Mechanical properties decay and morphological behaviour of biodegradable films for agricultural mulching in real scale experiment

The use of plastic materials in agriculture causes the serious drawback of huge quantities of waste. The introduction of biodegradable materials, which can be disposed directly into the soil, can be one possible solution to this problem. Biodegradable materials are actually innovative materials; therefore, their physical properties must be evaluated in relation to their functionality during the use in field. In the present research results of experimental tests carried out on biodegradable films used in strawberries protected cultivation are presented. The decay of some relevant physical parameters of biodegradable films during the cultivation period was monitored by laboratory tests (SEM analysis, mechanical tensile tests and infrared reflectance spectroscopy). Infrared spectroscopy clearly indicated that the mechanical degradation starts from the starch component of the material. Tensile tests showed that the value of elongation at break of biodegradable materials decreased in some cases by 300% after 10 days of field application.     

免跟踪透射式太阳聚光器的设计

针对目前太阳聚光器中因为自动跟踪系统故障率高导致使用成本大幅度增加的主要制约因素,在多年来探讨有效提高太阳能密度的基础上,提出了免跟踪线性菲涅尔透射式太阳聚光器设计的新思路,并对其结构形式和工作原理进行了阐述.     

电沉积－退火工艺制备铜铟硒太阳能电池薄膜及表征

利用电沉积硒气氛下后续退火的工艺制备出了高结晶质量的铜铟硒薄膜．通过X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜、拉曼光谱、紫外-可见-近红外光谱和阻抗谱技术对退火后的铜铟硒薄膜进行表征,结果表明530 oC硒化退火后的铜铟硒薄膜具有四方的黄铜矿晶体结构,晶粒尺寸达到微米量级,光学带隙为0.98 eV,经过KCN溶液去除表面高导电性的铜硒化合物后铜铟硒薄膜的载流子浓度在10¹⁶ cm^-3量级．利用硒化退火的铜铟硒薄膜作为光吸收层制备了结构为AZO/i-ZnO/CdS/CIS/Mo/glass的太阳能电池,在AM1.5光照条件下对其电流-电压特性测试后发现面积为0.2 cm²的电池可以达到0.96％的能量转换效率,并对限制电池效率的原因做出了初步的分析和讨论.     

变频控制直接膨胀式太阳能热泵的数值模拟

文中通过对变频控制直接膨胀式太阳能热泵的数值模拟,指出PV/T- SAHP系统实现变频控制从而解决太阳能热泵集热器面积与压缩机的容量不匹配的关键问题是找到系统集热/蒸发器的MSS线.为变工况下太阳能热泵系统的研究提供参考.     

Polyol-mediated synthesis of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 kesterite nanoparticles and their use in thin-film solar cells

Cu₂ZnSnS₄ kesterite nanoparticles (CZTS) with a particle diameter of 10–20 nm are prepared by a polyol-mediated synthesis with diethylene glycol as the liquid phase. The polyol – a high-boiling multidentate alcohol − allows controlling the particle size and agglomeration as well as preparing readily crystalline nanoparticles. The as-prepared kesterite nanoparticles exhibit an overall composition of Cu_1.56Zn_1.29Sn_1.16S_4.59 and a band gap of 1.37 eV. As a first test, thin-film solar cells are manufactured after layer deposition of the as-prepared CZTS nanoparticles and conversion to Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ (CZTSSe) via gas-phase selenization. The volume increase of about 15% due to the CZTS-to-CZTSSe conversion supports the formation of a dense layer, reduces the interparticulate surfaces and leads to a reduction of the band gap to 1.14 eV. The chemical composition of the as-prepared CZTS nanoparticles and of the deposited CZTSSe thin film prior and after selenization are studied in detail by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence analysis. All these methods confirm the intended copper-poor and zinc-/tin-rich CZTS/CZTSSe composition. The resulting thin-film solar cells show an open-circuit voltage of 247.3 mV, a short-circuit current density of 21.3 mA/cm², a fill factor of 41.1% and a power-conversion efficiency of 2.2%.     

DYE SENSITIZED TITANIA PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS ON FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATES—CONCEPT TO COMMERCIALIZATION

ABSTRACT

Methods have been found for sintering titania nanoparticles at low temperature, e.g., <150°C, and for rapid sensitization of the sintered particles. This discovery means that dye-sensitized, titania solar cells can be made on flexible substrates, such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), in a continuous roll-to-roll manufacturing process. The ability to produce solar cells in a continuous fashion should substantially lower the cost of the cells compared to batch processed, on-glass cells. The combined attributes of spectral sensitivity, flexibility, light weight, impact resistance and low cost should find utility a variety of handheld appliances in both indoor and outdoor situations. In its most advanced state of development, this technology would find application in off-grid power generation and thus provide the opportunity of bringing solar generated electricity to rural areas of the world.     

Prospects of electrochemically synthesized hematite photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting: A review

Hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) is found to be one of the most promising photoanode materials used for the application in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting due to its narrow band gap energy of 2.1 eV, which is capable to harness approximately 40% of the incident solar light. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art progress of the electrochemically synthesized pristine hematite photoanodes for PEC water splitting. The fundamental principles and mechanisms of anodic electrodeposition, metal anodization, cathodic electrodeposition and potential cycling/pulsed electrodeposition are elucidated in detail. Besides, the influence of electrodeposition and annealing treatment conditions are systematically reviewed; for examples, electrolyte precursor composition, temperature and pH, electrode substrate, applied potential, deposition time as well as annealing temperature, duration and atmosphere. Furthermore, the surface and interfacial modifications of hematite-based nanostructured photoanodes, including elemental doping, surface treatment and heterojunctions are elaborated and appraised. This review paper is concluded with a summary and some future prospects on the challenges and research direction in this cutting-edge research hotspot. It is anticipated that the present review can act as a guiding blueprint and providing design principles to the scientists and engineers on the advancement of hematite photoanodes in PEC water splitting to resolve the current energy- and environmental-related concerns.     

晶硅太阳电池原位光老化及热致输运机理

为研究晶体硅太阳电池在标准模拟光条件下的输出特性变化规律和电池内部载流子输运特性,采用原位光老化技术对被测电池进行光照处理,按标准测试实验流程测量电池的伏安特性及光谱响应等参量,发现原位光老化后太阳电池伏安特性各项参量衰减,导致电池效率降低;短波段光谱响应微量下降,是由于原位光老化过程中电池表面产生极微量的面缺陷导致经过硅表面的微量载流子被复合;而长波段响应明显降低,是由于晶硅内大量体缺陷被激活导致长波载流子在经过硅材料内部时被复合.随后将光老化后电池退火并测量比对电池各项特性参量,结果表明,退火对光老化后电池内部深层体缺陷具有较好的修复功能,但对浅层面缺陷没有修复功能,最终造成电池伏安特性参量和光谱响应只得到部分恢复.     

Extreme fluxes in solar energetic particle events: Methodological and physical limitations

In this study, all available data on the largest solar proton events (SPEs), or extreme solar energetic particle (SEP) events, for the period from 1561 up to now are analyzed. Under consideration are the observational, methodological and physical problems of energy-spectrum presentation for SEP fluxes (fluences) near the Earth's orbit. Special attention is paid to the study of the distribution function for extreme fluences of SEPs by their sizes. The authors present advances in at least three aspects: 1) a form of the distribution function that was previously obtained from the data for three cycles of solar activity has been completely confirmed by the data for 41 solar cycles; 2) early estimates of extremely large fluences in the past have been critically revised, and their values were found to be overestimated; and 3) extremely large SEP fluxes are shown to obey a probabilistic distribution, so the concept of an “upper limit flux” does not carry any strict physical sense although it serves as an important empirical restriction. SEP fluxes may only be characterized by the relative probabilities of their appearance, and there is a sharp break in the spectrum in the range of large fluences (or low probabilities). It is emphasized that modern observational data and methods of investigation do not allow, for the present, the precise resolution of the problem of the spectrum break or the estimation of the maximum potentialities of solar accelerator(s). This limitation considerably restricts the extrapolation of the obtained results to the past and future for application to the epochs with different levels of solar activity.     

卤化钙钛矿太阳能电池材料理论研究进展

卤化钙钛矿由于具有低成本、高效率等特点,最近作为非常有前景的太阳能电池吸收层材料被广泛研究。卤化钙钛矿型太阳能电池效率在短短的几年间由3.8%(2009年)迅速增加到22.1%(2016年)。卤化钙钛矿型太阳能电池的出现彻底改变了太阳能电池领域,不仅因为它们快速增长的效率,而且因为它们在材料生长和结构方面的可控性。卤化钙钛矿型太阳能电池的优越性能说明卤化钙钛矿材料具有独特的物理性质。在本综述中,我们总结了卤化钙钛矿材料最近几年在结构、电学、光学方面的理论研究成果,这些都与它们在太阳能电池方面的应用密切相关。我们也将探讨一些卤化钙钛矿型太阳能电池目前遇到的挑战以及可能的理论解决途径。