Hierarchically porous graphite particles are synthesized using a continuous, scalable aerosol approach. The unique porous graphite architecture provides the particles with high surface area, fast ion transportation, and good electronic conductivity, which endows the resulting supercapacitors with high energy and power densities. This work provides a new material platform for high‐performance supercapacitors with high packing density, and is adaptable to battery electrodes, fuel‐cell catalyst supports, and other applications.

Highly robust, flexible, binder-free lithium-ion electrodes were fabricated based on interpenetrative nanocomposites of ultra-long CNTs and V 2 O 5 nanowires. Such robust composite-network architecture provides the electrodes with effective charge transport and structural integrity, leading to high-performance flexible electrodes with high capacity, high rate-capability and excellent cycling stability.

A general, aerosol-based, one-step approach was explored to synthesize microporous and mesoporous spherical carbon particles with highly porous foam-like structures from aqueous sucrose solutions containing colloidal silica particles and/or silicate cluster templates.

A general approach has been developed to synthesize high-quality Cu−In−S based multicomponent solid-solution nanocrystals (NCs) of Zn2x (CuIn)1−x S2, (CuIn)1−x Cd2x S2, and (ZnS) x (CuInS2) y (CdS) z at relatively low temperature. This was achieved in a noncoordinating solvent system (toluene) by a simple solvothermal process using metal diethyldithiocarbamate complexes as the precursors. The composition, crystalline structure, size, and bang gap of the NCs could be readily tuned by the precursors used and synthesis conditions. This work provides useful understanding for the synthesis of solid-solution NCs that are of interest for photocatalyst, solar cell, and other applications.

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We have utilized room-temperature solvent vapor treatment followed by thermal annealing to process bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic devices based on blends of poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) of varied active layer thickness. The morphological and photovoltaic performance characteristics of the cells subject to these treatments were found to be dependent on active layer thickness. The devices were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and opto-electrical and external quantum efficiency measurements in order to analyze the mechanism underlying the observed trend. Performance indicators including fill factor, short-circuit current and power conversion efficiency were correlated to the ordering of device active layers and morphology. The maximum power conversion efficiency achieved was 4.1 %.

Groundwater contamination by arsenic (As) is a serious public health concern in many different areas worldwide, particularly in the Bengal region. Mobilization and fate of As in natural waters is controlled by a variety of factors including the presence of natural organic matter (NOM). This study experimentally determined conditional distribution coefficients (with KD defined as the ratio between As bound to NOM and truly dissolved As) and apparent stability constants between As III oxyanions and NOM from cow dung, chicken dung, and Bangladeshi aquaculture pond sediment prior to and after one year of operation. As-sorption experiments with cow dung as the source of NOM resulted in the highest range for log KD, from 4.7 to 6.3. Pond sediment from Bangladesh after a year of operation for fish production showed greater affinity for binding As oxyanions than fresh sediment prior to fish production. PHREEQCI modeling using constants derived from the experiments along with water chemistry parameters typical for the site supports the dominance of As III oxyanion-NOM complexation in this system. Models employing constants from previous studies using purified NOM considerably underestimate observed complexation by environmental NOM; thus, applying site-specific constants to geochemical models will better predict As speciation for the field site. remediation techniques, the link between that and As mobilization should be fully elucidated.