Polymeric and plastic materials currently have numerous positive impacts due to their unique properties that make them important for various engineering applications. However, sustainability is a vital factor that should be considered, because of environmental issues. Eggshells (ES) are an important way to reduce the impact of nondegradable materials when applied to reinforce different types of polymer matrices, whether natural or synthetic polymers. Therefore, this study is an attempt to explore the potential application of waste eggshell fillers for the first time as a natural reinforcement in polyamide 12 (PA) composites. PA was loaded with three different ratios (3, 5, and 10 wt. %) of eggshell powder. Morphological studies of the PA powder, ES powder, and their composites were carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were performed to study the thermal and chemical properties of the raw materials and the produced composites. The results indicate ES fillers’ potential usage as a reinforcement material to develop the thermal and chemical properties of the PA polymer matrix composites, thereby reducing costs and minimizing the environmental pollution caused by waste eggshells and petroleum-based polymers.

Rock examinations for mining and commercial use are a vital process to save money and time. A variety of methods and approaches have been used to analyze rocks and among them, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques proved to be an accurate method. This research was conducted to evaluate the utility and reliability of XRF and XRD to analyze the major and trace elements of rocks as well as their crystalline structures. Results showed that XRF and XRD techniques are fast and reliable, nondestructive and non-invasive analytical tools for mineral analysis, particularly for rocks. For this purpose, the analysis of 28 samples of rocks, which collected from three different places of Kurdistan region-Iraq, is reported. These places are Haybat Sultan (HS) region in Koya city as well as TaqTaq (TA) and Garmuk (GT) district nearby Koya city. Throughout this analysis, 34 major and trace elements were detected in the rocks collected from HS region, whereas forty major and trace elements were detected in the rocks collected from TA district and GT district. In addition, it was found that the structures of these rocks were crystalline in nature. This was proved through the value of diffracted angle and it was found that the majority of these rocks are oxides. The external view (the appearance) of all collected rocks was also discussed and it was found that each rock consists of a variety of minerals which will be the reason that each rock has a specific color.

Nanoprecipitation in different oxide glasses by means of electron irradiation in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been compared in this study. Upon irradiation, groups or patterns of nanoparticles with various morphologies and sizes were formed in borosilicate glasses, loaded with zinc, copper, and silver. The study successfully includes loading ranges for the target metal from doping level (1%) over medium level (20%) to majority phase (60%). It is found that particle patterning resolution is affected by parallel processes of amorphous phase separation, glass ablation, and delocalised precipitation. In addition, via an in-situ study, it is confirmed that by heating alone without irradiation, no precipitate nanoparticles form.

In this paper, nanostructured silicon carbide (SiC) thin films are deposited onto glass substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique. Electrical and optical characterizations such as conductivity, resistivity, transmission, Seeback effect, absorption, absorption coefficient, energy band gap, and extinction coefficient as a function of photon energy, and the effect of thin films thickness on transmission are carried out to characterize the prepared samples. Results showed that the prepared SiC thin film is an n-type semiconductor with an indirect bandgap of ~3 eV, 448 nm cutoff wavelength, 3.4395 × 104 cm−1 absorption coefficient and 0.154 extinction coefficient. The surface morphology of the SiC thin films is studied using scanning electron microscope at a substrate temperature of 400 °C and it is found that the grain size of the prepared SiC thin film is about 30 nm. As such, the nano thin films optical and structural characteristics enable the films to be used as gases sensors in many optoelectronic devices such as the environment and ultraviolet photodiode.