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We report an experimental study on widely tunable terahertz (THz) wave difference frequency generation (DFG) with hydrogen-bonded crystals 2-(3-(4-hydroxystyryl)-5,5-dime-thylcyclohex-2-enylidene) malononitrile (OH1). The organic crystals were pumped by a ∼1.3 μm double-pass KTiOPO4 optical parametric oscillator. A tuning range of 0.02–20 THz was achieved. OH1 crystals offer a long effective interaction length (also high output) for the generation below 3 THz, owing to the low absorption and favorable phase-matching. The highest energy of 507 nJ/pulse was generated at 1.92 THz with a 1.89-mm-thick crystal. Comprehensive explanations were provided, on the basis of theoretical calculations. Cascading phenomenon during the DFG process was demonstrated. The photon conversion efficiency could reach 2.9%.

The highly efficient polymer solar cells were realized by doping poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO) dots into active layer. The dependence of doping amount on devices performance was investigated and a high efficiency of 7.15% was obtained at an optimal concentration, accounting for a 22.4% enhancement. The incorporation of PFO dots (Pdots) is conducted to the improvement of Jsc and fill factor mainly due to the enhancement of light absorption and charge transport property. Pdots blended in active layer provides an interface for charge transfer and enables the formation of percolation pathways for electron transport. The introduction of Pdots was proven an effective way to improve optical and electrical properties of solar cells.

Gold nanorods (Au NRs) are synthesized and doped into titanium dioxide (TiO2) buffer layer of polymer solar cells based on low bandgap polymer semiconductor, and the photovoltaic properties of devices doping with different amount of Au NRs are measured and investigated. Enhanced light trapping has been realized through localized surface plasmon resonance and scattering effect of Au NRs, resulting in improved short circuit current density (Jsc) while maintaining the corresponding open-circuit voltage (Voc). Also, higher electrical conductivity of TiO2 layer has been obtained owing to introduction of high-conductivity Au NRs, which contributes to the improved Jsc as well. The maximum power conversion efficiency of 6.72% is obtained while introducing 1.5 wt. % Au NRs into the TiO2, leading to a 15.5% enhancement compared with the control devices.

We report a catalyst-free epitaxial growth of silicon nanowires on polyhedral facets of mother Si nanoparticles by thermal evaporation process. Single silicon nanowires and octopuslike silicon nanowires (OSNWs) were synthesized under different temperatures. The OSNWs have several directions including ⟨112⟩, ⟨110⟩, and the unusual directions of ⟨100⟩ and ⟨111⟩. A catalyst-free temperature-dependent epitaxial growth model was suggested. Using the Wulff theory and first principle calculations, these growth directions can be explained by the preferential selection of temperature-dependent surface energies. It thus revealed an important but simple growth model in which the growth directions could be delicately controlled through only determining temperature and substrate orientation.