Oriented Perovskite Film from Laser Recrystallization in Magnetic Field.

The orientation of crystals on the substrate and the presence of defects are critical factors in electro-optic performance. However, technical approaches to guide the orientational crystallization of electro-optical thin films remain challenging. Here, a novel physical method called magnetic-field-assisted pulse laser annealing (MAPLA) for controlling the orientation of perovskite crystals on substrates is reported. By inducing laser recrystallization of perovskite crystals under a magnetic field and with magnetic nanoparticles, the optical and magnetic fields are found to guide the orientational gathering of perovskite units into nanoclusters, resulting in perovskite crystals with preferred lattice orientation in (110) and (220) perpendicular to the substrate. The perovskite crystals obtained by MAPLA exhibit significantly larger grain size and fewer defects compared to those from pulsed laser annealing (PLA) and traditional thermal annealing, resulting in improved carrier lifetime and mobility. Furthermore, MAPLA demonstrates enhanced device performance, increasing responsivity and detectivity by two times, and photocurrent by nearly three orders compared with PLA. The introduction of Fe2 O3 nanoparticles during MAPLA not only improves crystal size and orientation but also significantly enhances long-term stability by preventing Pb2+ reduction. The MAPLA method has great potential for fabricating many electro-optical thin films with desired device properties and stability.

Epidermal Patch with Biomimetic Multistructural Microfluidic Channels for Timeliness Monitoring of Sweat.

Wearable sweat sensors have been developed rapidly in recent years due to the great potential in health monitoring. Developing a convenient manufacturing process and a novel structure to realize timeliness and continuous monitoring of sweat is crucial for the practical application of sweat sensors. Herein, inspired by the striped grooves and granular structures of bamboo leaves, we realized an epidermal patch with biomimetic multilevel structural microfluidic channels for timeliness monitoring of sweat via 3D printing and femtosecond laser processing. The striped grooves and ridges are alternately arranged at the bottom of the microfluidic channels, and the surface of the ridges has rough granular structures. The striped grooves improve the capillary effect in the microchannels by dividing the microchannels, and the granular structures enhance the slip effect of sweat by increasing surface hydrophobicity. The experimental results show that compared with the conventional microfluidic channels, the water collecting rate of the biomimetic microchannels increased by about 60%, which is consistent with the theoretical analysis. The superior sweat-collecting efficiency in the epidermal patch with the biomimetic multistructure enables sensitive, continuous, and stable monitoring of sweat physiological signals. Besides, this work provides new design and manufacturing approaches for other microfluidic applications.

Mesoporous LDH Metastructure from Multiscale Assembly of Defective Nanodomains by Laser Shock for Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Laser is a powerful tool for the synthesis of nanomaterials. The intensive laser pulses delivered to materials within nanoseconds allow the formation of novel structures that are inaccessible for conventional methods. Layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanostructures with high porosity, suitable dopants, and rich defects are desirable for catalysts, however, tremendously difficult in a one-pot synthesis. Here it is found that confined laser shock in solvent leads to the formation of nanoreactors which guide the assembly of multiscale LDH building units, larger nanosheets as frame and smaller nanodomains as building blocks. These nanodomains have rich vacancy defects and are interlocked in a high packed density of 1013  cm-2 , leaving rich mesopores across the nanosheets and coral-like morphology. Like the natural coral reef that has multiscale structure to accommodate different marine organisms, the coral-like LDH metastructure provides large surface area and rich active sites for the interaction with guest molecules. Benefiting from the multiscale porous structure and rational dopant, this LDH catalyst exhibits a low overpotential of 220 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), standing as one of the best LDH catalysts to date.

Highly Efficient and Stable GABr-Modified Ideal-Bandgap (1.35 eV) Sn/Pb Perovskite Solar Cells Achieve 20.63% Efficiency with a Record Small Voc Deficit of 0.33 V.

1.5-1.6 eV bandgap Pb-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with 30-31% theoretical efficiency limit by the Shockley-Queisser model achieve 21-24% power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). However, the best PCEs of reported ideal-bandgap (1.3-1.4 eV) Sn-Pb PSCs with a higher 33% theoretical efficiency limit are <18%, mainly because of their large open-circuit voltage (Voc ) deficits (>0.4 V). Herein, it is found that the addition of guanidinium bromide (GABr) can significantly improve the structural and photoelectric characteristics of ideal-bandgap (≈1.34 eV) Sn-Pb perovskite films. GABr introduced in the perovskite films can efficiently reduce the high defect density caused by Sn2+ oxidation in the perovskite, which is favorable for facilitating hole transport, decreasing charge-carrier recombination, and reducing the Voc deficit. Therefore, the best PCE of 20.63% with a certificated efficiency of 19.8% is achieved in 1.35 eV PSCs, along with a record small Voc deficit of 0.33 V, which is the highest PCE among all values reported to date for ideal-bandgap Sn-Pb PSCs. Moreover, the GABr-modified PSCs exhibit significantly improved environmental and thermal stability. This work represents a noteworthy step toward the fabrication of efficient and stable ideal-bandgap PSCs.

Evaluation of A-Site Ba2+-Deficient Ba1-x Co0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ Oxides as Electrocatalysts for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

Exploring earth-abundant and cost-effective catalysts with high activity and stability for a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great importance to practical applications of alkaline water electrolysis. Here, we report on A-site Ba2+-deficiency doping as an effective strategy to enhance the electrochemical activity of BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ for HER, which is related to the formation of oxygen vacancies around active Co/Fe ions. By comparison with the benchmarking Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ , one of the most spotlighted perovskite oxides, the Ba0.95Co0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ oxide has lower overpotential and smaller Tafel slope. Furthermore, the Ba0.95Co0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ catalyst is ultrastable in an alkaline solution. The enhanced HER performance originated from the increased active atoms adjacent to oxygen vacancies on the surface of the Ba0.95Co0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ catalyst induced by Ba2+-deficiency doping. The low-coordinated active atoms and adjacent oxygen ions may play the role of heterojunctions that synergistically facilitate the Volmer process and thus render stimulated HER catalytic activity. The preliminary results suggest that Ba2+-deficiency doping is a feasible method to tailor the physical and electrochemical properties of perovskite, and that Ba0.95Co0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ is a potential catalyst for HER.