Technological advancements and development of new materials may lead to the manufacture of sustainable energy-conducting devices used in the energy sector. This research attempts to fabricate novel electroconductive and mechanically stable nanocomposites via an electroless deposition (ELD) technique using electrically insulating materials. Metallic Cu is coated onto Al₂O₃ by ELD, and the prepared filler is then integrated (2–14 wt %) into a matrix of polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene-graft-maleic anhydride (PS-b-(PE-r-B)-b-PS-g-MA). Considerable variations in composite phases with filler inclusion exist. The Cu crystallite growth onto Al₂O₃ was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) depicts a uniform Cu coating on Al₂O₃, while homogeneous filler dispersion is exhibited in the case of composites. The electrical behavior of composites is enhanced drastically (7.7 × 10⁻⁵ S/cm) upon incorporation of Cu–Al₂O₃ into an insulating polymer matrix (4.4 × 10⁻¹⁶ S/cm). Moreover, mechanical (Young’s modulus, tensile strength and % elongation at break) and thermal (thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), derivative thermogravimetry (DTG), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)) properties of the nanocomposites also improve substantially. These composites are likely to meet the demands of modern high-strength electroconductive devices.

Waste biomass cow dung ash was used as an adsorbent for the removal of Erichrome Black T (EBT) from aqueous solution using simple batch technique. The contact time in terms of adsorption capacity was optimized at 303 and 308K, respectively and it was found to be 60 min for both temperatures. All the experiments were carried out at pH = 7. The adsorption capacity of EBT increased from 0.20 to 0.75 and 0.2 to 0.8 mg/g with 1 g of adsorbent at 303 and 308K, respectively by increasing concentration from 2 to 10 mg/L. The data were employed to Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models and because of higher regression co-efficient R2 values at both temperatures the Langmuir adsorption isotherm was found to be well fitted to the data. The adsorption was found to be spontaneous and endothermic at 308K due to negative free energy and positive enthalpy. Key words: Erichrome Black T, cow dung, adsorption, thermodynamic parameters.