CuSCN as Hole Transport Material with 3D/2D Perovskite Solar Cells

We report stable perovskite solar cells having 3D/2D perovskite absorber layers and CuSCN as an inorganic hole transporting material (HTM). (Phenylethyl)ammonium (PEA) and [(4-fluorophenyl)ethyl]ammonium (FPEA) have been chosen as 2D cations, creating thin layers of (PEA)(2)PbI4 or (FPEA)(2)PbI4 on top of the 3D perovskite. The 2D perovskite as an interfacial layer, neutralizes defects at the surface of the 3D perovskite absorber, and can protect from moistureinduced degradations. We demonstrate excellent charge extraction through the modified interfaces into the inorganic CuSCN HTM, with device efficiencies above 18%, compared to 19.3% with conventional spiro-OMeTAD. Furthermore, we show significantly enhanced ambient stability

Zinc oxide nanorods functionalized paper for protein preconcentration in biodiagnostics

Distinguishing a specific biomarker from a biofluid sample containing a large variety of proteins often requires the selective preconcentration of that particular biomarker to a detectable level for analysis. Low-cost, paper-based device is an emerging opportunity in diagnostics. In the present study, we report a novel Zinc oxide nanorods functionalized paper platform for the preconcentration of Myoglobin, a cardiac biomarker. Zinc oxide nanorods were grown on a Whatman filter paper no. 1 via the standard hydrothermal route. The growth of Zinc oxide nanorods on paper was confirmed by a combination of techniques consisting of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS,) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) analysis. The Zinc oxide nanorods modified Whatman filter paper (ZnO-NRs/WFP) was further tested for use as a protein preconcentrator. Paper-based ELISA was performed for determination of pre-concentration of cardiac marker protein Myoglobin using the new ZnO-NRs/WFP platform. The ZnO-NRs/WFP could efficiently capture the biomarker even from a very dilute solution (Myoglobin < 50 nM). Our ELISA results show a threefold enhancement in protein capture with ZnO-NRs/WFP compared to unmodified Whatman filter paper, allowing accurate protein analysis and showing the diagnostic concept