1. |
- Pecunia, Vincenzo, et al.
(author)
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Roadmap on energy harvesting materials
- 2023
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In: Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 2515-7639. ; 6:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ambient energy harvesting has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and address growing environmental challenges. Converting waste energy from energy-intensive processes and systems (e.g. combustion engines and furnaces) is crucial to reducing their environmental impact and achieving net-zero emissions. Compact energy harvesters will also be key to powering the exponentially growing smart devices ecosystem that is part of the Internet of Things, thus enabling futuristic applications that can improve our quality of life (e.g. smart homes, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and smart healthcare). To achieve these goals, innovative materials are needed to efficiently convert ambient energy into electricity through various physical mechanisms, such as the photovoltaic effect, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, and radiofrequency wireless power transfer. By bringing together the perspectives of experts in various types of energy harvesting materials, this Roadmap provides extensive insights into recent advances and present challenges in the field. Additionally, the Roadmap analyses the key performance metrics of these technologies in relation to their ultimate energy conversion limits. Building on these insights, the Roadmap outlines promising directions for future research to fully harness the potential of energy harvesting materials for green energy anytime, anywhere.
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2. |
- Lin, Yuanbao, et al.
(author)
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18.73% efficient and stable inverted organic photovoltaics featuring a hybrid hole-extraction layer
- 2023
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In: Materials Horizons. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2051-6355 .- 2051-6347. ; 10:4, s. 1292-1300
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Developing efficient and stable organic photovoltaics (OPVs) is crucial for the technology's commercial success. However, combining these key attributes remains challenging. Herein, we incorporate the small molecule 2-((3,6-dibromo-9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl)phosphonic acid (Br-2PACz) between the bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) and a 7 nm-thin layer of MoO3 in inverted OPVs, and study its effects on the cell performance. We find that the Br-2PACz/MoO3 hole-extraction layer (HEL) boosts the cell's power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 17.36% to 18.73% (uncertified), making them the most efficient inverted OPVs to date. The factors responsible for this improvement include enhanced charge transport, reduced carrier recombination, and favourable vertical phase separation of donor and acceptor components in the BHJ. The Br-2PACz/MoO3-based OPVs exhibit higher operational stability under continuous illumination and thermal annealing (80 degrees C). The T-80 lifetime of OPVs featuring Br-2PACz/MoO3 - taken as the time over which the cell's PCE reduces to 80% of its initial value - increases compared to MoO3-only cells from 297 to 615 h upon illumination and from 731 to 1064 h upon continuous heating. Elemental analysis of the BHJs reveals the enhanced stability to originate from the partially suppressed diffusion of Mo ions into the BHJ and the favourable distribution of the donor and acceptor components induced by the Br-2PACz.
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3. |
- Marina, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Polymorphism in Non-Fullerene Acceptors Based on Indacenodithienothiophene
- 2021
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In: Advanced Functional Materials. - : Wiley. - 1616-3028 .- 1616-301X. ; 31:29
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Organic solar cells incorporating non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have reached remarkable power conversion efficiencies of over 18%. Unlike fullerene derivatives, NFAs tend to crystallize from solutions, resulting in bulk heterojunctions that include a crystalline acceptor phase. This must be considered in any morphology-function models. Here, it is confirmed that high-performing solution-processed indacenodithienothiophene-based NFAs, i.e., ITIC and its derivatives ITIC-M, ITIC-2F, and ITIC-Th, exhibit at least two crystalline forms. In addition to highly ordered polymorphs that form at high temperatures, NFAs arrange into a low-temperature metastable phase that is readily promoted via solution processing and leads to the highest device efficiencies. Intriguingly, the low-temperature forms seem to feature a continuous network that favors charge transport despite of a poorly order along the pi-pi stacking direction. As the optical absorption of the structurally more disordered low-temperature phase can surpass that of the more ordered polymorphs while displaying comparable-or even higher-charge transport properties, it is argued that such a packing structure is an important feature for reaching highest device efficiencies, thus, providing guidelines for future materials design and crystal engineering activities.
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4. |
- Scaccabarozzi, Alberto D., et al.
(author)
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Doping Approaches for Organic Semiconductors
- 2022
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In: Chemical Reviews. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0009-2665 .- 1520-6890. ; 122:4, s. 4420-4492
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electronic doping in organic materials has remained an elusive concept for several decades. It drew considerable attention in the early days in the quest for organic materials with high electrical conductivity, paving the way for the pioneering work on pristine organic semiconductors (OSCs) and their eventual use in a plethora of applications. Despite this early trend, however, recent strides in the field of organic electronics have been made hand in hand with the development and use of dopants to the point that are now ubiquitous. Here, we give an overview of all important advances in the area of doping of organic semiconductors and their applications. We first review the relevant literature with particular focus on the physical processes involved, discussing established mechanisms but also newly proposed theories. We then continue with a comprehensive summary of the most widely studied dopants to date, placing particular emphasis on the chemical strategies toward the synthesis of molecules with improved functionality. The processing routes toward doped organic films and the important doping-processing-nanostructure relationships, are also discussed. We conclude the review by highlighting how doping can enhance the operating characteristics of various organic devices.
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5. |
- Wu, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(author)
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On the Conformation of Dimeric Acceptors and Their Polymer Solar Cells with Efficiency over 18 %
- 2023
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In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1433-7851 .- 1521-3773. ; 62:45
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The determination of molecular conformations of oligomeric acceptors (OAs) and their impact on molecular packing are crucial for understanding the photovoltaic performance of their resulting polymer solar cells (PSCs) but have not been well studied yet. Herein, we synthesized two dimeric acceptor materials, DIBP3F-Se and DIBP3F-S, which bridged two segments of Y6-derivatives by selenophene and thiophene, respectively. Theoretical simulation and experimental 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic studies prove that both dimers exhibit O-shaped conformations other than S- or U-shaped counter-ones. Notably, this O-shaped conformation is likely governed by a distinctive "conformational lock" mechanism, arising from the intensified intramolecular & pi;-& pi; interactions among their two terminal groups within the dimers. PSCs based on DIBP3F-Se deliver a maximum efficiency of 18.09 %, outperforming DIBP3F-S-based cells (16.11 %) and ranking among the highest efficiencies for OA-based PSCs. This work demonstrates a facile method to obtain OA conformations and highlights the potential of dimeric acceptors for high-performance PSCs.
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6. |
- Diaz de Zerio Mendaza, Amaia, 1986, et al.
(author)
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High-Entropy Mixtures of Pristine Fullerenes for Solution-Processed Transistors and Solar Cells
- 2015
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In: Advanced Materials. - : Wiley. - 0935-9648 .- 1521-4095. ; 27:45, s. 7325-7331
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The solubility of pristine fullerenes can be enhanced by mixing C60 and C70 due to the associated increase in configurational entropy. This "entropic dissolution" allows the preparation of field-effect transistors with an electron mobility of 1 cm2 V-1 s-1 and polymer solar cells with a highly reproducible power-conversion efficiency of 6%, as well as a thermally stable active layer.
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7. |
- Fan, Qunping, 1989, et al.
(author)
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Over 14% efficiency all-polymer solar cells enabled by a low bandgap polymer acceptor with low energy loss and efficient charge separation
- 2020
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In: Energy & Environmental Science. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 1754-5692 .- 1754-5706. ; 13:12, s. 5017-5027
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Obtaining both high open-circuit voltage (V-oc) and short-circuit current density (J(sc)) has been a major challenge for efficient all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs). Herein, we developed a polymer acceptor PF5-Y5 with excellent optical absorption capability (onset extending to similar to 880 nm and maximum absorption coefficient exceeding 105 cm(-1) in a film), high electron mobility (3.18 x 10(3) cm(2) V-1 s(-1)) and high LUMO level (-3.84 eV) to address such a challenge. As a result, the PBDB-T:PF5-Y5-based all-PSCs achieved a high power conversion efficiency of up to 14.45% with both a high Voc (0.946 V) and a high Jsc (20.65 mA cm(-2)), due to the high and broad absorption coverage, small energy loss (0.57 eV) and efficient charge separation and transport in the device, which are among the best values in the all-PSC field. In addition, the all-PSC shows a similar to 15% improvement in PCE compared to its counterpart small molecule acceptor (Y5)-based device. Our results suggest that PF5-Y5 is a very promising polymer acceptor candidate for applications in efficient all-PSCs.
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8. |
- Firdaus, Yuliar, et al.
(author)
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Novel wide-bandgap non-fullerene acceptors for efficient tandem organic solar cells
- 2020
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In: Journal of Materials Chemistry A. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2050-7488 .- 2050-7496. ; 8:3, s. 1164-1175
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of tandem organic photovoltaics (OPVs) is currently limited by the lack of suitable wide-bandgap materials for the front-cell. Here, two new acceptor molecules, namely IDTA and IDTTA, with optical bandgaps (Eoptg) of 1.90 and 1.75 eV, respectively, are synthesized and studied for application in OPVs. When PBDB-T is used as the donor polymer, single-junction cells with PCE of 7.4%, for IDTA, and 10.8%, for IDTTA, are demonstrated. The latter value is the highest PCE reported to date for wide-bandgap (Eoptg ≥ 1.7 eV) bulk-heterojunction OPV cells. The higher carrier mobility in IDTTA-based cells leads to improved charge extraction and higher fill-factor than IDTA-based devices. Moreover, IDTTA-based OPVs show significantly improved shelf-lifetime and thermal stability, both critical for any practical applications. With the aid of optical-electrical device modelling, we combined PBDB-T:IDTTA, as the front-cell, with PTB7-Th:IEICO-4F, as the back-cell, to realize tandem OPVs with open circuit voltage of 1.66 V, short circuit current of 13.6 mA cm-2 and a PCE of 15%; in excellent agreement with our theoretical predictions. The work highlights IDTTA as a promising wide-bandgap acceptor for high-performance tandem OPVs. © 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
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9. |
- Lin, Yuanbao, et al.
(author)
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18.9% Efficient Organic Solar Cells Based on n-Doped Bulk-Heterojunction and Halogen-Substituted Self-Assembled Monolayers as Hole Extracting Interlayers
- 2022
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In: Advanced Energy Materials. - : Wiley. - 1614-6840 .- 1614-6832. ; 12:45
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The influence of halogen substitutions (F, Cl, Br, and I) on the energy levels of the self-assembled hole-extracting molecule [2-(9H-Carbazol-9-yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (2PACz), is investigated. It is found that the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of [2-(3,6-Difluoro-9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (F-2PACz), [2-(3,6-Dichloro-9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (Cl-2PACz), [2-(3,6-Dibromo-9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (Br-2PACz), and [2-(3,6-Diiodo-9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (I-2PACz) directly on indium tin oxide (ITO) increases its work function from 4.73 eV to 5.68, 5.77, 5.82, and 5.73 eV, respectively. Combining these ITO/SAM electrodes with the ternary bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) system PM6:PM7-Si:BTP-eC9 yields organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells with power conversion efficiency (PCE) in the range of 17.7%-18.5%. OPVs featuring Cl-2PACz SAMs yield the highest PCE of 18.5%, compared to cells with F-2PACz (17.7%), Br-2PACz (18.0%), or I-2PACz (18.2%). Data analysis reveals that the enhanced performance of Cl-2PACz-based OPVs relates to the increased hole mobility, decreased interface resistance, reduced carrier recombination, and longer carrier lifetime. Furthermore, OPVs featuring Cl-2PACz show enhanced stability under continuous illumination compared to ITO/PEDOT:PSS-based cells. Remarkably, the introduction of the n-dopant benzyl viologen into the BHJ further boosted the PCE of the ITO/Cl-2PACz cells to a maximum value of 18.9%, a record-breaking value for SAM-based OPVs and on par with the best-performing OPVs reported to date.
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10. |
- Lin, Yuanbao, et al.
(author)
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One-Step Blade-Coated Highly Efficient Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells with a Self-Assembled Interfacial Layer Enabled by Solvent Vapor Annealing
- 2019
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In: Solar RRL. - : Wiley. - 2367-198X. ; 3:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A pronounced enhancement of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) by 38% is achieved in one-step doctor-blade printing organic solar cells (OSCs) via a simple solvent vapor annealing (SVA) step. The organic blend composed of a donor polymer, a nonfullerene acceptor, and an interfacial layer (IL) molecular component is found to phase-separate vertically when exposed to a solvent vapor-saturated atmosphere. Remarkably, the spontaneous formation of a fine, self-organized IL between the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) layer and the indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode facilitated by SVA yields solar cells with a significantly higher PCE (11.14%) than in control devices (8.05%) without SVA and in devices (10.06%) made with the more complex two-step doctor-blade printing method. The stratified nature of the ITO/IL/BHJ/cathode is corroborated by a range of complementary characterization techniques including surface energy, cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy, grazing incidence wide angle X-ray scattering, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This study demonstrates that a spontaneously formed IL with SVA treatment combines simplicity and precision with high device performance, thus making it attractive for large-area manufacturing of next-generation OSCs.
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11. |
- Liu, Jian, et al.
(author)
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Amphipathic Side Chain of a Conjugated Polymer Optimizes Dopant Location toward Efficient N-Type Organic Thermoelectrics
- 2021
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In: Advanced Materials. - : WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH. - 0935-9648 .- 1521-4095. ; 33
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is no molecular strategy for selectively increasing the Seebeck coefficient without reducing the electrical conductivity for organic thermoelectrics. Here, it is reported that the use of amphipathic side chains in an n-type donor-acceptor copolymer can selectively increase the Seebeck coefficient and thus increase the power factor by a factor of approximate to 5. The amphipathic side chain contains an alkyl chain segment as a spacer between the polymer backbone and an ethylene glycol type chain segment. The use of this alkyl spacer does not only reduce the energetic disorder in the conjugated polymer film but can also properly control the dopant sites away from the backbone, which minimizes the adverse influence of counterions. As confirmed by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations with the host-dopant distance as the only variable, a reduced Coulombic interaction resulting from a larger host-dopant distance contributes to a higher Seebeck coefficient for a given electrical conductivity. Finally, an optimized power factor of 18 mu W m(-1) K-2 is achieved in the doped polymer film. This work provides a facile molecular strategy for selectively improving the Seebeck coefficient and opens up a new route for optimizing the dopant location toward realizing better n-type polymeric thermoelectrics.
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12. |
- Peng, Wenhong, et al.
(author)
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Over 18% ternary polymer solar cells enabled by a terpolymer as the third component
- 2022
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In: Nano Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 2211-2855. ; 92
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- “Ternary blending” and “random terpolymerization” strategies have both proven effective for enhancing the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, reports on the combination of the two strategies remain rare. Here, a terpolymer PM6-Si30 was constructed by inserting chlorine and alkylsilyl-substituted benzodithiophene (BDT) unit (0.3 equivalent) into the state-of-the-art polymer PM6. The terpolymer exhibitsadeep highest-occupied-molecular-orbital energy and good miscibility with both PM6 and BTP-eC9 (C9) and enables its use as a third component into PM6:PM6-Si30:C9 bulk-heterojunction for OSCs. The resulting cells exhibit maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.27%, which is higher than that obtained for the optimized control binary PM6:C9-based OSC (17.38%). The enhanced performance of the PM6:PM6-Si30:C9 cells is attributed to improved charge transport, favorable molecular arrangement, reduced energy loss and suppressed bimolecular recombination. The work demonstrates the potential of random terpolymer as a third component in OSCs and highlights a new strategy for the construction of a ternary system with improved photovoltaic performance.
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13. |
- Peng, Wenhong, et al.
(author)
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Using Two Compatible Donor Polymers Boosts the Efficiency of Ternary Organic Solar Cells to 17.7%
- 2021
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In: Chemistry of Materials. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5002 .- 0897-4756. ; 33:18, s. 7254-7262
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The use of ternary organic semiconducting blends is recognized as an effective strategy to boost the performance of polymer solar cells (PSCs) by increasing the photocurrent while minimizing voltage losses. Yet, the scarcity of suitable donors with a deep highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level poses a challenge in extending this strategy to ternary systems based on two polymers. Here, we address this challenge by the synthesis of a new donor polymer (PM7-Si), which is akin to the well-known PM6 but has a deeper HOMO level. PM7-Si is utilized as the third component to enhance the performance of the best-in-class binary system of PM6:BTP-eC9, leading to simultaneous improvements in the efficiency (17.7%), open-circuit voltage (0.864 V), and fill factor (77.6%). These decisively enhanced features are attributed to the efficient carrier transport, improved stacking order, and morphology. Our results highlight the use of two polymer donors as a promising strategy toward high-performance ternary PSCs.
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14. |
- Rossbauer, Stephan, et al.
(author)
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Comparative Study of the N-Type Doping Efficiency in Solution-processed Fullerenes and Fullerene Derivatives
- 2014
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In: Advanced Functional Materials. - : Wiley. - 1616-3028 .- 1616-301X. ; 24:45, s. 7116-7124
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Molecular doping of organic semiconductors and devices represents an enabling technology for a range of emerging optoelectronic applications. Although p-type doping has been demonstrated in a number of organic semiconductors, efficient n-type doping has proven to be particularly challenging. Here, n-type doping of solution-processed C60, C70, [60]PCBM, [70]PCBM and indene-C60 bis-adduct by 1H-benzimidazole (N-DMBI) is reported. The doping efficiency for each system is assessed using field-effect measurements performed under inert atmosphere at room temperature in combination with optical absorption spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The highest doping efficiency is observed for C60 and C70 and electron mobilities up to ≈2 cm2/Vs are obtained. Unlike in substituted fullerenes-based transistors where the electron mobility is found to be inversely proportional to N-DMBI concentration, C60 and C70 devices exhibit a characteristic mobility increase by approximately an order of magnitude with increasing dopant concentration up to 1 mol%. Doping also appears to significantly affect the bias stability of the transistors. The work contributes towards understanding of the molecular doping mechanism in fullerene-based semiconductors and outlines a simple and highly efficient approach that enables significant improvement in device performance through facile chemical doping.
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15. |
- Vasilopoulou, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Neuromorphic computing based on halide perovskites
- 2023
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In: NATURE ELECTRONICS. - : NATURE PORTFOLIO. - 2520-1131. ; 6:12, s. 949-962
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Neuromorphic computing requires electronic systems that can perform massively parallel computational tasks with low energy consumption. Such systems have traditionally been based on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor circuits, but further advances in computational performance will probably require devices that can offer high-order complexity combined with area and energy efficiency. Halide perovskites can handle both ions and electronic charges, and could be used to create adaptive computing systems based on intrinsic device dynamics. The materials also offer exotic switching phenomena, providing opportunities for multimodal systems. Here we explore the development of neuromorphic hardware systems based on halide perovskites. We examine how devices based on these materials can serve as synapses and neurons, and can be used in neuromorphic computing networks. We also consider the challenges involved in developing practical perovskite neuromorphic systems, and highlight how these systems could augment and complement digital circuits. This Review examines the development of neuromorphic hardware systems based on halide perovskites, considering how devices based on these materials can serve as synapses and neurons, and can be used in neuromorphic computing networks.
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16. |
- Zheng, Xiaopeng, et al.
(author)
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Managing grains and interfaces via ligand anchoring enables 22.3%-efficiency inverted perovskite solar cells
- 2020
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In: NATURE ENERGY. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2058-7546. ; 5, s. 131-140
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Inverted perovskite solar cells have attracted increasing attention because they have achieved long operating lifetimes. However, they have exhibited significantly inferior power conversion efficiencies compared to regular perovskite solar cells. Here we reduce this efficiency gap using a trace amount of surface-anchoring alkylamine ligands (AALs) with different chain lengths as grain and interface modifiers. We show that long-chain AALs added to the precursor solution suppress nonradiative carrier recombination and improve the optoelectronic properties of mixed-cation mixed-halide perovskite films. The resulting AAL surface-modified films exhibit a prominent (100) orientation and lower trap-state density as well as enhanced carrier mobilities and diffusion lengths. These translate into a certified stabilized power conversion efficiency of 22.3% (23.0% power conversion efficiency for lab-measured champion devices). The devices operate for over 1,000 h at the maximum power point under simulated AM1.5 illumination, without loss of efficiency. While perovskite solar cells with an inverted architecture hold great promise for operation stability, their power conversion efficiency lags behind that of conventional cells. Here, Zheng et al. achieve a certified 22.34% efficiency, exploiting alkylamine ligands as grain and interface modifiers.
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