Silver-substituted (Ag1-xCux)2ZnSnS4 solar cells from aprotic molecular inks

To battle the high open-circuit voltage deficit (V_OC,def) in kesterite (Cu₂ZnSnS₄ or CZTS) solar cells, a current field of research relates to point defect engineering by cation substitution. For example, by partly replacing Cu with an element of a larger ionic radius, such as Ag, the degree of Cu/Zn disorder decreases, and likewise does the associated band tailing. In this paper, solution-processed (Ag_1-xCu_x)₂ZnSnS₄ (ACZTS) samples are prepared through the aprotic molecular ink approach using DMSO as the solvent. The successful incorporation of silver into the CZTS lattice is demonstrated with relatively high silver concentrations, namely Ag/(Ag+Cu) ratios of 13% and 26%. The best device was made with 13% Ag/(Ag+Cu) and had an efficiency of 4.9%. The samples are compared to the pure CZTS sample in terms of microstructure, phase distribution, photoluminescence, and device performance. In the XRD patterns, a decrease in the lattice parameter c/a ratio is observed for ACZTS, as well as significant peak splitting with Ag addition for several of the characteristic kesterite XRD reflections. In addition to the improvement in efficiency, other advantageous effects of Ag-incorporation include enhanced grain growth and an increased band gap. A too high concentration of Ag leads to the formation of secondary phases such as SnS and Ag₂S as detected by XRD.     

Fabrication,structural and vibrational properties,and physical and optical properties tailoring of nanocrystalline MoS2 films

The modification and tuning features of nanostructured films are of great interest because of controllable and distinctive inherent properties in these materials. Here, nanocrystalline MoS₂ films were fabricated on the stainless steels by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering at ambient temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering spectroscopy were used to study the chemical state, chemical composition, crystal structure and vibrational properties of the fabricated MoS₂ films. The bias voltage dependent structural evolution and its influence on the optical properties of MoS₂ nanocrystalline films were systematically investigated. Besides, the residual stresses of MoS₂ nanocrystalline films were explored by employing sin²ψ approach. X-ray diffraction demonstrates that the nanocrystalline MoS₂ films have single-phase hexagonal crystal structure. All MoS₂ films are polycrystalline in nature. The bandgap values are found to be intensively dependent on bias voltage. Our findings show that the nanocrystalline MoS₂ films with different physical properties and intense quantum confinement effect can be realized through adjusting bias voltages. This work may provide deep insight for realizing transitional metal dichalcogenide-based nanostructured film optoelectronic devices with tunable physical properties through a traditional, very cost-effective, and large-scale fabrication method.     

Electrochemical growth and characterization of iron doped cadmium sulfide thin films

Cadmium Sulfide and Ferrous doped Cadmium Sulfide thin films have been prepared on different substrates using an electrodeposition technique. Linear sweep voltammetric analysis has been carried out to determine deposition potential of the prepared films. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the prepared films possess polycrystalline nature with hexagonal structure. Surface morphology and film composition have been analyzed using Scanning electron microscopy and Energy dispersive analysis by X-rays. Optical absorption analysis showed that the prepared films are found to exhibit Band gap value in the range between 2.3, 2.8 eV for Cadmium Sulfide and Ferrous doped Cadmium Sulfide.     

Facile growth of novel morphology correlated Ag/Co-doped ZnO nanowire/flake-like composites for superior photoelectrochemical water splitting activity

In this paper, novel morphology correlation between silver nanowires (AgNWs) and cobalt (Co)-doped ZnO (Co-ZnO) flake-like thin films (nanowire/flake-like) has been proposed for enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting activity. Here in, high-quality AgNWs/Co-ZnO heterostructures enabled superior visible light water splitting activity compared to the pure ZnO and AgNWs/ZnO. To address the strategic effect of AgNWs coupling and transition metal (Co-2?at%) doping into the ZnO host lattice, we have carried out the X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–Vis transmittance, water contact angle and PEC analyses. In this way, PEC water splitting activity was mainly examined by linear sweep voltammetry (I-V), amperometric I-t and photoconversion efficiency (η) studies. The experimental results provide clear evidence of morphology correlation between AgNWs and Co-ZnO flake-like structures for strong visible light absorption. Specifically, AgNWs/Co-ZnO composites exhibited significant enhancement in the photocurrent density (7.0?×?10^?4 A/cm²) than AgNWs/ZnO (3.2?×?10^?4 A/cm²) and pure ZnO (1.5?×?10^?6 A/cm²). As a result, detailed AgNWs/Co-ZnO geometry has great potential for photoconversion efficiency (0.73%). In a word, the merits of controllable AgNWs/Co-ZnO heterostructure are proposed to improve the visible light harvesting and charge carrier generation for energy conversion devices.     

Understanding silica-supported metal catalysts: Pd/silica as a case study

Supported metal catalysts, particularly noble metals supported on SiO₂, have attracted considerable attention due to the importance of the silica–metal interface in heterogeneous catalysis and in electronic device fabrication. Several important issues, e.g., the stability of the metal–oxide interface at working temperatures and pressures, are not well-understood. In this review, the present status of our understanding of the metal–silica interface is reviewed. Recent results of model studies in our laboratories on Pd/SiO₂/Mo(1 1 2) using LEED, AES and STM are reported. In this work, epitaxial, ultrathin, well-ordered SiO₂ films were grown on a Mo(1 1 2) substrate to circumvent complications that frequently arise from the silica–silicon interface present in silica thin films grown on silicon.     

Preparation of multi-compositional gas sensing films by combinatorial solution deposition

Various compositions of gas sensing films were prepared by the combinatorial deposition of SnO₂, ZnO, and WO₃ sol solutions and their gas sensing behaviors were investigated. The film composition could be manipulated conveniently via the alternate dropping of different oxide sol solutions. From the correlation between film compositions and gas sensitivities, the selective detection of C₂H₅OH and CH₃COCH₃ in the presence of CO, C₃H₈, H₂, and NO₂ could be attained. In addition, the discrimination between C₂H₅OH and CH₃COCH₃, which is a challenging issue due to their similar chemical nature, becomes possible. This research demonstrates the precise design of the sensor-material composition for the selective gas detection via the combinatorial approach.     

一种性能可调的新型节能材料－电致变色膜

本文介绍了一种性能可调的新型节能材料—电致色薄膜，描述了以其为核心的全固态灵巧窗结构、工作原理和光学调节性能，回顾了电致色材料、离子存储层和固态锂离子导体及其性质，并展望了这种新型节能材料的应用。     

实现多层混合刻蚀薄膜大面积均匀的方法浅探

采用多层光刻工艺结合氩离子铣的混合刻蚀方法，刻蚀高Ｔｃ超导ＹＢａＣｕＯ／ＺｒＯ２（１００）薄膜图形，取得了较好的结果。在进行氩离子镜的工艺步骤中，使用普通氩离子铣设备（离子束斑极不均匀），但采取了一定的措施─－使被刻样品在刻蚀台座上可移动，模糊地实现了薄膜的相对＂大面积＂（直径φ≥２０ｍｍ）均匀刻蚀─－可同时刻蚀２～３片６ｍｍ×１０ｍｍ薄膜，并且被刻蚀部分表面起伏约在１０ｎｍ左右。图形样品的最小线条达２μｍ，其Ｔｃ、Ｊｃ人与刻蚀前薄膜的Ｔｃ、Ｊｃ相当，即：ＴＣ为８５～９０Ｋ，Ｊｃ～１０６Ａ／ｃｍ２（在７７Ｋ下）。     

Dependence of surface morphology of CVD diamond films on deposition conditions

ＤｅｐｅｎｄｅｎｃｅｏｆｓｕｒｆａｃｅｍｏｒｐｈｏｌｏｇｙｏｆＣＶＤｄｉａｍｏｎｄｆｉｌｍｓｏｎｄｅｐｏｓｉｔｉｏｎｃｏｎｄｉｔｉｏｎｓＹＡＮＧＧｕｏｗｅｉ（Ｄｅｐｔ．ｏｆＰｈｙｓ．，ＸｉａｎｇｔａｎＵｕｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ，Ｘｉａｎｇｔａｎ４１１１０５...     

电流控制LPE生长In_（1－x）Ga_xAs_yP_（1－Y）

用电流控制液相外延（ＣＣＬＰＥ）方法首次在（１００）ＩｎＰ衬底上成功地生长出Ｉｎ１－ｘＧａｘＡｓｙＰ１－ｙ（０．３０＜ｘ＜０．４７，０．７０＜ｙ＜０．９６）外延层，并对外延层特性进行了详细研究，提出在ＩｎＰ衬底上生长电外延层的机理，推导出生长动力学的理论模型，该模型与上述实验结果十分吻合。