Acidic Engineering on Buried Interface toward Efficient Inorganic CsPbI Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes.

Inorganic CsPbI perovskite has emerged as a promising emitter for deep-red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) due to its intrinsic thermal stability and suitable bandgap. However, uncontrollable CsPbI crystallization induced by an alkaline zinc oxide (ZnO) substrate in bulk film-based LEDs leads to insufficient external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) at high brightness, leaving obstacles in commercialization progress. Herein, we demonstrate an effective acidic engineering strategy with wide applicability to modify the surface property of ZnO and regulate CsPbI crystallization.

Myth behind Metastable and Stable -Hexylammonium Bromide-Based Low-Dimensional Perovskites.

In perovskite solar cells, passivating the surface or interface that contains a high concentration of defects, specifically deep-level defects, is one of the most important topics to substantially enhance the power conversion efficiency and stability of the devices. Long-chain alkylammonium bromides have been widely and commonly adapted for passivation treatment. However, the mechanism behind is still not well explored as the formation route and the exact structure of these alkylammonium bromide-based low-dimensional perovskites are unclear.

Decoupling engineering of formamidinium-cesium perovskites for efficient photovoltaics.

Although pure formamidinium iodide perovskite (FAPbI) possesses an optimal gap for photovoltaics, their poor phase stability limits the long-term operational stability of the devices. A promising approach to enhance their phase stability is to incorporate cesium into FAPbI. However, state-of-the-art formamidinium-cesium (FA-Cs) iodide perovskites demonstrate much worse efficiency compared with FAPbI, limited by the different crystallization dynamics of formamidinium and cesium, which result in poor composition homogeneity and high trap densities.

Stochastic processes shape the aggregation of free-living and particle-attached bacterial communities in the Yangtze River Estuary, China.

An estuary plays an important role in material and energy exchange between the land and sea, where complex physical, chemical, and biological processes occur. Here, we investigated the assembly processes of free-living (FL) and particle-associated (PA) bacterial communities in two seawater layers at five stations in the Yangtze River Estuary (YRE) by using 16S rRNA sequencing methods. The results indicated that Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum in the YRE.

The Chemical Design in High-Performance Lead Halide Perovskite: Additive vs Dopant?

Metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted enormous attention as one of the most promising candidates for next-generation photovoltaics in the past few years. During the development of PSCs, various chemicals have been added to improve film quality and device performance. However, there are still debates about whether these chemicals are additives as removed from the final film or dopants incorporated into the crystal lattice.

Characteristics and mechanism of heterotrophic nitrification/aerobic denitrification in a novel Halomonas piezotolerans strain.

A strain was isolated from an activated sludge system and identified as Halomonas piezotolerans HN2 in this study, which is the first strain in H. piezotolerans with the capability of heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification. Strain HN2 showed the maximum nitrogen removal rate of 9.

Observation of microplastics in mariculture water of Longjiao Bay, southeast China: Influence by human activities.

The fishery and mariculture industry contributes to social food supply and offers high-quality protein to humans. However, mariculture is recently regarded as an important source of marine microplastic pollution, which might even pose a threat to human health. Here we investigated a shrimp-culturing farm for 9 months in Longjiao Bay, a typical mariculture area in southeast China, to study the occurrence and seasonal variations of microplastics in the mariculture water.

UV degradation of the interface between perovskites and the electron transport layer.

The stability of the perovskite/electron transport layer (ETL) interface is critical for perovskite solar cells due to the presence of ultraviolet (UV) light in the solar spectrum. Herein, we have studied the decomposition process and performance evolution of the perovskite layer in contact with different ETLs under strong ultraviolet irradiation. The normally used SnO layer has lower photocatalytic activity in comparison with the TiO layer, but the perovskite/SnO interface is still severely decomposed along with the formation of hole structures.

The Pkn22 Kinase of PCC 7120 Is Required for Cell Differentiation via the Phosphorylation of HetR on a Residue Highly Conserved in Genomes of Heterocyst-Forming Cyanobacteria.

Hanks-type kinases encoding genes are present in most cyanobacterial genomes. Despite their widespread pattern of conservation, little is known so far about their role because their substrates and the conditions triggering their activation are poorly known. Here we report that under diazotrophic conditions, normal heterocyst differentiation and growth of the filamentous cyanobacterium PCC 7120 require the presence of the Pkn22 kinase, which is induced under combined nitrogen starvation conditions.

A Scalable Methylamine Gas Healing Strategy for High-Efficiency Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells.

An easy and scalable methylamine (MA) gas healing method was realized for inorganic cesium-based perovskite (CsPbX ) layers by incorporating a certain amount of MAX (X=I or Br) initiators into the raw film. It was found that the excess MAX accelerated the absorption of the MA gas into the CsPbX film and quickly turned it into a liquid intermediate phase. Through the healing process, a highly uniform and highly crystalline CsPbX film with enhanced photovoltaic performance was obtained.

Integration of deep transcriptome and proteome analyses of salicylic acid regulation high temperature stress in Ulva prolifera.

To investigate changes in transcript and relative protein levels in response to salicylic acid regulation of the thermotolerance in U. prolifera, complementary transcriptome and proteome analyses were performed with U. prolifera grown at 35 °C (UpHT) and with the addition of SA at high temperature (UpSHT).

The Pkn22 Ser/Thr kinase in Nostoc PCC 7120: role of FurA and NtcA regulators and transcript profiling under nitrogen starvation and oxidative stress.

Background: The filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain PCC 7120 can fix N2 when combined nitrogen is not available. Furthermore, it has to cope with reactive oxygen species generated as byproducts of photosynthesis and respiration.

Unravelling the cross-talk between iron starvation and oxidative stress responses highlights the key role of PerR (alr0957) in peroxide signalling in the cyanobacterium Nostoc PCC 7120.

The cyanobacterial phylum includes oxygenic photosynthetic prokaryotes of a wide variety of morphologies, metabolisms and ecologies. Their adaptation to their various ecological niches is mainly achieved by sophisticated regulatory mechanisms and depends on a fine cross-talk between them. We assessed the global transcriptomic response of the filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc PCC 7120 to iron starvation and oxidative stress.