Novel carbon‐based material for perovskite solar cells back‐contact

Perovskite solar cells are one of the most promising photovoltaic technology, presenting the fastest power conversion efficiency (PCE) growth from 3.8 % to 24.2 % in just 10 years. However, there are still challenges hindering its commercialization such as the expensive back‐contact made of gold. Carbon‐based materials, mainly carbon pastes made of carbon black and graphite, have already proven to be good candidates as back‐contacts because of their features such as low cost, high conductivity, and high stability. In this work, the replacement of gold back‐contact by a carbon paper with a microporous layer coated with a PEDOT:PSS dispersion is reported. To the best of the author's knowledge, this material has never been reported for perovskite solar cells. A PCE of 9.22 % was obtained, representing 62 % of the PCE obtained for the same cell but with a gold back‐contact.     

Highly Conductive Ti3C2Tx MXene Hybrid Fibers for Flexible and Elastic Fiber‐Shaped Supercapacitors

Fiber‐shaped supercapacitors (FSCs) are promising energy storage solutions for powering miniaturized or wearable electronics. However, the scalable fabrication of fiber electrodes with high electrical conductivity and excellent energy storage performance for use in FSCs remains a challenge. Here, an easily scalable one‐step wet‐spinning approach is reported to fabricate highly conductive fibers using hybrid formulations of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene nanosheets and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate. This approach produces fibers with a record conductivity of ≈1489 S cm^?1, which is about five times higher than other reported Ti₃C₂T_x MXene‐based fibers (up to ≈290 S cm^?1). The hybrid fiber at ≈70 wt% MXene shows a high volumetric capacitance (≈614.5 F cm^?3 at 5 mV s^?1) and an excellent rate performance (≈375.2 F cm^?3 at 1000 mV s^?1). When assembled into a free‐standing FSC, the energy and power densities of the device reach ≈7.13 Wh cm^?3 and ≈8249 mW cm^?3, respectively. The excellent strength and flexibility of the hybrid fibers allow them to be wrapped on a silicone elastomer fiber to achieve an elastic FSC with 96% capacitance retention when cyclically stretched to 100% strain. This work demonstrates the potential of MXene‐based fiber electrodes and their scalable production for fiber‐based energy storage applications.     

Product-service system innovation capabilities: linkages between the fuzzy front end and subsequent development phases

In an attempt to remain competitive, manufacturers increasingly offer integrated product-service systems (PSSs). This transition from physical products to PSSs calls for new ways of working, for example in the product development process. However, so far only limited attention has been put on capabilities needed to succeed with PSS innovation in the very early development phases – often referred to as the fuzzy front end (FFE). This article, therefore, has a dual aim: first, to further our understanding of capabilities for PSS innovation in the FFE, and second, to determine how these capabilities are linked to PSS innovation capabilities needed in subsequent development phases. Empirical data were collected from an ongoing industrial project developing an innovative PSS offering in a large manufacturing company. Individuals connected to the project reported major challenges, both experienced in the FFE and anticipated in later phases, which provided valuable information regarding capabilities needed to succeed with the endeavour. Findings reveal four links of PSS innovation capabilities: (1) adapting vocabulary and mental models to PSS, (2) handling the ‘intangible aspect’, (3) bridging organisational structures, and (4) managing new business models. PSS innovation capabilities in the FFE are also found to be of higher order (dynamic) compared to capabilities in later development phases.     

碳纳米管和二甲基亚砜对钙钛矿太阳电池中PEDOT:PSS空穴传输层的协同影响

聚(3,4-亚乙二氧基噻吩)-聚(苯乙烯磺酸)(PEDOT:PSS)是平面结构钙钛矿太阳电池中空穴传输层的典型材料, 为了改善其导电性能以及促进后续钙钛矿层的生长, 本文将碳纳米管(CNTs)和二甲基亚砜(DMSO)同时引入PEDOT:PSS进行共修饰。结果表明: CNTs和DMSO在CNT-DMSO-PEDOT:PSS共修饰膜中展现了优异的协同效应。均匀贯穿于基体且几近网格状的CNTs具有促进后续钙钛矿层生长及降低共修饰膜方块电阻的功能; DMSO扮演着加强共修饰膜的导电能力及控制CNTs流失的角色。因此, 与单修饰膜相比, 共修饰膜不仅能更有效地传输电荷, 而且其表面生长的钙钛矿层晶粒尺寸更大, 覆盖率更高。此外, 共修饰膜在可见光范围内仍然保持优异的透光率, 550 nm波长处的透光率为88.8%。组装成器件后, 共修饰膜的光电转换效率(PCE)为5.75%, 远高于CNTs和DMSO单修饰膜及纯PEDOT:PSS膜, 后三者的PCE分别为3.01%、2.03%和1.30%。     

Niobium-Carbide MXene Modified Hybrid Hole Transport Layer Enabling High-Performance Organic Solar Cells Over 19%

Niobium-carbide (Nb₂C) MXene as a new 2D material has shown great potential for application in photovoltaics due to its excellent electrical conductivity, large surface area, and superior transmittance. In this work, a novel solution-processable poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)-Nb₂C hybrid hole transport layer (HTL) is developed to enhance the device performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). By optimizing the doping ratio of Nb₂C MXene in PEDOT:PSS, the best power convention efficiency (PCE) of 19.33% can be achieved for OSCs based on the ternary active layer of PM6:BTP-eC9:L8-BO, which is so far the highest value among those of single junction OSCs using 2D materials. It is found that the addition of Nb₂C MXene can facilitate the phase separation of the PEDOT and PSS segments, thus improving the conductivity and work function of PEDOT:PSS. The significantly enhanced device performance can be attributed to the higher hole mobility and charge extraction capability, as well as lower interface recombination probabilities generated by the hybrid HTL. Additionally, the versatility of the hybrid HTL to improve the performance of OSCs based on different nonfullerene acceptors is demonstrated. These results indicate the promising potential of Nb₂C MXene in the development of high-performance OSCs.     

基于氧化石墨烯功能材料提高PEDOT:PSS电极性研究

基于聚(3,4-乙烯二氧噻吩)-聚苯乙烯磺酸(PE DOT:PSS)/氧化石墨烯(GO)混合溶液,利用旋涂法制 备了高电导率透明阳极,并采用硫酸(H₂SO₄)浸渍处理的方式,使其导电特性进一步 增强。采用最佳方式 处理的PEDOT:PSS/GO混合薄膜在厚度为40 nm时,其方阻为80 Ω/□,在550 nm时的透过率达到87.7％。 基于表面形貌的AFM图,吸收光谱和拉曼光谱,在少量氧化石墨烯掺杂和硫酸处理后,PSS －和PEDOT⁺链 相分离,使得PEDOT:PSS的结构发生了变化,提高了混合薄膜的电导率。与ITO和纯PEDOT: PSS分 别作为阳极的OLED器件相比,采用优化的PEDOT:PSS/GO混合薄膜作为阳极时的OLED器件具有 最低 的启亮电压和最高的电流效率,其最大亮度是纯PEDOT:PSS作为阳极的OLED的1.7倍。较高 的透过率, 电导率和HOMO能级,尤其是表面形貌的改变都有利于PEDOT:PSS/GO阳极OLED器件性能的改善 。     

Biocompatible Blends of an Intrinsically Conducting Polymer as Stretchable Strain Sensors for Real-Time Monitoring of Starch-Based Food Processing

Because stretchable strain sensors that have a resistance or capacitance sensitive to strain can sense skin deformation during physical movement, they have been extensively studied as wearable devices for healthcare monitoring. In principle, they can be used to monitor starch-based food processing in real time, since starch-based food can have remarkable volume change during processing. Monitoring starch-based food processing in real time can help achieve high quality and high productivity while reducing energy consumption. Nevertheless, there is no such report in the literature. Here, a blend of starch and a biocompatible intrinsically conducting polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), is reported as a stretchable strain sensor to monitor starch-based food processing including fermentation, steaming, storage, and refreshing in a real-time manner. The resistance of the blends increases during the food volume expansion mainly caused by the fermentation, steaming, and refreshing, and it decreases as a result of the food volume shrinkage during cooling or storage. The signals can be thus used to optimize the processing conditions and control the food quality. This technology can be easily combined with the Internet of Things.     

A digital smart product service system and a case study of the mining industry: MSPSS

Mining equipment products and services no longer meet the needs of future development in the mining industry due to high safety and operational risk. The deep integration of the product-service system (PSS) and digitization is required in the mining industry to promote industry transformation and safe and efficient production without changing the traditional operation mode. This paper proposes a smart product-service system for the mining industry (MSPSS) consisting of a smart product subsystem, stakeholders, smart service subsystem, and smart decision-making subsystem. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and virtual reality (VR) are used for decision-making, product selection, operation, and maintenance. The smart product subsystem outputs reliable digital products using three stages: digital design, virtual simulation and planning, and virtual debugging. The smart service subsystem is driven by data and digital technology and provides fault diagnosis and online maintenance services for complex mining products. A case study indicates that all stakeholders can participate seamlessly in the design process. The smart product subsystem uses iterative optimization (more than 100 iterations) to obtain the design results interactively. The smart service subsystem provides digitalized services throughout the entire process. Thus, a stable, reliable, and comprehensive product and service solution is provided for complex mining conditions. The output is used to guide the design, debugging, and operation of physical equipment. The MSPSS has higher design quality and efficiency, a shorter design time, and lower design cost (key performance indicator (KPI)) than the traditional design method.