Atmospheric flows of semi-volatile organic pollutants to the Great Lakes estimated by the United States' Integrated Atmospheric Deposition and Canada's Great Lakes Basin Monitoring and Surveillance Networks

We calculated the wet and dry deposition, vapor absorption, and volatilization flows (in kg/yr) of seven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), nine organochlorine pesticides, and two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into and out of the Great Lakes during 2010–2015 (inclusive). Particle, vapor, and precipitation concentrations from five rural and remote stations (one site on each lake) and two urban sites, operated by the United States and Canada, were used for the flow calculations. Output from the water to the air was the most important process for PCBs, chlordanes, and p,p′-DDE. The flows of endosulfan, p,p′-DDT, and phenanthrene were dominated by vapor absorption from the air to the water. The flow of benzo[a]pyrene was controlled by wet and dry deposition to the water. The flows of the hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) into and out of the lakes were about equal, indicating air-water equilibrium for these compounds. Among the lakes, Lakes Superior and Erie had the highest input and output flows. The input and output flows for the five lakes were decreasing with halving times of 1–10 years and 10–40 years, respectively. Most chemicals had seasonal variations in their flows, with maximum inputs in the summer and maximum outputs in the fall. The flows of PCBs and PAHs into Lakes Michigan and Erie were associated with Chicago and Cleveland, respectively. Combining our data with previous data over the period 1992–2015, we estimated that the input flows of most of these chemicals have significantly decreased, but the output flows do not show consistent trends.     

Rainproof cities in the Netherlands: approaches in Dutch water governance to climate-adaptive urban planning

Abstract

Due to increasingly frequent incidents of pluvial flooding of public spaces and private properties, climate-adaptive building and urban water management are gaining momentum in Dutch water governance. This study assesses the Dutch approach to urban water management by looking at the governance approaches of three of the largest Dutch municipalities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht. By analyzing the municipalities’ governance approaches in a holistic way, paying attention to knowledge, organization and implementation, the research provides good practices in terms of different aspects of resilience as well as lessons regarding setting performance indicators in service levels, clarifying responsibility division, applying binding rules instead of soft policies, and more.     

Doping and Switchable Photovoltaic Effect in Lead‐Free Perovskites Enabled by Metal Cation Transmutation

Creating defect tolerant lead‐free halide perovskites is the major challenge for development of high‐performance photovoltaics with nontoxic absorbers. Few compounds of Sn, Sb, or Bi possess ns² electronic configuration similar to lead, but their poor photovoltaic performances inspire us to evaluate other factors influencing defect tolerance properties. The effect of heavy metal cation (Bi) transmutation and ionic migration on the defects and carrier properties in a 2D layered perovskite (NH₄)₃(Sb_(1?x)Bi_x)₂I₉ system is investigated. It is shown, for the first time, the possibility of engineering the carriers in halide perovskites via metal cation transmutation to successfully form intrinsic p‐ and n‐type materials. It is also shown that this material possesses a direct–indirect bandgap enabling high absorption coefficient, extended carrier lifetimes >100 ns, and low trap densities similar to lead halide perovskites. This study also demonstrates the possibility of electrical poling to induce switchable photovoltaic effect without additional electron and hole transport layers.     

Chromogenic Photonic Crystal Sensors Enabled by Multistimuli‐Responsive Shape Memory Polymers

Here novel chromogenic photonic crystal sensors based on smart shape memory polymers (SMPs) comprising polyester/polyether‐based urethane acrylates blended with tripropylene glycol diacrylate are reported, which exhibit nontraditional all‐room‐temperature shape memory (SM) effects. Stepwise recovery of the collapsed macropores with 350 nm diameter created by a “cold” programming process leads to easily perceived color changes that can be correlated with the concentrations of swelling analytes in complex, multicomponent nonswelling mixtures. High sensitivity (as low as 10 ppm) and unprecedented measurement range (from 10 ppm to 30 vol%) for analyzing ethanol in octane and gasoline have been demonstrated by leveraging colorimetric sensing in both liquid and gas phases. Proof‐of‐concept tests for specifically detecting ethanol in consumer medical and healthcare products have also been demonstrated. These sensors are inexpensive, reusable, durable, and readily deployable with mobile platforms for quantitative analysis. Additionally, theoretical modeling of solvent diffusion in macroporous SMPs provides fundamental insights into the mechanisms of nanoscopic SM recovery, which is a topic that has received little examination. These novel sensors are of great technological importance in a wide spectrum of applications ranging from environmental monitoring and workplace hazard identification to threat detection and process/product control in chemical, petroleum, and pharmaceutical industries.     

Organic Single Crystal Patterning Method for Micrometric Photosensors

Light detection technologies are of interest due to their applications in energy conversion and optical communications. Single-crystal organic semiconductors, such as rubrene, present high detectivities and charge carrier mobility, making them attractive for light-sensing applications. Growth of high crystallinity organic crystals is achieved using vapor processes, forming crystals of arbitrary shapes and orientations and requiring posterior patterning processes. However, patterning the organic semiconductors using industry-standard microfabrication techniques is not straightforward, as these often cause irreversible damage to the crystals. Here the fabrication of patterned micrometric rubrene photosensors is demonstrated through a combination of photolithography and Reactive Ion Etching steps. Protective layers during microfabrication minimize degradation of optoelectronic properties of the organic single crystals during fabrication. Crystals undergoing the patterning process presented a survival rate of 39%. Photoresponse values of up to 41 mA W⁻¹ are obtained under illumination at 500 nm. This opens a route for the industrial-scale fabrication process of high-performance optoelectronic devices based on organic crystals semiconductors.