Van der Waals heterostructures, a new class of materials made of a vertically selective assembly of various 2D monolayers held together by van der Waals forces, have attracted a great deal of attention due to their promise to deliver novel electronic and optoelectronic properties that are not achievable by using individual 2D crystals. Using density functional theory (DFT), it is revealed that van der Waals heterostructures composed of monolayers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and the latest P allotrope blue phosphorus (blue phosphorene, BlueP) forms a straddling type I band offset for which the band edges exclusively belong to BlueP. This feature enables h-BN to act as a protective coating material to resolve the air instability of BlueP. Furthermore, substitutional doping of C into h-BN (h-BCN) at a suitable concentration induces h-BCN–BlueP into staggered type II band offset. The type II band alignment triggered by the intensified built-in electric field across the sheets implies improved carrier mobility and the suppressed recombination of photogenerated hole pairs. These major benefits can pave the way for the potential functionality of h-BCN–BlueP to be exploited for efficient photovoltaic devices.

Conducting polymers (CPs) are by far the most studied organic materials for supercapacitors. Yet, their structural instability stemming from volumetric expansion/contraction during charge/discharge results in capacitance loss after moderate cycling that limits their applications. Here, we show that the remarkable cycling stability, capacitance, and rate performance can be achieved by replacing conventional electrode additives (carbon black or insulating polymer binder) with titanium carbide (Ti₃C₂T_x) MXene. Using polyaniline (PANI) as a model system, an addition of only 15 wt% of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene binder delivered remarkable capacitance retention of 96% after 10 000 cycles at 50 mV s⁻¹ and high-rate capability with a capacitance of 434 F g⁻¹. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we show that, unlike insulating polymer binders, surface groups of MXene bond to PANI with a significantly high binding energy (up to −2.11 eV) via a charge transfer mechanism. This is one of the key mechanisms to achieve a high electrochemical performance of the CP-based electrodes when MXene is used as a binder. We expect that a similar approach can be used for stabilizing other organic electrode materials.

So far in this course, we have seen some of the central debates surrounding the practices of globalisation (free trade versus protectionism, and corporate profits versus respect for human rights, for example). We have also introduced the notion of ideology: coherent ways of assessing how the world is and how it ought to be. A focus on ideology raises the possibility that people and organisations make decisions not just on the basis of rational economic calculation but also in keeping with their values and ideals. It is worth noting here that these values and ideals are neither accidental nor arbitrary. An individual or a government does not just decide to adopt neo-liberalism, for example, on a whim. Often, ideologies are related to material interests. A business group, for example, may espouse a neo-liberal focus on free markets and minimal regulation as they pursue their goals of maximising corporate flexibility and profitability.

We acknowledge that we live and work on the country of Aboriginal traditional owners, who have been custodians of this land for many centuries on which they have performed age-old ceremonies of celebration and renewal. We acknowledge and respect the work of Aboriginal scholars, whose guidance and views on education priorities and Indigenous ways of knowing and being are included in this chapter.

There are divisions in Australia that only time and constructive effort will diminish. The process of reconciliation aims to reduce these divisions and to suggest ways in which the relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider community can be healed, with respect for humanity on all sides.

The development of a deep understanding of the rich and ancient cultures and histories of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their battle to achieve citizens’ rights and equity in this nation has been neglected or excluded from the education of many young Australians for too long. Indigenous educator Mark Rose (2015: 69) refers to this knowledge deprivation as ‘silent apartheid’ that ‘transcends generations’, because of discrimination on the basis of race and an education system that ‘overtly suppressed and devalued aspects of Indigenous knowledge’. In some schools, students began to learn about the land rights movement for Aboriginal Australians in the 1960s. But for others, even the crucial historical moment, the passing of the 1967 referendum so Aboriginal Australians could be recognized citizens in their own country, has not been a part of their learning. The overwhelming ‘Yes’ vote signalled that non-Aboriginal Australians were more ready to embrace social and political reform, and to recognize First Australians as citizens.