Sand casting

Sand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by using sand known as casting sand as the mold material. The term "sand casting" can also refer to an object produced via the sand casting process. Sand castings are produced in specialized factories called foundries. In 2003, over 60% of all metal castings were produced via sand casting. Molds made of sand are relatively cheap, and sufficiently refractory even for steel foundry use. In addition to the sand, a suitable bonding agent (usually clay) is mixed or occurs with the sand. The mixture is moistened, typically with water, but sometimes with other substances, to develop the strength and plasticity of the clay and to make the aggregate suitable for molding. The sand is typically contained in a system of frames or mold boxes known as a flask. The mold cavities and gate system are created by compacting the sand around models called patterns, by carving directly into the sand, or via 3D pr

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Nanosized Optoelectronic Devices Based on Photoactivated Proteins

Sandro Carrara, Giovanni De Micheli, Danilo Demarchi, Gianluca Piccinini

Molecular nanoelectronics is attracting much attention, because of the possibility to add functionalities to silicon-based electronics by means of intrinsically nanoscale biological or organic materials. The contact point between active molecules and electrodes must present, besides nanoscale size, a very low resistance. To realize Metal-Molecule-Metal junctions it is, thus, mandatory to be able to control the formation of useful nanometric contacts. The distance between the electrodes has to be of the same size of the molecule being put in between. Nanogaps technology is a perfect fit to fulfill this requirement. In this work, nanogaps between gold electrodes have been used to develop optoelectronic devices based on photoactive proteins. Reaction Centers (RC) and Bacteriorhodopsin (BR) have been inserted in nanogaps by drop casting. Electrical characterizations of the obtained structures were performed. It has been demonstrated that these nanodevices working principle is based on charge separation and photovoltage response. The former is induced by the application of a proper voltage on the RC, while the latter comes from the activation of BR by light of appropriate wavelengths.

Amer Chemical Soc2012

Towards tailored cement-based materials with ground calcium carbonates

Emmanuel Denarié, Lionel Sofia

Proportioning the dosage of Ground Calcium Carbonates (GCC) in cementitious materials, beyond current normative levels, is one of the most promising ways towards sustainability of mortar and concrete technology. Performance parameters such as the water/binder ratio do not represent the very significant benefits in terms of mechanical performances, of clinker replacement by GCC in mixes with water/cement ratios in the range of that for normal concretes used in construction (0.4 to 0.6). Alternative parameters such as the water/fines ratio proved to be reliable indicator of performances for Ultra High-Performance Fiber Reinforced Concretes. This concept needs to be further extended to normal concretes, on a scientific basis. With this aim in view, mortar mixes with a similar water/cement ratio of 0.5 and progressive replacement of sand by GCC with water/fines ratios as low as 0.2 were studied. The packing density of the cement and GCC was determined by means of wet packing measurements using the mixing power method. The Compressible Interaction Packing Model from Fennis was generalized to multiple polydisperse components and used to predict the packing density of the mixes. The rheology at fresh state of the mixes was put into perspective with the packing density, water film thickness and sand packing factor to define reliable indicators of performances at fresh states. Finally, the compressive strength of the mixes at 1 and 28 days was related to the efficiency coefficient of the GCC used.

2021

Low-temperature, solution-deposited metal chalcogenide films as highly efficient counter electrodes for sensitized solar cells

Michael Graetzel, Linhua Hu, Feng Liu, Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin, Bing Zhang

Transition metal chalcogenide crystalline films FeSe2, Cu1.8S, and CuSe have been deposited from solution by drop casting their dissolved inks onto a conductive substrate, followed by a mild thermal treatment. We demonstrate that the resulting chalcogenide films exhibit an excellent catalytic activity and function as highly efficient counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-and quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (DSCs and QDSCs). In particular, the FeSe2 and CuSe films produced herein with novel morphologies show better catalytic activity than that of the conventional Pt coated CE used in DSCs and Cu2S in QDSCs, respectively. Ensuing devices present an improved photovoltaic performance with maximum values of 9.10% for DSCs and 4.94% for QDSCs, comparable to those based on Pt and Cu2S CEs. The efficient CE materials developed here from such a facile and scalable route offer strong potential for a broader solar cell application that requires low-cost and large-scale production.

Royal Soc Chemistry2015

Metal casting

In metalworking and jewelry making, casting is a process in which a liquid metal is delivered into a mold (usually by a crucible) that contains a negative impression (i.e., a three-dimensional nega

Sand

Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt.

Metallurgy

Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as

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