The quality of environmental impact reports for projects with the potential of affecting wetlands in South Africa

In South Africa certain development activities, which may have a substantial detrimental effect on the environment, require an environmental impact assessment (EIA), including projects with the potential of affecting wetlands. A key element of the EIA process is the submission of an environmental impact report (EIR) for review in order to determine whether the report is adequate and/or whether a greater quantity of information is required before the project can be authorised. The information available to decision-makers in the EIR is a major determinant in the outcome of wetland protection and/or destruction.The quality of 4 environmental impact reports of large projects with the potential of impacting on wetlands was assessed using an EIA report quality review checklist. It is concluded that the quality of the 4 reports was generally satisfactory but certain areas were found to be poorly performed, i.e. identification and evaluation of impacts to the potential detriment of the wetlands for which the EIAs were performedTo improve the quality of the reports for projects with the potential of affecting wetlands it is recommended that a quality review checklist be used by EIA practitioners and authorities as an additional tool to the EIA regulations and the integrated environmental management series. This should assist in ensuring that key aspects are addressed before submission to the relevant authority, and will also contribute to establishing a baseline of EIR quality for evaluation of wetlands EIA practice under the new regulations promulgated in 2006.Keywords: environmental impact report (EIR), environmental impact assessment, quality review, wetland

N,N'-diisopropylthiourea and N,N'-dicyclohexyl-thiourea zinc(II) complexes as precursors for the synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles

The single X-ray crystal structures of zinc (II) complexes of N,N'-diisopropylthiourea and N,N' dicyclohexylthiourea weredetermined.These complexes, similar to other alkylthioureas, were found to be effective as precursors for the preparation of hexadecylamine-capped ZnS nanoparticles. The complexes are air-stable, easy to prepare and inexpensive. They pyrolyse cleanly to give high-quality ZnS nanoparticles, which show quantum confinement effects in their absorption spectra and close to band-edge emission. Their broad diffraction patterns are typicalof nanosized particles while their transmission electronmicroscopy images showed agglomerates of needle-like platelet nanoparticles

N,N’-diisopropylthiourea and N,N’-dicyclohexyl-thiourea zinc(II) complexes as precursors for the synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles

The single X-ray crystal structures of zinc (II) complexes of N,N’-diisopropylthiourea and N,N’ dicyclohexylthiourea weredetermined.These complexes, similar to other alkylthioureas, were found to be effective as precursors for the preparation of hexadecylamine-capped ZnS nanoparticles. The complexes are air-stable, easy to prepare and inexpensive. They pyrolyse cleanly to give high-quality ZnS nanoparticles, which show quantum confinement effects in their absorption spectra and close to band-edge emission. Their broad diffraction patterns are typicalof nanosized particles while their transmission electronmicroscopy images showed agglomerates of needle-like platelet nanoparticles

N,N'-diisopropylthiourea and N,N'-dicyclohexyl-thiourea zinc(II) complexes as precursors for the synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles

The single X-ray crystal structures of zinc (II) complexes of N,N'-diisopropylthiourea and N,N' dicyclohexylthiourea weredetermined.These complexes, similar to other alkylthioureas, were found to be effective as precursors for the preparation of hexadecylamine-capped ZnS nanoparticles. The complexes are air-stable, easy to prepare and inexpensive. They pyrolyse cleanly to give high-quality ZnS nanoparticles, which show quantum confinement effects in their absorption spectra and close to band-edge emission. Their broad diffraction patterns are typicalof nanosized particles while their transmission electronmicroscopy images showed agglomerates of needle-like platelet nanoparticles

The effect of structural properties of Cu2Se/polyvinylcarbazole nanocomposites on the performance of hybrid solar cells

It has been said that substitution of fullerenes with semiconductor nanocrystals in bulk heterojunction solar cells can potentially increase the power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of these devices far beyond the 10% mark. However new semiconductor nanocrystals other than the potentially toxic CdSe and PbS are necessary. Herein we report on the synthesis of Cu2Se nanocrystals and their incorporation into polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) to form polymer nanocomposites for use as active layers in hybrid solar cells. Nearly monodispersed 4 nm Cu2Se nanocrystals were synthesized using the conventional colloidal synthesis. Varying weight % of these nanocrystals was added to PVK to form polymer nanocomposites. The 10% polymer nanocomposite showed retention of the properties of the pure polymer whilst the 50% resulted in a complete breakdown of the polymeric structure as evident from the FTIR, TGA, and SEM. The lack of transport channels in the 50% polymer nanocomposite solar cell resulted in a device with no photoresponse whilst the 10% polymer nanocomposite resulted in a device with an open circuit voltage of 0.50 V, a short circuit current of 7.34 mA/cm2, and a fill factor of 22.28% resulting in a PCE of 1.02%.SP201