A Review on the Fabrication of Polymer-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Fabrication Methods

Thermoelectricity, by converting heat energy directly into useable electricity, offers a promising technology to convert heat from solar energy and to recover waste heat from industrial sectors and automobile exhausts. In recent years, most of the efforts have been done on improving the thermoelectric efficiency using different approaches, that is, nanostructuring, doping, molecular rattling, and nanocomposite formation. The applications of thermoelectric polymers at low temperatures, especially conducting polymers, have shown various advantages such as easy and low cost of fabrication, light weight, and flexibility. In this review, we will focus on exploring new types of polymers and the effects of different structures, concentrations, and molecular weight on thermoelectric properties. Various strategies to improve the performance of thermoelectric materials will be discussed. In addition, a discussion on the fabrication of thermoelectric devices, especially suited to polymers, will also be given. Finally, we provide the challenge and the future of thermoelectric polymers, especially thermoelectric hybrid model

Studies on relation between columnar order and electrical conductivity in HAT6 discotic liquid crystals using temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations

The vibrational property of 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexakis(hexyloxy)triphenylene (HAT6) discotic liquid crystal (DLC) material is investigated in this research by using temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy technique. One-dimensional (1D) charge transport mechanism in the DLC molecules is enabled in the columnar liquid crystalline (Dh) phase. The result indicates a high core-to-core correlation in the liquid crystal columnar phase, which has a ‘memory’ like effect that extends into isotropic phase at femtosecond timescale. This correlation is also confirmed through electrical conductivity measurement of DLCs, in which the electrical conductivity is enhanced in the DLC phase. DFT simulation was also carried out in order to elucidate the basic properties of HAT6 such as the band gap in the light of Raman spectra. An interesting outcome is that a freely unspecified boundary model produces in a more flexible molecule, resulting in a reduced band gap. Thus, this work provides an understanding of relationship between columnar order and electrical conductivity of HAT6 molecule, and potential strategy for design of DLCs in electronics application

Enhancing the Electronic Properties and Stability of High-EfficiencyTin-Lead Mixed Halide Perovskite Solar Cells via DopingEngineering

Overcoming Voc loss to increase the efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has been aggressively studied. In this work, we introduce and compare rubidium iodide (RbI) and potassium iodide (KI) alkali metal halides (AMHs) as dopants in a tin–lead (SnPb)-based perovskite system to improve the performance of PSCs by enhancing their Voc. Improvement in terms of surface morphology, crystallinity, charge transfer, and carrier transport in the SnPb perovskites was observed with the addition of AMH dopants. Significant power conversion efficiency improvement has been achieved with the incorporation of either dopant, and the highest efficiency was 21.04% in SnPb mixed halide PSCs when the RbI dopant was employed. In conclusion, we can outline the enhancement strategy that yields a remarkable efficiency of >20% with a smaller Voc loss and improved storage, light, and thermal stability in SnPb PSCs via doping engineering

High-Efficiency Lead-Free Wide Band Gap Perovskite Solar Cells via Guanidinium Bromide Incorporation

Despite lead halide perovskite(top)/silicon(bottom) tandem solar cell achieving >29% efficiency, the toxicity of lead limits the adoption of perovskites in electronic devices. To solve this problem, tin perovskite has been suggested as an alternative candidate to be used as the top cell. However, most of the reports on tin perovskite solar cells are based on narrow band gap materials (band gap: 1.20–1.40 eV), which are not suitable to be used as the tandem top cell. In addition, the efficiency of the previously reported wide band gap lead-free perovskites is not satisfactory, shown to be less than 2.00%. This study explores the fabrication of the wide band gap (1.61 eV) ASnI2Br perovskite solar cells through the optimization of formamidinium and guanidinium content to improve the efficiency from 1.68 to 7.00%. Substituting the A site with larger cation results in a larger crystal size, which translated into higher device stability. Better energy-level alignment within the device significantly enhanced the charge injection and extraction, which translated into higher open-circuit voltage. This work provides proof that tin-halide perovskite solar cells have the potential in the fabrication of lead-free all-perovskite tandem solar cells.This research was supported by JST Mirai Program (JPMJMI17EA) and the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC202008050034)

Large Grain Growth and Energy Alignment Optimization by Diethylammonium Iodide Substitution at A Site in Lead-Free Tin Halide Perovskite Solar Cells

Environment-friendly tin perovskite solar cells (T-PKSCs) are the most suitable alternative candidate for lead-free PKSCs. However, the photovoltaic performance of such T-PKSCs is far below those of lead-based perovskite solar cells due to an energetic mismatch between the perovskite layer and charge transport layers. Herein, it is shown that, by partial substitution of the A-site cation using diethylammonium iodide (DEAI) substitution, deeper energy levels are obtained. At the same time, the trap density is reduced and the grain size is significantly improved. The fabricated solar cell shows much enhanced efficiency from 7.31% to 10.28%, short-circuit current density from 18.68 to 21.69 mA cm−2, open-circuit voltage from 0.59 to 0.67 V, and fill factor from 0.67 to 0.71 after DEAI substitution. Such an efficiency improvement can be explained by matching energy levels at the interfaces between perovskite layer and the charge transport layers. In addition, after 50 days of storage, the modified T-PKSCs demonstrate high stability maintaining 78% of its initial efficiency, whereas the reference device degrades to 68% during 28 days storage