Search

Eutectic gallium indium (E-GaIn) alloy based liquid metal is considered to be a promising material for manufacturing interconnects in stretchable electronics based applications due to its high electrical conductivity and inherent mechanical deformability. The current work demonstrates an easy and single step method of fabricating micron-sized (the width of ~ 200 μm) highly conducting stretchable interconnects by stencil printing of E-GaIn on stretchable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. The obtained stretchable pattern showed excellent electrical and mechanical property by exhibiting a low average resistance value of ~ 6.5 O even at elongation up to 50%. Moreover, it showed superior stability against stretching cycles with just ± 0.12 Ω of variation in resistance. A commercial light emitting diode was mounted on the patterns and illuminated to describe the role of interconnects in a realistic circuit.

Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) have emerged as new-generation light-emitting materials with important potentials in optoelectronic applications. However, the toxicity of lead metal and ...

Gallium-based liquid metal alloys have garnered attention for their use in self-healing and flexible electronics, soft robotics, catalysis, and biomedicine. Advances in these next-generation materials have only been made possible through understanding the liquid-metal interfaces and the interactions of matter with these liquids. We propose that liquid metal chemistry of gallium and gallium-based alloys can be subdivided into a series of interfacial phenomenon. To study the interfacial properties of liquid metal, eutectic gallium indium (E-GaIn), a non-toxic liquid metal alloy comprised of ~75% gallium and ~25% indium, and has a melting temperature of 15.5 �C, was employed for its liquid state at room temperature.With an overview of the breadth of chemistry involved within liquid metal systems, we first consider the oxidation of liquid metals in air. Room-temperature liquid metals, their interactions in air, and the kinetics of oxidation are critical first steps towards understanding the materials properties of liquid metals, such as surface-energy/surface-tension that originate at the metal-oxide interface. Once understood, this oxidation can be prevented via surface-bound ligands. We employed gallium-thiol chemistry and bi-functional thiol molecules as capping ligands for the surface stabilization of gallium-based liquid-metal nanostructures. These surface stabilization effects, within mixtures of liquid metal and polar solution, such as water and ethanol, are examined as a new type of emulsified system. These emulsified systems, with the help of surface-active molecules, can exist in both their singly and doubly emulsified forms. Like mercury and other liquid metals, E-GaIn has a high surface tension, which when broken can form ultra-small droplets, ~4 nm. These ultra-small liquid metal droplets were found to undergo higher order assemblies in the form of fractal aggregates under evaporation of the surrounding solvent.When examining the doubly emulsified form, these liquid metal droplets present a novel approach for the encapsulation of cargo. The material properties of E-GaIn present an interesting avenue for the study of nanocarriers. Eutectic gallium indium, which has low toxicity, enable considering this liquid metal for drug-delivery applications. Furthermore, where traditional nanoparticle carriers typically have cargo decorated on the surface, or within pores and imperfections; liquid-metal double emulsions, which have a non-metallic phase embedded within the core of the liquid metal droplets, allow for cargo loading much larger than the surface of the nanostructure. Lastly, competition for interfaces and the role of self-assembly at metallic interfaces presents a scaffold for the post-encapsulation functionalization of liquid metal carriers.The ‘skin’ of liquid E-GaIn, whether comprised of metal oxide, metal thiolate, or pristine surface can act as a barrier for reaction kinetics, such as in the case of surface oxidation and the prevention of it with thiol/thiolate assemblies at the liquid metal interface, or a regenerative reactive interface, as in the case of surface-initiated galvanic reduction. Galvanic reduction with gallium, as the name implies, can act as a free-electron surface for the reduction of simple metal salts. Similar to hanging mercury drop experiments, liquid metals provide a pristine, self-regenerating, liquid metal surface. We explore the galvanic reduction of silver salts on nanoscopic liquid metal seeds via solution-liquid-solid-growth of silver nanovines. We found these arboriform liquid metal structures were grown as diffusion-limited aggregates and we were able to impart control on both the growth front thickness and aspect ratio.The manipulation of liquid metals with surface-active molecules will have applications in next-generation devices and soft robotics. By incorporating liquid metal as the conductive contacts, we enable malleable devices. Liquid metals enable new applications of traditional conductive materials with certain advantages. We envision robots, sensors, and a variety of future prospects where liquid metal can open new doors to a variety of applications. In an effort to explore these devices, we have shown that E GaIn is an ideal contact material for an ultra-thin indium oxide based field-effect transistor (FET). These liquid-metal-enabled devices provide lower barriers to charge transfer, yielding lower power devices as compared to gold.Liquid-metal-enabled emulsions, materials, and devices present new chapters in inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, engineering, nanoscience, and medicine. By looking at the interfacial phenomenon that dictates the interactions of liquid metal with the environment, we explore these avenues of control and application. With the rise in availability for three-dimensional (3-D) printers, liquid metal and hybrid materials comprised of liquid-metal-based emulsions are a new frontier. The field of liquid-metal-enabled materials remains relatively unexplored.

As one of the most attractive and eco-friendly technologies, semiconductor photocatalysis is demonstrated as a potential strategy to solve global energy shortage environmental pollution problems. Regarding semiconductor-based photocatalysts, Zinc indium sulfide (ZnIn2S4) with various morphological structures has become research hotspots owing to its superior visible light absorption, high chemical durability and low cost. Nevertheless, the photocatalytic activity of pristine ZnIn2S4 is unsatisfactory due to limited range of visible light absorption and fast recombination rate of light-induced electrons and holes. Different modification strategies, such as metal deposition, element doping, vacancy engineering and semiconductor combination, have been systematically developed for enhancing the photocatalytic performance of ZnIn2S4 materials. In order to promote further developments of ZnIn2S4 in photocatalytic applications, this mini-review summarizes the progress of recent research works for the construction of highly activity ZnIn2S4-based photocatalysts for the first time. In addition, the typical applications of ZnIn2S4-based photocatalytic materials have been critically reviewed and described such as in hydrogen evolution from photocatalytic water splitting, carbon dioxide photoreduction, and treatment of water pollution. The current challenges and further prospects for the development of ZnIn2S4 semiconductor photocatalysts are finally pointed out.

In this study, influence of magnetron sputtering on indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) ceramic target was studied to improve its performance and utilization. Results indicated that state of the target such as target grain uniformity, micro defects, C element pollution, and secondary phase showed significant influence on magnetron sputtering process. Atoms located in small grains were easily bombarded out of IGZO target, and grains with slow sputtering rate protruded from target surface. Porous microstructure of IGZO ceramic created abnormal electric field of the target during sputtering, resulting in the poisoning of target. Moreover, more indium atoms were sputtered from the target, and the proportion of In after sputtering decreased by 0.62–0.97%. The difference in sputtering rates between secondary phase and main phase led to the formation of IGZO cladding layer with poor conductivity under the combined action of sputtering and re-sputtering. In sum, these findings may provide strong guidance for further improvement and performance enhancement of IGZO sputtering target.

openaire: EC/H2020/826588/EU//APPLAUSE The wafer-level Solid Liquid Interdiffusion (SLID) bonds carried out for this work take advantage of the Cu-In-Sn ternary system to achieve low temperature interconnections. The 100mm Si wafers had μ-bumps from 250μm down to 10μm fabricated by consecutive electrochemical deposition of Cu, Sn and In layers. The optimized wafer-level bonding processes were carried out by EV Group and Aalto University across a range of temperatures from 250°C down to 170°C. Even though some process quality related challenges were observed, it could be verified that high strength bonds with low defect content can be achieved even at a low bonding temperature of 170°C with an acceptable 1-hour wafer-level bonding duration. The microstructural analysis revealed that the bonding temperature significantly impacts the obtained phase structure as well as the number of defects. A higher (250°C) bonding temperature led to the formation of Cu3Sn phase in addition to Cu6(Sn,In)5 and resulted in several voids at Cu3Sn|Cu interface. On the other hand, with lower (200°C and 170°C) bonding temperatures the interconnection microstructure was composed purely of void free Cu6(Sn,In)5. The mechanical testing results revealed the clear impact of bonding quality on the interconnection strength.

The formation of interfacial chemical bonding in heterostructures plays an important role in the transport of carriers. Herein, we firstly prepared ultrathin InVO4 nanosheet (Ns) with a thickness of 1.5 nm. Diethylenetriamine-modified CdSe (CdSe-DETA) nanobelts are in-situ deposited on the surface of ultrathin InVO4 Ns to build a InVO4/CdSe-DETA step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction photocatalysts. The protonated DETA acts as an amine-bridge to promote the formation of a tight chemical bond at the interface of InVO4/CdSe-DETA, thereby promoting the transfer of carriers at the interface. For photocatalytic CO2 reduction, the rationally designed InVO4/CdSe-DETA S-scheme photocatalyst exhibits a remarkable CO generation rate of 27.9 µmol h−1 g−1 at 420 nm, which is 3.35 and 3.39 times higher than that of CdSe-DETA and InVO4 Ns, respectively. The new method by using interfacial chemical bonding to facilitate interfacial charge transportation provide a promising strategy for improve photocatalysis.

Recent advances in flexible electronic devices have stimulated demands for the fabrication of multifunctional materials on highly flexible substrates. However, flexible diluted magnetic semiconductor films have been inadequately reported thus far. In this study, I grew polycrystalline manganese (Mn)-doped indium oxide (In2O3) films on flexible mica substrates at three deposition temperatures (Td) using the pulsed laser deposition method. All the investigated Mn-doped In2O3 films exhibited high optical transparency, high electrical conductivity, room-temperature ferromagnetism, and excellent mechanical durability. The present experimental results demonstrate that Td considerably influences the optical, electrical, and magnetic properties as well as the mechanical durability of the flexible Mn-doped In2O3 films. Based on the robustness of inorganic mica at high deposition temperatures, this detailed investigation provides a strategy for fabricating flexible diluted magnetic semiconductor films, the properties of which could be carefully optimized by widely varying the Td.

Three-dimensional (3D) network structure of metal–organic framework (MOF) can accommodate outstanding electrocatalysis performances, but always collapse during the conversion to active materials or applications process. How to maintain the 3D network when producing active species is of great importance for full application of MOF. Herein, a new MOF material, In[Co(CN)6] (In-Co PBA) nanocubes, are firstly synthesized. Through a controlled low-temperature deligandation process, the In-Co PBA nanocubes are transformed to a novel In2O3@In-Co PBA quasi-MOF nanocubes, which basically retain the 3D porous structure of PBA but with in situ generated In2O3 nanoparticles inside. When used as CO2RR electrocatalyst, such a novel cubic composite structure exhibits excellent performances with faradaic efficiency of 85% for formate at a potential of −0.96 V and with current density of 31.5 mA·cm−2 at −1.32 V, surpassing most of the reported indium-based catalysts. The excellent performance can be attributed to the special composite structure, which provides not only active sites by In2O3 nanoparticles to catalyze CO2RR, but also the 3D porous framework by quasi-MOF to accelerate gaseous exchange and electrolyte permeation and prevent the electrode choking. This work offers a new strategy for the design of post-transition metal catalysts and the structure design of quasi-MOF.

Due to the scarcity of indium (In) in the earth and its potential harm to individuals, the development of In-free transparent conductive film is considered crucial. In this work, In-free SnO2:Sb/Au/SnO2:Sb (ATO/Au/ATO, SAS) tri-layer films with high transparency and conductivity were successfully prepared on polycarbonate (PC) substrates by RF and DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The influence of the Au layer thickness on microstructure, electrical and optical performances was systematically studied after fixing the ATO thickness to 50 nm. It was indicated by X-ray diffraction patterns that ATO is amorphous and Au is oriented along (111). The trend of increasing and then decreasing light transmission with Au layer thickness was observed in both experimental and simulation results. The improved figure of merit (FoM, 1.89 × 10−2 Ω−1) was achieved in SAS tri-layer film, the resistivity and average transmittance of which was lowered to 7.50 × 10−5 Ω cm and 81.4%, respectively, when Au layer thickness is 11 nm. Moreover, the mechanism of the variation of optical and electrical properties at different Au layer thickness was proposed. Particularly, the SAS tri-layer films also exhibit superior flexibility, durability and adhesion. These results demonstrate SAS tri-layer films are promising alternative to ITO in flexible electronics applications.

The binary In ? Li system is a promising Li-ion battery anode material as well as a part of the important ternary Ge ? In ? Li system. The thermodynamic descriptions of metallic systems are widely used to retrieve information necessary for alloy applications. In this work, a thermodynamic model of a binary indium ? lithium system prepared by the Calphad approach is proposed. The liquid phase was described by an associate model, and the solid phases determined by the ab-initio calculation were included in the thermodynamic modeling. The obtained set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters well reproduces the available experimental data and enables further calculations of multi-component systems. A good agreement between the calculations and the available experimental data was found. The proposed model can be used for further descriptions of ternary systems.

In this work, we demonstrate the record high maximum drain current ( $I_{D}$ ) of 2 A/mm of top-gate (TG) indium oxide (In₂O₃) transistors. The scaled and atomic-layer-deposited (ALD) In₂O₃ transistors have channel length ( $L_{ch}$ ) down to 40 nm and channel thickness ( $T_{ch}$ ) down to 1.3 nm. Besides, the thermal budget of the whole material formation and device fabrication process is as low as 225 °C, making it compatible with back-end-of-line (BEOL) technologies by a huge margin. On the other hand, highly resistive silicon is utilized to serve as a desired high thermal conducting substrate to dissipate the generated heat efficiently as a larger current is conducted under a larger voltage bias. It greatly alleviates the self-heating effect (SHE) and allows an approximately 100% higher drain current. Quantitative studies of the SHE and channel temperature at on-state with SiO₂/Si and highly resistive silicon substrates are also presented.

As a typical IV-VI compound, SnTe has aroused widely attentions in the thermoelectric community due its similar crystal and band structures with PbTe. However, both the large number of inherent Sn vacancies and high thermal conductivity result in inferior thermoelectric performance in intrinsic SnTe over a broad temperature. In this work, we successfully improved those disadvantages of SnTe via stepwisely Pb heavily alloying and then In doping. A significantly wide fraction of Pb into SnTe (0–50%) achieves multiple effects: (a) the carrier concentration of SnTe is reduced through decreasing Sn vacancies via alloying high solution Pb atoms in the matrix; (b) the band structure is optimized through promoting the convergence of the two valence bands, simultaneously enhancing the Seebeck coefficient; (c) HAADF-STEM coupled with EDS results illustrate that guest Pb atoms randomly and uniformly occupied Sn atomic sites in the matrix, concurrently strengthening the phonon scattering. Furthermore, we introduced indium into Sn0.6Pb0.4Te system to create resonant states further enlarging the power factors at low-medium temperature. The integration of bands convergence and DOS distortion achieves a considerably high ZTave of ∼0.67 over the wide temperature range of 300–823 K in (Sn0.6Pb0.4)0.995In0.005Te sample.

In this paper, Zinc Indium Sulphide (ZnIn2S4) marigold like Microsphere are synthesized at 80 °C in aqueous solution by using Zinc sulphate ZnSO4, Indium sulphate In2(SO4)3 and Thioacetamide C2H5NS (TTA). We have characterized the nanopowder of the zinc Indium sulphide, by using various techniques, like UV–Vis spectrophotometer, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FSEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The variation of optical properties in Zinc Indium sulphide by using UV–visible spectroscopy, to find the energy band gap (2.31 eV). The hexagonal phase was confirmed from the X-ray diffraction pattern of ZnIn2S4. We have used a simple route to synthesize the Zinc Indium Sulphide, which involves, no templates, no organic solvents or surfactants, and at low temperature (80 °C). Our synthesized Zinc Indium Sulphide have got promising applications in a wide range of areas like solar energy conversion, electrical nanodevices, photocatalysis, optical devices, and electrical devices, etc.

We demonstrate and compare indium and silicon as secondary cathode material for the analysis of flat, solid alumina and sapphire matrices by direct-current glow discharge mass spectrometry (dc-GDMS). The mask designs and the glow discharge conditions are optimised for signal ratio and absolute intensity. The mask material was found to be a small factor on matrix to mask ratio and signal intensity despite the large difference in properties between indium and silicon. The results indicate that the discharge conditions play the most significant role. The mask material did not appear to affect RSFs. On sapphire with indium, the possible discharge conditions and performance where limited due to a collapse in discharge. This was not the case for silicon, which proves to be a good alternative as secondary cathode material.

Indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles synthesized by green combustion method using Carica papaya seed extract as a novel fuel and, indium (In) and tin (Sn) as precursor is presented in this paper. Indium nitrate and tin nitrate solution were prepared by dissolving the In ingots and Sn in nitric acid. Carica papaya seed extract was prepared using dried Carica papaya seeds. Carica papaya seed extract along with indium nitrate and tin nitrate solution was heated in muffle furnace at 600 °C for 1 h. The obtained powder was calcinated at 650 °C for 3 h to obtain ITO nanoparticles. The effect of Sn concentration (5%, 10% and 50%) on microstructure, dielectric and ac conductivity of ITO nanoparticles were studied. These properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy, thermal gravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) and computer-controlled impedance analyser. The XRD analysis of synthesized ITO nanoparticles exhibits cubic bixbyite structure with increase in crystallite size from 17 nm to 22 nm as Sn concentration increases. SEM and HRTEM investigations exhibit an increase in grain size as Sn concentration increases. TG-DSC analysis reveals a constant weight in the temperature region 200 to 800 °C. The diffused reflectance spectral studies revealed that the band gap decreases from 3.01 eV to 2.75 eV as Sn concentration increases. The ac conductivity and dc conductivity of ITO nanoparticles was found to increase with increase in Sn concentration and temperature. With improved microstructural properties, higher optical band gap and increased ac conductivity, synthesized ITO nanoparticles with 10% Sn concentration are suitable material for sensor and optoelectronic applications.

The photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to fuels and useful chemicals is a valuable artificial photosynthesis approach that simultaneously addresses the valorization of CO2 emissions and the storage of solar energy. In this work, we show how indium doping influences the activity and selectivity of TiO2 as a CO2 reduction photocatalyst using water as the electron donor, and how silver nanoparticles deposited on the semiconductor surface reinforce these effects, leading to promising photocatalytic systems with enhanced performance. For that purpose, catalysts with different indium contents have been synthesized by a simple wet chemical method starting from anatase TiO2, and a selected In-doped sample has been further modified by silver decoration following an impregnation method. The catalysts have been thoroughly characterized using different physicochemical techniques and tested for UV photocatalytic CO2 conversion in a laboratory-made, continuous flow gas-phase reaction system. Characterization results point at a substitutional doping of indium into the anatase crystal structure, as inferred from the absence of additional phases visible by X-ray diffraction as well as Raman and UV-vis spectroscopy, and further supported by an expansion of the unit cell volume calculated from XRD profile refinement and ratified by DFT calculations, and the absence of In–In scattering in EXAFS spectra. This substitution does not modify the optical band gap of the synthesized catalysts but, according to XPS, theoretical calculation and fluorescence spectra, induces electronic modifications that reduce the n-type character and the electron–hole recombination rate. In-doped catalysts show an increased selectivity towards the highly reduced product CH4 in photocatalytic CO2 reduction tests, whereas the main product attained with undoped titania is CO. Silver decoration, which leads to the initial formation of silver oxides that are reduced to metallic Ag nanoparticles under the UV light used in the reactions, dramatically reduces electron–hole recombination and further enhances the selectivity to methane and ethane in CO2 photocatalytic conversion.

The ecosystems and human health were seriously threatened by hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in wastewater. In this article, using the idea of the highly matched energy band structure between indium sulfide (In2S3) and MIL-53(Fe), a Type-II heterojunction has been constructed by loading In2S3 on MIL-53(Fe) microrod to overcome the fault like high recombination rates of photogenerated electron-holes of In2S3. The composite with 20:1 mass ratio of In2S3 to MIL-53(Fe) (IM-2) was adopted as an optimal sample for efficient photocatalytic Cr(VI) reduction under visible light. Various characterization techniques were used to verify the characteristics of composites and delved into the structure-effect relationship between this heterojunction and its activity. Results showed that the reaction rate constants of the photoreduction process over IM-2 was ~ 4 and 26 times higher than those of pure In2S3 and MIL-53(Fe), respectively, and the catalyst could maintain superior removal efficiency (88.6%) and steady crystal structure after four cycles. First-principles calculations further illustrated that the heterostructure formed between In2S3 and MIL-53(Fe) could effectively accelerate the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, thus improving the photocatalytic reduction performance. Moreover, the active species analyses revealed that the superoxide radicals and electrons were mainly involved in the reduction of Cr(VI).

Indium oxide (In2O3) is an important transparent conducting material widely used in optoelectronic applications. Herein, we study the deposition of In2O3 by thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD) using our recently reported indium(iii) triazenide precursor and H2O. A temperature interval with self-limiting growth was found between similar to 270 and 385 degrees C with a growth per cycle of similar to 1.0 angstrom. The deposited films were polycrystalline cubic In2O3 with In : O ratios of 1 : 1.2, and low levels of C and no detectable N impurities. The transmittance of the films was found to be >70% in visible light and the resistivity was found to be 0.2 m omega cm. The high growth rates, low impurities, high optical transmittance, and low resistivity of these films give promise to this process being used for ALD of In2O3 films for future microelectronic displays. Funding Agencies|Swedish Foundation for Strategic ResearchSwedish Foundation for Strategic Research [SSF-RMA 15-0018]; Swedish Institute

Coordination polymers have received immense attention for proton conduction owing to their highly tunable and designable structures. Herein, based on the flexible ligand 5-(4-pyridine)-methoxyisophthalic acid (H2L), two novel highly chemically stable indium coordination polymers (In-CPs), InL(H2O)Cl·H2O (In–L–Cl) and InL(H2O)(NO3) (In–L–NO3), were synthesized through solvothermal methods. In–L–Cl and In–L–NO3 are isostructural, in which every individual In(III) atom connects to L2− to form a single layer, and coordinated Cl− and NO3− are inserted into the windows of the interlayers. Both of them possess high water and chemical stability. More importantly, the abundant Cl− and NO3− exposed in the interlayer can act as hydrogen bond acceptors to facilitate the formation of a dense hydrogen bonding network, thus improving proton transfer efficiently. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy shows that In–L–Cl and In–L–NO3 display optimized proton conductivities of 1.88 × 10−3 and 1.00 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 100% relative humidity (RH) and 80 °C, respectively. The difference in proton conductivity of In–L–Cl and In–L–NO3 likely stems from the variations in the hydrogen bonding networks formed by lattice water and the different electronegativities of the coordinated anionic functional sites. This study provides an alternative way to prepare highly proton-conductive CPs.

The authors would like to thank KAUST Baseline Funds BAS/1/1664-01-01, Competitive Research Grants URF/1/3437-01-01 and URF/1/3771-01-01, and GCC Research Council REP/1/3189-01-01 for their support.

There is a great demand for high-performance hydrogen sulfide (H2S) sensors with low operating temperatures. Ag/In2O3 hexagonal tubes with different proportions were prepared by the calcination of Ag+-impregnated indium-organic frameworks (CPP-3(In)), and the developed sensors exhibit enhanced gas-sensing performance toward H2S. Gas sensing measurements indicate that the response of Ag/In2O3 (2.5 wt%) sensor to 5 ppm H2S has the highest response (119), operated at 70 °C. The Ag/In2O3 (2.5 wt%) based sensor exhibits short response time (20 s), low detection limit (300 ppb), and good selectivity toward H2S gas, which imply that the CPP-3(In)-derived Ag/In2O3 hexagonal tube is a promising candidate to be constructed a low power-consumption H2S sensor.

The oxygen transport membrane (OTM) has huge application prospects in gas separation and carbon neutralization based on oxygen enriched combustion. In this paper, the family 60 wt.%Ce0.9Pr0.1O2-δ-40 wt.%Pr0.6Sr0.4Fe1-xInxO3-δ (CPO-PSF1-xIxO, x = 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1) cobalt-free dual-phase MIEC OTMs doped with indium have been successfully prepared by Pechini method. The phase structure, surface morphology, element distribution, oxygen permeability, and long-term operation stability of these OTMs are systematically explored. Among these OTMs, the champion oxygen permeable flux of CPO-PSF0.99I0.01O reaches 1.07 mL min−1·cm−2 and 0.80 mL min−1·cm−2 at 1000 °C under air/He gradient and air/CO2 gradient. Meanwhile, CPO-PSF0.99I0.01O maintains the value of 0.80 mL min−1·cm−2 steadily at 1000 °C for 100 h when pure CO2 as the sweep gas. The surface element distribution and phase structure of the OTMs after long-term oxygen permeability reaction are investigated by XRD, SEM combining with EDS, where the spent membranes retain the same structure and component as the fresh membranes, demonstrating that the In-doped OTMs have an excellent CO2 tolerance. Suitable indium substitution for iron of these OTMs not only improves the oxygen permeability, but also maintains the long-term reaction stability of the material.

This study identifies unstable and soluble layers in commercial photovoltaic modules during 1.5 year long-term leaching. Our experiments cover modules from all major photovoltaic technologies containing solar cells from crystalline silicon (c-Si), amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). These technologies cover more than 99.9% of the world market. We cut out module pieces of 5 &times, 5 cm2 in size from these modules and leached them in water-based solutions with pH 4, pH 7, and pH 11, in order to simulate different environmental conditions. Unstable layers open penetration paths for water-based solutions, finally, the leaching results in delamination. In CdTe containing module pieces, the CdTe itself and the back contact are unstable and highly soluble. In CIGS containing module pieces, all of the module layers are more or less soluble. In the case of c-Si module pieces, the cells&rsquo, aluminum back contact is unstable. Module pieces from a-Si technology also show a soluble back contact. Long-term leaching leads to delamination in all kinds of module pieces, delamination depends strongly on the pH value of the solutions. For low pH-values, the time dependent leaching is well described by an exponential saturation behavior and a leaching time constant. The time constant depends on the pH, as well as on accelerating conditions such as increased temperature and/or agitation. Our long-term experiments clearly demonstrate that it is possible to leach out all, or at least a large amount, of the (toxic) elements from the photovoltaic modules. It is therefore not sufficient to carry out experiments just over 24 h and to conclude on the stability and environmental impact of photovoltaic modules.

Nowadays, high-quality metal oxide thin film transistors grown by solution process have the most potential to replace the traditional a-Si TFT as the next generation of transparent electronics for various applications. However, the low intrinsic carrier concentration and poor charge carrier mobility of metal oxide thin film hinder its development. In order to solve these problems, the heterojunction structure was proposed. In this study, the Indium Oxide/Indium Gallium Oxide (In2O3/IGO) heterojunction was systematically investigated, and the existence of a two-dimensional electron gas was found. There is a large accumulation of carriers at the In2O3/IGO heterojunction interface, and the Hall tests show that the In2O3/IGO heterojunction has the highest carrier concentration of 7.82 × 1012 cm−2 and a carrier mobility of 10.22 cm2V−1s−1. This research can provide a theoretical guidance for promoting the development of oxide thin film transistor technology.

The copper indium gallium selenium (CIGS) thin film is recognized as the most potential material for photovoltaics applications, and the thin film solar cell with flexible substrate makes the application scenarios more extensive and the product advantages more obvious. In this contribution, we prepared high efficiency CIGS thin film solar cells on flexible stainless steel substrate by three-stage coevaporation method. In this study, silicon dioxide film was proposed as the diffusion barrier layer of iron, chromium and other impurity elements in stainless steel flexible substrate to the CIGS absorber, which were found to reduce the performance of the device. The thickness of the SiO2 barrier layers varying from 0 to 1000 nm was studied. The structure, crystal morphology and electrical properties of each sample were studied. The results showed that the conversion efficiency increased with the increase of thickness of sputtered silicon dioxide barrier until the thickness is greater than 200 nm.

The semiconductor material of ternary alloy of Indium and Aluminum nitride (InxAl1-xN) has interesting properties for potential optoelectronic applications and solar cells as well. In the present research, layers of In0.63Al0.37 N were synthesized using the DC reactive sputtering magnetron technique, on p-type silicon substrates (100), ITO/PET, and ITO/Glass. The reason why an intermediate layer of ITO was placed on the PET and Glass substrates is that possibly in an InAlN thin-layer solar cell, the ITO would fulfill the role of Conductive Transparent Oxide (CTO). This CTO would be located between the window layer and the transparent substrate. On the other hand, in the case of a hetero-union solar cell, InAlN-n would be located on the Si-p material, in order to form the p–n junction. Therefore, the present work allowed us to study subsystems in which the InAlN would be part of the window layer in three different types of solar cells.

Indium phosphide (InP) nanocrystals are emerging as an alternative to heavy metal containing nanocrystals for optoelectronic applications but lag behind in terms of synthetic control. Herein, luminescent wurtzite InP nanocrystals with narrow size distribution were synthesized via a cation exchange reaction from hexagonal Cu3P nanocrystals. A comprehensive surface treatment with NOBF4 was performed, which removes excess copper while generating stoichiometric In/P nanocrystals with fluoride surface passivation. The attained InP nanocrystals manifest a highly resolved absorption spectrum with a narrow emission line of 80 meV, and photoluminescence quantum yield of up to 40%. Optical anisotropy measurements on ensemble and single particle bases show the occurrence of polarized transitions directly mirroring the anisotropic wurtzite lattice, as also manifested from modeling of the quantum confined electronic levels. This shows a green synthesis path for achieving wurtzite InP nanocrystals with desired optoelectronic properties including color purity and light polarization with potential for diverse optoelectronic applications.

Thin-film transistors based on amorphous oxide semiconductors could be used to create low-cost backplane technology for large flat-panel displays. However, a trade-off between mobility and stability has limited the ability of such devices to replace current polycrystalline silicon technologies. Here we show that the sensitivity of amorphous oxide semiconductors to externally introduced impurities and defects is determined by the location of the conduction-band minimum and the relevant doping ability. Using bilayer-structured thin-film transistors, we identify the exact charge-trapping position under bias stress, which shows that the Fermi-level shift in the active layer can occur via electron donation from carbon-monoxide-related impurities. This mechanism is highly dependent on the location of the conduction-band minimum and explains why carbon-monoxide-related impurities greatly affect the stability of high-mobility indium tin zinc oxide transistors but not that of low-mobility indium gallium zinc oxide transistors. Based on these insights, we develop indium tin zinc oxide transistors with mobilities of 70 cm2 (V s)–1 and low threshold voltage shifts of –0.02 V and 0.12 V under negative- and positive-bias temperature stress, respectively. By understanding the origins of instability in high-mobility amorphous oxide transistors, ultrastable thin-film transistors with mobilities of 70 cm2 (V s)–1 can be fabricated.

The reaction current density for the CO2 electroreduction to formate of indium-based catalysts cannot meet the needs of industrial applications. Herein, the nickel-doped indium oxide nanocrystals (...

Indium-based quantum dots (QDs), such as InP, InAs, and CuInS2, are considered as the most promising candidates as cadmium/lead-free QDs. At present, the synthesis of these QDs is limited by the un...

The influence of indium on the properties of Cu0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nano ferrites synthesized by sol–gel auto-combustion technique was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis demonstrated that pure and substituted ferrites possessed cubic spinel structure. The lattice parameter increases with the inclusion of In3+ for x ≤ 0.16 and decreases subsequently. A linear decrease in crystallite size was found as concentration of indium increased. X-ray density, strain, and dislocation density were increased as indium content increases. Hopping lengths as well as radii of A and B sites revealed increasing behavior up to x = 0.16 and decreased thereafter. The spectral bands indicated the formation of spinel structure. The band positions were altered with the increase of In3+ contents. The inclusion of indium ions increases the value of dielectric parameters while magnetic parameters decreased. This increase in dielectric parameters and decrease in magnetization proposed that synthesized magnetic oxides may have potential in the fabrication of switching and high-frequency devices.

Although a few physical methods were demonstrated for domain wall engineering in various electronic or ferroic materials with broken discrete symmetries, the direct control over the electronic properties of individual domain walls has been extremely limited. Here, we introduce a chemical method to tune the electronic property of domain walls in 1T tantalum disulfide. By using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy techniques, we find that indium adatoms on 1T-TaS2 have distinct behaviors on the domains with different bulk terminations. Moreover, the adatoms form their own chains along the edges of neighboring domains. The density functional theory calculations reveal a 1D Mott insulating state on a modified domain wall, resulting from the degenerated spin-polarized bands with electron doping from adsorbates and charge transfer from neighboring domains. This work suggests that chemical decoration by adsorbates can be widely used to tune local electronic states of domain walls and various 2D materials.

In the past few years remarkable interest has been kindled by the development of nonclassical light sources and, in particular, of single-photon emitters (SPE), which represent fundamental building blocks for optical quantum technology. In this Letter, we analyze the stability and electronic properties of an InSe monolayer with point defects with the aim of demonstrating its applicability as an SPE. The presence of deep defect states within the InSe band gap is verified when considering substitutional defects with atoms belonging to group IV, V, and VI. In particular, the optical properties of Ge as substitution impurity of Se predicted by solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation on top of the GW corrected electronic states show that transitions between the valence band maximum and the defect state are responsible for the absorption and spontaneous emission processes, so that the latter results in a strongly peaked spectrum in the near-infrared. These properties, together with a high localization of the involved electronic states, appear encouraging in the quest for novel SPE materials.

The results of ellipsometric, x-ray, and spectral studies of In2O3 films deposited by dc-magnetron sputtering on Al2O3 (012) substrates are presented. The experimental data are interpreted in terms of a three-layer model of the fi lm. It is assumed that large particles of the material are formed on the surface of the substrate at the beginning of the deposition process. The size of the crystallites then decreases, and they fill the gaps between the larger particles, after which the film formation goes into the stationary mode. It was shown that there is a transition layer with a band gap of 1.39 eV, a refractive index of ~3, and thickness of 25 nm at the interface between the film and the substrate. The properties of this layer do not depend on the deposition time.

In this paper, an optimal design method of micro-lens light trapping structure for thin film solar cells applied to building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) is proposed. Under three common scenes of BIPV, including lighting roof, sunshade and building facade, the optimal design and photoelectric performance study of Copper Indium Gallium Selenium (CIGS) thin film solar cells with micro-lens light trapping structure are studied. Among the three kinds of micro-lens light trapping structures, V-shaped, semi-cylindrical and concave, the light capture performance of V-shaped micro-lens light trapping structure is the best. The V-shaped micro-lens light trapping structure with a vertex angle of 70° and a groove depth of 100 μm has the best light capture performance in lighting roof and sunshade scene, which can increase the annual radiation flux of the absorption layer incident surface by 4.45% and 2.84% respectively. The V-shaped micro-lens light trapping structure with a vertex angle of 60° and a groove depth of 200 μm has the best light capture performance in building facade scene, which can increase the annual radiation flux of the absorption layer incident surface by 7.63%. When the light source is vertically incident, these two V-shaped micro-lens light trapping structures can increase the short-circuit current density by 15.57% and 7.11% respectively.

Fundamental gas-sensing properties of porous (pr-)In2O3 powders loaded with and without 0.5 mass % noble metal (pr-0.5N/In2O3 and pr-In2O3, respectively, N: noble metal (Au or Pd)) to NO2, H2, and ethanol balanced with dry air were investigated at 30 °C under UV-light irradiation (main wavelength: 365 nm). The spherical pr-0.5N/In2O3 and pr-In2O3 powders were prepared by ultrasonic-spray pyrolysis employing polymethylmethacrylate microspheres with a diameter of ca. 70 nm, which were synthesized by ultrasonic-assisted emulsion polymerization. The Au loading largely improved the NO2 response of the pr-In2O3 sensor, a ratio of the resistance in NO2 to that in air, especially under weak UV-light irradiation, because of the relatively large resistance in air. On the other hand, the Pd loading efficiently increased the difference in the conductance of the pr-In2O3 sensor between in NO2 and in air under the whole UV-light irradiation range. The UV-light irradiation is effective in improving the NO2-sensing properties of these sensors at room temperature, but the sensing performance was a little inferior to that operated at elevated temperatures under no UV-light irradiation. These sensors also responded to reducing gases, H2 and ethanol, under UV-light irradiation, and the responses to ethanol were much larger than those to H2. However, the responses to both the gases were much smaller than that to NO2., Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan, 129(11), pp. 676-682; 2021

Quantum-dot (QD) sensitized TiO2 nanocomposites are currently emerging as efficient photovoltaic and photocatalytic materials and thus extensively investigated to obtain superior light harvesting. TiO2 coupled with PbS QDs (TiO2/PbS) offers excellent absorbance of solar irradiation, ensuing significant electron-hole generation that can be utilized for carrying out photovoltaic activity in solar cells or dye degradation process. However, TiO2/PbS nanocomposite suffers from detrimental charge carrier recombination and photo-corrosion in an electrolyte/aqueous environment which lowers down its performance. In this study, we have revealed the bi-efficacious role of Indium (In) incorporation during the conventional synthesis (i.e. successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction; SILAR) of TiO2/PbS nanocomposite. Resultantly, the modified processes enabled us to achieve In-doped and In2S3 deposited PbS QDs, which respectively produced improved opto-electronic behavior and photostability of TiO2/PbS nanocomposites. On the one hand, In-incorporated TiO2/PbS NC exhibited 100% higher degradation of toxic Congo Red dye than reference TiO2/PbS, while it showed ∼3 mA/cm2 higher photocurrent density (Jsc) and around 1.49% power conversion efficiency (PCE) when utilized for the development of solar paint-based photoanode in QDs sensitized solar cell (QDSSC). Along with extensive material characterization of reference and In-incorporated TiO2/PbS NCs, electrochemical characterization was carried out to affirm the efficacy of modification of conventional SILAR process and resultant TiO2/PbS NCs.

An intensive research has been begun on spinel nano-ferrites owing to their unique and novel size dependent chemical and physical properties. Indium doped cobalt-zinc spinel nano-ferrites, Co0.9Zn0.1InxFe2-xO4 (x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3), have been fabricated through solution-combustion (SC) method and characterized for structural, morphological and temperature dependent electric and dielectric behavior. XRD affirmed that all spinel nano-ferrites have single phase. The TEM and EDX micrographs have confirmed morphology and composition of the samples, respectively. The crystallite size has decreased from 23.8 nm to 20.2 nm, while the lattice constant has been seen to enhance from 8.385 A to 8.426 A with the replacement of Fe3+ ions by In3+ ions. FTIR spectroscopy has been performed to extract the information about the stretching of metal-oxygen bonds as well presence of various functional groups. Moreover, FTIR has confirmed that there is no deviation in the structure of the Co–Zn spinel nano-ferrites with the addition of In3+ ions. Additionally, there is no significant deviation in the peak positions of respective peaks has been observed except, when composition changes from x = 0.05 to x = 0.10 for peak I and peak II. The resistivity has been observed to decrease with the rise in temperature, which has confirmed the semiconductor character of the prepared spinel nano-ferrites. An enhancement in resistivity has been viewed with the rise in In3+ ions, while a normal dispersion curve has been observed for the variation of the dielectric constant as a function of frequency. Spinel nano-ferrites show a decrease in the dielectric constant with the increase in frequency as well as indium ion content. The dielectric loss tangent shows minute values suggest the utility of the present spinel nano-ferrites for microwave frequency applications.

This paper aims to study the bondability of ultrasonic Aluminum, Al bonds on Mo and MoSe2 layers of back-contact metal of copper indium gallium (de)selenide (CIGS) thin film photovoltaic (TFPV) solar panel. The bondability of ultrasonic Al bonds were evaluated based on the contact resistance, Rc, peel strength and electrical characteristics measured using transmission line method (TLM), peel test, and current–voltage (I-V) measurement, respectively. Besides, the qualitative results of load-distance profiles from tensile test also have been used to evaluate the bondability of the ultrasonic Al bonds. Two type of lamination constructions namely construction 1 and construction 2 were built on the CIGS TPFV solar panel with ultrasonic Al bonds on Mo and MoSe2. It was noted that the new method of removing CIGS layer up until MoSe2 is the plausible technique to be used. Ultrasonic Al bond on Mo layer has higher bondability as compared to that of ultrasonic Al bond on MoSe2 through the quantitative results of Rc, peel strength and qualitative result of load-distance profile. CIGS TFPV solar panel with construction 2 is the suitable construction for the CIGS TFPV solar panel due to the higher rigidity, and even stress distribution experienced during lamination process as compared to that of construction 1. It is noted that steps taken from ultrasonic bonding until lamination process has increased the cumulative contact area and decreased the Rc and consequently increased the efficiency of CIGS TFPV solar panel with ultrasonic Al bond on MoSe2 layer.

This paper presents a case study of photovoltaic (PV) module failures after over 10 years of operation in the tropical climate of Singapore. Three types of modules (two samples from each type) were analysed: multi-crystalline silicon (multi-Si), mono-crystalline silicon (mono-Si), and copper indium selenide (CIS). Visual inspection revealed several problems, including encapsulant discoloration (to different extents), backsheet yellowing, and soiling among others. Different degradation behaviour of the samples was observed from current-voltage (IV) and electroluminescence characterization. The maximum power of the multi-Si samples degraded by more than 9% (on average), likely due to corrosion around the cell edges. The mono-Si modules suffered a catastrophic power reduction (>40%) that could be ascribed to a combination of encapsulant discoloration, potential-induced degradation (PID), and corrosion. While one CIS module was primarily affected by encapsulant discoloration and possibly corrosion, the other sample also exhibited signatures of PID and experienced about 45% power drop. Furthermore, external quantum efficiency measurements of the multi-Si modules identified cell mismatch and changes to the additives in the encapsulant. Overall, PID, corrosion and encapsulant degradation are found to be the most detrimental degradation processes for PV modules in the tropical climate of Singapore.

In this paper, we investigated the electrical properties of the Metal-oxide-semiconductor gate stack of Ti/Al2O3/InP under different annealing conditions. A minimum interface trap density of 3×1011cm-2eV-1 is obtained without postmetallization annealing treatment. Additionally, utilizing Ti/Al2O3/InP MOS gate stack, we fabricated ultra-thin body buried In0.35Ga0.65As channel MOSFETs on Si substrates with optimized on/off trade-off. The 200nm gate length device with extremely low off-current of 0.6nA/µm, and on-off ratio of 3.3×105, is demonstrated by employing buried low indium (In0.35Ga0.65As) channel with InP barrier/spacer device structure, giving strong potential for future highperformance and low-power applications.

In this work, the mechanical lap joint of commercial ReBCO tape from SHSC is prepared. The tape is reinforced with stainless steel bar in both side to reduce the effect of bending moment in the joint tensile test. We use Indium and GaInSn as interlayer material, respectively, and different pressures are applied on the joint by jig during testing. The relationship between joint resistance and applied tensile stress was measured at 77 K. The results shows that for all measured joints under pressure, the voltage rise duo to tensile stress is small at first and then sharply grows until a certain value of stress is reached. The maximum tensile stress is higher for the joint which has lower resistance. Comparing two types of mechanical lap joints with Indium and GaInSn, the former joint shows smaller dispersion on joint resistance than the latter under pressure above 40 Mpa. It is also shown that the joint with Indium can tolerate higher tensile stress than the joint with GaInSn by using the Weibull distribution function analysis.

This paper demonstrates an ultra-high frequency (UHF) liquid-metal monopole antenna qualified for reconfiguring its resonant frequency by stretching or shortening its length on a two-dimensional (2D) surface. The proposed antenna consists of liquid eutectic gallium and indium (EGaIn) and NaOH solution. A power supply generates a direct current (DC) potential between the EGaIn and NaOH solution. Depending on the electrically-driven method to push or withdraw the EGaIn, the antenna is capable of forming different lengths to redistribute the current of radiating element. Compared with the microchannel liquid-metal antenna, the proposed antenna can be tuned the length on a 2D surface, rather than relying on the microchannel for shaping. By varying the length of EGaIn on a 2D surface, the proposed antenna can provide continuously tunable frequency range and repeatability. For EGaIn monopole antenna with lengths from 50 mm to 10 mm, the measured resonant frequency operates from 0.78 GHz to 2.42 GHz for a tuning ratio 3.1: 1. The application of the design, operation of tuning liquid-metal antenna at several frequencies, and measurement process are explained in this paper.

We have made a first attempt to build a novel Tin doped indium oxide@Manganese oxide (ITO@Mn3O4) nanocomposite electrode to overcome the detriments of Mn3O4 such as low conductivity and small potential window. Herein, we have synthesized the ITO@Mn3O4 nanocomposite by growing Mn3O4 nanoplates over ITO nanofibers synthesized by electrospinning technique. Benefitted from, the high conductivity and negative operating potential window of ITO exceptionally increased in the electrochemical performance of ITO@Mn3O4 was observed. The specific capacitance of optimized ITO@Mn3O4 nanocomposite reached up to 823 F/g at 1 mA/cm2 in a wide potential window of 2 V using Na2SO4 electrolyte. To determine the practical feasibility an ITO@Mn3O4//ITO@Mn3O4 all-solid-state symmetric device was developed, which operated very well in a 2.2 V voltage window. It was found to deliver a maximum energy density of 88 Wh/kg and a power density of 550 W/kg. This novel composite inferred the significance of using simple design to build a high-performance device.

Sintered silver paste is a popular material for die attachment technology in power electronics. However, using traditional nano-silver paste when fabricating sintered joints has intrinsic material problems that cannot be overcome, such as the high cost of nano-silver particles and their potential health hazards. In this study, a novel micro-silver paste was utilized for sintering and bonding to overcome the limitations of nano-silver paste. Although the micro-silver paste is an excellent candidate to replace nano-silver paste for sintering processes to reduce the potential harm to humans, the oxidation at copper substrates on both sides of the pure silver joint at 300 °C causes mechanical reliability issues in long-term high temperature applications. Therefore, a micro-silver paste was sintered with the addition of indium to address the Cu oxidation problem in this study. It was found that Ag-In intermetallic compounds (IMCs) formed through a transient liquid phase reaction. The results demonstrated that sintered joints comprising Ag-In IMCs and Ag-In solid solution phases could effectively resolve the oxidation issues and significantly enhance the high-temperature reliability. Furthermore, the Ag-In IMCs exhibited excellent mechanical properties, withstanding the thermal stress induced during the thermal cycling test.

Pb-free double perovskites, such as Cs2AgBiBr6, are alternatives to lead halide perovskites for photovoltaic applications due to superior stability, low toxicity, and promising optoelectronic properties. However, their performance is subpar. We combine nonadiabatic molecular dynamics and real-time time-dependent density-functional theory to show that the negatively charged Br vacancy in Cs2AgBiBr6 creates an extremely detrimental donor-yielded (DY) center, which is a typical defect in six-coordinated semiconductors. Ag+ and Bi3+ form a bond by attraction through the anisotropic vacancy charge, generating a midgap state that traps holes within tens of picoseconds. Substituting Ag with indium by doping produces a weak and long In-Bi bond, lifting the defect energy level to the conduction band. Hole trapping slows down by an order or magnitude, and trap-assisted charge recombination decreases 4-fold. The simulations bring atomistic insights into defects of Pb-free double perovskites and provide a defect mitigation strategy for rational design of high-performance optoelectronic devices.

Zero-dimensional metal halide perovskites have captured intense research interest owing to their unique optoelectronic properties. Particularly, metal halides with the ns2 electronic configuration are of great interest owing to the high-temperature sensitivity of their photoluminescence, which could be applied to remote optical thermometry (ROT). Herein, all-inorganic and lead-free halide perovskite Te4+-doped Cs2InCl5·H2O single crystals (SCs) were prepared through the hydrothermal method and showed a strong temperature dependence of photoluminescence lifetime. Upon Te4+ doping, the nonemissive Cs2InCl5·H2O SC exhibits a bright orange emission at 660 nm with a wide full width at half maximum of 180 nm. The strong phonon-exciton coupling promotes the formation of self-trapped excitons in the soft lattice of the zero-dimensional Te4+-doped Cs2InCl5·H2O SC. The Te4+ ions with the 5s2 electronic configuration endow the Te4+-doped Cs2InCl5·H2O SC with a strong temperature-dependent photoluminescence lifetime. This SC reaches a maximum specific sensitivity of 0.062K−1 at 320 K, thereby showing the potential advantages of indium-based metal halide perovskites in ROT applications.