The phase diagram and tetragonal superstructures of the rare earth cobaltate phases Ln1−xSrxCoO3-δ (Ln=La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Y, Ho, Dy, Er, Tm and Yb)

Single phase perovskite-based rare earth cobaltates (Ln_1−xSr_xCoO_3−δ) (Ln=La³⁺, Pr³⁺, Nd³⁺, Sm³⁺, Gd³⁺, Dy³⁺, Y³⁺, Ho³⁺, Er³⁺, Tm³⁺ and Yb³⁺; 0.67?x?0.9) have been synthesized at 1100°C under 1 atmosphere of oxygen. X-ray diffraction of phases containing the larger rare earth ions La³⁺, Pr³⁺ and Nd³⁺ reveals simple cubic structures; however electron diffraction shows orientational twinning of a local, tetragonal (I4/mmm; a_p×a_p×2a_p) superstructure phase. Orientational twinning is also present for Ln_1−xSr_xCoO_3−δ compounds containing rare earth ions smaller than Nd³⁺. These compounds show a modulated intermediate parent with a tetragonal superstructure (I4/mmm; 2a_p×2a_p×4a_p). Thermogravimetric measurements have determined the overall oxygen content, and these phases show mixed valence (3⁺/4⁺) cobalt oxidation states with up to 50% Co(IV). X-ray diffraction data and Rietveld techniques have been used to refine the structures of each of these tetragonal superstructure phases (Ln=Sm³⁺-Yb³⁺). Coupled Ln/Sr and oxygen/vacancy ordering and associated structural relaxation are shown to be responsible for the observed superstructure.     

Approaching compositional limits of perovskite – type oxides and oxynitrides by synthesis of Mg0.25Ca0.65Y0.1Ti(O,N)3, Ca1–xYxZr(O,N)3 (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.4), and Sr1–xLaxZr(O,N)3 (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.4)

Partial substitution of cations and anions in perovskite-type materials is a powerful way to tune the desired properties. The systematic variation of the cations size, the partial exchange of O²⁻ for N³⁻ and their effect on the size of the optical band gap and the thermal stability was investigated here. The anionic substitution resulted in the formation of the orthorhombic perovskite-type oxynitrides Mg_0.25Ca_0.65Y_0.1Ti(O,N)₃, Ca_1-xY_xZr(O,N)₃, and Sr_1–xLa_xZr(O,N)₃. A two-step synthesis protocol was applied: i) (nano-crystalline) oxide precursors were synthesized by a Pechini method followed by ii) ammonolysis in flowing NH₃ at T = 773 K (Ti) and T = 1273 K (Zr), respectively. High-temperature synthesis of such oxide precursors by solid–state reaction generally resulted in phase separation of the different A-site cations. Changes of the crystal structures were investigated by Rietveld refinements of the powder XRD data, thermal stability by DSC/TG measurements in oxygen atmosphere, oxygen and nitrogen contents by O/N analysis using hot gas extraction technique, and optical band gaps by photoluminescence spectroscopy. By moving from Mg_0.25Ca_0.65Y_0.1Ti(O,N)₃ via Ca_1–xY_xZr(O,N)₃ to Sr_1–xLa_xZr(O,N)₃, the degree of tilting of the octahedral network is reduced, as observed by an increase in the B–X–B angles caused by the simultaneously increasing effective ionic radius of the A-site cation(s). In general, increasing substitution levels on the A-site (Y³⁺ and La³⁺) are accompanied by an enhanced replacement of O²⁻ by N³⁻. In all three systems, this anionic substitution resulted in a reduction of the optical band gap by approximately 1 eV (Ti) and up to 2.1 eV (Zr) compared to the respective oxides. For Mg_0.25Ca_0.65Y_0.1Ti(O,N)₃ an optical band gap of 2.2 eV was observed, appropriate for a solar water splitting photocatalyst. The Zr-based oxynitrides required a by a factor of 2 higher nitrogen contents to significantly reduce the optical band gap and the measured values of 2.9 eV–3.2 eV are larger compared to the Ti-based oxynitride. Bulk thermal stability was revealed up to T = 881 K. In general, the thermal stability decreased with increasing substitution levels due to an increasing deviation from the ideal anionic composition as demonstrated by O/N analysis.     

Improved Photovoltaic Performance from High Quality Perovskite Thin Film Grown with the Assistance of PC71BM

The strategy of sequentially spin-coating a perovskite film from the perovskite precursor and an electron transporting layer of [6,6]-phenyl-C_(71)-butyric acid methyl ester(PC_(71)BM) is developed to simplify the fabrication procedure of perovskite solar cells. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy indicate that PC_(71)BM film on perovskite layer can retard the evaporation of dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO) efficiently, thus prolonging the transformation of intermediate phase to perovskite crystals, leading to a high quality perovskite thin film. The solar cells with the structure of indium tin oxides(ITO)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS)/CH_3NH_3PbI_3/PC_(71)BM/bathocuproine(BCP)/Ag made from this simplified method exhibit a higher efficiency(12.68%) than those from the conventional one-step method(9.49%).     

Resistance switching memory in perovskite oxides

The resistance switching behavior has recently attracted great attentions for its application as resistive random access memories (RRAMs) due to a variety of advantages such as simple structure, high-density, high-speed and low-power. As a leading storage media, the transition metal perovskite oxide owns the strong correlation of electrons and the stable crystal structure, which brings out multifunctionality such as ferroelectric, multiferroic, superconductor, and colossal magnetoresistance/electroresistance effect, etc. The existence of rich electronic phases, metal–insulator transition and the nonstoichiometric oxygen in perovskite oxide provides good platforms to insight into the resistive switching mechanisms.     

钙钛矿型氧化物负载纳米金属催化剂结构的动态调变及其催化氧化CO反应性能

研究了钛酸钡和钛酸钙担载的Ag和Pt纳米催化剂的表面结构随氧化-还原处理过程的动态变化及其对CO完全氧化反应性能的影响.发现氧化物担载的Ag催化剂在氧化处理后其催化活性较还原处理的高; X射线衍射(XRD)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)表征结果表明,氧化处理能够提高载体表面Ag颗粒的分散度,而还原处理导致Ag颗粒的聚集,从而降低了催化氧化CO反应的活性.氧化-还原处理改变了担载Ag纳米粒子的尺寸并影响其CO氧化反应活性.与此相反,氧化物担载的Pt催化剂在还原处理后所表现出的CO氧化反应活性较氧化处理的高; 对比研究发现,氧化和还原处理后Pt纳米粒子的尺寸基本相同,但是氧化处理的样品中Pt表面物种以氧化态为主,而还原处理后Pt表面物种主要为金属态.Pt纳米粒子表面化学状态随氧化-还原处理的调变是导致表面催化活性差异的主要原因.     

紫外光辐照下CH3NH3PbI3基钙钛矿太阳能电池失效机制

随着光伏产业的不断发展,有机无机杂化钙钛矿太阳能电池的研发成为科学与工业界广泛关注的焦点。到目前为止,其光电转换效率已经提高到了25.2%,成为替代硅基太阳能电池的核心方案之一。然而,钙钛矿太阳能电池的稳定性较差,容易受到环境中氧气、水分、温度甚至光照的影响,这严重制约了其大规模推广与应用。大量科学研究表明,如何避免紫外辐照下有机无机杂化钙钛矿太阳能电池的性能衰减,对于提高钙钛矿太阳能电池的光照稳定性至关重要。然而到目前为止,仍然没有系统的工作来对紫外辐照下钙钛矿太阳能电池性能以及微结构演化过程进行详细的表征与分析。本文中,我们利用聚焦离子束-扫描电子显微分析(FIB-SEM)以及球差校正透射电子显微分析(TEM)等技术,全面地研究了紫外辐照过程中有机无机杂化钙钛矿太阳能电池性能变化规律以及电池微结构演化特征。实验结果表明,紫外辐照过程中太阳能电池内部会形成0.5–0.6 V的内建电场,钙钛矿中的I^-离子在电场的驱动下向金属Au电极和空穴传输层2, 2’, 7, 7’-四[N, N-二(4-甲氧基苯基)氨基]-9, 9'-螺二芴(Spiro-OMeTAD)一侧迁移;随后,空穴传输层与金电极的界面处,碘离子与光生空穴一起与金电极发生反应,将金属态Au氧化成离子态Au⁺。而Au⁺离子则在内建电场的驱动下反向迁移穿过钙钛矿MAPbI₃层,直接被SnO₂和MAPbI₃界面处的电子还原形成金属Au纳米团簇。除此之外,紫外辐照过程中钙钛矿太阳能电池性能降低的同时,往往伴随着Spiro-OMeTAD与钙钛矿界面处物质迁移、钙钛矿薄膜内晶界展宽以及Au纳米颗粒周围MAPbI₃物相分解等现象。以上各种因素的协同作用,共同导致了紫外光照下有机无机杂化钙钛矿太阳能电池光电转换性能(PCE)、开路电压(V_oc)以及短路电流(J_sc)等性能参数的急剧下降。     

Neutral 1D Perovskite-Type ABX3 Phase Transition Material with a Narrowband Emission and Semiconductor Property

Cyclic organic amines are emerging as excellent building blocks to assemble organic–inorganic hybrid phase transition materials due to their flexible cyclic structure. Here, we have assembled a 1D organic-inorganic hybrid dielectric material C₅H₆NOPbBr₃ ( 1 ) by alloying the cyclic organic amine 3-hydroxypyridine. 1 displays a remarkable switchable dielectric response induced by an order-disorder transformation of the organic moiety, this transformation behaviour is confirmed by DSC and Hirshfeld surface measurements. More interestingly, 1 has a narrowband emission (FWHM=4.64 nm) at 590 nm; FWHM is a major quality figure for narrowband photodetectors. In addition, 1 exhibits semiconducting properties with an indirect bandgap of 2.78 eV by the analysis of the UV-Vis absorption results.     

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.     

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。     

Anomalous High Temperature Structural Behavior of Potential Multifunctional Material SmCo0.5Cr0.5O3

Crystal structure parameters of the mixed cobaltite–chromite SmCo_0.5Cr_0.5O₃ in the temperature range of 298–1173 K were derived from in situ high-resolution X-ray synchrotron powder diffraction data. Similar to the parent SmCoO₃ compound, SmCo_0.5Cr_0.5O₃ reveals anomalous thermal expansion reflected in abnormal temperature dependence of the unit cell dimensions and the selected interatomic distances and angles. These anomalies are associated with temperature induced changes of spin state of Co³⁺ ions and coupled insulator-metal transition. Observed decreasing behavior of the bandwidth W points on the increasing population of the exited spin states of Co³⁺ ions in SmCo_0.5Cr_0.5O₃ with increasing temperature. First principle calculations revealed antiferromagnetic ground state of SmCo_0.5Cr_0.5O₃ as the most stable.