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Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have gained significant attention due to their potential for high power conversion efficiency (PCE). However, the presence of surface traps has hindered further improvements in their performance and stability. To address this issue, a post-annealing treatment with functional molecules has emerged as an effective method for mitigating trap-mediated non-radiative recombination. Herein, 4-aminophenyl sulfone (APS), containing a Lewis base group (S=O), could interact with uncoordinated Pb2+ on the perovskite surface, which not only reduces trap state density but also induces a more p-type surface of the perovskite film. As a result of the APS modification, the device achieved a higher PCE of 23.03%, compared to a pristine device of 21.26%, and the values of open-current voltage (VOC), short-circuit current density (JSC), and fill factor (FF) were also improved obviously. Moreover, the APS-modified device demonstrated excellent environmental and thermal stability, maintaining 93% and 90% of its initial PCE after 1000 h at a relative humidity of 30% at room temperature and 200 h in an inert environment at 70 °C, respectively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AgInxGa1-xS2 (x = 0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1) solid solutions with a size of 25-100 nm have been synthesized in a mixed solvent system via a solvothermal process. The crystal structure of the solid solutions gradually transforms from tetragonal to orthorhombic, along with the chemical composition (x value changes from 0 to 1), and the band gap of the solid solutions can be tuned from 2.37 eV to 1.62 eV. Further studies revealed that the obtained AgInxGa1-xS2 solid solutions show improved photocatalytic activities under visible light irradiation compared with AgGaS2 and AgInS2, and the AgIn0.3Ga0.7S2 solid solution exhibits the best photocatalytic performance for its optimized band gap and energy structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mixed-solvothermal method starting from dithizone as a slow release source was developed for synthesizing ZnxCd1−xSyphotocatalysts with high visible light photocatalytic activities. XRD, TEM, SEM, XRF, BET, UV-Vis DR, Raman and PL spectra were employed to characterize the crystal phases, morphologies, chemical compositions and optical properties of the obtained products. Interestingly, the released zinc ions could form nanoparticles on the surface of nanorods and the excessive growth of sulfur could bring some new optical properties. The visible light photocatalytic properties of the products were also evaluated by photocurrent measurements in steady state conditions. The results indicated that ZnxCd1−xSy, especially Cd0.78Zn0.22S0.94, exhibited excellent photocatalytic activities, about 10 times higher than the commercial CdS and about 5 times higher than the typical CdS QDs. As a result, a possible mechanism was proposed to explain the formation of the ZnxCd1−xSycatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]