Correlation of band electronic structure with efficiency in perovskite solar cells with vanadium (Ⅳ) oxide thin film buffers

Perovskite solar cells have been studied extensively in the area of perovskite solar cells because they have a comparatively free hysteresis. Through fabrication of a perovskite solar cell based on a vanadium oxide buffer, this study clarified the mechanism of electron and hole transport in the laminated layer upon irradiation with light. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the Vanadium (Ⅳ) oxide (VO₂) sputtering process device was approximately 13% and with the spin-coating process was 8.5%. To investigate the physicochemical origin of such PCE differences depending on the process type, comprehensive band alignment and band structure analyses of the actual cell stacks were performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth measurements. Accordingly, it was found that the inconsistent valence band offset between the perovskite absorption layer and V₂O₅ layer as a function of the VO₂ process type caused a difference in the hole transport, resulting in the difference in the efficiency.     

Solution processed Al-doped ZnO and its performance in dye sensitized solar cells

Al-doped ZnO rods of nanometer to sub-micrometer size range have been successfully synthesized by a simple yet cost-effective solution processed sonochemical technique. Systematic XRD analysis established the solid solubility limit for Al in the ZnO lattice to be ca. 3 mol% at an elevated annealing temperature of 800 °C. The secondary ZnAl₂O₄ phase appears with increasing dopant concentrations and at lower annealing temperatures. Significant variations in the optoelectronic properties are induced by modifications in the surface defects of ZnO rods as a result of Al doping. As a consequence, an improved fill factor (FF) of 74.78 and 75.76% with a conversion efficiency (η) of 1.59 and 1.79% have been achieved for the fabricated DSSC devices made of the 800 °C annealed ZnO rods doped by 1 and 3 mol% Al, respectively.     

Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes by ultrasonic-assisted electrospray TiO2/graphene oxide on polyacrylonitrile/β-cyclodextrin nanofibrous membranes

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) composite nanofibrous membranes immobilized with nano-titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and graphene oxide (GO) were prepared by electrospinning and ultrasonic-assisted electrospinning. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that TiO₂ and GO were more evenly dispersed on the surface and inside of the nanofibers after 45 min of ultrasonic treatment. Adding TiO₂ and GO reduced the fiber diameter; the minimum fiber diameter was 84.66 ± 40.58 nm when the mass ratio of TiO₂-to-GO was 8:2 (PAN/β-CD nanofibrous membranes was 191.10 ± 45.66 nm). Using the anionic dye methyl orange (MO) and the cationic dye methylene blue (MB) as pollutant models, the photocatalytic activity of the nanofibrous membrane under natural sunlight was evaluated. It was found that PAN/β-CD/TiO₂/GO composite nanofibrous membrane with an 8:2 mass ratio of TiO₂-to-GO exhibited the best degradation efficiency for the dyes. The degradation efficiency for MB and MO were 93.52 ± 1.83% and 90.92 ± 1.52%, respectively. Meanwhile, the PAN/β-CD/TiO₂/GO composite nanofibrous membrane also displayed good antibacterial properties and the degradation efficiency for MB and MO remained above 80% after 3 cycles. In general, the PAN/β-CD/TiO₂/GO nanofibrous membrane is eco-friendly, reusable, and has great potential for the removal of dyes from industrial wastewaters.     

Preparation of graphene on SiC by laser-accelerated pulsed ion beams

Laser-accelerated ion beams (LIBs) have been increasingly applied in the field of material irradiation in recent years due to the unique properties of ultra-short beam duration, extremely high beam current, etc. Here we explore an application of using laser-accelerated ion beams to prepare graphene. The pulsed LIBs produced a great instantaneous beam current and thermal effect on the SiC samples with a shooting frequency of 1 Hz. In the experiment, we controlled the deposition dose by adjusting the number of shootings and the irradiating current by adjusting the distance between the sample and the ion source. During annealing at 1100 ℃, we found that the 190 shots ion beams allowed more carbon atoms to self-assemble into graphene than the 10 shots case. By comparing with the controlled experiment based on ion beams from a traditional ion accelerator, we found that the laser-accelerated ion beams could cause greater damage in a very short time. Significant thermal effect was induced when the irradiation distance was reduced to less than 1 cm, which could make partial SiC self-annealing to prepare graphene dots directly. The special effects of LIBs indicate their vital role to change the structure of the irradiation sample.     

Extended phase diagram of La1-xCaxMnO3 by interfacial engineering

The interfacial enhanced ferromagnetism in maganite/ruthenate system is regarded as a promising path to broaden the potential of oxide-based electronic device applications. Here, we systematically studied the physical properties of LaLa_1-xCa_xMnO₃/SrRuO₃ superlattices and compared them with the LaLa_1-xCa_xMnO₃ thin films and bulk compounds. The LaLa_1-xCa_xMnO₃/SrRuO₃ superlattices exhibit significant enhancement of Curie temperature (T_C) beyond the corresponding thin films and bulks. Based on these results, we constructed an extended phase diagram of LaLa_1-xCa_xMnO₃ under interfacial engineering. We considered the interfacial charge transfer and structural proximity effects as the origin of the interface-induced high T_C. The structural characterizations revealed a pronounced increase of B-O-B bond angle, which could be the main driving force for the high T_C in the superlattices. Our work inspires a deeper understanding of the collective effects of interfacial charge transfer and structural proximity on the physical properties of oxide heterostructures.     

Insight into influence of thermodynamic coefficients on transient negative capacitance in Zr-doped HfO2 ferroelectric capacitors

We study the influence of the thermodynamic coefficients on transient negative capacitance for the Zr-doped HfO₂ (HZO) ferroelectric capacitors by the theoretical simulation based on the Landau-Khalatnikov (L-K) theory and experimental measurement of electrical properties in the resistor-ferroelectric capacitor (R-FEC) circuit. Our results show that the thermodynamic coefficients α, β and γ also play a key role for the transient NC effect besides the viscosity coefficient and series resistor. Moreover, the smaller coefficients α and β, the more significant the transient NC effect. In addition, we also find that the thermodynamic process of transient NC does not obey the generally accepted viewpoint of Gibbs free energy minimization.     

Tunable and highly sensitive temperature sensor based on graphene photonic crystal fiber

Optical fiber temperature sensors have been widely employed in enormous areas ranging from electric power industry, medical treatment, ocean dynamics to aerospace. Recently, graphene optical fiber temperature sensors attract tremendous attention for their merits of simple structure and direct power detecting ability. However, these sensors based on transfer techniques still have limitations in the relatively low sensitivity or distortion of the transmission characteristics, due to the unsuitable Fermi level of graphene and the destruction of fiber structure, respectively. Here, we propose a tunable and highly sensitive temperature sensor based on graphene photonic crystal fiber (Gr-PCF) with the non-destructive integration of graphene into the holes of PCF. This hybrid structure promises the intact fiber structure and transmission mode, which efficiently enhances the temperature detection ability of graphene. From our simulation, we find that the temperature sensitivity can be electrically tuned over four orders of magnitude and achieve up to ～ 3.34×10^-3 dB/(cm·℃) when the graphene Fermi level is ～ 35 meV higher than half the incident photon energy. Additionally, this sensitivity can be further improved by ～ 10 times through optimizing the PCF structure (such as the fiber hole diameter) to enhance the light-matter interaction. Our results provide a new way for the design of the highly sensitive temperature sensors and broaden applications in all-fiber optoelectronic devices.     

Impaired pulmonary blood flow distribution in congestive heart failure assessed using synchrotron radiation microangiography

Synchrotron radiation microangiography is a powerful tool for assessing adverse changes in pulmonary vessel density associated with primary pulmonary hypertension (PH). Congestive heart failure (CHF) leads to a `secondary' onset of PH, yet it is unknown whether secondary PH is also associated with reduced vessel density. This study utilized synchrotron radiation to assess both pulmonary vessel density and endothelial function in a Dahl rat model of CHF with secondary PH. High salt‐fed Dahl salt‐sensitive (Dahl‐S) and salt‐resistant (Dahl‐R) rats were anesthetized and microangiography was performed to assess the pulmonary vessel density and vascular responses to (i) sodium nitroprusside (5.0 µg kg^?1 min^?1), (ii) acetylcholine (3.0 µg kg^?1 min^?1) and (iii) ET‐1_A receptor blockade, BQ‐123 (1 mg kg^?1). Dahl‐S rats developed CHF and secondary PH as evident by endothelial dysfunction, impaired vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine, enhanced vasodilatory responses to BQ‐123 and extensive pulmonary vascular remodeling. Consequently, the pulmonary vessel density was adversely reduced. Interestingly, the etiology of secondary PH manifests with structural and functional changes that are comparable with that previously reported for primary PH. One important discrepancy, however, is that ET‐1 modulation of pulmonary vessels is most striking in vessels with a diameter range of 100–200 µm in secondary PH, in contrast to a range of 200–300 µm in primary PH. Such discrepancies should be considered in future studies investigating primary and secondary forms of PH.     

X‐ray absorption study of the local structure at the NiO/oxide interfaces

This work reports an X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy study at the Ni K‐edge in the early stages of growth of NiO on non‐ordered SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and MgO thin films substrates. Two different coverages of NiO on the substrates have been studied. The analysis of the XANES region shows that for high coverages (80 Eq‐ML) the spectra are similar to that of bulk NiO, being identical for all substrates. In contrast, for low coverages (1 Eq‐ML) the spectra differ from that of large coverages indicating that the local order around Ni is limited to the first two coordination shells. In addition, the results also suggest the formation of cross‐linking bonds Ni—O—M (M = Si, Al, Mg) at the interface.