{"title":"Efficient perovskite solar cells based on polyoxyethylene bis(amine) and NaPF6 modified SnO2 layer with high open-circuit voltage","authors":"Xiangning Xu, Zhichao Lin, Qili Song, Hairui Duan, Hongye Dong, Xiaowen Gao, Osamah Alsalman, Cheng Mu, Xinhua Ouyang","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101630","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101630","url":null,"abstract":"The electron transport layer (ETL) of SnO with a rough surface, low conductivity, and poor wettability has limited its application in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). To address this issue, we propose a strategy that involves the simultaneous use of bulk dopant NaPF and polymer stabilizer NH-PEG-NH in SnO. NH-PEG-NH is compatible with both SnO and NaPF, resulting in a homogeneous distribution. Additionally, the intrinsic hydrophilicity of the polymer facilitates the formation of a continuous and ordered ETL with improved wettability. The inclusion of NaPF as a bulk dopant enhances conductivity and promotes upper perovskite growth. As a result, optimized morphology, aligned energy levels, improved crystallinity, and reduced bottom defects are achieved in the fabricated perovskite layer. The champion device exhibits a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of ∼23.36%, which is ∼11.88% higher than that of the pristine device (PCE = 20.88%). Notably, the reaches ∼1.2 V with only ∼0.08 V of loss, which is among the highest report one. Furthermore, the PCE of the modified unpackaged PSC was only attenuated by 25% after 250 h of maximum power point tracking in the environment. These results present an alternative and effective approach for preparing high-quality SnO ETL for efficient PSCs.","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141781805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jinqing Lü, Xiaonan Huo, Weifeng Liu, Weiwei Sun, Sai Ji, Tingting You, Kexiang Wang, Wei Lü, Shiwei Wang
{"title":"Additive engineering by dicyandiamide for high-performance carbon-based inorganic perovskite solar cells","authors":"Jinqing Lü, Xiaonan Huo, Weifeng Liu, Weiwei Sun, Sai Ji, Tingting You, Kexiang Wang, Wei Lü, Shiwei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101628","url":null,"abstract":"Hole transport layer (HTL)-free, all-inorganic CsPbIBr carbon-based perovskite solar cells (C-PSCs) have attracted much attention due to their low cost and excellent stability. The poor device efficiency is a barrier to constrain its commercialization, mainly due to the large amount of interfacial and bulk defects existed in inorganic perovskite films. In this study, an organic small molecule dicyandiamide (DCD) is added to the perovskite precursor as an additive to adjust the crystallization kinetics and passivate defects of inorganic perovskite films, simultaneously. It is demonstrated that the introduction of DCD can not only accelerate the transition process from intermediate-phase DMAPbI to inorganic perovskite, but also passivate defects through the Lewis acid-base interaction between cyano (CN), imine (CN) groups, and uncoordinated Pb. Meanwhile, the energy level alignment was optimized, which effectively improves the charge transport efficiency of CsPbIBr C-PSCs. As a result, optimized device shows an enhanced efficiency from 14.07% to 15.84%, accompanied by improved long-term stability.","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141548804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hongmei Zhang, Changwu Lv, Jixi Guo, Talgar Shaymurat, Hongbin Yao
{"title":"In-situ construction of RuS2 nanocrystal-decorated amorphous NiSx nanosheets for industrial-current-density water splitting","authors":"Hongmei Zhang, Changwu Lv, Jixi Guo, Talgar Shaymurat, Hongbin Yao","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101616","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101616","url":null,"abstract":"Developing enabling electrocatalysts for water splitting to operate at industrial-current-density is crucial for large-scale hydrogen production. Herein, a facile wet-chemistry strategy and scalable in-situ sulfidation technique are designed for formation of RuS nanocrystal-decorated amorphous NiS nanosheets vertically aligned on Ni foam (NF) (RuNiS/NF) as ultra-highly efficient electrocatalysts for electrochemical water splitting (EWS). The optimized electrocatalyst exhibits an excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance, requiring overpotentials of only 15, 50, and 114 mV at 10, 100, and 1000 mA/cm, respectively, with robust stability at 10, 100, and 500 mA/cm for 120 h, ranking it one of the efficient electrocatalysts for industrial water electrolysis. The electron redistribution over heterointerfaces induces the modulatory electronic states of heterostructures, thus leading to the favorable adsorption behavior for reaction intermediates, enhancing intrinsic activity of active sites. Impressively, a RuNiS/NF||RuNiS/NF EWS device can afford industrial current densities of 10, 100, and 500 mA/cm at voltages of 1.55, 1.77, and 2.35 V, respectively, together with robust durability for over 50 h (@1000 mA/cm). This work provides an innovative approach to design unique heterostructures for industrial EWS via modulatory electronic states.","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141501987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gadolinium-doped SrFeO3 as a highly active and stable electrode for symmetrical solid oxide fuel cells","authors":"Xinyuan Li, Guanghu He, Xinkun Zhou, Haiyan Zhang, Heqing Jiang, Yongcheng Jin, Lei Chu, Minghua Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101615","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101615","url":null,"abstract":"Symmetrical solid oxide fuel cells (SSOFCs) with identical electrodes have gained interesting attention because of their simplified fabrication procedure and reduced processing costs. However, their development is limited by their electrocatalytic activity and stability of the electrode materials used. Here, we report a prototypical SrFeO-based perovskite oxide with formula GdSrFeO (GSF) as a highly effective SSOFC electrode material. It was found that A-site Gd substitution in SrFeO greatly improved its structural stability under reducing atmosphere. Furthermore, doping Gd was able to significantly enhance the electrochemical activity, achieving area-specific resistances of 0.18 Ω cm for the cathode and 0.003 Ω cm for the anode at 800 °C, respectively. The lower polarization resistance could be attributed to the abundant surface oxygen species through the Gd-doping in SrFeO. Benefiting from superior electrochemical activity and structural stability, the symmetrical cell with GSF-0.2 electrode showed reasonable stability and electrochemical performance. These results show that the developed GSF perovskite oxide may be a promising candidate as electrode material for symmetrical SOFCs.","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141501988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Li Tao, Yuanqiang Huang, Bin Ding, Haoran Wang, Jiahao Tang, Song Zhang, Jun Zhang, Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin, Hao Wang
{"title":"Interfacial toughening for high-efficiency perovskite solar modules","authors":"Li Tao, Yuanqiang Huang, Bin Ding, Haoran Wang, Jiahao Tang, Song Zhang, Jun Zhang, Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin, Hao Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101611","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101611","url":null,"abstract":"The distinctive benefits of perovskite solar cells, such as their lightweight nature, high flexibility, and ease of deformation, have garnered significant interest. These characteristics make them well-suited for use in portable electronic devices. Nevertheless, a large efficiency gap still exists between laboratory-based small cells and industrial-oriented large-scale modules. One of the primary reasons for the efficiency losses is the limited adhesion at the brittle interface between the perovskite layer and hole transport layer. Herein, potassium acetate is selected to tailor the interface of perovskite/hole transport layer. The presence of potassium acetate between the perovskite layer and hole transport layer has the potential to enhance the p-type perovskite interface. The strengthening of the interface contact could be verified by the utilization of KPFM and DFT calculations. As a result, the charge separation is accelerated associated with the substantial enhancement in from 1.118 V to 1.139 V and the power conversion efficiency of the solar cell has been enhanced, resulting in an increase from 23.76% to 24.81%. Additionally, the perovskite solar module exhibits little loss, with an efficiency of 21.13% with an aperture area of 29.0 cm.","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141501989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Simultaneous modification of Na-rich and Ca2+/Ni2+ dual-substitution boosting superior electrochemical performance of Na3V2(PO4)3","authors":"Shuming Zhang, Tao Zhou, Yanjun Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101613","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101613","url":null,"abstract":"The lower intrinsic electronic conductivity of NaV(PO)(NVP) has seriously limited its further development. Herein, Ca/Ni co-doped and carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-coated NaVCaNi(PO)/C@CNTs (CaNi0.07@CNTs) system is presented. Both Ca and Ni are substituted for V, triggering charge compensation and producing p-type doping effect, generating abundant hole carriers to improve electronic conductivity. Furthermore, the ionic radius of Ca is significantly larger than that of V, so introduction of Ca can support NVP crystal structure and improve the stability. Furthermore, the introduction of Ca can increase the lattice spacing, thus expanding the transport channels for sodium ions. The introduction of Ni reduces the resistance suffered during charge transport and optimizes the chemical properties. Meanwhile, due to low valence of Ca and Ni, more Na are designed to be introduced to the NVP system for charge balance. The Na-rich strategy induces excess active Na participating in the de-intercalation process to supply more reversible capacities. Furthermore, the CNTs wrapped around the active grains serves to buffer deformation of the crystal and to establish a conductive network connecting the particles. The after-cycling XRD/SEM/XPS further confirms the improved crystal stability of CaNi0.07@CNTs. Comprehensively, CaNi0.07@CNTs possess superior sodium storage in half and full cells.","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141501990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiangda Liu, Xiujun Liu, Zezhou Xia, Yitong Ji, Dongyang Zhang, Yingying Cheng, Xiaotong Liu, Jun Yuan, Xueyuan Yang, Wenchao Huang
{"title":"A semitransparent organic solar cell with a bifacial factor of 99.1%","authors":"Xiangda Liu, Xiujun Liu, Zezhou Xia, Yitong Ji, Dongyang Zhang, Yingying Cheng, Xiaotong Liu, Jun Yuan, Xueyuan Yang, Wenchao Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101614","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101614","url":null,"abstract":"Semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) based on silver nanowires (AgNWs) top electrodes have attracted significant interest due to their high transmittance and high electrical conductivity characteristics and showed great potential in the field of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). However, the deposition of AgNWs will partially damage the underlying electron transport layer, leading to poor interfacial performance. Thus, the efficiency of ST-OSCs based on AgNWs still lags behind those based on ultrathin metal electrodes. This work develops a bilayer electron transport layer combining zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) and PDINN to improve the interface between the active layer and the top electrode. The best-performing semitransparent device achieves a remarkable 12.5% power conversion efficiency with an average visible light transmittance of 22.9%. By adjusting the acceptor-to-donor ratio and concentration of the active layer, the ST-OSC can achieve the highest light utilization efficiency of 4.0% with a power conversion efficiency of 9.5%. Furthermore, by further optimizing the top electrode and active layer, a bifacial factor of 99.1% is achieved for the ST-OSCs, which is the highest reported bifacial factor so far. This work provides a promising pathway to develop high-efficiency ST-OSCs for the application of building integrated photovoltaics.","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141501991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Low temperature method-based evaporation/spray-coating technology for wide bandgap perovskite solar cells","authors":"Cheng Liang, Hong-Qiang Du, Cong Geng, Xinxin Yu, Xiongzhuang Jiang, Shangwei Huang, Fei Long, Liyuan Han, Wangnan Li, Guijie Liang, Bin Li, Yi-Bing Cheng, Yong Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101612","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101612","url":null,"abstract":"Years of working on perovskite solar cells (PSCs)-based tandem devices and single-junction devices have approved that low annealing temperatures can be beneficial for improving device performances. In this study, pseudo-halogen ion engineering works well in the evaporation/spray-coating method. According to our research, it is has been proven that the addition of formamidine acetate (FAAc) can effectively reduce the annealing temperature from 170 °C to 150 °C, accelerate the maturation process of the perovskite films, and broaden the annealing window. As a result, a perovskite film with homogeneous crystallization and low residual stress is achieved, leading to extended charge carrier lifetimes, elevated photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQY), reduced Urbach energies. The corresponding PSCs were prepared through evaporation/spray-coating method achieves an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.46%, which is the highest efficiency among wide-bandgap (WBG) PSCs fabricated by this method. And the unencapsulated devices exhibit satisfactory stability, retaining 80% of the initial PCE after 600 h of thermal aging at 60 °C and retaining 90% of the initial PCE after 1500 h of 50% humidity aging at 25 °C, respectively.","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141501992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dong Chen, Di Yin, Shaoce Zhang, SenPo Yip, Johnny C. Ho
{"title":"Nitrate electroreduction: recent development in mechanistic understanding and electrocatalyst design","authors":"Dong Chen, Di Yin, Shaoce Zhang, SenPo Yip, Johnny C. Ho","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101610","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101610","url":null,"abstract":"Ammonia, with its wide-ranging applications in global industries, plays an indispensable role in the growth and sustainability of modern society. Electrochemical nitrate reduction (eNORR) presents an environmentally friendly pathway for ammonia production, sidestepping the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the conventional Haber–Bosch process. However, developing efficient and selective catalysts for eNORR is challenging due to its intricate multiproton-coupled electron transfer process and the competing hydrogen evolution reaction. This review dives deep into the recent advancements in eNORR, shedding light on the mechanism through spectroscopic studies and innovative strategies for catalyst design. We first lay out the possible reaction pathways and products in eNORR and then introduce a variety of electrochemical characterizations that provide real-time insights into the reaction mechanism. We also explore strategies for rational electrocatalyst design to optimize the performance. Representative examples of advanced materials with high activity, selectivity, and stability are highlighted to underscore the progress made in this field. Finally, we outline emerging opportunities and future directions, such as developing multifunctional nanostructured catalysts through integrated computational and combinatorial approaches. This review aims to provide valuable insights and guidance for developing nitrate electroreduction and the efficient production of green ammonia in industry.","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141501904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yupeng Ma, Zhenyu Pan, Yifei Liu, K. Zhao, J. Xiao, Donguk Nam, Tianran Wei, Xun Shi
{"title":"Spatio-temporal Strain Analysis and Thermal Transport Modulation in Plastically Deformed InSe van der Waals Crystals","authors":"Yupeng Ma, Zhenyu Pan, Yifei Liu, K. Zhao, J. Xiao, Donguk Nam, Tianran Wei, Xun Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2024.101598","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18277,"journal":{"name":"Materials Today Energy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141034414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}