Paenibacillus silvae sp. nov., isolated from a tropical rainforest soil.

Two Gram-stain-positive, facultatively aerobic, endospore-forming and rod-shaped bacteria, designated DB13031T and DB13311, were isolated from the soil of the Jiaxi Nature Reserve in Hainan, PR China. 16S rRNA gene analysis of strains DB13031T and DB13311 showed that they fell within the Paenibacillus cluster, with highest similarities to Paenibacillus cucumis AP-115T (98.4 and 98.

Paenibacillus segetis sp. nov., isolated from soil of a tropical rainforest.

A Gram-stain-positive, facultatively anaerobic, endospore-forming, irregular rod-shaped bacterium, designated DB13260T, was isolated from tropical rainforest soil in Jianfengling Nature Reserve in Hainan, China. The isolate was found to grow with 0-4 % (w/v) NaCl, at 5-40 °C and pH 6.0-10.

Methyl/allyl monolayer on silicon: efficient surface passivation for silicon-conjugated polymer hybrid solar cell.

We demonstrate a hybrid Schottky junction solar cell based on methyl/allyl groups terminated silicon nanowire arrays (SiNWs) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.2%. The methyl/allyl organic monolayer on silicon can act as an excellent passivation layer for suppressing surface charge recombination, which is characterized by grazing angle attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements.

Lithography-free fabrication of silicon nanowire and nanohole arrays by metal-assisted chemical etching.

We demonstrated a novel, simple, and low-cost method to fabricate silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays and silicon nanohole (SiNH) arrays based on thin silver (Ag) film dewetting process combined with metal-assisted chemical etching. Ag mesh with holes and semispherical Ag nanoparticles can be prepared by simple thermal annealing of Ag thin film on a silicon substrate. Both the diameter and the distribution of mesh holes as well as the nanoparticles can be manipulated by the film thickness and the annealing temperature.

Conjugated polymer-silicon nanowire array hybrid Schottky diode for solar cell application.

The hybrid Schottky diode based on silicon nanowire arrays (SiNWs) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been fabricated for high performance solar cells. The length of SiNWs on a silicon substrate, which is prepared by metal-assisted chemical etching, can be tuned by adjusting the length of the etching time. In addition, the average distances between the adjacent silicon nanowires can be controlled by changing the immersing time in a saturated PCl(5) solution.

Core-shell structured photovoltaic devices based on PbS quantum dots and silicon nanopillar arrays.

We fabricated three-dimensional silicon nanopillar array (SiNP)-based photovoltaic (PV) devices using PbS quantum dots (QDs) as the hole-transporting layers. The core-shell structured device, which is based on high aspect ratio SiNPs standing on roughed silicon substrates, displays a higher PV performance with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.53% compared with that of the planar device (2.

High-performance photoelectrochemical cells from ionic liquid electrolyte in methyl-terminated silicon nanowire arrays.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells based on silicon nanowire arrays (SiNWs) have, to date, exhibited modest power conversion efficiency (PCE) and suffered serious degradation, though they exhibit advantageous properties of charge-transfer/transport properties at the radial-junction and strong light-trap capabilities. The main challenge for this low-cost PEC cell is the surface photooxidation and photocorrosion of the silicon surface when contacting with the electrolyte. In this report, SiNWs derivatized with covalently attached methyl groups, prepared via a two-step chlorination/methylation procedure, demonstrate excellent stability even in the presence of water.