Low-Cost and High-Performance Polymer Solar Cells with Efficiency Insensitive to Active-Layer Thickness

The power conversion efficiency(PCE)of polymer solar cells(PSCs)has recently increased quickly,propelling PSCs closer to large-scale commercialization.However,several critical issues,such as the cost of materials and the sensitivity of the PCE to active-layer thickness,must be addressed before industrial application can be realized on a large scale.Here,we fabricated a high-performance ternary PSC based on a low-cost polymer donor PTQ10 and an A-DA’D-A-type small molecule acceptor(SMA)2,2'-((2Z,2'Z)-((12,13-bis(2-butyloctyl)-3,9-bis(4-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)-12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-e]thieno[2'',3'':4',5']thieno[2',3':4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-g]thieno[2',3':4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indole-2,10-diyl)bis(methaneylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile(m-TEH)with a newA-DA’D-A-type SMA 2,2'-((2Z,2'Z)-((12,13-bis(2-butyloctyl)-3,9-bis(3-(2-ethylhexyl)phenyl)-12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-e]thieno[2'',3'':4',5']thieno[2',3':4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-g]thieno[2',3':4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indole-2,10-diyl)bis(methaneylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile(m-PEH)(with phenyl outer side chains)as the third component.Benefitting from the good compatibility and the unique alignment of the energy levels between PTQ10 and the two SMAs,the ternary system showed favorable phase separation and dominant face-on orientation,exhibiting suitable film morphology and enhanced charge transport.Therefore,the optimized ternary PSCs based on PTQ10∶m-TEH∶m-PEH(1.0∶0.9∶0.3,w/w/w)demonstrated an outstanding PCE of 19.34%,which is one of the highest PCEs reported for the single junction PSCs to date.More importantly,the ternary PSCs demonstrated superior tolerance to the active-layer thickness and showed a high PCE of 18.02% with a high fill factor(FF)of 76.56% for the devices with the active-layer thickness even reaching 300 nm.These results indicate that the ternary devices based on PTQ10∶m-TEH∶m-PEH are highly promising for future large-area fabrication and commercial application of PSCs.

Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of a Temperate-Glacier's Active-Layer Temperature and Its Responses to Climate Change: A Case Study of Baishui Glacier No. 1, Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Based on the historical documents and measured data from the active-layer temperature （ALT） at A, B and C locations （4 670, 4 720 and 4 770 m a.s.l.） on Baishui Glacier No. 1, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, this paper analyzed spatial-temporal characteristics of ALT and its relationship with air temperature, and revealed the response of the active layer ice temperature towards climate change in the monitoring period. The results showed that the influence of air temperature on the active-layer ice temperature had a hysteresis characteristic on the upper of ablation zone and the lag period in- creased gradually with the altitude elevating. The decrease amplitude of ALT in the accumulation pe- riod was far below its increase magnitude in the ablation period. At the same time, the mean glacier ice temperatures at 10 m depth （T10） in A, B and C profile were obviously higher than most of glaciers previously studied. Measured data also showed that the mean ALT increased by 0.24℃ in 0.5-8.5 m depth of the C profile during 28 years from July 11, 1982 to July 10, 2009.

Data-driven spatiotemporal projections of shallow permafrost based on CMIP6 across the Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau at 1 km^(2) scale

The degradation of near-surface permafrost under ongoing climate change on the Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau (QTP) is of growing concern due to its impacts on geomorphological and ecological processes, as well as human activities. There is an increased need for an in-depth understanding of the evolution of permafrost temperature (Ttop) and active-layer thickness (ALT) at a fine scale on the QTP under climate change. This study evaluated the permafrost thermal development over the QTP for the period 1980–2100 at a 1 km^(2) scale using a physically analytical model accounting for both climatic and local environmental factors based on multi-source data. The model results were validated against thermal borehole measurements and baseline maps. The modeled current (2001–2018) permafrost area (Ttop ≤ 0 ℃) covers 1.42 × 10^(6) km^(2) (ca. 56.1% of the QTP land area), 10.1% of which thawed over the historical period 1981–2000. To assess how the ground thermal regime could develop in the future, we utilized the multi-model ensemble mean of downscaled outputs from eight climate models under three Shared Socio-economic Pathways (i.e., SSP126, 245, and 585) in CMIP6 to force the permafrost model. Model results suggest that the current (2001–2018) permafrost extent is likely to dramatically contract in the future period (2021–2100), as indicated by consistent Ttop warming and ALT increasing due to climate changing. About 26.9%, 59.9%, 80.1% of the current permafrost is likely to disappear by the end of the 21st century under SSP126, SSP245, and SSP585 scenarios, respectively. The simulation results may further provide new opportunities to assess the future impacts of climate warming on environments and engineering development over the QTP.