Selective Spin Dewetting for Perovskite Solar Modules Fabricated on Engineered Au/ITO Substrates.

We introduce a novel method for fabricating perovskite solar modules using selective spin-coating on various Au/ITO patterned substrates. These patterns were engineered for two purposes: (1) to enhance selectivity of monolayers primarily self-assembling on the Au electrode, and (2) to enable seamless interconnection between cells through direct contact of the top electrode and the hydrophobic Au connection electrode. Utilizing SAMs-treated Au/ITO, we achieved sequential selective deposition of the electron transport layer (ETL) and the perovskite layer on the hydrophilic amino-terminated ITO, while the hole transport layer (HTL) was deposited on the hydrophobic CH-terminated Au connection electrodes.

Synthesis of chitosan-based perylene dye material for photovoltaic solar-cell application.

Renewable energy, such as solar energy, is infinite, readily available, and has extensive applications. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been well developed; thus, they can be developed with low production costs, high efficiency, and facile manufacturing techniques. This study proposes a novel chitosan biopolymer-based perylene dye; the dye is modified by chitosan with perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic anhydride using a one-pot acylation of nitrogen nucleophiles for DSSCs.

Combined Ultraviolet Ozone and Thermally Activated Formamidinium Iodide Solution to Fabricate Large Grain FAPbIBrCl Films.

In this report, we report the fabrication of a large grain and high crystallinity perovskite film by combined ultraviolet-ozone (UVO) and thermal treatment of formamidinium iodide solution during the fabrication of formamidinium lead halide (FAPbIBrCl) films by a two-step deposition method. In this process, lead halide films were treated with UVO-treated FAI at different times. In addition, we have observed that hot-casting of UVO-assisted FAI nucleates the α-FAPbI phase in as-prepared films.

Sulfur-Mediated Synthesis of Spherical Nickel Nanoparticles in a Chemical Vapor Reactor.

In this study, we investigated the effect of the sulfur content in the NiCl precursor on the shape of nickel nanoparticles (Ni-NPs) prepared by chemical vapor synthesis. We obtained spherical Ni-NPs when using anhydrous NiCl mixed with NiSO or NaSO with a molar ratio of 0.002 as precursors without changing any other process parameters whereas faceted Ni-NPs when using only anhydrous NiCl as a precursor.

Pure copper nanoparticles prepared by coating-assisted vapor phase synthesis without agglomeration.

Modern electronic devices, such as smartphones and electric vehicles, require multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), which comprise highly pure Cu terminations and Ni electrodes. Vapor-phase synthesis (VPS) is a promising method for synthesizing nanoparticles (NPs) with high purity and crystallinity. However, the agglomeration of the NPs occurs during their synthesis, which degrades the performance of the MLCC electrodes owing to several factors, including electrical shorts and low packing density.

Core-shell heterostructured metal oxide arrays enable superior light-harvesting and hysteresis-free mesoscopic perovskite solar cells.

To achieve highly efficient mesoscopic perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the structure and properties of an electron transport layer (ETL) or material (ETM) have been shown to be of supreme importance. Particularly, the core-shell heterostructured mesoscopic ETM architecture has been recognized as a successful electrode design, because of its large internal surface area, superior light-harvesting efficiency and its ability to achieve fast charge transport. Here we report the successful fabrication of a hysteresis-free, 15.

Controlling the surface nanostructure of ZnO and Al-doped ZnO thin films using electrostatic spraying for their application in 12% efficient perovskite solar cells.

In this paper, ZnO and Al-doped ZnO films were deposited using the electrospraying method and studied for the first time as photoanodes for efficient perovskite solar cells. Effects of substrate temperature, deposition time, applied voltage, substrate-to-nozzle distance and flow rate (droplet size) on the morphology of ZnO were studied with the help of FE-SEM images. The major factors such as the droplet size of the spray, substrate temperature and substrate-to-nozzle distance at deposition control the film morphology.

Polyethylenimine-assisted growth of high-aspect-ratio nitrogen-doped ZnO (NZO) nanorod arrays and their effect on performance of dye-sensitized solar cells.

The realization of arrays of high-aspect-ratio nitrogen-doped ZnO (NZO) nanorod is critical to the development of high-quality nanostructure-based optoelectronic and electronic devices. In this study, we used a solution-based method to grow arrays of vertically aligned high-aspect-ratio NZO nanorods on ZnO seed layer covered fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates. We investigated whether the diameters and aspect ratios of the nanorods were affected by the addition of polyethylenimine (PEI) to the precursor solution used as well as by variations in the growth temperature and the concentration of the precursor solution.

3-D TiO2 nanoparticle/ITO nanowire nanocomposite antenna for efficient charge collection in solid state dye-sensitized solar cells.

TiO2 nanoparticle (NP)/ITO nanowire (NW) nanocomposites for use as photoelectrode materials were fabricated to improve the charge collection efficiency in solid state dye sensitized solar cells (ss-DSSCs). The average current density for ss-DSSCs containing TiO2 NP/ITO NW arrays was 7.2 mA cm(-2) that was 98% higher than that for the conventional TiO2 NP ss-DSSCs.