2 research outputs found
Atomic Force Microscopy Adhesion Mapping: Revealing Assembly Process in Inorganic Systems
There are still many unknowns regarding
assembly processes. In
this work, we demonstrate the capability of atomic force microscopy
(AFM) adhesion mapping in revealing the conditions that promote the
light-induced assembly of nanoparticles (NPs) on nanostructured surfaces
in inorganic systems, both in macro- and nanodomains. Gold (Au) NPs
and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures are employed as the model materials,
and different characterization techniques are used for extracting
the relationship between the materials’ crystallinity, stoichiometry,
and morphology as well as surface adhesion mapping information. The
light-induced assembly of Au NPs is associated with the attraction
forces between the opposite surface charges of the NPs and preferential
ZnO sites, which can be identified by adhesion mapping. We show that
the yield of Au nanoclusters assembled onto the ZnO surface depends
on the crystallinity and stoichiometry of ZnO and is not due to the
roughness of the surface. The presented experiments demonstrate that
AFM adhesion mapping can be used as an invaluable tool for predicting
the strength and directions of assembly processes
Efficient and Stable Carbon-Based Perovskite Solar Cells Enabled by Mixed CuPc:CuSCN Hole Transporting Layer for Indoor Applications
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are an innovative technology
with
great potential to offer cost-effective and high-performance devices
for converting light into electricity that can be used for both outdoor
and indoor applications. In this study, a novel hole-transporting
layer (HTL) was created by mixing copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) molecules
into a copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) film and was applied to carbon-based
PSCs with cesium/formamidinium (Cs0.17FA0.83Pb(I0.83Br0.17)3) as a photoabsorber.
At the optimum concentration, a high power conversion efficiency (PCE)
of 15.01% was achieved under AM1.5G test conditions, and 32.1% PCE
was acquired under low-light 1000 lux conditions. It was discovered
that the mixed CuPc:CuSCN HTL helps reduce trap density and improve
the perovskite/HTL interface as well as the HTL/carbon interface.
Moreover, the PSCs based on the mixed CuPc:CuSCN HTL provided better
stability over 1 year due to the hydrophobicity of CuPc material.
In addition, thermal stability was tested at 85 °C and the devices
achieved an average efficiency drop of approximately 50% of the initial
PCE value after 1000 h. UV light stability was also examined, and
the results revealed that the average efficiency drop of 40% of the
initial value for 70 min of exposure was observed. The work presented
here represents an important step toward the practical implementation
of the PSC as it paves the way for the development of cost-effective,
stable, yet high-performance PSCs for both outdoor and indoor applications