High performance perovskite solar cells using TiO2 nanospindles as ultrathin mesoporous layer

Single crystal anatase TiO2 nanospindles （NSs） with highly exposed {101} facets were synthesized and employed as electron transport materials （ETMs） in perovskite solar cells （PSCs）. Time-resolved photoluminescence （TRPL） spectra revealed that the TiO2 NSs are more effective than TiO2 nanoparticles in accepting electrons from perovskite. Moreover. the TiO2 nanospindles further endowed the PSCs with good reproducibility and suppressed hysteresis. The best device with TiO2 NSs as ETMs yielded power conversion efficiency （PCE） of 19.6%, demonstrating that the home-made TiO2 NSs is a good ETM for PSCs.

Preparation and Characterization of Mesoporous Al-MCM-41 Layers Deposited on FeCrAl Metallic Foils by an In-situ Hydrothermal Method

A new class of activated mesoporous Al-MCM-41 layers was deposited on Fe-CrAl metallic foils in the presence of cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide under basic conditions by an in-situ hydrothermal method. The characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption and transmission electron microscopy, as well as field-emission scanning electron microscopy were performed to investigate the pore structure and surface morphology of the Al-MCM-41 layers. The Al-MCM-41 materials are of amorphous structure but exhibit large BET surface area （up to 757.0 m2/g） and pore volume （up to 0.72 cm3/g）, as well as a mean pore diameter of 3 nm. The layers deposited on the FeCrAl foils are continuous despite with a few of holes on the surface.

Synthesis of mesoporous Cu/Mg/Fe layered double hydroxide and its adsorption performance for arsenate in aqueous solutions

The mesoporous Cu/Mg/Fe layered double hydroxide（Cu/Mg/Fe-LDH） with carbonate intercalation was synthesized and used for the removal of arsenate from aqueous solutions.The Cu/Mg/Fe-LDH was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry,X-ray diffraction crystallography,scanning electron microscopy,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller.Effects of various physico-chemical parameters such as pH,adsorbent dosage,contact time and initial arsenate concentration on the adsorption of arsenate onto Cu/Mg/Fe-LDH were investigated.Results showed that it was efficient for the removal of arsenate,and the removal efficiency of arsenate increased with the increment of the adsorbent dosage,while the arsenate adsorption capacity decreased with increase of initial pH from 3 to 11.The adsorption isotherms can be well described by the Langmuir model with R 2 〉 0.99.Its adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo second-order kinetic model.Coexisting ions such as HPO42-,CO32-,SO42and NO3could compete with arsenate for adsorption sites on the Cu/Mg/Fe-LDH.The adsorption of arsenate on the adsorbent can be mainly attributed to the ion exchange process.It was found that the synthesized Cu/Mg/Fe-LDH can reduce the arsenate concentration down to a final level of 〈 10 μg/L under the experimental conditions,and makes it a potential material for the decontamination of arsenate polluted water.

Efficient dye-sensitized solar cells from mesoporous zinc oxide nanostructures sensitized by N719 dye

Dye-sensitized solar cells（DSCs） have attracted a great deal of attention due to their low-cost and high power conversion efficiencies. They usually utilize an interconnected nanoparticle layer of TiO2 as the electron transport medium. From the fundamental point of view, faster mobility of electrons in Zn O is expected to contribute to better performance in DSCs than TiO2, though the actual practical situation is quite the opposite. In this research, we addressed this problem by first applying a dense layer of Zn O on FTO followed by a mesoporous layer of interconnected Zn O nanoparticle layer, both were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique. The best cell shows a power conversion efficiency of 5.2% when the mesoporous layer thickness is 14 μm and the concentration of the N719 dye in dye coating solution is 0.3 m M, while a cell without a dense layer shows 4.2% under identical conditions. The surface concentration of dye adsorbed in the cell with a dense layer and that without a dense layer are5.00 × 10^（-7） and 3.34 × 10^（-7） mol/cm^2, respectively. The cell with the dense layer has an electron lifetime of-54.81 ms whereas that without the dense layer is 11.08 ms. As such, the presence of the dense layer improves DSC characteristics of Zn O-based DSCs.