In contributing to the improvement of Ferrite Magnetic nanoparticles, the effects of Poly (Vinyl Pyrrolidone) (PVP) and annealing on the structural and magnetic properties of Zinc ferrite nanoparticles (ZFNPs) synthesis were investigated in this work. The effects were evaluated using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD analysis confirms a good formation of the inverse spinel crystal structure with an average particle size of 1.3 nm to 15.2 nm and from 1.6 nm to 21.1 nm for the ZFNPs as-prepared and PVP mediated ZFNPs for the un-annealed and annealed samples, respectively. The SEM image reveals an increase in the particle size for both the as-prepared and PVP mediated samples after annealing at 500˚C. The FTIR also reveals the inverse spinel structure for the as-prepared and annealed samples, which witnesses a vibrational red shift towards a higher wave number for the annealed samples. The VSM analysis indicates the superparamagnetic behavior of PVP mediated and annealed sample with zero remanence magnetization (Mr) and Coercivity (Hc). The saturation magnetization (Ms) increases from 1.31 emu/g, for the as-prepared samples, to 4.31 emu/g after the annealing and from 1.18 emu/g, for the PVP mediated, to 6.38 emu/g after annealing. These effects have been attributed to the cationic rearrangement on the lattice site after the annealing. This presents a superior material for various applications in nanotechnology.
Polyaniline has attracted much interest among researchers because of its reasonably good conductivity, stability, ease of preparation, affordability and redox properties compared to other organic compounds. In this work, Polyaniline (PANI) thin films were synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline in the presence of Hydrochloric acid using Ammonium peroxydisulfate as an oxidizing agent. The synthesised PANI thin films, doped with Tetraoxosulphate VI acid (H2SO4) and Citric acid, were characterised using UV-Vis spectroscopy to investigate the variations in the optical properties. The thin films were found to be of the same thickness (0.2µm) and their absorption spectra revealed two absorption peaks at around 300nm and 650nm for the pure PANI and the sample doped with Citric acid while that doped with H2SO4 had its peaks at 300 nm and 880nm. Doping reduced the direct band gap of the PANI from 2.75eV to 2.4eV.
The solar water distillation system is a non-toxic and promising device for water purification. A slanting-type solar water distillation kit was fabricated and tested outdoor under the meteorological conditions of Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria. The system consists of four major components; a wooden basin of surface area 0.16 m 2 , an absorber surface, a slanting glass roof and a condensate channel. Locally available materials were used to fabricate the solar still. The solar still produced an average of 0.09 m 3 of distilled water per day, and this study was performed in the month of November, 2015. Daily efficiencies of the distillation kit were estimated and the average efficiency of the kit was found to be 7.7%. Though the efficiency is small as is peculiar to many solar systems, the output can be increased by increasing some parameters like the surface area, slanting angle of the roof, and the evaporation rate. Also, since the materials are readily available, one can fabricate as many solar distillation kits as possible to tackle the daily demand of potable water. Solar distillation kits can also serve as sources of distilled water for our hospitals and industries.
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