Metal/Air batteries are considered to be promising electricity storage devices given their compactness, environmental benignity and affordability. As a commonly available metal, aluminum has received great attention s...Metal/Air batteries are considered to be promising electricity storage devices given their compactness, environmental benignity and affordability. As a commonly available metal, aluminum has received great attention since its first use as an anode in a battery. Its high specific energy （even better volumetric energy density than lithium） makes it ideal for many primary battery applications. However, the development of A1/Air cell with alkaline electrolyte has been lagged behind mainly due to the unfavorable parasitic hydrogen generation. Herein, we designed and constructed a novel A1/H_2/Air tandem fuel cell to turn the adverse parasitic reaction into a useful process. The system consists of two anodes, namely, aluminum and hydrogen, and one common air-breathing cathode. The aluminum acts as both the anode for the A1/Air sub-cell and the source to generate hydrogen for the hydrogen/air sub-cell. The aluminum/air sub-cell has an open circuit voltage of 1.45 V and the H_2/Air sub-cell of 0.95 V. We demonstrated that the maximum power output of aluminum as a fuel was largely enhanced by 31% after incorporating the H_2/Air sub-cell with the tandem concept. In addition, a passive design was utilized in our tandem system to eliminate the dependence on auxiliary pumping sub-systems so that the whole system remained neat and eliminated the dependence of energy consuming pumps or heaters which were typically applied in micro fuel cells.展开更多
This paper has reviewed:(1) the two unique advantages of tandem organic solar cells(OSCs) compared to single OSCs;(2) the challengings as well as strategies to develop qualified interconnecting layer(ICL) for tandem O...This paper has reviewed:(1) the two unique advantages of tandem organic solar cells(OSCs) compared to single OSCs;(2) the challengings as well as strategies to develop qualified interconnecting layer(ICL) for tandem OSCs.More specifically,firstly,the two key advantages unique to tandem OSCs as compared to single OSCs,namely minimizing sub-bandgap transmission and thermalization loss as well as realizing optical thick and electrical thin structures,have been discussed.Secondly,the ICL,as one of the most challenging issue in tandem OSCs that needs to fulfill the optical,electrical and mechanical requirements simultaneously to realize a qualified ICL has been reviewed.As one of the most challenging requirement among the three,the electrical requirement and its corresponding three different solving strategies have been discussed in detail,revealing a bright future for developing a general strategy to realizing qualified ICL composed of different hole transporting layer(HTL) and electron transporting layer(ETL).展开更多
In contrast to inorganic solar cells, organic solar cells （OSCs） show advantages such as low cost, light weight, and flexi- bility. In fact, the most attractive feature of OSCs is that they could be produced in larg...In contrast to inorganic solar cells, organic solar cells （OSCs） show advantages such as low cost, light weight, and flexi- bility. In fact, the most attractive feature of OSCs is that they could be produced in large scale and at low cost by roll-to-roll printing, just like printing newspapers, which does not in- volve complicated and high-cost procedures that are required in the production of inorganic solar cells. It is this fascinat- ing feature that has drawn great attention on the OSC study during the past two decades.展开更多
文摘Metal/Air batteries are considered to be promising electricity storage devices given their compactness, environmental benignity and affordability. As a commonly available metal, aluminum has received great attention since its first use as an anode in a battery. Its high specific energy （even better volumetric energy density than lithium） makes it ideal for many primary battery applications. However, the development of A1/Air cell with alkaline electrolyte has been lagged behind mainly due to the unfavorable parasitic hydrogen generation. Herein, we designed and constructed a novel A1/H_2/Air tandem fuel cell to turn the adverse parasitic reaction into a useful process. The system consists of two anodes, namely, aluminum and hydrogen, and one common air-breathing cathode. The aluminum acts as both the anode for the A1/Air sub-cell and the source to generate hydrogen for the hydrogen/air sub-cell. The aluminum/air sub-cell has an open circuit voltage of 1.45 V and the H_2/Air sub-cell of 0.95 V. We demonstrated that the maximum power output of aluminum as a fuel was largely enhanced by 31% after incorporating the H_2/Air sub-cell with the tandem concept. In addition, a passive design was utilized in our tandem system to eliminate the dependence on auxiliary pumping sub-systems so that the whole system remained neat and eliminated the dependence of energy consuming pumps or heaters which were typically applied in micro fuel cells.
基金supported by the General Research Fund(HKU711813)the Collaborative Research Fund(C7045-14E)from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China,the Environment and Conservation Found Project(33/2015)from Environment and Conservation Fundthe CAS-Croucher Funding Scheme for Joint Laboratories(CAS14601)
文摘This paper has reviewed:(1) the two unique advantages of tandem organic solar cells(OSCs) compared to single OSCs;(2) the challengings as well as strategies to develop qualified interconnecting layer(ICL) for tandem OSCs.More specifically,firstly,the two key advantages unique to tandem OSCs as compared to single OSCs,namely minimizing sub-bandgap transmission and thermalization loss as well as realizing optical thick and electrical thin structures,have been discussed.Secondly,the ICL,as one of the most challenging issue in tandem OSCs that needs to fulfill the optical,electrical and mechanical requirements simultaneously to realize a qualified ICL has been reviewed.As one of the most challenging requirement among the three,the electrical requirement and its corresponding three different solving strategies have been discussed in detail,revealing a bright future for developing a general strategy to realizing qualified ICL composed of different hole transporting layer(HTL) and electron transporting layer(ETL).
文摘In contrast to inorganic solar cells, organic solar cells （OSCs） show advantages such as low cost, light weight, and flexi- bility. In fact, the most attractive feature of OSCs is that they could be produced in large scale and at low cost by roll-to-roll printing, just like printing newspapers, which does not in- volve complicated and high-cost procedures that are required in the production of inorganic solar cells. It is this fascinat- ing feature that has drawn great attention on the OSC study during the past two decades.
