Bilateral Production Shield Enabling Highly Efficient Perovskite Photovoltaics.

Enhancing the intrinsic stability of perovskite and through encapsulation to isolate water, oxygen, and UV-induced decomposition are currently common and most effective strategies in perovskite solar cells. Here, the atomic layer deposition process is employed to deposit a nanoscale (≈100 nm), uniform, and dense Al2O3 film on the front side of perovskite devices, effectively isolating them from the erosion caused by water and oxygen in the humid air. Simultaneously, nanoscale (≈100 nm) TiO2 films are also deposited on the glass surface to efficiently filter out the ultraviolet (UV) light in the light source, which induces degradation in perovskite. Ultimately, throughthe collaborative effects of both aspects, the stability of the devices is significantly improved under conditions of humid air and illumination. As a result, after storing the devices in ambient air for 1000 h, the efficiency only declines to 95%, and even after 662 h of UV exposure, the efficiency remains at 88%, far surpassing the performance of comparison devices. These results strongly indicate that the adopted Al2O3 and TiO2 thin films play a significant role in enhancing the stability of perovskite solar cells, demonstrating substantial potential for widespread industrial applications.

Eight-Electron Superatomic Cu31 Nanocluster with Chiral Kernel and NIR-II Emission.

Owing to the inherent instability caused by the low Cu(I)/Cu(0) half-cell reduction potential, Cu(0)-containing copper nanoclusters are quite uncommon in comparison to their Ag and Au congeners. Here, a novel eight-electron superatomic copper nanocluster [Cu31(4-MeO-PhC≡C)21(dppe)3](ClO4)2 (Cu31, dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane) is presented with total structural characterization. The structural determination reveals that Cu31 features an inherent chiral metal core arising from the helical arrangement of two sets of three Cu2 units encircling the icosahedral Cu13 core, which is further shielded by 4-MeO-PhC≡C- and dppe ligands. Cu31 is the first copper nanocluster carrying eight free electrons, which is further corroborated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. Interestingly, Cu31 demonstrates the first near-infrared (750-950 nm, NIR-I) window absorption and the second near-infrared (1000-1700 nm, NIR-II) window emission, which is exceptional in the copper nanocluster family and endows it with great potential in biological applications. Of note, the 4-methoxy groups providing close contacts with neighboring clusters are crucial for the cluster formation and crystallization, while 2-methoxyphenylacetylene leads only to copper hydride clusters, Cu6H or Cu32H14. This research not only showcases a new member of copper superatoms but also exemplifies that copper nanoclusters, which are nonluminous in the visible range may emit luminescence in the deep NIR region.

Elongation of a Trigonal-Prismatic Copper Cluster by Diphosphine Ligands with Longer Spacers.

A pair of alkynyl-diphosphine-coprotected copper(I) clusters, namely, [Cu6(4-MeO-PhC≡C)5(dppe)3](ClO4) [Cu6; dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane] and [Cu11(H)(4-MeO-PhC≡C)8(dpppe)3](ClO4)2 [Cu11; dpppe = 1,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)pentane], featuring trigonal-prismatic frameworks have been synthesized by a reduction method. Their molecular structures are determined by X-ray crystallography and characterized by multiple techniques. The length of the spacer of the diphosphine ligand can directly affect the aspect ratio of the clusters. Cu6 with dppe as ligands has a trigonal-prismatic core. The longer alkyl spacer of dpppe helps to elongate the trigonal-prismatic framework to form Cu11, with its trigonal-prismatic framework encapsulating a Cu5H unit. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, 2H NMR, and liberations of hydrogen further verify the presence of a hydride in the cluster. Density functional theory calculations help to locate the position of the hydride and understand the electronic structures of the clusters. Cu11 is the first alkynyl-phosphine-coprotected copper hydride cluster. These two clusters show distinct luminescence properties. The compact Cu6 is phosphorescent upon radiation, while the longer Cu11 with more flexibility is nonluminous. This work enriches the family of copper hydrides and demonstrates the ligand effects in the extension of the length and structural complexity of clusters.

Robust Laminated Anode with an Ultrathin Titanium Nitride Layer for High-Efficiency Top-Emitting Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

The effective reflective anode remains a highly desirable component for the fabrication of reliable top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes (TE-OLEDs) which have the potential to be integrated with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits for microdisplays. This work demonstrates a novel laminated anode consisting of a Cr/Al/Cr multilayer stack. Furthermore, we implement an ultra-thin titanium nitride (TiN) layer as a protective layer on the top of the Cr/Al/Cr composite anode, which creates a considerably reflective surface in the visible range, and meanwhile improves the chemical stability of the electrode against the atmosphere or alkali environment. Based on [2-(2-pyridinyl-N)phenyl-C](acetylacetonate)iridium(III) as green emitter and Mg/Ag as transparent cathode, our TE-OLED using the TiN-coated anode achieves the maximum current efficiency of 71.2 cd/A and the maximum power efficiency of 66.7 lm/W, which are 81% and 90% higher than those of the reference device without TiN, respectively. The good device performance shows that the Cr/Al/Cr/TiN could function as a promising reflective anode for the high-resolution microdisplays on CMOS circuits.

Recent Progresses in Solution-Processed Tandem Organic and Quantum Dots Light-Emitting Diodes.

Solution processes have promising advantages of low manufacturing cost and large-scale production, potentially applied for the fabrication of organic and quantum dot light-emitting diodes (OLEDs and QLEDs). To meet the expected lifespan of OLEDs/QLEDs in practical display and lighting applications, tandem architecture by connecting multiple light-emitting units (LEUs) through a feasible intermediate connection layer (ICL) is preferred. However, the combination of tandem architecture with solution processes is still limited by the choices of obtainable ICLs due to the unsettled challenges, such as orthogonal solubility, surface wettability, interfacial corrosion, and charge injection. This review focuses on the recent progresses of solution-processed tandem OLEDs and tandem QLEDs, covers the design and fabrication of various ICLs by solution process, and provides suggestions on the future challenges of corresponding materials and devices, which are anticipated to stimulate the exploitation of the emerging light technologies.

Plasmon resonance enhanced optical absorption in inverted polymer/fullerene solar cells with metal nanoparticle-doped solution-processable TiO2 layer.

This paper investigates the effects of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in an inverted polymer/fullerene solar cell by incorporating Au and/or Ag nanoparticles (NPs) into the TiO2 buffer layer. Enhanced light harvesting via plasmonic resonance of metal NPs has been observed. It results in improved short-circuit current density (Jsc) while the corresponding open-circuit voltage (Voc) is maintained. A maximum power conversion efficiency of 7.52% is obtained in the case of introducing 30% Ag NPs into the TiO2, corresponding to a 20.7% enhancement compared with the reference device without the metal NPs. The device photovoltaic characteristics, photocurrent properties, steady-state and dynamic photoluminescences of active layer on metal NP-doped TiO2, and electric field profile in metal NP-doped TiO2 layers are systematically investigated to explore how the plasmonic effects of Au and/or Ag NPs influence the OSC performance.