The design and development of nanomaterials has become central to the advancement of pseudocapacitive performance. Many one-dimensional nanostructures (1D NSs), two-dimensional nanostructures (2D NSs), and three-dimensional hierarchical structures (3D HSs) composed of these building blocks have been synthesized as pseudocapacitive materials via different methods. However, due to the unclear assembly mechanism of these NSs, reports of HSs simultaneously assembled from two or more types of NSs are rare. In this article, NiCo2O4 multiple hierarchical structures (MHSs) composed of 1D nanowires and 2D nanosheets are simply grown on Ni foam using an ordered two-step hydrothermal synthesis followed by annealing processing. The low-dimensional nanowire is found to hold priority in the growth order, rather than the high-dimensional nanosheet, thus effectively promoting the integration of these different NSs in the assembly of the NiCo2O4 MHSs. With vast electroactive surface area and favorable mesoporous architecture, the NiCo2O4 MHSs exhibit a high specific capacitance of up to 2623.3 F g(-1), scaled to the active mass of the NiCo2O4 sample at a current density of 1 A g(-1). A nearly constant rate performance of 68% is achieved at a current density ranging from 1 to 40 A g(-1), and the sample retains approximately 94% of its maximum capacitance even after 3000 continuous charge-discharge cycles at a consistently high current density of 10 A g(-1).

Flower-shaped NiCo2O4 hierarchical superstructures have been synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method with a post-annealing treatment. The single as-synthesized flower-shaped architecture is self-assembled from many nanosheets. When examined as a positive material for supercapacitors in a three-electrode configuration, the NiCo2O4 electrode shows typical faradaic redox properties consistent with battery-type materials and exhibits an excellent rate performance, with a 20-fold increase in the current density from 1 to 20 A g−1 (81.7% capacity retention of that at 1 A g−1).

In this study, we investigated the effects of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Funneliformis mosseae and Diversispora spurcum on the growth, antioxidant physiology, and uptake of phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) by maize (Zea mays L.) grown in heavy metal-polluted soils though a potted plant experiment. F. mosseae significantly increased the plant chlorophyll a content, height, and biomass; decreased the HO and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents; and enhanced the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in maize leaves; this effect was not observed with D. spurcum. Both F. mosseae and D. spurcum promoted the retention of heavy metals in roots and increased the uptake of Pb, Zn, Cd, and As, and both fungi restricted heavy metal transfer, resulting in decreased Pb, Zn, and Cd contents in shoots. Therefore, the fungi reduced the translocation factors for heavy metal content (TF) and uptake (TF') in maize. Additionally, F. mosseae promoted P and S uptake by shoots, and D. spurcum increased P and S uptake by roots. Moreover, highly significant negative correlations were found between antioxidant capacity and the HO, MDA, and heavy metal contents, and there was a positive correlation with the biomass of maize leaves. These results suggested that AMF alleviated plant toxicity and that this effect was closely related to antioxidant activation in the maize leaves and increased retention of heavy metals in the roots.

No abstract

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text