Stark Effect in Perovskite/TiO2Solar Cells: Evidence of Local Interfacial Order

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The immediate impacts of COVID-19 on European electricity systems: a first assessment and lessons learned

The worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 forced most countries to intervene with policies and actions—including lockdowns, social-distancing and smart working measures—aimed at mitigating the health system and socio-economic disruption risks. The electricity sector was impacted as well, with performance largely reflecting the changes in the industrial and commercial sectors operations and in the social behavior patterns. The most immediate consequences concerned the power demand profiles, the generation mix composition and the electricity price trends. As a matter of fact, the electricity sectors experienced a foretaste of the future, with higher renewable energy penetration and concerns for security of supply. This paper presents a systemic approach toward assessing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the power sector. This is aimed at supporting decision making—particularly for policy makers, regulators, and system operators—by quantifying shorter term effects and identifying longer term impacts of the pandemic waves on the power system. Various metrics are defined in different areas—system operation, security, and electricity markets—to quantify those impacts. The methodology is finally applied to the European power system to produce a comparative assessment of the effects of the lockdown in the European context

Electronic transport, ionic activation energy and trapping phenomena in a polymer-hybrid halide perovskite composite

Abstract The exploitation of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite-polymer composites is a promising strategy for the preparation of photoactive thin layers for solar cells. The preparation of these composites is a simple fabrication method with improved moisture stability when compared to that of pristine perovskite films. To deepen the understanding of the charge transport properties of these films, we investigated charge carrier mobility, traps, and ion migration. For this purpose, we applied a combinatory measurement approach that proves how such composites can still retain an ambipolar charge transport nature and the same mobility values of the related perovskite. Furthermore, thermally stimulated current measurements revealed that the polymer influenced the creation of additional defects during film formation without affecting charge mobility. Finally, impedance spectroscopy measurements suggested the addition of starch may hinder ion migration, which would require larger activation energies to move ions in composite films. These results pave the way for new strategies of polymer-assisted perovskite film development

A simplified genomic profiling approach predicts outcome in metastatic colorectal cancer

The response of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) to the first-line conventional combination therapy is highly variable, reflecting the elevated heterogeneity of the disease. The genetic alterations underlying this heterogeneity have been thoroughly characterized through omic approaches requiring elevated efforts and costs. In order to translate the knowledge of CRC molecular heterogeneity into a practical clinical approach, we utilized a simplified Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) based platform to screen a cohort of 77 patients treated with first-line conventional therapy. Samples were sequenced using a panel of hotspots and targeted regions of 22 genes commonly involved in CRC. This revealed 51 patients carrying actionable gene mutations, 22 of which carried druggable alterations. These mutations were frequently associated with additional genetic alterations. To take into account this molecular complexity and assisted by an unbiased bioinformatic analysis, we defined three subgroups of patients carrying distinct molecular patterns. We demonstrated these three molecular subgroups are associated with a different response to first-line conventional combination therapies. The best outcome was achieved in patients exclusively carrying mutations on TP53 and/or RAS genes. By contrast, in patients carrying mutations in any of the other genes, alone or associated with mutations of TP53/RAS, the expected response is much worse compared to patients with exclusive TP53/RAS mutations. Additionally, our data indicate that the standard approach has limited efficacy in patients without any mutations in the genes included in the panel. In conclusion, we identified a reliable and easy-to-use approach for a simplified molecular-based stratification of mCRC patients that predicts the efficacy of the first-line conventional combination therapy

Application of two in vitro methods for the toxicity test of autogenous vaccines

According to the 3Rs principle (Replacement, Refinement, Reduction), this study aims to find alternative methods to evaluate the toxicity of autogenous vaccines. Currently in Italy the Istituti Zooprofilattici Sperimentali (II.ZZ.SS.) must perform the in vivo toxicity test for each lot of autogenous vaccine produced as laid down in the Decree of 17 March 1994. This paper describes two in vitro methods for assessing the toxicity of autogenous vaccines. The first is the MTT test based on the metabolic reaction of tetrazolium salt in vital cells. The second method is the test for measurement of IL-1ß production by macrophages, obtained after in vitro differentiation from pig monocytes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The two tests were performed on different vaccine antigens dilution: 1:20, 1:100 and 1:500. The results show a positive tendency between the two methods pointing out the potential of these methodologies combined for the replacement of the current in vivo test

Rheological and physical characterization of PEDOT: PSS/graphene oxide nanocomposites for perovskite solar cells

In this work, the influence of graphene oxide (GO) doped Poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS) thin nanocomposite on an indium–tin-oxide (ITO) anode, as hole transport layer (HTL) in perovskite solar cells, was investigated. Different concentrations of GO were added into the PEDOT:PSS in order to enhance its conductivity. In particular, the influence of GO content on the rheological and thermal properties of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/GO nanocomposites was initially examined. The GO filler was prepared by using modified Hummers method and dispersed into PEDOT:PSS in different quantity (ranging from 0.05 to 0.25 %wt/wt). The obtained nanocomposite solutions were analyzed by rheological characterizations in order to evaluate the influence of the GO filler on the viscosity of the PEDOT:PSS matrix. The wettability of solutions was evaluated by Contact Angle (CA) measurements. The quality of GO dispersion into the polymer matrix was studied using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thermal characterizations (DSC and TGA) were, finally, applied on nanocomposite films in order to evaluate thermal stability of the films as well as to indirectly comprehend the GO influence on PEDOT:PSS-water links

Inclusion of 2d transition metal dichalcogenides in perovskite inks and their influence on solar cell performance

Funding Information: Acknowledgments: V.N. wishes to thank the support from the ERC 3D2DPrint CoG Grant. The authors gratefully acknowledge the project Best4U—“Tecnologia per celle solari bifacciali ad alta Efficienza a 4 terminali per utility scale”. The authors are grateful to the “Progetto Tecnopolo per la Medicina di precisione, Deliberazione della Giunta Regionale n. 2117 del 21 November 2018”.Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite materials have raised great interest in recent years due to their excellent optoelectronic properties, which promise stunning improvements in photovoltaic technologies. Moreover, two-dimensional layered materials such as graphene, its derivatives, and transition metal dichalcogenides have been extensively investigated for a wide range of electronic and optoelectronic applications and have recently shown a synergistic effect in combination with hybrid perovskite materials. Here, we report on the inclusion of liquid-phase exfoliated molybdenum disulfide nanosheets into different perovskite precursor solutions, exploring their influence on final device performance. We compared the effect of such additives upon the growth of diverse perovskites, namely CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3 ) and triple-cation with mixed halides Csx (MA0.17FA0.83 )(1−x)Pb (I0.83Br0.17 )3 perovskite. We show how for the referential MAPbI3 materials the addition of the MoS2 additive leads to the formation of larger, highly crystalline grains, which result in a remarkable 15% relative improvement in power conversion efficiency. On the other hand, for the mixed cation– halide perovskite no improvements were observed, confirming that the nucleation process for the two materials is differently influenced by the presence of MoS2 .publishersversionpublishe

Two-step MAPbI3 deposition by low-vacuum proximity-space-effusion for high-efficiency inverted semitransparent perovskite solar cells

The innovative two-step Low Vacuum-Proximity Space Effusion (LV-PSE) method exploits the conversion of a textured PbI2 layer into MAPbI3 by adsorption–incorporation–migration of energetic MAI molecules, thus enabling a best efficiency of 17.5% in 150 nm thick layers