Optimizing the power conversion processes in diluted donor/acceptor heterojunctions towards 19.4%efficiency all-polymer solar cells

All polymer solar cells(all-PSCs)promise mechanically-flexible and morphologically-stable organic photovoltaics and have aroused increased interests very recently.However,due to their disorderly conformation structures within the photoactive film,inefficient charge generation and carrier transport are observed which lead to inferior photovoltaic performance compared to smaller molecular acceptor-based photovoltaics.Here,by diluting PM6 with a cutting-edge polymeric acceptor PY-IT and diluting PY-IT with PM6 or D18,donor-dominating or acceptor-dominating heterojunctions were prepared.Synchrotron X-ray and multiple spectrometer techniques reveal that the diluted heterojunctions receive increased structural order,translating to enhanced carrier mobility,improved exciton diffusion length,and suppressed non-radiative recombination loss during the power conversion.As the results,the corresponding PM6+1%PY-IT/PY-IT+1%D18 and PM6+1%PY-IT/PY-IT+1%PM6 devices fabricated by layer-by-layer deposition received superior power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 19.4%and 18.8%respectively,along with enhanced operational lifetimes in air,outperforming the PCE of 17.5%in the PM6/PY-IT reference device.

Enhancing I^(0)/I^(-)Conversion Efficiency by Starch Confinement in Zinc-lodine Battery

The redox couple of I^(0)/I^(-)in aqueous rechargeable iodine–zinc(I^(2)-Zn)batteries is a promising energy storage resource since it is safe and cost-effective,and provides steady output voltage.However,the cycle life and efficiency of these batteries remain unsatisfactory due to the uncontrolled shuttling of polyiodide(I_(3)^(-)and I_(5)^(-))and side reactions on the Zn anode.Starch is a very low-cost and widely sourced food used daily around the world.“Starch turns blue when it encounters iodine”is a classic chemical reaction,which results from the unique structure of the helix starch molecule–iodine complex.Inspired by this,we employ starch to confine the shuttling of polyiodide,and thus,the I^(0)/I^(-)conversion efficiency of an I^(2)-Zn battery is clearly enhanced.According to the detailed characterizations and theoretical DFT calculation results,the enhancement of I^(0)/I^(-)conversion efficiency is mainly originated from the strong bonding between the charged products of I_(3)^(-)and I_(5)^(-)and the rich hydroxyl groups in starch.This work provides inspiration for the rational design of high-performance and low-cost I^(2)-Zn in AZIBs.

High Efficiency Formamidinium-Cesium Perovskite-Based Radio-Photovoltaic Cells

Radio-photovoltaic cell is a micro nuclear battery for devices operating in extreme environments,which converts the decay energy of a radioisotope into electric energy by using a phosphor and a photovoltaic converter.Many phosphors with high light yield and good environmental stability have been developed,but the performance of radio-photovoltaic cells remains far behind expectations in terms of power density and power conversion efficiency,because of the poor photoelectric conversion efficiency of traditional photovoltaic converters under low-light conditions.This paper reports an radio-photovoltaic cell based on an intrinsically stable formamidinium-cesium perovskite photovoltaic converter exhibiting a wide light wavelength response from 300 to 800 nm,high open-circuit voltage(V_(oc)),and remarkable efficiency at low-light intensity.When a He ions accelerator is adopted as a mimickedαradioisotope source with an equivalent activity of 0.83 mCi cm^(-2),the formamidinium-cesium perovskite radio-photovoltaic cell achieves a V_(oc)of 0.498 V,a short-circuit current(J_(sc))of 423.94 nA cm^(-2),and a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 0.886%,which is 6.6 times that of the Si reference radio-photovoltaic cell,as well as the highest among all radio-photovoltaic cells reported so far.This work provides a theoretical basis for enhancing the performance of radio-photovoltaic cells.

Enhancing the crystallinity and stability of perovskite solar cells with 4-tert-butylpyridine induction for efficiency exceeding 24%

Perovskite solar cells(PSCs)have emerged as a promising photovoltaic technology because of their high light absorption coefficient,long carrier diffusion distance,and tunable bandgap.However,PSCs face challenges such as hysteresis effects and stability issues.In this study,we introduced a novel approach to improve film crystallization by leveraging 4-tert-butylpyridine(TBP)molecules,thereby enhancing the performance and stability of PSCs.Our findings demonstrate the effective removal of PbI_(2)from the perovskite surface through strong coordination with TBP molecules.Additionally,by carefully adjusting the concentration of the TBP solution,we achieved enhanced film crystallinity without disrupting the perovskite structure.The TBP-treated perovskite films exhibit a low defect density,improved crystallinity,and improved carrier lifetime.As a result,the PSCs manufactured with TBP treatment achieve power conversion efficiency(PCE)exceeding 24%.Moreover,we obtained the PCE of 21.39%for the 12.25 cm^(2)module.

Improved efficiency and stability of inverse perovskite solar cells via passivation cleaning

Amidst the global energy and environmental crisis,the quest for efficient solar energy utilization intensifies.Perovskite solar cells,with efficiencies over 26%and cost-effective production,are at the forefront of research.Yet,their stability remains a barrier to industrial application.This study introduces innovative strategies to enhance the stability of inverted perovskite solar cells.By bulk and surface passivation,defect density is reduced,followed by a"passivation cleaning"using Apacl amino acid salt and isopropyl alcohol to refine film surface quality.Employing X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscope(SEM),and atomic force microscopy(AFM),we confirmed that this process effectively neutralizes surface defects and curbs non-radiative recombination,achieving 22.6%efficiency for perovskite solar cells with the composition Cs_(0.15)FA_(0.85)PbI_(3).Crucially,the stability of treated cells in long-term tests has been markedly enhanced,laying groundwork for industrial viability.

Meta-analysis of CO_(2) conversion,energy efficiency,and other performance data of plasma-catalysis reactors with the open access PIONEER database

This paper brings the comparison of performances of CO_(2)conversion by plasma and plasma-assisted catalysis based on the data collected from literature in this field,organised in an open access online database.This tool is open to all users to carry out their own analyses,but also to contributors who wish to add their data to the database in order to improve the relevance of the comparisons made,and ultimately to improve the efficiency of CO_(2)conversion by plasma-catalysis.The creation of this database and database user interface is motivated by the fact that plasma-catalysis is a fast-growing field for all CO_(2)conversion processes,be it methanation,dry reforming of methane,methanolisation,or others.As a result of this rapid increase,there is a need for a set of standard procedures to rigorously compare performances of different systems.However,this is currently not possible because the fundamental mechanisms of plasma-catalysis are still too poorly understood to define these standard procedures.Fortunately however,the accumulated data within the CO_(2)plasma-catalysis community has become large enough to warrant so-called“big data”studies more familiar in the fields of medicine and the social sciences.To enable comparisons between multiple data sets and make future research more effective,this work proposes the first database on CO_(2)conversion performances by plasma-catalysis open to the whole community.This database has been initiated in the framework of a H_(2)0_(2)0 European project and is called the“PIONEER Data Base”.The database gathers a large amount of CO_(2)conversion performance data such as conversion rate,energy efficiency,and selectivity for numerous plasma sources coupled with or without a catalyst.Each data set is associated with metadata describing the gas mixture,the plasma source,the nature of the catalyst,and the form of coupling with the plasma.Beyond the database itself,a data extraction tool with direct visualisation features or advanced filtering functionalities has been developed and is available online to the public.The simple and fast visualisation of the state of the art puts new results into context,identifies literal gaps in data,and consequently points towards promising research routes.More advanced data extraction illustrates the impact that the database can have in the understanding of plasma-catalyst coupling.Lessons learned from the review of a large amount of literature during the setup of the database lead to best practice advice to increase comparability between future CO_(2)plasma-catalytic studies.Finally,the community is strongly encouraged to contribute to the database not only to increase the visibility of their data but also the relevance of the comparisons allowed by this tool.

A new perspective to develop regiorandom polymer acceptors with high active layer ductility,excellent device stability,and high efficiency approaching 17%

The recently reported efficient polymerized small-molecule acceptors(PSMAs)usually adopt a regioregular backbone by polymerizing small-molecule acceptors precursors with a low-reactivity 5-brominated 3-(dicyanomethylidene)indan-1-one(IC)end group or its derivatives,leading to low molecular weight,and thus reduce active layer mechanical properties.Herein,a series of newly designed chlorinated PSMAs originating from isomeric IC end groups are developed by adjusting chlorinated positions and copolymerized sites on end groups to achieve high molecular weight,favorable intermolecular interaction,and improved physicochemical properties.Compared with regioregular PY2Se-Cl-o and PY2Se-Cl-m,regiorandom PY2Se-Cl-ran has a similar absorption profile,moderate lowest unoccupied molecular orbital level,and favorable intermolecular packing and crystallization properties.Moreover,the binary PM6:PY2Se-Cl-ran blend achieves better ductility with a crack-onset strain of 17.5% and improved power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 16.23% in all-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs)due to the higher molecular weight of PY2Se-Cl-ran and optimized blend morphology,while the ternary PM6:J71:PY2Se-Cl-ran blend offers an impressive PCE approaching 17% and excellent device stability,which are all crucial for potential practical applications of all-PSCs in wearable electronics.To date,the efficiency of 16.86% is the highest value reported for the regiorandom PSMAs-based all-PSCs and is also one of the best values reported for the all-PSCs.Our work provides a new perspective to develop efficient all-PSCs,with all high active layer ductility,impressive PCE,and excellent device stability,towards practical applications.

Mechanism and reservoir simulation study of the autothermic pyrolysis in-situ conversion process for oil shale recovery

The autothermic pyrolysis in-situ conversion process (ATS) consumes latent heat of residual organic matter after kerogen pyrolysis by oxidation reaction, and it has the advantages of low development cost and exploitation of deep oil shale resources. However, the heating mechanism and the characteristic of different reaction zones are still unclear. In this study, an ATS numerical simulation model was proposed for the development of oil shale, which considers the pyrolysis of kerogen, high-temperature oxidation, and low-temperature oxidation. Based on the above model, the mechanism of the ATS was analyzed and the effects of preheating temperature, O_(2) content, and injection rate on recovery factor and energy efficiency were studied. The results showed that the ATS in the formation can be divided into five characteristic zones by evolution of the oil and O_(2) distribution, and the solid organic matter, including residue zone, autothermic zone, pyrolysis zone, preheating zone, and original zone. Energy efficiency was much higher for the ATS than for the high-temperature nitrogen injection in-situ conversion process (HNICP). There is a threshold value of the preheating temperature, the oil content, and the injection rate during the ATS, which is 400 °C, 0.18, and 1100 m3/day, respectively, in this study.

Lu^(3+)掺杂Na_(5)Y_(9)F_(32)∶Ho^(3+)/Yb^(3+)/Ce^(3+)单晶体的增强红色上转换发光与光学温度传感性能

采用密封的坩埚下降法技术生长了一系列Lu^(3+)(摩尔分数0、0.6%、1.2%、1.8%)掺杂Na_(5)Y_(9)F_(32)∶Ho^(3+)/Yb^(3+)/Ce^(3+)单晶体。在980 nm LD激发下,观察到单晶体的绿光543 nm(^(5)S_(2)/^(5)F_(4)→^(5)I_(8))、红光656 nm(^(5)F_(5)→^(5)I_(8))以及近红外750 nm(^(5)S_(2)/^(5)F4→^(5)I_(7))上转换发光。从上转换发光强度随激发光强度的变化情况,确定了543 nm、656 nm与750 nm的发光为双光子跃迁过程。研究了Lu^(3+)离子掺杂浓度对其发光强度与荧光寿命的影响情况,随着Lu^(3+)掺杂浓度从0增加到1.8%,单晶体中的656 nm红光逐步增强,543 nm绿光与750 nm近红外光随之减弱,红绿光强度比从0.01增加到了1.55,而543 nm荧光寿命从1.29 ms降低至0.99 ms。Lu^(3+)离子的掺入取代Y^(3+)晶格位,改变了单晶体的局域场环境,导致上转换发光强度的变化。基于随温度变化的上转换红光656 nm(^(5)F5→^(5)I8)与绿光543 nm(^(5)S_(2)/^(5)F4→^(5)I8)的发光强度变化,研究了1.8%Lu^(3+)掺杂Na_(5)Y_(9)F_(32)∶Ho^(3+)/Yb^(3+)/Ce^(3+)单晶体在298~448 K范围内的绝对灵敏度和相对灵敏度最大值分别为0.242%·K^(-1)和0.217%·K^(-1)。

Temperature Effect on Light Concentration Silicon Solar Cell’s Operating Point and Conversion Efficiency

It is well known that temperature acts negatively on practically all the parameters of photovoltaic solar cells. Also, the solar cells which are subjected to particularly very high temperatures are the light concentration solar cells and are used in light concentration photovoltaic systems (CPV). In fact, the significant heating of these solar cells is due to the concentration of the solar flux which arrives on them. Light concentration solar cells appear as solar cells under strong influences of heating and temperature. It is therefore necessary to take into account temperature effect on light concentration solar cells performances in order to obtain realistic results. This one-dimensional study of a crystalline silicon solar cell under light concentration takes into account electrons concentration gradient electric field in the determination of the continuity equation of minority carriers in the base. To determine excess minority carrier’s density, the effects of temperature on the diffusion and mobility of electrons and holes, on the intrinsic concentration of electrons, on carrier’s generation rate as well as on width of band gap have also been taken into account. The results show that an increase of temperature improves diffusion parameters and leads to an increase of the short-circuit photocurrent density. However, an increase of temperature leads to a significant decrease in open-circuit photovoltage, maximum electric power and conversion efficiency. The results also show that the operating point and the maximum power point (MPP) moves to the open circuit when the cell temperature increases.

A Study on the Efficiency Gain of CsSnGeI3 Solar Cells with Graphene Doping

This paper presents a newly designed ultra-thin, lead-free, and all-inorganic solar cell structure. The structure was optimized using the SCAPS-1D simulator, incorporating solid-state layers arranged as n-graphene/CsSnGeI3/p-graphene. The objective was to investigate the potential of utilizing n-graphene as the electron transport layer and p-graphene as the hole transport layer to achieve maximum power conversion efficiency. Various materials for the electron transport layer were evaluated. The optimized cell structure achieved a maximum power conversion efficiency of 20.97%. The proposed solar cell structure demonstrates promising potential as an efficient, inorganic photovoltaic device. These findings provide important insights for developing and optimizing inorganic photovoltaic cells based on CsSnGeI3, with n-graphene electron transport layers and p-graphene hole transport layers.

Applied bias photon-to-current conversion efficiency of ZnO enhanced by hybridization with reduced graphene oxide

The role of reduced graphene oxide（rGO） in the enhancement of photo-conversion efficiency of ZnO films for photoelectrochemical（PEC） water-splitting applications was analyzed. ZnO and rGO-hybridized ZnO（rGO/ZnO） films were prepared via a two-step electrochemical deposition method followed by annealing at 300 °C under argon gas flow. The physical, optical and electrochemical properties of the films were characterized to identify the effect of rGO-hybridization on the applied bias photon-to-current efficiency（ABPE） of ZnO. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction indicated the formation of verticallyaligned, wurtzite-phase ZnO nanorods. Diffuse-reflectance UV–visible spectroscopy indicated that rGO-hybridization was able to increase the light absorption range of the rGO/ZnO film. UPS analysis showed that hybridization with rGO increased the band gap of ZnO（3.56 eV） to 3.63 eV for rGO/ZnO sample,which may be attributed to the Burstein–Moss effect. Photoluminescence（PL） spectra disclosed that rGOhybridization suppressed electron-hole recombination due to crystal defects. Linear sweep voltammetry of the prepared thin films showed photocurrent density of 1.0 and 1.8 m A/cm;for ZnO and rGO/ZnO at+0.7 V, which corresponded to an ABPE of 0.55% and 0.95%, respectively. Thus, this report highlighted the multi-faceted role of rGO-hybridization in the enhancement of ZnO photo-conversion efficiency.

Studies on the Effects of Crystallite Sizes and Scattering Layers on the Conversion Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell

We have carried out the characterization of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) using various techniques including current-voltage characteristic measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-visible spectrophotometry, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction (XRD), etc. The result we obtained from our work has clearly shown that dye adsorption capability of the DSSC is affected by the film thickness. The EDX spectroscopy verified that our samples are generally of good quality without significant inclusion of foreign elements. The XRD pattern demonstrated that all the TiO2 active layers are consisting of anatase phase. Our results also showed that smaller crystallite sizes of the TiO2 and inclusion of a scattering layer produce better efficiency for the DSSC.

InxGa1-xN/GaN Multiple Quantum Well Solar Cells with Conversion Efficiency of 3.77%

We report on fabrication and photovoltaic characteristics of InxGa1-xN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells with different indium compositions and barrier thicknesses. The as-grown samples are characterized by high- resolution x-ray diffraction and reciprocal space mapping. The results show that the sample with a thick barrier thickness （lO.Onm） and high indium composition （0.23） has better crystalline quality. In addition, the dark current density-voltage （J-V） measurement of this device shows a significant decrease of leakage current, which leads to high open-circuit voltage Vow. Through the J-V characteristics under an Air Mass 1.5 Global （AM 1.5 G） illumination, this device exhibits a Voc of 1.89 V, a short-circuit current density Ysc of 3.92mA/cm2 and a fill factor of 50.96%. As a result, the conversion efficiency （77） is enhanced to be 3.77% in comparison with other devices.

Optimum Efficiency of Photogalvanic Cell for Solar Energy Conversion: Lissamine Green B-Ascorbic Acid-NaLS System

Photogalvanic cells are photoelectrochemical cells chargeable in light for solar energy conversion and storage. They may be energy source for the future, if their electrical performance is increased. In this study, a photosensitizer Lissamine green B, a reductant Ascorbic acid and a surfactant NaLS have been used in the photogalvanic cell. The generated photopotential and photocurrent are 850.0 mV and 375.0 μA respectively. The conversion efficiency of the cell, fill factor and the cell performance were observed 1.0257%, 0.2598% and 170.0 minutes in dark respectively. The effects of different parameters on the electrical output of the photogalvanic cell were observed. A mechanism was proposed for the photogeneration of electrical energy.

Three-Dimensional Study of the Effect of the Angle of Incidence of a Magnetic Field on the Electrical Power and Conversion Efficiency of a Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cell under Multispectral Illumination

A three-dimensional approach to the effect of magnetic field incidence angle on electrical power and conversion efficiency is performed on a front-illuminated polycrystalline silicon bifacial solar cell. A solution of the continuity equation allowed us to present the equations of photocurrent density, photovoltage and electric power. The influence of the angle of incidence of the magnetic field on the photocurrent density, the photovoltage and the electric power has been studied. The curves of electrical power versus dynamic junction velocity were used to extract the values of maximum electrical power and dynamic junction velocity and to calculate those of conversion efficiency. From this study, it is found that the conversion efficiency values increase with the angle of incidence of the magnetic field.

Light Soaking Induced Increase in Conversion Efficiency in Solar Cells Based on In(OH)_xS_y/Pb(OH)_xS_y

Light soaking characterization on complete SnO2:F/TiO2/In(OH)xSy/Pb(OH)xSy/PEDOT:PSS/Au, eta solar cell structure as well as on devices which do not include one or both TiO2 and/or PEDOT:PSS layers has been conducted. Additionally, studies of SnO2:F/In(OH)xSy/Pb(OH)xSy/PEDOT:PSS/Au solar cell have been performed. The power conversion efficiency and the short circuit current density have been found to increase with light soaking duration by a factor of about 1.6 - 2.7 and 2.1 - 3, respectively. The increase in these two parameters has been attributed to the filling up of trap states and/or charge-discharge of deep levels found in In(OH)xSy. These effects take place at almost fill factor and open circuit voltage being unaffected by the light soaking effects.

高亮度固态照明用LuYAG∶Ce荧光陶瓷

实现高发光效率、高亮度和良好的热稳定性是固态照明的迫切要求。因此,用于高功率发光二极管或激光二极管(LED/LD)的高性能荧光转换材料具有重要的研究意义。在这项工作中,通过将Lu^(3+)离子引入YAG∶Ce荧光陶瓷中方法作为有效策略来改善YAG∶Ce荧光材料的发光性能。采用固相反应和真空烧结法制Article ID:1000-7032(2023)06-0964^(-1)1收稿日期:2022^(-1)2-31;修订日期:2023-01-30基金项目:中国科学院战略性先导科技专项(XDA22010301)Supported by The Strategic Priority Research Program of The Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA22010301)第6 HUANG Xinyou期,et al.:LuYAG∶Ce Transparent Ceramic Phosphors for High-brightness Solid-state…备了不同Lu^(3+)含量的(Lu,Y)_(3)Al_(5)O_(12)∶Ce荧光陶瓷(LuYAG∶Ce荧光陶瓷)。随着Lu^(3+)含量的增加,LuYAG∶Ce荧光陶瓷中的Y^(3+)位点被Lu^(3+)位点取代,Ce^(3+)的发射峰呈现从573 nm到563 nm的蓝移现象。当Lu^(3+)含量为60%时,通过将LuYAG∶Ce荧光陶瓷与蓝光LED组合,其发光强度达到最大值,流明效率达到114 lm∙W^(-1)。使用450 nm激光源与LuYAG∶Ce荧光陶瓷构建了透射模式下的激光驱动照明装置。随着功率密度从2.2 W·mm^(-2)增加到39 W·mm^(-2),Lu^(3+)含量为60%的荧光陶瓷光通量从128 lm增加到1874 lm,且没有发光饱和的迹象,最佳发光效率达到128 lm·W^(-1)。因此,LuYAG∶Ce荧光陶瓷有望成为高功率LED/LD照明的潜在荧光转换材料。

Improvement of the conversion efficiency of Mg_(3)Sb_(2)thermoelectric devices through optimizing the resistivity of the MgSbNi barrier layer

Mg_(3)Sb_(2)-based thermoelectric materials have been the focus of widespread investigations as promising candidates for the harvesting of waste heat.Interface stability and service performance are key points for the commercial applications of these materials.We utilized Mg_(4.3)Sb_(3)Ni as a barrier layer to improve the thermal stability of Mg 3 Sb 2-based devices.However,its intrinsic high resistivity contributed nega-tively to the desired performance of the device.In this work,we investigated two other Mg-Sb-Ni ternary phases,MgSbNi and MgSbNi_(2),as new barrier layer materials to connect with Mg_(3.2)Sb_(2)Y_(0.05).The results show that the efficiency of the Mg_(1.2)SbNi/Mg_(3.2)Sb_(2)Y_(0.05)/Mg_(1.2)SbNi joint is increased by 33%relative to the higher Mg-content barriers due to lower resistivity.The system exhibited good interfacial compatibility and showed little change with aging at 673 K for 20 days.

Investigation of Formation and Inhibition Mechanism of Cerium Conversion Films on Al 2024 Alloy

To study the mechanism of formation and inhibition of Ce conversion films on Al 2024-T3 alloy, scanning microreference electrode technique (SMRE) is used to probe the potential map on Al 2024-T3 in CeCl 3 solution, the localized corrosion of Al alloy decreases with immersion time and disappears finally, which results from the competition of Cl - aggression and Ce 3+ inhibition on alloy surface. The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicate that the Ce conversion films consist of Al 2O 3, CeO 2 and Ce 2O 3(Ce(OH) 3), and CeO 2/Ce 2O 3 ratio decreases with the immersion time. When a critical pH for Ce(OH) 3 formation was reached, Ce(OH) 3 will precipitate on the micro cathodic area on alloy surface. Consequently, H 2O 2, the product of the catholic reaction will oxidize a part of Ce(OH) 3 to CeO 2, which appears a better corrosion resistance for Al alloys.