Article
Chemistry, Physical
Iqra R. Hamdani, Ashok N. Bhaskarwar
Summary: The synthesis of Cu2O nanowires and their alignment were influenced by a magnetic field. As the magnetic field strength increased, the orientation of the nanowires became more inclined towards the magnetic field lines.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Physics, Applied
Soichiro Shibasaki, Yuya Honishi, Naoyuki Nakagawa, Mutsuki Yamazaki, Yukitami Mizuno, Yasutaka Nishida, Kanta Sugimoto, Kazushige Yamamoto
Summary: Highly transparent Cu2O thin films were fabricated on a glass substrate using reactive sputtering with carefully controlled O-2 flow. The dependence of transmittance on impurities in the Cu2O thin films was thoroughly investigated, showing significant impact on both transmittance and photovoltaic properties. The lowest-impurity Cu2O thin film exhibited a maximum efficiency of 8.4%.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Optics
Adnan Hosen, Sumaiya Yeasmin, K. M. Sayem Bin Rahmotullah, Md. Ferdous Rahman, Sheikh Rashel Al Ahmed
Summary: The study evaluates the output parameters of heterojunction CuBi2O4-based solar cells with different hole transport layers (HTLs) using the SCAPS-1D simulator. It is found that using Cu2O as the HTL can notably reduce recombination rates and improve overall outputs. By optimizing parameters such as film thickness and carrier concentration, the efficiency of the anticipated solar cell is increased.
OPTICS AND LASER TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Sinan Kutluay, Sabit Horoz, Omer Sahin, Arzu Ekinci, Mehmet Sakir Ece
Summary: In this study, magnetic Fe3O4@SiO2 nanomaterial functionalized with amine groups doped with manganese was prepared and characterized for solar cell application. The prepared Fe3O4@SiO2@IPA-Mn showed promising results as a sensitizer in solar cell technology, with a power conversion efficiency of 2.054%. This study also demonstrated the effectiveness of modifying manganese with magnetic nanomaterials in solar cell technology for the first time.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Electrochemistry
Akhilender Jeet Singh, Garima Aggarwal, Chandan Das, K. R. Balasubramaniam
Summary: Nanostructured light absorbers in PEC devices offer improved charge carrier collection and increased active area compared to planar structures. A simple two-step electrochemical treatment is described to obtain nanostructured Cu2O films, showing significant enhancement in photocurrent over dense Cu2O. Reconstruction of the dense film into a nano-walled structure is achieved through voltage cycling, resulting in phase pure nanostructured films with features as small as 10 nm.
JOURNAL OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Alaa M. Ibrahim, Mohamed Sh. Abdel-wahab, M. A. K. Elfayoumi, Wael Z. Tawfik
Summary: Hydrogen gas can be converted to electricity through fuel cells and is considered as a friendly energy source. In this study, pure Cu2O and Ni-doped Cu2O thin films were deposited on glass substrates using the RF/DC-sputtering technique for hydrogen production via the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting process. The Ni-doped Cu2O photoelectrodes showed improved performance in terms of photocurrent density and efficiency for hydrogen production compared to pure Cu2O. This research provides a cost-effective and efficient method for practical and industrial solar hydrogen production.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jifeng Yuan, Chenghao Bi, Jiahao Xi, Ruiqi Guo, Jianjun Tian
Summary: Researchers developed a gradient-band alignment homojunction to enhance the performance of CsPbI3 perovskite QD layers in solar cells, which facilitated charge extraction and increased carrier diffusion length, resulting in improved power conversion efficiency.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Chao Chen, Kanghua Li, Jiang Tang
Summary: This article presents the major milestones in the development of antimony selenide thin film solar cells, including their selection and application, device structure, processing methods, orientation control, defect studies, and methods for defect passivation. The article also discusses the application of this technology in flexible devices and its future prospects.
Review
Energy & Fuels
Omar M. Saif, Yasmine Elogail, Tarek M. Abdolkader, Ahmed Shaker, Abdelhalim Zekry, Mohamed Abouelatta, Marwa S. Salem, Mostafa Fedawy
Summary: In order to achieve high efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and reliability of solar cells, various technologies have been studied. Recently, new materials have emerged to replace Si-based cells, aiming for economic fabrication of solar cells. Thin-film solar cells (TFSCs), particularly perovskite-based solar cells, have shown competitive power conversion efficiencies reaching up to 25.7%. Substantial efforts have been invested in experimental and research work to surpass the performance of Si-based cells.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Liang Luo, Bao Zhou, Zhenzhen Liu, Qirong Zhao, Chao Wang, Zhuoqi Duan, Zaixin Xie, Xiaobo Yang, Yongmao Hu
Summary: Te- and Se/Te-doped Cu2O showed better electrical and optical properties compared to Te-doped and pure Cu2O. The carrier mobility of the Se/Te-doped Cu2O thin film improved from 60 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) to 1297 cm(2) V-1 s(-1), and the bandgap changed from 2.05 eV to 1.88 eV. The cell efficiency of the Se/Te-doped Cu2O was improved by 22% compared to that of pure Cu2O, and can be further improved to 34% by optimizing the thickness of the Se/Te-doped Cu2O thin film and the defect density of states between the material interfaces.
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
M. I. Khan, Saddam Hussain, Mahvish Fatima, Shahar Bano, M. S. Hasan, Iqra Bashir, Mongi Ammami
Summary: Mg-doped SnS films were synthesized using alovera gel extract via the sol-gel process. The properties of the films were investigated, and it was found that the 2% SnS:Mg film had large grain size and peak shift. It exhibited a small bandgap energy, high refractive index, and large dielectric constants. Solar cells fabricated with these films showed high fill factor, short-circuit current density, open circuit voltage, and efficiency.
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Bin Liu, Yuqi Wang, Yanjie Wu, Yuhong Zhang, Jiekai Lyu, Zhongqi Liu, Shuhang Bian, Xue Bai, Lin Xu, Donglei Zhou, Biao Dong, Hongwei Song
Summary: Double-layer modification engineering strategy using natural vitamins is employed to enhance the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Vitamin C (VC) improves electron mobility and charge transfer, while Vitamin D2 (VD2) changes the surface energetics of perovskite and increases hole extraction efficiency.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Optics
Carlos Bueno-Blanco, Simon A. Svatek, Elisa Antolin
Summary: Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are proposed as light absorber materials for ultrathin solar cells due to their strong light-matter interaction and the possibility of room temperature device assembly. Research shows that MoS2 absorbers as thin as 10 nm sandwiched between a h-BN top layer and an optically thick Ag reflector can absorb up to 87% of photons in the 300-700 nm range of the AM1.5G spectrum. The high broadband absorption is achieved through the amplification of the zeroth Fabry-Perot interference mode in the light-trapping structures.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jianwu Chen, Xuehui Xu, Xiangyang Tang, Tingming Jiang, Zeng Chen, Lei Ye, Yue Tian, Xu Chen, Tianyu Liu, Yirong Su, Haiming Zhu, Dawei Di, Linjun Li, Yang Michael Yang
Summary: The gas pumping method shows potential for fabricating perovskite solar cells, with improved film uniformity and device reproducibility compared to the antisolvent method. However, the highest power conversion efficiencies are still achieved by the antisolvent method.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Guangxing Liang, Xingye Chen, Donglou Ren, Xiangxing Jiang, Rong Tang, Zhuanghao Zheng, Zhenghua Su, Ping Fan, Xianghua Zhang, Yi Zhang, Shuo Chen
Summary: This study improved the electrical and photoelectrical performance of Sb2Se3 thin films through effective ion doping strategy, achieving Sn-doped Sb2Se3 thin films with significantly increased carrier density and I-doped Sb2Se3 thin films with a moderate increase. The cation or anion doping also modified the conduction type of Sb2Se3, enabling the fabrication of a substrate structured Sb2Se3-based quasi-homojunction thin film solar cell for the first time.
JOURNAL OF MATERIOMICS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Jofrey J. Masana, Bowen Peng, Zeyu Shuai, Ming Qiu, Ying Yu
Summary: This study investigates the impact of halide ions on copper electrocatalysts in electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide, highlighting the significance of understanding halide-modified copper catalysts in designing efficient electrocatalysts for this process.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Ming Zhao, Miaomiao Gao, Liangbin Xiong, Yongjun Liu, Xinyi Tao, Bei Gao, Min Liu, Feng-Qing Wang, Dong-Zhi Wei
Summary: Genome mutagenesis plays a crucial role in driving organism evolution. In this study, a CRISPR-Cas assisted random mutation (CARM) technique was developed to induce whole-genome mutagenesis in a controllable manner. The method involved using a random gRNA library and SpCas9-NG to randomly damage genomes, leading to diverse and abundant mutations through low-fidelity repair. The technique was successfully applied to evolve the metabolic capacity and production of specific compounds in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. The results demonstrate the potential of CARM in increasing genetic diversity and discovering new phenotypes for further investigation through reverse engineering.
ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Jiashuai Li, Liangbin Xiong, Xuzhi Hu, Jiwei Liang, Cong Chen, Feihong Ye, Jing Li, Yongjie Liu, Wenlong Shao, Ti Wang, Chen Tao, Guojia Fang
Summary: The study inserts a high-temperature sintered Mg-doped SnO2 layer between CdS and fluorine-doped tin oxide to form cascaded energy level alignment, mitigate interfacial charge recombination, and facilitate growth of neighboring films, resulting in a champion PCE of 6.31% for Sb2S3 solar cells.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Xiaohui Li, Qiancheng Zhou, Ze Yang, Xing Zhou, Dan Qiu, Huajun Qiu, Xintang Huang, Ying Yu
Summary: The study investigates the mechanism of the composite interaction between manganese-based cathode materials and nitrogen-doped carbon, revealing the role of nitrogen-doped carbon in elongating the Mn-O bond and reducing the valence of Mn4+ ions. This leads to improved electrochemical performance of manganese-based cathode materials.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Liang-Bin Xiong, Hao-Hao Liu, Lu Song, Miao-Miao Dong, Jie Ke, Yong-Jun Liu, Ke Liu, Ming Zhao, Feng-Qing Wang, Dong-Zhi Wei
Summary: This study confirms the critical role of the fbpC3 gene in the synthesis of TDM in Mycolicibacterium neoaurum and demonstrates the feasibility of improving the bioconversion efficiency of phytosterols through cell envelope engineering.
SYNTHETIC AND SYSTEMS BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Danyang Zhao, Qiancheng Zhu, Qiancheng Zhou, Wenming Zhang, Ying Yu, Shuo Chen, Zhifeng Ren
Summary: The redox couple of I-0/I- in aqueous rechargeable iodine-zinc (I-2-Zn) batteries shows promise as a safe, cost-effective, and steady energy storage resource. However, their cycle life and efficiency are hindered by uncontrolled polyiodide shuttling and side reactions on the Zn anode. By utilizing starch to confine polyiodide shuttling, the I-0/I- conversion efficiency of I-2-Zn batteries is significantly improved. This work provides inspiration for the rational design of high-performance and low-cost I-2-Zn batteries in aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs).
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhouzhou Wang, Bowen Sheng, Yiqing Chen, Sharif Md. Sadaf, Jinglin Li, Jiajia Yang, Jun Song, Lin Yao, Ying Yu, Lei Zhu, Xinqiang Wang, Zhen Huang, Baowen Zhou
Summary: This work presents a novel photocatalytic architecture of AuIn NPs/GaN NWs/Si for the production of green syngas from bio-derived glycerol. The system shows remarkable activity and selectivity under mild conditions, without requiring additional energy input.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jofrey Jackson Masana, Jiayong Xiao, Hui Zhang, Xiaoying Lu, Ming Qiu, Ying Yu
Summary: By preparing nitrogen-rich carbon nitride at 400°C and coordinating it with Co-N4 through axial N coordination, an atomically dispersed Co-N5 catalytic site was formed. The synthesized catalyst exhibited excellent performance in converting CO2 to CO with a selectivity of over 99% at a current density of -5.3 mA cm-2, and remained stable for 40 hours. These findings provide a strategy for regulating catalytic sites and shed light on expanding the applications of low-cost carbon nitride materials at mild heat-treatment temperatures.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Qiancheng Zhou, Xiangnong Tang, Shunhang Qiu, Liyuan Wang, Lina Hao, Ying Yu
Summary: High-selective and stable electrocatalysts are prepared using a combination of chemical oxidation and electrodeposition method. The CuIn alloy nanowires achieve high selectivity and stability for CO2 reduction to CO, and the alloy surface plays a crucial role in the modulation of *COOH intermediate bonding and inhibition of *CO dimerization. This work provides insights into the preparation of stable electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction and understanding metal surface evolution under electrochemical environment.
MATERIALS TODAY PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chuqiang Huang, Qiancheng Zhou, Luo Yu, Dingshuo Duan, Tianyu Cao, Shunhang Qiu, Zhouzhou Wang, Jin Guo, Yuxin Xie, Liping Li, Ying Yu
Summary: Designing a functional bimetal (Co and Fe) modified nickel phosphide (CoFe-Ni2P) electrocatalyst greatly enhances the seawater splitting performance. In situ-generated CoFe-NiOOH species on the electrode surface inhibit the adsorption of Cl- ions and selectively adsorb OH- ions, contributing to excellent performance in large-current-density seawater splitting. The CoFe-Ni2P electrode exhibits low overpotentials and stability, making it a promising candidate for industrial applications.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Jianqing Zhou, Yunlong Xie, Lun Yang, Yisi Liu, Yue Du, Luo Yu, Ying Yu
Summary: Hydrogen is a green and efficient energy candidate, and water splitting through the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) offers a sustainable approach for high-purity green hydrogen production. Neutral electrolytes are a more promising choice for large-scale hydrogen production due to their mild environment. Multi-site engineering is an effective strategy for improving the neutral HER activity by providing multiple catalytic sites to interact with different intermediates. This review provides an overview of multi-site electrocatalysts for the neutral HER, including design principles, progress, and perspectives, aiming to guide the rational design of multi-site water splitting electrocatalysts.
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY FRONTIERS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Shaoan Zhang, Jiawen Zeng, Huacong Ye, Zhenzhang Li, Yang Lv, Liangbin Xiong, Yihua Hu, Yang Li
Summary: Compared to conventional phosphor-converted near-infrared light-emitting diodes (NIR pc-LEDs), near-infrared persistent phosphor-converted LEDs (NIR ppc-LEDs) have broader applications in intelligent security, driverless vehicle technology, and virtual reality. However, the research on NIR ppc-LEDs is limited. In this study, a novel NIR ppc-LED with SrAl12O19: Fe3+, Mg2+, Ti4+ NIR persistent phosphors was designed. The new ppc-LED showed full-spectral responsive sensing ability and improved sensitivity in digital NIR imaging, especially in low-light conditions.
ADVANCED PHOTONICS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jiayong Xiao, Jofrey J. Masana, Hao Dong, Hui Zhang, Haolan Yang, Ming Qiu, Ying Yu
Summary: Heterostructure molecular catalysts composed of 3d-transition metal phthalocyanine and nitrogen-doped graphene can modulate the electron configuration of the central metal atom and lower the energy barrier for the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction. The study also determined the mechanism of dual-site synergistic hydrogenation through molecular dynamics simulation.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Luo Yu, Jiayong Xiao, Chuqiang Huang, Zhongshuo Zhang, Ming Qiu, Ying Yu, Ying Wang, Jimmy C. Yu
Summary: This paper presents an ultrafast room-temperature method to convert bimetallic CoNi metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) into high-performance OER catalysts consisting of Fe incorporating CoNi hydroxides and MOFs. The Fe-CoNi MOFs catalyst exhibits excellent OER activity with low overpotential and high turnover frequency, along with superior durability. In situ formed metal oxyhydroxides on the catalyst surface and the regulated electronic configurations by incorporated Fe contribute to the enhanced OER performance.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2022)