Interfacial Loss Research Articles

Carbon nanolayer-mounted single metal sites enable dipole polarization loss under electromagnetic field.

Surface modulation strategies have spurred great interest with regard to regulating the morphology, dispersion and flexible processability of materials. Unsurprisingly, customized modulation of surfaces is primed to offer a route to control their electronic functions. To regulate electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption applications by surface engineering is an unmet challenge. Thanks to pyrolyzing surface-anchored metal-porphyrin, here we report on the surface modulation of four-nitrogen atoms-confined single metal site on a nitrogen-doped carbon layer (sM(N4)@NC, M = Ni, Co, Cu, Ni/Cu) (sM=single metal; NC= nitrogen-doped carbon layer) that registers electromagnetic wave absorption. Surface-anchored metal-porphyrins are afforded by attaching them onto the polypyrrole surface via a prototypical click reaction. Further, sM(N4)@NC is experimentally found to elicit an identical dipole polarization loss mechanism, overcoming the handicaps of conductivity loss, defects, and interfacial polarization loss among the current EMW absorber models. Importantly, sM(N4)@NC is found toexhibit an effective absorption bandwidth of 6.44 and reflection loss of -51.7 dB, preceding state-of-the-art carbon-based EMW absorbers. This study introduces a surface modulation strategy to design EMW absorbers based on single metal sites that enable fine-tunable and controlled absorption mechanism with atomistic precision.

Surface modification of fibres with silane for enhancing the durability of FRP composites as reinforcement for seawater sea sand concrete (SWSSC): A review

This review discusses the necessity of surface modification to effectively use fibre-reinforced polymers (FRPs) as reinforcements for seawater and sea sand concrete (SWSSC). FRPs can be a viable reinforcement material for SWSSC as an alternative to the traditional carbon steel reinforcement that will suffer unacceptably high rates of corrosion due to the very high chloride content of the SWSSC environment. FRPs exhibit mechanical properties similar to steels but suffer insignificant degradation/corrosion due to chloride. However, the fibres in certain FRPs (such as basalt FRPs and glass FRPs) suffer degradation due to attack by the alkaline environment of concrete, causing degradation in fibre-matrix interfacial strength and loss of FRPs’s overall mechanical strength and durability. Therefore, fibres used in such FRPs require suitable surface modification to ameliorate their degradation, enabling their practical use as reinforcements of SWSSC. While carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) demonstrate superior resistance to alkali-induced degradation, their widespread use in large-scale civil engineering is hindered by high costs. In this review, more economic alternatives, i.e., basalt fibre-reinforced polymers (BFRPs) and glass fibre-reinforced polymers (GFRPs) are critically reviewed. To enhance the durability of FRPs and mitigate alkali-induced degradation of the basalt/glass fibres, suitable surface modifications are necessary to safeguard the mechanical properties of FRPs. Underpinned by a comprehensive discussion on the necessity of surface modification of fibres for the use of FRPs in SWSSC environment, this review focuses on the potential of advanced approaches for surface modifications of the fibres, i.e., coatings of silanes, and silanes impregnated with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), graphene oxide (GO) and its functionalised derivatives or metal oxides (such as SiO2, ZrO2, Al2O3, TiO2 and CeO2). This review critically discusses the opportunities for suitable surface modification of basalt and glass fibres for enabling the durable use of FRPs as reinforcements for sweater sea sand concrete.

Design and Simulation for Minimizing Non-Radiative Recombination Losses in CsGeI2Br Perovskite Solar Cells.

CsGeI2Br-based perovskites, with their favorable band gap and high absorption coefficient, are promising candidates for the development of efficient lead-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, bulk and interfacial carrier non-radiative recombination losses hinder the further improvement of power conversion efficiency and stability in PSCs. To overcome this challenge, the photovoltaic potential of the device is unlocked by optimizing the optical and electronic parameters through rigorous numerical simulation, which include tuning perovskite thickness, bulk defect density, and series and shunt resistance. Additionally, to make the simulation data as realistic as possible, recombination processes, such as Auger recombination, must be considered. In this simulation, when the Auger capture coefficient is increased to 10-29 cm6 s-1, the efficiency drops from 31.62% (without taking Auger recombination into account) to 29.10%. Since Auger recombination is unavoidable in experiments, carrier losses due to Auger recombination should be included in the analysis of the efficiency limit to avoid significantly overestimating the simulated device performance. Therefore, this paper provides valuable insights for designing realistic and efficient lead-free PSCs.

CNTs/lamellar VSe2/Fe3O4 self-assembled a variety of unique three-dimensional multilayer interface structures and microwave absorption properties

Fabrication of microwave absorption (MA) materials of matched small thickness, low density, broad effective absorption bandwidth (EAB), as well as high absorption performance remains a technical challenge to be solved today. In this paper, three-dimensional (3D) VSe2/CNTs/Fe3O4 ternary composites with a variety of self-assembled structures were fabricated by a two-step hydrothermal and one-step carbothermal reduction method. Via varying the content of Fe3O4 in the composites, different 3D multilayer interfacial structures, such as star fruit-, bitter melon-, goldfish-, starfish-, peony- and chrysanthemum-shaped structures were self-assembled, and excellent MA absorption characteristics were obtained. The best reflection loss (RLmin) was −50.96 dB at 1.8 mm thickness. The maximum EAB was 4.93 GHz at 2.0 mm thickness. Carbon nanotubes mainly contributed to conduction and polarization losses. In situ generated VSe2 nanosheets and Fe3O4 nanoparticles promoted the assembly of multilevel interfacial structures, thus contributing to interfacial polarization loss and dipole polarization loss. Fe3O4 also created magnetic losses. This study lays the foundation for fabricating highly efficient MA materials in special self-assembled heterostructures with ternary synergistic effects at the nanoscale.

Architectural Design of a Multichannel Porous Carbon Fiber for Efficient Electromagnetic Microwave Absorption.

An ingenious microstructure of electromagnetic microwave absorption materials is crucial to achieve strong absorption and a broad bandwidth. Herein, one-dimensional (1D) carbon fibers with implantation of zero-dimensional (0D) ZIF-8-derived carbon frameworks and construction of a three-dimensional (3D) microcosmic multichannel porous structure are fabricated by electro-blown spinning, solvent-thermal reaction, and high-temperature pyrolysis techniques. The 1D carbon fiber skeleton with a multichannel structure provides a direct axial conductive pathway for charge transport, which plays an important role in dielectric loss. The 0D surface carbon frameworks offer plenty of heterogeneous interfaces to trigger intensive interfacial polarization loss and act as dihedral angles for microwave scattering. The 3D microcosmic multichannel pores can not only generate multiple reflections as much as possible to dissipate electromagnetic microwave energy but also supply huge interior cavities to improve impedance matching. Thanks to the synergistic effect of a strong electrically conductive pathway for enhancing the conductive loss, a plenteous heterogeneous interface for triggering intensive interfacial polarization loss, microcosmic multichannel pores for generating multiple reflections and improving impedance matching, and N and O atom doping for inducing dipole polarization, the optimal sample with an ingenious microstructure delivers an excellent absorption performance of a minimum reflection loss of -35.5 dB at a thickness of 5.0 mm and an effective absorption bandwidth of 6.72 GHz (10.96-17.68 GHz) at a thickness of 2.0 mm. Such a well-designed multichannel porous carbon fiber may pave the way for the exploitation of high-performance microwave absorbing materials.

Bulk and Interfacial Behavior of Potato Protein-Based Microgels.

This study aims to understand the bulk and interfacial performance of potato protein microgels. Potato protein (PoP) was used to produce microgels of submicrometer diameter via a top-down approach of thermal cross-linking followed by high-shear homogenization of the bulk gel. Bulk "parent" gels were formed at protein concentrations [PoP] = 5-18 wt %, which subsequently varied in their bulk shear elastic modulus (G') by several orders of magnitude (1-100 kPa), G' increasing with increasing [PoP]. The PoP microgels (PoPM) formed from these parent gels had diameters varying between 100 and 300 nm (size increasing with increasing G' and [PoP]), as observed via dynamic light scattering and atomic force microscopy (AFM) of PoPM adsorbed onto silicon. Interfacial rheology (interfacial shear storage and loss moduli, Gi' and Gi″) and interfacial tension (γ) of adsorbed films of PoP (i.e., nonheated PoP) and PoPM (both at tetradecane-water interfaces) were also studied, as well as the bulk rheology of the PoPM dispersions. The results showed that PoPM dispersions (at 50 vol %) had significantly higher bulk viscosity and shear thinning properties compared to the nonmicrogelled PoP at the same overall [PoP], but the bulk rheological behavior was in sharp contrast to the interfacial rheological performance, where Gi' and Gi″ of PoP were higher than for any of the PoPM. This suggests that the deformability and size of the microgels were key in determining the interfacial rheology of the PoPM. These findings may be attributed to the limited capacity for "unfolding" and lateral interactions of the larger PoPM at the interface, which are presumed to be stiffer due to their production from the strongest PoP gels. Our study further confirmed that heating and cooling the adsorbed films of PoPM after their adsorption showed little change, highlighting that hydrogen bonding was limited between the microgel particles.

Synthesis of hierarchical carbon Nanofibers-CoNi/C composites for enhanced microwave absorption efficiency

Developing lightweight, highly absorption and broadband microwave absorbents to combat severe electromagnetic radiation pollution poses a significant challenge. In this study, we designed a novel chain-like CNFs-CoNi/C nanocomposite by in-situ growth of bimetallic MOFs on the CNFs followed by calcination. The resulting CoNi/C composite with hollow structure was uniformly distributed along the 1D CNFs. The unique porous structure and heterogeneous interface derived from MOFs facilitated efficient scattering and multiple reflections of microwaves. By harnessing interfacial polarization loss, dipole polarization loss, and conduction loss mechanisms synergistically, the chain-shaped porous multi-stage CNFs-CoNi/C composite exhibited exceptional microwave absorption performance at a filling ratio of 10 %. It achieves a maximum reflection loss of −70 dB and an absorption bandwidth (EAB) for RL ≤ -10 exceeding 4.82 GHz with a corresponding thickness as low as 1.25 mm. This study introduced a lightweight and highly absorptive material that offers valuable insights into developing high-performance electromagnetic wave absorbing materials through organic composite comprising MOF and carbon materials.

High-efficiency and thermally stable FACsPbI3 perovskite photovoltaics.

α-FA1-xCsxPbI3 is a promising absorber material for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs)1,2. However, the most efficient α-FA1-xCsxPbI3 PSCs require the inclusion of methylammonium chloride (MACl) additive3,4, which generates volatile organic residues (i.e., MA) that limit device stability at elevated temperatures5. To date, the highest certified power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of α-FA1-xCsxPbI3 PSCs without MACl was only ~24% (ref.6,7), and has yet to exhibit any stability advantages. Here, we identify interfacial contact loss caused by the Cs+ accumulation for the conventional α-FA1-xCsxPbI3 PSCs, which deteriorates the device performance and stability. Through in-situ GIWAXS analysis and DFT calculations, we demonstrate an intermediate phase-assisted crystallization pathway enabled by acetate surface coordination to fabricate high-quality α-FA1-xCsxPbI3 film, without using MA-additive. We herein report a certified stabilized power output (SPO) efficiency of 25.94% and a reverse-scanning PCE of 26.64% for α-FA1-xCsxPbI3 PSCs, exhibiting negligible contact losses and enhanced operational stability. The devices retain >95% of their initial PCEs after over 2,000 hours operating at maximum power point under 1 sun, 85 °C, and 60% relative humidity (ISOS-L-3).

A Hybrid Perovskite-Based Electromagnetic Wave Absorber with Enhanced Conduction Loss and Interfacial Polarization through Carbon Sphere Embedding.

Electronic equipment brings great convenience to daily life but also causes a lot of electromagnetic radiation pollution. Therefore, there is an urgent demand for electromagnetic wave-absorbing materials with a low thickness, wide bandwidth, and strong absorption. This work obtained a high-performance electromagnetic wave absorption system by adding conductive carbon spheres (CSs) to the CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) absorber. In this system, MAPbI3, with strong dipole and relaxation polarization, acts dominant to the wave absorber. The carbon spheres provide a free electron transport channel between MAPbI3 lattices and constructs interfacial polarization loss in MAPbI3/CS. By regulating the content of CSs, we speculate that this increased effective absorption bandwidth and reflection loss intensity are attributed to the conductive channel of the carbon sphere and the interfacial polarization. As a result, when the mass ratio of the carbon sphere is 7.7%, the reflection loss intensity of MAPbI3/CS reaches -54 dB at 12 GHz, the corresponding effective absorption bandwidth is 4 GHz (10.24-14.24 GHz), and the absorber thickness is 2.96 mm. This work proves that enhancing conduction loss and interfacial polarization loss is an effective strategy for regulating the properties of dielectric loss-type absorbing materials. It also indicates that organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have great potential in the field of electromagnetic wave absorption.

Defect-rich carbon nanosheets derived from p(C3O2)x for electromagnetic wave absorption applications

Defect modulation strategies have been shown to be an effective way to design efficient EMW absorbing materials, but the coexistence of multiple loss mechanisms due to the complexity of the existing models makes it difficult to elucidate the mechanism by which defect-induced dielectric losses dominate. In this work, p(C3O2)x is applied for the first time in the field of EMW absorption and the concentration of defects in the sample is controlled by changing the pyrolysis temperature. In addition, the unique molecular structure of p(C3O2)x enables the prepared samples to completely eliminate the interference of interfacial polarization and magnetic loss on EMW dissipation. The results show that the dielectric loss induced by defects significantly enhances the EMW absorption performance as the concentration of defects increases, but excessive defects lead to a sudden drop in the conductivity of the sample and reduce the EMW absorption performance. In which, the RLmin of OC-800 can reach −51.0 dB, and the EAB of OC-900 can go up to 5.6 GHz at only 1.6 mm. Finally, CST simulation verified the potential application of the prepared absorber in real scenarios. This work has improved the theoretical basis of the effect of defect-induced dielectric loss on EMW absorbing properties, and the simple synthetic raw materials and routes have made the industrialized production of highly efficient EMW absorbing materials possible.

Interface-Centric Strategies in Kesterite Solar Cells: Addressing Challenges, solutions, and Future Directions for Efficient Solar-Harvesting Technologies.

As reserves of non-renewable energy sources decline, the search for sustainable alternatives becomes increasingly critical. Next-generation energy materials play a key role in this quest by enabling the manipulation of properties for effective energy solutions and understanding interfaces to enhance energy yield. Studying these interfaces is essential for managing charge transport in optoelectronic devices, yet it presents significant challenges. This review emphasizes the critical role of interfaces in kesterite solar cells (KSCs), focusing on interfacial architecture, carrier losses, and non-radiative recombination. This review highlights the importance of addressing interface issues and utilizing advanced characterization tools to reveal interface properties. Current interface problems are addressed, recent advancements in interface engineering are summarized, and perspectives on future challenges and prospects are offered. The goal is to illuminate the nature of interfaces and tackle interface losses, which are crucial for improving device design and performance. Despite their pivotal role in device operation, comprehensive reviews on interfaces are lacking, underscoring the relevance of the work for researchers in material interfaces and device engineering. It is hoped that this article will spark interest and inspire further research into interface studies and the mitigation of interface losses.

Advantageous Effects of Phase Transition-Modulated Electric Polarization of Hollow CuSx for Enhanced Electromagnetic Wave Absorption.

Scrutinizing the electromagnetic wave absorption mechanism of sulfides remains a challenge due to the variability of the modulation of the crystal structure of the sulfides. To take advantage of this variability, nanosheet-assembled Cu9S5/CN composites with sulfur vacancies were prepared in this study by self-assembly synthesis and subsequent high-temperature heat treatment. Systematic studies show the phase transition-dependent induced decrease in the conductivity, the defect site-induced difference in the charge density, the weakened vacancy formation of defect polarization loss, and the influence of valence state on electric dipole polarization loss and interfacial polarization loss, making the optimization of the dielectric constant a significant positive effect on the improvement of impedance matching. This work provides a reliable example and theoretical guidance for the crystal structure design for the preparation of a new generation of efficient sulfide-based wave-absorbing materials.

Co-adsorbed self-assembled monolayer enables high-performance perovskite and organic solar cells

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have become pivotal in achieving high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and organic solar cells (OSCs) by significantly minimizing interfacial energy losses. In this study, we propose a co-adsorb (CA) strategy employing a novel small molecule, 2-chloro-5-(trifluoromethyl)isonicotinic acid (PyCA-3F), introducing at the buried interface between 2PACz and the perovskite/organic layers. This approach effectively diminishes 2PACz’s aggregation, enhancing surface smoothness and increasing work function for the modified SAM layer, thereby providing a flattened buried interface with a favorable heterointerface for perovskite. The resultant improvements in crystallinity, minimized trap states, and augmented hole extraction and transfer capabilities have propelled power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) beyond 25% in PSCs with a p-i-n structure (certified at 24.68%). OSCs employing the CA strategy achieve remarkable PCEs of 19.51% based on PM1:PTQ10:m-BTP-PhC6 photoactive system. Notably, universal improvements have also been achieved for the other two popular OSC systems. After a 1000-hour maximal power point tracking, the encapsulated PSCs and OSCs retain approximately 90% and 80% of their initial PCEs, respectively. This work introduces a facile, rational, and effective method to enhance the performance of SAMs, realizing efficiency breakthroughs in both PSCs and OSCs with a favorable p-i-n device structure, along with improved operational stability.

Minimizing Interfacial Energy Loss and Volatilization of Formamidinium via Polymer-Assisted D-A supramolecular Self-Assembly Interface for Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells with 25.78% Efficiency.

2D perovskite passivation strategies effectively reduce defect-assisted carrier nonradiative recombination losses on the perovskite surface. Nonetheless, severe energy losses are causing by carrier thermalization, interfacial nonradiative recombination, and conduction band offset still persist at heterojunction perovskite/PCBM interfaces, which limits further performance enhancement of inverted heterojunction PSCs. Here, 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin (5FTPP) is introduced between 3D/2D perovskite heterojunction and PCBM. Compared to tetraphenylporphyrin without electron-withdrawing fluoro-substituents, 5FTPP can self-assemble with PCBM at interface into donor-acceptor (D-A) complex with stronger supramolecular interaction and lower energy transfer losses. This rapid energy transfer from donor (5FTPP) to acceptor (PCBM) within femtosecond scale is demonstrated to enlarge hot carrier extraction rates and ranges, reducing thermalization losses. Furthermore, the incorporation of polystyrene derivative (PD) reinforces D-A interaction by inhibiting self-π-π stacking of 5FTPP, while fine-tuning conduction band offset and suppressing interfacial nonradiative recombination via Schottky barrier, dipole, and n-doping. Notably, the multidentate anchoring of PD-5FTPP with FA+, Pb2+, and I- mitigates the adverse effects of FA+ volatilization during thermal stress. Ultimately, devices with PD-5FTPP achieve a power conversion efficiency of 25.78% (certified: 25.36%), maintaining over 90% of initial efficiency after 1000 h of continuous illumination at the maximum power point (65°C) under ISOS-L-2 protocol.

Construction of a highly ordered SiC nanofiber@C fiber heterojunction hybrid with a fuzzy grass-like structure for enhanced microwave absorbing performance

Carbon fibers (Cf) materials with excellent dielectric loss are increasingly attracting attention in the field of microwave absorption. However, the inherent high conductivity of carbon materials usually causes impedance mismatch, which seriously limits their widespread applications in the field of electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption. To solve this problem, a highly ordered SiC nanofiber@C fiber (SiCnf@Cf) heterojunction hybrid with a fuzzy grass-like structure was fabricated through a simple chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Providing a heterogeneous interface on the surface of carbon fibers not only improves their impedance matching capability but also enhances their interfacial loss capability. As a result, a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) for SiCnf@Cf heterojunction hybrid is −44.04 dB at 13.6 GHz with a thickness of 1.2 mm, and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EABmax) is 3.44 GHz with a thin thickness of 1.1 mm. Furthermore, it also exhibits outstanding thermal insulation performance, which make it a potential candidate for heat-insulating applications. And due to its lightweight and soft characteristics, it perfectly meets the needs of wearable flexible absorbing materials. Therefore, this study not only provides a straightforward for preparing EMW-absorbing materials with exceptional performance, but also offers a solution for improving the thermal stability of the carbon-based material.

Kirkendall Effect-Induced Ternary Heterointerfaces Engineering for High Polarization Loss MOF-LDH-MXene Absorbers.

Heterogeneous interfacial engineering has garnered widespread attention for optimizing polarization loss and enhancing the performance of electromagnetic wave absorption. A novel Kirkendall effect-assisted electrostatic self-assembly method is employed to construct a metal-organic framework (MOF, MIL-88A) decorated with Ni-Fe layered double hydroxide (LDH), forming a multilayer nano-cage coated with Ti3C2Tx. By modulating the surface adsorption of Ti3C2Tx on LDH, the heterointerfaces in MOF-LDH-MXene ternary composites exhibit excellent interfacial polarization loss. Additionally, the Ni-Fe LDH@Ti3C2Tx nano-cage exhibits a large specific surface area, abundant defects, and a large number of heterojunction structures, resulting in excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performance. The MIL-88A@Ni-Fe LDH@Ti3C2Tx-1.0 nano-cage achieves a reflection loss value of -46.7 dB at a thickness of 1.4mm and an effective absorption bandwidth of 5.12 GHz at a thickness of 1.8mm. The heterojunction interface composed of Ni-Fe LDH and Ti3C2Tx helps to enhance polarization loss. Additionally, Ti3C2Tx forms a conductive network on the surface, while the cavity between the MIL-88A core and the Ni-Fe LDH shell facilitates multiple attenuations by increasing the transmission path of internal incident waves. This work may reveal a new structural design of multi-component composites by heterointerfaces engineering for electromagnetic wave absorption.

Interfacial crosslinking benzimidazolium enables eco-friendly inverted perovskite solar cells and modules

Interfacial engineering via controlled crosslinking at perovskite surface is of significance to address the interfacial loss in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs), while is unfortunately impeded by the unsatisfied interfacial charge extraction and transfer owing to the inherent low conductivity of the formed crosslinked network. We herein propose and validate a strategy of interfacial crosslinking benzimidazolium (ICB) that is capable of reducing the surface residual strain of perovskite and improving the interfacial carrier transfer, leading to a new benchmark of power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 25.30 % in inverted PSCs, as well as 21.73 % in inverted PSC modules (6 × 6 cm²). Such the ICB network also results in sustainable PSCs and modules with superior stability even under various harsh conditions, e.g. suppressing lead leakage of PSCs with the rate of 83.6 %, maintaining the initial efficiency of 90 % after 1200 h of continuous heating at 85 °C, and 92.8 % of its pristine efficiency over 1200 h of continuous irradiation. We thus believe that present work demonstrates the potential of ionic molecules crosslinking at interfaces for high performance inverted PSCs.

Multifunctional bacterial cellulose‑derived carbon hybrid aerogel for ultrabroad microwave absorption and thermal insulation

Carbon aerogel has gained intense attention as one of the most promising microwave absorption materials. It can overcome severe electromagnetic pollution, thanks to its 3D macroscopic structure and superb conductive loss capacity. However, there is still a big challenge to endow multifunctionality to carbon aerogel while maintaining its good electromagnetic wave absorption (EWA) so as to adapt wide practical application. Herein, a novel carbon-based aerogel consisting of Cu and TiO2 nanoparticles dispersed on carbon nanofiber framework was derived from carbonized bacterial cellulose (CBC) decorated with its mother bacteria via freeze-drying, in situ growth and carbonization strategies. The synthesized carbon-based CBC/Cu/TiO2 aerogel achieved an excellent EWA performance with a broad effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 8.32 GHz. It is attributed to the synergistic loss mechanism from multiple scattering, conductive network loss, interfacial polarization loss and dipolar polarization relaxation. Meanwhile, the obtained aerogel also shows an excellent thermal insulation with a 3-mm-thick sample generating a temperature gradient of over 42 °C at 85 °C and a maximum radar cross-section (RCS) reduction of 23.88 dB m2 owing to the cellular structure and synergistic effects of multi-components. Therefore, this study proposes a feasible design approach for creating lightweight, effective, and multifunctional CBC-based EWA materials, which offer a new platform to develop ultrabroad electromagnetic wave absorber under the guidance of RCS simulation.

Device optimization of all inorganic CsPbBr3/LNMO based multi-layered perovskite light harvesters for broader capturing of solar spectrum

All inorganic Cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr3) planar perovskites have garnered enormous significance in photovoltaic applications owing to its outstanding stability against oxygen, heat and moisture. However, the power conversion efficiencies of the CsPbBr3 planar perovskites are quite low primarily due to the inferior range of light absorbance and interfacial charge recombination losses. This issue can be successfully resolved with a novel multi-absorber architecture approach which incorporates dual absorbers consisting of a lower band gap Lanthanum Nickel Manganese Oxide (La2NiMnO6 or LNMO) material along with the wider band gap CsPbBr3 material so that the light absorbance regime could be well extended for maximal utilization of the solar spectrum. Therefore, this article incorporates numerical modeling and guided optimization of all inorganic ITO/ETL/CsPbBr3/La2NiMnO6(LNMO)/HTL dual absorbers-based heterojunction structure to improvise the power conversion efficiency of CsPbBr3 based single absorber PSCs. The critical device’s parameters, such as; absorber layer and carrier transport layer thickness, defect density, temperature, doping concentration, frequency response, capacitance effects, Mott-Schottky effects as well as series and shunt resistances are thoroughly optimized and evaluated using Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D) simulator. The proposed dual absorber layer composition produces a substantial enhancement in performance with a peak power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 26.98 %, short circuit current (Jsc) of 39.75 mA/cm2, open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.85 V, and fill factor (FF) of 77.98 % at a device defect density of 1015 cm−3 outperforming the 11 % of PCE attained with the experimentally reported CsPbBr3 single junction counterpart along with PSCs with various dual absorbers-based composition.

Constructing multi-dimensional alternating layer nested structure for enhancing electromagnetic shielding, thermal management and strain sensing

It is imperatively desired to design excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and thermal management simultaneously. Herein, fabricating the multi-dimensional alternating layer nested (MALN) structure composite film, which consisted of the alternating multilayer structure constructed by silver nanowires (AgNWs)/cellulose nanofiber (CNF) layer and the graphene nanoplates (GNPs)/CNF layer, the dense conducting networks built by interweaving AgNWs in CNF networks, and the “mille-feuille” structure of GNPs and CNF. The heterogeneous layers of AgNWs/CNF layer and GNPs/CNF layer with significant conductivity differences, as well as the “mille-feuille” structure of CNF and GNPs, provide abundant macro/micro heterogeneous interface polarization losses and multiple reflection losses. Adjusting the addition of AgNWs or GNPs in different layers to form the conductivity gradient, endowing the “absorption-reflection–absorption” loss path and excellent conduction loss of film. Therefore, the MALN structure composite film with a thickness of 90 μm exhibits an impressive EMI shielding efficiency (SE) of 98.95 dB and a specific SE (SSE/t) of 11606.14 dB/g·cm−2, attribute to its excellent conduction loss, abundant macroscopic/microcosmic heterogeneous interfacial polarization losses, multiple reflection losses, and the absorption-reflection–absorption loss path. Meanwhile, the in-plane thermal conductivity (λ∥) and out-plane thermal conductivity (λ⊥) achieve of 8.69 W/(m·k) and 0.16 W/(m·k). Additionally, the obtained film also demonstrates exceptional joule heating, remarkable photothermal conversion, outstanding mechanical properties, and distinguished strain sensing capabilities, which exhibiting significant potential in wearable electronic devices.