Carbon cryogel/ceria composite, with 10 wt.% of ceria, was synthesized by mixing of ceria and carbon cryogel (CC). The sample was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption and X-ray diffraction. The adsorption of arsenic(III) ions from aqueous solutions on carbon cryogel/ceria nanocomposite was studied as a function of time, solution pH and As(III) ion concentration. The results are correlated with previous investigations of adsorption mechanism of arsenic(III) on carbon cryogel. Adsorption dose experiments showed that the mass of the adsorbent was reduced for 20 times, in comparison with pure CC, for the same amount of adsorbed arsenic(III) ions. BET isotherm was used to interpret the experimental data for modelling liquid phase adsorption.

Ternary chalcogenide nanoparticles, CuInS2 and CuInSe2, were synthesized in high- temperature boiling organic non-polar solvent. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that both materials have tetragonal (chalcopyrite) crystal structure. Morphology of the obtained materials was revealed by using transmission electron microscopy. Agglomerated spherical CuInS2 nanoparticles with broad size distribution in the range from 2 to 20 nm were obtained. In the case of CuInSe2, isolated particles with spherical or prismatic shape in the size range from 10 to 25 nm were obtained, as well as agglomerates consisting of much smaller particles with diameter of about 2-5 nm. The particles with the smallest diameters of both materials exhibit quantum size effect