Mechanisms of charge accumulation in the dark operation of perovskite solar cells

In this work, a new current peak at forward bias in the dark current–voltage curves has been identified for standard mesoscopic perovskite solar cells. This characteristic peak appears only under some specific conditions, mainly in the reverse scan (RS) direction and when the solar cells were kept for several seconds under short-circuit conditions before starting the RS measurement. This peak disappears when the above experimental conditions are not applied. It is considered that this uncommon diode shape is obtained because shallow and/or deep trap states located at the interface between either perovskite/ p-type or perovskite/n-type transport materials are dynamically filled during the RS voltage scan. To corroborate this hypothesis, the response of hole tran sport materials (HTMs), small molecule spiro-OMeTAD and polymer P3HT, as well as both HTMs with additives, was compared. Also perovskite absorbers such as CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 and all-inorganic perovskite based on cesium (CsPbI 3 ) were also analyzed, achieving in all cases similar trends.This research was supported by CRES

Tandem Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on TCO-less Back Contact Bottom Electrodes

Mechanically stacked and series connected tandem dye sensitized solar cells (T-DSSCs) are fabricated in novel architectures. The architecture consist of TCO tandem DSSCs stacked with TCO-less back contact DSSCs as bottom electrodes (TCO-less tandem DSSCs). Resulting TCO-less tandem DSSCs architecture finds its usefulness in efficient photon harvesting due to improved light transmission and enhanced photons reaching to the bottom electrodes. The fabricated tandem performance was verified with visible light harvesting model dyes D131 and N719 as a proof of concept and provided the photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.06% under simulated condition. Introduction of panchromatic photon harvesting by utilizing near infrared light absorbing Si-phthalocyanine dye in combination with the modified tandem DSSC architecture led to enhancement in the PCE up to 7.19%.India-Japan Expert Group Meeting on Biomolecular Electronics & Organic Nanotechnology for Environment Preservation (IJEGMBE 2015), December 23-26, 2015, Fukuoka, Japa

Statistical Communication Theory

Contains research objectives and reports on eight research projects

Structural Stability of Iodide Perovskite: A Combined Cluster Expansion Method and First-Principles Study

To aid the development of Pb-free perovskite solar cells, the stability of the iodide perovskite structure ABI3 has been investigated by first-principles calculations, Bader charge analysis, and the cluster expansion method. At the A sites, methylammonium (MA, CH3NH3+), formamidinium (FA, CH(NH2)2+), and Cs+ were modeled, while at the B sites, one or two elements from Pb, Sn, Ge, In, Ga, Bi, and Sr were examined. For the partially substituted system A(B,B′)I3, we found that the stability strongly depends on the identity of the A-site cation. For example, Cs(B,B′)I3 structures are stabilized by a mixture of divalent cations, such as Pb, Sn, and Ge, at the B site. Concerning the stabilization mechanisms, Coulomb energy gain seems to be the origin of the structural stability in A = Cs structures. From our results, Cs(B,B′)I3, where the B site is occupied by divalent cations, are possible candidates for high stability, lead-free solar cell materials

Statistical Communication Theory

Contains reports on six research projects

Statistical Communication Theory

Contains reports on nine research projects

Engineering T Cells To Suppress Acute Gvhd and Leukemia Relapse After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) limits the therapeutic benefit of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) and requires immunosuppressive prophylaxis that compromises antitumor and antipathogen immunity. OX40 is a costimulatory receptor upregulated on circulating T cells in aGVHD and plays a central role in driving the expansion of alloreactive T cells. Here, we show that OX40 is also upregulated on T cells infiltrating GVHD target organs in a rhesus macaque model, supporting the hypothesis that targeted ablation of OX40+ T cells will mitigate GVHD pathogenesis. We thus created an OX40-specific cytotoxic receptor that, when expressed on human T cells, enables selective elimination of OX40+ T cells. Because OX40 is primarily upregulated on CD4+ T cells upon activation, engineered OX40-specific T cells mediated potent cytotoxicity against activated CD4+ T cells and suppressed alloreactive T-cell expansion in a mixed lymphocyte reaction model. OX40 targeting did not inhibit antiviral activity of memory T cells specific to Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and adenoviral antigens. Systemic administration of OX40-targeting T cells fully protected mice from fatal xenogeneic GVHD mediated by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Furthermore, combining OX40 targeting with a leukemia-specific chimeric antigen receptor in a single T cell product provides simultaneous protection against leukemia and aGVHD in a mouse xenograft model of residual disease posttransplant. These results underscore the central role of OX40+ T cells in mediating aGVHD pathogenesis and support the feasibility of a bifunctional engineered T-cell product derived from the stem cell donor to suppress both disease relapse and aGVHD following allo-HSCT