Work-Function-Tunable Electron Transport Layer of Molecule-Capped Metal Oxide for a High-Efficiency and Stable p-i-n Perovskite Solar Cell.

The composite electron transporting layer (ETL) of metal oxide with [6,6]-phenyl-C-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) prevents perovskite from metal electrode erosion and increases p-i-n perovskite solar cell (PVSC) stability. Although the oxide exhibits protective function, an additional work function modifier is still needed for good device performance. Usually, complicated multistep synthesis is employed to have a highly crystalline film that increases manufacturing cost and inhibits scalability.

Rapid template-free synthesis of nanostructured conducting polymer films by tuning their morphology using hyperbranched polymer additives.

Nanostructures in conducting polymer films can enhance charge carrier and ion transfer, provide porosity with high specific area and confer unique optoelectronic properties for potential applications. A general and facile synthesis has been developed to prepare nanostructured conducting polymer films without the need for using templates. This simple approach employs hyperbranched polymers as additives to tune the morphology of conducting polymer films into a continuous nanofibril network.

Highly Conductive 2D Metal-Organic Framework Thin Film Fabricated by Liquid-Liquid Interfacial Reaction Using One-Pot-Synthesized Benzenehexathiol.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOF) are studied extensively in applications like catalysts, gas storage, and sensors due to their various functional groups and structures. Two-dimensional (2D) MOFs such as triphenylene-based materials show excellent charge transport properties, but thin-film fabrication and organic ligand synthesis are difficult. In this work, we synthesize thiol-based organic ligand, benzenehexathiol (BHT), by a simple one-pot reaction.

Remarkably High Hole Mobility Metal-Oxide Thin-Film Transistors.

High performance p-type thin-film transistor (p-TFT) was realized by a simple process of reactive sputtering from a tin (Sn) target under oxygen ambient, where remarkably high field-effect mobility (μ ) of 7.6 cm/Vs, 140 mV/dec subthreshold slope, and 3 × 10 on-current/off-current were measured. In sharp contrast, the SnO formed by direct sputtering from a SnO target showed much degraded μ , because of the limited low process temperature of SnO and sputtering damage.

Improved Solar-Driven Photocatalytic Performance of Highly Crystalline Hydrogenated TiO Nanofibers with Core-Shell Structure.

Hydrogenated titanium dioxide has attracted intensive research interests in pollutant removal applications due to its high photocatalytic activity. Herein, we demonstrate hydrogenated TiO nanofibers (H:TiO NFs) with a core-shell structure prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis and subsequent heat treatment in hydrogen flow. H:TiO NFs has excellent solar light absorption and photogenerated charge formation behavior as confirmed by optical absorbance, photo-Kelvin force probe microscopy and photoinduced charge carrier dynamics analyses.

Remarkably high mobility ultra-thin-film metal-oxide transistor with strongly overlapped orbitals.

High mobility channel thin-film-transistor (TFT) is crucial for both display and future generation integrated circuit. We report a new metal-oxide TFT that has an ultra-thin 4.5 nm SnO2 thickness for both active channel and source-drain regions, very high 147 cm(2)/Vs field-effect mobility, high ION/IOFF of 2.

Conjugated polymer/nanoparticles nanocomposites for high efficient and real-time volatile organic compounds sensors.

The present work demonstrates a high efficient and low cost volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sensor. Nowadays, VOCs, which are typically toxic, explosive, flammable, and an environmental hazard, are extensively used in R&D laboratories and industrial productions. Real-time and accurately monitoring the presence of harmful VOC during the usage, storage, or transport of VOCs is extremely important which protects humans and the environment from exposure in case of an accident and leakage of VOCs.