Experimental determination of the mechanical and hydrolytic properties of chitosan/rice husk ash composite membranes.

Chitosan-based membranes are promising alternatives to synthetic membranes in a number of specialized use cases, including water purification and electrochemical devices. In application, excessive swelling when hydrated can lead to poor mechanical integrity, necessitating modifications to the polymer so as to counter this effect. Embedding inorganic fillers within an organic polymer matrix is one method of combining excellent mechanical stability with good performance.

Theoretical investigation of electronic, energetic, and mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose composite hydrogel electrolyte.

Hydrogels are a new class of electrolytic materials employed in zinc-air batteries due to their significant on the battery's performance. However, the effectiveness of electrolytic hydrogel is affected by factors such as water content, temperature, additives, etc. Using DMol and molecular dynamics modeling techniques, this research aimed at investigating the electronic properties, effect of water content, and temperature on the binding energy, cohesive energy, and the mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose-based composite hydrogel at the molecular level.

A narrative review of the synthesis, characterization, and applications of iron oxide nanoparticles.

The significance of green synthesized nanomaterials with a uniform shape, reduced sizes, superior mechanical capabilities, phase microstructure, magnetic behavior, and superior performance cannot be overemphasized. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are found within the size range of 1-100 nm in nanomaterials and have a diverse range of applications in fields such as biomedicine, wastewater purification, and environmental remediation. Nevertheless, the understanding of their fundamental material composition, chemical reactions, toxicological properties, and research methodologies is constrained and extensively elucidated during their practical implementation.

Effects of polyethylene oxide particles on the photo-physical properties and stability of FA-rich perovskite solar cells.

In this paper, we use Polyethylene Oxide (PEO) particles to control the morphology of Formamidinium (FA)-rich perovskite films and achieve large grains with improved optoelectronic properties. Consequently, a planar perovskite solar cell (PSC) is fabricated with additions of 5 wt% of PEO, and the highest PCE of 18.03% was obtained.

Tuning the Nanoporous Structure of Carbons Derived from the Composite of Cross-Linked Polymers for Charge Storage Applications.

Controlling the porosity of carbon-based electrodes is key toward performance improvement of charge storage devices, e.g., supercapacitors, which deliver high power via fast charge/discharge of ions at the electrical double layer (EDL).

Modified Activation Process for Supercapacitor Electrode Materials from African Maize Cob.

In this work, African maize cobs (AMC) were used as a rich biomass precursor to synthesize carbon material through a chemical activation process for application in electrochemical energy storage devices. The carbonization and activation were carried out with concentrated Sulphuric acid at three different temperatures of 600, 700 and 800 °C, respectively. The activated carbon exhibited excellent microporous and mesoporous structure with a specific surface area that ranges between 30 and 254 m·g as measured by BET analysis.

Hydrothermal synthesis of manganese phosphate/graphene foam composite for electrochemical supercapacitor applications.

Manganese phosphate (Mn(PO) hexagonal micro-rods and (Mn(PO) with different graphene foam (GF) mass loading up to 150mg were prepared by facile hydrothermal method. The characterization of the as-prepared samples proved the successful synthesis of Mn(PO) hexagonal micro-rods and Mn(PO)/GF composites. It was observed that the specific capacitance of Mn(PO)/GF composites with different GF mass loading increases with mass loading up to 100mg, and then decreases with increasing mass loading up to 150mg.

High performance asymmetric supercapacitor based on molybdenum disulphide/graphene foam and activated carbon from expanded graphite.

Molybdenum disulphide which has a graphene-like single layer structure has excellent mechanical and electrical properties and unique morphology, which might be used with graphene foam as composite in supercapacitor applications. In this work, Molybdenum disulphide (MoS)/graphene foam (GF) composites with different graphene foam loading were synthesized by the hydrothermal process to improve on specific capacitance of the composites. Asymmetric supercapacitor device was fabricated using the best performing MoS/GF composite and activated carbon derived from expanded graphite (AEG) as positive and negative electrodes, respectively, in 6M KOH electrolyte.

High electrochemical performance of hybrid cobalt oxyhydroxide/nickel foam graphene.

In this study, we report the in-situ hydrothermal synthesis of mesoporous nanosheets of cobalt oxyhydroxide (CoOOH) on nickel foam graphene (Ni-FG) substrate, obtained via atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition (AP-CVD). The produced composite were closely interlinked with Ni-FG, which enhances the synergistic effect between graphene and the metal hydroxide, CoOOH. It is motivating that the synthesized CoOOH on the Ni-FG substrate showed a homogenous coating of well-ordered intersected nanosheets with porous structure.

Silicene and transition metal based materials: prediction of a two-dimensional piezomagnet.

We use first-principles density functional theory based calculations to determine the stability and properties of silicene, a graphene-like structure made from silicon, and explore the possibilities of modifying its structure and properties through incorporation of transition metal ions (M: Ti, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo and W) in its lattice, forming MSi(2). While pure silicene is stable in a distorted honeycomb lattice structure obtained by opposite out-of-plane displacements of the two Si sub-lattices, its electronic structure still exhibits linear dispersion with the Dirac conical feature similar to graphene. We show that incorporation of transition metal ions in its lattice results in a rich set of properties with a clear dependence on the structural changes, and that CrSi(2) forms a two-dimensional magnet exhibiting a strong piezomagnetic coupling.