We demonstrate that uniform dispersion of TiO(2) on graphene is critical for the photocatalytic effect of the composite. The hydrothermal method was employed to synthesize TiO(2) nanowires (NW) and then fabricate graphene-TiO(2) nanowire nanocomposite (GNW). Graphene oxide (GO) reduction to graphene and hybridization between TiO(2) NWs and graphene by forming chemical bonding was achieved in a one-step hydrothermal process. Graphene-TiO(2) nanoparticle (NP) nanocomposite (GNP) was also synthesized. Photocatalytic performance and related properties of NP, NW, GNP, and GNW were comparatively studied. It was found that by incorporation of graphene, GNP and GNW have higher performance than their counterparts. More importantly, it was found that NWs, in comparison with NPs, have more uniform dispersion on graphene with less agglomeration, resulting in more direct contact between TiO(2) and graphene, and hence further improved electron-hole pairs (EHPs) separation and transportation. The adsorbability of GNW is also found to be higher than GNP. The result reveals that the relative photocatalytic activity of GNW is much higher than GNP and pure NWs or NPs.
Knowledge on species’ breeding biology is the building blocks of avian life history theory. A review for the current status of the knowledge at a global scale is needed to highlight the priority for future research. We collected all available information on three critical nesting parameters (clutch size, incubation period and nestling period) for the close to 10 000 bird species in the world and identified taxonomic, geographic and habitat gaps in the distribution of knowledge on avian breeding biology. The results show that only one third of all extant species are well known regarding the three nesting parameters analyzed, while the rest are partly or poorly known. Most data deficient taxonomic groups are tropical forest nesters, particularly from the Amazon basin, southeast Asia, Equatorial Africa and Madagascar – the places that harbor the world's highest bird diversity. These knowledge gaps could be hampering our understanding of avian life histories. Ornithologists are encouraged to pay more efforts to explore the breeding biology of those poorly‐known species.
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