Deconvoluting Energy Transport Mechanisms in Metal Halide Perovskites Using CsPbBr3 Nanowires as a Model System

Understanding energy transport in metal halide perovskites is essential to effectively guide further optimization of materials and device designs. However, difficulties to disentangle charge carrier diffusion, photon recycling, and photon transport have led to contradicting reports and uncertainty regarding which mechanism dominates. In this study, monocrystalline CsPbBr₃ nanowires serve as 1D model systems to help unravel the respective contribution of energy transport processes in metal-halide perovskites. Spatially, temporally, and spectrally resolved photoluminescence (PL) microscopy reveals characteristic signatures of each transport mechanism from which a robust model describing the PL signal accounting for carrier diffusion, photon propagation, and photon recycling is developed. For the investigated CsPbBr₃ nanowires, an ambipolar carrier mobility of μ = 35 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ is determined, and is found that charge carrier diffusion dominates the energy transport process over photon recycling. Moreover, the general applicability of the developed model is demonstrated on different perovskite compounds by applying it to data provided in previous related reports, from which clarity is gained as to why conflicting reports exist. These findings, therefore, serve as a useful tool to assist future studies aimed at characterizing energy transport mechanisms in semiconductor nanowires using PL.     

Degradation pattern of contact resistance and characteristic trap energy in blue organic light-emitting diodes

Thin and lightweight organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are promising candidates for next-generation rollable displays; they offer numerous advantages, such as scalable manufacturing, high color contrast ratio, flexibility, and wide viewing angle. Despite the numerous merits of OLEDs, the insufficient lifetime and stability of blue OLEDs remain unresolved, thereby necessitating a feedback strategy for lifetime extension. Herein, we propose a simple yet effective methodology to determine the contact resistance (R_CT) and characteristic trap energy (E_T) of OLEDs simultaneously in the trapped-charge-limited-conduction regime, where electroluminescence occurs primarily. To validate our approach, the extracted R_CT and E_T values are directly compared with each other by connecting a commercial resistor (R_C) to a blue OLED in series. The percent errors discovered in R_C and E_T are less than 7% and 4%, demonstrating the high feasibility and accuracy of our approach. We further employ this method to study the degradation mechanism of a blue OLED by presenting the electrical stress time- and cycle-dependent R_CT, E_T, ideality factor, and turn-on voltage, revealing different degradation patterns of the metal-to-transport layer interface and emission layer, respectively. Our results provide better insights into the electrical parameter extraction method and electrical current degradation mechanism in blue OLEDs.     

Ultrahigh and field-independent energy storage efficiency of (1-x)(Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3-xBi(Mg0.5Ti0.5)O3 ceramics

Relaxor ferroelectrics are attracting an increasing interest in the application of pulse power systems due to their excellent energy storage performance. In this paper, the (1-x)(Ba_0·85Ca_0.15)(Zr_0·1Ti_0.9)O₃-xBi(Mg_0·5Ti_0.5)O₃ ((1-x)BCZT-xBMT, x ≤ 0.2) relaxor ceramics are prepared by the solid state method. The influence of BMT on the microstructure, dielectric and energy storage properties of the prepared ceramics is investigated. The XRD results show that the peak intensity of impurities (Bi₂O₃, TiO₂ and Ba₂Bi₄Ti₅O₁₈) is gradually stronger than that of BCZT phase with x increasing. Meanwhile, the grain size of (1-x)BCZT-xBMT ceramics gradually increases on account of the appearance of impurities Bi₂O₃. Influenced by the impurities and BMT, the dielectric constant of prepared ceramics gradually decreases with x increasing. A large W_rec value of 0.65 J/cm³ with an ultrahigh η value of 97.89% is achieved at x = 0.15 due to the high breakdown strength and slim P-E hysteresis loop. Meanwhile, the η is insensitive to the electric field. The ultrahigh η leads to lesser energy loss during the charge and discharge process. It makes the 0.85BCZT-0.15BMT ceramic more attractive in the application of pulse power systems.     

Structural and electrical studies of excessively Sm2O3 substituted soft PZT nanoceramics

The solid solution of Pb_1-x Sm_2x/3 (Zr_0.6 Ti_0.4) O₃ ceramics with x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 was prepared via the high-energy ball milling technique. Further, the effect of excessive Sm₂O₃ substitution at Pb-site on structural, dielectric, and dc-conductivity properties was studied. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that all samples were crystallized with perovskite and pyrochlore diphase form. Excess Sm³⁺ substitution in the PZT system increases the pyrochlore volume fraction from 5 to 20% and induces a structural phase transition from rhombohedral to a tetragonal structure. The microstructural study by TEM and SEM indicated that the particles were spherical with an average size of 43–55 nm. The frequency and temperature-dependent dielectric constant for all compositions was carried out and it is obtained that the dielectric constant decreases with Sm³⁺ content. The phase transition temperature first decreases up to x = 0.2 and then increases for the higher concentration of samarium. The dc-conductivity studies revealed that all samples showed an unusual mixed TCR effect (both positive and negative temperature coefficient of resistance). Such properties of the studied samples indicate that the material is suitable for potential applications in thermistors, and temperature sensors of the automotive, and petroleum industries.     

Achieving High Electroluminescence Efficiency and High Color Rendering Index for All-Fluorescent White OLEDs Based on an Out-of-Phase Sensitizing System

Sensitizing conventional fluorescence (CF) dopants with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials has achieved considerable progress, by which the advantages of TADF materials and CF dopants can be fully harnessed. However, the usually used co-phase configuration of CF dopant-engaged sensitizing systems often encounters exciton loss due to Dexter energy transfer (DET). Herein, an effective out-of-phase configuration is proposed to sensitize CF dopants in the fabrication of white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs). Based on a new efficient sky-blue TADF luminogen DCP-BP-DPAC which has an electroluminescence (EL) peak at 486 nm and an EL efficiency of 26.6%, a green TADF material BDMAC-XT, and a red CF dopant DBP sensitized by BDMAC-XT through an out-of-phase configuration without interlayer, efficient WOLEDs are successfully fabricated. By further adopting orange TBRB or 4CzTPNBu as intermediate sensitizers, more efficient energy transfer to DBP is achieved via Förster energy transfer. Through step-by-step energy transfer and elimination of excess DET process, high-performance all-fluorescent WOLEDs are achieved, providing excellent EL efficiencies over 23.0%, and highly stable white light with a high color rendering index of 87. The outstanding EL performance and high-quality emission color demonstrate the great potential of the proposed out-of-phase design for sensitizing systems of WOLEDs.     

基于跨临界CO2热泵的茶叶生产能源系统负荷削减潜力

乡村产业中的化石能源设备逐渐被电能技术替代，引起了乡村负荷波动增大、部分时段产生集中高负荷的问题。为了解决以上问题，将低品位清洁能源应用至乡村的茶叶生产中，针对烘茶全过程的工艺要求提出了跨临界CO₂热泵烘茶技术；并以某茶叶生产乡村为对象，对其代表台区的全年日用电量及产茶日负荷进行了分析，得出采用CO₂热泵烘茶后其负荷得到大幅度削减，整体可降低至原负荷的39.6%~46.8%，峰值负荷与平时负荷的比值由原本的13.6降至5.4~6.2。跨临界CO₂热泵应用至农产品生产中可有效缓解乡村供电压力。     

Development of a new solar,gasification and fuel cell based integrated plant

Despite its shortcomings, fossil-based fuels are still utilized as the main energy source, accounting for about 80% of the world's total energy supply with about one-third of which comes from coal. However, conventional coal-fired power plants emit relatively higher amounts of greenhouse gases, and the derivatives of air pollutants, which necessitates the integration of environmentally benign technologies into the conventional power plants. In the current study, a H₂–CO synthesis gas fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is integrated to the coal-fired combined cycle along with a concentrated solar energy system for the purpose of promoting the cleaner energy applications in the fossil fuel-based power plants. The underlying motivation of the present study is to propose a novel design for a conventional coal-fired combined cycle without altering its main infrastructure to make its environmentally hazardous nature more ecofriendly. The proposed SOFC integrated coal-fired combined cycle is modeled thermodynamically for different types of coals, namely pet coke, Powder River Basin (PRB) coal, lignite and anthracite using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) and the Ebsilon software packages. The current results show that the designed hybrid energy system provide higher performance with higher energy and exergy efficiencies ranging from 70.6% to 72.7% energetically and from 35.5% to 43.8% exergetically. In addition, carbon dioxide emissions are reduced varying between 18.31 kg/s and 30.09 kg/s depending on the selected coal type, under the assumption of 10 kg per second fuel inlet.     

Single-switch boost-buck DC-DC converter for industrial fuel cell and photovoltaics applications

The realization of dc-dc converters performs a vital function in exploiting renewable energy sources such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cell applications. This paper demonstrates a single-switch unidirectional buck-boost dc-dc converter for continuous power flow control, excluding the hybrid switched-capacitor. The proposed converter utilizes a limited number of passive components, only four diodes and three inductors required, in addition to six capacitors. The converter can operate at a wide input voltage range with continues input current. The converter has experimented under real-time conditions with 660 W PV system. The obtained efficiency ranges from 93% to 98%. Furthermore, the converter has interfaced with 550 W fuel cell operated under different fuel pressure. The realized efficiency ranges from 91% to 97%. The maximum measured inductance current ripple is limited to under 0.70 A in both scenarios, whereas 0.16 V is the maximum output voltage ripple.     

Engineering biphasic hybrid phosphide nanowires as efficient electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction: Experimental and theoretical insights

Development of highly efficient and cheap electrocatalysts towards the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is of great importance for electrochemical water splitting. Herein, hybrid Cu/NiMo-P nanowires on the copper foam were successfully fabricated via a simple two-step method. The hierarchically structured Cu/NiMo-P exhibits large surface areas and rapid electron transfer ability, leading to enhanced catalytic activity. The as-prepared Cu/NiMo-P electrodes need overpotentials of 34 mV and 130 mV to obtain 10 mA cm^?2 for HER in acidic and alkaline solutions, respectively. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the Cu/NiMo-P hybrid has a more thermo-neutral hydrogen adsorption free energy and enhanced charge transfer ability as well.     

Direct additive manufacturing of melt growth Al2O3-ZrO2 functionally graded ceramics by laser directed energy deposition

Functionally graded ceramics (FGC), which combine properties of different ceramics in one part, usually have better comprehensive function and structural efficiency. In this study, four different gradient transition Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ FGC samples were prepared by laser directed energy deposition (LDED) method. The results show that there is an obvious interface in direct transition sample. The transition section bears tensile stress caused by difference of thermophysical properties of materials, resulting in significant longitudinal cracks. Element transition in interface region shows a step sharp transition. The direct transition sample shows intergranular fracture and the bonding strength is very low. Gradient transition mode can effectively suppress cracks, and avoid the step transition of microstructure and elements. Elements, microhardness of 25, 20 wt% FGC samples realized a nearly linear smooth transition. The interface fracture of FGC samples changed to transgranular fracture, bonding strength was significantly improved, and the maximum flexural strength reached 160.19 MPa.