Highly porous activated carbon with a large surface area and pore volume was synthesized by KOH activation using commercially available activated carbon as a precursor. By modification with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), highly porous activated carbon showed superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 163.6°. The changes in wettability of PDMS‐ treated highly porous activated carbon were attributed to the deposition of a low‐surface‐energy silicon coating onto activated carbon (confirmed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy), which had microporous characteristics (confirmed by XRD, SEM, and TEM analyses). Using an easy dip‐coating method, superhydrophobic activated carbon‐coated sponges were also fabricated; those exhibited excellent absorption selectivity for the removal of a wide range of organics and oils from water, and also recyclability, thus showing great potential as efficient absorbents for the large‐scale removal of organic contaminants or oil spills from water.

Graphite oxide (GO) nanoplatelets with a thickness from 0.8 nm to 2 nm were prepared using a modified Hummers method. By employing GO nanoplatelets as nanofillers, poly(acrylic acid)-GO superabsorbent nanocomposites were synthesized by a facile solution polymerization of acrylic acid monomers using N,N 0 -methylenebisacrylamide as cross-linker and ammonium persulfate as initiator.The well-dispersed GO nanoplatelets in the polymer networks results in a significant improvement in absorbencies both in distilled water and saline solutions. With only a very low loading of GO in the superabsorbent nanocomposite, for example 0.073 wt%, its water absorbency reaches up to 508 g g À1 , which is nearly as twice that of the poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) superabsorbent. The superabsorbent nanocomposite also exhibits a superior water-retention ability compared with the control under the same conditions. Our study may provide a new way for the development of novel, GO-based superabsorbent nanocomposites with improved absorbency and may find a variety of useful applications.

The capture of iodine using porous materials has attracted considerable interest. In this work, porous carbon with a special surface area of 1973 m 2 g -1 was prepared by simple activation method. As an adsorbent, the adsorption capacity of the resulting porous carbon could reach up to 376 wt% for iodine vapor and 460 mg g -1 for iodine uptake in cyclohexane, which both are among the highest values reported up to now. Taking advantages of its high special surface area, easy preparation, low cost, as well as good regeneration, the resulting porous carbon shows great potential in the removal of radioactive iodine at different states.

Excellent mechanical properties are often found in bulk nanocrystalline materials. However, it is a major challenge to find a method of processing that is convenient, has a low cost, and a capacity to be scaled up. Bulk nanocrystalline Fe3Al‐based material with a MnAl1.11S1.89 contamination phase has been successfully synthesized (see figure) by making use of a simple aluminothermic reaction route.