1,721,397 research outputs found

    Reduced hysteresis and enhanced air stability of low-temperature processed carbon-based perovskite solar cells by surface modification

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    Low temperature processed carbon-based perovskite solar cells (C-PSCs) have gained great interest because of low cost and ease of fabrication. By replacing the Au electrode with carbon, stable solar cells suited for mass-production process can be made. However, power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of C-PSCs still lag behind that of PSCs with Au contact.Here we explore low temperature (<= 150 degrees C) processed C-PSCs with, where a two-step method is used to prepare mixed-ion lead perovskite films, with tin oxide (SnO2) electron transport layer, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) hole transport layer and carbon electrode, resulting in devices with a PCE of 14.0%. Moreover, hexyl trimethylammonium bromide (HTAB) was introduced to improve the interface between perovskite and P3HT. Perovskite grains were remarkably enlarged into micrometer-size and defects were reduced. As a result, a champion PCE of 16.1% was obtained, mainly due to enhanced fill factor from 0.67 to 0.73. The interface modification by HTAB molecule is an effective way to passivate the perovskite defects and facilitate the carrier transport at the perovskite/HTL interface. Unencapsulated devices showed excellent stability over 1500 h stored under ambient air (relative humidity -50 +/- 10%)

    Slot-die coating of electron transport layers for perovskite solar cells using water and butanol-based tin oxide dispersions

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    Lead halide perovskite photovoltaics have shown an impressive efficiency increase over the past decade. Making this technology industrially viable requires precise optimization of every single deposition step. Here we used slot-die coating, a promising scalable deposition technique to enable large scale deposition. We demonstrate the challenges in developing high-quality slot-die coated tin oxide (SnO) films, suited as electron selective layers in perovskite solar cells. We studied the film quality of two commercially available colloidal SnO dispersions by controlling pump rate, coating speed and temperature of the indium tin oxide substrates (ITO). The water-based dispersion was more difficult to control, but resulted in better perovskite solar cell performance than the butanol-based dispersion. Hysteresis in J-V curves from the water-based tin oxide dispersion was reduced by potassium fluoride addition. A maximum power conversion efficiency of 17.5% was achieved for MAPbI-based solar cells by careful optimization of the deposition parameters

    Copper Complexes with Tetradentate Ligands for Enhanced Charge Transport in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

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    In dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), the redox mediator is responsible for the regeneration of the oxidized dye and for the hole transport towards the cathode. Here, we introduce new copper complexes with tetradentate 6,6′-bis(4-(S)-isopropyl-2-oxazolinyl)-2,2′-bipyridine ligands, Cu(oxabpy), as redox mediators. Copper coordination complexes with a square-planar geometry show low reorganization energies and thus introduce smaller losses in photovoltage. Slow recombination kinetics of excited electrons between the TiO2 and CuII(oxabpy) species lead to an exceptionally long electron lifetime, a high Fermi level in the TiO2, and a high photovoltage of 920 mV with photocurrents of 10 mA∙cm−2 and 6.2% power conversion efficiency. Meanwhile, a large driving force remains for the dye regeneration of the Y123 dye with high efficiencies. The square-planar Cu(oxabpy) complexes yield viscous gel-like solutions. The unique charge transport characteristics are attributed to a superposition of diffusion and electronic conduction. An enhancement in charge transport performance of 70% despite the higher viscosity is observed upon comparison of Cu(oxabpy) to the previously reported Cu(tmby)2 redox electrolyte

    Photoinduced ultrafast dynamics of the triphenylamine-based organic sensitizer D35 on TiO2, ZrO2 and in acetonitrile.

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    The relaxation dynamics of the dye D35 has been characterized by transient absorption spectroscopy in acetonitrile and on TiO2 and ZrO2 thin films. In acetonitrile, upon photoexcitation of the dye via the S0 → S1 transition, we observed ultrafast solvation dynamics with subpicosecond time constants. Subsequent decay of the S1 excited state absorption (ESA) band with a 7.1 ps time constant is tentatively assigned to structural relaxation in the excited state, and a spectral decay with 203 ps time constant results from internal conversion (IC) back to S0. On TiO2, we observed fast (<90 fs) electron injection from the S1 state of D35 into the TiO2 conduction band, followed by a biphasic dynamics arising from changes in a transient Stark field at the interface, with time constants of 0.8 and 12 ps, resulting in a characteristic blue-shift of the S0 → S1 absorption band. Several processes can contribute to this spectral shift: (i) photoexcitation induces immediate formation of D35˙+ radical cations, which initially form electron–cation complexes; (ii) dissociation of these complexes generates mobile electrons, and when they start diffusing in the mesoporous TiO2, the local electrostatic field may change; (iii) this may trigger the reorientation of D35 molecules in the changing electric field. A slower spectral decay on a nanosecond timescale is interpreted as a reduction of the local Stark field, as mobile electrons move deeper into TiO2 and are progressively screened. Multiexponential electron–cation recombination occurs on much longer timescales, with time constants of 30 μs, 170 μs and 1.4 ms. For D35 adsorbed on ZrO2, there is no clear evidence for a transient Stark shift, which suggests that initially formed cation–electron (trap state) complexes do not dissociate to form mobile conduction band electrons. Multiexponential decay with time constants of 4, 35, and 550 ps is assigned to recombination between cations and trapped electrons, and also to a fraction of D35 molecules in S1 which decay by IC to S0. Differential steady-state absorption spectra of D35˙+ in acetonitrile and dichloromethane provide access to the complete D0 → D1 band. The absorption spectra of D35 and D35˙+ are well described by TDDFT calculations employing the MPW1K functional

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Improving the Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

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    Dye-sensitized solar cells have been investigated intensively during the last three decades. Nevertheless, there are still many aspects to be explored to further improve their performance. Dye molecules can be modified endlessly for better performance. For instance, steric groups can be introduced to slow down recombination reactions and avoid unfavorable aggregation. There is a need for more optimal dye packing on the mesoporous TiO2 surface to increase light absorption and promote a better blocking effect. Novel redox mediators and HTMs are key elements to reach higher performing DSC as they can offer much higher output voltage than the traditional triiodide/iodide redox couple

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods
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