Due to the water scarcity in Iran, it is important to provide strategies to reduce water consumption in the agriculture sector. Zycosil is a nanotechnology material that makes a great hydrophobe in the soil. This study was conducted based on completely randomized block design within microlysimeter with the height of 15 cm and the diameter of 8 cm to investigate the hydrophobic effect on the amount of consumed water in pepper. Sweet pepper seedlings were planted in them; then the treatments were applied. The Z25, Z50 and Z75 treatments consisted of covering 25, 50 and 75 % of the soil surface by Zycosil; these were compared with the control (Ctrl-no Zycosil application) in three replications. The results showed that Z75 treatment reduced 27% water consumption and increased the fresh yield by approximately 62 %. The increased yield of Z25 and Z50 was 5 and 26 %, respectively. Dry pepper yield was increased in Z25, Z50 and Z75 treatments by 22, 19 and 80%, respectively, as compared to Ctrl treatment. The amount of water consumed was decreased by 10 % per 25% coverage level. The least amount of water use efficiency was observed in the control treatment (1. 28 gr/cm3). The Z75 had the highest water use efficiency (2. 96 gr/cm3). Hence, the application of hydrophobic material such as Zycosil in the soil surface reduced water evaporation and increased water retention. This increased the yield and water use efficiency.

The performance of asphalt pavements against environmental factors such as moisture is important. Many failures are caused by the direct flow of water into the pavement and the weakening of the bond between bitumen and aggregates.Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of anti-stripping nano-materials and Iranian Gilsonite on the moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixtures, and in this research, hot-mix asphalt is investigated. To achieve this goal, the calcined aggregates, bitumen 60-70, and two additives of mineral pitch and Zycosil are used. The mineral pitch was mixed with bitumen at 3, 6 and 9% levels by weight of bitumen and Zycosil was mixed at 0.15% by weight of bitumen for each asphalt specimen. The level of bitumen used in samples is considered to be the same with the optimum bitumen of the control sample. Then, the diagrams of tests conducted on the samples were plotted. These tests, which were used to study the effect of these materials on the adhesion and strength of asphalt mixtures, include indirect tensile test, resilient modulus and Marshall stability. The results from the experiments show that the mineral pitch and Zycosil improve the performance of hot-mix asphalt.

Prediction of plant water consumption in each growth stage plays an important role in soil and water resources management and proper irrigation scheduling. The aim of this study was to determine the amount of water requirement and crop coefficient of pepper in terms of soil coverage with different amounts of Zycosil. This paper used the Kc procedure of FAO No. 56 (Allen et al. 1998) to obtain single and dual crop coefficients of sweet pepper. The dual crop coefficient approach is more complicated and requires more numerical calculations than the single crop coefficient approach. The single crop coefficient is defined as the ratio of ET from crop to some reference ET as defined by weather data. The dual crop coefficient has two fractions, one for crop transpiration, i. e., the basal crop coefficient (Kcb), and one for soil evaporation (Ke). Basal crop coefficients, Kcb, represent primarily the transpiration component of ET and a small evaporation component from soil that is visibly dry at the surface.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of coating Populus nigra with silica nanoparticles on some performance parameters. Wood samples of P. nigrawere were coated with a combination of silica nanoparticles (3%, 5% and 7%) and zycosil by spin coating method and the obtained results were compared with controls of A. alba and P. nigra. Structural properties of wood samples were investigated by SEM and FTIR tests. Performance properties of wood samples, including water absorption, contact angle and density were investigated. The results showed formation bonds between silica nanoparticles and zycosil. Coating wood samples with silica nanoparticles in the concentrations of 5% and 7% in combination with zycosil decreased water absorption compared to P. nigra control (P<0. 05). The wood samples coated with nanosilica and zycosil had a higher contact angle and density compared to P. nigracontrol (P<0. 05).

In this study reduction in water consumption was evaluated in green space using hydrophobic layer and subsurface irrigation system for ornamental plants Gazanya in Shahrekord University. The experiment was done in a completely randomized design with four treatments and three replications. The treatments included surface irrigation (SI), subsurface irrigation (SSI), subsurface irrigation including hydrophobic layer with thickness of 5 mm (SSILH5) and subsurface irrigation including hydrophobic layer with thickness of 10 mm (SSILH10). During the growing season, factors such as amount of water consumption, leaf length, number of flowers, plant width, flower, peduncle and leaf area were measured. Analysis of variance results due to water consumption showed a significant difference between the treatments in a level of 1%. Maximum and minimum volumes of water consumption were respectively related to surface irrigation treatment (SI) with 656.8 mm and the surface hydrophobic layer one with the thickness of 10 mm (SSILH10) in which the value was 359.3 m. Water consumption reductions in SSI, SSILH5 and SSILH10 treatments comparing to SI were 17.4%, 32.7% and 45.3%, respectively. Analysis of variance results related to plant parameters showed a significant difference between the treatments. The hydrophobic layer treatment with 5 mm thickness had the highest yield.

The potential use of nano technology for improving of withdrawal resistance of nail and screw in wood was evaluated. For this, the maintenance strength of nail and screw was measured under dry and wet conditions for Poplar wood (Populus nigra) coated with common paints in furniture industry and nano-particles. Specimens with dimensions of 15×5×5 cm3 (L×R×T) were cut from Poplar wood (Populus nigra), Then, nails and screws were fixed on wood specimens, with respect to the ASTM-D 1761 standard. Afterward, specimens were separately coated with acid catalyzed lacquers and nitrocellulose lacquers and polyester paints, nano-zycosil and nano-zycofil reinforced polyester. Some specimens were dried in laboratory conditions and the others, under temperature of 103±2oC in oven, Then, the maintenance strength of nail and screw was measured by a mechanical test apparatus (Instron). The results revealed that the minimum maintenance strength of nail and screw is for wet specimens and the maximum is for dry ones coated with acid catalyzed lacquers and nitrocellulose lacquers paint and Zycosil nano-particles. Zycosil nano-particles had better performance in comparison with Zycofil nano-particles. Increase in the maintenance strength of nail and screw in coated specimens with nano-particles reinforced paint is due to the formed rigid surfaces and decrease of water penetration in wood.

Utilization of paper as packaging material and developing technologies such as sensors on paper-based substrate are drastically dependent to control of cellulosic fiber hydrophilicity and enhancement of its hydrophobic properties. Thus, this work carried out with the aim of developing hydrophobic surface on cellulosic fiber applying layer by layer (LBL) method while keeping and enhancing the properties of paper network. The deposition was implemented by titanium dioxide nanoparticles and polyacrylic acid as cationic and anionic layer respectively on the fibers of unbleached hardwood kraft pulp and using Zycosil and fluoroalkyl silane on the last layer. The hand-sheets were then made using this modified fiber. The contact angle and roughness were measured to evaluate the effect of layers on hydrophobicity. The results indicated that roughness increased with the number of layers. The instant contact angle was also increased with the number of layers and reached approximately to 110 degrees at 7th layer. The dynamic contact angles dropped with increasing the number of layers. The fluorosilane deposition as 8th layer in mixture with Zycosil showed more effective on surface energy reduction. The instant contact angle of Zycosil treated paper was measured as125 degrees which dropped significantly to 48 degrees after 30 seconds. However, fluorosilane modified paper exhibited contact angle of 140 degrees at the same time. In addition, the presence of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the surface of fiber was demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of paper surface.

The structure of Persepolis is subjected to various factors that cause erosion and decay due to moisture. The cement mortars used in past restorations are one of the challenges in preserving this grand stone monument. Over time, these mortars, due to higher water absorption than the stone, have exacerbated the destructive effects of moisture, causing serious but gradual and irreversible damage. Since removing these mortars and replacing the past restorative measures to improve the current situation is extremely difficult and may have damaging consequences for these valuable artifacts, this research aims to evaluate the impact of nano waterproof coatings on reducing the moisture absorption of the used cement mortars through comprehensive studies on the current state of these monuments and the restorations carried out with cement. Therefore, this research aims  to provide a suitable solution without needing to remove the cement mortar and with minimal intervention to protect these artifacts. This study employs an experimental research method and considers theoretical concepts within laboratory studies. In this process, two types of Iranian and foreign nano waterproof coatings named  Zycosil Max and FarazSil were applied on similar cement mortar samples, and their permeability and water absorption were evaluated using water absorption percentage and capillarity tests. The results showed that both waterproof coatings effectively reduced the cement mortar's water absorption. Zycosil Max, with a performance of 60.5%, and Faraz Sil, with a performance of 48.02%, significantly reduced the water absorption of the cement mortar, with  Zycosil Max showing better performance than FarazSil. However, considering that the water absorption percentage did not reach close to that of the stone samples of Persepolis and the more than tenfold difference in water absorption percentage, none of the studied materials are recommended for waterproofing the cement mortar used in the restoration of the Persepolis monument.