNPs) named PPY-Ni/CPE towards ethanol oxidation have been studied at different concentration of Nickel varying from 6mM to 600mM in a 0.1 M NaOH and 0.2 M ethanol. Findings: an excessive amounts of nickel particles reduces the number of active sites of the material causing a sluggishness of the electron transfer path. Consequently, the optimal concentration of nickel which reveals the best electro catalytic activity of NiNPs/PPy/CPE nanocomposite for ethanol electro oxidation is 6mM. At this concentration, the value of the anodic current is dramatically amplified from 3.58mA/cm² to 20.1mA/cm² on the regenerated electrode proving the effectiveness of the regeneration approach on enhancing the current density and magnifying the anodic peak. Conclusion & Significance: The regeneration of the electrode reduces the electro catalyst tolerance towards poisoning intermediate carbonaceous species accumulated on the catalyst surfaces and increased the current density.

Biography:

Dr. Xu received his PhD from the National University of Singapore (NUS). His current research areas are mainly focused on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS)-based functional hybrid materials, electrochromic conjugated polymers, aggregation-induced emission-based materials and hybrid thermoelectric materials. He has published more than 160 papers and filed more than 30 patents, some of which has been licensed to companies. He contributed 10 chapters to polymer materials related books and also compiled a book on smart electrochromic materials and device. Now, he is a Principal Scientist in IMRE and a Strategic Research Councilor, A*STAR, Republic of Singapore. He also holds the appointments of Adjunct Associate Professor in NUS.

Abstract:

Thermoelectric energy conversion that converts waste heat into electricity has attracted much attention as a potential clean energy technology. The performance of thermoelectric materials is determined by the dimensionless figure of merit (ZT), which is equal to σS2T/κ where the κ is the thermal conductivity, the S is the Seebeck coefficient and the σ is the electrical conductivity. The σS² stands the power factor. Even though a low k and a high-PF are needed to reach high ZT values, the conflicting relationship between the S and the σ limits the further modulation of ZT of thermoelectric materials. Conducting polymers are promising to be the next generation of thermoelectric materials. They have intrinsically low κ and potentially high σ, cost-effectiveness, large area processing and facile synthesis. Conductive polymers have been widely investigated as thermoelectric materials. Among the polymer TE materials studied, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), is particularly of interest. It is thermally stable, water processable and can be highly electrically conductive upon post-treatment. It was reported that the σ of PEDOT:PSS films can be greatly enhanced by various post-treatment methods to increase the charge carrier concentration. However, this high doping level results in a small S value because of the extra charge carrier and hence appropriate methods that enhance the S value are required. Moreover, earlier studies have already shown that the power factor could be improved by regulating the redox level through electrochemical or chemical methods optimizing thermoelectric properties through the control of charge carrier concentration. On the other hand, chemicals used in the enhancement of thermoelectric properties are mostly toxic, and its large-scale use should be avoided because of safety and environmental issues. This work will report several chemicals to tune the oxidation level of PEDOT:PSS films and enhance their electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and environmental stability.

Biography:

Sanaa CHEMCHOUB has completed her post-graduation on Chemistry and Material Science from Hassan II University. She is currently a Catalysis and analytical Chemistry Ph.D. student at The National Superior School of Chemistry of Lille in France and she has published one paper in reputed journal, submitted her second article, the third being written. She has presented her research accomplishment in numerous International Congress.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: Energy consumption and production that rely on the combustion of fossil fuels is forecast to have a severe future impact on world economics and ecology ^{1, 2}. As a result, it was settled to decrease worldwide pollution to support the ecological balance by adopting Direct Ethanol fuel cells as clean, low-cost, and sustainable power source substitute ^{3, 4, 5}. The purpose of this study is to accelerate the kinetics of anodic oxidation of ethanol in Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells therefore improving the fuel cell performance by using an electro catalyst with a low production cost, good catalytic activity, high resistance to poisoning species and long term stability. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: poly-pyrrole (PPy) and nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs) based electro catalyst was synthesized by galvanostatic and potentiostatic modes respectively using an economical method by adopting a creative approach, which is the regeneration of the modified electrode. The electro catalytic activities of the carbon paste electrode modified (PPY) and n (NiNPs) named PPY-Ni/CPE towards ethanol oxidation have been studied at different concentration of Nickel varying from 6mM to 600mM in a 0.1 M NaOH and 0.2 M ethanol. Findings: an excessive amounts of nickel particles reduces the number of active sites of the material causing a sluggishness of the electron transfer path. Consequently, the optimal concentration of nickel which reveals the best electro catalytic activity of NiNPs/PPy/CPE nanocomposite for ethanol electro oxidation is 6mM. At this concentration, the value of the anodic current is dramatically amplified from 3.58mA/cm² to 20.1mA/cm² on the regenerated electrode proving the effectiveness of the regeneration approach on enhancing the current density and magnifying the anodic peak. Conclusion & Significance: The regeneration of the electrode reduces the electro catalyst tolerance towards poisoning intermediate carbonaceous species accumulated on the catalyst surfaces and increased the current density.

Biography:

Navneet Kumar pursuing Ph.D in the department of Chemical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. He is working in the field of graphene metal oxide system for transesterification reaction of organic carbonate synthesis and developed two novel routes for the synthesis of graphene oxide. Currently he is focusing on the synthesis of metal free green catalyst for organic carbonate synthesis.

Abstract:

Organic carbonates have the potential to be used as fuels and because of this their production through non-phosgene routes is a thrust area of research. Di-ethyl carbonate (DEC) synthesis from propylene carbonate (PC) in the presence of alcohol is a green route. In this study, use of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) based metal oxide catalysts [rGO-MO, where M = Ce] with different amount of graphene oxide (0.2%, 0.5%, 1% and 2%) has been investigated for the synthesis of DEC by using PC and ethanol as reactants. The GO sheets were synthesized by an electrochemical process and the catalysts were synthesized using an in situ method. Theoretical study of thermodynamics of the reaction was done, which revealed that the reaction is mildly endothermic. Theoretical value of optimum temperature was found to be 420 K. The synthesized catalysts were characterized for their morphological, structural and textural properties using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption/desorption, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy. Optimization studies were carried out to study the effect of different reaction conditions like temperature (140 °C to 180 °C), catalyst dosage (0.102 g to 0.255 g) and time (0.5 h to 5 h) on the yield of DEC. Amongst the various synthesized catalysts, 1% rGO-CeO2 gave the maximum yield of DEC.

Biography:

Dr Zhu Qiang obtained both his PhD degrees from the Department of Chemistry, Naitonal University of Singapore in 2010. After 2010, he worked as a senior research scientist in Albany Molecular Research Inc for 5 years. Since 2014, he joined the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore. His current appointment is deputy head in the SOF department. His research focuses on utilization of specialty chemicals and Nanoparticles for different applications..

Abstract:

Conducting polymers (CPs) have been studied for thermoelectric applications, mainly due to its intrinsic advantages, including easy fabrication, light density and large process-ability. In this area, many conducting polymers synthesized from thiophene, aniline, 3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) and others have been reported. Most of these polymers are synthesized from one phase chemical reaction. During the synthesis of these polymers, it is very difficult to place the metallic species into the polymer structures. The rational to place metal species into the polymer structures is to enhance its carrier mobility and carrier concentration, which will tune the thermoelectric properties accordingly. In order to place the metallic species into the polymer structure, we proposed and synthesized the coordination polymers using the coordination of thio-based organic molecules and different noble metals through the interphase chemical synthesis. Such synthesis enables the coordination polymer produced at the interphase between organic phase and aqueous phase at very dilute concentration. The thermoelectric performance of the synthesized conducting polymers has been tested. The electrical conductivity can be up to 30 S/cm and the Seebeck coefficient can be up to 15 µV/K. The common trade-off relationship between electric conductivity and Seebeck coefficient was also observed in this case. Now the efforts to tune the structure are ongoing with the tuning of metallic ions, the small thio-ligand and synthesis. In this presentation, we will share our recent findings to improve the thermoelectric performance of various coordination polymers.

Biography:

Presently, I am PhD student in Physics at the Faculty of Sciences Ben M’sik University Hassan II Casablanca, Morocco. My thesis topic is Energy Recovery by electro-active materials for autonomous Microsystems. The thesis deals with the study of techniques for exploiting weak energy sources, which is presented everywhere, and essentially for free. With the new emerging technologies of electromechanical transduction, thermoelectric, electroactive polymers have attracted particular attention.

I have completed my Ph.D. degree under the supervision of Dr. Md Mazroui (Professor of Higher Education), Physics of Condensed Matter Laboratory, Department of Physics, University Hassan II Casablanca, Morocco in 2019. My area of research interest is related to energy harvesting for autonomous Microsystems.

Abstract:

This letter proposes a new model that couples the piezoelectric and electrostrictive behavior to minimize the polarization power of composite polymer. The development of this model that is able to predict the energy harvesting capabilities of an electrostrictive composite. To improve the dielectric permittivity of electrostrictive polymer, the particles of PZT have been incorporated in order to increase the conversion efficiency of composite. Dielectric characterization tests showed an increase in dielectric permittivity by a factor of 4.5 compared to polymer pure. Experimental measurements of harvested power verify the theoretical model and demonstrate a good correlation between two data. An equivalent electrical scheme has been developed, which allows modeling the two behaviors. The harvested power density under low frequency at 2% of strain can reach  for 33% of PZT without polarization field. The energy harvester property of this material composite has great potential for many self-powered applications such as wireless sensor networks and Internet of things.

Biography:

Confidence is a fresh PhD holder from the noble Cyprus International University. He has thought as a graduate assistant lecturer since 2016. He has also thought a lot of courses in the field of bioengineering. His specialty is nanotechnology and its clinical applications as antimicrobials and anti-cancer agents.

Abstract:

The low solubility, loss of mucoadhesivity and poor absorption property of chitosan (CS) at physiological pH limits its applicability in biomedical and pharmaceutical field. N,N,N-Trimethyl Chitosan (TMC) have shown enhanced penetration property, well-defined structure and improved solubility over wide pH range. Ocimum gratissimum Essential Oils (OGEOs) and methanolic extracts (OGEO-MeOH) have known bioactivity. Chemical qualitative analysis of the extracts by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) showed newly found compounds not previously reported for OGEO such as eicosane, heneicosane, triphenylphosphine oxide, 1-acetyl-2methyl-2-cycloppentene, (E)-9-octadecenoic acid, 2-carene, and gamma-terpinene.

Different methods and optimized techniques were adopted for the successful synthesis of OGEO-loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles (OGEO-CSNPs) and OGEO-loaded Trimethyl Chitosan Nanoparticle (OGEO-TMCNPs). With reference to zeta potential and polydispersity index of the nanoparticles.  The synthesized nanoparticle was characterized with UV-Vis spectrophotometry, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

In vitro-release kinetics of OGEO release revealed higher (P < 0.05) OGEO release efficiency from OGEO-TMCNPs over long period of time compared to the OGEO-CSNPs. The antioxidant activity assay showed that, OGEO-CSNPs and OGEO-TMCNPs never reached a steady state after 75 h. All samples exhibited antimicrobial properties at specific concentration. OGEO-TMCNPs exhibited antibacterial activity at lower concentration notably 40 mg mL-1 for E. coli, 20 mg mL-1 for B. cereus, 20 mg mL-1 for S. aureus and 80 mg mL-1 for S. typhimurium. In vitro cytotoxicity on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines revealed that OGEO-TMCNPs exhibited higher toxicity (P < 0.05). The physiochemical properties of OGEO-TMCNPs and OGEO-CSNPs have shown more promising application in pharmaceutical and food industries.

Biography:

Surita Basu has her expertise in experimentation and characterization .Her thesis is titled as ‘Pattern Formation in Thin Film’ under the supervision of Dr. Jayati Sarkar from Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.  Surface patterns and surface modifications in thin polymeric film are of great demand in high end technologies like functional coatings, tissue engineering, electronics and others. These surface patterns created by self-assembly technique are affordable, convenient and economically viable method to create patterns on thin film. Her experience with industrial R&D and QC&A has backed her with rich experience in the academics and will help in future endeavors.

Abstract:

Patterns formed on the surface of a thin film are greatly inspired by nature and biological system. These patterns are formed spontaneously on the surface of polystyrene thin film by self-organization or self-assembly route. The formation of surface phenomenon by self-organization or self-assembly is more viable and cost effective as it does not involve any expensive and high end instrument for the formation of ordered and intricate patterns on the surfaces. These structures formed on the surface have wide range of technological applications. These patterns are created on the surface of thin polymeric film due to retraction of the liquid fluid from the surface that it was supposed to cover leading to a phenomenon of dewetting. Similarly multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) can self-assemble and form various topologies like coiled CNTs, CNT junctions and toroidal CNTs. Toroidal or circular ring carbon nanotubes are unique structure formed from both single wall and multi wall carbon nanotubes. The toroidal CNT is formed over thin polymeric film due to the self-organization of thin polystyrene film leading to the formation of arrays of holes because of dewetting.  Circular rings of CNT are formed on the surface by simple dewetting and Maragoni force. The self-organized patterns on the thin PS film along with Marangoni flow is the driving force behind the circular ring formation. These surface structures can be of great use in biomedical purposes like skin grafting, sensors, superhydrophobic coating and others.

Biography:

Valery Ditlov works in the direction of the Unified Theory of Robert Katz, who wrote the probability of local many-hits responses of the detector to the dose of energy released by ionization in any nuclear solid-state track detector. This class of detectors includes almost any solid material, and even not quite solid: nuclear photoemulsions, biological tissues, polymers, glasses, crystals, and so on. The theory of the response of solid-state detectors developed by Valery Ditlov avoids the use of any absorbed dose of energy, since in many cases there is no adequate dose-effect relationship. He deduced the probabilities of a local response using the differential spatial and energy distribution functions of delta electrons knocked out by radiation: charged particles, ions, or photons. This report is devoted to the study of the effect of radiation on the most sensitive polymer detector - CR-39 plastic. The research results obtained in this work can be used in nanotechnology.

Abstract:

This work was carried out on the basis of the etched pore recognition method published in our work. Eight CR-39 plastic plates were fixed at various distances from the ion beam entry window into a bio-chamber filled with water. Then they were etched, dried and scanned by the computer-MPE-1 microscope system with an integrated video camera. About fifty micrographs were done from each side of the plates and recorded in img-files. The modified code of inscribed ellipses into the image contours of the found pores and calculated the sizes of their major and minor  axes. The definition of reduced pore radius was introduced and a formula was obtained for its calculation. Knowing r, the bulk etching rate of the material and the etching time of the plastic, one can find the depths L of micro- and nanopores. Thus, the distribution of pores over the reduced radii r and depths L, their values averaged on each surface of the plates, were found as functions of their distances S from the window of entry of ions into the chamber. Then the formulas for macrodensitometry, microdensitometry and nanodensitometry were derived. The dependences of the distributions and average optical densities on the distance S in the water chamber were calculated. Pairwise fittings by linear functions of the mutual dependencies of the averaged values and on (dE/dS) were carried out. The most accurate fit was achieved for the dependence of the averaged optical density <D(S)> on the average pore depth <L(S)>. The worst fit is the approximation of the found average values ​​by a linear dependence on the specific energy loss. This confirms the fact that the probability of the appearance of the response of detectors with high sensitivity is a nonlinear function of the specific energy loss. It is known that CR-39 plastic refers specifically to such detectors and to calculate its local response it is necessary to use the many-hit model.

Biography:

KHELFANE Amar was born on 18/03/1979 in Bouira, Algeria. He graduated from magister in 2012, a physical option for materials and components at the USTHB University in Algiers. He worked as a physics teacher in high school for two and a half years and temporary teacher inMohandAkliOulhaj University of Bouira, before joining the CRTSE Research Center in Algiers in December 2014 where he worked as a researcher in Bulk Semiconductors Crystal Growth team (CSM) working in photovoltaic materials of 3rd generation Cu2Zn(Ge)SnS4. In 2016, I enrolled in PhD at the Saad Dahlab University of  Blida1, Algeria. he has more than 13 publications (oral conferences, posters, magister thesis, articles). His H index is 1 on Scopus.

Abstract:

Much attention has been given in recent years to the study of tungstates and molybdates, especially those containing rare earth elements. In the last years, there has been a much interest to study the properties of monovalent (Li-Cs) and trivalent (Al, Ga, In, Cr, Bi, Y, La or lanthanide Ln=Ce-Lu) double tungstates or double molybdates crystals. These Crystal tungstates were shown to be promising for of variety of laser, scintillator and phosphor applications.

In this study, many tungstate and molybdate crystals were synthesized using the solid state reaction. Different conditions of preparation where used to obtain  the  MAl (XO4)2, (M= Li, Na and K ; X= W and Mo). The crystal structural, morphological structure, optical absorption experiments and quantum efficiency of the samples were analysed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM + EDS), UV-VIS-NIR scan spectrophotometer and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) respectively. The synthesis protocols choosen where in good agreements to obtain double tungstates or molybdates such as NaAl(MoO4)2, KAl(MoO4)2, LiAl(MoO4)2 and LiAl(WO4)2. Other structural results have indicate mono phases apparition like  Na2W4O13 and KAl0.33W1.67O6. The SEM analysis indicated that the particle size ranging from 0.3 to 4.47 µm. Optical analysis reveals band gap values (direct and indirect transitions) of obtained phases: double molybdates ranging from 3.20 eV to 3.41 eV for direct gap and from 2.93 eV to 3.16 eV for indirect gap (Figure.1) and for double tungstates LiAl(WO4)2, the band gap is 3.13 eV for indirect transition and 3.38 eV for direct transition.