Recent Advances in Wide-Bandgap Organic–Inorganic Halide Perovskite Solar Cells and Tandem Application

Perovskite-based tandem solar cells have attracted increasing interest because of its great potential to surpass the Shockley–Queisser limit set for single-junction solar cells.In the tandem architectures,the wide-bandgap(WBG) perovskites act as the front absorber to offer higher open-circuit voltage(VOC) for reduced thermalization losses.Taking advantage of tunable bandgap of the perovskite materials,the WBG perovskites can be easily obtained by substituting halide iodine with bromine,and subst...     

Combining Efficiency and Stability in Mixed Tin–Lead Perovskite Solar Cells by Capping Grains with an Ultrathin 2D Layer

The development of narrow-bandgap (E_g ≈ 1.2 eV) mixed tin–lead (Sn–Pb) halide perovskites enables all-perovskite tandem solar cells. Whereas pure-lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have advanced simultaneously in efficiency and stability, achieving this crucial combination remains a challenge in Sn–Pb PSCs. Here, Sn–Pb perovskite grains are anchored with ultrathin layered perovskites to overcome the efficiency-stability tradeoff. Defect passivation is achieved both on the perovskite film surface and at grain boundaries, an approach implemented by directly introducing phenethylammonium ligands in the antisolvent. This improves device operational stability and also avoids the excess formation of layered perovskites that would otherwise hinder charge transport. Sn–Pb PSCs with fill factors of 79% and a certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.95% are reported—among the highest for Sn–Pb PSCs. Using this approach, a 200-fold enhancement in device operating lifetime is achieved relative to the nonpassivated Sn–Pb PSCs under full AM1.5G illumination, and a 200 h diurnal operating time without efficiency drop is achieved under filtered AM1.5G illumination.     

The Main Progress of Perovskite Solar Cells in 2020–2021

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) emerging as a promising photovoltaic technology with high efficiency and low manufacturing cost have attracted the attention from ...     

Lead‑Free Perovskite Materials for Solar Cells

The toxicity issue of lead hinders large-scale commercial production and photovoltaic field application of lead halide perovskites.Some novel non-or low-toxic perovskite materials have been explored for development of environmentally friendly lead-free perovskite solar cells(PSCs).This review studies the substitution of equivalent/heterovalent metals for Pb based on first-principles calculation,summarizes the theoretical basis of lead-free perovskites,and screens out some promising lead-free candidates with suitable bandgap,optical,and electrical properties.Then,it reports notable achievements for the experimental studies of lead-free perovskites to date,including the crystal structure and material bandgap for all of lead-free materials and photovoltaic performance and stability for corresponding devices.The review finally discusses challenges facing the successful development and commercialization of lead-free PSCs and predicts the prospect of lead-free PSCs in the future.     

Additive Engineering for Stable and Efficient Dion–Jacobson Phase Perovskite Solar Cells

Because of their better chemical stability and fascinating anisotropic characteristics, Dion–Jacobson(DJ)-layered halide perovskites, which owe crystallographic twodimensional structures, have fascinated growing attention for solar devices. DJ-layered halide perovskites have special structural and photoelectronic features that allow the van der Waals gap to be eliminated or reduced. DJ-layered halide perovskites have improved photophysical characteristics, resulting in improved photovoltaic perf...     

Heterojunction Incorporating Perovskite and Microporous Metal–Organic Framework Nanocrystals for Efficient and Stable Solar Cells

In this paper,we present a facile approach to enhance the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells(PSCs)by incorporating perovskite with microporous indium-based metal–organic framework[In12O(OH)16(H2O)5(btc)6]n(In-BTC)nanocrystals and forming heterojunction light-harvesting layer.The interconnected micropores and terminal oxygen sites of In-BTC allow the preferential crystallization of perovskite inside the regular cavities,endowing the derived films with improved morphology/crystallinity and reduced grain boundaries/defects.Consequently,the In-BTC-modified PSC yields enhanced fill factor of 0.79 and power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 20.87%,surpassing the pristine device(0.76 and 19.52%,respectively).More importantly,over 80%of the original PCE is retained after 12 days of exposure to ambient environment(25°C and relative humidity of^65%)without encapsulation,while only about 35%is left to the pristine device.     

Recent Progress of Counter Electrodes in Nanocrystalline Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Dye-sensitized solar cell （DSC） consists a combination of several different materials： photoanodes with nanoparticulated semiconductors, sensitizers, electrolytes and counter electrodes （CEs）. Each materials performs specific task for the conversion of solar energy into electricity. The main function of CE is to transfer electrons to the redox electrolyte and regenerate iodide ion. The work of CE is mainly focused on the studies of the kinetic performance and stability of the traditional CEs to improve the overall efficiency of DSC, seeking novel design concepts or new materials. In this review, the development and research progress of different CE materials and their electrochemical performance, and the problems are discussed.     

Resolving Mixed Intermediate Phases in Methylammonium-Free Sn–Pb Alloyed Perovskites for High-Performance Solar Cells

The complete elimination of methylammonium(MA) cations in Sn–Pb composites can extend their light and thermal stabilities.Unfortunately,MA-free Sn–Pb alloyed perovskite thin films suffer from wrinkled surfaces and poor crystallization,due to the coexistence of mixed intermediate phases.Here,we report an additive strategy for finely regulating the impurities in the intermediate phase of Cs_0.25FA_0.75Pb_0.6Sn_0.4I₃ and,thereby,obtaining high-perf...     

Secondary Anti-Solvent Treatment for Efficient 2D Dion–Jacobson Perovskite Solar Cells

Surface defects-mediated nonradiative recombination plays a critical role in the performance and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and surface post-treatment is widely used for efficient PSCs. However, the commonly used surface passivation strategies are one-off and the passivation defect ability is limited, which can only solve part of the defects in the topmost surface area. Here, a secondary anti-solvent strategy is proposed to further reduce surface defects based on conventional surface passivation for the first time. Based on this, the crystallization quality of 2D Dion–Jacobson perovskite is enhanced and the surface defects density is further reduced by nearly two orders. In addition, a gradient structure of perovskite with n = 2 phases located at the top of the film and 3D-like phases located at the bottom of the film can also be obtained. The modulated perovskite film boosts the efficiency of 2D perovskites (n = 5) up to 19.55%. This strategy is also very useful in other anti-solvent processed perovskite dipping systems, which paves a promising avenue for minimizing surface defects toward highly efficient perovskite devices.     

α-CsPbI3 Bilayers via One-Step Deposition for Efficient and Stable All-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells

The emerging inorganic CsPbI₃ perovskites are promising wide-bandgap materials for application in tandem solar cells, but they tend to transit from a black α phase to a yellow δ phase in ambient conditions. Herein, a gradient grain-sized (GGS) CsPbI₃ bilayer is developed to stabilize the α phase via a single-step film deposition process. The spontaneously upward migration of (adamantan-1-yl)methanammonium (ADMA) based on the hot-casting technique causes self-assembly of the hierarchical morphology for the perovskite layers. Due to the strong steric effect of the surficial ADMA cation, a self-assembly tiny grain-sized CsPbI₃ layer is in situ formed at the surface site, which exhibits notably enhanced phase stability by its high surface energy. Meanwhile, a large grain-sized CsPbI₃ layer is obtained at the bottom site with high charge mobility and low trap density of states, which benefits from the regulated growth rates by the interaction between ADMA and perovskites. The perovskite solar cell (PSC) based on the GGS CsPbI₃ bilayer shows an efficiency of 15.5% and operates stably for 1000 h under ambient conditions. This work confirms that redistributing the surface energy of perovskite films is a facile strategy to stabilize metastable PSCs without the cost of efficiency loss.     

Low-Temperature Aging Provides 22% E cient Bromine-Free and Passivation Layer-Free Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

Previous reports of formamidinium/methylamine(FAMA)-mixed halide perovskite solar cells have focused mainly on controlling the morphology of the perovskite film and its interface—for example,through the inclusion of bromine and surface passivation.In this paper,we describe a new processing pathway for the growth of a high-quality bromine-free FAMAPbI3 halide perovskites via the control of intermediate phase.Through low-temperature aging growth(LTAG)of a freshly deposited perovskite film,α-phase perovskites can be seeded in the intermediate phase and,at the same time,prevent beta-phase perovskite to nucleate.After postannealing,large grain-size perovskites with significantly reduced PbI2 presence on the surface can be obtained,thereby eliminating the need of additional surface passivation step.Our pristine LTAG-treated solar cells could provide PCEs of greater than 22%without elaborate use of bromine or an additional passivation layer.More importantly,when using this LTAG process,the growth of the pure alpha-phase FAMAPbI3 was highly reproducible.     

Fluorine Passivation Inhibits “Particle Talking” Behaviors under Thermal and Electrical Conditions of Pure Blue Mixed Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals

Owing to outstanding optoelectronic properties, lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) are considered promising emitters for next-generation displays. However, the development of pure blue (460-470 nm) perovskite nanocrystal light-emitting diodes (PNC-LEDs), which correspond to the requirements of Rec. 2020 standard, lag far behind that of their green and red counterparts. Here, pure blue CsPb(Br/Cl)₃ nanocrystals with remarkable optical performance are demonstrated by a facile fluorine passivation strategy. Prominently, the fluorine passivation on halide vacancies and strong bonding of Pb–F intensely enhance crystal structure stability and inhibit “particle talking” behaviors under both thermal and electrical conditions. Fluorine-based PNCs with high resistance of luminescence thermal quenching retain 70% of photoluminescent intensity when heated to 343 K, which can be attributed to the elevated activation energy for carrier trapping and unchanged grain size. Fluorine-based PNC-LEDs also exhibit stable pure blue electroluminescence (EL) emission with sevenfold promoted luminance and external quantum efficiencies (EQEs), where the suppression of ion migration is further evidenced by a lateral structure device with applied polarizing potential.     

A Special Additive Enables All Cations and Anions Passivation for Stable Perovskite Solar Cells with Efficiency over 23％

Passivating undercoordinated ions is an effective way to reduce the defect densities at the surface and grain boundaries (GBs) of perovskite materials for enhan...     

Carbon‐Based Perovskite Solar Cells without Hole Transport Materials: The Front Runner to the Market?

Organometal trihalide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have garnered recent interest in the scientific community. In the past few years, they have achieved power conversion efficiencies comparable to traditional commercial solar cells (e.g., crystalline Si, CuInGaSe and CdTe) due to their low‐cost of production via solution‐processed fabrication techniques. However, the stability of PSCs must be addressed before their commercialization is viable. Among various kinds of PSCs, carbon‐based PSCs without hole transport materials (C‐PSCs) seem to be the most promising for addressing the stability issue because carbon materials are stable, inert to ion migration (which originates from perovskite and metal electrodes), and inherently water‐resistant. Despite the significant development of C‐PSCs since they were first reported in 2013, some pending issues still need to be addressed to increase their commercial competitiveness. Herein, recent developments in C‐PSCs, including (1) device structure and working principles, (2) categorical progress of and comparison between meso C‐PSCs, embedment C‐PSCs and paintable PSCs, are reviewed. Promising research directions are then suggested (e.g., materials, interfaces, structure, stability measurement and scaling‐up of production) to further improve and promote the commercialization of C‐PSCs.     

Black Ultra-Thin Crystalline Silicon Wafers Reach the 4n2 Absorption Limit–Application to IBC Solar Cells

Cutting costs by progressively decreasing substrate thickness is a common theme in the crystalline silicon photovoltaic  industry for the last decades, since drastically thinner wafers would significantly reduce the substrate-related costs. In addition to the technological challenges concerning wafering and handling of razor-thin flexible wafers, a major bottleneck is to maintain high absorption in those thin wafers. For the latter, advanced light-trapping techniques become of paramount importance. Here we demonstrate that by applying state-of-the-art black-Si nanotexture produced by DRIE on thin uncommitted wafers, the maximum theoretical absorption (Yablonovitch's 4n² absorption limit), that is, ideal light trapping, is reached with wafer thicknesses as low as 40, 20, and 10 µm when paired with a back reflector. Due to the achieved promising optical properties the results are implemented into an actual thin interdigitated back contacted solar cell. The proof-of-concept cell, encapsulated in glass, achieved a 16.4% efficiency with an J_SC = 35 mA cm⁻², representing a 43% improvement in output power with respect to the reference polished cell. These results demonstrate the vast potential of black silicon nanotexture in future extremely-thin silicon photovoltaics.     

Deviation from Wiedemann–Franz Law for the Thermal Conductivity of Liquid Tin and Lead at Elevated Temperature

The thermal conductivities of tin and lead in solid and liquid states have been determined using a nonstationary hot wire method. Measurements on tin and lead were carried out over temperature ranges of 293 to 1473 K and 293 to 1373 K, respectively. The thermal conductivity of solid tin is 63.9±1.3 Wm^–1K^–1 at 293 K and decreases with an increase in temperature, with a value of 56.6±0.9 Wm^–1K^–1 at 473 K. For solid lead, the thermal conductivity is 36.1±0.6 Wm^–1K^–1 at 293 K, decreases with an increase in temperature, and has a value of 29.1±1.1 Wm^–1K^–1 at 573 K. The temperature dependences for solid tin and lead are in good agreement with those estimated from the Wiedemann–Franz law using electrical conductivity values. The thermal conductivities of liquid tin displayed a value of 25.7±1.0 Wm^–1K^–1 at 573 K, and then increased, showing a maximum value of about 30.1 Wm^–1K^–1 at 673 K. Subsequently, the thermal conductivities gradually decreased with increasing temperature and the thermal conductivity was 10.1±1.0 Wm^–1K^–1 at 1473 K. In the case of liquid lead, the same tendency, as was the case of tin, was observed. The thermal conductivities of liquid lead displayed a value of 15.4±1.2 Wm^–1K^–1 at 673 K, with a maximum value of about 15.6 Wm^–1K^–1 at 773 K and a minimum value of about 11.4±0.6 Wm^–1K^–1 at 1373 K. The temperature dependence of thermal conductivity values in both liquids is discussed from the viewpoint of the Wiedemann–Franz law. The thermal conductivities for Group 14 elements at each temperature were compared.     

Synthesis of Molybdenum- and Vanadium-Containing Mixed Oxides in Polymer–Salt Systems

Rare-earth alkaline-earth mixed oxides containing transition metals (Mo, V) were prepared via pyrolysis in polymer–salt systems. The products were characterized by thermal analysis, resistance measurements, dilatometry, optical microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. The introduction of polyvinyl alcohol into the system containing lanthanum or strontium nitrate and ammonium molybdate was found to have a significant effect on the thermal decomposition process, testifying to changes in the bonding configurations of the constituent components in the systems studied, capable of forming stable gels, which are then used as precursors to synthesize oxide materials. The temperatures of different stages of dehydration were shown to be lower in the polymer-containing systems. The effect of solution acidity was assessed by examining thermal decomposition in systems containing a polymer and Mo or W salts and acidified with nitric acid. The reaction of nitrates (oxidants) with the polymer was accompanied by an exotherm at 170°C, corresponding to the melting of ammonium nitrate, resulting from an exchange reaction. The exothermic reaction was found to reduce the decomposition temperatures of the salts involved. The use of polymer–salt systems allowed the mixed oxides SrMoO₄ and La₂(MoO₄)₃ to be synthesized at lower temperatures in comparison with the coprecipitation of poorly soluble compounds. The method was also shown to be suitable for preparing perovskite oxides in the La_{1 – x} Sr _x Co_{1 – z} M _z O_{3 ± y} (M = Mo, V) systems.     

Microstructural defects and their origins in Cd–CuCd3 eutectic

Abstract

In this investigation, macrostructural and microstructural imperfections, formed in the fibrous Cd–CuCd₃ eutectic during unidirectional solidification, were characterized and the factors important in their formation were studied. The effect of growth rate R, imposed thermal gradient G, and natural convection on the defect morphology were investigated, and the important physical factors that determine the manner in which microstructural defects form were considered. Convection was found to play a minimal role in defect formation. The most important variable was found to be the ratio G/R, which determined the solid/liquid interface shape during solidification. When low values of G/R were used, eutectic cells were formed. For intermediate values of G/ R, the microstructure was found to contain features analogous to nodes in single–phase materials. Only when high values of G/R were used were all microstructural defects eliminated, producing a nearly perfect structure of parallel CuCd₃ rods in a matrix of cadmium. The morphology of branching and curving rods, which were found to be the primary microstructural defects, indicates that both the solid/solid interfacial free energy and its anisotropy are important factors in rod branching, and a branching mechanism consistent with the observations made was proposed. Anisotropy in the solid/solid interfacial free energy was considered to account for the formation of blades; however, kinetic considerations were required to account for the growth dependence of the rod-to-blade transition observed in this eutectic.

MST/130     

Actor–Critic Reinforcement Learning and Application in Developing Computer-Vision-Based Interface Tracking

This paper synchronizes control theory with computer vision by formalizing object tracking as a sequential decision-making process. A reinforcement learning (RL) agent successfully tracks an interface between two liquids, which is often a critical variable to track in many chemical, petrochemical, metallurgical, and oil industries. This method utilizes less than 100 images for creating an environment, from which the agent generates its own data without the need for expert knowledge. Unlike supervised learning (SL) methods that rely on a huge number of parameters, this approach requires far fewer parameters, which naturally reduces its maintenance cost. Besides its frugal nature, the agent is robust to environmental uncertainties such as occlusion, intensity changes, and excessive noise. From a closed-loop control context, an interface location-based deviation is chosen as the optimization goal during training. The methodology showcases RL for real-time object-tracking applications in the oil sands industry. Along with a presentation of the interface tracking problem, this paper provides a detailed review of one of the most effective RL methodologies: actor–critic policy.