Now showing 1 - 10 of 24
  • Publication
    Functionalized carbon nanotube - modified ELISA for early detection of heart attack
    A warning issue of heart attacks in young adults needs immediate attention lately. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is an easy and commonly used method for detecting early stages of heart attack. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a responsible biomarker for acute myocardial infarction. However, the conventional ELISA system was only able to detect at 100 pM of cTnI. To improve the system, enhancements were introduced through the integration of functionalized carbon nanotube (fCNT) to amplify cTnI detection signals. By utilizing the advantage of fCNT, a noticeable improvement in results can be obtained. The detection limit was lowered down to an impressive 10 pM. Furthermore, the change of absorbance increased from 31.90% for conventional ELISA surge to 98.61 for modified ELISA system. This three-fold increase in sensitivity shows remarkable improvement through the introduction of fCNT in modified ELISA technique.
  • Publication
    Synthesis and preparation of metal oxide powders
    In recent years, metal oxide, especially in the form of powders, is extensively studied owing to their unique and novel properties. In this regard, this chapter provides a thorough description of current advances on the synthesis and preparation of metal oxide powders. The chapter begins with the introduction and motivation of the preparation of synthetic metal oxide powders. This is followed by the description of the synthesis and preparation method of metal oxide powders, which can be categorized into chemical methods, physical methods, and biological methods. Several important methods under each category were described with examples. This chapter ends with concluding remarks with views on the recent progress and future challenges of metal oxide powders research.
  • Publication
    Low temperature annealed zinc oxide nanostructured thin film-based transducers: Characterization for sensing applications
    ( 2015)
    R. Haarindraprasad
    ;
    ; ;
    Muhammad Kashif
    ;
    P. Veeradasan
    ;
    S. R. Balakrishnan
    ;
    ;
    The performance of sensing surfaces highly relies on nanostructures to enhance their sensitivity and specificity. Herein, nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films of various thicknesses were coated on glass and p-type silicon substrates using a sol-gel spin-coating technique. The deposited films were characterized for morphological, structural, and optoelectronic properties by high-resolution measurements. X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the deposited films have a c-axis orientation and display peaks that refer to ZnO, which exhibits a hexagonal structure with a preferable plane orientation (002). The thicknesses of ZnO thin films prepared using 1, 3, 5, and 7 cycles were measured to be 40, 60, 100, and 200 nm, respectively. The increment in grain size of the thin film from 21 to 52 nm was noticed, when its thickness was increased from 40 to 200 nm, whereas the band gap value decreased from 3.282 to 3.268 eV. Band gap value of ZnO thin film with thickness of 200 nm at pH ranging from 2 to 10 reduces from 3.263eV to 3.200 eV. Furthermore, to evaluate the transducing capacity of the ZnO nanostructure, the refractive index, optoelectric constant, and bulk modulus were analyzed and correlated. The highest thickness (200 nm) of ZnO film, embedded with an interdigitated electrode that behaves as a pH-sensing electrode, could sense pH variations in the range of 2-10. It showed a highly sensitive response of 444 μAmM-1cm-2 with a linear regression of R2 =0.9304. The measured sensitivity of the developed device for pH per unit is 3.72μA/pH.
  • Publication
    Improvement synthesis of graphene oxide yield in two steps of intercalation and oxidation of flexible graphite foil by electrochemical exfoliation
    ( 2024-04)
    M. O. Ariffa
    ;
    ;
    Synthesis of high quality and quantity of graphene by cost-effective methods are highly desirable for various application. In electrochemical exfoliation, graphite foil has been used as carbon source for the synthesis of high yield of graphene flakes. Electrochemical exfoliation is one of the faster and cheaper method to synthesize graphene sheets. In this work, five different types of concentration of sulphuric acid were used for electrochemical exfoliation. The electrochemical cell design where graphite foil as anode and copper foil as cathode which were connected to DC power supply of 5V. To examine the morphology scanning electron microscope (SEM) was employed in which the sheet structures with large lateral dimension and thin graphene flakes. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that exfoliated graphene samples showed a significant peak at about 2θ = 26º corresponded to graphite.
  • Publication
    Towards greener one-part geopolymers through solid sodium activators modification
    ( 2022-12-10)
    Wan-En O.
    ;
    Yun-Ming L.
    ;
    Cheng-Yong H.
    ;
    ; ;
    Bin Khalid M.S.
    ;
    ;
    Shee-Ween O.
    ;
    Pei Seng T.
    ;
    Yong Jie H.
    ;
    Zulkifly K.
    This paper investigates the influence of various solid activators and their mixing parameters on the physical, mechanical and microstructural characteristics of greener one-part geopolymers (OPG) based on high calcium fly ash. The high calcium fly ash that has rarely been explored was utilised to develop OPG in this study. The anhydrous sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3) with negative environmental impact propelled the partial replacement of Na2SiO3 with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). Two sets of high calcium fly ash OPGs were developed: (1) the MH-OPG comprised Na2SiO3 and NaOH; (2) the MC-OPG comprised Na2SiO3 and Na2CO3. The optimal MH-OPG (73 MPa) and MC-OPG (75 MPa) exhibited superior compressive strength, higher than the minimal requirement (>28 MPa) of ASTM C150/C150M-18 for construction binder material. Various solid alkali activators triggered different reaction mechanisms, yielding distinctive reaction products that contributed to strength growth. The sodium calcium aluminosilicate hydrate ((N,C)-A-S-H) gel was developed in MH-OPG, whereas the sodium carbonate hydrate, sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N-A-S-H) and calcium aluminosilicate hydrate (C-A-S-H) binding phases were developed in the MC-OPG. Although Na2CO3 reduced the water demand, improved the fluidity and setting time, the MC-OPG was more sensitive to the alteration of mixing compositions, suggesting a tougher performance control during field application than the MH-OPG. The total embodied carbon (EC) of MC-OPG was lowered by 15.4% compared to that of MH-OPG. The embodied carbon index (ECI) of MH-OPG and MC-OPG were 81.3% and 84.7% less than that of OPC products. This work suggests that substituting Na2SiO3 with NaOH or Na2CO3 effectively produced a greener construction material without compromising mechanical strength.
  • Publication
    From nanostructure to nano biosensor: Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), UniMAP experience
    Nanostructure is defined as something that has a physical dimension smaller than 100 nanometers, ranging from clusters and/or to dimensional layers of atoms. There are three most important nanostructures that are extensively studied and researched in various organizations including Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE) in UniMAP. These include quantum dot, nanowire, and nanogap, which have been successfully designed and fabricated using in-house facilities available. These are subsequently used as a main sensing component in nanostructures based biosensor. This fabrication, characterization and testing job were done within four main interlinked laboratories namely microfabrication cleanroom, nanofabrication cleanroom, failure analysis laboratory and nano biochip laboratory. Currently, development of Nano Biosensor is the main research focus in INEE. In principle, biosensor is an analytical device which converts a biological response into an electrical signal.
  • Publication
    Fabrication of Integrated Electrode for pH Sensor Application
    ( 2021-01-01)
    Mohd Akhir F.S.
    ;
    ;
    Jin T.S.
    ;
    ; ;
    Azman Abu Hassan M.
    Integrated Electrode (IDEs), as a sensor, is a pervasive device in modern electronics and future hopes for producing a highly sensitive and selective sensor. In this work, a simple method of conventional photolithography for the fabrication of interdigitated electrodes is presented in detail. The structural of highly uniform IDEs device was optically characterized using high power microscope (HPM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Besides, the fabricated IDEs device was undergone electrical measurement with different pH. The result shows the highest current at 96 nA when the IDEs was tested with pH 10. Overall, our study establishes a correlation between structural and electrical properties of Al IDEs thin films with different pH
  • Publication
    Towards greener one-part geopolymers through solid sodium activators modification
    ( 2022-12-10)
    Ooi Wan En
    ;
    ; ; ; ;
    Bin Khalid M.S.
    ;
    ;
    Ong Shee Ween
    ;
    Pei Seng T.
    ;
    Hang Yong Jie
    ;
    Khairunnisa Zulkifly
    This paper investigates the influence of various solid activators and their mixing parameters on the physical, mechanical and microstructural characteristics of greener one-part geopolymers (OPG) based on high calcium fly ash. The high calcium fly ash that has rarely been explored was utilised to develop OPG in this study. The anhydrous sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3) with negative environmental impact propelled the partial replacement of Na2SiO3 with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). Two sets of high calcium fly ash OPGs were developed: (1) the MH-OPG comprised Na2SiO3 and NaOH; (2) the MC-OPG comprised Na2SiO3 and Na2CO3. The optimal MH-OPG (73 MPa) and MC-OPG (75 MPa) exhibited superior compressive strength, higher than the minimal requirement (>28 MPa) of ASTM C150/C150M-18 for construction binder material. Various solid alkali activators triggered different reaction mechanisms, yielding distinctive reaction products that contributed to strength growth. The sodium calcium aluminosilicate hydrate ((N,C)-A-S-H) gel was developed in MH-OPG, whereas the sodium carbonate hydrate, sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N-A-S-H) and calcium aluminosilicate hydrate (C-A-S-H) binding phases were developed in the MC-OPG. Although Na2CO3 reduced the water demand, improved the fluidity and setting time, the MC-OPG was more sensitive to the alteration of mixing compositions, suggesting a tougher performance control during field application than the MH-OPG. The total embodied carbon (EC) of MC-OPG was lowered by 15.4% compared to that of MH-OPG. The embodied carbon index (ECI) of MH-OPG and MC-OPG were 81.3% and 84.7% less than that of OPC products. This work suggests that substituting Na2SiO3 with NaOH or Na2CO3 effectively produced a greener construction material without compromising mechanical strength.
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  • Publication
    Effective synthesis of silicon carbide nanotubes by microwave heating of blended silicon dioxide and multi-walled carbon nanotube
    Silicon carbide nanotube (SiCNTs) has been proven as a suitable material for wide applications in high power, elevated temperature and harsh environment. For the first time, we reported in this article an effective synthesis of SiCNTs by microwave heating of SiO2 and MWCNTs in molar ratio of 1:1, 1:3, 1:5 and 1:7. Blend of SiO2 and MWCNTs in the molar ratio of 1:3 was proven to be the most suitable for the high yield synthesis of β-SiCNTs as confirmed by X-ray diffraction pattern. Only SiCNTs were observed from the blend of MWCNTs and SiO2 in the molar ratio of 1:3 from field emission scanning electron microscopy imaging. High magnification transmission electron microscopy showed that tubular structure of MWCNT was preserved with the inter-planar spacing of 0.25 nm. Absorption bands of Si-C bond were detected at 803 cm-1 in Fourier transform infrared spectrum. Thermal gravimetric analysis revealed that SiCNTs from ratio of 1:3 showed the lowest weight loss. Thus, our synthetic process indicates high yield conversion of SiO2 and MWCNTs to SiCNTs was achieved for blend of SiO2 and MWCNTs in molar ratio of 1:3.
      3  9
  • Publication
    Evaluation of the effect of silica fume on amorphous fly ash geopolymers exposed to elevated temperature
    ( 2021-01-01)
    Li O.H.
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    ; ;
    Bayuaji R.
    ;
    ; ; ;
    Teng N.H.
    ;
    Nabiałek M.
    ;
    Jeż B.
    ;
    Sing N.Y.
    The properties of amorphous geopolymer with silica fume addition after heat treatment was rarely reported in the geopolymer field. Geopolymer was prepared by mixing fly ash and alkali activator. The silica fume was added in 2% and 4% by weight. The geopolymer samples were cured at room temperature for 28 days before exposed to an elevated temperature up to 1000â—¦C. The incorporation of 2% silica fume did not cause significant improvement in the compressive strength of unexposed geopolymer. Higher silica fume content of 4% reduced the compressive strength of the unexposed geopolymer. When subjected to elevated temperature, geopolymer with 2% silica fume retained higher compressive strength at 1000â—¦C. The addition of silica fume in fly ash geopolymer caused a lower degree of shrinkage and expansion, as compared to geopolymer without the addition of silica fume. Crystalline phases of albite and magnetite were formed in the geopolymer at 1000â—¦C.
      1