Search

V2O5 aerogels are capable of reversibly intercalating more than 5 Li(+)/V2O5 but suffer from lifetime issues due to their poor capacity retention upon cycling. We employed a range of material characterization and electrochemical techniques along with atomic pair distribution function, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory to determine the origin of the capacity fading in V2O5 aerogel cathodes. In addition to the expected vanadium redox due to intercalation, we observed LiOH species that formed upon discharge and were only partially removed after charging, resulting in an accumulation of electrochemically inactive LiOH over each cycle. Our results indicate that the tightly bound water that is necessary for maintaining the aerogel structure is also inherently responsible for the capacity fade.

The geometric and electronic properties of a series of potential photovoltaic materials, the sulvanite structured Cu3MCh4(M = V, Nb, Ta; Ch = S, Se, Te), have been computationally examined using both PBEsol+U and HSE06 methods to assess the materials' suitability for solar cell application and to compare the predictions of the two theoretical approaches. The lattice parameters, electronic density of states, and band gaps of the compounds have been calculated to ascertain the experimental agreement obtained by each method and to determine if any of the systems have an optical band gap appropriate for photovoltaic absorber materials. The PBEsol+U results are shown to achieve better agreement with experiment than HSE06 in terms of both lattice constants and band gaps, demonstrating that higher level theoretical methods do not automatically result in a greater level of accuracy than their computationally less expensive counterparts. The PBEsol+U calculated optical band gaps of five materials suggest potential suitability as photovoltaic absorbers, with values of 1.72 eV, 1.49 eV, 1.19 eV, 1.46 eV, and 1.69 eV for Cu3VS4, Cu3VSe4, Cu3VTe4, Cu3NbTe4, and Cu3TaTe4, respectively, although it should be noted that all fundamental band gaps are indirect in nature, which could lower the open-circuit voltage and hence the efficiency of prospective devices.

One of the current challenges faced by material scientists is the development of a p-type transparent conducting oxide with levels of optical transparency and electronic conductivity to equal those of the universally n-type industry leaders such as Sn-doped In2O3. The discovery of a p-type analogue would allow for the combination of both polarities into a heterojunction, accessing the potential for transparent electronics. In this study, an insulating material, Cr2O3, is investigated both experimentally and computationally to determine if it is a viable p-type host matrix as has been recently proposed in the literature. The geometric and electronic structure are examined by high resolution x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and periodic density functional theory (specifically, PBE  +  U). By incorporating Mg and performing a comprehensive defect analysis, the dominant intrinsic and extrinsic carriers in the material are determined, and it is shown that Cr2O3 has the potential to display p-type conductivity when appropriately doped.

As the thin film photovoltaic sector continues to expand, there is an emerging need to base these technologies on abundant, low cost materials in place of the expensive, rare, or toxic elements such as Te, In, or Cd that currently constitute the industry standards. To this end, the geometric and electronic structure of four materials comprising low cost, earth abundant elements (Cu3SbS3, Cu3SbSe3, Cu3BiS3, and Cu3BiSe3) are investigated with the screened hybrid exchange-correlation functional HSE06 and their candidacy for use as absorber materials assessed. The materials are shown to exhibit low VBM effective masses, due partially to the presence of lone pairs that originate from the Sb and Bi states. Although all four materials possess indirect fundamental band gaps, calculated optical absorbance shows direct transitions close in energy. Optical band gaps within the visible-light spectrum are also predicted for three of the systems, (Cu3SbSe3, Cu3BiS3 and Cu3BiSe3) making them promising candidates for PV applications.

Lead dioxide has been studied for over 150 years as a component of the lead-acid battery. Based on first-principles calculations, we predict that by tuning the concentration of electrons in the material, through control of the defect chemistry, PbO(2) can be rendered from black to optically transparent, thus opening up applications in the field of optoelectronics.

Lead dioxide has been used for over a century in the lead-acid battery. Many fundamental questions concerning PbO2 remain unanswered, principally: (i) is the bulk material a metal or a semiconductor, and (ii) what is the source of the high levels of conductivity? We calculate the electronic structure and defect physics of PbO2, using a hybrid density functional, and show that it is an n-type semiconductor with a small indirect band gap of ∼0.2  eV. The origin of electron carriers in the undoped material is found to be oxygen vacancies, which forms a donor state resonant in the conduction band. A dipole-forbidden band gap combined with a large carrier induced Moss-Burstein shift results in a large effective optical band gap. The model is supported by neutron diffraction, which reveals that the oxygen sublattice is only 98.4% occupied, thus confirming oxygen substoichiometry as the electron source.

Techniques to compensate for index of refraction variations in the application of a laser Doppler anemometer are examined. For discontinuous plane-layered media a method of discrete elements is employed. An alternative set of equations is derived for continuous cylindrically layered media and simplified to make comparisons with available results for a single cylinder. Results of velocity measurements in a Plexiglas model of a cylindrically layered nuclear fuel assembly are presented to establish a positioning accuracy of the method to within 0.025 cm.