Series Resistance Research Articles

Plant–microbial fuel cell for electrical generation through living plants: an internal resistance insight into the plant species used

Abstract Climate change is a global threat, the presence of which has encouraged the development and implementation of renewable energies, including plant–microbial fuel cells, which could generate 6 629 568–33 147 840 MWh per year due to their large-scale applicability. One of the main challenges associated with microbial cells is internal resistance—a parameter whose magnitude is influenced by several factors. In the case of plant–microbial fuel cells, adding a plant positively affects the mitigation of internal resistance. However, the species employed is expected to play an important role. In the present study, the objective was to determine as a general reference the internal resistance of cells using various plant species, among which were tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), aloe vera (Aloe vera), corn (Zea mays), and moss (Dicranidae). For this purpose, an experimental procedure was carried out to compare the manual voltage measurements with a free cell concerning the voltage obtained by adding an external resistor in series. The internal resistance values were determined as a function of the measured voltage, obtaining 177, 179, 175, 324, and 233 kΩ for aloe vera, corn, tomato, black beans, and moss, respectively. From this, it was shown that the roots of the plants represent an essential addition to the internal resistance of the cell in the short term. In contrast, plants with a C4 photosynthetic metabolism are more favourable, while C3 plants can also benefit from internal resistance during a more extended period of rhizodeposition.

Unveiling the Potential of Cs3Sb2ClxI9‐x‐Based Solar Cells for Efficient Indoor Light Harvesting: Numerical Simulation

AbstractLead‐free Perovskite‐inspired materials (PIM) have become the most promising candidate for indoor photovoltaics (IPV) because of their low toxicity and high performance. In this study, the potential of one of the lead‐free PIMs, Cesium antimony chloride iodide (Cs3Sb2ClxI9‐x), is explored for IPV devices. Recent experimental research work on a Cs3Sb2ClxI9‐x− based solar cell with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.7% is considered for the baseline model development. The device performance is further optimized by investigating 1) absorber thickness and defect density, 2) band alignment of Electron Transport Layer (ETL)/Absorber, ETL Doping concentration and absorber/ETL interface defect density, 3) band alignment of Hole Transport Layer (HTL)/Absorber, HTL Doping concentration, and absorber/HTL interface defect density, 4) work function of metal contacts, 5) series and shunt resistances. After device optimization, the simulated device under 1000 lux WLED is able to achieve Jsc, Voc, FF, and PCE of 1.8 mA cm−2, 1.46 V, 89.3%, and 45.05%, respectively. Further, an evaluation of the performance of the optimized device under various indoor light sources, including White Light Emitting Diode (WLED), halogen, and Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL), is conducted in order to assess its performance under widely utilized lighting conditions.

ETL and HTL Engineering in CH3NH3PbBr3 Perovskite for Stable and Efficient Performance Photovoltaic Devices Applications using SCAPS‐ 1D

AbstractPerovskite solar cells are increasingly acknowledged for their unique characteristics. This study focuses on simulating the impact of methylammonium lead bromide‐based perovskites, as the absorber in perovskite solar cells using the SCAPS‐1D simulator. The research delves into how the performance of these solar cells is affected by the choice of Electron Transport Layers (TiO2, PCBM, SnO2, and ZnO) and Hole Transport Layer (Cu2O) with Ni and Al as the back and front contact. This investigation marks the first comprehensive exploration of CH3NH3PbBr3. The performance of these device architectures is significantly influenced by factors such as defect density, absorber thickness, ETL thickness, and the combination of different ETLs. The power conversion efficiencies of devices optimized with TiO2, PCBM, SnO2, and ZnO are found to be 15.46%, 15.33%, 15.01%, and 14.99%, respectively. Furthermore, this study elucidates the impact of absorber and HTL thickness. Also, they have discussed the VBO, CBO for different ETLs. Additionally, the effects of series resistance, shunt resistance are examined, operating temperature, quantum efficiency (QE), capacitance‐voltage characteristics, generation and recombination rates, current density‐voltage (J‐V), and impedance analysis of the devices. Through this extensive simulation study, researchers are equipped to develop cost‐effective and highly efficient PSCs, thereby advancing solar technology.

Electroluminescence and infrared imaging of fielded photovoltaic modules: A complementary analysis of series resistance-related defects

Fielded photovoltaic (PV) modules often exhibit series resistance-related defects, mainly due to solder bond degradation and metallization corrosion. To quantitatively analyze the series resistance increase in fielded modules, we conducted a detailed investigation on two sets of modules, employing two complementary techniques, electroluminescence (EL) and infrared (IR) imaging. The dependence of EL image characteristics on module temperature, as revealed in IR images, was a key focus of this study. The first and second sets of modules were exposed in Florida (hot and humid climate) and Arizona (hot and dry climate) over 10 years and 18 years, respectively. The resistive defect patterns obtained using EL and IR images showed a closer correlation for the Florida modules compared to the Arizona modules as the Florida modules primarily experience solder bond degradation. EL and IR images were acquired at five current injection levels (i.e., 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0 x short circuit current) and two exposure times (i.e., 60 s and 300 s) and used to develop and report a new curve fitting method for estimating the external series resistance. The results indicate that inaccurate temperature determinations from IR images can lead to underestimations (up to 23 %) in EL-based external series resistance estimates. For the most accurate series resistance estimation, especially in modules with severe thermal defects and series resistance deterioration, the study recommends obtaining EL and IR images within 60 s of the current injection time. This study also reports a Monte Carlo simulation assessing the impact of EL and IR characteristics on the accuracy of external series resistance estimations.

Silicon heterojunction solar cells: Excellent candidate for low light illuminations

The current solar cells and modules are marketed according to the behaviour at standard test conditions (STC), however, these devices are more often operated at lower irradiance levels. The dependence on illumination stems mainly from the voltage at the open circuit and at the maximum power point. The latter might also be strongly influenced by serial resistance, but that is more an engineering problem not addressed here. More fundamentally, the voltage is determined by quasi-Fermi levels at the contacts. In the case of unconstrained conductivity between the absorber and electrode, the quasi-Fermi levels are flat, and determined by their splitting in the absorber. Our analysis shows that the modulation doping mechanism working in Si heterojunction solar cell between the doped amorphous Si layer with a higher bandgap and crystalline absorber with a lower bandgap can, for certain parameter settings, lead to strongly depleted contact layer that limits conduction. This is a prerequisite for decoupling the quasi-Fermi level between contact and absorber and offers the possibility for additional voltage increase. Based on this understanding, we simulate a heterojunction solar cell with a varying thickness and doping of amorphous silicon p-type contact. We demonstrate that for a certain combination of thinner or lower-doped contact, higher efficiency at low illumination can be achieved compared to the technological baseline. This is fully in line with the experimental findings. This analysis is crucial not only for using solar cells for indoor applications but also for designing photovoltaic modules optimized for low irradiance, potentially increasing the level of self-sufficiency of buildings.

Eliminating Resistance-Capacitance Coupling Shielding for Depicting the Defect Landscape in Perovskite Solar Cells by Capacitance Spectroscopy.

Capacitance spectroscopy techniques have been widely utilized to evaluate the defect properties in perovskites, which contribute to the efficiency and operation stability development for perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Yet the interplay between the charge transporting layer (CTL) and the perovskite on the capacitance spectroscopy results is still unclear. Here, they show that a pseudo-trap-state capacitance signal is generated in thermal admittance spectroscopy (TAS) due to the enhanced resistance capacitance (RC) coupling caused by the carrier freeze-out of the CTL in PSCs, which could be discerned from the actual defect-induced trap state capacitance signal by tuning the series resistance of PSCs. By eliminating the RC coupling shielding effect on the defect-induced capacitance spectroscopy, it is obtain the actual defect density which is 4-folds lower than the pseudo-trap density, and the spatial distribution of defects in PSCs which reveals that the commonly adopted interface passivators can passivate the defects about 60 nm away from the decorated surface. It is further revealed that phenethylammonium ions (PEA+) possess a better passivation capability over octylammonium ions (OA+) due to the deeper passivation depth for PEA+ on the surface defects in perovskite films.

Versailles Santa Barbara-5 derived bifunctional one-dimensional electrocatalysts of hierarchical Ni3S2 nanoprism@nanosheets arrays for self-supporting and binder-free efficient supercapacitor and methanol oxidation reaction

We herein present a structure consisting of two-dimensional (2D) single-crystal Ni3S2 nanosheets designed on one-dimensional (1D) Ni3S2 nanoprism arrays (also known as Ni3S2 nanoprism@nanosheets). These arrays are directly synthesized over nickel foam, which is referred to as Ni3S2/NF. These structures can be used as binderless, self-supporting electrodes for bifunctional methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) applications and high energy density hybrid supercapacitors (HSC). Ni3S2/NF is synthesized through the two steps of hydrothermal processes. In step I, 1D hexagonal Versailles Santa Barbara-5 (VSB-5) nanorod arrays have been prepared onto the surface of NF (denoted as VSB-5/NF). The precursor for step II was 1D VSB-5 nanorod arrays, which were transformed into Ni3S2 using Na2S as a sulfur source via the Kirkendall effect. Electrochemical examination results show that as-synthesized Ni3S2/NF electrode exhibited a high specific capacitance (Cs) of 145.0 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1, low series resistance (0.18 Ω) and charge-transfer resistance (0.05 Ω), small relaxation time constant (τ0 = 8 ms) and high frequency response at 125.8 Hz. Ni3S2/NF has a superior specific capacity of 145.0 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1 as a SC electrode. The Ni3S2/NF//CNTs/NF HSC can be operated up to 1.6 V in a 3 M KOH electrolyte, delivering an impressive energy density of 256.35 W h kg−1 at a power density of 6400 W kg−1. The as-assembled Ni3S2/NF//CNTs/NF HSC device exhibited an impressive stability of 81 % even after undergoing 10,000 charge-discharge cycles. When compared to previously reported catalysts, Ni3S2/NF was proved to be an excellent electrocatalyst for MOR due to its ability to generate a current density of 215.0 mA cm−2 at 0.5 VSCE, while maintaining a superior and stable current density of 619.2 mA cm−2 at 0.8 VSCE.

Studying effect of temperature on the efficiency of solar cells through the interpolation method

The objective of this paper is to present a comparative study between the traditional least squares method 'LSM' and the new method of "Polynomial Interpolation at Different Orders" for extracting the electrical parameters of a silicon solar cell. The focus is on the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. The results indicate that fourth-order interpolation yields the best results, but it is challenging to implement because the J-V function is neither linear nor transcendental. Therefore, we opted for the first-order Piecewise Linear Interpolation 'PLI' in the range where the J-V characteristic is nearly flat, i.e., the interval where the voltage varies from 0 to Vmax. By utilizing the first-order derivative of the function f(J, V) with two variables and MATLAB fzero function, we were able to determine the five critical parameters for our solar cell: the series resistance RS, the shunt resistance RSh, the light-generated current density Jph, the reverse saturation current density J0, and the ideality factor n. We used the Bland-Altman technique to evaluate the comparability between the two methods. The results obtained using this technique show that all the data points lie within the confidence interval. This indicates that the piecewise interpolation method provides J-V characteristic values very similar to those found by the LSM method. The strength of the new method lies in its speed, practicality, and the fact that it does not require initial values for the solar cell parameters. Additionally, it avoids the need to determine the variation intervals for each parameter and the use of complex functions such as the Lambert W function, which is necessary in the LSM method. By applying this method, we examined how the electrical parameters behave when the temperature varies from a cold region (0 °C) to a hot region (50 °C). The analysis of the results obtained by both scientific methods, namely the LSM method and polynomial interpolation, reveals a decrease in cell efficiency from 19.63 to 13.73 %. Similarly, the open-circuit voltage decreases from 0.62 to 0.524 V, and the ideality factor also decreases from 2.2 to 1.54. The current decreases from 39.50 to 34.30 mA/cm2 as the temperature increases from 0 °C to 30 °C, then stabilizes at 34.30 mA/cm2 for temperatures ranging from 30 °C to 50 °C.

Phase-Field Model of Electronic Antidoping.

Charge carrier doping usually reduces the resistance of a semiconductor or insulator, but was recently found to dramatically enhance the resistance in certain series of materials. This remarkable antidoping effect has been leveraged to realize synaptic memory trees in nanoscale hydrogenated perovskite nickelates, opening a new direction for neuromorphic computing. To understand these phenomena, we formulate a physical phase-field model of the antidoping effect based on its microscopic mechanism and simulate the voltage-driven resistance change in the prototypical system of hydrogenated perovskite nickelates. Remarkably, the simulations using this model, containing only one adjustable parameter whose magnitude is justified by first-principles calculations, quantitatively reproduce the experimentally observed treelike resistance states, which are shown unambiguously to arise from proton redistribution-induced local band gap enhancement and carrier blockage. Our work lays the foundation for modeling the antidoping phenomenon in strongly correlated materials at the mesoscale, which can provide guidance to the design of novel antidoping-physics-based devices.

Growth rate effect on the dielectric properties of FeNbO4 fibres processed by the laser floating zone technique

Fe-based materials exhibiting high dielectric constants have been attracting great attention due to their potential for application in electronic devices. In this work, iron niobate (FeNbO4) fibres were produced by the Laser Floating Zone technique, applying three different growth speeds: 5, 10 and 25 mm/h. The XRD patterns showed the presence of two phases, being the FeNbO4 the major one in all the samples. The effect of the growth speed is well perceptible in the morphology of the fibres. The dielectric measurements revealed that all samples have at least one dielectric relaxation phenomenon that is thermally activated, with the activation energy, estimated through the Arrhenius law, presenting values between 0.057 and 0.072 eV. The Nyquist plots showed the presence of a single semicircle for each temperature, that could be modelled by an equivalent electrical circuit consisting of an offset resistance in series with a parallel combination of a grain resistance and a grain constant phase element. The grain resistance increased with the increasing growth speed, from 574 to 64497 Ω, with the constant phase element showing the opposite trend, decreasing from 0.40 to 0.17 nF.

Deep insights into the optoelectronic properties of AgCdF3-based perovskite solar cell using the combination of DFT and SCAPS-1D simulation

The main focus of this research is to explore the properties and photovoltaic application of AgCdF3, and hence, initially, the CASTEP software was used in this study to assess the structural, optical, mechanical, and electrical characteristics of the AgCdF3 perovskite absorber layer within the context of the density functional theory (DFT) method. AgCdF3 resulting from the structural research is confirmed to be chemically and thermodynamically stable by the estimated tolerance factor and formation enthalpy. According to the band structure analysis, AgCdF3 is an indirect band gap semiconductor with a band gap of 1.106 eV, where the electrons of Cd-4d and F-2s dominate the band edges of this semiconductor. Analysis of mechanical properties revealed that the AgCdF3 cubic perovskite has a stable structure and enhanced ductility, indicating superior machinability. After completing the DFT analysis, a one-dimensional solar cell capacitance simulator 1D (SCAPS-1D) was used with three popular electron transport layers (ETLs), including ZnO, PCBM, and C60, to examine the photovoltaic (PV) performance of various AgCdF3-based solar cell heterostructures. Based on simulation findings, the device design with ITO/ZnO/AgCdF3/CuI/Au showed the highest photoconversion efficiency compared to the other configurations. A detailed analysis was conducted for the aforementioned configurations to determine the impact of variations in the absorber and ETL thickness on PV performance. Moreover, the effects of the three designs were assessed in terms of function, generation and recombination rate, capacitance, operating temperature, series and shunt resistance, and Mott-Schottky. Thus, this comprehensive simulation with validation results demonstrated the true potential of AgCdF3 absorber with appropriate ETLs such as ZnO, PCBM, and C60; on the other hand, the CuI as hole transport layer (HTL), paving the way for promising studies to develop high-efficiency AgCdF3 PSCs for the photovoltaic industry.

Cobalt- and copper-doped NASICON-type LATP polymer composite electrolytes enabling lithium titania electrode for solid-state lithium batteries with high-rate capability and excellent cyclic performance

This study reports cobalt- and copper-doped NASICON-type Li1.5Al0.5Ti1.7(PO4)3 (LATP) polymer composite solid-state electrolytes (CSEs) enabling Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) electrode with high-rate capability and excellent cyclic performance for solid-state lithium batteries. The fast Li+ conductor of Co- and Cu-doped LATP powders was successfully synthesized through a modified sol-gel method followed by thermal calcination. The equivalent series resistance as the linear decreasing function of the dopant concentration can be viewed, whereas the ionic conductivity showed an increasing function of the dopant amount. This reveals that the dopant concentration plays a positive role in facilitating the ionic conduction, and the ionic conductivity achieves as high as 3.18 × 10−4 S cm−1 (Co-doping) and 2.99 × 10−4 S cm−1 (Cu-doping) at ambient temperature. The changes in lattice characteristics and microstructure that the Co and Cu doping rely on are responsible for the elevated conductivity. The solid-state cell equipped with LTO-supported CSEs demonstrated not only high-rate capability at 5C (with a capacity retention of 84.6 % compared to the original capacity at 0.2C), but also superior cyclic stability with excellent Coulombic efficiency (> 99.2 %) over 425 cycles using Co- and Cu-doped LATP ceramics. With the aid of fast Li+ NASICON-type ceramics, the CSEs establish a conductive ionic pathway that facilitates Li+ ionic transport within the electrolyte while reducing the interfacial electrolyte/electrode resistance in solid-state cells (Li||CSE||LTO).

Quaternary functional semiconductor devices

Al/(Zn:Cd:Ni:TiO2)/p-Si diodes with (4:2:2:2), (5:2:2:1) and (6:4:4:0) ratios were named as D1, D2, D3, and Al/(CdO:ZnO:NiO:Ti)/p-Si diodes with of (4:2:2:2), (5:2:2:1) and (6:4:4:0) ratios were named as D4, D5 and D6, respectively. The functional interlayer was deposited via sol-gel spin coating method to develop new diodes/structures. Whereas the Ln(I)–V plot shows two linear sections for D1, D2, D3, and D5 structures, D2 and D6 revealed only one linear section in the forward-bias voltages. Therefore, D1, D2, D3, and D5 structures were found to exhibit two-exponential or two-parallel diode behavior in literature. The main electric parameters such as zero-bias barrier height, BH, (Φbo), ideality factor (n), reverse saturation-current (Is or Io)), rectification ratio at ±4.5 V, series resistance (Rs) and shunt resistance (Rsh) were extracted from the current-voltage (I-V) measurements. The number of surface sates (Nss) and their energy distribution were obtained using forward-bias I-V data by considering the voltage dependence of n and Φbo for each diode. The capacitance/conductance-voltage (C/G–V) plots at 1 MHz were used for extracting some of the other basic electrical parameters. The comparison of all the experimental results suggests that D1 and D3 structures have good performance in terms of lower leakage current, Nss and higher RR and so could be successfully used instead of conventional metal/insulator/semiconductor (MIS) structures.

Impact of fast charging and low-temperature cycling on lithium-ion battery health: A comparative analysis

Fast charging and low temperatures create harsh conditions that promote lithium deposition on graphite anodes, which significantly accelerates the degradation of the battery's state of health (SoH) and eventually could result in safety concerns. In this work, commercial lithium-ion batteries are investigated under fast charging conditions and at low environmental temperatures. The findings are compared with lithium-ion battery cycled under ambient temperature conditions. The fast charging and low temperatures result in dead lithium formation, which is then characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The low-temperature cycled battery exhibits significant growth of series resistance by an average of 73 %. In comparison, growth in charge transfer resistance is 16 %, and no significant change was observed in solid electrolyte interface (SEI) resistance due to the formation of dead lithium, compared to the battery cycled at ambient temperature. SEM images also confirm the dead lithium formation. The results provide insight into battery degradation in the case of high current due to low temperature and could lead to a better understanding of the degradation mechanism.

Performance analysis of LaFeO3 perovskite solar cells: A theoretical and experimental study

Lanthanum ferrite (LaFeO3) is a potential candidate for Perovskite Solar Cell (PSC) application. The transition metal oxide has strong electron-electron correlation which results in an increase in quantum efficiency (QE) of PSC. In this investigation, we reported synthesis of LaFeO3 perovskite material, simulation of LaFeO3-based PSC followed by experimental validation. The sol-gel method was employed to prepare nanoparticles of LaFeO3 for PSC application. The prepared perovskite material is analyzed by XRD, SEM, EDS, UV–Vis and FTIR. The photovoltaic (PV) application of synthesized LaFeO3 material is studied by SCAPS-1D. The LaFeO3-based PSC is simulated with various ETLs such as TiO2, PCBM, IGZO, In2O3, C60, ZnO, SnO2, WS2 and HTLs of Cu2O, CuInSe2, Spiro-OMeTAD, P3HT, D-PBTTT-14, V2O5, CFTS, CBTS. The simulation outcomes of 64 distinct configurations deduced the eight-best performing PSCs. For these eight PSCs, impact of thickness of perovskite absorber layer, operating temperature, defect density, series and shunt resistance, work function of back contact, J-V characteristics and QE curve has been studied. We have achieved theoretical maximum efficiency of 13.03 % for the configuration of FTO/WS2/LaFeO3/CBTS/Au. The optimized structure has experimentally obtained maximum efficiency of 0.79 %. This shows that it is promising material for future PV application.

Impact of device resistances in the performance of graphene-based terahertz photodetectors

In recent years, graphene field-effect-transistors (GFETs) have demonstrated an outstanding potential for terahertz (THz) photodetection due to their fast response and high-sensitivity. Such features are essential to enable emerging THz applications, including 6G wireless communications, quantum information, bioimaging and security. However, the overall performance of these photodetectors may be utterly compromised by the impact of internal resistances presented in the device, so-called access or parasitic resistances. In this work, we provide a detailed study of the influence of internal device resistances in the photoresponse of high-mobility dual-gate GFET detectors. Such dual-gate architectures allow us to fine tune (decrease) the internal resistance of the device by an order of magnitude and consequently demonstrate an improved responsivity and noise-equivalent-power values of the photodetector, respectively. Our results can be well understood by a series resistance model, as shown by the excellent agreement found between the experimental data and theoretical calculations. These findings are therefore relevant to understand and improve the overall performance of existing high-mobility graphene photodetectors.Graphical

Numerical simulation to optimize power conversion efficiency of an FTO/GO/Cs2AgBiBr6/Cu2O solar cell.

Efficient conversion of solar power to electrical power through the development of smart, reliable, and environmentally friendly materials is a key focus for the next-generation renewable energy sector. The involvement of degradable and toxic elements present in hybrid perovskites presents serious concerns regarding the commercial viability of these materials for the solar cell industry. In this study, a solar cell with a stable, nondegradable, and lead-free halide-based double perovskite Cs2AgBiBr6 as the absorber layer, Cu2O as a hole transport layer, and GO as the electron transport layer has been simulated using SCAPS 1D. The thickness of the absorber, electron transport, and hole transport layers are tuned to optimize the performance of the designed solar cell. Notably, perovskite solar cells functioned most efficiently with an electron affinity value of 4.0 eV for Cu2O. In addition, the effect of variation of series resistance and temperature on generation and recombination rates, current density, and quantum efficiency has been elaborated in detail. The findings of this study provide valuable insight and encouragement toward the realization of a non-toxic, inorganic perovskite solar device and will be a significant step forward in addressing environmental concerns associated with perovskite solar cell technology.

In Situ Electrochemical Cobalt Doping in Perovskite-Structured Lanthanum Nickelate Thin Film Toward Energy Conversion Enhancement of Polymer Solar Cells.

This study demonstrates that the electrochemical doping of lanthanum nickelate (LNO) with cobalt ions is a promising strategy for enhancing its physical and electrochemical properties, which are critical for energy storage and conversion devices. LNO emerges as a promising hole transport layer (HTL) in solar cells due to its stability, large band gap, and high transparency. Nevertheless, its low conductivity and improperly aligned band positions are persistent problems. Here, in a pioneering endeavor, Co-doped LNO thin films were synthesized electrochemically and applied as the HTL in polymer solar cells (PSCs). Characterization revealed the impact of Co doping on the electrochemical, structural, morphological, and optical properties of LNO thin films. Depending on the Co doping level, PSCs based on 10 mol % Co-doped LNO outperformed pure LNO, achieving a champion efficiency of 6.11% with enhanced short-circuit current density (12.84 mA cm-2), fill factor (68%), open-circuit voltage (0.70 V), and external quantum efficiency (82.6%). This enhancement resulted from decreased series resistance, refined surface morphology, minimized trap-assisted recombination, enhanced conductivity, increased charge carrier production, favorable energy level alignment, and improved current extraction facilitated by LNC0.10O HTL. Moreover, the unencapsulated PSC-LNC0.10O long-term stability notably improved and retained 86% of its initial PCE after 450 h storage in ambient air, 82% after being continuously heated to 85 °C for 300 h, and 80% after operating at maximum power point for 300 h. These findings offer a straightforward approach to enhancing PSC performance through Co doping of LNO, supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations that validate the experimental results and confirm the improvement in optical properties and stability of PSCs as an HTL.

Reactive DC Sputtered TiO2 Electron Transport Layers for Cadmium‐Free Sb2Se3 Solar Cells

AbstractThe evolution of Sb2Se3 heterojunction devices away from CdS electron transport layers (ETL) to wide bandgap metal oxide alternatives is a critical target in the development of this emerging photovoltaic material. Metal oxide ETL/Sb2Se3 device performance has historically been limited by relatively low fill factors, despite offering clear advantages with regards to photocurrent collection. In this study, TiO2 ETLs are fabricated via direct current reactive sputtering and tested in complete Sb2Se3 devices. A strong correlation between TiO2 ETL processing conditions and the Sb2Se3 solar cell device response under forward bias conditions is observed and optimized. Numerical device models support experimental evidence of a spike‐like conduction band offset, which can be mediated, provided a sufficiently high conductivity and low interfacial defect density can be achieved in the TiO2 ETL. Ultimately, a SnO2:F/TiO2/Sb2Se3/P3HT/Au device with the reactively sputtered TiO2 ETL delivers an 8.12% power conversion efficiency (η), the highest TiO2/Sb2Se3 device reported to‐date. This is achieved by a substantial reduction in series resistance, driven by improved crystallinity of the reactively sputtered anatase‐TiO2 ETL, whilst maintaining almost maximum current collection for this device architecture.

CoMnS@rGO nanocomposite grown on NF for high-performance supercapacitor-battery hybrid device and advancing electrochemical sensitivity

The co-electrodeposition approach has been widely used to synthesize the transition metal sulfides/oxides because of remarkable performance of the energy storage devices. In this research, cobalt manganese sulfide (CoMnS) binary compounds are synthesized using the co-electrodeposition approach. The main objective is to investigate the optimal number of depositing periods in cyclic voltammetry while maintaining a constant scan rate. The electrodes without binders are produced using a rapid synthesis approach, which involves assessing binary metal sulfide to achieve a significantly enhanced energy storage capacity. Further, the rGO is incorporated into the CoMnS to enhance the electrochemical properties. The CoMnS@rGO electrode showed the specific capacitance (Cs) of 2357 F/g because of the small equivalent series resistance values as determined through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement, indicating a higher level of conductivity. The hybrid electrode showed high values of energy and power densities of 50.8 Wh/kg and 3440 W/kg, respectively. Besides, the nanocomposite electrode is used as a chemical sensor and precisely detects the multiple elements. The estimated value of R2 is 0.994 because of the high sensitivity. The hybrid electrode showed a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 5. Furthermore, based on four observations, the comparative standard deviation (RSD) is calculated to be 1.9 %. The device showed high electrochemical glucose detection sensitivity. The nanocomposite-based electrodes provide a platform for designing novel multifunctional devices.