The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest college of the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia. Established in 1801 following the American Revolution, the college was named in honor of American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. Today, Franklin College comprises 30 departments in five divisions: fine arts, social sciences, biological sciences, physical and mathematical sciences, and the humanities.From its founding Franklin College was the sole college of the University of Georgia, and the names of the two institutions were often used interchangeably to describe the fledgling university until 1859, when the university's colleges and schools were confederated starting with the establishment of the College of Law.Franklin College has produced distinguished alumni from a wide array of fields, including Time Inc. editor-in-chief John Huey, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey, R.E.M lead vocalist Michael Stipe, chef and television host Alton Brown, actor Wayne Knight and former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes.
To explore an efficient and cost-effective alternative to conventional organic hole transport layers (HTLs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), we developed composite inorganic chalcogenide-based thin films using Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD). Thin films of Selenium (Se) and Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) were deposited in varied thickness combinations and vacuum-annealed at 75 degrees C to form three distinct variants of Cadmium Tellurium Selenide (CTS-1, CTS-2, CTS-3). These films were systematically characterized for their structural, morphological, and opto-electronic properties and subsequently integrated into PSC devices as HTLs. Among them, CTS-1 exhibited superior crystallinity, higher transmittance, a wider bandgap, and excellent surface morphology. Devices fabricated with CTS-1 achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.39 % and a fill factor (FF) of 70 %, under ambient conditions without the use of a glovebox or inert atmosphere. The performance of CTS-1 is attributed to its efficient charge transport, improved carrier lifetime, and enhanced environmental stability. These results suggest that CTS-based HTLs, particularly CTS-1, hold great promise as robust inorganic alternatives to expensive organic HTLs like Spiro-OMeTAD, with potential for further improvement through device optimization.
Thermal and dielectric response of two orientationally disordered organic crystals or plastic crystals (PCs) viz. Aminomethylpropanediol (AMP) and Pentaglycerol (PG) was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (10_2 -107 Hz) from their deep glassy crystalline states up to their melting temperatures. The effort was made to explore and understand the relaxation dynamics in these systems and to correlate with other PCs, which lack translational degrees of freedom while maintaining rotational dynamics, and to get a comprehensive understanding on their glass forming dynamics. Both systems exhibited nonArrhenius temperature dependence and non-Debye relaxation characteristics. A distinct Johari-Goldstein (JG) secondary relaxation was resolved in PG, while AMP displayed an excess wing attributed to an unresolved JG process. Both compounds were classified as intermediate on Angell's fragility scale, showing a correlation between increasing molecular weight, higher glass transition temperature, and lower fragility. A transition from non-Arrhenius to Arrhenius behavior was linked to enhanced hydrogen bonding. The data on both samples filled the gap for attaining a comprehensive picture on rotational dynamics of tetrahedral co-ordinated polyalcoholic PCs. DFT-based dihedral scans revealed energy barriers consistent with hidden JG relaxations, under the intense structural relaxation and manifested as an excess wing.
Untreated dye-laden wastewater poses severe environmental risks due to the persistence and toxicity of synthetic colorants. Among available remediation routes, electrochemical oxidation is especially attractive for its efficiency, rapid action, and benign operation. Here, a SrSnO3/CoSnO3 nanohybrid was synthesized via co-precipitation and thoroughly characterized for structure, morphology, and functionality, then immobilized on nickel foam (NF) to form binder-free electrodes. The catalyst was assessed in both photocatalytic and electrocatalytic modes using Methyl Violet (MV) as a model pollutant, with systematic evaluation of applied voltage, initial dye concentration, catalyst dosage, reaction time, and reusability. Under visible light, the photocatalyst achieved 92 % degradation at 100 ppm within 80 min. Strikingly, the NF-supported nanohybrid delivered similar to 99.99 % electrocatalytic removal in 10 min at 5 V using only 5 mg of catalyst, highlighting exceptional activity and material economy. The superior performance is attributed to efficient charge transfer at SrSnO3/CoSnO3 heterointerface and the highly conductive NF current collector, which together promote rapid generation of oxidative species. These results position SrSnO3/CoSnO3/NF as a robust, scalable platform for sustainable treatment of dye-contaminated wastewater.
The goal of this study is to prepare nickel (Ni) doped tin dioxide-loaded activated carbon composite as a catalyst for the removal of dye. Tin dioxide with various (0.050, 0.075, and 0.10 M) Ni doping concentrations and Ni: SnO2/CCAC (corn cob activated carbon) composite was synthesized by the chemical precipitation method and labeled as NS1, NS2, NS3, and NS3/CCAC. XRD spectra revealed that the particle size in NS3/CCAC decreased (12.81 nm) as the NS3 and CCAC content. The absorption spectra reveal that the band gap in NS3/CCAC was reduced (3.50 eV) by the Ni-doping and CCAC-loading. We also used photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) in the presence of sunshine to examine the photocatalytic performance of the NS3/CCAC composite. The NS3/CCAC composite exhibited higher photocatalytic efficiency in comparison to the other samples. The high photodegradation performance (92.30 %) of the composite sample was due to its less average crystallite size, which increased the specific surface area (306.01 m(2)/g), decreased band gap, and reduced the electron-hole recombination rate resulting in improved photocatalytic efficiency. The findings reported here could benefit the NS3/CCAC photocatalysts for the removal of organic pollutants.
One-dimensional CoMn2O4 nanofibers were developed via the electrospinning method, offers a novel approach for designing electrode materials for energy storage device -supercapacitors. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with EDX confirmed the highly porous CoMn2O4 phase with desired composition. Elemental mapping studies confirmed uniform distribution of Co, Mn, and O elements throughout the nanofibers. Electrochemical studies underscored the crucial role of structural voids and spacing in enhancing energy storage capacity, establishing CoMn2O4 as a promising electrode material. Specific energy and power studies yielded remarkable results of 93.84 Whr/kg and 55.20 kW/kg, respectively. Additionally, specific capacitance determination returned 937.42 F/g, indicating exceptional charging and discharging performance over 1000 cycles with 93.3 % capacitance retention. Moreover, the flexible symmetric supercapacitor is expected to demonstrate exceptional flexibility and electrochemical stability, achieving a specific energy of 232 Wh/kg and a specific power of 84 kW/kg at a current density of 1 mA/cm2. These findings advance our understanding of CoMn2O4 nanofibers and offer insights into developing efficient and stable energy storage systems for diverse applications.
