Indirect Energy Research Articles

An Assessment of Energy Flexibility Solutions from the Perspective of Low-Tech

The energy transition is a multidisciplinary challenge that warrants solutions that are robust and sustainable. Energy flexibility, one of the key pillars of the energy transition, is an umbrella term that covers multiple innovative solutions implemented at all levels of the electric grid to ensure power quality standards, amongst other objectives. Low-tech, on the other hand, emphasizes designing, producing, and sustainably implementing solutions. Therefore, considering the multidisciplinary nature of energy transition and the existing energy flexibility solutions, the purpose of this research work is multilateral: first, it presents the concept of low-tech and its associated mechanisms; then, it addresses the misconceptions and similarities that low-tech might have with other innovation approaches; and finally, it provides an assessment of existing flexibility solutions using low-tech as a tool. The result of this assessment is presented qualitatively and indicates that indirect energy flexibility solutions rank higher on a low-tech scale relative to supply-side energy flexibility solutions and energy storage flexibility solutions.

The effect of zinc oxide on the physical and optical characteristics of calcium oxide containing boro-tellurite glasses

Glassy system with a chemical compositions of xZnO-10CaO-30TeO2-(60-x)B2O3 (x = 0 to 20 mol% with stepwise 5 mol%) was synthesized by conventional melt quenching method. The non-crystallinecharacter of the produced glasses was verified by X-ray diffraction analysis. Variations in the molar concentration of additional ZnO resulted in a densityrange of 3.19–3.77 g/cm3 for the current glasses. Through analysis of Ultraviolet Absorption spectrum, optical properties like cut-off (λc) optical energy band gap (Eopt), Urbach energy (ΔE),refractive index were determined. The cut-off wave length (λc) was increased, whereas, indirect band gap energy decreased with addition of ZnO content. The Urbach energy (ΔE) of the present glasses increased with ZnO content which confirms more disorderness. As the amount of ZnO in the glass system changed, the refractive index shifted from 2.23 to 2.30 with changing of ZnO content. The FTIR spectra confirmed the structural changes with increasing ZnO content. The higher refractive index values of the studied glasses and the presence TeO2 and ZnO enables the prominence of the glasses for NLO and antimicrobial applications.

Study the Effect of Deposition Time on Optical Properties of CdZnS Nanofilms

The optical properties of CdZnS nanofilms are studied in this paper in relation to the deposition time. Deposition times ranged from 15 to 60 minutes for the CdZnS thin films, which had been developed on surface of glassy substrates. The other factors, such as reactant concentration, solution pH, and bath temperature, were held constant throughout the deposition process. The films were annealed at 200 °C for 120 minutes in a thermal furnace after the deposition process. Measurements of absorbance, transmission spectrum, and direct and indirect energy gaps were made using UV-VIS spectrophotometers. Transmittance in the 400-1000 nm range was 70-90 percent for all of the prepared films. With a wavelength of 600 nm and higher, transmittance was around 90%. CdZnS films have bandgap energies ranging from 2.4–2.15 eV for direct transitions and from 2.1–1.97 eV for indirect band gaps.

Photocatalytic removal of imidacloprid containing frequently applied insecticide in agriculture industry using Co3O4 modified MoO3 composites.

Water pollution caused by the frequent utilization of pesticides in the agriculture industry is one of the major environmental concerns that require proper attention. In this context, the photocatalytic removal of pesticides from contaminated water in the presence of metallic oxide photocatalysts is quite in approach. In the present study, Orthorhombic MoO3 has been modified with varying amount of cobalt oxide through wet impregnation for the removal of imidacloprid and imidacloprid-containing commercially available insecticide. The solid-state absorption response and band gap evaluation of synthesized composites revealed a significant extension of absorption cross-section and absorption edge in the visible region of the light spectrum than pristine MoO3. The indirect band gap energy varied from ∼2.88eV (MoO3) to ∼2.15eV (10% Co3O4-MoO3). The role of Co3O4 in minimizing the photo-excitons' recombination in MoO3 was studied using photoluminescence spectroscopy. The orthorhombic shape of MoO3 was confirmed through X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the presence of distinct absorption edges and diffraction peaks corresponding to Co3O4 and MoO3 in absorption spectra and XRD patterns, respectively verified the composite nature of 10% Co3O4-MoO3. The photocatalytic study under natural sunlight irradiation showed higher photocatalytic removal (∼98%) of imidacloprid with relatively higher rate by 10% Co3O4-MoO3 composite among all contestants. Furthermore, the photocatalytic removal (∼93%) of commercially applied insecticide, i.e., Greeda was also explored.

Structure and optoelectronic properties of ferroelectric PVA-PZT nanocomposites

PbZr0.8Ti0.2O3 lead zirconate-titanate was prepared using the tartrate precursor method, and (Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/PbZr0.8Ti0.2O3 (PZT)) thin films systems were designed by the traditional casting technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) methods were used to investigate the effect of the annealing temperature of PZT on the structural characteristics of the prepared composite films. PZT was annealed at various temperatures (600 °C, 700 °C, 800 °C, 900 °C, 1000 °C, and 1100 °C), and X-ray examination indicated that it included rhombohedral and tetragonal perovskite structures. Moreover, the effect of the annealing temperature on the optical band gaps, refractive index, extinction coefficient, and optical conductivity of the samples was studied using the UV–VIS spectrophotometer technique. The photoluminescence (PL) technique showed that the studied PVA/PZT films illustrated three spectra for all the samples. The Raman spectra evaluated five major Raman modes (A1(1TO), E(2TO), E (3TO+2LO)+B1, E(3TO), and A1(3LO), and T2g, which are expected in the perovskite structure. This study showed that adding PZT to the PVA matrix leads to changes in the morphological and structural properties, and the direct and indirect energy band gap (Eg) was decreased. We consider that the clustering effect in our samples increases as the crystallite size increases and prevents the vibration of the C–H bond, resulting in the disappearance of this bond in the Raman spectra. The formation of defects in synthesized compounds was analyzed using PL spectra. This system's compositional (the studied samples) dependency on optical properties makes it appropriate for optoelectronic applications.

High hydrogen production in two-dimensional GaTe/ZnI2 type-II heterostructure for water splitting

In this work, first-principles calculation was used to systematically examine the structural, electronic, and optical properties of the GaTe/ZnI2 heterostructure under the biaxial strain effect. The frequency-dependent phonon dispersion relations and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated the kinetic and thermodynamic stability of this heterostructure. The results showed that the GaTe/ZnI2 heterostructure possesses an indirect energy band of about 1.768 eV/1.065 eV (HSE06/PBE) and has a type-Ⅱ band structure. In addition, results revealed that the GaTe/ZnI2 heterostructure has suitable band edge positions for redox reactions and could be a great photocatalyst for the splitting of water. Moreover, the optical properties were studied in the context of perpendicular field polarizations. Our calculations showed that this heterostructure has a high absorption coefficient reaching 4.5 × 104 cm−1 at 3.2 eV in visible light with the maximum value in the UV region. Overall, the electronic and optical properties of the heterostructure improved significantly. Our findings indicated that the GaTe/ZnI2 heterostructure can be used not only in photocatalysts but also in the photodetectors, gas sensors, and photovoltaic devices.

Structural, Optical, and Electrical Investigations of Nd2O3-Doped PVA/PVP Polymeric Composites for Electronic and Optoelectronic Applications

In this present work, a PVA/PVP-blend polymer was doped with various concentrations of neodymium oxide (PB-Nd+3) composite films using the solution casting technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to investigate the composite structure and proved the semi-crystallinity of the pure PVA/PVP polymeric sample. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis, a chemical-structure tool, illustrated a significant interaction of PB-Nd+3 elements in the polymeric blends. The transmittance data reached 88% for the host PVA/PVP blend matrix, while the absorption increased with the high dopant quantities of PB-Nd+3. The absorption spectrum fitting (ASF) and Tauc's models optically estimated the direct and indirect energy bandgaps, where the addition of PB-Nd+3 concentrations resulted in a drop in the energy bandgap values. A remarkably higher quantity of Urbach energy for the investigated composite films was observed with the increase in the PB-Nd+3 contents. Moreover, seven theoretical equations were utilized, in this current research, to indicate the correlation between the refractive index and the energy bandgap. The indirect bandgaps for the proposed composites were evaluated to be in the range of 5.6 eV to 4.82 eV; in addition, the direct energy gaps decreased from 6.09 eV to 5.83 eV as the dopant ratios increased. The nonlinear optical parameters were influenced by adding PB-Nd+3, which tended to increase the values. The PB-Nd+3 composite films enhanced the optical limiting effects and offered a cut-off laser in the visible region. The real and imaginary parts of the dielectric permittivity of the blend polymer embedded in PB-Nd+3 increased in the low-frequency region. The AC conductivity and nonlinear I-V characteristics were augmented with the doping level of PB-Nd+3 contents in the blended PVA/PVP polymer. The outstanding findings regarding the structural, electrical, optical, and dielectric performance of the proposed materials show that the new PB-Nd+3-doped PVA/PVP composite polymeric films are applicable in optoelectronics, cut-off lasers, and electrical devices.

Impact of neutron irradiation on electronic carrier transport properties in Ga2O3 and comparison with proton irradiation effects

The minority charge carrier transport in beta gallium oxide (-Ga2O3) before and after exposure to neutrons from a 241Am-Be source was studied. Cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy and current–voltage (I-V) characteristics were used to study minority carrier behavior. High energy radiation affects minority carrier properties through the production of carrier traps that reduce the conductivity and mobility of the material. In this paper, we report the effects of neutron radiation in silicon-doped -Ga2O3, using rectifiers or transistors as the measurement platform. The thermal activation energy of the reference (non-irradiated) sample was 40.9 meV, which is ascribed to silicon-donors. CL measurements indicate a slightly indirect bandgap energy of 4.9 eV. Neutrons create disordered regions in -Ga2O3 rather than just point defects, resulting in the lowest carrier removal rate because of the lowest average non-ionizing energy loss. The neutron irradiation caused an increase in reverse bias leakage current in rectifiers and a carrier removal rate of 480 cm−1 but had little effect on reverse recovery switching time. Differences in CL spectra were observed between vertical and lateral device structures, emphasizing the importance of impurities and defects in the starting material. The neutron energies in the Am-Be source range up to 11 MeV, with an average energy between 4 and 5 MeV (Figure 1). We also contrasted neutron damage with the effects of irradiation with 10 MeV protons. Under 10 MeV proton irradiation, the thermal activation energies increase. This is attributable to high order defects and their influence on carrier lifetimes. The measurements show that -Ga2O3 is more resistant to radiation damage than other wide bandgap semiconductors due to its higher displacement threshold energy, which is inversely proportional to the lattice constant.

The optical properties behavior of modify poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposite thin films during solar energy absorption

Herein, nanoparticles (Co3O4, Cr2O3, CuO, and TiO2) doped PMMA were fabricated via casting method. The PMMA nanocomposite thin films have been prepared with a fixed concentration of 4 g from PMMA to make PMMA thin films, they were modified with amine cluster. These thin films were doped by a fixed concentration, 0.01 gm, of various nanomaterials (Co3O4, Cr2O3, CuO, and TiO2) to make the nanocomposite thin films of PMMA. The thin film samples were examined by UV–Visible wavelength between (250–1350 nm). The optical properties, optoelectronic features, and oscillator strength were investigated. The reflectance and transmittance values were decreased for all the nanocomposite thin films of PMMA. The absorption coefficient ranged between (99.8–92.0%) for all samples. The direct energy gap decreased from 4.65 eV for the blank PMMA and it with Co3O4 to 2.10 eV, also, for the indirect energy gap decreased from 4.2 eV for the blank PMMA and it with Co3O4 to 2.8 eV due to the modified and doped PMMA. The optoelectronic features such as dielectric of high frequency and effective mass increased, oscillator strength decreased, dispersion energy and effective energy of single oscillator increased in comparison to blank PMMA. The oscillator strength for these thin films were increased also. These nanocomposite thin films are suitable to enhance the photostability performance from UV light and drastic weather are needed especially for underwater, aerospace, and applications for air transport, in addition, fabricated shields from UV energy, light-emitting diodes, lasers sensors, memory devices, harvesting light, and converting-light devices.

Impact of essential oils on methane emissions, milk yield, and feed efficiency and resulting influence on the carbon footprint of dairy production systems.

Reducing CO2 emissions is one of the highest priorities in animal production. Regarding methane reduction, feed additives are of growing importance. As shown in a meta-analysis, the use of the essential oil (EO) blend Agolin Ruminant affects methane production per day (- 8.8%), milk yield (+ 4.1%), and feed efficiency (+ 4.4%). Building on these results, the present study investigated the effect of varying individual parameters on the carbon footprint of milk. The environmental and operational management system REPRO was applied to calculate the CO2 emissions. Calculation of CO2 emissions include enteric and storage-related CH4, storage-, and pasture-related N2O as well as direct and indirect energy expenditures. Three feed rations were created, differing in their basic feed components such as grass silage, corn silage, and pasture. Each feed ration was differentiated into three variants: variant 1 CON (no additive), variant 2 EO, and variant 3 (15% reduction of enteric methane compared to CON). Due to the reducing effect of EO on enteric methane production, a reduction potential of up to 6% could be calculated for all rations. Considering other variable parameters, such as the positive effects on ECM yield and feed efficiency, a GHG reduction potential of up to 10% can be achieved for the silage rations and almost 9% for the pasture ration. Modeling showed that indirect methane reduction strategies are important contributors to environmental impacts. Reduction of enteric methane emissions is fundamental, as they account for the largest share of GHG emissions from dairy production.

Sourcing energy services in business-to-business contexts: practices among end-customers

Facing increased pressure to use renewable energy and achieve energy efficiency, organisations have the complex task of sourcing energy services from energy providers in business-to-business (B2B) contexts. We aimed to explore how customers in such contexts approach the sourcing of energy services. Our theoretical and empirical approach linked energy as a service offering and customer–provider interfaces used in sourcing energy services to elucidate the practices adopted in such sourcing by customers in B2B contexts. To that end, we employed a qualitative research approach using the Gioia methodology and conducted 18 semi-structured interviews with representatives of 18 firms in the B2B market for energy services in Sweden. Our results revealed two central categories of how energy services are sourced: basic and advanced. The theorising of those categories as forms of direct and indirect energy efficiency, combined with four types of energy services—information-, analysis-, improvement- and contract-oriented services, which include a description of energy services exchanged, where the customer uses the energy service, the customer’s sourcing practices and characteristics of sourcing practices—provides important contributions to the literature on energy services. In turn, we propose a four-part typology of interfaces used by providers and customers of energy services that considers the type of services sourced.

Electronic, mechanical, optical and thermodynamic properties of the quaternary semiconductors Sr3GeMgN4 and Ba3GeMgN4

The electronic structure, optical and thermodynamic properties of M3GeMgN4 (M = Sr or Ba) nitrides have been investigated using first-principles calculations. The calculated equilibrium lattice parameters and inter-atomic bond-lengths show excellent concordance with experiment. The elastic constants (Cijs) and their derived properties have been calculated showing that the examined compounds are mechanically stable and elastically soft, ductile and anisotropic. The analysis of the electronic structure reveals a semiconductor comportment for both crystals. The Sr3GeMgN4 (Ba3GeMgN4) compound possesses a direct (indirect) energy gap of 1.476 eV (1.194 eV). The chemical bonding in both semiconductors is dominated by a covalent character, which originates from the Ge-N and Mg-N hybridized states. Both nitrides show moderate dielectric properties, high visible and UV absorbance, indicating that both materials are suitable for optoelectronic applications. Phononic dispersion curves have demonstrated the dynamical stability of the studied crystals.

Characterization and Growth of TiO2/ZnO on PTFE Substrates at Different Volumetric Ratios Using Chemical Bath Deposition

Developing non-toxic, semiconductor-doped heterojunction materials for optoelectronic applications on the surface of a flexible substrate is a viable strategy for meeting the world’s energy needs without introducing any environmental issues. In this paper, Ti:TiO2/ZnO nanocomposites were prepared by heat treatment and utilized as an active layer in UV photodetectors. First, a ZnO seed layer was deposited by radio frequency (RF) sputtering on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrates. Then, TiO2/ZnO thin films (TFs) were successfully grown by combining volumetric mixtures of TiO2 and ZnO at the ratios of 1:7, 1:3, 3:5, and 1:1 via the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. The morphological, elemental, and topographical analyses of the grown TFs were investigated through SESEM, EDX, and AFM spectroscopy, respectively. XRD patterns illustrated the presence of the unified (002) peak of the Ti/ZnO hexagonal wurtzite structure in all prepared samples, with intensities indicating a very strong preferential crystallinity with increasing TiO2 ratios. Enhanced diffuse reflectance curves were obtained by UV–Vis spectroscopy, with allowed indirect energy bandgaps ranging from 3.17 eV to 3.23 eV. FTIR characterization revealed wider phonon vibration ranges indicating the presence of Ti–O and Zn–O bonds. Metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) UV photodetectors were fabricated by thermally evaporating Ag electrodes on the grown nanocomposites. The volumetric ratio of TiO2/ZnO impacted the photodetector performance, where the responsivity, photosensitivity, gain, detectivity, rise time, and decay time of 0.495 AW−1, 247.14%, 3.47, 3.68 × 108 jones, 0.63 s, and 0.99 s, respectively, were recorded at a ratio of 1:1 (TiO2:ZnO). Based on the results, the heterostructure nanocomposites grown on PTFE substrates are believed to be highly promising TF for flexible electronics.

Preparation of hybrid conducting polymers blend nanocomposite for energy conversion using experimental data and TD-DFT/DMOl3 computations

In the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate in an acidic solution while using ferric chloride as an oxidizing agent, a blend of three conducting polymers of poly (ortho-phenylene diamine) (PoPDA), poly (meta phenylene diamine), and polypyrrole was produced. ZrO2 nanoparticles were prepared via sol-gel method and a hybrid nanocomposite of the three conducting polymers blend and zirconium oxide nanoparticles (TCPB/ZrO2)HNC was synthesized. Using the Physical Vapor Deposition technology, a hybrid nanocomposite thin film was prepared from (TCPB/ZrO2)HNC. Density functional theory (DFT) was also used to develop optimization using TD-DFTD/Mol3 and Cambridge Serial Total Energy Bundle (TD-FDT/CASTEP). By closely matching the reported XRD and Raman spectra, the TD-DFT computations validated the molecular structure of the studied materials and confirmed its molecular structure. According to XRD calculations, (TCPB/ZrO2)HNC has an average crystallite size of 61.67 nm. The direct and indirect optical energy bandgaps for the (TCPB/ZrO2)HNC, are 2.352 and 2.253 eV, respectively. As measured by TD-DFT/DMol3, the isolated molecule of (TCPB/ZrO2) HNC has a bandgap of 2.415 eV. The optical properties suggested by CASTEP in TD-DFT agree quite well with the values obtained experimentally. The large optical energy bandgap of (TCPB/ZrO2)HNC is advantageous for various energy storage applications.

Irradiation-induced effects on structure and optical properties of PbO-B2O3-Na2O glasses: γ-dosimetry application

The objective of this research is to study the impact of gamma irradiation on various PbO-B2O3-Na2O glasses that have been doped with CdO, BaO, MoO3, and WO3. The prepared glass has been experimentally examined before and after 65 kGy gamma irradiation at a dose rate of 0.799 kGy/h at 30 °C. X-ray diffraction has been used to confirm the amorphous nature of glass samples. Structural and optical properties were studied using Infrared (IR) and UV–vis spectroscopic techniques. IR experiments of all glass samples indicate absorption bands specific to different types of borate structures. The optical characterizations such as the direct and indirect optical energy gap, index of refraction, and Fermi energy were analyzed using UV–vis spectra in the wavelength range of 190–1100 nm. We found that the values of the direct and indirect optical energy gap of these glasses are in the range of 3.57–2.81 eV and 3.27–2.45 eV, respectively. The main resonance paramagnetic centers for all prepared samples have been confirmed by the ESR spectrum.

Hybrid potentiodynamic/potentiostatic electrodeposition of thin and compact tin dioxide on indium tin oxide electrodes

Electrodeposition of conformal and compact SnO2 films on transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) has been hardly achieved thus limiting its application in fully solid solar cells such as those based in perovskite absorbers. Here are presented high-quality n-type semiconducting tin (VI) oxide (SnO2) thin films, successfully grown using a hybrid potentiodynamic/potentiostatic approach on both ITO and FTO coated glass substrates after a detailed optimization that included both annealing steps between eletrodepositions. A solution chemistry study together with a spectrophotometric analysis was useful to determine the one-hour time window of stability for the chosen electrolyte as source of tin. Formation mechanisms based in thermodynamic data and accumulated mass measurements using an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) are discussed. From the EQCM study the growth rate of films was also estimated in good agreement with high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analysis. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images and X-ray diffraction (XRD) data revealed that substrates are well-covered, crystalline, conformal and free of defects (e.g. without pinholes). The absence of these defects was also well supported by cyclic voltammetry measurements using the ferricyanide/ferrocyanide redox couple. XPS also confirmed the presence of Sn4+ in optimized films. From the optical properties, after carefully eliminating the influence of oscillations due to interference, a direct bandgap energy at 3.60 eV can be deduced. Another indirect bandgap energy at 3.30 eV can also be possible. The hybrid potentiodynamic/potentiostatic protocol to prepare SnO2 paves a way to prepare compact, transparent and well covering films suitable as electron transporting layer (ETL) for applications in both photoelectrochemical and solid-state solar cells.

SbI3·3S8: A Novel Promising Inorganic Adducts Crystal for Second Harmonic Generation.

In the past twenty years, the basic investigation of innovative Non-Linear Optical (NLO) crystals has received significant attention, which has built the crucial heritage for the use of NLO materials. Fundamental research is essential given the scarcity of materials for NLO compounds, especially in the deep ultraviolet (DUV) and middle- and far-infrared (MFIR) regions. In the present work, we synthesized high-quality MFIR SbI3·3S8 NLO crystals having a length in the range of 1-5 mm through rapid facile liquid phase ultrasonic reaction followed by the assistance of instantaneous natural evaporation phenomenon of the solvent at room temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results ratify the hexagonal R3m structure of SbI3·3S8 crystal, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) demonstrates that the elemental composition of SbI3·3S8 crystal is similar to that of its theoretical composition. The direct and indirect forbidden energy gaps of SbI3·3S8 were measured from the optical transmittance spectra and they were shown to be 2.893 eV and 1.986 eV, respectively. The green sparkling signal has been observed from the crystal during the second harmonic generation (SHG) experiment. Therefore, as inorganic adducts are often explored as NLO crystals, this work on the MFIR SbI3·3S8 NLO crystal can bring about additional investigations on this hot topic in the near future.

Energy budgeting and economics of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivation under different sowing methods in north-western India

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a hunger breaking energy rich crop. We compared tuber growth and size attributes, energy and economic indices of potato cultivation on ridges (single row) and beds (two and three rows) in north-western India. Three rows method significantly (p < 0.05) increased the number of stems (∼19.1%) and tubers (∼18.2%), 10-tuber weight (∼6.7%) and tuber yield (∼39.7%) than single row method. Water productivity was significantly higher (∼10.4–23.7%) for two rows than other methods. Total energy input (EI) of 56,985 ± 500 MJ ha−1, 54,522 ± 339 MJ ha−1 and 56,019 ± 458 MJ ha−1 for three, two and single row method produced total output energy of 151.8 ± 3.9, 132.5 ± 4.7 and 108.7 GJ ha−1, respectively. Chemical fertilizers comprised ∼26.6–29.5%, seed ∼21.3–25.3%, electricity ∼18.0–20.1% and water ∼8.7–9.5% of EI. Direct energy comprised 66.3–69.2%, while indirect energy 30.8–33.7% of EI. Specific energy was significantly lower (∼9.2–27.7%), while energy ratio was higher (∼9.9–37.6%) for three rows method. Net energy gain of 50.7 ± 2.7 GJ ha−1, 76.1 ± 5.9 GJ ha−1 and 97.4 ± 4.1 GJ ha−1 was achieved with single, two and three rows methods, respectively. Average net returns for three rows method were higher by ∼19.1 and 61.1%, while net economic benefit by ∼15.9 and 41.1%, respectively over two and single row method.

Surface morphology and optical properties of thin films of plasma polymerized methyl acrylate

Thermally stable plasma polymerized methyl acrylate (PPMA) thin films are fabricated onto spotless glass substrates by AC power plasma polymerization technique. Field emission scanning electron micrographs of these films exhibit clusters/agglomerations on the surface. Energy dispersive x-ray analysis confirms the existence of 52.38, 52.63 and 51.55% of carbon and 47.62, 47.31 and 46.45% of oxygen, respectively in 170, 230 and 290 nm thick PPMA films. The molecular vibrations of various natures observed by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of methyl acrylate and PPMA represent that the percentage of hydrophilic groups is smaller than the hydrophobic groups. Thermogravimetric analyses demonstrate that the major weight loss occurs in the temperature range from 500 to 850 K. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy demonstrates that the allowed direct energy band gap varies from 3.77 to 3.83 eV, whereas the indirect energy band gap alters from 3.40 to 3.48 eV with film thicknesses from 120 to 290 nm. Other optical parameters such as Urbach energy, refractive index, optical extinction coefficient, dielectric constants, quality factor, and skin depth have also been investigated for the PPMA thin films to elucidate their suitability in optoelectronic devices.

Biochemical Indicators of Energy Balance in Blood and Other Secretions of Dairy Cattle: A Review

Negative energy balance condition during transition period is a gateway for production and infectious diseases during periparturient period. Energy balance is calculated directly through difference in energy input and energy output or indirect methods like estimation of energy metabolites (NEFA, BHBA and glucose level), Body condition scoring (BCS), back fat thickness, body weight and milk components (e.g., fat protein ratio), etc., at herd level. All the indirect energy balance indicators were studied in relation to postpartum health and performances in dairy animals. Blood biochemical parameters are routinely used for evaluation of general health status of animals. But, their relationship with energy balance in early lactating cows is not clear. In this review, effects of energy balance, critical period to assess the energy balance, and blood biochemical parameters in relation to energy balance, milk yield and health status of dairy animals are discussed. We also discussed energy balance indicators in other biological fluids in dairy cattle.