Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hongwei Lei, David Hardy, Feng Gao
Summary: Cs2AgBiBr6 as a benchmark lead-free double perovskite has shown promising potential in various applications such as solar cells, light/X-ray detectors, and ferroelectric/magnetic devices due to its high stability and exceptional optoelectronic properties. However, challenges still exist in Cs2AgBiBr6 materials and related applications, which require further research and exploration in the future for development.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ying Liu, Angshuman Nag, Liberato Manna, Zhiguo Xia
Summary: Lead-free halide perovskites, particularly Cs2AgInCl6 double perovskites, have attracted attention as alternatives to toxic and unstable lead-based materials due to their intriguing optical properties. Researchers are exploring various synthesis methods and alloy compositions, while also conducting computational studies to better understand the stability and photoluminescence characteristics of these materials.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Bingyue Li, Hui Li, Yanhui Sun, Mark G. Humphrey, Chi Zhang, Zhipeng Huang
Summary: This study reports the nonlinear optical properties of lead-free Cs2AgBiBr6 perovskite. Pristine Cs2AgBiBr6 thin film exhibits strong reverse saturable absorption (RSA), while Cs2AgBiBr6 thin film with defects (denoted as Cs2AgBiBr6(D)) shows saturable absorption (SA). The nonlinear absorption coefficients for Cs2AgBiBr6 are ca. 4.0 x 104 cm GW-1 (515 nm laser excitation) and 2.6 x 104 cm GW-1 (800 nm laser excitation), while for Cs2AgBiBr6(D) they are -2.0 x 104 cm GW-1 (515 nm laser excitation) and -7.1 x 103 cm GW-1 (800 nm laser excitation). The optical limiting threshold of Cs2AgBiBr6 is 8.1 x 10-4 J cm-2 (515 nm laser excitation). The samples show excellent long-term performance stability in air. The RSA of pristine Cs2AgBiBr6 correlates with excited-state absorption (515 nm laser excitation) and excited-state absorption following two-photon absorption (800 nm laser excitation), while the defects in Cs2AgBiBr6(D) strengthen the ground-state depletion and Pauli blocking, resulting in SA.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Wolfgang Tress, Maximilian T. Sirtl
Summary: Cs2AgBiBr6 double perovskites show high potential in solar cells, but major changes in absorption onset are needed to achieve higher efficiency. This material poses various scientific questions, and exact recombination and charge transport processes are yet to be unraveled, preparing us for the development of double perovskite or perovskite-like materials.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Subhash Chand Yadav, Abhishek Srivastava, Vishesh Manjunath, Archana Kanwade, Rupesh S. Devan, Parasharam M. Shirage
Summary: Cs2AgBiBr6 double halide-based lead-free perovskite solar cells have gained great attention in the research community due to their structural stability and optoelectronic properties. This report summarizes the multidimensional functionality of Cs2AgBiBr6 in various applications, and discusses the opportunities and obstacles for its use in lead-free perovskites. It provides a detailed analysis of the structural behavior, fabrication methods, and approaches to enhance performance and stability. Furthermore, it compares the performance of Cs2AgBiBr6 with different transport layers and modifications, and concludes with future perspectives.
MATERIALS TODAY PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Abhishek Raj, Manish Kumar, Arvind Kumar, Amel Laref, Avneesh Anshul
Summary: Recently, lead-free double perovskite solar cells based on silver-bismuth have been proposed as a substitute for lead-based absorber in solar cells due to their higher stability and nontoxic properties. In this study, the Cs2AgBiBr6 compound was analyzed for its physical properties using first principle calculation, and a lead-free solar cell was designed and optimized for improved performance. The optimized lead-free double perovskite solar cells achieved high power conversion efficiency and other impressive parameters.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Mengde Zhai, Cheng Chen, Ming Cheng
Summary: Halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are hindered by the toxicity and instability of lead (Pb) halide perovskite. However, lead-free double perovskite Cs2AgBiBr6 cells have emerged as a promising alternative, and this review provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by Cs2AgBiBr6 PSCs and corresponding solution strategies. The insights and theoretical guidance from this review will contribute to the development of efficient and eco-friendly Cs2AgBiBr6 PSCs.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Daofu Wu, Yan Tao, Yanyi Huang, Benjun Huo, Xusheng Zhao, Jiayu Yang, Xiaofang Jiang, Qiang Huang, Fan Dong, Xiaosheng Tang
Summary: Lead-free all-inorganic Cs2AgBiBr6 double perovskite nanocrystals exhibit excellent stability and efficient photocatalytic performance for NO removal, showing promising potential as a new environmental photocatalyst.
JOURNAL OF CATALYSIS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Minh N. Tran, Iver J. Cleveland, Eray S. Aydil
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of Yb-doped Cs2AgBiBr6 thin films and the substrate temperature during deposition. It is found that ramping the substrate temperature can produce films with high PLQY and reduce the loss of BiBr3, resulting in films that retain high PLQY values even after 1 month.
ACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Zhenglin He, Qingli Tang, Xing Liu, Xuan Yan, Kan Li, Dongting Yue
Summary: This study presents a method for preparing efficient and stable lead-free perovskites by inducing surface defects. The defect-rich Cs2AgBiBr6 shows excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution efficiency and strong stability even after prolonged reaction times.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Vipinraj Sugathan, Jiban Kangsabanik, Aftab Alam, Aswani Yella
Summary: This article provides an insight into the optoelectronic properties and electron-phonon interactions of potassium alloyed Cs2AgBiBr6, evaluating its potential as a tunable light emitter. It is found that blue-light emission occurs at low K+ ion concentrations, while white-light emission occurs at higher alloying concentrations.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zeyu Zhang, Qingde Sun, Yue Lu, Feng Lu, Xulin Mu, Su-Huai Wei, Manling Sui
Summary: The authors report hydrogenated lead-free inorganic perovskite solar cells with enhanced power conversion efficiency. By using a hydrogenation method, the bandgap of Cs2AgBiBr6 films could be tunable from 2.18 eV to 1.64 eV, resulting in improved photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cells.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Bangqi Jiang, Genghua Yan, Yao Xiao, Ye Yuan, Chuanxi Zhao, Wenjie Mai, Ruijiang Hong
Summary: By doping Mn into the solution, a low-temperature synthesis route for high-quality Cs2AgBiBr6 perovskite film was developed, leading to the fabrication of flexible photodetectors with excellent self-power characteristics and satisfying photoelectric performance.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiangning Li, Xianghuan Meng, Zhiheng Wu, Yanyan Duan, Ruxin Guo, Weidong Xiao, Yongshang Zhang, Yukun Li, Yonglong Shen, Wei Zhang, Guosheng Shao
Summary: By introducing ionic liquids, the power conversion efficiency and long-term stability of Cs2AgBiBr6-based perovskite solar cells have been improved by reducing bromide ion migration and film defects, and enhancing energy level matching.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yunhao Fan, Feiyang Qiao, Daxue Du, Jiahao Bao, JingJing Liang, Hong Liu, Wenzhong Shen
Summary: Researchers have improved the quality of Cs2AgBiBr6 films by introducing carbohydrazide (CBH), resulting in large grain sizes and no pinholes, leading to enhanced photovoltaic performance. The carbonyl group (C=O) in CBH plays a crucial role in coordinating with Ag+ and Bi3+ ions during film formation. By optimizing the amount of CBH, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) increased from 37 to 1.57%, with a stability of 95.0% in a 1000-hour test.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mengjiao Wang, Silvio Osella, Rosaria Brescia, Zheming Liu, Jaime Gallego, Mattia Cattelan, Matteo Crisci, Stefano Agnoli, Teresa Gatti
Summary: As a semiconductor for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction, BiOBr has garnered significant attention, however, its poor photocatalytic efficiency is attributed to high recombination of charge carriers. Combining it with other photoactive semiconductors offers a viable solution to address these limitations. By exfoliating BiOBr microspheres into few-layer nanosheets using a liquid-phase exfoliation method, we prepare a series of 2D MoS2/BiOBr van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions that exhibit distinctive behavior as (photo)electrocatalysts for the HER, depending on the weight composition. Additionally, except for the 1% MoS2/BiOBr composition, both pristine 2D BiOBr and the heterojunctions undergo photocorrosion, reducing BiOBr to metallic Bi. These findings provide valuable guidelines for designing novel 2D material-based (photo)electrocatalysts for sustainable fuel production.
Review
Crystallography
Sai Ma, Simone Sansoni, Teresa Gatti, Paolo Fino, Guilin Liu, Francesco Lamberti
Summary: The bottleneck of large-scale perovskite solar cell development is the need for uniform thin films. Spray coating methodology can achieve film uniformity and reduce material waste, which can promote the industrialization and mass production of perovskite solar cells.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Aaron Michael Ross, Debora Ruiz-Martinez, Gian Andrea Rizzi, Francesco Cianciaruso, Alessandro Patelli, Marco Salerno, Fabian Schmitz, Enrico Napolitani, Sergio Marras, Mirko Prato, Silvia Gross, Gaudenzio Meneghesso, Rebeca Marcilla, Francesco Scotognella, Teresa Gatti, Francesco Lamberti
Summary: The ongoing problems in western countries connected to the global energy supply urgently force the research community to strive in finding new methodologies for boosting the functional properties of earth-abundant raw materials, for example, the largely available cupreous oxide. In this work, the authors focus on the surface sensitization of this metal oxide semiconductor with an argon plasma treatment, that promotes, during photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution, the formation of metallic copper nanostructures. These findings pave the way to the implementation of new, easy-to-make strategies to improve the properties of low-cost, low-toxicity energy materials.
ADVANCED SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Fulvio Bellato, Michele Ferri, Abinaya Annamalai, Mirko Prato, Luca Leoncino, Rosaria Brescia, Luca De Trizio, Liberato Manna
Summary: We present the first colloidal synthesis of NiAs nanocrystals and their performance as electrocatalysts for water splitting reactions. The NiAs nanocrystals exhibit high activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), surpassing the performance of benchmark materials. The study highlights the potential of transition metal arsenides as emerging materials for electrocatalytic applications.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Optics
Kunping Guo, Chunchen Wan, Zhe Tang, Xingxing Chou, Rongjuan Huang, Zhenyu Tang, Chunyang Chen, Tao Xue, Ruirui Qiu, Jing Yang, Fanghui Zhang
Summary: The use of phenylpropylammonium bromide (PPABr) as a ligand additive in MAPbBr3 was reported to improve the film quality and device performance of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs). By precisely controlling the concentration of PPABr, well-defined crystal phase and high photoluminescence intensity were achieved in PPABr-based perovskite films. The optimized PPABr-based devices exhibited low turn-on voltage and high luminance, with approximately 5.5-fold improvement in current efficiency compared to non-additive devices.
JOURNAL OF LUMINESCENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Tao Xue, Dandan Chen, Ting Li, Xingxing Chou, Xiao Wang, Zhenyu Tang, Fanghui Zhang, Jin Huang, Kunping Guo, Ashkan Vakilipour Takaloo
Summary: This study investigates the effect of annealing temperature on the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with an electron-beam (EB)-evaporated titanium dioxide (TiO2) electron transport layer (ETL). The results show that annealing treatment at an optimized temperature of 480°C significantly improves the surface smoothness, grain boundary density, and carrier mobility of the TiO2 film, resulting in a nearly 10-fold improvement in power conversion efficiency (11.16%) compared to the unannealed device (1.08%). The enhanced performance of the optimized PSC is attributed to the accelerated charge carrier extraction and suppressed recombination at the ETL/perovskite interface.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mengjiao Wang, Matteo Crisci, Matilde Pavan, Zheming Liu, Jaime Gallego, Teresa Gatti
Summary: During water electrolysis, adding an electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is necessary for enhancing the reaction rate. Metal chalcogenide-based 2D nanomaterials have been studied as an alternative to noble metal electrocatalysts due to their interesting electrocatalytic properties and low production costs. However, improving the catalytic efficiency and scaling up the synthetic methods have remained as challenges.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ignacio Rosa-Pardo, Dongxu Zhu, Alejandro Cortes-Villena, Mirko Prato, Luca De Trizio, Liberato Manna, Raquel E. Galian, Julia Perez-Prieto
Summary: In this study, the high photocatalytic activity of sustainable lead-free metal halide nanocrystals (Cs3Sb2Br9 NCs) is demonstrated for the reduction of p-substituted benzyl bromides without a cocatalyst. The selectivity in C-C homocoupling under visible light irradiation is determined by the electronic properties of benzyl bromide substituents and their affinity to the NC surface. The photocatalyst can be reused for at least three cycles and maintains its good performance with a turnover number of approximately 105,000.
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Samuele Martani, Yang Zhou, Isabella Poli, Ece Aktas, Daniele Meggiolaro, Jesus Jimenez-Lopez, E. Laine Wong, Luca Gregori, Mirko Prato, Diego Di Girolamo, Antonio Abate, Filippo De Angelis, Annamaria Petrozza
Summary: Bandgap tuning is crucial for metal-halide perovskites. By replacing iodide with bromide, the bandgap can be increased. However, light-induced halide segregation limits the application of mixed-halide lead perovskites. We identified the defects and intragap electronic states causing bandgap instability and successfully engineered perovskites with a photostable bandgap and corresponding solar cells with photostable open circuit voltages.
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Aarya Prabhakaran, Balaji Dhanabalan, Iryna Andrusenko, Andrea Pianetti, Simone Lauciello, Mirko Prato, Sergio Marras, Pavlo Solokha, Mauro Gemmi, Sergio Brovelli, Liberato Manna, Milena P. Arciniegas
Summary: Organic-inorganic Pb-free layered perovskites are efficient broadband emitters, making them promising materials for lighting applications. However, their synthetic protocols have limitations, such as requiring controlled atmosphere, high temperature, and long preparation time. In this study, a set of Sn-Br layered perovskite-related structures with different chromaticity coordinates and photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) were developed through a simple synthetic protocol performed under air and at 4 degrees C. These structures displayed diverse optical properties while preserving the organic-inorganic layer intercalation, providing insight into tuning the color coordinates of Pb-free layered perovskites through organic cations.
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Giada Graziana Genchi, Valentina Mollo, Matteo Battaglini, Melike Beleli Gumus, Attilio Marino, Mirko Prato, Sergio Marras, Filippo Drago, Giammarino Pugliese, Francesca Santoro, Gianni Ciofani
Summary: Spaceflight can lead to detrimental effects on living organisms, such as muscle degeneration. Recent studies have shown that nanomaterials can be used to modify cellular activities and promote specific cell phenotypes in microgravity conditions. However, the early interactions between these nanomaterials and cellular targets under altered gravity conditions have not been extensively studied. This research aims to fill this gap by examining the early interactions between cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) and human skeletal myoblasts under simulated microgravity. The results show that the nanoparticles can be internalized by the cells through various mechanisms, primarily involving macropinocytosis, and that they regulate the transcription of key antioxidant response markers, potentially providing oxidative stress alleviation and muscle protection under mechanical unloading conditions.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Tao Xue, Ting Li, Xiao Wang, Kunping Guo, Guodong Wei, Chunliang Liu
Summary: A Rapid Thermal Treatment method was proposed to improve the electron emission efficiency of Metal-Insulator-Metal electron source insulation layers, meeting the demand for efficient electron emission sources in vacuum nanoelectronic devices.
IEEE ELECTRON DEVICE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Tao Xue, Ting Li, Dandan Chen, Xiao Wang, Kunping Guo, Qiang Wang, Fanghui Zhang, Sadia Ameen
Summary: SnO2 with low-temperature synthesis, high electron mobility, and low-cost manufacturing has attracted attention. However, lattice mismatch and oxygen vacancies at the SnO2/CsPbI3-xBrx interface lead to nonradiative recombination. To address these challenges, a bilayer ETL consisting of SnO2 and TiO2 was proposed, resulting in enhanced performance of perovskite solar cells. The bilayer ETL significantly enhances charge extraction, suppresses carrier recombination, facilitates efficient carrier separation and transport, and provides high current density and reduced hysteresis.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Felix Boll, Matteo Crisci, Leonardo Merola, Francesco Lamberti, Bernd Smarsly, Teresa Gatti
Summary: Supercapacitors, especially those made of carbon nanofibers synthesized through electrospinning, are a promising substitute for batteries in powering portable and wearable devices. However, there is a lack of information regarding the optimization of thermal treatment in order to achieve high specific capacitance for these electrospun nanofibers. This study reports a systematic investigation on the stabilization and carbonization temperatures for electrospun CNFs, resulting in a maximum specific capacitance of 49 F/g. The study also examines the influence of different thermal treatments on specific surface area, nitrogen doping, and carbon microstructure, establishing structure-property-function relationships in these capacitive nanoarchitectures.
ADVANCED ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH
(2023)
