Tin oxide(SnO_2) as effective electron selective layer material in hybrid organic–inorganic metal halide perovskite solar cells

The emergence of hybrid organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite solar cells （PSCs） causes a break through in the solar technology recently due to its fabrication processes. The dramatic enhancenlent in in 2009 to the recent certified record PCE of 22.7% superior optoelectronic properties and the low-cost power conversion efficiency （PCE） of PSCs flom 3.8% ndicates huge potential of PSCs for future high efficiency and large scale photovoltaic manufacturing. The electron selective layer （ESL） plays an important role in electron extraction and hole blocking function in PSCs, and there have been great interest in developing efficient ESL materials. Recently, tin oxide （SnO2） as an ESL has attracted significant research attentions owing to its low temperature preparation processes as well as yielding high PCE and good stability of PSCs. In this perspective article, we focus on the development progress of SnO2 as an ESL m PSCs, and discuss the strategies for preparing SnO2 to achieve PSCs with high efficiency, less hysteresis and good device stability.

钛微合金钢冶炼过程中TiN生成与控制的研究进展

钛微合金钢在航空航天、汽车制造、建筑工程等领域有着广泛的应用。向钢中加入Ti元素进行微合金化,可以明显地提高材料的强度,并且改善材料的性能,但会在钢中形成TiN夹杂。TiN析出温度较高,细小的TiN夹杂可以抑制高温下晶粒的长大,同时诱导晶内针状铁素体(IAF)的形成;而粗大的TiN夹杂对材料的性能不利。本文从TiN的生成与控制两个方面讨论了国内外近年来关于含钛微合金钢中TiN生成的最新进展。在TiN的生成上,主要总结了TiN的生成方式、形貌特征、热力学及动力学因素对TiN生成的影响,以及钢中TiN对钢材性能的危害。在TiN的控制上,主要总结了Al、B元素与Ti元素的协同作用对TiN生成的影响、Mg处理、Ca处理,以及稀土(Ce、La、Y)处理对钢中TiN生成的影响。钢中其他元素和Ti元素间的协同效应可以影响TiN的数量、尺寸及形貌。Mg处理、Ca处理以及稀土处理可以为TiN的生成提供有效形核质点,同时减少了大尺寸TiN夹杂的生成。经过Mg、Ca处理及稀土处理能生成纳米级的TiN复合夹杂,能有效诱导IAF的形成,强化钢材的性能。

Facile synthesis of tin oxide nanocrystals and their photocatalytic activity

Tin oxide nanociystals with diameters smaller than 10 nm were synthesized using Na2SnO3 and CO2 as reactants and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide（CTAB） as stabilizer under mild conditions.As a mild acidic gas,CO2 is favorable for the accurate adjustment of pH value of Na2SnO3 solution.Stannate salt is stable,cheap and easy in operation.The effects of Na2SnO3concentration,CTAB concentration,aging temperature,and aging time on the nanociystals were studied.It was found that,with the increasing Na2SnO3 concentration,aging temperature and aging time,SnO2 nanociystals size decreases.The formation of SnO2nanociystals can be interpreted by electrostatic-interaction mechanism.SnO2 nanociystals show high photocatalytic activities in the degradation of Rhodamine B solution.The catalytic activity of small nanocrystals is higher than that of large ones.

Effects of hierarchical structure on the performance of tin oxide-supported platinum catalyst for room-temperature formaldehyde oxidation

Flower-like tin oxide-supported platinum（Pt/SnOx） with a hierarchical structure was synthesized by a hydrothermal method and characterized by XRD,SEM,TEM,high resolution TEM,XPS and nitrogen adsorption.The flower-like Pt/SnOx microspheres of 1 μm in diameter were composed of staggered petal-like nanosheets with a thickness of 20 nm.Pt nanoparticles（NPs） of 2-3 nm were well dispersed on the SnOx nanosheets.The catalyst was tested in the catalytic oxidation of gaseous formaldehyde（HCHO） at room temperature,and exhibited enhanced activity compared to Pt NPs supported on commercial SnO and ground SnOx.HCHO removal of 87%was achieved over the hierarchical Pt/SnOx after 1 h of reaction,which was 1.5 times that over the ground SnOx-supported Pt（Pt/g-SnOx）,and the high activity was maintained after six recycles,showing the high stability of this catalyst.HCHO decomposition kinetics was modeled as a second order reaction.The reaction rate constant for Pt/SnOx was 5.6 times higher than Pt/g-SnOx.The hierarchical pore structure was beneficial for the diffusion and adsorption of HCHO molecules,and the highly dispersed Pt NPs on the SnOx nanosheets were the active sites for the oxidative decomposition of HCHO into CO2 and H2O.This study provided a promising approach for designing efficient catalysts for indoor HCHO removal at ambient temperature.

SnO2-based electron transporting layer materials for perovskite solar cells: A review of recent progress

In recent years, due to their high photo-to-electric power conversion efficiency(PCE)(up to 23%(certified)) and low cost, perovskite solar cells(PSCs) have attracted a great deal of attention in photovoltaics field. The high PCE can be attributed to the excellent physical properties of organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite materials, such as a long charge diffusion length and a high absorption coefficient in the visible range. There are different diffusion lengths of holes in electrons in a PSC device, and thus the electron transporting layer(ETL) plays a critical role in the performance of PSCs. An alternative for TiO2, to the most common ETL material is SnO2, which has similar physical properties to TiO2 but with much higher electron mobility, which is beneficial for electron extraction. In addition, there are many facile methods to fabricate SnO2 nanomaterials with low cost and low energy consumption. In this review paper, we focus on recent developments in SnO2 as the ETL of PSCs. The fabrication methods of SnO2 materials are briefly introduced. The influence of multiple Sn O2 types in the ETL on the performance of PSCs is then reviewed. Different methods for improving the PCE and long-term stability of PSCs based on SnO2 ETL are also summarized. The review provides a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the influence of different Sn O2 ETL types on PSC performance and potentially motivates further development of PSCs with an extension to SnO2-based PSCs.

Preparation of indium tin oxide targets with a high density and single phase structure by normal pressure sintering process

The present work mainly describes the technology for preparing indium-tin oxide （ITO） targets by cold isostatic pressing （CIP） and normal pressure sintering process. ITO powders were produced by chemical co-precipitation and shaped into an ITO green compact with a relative density of 60% by CIP under 300 MPa. Then, an ITO target with a relative density larger than 99.6% was obtained by sintering this green compact at 1550℃ for 8 h. The effects of forming pressure, sintering temperature and sintering time on the density of the target were inves- tigated. Also, a discussion was made on the sintering atmosphere.

Support effect of zinc tin oxide on gold catalyst for CO oxidation reaction

Nanostructured gold catalyst supported on metal oxide is highly active for the CO oxidation reac‐tion. In this work, a new type of oxide support, zinc tin oxide, has been used to deposit 0.7 wt%Au via a deposition‐precipitation method. The textural properties of Zn2SnO4 support have been tuned by varying the molar ratio between base （N2H4＆#183;H2O） and metal ion （Zn2＋） to be 4/1, 8/1 and 16/1. The catalytic tests for CO oxidation reaction revealed that the reactivity on Au‐Zn2SnO4 with N2H4＆#183;H2O/Zn2＋ = 8/1 was the highest, while the reactivity on Au‐Zn2SnO4 with N2H4＆#183;H2O/Zn2＋ =16/1 was almost identical to that of the pure support. Both fresh and used catalysts have been characterized by multiple techniques including nitrogen adsorption‐desorption, X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, high‐angle annular dark‐field scanning transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X‐ray adsorption fine structure, and tempera‐ture‐programmed reduction by hydrogen. These demonstrated that the textural properties, espe‐cially pore volume and pore size distribution, of Zn2SnO4 play crucial roles in the averaged size of gold nanoparticles, and thus determine the catalytic activity of Au‐Zn2SnO4 for CO oxidation.

Nitrogen doped tin oxide nanostructured catalysts for selective electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to formate

Tin/tin oxide materials are key electrocatalysts for selective conversion of CO;to formate/formic acid.Herein we report a tin oxide material with nitrogen doping by using ammonia treatment at elevated temperature. The N doped material demonstrated enhanced electrocatalytic CO;reduction activity, showing high Faradaic efficiency（90%） for formate at -0.65 V vs. RHE with partial current density of 4 mA/cm;.The catalysis was contributed to increased electron negativity of N atom compared to O atom. Additionally, the N-doped catalyst demonstrates sulfur tolerance with retained formate selectivity. The analysis after electrolysis shows that the catalyst structure partially converts to metallic Sn, and thus the combined Sn/N-SnO;is the key for the active CO;catalysis.

Preparation of silver tin oxide powders by hydrothermal reduction and crystallization

Silver tin oxide composite powders were synthesized by the hydrothermal method with a silver ammine solution and a Na2SnO3 solution as raw materials. H2C2O4 was used as the co-precipitator of silver ions and tin ions. The co-precipitation conditions were investigated. The results show that the co-precipitate of Ag2C2O4 and Sn（OH）4 is available when the pH value of the solution is 4.27-8.36. Using the obtained precipitate as precursor,the reduction of Ag＋ and the crystallization of tin oxide were carried out simultaneously by the hydrothermal method and silver tin oxide composite powders were obtained. The composite powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD） analysis,scanning electron microscope （SEM）,and energy spectrum analysis. The results show that the silver tin oxide composite powders are small with a diameter of about 2 μm and with homogeneous distribution of tin.

Preparation of Highly Dispersed Antimony-doped Tin Oxide Nano-powder via Ion-exchange Hydrolysis of SnCl_4 and SbCl_3 and Azeotropic Drying

Antimony-doped tin hydroxide colloid precipitates have been synthesized by hydrolysis of SnCl4 and SbCl3 using： （1） an ion-exchange hydrolysis to remove chlorine ions, and （2） isoamyl acetate as an azeotropic solvent to obviate water. The obtained dried powder is of high dispersivity without any need for further grinding. The size and dispersivity of the final particles are investigated with the aid of TG-DTA, BET, XRD and TEM. After having calcined, the antimony-doped tin oxide nanopowder possesses a tetragonal rutile structure with high dispersivity, uniform particles and low hard agglomeration.

Tin oxide-graphite composite for lithium storage material in lithium-ion batteries

A SnO-graphite composite material, which can deliver high capacities and good cycling stability compared with unsupported SnO, was described. This material prepared via chemical co-precipitation reaction in the presence of graphite consists of high dispersion of SnO with a size of about several hundred nanometers in the graphite. The phase structure was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The morphology and the element distribution were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy spectrum. The results show that the SnO-graphite composites produced by slowly hydrolysis have higher rechargeable capacities than pure graphite and better cycling performance than SnO.

Effects of annealing process on characteristics of fully transparent zinc tin oxide thin-film transistor

Annealing effect on the performance of fully transparent thin-film transistor （TTFT）, in which zinc tin oxide （ZnSnO） is used as the channel material and SiO2 as the gate insulator, is investigated. The ZnSnO active layer is deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering while a SiO2 gate insulator is formed by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The saturation field-effect mobility and on/off ratio of the TTFT are improved by low temperature annealing in vacuum. Maximum saturation field-effect mobility and on/off ratio of 56.2 cm2/（V.s） and 3×10^5 are obtained, respectively. The transfer characteristics of the ZnSnO TPT are simulated using an analytical model and good agreement between measured and the calculated transfer characteristics is demonstrated.

Role of chelating agent in chemical and fluorescent properties of SnO_2 nanoparticles

A modified polyacrylamide gel route is applied to synthesize SnO2 nanoparticles. High-quality SnO2 nanoparticles with a uniform size are prepared using different chelating agents. The average particle size of the samples is found to depend on the choice of the chelating agent. The photoluminescence spectrum detected at λex = 230 nm shows a new peak located at 740 nm due to the surface defect level distributed at the nanoparticle boundaries.

Preparation of Indium Tin Oxide Films on Polycarbonate substrates by Radio-frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Indium tin oxide（ITO）thin films（100±10nm）were deposited on PC（polycarbonate）and glass substrates by rf（radio-frequency）mannetron spuutering.The oxygen content of the ITO films was changed by variation of the sputtering gas composition.All the other deposition parameters were kept constant.The sheet resistance.optical transmittance and microstructure of ITO films were investigated using a four-point probe.spectrophotometer,X-ray diffractometer（XRD）and atomic force microscope（AFM）.Sheet resistances for the ITO films with optical transmittance more than 75% on PC substrates varied from 40Ω/cm^2 to more than 104 Ω/cm^2 with increasing oxygen partial pressure from O to about 2%.The same tendeney of sheet resistances increasing with increasing oxygen partial pressure was observed on glass substrates.The X-ray diffraction data indicated polycrystalline filns with grain orientations predominantly along（440）and （422）directions.The intensities of （440）and （422）peaks increased slightly with the increase of oxygen partial pressure both on PC and glass substrates.The AFM images show that the ITO films on PC substrates were dense and uniform.The average grain size of the films was about 40nm.

Low temperature H_2S sensor based on copper oxide/tin dioxide thick film

Nanostructured tin dioxide （SnO2） powders were prepared by a sol-gel dialytic process and and the doping of CuO on it was completed by a deposition-precipitation method.The thick film sensors were fabricated from the CuO/SnO2 polycrystalline powders.Sensing behavior of the sensor was investigated with various gases including CO,H2,NH3,hexane,acetone,ethanol,methanol and H2S in air.The as-synthesized gas sensor had much better response to H2S than to other gases.At the same time,the CuO/SnO2 sensor had enough sensitivity,together with fast response and recovery,to distinguish H2S from those gases at 160 and 210 ℃.Therefore,it might have promising applications in the future.

Preparation of High Quality Indium Tin Oxide Film on a Microbial Cellulose Membrane Using Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Microbial cellulose （MC） membranes produced by Acetobacter xylinum NUST4.1,were used as flexible substrates for the fabrication of transparent indium tin oxide （ITO） electrodes.Transparent and conductive ITO thin films were deposited on MC membrane at room temperature using radio frequency （RF） magnetron sputtering.The optimum ITO deposition conditions were achieved by examining crystalline structure,surface morphology and op-toelectrical characteristics with X-ray diffraction （XRD）,scanning electron microscopy （SEM）,atomic force mi-croscopy （AFM）,and UV spectroscopy.The sheet resistance of the samples was measured with a four-point probe and the resistivity of the film was calculated.The results reveal that the preferred orientation of the deposited ITO crystals is strongly dependent upon with oxygen content （O2/Ar,volume ratio） in the sputtering chamber.And the ITO crystalline structure directly determines the conductivity of ITO-deposited films.High conductive [sheet resis-tance ～120 Ω·square-1 （Ω·sq-1）] and transparent （above 76%） ITO thin films （240 nm thick） were obtained with a moderate sputtering power （about 60 W） and with an oxygen flow rate of 0.25 ml·min-1 （sccm） during the deposi-tion.These results show that the ITO-MC electrodes can find their potential application in optoelectrical devices.

Electrical and optical properties of indium tin oxide/epoxy composite film

The electrical and optical properties of the indium tin oxide （ITO）/epoxy composite exhibit dramatic variations as functions of the ITO composition and ITO particle size. Sharp increases in the conductivity in the vicinity of a critical volume fraction have been found within the framework of percolation theory. A conductive and insulating transition model is extracted by the ITO particle network in the SEM image, and verified by the resistivity dependence on the temperature. The dependence of the optical transmittance on the particle size was studied. Further decreasing the ITO particle size could further improve the percolation threshold and light transparency of the composite film.

Probing the role of surface speciation of tin oxide and tin catalysts on CO_(2) electroreduction combining in situ Raman spectroscopy and reactivity investigations

Electrochemical CO_(2)reduction to formate is a promising approach to store renewable electricity and utilize CO_(2).Tin oxide catalysts are efficient catalysts for this process,while the mechanisms underneath,especially the existence and role of oxidized tin species under CO2 electroreduction conditions remain unclear.In this work,we provide strong evidence on the presence of oxidized tin species on both SnO_(2)and Sn during CO_(2)reduction via in situ surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy,while in different nature.Reactivity measurements show similar activity and selectivity to formate production on SnO_(2)and Sn catalysts.Combined analysis of Raman spectra and reactivity results suggests that Sn(IV)and Sn(II)oxide species are unlikely the catalytic species in CO_(2)electroreduction to formate.

Development of a novel electrolytic process for producing high-purity magnesium metal from magnesium oxide using a liquid tin cathode

The current electrolytic processes for magnesium(Mg)metal have several disadvantages,such as anhydrous magnesium chloride(MgCl_(2))preparation and generation of harmful chlorine(Cl_(2))gas.To overcome these drawbacks,a novel Mg production process to produce high-purity Mg metal directly from magnesium oxide(MgO)was investigated in this study.The electrolysis of MgO was conducted using a liquid tin(Sn)cathode and a carbon(C)anode in the eutectic composition of a magnesium fluoride(MgF_(2))-lithium fluoride(LiF)molten salt under an applied voltage of 2.5 V at 1053-1113 K.Under certain conditions,the Mg-Sn alloys with Mg_(2)Sn and Mg(Sn)phases were obtained with a current efficiency of 86.6%at 1053 K.To produce high-purity Mg metal from the Mg-Sn alloy,vacuum distillation was conducted at 1200-1300 K for a duration of 5-10 h.Following the vacuum distillation,the concentration of Mg in the Mg-Sn alloy feed decreased from 34.1 to 0.17 mass%,and Mg metal with a purity of 99.999%was obtained at 1200 K.Therefore,the electrolytic process developed here is feasible for the production of high-purity Mg metal from MgO using an efficient method.

Soft chemical synthesis and electrochemical properties of tin oxide-based materials as anodes for lithium ion batteries

A novel soft chemical approach was developed to synthesize tin oxide-based powders. The microstructure, morphology, and electrochemical performance of the materials were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and electrochemical methods. The results show that the particles of tin oxide-based materials form an interconnected network structure like mesoporous material. The average size of the particles is about 200 nm. The materials deliver a charge capacity of more than 570 mA·h·g-1. And the capacity loss per cycle is about 0.15% after being cycled for 30 times. The good electrochemical performance indicates that tin oxide-based materials are promising anodes for lithium ion batteries.