Poly(3-hexylthiophene)/perovskite Heterointerface by Spinodal Decomposition Enabling Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

The best research-cell efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is comparable with that of mature silicon solar cells (SSCs); However, the industrial development of PSCs lags far behind SSCs. PSC is a multiphase and multicomponent system, whose consequent interfacial energy loss and carrier loss seriously affect the performance and stability of devices. Here, by using spinodal decomposition, a spontaneous solid phase segregation process, in situ introduces a poly(3-hexylthiophene)/perovskite (P3HT/PVK) heterointerface with interpenetrating structure in PSCs. The P3HT/PVK heterointerface tunes the energy alignment, thereby reducing the energy loss at the interface; The P3HT/PVK interpenetrating structure bridges a transport channel, thus decreasing the carrier loss at the interface. The simultaneous mitigation of energy and carrier losses by P3HT/PVK heterointerface enables n-i-p geometry device a power conversion efficiency of 24.53% (certified 23.94%) and excellent stability. These findings demonstrate an ingenious strategy to optimize the performance of PSCs by heterointerface via Spinodal decomposition.

Polarized Molecule 4-(Aminomethyl) Benzonitrile Hydrochloride for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

The rapid development of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) makes it one of the most competitive photovoltaic devices in the field of new energy. However, the suboptimal performance and poor stability caused by numerous defects are still the main factors limiting the development of PSCs. Herein, a polarized molecule additive of 4-(aminomethyl) benzonitrile hydrochloride (AMBNCl) is introduced into perovskite. Owing to its special polar electron density distribution, -C≡N group, -NH3+ terminal, and Cl- ions, the modification of AMBNCl can improve the quality of perovskite crystal growth, passivate the defects of Pb2+, adjust the energy level array between the perovskite layer and hole-transport layer, and alleviate the carrier nonradiative recombination. As a result, the AMBNCl-modified device achieves a champion efficiency of 23.52%. The unpacked device still maintained 91.2% of its original efficiency after storing in an air environment (RH ∼40%, 25 °C) for 50 days.

Additive Engineering by Bifunctional Guanidine Sulfamate for Highly Efficient and Stable Perovskites Solar Cells.

High efficiency and good stability are the challenges for perovskite solar cells (PSCs) toward commercialization. However, the intrinsic high defect density and internal nonradiative recombination of perovskite (PVK) limit its development. In this work, a facile additive strategy is devised by introducing bifunctional guanidine sulfamate (GuaSM; CH6 N3 + , Gua+ ; H2 N-SO3 - , SM- ) into PVK. The size of Gua+ ion is suitable with Pb(BrI)2 cavity relatively, so it can participate in the formation of low-dimensional PVK when mixed with Pb(BrI)2 . The O and N atoms of SM- can coordinate with Pb2+ . The synergistic effect of the anions and cations effectively reduces the trap density and the recombination in PVK, so that it can improve the efficiency and stability of PSCs. At an optimal concentration of GuaSM (2 mol%), the PSC presents a champion power conversion efficiency of 21.66% and a remarkably improved stability and hysteresis. The results provide a novel strategy for highly efficient and stable PSCs by bifunctional additive.

Suppressing Vacancy Defects and Grain Boundaries via Ostwald Ripening for High-Performance and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

As one kind of promising next-generation photovoltaic devices, perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) have experienced unprecedented rapid growth in device performance over the past few years. However, the practical applications of PVSCs require much improved device long-term stability and performance, and internal defects and external humidity sensitivity are two key limitation need to be overcome. Here, gadolinium fluoride (GdF3 ) is added into perovskite precursor as a redox shuttle and growth-assist; meanwhile, aminobutanol vapor is used for Ostwald ripening in the formation of the perovskite layer. Consequently, a high-quality perovskite film with large grain size and few grain boundaries is obtained, resulting in the reduction of trap state density and carrier recombination. As a result, a power conversion efficiency of 21.21% is achieved with superior stability and negligible hysteresis.

High-Performance and Hysteresis-Free Perovskite Solar Cells Based on Rare-Earth-Doped SnO2 Mesoporous Scaffold.

Tin oxide (SnO2), as electron transport material to substitute titanium oxide (TiO2) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), has aroused wide interests. However, the performance of the PSCs based on SnO2 is still hard to compete with the TiO2-based devices. Herein, a novel strategy is designed to enhance the photovoltaic performance and long-term stability of PSCs by integrating rare-earth ions Ln3+ (Sc3+, Y3+, La3+) with SnO2 nanospheres as mesoporous scaffold. The doping of Ln promotes the formation of dense and large-sized perovskite crystals, which facilitate interfacial contact of electron transport layer/perovskite layer and improve charge transport dynamics. Ln dopant optimizes the energy level of perovskite layer, reduces the charge transport resistance, and mitigates the trap state density. As a result, the optimized mesoporous PSC achieves a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.63% without hysteresis, while the undoped PSC obtains an efficiency of 19.01%. The investigation demonstrates that the rare-earth doping is low-cost and effective method to improve the photovoltaic performance of SnO2-based PSCs.

Counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are regarded as prospective solar cells for the next generation of photovoltaic technologies and have become research hotspots in the PV field. The counter electrode, as a crucial component of DSSCs, collects electrons from the external circuit and catalyzes the redox reduction in the electrolyte, which has a significant influence on the photovoltaic performance, long-term stability and cost of the devices. Solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells, as well as the structure, principle, preparation and characterization of counter electrodes are mentioned in the introduction section. The next six sections discuss the counter electrodes based on transparency and flexibility, metals and alloys, carbon materials, conductive polymers, transition metal compounds, and hybrids, respectively. The special features and performance, advantages and disadvantages, preparation, characterization, mechanisms, important events and development histories of various counter electrodes are presented. In the eighth section, the development of counter electrodes is summarized with an outlook. This article panoramically reviews the counter electrodes in DSSCs, which is of great significance for enhancing the development levels of DSSCs and other photoelectrochemical devices.

Bi(1-x)Ni(x)VO(4-y) Solid Solution with a High Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity for Degradation Methyl Orange.

Particulate solid solutions Bi(1-x)Ni(x)VO(4-y) were synthesized by solid-state reaction at high temperature. The samples were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The photocatalytic activity of BiVO4 for photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants ability in visible light region could be improved by doping of Ni(2+). The high visible light photocatalytic activity of Bi(1-x)Ni(x)VO(4-y) solid solution might be due to the generation of a new band gap and expanding the range of visible light response. It was suggested that the Ni(2+) doping was beneficial to effective charge separation of Bi(1-x)Ni(x)VO(4-y) solid solution, thus improved the photocatalytic activity.

Synthesis of hierarchically structured ZnO spheres by facile methods and their photocatalytic deNOx properties.

This paper presents novel and facile methods for the fabrication of a series ZnO spheres by template-free, carbon template and hydrated-salt assisted solvothermal process, respectively. Phase purity and crystalline structure of the products were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis. SEM was employed to investigate the morphology and the fabrication of the monodisperse. BET analysis revealed that the as-prepared samples possessed huge specific surface area. UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy showed that these ZnO hollow spheres have a higher absorption. The as-prepared samples showed excellent photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of NOx gas under both visible-light and UV light irradiation (λ>510, 400, 290nm), being superior to that of commercial TiO2 powders.

Fabrication and photocatalytic property of Pt-intercalated layered perovskite niobates H(1-x)LaNb(2-x)Mo(x)O(7) (x=0-0.15).

H(1-x)LaNb(2-x)Mo(x)O(7) was prepared by solid-state reaction followed by an ion-exchange reaction. Pt was incorporated in the interlayer of H(1-x)LaNb(2-x)Mo(x)O(7) by the stepwise intercalation reaction. The H(1-x)LaNb(2-x)Mo(x)O(7) showed hydrogen production activity and the activities were greatly enhanced by Pt co-incorporating. The x value in H(1-x)LaNb(2-x)Mo(x)O(7) had an important effect on the photocatalytic activity of the catalyst. When the x=0.05, the H(1-x)LaNb(2-x)Mo(x)O(7)/Pt showed a photocatalytic activity of 80 cm(3)h(-1)g(-1) hydrogen evolution rate in 10 vol.% methanol solution under irradiation from a 100 W mercury lamp at 333K.