Realization of High Efficient Ferroelectric Perovskite Nanoparticles in Biopolymer-Matrix Solar Cells under Low Lighting

The idea to use ferroelectric materials (PZN-PT) came from the fact that the ferroelectric nature could facilitate electric charges accumulation on the interfaces of the solar cell. Thus, it would increase the open circuit voltage Voc which could reach more than 10 V. This would directly impact the efficiency which is proportional to Voc, thus hoping to obtain solar efficiency never equaled by the halide perovskites which are less stable and less resistant in aggressive environments. In this work, the solar cells produced gave an exceptional record efficiency of 39.32% with a very high open circuit voltage (Voc) of 3.50 V, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 0.118 mA/cm2 and an FF of 0.72 measured in the positive polarization direction under 3825 lux (5.6 W/m2) lighting. The negative polarization direction under 4781 lux (7 W/m2) lightning gave a current density of 2 mA/cm2, an open circuit voltage of 2.30 V and an FF of 0.35.

Fabrication and Characterization of PZN-4.5PT Inorganic Perovskites Nanoparticles Thin Films Deposited on P-Type Silicon Substrate

This work involves an investigation of nanostructures, microelectronic properties and domain engineering of nanoparticles thin layers of Pb(Zn1/ 3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PZN-PT) ferroelectric single crystals deposited on nanostructured silicon substrate. In this study, devices made from PZN-4.5PT nanoparticles thin films successfully deposited on silicon substrate have been studied and discussed. SEM images show the formation of local black circles and hexagonal shapes probably due to the nucleation of a new Si-gel component or phase induced by annealing. Micro Xray Fluorescence mapping shows that the high values of Si and B atoms (≅7 and 4 normalized unit respectively) can be explained by the fact that the substrate is p-type silicon. The most interesting result of optical measurements is the very good absorption for all the thin films in UV, Visible and NIR regions with values from 70% to 90% in UV, from 75% to 93% in Visible and NIR. Tauc plots present particularities (rarely encountered behavior) with different segments or absorption changes showing the presence of multiple band gaps coming from the heterogeneity of the thin films (nanowires, gel and nanoparticles). Their values are 1.9 and 2.8 eV for DKRN-Gel, 2.1 and 3.1 eV for DKRN-UD and 2.1 and 3.2 eV for DKRN-D) corresponding respectively to the band gap of nanowires and that of the gel while the last ones correspond to the undoped and doped nanoparticles (3.1 and 3.2 eV respectively).

Dielectric and Ferroelectric Properties of PZN-4.5PT Nanoparticles Thin Films on Nanostructured Silicon Substrate for Ferrophotovoltaic and Energy Storage Application

The integration of ferroelectric materials as thin films has attracted considerable attention these last years thanks to their outstanding performances that allow considering new features for the realization of photovoltaic devices. Our study focuses on investigating structural, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of undoped and Mn doped PZN-4.5PT nanoparticles thin films on Silicon substrate. We fabricate very stable PZN-4.5PT nanoparticles thin films deposited on nanostructured silicon substrate with giant relative dielectric permittivity of 2.76 × 104 and 17.7 × 104 for respectively the undoped and Mn doped thin films. These values are very large compared to those found in single crystals and might be explained by the influence of the gel in which nanoparticles were dispersed. The SEM images show the crystallization of new hexagonal phases on the film surface probably coming from interaction between Si and the gel. The hysteresis loops permitted to determine the spontaneous polarization (Ps), remnant polarization (Pr) and coercive field Ec which are equal to 11.73 μC/cm2, 10.20 μC/cm2 and 20 V/cm, respectively for the undoped nanoparticles thin film and 22.22 μC/cm2, 19.32 μC/cm2 and 20 V/cm respectively for the Mn doped one. These values are high and correspond to the best ones found in literature compared to typical ferroelectric thin films.

Real-time in situ magnetic measurement of the intracellular biodegradation of iron oxide nanoparticles in a stem cell-spheroid tissue model

The use of magnetic nanoparticles in nanomedicine keeps expanding and,for most applications,the nanoparticles are internalized in cells then left within,bringing the need for accurate,fast,and easy to handle methodologies to assess their behavior in the cellular environment.Herein,a benchtop-size magnetic sensor is introduced to provide real-time precise measurement of nanoparticle magnetism within living cells.The values obtained with the sensor,of cells loaded with different doses of magnetic nanoparticles,are first compared to conventional vibrating sample magnetometry(VSM),and a strong correlation remarkably validates the use of the magnetic sensor as magnetometer to determine the nanoparticle cellular uptake.The sensor is then used to monitor the progressive intracellular degradation of the nanoparticles,over days.Importantly,this real-time in situ measure is performed on a stem cell-spheroid tissue model and can run continuously on a same spheroid,with cells kept alive within.Besides,such continuous magnetic measurement of cell magnetism at the tissue scale does not impact either tissue formation,vibility,or stem cell function,including differentiation and extracellular matrix production.