GaInP/GaInAs/GaInNAs/Ge Four-Junction Solar Cell Grown by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition with High Efficiency

We directly grow a lattice matched GalnP/GalnAs/GalnNAs/Ge （1.88 eVil .42 eVil .05 eV/0.67eV） four-junction （4J） solar cell on a Ge substrate by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition technology. To solve the current limit of the GalnNAs sub cell, we design three kinds of anti-reflection coatings and adjust the base region thickness of the GalnNAs sub cell. Developed by a series of experiments, the external quantum efficiency of the GalnNAs sub cell exceeds 80%, and its current density reaches 11.24 mA/cm2. Therefore the current limit of the 4J solar cell is significantly improved. Moreover, we discuss the difference of test results between 4J and GalnP/GalnAs/Ge solar cells under the 1 sun AMO spectrum.

The effect of transition metal ions (M^(2+)=Mn^(2+),Ni^(2+),Co^(2+),Cu^(2+)) on the chemical synthesis polyaniline as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

The effect of transition metal ions(M^(2+)=Mn^(2+),Ni^(2+),Co^(2+),Cu^(2+)) on the chemical synthesis of polyaniline(PANI) used as a platinum-free counter electrode(CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs) was investigated.PANI was synthesized by co-polymerization of aniline in the presence of different transition metal ions by using potassium dichromate in acidic medium. It was found that the ion doping of PANI showed a certain catalytic activity for the regeneration of traditional iodide/triiodide(I^-/I_3^-) redox couples. The power conversion efficiency(η) of PANI CEs doped with Mn^(2+),Ni^(2+),Co^(2+) (4.41%, 2.36% and 2.10%, respectively) were higher than 1.94%, the value measured for PANI CE without doping. Doping with Cu^(2+)decreased the power conversion efficiency of PANI CE(PANI-Cu^(2+) η = 1.41%). The electrical properties of the PANI, PANI-Ni^(2+), PANI-Co^(2+),PANI-Mn^(2+) and PANI-Cu^(2+) were studied by cyclic voltammetry(CV), impedance(EIS), and Tafel polarization curve. The experimental results confirmed that PANI was affected by the doping of different transition metal ions(M^(2+)=Mn^(2+),Ni^(2+),Co^(2+),Cu^(2+)). These results indicate a potential application of ion doped PANI as counter electrode in cost-effective DSSCs.

Assessment of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) for Phytoremediation of Heavy Metal Polluted Mine Tailings—A Case Study of Nampundwe Mine Tailings Dam, Zambia

Mining activities have led to a generation of large quantities of heavy metals laden wastes which are released into the environment in an unsustainable way causing the contamination of the ecosystems and posing a risk to human health. Most mining companies have not employed any rehabilitation or remediation program of the heavy metal laden waste. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of sunflower for phytoremediation of heavy metal polluted mine tailings. Phytoremediation is an emerging technology in the remediation of mine tailings that uses tolerant plant species to clean up contaminated sites. It uses plants with high biomass and sunflower has been identified as such. These plants can extract, transfer, sequester and stabilize a variety of metals through mechanisms such as phytoextraction, phytostabilization, phytoaccumulation and phytovolatilization. Pot experiments were conducted by growing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in pyrite mine tailings and in agricultural soil as a control. The study showed that the concentration of Cu reduced from 40.76 mg/kg to 36.59 mg/kg, Zn reduced from 3.58 mg/kg to 3.49 mg/kg and Fe reduced from 23.70 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg respectively in the mine tailings after 6 weeks. Analysis of harvested sunflower (roots, stems, leaves) showed that sunflower could remove heavy metals from the tailings and the highest removal efficiency was 53.7% and the highest translocation factor was 0.25. It was concluded that sunflower has the potential to remediate contaminated mine tailings and that phytoremediation is a viable and efficient technology to treat soils contaminated with heavy metals.

A 1-dodecanethiol-based phase transfer protocol for the highly efficient extraction of noble metal ions from aqueous phase

A 1-dodecanethiol-based phase-transfer protocol is developed for the extraction of noble metal ions from aqueous solution to a hydrocarbon phase, which calls for first mixing the aqueous metal ion solution with an ethanolic solution of 1-dodecanethiol, and then extracting the coordination compounds formed between noble metal ions and 1-dodecanethiol into a non-polar organic solvent. A number of characterization techniques, including inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis demonstrate that this protocol could be applied to extract a wide variety of noble metal ions from water to dichlorometh- ane with an efficiency of 〉96%, and has high selectivity for the separation of the noble metal ions from other transition metals. It is therefore an attractive alternative for the extraction of noble metals from water, soil, or waste printed circuit boards.

Assessment of sunflower germplasm for phytoremediation of lead-polluted soil and production of seed oil and seed meal for human and animal consumption

Phytoremediation is a valuable technology for mitigating soil contamination in agricultural lands,but phytoremediation without economic revenue is unfeasible for land owners and farmers.The use of crops with high biomass and bioenergy for phytoremediation is a unique strategy to derive supplementary benefits along with remediation activities.Sunflower(Helianthus annuus L.)is a high-biomass crop that can be used for the phytoremediation of polluted lands with additional advantages(biomass and oil).In this study,40 germplasms of sunflower were screened in field conditions for phytoremediation with the possibility for oil and meal production.The study was carried out to the physiological maturity stage.All studied germplasms mopped up substantial concentrations of Pb,with maximum amounts in shoot>root>seed respectively.The phytoextraction efficiency of the germplasm was assessed in terms of the Transfer factor(TF),Metal removal efficiency(MRE)and Metal extraction ratio(MER).Among all assessed criteria,GP.8585 was found to be most appropriate for restoring moderately Pb-contaminated soil accompanied with providing high biomass and high yield production.The Pb content in the oil of GP.8585 was below the Food safety standard of China,with 59.5% oleic acid and 32.1% linoleic acid.Moreover,amino acid analysis in meal illustrated significant differences among essential and nonessential amino acids.Glutamic acid was found in the highest percentage(22.4%),whereas cysteine in the lowest percentage(1.3%).Therefore,its efficient phytoextraction ability and good quality edible oil and meal production makes GP.8585 the most convenient sunflower germplasm for phytoremediation of moderately Pb-contaminated soil,with fringe benefits to farmers and landowners.

New Catalysts for Coal to Ethylene Glycol

Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences has achieved the industri- alization of the first generation catalysts for coal to ethylene glycol for the first time in 2009. However, there are still lots of aspects to be improved, such as high noble metal loading and toxic Cr in catalyst of ester hydrogenation. To improve the catalysts, we have done systematic deep research about the nanostructures of catalysts, and revealed facet effect, size effect, synergistic effect, support effect, and so on. A series of catalysts preparation technologies have been developed to achieve the efficient utilization of noble metals. The Pd loadings of dehydrogenation cata- lyst and CO oxidative coupling catalyst have been dropped from 2.5% to 0.9% and 2.0% to 0.13%, respectively, while the catalytic performances are enhanced greatly. The toxic Cu-Cr in ester hydrogenation catalyst has been up- graded to green Cu-Si. The new catalysts for coal to ethylene glycol with advancement have been successfully de- veloped with independent intellectual property rights.