Saturation Density Research Articles

A Numerical Study of Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium in Binary Refrigerant Mixtures Based on 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoroprop-1-ene

The binary refrigerant mixtures containing 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoroprop-1-ene are considered as excellent substitutes for traditional refrigerants. Weak hydrogen bonds exist in hydrofluorocarbons and hydrofluoroolefins. However, for several recently published binary refrigerant mixtures, there is no Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium calculation study considering hydrogen-bonding associations. This work presents a calculation work of the saturated properties of nine pure refrigerants using the Cubic-Plus-Association Equation of State, considering the hydrogen-bonding association in refrigerant fluids. The average relative deviations of the saturated vapor pressure, liquid, and vapor density are less than 1.0%, 1.5%, and 3.5%, respectively. The Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium of ten binary refrigerant mixtures containing 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoroprop-1-ene is also calculated using the Cubic-Plus-Association Equation of State with the van der Waals mixing rule. The average relative deviations of the liquid-phase and vapor-phase mole fractions are less than 1.0% and 2.0%, respectively. Moreover, the Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium data and the model’s adaptability are analyzed and discussed.

Potential measurement error from vessel reflex and multiple light paths in dual-wavelength retinal oximetry.

This study aims to characterize the dependence of measured retinal arterial and venous saturation on vessel diameter and central reflex in retinal oximetry, with an ultimate goal of identifying potential causes and suggesting approaches to improve measurement accuracy. In 10 subjects, oxygen saturation, vessel diameter and optical density are obtained using Oxymap Analyzer software without diameter correction. Diameter dependence of saturation is characterized using linear regression between measured values of saturation and diameter. Occurrences of negative values of vessel optical densities (ODs) associated with central vessel reflex are acquired from Oxymap Analyzer. A conceptual model is used to calculate the ratio of optical densities (ODRs) according to retinal reflectance properties and single and double-pass light transmission across fixed path lengths. Model-predicted values are compared with measured oximetry values at different vessel diameters. Venous saturation shows an inverse relationship with vessel diameter (D) across subjects, with a mean slope of -0.180 (SE = 0.022) %/μm (20 < D < 180 μm) and a more rapid saturation increase at small vessel diameters reaching to over 80%. Arterial saturation yields smaller positive and negative slopes in individual subjects, with an average of -0.007 (SE = 0.021) %/μm (20 < D < 200 μm) across all subjects. Measurements where vessel brightness exceeds that of the retinal background result in negative values of optical density, causing an artifactual increase in saturation. Optimization of model reflectance values produces a good fit of the conceptual model to measured ODRs. Measurement artefacts in retinal oximetry are caused by strong central vessel reflections, and apparent diameter sensitivity may result from single and double-pass transmission in vessels. Improvement in correction for vessel diameter is indicated for arteries however further study is necessary for venous corrections.

Implementation of PC-SAFT for Predicting thermodynamic properties of pure refrigerants and vapor-liquid equilibria of refrigerants binary mixtures.

A new approach to evaluate PC-SAFT molecular parameters based on pure components critical properties was proposed in our previous paper. In this study, the performance of the proposed approach is verified through its application to the calculation of vapor pressure, saturated density, saturated enthalpy, heat of vaporization, isobaric heat capacity, and speed of sound for propane, butane, isobutane, R22, R23, R32, R116, R125, R134a, R143a, and R1234yf. In general, the results have shown that the new approach is better than the existing one when applied in predicting second-order thermodynamic derivative properties, and it has much less overall percent average absolute deviations than the existing method. However, the main limitation on the accuracy is that underestimated liquid densities. The PC-SAFT is also applied to predict vapor-liquid equilibria of eleven binary refrigerant mixtures, including R23 – R22, R23 – R134a, R23 – R143a, R23 – R227ea, R32 –Isobutane, R32 – Propane, R116 – Butane, R116 – 134a, R116 – R143a, R125 – R1234yf, and Propane – R227ea. The obtained results show that the new approach provides very good predictions of the vapor-liquid equilibria and the critical properties of mixtures, while the existing approach tends to overestimate these quantities.

Accurate Petrophysical Interpretation of Carbonate using the Elemental Capture Spectroscopy (ECS)

Elemental capture spectroscopy (ECS) is an important tool in the petroleum industry for determining the composition and properties of rock formations in a reservoir. Knowledge of the types and abundance of different minerals in the reservoir is crucial for accurate petrophysical interpretation, reservoir engineering practices, and stratigraphic correlation. ECS measures the elemental content of the rock, which directly impacts several physical properties that are essential for reservoir characterization, such as porosity, fluid saturation, permeability, and matrix density. The ability to accurately determine these properties leads to better reservoir mapping, improved production, and more effective resource management. Accurately determining the mineralogy and porosity of carbonate rocks and other materials is the aim of this paper. Calcite, dolomite, quartz, clay (illite), anhydrite, and pyrite, in addition to water as a fluid, are taken into account in the computation. The formation's lithology and porosity can be ascertained from this data. When compared to the core descriptions in the geological report, the results demonstrated a distinct zone of unique lithology with good prediction accuracy.

Liquid−vapor order parameter and coexistence-curve diameter of nitrogen, ethylene, and sulfur hexafluoride: From the triple point to the critical scaling regime

Analytic closed-form expressions are obtained for the liquid and vapor saturation densities defining the coexistence curve. The densities are modeled with broken power laws and Weibull distributions. Specifically, the coexistence curves of nitrogen, ethene and sulfur hexafluoride are derived, without the use of perturbative expansions, based on high-precision data extending from the triple point into the critical regime. The analytic continuation of the vapor branch below the triple point decays exponentially at low temperature. The order parameter and coexistence-curve diameter of the fluids are assembled from the regressed liquid and vapor branches of the coexistence curve, and the critical power-law scaling of these quantities is examined. The scaling exponents of the order parameter and the reduced diameter are regressed and compared with the calculated critical exponents of the 3D Ising universality class. Index functions representing the Log−Log slopes (temperature-dependent effective exponents) of the liquid and vapor densities, order parameter and diameter are used to determine the onset of the ideal power-law scaling regime and to illustrate the slope evolution of these quantities in the subcritical regime.

Characterization of Soil Fertility at Different Relief Points in a Humid Residual Massif in the State of Ceará

Introduction: The relief acts as a soil formation factor and interferes, even indirectly, in the physical-chemical composition of soils, so that important variations in fertility can occur along a toposequence. In agricultural crops, variations in fertility have a major impact on productivity and production costs, which makes mapping soil fertility important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fertility of soils under different agricultural crops and different points of relief in a mountainous area located in the municipality of Aratuba-CE. Theoretical reference: Various studies that relate soil types to the landscape show that deeper and more developed soils generally occupy flatter, or top, relief positions, where conditions for water percolation are favored. (ARTUR et al., 2014; SOUZA JUNIOR and DEMATTÊ, 2008). Braga et al. (2015) verified the existence of a correlation between soil fertility and distribution of tree species. Methodology: The design was in a randomized block in a split-plot scheme, with the plots formed by four cultivation areas, namely: banana trees (A1), banana trees and cashew trees (A2); grass (A3); pigeon pea (A4); and a control area (A5), maintained with natural vegetation. The subplots were formed by three relief positions: top, middle and slope. The physical-chemical variables of the soil were analyzed: pH, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, aluminum, potential acidity, base sum, base saturation, total CEC, effective CTC, PST and soil density. Results: It was observed that the top areas have greater amounts of nutrients. Studies of this nature can provide indications about the evolution of pedogeomorphological systems in landscapes and enable the planning of the most appropriate and sustainable agricultural exploration. Conclusion: The top area presents nutrients in greater quantities, compared to the middle and slope, which may indicate that, although this region is more susceptible to leaching, this still occurs initially, to the point of not affecting soil fertility in the area. local.

Surface and subsurface runoff generation processes and their influencing factors on a hillslope in northern China

Runoff processes are essential to the hydrological cycle in mountainous areas. However, many aspects of surface and subsurface runoff generation mechanisms and their influencing factors remain to be fully understood. In this study, rainfall simulation experiments were conducted in micro runoff plots in different slope positions on a typical hillslope to explore runoff processes and their influencing factors in the Taihang Mountain region in northern China. The surface and subsurface runoff and soil water content (SWC) variation processes were analyzed. Moreover, the impact of the soil properties, such as soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), bulk density (BD), capillary porosity (CP), non-capillary porosity (NCP), and soil organic matter (SOM), on these processes were investigated. The results revealed that the response of the SWC to rainfall was significantly different in different soil layers and slope positions. The response time was slower and the period was longer on the lower slope. However, the middle and upper slopes had a faster response time and shorter period. The surface runoff was the dominant type in the lower slope (67.26 % of the total runoff), while the subsurface runoff was the dominant type in the middle (78.83 %) and upper (83.67 %) slopes. The subsurface runoff was mainly generated in the 40 cm layer on the lower slope, 20 and 30 cm layers on the middle slope, and 30 and 40 cm layers on the upper slope. These layers exhibited good correspondence with the Ks' vertical distribution, but were inconsistent with the other soil properties. These results indicate that the Ks was the most critical factor influencing the runoff generation process. The ratio of the upper layer's horizontal Ks to the lower layer's vertical Ks controlled the subsurface runoff generation process in the hillslope. These findings provide useful information for understanding the hydrological processes in mountainous areas.

Soil carbon sequestration potential of cultivated lands and its controlling factors in China

Understanding soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and carbon sequestration potential in cultivated lands can have significant benefit for mitigating climate change and emission reduction. However, there is currently a lack of spatially explicit information on this topic in China, and our understanding of the factors that influence both saturated SOC level (SOCS) and soil organic carbon density (SOCD) remains limited. This study predicted SOCS and SOCD of cultivated lands across mainland China based on point SOC measurements, and mapped its spatial distribution using environmental variables as predictors. Based on the differentiation between SOCS and SOCD, the soil organic carbon sequestration potentials (SOCP) of cultivated land were calculated. Boosted regression trees (BRT), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) were evaluated as prediction models, and the RF model presented the best performance in predicting SOCS and SOCD based on 10-fold cross-validation. A total of 991 topsoil (0–20 cm) SOC measurements and 12 environmental variables explaining topography, climate, organism, soil properties, and human activity were used as predictors in the model. Both SOCS and SOCD suggested higher SOC levels in northeast China and lower levels in central China. The cultivated lands in China had the potential to sequester about 2.13 ± 0.96 kg m−2 (3.25 Pg) SOC in the top 20 cm soil depth. Northeastern China had the largest SOCP followed by Northern China, and Southwestern China had the lowest SOCP. The primary environmental variables that affected the spatial variation of SOCS were mean annual temperature, followed by clay content and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The assessment and mapping of SOCP in China's cultivated lands holds significance importance as it can provide valuable insights to policymakers and researchers about SOCP, and aid in formulating climate change mitigation strategies.

Constraints on Strong Phase Transitions in Neutron Stars

We study current bounds on strong first-order phase transitions (PTs) along the equation of state (EOS) of dense strongly interacting matter in neutron stars, under the simplifying assumption that on either side of the PT, the EOS can be approximated by a simple polytropic form. We construct a large ensemble of possible EOSs of this form, anchor them to chiral effective field theory calculations at nuclear density and perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics at high densities, and subject them to astrophysical constraints from high-mass pulsars and gravitational-wave observations. Within this setup, we find that a PT permits neutron-star solutions with larger radii, but only if the transition begins below twice nuclear saturation density. We also identify a large parameter space of allowed PTs currently unexplored by numerical-relativity studies. Additionally, we locate a small region of parameter space allowing twin-star solutions, though we find them to only marginally pass the current astrophysical constraints. Finally, we find that sizeable cores of high-density matter beyond the PT may be located in the centers of some stable neutron stars, primarily those with larger masses.

Exclusive Photo-production of J/Ψ and Ψ(2s) as a tool to explore the transition to high and saturated gluon densities at the LHC.

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; We study the energy dependence of the cross-section for exclusive photo-production of vector mesons J/Ψ and Ψ(2s) and search for signs for the onset of non-linear QCD dynamics in this observable. Our study is based on two dipole models: the Golec-Biernat, Wuesthoff Model (GBW) and the Bartels, Golec-Biernat, Kowal- ski Model (BGK). We find that differences between linear and non-linear implementations of these models are relatively small in the kinematic region probed by both HERA and LHC experiments if the energy dependence of the photo-production cross-section is being considered. We however find that the ratio of both cross-sections grows with energy in the presence of non-linear effects, while it remains approximately constant in the linearized case. The ratio of photo-production cross-sections might therefore provide a suitable tool to characterize the size of non-linear QCD effects at current collider energies.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

New Thermodynamic Equation of State for Refrigerant HFO-1243zf

R-1243zf is a new refrigerant that could replace R-134a. Its thermodynamic properties represented in the equation of state (EOS) play an essential role in analyzing and designing thermal systems. The EOS exists without including caloric property data due to unavailable data during the development time. New EOS was developed explicitly in Helmholtz free energy and optimized to represent the experimental data accurately and maintain thermodynamic consistency. The optimization process undergoes using a genetic algorithm and weighted-least squares regression. The experimental data used in the optimization have a range of 233–430 K and 0.106–34.6 MPa and were validated from the extrapolation and consistency to confirm the reliability. The average absolute deviation from the data is 0.48% for the ideal gas isobaric specific heat, 1.7% for the isochoric specific heat, 0.33% for the speed of sound, 0.22% for the liquid density in single-phase, 0.49% for the vapor density in single-phase, 0.96% for the vapor pressure, 2.2% for the saturated liquid density, and 3.2% for the saturated vapor density. The EOS has a reasonable extrapolation behavior from the triple point up to 700 K and 100 MPa.

Symmetry Energy in the Inner Crust Region of Neutron Stars: A Study Around the Neutron Drip Density Point using the Compressed Liquid Drop Model

The properties of neutron star’s inner crust have been investigated using the Compressible Liquid Drop Model, particularly around the neutron drip density region, which is the boundary between the outer and inner crust. Symmetry energy in the equations of state SLy4 and BSk3 was calculated to determine the density data between the outer and inner crusts. The properties of the inner crust can be understood through parameters such as the change in the number of nucleons in the atomic nucleus, the asymmetry parameter in surface energy, and volume energy. It was shown that the choice of the symmetry energy expansion coefficient (L) of order-1 results in a distinct energy range of 9-11 MeV within the neutron drip region. This contrasts significantly with the energy symmetry observed around saturation density, which reaches (30 ± 4) MeV in the reference models used. Furthermore, it was found that symmetry energy affects the neutron composition in the inner crust. As the density increases, neutron numbers rise, while proton counts exhibit relative stability within the range of 40 to 50 for each atomic nucleus. Importantly, we observe a marked decrease in proton fraction at the onset of the neutron drip region, where ???? ≅10 MeV, suggesting electron capture processes transforming protons into neutrons. This phenomenon contributes to the presence of neutron and free neutron gas layers within the inner crust.

(Invited) Emergent Absorbers, Interfaces, and Integration Methods for Chalcopyrite-Based Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Devices

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has the potential to become an efficient method for renewable hydrogen production. However, the efficiency, projected cost, and durability of lab-scale systems are not yet at the level required to make this technology economically feasible. Amongst all materials studied to date, the chalcopyrite class is arguably one of the most promising classes for PEC water splitting, as it has already demonstrated low-cost and high photoconversion capabilities as a photovoltaic material. In the context of PEC, our group demonstrated that co-evaporated 1.65 eV bandgap (EG) CuGaSe2 is capable of evolving hydrogen with Faradaic efficiency greater than 85% and generate photocurrent densities over 15 mA.cm-2, as measured in a 3-electrode configuration in 0.5M H2SO4 under simulated AM1.5G illumination. Unfortunately, CuGaSe2’s narrow EG limits its integration as top absorber into a dual junction stacked PEC device (also known as hybrid photoelectrode, HPE). In the present communication, we report on our latest efforts to synthesize wide-EG (1.8-2.0 eV) chalcopyrites, compatible with the HPE integration scheme, and capable of generating saturated photocurrent densities greater than 10 mA/cm2. We present specifically results on EG tunable Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2, Cu(In,Ga)S2, CuGa(S,Se)2 and CuGa3Se5. We also discuss some of the strategies developed to improve their surface energetics for the hydrogen evolution reaction, including the use of bandgap tunable MgZnO n-type buffer layers. Finally, we introduce the concept of semi-monolithic tandems, a new integration scheme where wide- and narrow-bandgap chalcopyrites are first integrated on separate substrates and then exfoliated, and finally bonded to create fully functional tandem device.

Plasmonic microcarriers for sensing and cell expansion

Microcarriers (MCs, typically 50–200 µm) are promising growth supports for high-throughput cell expansion, with capability to overcome the limitations of surface area availability and nutrient access encountered by cell culture in 2D well plate configurations. Equipping MCs with in-built capability to sense molecular biomarkers is a key step forward to meet the emerging demands of personalized cell-based therapies. However, integrating sensing functionality into MCs is non-trivial due to fabrication limitations imposed by their large size, curved surfaces, and their suspension in fluid. If achieved, the sensor-integrated MCs should face further concerns of reduced stability and cytocompatibility during cell-culture. Here we demonstrate plasmonic microcarriers (PMCs) that integrate spectroscopic sensing and cell expansion functions through the deposition of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) assemblies on dextran-based MCs. Hydrogel characteristics of the dextran microcarriers was found to profoundly enhance the binding density and kinetics of AuNPs, as seen by attainment of saturated densities in few seconds, and at nanoparticle concentrations only twice that of the surface sites. The approaches to prepare PMCs are distinguished by simple, scalable routes, without need for sophisticated lab infrastructure. The capability of PMCs to act as spectroscopic transducers was demonstrated by surface-enhanced spectroscopic (SERS) detection of a model molecular probe. The growth, proliferation and migration of human mesenchymal stem cells on the PMCs was found to be comparable to that of the uncoated MCs. The results pave the way to smart, multifunctional cell growth supports to interrogate, control and report cell behavior during culture.

Bayesian analysis of a relativistic hadronic model constrained by recent astrophysical observations

ABSTRACTWe use Bayesian analysis in order to constrain the equation of state for nuclear matter from astrophysical data related to the recent measurements from the NICER mission, LIGO/Virgo collaboration, and probability distributions of mass and radius from other 12 sources, including thermonuclear busters, and quiescent low-mass X-ray binaries. For this purpose, we base our study on a relativistic hadronic mean field model including an ω − ρ interaction. Our results indicate optimal ranges for some bulk parameters at the saturation density, namely, effective mass, incompressibility, and symmetry energy slope (L0). For instance, we find $L_0 = 50.79^{+15.16}_{-9.24}$ MeV (Case 1) and $L_0 = 75.06^{+8.43}_{-4.43}$ MeV (Case 2) in a 68 per cent confidence interval for the two cases analysed (different input ranges for L0 related to the PREX-II data). The respective parametrizations are in agreement with important nuclear matter constraints, as well as observational neutron star data, such as the dimensionless tidal deformability of the GW170817 event. From the mass–radius curves obtained from these best parametrizations, we also find the ranges of 11.97 km ≤ R1.4 ≤ 12.73 km (Case 1) and 12.34 km ≤ R1.4 ≤ 13.06 km (Case 2) for the radius of the $1.4\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ neutron star.

Influence of Isomeric Composition and Sample Handling on the Liquid Density of Hydrofluorethers Measured by Vibrating Tube Densimeter at 0.1 MPa

Hydrofluoroethers (HFEs) represent a new family of promising engineering fluids suitable for technical cleaning and cooling of electronic and magnetic devices or as admixtures in refrigerant blends. Here, we report accurate data for the liquid density at 0.1 MPa and temperatures from 273.15,text{K} to 343.15,text{K} for a series of five HFEs, namely, HFE-7000, HFE-7100, HFE-7200, HFE-7300, and HFE-7500. A highly sensitive vibrating tube densimeter with a borosilicate glass U-tube calibrated according to the procedure by Prokopová et al. (J Chem Thermodyn 173:106855, 2022) provided density data with an expanded uncertainty (k=2) of 0.13,text{kg}cdot text{m}^{-3}. Influences such as sample degassing, water content, or sample temperature before its dosing into the densimeter are discussed. Thanks to the high sensitivity of the used densimeter, an unexpected shift in the density of different HFE-7100 and HFE-7200 liquid samples was detected. Unlike other HFEs, HFE-7100 and HFE-7200 are mixtures of two hardly separable isomers, which were so far considered having identical thermophysical properties. Utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the ratio of n-isomer and iso-isomer was inspected for various liquid samples. In the range of iso-isomer mole fraction from 0.61 to 0.77, the new measurements revealed density differences of more than 5,text{kg}cdot text{m}^{-3} in case of HFE-7100 and of about 3,text{kg}cdot text{m}^{-3} in case of HFE-7200. Consequently, for some applications, the properties of different HFE isomers cannot be considered identical. The Rackett-type correlation for the saturated liquid density was fitted using the new and the literature data.

H-Terminated Diamond MOSFETs on High-Quality Diamond Film Grown by MPCVD

Diamond-based transistors have been considered as one of the best choices due to the numerous advantages of diamond. However, difficulty in the growth and fabrication of diamond needs to be addressed. In this paper, high quality diamond film with an atomically flat surface was grown by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition. High growth rate, as much as 7 μm/h, has been acquired without nitrogen doping, and the root mean square (RMS) of the surface roughness was reduced from 0.92 nm to 0.18 nm by using a pre-etched process. H-terminated diamond MOSFETs were fabricated on a high-quality epitaxial diamond layer, of which the saturated current density was enhanced. The hysteresis of the transfer curve and the shift of the threshold voltage were significantly reduced as well.

Quasiparticle Generation-Recombination Noise in the Limit of Low Detector Volume

We have measured the quasiparticle generation-recombination (GR) noise in aluminium lumped element kinetic inductors with a wide range of detector volumes at various temperatures. The basic detector consists of meandering inductor and interdigitated capacitor fingers. The inductor volume is varied from 2 to 153 <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \mathrm{m}^{3}$</tex-math></inline-formula> by changing the inductor width and length to maintain a constant inductance. We started with measuring the power spectrum density (PSD) of the detectors frequency noise which is a function of GR noise and we clearly observed the spectrum roll off at 10 kHz which corresponds to the quasiparticle lifetime. Using data from a temperature sweep of the resonator frequency we convert the frequency fluctuation to quasiparticle fluctuation and observe its strong dependence on detector volume: detectors with smaller volume display less quasiparticle noise amplitude. Meanwhile we observe a saturated quasiparticle density at low temperature from all detectors as the quasiparticle life time <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol{\tau _{qp}}$</tex-math></inline-formula> approaches a constant value at low temperature.

Efficient 1D ZnO/Cu2S heterostructure photocatalyst on topological Ag molded PVDF polymer fiber matrix for photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution applications

A heterostructure semiconductor photo-electrocatalyst ZnO/Cu2S-loaded PVDF polymer matrix is used for solar water splitting. Herein, Ag nanoparticle-casted electrospun PVDF polymer matrix fibers have been used as a platform to fabricate the 1D ZnO nanorods as a photo-electrocatalyst. The Cu2S nanoparticles passivated on the 1D ZnO nanoarray show a two-fold enhancement of the photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution. The conducting Ag nanoparticles sensitized PVDF, enhancing the conductance, and synergistically contributed to the water splitting under white light illumination. The PVDF/Ag/ZnO/Cu2S photoanode demonstrated photoelectrochemical water splitting. Ag nanoparticles (Ag NP), 1D nanostructures, and Cu2S narrowband gap semiconductors integrated into the photoanode accelerate the oxidation of the water through more visible absorption and high charge carrier transport. The PVDF/Ag/ZnO/Cu2S photoanode generates a stable saturated photocurrent density of 0.62 mA/cm2 in the −0.2 to 0.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl potential window. The chemically inert PVDF fibers with an Ag metal surface show a low onset potential and a charge transfer resistance of 844 Ohm/cm2 with a 0.42% photon to electron conversion efficiency for solar water splitting. Solar water oxidation has been demonstrated under unbiased conditions.

Mechanism of improvement of efficiency of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 solar cells by optimization of deposition temperature of CdS buffer layer

The physical properties of CdS buffer layers and the interface quality between CdS layer and Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) absorber have a significant impact on the performance of CZTSSe solar cells. In the present work, five types of CZTSSe solar cells with conventional structure (denoted as CdS-x-cells, x = 55, 60, 65, 70 and 75) were fabricated by using CdS prepared at deposition temperatures of 55, 60, 65, 70 and 75 ℃, respectively, as buffer layer, and influence mechanism of the deposition temperature of CdS layers on power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the CdS-x-cells was investigated. It is found that the PCE of the CdS-x-cells increases from 8.52% to 10.36% as the deposition temperature rises from 55 to 60 ℃ but falls from 10.36% to 7.14% from 60 to 75 ℃. The analysis on the photovoltaic and electrical parameters indicates that the increase in PCE is predominantly derived from the decreased reverse saturated current density (J0), followed by the decreased series resistance (RS) and increased shunt resistance (RSh). The decreased PCE with the further increasing deposition temperature is mainly contributed from the increased J0, followed by the decreased RSh and photogenerated current density (JL). The influence mechanism of deposition temperature of the CdS layer on PCE is suggested via quantitatively analysis of influence of electrical, optical properties and crystal quality of CdS prepared at various deposition temperatures on JL and electrical parameters of CdS-x-cells. This work is helpful for improvement of PCE of CZTSSe solar cells by modification of properties of buffer layer.