Organic-Hydrochloride-Modified ZnO Electron Transport Layer for Efficient Defect Passivation and Stress Release in Rigid and Flexible all Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells.

All inorganic CsPbI2Br perovskite (AIP) has attracted great attention due to its excellent resistance against thermal stress as well as the remarkable capability to deliver high-voltage output. However, CsPbI2Br perovskite solar cells (PeSCs) still encounter critical challenges in attaining both high efficiency and mechanical stability for commercial applications. In this work, formamidine disulfide dihydrochloride (FADD) modified ZnO electron transport layer (ETL) has been developed for fabricating inverted devices on either rigid or flexible substrate. It is found that the FADD modification leads to efficient defects passivation, thereby significantly reducing charge recombination at the AIP/ETL interface. As a result, rigid PeSCs (r-PeSCs) deliver an enhanced efficiency of 16.05% and improved long-term thermal stability. Moreover, the introduced FADD can regulate the Young's modulus (or Derjaguin-Muller-Toporov (DMT) modilus) of ZnO ETL and dissipate stress concentration at the AIP/ETL interface, effectively restraining the crack generation and improving the mechanical stability of PeSCs. The flexible PeSCs (f-PeSCs) exhibit one of the best performances so far reported with excellent stability against 6000 bending cycles at a curvature radius of 5 mm. This work thus provides an effective strategy to simultaneously improve the photovoltaic performance and mechanical stability.

Chemical Reaction Modulated Low-Dimensional Phase Toward Highly Efficient Sky-Blue Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes.

Blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are crucial avenues for achieving full-color displays and lighting based on perovskite materials. However, the relatively low external quantum efficiency (EQE) has hindered their progression towards commercial applications. Quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) perovskites stand out as promising candidates for blue PeLEDs, with optimized control over low-dimensional phases contributing to enhanced radiative properties of excitons. Herein, the impact of organic molecular dopants on the crystallization of various n-phase structures in quasi-2D perovskite films. The results reveal that the highly reactive bis(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)phosphine oxide (BTF-PPO) molecule could effectively restrain the formation of organic spacer cation-ordered layered perovskite phases through chemical reactions, simultaneously passivate those uncoordinated Pb2+ defects. Consequently, the prepared PeLEDs exhibited a maximum EQE of 16.6 % (@ 490 nm). The finding provides a new route to design dopant molecules for phase modulation in quasi-2D PeLEDs.

Characterizing Spatial and Energetic Distributions of Trap States Toward Highly Efficient Perovskite Photovoltaics.

Due to their greater opt electric performance, perovskite photovoltaics (PVs) present huge potential to be commercialized. Perovskite PV's high theoretical efficiency expands the available development area. The passivation of defects in perovskite films is crucial for approaching the theoretical limit. In addition to creating efficient passivation techniques, it is essential to direct the passivation approach by getting precise and real-time information on the trap states through measurements. Therefore, it is necessary to establish quantitative characterization methods for the trap states in energy and 3D spaces. The authors cover the characterization of the spatial and energy distributions of trap states in this article with an eye toward high-efficiency perovskite photovoltaics. After going over the strategies that have been created for characterizing and evaluating trap states, the authors will concentrate on how to direct the creative development of characterization techniques for trap states assessment and highlight the opportunities and challenges of future development. The 3D space and energy distribution mappings of trap states are anticipated to be realized. The review will give key guiding importance for further approaching the theoretical efficiency of perovskite photovoltaics, offering some future research direction and technological assistance for the development of appropriate targeted passivation technologies.

Buried Interface Passivation: A Key Strategy to Breakthrough the Efficiency of Perovskite Photovoltaics.

Owing to the merits of low cost and high power conversion efficiency (PCE), perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have become the best candidate to replace the commonly used silicon solar cells. However, PSCs have been slow to enter the market for a number of reasons, including poor stability, high toxicity, and rigorous preparation process. Passivation strategies including surface passivation and bulk passivation have been successfully applied to improve the device performance of PSCs. The passivation of the defects at the buried interface, which is regarded as a key strategy to breakthrough the device efficiency and stability of PSCs in the future, is ongoing with challenge. Herein, in detail the recent passivation of the buried interface is introduced from three aspects: perovskite layer, buried interlayer, and transport layer. The passivation effect of the buried interface is clearly demonstrated through three categories of salts, organics, and 2D materials. In addition, the transport layer is classified into electron transport layer (ETL) and hole transport layer (HTL). These classifications can help to have a clear understanding of substances which generate passivating effect and guide the continuous promotion of the follow-up buried interface passivating work.

Doping Strategies for Promising Organic-Inorganic Halide Perovskites.

Organic-inorganic halide perovskites (OIHPs) obtained tremendous attention due to their low cost and excellent properties. However, the stability and toxicity of Pb-based OIHPs (POIHPs), as well as the weakness of efficiency and stability in Sn-based OIHPs (SOIHPs), are still serious issues for commercial application. Notably, composition engineering is an effective and direct strategy for improving these issues along with the control and modification of properties. Recently, the doping strategies for POIHPs and SOIHPs are booming. Based on the relationship between properties and composition, the doping strategies for POIHPs and SOIHPs, aiming to provide a comprehensive review and guidance for the research are systematically summarized. Moreover, the doping strategies for Pb-Sn mixed OIHPs are also discussed. Finally, a brief perspective and conclusion toward future possible doping schemes and properties designment of POIHPs and SOIHPs are offered.

Low-Dimensional Phase Regulation to Restrain Non-Radiative Recombination for Sky-Blue Perovskite LEDs with EQE Exceeding 15 .

Achieving efficient blue electroluminescence (EL) remains the fundamental challenge that impedes perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) towards commercial applications. The bottleneck accounting for the inefficient blue PeLEDs is broadly attributed to the poor-emissive blue perovskite emitters based on either mixed halide engineering or reduced-dimensional strategy. Herein, we report the high-performing sky-blue PeLEDs (490 nm) with the maximum EQE exceeding 15 % by incorporating a molecular modifier, namely 4,4'-Difluorophenone, for significantly suppressing the non-radiative recombination and tuning of the low-dimensional phase distribution of quasi-2D blue perovskites, which represents a remarkable paradigm for developing the new generation of blue lighting sources.

Physical Fields Manipulation for High-Performance Perovskite Photovoltaics.

With the efforts of researchers from all over the world, metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been booming rapidly in recent years. Generally, perovskite films are sensitive to surrounding conditions and will be changed under the action of physical fields, resulting in lattice distortion, degradation, ion migration, and so on. In this review, the progress of physical fields manipulation in PSCs, including the electric field, magnetic field, light field, stress field, and thermal field are reviewed. On this basis, the influences of these fields on PSCs are summarized and prospected. Finally, challenges and prospective research directions on how to make better use of external-fields while minimizing the unnecessary and disruptive impacts on commercial PSCs with high-efficiency and steady output are proposed.

Visualizing the Surface Photocurrent Distribution in Perovskite Photovoltaics.

Defect states play an important role in the photovoltaic performance of metal halide perovskites. Particularly, the passivation of surface defects has made great contributions to high-performance perovskite photovoltaics. This highlights the importance of understanding the surface defects from a fundamental level by developing more accurate and operando characterization techniques. Herein, a strategy to enable the surface carriers and photocurrent distributions on perovskite films to be visualized in the horizontal direction is put forward. The visual image of photocurrent distribution is realized by combining the static local distribution of carriers provided by scanning near-field optical microscopy with the dynamic transporting of carriers achieved via a scanning photocurrent measurement system. Taking a surface passivated molecule as an example, a comprehensive defect scene including static and dynamic as well as local and entire conditions is obtained using this strategy. The comprehensive analysis of the trap states in perovskite films is pioneered vertically and horizontally, which will powerfully promote the deep understanding of defect mechanisms and carrier behavior for the goal of fabricating high-performance perovskite optoelectronic devices.

Immobilized Precursor Particle Driven Growth of Centimeter-Sized MoTe2 Monolayer.

Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) has attracted ever-growing attention in recent years due to its novel characteristics in spintronics and phase-engineering, and an efficient and convenient method to achieve large-area high-quality film is an essential step toward electronic applications. However, the growth of large-area monolayer MoTe2 is challenging. Here, for the first time, we achieve the growth of a centimeter-sized monoclinic MoTe2 monolayer and manifest the mechanism of immobilized precursor particle driven growth. Microscopic characterizations reveal an obvious trend of immobilized precursor particles being consumed by the monolayer and continuing to provide a source for the growth of the monolayer. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry verifies the attachment of hydroxide ions on the surface of the MoTe2 monolayer, thereby realizing the inhibition of crystal growth along the [001] zone axis and the continuous growth of the MoTe2 monolayer. The first-principles DFT calculations prove the mechanism of immobilized precursor particles and the absorption of hydroxide ions on the MoTe2 monolayer. The as-grown MoTe2 monolayer exhibits a surface roughness of 0.19 nm and average conductivity of 1.5 × 10-5 S/m, which prove the smoothness and uniformity of the MoTe2 monolayer. Temperature-dependent electrical measurements together with the transfer characteristic curves further demonstrate the typical semimetallic properties of monoclinic MoTe2. Our research elaborates the microscopic process of immobilized precursor particles to grow large-area MoTe2 monolayer and provides a new thinking about the growth of many other two-dimensional materials.

Fabrication of Nickel Oxide Nanopillar Arrays on Flexible Electrodes for Highly Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells.

Semiconductor nanomaterials with controlled morphologies and architectures are of critical importance for high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, the fabrication of such nanomaterials on polymer-based flexible electrodes is particularly challenging due to degradation of the flexible electrodes at a high temperature. Here we report the fabrication of nickel oxide nanopillar arrays (NiO x NaPAs) on a flexible electrode by vapor deposition, which enables highly efficient perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The NiO x NaPAs exhibit an enhanced light transmittance for light harvesting, prohibit exciton recombination, promote irradiation-generated hole transport and collection, and facilitate the formation of large perovskite grains. These advantageous features result in a high efficiency of 20% and 17% for the rigid and flexible PSCs, respectively. Additionally, the NaPAs show no cracking after 500 times of bending, consistent with the mechanic simulation results. This robust fabrication opens a new opportunity for the fabrication of a large area of high-performance flexible optoelectronic devices.

Ultraflexible and Lightweight Bamboo-Derived Transparent Electrodes for Perovskite Solar Cells.

Wearable devices are mainly based on plastic substrates, such as polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate, which causes environmental pollution after use due to the long decomposition periods. This work reports on the fabrication of a biodegradable and biocompatible transparent conductive electrode derived from bamboo for flexible perovskite solar cells. The conductive bioelectrode exhibits extremely flexible and light-weight properties. After bending 3000 times at a 4 mm curvature radius or even undergoing a crumpling test, it still shows excellent electrical performance and negligible decay. The performance of the bamboo-based bioelectrode perovskite solar cell exhibits a record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 11.68%, showing the highest efficiency among all reported biomass-based perovskite solar cells. It is remarkable that this flexible device has a highly bendable mechanical stability, maintaining over 70% of its original PCE during 1000 bending cycles at a 4 mm curvature radius. This work paves the way for perovskite solar cells toward comfortable and environmentally friendly wearable devices.

Nanostructured hexagonal ReO3 with oxygen vacancies for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen generation.

We report oxygen vacancies (OVs) rich hexagonal ReO3 nanostructured electrocatalysts for efficient hydrogen generation. Through a simple argon plasma exposure, OVs are introduced into the ReO3 nanoparticles (NP) and nanosheets to enhance electrocatalytic activities with decreasing overpotentails from 157 mV and 178 mV to 138 mV and 145 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm-2, respectively. As-processed OVs rich ReO3 NP exhibit a good stability during electrochemical measurements for 20 h in acidic electrolyte. The huge active surface area, abundant OVs and excellent conductivity contribute to the performance according to the experimental data. Further theoretical calculations show that the abundant OVs adsorb H with lower Gibbs free energy facilitating hydrogen evolution.

Effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy versus loop electrosurgical excision procedure for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 treatment.

BACKGROUND: Both the traditional loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) and the newly developed 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) are used to treat high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. However, the clinical efficacy and safety of these two therapies have rarely been compared. Thus, this study aimed to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of the two treatment regimens. METHODS: One hundred and twenty patients in two groups (60 + 60) with grade 2 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2) were voluntary treated with photodynamic therapy or LEEP between June 2020 and December 2022. Follow-up was conducted at 3, 4-6, and 7-12 months after treatment. RESULTS: Although the total effective rate of LEEP was higher during the first 6 months after treatment, both the total effective rate of lesion degradation and the double-negative rate of high-risk HPV16/18 and liquid-based cervical cytology by ALA-PDT treatment increased with time and finally exceeded those of LEEP at 7-12 months. CONCLUSIONS: ALA-PDT may be more promising than LEEP for treating patients with CIN2 because of the better CIN2 degradation and high-risk HPV negativity, less damage, and greater fertility conservation, especially after 6 months.

Case report: Report of a case of female adnexal malignant tumor of Wolffian origin.

A 33-year-old young woman with a rare female appendage tumor of suspected Wolffian origin was initially diagnosed with a benign lesion after the resection of a tubal lesion due to the benign cytomorphology of the tumor tissue. However, 1 year after surgery, she was diagnosed with stage IV fallopian tube cancer due to a recurrence, which presented with substantial ascites and invasion of multiple organs, including the bilateral ovaries, intestines, pelvic peritoneum, greater omentum, and appendix. After tumor cytoreduction, the patient responded well to treatment, which included a regimen of platinum-based drugs combined with docetaxel, aromatase inhibitors such as letrozole, antihormonal therapy, and targeted therapy with bevacizumab.

Photochemical Shield Enabling Highly Efficient Perovskite Photovoltaics.

Oxygen is difficult to be physically removed. Oxygen will be excited by light to form free radicals which further attack the lattice of perovskite. The stabilization of α-FAPbI3 against δ-FAPbI3 is the key to optimize perovskite solar cells. Herein, the simple molecule, benzaldehyde (BAH) is adopted. The photochemical shield will be established in perovskite layer. Moreover, heterogeneous nucleation induced by BAH enhances the crystallization of α-FAPbI3. Consequently, the stability of device is improved significantly. The target device maintains 95% of original power conversion efficiency after 1500 h under air conditions and light-emitting diode light. The power conversion efficiency increases from 23.21% of pristine device to 24.82% of target device.

Lead Isolation and Capture in Perovskite Photovoltaics toward Eco-Friendly Commercialization.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are developed rapidly in efficiency and stability in recent years, which can compete with silicon solar cells. However, an important obstacle to the commercialization of PSCs is the toxicity of lead ions (Pb2+) from water-soluble perovskites. The entry of free Pb2+ into organisms can cause severe harm to humans, such as blood lead poisoning, organ failure, etc. Therefore, this work reports a "lead isolation-capture" dual detoxification strategy with calcium disodium edetate (EDTA Na-Ca), which can inhibit lead leakage from PSCs under extreme conditions. More importantly, leaked lead exists in a nontoxic aggregation state chelated by EDTA. For the first time, in vivo experiments are conducted in mice to systematically prove that this material has a significant inhibitory effect on the toxicity of perovskites. In addition, this strategy can further enhance device performance, enabling the optimized devices to achieve an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.19%. This innovative strategy is a major breakthrough in the research on the prevention of lead toxicity in PSCs.

Magnetic-biased chiral molecules enabling highly oriented photovoltaic perovskites.

The interaction between sites A, B and X with passivation molecules is restricted when the conventional passivation strategy is applied in perovskite (ABX3) photovoltaics. Fortunately, the revolving A-site presents an opportunity to strengthen this interaction by utilizing an external field. Herein, we propose a novel approach to achieving an ordered magnetic dipole moment, which is regulated by a magnetic field via the coupling effect between the chiral passivation molecule and the A-site (formamidine ion) in perovskites. This strategy can increase the molecular interaction energy by approximately four times and ensure a well-ordered molecular arrangement. The quality of the deposited perovskite film is significantly optimized with inhibited nonradiative recombination. It manages to reduce the open-circuit voltage loss of photovoltaic devices to 360 mV and increase the power conversion efficiency to 25.22%. This finding provides a new insight into the exploration of A-sites in perovskites and offers a novel route to improving the device performance of perovskite photovoltaics.

The roles of Linc-ROR in the regulation of cancer stem cells.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are considered to be a kind of tumor cell population characterized by self-renewal, easy to metastasize and drug resistance, which play an indispensable role in the occurrence, development, metastasis and drug resistance of tumors, and their existence is an important reason for high metastasis and recurrence of tumors. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs), which are more than 200 nucleotides in length, have a close relationship with the malignant progression of cancer.In recent years, abundant studies have reavling that LncRNAs are beneficial to the regulation of various cancer stem cells. Linc-ROR, as a newly discovered intergenic non-protein-coding RNA in recent years, is considered to be a key regulator affecting the development of human tumors. Dysregulation of Linc-ROR is related to stemness phenotype and functional regulation of cancer stem cells. For that, Linc-ROR has the potential to be used as a diagnostic biomarker for cancer patients and can serve as a clinically meaningful potential therapeutic target. In this review, we generalize the existing research results on the important role of Linc-ROR in regulation of CSCs.

LncRNAs and regulated cell death in tumor cells.

Regulated Cell Death (RCD) is a mode of cell death that occurs through drug or genetic intervention. The regulation of RCDs is one of the significant reasons for the long survival time of tumor cells and poor prognosis of patients. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) which are involved in the regulation of tumor biological processes, including RCDs occurring on tumor cells, are closely related to tumor progression. In this review, we describe the mechanisms of eight different RCDs which contain apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, NETosis, entosis, ferroptosis, autosis and cuproptosis. Meanwhile, their respective roles in the tumor are aggregated. In addition, we outline the literature that is related to the regulatory relationships between lncRNAs and RCDs in tumor cells, which is expected to provide new ideas for tumor diagnosis and treatment.

[MicroRNA-16 regulates the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of ovarian epithelial carcinoma cells in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To study the role and mechanism of microRNA-16 (miR-16) in the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of ovarian epithelial carcinoma cells in vitro. METHODS: The SKOV-3 cells were transfected with miR-16 mimics or negative control RNA (NC) by lipofectamine 2000. The expression of miR-16 was detected by real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR in SKOV-3 cells, and western blot was used to detect the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and bcl-2 protein. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT), 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) and transwell assay were used to determine the proliferation and invasion abilities. And the rate of apoptotic cell was detected by flow cytometry method. RESULTS: (1) The expression level of miR-16 in the transfection cells group was significantly higher than that in NC group (125.93 ± 15.30 versus 0.78 ± 0.16, P < 0.01). (2) The relative expression level of VEGF protein in transfection cells, NC and blank control group was 0.58 ± 0.05, 1.22 ± 0.03, 1.20 ± 0.03, MMP-2 protein was 0.63 ± 0.03, 1.16 ± 0.03, 1.21 ± 0.03, and bcl-2 protein 0.52 ± 0.03, 1.19 ± 0.05, 1.28 ± 0.06, respectively. The level of VEGF, MMP-2 and bcl-2 protein in the transfection group were lower than those in other control groups, and there were significantly differences among them (all P < 0.01). (3) After transfected 4 days, the inhibition rate of cell proliferation in the transfection group was dramatically higher than that in NC group [(37.2 ± 6.2)% versus (3.6 ± 3.2)%, P = 0.001]. (4) The percentage rate of proliferative cells in the transfection, NC and blank control group was (12.3 ± 0.8)%, (23.4 ± 1.8)%, (31.1 ± 4.9)%. And it was lower in the transfection group (P < 0.05). (5) Decreased cells via the transwell member in the transfection group (6 ± 3) were detected as compared with NC group (40 ± 9) and blank control group (48 ± 8, P < 0.01). (6) Twenty-four hours after cultured in serum starvation and hypoxia, the rate of the viable and late apoptotic cells in the transfection group were significantly higher than those in NC group and blank control group [the rate of viable apoptotic cell was (16.9 ± 2.1)%, (10.3 ± 1.7)% and (9.0 ± 0.8)% respectively, P < 0.01; the rate of late apoptotic cell was (13.4 ± 3.3)%, (3.2 ± 1.8)% and (0.7 ± 0.6)% respectively, P < 0.01]. After cultured 48 hours, total apoptotic cells in the transfection group was significantly more than those in other groups (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: miR-16 might inhibit the proliferation, invasion of ovarian epithelial carcinoma cells and enhance their sensitivity to apoptotic stimuli via downregulation of the expression of VEGF, MMP-2 and bcl-2 protein.