The effects of x-beam irradiation with different doses on microhardness and its related physical constants on [Ky(NH4)1-y]2ZnCl4 mixed crystals with concentrations, y equals 0.000, 0.232, 0.644, 0.859 or 1.000 has been studied. The tests were performed for x-doses from 0.2 kGy up to 1.6 kGy for loads from 20 to 160 g. The variation of hardness on (010) faces of orthorhombic [Ky(NH4)1-y]2ZnCl4 mixed crystals with load were studied. The experimental results showed that, the hardness decreased as the x-doses increased. Variation of the microhardness follows the normal ISE trend for low x-doses and un-irradiated crystals, then follows the reverse ISE trend for high x-doses. Analysis of the experimental results revealed that: the radial cracks length, indentation size and applied indentation load are mutually related, and these dependences related with fracture mechanics are the basis of Meyer's empirical law. Indentation size effect (ISE) can be explained satisfactory by Hays-Kendall's approach and proportional specimen resistance model. Brittleness of two cracks system are applicable for characterizing cracks around indentation impression (i.e. radial cracks) and another is (lateral cracks) for [Ky(NH4)1-y]2ZnCl4 mixed crystals, crystals in the load range 60 – 160 g. It is shown that indentation induced microhardness decreases, whereas the length of radial cracks induced on indentation increases with the increase of x-doses.

The effects of x-beam irradiation with different doses on microhardness and its related physical constants on [Ky(NH4)1-y]2ZnCl4 mixed crystals with concentrations, y equals 0.000, 0.232, 0.644, 0.859 or 1.000 has been studied. The tests were performed for x-doses from 0.2 kGy up to 1.6 kGy for loads from 20 to 160 g. The variation of hardness on (010) faces of orthorhombic [Ky(NH4)1-y]2ZnCl4 mixed crystals with load were studied. The experimental results showed that, the hardness decreased as the x-doses increased. Variation of the microhardness follows the normal ISE trend for low x-doses and un-irradiated crystals, then follows the reverse ISE trend for high x-doses. Analysis of the experimental results revealed that: the radial cracks length, indentation size and applied indentation load are mutually related, and these dependences related with fracture mechanics are the basis of Meyer's empirical law. Indentation size effect (ISE) can be explained satisfactory by Hays-Kendall's approach and proportional specimen resistance model. Brittleness of two cracks system are applicable for characterizing cracks around indentation impression (i.e. radial cracks) and another is (lateral cracks) for [Ky(NH4)1-y]2ZnCl4 mixed crystals, crystals in the load range 60 – 160 g. It is shown that indentation induced microhardness decreases, whereas the length of radial cracks induced on indentation increases with the increase of x-doses.

The effects of x-beam irradiation with different doses on microhardness and its related physical constants on [Ky(NH4)1-y]2ZnCl4 mixed crystals with concentrations, y equals 0.000, 0.232, 0.644, 0.859 or 1.000 has been studied. The tests were performed for x-doses from 0.2 kGy up to 1.6 kGy for loads from 20 to 160 g. The variation of hardness on (010) faces of orthorhombic [Ky(NH4)1-y]2ZnCl4 mixed crystals with load were studied. The experimental results showed that, the hardness decreased as the x-doses increased. Variation of the microhardness follows the normal ISE trend for low x-doses and un-irradiated crystals, then follows the reverse ISE trend for high x-doses. Analysis of the experimental results revealed that: the radial cracks length, indentation size and applied indentation load are mutually related, and these dependences related with fracture mechanics are the basis of Meyer's empirical law. Indentation size effect (ISE) can be explained satisfactory by Hays-Kendall's approach and proportional specimen resistance model. Brittleness of two cracks system are applicable for characterizing cracks around indentation impression (i.e. radial cracks) and another is (lateral cracks) for [Ky(NH4)1-y]2ZnCl4 mixed crystals, crystals in the load range 60 – 160 g. It is shown that indentation induced microhardness decreases, whereas the length of radial cracks induced on indentation increases with the increase of x-doses.

Mixed crystals of potassium-ammonium zinc chloride in different concentrations were grown from aqueous solution employing the techniques of slow cooling and controlled evaporation. Powder x-ray diffraction studies were carried out on the grown crystals. The comparison between lattice parameters a, b and c are experimentally determined and calculated by Vegad's law. The concentration of K+ ions in the crystals was measured by the atomic absorption technique. The crystal morphology changed considerably by increasing K+ concentration. The optical absorption coefficient (α) indicated strong influence changing concentration. The optical energy gap was found to decrease with increasing K+ concentration.

Mixed crystals of potassium-ammonium zinc chloride in different concentrations were grown from aqueous solution employing the techniques of slow cooling and controlled evaporation. Powder x-ray diffraction studies were carried out on the grown crystals. The comparison between lattice parameters a, b and c are experimentally determined and calculated by Vegad's law. The concentration of K+ ions in the crystals was measured by the atomic absorption technique. The crystal morphology changed considerably by increasing K+ concentration. The optical absorption coefficient (α) indicated strong influence changing concentration. The optical energy gap was found to decrease with increasing K+ concentration.

Mixed crystals of potassium-ammonium zinc chloride in different concentrations were grown from aqueous solution employing the techniques of slow cooling and controlled evaporation. Powder x-ray diffraction studies were carried out on the grown crystals. The comparison between lattice parameters a, b and c are experimentally determined and calculated by Vegad's law. The concentration of K+ ions in the crystals was measured by the atomic absorption technique. The crystal morphology changed considerably by increasing K+ concentration. The optical absorption coefficient (α) indicated strong influence changing concentration. The optical energy gap was found to decrease with increasing K+ concentration.

Deep investigations were performed for further understanding of the nanostructure of sputtered WO3 ˆlms. The as-deposited ˆlms consisted of ˆne crystallites of several nm. As the pressure increased, the ˆlm density decreased and the surface area increased owing to open pores between grains. When ˆlms were annealed at 400°C or above, they were well crystallized to form monoclinic and randomly-shaped grains. Upon this crystallization, the ˆlm shrank and its density increased slightly, while the relative surface area substantially decreased.

Tungsten oxide nanowires were prepared by a vapor transport method using WO3 powder as a raw material. The crystal structure and morphology of WO3 nanowires were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The obtained nanowires were hexagonal WO3. The major factors that influenced the morphology were the furnace temperature and the substrate position. The diameter of the nanowires decreased as the distance of the substrate from the raw material increased. Sensors were fabricated by pouring a few drops of nanowire-suspended ethanol onto oxidized Silicon substrates equipped with a pair of interdigitated Pt electrodes. The sensor made of the nanowires as thin as 50 nm showed the highest response to NO2 at a low operating temperature of 100 ◦C. The temperature dependence of the response was discussed in relation to the formation of NO2 − and NO3 − ions on the surface of WO3. The response slightly increased with decreasing diameter if the nanowires are regional depleted in NO2, while it largely increased if the nanowires are in volume depletion. A theoretical calculations based on assumptions were proposed in order to clarify the correlation between the nanowire response and their diameter.

Tin dioxide nanowires were formed by using thermal evaporation and functionalized by Pd nanodots for investigating the effect of nano-additives on NO2 sensing properties. SnO2 nanowires are uniformly functionalized with Pd nanodots by plain micro-drop process of PdCl2. The NO2 sensing characteristics of the Pd-functionalized SnO2 nanowires are compared with those of bare SnO2 nanowires. The results indicate that the concentration of catalytic Pd nanodots plays an important role in the enhancement of NO2 sensing properties. The low concentration of Pd nanodots greatly enhances the sensor response and response time in SnO2 nanowire-based gas sensors. However, extensive addition of Pd into the sensing layer resulted in the degradation of sensing characteristics. Moreover, the SnO2 nanowires functionalized with excessively high concentration of Pd nanodots shows an anomalous behavior in its output.

Since isolates recovered on medium containing-Ficus elastica latex showed good growth on the respective natural rubber than those recovered on Euphorbia pulcherrima or Ficus nitida, 16 of these isolates were selected for further growth experiments on natural rubber to determine their protein content as well as rubber viscosity. Of these, the mesophilic strains Aspergillus terreus AUMC 4682, Aspergillus flavus AUMC 4795 and the thermophilic strain Myceliophthora thermophila AUMC 4653 showed low rubber viscosity and high mycelia protein content indicating high biodegradation ability of rubber. The strains were subjected for further analysis. They showed high ability to degrade poly (cis-1, 4-isoprene) rubber fig. The ability was also determined by measuring the increase in protein content of each fungus (mg g−1 dry wt), reduction in molecular weight (g mol−1) and inherent viscosity (dl g−1). Moreover the degradation was characterized by determining aldehyde or keto group by Schiff reagent and observing the growth using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).