Aromatization over nanosized Ga-containing ZSM-5 zeolites prepared by different methods:Effect of acidity of active Ga species on the catalytic performance

Nanosized Ga-containing ZSM-5 zeolites were prepared via isomorphous substitution and impregnation followed by characterized using various techniques. The catalytic performance of the zeolites for the aromatization of 1-hexene was investigated. The results indicate that isomorphous substitution promotes the incorporation of Ga heteroatoms into the framework along with the formation of extra-framework GaO;species（[GaO;]a） that have stronger interactions with the negative potential of the framework. In addition, based on the Py-IR results and catalytic performance, the [GaO;]aspecies with stronger Lewis acid sites produced a better synergism with moderate Br?nsted acid sites and thus improved the selectivity to aromatic compounds. However, the impregnation results in the formation of Ga;O;phase and small amounts of GaO;species that are mainly located on the external surface（[GaO;];）, which contribute to weaker Lewis acid sites due to weaker interactions with the zeolite framework. During 1-hexene aromatization, the nanosized Ga isomorphously substituted ZSM-5 zeolite samples（Gax-NZ5） exhibited better catalytic performance compared to the impregnated samples, and the highest aromatic yield（i.e.,65.4 wt%） was achieved over the Ga4.2-NZ5 sample, which contained with the highest Ga content.

Highly efficient flexible perovskite solar cells with vacuum-assisted low-temperature annealed SnO2 electron transport layer

The demand for lightweight, flexible, and high-performance portable power sources urgently requires high-efficiency and stable flexible solar cells. In the case of perovskite solar cells(PSCs), most of the common electron transport layer(ETL) needs to be annealed for improving the optoelectronic properties,while conventional flexible substrates could barely stand the high temperature. Herein, a vacuumassisted annealing SnO_(2) ETL at low temperature(100℃) is utilized in flexible PSCs and achieved high efficiency of 20.14%. Meanwhile, the open-circuit voltage(V_(oc)) increases from 1.07 V to 1.14 V. The flexible PSCs also show robust bending stability with 86.8% of the initial efficiency is retained after 1000 bending cycles at a bending radius of 5 mm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), atomic force microscopy(AFM), and contact angle measurements show that the density of oxygen vacancies, the surface roughness of the SnO_(2) layer, and film hydrophobicity are significantly increased, respectively. These improvements could be due to the oxygen-deficient environment in a vacuum chamber, and the rapid evaporation of solvents. The proposed vacuum-assisted low-temperature annealing method not only improves the efficiency of flexible PSCs but is also compatible and promising in the large-scale commercialization of flexible PSCs.

Stabilizing α-phase FAPbI3 solar cells

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells(PSCs)have been recognized as a promising and cost-effective photovoltaic technology with the power conversion efficiency(PCE) exceeding 25%[1–3]. The high efficiency is attributed to the exceptional optoelectronic properties, such as high absorption coefficient, long carrier diffusion length, low non-radiative recombination rate, and so on[4–7].

Hole Injection Enhancement of MoO3/NPB/Al Composite Anode

An ultra-thin molybdenum(VI)oxide(MoO3)modification layer can significantly improve hole injection from an electrode even though the MoO3 layer does not contact the electrode.We find that as the thickness of the organic layer between MoO3 and the electrode increases,the hole injection first increases and it then decreases.The optimum thickness of 5 nm corresponds to the best current improvement 70%,higher than that in the device where MoO3 directly contacts the Al electrode.According to the 4,4-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenyl-amino]biphenyl(NPB)/MoO3 interface charge transfer mechanism and the present experimental results,we propose a mechanism that mobile carriers generated at the interface and accumulated inside the device change the distribution of electric field inside the device,resulting in an increase of the probability of hole tunneling through the injection barrier from the electrode,which also explains the phenomenon of hole injection enhanced by MoO3/NPB/Al composite anode.Based on this mechanism,different organic materials other than NPB were applied to form the composite electrode with MoO3.Similar current enhancement effects are also observed.

Data-driven design of high-performance MASnxPb1-xI3 perovskite materials by machine learning and experimental realization

The photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cell is determined by multiple interrelated factors,such as perovskite compositions,electronic properties of each transport layer and fabrication parameters,which makes it rather challenging for optimization of device performances and discovery of underlying mechanisms.Here,we propose and realize a novel machine learning approach based on forward-reverse framework to establish the relationship between key parameters and photovoltaic performance in high-profile MASnxPb1-xI3 perovskite materials.The proposed method establishes the asymmetrically bowing relationship between band gap and Sn composition,which is precisely verified by our experiments.Based on the analysis of structural evolution and SHAP library,the rapid-change region and low-bandgap plateau region for small and large Sn composition are explained,respectively.By establishing the models for photovoltaic parameters of working photovoltaic devices,the deviation of short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage with band gap in defective-zone and low-bandgap-plateau regions from Shockley-Queisser theory is captured by our models,and the former is due to the deep-level traps formed by crystallographic distortion and the latter is due to the enhanced susceptibility by increased Sn4+content.The more difficulty for hole extraction than electron is also concluded in the models and the prediction curve of power conversion efficiency is in a good agreement with Shockley-Queisser limit.With the help of search and optimization algorithms,an optimized Sn:Pb composition ratio near 0.6 is finally obtained for high-performance perovskite solar cells,then verified by our experiments.Our constructive method could also be applicable to other material optimization and efficient device development.