Enhanced Crystal Quality of Perovskite via Protonated Graphitic Carbon Nitride Added in Carbon-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

The quality of perovskite layers has a great impact on the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, defects and related trap sites are generated inevitably in the solution-processed polycrystalline perovskite films. It is meaningful to reduce and passivate the defect states by incorporating additive into the perovskite layer to improve perovskite crystallization. Here an environmental friendly 2D nanomaterial protonated graphitic carbon nitride (p-g-C\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}N\begin{document}$_4$\end{document}) was successfully synthesized and doped into perovskite layer of carbon-based PSCs. The addition of p-g-C\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}N\begin{document}$_4$\end{document} into perovskite precursor solution not only adjusts nucleation and growth rate of methylammonium lead tri-iodide (MAPbI\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}) crystal for obtaining flat perovskite surface with larger grain size, but also reduces intrinsic defects of perovskite layer. It is found that the p-g-C\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}N\begin{document}$_4$\end{document} locates at the perovskite core, and the active groups -NH\begin{document}$_2$\end{document}/NH\begin{document}$_3$\end{document} and NH have a hydrogen bond strengthening, which effectively passivates electron traps and enhances the crystal quality of perovskite. As a result, a higher power conversion efficiency of 6.61% is achieved, compared with that doped with g-C\begin{document}$_3$\end{document}N\begin{document}$_4$\end{document} (5.93%) and undoped one (4.48%). This work demonstrates a simple method to modify the perovskite film by doping new modified additives and develops a low-cost preparation for carbon-based PSCs.     

Polarity guided extraction,HPLC based phytochemical quantification,and multimode biological evaluation of Otostegia limbata (Benth.) Boiss

Purpose of studyOtostegia limbata (Benth.) Boiss. (Family: Lamiacae) is an important underexplored ethnomedicinal plant that has been used as antinflammatory, anticancer and antibacterial herbal remedy previously. The present work was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, antileishmanial, and anticancer prospective of O. limbata stem and leaf extracts.ResultsThe highest amount of phenolic and flavonoid content was obtained in the methanol-acetone and methanol stem extracts i.e., 53.29 ± 1.33 and 28.64 ± 1.16, respectively with highest DPPH scavenging in MeH stem extract (IC₅₀ = 34.5 ± 1.34 μg/ml). Significant amount of catechin, gallic acid, apigenin and rutin was quantified. A moderate antibacterial and substantial antifungal activity was observed. Cytotoxicity against brine shrimps categorized 21% of stem (3 out of 14 extracts) and 57% (8 out of 14 extracts) of leaf extracts as potent. Substantial cytotoxicity against THP-1 cell line (IC₅₀ = 3.46 ± 0.25 μg/ml) and Leishmania (IC₅₀ = 1.50 ± 0.23 μg/ml) was exhibited by methanol-distilled water leaf extract while noteworthy antiproliferative activity against Hep-G2 (IC₅₀ = 0.44 ± 0.45 μg/ml) was manifested by n-hexane stem extract. Absence of hemolysis in normal RBCs signified plant’s selective cytotoxicity. Methanol-distilled water and chloroform stem extracts displayed prominent protein kinase inhibition and antidiabetic potential of plant.ConclusionThe results of present study recommend O. limbata as a potential source of antifungal, antileishmanial, anticancer, and α-amylase inhibitory agents.     

Cytoprotective effect of selenium polysaccharide from Pleurotus ostreatus against H2O2-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in PC12 cells

One main fraction of Selenium-enriched Pleurotus ostreatus (P. ostreatus) polysaccharide (Se-POP-1) was extracted and purified by DEAE-52 and sephadex G-100. Se-POP-1 was an approximate homogenous polysaccharide with an average molecular weight of 1.62 × 10⁴ Da, and mainly composed of glucose, mannose and galactose, with molar ratio of 5.30:1.55:2.14. The absorption peaks at 941 cm^?1 and 1048 cm^?1 in FT-IR analysis were ascribed as C-O-Se and Se=O bonds. Pr-treatment of Se-POP-1 (400 μg/mL) increased the cell survival of H₂O₂-stimulated PC12 cells and inhibited intrinsic apoptosis and oxidative stress in H₂O₂-stimulated PC12 cells via limiting DNA degradation and decreasing the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In addition, up-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, down- regulation of pro-apoptotic protein Bax, cleaved caspase 3, and cytochrome c were also observed. Se-POP-1 presented an obvious effect to alleviate oxidative damage and apoptosis in PC12 cells induced by H₂O₂. Therefore, Se-POP-1 possessed potent antioxidant and biological activities with the ability to prevent oxidation via scavenging ROS and free radicals in cells. It could be developed as organic selenium dietary supplement and functional food.     

碰撞池-电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定芝麻中痕量的锗

建立了碰撞池-电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定芝麻中痕量的锗元素(germanium , Ge)。采用微波消解,碰撞池(KED模式)-电感耦合等离子体质谱检测,在线引入内标元素铑(Rh),同时消解液中加入3%正戊醇增敏。结果 3 % 正戊醇可使_⁷⁴Ge的上机检测信号强度提高2.85倍,_⁷⁴Ge校正曲线线性相关系数为1.00000,检出限为0.0555 μg/kg,加标回收率为92.0%~106%,相对标准偏差(relative standard deviation, RSD%)为2.6%~4.3%。采用建立的方法测定7种国家标准物质,检测结果均在认定值范围内,RSD%为2.5%~8.8%。结论 该方法灵敏度高、准确,可实现批量检测,适用于芝麻中痕量锗的检测。     

Machine learning as an online diagnostic tool for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are considered a promising power supply system with high efficiency and zero emissions. They typically work within a relatively narrow range of temperature and humidity to achieve optimal performance; however, this makes the system difficult to control, leading to faults and accelerated degradation. Two main approaches can be used for diagnosis, limited data input which provides an unintrusive, rapid but limited analysis, or advanced characterisation that provides a more accurate diagnosis but often requires invasive or slow measurements. To provide an accurate diagnosis with rapid data acquisition, machine learning methods have shown great potential. However, there is a broad approach to the diagnostic algorithms and signals used in the field. This article provides a critical view of the current approaches and suggests recommendations for future methodologies of machine learning in fuel cell diagnostic applications.     

Recent advances in microbial fuel cell-based toxicity biosensors: Strategies for enhanced toxicity response

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been extensively studied as self-powered toxicity biosensors; however, their applications are limited by the relatively poor toxicity responses. The toxicity responses are known to be related to the factors such as the resistance of species to toxicants, the bioavailability of toxicants and the type of sensing elements. Accordingly, some strategies have already been proposed to enhance the toxicity responses in the past several years, including the external resistance tuning, quorum sensing effect, shear stress control, nutrient level control, electrode material choice, sensing element choice, and cell configuration design. This work introduces and discusses these strategies, and the suggestion for future work is also provided finally.     

Polymorphs of the Gadolinite-Type Borates ZrB2O5 and HfB2O5 Under Extreme Pressure

Based on the results from previous high-pressure experiments on the gadolinite-type mineral datolite, CaBSiO₄(OH), the behavior of the isostructural borates β-HfB₂O₅ and β-ZrB₂O₅ have been studied by synchrotron-based in situ high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. On compression to 120 GPa, both borate layer-structures are preserved. Additionally, at ≈114 GPa, the formation of a second phase can be observed in both compounds. The new high-pressure modification γ-ZrB₂O₅ features a rearrangement of the corner-sharing BO₄ tetrahedra, while still maintaining the four- and eight-membered rings. The new phase γ-HfB₂O₅ contains ten-membered rings including the rare structural motif of edge-sharing BO₄ tetrahedra with exceptionally short B−O and B⋅⋅⋅B distances. For both structures, unusually high coordination numbers are found for the transition metal cations, with ninefold coordinated Hf⁴⁺, and tenfold coordinated Zr⁴⁺, respectively. These findings remarkably show the potential of cold compression as a low-energy pathway to discover metastable structures that exhibit new coordinations and structural motifs.     

基于吡嗪空穴传输层的合成及在p-i-n型钙钛矿太阳能电池中的应用

钙钛矿太阳能电池由于具有高的光电转换效率,简单的溶液加工工艺,较低的成本等优势因而拥有广阔的应用前景。有机小分子空穴传输层材料在钙钛矿太阳能电池中扮演着极其重要的角色。在本工作中,我们设计和合成了基于吡嗪为分子中心核,三苯胺为分枝的X型空穴传输层材料PT-TPA。与Si-OMeTPA对比,吡嗪的引入不仅不会影响其结晶性,并且能够改善其电荷转移特性和分子中心共平面性,从而显著提升了PT-TPA的空穴迁移率。在非掺杂的情况之下,基于PT-TPA空穴传输层的p-i-n型钙钛矿太阳能电池展现出17.52%的光电转换效率,与相同条件下基于Si-OMeTPA空穴传输层的器件相比,效率提高了近15%。     

SnO2表面卤化提高钙钛矿太阳能电池光伏性能

钙钛矿太阳能电池(PSCs)成为近几年来迅速发展的新型太阳能电池,其中将SnO₂纳米粒子层用作电子传输层(ETL)的钙钛矿太阳能电池器件得到了广泛的关注。SnO₂有着更低的制备温度,使其具备应用于柔性器件的潜力,但与钙钛矿层能级不匹配等问题限制着其发展。而在界面处加入钝化层,尤其是表面卤化的方法或可解决这一问题。本文综合研究了SnO₂表面卤化对钙钛矿太阳能电池光伏性能的影响,选用四丁基氯化铵(TBAC)、四丁基溴化铵(TBAB)和四丁基碘化铵(TBAI)三种钝化材料对SnO₂表面进行钝化处理,并对钝化材料溶液进行了浓度梯度研究。通过材料形貌、结构和光学性能表征以及电池器件性能测试分析等方法,证明了SnO₂表面卤化可提高钙钛矿层的质量和PSCs光伏性能,并从器件内部电荷传输动力学等角度解释了器件性能改善的原因。为进一步说明其性能改善的机理,采用基于密度泛函理论(DFT)的第一性原理计算方法对材料表面性质进行了深入研究,从能量、结构、电荷密度、态密度、功函数等角度解释了表面卤化提高SnO₂/钙钛矿界面处电子传输特性的原因。实验和理论计算均表明TBAC对于SnO₂具有较好的钝化效果,并随着溶液浓度的提升钝化作用越明显。SnO₂表面卤化作用的深入研究不仅对提高电池器件性能具有实际意义,还能够帮助理解太阳能电池界面现象,为界面改性提供新的研究思路。     

电泳法制备的致密氧化锡薄膜及其在高稳定性钙钛矿太阳能电池中的应用

在平面型钙钛矿太阳能电池中常采用SnO₂作为电子传输层材料,相应的SnO₂薄膜常采用溶液旋涂法制备。但是由于前驱液中的纳米颗粒可能会发生部分团聚、基底和溶液难以完全避免灰尘等杂质颗粒混入,且最佳的SnO₂电子传输层的厚度通常仅有约20 nm,所以这种方法制备的电子传输层难以保证严格致密和无纳米针孔。在本工作中,我们报道了一种电泳沉积制备致密SnO₂薄膜的方法,并用其有效地提高了钙钛矿太阳能电池的光电转换效率和工况稳定性。通过电泳法,表面带负电荷的SnO₂纳米颗粒在电场的作用下沉积到氧化铟锡(ITO)阳极表面,这种方法得到的薄膜比旋涂法制备的更为致密。将其应用于n-i-p结构的钙钛矿太阳能电池中,能够使得暗电流降低并抑制载流子的非辐射复合,从而提高电池的短路电流和开路电压,进而实现更高的光电转换效率(从18.17%提高到19.52%),且能消除迟滞效应。更重要的是,长期工况稳定性测试表明基于电泳-旋涂法制备的器件在1个太阳的光照下、最大功率点处连续工作960 h后,仍然能够保持71%的初始效率;然而基于旋涂法制备的器件在工作100 h后即降低到初始效率的70%。本工作提供了一种全新的SnO₂电子传输层的制备方法,显著地提高了器件性能和工况稳定性,后续有望应用于制备大面积器件和电池模组。