NiO-decorated mesoporous TiO2 flowers for an improved photovoltaic dye sensitized solar cell.

Reducing light-induced e-h recombination is important for a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC); the p-type NiO component in TiO2-NiO nanoparticles was reported to significantly decrease charge recombination, but its photovoltaic efficiency remains below 4% owing to a small surface area. In this work, we used a one-pot self-assembly process to fabricate flower-like mesoporous TiO2 decorated by NiO oxides, employing a pluronic polymer P123 as a structure directing and pore forming agent. The flower-like porous TiO2-NiO nanoparticles (F-TiO2-NiO NPs), possessing a high BET surface of 130 m(2) g(-1), are first used as a photoanode in DSSCs. These hybrid nanoparticles, decorated with NiO islands, are beneficial for improving photocurrent by increasing dye absorption and suppressing electron-hole recombination. The optimized F-TiO2-NiO NP anode (10 µm thick) achieved a power conversion efficiency of 8.20%, which is 26% and 47% higher than pristine flower-like TiO2 and commercially available P25 anodes, respectively. This efficiency is the highest among the reported TiO2-NiO hybrid anodes.

CuIn(S,Se)(2) thin films prepared from a novel thioacetic acid-based solution and their photovoltaic application.

Low-cost and high-yield preparation of CuInSe2 films is the bottleneck for promising CuInSe2-based thin film solar cells. Here, we developed a simple, safe and cost-effective method using thioacetic acid to fabricate the absorber films of CuIn(S,Se)2 (CISSe). Dissolution of Cu2O and In(OH)3 in thioacetic acid was attributed to the strong coordination ability of S. The adhesive precursor solution can be prepared without any heating, centrifugation and inert gas protection, superior to the previously reported methods. The precursor CISSe layer was easily deposited in air by spin coating to ensure low cost. Uniform and compact CISSe thin films with well-crystallized and pure-phased CISSe grains were obtained after one step annealing. The as-prepared CISSe thin films were successfully applied to solar cells and a energy conversion efficiency of 6.75% was achieved. This facile preparation provides a low-cost and easy method to fabricate Cu-based thin film solar cells.

Preparation of monodispersed CuInS2 nanopompons and nanoflake films and application in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Monodispersed nanopompons and thin films of CuInS2 with hierarchical nanostructure are obtained via a solvothermal method. The hierarchical thin film of CuInS2 has been reported for the first time to display excellent catalytic activity as a counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells, and a power conversion efficiency of 4.8% is achieved.

Enhanced Performance of Perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 Solar Cell by Using CH3NH3I as Additive in Sequential Deposition.

Sequential deposition is a widely adopted method to prepare CH3NH3PbI3 on mesostructured TiO2 electrode for organic lead halide perovskite solar cells. However, this method often suffers from the uncontrollable crystal size, surface morphology, and residual PbI2 in the resulting CH3NH3PbI3, which are all detrimental to the device performance. We herein present an optimized sequential solution deposition method by introducing different amount of CH3NH3I in PbI2 precursor solution in the first step to prepare CH3NH3PbI3 absorber on mesoporous TiO2 substrates. The addition of CH3NH3I in PbI2 precursor solution can affect the crystallization and composition of PbI2 raw films, resulting in the variation of UV-vis absorption and surface morphology. Proper addition of CH3NH3I not only enhances the absorption but also improves the efficiency of CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells from 11.13% to 13.37%. Photoluminescence spectra suggest that the improvement of device performance is attributed to the decrease of recombination rate of carriers in CH3NH3PbI3 absorber. This current method provides a highly repeatable route for enhancing the efficiency of CH3NH3PbI3 solar cell in the sequential solution deposition method.

Niobium Nitride Nb4N5 as a New High-Performance Electrode Material for Supercapacitors.

Supercapacitors suffer either from low capacitance for carbon or derivate electrodes or from poor electrical conductivity and electrochemical stability for metal oxide or conducting polymer electrodes. Transition metal nitrides possess fair electrical conductivity but superior chemical stability, which may be desirable candidates for supercapacitors. Herein, niobium nitride, Nb4N5, is explored to be an excellent capacitive material for the first time. An areal capacitance of 225.8 mF cm-2, with a reasonable rate capability (60.8% retention from 0.5 to 10 mA cm-2) and cycling stability (70.9% retention after 2000 cycles), is achieved in Nb4N5 nanochannels electrode with prominent electrical conductivity and electrochemical activity. Faradaic pseudocapacitance is confirmed by the mechanistic studies, deriving from the proton incorporation/chemisorption reaction owing to the copious +5 valence Nb ions in Nb4N5. Moreover, this Nb4N5 nanochannels electrode with an ultrathin carbon coating exhibits nearly 100% capacitance retention after 2000 CV cycles, which is an excellent cycling stability for metal nitride materials. Thus, the Nb4N5 nanochannels are qualified for a candidate for supercapacitors and other energy storage applications.

In situ growth of a MoSe2/Mo counter electrode for high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells.

A facile and economical MoSe2/Mo structure was in situ prepared to replace the currently preferred expensive Pt and FTO counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells. A power conversion efficiency of 8.13% was achieved, which is comparable to that with Pt-sputtered FTO electrode (8.06%).