Publications by authors named "Nianyao Chai"

Article Synopsis
  • Two-dimensional (2D) Dion-Jacobson phase perovskites show better thermal stability than traditional three-dimensional ones, but how they conduct heat is not well understood.* -
  • Researchers used time-domain thermoreflectance to measure the thermal conductivities of (PDA)(FA)n PbnI films, finding very low conductivities that fluctuate based on the value of 'n', with the lowest occurring at n=2.* -
  • The study reveals that the orientation of grain affects thermal conductivity, with transitions from horizontal to vertical alignment as 'n' increases, and phonon velocity is key to this process, offering insights for improved thermal management in devices.*
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Quasi-2D perovskites exhibit great potential in photodetectors due to their exceptional optoelectronic responsivity and stability, compared to their 3D counterparts. However, the defects are detrimental to the responsivity, response speed, and stability of perovskite photodetectors. Herein, an ultrafast photoexcitation-induced passivation technique is proposed to synergistically reduce the dimensionality at the surface and induce oxygen doping in the bulk, via tuning the photoexcitation intensity.

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Aqueous Zn-ion batteries are an attractive electrochemical energy storage solution for their budget and safe properties. However, dendrites and uncontrolled side reactions in anodes detract the cycle life and energy density of the batteries. Grain boundaries in metals are generally considered as the source of the above problems but we present a diverse result.

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A high-quality tin oxide electron transport layer (ETL) is a key common factor to achieve high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the conventional annealing technique to prepare high-quality ETLs by continuous heating under near-equilibrium conditions requires high temperatures and a long fabrication time. Alternatively, we present a non-equilibrium, photoexcitation-induced passivation technique that uses multiple ultrashort laser pulses.

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Chemical bath deposition (CBD) has been demonstrated as a remarkable technology to fabricate high-quality SnO electron transport layer (ETL) for large-area perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, surface defects always exist on the SnO film coated by the CBD process, impairing the devices' performance. Here, a facile periodic acid post-treatment (PAPT) method is developed to modify the SnO layer.

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Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is the main material of aircraft skin. Preparing superhydrophobic anti-icing/deicing surface on the CFRP is of great importance for aircraft flight safety. In this work, a variety of multi-scale micro-nano structures were imprinted on CFRP by femtosecond laser processing, and a transition from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic CFRP was realized.

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Perovskite solar cells (PSC) offer a promising solution for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) due to its high photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE). However, increasing the transparency of their functional layers dramatically decreases the PCE. Here, a computer controlled laser patterning method was proposed to directly turn PSC modules into semitransparent and with aesthetic artificial pattern, without additional complexities to the conventional PSCs fabrication process.

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Luminescent metal-organic frameworks (LMOFs) are a class of interesting and well-investigated MOF materials, which have shown remarkable prospects in the past and have been widely applied in different fields. However, due to their organic hybrid aspect, micro-/nano-patterning LMOFs in devices via a conventional semiconductor process is very challenging. In this work, we have introduced an elegant technique via nonlinear photon-chemical effect to induce the synthesis and growth of LMOFs.

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Upscaling efficient and stable perovskite layers is one of the most challenging issues in the commercialization of perovskite solar cells. Here, a lead halide-templated crystallization strategy is developed for printing formamidinium (FA)-cesium (Cs) lead triiodide perovskite films. High-quality large-area films are achieved through controlled nucleation and growth of a lead halide•-methyl-2-pyrrolidone adduct that can react in situ with embedded FAI/CsI to directly form α-phase perovskite, sidestepping the phase transformation from δ-phase.

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In this paper, WO-PdPt-Pt nanocomposite films were deposited on a single mode fiber as the hydrogen sensing material, which changes its reflectivity under different hydrogen concentration. The reflectivity variation was probed and converted to an electric signal by a pair of balanced InGaAs photoelectric detectors. In addition, the performance of the WO-PdPt-Pt composite film was investigated under different optical powers, and the irrigating power was optimized at 5 mW.

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Despite the impressive photovoltaic performance with a power conversion efficiency beyond 23%, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) suffer from poor long-term stability, failing by far the market requirements. Although many efforts have been made towards improving the stability of PSCs, the thermal stability of PSCs with CHNHPbI as a perovskite and organic hole-transport material (HTM) remains a challenge. In this study, we employed the thermally stable (NH)CHPbI (FAPbI) as the light absorber for the carbon-based and HTM-free PSCs, which can be fabricated by screen printing.

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The hysteretic phenomenon commonly exists in the - curves of perovskite solar cells with different structures, especially for carbon-based mesoscopic perovskite solar cells without hole-conductor (carbon-based PSCs). By adding moderate amounts of methylammonium chloride (MACl) into MAPbI perovskite precursor, we found the - hysteresis of carbon-based PSCs could be significantly alleviated and the crystallinity of MAPbI perovskite could also be influenced. With the increasing amount of MACl, MAPbI perovskite showed better and better crystallinity until the MACl came to 0.

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