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The development of stable and durable oil/water separation materials with photocatalytic activity holds great significance for the purification of complex oily wastewater containing refractory organic pollutants. Herein, a multifunctional Ag@Cu2O decorated copper mesh was designed and prepared via a two-step hydrothermal method. The material possesses outstanding superwettability, photocatalytic activity, and antibacterial properties towards Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The mesh demonstrates remarkable and durable superhydrophilic properties while maintaining underwater superoleophobic characteristics, enabling excellent separation efficiency and high permeability flux involving various oil/water mixtures in gravity-driven separation processes. Under visible light, the Ag@Cu2O anchored mesh serves as an effective photocatalyst in the removal of dyes and tetracycline antibiotics from aqueous solution. The catalyst shows high stability and reusability and exhibits high performance after 5 cycles of photocatalytic tests. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the improved photocatalytic performance is attributed to the narrowed indirect band gap after Ag anchoring. The silver atoms induce the shifting up of the energy level of the Cu 3d orbital, enhancing the photocatalytic activity of Cu2O. The outstanding performance of the Ag@Cu2O anchored mesh endows this material with great application potential in the removal of refractory pollutants from oily wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive strategies with the development of advanced materials are required for the remediation of water and land pollution to protect the environment and human health. In this regard, iron oxide catalysts are recognized as preferable catalysts for the heterogeneous photo-Fenton process, which is an efficient technique for degrading organic pollutants in waste water. The present study discusses the photocatalytic performance of iron oxide-based catalysts synthesized from industrial waste red mud for methylene blue degradation under visible light irradiation. XRD studies confirmed the formation of a pure α-Fe2O3 (hematite) phase, whereas the doping of iron oxide with Mn, Cu, and Ce was ascertained by XPS analysis. 3 wt% Cu doped iron oxide with a TOC value of ∼84.7% showed the best removal efficacy to the tune of ∼91% within 60 min of visible light irradiation. Impedance data supports the enhanced charge separation in metal doped α-Fe2O3, which improves the photocatalytic performance. A similar trend was observed in photo-electrochemical (PEC) properties, where Cu doped Fe2O3 showed 2 times higher photocurrent than the bare one. Based on scavenging tests, electrons and hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) were shown to be major players in the photodegradation of pollutants under visible light. A probable mechanism explaining the enhanced e−/h+ pair separation and migration was proposed by examining electrochemical properties. This work has significant implications for wastewater treatment with the efficient use of industrial waste red mud as a cost-effective resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on efficient sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is in high demand to further improve the device efficiency, which can be accelerated through computational protocols. However, characterizing the photovoltaic properties of a sensitizer relies on expensive theoretical simulations for molecular excited states, making it a great challenge to achieve cost-effective performance prediction. In this study, an accurate and robust model is established by combining deep learning (DL) technique and quantum chemical (QC) calculation. By exclusively utilizing ground-state-related features as initial descriptors, a feedforward neural network is employed to predict the averaged light-harvesting efficiency and photocurrent density associated with absorption for dyes in DSSCs. The DL algorithm achieves a Pearson correlation coefficient exceeding 0.9 when compared to QC results, qualitatively reproducing experimental observations and effectively revealing relevant molecular design principles. Furthermore, the reliability of this approach is validated by the assessment of six newly designed molecules. The DL prediction exhibits a high consistency with the calculated result, indicating its potential in the discovery of prospective materials. Remarkably, the DL method shows a substantial advantage in terms of speed, being capable of calculations that are millions of times faster than comparable QC calculations, which provides an efficient tool for identifying candidates with preferable photovoltaic performance. The proposed model is expected to contribute to the rapid screening of sensitizers with desired photo-physical properties and to discovering new design strategies for high-performance DSSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to investigate the absorption spectra and photoelectric properties of new metal-free dyes integrating an acene group positioned proximal to the donor moiety, exemplified by the 2-amino pyrrole. A linear carbon chain (LCC) with varying lengths serves as the link between the donor group and two distinct electron-attracting groups: cyanoacrylate and a derivative of pyridinium salt. Molecular orbital analysis reveals strategically positioned energy levels for efficient electron recovery, ensuring favorable thermodynamics for injection. UV-VIS absorption properties underscore superior outcomes for dyes with longer π–spacers, particularly those with pentacene showcase a panchromatic effect extending beyond 920 nm. Furthermore, the study explores the electron transfer process at the dye–semiconductor interface, emphasizing stable adsorption modes and favorable interactions. Photovoltaic property estimations, considering electron injection and recombination rates, indicate that dyes with pyridinium salt as the withdrawing group, specifically, P-Pen-4-A2 and P-Ant-4-A2, exhibit excellent values for both open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc), thus demonstrating superior photovoltaic outcomes. The investigation of J–V curves predicts outstanding photoelectric conversion efficiency values of 29.72% and 27.90% for these dyes. Moreover, derivatives incorporating cyanoacrylate yields commendable PCE values of 20.30% and 25.01% for P-Ant-4-A2 and P-Pen-4-A2. Classical molecular dynamics simulations (MD) demonstrate that, over the course of 200 ns simulation time, the dyes maintain a vertical adsorption configuration. These results underscore the potential of the designed dyes for both standalone and co-sensitizing applications, presenting a promising avenue for the development of efficient and panchromatic DSSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of the concept of "Tech Mining," which combines bibliometrics and text analysis to analyze Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I) data. It discusses the tools and purposes of Tech Mining and presents a case study on Hybrid and Electric Vehicles to illustrate its complexities and potential. The article also highlights the interplay between AI tools and Tech Mining and suggests future directions for the field. [Extracted from the article]

Water, essential for all life, faces contamination challenges due to industrialization and unchecked urban development, producing pollutants such as organic dyes, detergents, heavy metals, and pesticides. This has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental concerns in recent years, with a particular emphasis on organic dyes due to their demonstrated health-related concerns. In this context, this paper reviews the use of photocatalysis as a wastewater treatment method, highlighting its significant potential for removing organic dyes from aqueous solutions. Additionally, the focus is on the design, development, performance enhancement, and overall research progress in fabricating graphene-based semiconductor nanocomposites as photocatalysts. Representative examples are discussed, emphasizing the potential of these nanocomposites in degrading toxic organic dyes through photocatalysis. The enhanced photoactivity is attributed to the synergistic effects of graphene and semiconductor materials, leading to improved light absorption, charge separation, and reactive oxygen species generation. This comprehensive review provides valuable insights to advance wastewater treatment technologies and address environmental impacts caused by organic dye pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to optimize the preparation condition of activated carbon using Teff straw as a precursor material via evaluating its potential in terms of maximizing the adsorptive removal of Reactive Yellow 145 dye (RY 145) from aqueous solutions. Selective factors, such as activation time, activation temperature, and impregnation ratio on the preparation of Teff Straw-based Activated Carbon (TSAC) were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). A quadratic regression model with estimated coefficients was developed by RSM and it was observed that model predictions were matched with experimental value with an acceptable R2 value (0.98). Further, the TSAC prepared at optimal condition was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The TSAC prepared at optimal condition showed anionic nature with a BET surface area of 627.7 m2/g. In addition, important adsorptive parameters (contact time, solution pH, adsorbent dose, and dye concentration) were evaluated through batch experiments. In such a way, it was determined that 2 h for activation time, 539 °C for activation temperature, and impregnation ratio of 5 g of phosphoric acid per 1 g of TSAC were optimal for efficient adsorption with maximum removal of 98.53% for RY 145 dye. In addition, the TSAC was subjected to test in order to determine its adsorptive performance by treating real textile industry effluent for examining its Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal potential. The results showed that 76% COD was removed from the real textile effluent, which met Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) standard. The finding of this paper asserts that this material is a good and low-cost bio-sorbent that can be used for the removal of pollutants from textile wastewater. Nevertheless, additional investigations of the adsorbents including regeneration options are advisable to draw explicit conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources are increasingly scarcer and more expensive to collect, treat and distribute. Advanced industrial wastewater treatment methods, such as electrocoagulation (EC), have become more viable. However, the design of EC reactors is very complex and costly since it varies significantly with wastewater composition. In order to ease the efforts in design, this paper proposes a novel procedure for the simulation of EC systems, which couples computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with a kinetic model for pollutant removal. A CFD model was calibrated with an experimentally fitted kinetic model for Reactive Blue dye 5G removal from synthetic solution to predict the residual concentration profile in a lab-scale continuous flow reactor. Simulations were carried out with a current density of 8.65 mA·cm–2, initial dye concentrations of 25 and 40 mg·L–1, and flow rates of 0.5–2 L·min–1. Results were compared to experimental data from a 23-point sampling mesh of the reactor. The model successfully predicted the reactor concentration profile for a range of low flow velocities (from 0.5 to 1 L·min–1), presenting a relative error of less than 2% for a dye removal of 87%–98% at the reactor exit. This paper shows that coupling a kinetic model for pollutant removal based on experimental observation with CFD offers reliable information for EC reactor design with a good compromise between time and resources. The use of computational tools with the proposed methodology can aid in designing EC reactors, thus helping to solve a major obstacle to expanding this promising technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial effluents containing dyes are the dominant pollutants, making the drinking water unfit. Among the dyes, methylene orange (MO) dye is mutagenic, carcinogenic and toxic to aquatic organisms. Therefore, its removal from water bodies through effective and economical approach is gaining increased attention in the last decades. Photocatalytic degradation has the ability to convert economically complex dye molecules into non-toxic and smaller species via redox reactions, by using photocatalysts. g-C3N4 is a metal-free n-type semiconductor, typical nonmetallic and non-toxici polymeric photocatalyst. It widely used in photocatalytic materials, due to its easy and simple synthesis, fascinating electronic band structure, high stability and abundant availability. As a photocatalyst, its major drawbacks are its limited efficiency in separating photo-excited electron–hole pairs, high separated charge recombination, low specific surface area, and low absorption coefficient. In this review, we report the recent modification strategies adopted for g-C3N4 for the efficient photodegradation of MO dye. The different modification approaches, such as nanocomposites and heterojunctions, as well as doping and defect introductions, are briefly discussed. The mechanism of the photodegradation of MO dye by g-C3N4 and future perspectives are discussed. This review paper will predict strategies for the fabrication of an efficient g-C3N4-based photocatalyst for the photodegradation of MO dye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the deposition of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films using the spray pyrolysis (SPT) method. Different physical and chemical synthesis methods have been employed for the elaboration of CZTS thin films. SPT is a very simple, low-cost process that provides a high-purity product. Various researchers have studied the impact of precursor solution composition, substrate temperature, and other effects on the morphological, structural, electrical, and optical characteristics of CZTS thin films synthesized by spray pyrolysis. CZTS has been widely studied in optoelectronic applications such as solar cells, photodiodes, photoelectrochemical water splitting, and many others because of its fascinating properties and for its constituent elements that are abundantly present in the earth's crust, environmentally friendly, and non-toxic. This study could disseminate information about the work done so far on CZTS thin films in various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, newly metal-free four donor- π -acceptor (D- π -A) molecules (C1D1–C1D4) were designed and used for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) application, based on literature C1-1. Tetrahydroquinoline, thiophene, and 2-cyanoacrylic acid act as the electron-D, spacer, and electron-A/anchoring groups for all dyes, respectively, while the donor part was tuned and the effect was examined. The density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) have been used on the electronic transitions, geometric structures, absorption properties, electron injection (Δ G inject ), dye regeneration (Δ G reg ), light harvesting efficiency (LHE), ground and excited states of dipole moments ( μ normal ), open-circuit photovoltage (e V OC ), molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and Mulliken population analysis (MPA) of the dyes. The TD-DFT method using different functionals with exchange-correlational (XC) and long-range correlated (LC) was calculated to obtain literature data. The computational outcomes have displayed that the Coulomb-attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP) in conjunction with a 6-31G(d,p) basis set was proficient in calculating the UV-Vis spectra of the molecules. The frontier molecular orbitals' (FMOs) contribution of the HOMOs and LUMOs of C1D1-C1D4 molecules can be confirming positive consequences on the regeneration and electron injection processes. In particular, C1D4 (N(CH3)2) molecule shows a smaller energy gap ( E g ), longer wavelength, high μ normal and e V OC . To conclude, these outcomes display that the calculated C1D1–C1D4 molecules are capable applicants to deliver better performance of the DSSCs. Tetrahydroquinoline-based organic dyes (C1D1-C1D4) are designed and systematically investigated for DSSCs. A ωB97XD functional is well matched with C1-1. Simulated UV-Vis absorption of the C1D4 dye displayed best act for solar cell application. All the dyes might be used for the potential in DSSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental conditions influence the development of solar cell technologies; variables such as solar irradiation, wind speed, and ambient temperature influence the operating temperature of the cells, which affect their electrical performance; however, this effect may differ according to the solar technology. In the case of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs), it is necessary to generate more studies to evaluate their behavior in different types of climates under real conditions, as it is known that, in comparison with Silicon cells, DSSCs show a lower decrease in their efficiency values when are subjected to high operating temperatures. Nevertheless, temperature is cited as the most important external variable affecting the stability of DSSCs. Therefore, in this paper, a new thermal numerical model is proposed to obtain the operating temperature contours of the DSSCs under real environmental conditions for two types of climates representative of Mexico (temperate and warm climate). The operating temperatures have been investigated as a function of solar irradiance, ambient temperature, wind speeds, and varying different electrolytes. It concludes that the efficiency gap between DSSCs and Silicon cells decreases as the operating temperature increases; moreover, an efficiency of 12.2% in DSSCs and 25.09% in Silicon cells were presented with 300 K of operating temperature, and an efficiency of 11.02% in DSSCs and 13.7% in Silicon cells were presented with 400 K of operating temperature. This concludes that DSSC technology might be an appropriate alternative for temperate and hot climates. DSSCs show a decrease in the efficiency of 9.76% compared to Silicon solar cells, which show a decrease in 50.1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chitosan derived from chitin gas gathered much interest as a biopolymer due to its known and possible broad applications. Chitin is a nitrogen-enriched polymer abundantly present in the exoskeletons of arthropods, cell walls of fungi, green algae, and microorganisms, radulae and beaks of molluscs and cephalopods, etc. Chitosan is a promising candidate for a wide variety of applications due to its macromolecular structure and its unique biological and physiological properties, including solubility, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and reactivity. Chitosan and its derivatives have been known to be applicable in medicine, pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, agriculture, the textile and paper industries, the energy industry, and industrial sustainability. More specifically, their use in drug delivery, dentistry, ophthalmology, wound dressing, cell encapsulation, bioimaging, tissue engineering, food packaging, gelling and coating, food additives and preservatives, active biopolymeric nanofilms, nutraceuticals, skin and hair care, preventing abiotic stress in flora, increasing water availability in plants, controlled release fertilizers, dye-sensitised solar cells, wastewater and sludge treatment, and metal extraction. The merits and demerits associated with the use of chitosan derivatives in the above applications are elucidated, and finally, the key challenges and future perspectives are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this brief review article is to provide the simple and short knowledge of dye sensitized solar cell technology from the working principles to the commercial application. This paper explains the role of the sensitizer, construction of Dye sensitized solar cell (DSCC) and preparation of electrodes. In DSCC, dye is used instead of metal. Natural dyes are extracted by various parts of plant like fruits, seeds, flower and leaves. Green Parts of plant contain chlorophyll and coloured parts like flower, buds, etc. contain anthocyanin. Both chlorophyll and anthocyanin absorb electromagnetic radiation. Selection of efficient dye plays a key role in enhancement of efficiency of the cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new photocatalyst In2CdO4 was prepared by a solid phase sintering synthesis method at high temperature for the first time in this paper. The In2CdO4/Y2SmSbO7 heterojunction (IYH) catalyst was prepared by the solvent thermal method for the first time. The Y2SmSbO7 compound crystallized in the pyrochlore-type architecture and cubelike crystal system, and the space group of Y2SmSbO7 was Fd3m and the crystal cell parameters of Y2SmSbO7 was 9.51349 Å. The band gap width of Y2SmSbO7 was 2.63 eV. In2CdO4 crystallized with a body centered tetragonal lattice structure which was a tetragonal crystal system with a space group of I41/amd. The band gap width of In2CdO4 was 2.70 eV. After 110 minutes of visible light irradiation (VLGI-110min) with IYH as the photocatalyst, the removal rate (RR) of rhodamine B (RhB) concentration was 100% and the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration RR was 99.71%. The power mechanics invariable k toward RhB consistency and visible light irradiation (VLGI) time with IYH as the photocatalyzer reached 0.03073 min−1. The power mechanics invariable k which was involved with TOC reached 0.03621 min−1. After VLGI-110min, the RR of RhB with IYH as the photocatalyzer was 1.094, 1.174 or 1.740 times higher than that with In2CdO4, Y2SmSbO7 or N-doping TiO2 (N-TO) as the photocatalyzer, respectively. The results showed that the photocatalytic activity of IYH was the highest compared with In2CdO4, Y2SmSbO7, or N-TO. With appending a trapping agent, the oxidative capability for degrading RhB, which ranged from strong to weak among three oxidative radical groups, was as follows: hydroxyl radicals > superoxide anion > holes. This work provided a scientific basis for the research which resulted in prosperous development of efficient heterojunction compound catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of photoelectrode materials for efficient water splitting using solar energy is a crucial research topic for green hydrogen production. These materials need to be abundant, fabricated on a large scale, and at low cost. In this context, hematite is a promising material that has been widely studied. However, it is a huge challenge to achieve high-efficiency performance as a photoelectrode in water splitting. This paper reports a study of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of hematite nanocrystalline thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting, with a particular focus on the effect of the precursor–substrate distance in the CVD system. A full morphological, structural, and optical characterization of hematite nanocrystalline thin films was performed, revealing that no change occurred in the structure of the films as a function of the previously mentioned distance. However, it was found that the thickness of the hematite film, which is a critical parameter in the photoelectrochemical performance, linearly depends on the precursor–substrate distance; however, the electrochemical response exhibits a nonmonotonic behavior. A maximum photocurrent value close to 2.5 mA/cm2 was obtained for a film with a thickness of around 220 nm under solar irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) and thin-layer heterojunctional solar cells have attracted much attention as an alternative to relatively expensive silicon-based solar cells. Among the various photosensitizers used to build these cells, porphyrins have proven to be outstanding candidates due to their strong absorption in the visible region and have established basic and peripheral modification methods to adjust their geometry and electronic structures. Due to the improved spectral properties, the electronic spectra of these materials have been extensively studied. In this paper, the information obtained using both ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy have been used to evaluate the use of Pd-TPP (palladium-5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl porphyrin) as sensitizer dye on different glass substrate coated with transparent conducting oxides. The electrical characterization and quantum efficiency results, related with Pd-TPP-sensitized heterojunctional supramolecular solar cells, are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is dedicated to preparation and analysis of metal insulator semiconductor (MIS) photoanode with a metal organic chemical vapor deposited RuO2 layer and TiO2 protection layer for photoelectrochemical water splitting. It is shown that utilization of TiO2 layers of 2, 4, and 6 nm thickness preserve the catalytic activity of underlying RuO2. The origin of increased overpotential and decreased photovoltage of the photoanode upon the increase of TiO2 layer thickness is discussed in the paper. Results revealed that utilization of TiO2 layer in the MIS concept is suitable for photoelectrochemical water oxidation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the adsorption behavior of polyaniline (PANI) towards triiodide ion (I3−) solution in acetonitrile. Two different types of PANI, namely PANI emeraldine salt (PANI ES) and nanostructured PANI ES (NPES) were prepared by the rapid mixing and interfacial polymerization methods, respectively. FTIR and Raman spectroscopy results show that both PANI ES and NPES have similar vibrational features, indicating a similar molecular structure. NPES particles are interconnected granules with thorny durian-like surface morphology and better shape uniformity than PANI ES. The maximum adsorption capacity of NPES towards triiodide (I3−) ions is higher than that of PANI ES; however, both of them obey the dual-site Langmuir–Freundlich isotherm. The calculated thermodynamic parameters reveal the spontaneous and endothermic adsorption processes for both types of PANI. The positively charged group in PANI (C–N+) provides more favorable adsorption sites for I3− ions through electrostatic interactions, as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The photovoltaic and electrochemical performance data confirm the higher power conversion efficiency (∼30%) of the NPES counter electrode compared to that of PANI ES. The thorny durian-like surface morphology of NPES enhances the number of adsorption sites for I3− ions, thereby facilitating better electrolyte regeneration in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their low production costs, small weight, printability, solution processing, and the possibility of using flexible substrates, organic solar cells (OSCs) exhibit strong potential to be used in future solar cell technology. Major specifications for the commercialization of OSCs are the long life span of OSC devices, enhanced environmental stability and a sufficiently high power conversion efficiency (PCE). The development of low energy gap organic polymers, transport materials and multi-layer system architecture has been effective in achieving higher PCE. However, overcoming environmental stability and sustaining a longer life span are a major challenge. The instability of OSCs is the dynamic mechanism, mostly induced due to the combined impact of oxygen, incident light, and ambient, as well as processing, temperature. Studies have reported that thermal annealing of the active layer tends to a shift in the phase morphology, which typically occurs either because of the vertical phase separation or because of the process of donor–acceptor phase segregation. In this paper, various factors that affect the performance of the OSC have been comprehensively studied. Factors such as thermal stress, vertical phase segregation, material composition and tradeoff between thickness and light absorption have been discussed. This paper mainly reviews the measures carried out to improve the efficiency of conventional polymer-fullerene-based bulk-heterojunction OSCs and reports the different techniques to address these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural cellulose substances have been proven to be ideal structural templates and scaffolds for the fabrication of artificial functional materials with designed structures, psychochemical properties and functionalities. They possess unique hierarchically porous network structures with flexible, biocompatible, and environmental characteristics, exhibiting great potentials in the preparation of energy‐related materials. This minireview summarizes natural cellulose‐based materials that are used in batteries, supercapacitors, photocatalytic hydrogen generation, photoelectrochemical cells, and solar cells. When natural cellulose substances are employed as the structural template or carbon sources of energy materials, the three‐dimensional porous interwoven structures are perfectly replicated, leading to the enhanced performances of the resultant materials. Benefiting from the mechanical strengths of natural cellulose substances, wearable, portable, free‐standing, and flexible materials for energy storage and conversion are easily obtained by using natural cellulose substances as the substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solar panel is array of Photo-Voltaic modules (PVC) that are mounted together in a mechanical frame and are placed in the open fields so that sunlight impinges on those cells to produce electricity. The effectiveness of solar panels is cogently restricted by the impurities and defects present in the PVC. These imperfections bring profound energy levels in the semiconductor bandgap, depreciating the carrier lifetime and quantum efficiency of cells. It is significant to recognize the defects physics so that apposite methods may be employed to restrain the formation of severe flaws. In various past techniques, image processing, machine learning, and deep learning techniques are implemented to recognize, classify, or predict the probability of defects and their effect on PVC's overall performance. One of these approaches is an automatic recognition of micro-cracks, which is a compelling but challenging task. To achieve this, a deep learning approach based on the classification and segmentation process is proposed in this paper. This mechanism not only detects the micro-cracks but also effectively locates the area of the defected pixels. For the categorization of defects, VGG16 is used as a CNN classifier, and a Deep crack approach for the segmentation process is used. Thresholding and Decision Making are added to remove redundant pixels related to diverse types of frames present in PVC's, and finally, a decision is made. An unsharp filter is utilized because of efficient performance. This technique exhibits effective results in decision making, whether the solar cell needs to be replaced or not based on the percentage area of irregularity. The proposed model outperforms state-of-the-art methods with better performance in all aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the importance of smart materials and devices for energy saving and harvesting in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming. The authors highlight various research contributions in this field, including studies on electrochromic devices, radiant cooling panels, dewatering systems, thermal break strips, metal-organic framework materials, polymeric insulators, sorption-selective catalytic reduction systems, superconducting multi-stage cables, dye-sensitized solar cells, and dielectric electroactive polymer actuators. These studies demonstrate the diverse range of research being conducted to improve energy efficiency and promote sustainable energy practices. [Extracted from the article]

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This paper adopts density functional theory (DFT) to examine the electronic properties, intermolecular interactions, structural characteristics, and durability of BC3 nanotube (BC3NT)/Eriochrome blue black (EBB) dye complexes. Potential BC3NT-based EBB removal was studied. The adsorption energy was measured to be nearly −37.22 kcal/mol for the dye and BC3NT (the interaction of the O head of the dye and the B head of the BC3NT). EBB was found to dramatically change the electronic properties of BC3NT. Hence, BC3NT can be an efficient adsorbent for EBB. The EBB adsorption mechanism was controlled by the donor-acceptor interaction. Furthermore, affordable heteroatom C-based material enhancement was studied. The adsorption mechanism of heteroatom C-based materials for EBB was studied from a systematic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) remain an interesting photovoltaic concept, although recent times have seen their envisioned broad-scale applications being replaced with more niche ones. Nevertheless, as a key component of DSCs, titanium(IV) oxide (TiO2) must be produced in a large volume, low cost, and highly reproducible manner. Degussa P25 remains a benchmark TiO2 product, addressing the first two of the above points very well. Post-treatment processes that may also be carried out on a large scale give some hope to addressing the reproducibility issue. This paper builds on our previous works wherein mixed-phase P25 (anatase + rutile + amorphous TiO2) was converted into an amorphous free form by selectively dissolving and recrystallizing the amorphous component. Here we investigated the performance of metal-free organic dye (D149)-based DSCs with three different TiO2 films: (1) as-received P25 (TiO2-P25), (2) amorphous-free P25 (TiO2-HP25), and (3) anatase nanoparticles obtained from Dyesol (TiO2-DSL). DSCs based on TiO2-HP25 showed comparable performance (5.8 ± 0.2% PCE) to DSCs based on the TiO2-DSL (5.8 ± 0.4% PCE) and substantially higher than for devices based on the as-obtained P25 nanoparticles (3.9 ± 0.4% PCE). The enhancement resulting from the post-processing of P25 derives from simultaneous increases in photo-current density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (VOC), and the fill factor (FF), due to enhancing the dye-loading capability and the charge-transport efficiency (suppressing the electron recombination) as a result of the removal of amorphous barriers and associated defect states. This is in line with enhancing DSC performance based on the organometallic N719 dye we reported previously. However, the photoanode material based on abundant P25 TiO2 sensitized with high-extinction-coefficient organic D149 dye can be adopted as a cost-effective DSC as an alternative to relatively high-cost DSCs based on the commercial anatase TiO2 sensitized with organometallic N719 dye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been on the market as a permanent power source for indoor IoT edge devices. In recent years, indoor illumination technology has been experiencing a drastic transition from incandescent and fluorescent lamps toward solid-state lighting devices with light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In addition to the high power efficiency, a virtue of LEDs is their prompt response, which enables precise change of the illumination level using pulse-width modulation (PWM) of the current source, and thus PWM illumination is commonly installed in society. The light intensity change from off to on states of an LED under PWM driving is literally infinity, which causes the lighting to flicker. The lighting flicker induces not only an optical illusion but also biological effects, including serious health problems, which can be mitigated by raising the modulation frequency. Because the peak intensity of a PWM illumination can be 100 times that of the average intensity, the indoor solar cell, which has a relatively high series resistance, is expected to underperform. In this paper, the characteristics of a commercial indoor DSSC under PWM illumination are studied. It is found that while PWM illumination at low frequency seriously deteriorates the performance of the DSSC, it recovers at high frequency. The latter feature is not found in indoor amorphous-Si solar cells, and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that it stems from the electrochemical nature of some components of the series impedance in the DSSC, offering a key piece of evidence of the superiority for use in the modern indoor application of the DSSC over traditional amorphous-Si solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research and development (R&D) of the scale-up process of third-generation photovoltaics (PVs) can benefit from the emerging trends and technologies related to the Industrial Internet of Things. However, to migrate the small-scale laboratory PVs products to a larger version of the industrial scale, a processing platform is needed to design, fabricate, and test the production line. In this paper, after a brief introduction of the production process of thin-film PVs, specifically dye-sensitized solar cells, the Industrial Internet Reference Architecture (IIRA) has been applied to the R&D scenario for the production of thin-film PVs, in order to synchronize and manage the large amount of data generated by the real, virtual or hybrid production devices and processes. The results of this study suggest that the future implementation of IIRA is a reliable option in a learning factory environment for multidisciplinary collaboration, research training in novel technologies and methods in the Tijuana Institute of Technology. This contribution is in order to optimize and scale-up the production process of a new generation of solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction reaction flow cells are promising devices to meet the requirements to produce solar fuels at the industrial scale. Photoelectrodes with wide bandgaps do not allow for efficient CO2 reduction at high current densities, while the integration of opaque photoelectrodes with narrow bandgaps in flow cell configurations still remains a challenge. This paper describes the design and fabrication of a back-illuminated Si photoanode promoted PEC flow cell for CO2 reduction reaction. The illumination area and catalytic sites of the Si photoelectrode are decoupled, owing to the effective passivation of defect states that allows for the long minority carrier diffusion length, that surpasses the thickness of the Si substrate. Hence, a solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency of CO of 2.42% and a Faradaic efficiency of 90% using Ag catalysts are achieved. For CO2 to C2+ products, the Faradaic efficiency of 53% and solar-to-fuel of 0.29% are achieved using Cu catalyst in flow cell. Conversion of CO2 into value-added products with renewable energy provides a promising route to realize carbon neutrality. Here, authors design and construct a Si photoelectrochemical flow cells for CO2 reduction reaction to achieve a high solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As third-generation solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) can show bifacial harvesting capabilities by utilizing transparent conducting oxides as a counter electrode. Herein, the electrolyte is considered a critical layer from the optical perspective. In this paper, an attempt to estimate the optical properties of Iodine-based electrolytes, typically used in dye-sensitized solar cells, is demonstrated. The refractive index for electrolyte as an effective medium is calculated to be 1.4535 ± 0.005 for an effective thin film of 33.4 ± 0.5 μm thickness, using the near-infrared Fabry–Perot resonances. The extinction (absorption and scattering) and dispersion spectra for the prepared electrolyte were fitted using Lorentz–Dude (LD) model. Finally, the utility of the extracted optical parameters was examined through a finite difference time domain solver, Massachusetts Institute for Technology Electromagnetic Equation Propagation. The simulated optical transmission spectrum perfectly agreed with the measured spectrum with less than 0.1% root–mean–square error. The demonstrated attempt to accurately estimate the refractive index of electrolyte used in DSSCs fabrication may impacted theoreticians who are interested with the optoelectronic modelling of such electrochemical cells, as well as those dealing with optoelectronic devices informatics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploration of clean and renewable energy materials is necessary due to the coming energy crisis and environmental problems. Solar energy is one of the favorable energy sources because of the continuous energy reservoir and its affluence. Silicon-based solar devices are expensive due to their complicated production process, which limits this technology for urban and other commercial applications. Among the third generation of solar cells, Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) have attracted widespread attention as potential cost-effective alternatives to silicon-based solar cells. In this paper, the commercializing potential of the DSSCs is investigated. A module is introduced where the materials, equipment, and distribution of direct manufacturing costs are calculated. The manufacturing costs and the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of these DSSCs for a system lifetime of 25 years were determined to be USD 22.40 per m2 and USD 0.0438 per kWh and the module price of this technology is USD 0.18 per W and the total installed system cost is USD 0.88 per W in Kansas which suggest that this PV technology could challenge other leading PV technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solar photovoltaic (PV) industry has seen rapid expansion in the past decade with an ever-increasing share of the electricity-generating capacity for the world. Continuous efforts have been made by the involved industry in order to increase the efficiency of the PV devices and, at the same time, to reduce costs. Third-generation solutions such as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) represent a very promising technology for PV energy production. Such cells offer a new and less-expensive technology compared with the silicon-based solar cells, the latter still with relatively high production costs. To expand their use in energy generation, an assessment of DSSC long-term stability is necessary. In particular, this paper aims to analyze Aging effects on DSSCs under different operating conditions. The proposed test activity is divided into three phases. In the first phase, we use accelerated optical stress to understand the mechanisms' degradation of DSSC parameters such as efficiency, open circuit voltage, and short circuit current. Then the DSSCs are studied in natural sunlight conditions. Finally, a combined optical and thermal stress is analyzed. The experimental data are intended to better determine the strengths and weaknesses of DSSCs in order to optimize their functional configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are low cost and eco-friendly photovoltaic devices which require new ideas for further development. In this paper, we use electro-spun TiO2 nanofibers to prepare the DSSCs photoanode. In order to isolate the FTO and electrolyte species, we deposit a spin-coated TiO2 blocking layer at their interface. The performance of this cell is further improved by introducing surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) at the surface of the nanofibers. It is shown that SPRs increase the generated current in the cells by providing a higher light absorption and lower recombination. Our best cell showed an efficiency of 6.19%, which is a 28% improvement in comparison to the bare DSSC with 4.84% efficiency. The results of this paper are acquired and confirmed by XRD, FESEM, TEM, EDS, dye-loading, IPCE, J–V, and EIS measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel μ-hydroxo-bridged dinuclear macrocyclic zinc complex, {[Zn(C10H20N8)]2(OH)}(BF4)3. The structure was determined by X-ray crystallography: Monoclinic, C2/c, a = 25.4632(6), b = 10.9818(3), c = 15.7522(4) Å, Z = 8, R1 = 0.0233, wR2 = 0.0557, based on reflections I > 2σ(I). The complex was successfully reacted with graphene oxide to form a μ-hydroxo-bridged dinuclear macrocyclic Zn complex/reduced graphene oxide composite. To evenly disperse the Zn- and N-rich complex onto the surface of the reduced graphene oxide, and to enhance the electrocatalytic property of the graphene composites, a soluble molecular grafting method was used here. The graphene-based composites were applied as the counter electrodes (CEs) of dye-sensitized solar cells. Current density–voltage measurements revealed that the conversion efficiency of the GO/Zn (1 : 10) sample was 7.78%, which was better than that of Pt CE (7.49%). GO/Zn (1 : 10) CE exhibited the lowest impedance (RCE = 9.90 Ω), which was better than that of Pt CE (RCE = 66.1 Ω), showing that GO/Zn CEs can reduce the impedance at the CE/electrolyte interface. The proposed method is simple, and the composite materials can potentially replace conventional Pt, optimizing efficiency and reducing production cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports for the first time the preparation of Co3O4 nanorods by simple hydrothermal and annealing methods, which are doped with polyoxometalates that act as an intermediary in electronic transmission to accelerate electron transport. The designed H3PW12O40(PW12)/Co3O4–Cu2S composite film was prepared by the screen printing method to boost its efficiency as the counter electrode for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells, where the preparation process is simple and inexpensive. PW12/Co3O4–Cu2S (Jsc = 16.60 mA cm−2, Voc = 0.636 V, Rct = 0.32 Ω and FF = 0.436) shows better electrocatalytic performance compared to the original Co3O4 and Cu2S. Accordingly, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of PW12/Co3O4–Cu2S is 4.67%, which is 10%, 46%, 55.6%, and 72% higher than those of Co3O4–Cu2S (4.2%), Cu2S (2.54%), PW12/Co3O4 (2.07%), and Co3O4 (1.30%), respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Tafel measurements performed on two CE symmetric virtual cells proved the excellent electrocatalytic activity of PW12/Co3O4–Cu2S. Therefore, this composite film can be used as an alternative option for QDSSC counter electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: An effective machine vision-based method for micro-crack detection of solar cell can economically improve the qualified rate of solar cells. However, how to extract features which have strong generalization and data representation ability at the same time is still an open problem for machine vision-based methods. Design/methodology/approach: A micro-crack detection method based on adaptive deep features and visual saliency is proposed in this paper. The proposed method can adaptively extract deep features from the input image without any supervised training. Furthermore, considering the fact that micro-cracks can obviously attract visual attention when people look at the solar cell's surface, the visual saliency is also introduced for the micro-crack detection. Findings: Comprehensive evaluations are implemented on two existing data sets, where subjective experimental results show that most of the micro-cracks can be detected, and the objective experimental results show that the method proposed in this study has better performance in detecting precision. Originality/value: First, an adaptive deep features extraction scheme without any supervised training is proposed for micro-crack detection. Second, the visual saliency is introduced for micro-crack detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]