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Tin-based perovskite solar cells are expected to replace lead-based perovskite solar cells to achieve environmentally friendly devices. Currently, a significant challenge lies in low filling factor and short-circuit current density, leading to an overall lower efficiency of these cells. In this context, we conducted a comprehensive comparative study on the deposition of these three inorganic small-molecule materials (CsBr, CsCl, CsI) on tin-based perovskite layers. The results showed that depositing these three inorganic small-molecule materials (CsBr, CsCl, CsI) on tin-based perovskite layers can improve the topography of the thin film and display an increased grain size. Simultaneously, the presence of the passivation layer facilitates preferred crystal orientation and enhanced charge carrier transport capabilities. Furthermore, devices with passivation layers exhibit reduced series resistance and increased shunt resistance, leading to a higher filling factor, a higher short-circuit current density, and a reduced leakage current in the passivated devices. This results in an elevated overall conversion efficiency of the devices. Notably, among the three halide materials employed for passivation, CsI demonstrates the most effective passivation, with the champion device achieving an efficiency of 6.0%. This study contributes valuable insights into the passivation strategies for tin-based perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal halide perovskites have attracted considerable attention as novel optoelectronic materials for their excellent optical and electrical properties. Inorganic perovskites (CsPbX3, X = Cl, Br, I) are now viable alternative candidates for third-generation photovoltaic technology because of their high photoelectric conversion efficiency, high carrier mobility, good defect tolerance, simple preparation method and many other advantages. However, the toxicity of lead is problematic for practical implementation. Thus, the fabrication of lead-free perovskite materials and devices has been actively conducted. In this work, the energy band and photoelectric properties of inorganic perovskites CsBX3 (B = Pb, Sn, Ge, X = Cl, Br, I) have been investigated with the first principles calculation, and the possible defect energy levels and their formation energies in different components, in particular, have been systematically studied. The advantages and disadvantages of Sn and Ge as replacement elements for Pb have been demonstrated from the perspective of defects. This study provides an important basis for the study of the properties and applications of lead-free perovskites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tin-based perovskites are promising for realizing lead-free perovskite solar cells; however, there remains a significant challenge to achieving high-performance tin-based perovskite solar cells. In particular, the device fill factor was much lower than that of other photovoltaic cells. Therefore, understanding how the fill factor was influenced by device physical mechanisms is meaningful. In this study, we reported a method to improve the device fill factor using a thin cesium iodide layer modification in tin-based perovskite cells. With the thin passivation layer, a high-quality perovskite film with larger crystals and lower charge carrier densities was obtained. As a result, the series resistance of devices was decreased; the shunt resistance of devices was increased; and the non-radiative recombination of devices was suppressed. Consequently, the fill factor, and the device efficiency and stability were greatly enhanced. The champion tin-based perovskite cells showed a fill factor of 63%, an efficiency of 6.1% and excellent stability. Our study reveals that, with a moderate thin layer modification strategy, the long-term stability of tin-based PSCs can be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power conversion efficiency of modern perovskite solar cells has surpassed that of commercial photovoltaic technology, showing great potential for commercial applications. However, the current high-performance perovskite solar cells all contain toxic lead elements, blocking their progress toward industrialization. Lead-free tin-based perovskite solar cells have attracted tremendous research interest, and more than 14% power conversion efficiency has been achieved. In tin-based perovskite, Sn2+ is easily oxidized to Sn4+ in air. During this process, two additional electrons are introduced to form a heavy p-type doping perovskite layer, necessitating the production of hole transport materials different from that of lead-based perovskite devices or organic solar cells. In this review, for the first time, we summarize the hole transport materials used in the development of tin-based perovskite solar cells, describe the impact of different hole transport materials on the performance of tin-based perovskite solar cell devices, and summarize the recent progress of hole transport materials. Lastly, the development direction of lead-free tin-based perovskite devices in terms of hole transport materials is discussed based on their current development status. This comprehensive review contributes to the development of efficient, stable, and environmentally friendly tin-based perovskite devices and provides guidance for the hole transport layer material design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, lead halide perovskite materials have attracted great interest and are widely used in solar cells and light-emitting devices due to their high photoelectronic quantum yield, high color purity, high defect tolerance, long diffusion length, high carrier mobility, and bandgap tunability. However, the application of lead halide perovskites is limited due to the presence of Pb, making lead-free perovskites an important substitute due to their same crystal structure and similar properties. Although some reports have been made on lead-free perovskite materials, there are still great challenges to realize their application due to their poor stability, easy phase transition, and low photoelectric conversion efficiency. Here, we mainly summarize the development and application of ABX3-type lead-free halide perovskite materials, especially in optoelectronic devices. The article first introduces the lattice and energy band structure, the optoelectronic properties of lead-free perovskites, including the research method of lead-free perovskites, and then analyzes the reasons for the low luminous efficiency and poor stability of lead-free perovskite materials. Second, the development history and current situation of lead-free perovskites in different optoelectronic device applications are summarized. Finally, we present the challenges and prospects for the future development of lead-free perovskites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapidly developing organic–inorganic hybrid chalcogenide solar cells have now become a hot topic of interest. However, the bandgap of inorganic ferroelectric materials with a typical chalcogenide structure is too wide to match the solar spectrum, while the ferroelectricity of organic-inorganic hybrid chalcogenide materials with a narrow bandgap, meth amide–lead–iodine, is not obvious, and the lead element causes environmental pollution. The recently discovered organic–inorganic hybrid material [C6N2H18]BiI5 with good ferroelectricity and the narrowest bandgap of molecular ferroelectrics can absorb visible light in the range of 380 nm to 660 nm, and compound [C6N2H18]SbI5 with the Bi cognate element Sb was also synthesized. In this paper, we designed the first experiment to prepare thin films by mixing and doping the above two materials in five different molar ratios, and we comparatively studied the changes in crystal structure, surface morphology, and photophysical properties of the prepared multicomponent hybrid films according to the mixing ratio. A theoretical model was developed to calculate and analyze the bandgap of the hybrid doped compounds and compare it with the experimental values. It was found that the absorption spectra of the multicomponent hybrid films were red-shifted relative to the original material, indicating that the forbidden bandwidth was reduced to absorb a wider range of visible light, and the reason for this was thought to be the narrowing of the bandgap due to doping. When the mixing ratio was 0.4:0.6, the bandgap was the narrowest and the light absorption was the best; the highest quality of the film was obtained when the mixing ratio was 0.5:0.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since their discovery, ferroelectric materials have shown excellent dielectric responses, pyroelectricity, piezoelectricity, electro-optical effects, nonlinear optical effects, etc. They are a class of functional materials with broad application prospects. Traditional pure inorganic piezoelectric materials have better piezoelectricity but higher rigidity; pure organic piezoelectric materials have better flexibility but havetoo small a piezoelectric coefficient. The material composite, on the other hand, can combine the advantages of both, so that it has both flexibility and a high piezoelectric coefficient. In this paper, a new molecular piezoelectric material (C5H11NO)2PbBr4 with a high Curie temperature Tc and a large piezoelectric voltage constant g33, referred to as (ATHP)2PbBr4, was used to prepare a 0-3 type piezoelectric composite film by compounding with an organic polymer material polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and its ferroelectricity was investigated. The results show that the 0-3 type (ATHP)2PbBr4 piezoelectric composite film has good ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity, and the calculated piezoelectric voltage constant g33 after polarization is about 358.6 × 10−3 Vm/N, which is higher than that of PVDF material, and is important for the fabrication of high-performance piezoelectric sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depolarization field of ferroelectric photovoltaic materials can enhance the separation and transport of photogenerated carriers, which will improve the performance of photovoltaic devices, thus attracting the attention of researchers. In this paper, a narrow bandgap molecular ferroelectric Hexane-1,6-diammonium pentaiodobismuth (HDA-BiI5) was selected as the photo absorption layer for the fabrication of solar cells. After optimizing the ferroelectric thin film by the antisolvent process, the effect of different polarization voltages on the performance of ferroelectric devices was studied. The results showed that there was a significant increase in short-circuit current density, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency showed an overall increasing trend. Finally, we analyzed the internal mechanism of the effect of polarization on the device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Crataegus pinnatifida is widely used as functional food and traditional medicine in China for various applications. Polysaccharides may contribute to health benefits, such as modulating human gut microbiota (HGM). To investigate structure features of polysaccharides from this plant, fruits of C. pinnatifida were extracted with boiling water, yielding crude polysaccharides HAW. A novel polysaccharide, named HAW1-1, was pooled by DEAE Sepharose™ Fast Flow column and further purified by Sephacryl S-100 HR column. The molecular weight of HAW1-1 was 42.35 kDa. The carbohydrate content of HAW1-1 was 99.42% and no protein was detected. The monosaccharide analysis showed this polysaccharide was only composed of glucose. According to the partial acid hydrolysis, methylation analysis and NMR spectra, the backbone of HAW1-1 was consisted of 1,4-linked α-D-glucan and 1,4,6-linked α-D-glucan. The side chains were composed of 1,6-linked α-D-glucan and terminal-linked α-D-glucan. The bioactivity tests showed that HAW1-1 could promote the growth of three species of intestinal Bacteroides and produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). The results suggested that HAW1-1 might be a potential prebiotic candidate to maintain intestinal homeostasis and improve human gut health. Highlights • A novel glucan, HAW1-1 was extracted from the fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida. • The backbone of the polysaccharide was 1,4-linked and 1,4,6-linked α-D-glucan. • The branches had 1,6-linked α-D-glucan and terminal-linked α-D-glucan. • HAW1-1 could promote growth of intestinal Bacteroides. • HAW1-1 could also be used by the Bacteroides to produce short-chain fatty acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoelectric devices can be so widely used in various detection industries that people began to focus on its research. The research of photoelectric sensors with high performance has become an industry goal. In this paper, we prepared photodetectors using organic–inorganic hybrid semiconductor materials with narrow bandgap hexane-1,6-diammonium pentaiodobismuth (HDA-BiI5) and investigated the detector photoresponse and time-response characteristics under a single light source. The device exhibits high photoresponsivity and fast response time. The photoresponsivity can reach 1.45 × 10−3 A/W and 8.5 × 10−4 A/W under laser irradiation at 375 nm and 532 nm wavelengths, and the rise and decay times are 63 ms and 62 ms, 62 ms and 64 ms, respectively. The device has excellent performance and this work can extend the application of organic–inorganic hybrid semiconductor materials in photovoltaic and photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have attracted tremendous attention due to their ideal optoelectronic properties, such as high color purity, high fluorescence quantum yield, and tunable light color. The perovskite layer plays a decisive role in the performance of PeLEDs and the solvent engineering of the perovskite layer is the key technological breakthrough in preparing high quality films. In this study, we have proposed the strategy of adding different amounts of solvents to the perovskite precursor solution to optimize the morphology of perovskite films and device performance. As a result, with the decreasing concentration of perovskite precursor solution, the perovskite film morphology is smoother and more favorable for carrier injection and combing, which induces an enhanced external quantum efficiency. The maximum luminance of PeLEDs was increased from 1667 cd/m2 to 9857 cd/m2 and the maximum current efficiency was increased from 6.7 cd/A to 19 cd/A. This work provides a trend to achieve improved film morphology and device performance for perovskite optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexane-1,6-diammonium pentaiodobismuth (HDA-BiI5) is one of the narrowest bandgap molecular semiconductor reported in recent years. Through the study of its energy band structure, it can be identified as an N-type semiconductor and is able to absorb most of the visible light, making it suitable to fabricate solar cells. In this paper, SnO2 was used as an electron transport layer in HDA-BiI5-based solar cells, for its higher carrier mobility compared with TiO2, which is the electron transport layer used in previous researches. In addition, the dilution ratio of SnO2 solution has an effect on both the morphology and photophysical properties of HDA-BiI5 films. At the dilution ratio of SnO2:H2O = 3:8, the HDA-BiI5 film has a better morphology and is less defect inside, and the corresponding device exhibited the best photovoltaic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the semiconductor industry, research on photoelectronic devices has been emphasized. In this paper, a molecular semiconductor material with a narrow bandgap of hexane-1,6-diammonium pentaiodobismuth (HDA-BiI5) was utilized to prepare photodetectors without electron transport layers. Using a single light source, the effects of different wavelengths and different powers on the photoresponsivity, switching ratio, specific detectivity, and external quantum efficiency of the device were investigated. It is demonstrated that this device has excellent responsivity, specific detectivity, stability, and repeatability, and this work will help expand the application of molecular semiconductor materials for photodetection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial to find a good material as a hole transport layer (HTL) to improve the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), devices with an inverted structure. Polyethylene dioxythiophene-poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and inorganic nickel oxide (NiOx) have become hotspots in the study of hole transport materials in PSCs on account of their excellent properties. In our research, NiOx and PEDOT: PSS, two kinds of hole transport materials, were prepared and compared to study the impact of the bottom layer on the light absorption and morphology of perovskite layer. By the way, some experimental parameters are simulated by wx Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures (wxAMPS). In addition, thin interfacial layers with deep capture levels and high capture cross sections were inserted to simulate the degradation of the interface between light absorption layer and PEDOT:PSS. This work realizes the combination of experiment and simulation. Exploring the mechanism of the influence of functional layer parameters plays a vital part in the performance of devices by establishing the system design. It can be found that the perovskite film growing on NiOx has a stronger light absorption capacity, which makes the best open-circuit voltage of 0.98 V, short-circuit current density of 24.55 mA/cm2, and power conversion efficiency of 20.01%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron transport layer (ETL) is critical to carrier extraction for perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Moreover, the morphology and surface condition of the ETL could influence the topography of the perovskite layer. ZnO, TiO2, and SnO2 were widely investigated as ETL materials. However, TiO2 requires a sintering process under high temperature and ZnO has the trouble of chemical instability. SnO2 possesses the advantages of low-temperature fabrication and high conductivity, which is critical to the performance of PSCs prepared under low temperature. Here, we optimized the morphology and property of SnO2 by modulating the concentration of a SnO2 colloidal dispersion solution. When adjusting the concentration of SnO2 colloidal dispersion solution to 5 wt.% (in water), SnO2 film indicated better performance and the perovskite film has a large grain size and smooth surface. Based on high efficiency (16.82%), the device keeps a low hysteresis index (0.23). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrical properties of vertically upstanding p-type silicon nanowires arrays in the ambience of NH3 are studied. It is found that, the introducing of ammonia lowers their conductivity. By investigating the absorption and desorption processes of ammonia on nanowires (NW) surfaces, the current modulations of Si NWAs are interpreted in terms of band bending at the NW edge due to injections of negative carriers from ammonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, lead halide perovskite materials have attracted great interest and are widely used in solar cells and light-emitting devices due to their high photoelectronic quantum yield, high color purity, high defect tolerance, long diffusion length, high carrier mobility, and bandgap tunability. However, the application of lead halide perovskites is limited due to the presence of Pb, making lead-free perovskites an important substitute due to their same crystal structure and similar properties. Although some reports have been made on lead-free perovskite materials, there are still great challenges to realize their application due to their poor stability, easy phase transition, and low photoelectric conversion efficiency. Here, we mainly summarize the development and application of ABX 3 -type lead-free halide perovskite materials, especially in optoelectronic devices. The article first introduces the lattice and energy band structure, the optoelectronic properties of lead-free perovskites, including the research method of lead-free perovskites, and then analyzes the reasons for the low luminous efficiency and poor stability of lead-free perovskite materials. Second, the development history and current situation of lead-free perovskites in different optoelectronic device applications are summarized. Finally, we present the challenges and prospects for the future development of lead-free perovskites.

Colloidal all-inorganic cesium lead halide (CsPbX 3 , X = Cl, Br, I) nanocrystals (NCs) are very important optoelectronic materials and have been successfully utilized as bright light sources and high efficiency photovoltaics due to their facile solution processability. Recently, rare-earth dopants have opened a new pathway for lead halide perovskite NCs for applications in near-infrared wave bands. However, these materials still suffer from serious environmental instability. In this study, we have successfully developed a facile method for fabricating all-inorganic SiO 2 -encapsulated Yb 3+ -doped CsPbBr 3 NCs by slowly hydrolyzing the organosilicon precursor in situ . Experimental results showed that the Yb 3+ ions were uniformly distributed in the NCs, and the whole NCs were completely encapsulated by a dense SiO 2 layer. The as-prepared SiO 2 -encapsulated NCs can emit a strong near-infrared (985 nm) photoluminescence, which originates from the intrinsic luminescence of Yb 3+ in the NCs, pumped by the perovskite host NCs. Meanwhile, the SiO 2 -encapsulated NCs possessed excellent high PLQYs, narrow FWHM, and excellent environmental stability under a room atmosphere for over 15 days. We anticipate that this work will be helpful for promoting the optical properties and environmental stability of perovskite NCs and expanding their practical applications to near infrared photodetectors and other optoelectronic devices., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)