Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hua Zhang, Yintang Zhou, Ming Xu, Anran Chen, Zitao Ni, Ouardia Akdim, Thomas Wagberg, Xiaoyang Huang, Guangzhi Hu
Summary: This study presents a hierarchical transition metal hydroxide/sulfide (NiFe(OH)x-Ni3S2/NF) electrode with dual heterointerface coexistence, achieved through a cation exchange-induced surface reconfiguration strategy. The electrode exhibits superior electrocatalytic activities, with low over-potentials of 55 mV for hydrogen evolution and 182 mV for oxygen evolution at 10 mA cm-2. The assembled two-electrode system achieves industrially relevant current densities with excellent durability, comparable to commercial electrolysis.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jing Wang, Jing Hu, Siqi Niu, Siwei Li, Yunchen Du, Ping Xu
Summary: This article reports an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline solution. The catalyst exhibits good performance at both low and overpotentials, and demonstrates outstanding long-term durability. Spectroscopic studies reveal the importance of in situ surface reconstruction for the enhanced catalytic activity in both HER and OER processes.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jianjun Zhu, Huamei Tong, Yu Liu, Jiahui Hu, Xinyu Zheng, Mengyue Qi, Deli Jiang
Summary: This study successfully designed an electrocatalyst with a 3D hierarchical nanoarchitecture by integrating interface engineering and heteroatom doping strategies, which exposed more active sites and accelerated reaction kinetics, leading to improved oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Hellen S. Santos, Rafal Sliz, Hoang Nguyen, Sumit Srivastava, Durgaprasad Ramteke, Tapio Fabritius, Ulla Lassi, Paivo Kinnunen
Summary: This study investigates the production of inorganic solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) from silicate minerals and characterizes the synthesized materials. The results show that hybrid structures of amorphous and crystalline silicates can form an ordered morphology, and the best samples demonstrate high ionic conductivity. The proposed approach may offer new research paths towards low-cost scalable production of SSEs.
MATERIALS & DESIGN
(2022)
Review
Materials Science, Ceramics
Xing Guo, Xungang Diao, Wei Wang
Summary: This study prepared NiO films with large specific surface area and high stability using electron beam evaporation, and investigated their surface morphology, composition, electrochemical properties, and optical performance. The results confirm that both surface reaction and capacitive effect contribute to the excellent electrochromic performance of NiO films.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Hao Deng, Liyong Yuan, Zijie Li, Degao Wang, Xucong Wang, Pengliang Liang, Lin Wang, Yichuan Liu, Yajun Fu, Zhiyuan Chang, Zhifang Chai, John K. Gibson, Weiqun Shi
Summary: This study reports a highly active photocatalyst composed of low-crystalline TiO2 prepared by simple heat treatment of amorphous material. The catalyst exhibits enhanced photocatalytic performance and remains stable after several recycles.
ADVANCED SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yazhou Xu, Mengke Peng, Kaiyang Zhang, Li Wang, Jierui Chen, Ting Hu, Kai Yuan
Summary: This study successfully synthesized PA-CoNi2S4/NF nanosheets via a solvothermal method combined with KBH4 treatment, showing excellent electrochemical performance to meet high energy density demands. An asymmetric supercapacitor device composed of PA-CoNi2S4/NF as a positive electrode and activated carbon as a negative electrode exhibits high energy density and long-term stability.
ADVANCED SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Sawssen Slimani, Giorgio Concas, Francesco Congiu, Gianni Barucca, Nader Yaacoub, Alessandro Talone, Mourad Smari, Essebti Dhahri, Davide Peddis, Giuseppe Muscas
Summary: This study proposes a hybridstructured nanoarchitecture that combines crystalline cobalt ferrite and the amorphous parent material, which can partially increase the total magnetic moment and exhibit a larger magnetic anisotropy. By establishing a micromagnetic model, the contribution of each component can be identified, elucidating the active role of the amorphous phase. The extremely low cost, minimal complexity, and high yield of the synthesis process make this hybrid design of large interest for technological applications.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jiahui Ye, Long Chen, Yulin Shi, Juan Hou, Wenwen Kong, Tiantian Gu, Rong Jiang, Liping Wang, Yun Luo, Xuhong Guo
Summary: Reasonable regulation of crystal structures is crucial in improving cathode materials for energy storage devices. The crystalline-amorphous hybrid CoNiO2 nanowires grown on nickel foam have shown enhanced specific capacity, good rate property, and outstanding energy density, proving to be an effective cathode material for zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors. This unique hybrid structure not only provides a new direction for crystal structure design of electrode materials but also greatly promotes the development of next-generation energy storage devices.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shuai Chen, Qiucheng Xu, Ling Chen, Yanjie Hu, Hao Jiang, Chunzhong Li
Summary: In this study, localized defect engineering was used to improve the performance of Mo-doped V2O3 nanoarrays, reducing the energy barrier of V-ion redox reactions and broadening the work potential window, greatly increasing the energy density of aqueous supercapacitors.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Liu Wan, Yuqi Wang, Dianyu Jiang, Yan Zhang, Mingjiang Xie, Jian Chen, Cheng Du
Summary: A rational nickel sulfide @ nickel boride (Ni9S8@-Ni2B) heterostructure is synthesized on carbon cloth (CC) substrate via a simple electrodepositon strategy followed by a chemical reduction method. The hierarchically porous Ni9S8@Ni2B nanosheet arrays can expose ample electro-active centers, shorten ion diffusion distance, and buffer volume changes during charging/discharging process. The Ni9S8@Ni2B//porous carbon asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits a high specific capacity, sound rate capability, and good cycling performance.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Guanzhi Wang, Chuanyu Jin, Guoteng Zhang, Lijuan Qian, Xiao Chen, Jianfei Tan, Wenhui Wang, Jie Yin, Xin Liu, Huawei Zhou
Summary: Hybrid electrocatalysts derived from surface self-reconstruction during reaction processes show high activity in oxygen evolution reaction and enhanced catalytic efficiency in overall water splitting. Significant changes in phase, composition and surface structure of the catalysts occur before and after the reaction process.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2021)
Article
Crystallography
Mizuho Kondo, Satoka Yanai, Syouma Shirata, Takeshi Kakibe, Jun-ichi Nishida, Nobuhiro Kawatsuki
Summary: In this study, a cholesterol-linked cyanostilobazole salt dye was synthesized, and its luminescence was tuned by physical stimuli such as electricity and grinding. The dye exhibited liquid-crystalline properties at temperatures above 170 degrees C. Some solutions transformed into orange luminescent gels upon the addition of poor solvents. The resulting solid xerogel exhibited mechanochromism when the solvent was evaporated, with a color change from orange to red. Furthermore, functional gels (mechanochromic gels) that can respond to both damage detection and electrical response were constructed using ionic liquid complexes of polymers as dispersing media. This study presents a new strategy for tuning and switching luminescence using non-chemical stimuli in a single-component system through aggregation.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yidong Hu, Gan Luo, Liguang Wang, Xiaokang Liu, Yunteng Qu, Yansong Zhou, Fangyao Zhou, Zhijun Li, Yafei Li, Tao Yao, Can Xiong, Bo Yang, Zhenqiang Yu, Yuen Wu
Summary: Hybrid amorphous/crystalline FeCoNi LDH-supported single Ru atoms catalysts exhibit highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction performance with extremely low overpotential, attributed to the synergistic effects of abundant defect sites, unsaturated coordination sites, and highly symmetric rigid structure providing stability for long-lasting OER.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Natalia Bushlanova, Vladimir Baturin, Sergey Lepeshkin, Yurii Uspenskii
Summary: Silicon nanocrystals have significant potential in various applications, with their structural morphology and photo-physical characteristics being sensitive to hydrogenation degree. The clusters of hydrogen-passivated silicon can undergo different structural types, with a key importance on removing dangling bonds and passivating surface broken bonds.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Shahriyar Safat Dipta, Md Habibur Rahaman, Walia Binte Tarique, Ashraful Hossain Howlader, Ayush Pratik, John A. Stride, Ashraf Uddin
Summary: Implementing a double-sided passivation approach can enhance the performance of n-i-p structured PSCs and improve the stability and photovoltaic properties of the cells.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Daniel Ourinson, Andreas Brand, Andreas Lorenz, Marwan Dhamrin, Sebastian Tepner, Michael Linse, Nathalie Goettlicher, Kosuke Tsuji, Jonas D. Huyeng, Florian Clement
Summary: This work presents two approaches to reduce the amount of silver on the rear side of M2-sized industrial iTOPCon solar cells. The Cu-based approach shows promise with similar power conversion efficiency compared to the conventional approach, while the Al-based approach exhibits some limitations but demonstrates the potential of such type of contact for iTOPCon solar cells.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Abasifreke Ebong, Donald Intal, Sandra Huneycutt, Thad Druffel, Ruvini Dharmadasa, Kevin Elmer, Apolo Nambo
Summary: This study demonstrates the successful metallization of a PERC silicon solar cell using screen-printable copper (Cu) paste. The Cu paste contains antioxidant additives and diffusion inhibitors to prevent oxidation and diffusion of Cu. The Cu-printed cells achieved an efficiency of 19% and showed no Cu diffusion after characterization tests. The long-term stability and effectiveness of the Cu diffusion barrier were also confirmed.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Senami Zogbo, Wilfried Favre, Olivier Bonino, Marie-Estelle Gueunier-Farret
Summary: Measuring specific contact resistivity (pc) is crucial for interface engineering in high efficiency solar cells. The Transfer Length Method (TLM) is commonly used for evaluating layer sheet resistance (Rsheet) and pc, but it is not suitable for metal/Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) interface evaluation in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) cells. This study investigates the parameters that restrict current confinement within the TCO, including mid-gap trap density (Dit) at the a-Si:H/c-Si interface and the activation energy (Ea = Ec - EF) variation of a-Si:H contact layers.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jean-Baptiste Charpentier, Philippe Voarino, Julien Gaume
Summary: The phenomenon of ribbon lengthening in PV modules exposed to thermal cycling is not well explained in the literature. In this study, a three layers model is proposed to explain this effect, and the predictions of the model are validated through finite element method simulations and experiments. The results show that the model predictions are consistent with the indirect measurements, but not with the direct measurements. Additionally, it is inferred that the encapsulant plays a role after the solder failure.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jean-Baptiste Charpentier, Philippe Voarino, Julien Gaume
Summary: This study investigates the problematic ribbon lengthening observed in PV modules exposed to high amplitude thermal cycling. A simplified system model is proposed and accurate predictions are obtained using the Finite Element Method. The results show that the thickness of the encapsulant has a substantial impact on the lengthening of the ribbons.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
S. Catalan-Gomez, E. Martinez Castellano, M. Schwarz, M. Montes Bajo, L. Dorado Vargas, A. Gonzalo, A. Redondo-Cubero, A. Gallego Carro, A. Hierro, J. M. Ulloa
Summary: This study investigates the use of core-shell gallium nanoparticles as functional light scatterers on solar cells. By optimizing the nanoparticle size, the short-circuit current of the solar cells is significantly improved. The underlying physical mechanism is studied through optical measurements and simulations, and a method to reduce the plasmonic effect of the nanoparticles is demonstrated.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
M. Gamel, G. Lopez, A. M. Medrano, A. Jimenez, A. Datas, M. Garin, I. Martin
Summary: In this study, a highly reflective ohmic contact to p-type c-Ge material is demonstrated, which can improve the efficiency of thermophotovoltaic devices. The experimental results show that this contact can simultaneously meet the requirements of good back surface passivation, low electrical resistivity, and high reflectivity. Moreover, simulations suggest that implementing these back contacts has the potential to achieve conversion efficiencies comparable to high-efficiency c-Ge TPV cells.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hongyang Wei, Qing Xu, Dongchu Chen, Min Chen, Menglei Chang, Xiufang Ye
Summary: This study prepared solar selective absorption films based on anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) photonic crystals using a unique electrodeposition method. The Co-Ag electrodeposited film exhibited superior solar selective absorption properties and thermal stability.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ankit Kumar, Ankit Chauhan, Jordi Llobet, Helder Fonseca, Patricia C. Sousa, Carlos Calaza, Gil Shalev
Summary: This study found that decorating subwavelength arrays with SiO2 quasi-nanolenses (qNL arrays) can enhance the absorption of the solar spectrum. Optical absorption mechanisms in qNL arrays were investigated using near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), revealing that the enhancement is a result of the combination of effective antireflection coating, increased optical interactions between adjacent dielectrics for elevated light trapping, and strong light concentration due to the presence of qNLs.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
S. Pingel, T. Wenzel, N. Goettlicher, M. Linse, L. Folcarelli, J. Schube, S. Hoffmann, S. Tepner, Y. C. Lau, J. Huyeng, A. Lorenz, F. Clement
Summary: This study demonstrates the potential to reduce silver consumption in highly efficient SHJ cells through fine-line screen printing using low temperature paste with various screens. The results show that using finer mesh allows for narrower grid fingers and lower resistance, leading to improved cell efficiency. Simulation results indicate that module wire configuration is crucial for reducing silver consumption.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Xibo He, Jun Qiu, Wei Wang, Yicheng Hou, Yong Shuai
Summary: This paper proposes a novel phase change material with high thermal conductivity and stability for fast photo-thermal conversion and storage. The experimental results demonstrate excellent durability and stability of the phase change material, with good performance in thermal conductivity and thermal storage efficiency.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Qingyuan Liu, Lin Wang, Zheng Liu, Guohua Liu
Summary: A new evaporating structure consisting of liquid marble with tunable nanowire array is proposed to enhance solar evaporation. The experiments show that the liquid marble with nanowire array exhibits outstanding evaporation performance, which has significant implications for seawater desalination or wastewater treatment.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hao Liu, Qiming Liu, Jinpei Liu, Yonggang Zhao, Yingjie Yu, Yue An, Ganghui Wei, Yanzheng Li, Yujun Fu, Junshuai Li, Deyan He
Summary: Moisture in the air is identified as the main cause of performance degradation in organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells. Exposure to air leads to the growth of thin oxide layer on the interface and the formation of silver sulfide, increasing the series resistance and decreasing the fill factor, thus degrading the cell performance.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
E. Blanco, P. Martin, M. Dominguez, P. Fernandez-Palacios, I. Lombardero, C. Sanchez-Perez, I. Garcia, C. Algora, M. Gabas
Summary: This study addresses the lack of optical parameters for p-type Ge wafers by determining the complex refractive indices of commercial Ge wafers with varying doping levels. The obtained data successfully reproduces the critical points associated with interband transitions and absorption features below the bandgap. The refractive indices were validated through experimental measurements and solar cell simulations.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)