Li 3 VO 4 has been considered as a promising anode material because of its high theoretical capacity (394mAh g À 1) and zero strain during the charge and discharge processes. However, its electronic conductivity is low, which has led to an electrochemical performance unfavourable for practical application. In this work, copper-doped Li 3 VO 4 is prepared by a simple and inexpensive sol-gel method. The doped Li 3 VO 4 delivers high initial discharge and charge capacities of up to 63 mAh g À 1 after 25 cycles for 5 % Cu-doped material at a rate of 0.5 C. Conductive Cu is found to enable better Li + ion storage due to the improved electronic conductivity, Li ion diffusion, and structural stability, improving cycling and rate performance. This work provides some hints for preparing Li 3 VO 4 based anodes with high electrochemical performance.

The accumulation of heavy metals such as Cd, Mn and Ni was investigated in seven different vegetables, fruits and soil samples from Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Heavy metals were quantified using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Concentrations of heavy metals in fruits and vegetables were in the range of 0.23–2.94 mg∙kg-1 for Cd, 11.72–50.16 mg∙kg-1 for Mn and 5.73 – 44.11 mg∙kg-1 for Ni on a dry weight basis. Analysis of soils from where fruits and vegetables were sampled showed that Cd in the soil was in the range of 0.08–1.07 mg∙kg-1, Mn levels were 204.99–249.13 mg∙kg-1 and Ni levels were 48.47–88.23 mg∙kg-1. Cd was below the instrument detection limit for soils on which onions and bananas were grown. Vegetables showed different accumulation abilities, with leafy vegetables being the highest accumulators of heavy metals. The obtained results showed that concentrations of Cd in fruits, vegetables and soils exceeded the recommended maximum acceptable levels proposed by FAO/WHO and, hence, may pose a health risk to consumers. Ni concentrations in bananas, onion, beetroot, spinach and Chinese cabbage exceeded recommended standards by FAO/WHO.

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