Enhancement of mid-wavelength infrared absorbance by alkane-grafted Ti3C2Tx MXene thin-films

An enhancement of mid-wavelength infrared absorbance is achieved via a cost-effectively chemical method to bend the flakes by grafting two types of alkane octane(C_(8)H_(18))and dodecane(C_(12)H_(26))onto the surface terminals respectively.The chain-length of alkane exceeds the bond-length of surface functionalities T(x=O,-OH,-F)so as to introduce intra-flake and inter-flake strains into Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)MXene.The electronic microscopy(TEM/AFM)shows obvious edge-fold and tensile/compressive deformation of flake.The alkane termination increases the intrinsic absorbance of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)MXene from no more than 50%up to more than 99%in the mid-wavelength in⁃frared region from 2.5μm to 4.5μm.Such an absorption enhancement attributes to the reduce of infrared reflec⁃tance of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)MXene.The C-H bond skeleton vibration covers the aforementioned region and partially reduces the surface reflectance.Meanwhile,the flake deformation owing to edge-fold and tensile/compression increases the specific surface area so as to increase the absorption as well.These results have applicable value in the area of mid-infrared camouflage.

Numerical Analysis on the Effect of n-Si on Cu(In, Ga)Se2 Based Thin-Films for High-Performance Solar Cells by 1D-SCAPS

We report the performances of a chalcopyrite Cu(In, Ga)Se2 CIGS-based thin-film solar cell with a newly employed high conductive n-Si layer. The data analysis was performed with the help of the 1D-Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (1D-SCAPS) software program. The new device structure is based on the CIGS layer as the absorber layer, n-Si as the high conductive layer, i-In2S3, and i-ZnO as the buffer and window layers, respectively. The optimum CIGS bandgap was determined first and used to simulate and analyze the cell performance throughout the experiment. This analysis revealed that the absorber layer’s optimum bandgap value has to be 1.4 eV to achieve maximum efficiency of 22.57%. Subsequently, output solar cell parameters were analyzed as a function of CIGS layer thickness, defect density, and the operating temperature with an optimized n-Si layer. The newly modeled device has a p-CIGS/n-Si/In2S3/Al-ZnO structure. The main objective was to improve the overall cell performance while optimizing the thickness of absorber layers, defect density, bandgap, and operating temperature with the newly employed optimized n-Si layer. The increase of absorber layer thickness from 0.2 - 2 µm showed an upward trend in the cell’s performance, while the increase of defect density and operating temperature showed a downward trend in solar cell performance. This study illustrates that the proposed cell structure shows higher cell performances and can be fabricated on the lab-scale and industrial levels.

Effects of Electropulsing Induced Microstructural Changes on THz-Reflection and Electrical Conductivity of Al-Doped ZnO Thin-Films

Electropulsing induced phase transformation and crystal orientation change and their effects on electrical conductivity, THz reflection and surface roughness of thin-films of Al2O3 (2 wt%) doped ZnO were studied using XRD, SEM, AFM and Thz spectroscopy techniques. AZO-2 thin-films showed an effective response in THz spectroscopy under electropulsing. Electropulsing induced circular preferred crystal orientation changes and phase transformations were observed. The preferred crystal orientation changes accompanying decrease in stress and the secondary phase precipitation favored enhancing conductivity and THz reflection of the AZO-2 thin-films. After adequate electropulsing, both THz reflection and electrical conductivity of the thin-films were enhanced by 22.8% and 6.8%, respectively;meanwhile surface roughness reduced. The property responses of electropulsing are discussed from point view of microstructural change and dislocation dynamics.

Determination of Ni^(2+) in Waters with Sodium Polyacrylate as a Binding Phase in Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films

An aqueous solution containing sodium polyacrylate（PAAS） was used in diffusive gradient in thin-films technique（DGT） to measure DGT-labile Ni2＋ concentrations.The DGT devices（PAAS DGT） were validated in four types of solutions,including synthetic river water containing metal ions with complexing EDTA or that without complexing EDTA,natural river water（Ling River,Jinzhou,China） spiked with Ni2＋,and an industrial wastewater （Jinzhou,China）.Results show that only free metal ions were measured by PAAS DGT,recovery=97.36% in the solutions containing only free metal ions,recovery=49.62% in a solution with metal/EDTA molar ratio of 2：1 and recovery=0 in the solutions with metal/EDTA molar ratios of 1：1 and 1：2.These indicated that the complexes of Ni-EDTA were DGT-inert.The DGT performance in spiked river water（recovery=18.24%） and in industrial wastewater（recovery=12.25%） were investigated,which indicated that the measurement of metals by this DGT device did not include the humic substances complexed fractions of metals.The binding properties of PAAS DGT for Ni2＋ were investigated under different conditions of pH value and ionic strength.Conditional stability constants（lgK） of PAAS-Ni complexes were also evaluated.

调制周期数对Mo/AZO成分调制多层膜透光、反光特性以及电性能的影响

采用射频(RF)和单极中频脉冲直流(UMFPDC)磁控溅射技术,在300℃下制备了Mo/AZO成分调制多层膜。测试结果表明,Mo/AZO成分调制多层膜以(002)为取向的六方纤锌矿型ZnO结构为主;薄膜中Mo的化学态随薄膜厚度而变化,当薄膜厚度为1.67 nm时,Mo除单质态外,还存在部分+4和+5的离子价态,当薄膜厚度降至0.83 nm时,已无单质态Mo;调制周期数对成分调制多层膜的透光、反光特性以及电性能影响显著,当调制周期数为3时,Mo/AZO成分调制多层膜的综合性能达到最佳,电阻率、霍尔迁移率和载流子浓度分别为8.64×10^(-4)Ω·cm、8.78 cm^2)/(V·s)和8.23×10^(20)cm^(-3)。在保持金属层、半导体层总厚度不变的情况下,通过改变调制周期数可以增加薄膜的光学透过率并可在较宽范围内调节多层膜的综合性能,这为制备综合性能优异的金属/半导体型透光导电薄膜提供了一条切实可行的途径。

Two-dimensional equations for thin-films of ionic conductors

A theoretical model is developed for predicting both conduction and diffusion in thin-film ionic conductors or cables. With the linearized Poisson-Nernst-Planck(PNP)theory, the two-dimensional(2D) equations for thin ionic conductor films are obtained from the three-dimensional(3D) equations by power series expansions in the film thickness coordinate, retaining the lower-order equations. The thin-film equations for ionic conductors are combined with similar equations for one thin dielectric film to derive the 2D equations of thin sandwich films composed of a dielectric layer and two ionic conductor layers. A sandwich film in the literature, as an ionic cable, is analyzed as an example of the equations obtained in this paper. The numerical results show the effect of diffusion in addition to the conduction treated in the literature. The obtained theoretical model including both conduction and diffusion phenomena can be used to investigate the performance of ionic-conductor devices with any frequency.

退火温度对ITO/Cu/AZO透明导电薄膜结构及性能的影响

采用射频与直流磁控交替溅射法在石英玻璃载玻片上制备了氧化铟锡(ITO)/Cu/Al掺杂ZnO(AZO)(45 nm/10 nm/45 nm)组合结构的透明导电薄膜,并在不同退火温度下对薄膜进行真空热处理。利用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、紫外-可见分光光度计、四探针电阻测试仪等表征手段,系统地研究了退火温度对ITO/Cu/AZO复合薄膜晶体结构和光电性能的影响。结果显示,经过不同温度的真空退火处理,薄膜的晶体结构和导电性能得到显著改善和提高,薄膜可见光平均透过率随着退火温度的升高先增加后降低。对比发现,在气压5×10^(-3)Pa、温度150℃下退火制备的ITO/Cu/AZO结构薄膜表现出最佳的综合性能,薄膜具有较强的(222)和(440)晶面衍射峰,在400~800 nm光波范围平均透过率约为80.5%,电导率约为1.76×10^(3) S/cm,综合品质因数达到约2.12×10^(-3)/Ω。

Indispensable gutter layers in thin-film composite membranes for carbon capture

Industrial thin-film composite(TFC)membranes achieve superior gas separation properties from high-performance selective layer materials,while the success of membrane technology relies on high-performance gutter layers to achieve production scalability and low-cost manufacturing.However,the current literature predominantly focuses on the design of polymer architectures to obtain high permeability and selectivity,while the art of fabricating gutter layers is usually safeguarded by industrial manufacturers and appears lackluster to academic researchers.This is the first report aiming to provide a comprehensive and critical review of state-of-the-art gutter layer materials and their design and modification to enable TFC membranes with superior separation performance.We first elucidate the importance of the gutter layer on membrane performance through modeling and experimental results.Then various gutter layer materials used to obtain high-performance composite membranes are critically reviewed,and the strategies to improve their compatibility with the selective layer are highlighted,such as oxygen plasma treatment,polydopamine deposition,and surface grafting.Finally,we present the opportunities of the gutter layer design for practical applications.

Fabrication of Sm-Based Perovskite-Type Oxide Thin-Films and Gas Sensing Properties to Acetylene

Sm-based perovskite-type oxide (SmMeO3: Me = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co) thin-films could be synthesized by a wet-chemical method using an acetylacetone—Poly(Vinyl Pyrrolidone) (PVP) polymeric precursor method at 750℃. The perovskite-type oxide thin-films were tried to apply an acetylene gas sensor based on AC impedance spectroscopy. Among the oxides tested, SmFeO3 thin-film sensor showed good sensor responses in which the AC impedance at 20 kHz was depending on acetylene gas concentration between 2 ppm and 80 ppm at 400℃.

Texture ZnO Thin-Films and their Application as Front Electrode in Solar Cells

In this paper, three kinds of textured ZnO thin-films (the first kind has the textured structure with both columnar and polygon, the second posses pyramid-like textured structure only, and the third has the textured structure with both crater-like and pyramid-like), were prepared by three kinds of methods, and the application of these ZnO thin-films as a front electrode in solar cell was studied, respectively. In the first method with negative bias voltage and appropriate sputtering parameters, the textured structure with columnar and polygon on the surface of ZnO thin-film are both existence for the sample prepared by direct magnetron sputtering. Using as a front electrode in solar cell, the photoelectric conversion efficiency Eff of 7.00% was obtained. The second method is that by sputtering on the ZnO:Al self-supporting substrate, and the distribution of pyramid-like was gained. Moreover, the higher (8.25%) photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cell was got. The last method is that by acid-etching the as-deposited ZnO thin-film which possesses mainly both columnar and polygon structure, and the textured ZnO thin-film with both crater-like and pyramid-like structure was obtained, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cell is 7.10% when using it as front electrode. These results show that the textured ZnO thin-film prepared on self-supporting substrate is more suitable for using as a front electrode in amorphous silicon cells.

Heterojunction-engineered carrier transport in elevated-metal metal-oxide thin-film transistors

This study investigates the carrier transport of heterojunction channel in oxide semiconductor thin-film transistor(TFT)using the elevated-metal metal-oxide(EMMO)architecture and indium−zinc oxide(InZnO).The heterojunction band diagram of InZnO bilayer was modified by the cation composition to form the two-dimensional electron gas(2DEG)at the interface quantum well,as verified using a metal−insulator−semiconductor(MIS)device.Although the 2DEG indeed contributes to a higher mobility than the monolayer channel,the competition and cooperation between the gate field and the built-in field strongly affect such mobility-boosting effect,originating from the carrier inelastic collision at the heterojunction interface and the gate field-induced suppression of quantum well.Benefited from the proper energy-band engineering,a high mobility of 84.3 cm2·V^(−1)·s^(−1),a decent threshold voltage(V_(th))of−6.5 V,and a steep subthreshold swing(SS)of 0.29 V/dec were obtained in InZnO-based heterojunction TFT.

Bioremediation of Textile Azo Dyes Amido Black 10B, Reactive Black 5, Reactive Blue 160 by Lentinus squarrosulus AF5 and Assessment of Toxicity of the Degraded Metabolites

Bioremediation is an eco-compatible and economical approach to counter textile dye menace. The isolated Lentinus squarrosulus AF5 was assessed for decolourization of textile azo dyes, and had shown ~93%, 88% and 70% decolorization of Reactive blue 160 (RB160), Reactive black 5 (RB5) and Amido black 10B (AB10B) respectively. Further analysis using UV-vis, HPLC, and FTIR, 1H NMR had shown the degradation of the dyes. Toxicity analysis of the metabolites was performed using seed germination and plant growth on two agriculturally important plants Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) as well as cytotoxicity analysis using the human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). The dye mix appeared inhibitory for seed germination (20% - 40%), whereas metabolites were non-inhibitory for germination. Treatment of HaCaT cells with of dye mix and metabolites led into 45% and ~100% of cell viability of HaCaT cells respectively. Therefore, metabolites following degradation of the dye mix were observed to be non-toxic.

Progress and prospects of Mg-based amorphous alloys in azo dye wastewater treatment

Mg-based amorphous alloys exhibit efficient catalytic performance and excellent biocompatibility with a promising application probability,specifically in the field of azo dye wastewater degradation.However,the problems like difficulty in preparation and poor cycling stability need to be solved.At present,Mg-based amorphous alloys applied in wastewater degradation are available in powder and ribbon.The amorphous alloy powder fabricated by ball milling has a high specific surface area,and its reactivity is thousands of times better than that of gas atomized alloy powder.But the development is limited due to the high energy consumption,difficult and costly process of powder recycling.The single roller melt-spinning method is a new manufacturing process of amorphous alloy ribbon.Compared to amorphous powder,the specific surface area of amorphous ribbon is relatively lower,therefore,it is necessary to carry out surface modification to enhance it.Dealloying is a way that can form a pore structure on the surface of the amorphous alloys,increasing the specific surface area and providing more reactive sites,which all contribute to the catalytic performance.Exploring the optimal conditions for Mg-based amorphous alloys in wastewater degradation by adjusting amorphous alloy composition,choosing suitable method to preparation and surface modification,reducing cost,expanding the pH range will advance the steps to put Mg-based amorphous alloys in industrial environments into practice.

Low-Volatile Binder Enables Thermal Shock-Resistant Thin-Film Cathodes for Thermal Batteries

Manufacturing thin-film components is crucial for achieving high-efficiency and high-power thermal batteries(TBs).However,developing binders with low-gas production at the operating temperature range of TBs(400-550°C)has proven to be a significant challenge.Here,we report the use of acrylic acid derivative terpolymer(LA136D)as a low-volatile binder for thin-film cathode fabrication and studied the chain scission and chemical bondbreaking mechanisms in pyrolysis.It is shown LA136D defers to randomchain scission and cross-linking chain scission mechanisms,which gifts it with a low proportion of volatile products(ψ,ψ=39.2 wt%)at even up to 550°C,well below those of the conventional PVDF(77.6 wt%)and SBR(99.2 wt%)binders.Surprisingly,LA136D contributes to constructing a thermal shock-resistant cathode due to the step-by-step bond-breaking process.This is beneficial for the overall performance of TBs.In discharging test,the thin-film cathodes exhibited a remarkable 440%reduction in polarization and 300%enhancement in the utilization efficiency of cathode materials,while with just a slight increase of 0.05 MPa in gas pressure compared with traditional“thick-film”cathode.Our work highlights the potential of LA136D as a low-volatile binder for thin-film cathodes and shows the feasibility of manufacturing high-efficiency and high-power TBs through polymer molecule engineering.

Implementation of sub-100 nm vertical channel-all-around(CAA) thin-film transistor using thermal atomic layer deposited IGZO channel

In-Ga-Zn-O(IGZO) channel based thin-film transistors(TFT), which exhibit high on-off current ratio and relatively high mobility, has been widely researched due to its back end of line(BEOL)-compatible potential for the next generation dynamic random access memory(DRAM) application. In this work, thermal atomic layer deposition(TALD) indium gallium zinc oxide(IGZO) technology was explored. It was found that the atomic composition and the physical properties of the IGZO films can be modulated by changing the sub-cycles number during atomic layer deposition(ALD) process. In addition, thin-film transistors(TFTs) with vertical channel-all-around(CAA) structure were realized to explore the influence of different IGZO films as channel layers on the performance of transistors. Our research demonstrates that TALD is crucial for high density integration technology, and the proposed vertical IGZO CAA-TFT provides a feasible path to break through the technical problems for the continuous scale of electronic equipment.

Numerical Simulation of Flow Field and Flow State Division in Thin-Film Evaporators

The flow field and flow state of thin-film evaporators are complex,and it is significant to effectively divide and quantify the flow field and flow state,as well as to study the internal flow field distribution and material mixing characteristics to improve the efficiency of thin-film evaporators.By using computational fluid dynamics(CFD)numerical simulation,the distribution pattern of the high-viscosity fluid flow field in the thin-film evaporators was obtained.It was found that the staggered interrupted blades could greatly promote material mixing and transportation,and impact the film formation of high-viscosity materials on the evaporator wall.Furthermore,a flow field state recognition method based on radial volume fraction statistics was proposed,and could quantitatively describe the internal flow field of thin-film evaporators.The method divides the high-viscosity materials in the thin-film evaporators into three flow states,the liquid film state,the exchange state and the liquid mass state.The three states of materials could be quantitatively described.The results show that the materials in the exchange state can connect the liquid film and the liquid mass,complete the material mixing and exchange,renew the liquid film,and maintain continuous and efficient liquid film evaporation.

Generation of broadband polarization-orthogonal photon pairs via the dispersion-engineered thin-film lithium niobate waveguide

Broadband photon pairs are highly desirable for quantum metrology,quantum sensing,and quantum communication.Such sources are usually designed through type-0 phase-matching spontaneous parametric down-conversion(SPDC)that makes the photon pairs hard to separate in the frequency-degenerate case and thus limits their applications.In this paper,we design a broadband frequency-degenerate telecom-band photon pair source via the type-II SPDC in a dispersion-engineered thin-film lithium niobate waveguide,where the polarization modes of photon pairs are orthogonal and thus are easily separated deterministically.With a 5-mm-long waveguide,our design can achieve a bandwidth of 5.56 THz(44.8 nm),which is 8.6 times larger than that of the bulk lithium niobate,and the central wavelength can be flexibly adjusted.Our design is a promising approach towards high-quality integrated photon sources and may have wide applications in photonic quantum technologies.

Numerical Study and Optimization of CZTS-Based Thin-Film Solar Cell Structure with Different Novel Buffer-Layer Materials Using SCAPS-1D Software

This study explored the performances of CZTS-based thin-film solar cell with three novel buffer layer materials ZnS, CdS, and CdZnS, as well as with variation in thickness of buffer and absorber-layer, doping concentrations of absorber-layer material and operating temperature. Our aims focused to identify the most optimal thin-film solar cell structure that offers high efficiency and lower toxicity which are desirable for sustainable and eco-friendly energy sources globally. SCAPS-1D, widely used software for modeling and simulating solar cells, has been used and solar cell fundamental performance parameters such as open-circuited voltage (), short-circuited current density (), fill-factor() and efficiency() have been optimized in this study. Based on our simulation results, it was found that CZTS solar cell with Cd0.4Zn0.6S as buffer-layer offers the most optimal combination of high efficiency and lower toxicity in comparison to other structure investigated in our study. Although the efficiency of Cd0.4Zn0.6S, ZnS and CdS are comparable, Cd0.4Zn0.6S is preferable to use as buffer-layer for its non-toxic property. In addition, evaluation of performance as a function of buffer-layer thickness for Cd0.4Zn0.6S, ZnS and CdS showed that optimum buffer-layer thickness for Cd0.4Zn0.6S was in the range from 50 to 150nm while ZnS offered only 50 – 75 nm. Furthermore, the temperature dependence performance parameters evaluation revealed that it is better to operate solar cell at temperature 290K for stable operation with optimum performances. This study would provide valuable insights into design and optimization of nanotechnology-based solar energy technology for minimizing global energy crisis and developing eco-friendly energy sources sustainable and simultaneously.

AZO薄膜制备工艺及其性能研究

综述了掺铝氧化锌(AZO)薄膜制备方法与光电特性,重点阐述了磁控溅射法制备工艺参数如衬底温度、溅射功率、气体压强、溅射时间、衬底和靶间距、负偏压等对AZO薄膜结构、光电性能的影响,并指出目前AZO薄膜的研究关键以及所面临的挑战,展望了未来的研究方向。

磁控溅射制备AZO/Ag/AZO透明导电膜的性能研究

选择ZnO2与Al2O3质量比为97:3的靶材为溅射源,用射频磁控溅射法室温下在玻璃基底上沉积AZO/Ag/AZO薄膜,讨论了氧流量变化对薄膜透光率、方阻及表面形貌的影响并深入分析了机理。研究结果表明,氧流量变化会导致薄膜沉积厚度的变化,氧流量为4时薄膜沉积速率最快。沉积AZO时充入氧气会使整个膜系的透光率不随Ag层增厚明显降低,并且会使膜系的方阻降低。在最优氧流量为4L/min(标准状态下,下同)上下各沉积59nm的AZO与氧流量为0时沉积33nm银层相匹配的复合膜在可见光区(包括基底)的透光率达到90%,方阻为2.5Ω/ □。