Synthesis, structural and spectroscopic characterization of defect-rich forsterite as a representative phase of Martian regolith.

Regolith draws intensive research attention because of its importance as the basis for fabricating materials for future human space exploration. Martian regolith is predicted to consist of defect-rich crystal structures due to long-term space weathering. The present report focuses on the structural differences between defect-rich and defect-poor forsterite (MgSiO) - one of the major phases in Martian regolith.

Boosted Solar Light Absorbance in PdS/PtS Vertical Heterostructures for Ultrathin Photovoltaic Devices.

Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) represent a class of materials whose archetypes, such as MoS and WS, possess exceptional electronic and optical properties and have been massively exploited in optoelectronic applications. The layered structure allows for their exfoliation to two-dimensional samples with atomic thickness (≲ 1 nm), promising for ultrathin, ultralight devices. In this work, by means of state-of-the-art many-body perturbation theory techniques, we focus on single-layer PdS and PtS and propose a novel van der Waals heterostructure with outstanding light absorbance, reaching up to 50% in the visible spectrum and yielding a maximum short-circuit current of 7.