(Press-News.org)
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are highly regarded for their exceptional performance and straightforward fabrication. However, traditional hole transport layers (HTLs) like Poly (triarylamine) (PTAA), Nickel Oxide (NiOx), and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT) have inherent limitations that impede efficiency and stability. These materials often suffer from issues such as hydrophobicity, high reactivity, and acidity, which negatively affect the overall performance of PSCs. Due to these challenges, there is a pressing need to explore and develop novel HTLs that can overcome these limitations and further enhance the capabilities of PSCs.
A team of researchers from Yunnan University and the University of Science and Technology of China has designed and synthesized a new dimethyl acridine-based self-assembled monolayer (SAM), [2-(9,10-dihydro-9,9-dimethylacridine-10-yl)ethyl] phosphonic acid (2PADmA), for use as a hole transport layer in inverted PSCs. The study (DOI: 10.26599/EMD.2024.9370038) was published in Energy Materials and Devices on June 25, 2024.
The research team synthesized a novel dimethyl acridine-based SAM, 2PADmA, and employed it as a hole-transporting layer in inverted PSCs. This SAM modulates perovskite crystallization, enhances carrier transport, passivates defects, and reduces nonradiative recombination. The 2PADmA-based devices achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.01%, significantly higher than the 22.32% PCE of devices using the commonly employed 2PACz SAM. The increased performance is primarily due to an improved fill factor (FF) of 83.92% compared to 78.42% for the 2PACz-based devices. Additionally, the 2PADmA-based devices showed enhanced stability, retaining about 98% of their initial PCE after 1080 hours of dark storage and 87% after 400 hours of heating at 85°C, demonstrating superior performance and durability.
Dr. Bing Cai, the lead researcher from Yunnan University, stated, "The development of the 2PADmA SAM represents a significant advancement in the field of PSCs. This novel SAM not only improves the efficiency and stability of PSCs but also offers a new approach to designing advanced HTLs for future solar cell technologies."
The innovative 2PADmA SAM opens up new possibilities for improving the efficiency and stability of PSCs, making them more viable for commercial applications. This advancement could lead to the development of more efficient and durable solar energy systems, contributing to the global transition to renewable energy sources and supporting efforts to combat climate change.
This work is granted by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.51925206, 52302052), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB0450301), Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Project at Southwest United Graduate School (Grant No. 202302AO370013) and Huacai Solar Co., Ltd.
About Energy Materials and Devices
Energy Materials and Devices is launched by Tsinghua University, published quarterly by Tsinghua University Press, exclusively available via SciOpen, aiming at being an international, single-blind peer-reviewed, open-access and interdisciplinary journal in the cutting-edge field of energy materials and devices. It focuses on the innovation research of the whole chain of basic research, technological innovation, achievement transformation and industrialization in the field of energy materials and devices, and publishes original, leading and forward-looking research results, including but not limited to the materials design, synthesis, integration, assembly and characterization of devices for energy storage and conversion etc.
About SciOpen
SciOpen is an open access resource of scientific and technical content published by Tsinghua University Press and its publishing partners. SciOpen provides end-to-end services across manuscript submission, peer review, content hosting, analytics, identity management, and expert advice to ensure each journal’s development. By digitalizing the publishing process, SciOpen widens the reach, deepens the impact, and accelerates the exchange of ideas.
END
To achieve carbon neutrality, advancements in energy conversion and storage technologies are essential. Current aqueous energy devices suffer from performance limitations due to the trade-off between permeability and selectivity in permselective membranes. This trade-off hampers the efficiency of energy conversion and storage systems, necessitating the development of membranes that can balance these properties effectively. Due to these challenges, further research is required to explore innovative membrane structures that can enhance the performance of energy conversion and storage devices.
A research team from Tsinghua University has published a study (DOI: 10.26599/EMD.2024.9370041) ...
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are celebrated for their exceptional photovoltaic performance and affordability. However, the high cost of charge transport materials remains a major obstacle to their commercialization. Conventional materials like 2,2',7,7'-Tetrakis[N,N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)amino]-9,9'-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD), are expensive and complex to produce. Therefore, developing low-cost, efficient alternatives is essential to make PSCs more economically viable. Addressing these issues is crucial for advancing solar technology and achieving broader adoption. Hence, this study focuses ...
To date, ceramic scientists have devised various strategies to impede grain coarsening. The utilization of nano-sized precursor powder can not only facilitate the densification process, but also yields bulk ceramics with reduced grain sizes compared with micron-sized precursor powder. Rapid sintering by passes the low-temperature surface diffusion stage and directly enters the high-temperature sintering stage through rapid heating, rendering it an effective way to inhibit grain coarsening. However, these aforementioned strategies fail to prevent coarsening during the application of nano-ceramics in medium- ...
The development of innovative medicines is an expensive, time-consuming and risky business. On average, it usually takes at least a decade and billions of dollars to bring a new drug from project initiation to approval. Identifying effective targets and conducting biological analysis is the first step in the process and remains a top priority in drug development.
To facilitate for maximum data privacy and data security, Insilico Medicine ("Insilico"), developed a hardware platform, PandaOmics Box, that does not require Internet access and allows for on-premise biological analytics, target identification, biomarker ...
OAK BROOK, Ill. – The radiology gender gap is decreasing, but there remains work to be done, according to an editorial published today in RadioGraphics, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
In 2022, nearly half of residents and fellows in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
(ACGME)–accredited programs were female. However, less than 27% of active diagnostic radiologists and only 10% of active interventional radiologists are female. Within the 48 largest medical specialty groups, diagnostic radiology ranks 41st and ...
NEW YORK, NY– The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce a $450,000 grant from The Hearst Foundations in support of the Grants for Junior Faculty program.
The Grants for Junior Faculty provide early career investigators with up to $150,000 for one to two years to support research focused on aging processes and age-related diseases. The $450,000 grant from Hearst Foundations will fully underwrite three Grants for Junior Faculty over the next three years.
Selected ...
Using two optically trapped glass nanoparticles, researchers observed a novel collective Non-Hermitian and nonlinear dynamic driven by nonreciprocal interactions. This contribution expands traditional optical levitation with tweezer arrays by incorporating the so called non-conservative interactions. Their findings, supported by an analytical model developed by collaborators from Ulm University and the University of Duisburg-Essen, were recently published in Nature Physics.
Fundamental forces like gravity and electromagnetism are reciprocal, meaning two ...
New, non-native plant species are constantly being discovered in Svalbard, and researchers are working to ascertain what threat these species pose to the native plants.
So far, the Arctic has managed to avoid one of the most serious threats to biodiversity on Earth. This is also true for Svalbard, but things could change very quickly, and researchers want to find out how to counteract this threat.
“Increased human activity heightens the risk of new plant species being introduced. And climate change increases the risk of invasive species establishing themselves,” says Kristine Bakke Westergaard.
She is an associate ...
Available to anyone, anywhere, at anytime, Texl.org allows individuals and organizations to create scientifically valid surveys in less than five minutes. In drag-and-drop fashion, survey creators can choose from an ever-growing list of 50 validated scales, measuring aspects ranging from team conflict to personal initiative and transformational leadership.
“The point of science is to develop knowledge that ultimately is to the benefit of society. Unfortunately, we are not always great in translating our knowledge so that it is usable for practitioners out there. With Texl we’re changing that,” explains Professor Niels Van Quaquebeke, ...
While chemotherapy has advanced in personalization, personalized radiation therapy for cancer remains underdeveloped. Current cancer treatment methods – including radiation therapy – are intricate, lack personalization, and rely heavily on the expertise of medical teams. Medical image analysis and machine learning hold great promise for enhancing personalized oncology. However, challenges persist such as limited high-quality data and data complexity.
Wazir Muhammad, Ph.D., principal investigator and ...
