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Abstract:
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Nanoparticles are of interest due to the high number of atoms located on the surface . This high surface area is conductive to higher catalytic efficiency than normal seen in bulk metals . Of numerous Nanoparticles catalysts studied , Platinum (Pt ) nanoparticles have attracted particular interest due to their superior catalysis for many chemical reactions , especially for fuel cell reactions including hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction . Carbon supported Pt nanoparticles are active anode catalysts for fuel cells . In this thesis nano -sized Pt particles have been synthesized by an advanced and cost effective method . Pt nanoparticles embedded in carbon matrix were synthesized by an electric plasma discharge generated in the ultrasonic cavitation field of benzene . Several material characterization techniques such as Transmission electron microscopy (TEM ) and X -ray diffraction (XRD ) were used to study the particle size and structure of the synthesized nanoparticles . X -ray photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS ) and Energy dispersive X -ray Spectroscopy (EDX ) analysis were used to study the chemical composition of the synthesized nanoparticles . Magnetic nanoparticles are of considerable interest owing to their potentials application in magnetic fluids , magnetic recording materials , biomedicine , and other applications . In particular magnetic nanoparticles offer attractive possibilities in biomedicine . The size of magnetic nanoparticles range from few nanometers up to tens of nanometers , which places them at dimensions of biological entity such as a cell , a virus , a protein and a gene . Magnetic nanoparticles can be manipulated using an external magnetic field , which provides applications such as tagging of biomolecules , efficient bioseparation , sensitive biosensing , magnetic resonance imaging and drug delivery . These applications require particles to be biocompatible , stable and biodegradable . Carbon nanoparticles are potentially biocompatible , chemically stable and nontoxic .In this work Graphite nanoparticles and iron doped carbon nanoparticles were synthesized by an electric plasma discharge generated in the ultrasonic cavitation field of benzene . Several material characterization techniques such as High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM ) and XRD were used to study the particle size and structure of the synthesized nanoparticles .XPS and EDX analysis were used to study the chemical composition of the synthesized nanoparticles . Raman spectroscopy was used to characterize carbon nanoparticles . Magnetic measurement of iron doped carbon and graphite nanoparticles were measured using Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM ) . |