Creation Of Cavities Research Articles

Enhancing EDM Productivity for Plastic Injection Mold Manufacturing: An Experimental Optimization Study.

Electrical erosion molding (EDM) is an unconventional machining technology widely used in the manufacture of injection molds for plastics injection molding for the creation of complex cavities and geometries. However, EDM productivity can be challenging, directly influencing mold manufacturing time and cost. This work aims to improve EDM productivity in the context of mold manufacturing for plastics injection molding. The research focuses on the optimization of processing parameters and strategies to reduce manufacturing time and increase process efficiency. Through a rigorous experimental approach, this work demonstrates that the optimization of EDM parameters and strategies can lead to significant productivity gains in the manufacture of plastic injection molds without compromising part quality and accuracy. This research involved a series of controlled experiments on a Mitsubishi EA28V Advance die-sinking EDM machine. Different combinations of pre-cutting parameters and processing strategies were investigated using copper electrodes on a heat-treated steel plate. Productivity was evaluated by measuring the volume of material removed, and geometrical accuracy was checked on a coordinate measuring machine. The experimental results showed a significant increase in productivity (up to 61%) by using the "processing speed priority" function of the EDM machine, with minimal impact on geometric accuracy. Furthermore, the optimized parameters led to an average reduction of 12% in dimensional deviations, indicating improved geometric accuracy of the machined parts. This paper also provides practical recommendations on the selection of optimal EDM processing parameters and strategies, depending on the specific requirements of plastic injection mold manufacturing.

Integration of miniaturized sample preparation and molecularly imprinted polymers in food analysis

The use of innumerable chemical compounds in food production to enhance agricultural quality and yield has raised significant global concerns regarding food safety. To address these concerns, miniaturized solid sample preparation techniques have emerged as an appealing strategy for analyzing chemical residues in complex samples, notably those found in food matrices. The efficacy of these miniaturized solid extraction procedures hinges largely on the choice of the sorbent phase. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been introduced as highly selective and versatile sorbent phases for a wide range of miniaturized solid techniques. Their remarkable selectivity is attributed to the creation of distinct cavities during the synthesis process, which subsequently accommodate the target analyte when the sample is applied. This unique characteristic empowers MIP polymers to exhibit exceptional specificity toward the desired analyte. The use of MIPs as sorbent phases in miniaturized sample preparation methods has shown great potential to increase the analytical performance of residue evaluation in food matrices. Therefore, here we present a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of miniaturized solid sample techniques employing MIPs as sorbent phases for the assessment of residues in food samples. Moreover, this review is primarily on recent reports concerning the application of MIPs in solid-phase microextraction (SPME), in-tube SPME, microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS), disposable pipette extraction (DPX), solid-phase extraction in pipette tip (SPE-PT) and stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE). Lastly, we will bring some future topics concerning the use of MIPs in miniaturized sample preparation methods for food analysis in order to bring some new avenues for enhancing food products' safety and quality assessment.

Constructing labyrinth structure in molecularly imprinted composite membranes for efficiently separating acteoside

Molecular imprinted composite membranes (MICMs) had attracted much attention in the field of selective separation for bioactive components of natural products. However, it remained a challenge to improve the separation performance of MICMs. Herein, multi-chamber carbon cubes (MCCBs) were synthesized and introduced into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) powders to construct labyrinth structure in molecularly imprinted composite membranes (LMICMs), which were used for efficiently separating acteoside (ACT). The constructed labyrinth structure had complex multidimensional transport routes to trap abundant ACT molecules in LMICMs, thereby improving the rebinding capacities and permselectivity of LMICMs. Meanwhile, the prepared MCCBs with multi-chamber structure can provide a great accommodation space, improving the rebinding capacities of LMICMs. In addition, the labyrinth structure with the large interface resulted in the creation of numerous ACT-imprinted sites and cavities (ACT-ISC) in LMICMs, thus increasing the permselectivity of LMICMs to ACT. Importantly, it was no surprise that large rebinding capacity (154.74 mg/g), excellent rebinding selectivity (4.52) and high permselectivity (14.88) were successfully achieved. It was of great value to design LMICMs with labyrinth structure for efficiently separating of bioactive components from natural products.

Substrate Selectivity Imparted by Self-Assembled Molecular Containers and Catalysts.

Recent trends in catalysis are devoted to mimicking some peculiar features of enzymes like site selectivity, through functional group recognition, and substrate selectivity, through recognition of the entire surface of the substrate. The latter is a specific feature of enzymes that is seldomly present in homogeneous catalysis. Supramolecular catalysis, thanks to the self-assembly of simple subunits, enables the creation of cavities and surfaces whose confinement effects drive the preferential binding of a substrate among others with consequent substrate selectivity. The topic is an emerging field that exploits recognition phenomena to discriminate the reagents based on their size and shape. This review deals this cutting-edge field of research covering examples of supramolecular self-assembled molecular containers and catalysts operating in organic as well as aqueous media, with special emphasis for catalytic systems dealing with direct competitive experiments involving two or more substrates.

Direct visualization and 3D reconstruction of conductive filaments in aSiO2 material-based memristive device.

Observation of conductive filaments has greatly aided the development of theoretical models of memristive devices. In this work, we visualized and reconstructed the conductive filaments in a Cu/Cu-doped SiO2/W device employing a focused ion beam (FIB) as a milling technique. The SEM images taken from the device after 150 DC sweep cycles showed that Joule heat played a vital role in determining the morphology of a conductive filament, where the vaporization of the conductive filament resulted in the creation of defects, including particles, voids, and cavities. The competition between the formation and vaporization of conductive filaments generally induces a remarkable current fluctuation. Since Cu-doped SiO2 was utilized as the electrolyte, the vapors exfoliated adjacent single layers. FIB milling proceeded in top-down and front-back modes; thus, a 3D model of conductive filaments and defects was constructed according to a series of FIB-SEM images. This methodology is promising for a future failure analysis of memristive devices.

Analysis of a Potential Correlation between Seismicity and Production in Kiruna Mine on a Mine-wide and an Extraction Block Scale

The creation of cavities in the underground results in stress redistributions and energy changes in the rock mass. Zones with increased stresses and zones with lower stresses develop. The energy changes manifest themselves amongst others in changes in potential energy, absorption of energy in the formation of fracture zones, and release of energy such as seismic energy. To prevent damage to infrastructure and personnel, it is important to understand the mechanisms of energy changes as a result of mining. As far as seismic energy release is concerned, it is important to understand to relationship between large scale mineral extraction and mining induced seismicity. One coarse way to do this is to correlate for specific areas the cumulated tons of mined rock multiplied by the depth of extraction and multiplied by the gravitational acceleration to get the unit of energy, which is a rough assessment of the mining-induced energy changes, with the cumulated released seismic energy, which is derived from the seismic monitoring system. This correlation is studied for Kiruna Mine on a mine-wide scale and on an extraction block scale for the years 2014 to 2020. The results show that there is a reasonable correlation between the mining-induced energy changes and the seismic energy release not only on a mine-wide scale but also on an extraction block scale. Periods of decreased seismic energy release are followed either by a period of increased seismic activity or by one or a series of large seismic event. Accordingly, periods of decreased seismic activity can be considered as an indicator for a likely increase in future seismic activities. More detailed investigations should be made to find out the cause for the lack of energy release. A disadvantage of this method is that it does not reveal the exact area and reason for the decrease in seismicity. Therefore, additional rock mechanics analysis is needed to understand the background of the change in energy release.

Simulated Observations of Star Formation Regions: Infrared Evolution of Globally Collapsing Clouds

A direct comparison between hydrodynamical simulations and observations is needed to improve the physics included in the former and to test biases in the latter. Post-processing radiative transfer and synthetic observations are now the standard way to do this. We report on the first application of the SKIRT radiative-transfer code to simulations of a star-forming cloud. The synthetic observations are then analyzed following traditional observational workflows. We find that in the early stages of the simulation, stellar radiation is inefficient in heating dust to the temperatures that are observed in Galactic clouds, thus the addition of an interstellar radiation field is necessary. The spectral energy distribution of the cloud settles rather quickly after ∼3 Myr of evolution from the onset of star formation, but its morphology continues to evolve for ∼8 Myr due to the expansion of H ii regions and the respective creation of cavities, filaments, and ridges. Modeling synthetic Herschel fluxes with one- or two-component modified blackbodies underestimates total dust masses by a factor of ∼2. However, spatially resolved fitting recovers up to about 70% of the intrinsic value. This “missing mass” is located in a very cold dust component with temperatures below 10 K, which does not contribute appreciably to the far-infrared flux. This effect could bias real observations if this dust exists in large amounts. Finally, we tested observational calibrations of the SFR based on infrared fluxes and concluded that they are in agreement when compared to the intrinsic SFR of the simulation averaged over ∼100 Myr.

Hydration caves and cavities from the recent weathering zone of anhydrites at Dingwall (Nova Scotia, Canada)

Hydration of anhydrite to gypsum (gypsification of anhydrite) in the weathering zone sometimes causes a volume increase. This can lead to local detachments of the surface layer of the weathering anhydrite rocks and creation of the hydration cavities and rare hydration caves (or swelling caves; German: Quellungshöhlen) inside domes formed by the uplifted layer. Currently growing hydration cavities at the anhydrite bottom of the abandoned quarry at Dingwall, Canada, were studied with the use of photogrammetric, statistic, and petrographic methods. Seventy seven cavities were documented including 48 caves (cavities with the height ≥0.30 m large enough to accommodate an adult man). Forty three caves had proper entrances (inlets large enough for an adult to get inside). The cavities contain one flat domed or, less often, tepee-like chamber generally similar in shape to the host hydration landform. The majority of cavities showed the length <4.6 m, the width <3.0 m, and the height <0.85 m. Only 3 caves had the length >8.00 m and the height ≥0.80 m. The largest and the highest cave showed the sizes 10.7 × 6.6 × 1.1 m measured in 2008 which changed into 8.87 × 2.97 × 1.35 m in 2019. The other caves and cavities exhibit also morphological changes with time due to vertical and horizontal movements of rocks slabs and collapse of the roofs depending mainly on the location of expansive gypsification and its intensity. Precipitation (rain- and meltwater) accumulating at the foot of the initial uplift intensifies the hydration in this zone causing a centripetal pressure towards the landform and contributing to its further rising and enlargement of the cavity height. The basic condition required for hydration cave formation is temperature between 0 and 30 °C in which the solubility of gypsum is much lower than that of anhydrite. The meteoric water solution infiltrating in the vadose zone is dissolving the anhydrite and gradually reaches Ca sulphate concentration higher than the level of gypsum and lower than the level of anhydrite solubility. Then, the dissolving anhydrite yields a solution supersaturated with gypsum, capable of its precipitation, and the dissolution of anhydrite is simultaneous with in situ replacive/displacive gypsum crystallization. The crystallization pressure of gypsum is a direct cause of the rock deformations and creation of hydration caves.

Creation of solitons and density cavities by lower hybrid waves

Formation of Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) solitons by nonlinear lower hybrid waves (LHWs) is not possible in usual electron ion plasma because a dispersive term does not have a suitable form. It is pointed out that the dispersion characteristics of electrostatic LHWs are modified in the presence of field-aligned shear flow to produce KdV solitons with negative electrostatic potential as it has been observed by satellites in the upper ionosphere. Plasma density decreases within the solitary structures. The parallel electron velocity shear ve0=ve0(x)ẑ also gives rise to unstable waves in the intermediate frequency range in linear limit whereas the ambient magnetic field B0=B0ẑ is assumed to be constant. The instability and structure size depend upon the electron parallel velocity shear parameter Se=1Ωedve0(x)dx (where Ωe is the electron gyrofrequency) and the propagation direction with respect to the ambient magnetic field B0. The theoretical model is applied to the upper ionosphere, and the estimated width of the structures turns out to be of the order of 70 m, which is closer to the observations.

Convenient, nondestructive monitoring and sustained-release of ethephon/chitosan film for on-demand of fruit ripening

The microstructure changes (such as micro defects and free volume, etc.) is a deep factor that determines the sustained release behavior of polymer film. However, there are few reports exploring the micro defects of sustained-release materials. Herein, we develop a facile method to non-destructive monitoring and sustained-release ethylene within chitosan. The comprehensive means of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and Raman spectrums are performed together to study the microstructures change of ethylene sustained-release and its mechanism. When ethylene is in chitosan film, it shows good ripening performance and mechanical properties. The sustained-release ethylene improves its bioavailability and can control the fruit-ripening on-demand. More importantly, the microstructural changes of cavities have a significant impact on the sustained release of ethylene, due to the creation of cavities, the free volume of positrons undergoes a process of increasing from less to more and then gradually decreasing, reaching a maximum at 120 h. Furthermore, the ethephon/chitosan film could on-demand control the ripening time of mangoes and bananas. Therefore, this research presents a comprehensive means to study of microstructure change monitoring and controllable sustained release, and provides the possibility to solve the problem of on-demand ripening of fruit and reducing pesticide residue.

Oxidation Behavior of Intermetallic Phase and Its Contribution to the Oxidation Resistance in Fe-Cr-Zr Ferritic Alloy

Oxidation resistance of the ferritic Fe-Cr-W-Zr alloy with dispersed Fe2Zr phase were investigated in stagnant air and in static oxygen-saturated liquid Pb-Bi eutectic separately considering the service environment in the advanced generation IV nuclear reactors. A duplex structure including an outer Fe2O3 layer and an inner (Fe,Cr,Zr)2O3 layer is developed after oxidation in air, while a three-layered structure consisting of outer magnetite layer, inner Fe-Cr spinel layer, and internal oxidation zone is formed after oxidation in liquid Pb-Bi eutectic. The dispersed Fe2Zr phase shows delayed oxidation with respect to the α-Fe in air and in liquid Pb-Bi eutectic, which significantly affects the oxidation behaviors of the alloy. After oxidation in air at 923 K, the incorporated Fe2Zr phase in the scale would obstruct the diffusion of metal/oxygen across the scale, resulting in the nonuniform oxidation behavior. After oxidation in static oxygen-saturated liquid Pb-Bi eutectic at 823 K, a reduction in the Fe supply to the magnetite/Fe-Cr spinel interface is present adjacent to the Fe2Zr phase, which might lead to the creation of cavities in the outer magnetite layer with prolonged oxidation time.

Woodpeckers and other excavators maintain the diversity of cavity-nesting vertebrates.

Woodpeckers and other excavators create most of the holes used by secondary cavity nesters (SCNs) in North American temperate mixedwood forests, but the degree to which excavators release SCNs from nest-site limitation is debated. Our goal was to quantify how excavators maintain the diversity and abundance of secondary cavity nesters in a temperate forest through the creation of tree cavities. We examined the short- and long-term (legacy) effects of excavators (principally woodpeckers, but also red-breasted nuthatches and black-capped chickadees) on forest biodiversity using longitudinal monitoring data (1,732 nest cavities, 25 sites, 16years) in British Columbia, Canada. Sites with higher densities of excavator nests had more cavities available, higher species richness of SCNs and higher nest density of SCNs, indicating the importance of a standing stock of cavities. Years with higher nesting densities of excavators were followed by years with higher SCN diversity, indicating that the creation of nesting opportunities through fresh excavation releases SCNs from community-wide nest-site limitation. We also show that excavators leave a 'legacy' of biodiversity (species richness and abundance) at a site by accumulating cavities at rates faster than they become unusable by decay or destruction. By quantifying site-level effects of cavity excavation on the SCN community, our study highlights the key role of excavators as ecosystem engineers that maintain forest wildlife biodiversity.

The creation of selective imprinted cavities on quartz crystal microbalance electrode for the detection of melamine in milk sample

Molecularly imprinted polymer based nanofilms specific to melamine were synthesized on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) electrode surface. Contact angle measurements, atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry and scanning electron microscopy were used for characterizations process. Some of the findings of the study are as follows: pH 6.0 was found as optimal working pH for melamine detection. Prepared MIP QCM electrode showed a linearity of 99.53% in the concentration range of 50–1000 ng/mL. Langmuir-Freundlich hybrid model was the best fitted isotherm for whole concentration range. The performance of MIP QCM electrode was also confirmed by determining of melamine in melamine spiked milk samples. As a conclusion, the results figured out that not only QCM nanosensor for specific melamine detection but also polymerization strategy were classified as an intriguing alternative for developing new melamine sensing platforms. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were calculated as 2.3 ng/mL and 7.8 ng/mL, respectively.

Gasless transaxillary endoscopic thyroidectomy for unilateral low-risk thyroid cancer: Li's six-step method.

The past decade has witnessed rapid advances in gasless transaxillary endoscopic thyroidectomy (GTET) for thyroid cancer, which has become a reliable procedure with good therapeutic effectiveness, aesthetic benefits, and safety. This procedure has been widely promoted in some Asian countries; however, few studies have described the specific surgical steps for unilateral low-risk thyroid cancer. Based on a review of the literature and our own clinical experience, we introduce in detail the surgical procedure of GTET for the unilateral low-risk thyroid cancer, briefly summarized into Li's 6 steps: surgical position and incision design; creation of surgical cavities; dissection of the superior pole of the thyroid and its vessels, and identification and protection of superior laryngeal nerve; identification and protection of the superior parathyroid gland, and identification of the inferior parathyroid gland; identification and protection of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the inferior parathyroid gland, and central neck dissection; and processing of the suspensory ligaments of thyroid gland and en bloc resection of the tumor. The six-step approach is simple to learn. The lymph nodes are dissected first, followed by resection of the primary lesion and protect important structures, which meets the principles of radical tumor treatment. It is hoped that the proposed Li's six-step method can promote the standardized, safe, and wide application in treating early thyroid cancer.

The BEAMISH hot water drill system and its use on the Rutford Ice Stream, Antarctica

AbstractDuring the 2018/19 Antarctic field season, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Basal conditions on Rutford Ice Stream: BEd Access, Monitoring and Ice Sheet History’ (BEAMISH) project drilled three holes through the Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica. At up to 2154 m, these are the deepest hot water drilled subglacial access holes yet created, enabling the recovery of sediment from the subglacial environment, and instrumenting the ice stream and its bed. The BEAMISH hot-water drill system was built on extensive experience with the BAS ice shelf hot-water drill and utilises many identical components. With up to 1 MW of heating power available, the hot water drill produces 140 L min−1of water at 85°C to create a 300 mm diameter access hole to the base of the ice stream. New systems and processes were developed for BEAMISH to aid critical aspects of deep access drilling, most notably the creation of cavities interlinking boreholes at 230 m below the surface and enabling water recirculation throughout the deep drilling operations. The modular design of the BEAMISH drill offers many benefits in its adaptability, redundancy, and minimal logistical footprint. These design features can easily accommodate the modifications needed for future deep, clean access hole creation in the exploration of subglacial environments.

Underground Rock Dissolution and Geomechanical Issues

Many soluble rocks will dissolve when in contact with fluid such as water. This transformation of rock solid into flowing fluid may trigger the creation of cavities which may further lead to either smooth subsidence or sudden collapse of land surface. Dissolution phenomenon can be of natural or human origin. This paper deals with the problem of the dissolution of underground soluble rocks and the geomechanical consequences such as subsidence, sinkholes and underground collapse. In this paper, rock dissolution and the induced underground cavities are computed using a Diffuse Interface Model, which does not require to follow interfaces explicitly. We describe briefly the mathematical and physical framework for the dissolution model. We first explain the transition (upscaling) of a multiphysics problem formulated at the microscopic (pore-) scale level to the macroscopic (Darcy-) scale level. Rock material considered in this paper is gypsum, despite that the developed method is also suitable for over soluble rocks (e.g., limestone, Halite). The second part of this paper is devoted to a set of problems dealing with mechanical response of the rock mass in connection with the dissolution process. We discuss the subsidence induced by the dissolution of one or more gypsum lenses, the stability of the covering, and finally the failure of a gypsum pillar in an abandoned quarry. These examples, while they may involve rather theoretical hypotheses, have the virtue of showing the relevance of the method as well as the very diverse issues that it can treat.

Initiation of nanosecond-pulsed discharge in water: Electrostriction effect

Underwater nanosecond-pulsed discharges have been widely utilized in numerous industrial applications. The initial stage of nanosecond-pulsed discharge in water contains extremely abundant physical processes, however, it is still difficult to reveal the details of charge transportation and multiplicative process in liquid within several nanoseconds by currently existing experimental diagnostic techniques. Up to now, the initiation mechanism of underwater nanosecond discharge has been still a puzzle. In this paper, we develop a two-dimensional axially symmetric underwater discharge model of pin-to-plane, and numerically investigate the electrostriction process, cavitation process, and ionization process in water, induced by nanosecond-pulsed voltage. The negative pressure in water caused by tensile ponderomotive force is calculated. The creation of nanoscale cavities (so-called nanopores) in liquid due to negative pressure is modeled by classical nucleation theory with modified nucleation energy barrier. When estimating the temporal development of nanopore radius, a varying hydrostatic pressure is considered to restrain the unlimited expansion of nanopores. We estimate the electron generation rate by the product of the generation rate of incident electrons and the number density of nanopores. The simulation results show that cavitation occurs in liquid within several microns from pin electrode due to the electrostriction, which results in the formation of a large number of nanopores. The expansion of nanopore, caused by electrostrictive pressure on nanopore surface, provides a sufficient acceleration distance for electrons. The impact ionization of water molecules can be triggered by energetic electrons, leading the local liquid to be ionized rapidly. The effects of nanopores on rapid electron generation in water are discussed. Once nanopores are formed, the electrons can be generated in the following ways: 1) Field ionization of water molecules on the nanopore wall continuously provides seed electrons; 2) the seed electrons accelerated in nanopores enter into the liquid and collide with water molecules, resulting in the rapid increase of electrons. It can be inferred that the randomly scattered nanopores act as micro-sources of charges that contribute to the continuing ionization of liquid water in cavitation region near pin electrode. Electrostriction mechanism provides a new perspective for understanding the initiation of nanosecond-pulsed discharge in water.

Cultivation profile: a visual evaluation method of soil structure adapted to the analysis of the impacts of mechanical site preparation in forest plantations

Mechanical site preparation (MSP) is widely used in forestry to improve plantation success. Although it is known to alter soil properties, its direct effects on soil structure have rarely been described. The cultivation profile is a visual soil evaluation (VSE) method developed in agricultural research to analyse the impacts of cultivation practices on soil structure. The objective of the study was to adapt the method to forest plantations in order to analyse the effects of MSP on soil quality. Cultivation profiles were performed in six experimental plantation sites located in Northern France. The method made it possible to compare the impacts on soil structure of three MSP methods. It provided a schematic representation of the soil structural quality and a quantitative estimation of the volume of soil favourable to seedling root growth. It also highlighted unexpected negative effects of some MSP methods on soil structure, such as the creation of small cavities, the presence of compacted soil volumes due to wheel tracks or smeared soil volumes due to tool pass, and the pseudogleisation of soil zones due to changes in water circulation in the soil. The relevance and limitations of VSE methods in the context of forest plantation as well as the expected future development of the methods are discussed.

On the heterogeneous rock mass stress condition at the unsteady temperature condition

The unsteady thermoelastic problem of the rock mass stress state in the vicinity of a spherical cavity in the temperature field presence is considered. The temperature field around the cavity, partially filled with coolant, is calculated by the explicit difference scheme. Such tasks arise during the creation and operation of the underground cavities for the various products’ long-term storage. Moreover, the tendency to self-heating of the stored substances leads to the appearance of high-temperature fields, which in turn can cause the significant temperature stresses’ occurrence. A feature of the work is to take into account the two-dimensional heterogeneity of the massif material, which is due to both the fracture of the rock and the dependence of the deformation characteristics on temperature. In the article, the problem of thermo-elasticity is solved as quasi-stationary. Obtaining analytical solutions in the problems of thermo-elasticity of inhomogeneous bodies is associated with great difficulties. Such solutions are obtained, as a rule, for the case of one-dimensional heterogeneity of an object’s material. The obtained temperature field was used to solve the problem of determining the stress state of the array, and the finite element method was used. The results obtained indicate the need for calculations and design of underground cavities to take into account the real properties of the rock mass materials, as well as their change under the influence of various physical processes.

Highly porous film of TiO2 nanoparticles synthesized using carbon nanospheres for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells

Highly porous films of TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by a doctor blade method using carbon nanospheres as a porosity enhancer. At first, carbon nanospheres with a diameter ranging from 100 to 600 nm were synthesized by a hydrothermal method; then, a paste of TiO2 nanoparticles was mixed with various amounts of carbon nanospheres. To obtain a porous TiO2 nanoparticles photoanode and removing carbon nanospheres, photoanode was sintered at a temperature of 500 °C. XRD patterns and Raman analysis revealed the anatase phase of TiO2 and show that the carbon spheres acted only as a porosity enhancer. Removing carbon nanospheres leads to the creation of cavities with various sizes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Under illumination, these random cavities increase porosity and light scattering of the photoanode which leads to a larger surface area for dye loading and improve light absorbance by dye N719 and consequently enhance the performance of DSSCs. For the optimum sample by mixing 3 wt% carbon nanospheres in the TiO2 pastes, the efficiency (η) and short-circuit current density (Jsc) were increased by 33% (from 5.72 to 7.59%) and 40% (from 12.59 to 17.73 mA cm−2), respectively.