Acetylacetone-TiO_(2) Promoted Large Area Compatible Cascade Electron Transport Bilayer for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells

In designing efficient perovskite solar cells(PSCs),the selection of suitable electron transport layers(ETLs)is critical to the final device performance as they determine the driving force for selective charge extraction.SnO_(2)nanoparticles(NPs)based ETLs have been a popular choice for PSCs due to superior electron mobility,but their relatively deep-lying conduction band energy levels(ECB)result in substantial potential loss.Meanwhile,TiO_(2)NPs establish favorable band alignment owing to shallower ECB,but their low intrinsic mobility and abundant surface trap sites impede the final performance.For this reason,constructing a cascaded bilayer ETL is highly desirable for efficient PSCs,as it can rearrange energy levels and exploit on advantages of an individual ETL.In this study,we prepare SnO_(2)NPs and acetylacetone-modified TiO_(2)(Acac-TiO_(2))NPs and implement them as bilayer SnO_(2)/Acac-TiO_(2)(BST)ETL,to assemble cascaded energy band structure.SnO_(2)contributes to rapid charge carrier transport from high electron mobility while Acac-TiO_(2)minimizes band-offset and effectively suppresses interfacial recombination.Accordingly,the optimized BST ETL generates synergistic influence and delivers power conversion efficiency(PCE)as high as 23.14%with open-circuit voltage(V_(oc))reaching 1.14 V.Furthermore,the BST ETL is transferred to a large scale and the corresponding mini module demonstrates peak performance of 18.39%PCE from 25 cm^(2)aperture area.Finally,the BST-based mini module exhibit excellent stability,maintaining 83.1%of its initial efficiency after 1000 h under simultaneous 1 Sun light-soaking and damp heat(85℃/RH 85%)environment.

Advances in carbon-based thermoelectric materials for high-performance,flexible thermoelectric devices

Waste energy harvesting can contribute to the increase of the efficiency of many industrial processes,which consume energy to produce valuable products.Among all the wasted energy,heat energy is the most abundant,existing in almost any situation.Thermoelectric devices have the capability to harvest and convert the thermal energy into electrical power via the Seebeck effect.With its simple operating principle,thermoelectric devices can be reliable even under the harshest environments,taking advantage of any type of heat source.As a result,various inorganic and organic materials are being explored as thermoelectric materials.Among the reported materials,carbon-based materials are promising in terms of commericialization,due to their nontoxic and abundant nature,and solution processability.In particular,poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate(PEDOT:PSS),carbon nanotubes,and graphene are extensively studied as thermoelectric materials owing to their remarkable thermoelectric performance.Also,organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites show the potential to be used as future high-performance thermoelectric materials.Here,the progess in carbon materials as thermoelectrics is reviewed in detail,focusing on four base materials(PEDOT:PSS,carbon nanotubes,graphene,and organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites).This review illuminates the potential of carbon-based materials in the field of thermoelectrics and their application to next-generation energy devices.

A facile one-step approach to hierarchically assembled core-shell-like MnO2@MnO2 nanoarchitectures on carbon fibers： An efficient and flexible electrode material to enhance energy storage

Hierarchical core-shell-like MnO2 nanostructures （NSs） were used to anchor MnO2 hexagonal nanoplate arrays （HNPAs） on carbon cloth （CC） fibers. The NSs were prepared by a novel one-step electrochemical deposition method. Under an external cathodic voltage of -2.0 V for 30 min, hierarchical core-shell-like MnO2-NS-decorated MnO2 HNPAs （MnO2 NSs@MnO2 HNPAs） were uniformly grown on CC with reliable adhesion. The phase purity and morphological properties of the samples were characterized by various physicochemical techniques. At a constant external cathodic voltage, growth of MnO2 NSs@MnO2 HNPAs on CC was carried for different time periods. When utilized as a flexible, robust, and binder-free electrode for pseudocapacitors, the hierarchical core-shell-like MnO2 NSs@MnO2 HNPAs on CC showed clearly enhanced electrochemical properties in 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte solution. The results indicate that the MnO2 NSs@MnO2 HNPAs on CC have a maximum specific capacitance of 244.54 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g with excellent cycling stability compared to that of bare MnO2 HNPAs on CC （112.1 F/g at 0.5 A/g current density）. We believe that the superior charge storage performance of the pseudocapacitive electrode can be mainly attributed to the hierarchical MnO2 NSs@MnO2 HNPAs building blocks that have a large specific surface area, offering additional electroactive sites for efficient electrochemical reactions. The facile and single-step approach to growth of hierarchical pseudocapacitive materials on textile based electrodes opens up the possibility for the fabrication of high-performance flexible energy storage devices.