Patterning Flexible Substrates Using Surface Relief Structures in Azobenzene Functionalized Polymer Films

A novel method for maskless micro-patterning of polymeric substrates is presented. First, an azobenzene functionalized polymer film is spin-coated on a Poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) sheet. Then surface relief structures are optically inscribed on the polymer film by interference of laser beams. The patterned azobenzene functionalized film is then etched in the plasma chamber such that the gratings are transferred to the PET substrate. Finally, any remaining azobenzene functionalized polymer is dissolved away using an appropriate solvent. This method of patterning can be broadly applied to a variety of flexible/polymeric substrates and the resolution is not limited by the substrate thermo-mechanical properties.     

Regular arrays of triangular‐microstructure formed on silicon (111) surface via ultrafast laser irradiation in KOH solution

The regular micrometer‐scale triangular arrays were formed using ultrafast femtosecond laser irradiation on (111) surface of silicon wafer immersed in KOH solution (0.1 g/ml). At low laser fluence, the resulting surface is covered by triangular pits microstructures, whereas at high laser fluence, the structures are transformed to multilayer‐triangular stacks‐microstructures. The number of triangular stacks layer increased as the laser fluence increased. The formation of triangle microstructure arrays depends on both silicon surface crystallographic orientation and the concentration of KOH solution. Either for lower KOH solution concentration (0.02 g/ml) or other silicon crystallographic orientation, triangle arrays cannot be obtained. We attribute the formation of triangular microstructure arrays to the laser‐assisted chemical etching process. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of Changes in Conductivity of Juice during the Evaporation Process

The creation of this article was the necessity of experimental determination of the electric conductivity of juice depending on the concentration of solids, expressed by the empirical formula, in order to more precisely control specific power supplied to the machine and foaming. Authors of the article held staged experimental studies using apple juice, the juice of red mountain ash, buckthorn and black currant. Found that the relationship between the conductivity of the juice solids content corresponds to the empirical formula of Kohlrausch, however, this formula does not represent the contribution juice acidity value of conductivity, and allows to correlate the specific power input to the device with the concentration of solids. The empirical formulas for the distribution of electrical juice conductivity depending on the acidity and for calculation of the specific power depending on the concentration of dry matter, allows to keep the speed of the foam below its destruction speed in the zone of vigorous reflux.     

Effect of Ni loadings on the activity and coke formation of MgO-modified Ni/Al2O3 nanocatalyst in dry reforming of methane

MgO-modified Ni/Al₂O₃ catalysts with different Ni loadings were prepared and employed in dry reforming of methane (DRM). The effect of Ni loadings on the activity and coke formation of Ni/MgO-Al₂O₃ catalysts were investigated. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, SEM, TPO and TPR techniques. The obtained results showed that increasing nickel loading decreased the BET surface area and increased the catalytic activity and amount of deposited carbon. In addition, the effect of gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) and feed ratio were studied.     

Crosslinked Hyaluronic Acid with Liposomes and Crocin Confers Cytoprotection in an Experimental Model of Dry Eye

Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial condition caused by tear deficiency and accompanied by ocular surface damage. Recent data support a key role of oxidative and inflammatory processes in the pathogenesis of DED. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is widely used in artificial tears to treat DED by improving ocular hydration and reducing surface friction. Crocin (Cr), the main constituent of saffron, is a renowned compound that exhibits potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The present study was undertaken to assess the viscosity and muco-adhesiveness of a photoactivated formulation with crosslinked HA (cHA), Cr, and liposomes (cHA-Cr-L). Our aim was also to evaluate whether cHA-Cr-L may exert cytoprotective effects against oxidative and inflammatory processes in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs). Viscosity was measured using a rotational rheometer, and then the muco-adhesiveness was evaluated. Under hyperosmolarity (450 mOsm), the HCECs were treated with cHA-Cr-L. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) were quantified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured using the DCF assay. The combined action of cHA-Cr-L produced a higher viscosity and muco-adhesiveness compared to the control. The anti-inflammatory effect of cHA-Cr-L was achieved through a significant reduction of IL-1β and TNFα (p < 0.001). The results also showed that cHA-Cr-L reduces ROS production under conditions of hyperosmolarity (p < 0.001). We conclude that cHA-Cr-L has potential as a therapeutic agent in DED, which should be further investigated.     

Hybrid process for texturization of diamond wire sawn multicrystalline silicon solar cell

Acid texture is difficult for diamond wire sawn (DWS) multicrystalline silicon (mc‐Si) wafer owing to the inhomogeneous distribution of damage layer on the surface. In this article, metal‐assisted chemical etching (MACE) has been selected for introducing a porous seeding layer to induce acid texturing etching. SEM results show that the oval pit structures coverage get obvious improvement even on the smooth areas. Owing to the further improved light absorption ability by second MACE and nanostructure rebuilding (NSR) process, nanostructured DWS mc‐Si solar cell has exhibited a conversion efficiency of 17.96%, which is 0.45% higher than that of DWS wafer with simple acid texture process. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Multi‐crystalline silicon solar cells with metal‐assisted nano‐texturing using HNO3 as hole injection agent

In this study, metal‐assisted etching (MAE) with nitric acid (HNO₃) as a hole injecting agent has been employed to texture multi‐crystalline silicon wafers. It was previously proven that addition of HNO₃ enabled control of surface texturing so as to form nano‐cone shaped structures rather than nanowires. The process parameters optimized for optically efficient texturing have been applied to multi‐crystalline wafers. Fabrication of p‐type Al:BSF cells have been carried out on textured samples with thermal SiO₂/PECVD‐SiN_x stack passivation and screen printed metallization. Firing process has been optimized in order to obtain the best contact formation. Finally, j_sc enhancement of 0.9 mA/cm² and 0.6% absolute increase in the efficiency have been achieved. This proves that the optimized MAE texture process can be successfully used in multi‐crystalline wafer texturing with standard passivation methods.

J –V curves and SEM images of the nano and iso‐textured samples. j_sc enhancement of 0.9 mA/cm² together with 0.6% absolute efficiency gain was observed on nano‐textured samples.     

三功能策略设计制备具有优异低温抗积碳性能的Ni-CeO2@SiO2催化剂催化甲烷干重整反应

随着全球人为温室气体排放量(主要是甲烷和二氧化碳)的增加,全球变暖的趋势逐渐增加,因此,迫切需要通过各种技术来捕获和利用这些温室气体.甲烷干气重整反应(DRM)可以有效地将甲烷和二氧化碳这两种资源丰富、价格低廉的温室气体转化为高附加值化学品,减少它们向大气排放.尽管DRM工艺的应用具有许多优势,但是反应期间碳沉积和活性组分的烧结是阻碍其工业应用的两个主要原因.这些碳沉积物可能覆盖活性中心或阻塞催化剂的孔道,从而导致催化剂活性降低.镍基催化剂因其价格低廉、初始活性高和资源丰富而得到广泛的应用.但应用于DRM反应的Ni基催化剂在反应中容易烧结和积碳,导致催化剂迅速失活.为解决上述问题,本文从三功能策略角度出发,即SiO2壳层的限域作用和Ni-Ce之间的协同作用以及CeO2的消除积碳作用,采用原位一锅法设计合成了一种限域型Ni-CeO2核壳结构催化剂(Ni-CeO2@SiO2).通过X射线衍射、透射电子显微镜、能量色散X射线光谱、N2吸附/脱附、氢气程序升温还原和脱附、氧气程序升温脱附、拉曼光谱、热重分析和原位漫反射红外傅里叶变换光谱测试对催化剂进行了系统的表征,来揭示催化剂的理化性质和反应机理.催化剂应用于甲烷干气重整反应结果表明,在温度区间为550～800℃时,与传统浸渍法合成的催化剂相比,Ni-CeO2@SiO2催化剂具有更高的活性.高温800℃下的稳定性测试结果显示,传统浸渍法合成的催化剂在反应20 h后就出现了大量的积碳且活性下降明显;而Ni-CeO2@SiO2催化剂在800℃下反应100 h后未检测到积碳,并且催化剂中的Ni纳米颗粒的平均粒径从5.01 nm仅增长到5.77 nm,表现出很好的高温抗积碳和耐烧结性能.值得注意的是,Ni-CeO2@SiO2催化剂在低温600℃(形成碳沉积的最可能温度区域)下反应20h后也未检测到积碳的形成,表现出催化剂良好的低温稳定性和抗积碳性能.这可能归因于对Ni-CeO2@SiO2催化剂的三功能作用,即多孔二氧化硅壳层的限域作用、Ni与CeO2之间强的金属-金属氧化物相互作用以及具有丰富活性氧物种CeO2的消除积碳的作用.通过原位漫反射红外傅里叶变换光谱测试来探究反应机理.结果 表明,DRM反应在Ni-CeO2@SiO2催化剂上遵循L-H机理,添加CeO2可以消除碳沉积并促进CO2活化.该三功能策略为设计其他应用于DRM的高性能催化剂提供了指导,有望加快该工艺的工业化.     

Relation between light trapping and surface topography of plasma textured crystalline silicon wafers

Currently, in the photovoltaic industry, wet chemical etching technologies are used for saw damage removal and surface texturing. Alternative to wet chemical etching is plasma etching. However, as for example, the linear microwave plasma technique, developed by Roth&Rau, has not been implemented in the photovoltaic industry for etching, because of the very low etch rate (<1 µm/min) and the high cost of ownership related to the etching process. In this study, different front surface textured crystalline silicon wafers obtained by means of the linear microwave plasma technique and the expanding thermal plasma technique are investigated in terms of weighted reflection by using reflectometry (250–1200 nm) to study the optical properties of the textures in detail. In addition, atomic force microscopy is used to measure the surface topography to determine statistical roughness parameters, as presented in this paper. Effective light trapping can be obtained by multiple reflections as well as by a graded layer, which leads to a diffuse front surface, or a combination of both. A graded layer can be described as a smooth transition with increasing refractive index from air to silicon with typical thickness of (200 ± 50) nm. We have found that the average plane tilt angle correlates to the measured weighted reflection. Moreover, we can determine from the aspect ratio whether the light trapping is effective by multiple reflections. From the roughness exponent, which is a measure for the micro roughness, we can determine whether the light trapping is effective by a graded layer. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Excellent passivation of thin silicon wafers by HF‐free hydrogen plasma etching using an industrial ICPECVD tool

In this work, hydrogen plasma etching of surface oxides was successfully accomplished on thin (～100 µm) planar n‐type Czochralski silicon wafers prior to intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon [a‐Si:H(i)] deposition for heterojunction solar cells, using an industrial inductively coupled plasma‐enhanced chemical vapour deposition (ICPECVD) platform. The plasma etching process is intended as a dry alternative to the conventional wet‐chemical hydrofluoric acid (HF) dip for solar cell processing. After symmetrical deposition of an a‐Si:H(i) passivation layer, high effective carrier lifetimes of up to 3.7 ms are obtained, which are equivalent to effective surface recombination velocities of 1.3 cm s^–1 and an implied open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) of 741 mV. The passivation quality is excellent and comparable to other high quality a‐Si:H(i) passivation. High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy shows evidence of plasma‐silicon interactions and a sub‐nanometre interfacial layer. Using electron energy‐loss spectroscopy, this layer is further investigated and confirmed to be hydrogenated suboxide layers. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)