Laminated Two-Terminal All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells with Transparent Conductive Adhesives.

Established sequential deposition of multilayer two-terminal (2T) all-perovskite tandem solar cells possesses challenges for fabrication and limits the choice of materials and device architecture. In response, this work represents a lamination process based on a transparent and conductive adhesive that interconnects the wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskite top solar cell and the narrow-bandgap (NBG) perovskite bottom solar cell in a monolithic 2T all-perovskite tandem solar cell. The transparent conductive adhesive (TCA) layer combines Ag-coated poly(methyl methacrylate) microspheres with an optical adhesive.

Photodegradation of steroid hormone micropollutants with palladium-porphyrin coated porous PTFE of varied morphological and optical properties.

In flow-through reactors, the photodegradation rate can be improved by enhancing contact and increasing the photocatalyst loading. Both can be attained with a higher surface-to-volume ratio. While previous studies focused on thin membranes (30 - 130 µm) with small pore sizes of 20 - 650 nm, this work employed poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) supports, of which pore sizes are in the order of 10 µm, while the porosities and thicknesses are variable (22.

Portable astronomical observation system based on large-aperture concentric-ring metalens.

The core advantage of metalenses over traditional bulky lenses lies in their thin volume and lightweight. Nevertheless, as the application scenarios of metalenses extend to the macro-scale optical imaging field, a contradiction arises between the increasing demand for large-aperture metalenses and the synchronous rise in design and processing costs. In response to the application requirements of metalens with diameter reaching the order of 10λ or even 10λ, this paper proposes a novel design method for fixed-height concentric-ring metalenses, wherein, under the constraints of the processing technology, a subwavelength 2D building unit library is constructed based on different topological structures, and the overall cross-section of the metalens is assembled.

Microfluidics to Follow Spatiotemporal Dynamics at the Nucleo-Cytoplasmic Interface During Plant Root Growth.

Nuclear dynamics refers to global/local changes in the molecular and spatial organization of genomic DNA that can occur during development or in response to environmental stress signals and eventually impact genomic functions. In plants, nuclear dynamics relies notably on the connection of the nucleus with the cytoskeleton during development. It orchestrates genomic functions in response to developmental and environmental cues.

Repeatable Perovskite Solar Cells through Fully Automated Spin-Coating and Quenching.

Enhancing reproducibility, repeatability, as well as facilitating transferability between laboratories will accelerate the progress in many material domains, wherein perovskite-based optoelectronics are a prime use case. This study presents fully automated perovskite thin film processing using a commercial spin-coating robot in an inert atmosphere. We successfully apply this novel processing method to antisolvent quenching.

Adhesion Reduction at Solid/Liquid Interfaces Based on Topologically Optimized Microtextures.

Artificial microtextures adopted to achieve adhesion reduction help avoid the vulnerability associated with chemical coatings. Most current microtextures strongly rely on biological inspiration or designers' physical intuition. There are also manufacturing challenges due to the complex geometrical configurations.

Development of a fully automated workstation for conducting routine SABRE hyperpolarization.

SABRE is emerging as a fast, simple and low-cost hyperpolarization method because of its ability to regenerate enhanced NMR signals. Generally, SABRE hyperpolarization has been performed predominantly manually, leading to variations in reproducibility and efficiency. Recent advances in SABRE include the development of automated shuttling systems to address previous inconsistencies.

Hot Embossing to Fabricate Parylene-Based Microstructures and Its Impact on the Material Properties.

This study aims to establish and optimize a process for the fabrication of 3D microstructures of the biocompatible polymer Parylene C using hot embossing techniques. The different process parameters such as embossing temperature, embossing force, demolding temperature and speed, and the usage of a release agent were optimized, utilizing adhesive micropillars as a use case. To enhance compatibility with conventional semiconductor fabrication techniques, hot embossing of Parylene C was adapted from conventional stainless steel substrates to silicon chip platforms.

Sub-Micron Replication of Fused Silica Glass and Amorphous Metals for Tool-Based Manufacturing.

The growing importance of submicrometer-structured surfaces across a variety of different fields has driven progress in light manipulation, color diversity, water-repellency, and functional enhancements. To enable mass production, processes like hot-embossing (HE), roll-to-roll replication (R2R), and injection molding (IM) are essential due to their precision and material flexibility. However, these processes are tool-based manufacturing (TBM) techniques requiring metal molds, which are time-consuming and expensive to manufacture, as they mostly rely on galvanoforming using templates made via precision microlithography or two-photon-polymerization (2PP).

Spearmint targets microtubules by (-)-carvone.

Allelopathy can provide sustainable alternatives to herbicides because it is based on specific signals rather than generic toxicity. We show that the allelopathic activity of Spearmint and Watermint is linked with their main compounds, (-)-carvone and (+)-menthofuran, both deriving from (-)-limonene. Germination of Poppy and Cress, and root growth of are inhibited by very low concentrations of (-)-carvone, acting even through the gas phase.

Triple-junction perovskite-perovskite-silicon solar cells with power conversion efficiency of 24.4.

The recent tremendous progress in monolithic perovskite-based double-junction solar cells is just the start of a new era of ultra-high-efficiency multi-junction photovoltaics. We report on triple-junction perovskite-perovskite-silicon solar cells with a record power conversion efficiency of 24.4%.

Inkjet-printed optical interference filters.

Optical interference filters (OIFs) are vital components for a wide range of optical and photonic systems. They are pivotal in controlling spectral transmission and reflection upon demand. OIFs rely on optical interference of the incident wave at multilayers, which are fabricated with nanometer precision.

Fully inkjet-printed AgSe flexible thermoelectric devices for sustainable power generation.

Flexible thermoelectric devices show great promise as sustainable power units for the exponentially increasing self-powered wearable electronics and ultra-widely distributed wireless sensor networks. While exciting proof-of-concept demonstrations have been reported, their large-scale implementation is impeded by unsatisfactory device performance and costly device fabrication techniques. Here, we develop AgSe-based thermoelectric films and flexible devices via inkjet printing.

Modeling and Fundamental Dynamics of Vacuum, Gas, and Antisolvent Quenching for Scalable Perovskite Processes.

Hybrid perovskite photovoltaics (PVs) promise cost-effective fabrication with large-scale solution-based manufacturing processes as well as high power conversion efficiencies. Almost all of today's high-performance solution-processed perovskite absorber films rely on so-called quenching techniques that rapidly increase supersaturation to induce a prompt crystallization. However, to date, there are no metrics for comparing results obtained with different quenching methods.

Broadband stripline Lenz lens achieves 11 × NMR signal enhancement.

A Lenz lens is an electrically passive conductive element that, when placed in a time-varying magnetic field, acts as a magnetic flux concentrator or a magnetic lens. In the realm of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Lenz lenses have been exploited as electrically passive metallic radiofrequency interposers placed between a sample and a tuned or untuned NMR detector in order to focus the [Formula: see text]-field of the detector onto a smaller sample space. Here we explore a novel embodiment of the Lenz lens, which acts as a non-resonant stripline interposer, i.

Artificial intelligence-driven shimming for parallel high field nuclear magnetic resonance.

Rapid drug development requires a high throughput screening technology. NMR could benefit from parallel detection but is hampered by technical obstacles. Detection sites must be magnetically shimmed to ppb uniformity, which for parallel detection is precluded by commercial shimming technology.

Partitioning and subsampling statistics in compartment-based quantification methods.

The precision of compartment-based quantification methods is subject to multiple effects, of which partitioning and subsampling play a major role. Partitioning is the process of aliquoting the sample liquid and consequently the contained target molecules, whereas subsampling denotes the fact that usually only a portion of a sample is analyzed. In this work, we present a detailed statistical description comprising the effects of partitioning and subsampling on the relative uncertainty of the test result.

Porous polymeric microparticles foamed with supercritical COas scattering white pigments.

Nowadays, titanium dioxide (TiO) is the most commercially relevant white pigment. Nonetheless, it is widely criticized due to its energy-intensive extraction and costly disposal of harmful by-products. Furthermore, recent studies discuss its potential harm for the environment and the human health.

Roll-to-roll fabrication of superhydrophobic pads covered with nanofur for the efficient clean-up of oil spills.

Superhydrophobic surfaces, which self-clean through rinsing with water, have gained significant importance during the last decades. A method to fabricate such a surface featuring the lotus effect, solely through structuring, is hot pulling of a polymer surface. This technique provides the so-called nanofur, which consists of a polymer surface densely covered with a polymeric fur of extremely thin hair-like structures.

Highly Fluorinated Peptide Probes with Enhanced In Vivo Stability for F-MRI.

A labeling strategy for in vivo F-MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) based on highly fluorinated, short hydrophilic peptide probes, is developed. As dual-purpose probes, they are functionalized further by a fluorophore and an alkyne moiety for bioconjugation. High fluorination is achieved by three perfluoro-tert-butyl groups, introduced into asparagine analogues by chemically stable amide bond linkages.

Correlated Study of Material Interaction Between Capillary Printed Eutectic Gallium Alloys and Gold Electrodes.

Liquid metals (LMs) play a growing role in flexible electronics and connected applications. Here, LMs come into direct contact with metal electrodes thus allowing for corrosion and additional alloying, potentially compromising device stability. Nevertheless, comprehensive studies on the interfacial interaction of the materials are still sparse.

All-optical thermometry using a single multimode fiber endoscope and diamond nanoparticles containing nitrogen vacancy centers.

Photoluminescence (PL) spectra from diamond nanoparticles containing negative nitrogen vacancy centers were measured by using a single multimode fiber endoscope combined with a high-sensitivity spectroscopy system. A laser light spot was produced at the distal end of the endoscope and the PL spectra from a temperature-controlled ensemble of diamond nanoparticles were measured. After calibrating the sensitivity and wavelength of the spectroscopy system, the temperature dependence of the zero-phonon line peak wavelength similar to those previously reported was obtained.

Aerosol Jet Printing of 3D Pillar Arrays from Photopolymer Ink.

An aerosol jet printing (AJP) printing head built on top of precise motion systems can provide positioning deviation down to 3 μm, printing areas as large as 20 cm × 20 cm × 30 cm, and five-axis freedom of movement. Typical uses of AJP are 2D printing on complex or flexible substrates, primarily for applications in printed electronics. Nearly all commercially available AJP inks for 2D printing are designed and optimized to reach desired electronic properties.

Sample-centred shimming enables independent parallel NMR detection.

Two major technical challenges facing parallel nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, at the onset, include the need to achieve exceptional [Formula: see text] homogeneity, and good inter-detector radiofrequency signal decoupling, and have remained as technical obstacles that limit high throughput compound screening via NMR. In this contribution, we consider a compact detector system, consisting of two NMR 'unit cell' resonators that implement parallel [Formula: see text] shimming with parallel radiofrequency detection, as a prototype NMR environment, pointing the way towards achieving accelerated NMR analysis. The utility of our approach is established by achieving local field correction within the bore of a 1.

Influence of the Available Surface Area and Cell Elasticity on Bacterial Adhesion Forces on Highly Ordered Silicon Nanopillars.

Initial bacterial adhesion to solid surfaces is influenced by a multitude of different factors, e.g., roughness and stiffness, topography on the micro- and nanolevel, as well as chemical composition and wettability.