Iraqi Journal of Physics

In this study, an efficient photocatalyst for dissociation of water was prepared and studied. The chromium oxide (Cr2O3) with Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanofibers (Cr2O3-TNFs) nanocomposite with (chitosan extract) were synthesized using ecologically friendly methods such as ultrasonic and hydrothermal techniques; such TiO2 exhibits nanofibers (TNFs) shape structure. Doping TiO2 with chromium (Cr) enhances its ability to absorb ultraviolet light while also speeding up the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. The prepared TNFs and Cr2O3-TNFs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and UV-Visible absorbance. The XRD of TNFs showed a tetragonal phase with 6.9 nm of average crystallite size, whereas Cr2O3-TNFs crystallite size was 12.3 nm. FE-SEM images showed that the average particle size of TNFs was in the range of (9-35) nm and UV-Vis absorbance of TNFs showed their energy gap to be 3.9eV while the energy gaps of Cr2O3-TNFs were smaller equal to 2.4 eV. The highest hydrogen production rate for the Cr2O3-TNFs nanocomposite was 4.1ml after 80min of UV exposure. Cr2O3-TNFs have high photocatalytic effectiveness due to their wide ultraviolet light photoresponse range and excellent separation of photogenerated electrons and holes.

Polymer blended electrolytes of various concentrations of undoped PAN/PMMA (80/20, 75/25, 70/30, 65/35 and 60/40 wt%) and doped with lithium salts (LiCl, Li2SO4H2O, LiNO3, Li2CO3) at 20% wt have been prepared by the solution casting method using dimethylformamide as a solvent. The electrical conductivity has been carried out using an LCR meter. The results showed that the highest ionic conductivity was 2.80x10-7 (Ω.cm)-1 and 1.05x10-1 (Ω.cm)-1 at 100 kHz frequency at room temperature for undoped (60% PAN + 40% PMMA) and (80% PAN + 20% PMMA) doped with 20%wt Li2CO3 composite blends, respectively. It was found from the measurements of the A.C conductivity of undoped (PAN+PMMA) and doped with different lithium salts in the frequency range (1kHz-100kHz) that A.C conductivity follows empirical laws σa.c(ω)=Aωs, where (s) is (are) located between (0.501-2.054). The frequency-dependent dielectric constant at room temperature for various composites exhibited that because of interfacial space charge polarization, the dielectric constant has a large value. The fluctuation of dielectric loss with the addition of various kinds of lithium salts and frequency-dependent dielectric loss were shown and discussed.

A progression of Polyaniline (PANI) and Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by an in-situ polymerization strategy within the sight of TiO2 NPs. The subsequent nanocomposites were analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX) taken for the prepared samples. PANI/TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared by various compound materials (with H2SO4 0.3 M and without it, to compare the outcome of it) by the compound oxidation technique using ammonium persulfate (APS) as oxidant within the sight of ultrafine grade powder of TiO2 cooled in an ice bath. Nanocomposites were prepared by the addition of TiO2 with two weight ratios (0.3 and 0.5 wt. %) during the polymerization of PANI. The outcomes showed good collaboration between PANI and TiO2. FTIR spectral shows a shift to higher wave numbers in the peaks of PANI/TiO2 nanocomposites, due to the Coulomb force that resulted from the interaction between the TiO2 nanoparticles with PANI. SEM results show that the TiO2 nanoparticles enwrap the polyaniline and agglomeration of uneven distribution of TiO2 particles can be seen in the PANI matrix. The intensity of the peak in the EDX analyses was found to appear by adding the nanoparticles. XRD pattern of PANI polymerization and PANITNCs shows that the TiO2 NPs and PANI affected the crystallization performance of nanocomposites, it was identified that the TiO2 NPs form a relatively irregular distribution in the PANI chain.

In the present work, the magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments for some sodium isotopes have been calculated using the shell model, considering the effect of the two-body effective interactions and the single-particle potentials. These isotopes are; 21Na (3/2+), 23Na (3/2+), 25Na (5/2+), 26Na (3+), 27Na (5/2+), 28Na (1+) and, 29Na (3/2+). The one-body transition density matrix elements (OBDM) have been calculated using the (USDA, USDB, HBUMSD and W) two-body effective interactions carried out in the sd-shell model space. The sd shell model space consists of the active 2s1/2, 1d5/2, and1d1/2 valence orbits above the inert 16O nucleus core, which remains closed. Skyrme interaction was implemented to generate the single-particle matrix elements with Hartree-Fock approximation and compared with those of harmonic oscillator and Wood-Saxon potentials. From the outcome of our investigation, it is possible to conclude that the shell model calculations with Skyrme-type interaction give a reasonable description for most of the selected Na isotopes. No significant difference was noticed for the magnetic dipole moments and electric quadrupole moments with experimental data, where all signs for the experimental data are reproduced correctly.

In this study, mean free path and positron elastic-inelastic scattering are modeled for the elements hydrogen (H), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), chlorine (Cl), potassium (K) and iodine (I). Despite the enormous amounts of data required, the Monte Carlo (MC) method was applied, allowing for a very accurate simulation of positron interaction collisions in live cells. Here, the MC simulation of the interaction of positrons was reported with breast, liver, and thyroid at normal incidence angles, with energies ranging from 45 eV to 0.2 MeV. The model provides a straightforward analytic formula for the random sampling of positron scattering. ICRU44 was used to compile the elemental composition data. In this work, elastic cross sections (ECS) and inelastic cross-sections (ICS) for positron interaction in human tissues were studied. The elastic scattering is obtained from the Rutherford differential cross-section. Gryzinski's excitation function is used within the first-born approximation to determine the core and valence of ICS. The results are presented graphically. The ECS increases rapidly as the scattering energy approaches zero and becomes dependent on the atomic number of elements in organs. The ICS has reached a maximum value of around 100 eV. Increasing positron energy leads to an increase in the elastic and inelastic mean free paths. The simulations agree with many other studies dealing with the same parameters and conditions.

The duration of sunshine is one of the important indicators and one of the variables for measuring the amount of solar radiation collected in a particular area. Duration of solar brightness has been used to study atmospheric energy balance, sustainable development, ecosystem evolution and climate change. Predicting the average values of sunshine duration (SD) for Duhok city, Iraq on a daily basis using the approach of artificial neural network (ANN) is the focus of this paper. Many different ANN models with different input variables were used in the prediction processes. The daily average of the month, average temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity, wind direction, cloud level and atmospheric pressure were used as input parameters in order to obtain the daily average of sunshine duration (SD) as the output. The eight-year data were divided into two categories. The first category covers whole years (annually) and the second category is seasonal. To recognize and assess the influence of different input parameters on sunshine duration, six models of ANN have been evolved. The findings showed that in the annual models, the outcomes of RMSE, MAE and R for the model with input parameters (month, cloud level and average temperature) were the best results 1.82, 1.175 and 0.89, respectively. As for the season models, the outcomes of RMSE, MAE and R for the autumn season were the best results 1.450, 1.009 and 0.94, respectively. Accordingly, the performance of the artificial neural network is considerably effective in predicting the sunshine duration.

A cut-off low is a closed low with a low value of geopotential height at the upper atmospheric levels that has been fully detached (cut-off) from the westerly flow and move independently. A cut-off low causes extreme rainfall events in the mid-latitudes regions. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the cut-off low at 500 hPa over Iraq from a synoptic point of view and the behavior of geopotential height at 500 hPa. To examine the association of the cut-off low at 500 hPa with rainfall events across Iraq, two case studies of heavy rainfall events from different times were conducted. The results showed that the cut-off low at 500 hPa with a low value of geopotential height will strengthen the low-pressure system at the surface, leading to a case of atmospheric instability over Iraq and a significant amount of rain will fall if the moisture is available.

According to Chandra Survey Observatory Near-Asteroid Belt Comets, the solar wind's contact with the comet produces a variety of spectral characteristics. The study of X-ray spectra produced by charge exchange is presented here. The spectrum of a comet can reveal a lot about its composition. This study has concentrated on the elemental abundance in six different comets, including 17P/Holmes, C/1999T1, C/2013A1, 9p/Temple1, and 103p/Hartley2 (NEAT). Numerous aspects of the comet's dynamics allow it to behave in a unique manner as it gets closer to the Near-Asteroid Belt. These characteristics are being examined, and some studies are still ongoing. The computations allow us to observe, for instance, how the composition of a comet's upper atmosphere affects how much gas it produces. For several comet morphologies, both linear and nonlinear, bow shock, contact surface, and stagnation point are investigated in relation to gas production rate. Our results shed light on the complex interactions between cometary ions and the solar wind. An increase in gas production rate was shown to be significantly correlated with sharp drops in average molecular weight.

In this work, we studied the effect of power variation on inductively coupled plasma parameters using numerical simulation. Different values were used for input power (750 W-1500 W), gas temperature 300K, gas pressure (0.02torr), 5 tourns of the copper coil and the plasma was produced at radio frequency (RF) 13.56 MHZ on the coil above the quartz chamber. For the previous purpose, a computer simulation in two dimensions axisymmetric, based on finite element method, was implemented for argon plasma. Based on the results we were able to obtain plasma with a higher density, which was represented by obtaining the plasma parameters (electron density, electric potential, total power, number density of argon ions, electron temperature, number density of excited argon atoms) where the high density in the generated plasma provides a greater degree in material processing, which increases the efficiency of the system. These results may aid in future research towards the development of more efficient optimization of plasma parameters which are (electron density, electric potential, total power, number density of argon ions, electron temperature, and number density of excited argon atoms).

Poly [2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylenevinyl] (MEH-PPV) thin films were created in this study using both spin coating and drop casting processes. MEH-PPV thin films generated by Ferric Chloride (FeCl3) doping (0.03, 0.06, 0.09, and 0.12 wt%) were studied for some physical features using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). An FTIR test showed that there was no chemical reaction that occurred between Ferric Chloride (FeCl3) and MEH-PPV, but rather a physical one, that is, an organic material composite occurred. As for FE-SEM, the pure sample MEH-PPV formed uniformly, but when FeCl3 was added by weight, we have different circles that indicate the formation of adsorption energy and that the highest adsorption energy appears at MEH-PPV/FeCl3 (0.06%), as well as EDX, which indicates the absence of undesirable elements and indicates the presence of small peaks for iron (Fe) and chlorine (Cl). Peaks of carbon(C) and oxygen (O) types indicate the presence of the chemical elements of MEH-PPV.