Performance enhancement of multicrystalline silicon solar cells and modules using double‐layered SiNx:H antireflection coatings

Silicon nitride coating deposited by the plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition method is the most widely used antireflection coating for crystalline silicon solar cells. In this work, we employed double‐layered silicon nitride coating consisting of a top layer with a lower refractive index and a bottom layer (contacting the silicon wafer) with a higher refractive index for multicrystalline silicon solar cells. An optimization procedure was presented for maximizing the photovoltaic performance of the encapsulated solar cells or modules. The dependence of their photovoltaic properties on the thickness of silicon nitride coatings was carefully analyzed. Desirable thicknesses of the individual silicon nitride layers for the double‐layered coatings were calculated. In order to get statistical conclusions, we fabricated a large number of multicrystalline silicon solar cells using the standard production line for both the double‐layered and single‐layered antireflection coating types. On the cell level, the double‐layered silicon nitride antireflection coating resulted in an increase of 0.21%, absolute for the average conversion efficiency, and 1.8 mV and 0.11 mA/cm² for the average open‐circuit voltage and short‐circuit current density, respectively. On the module level, the cell to module power transfer factor was analyzed, and it was demonstrated that the double‐layered silicon nitride antireflection coating provided a consistent enhancement in the photovoltaic performance for multicrystalline silicon solar cell modules than the single‐layered silicon nitride coating. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Biomimetic Nanoparticle to “Lure and Kill” Phospholipase A2

Inhibition of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) has long been considered for treating various diseases associated with an elevated PLA2 activity. However, safe and effective PLA2 inhibitors remain unavailable. Herein, we report a biomimetic nanoparticle design that enables a “lure and kill” mechanism designed for PLA2 inhibition (denoted “L&K-NP”). The L&K-NPs are made of polymeric cores wrapped with modified red blood cell membrane with two inserted key components: melittin and oleyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (OOPC). Melittin acts as a PLA2 attractant that works together with the membrane lipids to “lure” in-coming PLA2 for attack. Meanwhile, OOPC acts as inhibitor that “kills” PLA2 upon enzymatic attack. Both compounds are integrated into the L&K-NP structure, which voids toxicity associated with free molecules. In the study, L&K-NPs effectively inhibit PLA2-induced hemolysis. In mice administered with a lethal dose of venomous PLA2, L&K-NPs also inhibit hemolysis and confer a significant survival benefit. Furthermore, L&K-NPs show no obvious toxicity in mice. and the design provides a platform technology for a safe and effective anti-PLA2 approach.     

An Azo-bridged Triazole Derived from Tetrazine

A new approach to the synthesis of 5,5'-dinitro-3,3'-azo-1H-1,2,4-triazole ( 3 ) starting from 3,6-dihydrazinyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (DHT) was discovered. Nitrogen-rich energetic salts of 3 were synthesized in high yields. It is unusual that all the salts were less thermally stable than the neutral compound 3 . Of all the compounds, the decomposition temperature of 217 °C, as well as being insensitive towards impact and friction, which suggests potential application as an environmentally friendly nitrogen-rich energetic material.     

A Sensor for Serotonin and Dopamine Detection in Cancer Cells Line Based on the Conducting Polymer−Pd Complex Composite

An electrochemical sensor based on the conducting polymer composite with a palladium complex (Pd(C₂H₄N₂S₂)₂) was developed for the detection of serotonin and dopamine simultaneously in the breast cancer cell and human plasma samples. The proposed sensor was fabricated using the Pd(C₂H₄N₂S₂)₂ complex‐anchored poly2,2 : 5,2‐terthiophene‐3‐(p‐benzoic acid) (pTBA) layer on the AuNPs decorated reduced graphene oxide (AuNPs@rGO) substrate, which revealed the enhanced anodic current of the target species. The sensor probe was characterized by electrochemical and surface analysis methods. The experimental parameters affecting the sensor performance were optimized, in terms of AuNPs@rGO concentration, the number of electropolymerization cycle for pTBA, immobilization time of Pd(C₂H₄N₂S₂)₂, and pH. The dynamic ranges for serotonin and dopamine were obtained from 0.02 to 200 μM, and from 0.1 to 200 μM with the detection limit of 2.5, and 24.0 nM, respectively. The reliability of proposed sensor was evaluated using cancer cell lines for the clinical applications.     

Reducing Agents for Improving the Stability of Sn‐based Perovskite Solar Cells

Organic‐inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have aroused tremendous research interest for their high efficiency, low cost and solution processability. However, the involvement of toxic lead in state‐of‐art perovskites hinders their market prospects. As an alternative, Sn‐based perovskites exhibit similar semiconductor characteristics and can potentially achieve comparable photovoltaic performance in comparison with their lead‐based counterparts. The main challenge of developing Sn‐based PCSs lies in the intrinsic poor stability of Sn²⁺, which could be oxidized and converted to Sn⁴⁺. Notably, introduction of SnX₂ (X=Cl, Br, I) additive becomes indispensable in the fabrication process, which highlights the importance of incorporating a reducing agent to improve the device stability. Additionally, efforts are made to utilize other reducing agents with different functions for the further enhancement of device performance. Currently, Sn‐based PSCs could attain a record efficiency over 10% with great stability. In this review, we present the recent progress on reducing agents for improving the stability of Sn‐based PSCs, and we hope to shed light on the challenges and opportunities of this research field.     

Effect of curing accelerators on thermal imidization of polyamic acids at low temperature

The effect of new additives on the thermal conversion of a range of polyamic acids to polyimides at temperatures lower than 100°C was investigated using infrared spectroscopy. Additives such as m-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, and p-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid were found to be highly effective as curing catalysts or accelerators. The degree of imidization of polyamic acids in the presence of additives increased with an increase in the reaction temperature, and complete imidization was achieved at 140–200°C. The reaction was characterized by a rapid rate that slowed with time. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Solidification of semicrystalline polymers using a variable interface temperature model

Solidification of semicrystalline materials often occurs in significantly undercooled melts. The crystal growth process in such melts is convoluted due to the fact that the interface between the solid and liquid domains of the microscopic crystals is at an unknown temperature. However, it is possible to let the temperature of this interface be unspecified and solve the problem with a semianalytical method if the growth velocity is prescribed. Solutions for the temperature profiles in both solid and liquid phases are presented in this work, along with the interface temperature, for phase change processes controlled by the kinetics of crystallization rather than diffusion processes, which is typical for polymers. The method is used for one-dimensional problems in cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical geometries that correspond to commonly found microstructures. It is found that the temperature of the interface is significantly below the equilibrium melting point and a quasi steady-state regime is reached rapidly. Comparison with the classical Neumann's solution shows that the temperature profiles are similar but the position of the interface differs considerably. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Alkaline Stable Anion Exchange Membranes Based on Cross-Linked Poly(arylene ether sulfone) Bearing Dual Quaternary Piperidines for Enhanced Anion Conductivity at Low Water Uptake

Alkaline stable anion exchange membranes based on the cross-linked poly(arylene ether sulfone) grafted with dual quaternary piperidine (XPAES-DP) units were synthesized. The chemical structure of the synthesized PAES-DP was validated using ¹H-NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. The physicochemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of XPAES-DP membranes were compared with those of two linear PAES based membranes grafted with single piperidine (PAES-P) unit and conventional trimethyl amine (PAES-TM). XPAES-DP membrane showed the ionic conductivity of 0.021 S cm⁻¹ at 40 °C which was much higher than that of PAES-P and PAES-TM because of the possession of more quaternary ammonium groups in the cross-linked structure. This cross-linked structure of the XPAES-DP membrane resulted in a higher tensile strength of 18.11 MPa than that of PAES-P, 17.09 MPa. In addition, as the XPAES-DP membrane shows consistency in the ionic conductivity even after 96 h in 3 M KOH solution with a minor change, its chemical stability was assured for the application of anion exchange membrane fuel cell. The single-cell assembled with XPAES-DP membrane displayed a power density of 109 mWcm⁻² at 80 °C under 100% relative humidity.     

Sensing the Anti-Epileptic Drug Perampanel with Paper-Based Spinning SERS Substrates

The applications of SERS in therapeutic drug monitoring, or other fields of analytical chemistry, require the availability of sensitive sensors and experimental approaches that can be implemented in affordable ways. In this contribution, we show the production of cost-effective SERS sensors obtained by depositing Lee-Meisel Ag colloids on filter paper either by natural sedimentation or centrifugation. We have characterized the morphological and plasmonic features of the sensors by optical microscopy, SEM, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Such sensors can be used to quantify by SERS the anti-epileptic drug Perampanel (in the concentration range 1 × 10⁻⁴–5 × 10⁻⁶ M) by spinning them during the micro-Raman measurements on the top of a custom device obtained from spare part hard disk drives. This approach minimizes laser-induced heating effects and allows averaging over the spatial non-uniformity of the sensor.     

基于视觉辐条图案识别方法的蓝宝石引晶机制研究

工业生产蓝宝石晶体过程中,引晶步骤有着至关重要的地位。引晶必须在温度梯度较小,温度分布趋于稳定的条件下进行。目前,工业生产蓝宝石主要依靠人工经验操控籽晶杆实现引晶操作,但是人工引晶操作的准确性不高会导致成品品质不佳、资源浪费。为此,本文提出一种基于蓝宝石视觉辐条图案识别方法来检测蓝宝石熔体状态自由液面状态,从而实现一种高效率引晶的机制。此方法利用经典骨架化算法细化辐条图案,Harris算子实现特征信息的提取,提取的特征信息放入运动轨迹模型中判断熔体稳定性,分析液面温度分布稳定性从而实现引晶。结果表明,此算法具有有效性,蓝宝石晶体引晶效率大大提高,生产出的成品良率也有提升,可有效指导蓝宝石的工业生产。