Study of Pb-based and Pb-free perovskite solar cells using Cu-doped Ni1-xO thin films as hole transport material

SCAPS solar cell simulation program was applied to model an inverted structure of perovskite solar cells using Cu-doped Ni_1-xO thin films as hole transport layer. The Cu-doped Ni_1-xO film were made by co-sputtering deposition under different deposition conditions. By increasing the amount of the Cu-dopant, the film crystallinity enhanced whereas the bandgap energy decreased. The transmittance of the thin films decreased significantly by increasing the sputtering power of copper. High quality, uniform, compact, and pin-hole free films with low surface roughness were achieved. The structural, chemical, surface morphology, optical, electrical, and electronic properties of the Cu doped Ni_1-xO films were used as input parameters in the simulation of Pb-based (MAPbI_3-xCl_x) and Pb-free (MAGeI₃) perovskite solar cells. Simulation results showed that the performance of both Pb-based and Pb-free perovskite solar cell devices significantly enhanced with Cu-doped Ni_1-xO film. The highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) for the Pb-free perovskite solar cell is 8.9% which is lower than the highest PCE of 17.5% for the Pb-based perovskite solar cell.     

Laboratory Studies to Determine Suitable Chemicals to Improve Oil Recovery from Garzan Oil Field

Garzan oil field is located at the south east of Turkey. It is a mature oil field and the reservoir is fractured carbonate reservoir. After producing about 1% original oil in place (OOIP) reservoir pressure started to decline. Waterflooding was started in order to support reservoir pressure and also to enhance oil production in 1960. Waterflooding improved the oil recovery but after years of flooding water breakthrough at the production wells was observed. This increased the water/oil ratio at the production wells. In order to enhance oil recovery again different techniques were investigated. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are gaining attention all over the world for oil recovery. Surfactant injection is an effective way for interfacial tension (IFT) reduction and wettability reversal. In this study, 31 different types of chemicals were studied to specify the effects on oil production. This paper presents solubility of surfactants in brine, IFT and contact angle measurements, imbibition tests, and lastly core flooding experiments. Most of the chemicals were incompatible with Garzan formation water, which has high divalent ion concentration. In this case, the usage of 2-propanol as co-surfactant yielded successful results for stability of the selected chemical solutions. The results of the wettability test indicated that both tested cationic and anionic surfactants altered the wettability of the carbonate rock from oil-wet to intermediate-wet. The maximum oil recovery by imbibition test was reached when core was exposed 1-ethly ionic liquid after imbibition in formation water. Also, after core flooding test, it is concluded that considerable amount of oil can be recovered from Garzan reservoir by waterflooding alone if adverse effects of natural fractures could be eliminated.     

Theoretical prediction of structure,electronic and optical properties of VH2 hydrogen storage material

The vanadium hydrides have better hydrogen storage capacity in comparison to the other metal hydrides. Although the structure of VH₂ hydride has been reported, the structural stability, electronic and optical properties of VH₂ hydride are unclear. To solve these problems, we apply the first-principles method to study the structural stability, electronic and optical properties of VH₂ hydrides. Similar to the metal dihydrides, four possible VH₂ hydrides such as the cubic (Fm-3m), tetragonal (I4/mmm), tetragonal (P4₂/mnm) and orthorhombic (Pnma) are designed. The result shows that the cubic VH₂ hydride is a thermodynamic and dynamical stability. In particular, the tetragonal (I4/mmm) and the orthorhombic (Pnma) VH₂ hydrides are firstly predicted. It is found that these VH₂ hydrides show metallic behavior. The electronic interaction of V (d-state)-H (s-state) is beneficial to improve the hydrogen storage in VH₂ hydride. In addition, the formation of V–H bond can improve the structural stability of VH₂ hydride. Based on the analysis of optical properties, it is found that all VH₂ hydrides show the ultraviolet response. Compared to the tetragonal and orthorhombic VH₂ hydrides, the cubic VH₂ hydride has better storage optical properties. Therefore, we believe that the VH₂ hydride is a promising hydrogen storage material.     

Recent insights in synthesis and energy storage applications of porous carbon derived from biomass waste: A review

In the last few decades, global warming, environmental pollution, and an energy shortage of fossil fuel may cause a severe economic crisis and health threats. Storage, conversion, and application of regenerable and dispersive energy would be a promising solution to release this crisis. The development of porous carbon materials from regenerated biomass are competent methods to store energy with high performance and limited environmental damages. In this regard, bio-carbon with abundant surface functional groups and an easily tunable three-dimensional porous structure may be a potential candidate as a sustainable and green carbon material. Up to now, although some literature has screened the biomass source, reaction temperature, and activator dosage during thermochemical synthesis, a comprehensive evaluation and a detailed discussion of the relationship between raw materials, preparation methods, and the structural and chemical properties of carbon materials are still lacking. Hence, in this review, we first assess the recent advancements in carbonization and activation process of biomass with different compositions and the activity performance in various energy storage applications including supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, and hydrogen storage, highlighting the mechanisms and open questions in current energy society. After that, the connections between preparation methods and porous carbon properties including specific surface area, pore volume, and surface chemistry are reviewed in detail. Importantly, we discuss the relationship between the pore structure of prepared porous carbon with surface functional groups, and the energy storage performance in various energy storage fields for different biomass sources and thermal conversion methods. Finally, the conclusion and prospective are concluded to give an outlook for the development of biomass carbon materials, and energy storage applications technologies. This review demonstrates significant potentials for energy applications of biomass materials, and it is expected to inspire new discoveries to promote practical applications of biomass materials in more energy storage and conversion fields.     

纳米药物非临床药代动力学的研究策略及关注要点

随着纳米技术的迅速发展，纳米药物的研发已成为目前药物创新的发展方向之一。纳米药物具有基于纳米结构的尺度效应，其药代动力学特征与普通药物相比存在明显差异，其药代动力学研究与普通药物相比也有其特殊性。本文着重探讨纳米药物的非临床药代动力学的研究策略及关注要点，包括受试物、体内/外试验、生物样本分析、数据评价分析等，期望为研发者提供参考。     

近源成藏——来自鄂尔多斯盆地延长组湖盆东部“边缘”延长组6段原油的地球化学证据

延安以东和以北的鄂尔多斯盆地东北部地区曾被认为位处三叠纪延长组7段（长7段）沉积期古湖盆的"边缘"，一些学者认为该区延长组烃源岩不发育，因而其油藏原油系湖盆中心生成的原油经长距离侧向运移而来；但也有研究认为，包括盆地边缘在内的整个鄂尔多斯盆地致密油藏均为近源成藏。为明确盆地东部地区延长组原油来源，对三叠纪湖盆"东缘"七里村油田的主力油层延长组6段（长6段）原油开展了原油地球化学和油源对比研究。七里村油田长6段原油具有高饱和烃、高饱芳比、低非烃和低沥青质的特征，正构烷烃呈前高单峰型，主峰碳为C₁₉，生物标志化合物分析显示长6段原油为同源成熟原油，生油母质以藻类等低等水生生物为主，混有陆源高等植物，母源沉积环境为偏还原性的淡水湖泊。七里村油田长6段原油与本地区长7段黑色泥页岩和暗色泥岩2种烃源岩均具有明显亲缘关系，而与志丹、富县等湖盆中心地区的长7段烃源岩在族组成、生物标志化合物和稳定碳同位素特征上均存在明显区别。综合分析认为七里村油田长6段原油并非湖盆中心长7段优质烃源岩所生油气经长距离运移而来，而主要为原位长7段烃源岩生成的原油经垂向运移和短距离侧向运移在长6段等储层中聚集成藏，属于近源成藏。     

Microwave hybrid fast sintering of red clay ceramics

This work aimed to examine the performance of the hybrid sintering of clay ceramic in a microwave furnace, compared to the sintering process in a conventional furnace. The raw materials were subjected to X-ray fluorescence, loss on ignition (LOI), X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution, real specific mass, and thermogravimetric analyses. The red clay ceramic mass was prepared, extruded, pre-sintered in a conventional furnace at 600°C/60 min, and sintered at temperatures between 700 °C and 1100 °C. The sintering conventional (resistive oven) was carried out for 60 min with a heating rate of 10°C/min. In the microwave furnace, the sintering times were 5, 10, and 15 min, with a heating rate of 50°C/min, with a sintering chamber coated with silicon carbide (susceptor). The sintered specimens were characterized according to linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent porosity, apparent specific mass, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy analysis, spectroscopy analysis in the ultraviolet and visible regions, microhardness, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that microwave sintering promoted an increase in the microhardness and apparent specific mass, and reduction in water absorption and apparent porosity values, due to greater densification in the microstructure. The best results occurred for specimens sintered at 1100°C.