In this research, in order to increase the oxidation resistance of graphite, kaolin and alumina powder with different ratios (26A-74S, 49A-51S, 72A-28S) and slurry method were used to create an aluminosilicate coating on the graphite substrate. In order to reduce the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion of graphite with aluminosilicate coating, aluminum metaphosphate coating as an interlayer was prepared on the surface of graphite by cathodic electrochemical treatment. The isothermal oxidation test of the samples was carried out in air at a temperature of 1250 °C for 1, 3 and 5 h. The microstructure, chemical composition, and phase components of the coating were, respectively, analyzed by scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive spectrometer and X-ray diffraction. The results indicated that, by increasing the withdrawal speed of the samples in slurry method, the amount of changes in the weight of the samples has increased and therefore had a direct effect on oxidation. In addition, it was approved that, at high-temperature oxidation, AlPO4 glass phase forms on aluminum metaphosphate interlayer which retards graphite oxidation. Along with aluminum metaphosphate, aluminosilicate coating also produces a glass phase which fills and seals the voids on the surface which prevents the oxygen to reach the surface of graphite. The created double-layer coating including an interlayer of aluminum metaphosphate + slurry coating prepared with the ratio of 26A-74S as the optimal coating in this research was able to increase the oxidation resistance of graphite by 73% at a temperature of 1250 °C.

Rapid development of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced to polymer composites has been recently noticed in many aspects. In this work, the latest developments on fatigue and fracture enhancement of polymer composites with CNTs reinforcement with diverse methods are thoroughly compiled and systematically reviewed. The existing available researches clearly demonstrate that fatigue fracture resistance of polymer composites can be improved accordingly with the addition of CNTs. However, this work identifies an interesting research gap for the first time in this field. Based on the systematic reviewing approach, it is noticed that all previously performed experiments in this field were mostly focused upon studying one factor only at a time. In addition, it is also addressed that there were no previous studies reported a relationship or effect of one factor upon others during examining the fatigue fracture of carbon nanotubes. Moreover, there was no adequate discussion demonstrating the interaction of parameters or the influence of one parameter upon another when both were examined simultaneously. It is also realized that the scope of the conducted fatigue fracture studies of carbon nanotubes were mainly focused on microscale fatigue analysis but not the macroscale one, which can consider the effect of environment and service condition. In addition, the inadequacy of fatigue life predicting models via analytical and numerical methods for CNT-reinforced polymer composites have also been highlighted. Besides, barriers and challenges for future directions on the application of CNT-reinforced polymer composite materials are also discussed here in details.

Heavy metal pollution has a harmful impact on human health and is regarded as a vital problem. Preparation of a novel, low cost bio-sorbent for heavy metal sorption is the main target of this research. Non-living Chlorella Vulgaris Alga/Date pit activated carbon composite (1:1), (CV/AC), is a novel bio-sorbent prepared by the wet-chemical method for sorption of Pb (II) and Sr (II) from aqueous media. The optimum pH for sorption reaction is 5 and the equilibrium time is achieved within 1 h. The sorption efficiencies are 90.5% for Pb(II) and 95.7% for Sr(II) with initial concentration Co 10 mg L– 1 at 298 K. The monolayer sorption capacities of CV/AC composite at 298 K and pH = 5 were 6.34 ± 0.059, 5.97 ± 0.22 mg g– 1. The saturation capacities were 98.5 and 125 mg g– 1 for Pb (II) and Sr (II), respectively after 10 days. The sorption process is a spontaneous and endothermic reaction. It follows a pseudo-2nd-order mechanism. The results are suggestive of the need to adopt CV/AC composite as a potential bio-sorbent of Pb (II) and Sr (II) for waste water treatment.

Even in an era where 8-meter class telescopes are common, small telescopes are considered very valuable research facilities since they are available for rapid follow-up or long term monitoring observations. To maximize the usefulness of small telescopes in Korea, we established the SomangNet, a network of 0.4{1.0 m class optical telescopes operated by Korean institutions, in 2020. Here, we give an overview of the project, describing the current participating telescopes, its scientic scope and operation mode, and the prospects for future activities. SomangNet currently includes 10 telescopes that are located in Australia, USA, and Chile as well as in Korea. The operation of many of these telescopes currently relies on operators, and we plan to upgrade them for remote or robotic operation. The latest SomangNet science projects include monitoring and follow-up observational studies of galaxies, supernovae, active galactic nuclei, symbiotic stars, solar system objects, neutrino/gravitational-wave sources, and exoplanets.

Environmental pollution remains a considerable health risk source all over the world; however, hazards are usually higher in developing countries. Iraq has long been suffering from the problem of pollution and how to treat pollution. Photocatalytic degradation has turned out to be most productive process for dye degradation. In this investigation, Rhodamine B (RhB), dye has been selected for degradation under visible light illumination. To address this issue, we fabricate erbium trioxide nanoparticles (Er2O3/NPs). Erbium trioxide nanoparticles are prepared and utilized for photo-catalytic degradation. The characterization of Er2O3/NPs is described and confirmed by utilizing of XRD (X-ray diffraction) and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). The average size of Er2O3 nanoparticles is observed to be 16.00 nm. Er2O3/NPs is investigated for its ability of photo-catalytic degradation through certain selected parameters such as concentration and time. The methodological results show that the synthesized Er2O3/NPs is a good photo-catalytic for Rhodamine degradation.

Comparisons between bare carbon (CPs) and nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles (N-CPs) synthesised using hydrothermal reaction are carried out. It was found that hydrothermal reaction of citric acid yields graphene-like sheets, while the nitrogen doping using ethylenediamine resulted in amorphous polymeric ball-like hydrocarbons devoid of any aromatic rings. Although the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicate the presence of carbon–carbon double bonds (C=C), and the ground states of both materials are very deep (> 7.8 eV) as measured by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. This indicates the conjugation is very short. This is supported by the fact that both materials are UV blue emitting peaking at 375 nm probably originating from C=C.

Intensive Monitoring Survey of Nearby Galaxies (IMSNG) is a high cadence observation program monitoring nearby galaxies with high probabilities of hosting supernovae (SNe). IMSNG aims to constrain the SN explosion mechanism by inferring sizes of SN progenitor systems through the detection of the shock-heated emission that lasts less than a few days after the SN explosion. To catch the signal, IMSNG utilizes a network of 0.5-m to 1-m class telescopes around the world and monitors the images of 60 nearby galaxies at distances D < 50 Mpc to a cadence as short as a few hours. The target galaxies are bright in near-ultraviolet (NUV) with MNUV < - 18.4 AB mag and have high probabilities of hosting SNe (0.06 SN yr-1 per galaxy). With this strategy, we expect to detect the early light curves of 3.4 SNe per year to a depth of R  19:5 mag, enabling us to detect the shock-heated emission from a progenitor star with a radius as small as 0.1 R. The accumulated data will be also useful for studying faint features around the target galaxies and other science projects. So far, 18 SNe have occurred in our target fields (16 in IMSNG galaxies) over 5 years, confirming our SN rate estimate of 0.06 SN yr-1 per galaxy.