Soft fibers with magnetoelasticity for wearable electronics

AbstractMagnetoelastic effect characterizes the change of materials’ magnetic properties under mechanical deformation, which is conventionally observed in some rigid metals or metal alloys. Here we show magnetoelastic effect can also exist in 1D soft fibers with stronger magnetomechanical coupling than that in traditional rigid counterparts. This effect is explained by a wavy chain model based on the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction and demagnetizing factor. To facilitate practical applications, we further invented a textile magnetoelastic generator (MEG), weaving the 1D soft fibers with conductive yarns to couple the observed magnetoelastic effect with magnetic induction, which paves a new way for biomechanical-to-electrical energy conversion with short-circuit current density of 0.63 mA cm−2, internal impedance of 180 Ω, and intrinsic waterproofness. Textile MEG was demonstrated to convert the arterial pulse into electrical signals with a low detection limit of 0.05 kPa, even with heavy perspiration or in underwater situations without encapsulations.

Download Full-text

Enhanced Triboelectric Performance of Modified PDMS Nanocomposite Multilayered Nanogenerators

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma13184156 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (18) ◽

pp. 4156

Author(s):

Habtamu Gebeyehu Menge ◽

Jin Ok Kim ◽

Yong Tae Park

Keyword(s):

Surface Charge ◽

Energy Demand ◽

High Performance ◽

Short Circuit ◽

High Surface ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Short Circuit Current Density ◽

Open Circuit ◽

Layer By Layer

Recently, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been widely utilized to address the energy demand of portable electronic devices by harvesting electrical energy from human activities or immediate surroundings. To increase the surface charge and surface area of negative TENGs, previous studies suggested several approaches such as micro-patterned arrays, porous structures, multilayer alignment, ion injections, ground systems and mixing of high dielectric constant materials. However, the preparation processes of these nanocomposite TENGs have been found to be complex and expensive. In this work, we report a simple, efficient and inexpensive modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) using graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) fillers and a Na2CO3 template. This GNP-PDMS was chemically bonded using 3-aminopropylethoxysilane (APTES) as a linker with an electrode multilayer made by layer-by-layer deposition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and poly(4-styrene-sulfonic acid) (PSS)-stabilized GNP (denoted as [PVA/GNP-PSS]n). A 33 wt.% Na2CO3 and 0.5 wt.% of GNP into a PDMS-based TENG gives an open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density of up to ~270.2 V and ~0.44 μA/cm2, which are ~8.7 and ~3.5 times higher than those of the pristine PDMS, respectively. The higher output performance is due to (1) the improved surface charge density, 54.49 μC/m2, from oxygen functional moieties of GNP, (2) high surface roughness of the composite film, ~0.399 μm, which also increased the effective contact area, and (3) reduced charge leakage from chemical bonding of GNP-PDMS and [PVA/GNP-PSS]3 via APTES. The proposed TENG fabrication process could be useful for the development of other high-performance TENGs.

Download Full-text

Determining the exciton diffusion length of copper phthalocyanine in operating planar-heterojunction organic solar cells

The European Physical Journal Applied Physics ◽

10.1051/epjap/2020190322 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 89 (3) ◽

pp. 30201 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xi Guan ◽

Shiyu Wang ◽

Wenxing Liu ◽

Dashan Qin ◽

Dayan Ban

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Organic Solar Cells ◽

Diffusion Length ◽

Copper Phthalocyanine ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Thick Layer ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Short Circuit Current Density ◽

Exciton Diffusion ◽

Exciton Diffusion Length

Organic solar cells based on planar copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)/C60 heterojunction have been characterized, in which a 2 nm-thick layer of bathocuproine (BCP) is inserted into the CuPc layer. The thin layer of BCP allows hole current to tunnel it through but blocks the exciton diffusion, thereby altering the steady-state exciton profile in the CuPc zone (zone 1) sandwiched between BCP and C60. The short-circuit current density (JSC) of device is limited by the hole-exciton scattering effect at the BCP/CuPc (zone 1) interface. Based on the variation of JSC with the width of zone 1, the exciton diffusion length of CuPc is deduced to be 12.5–15 nm. The current research provides an easy and helpful method to determine the exciton diffusion lengths of organic electron donors.

Download Full-text

The Influence of the Thickness of Compact TiO2 Electron Transport Layer on the Performance of Planar CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite Solar Cells

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14123295 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (12) ◽

pp. 3295

Author(s):

Andrzej Sławek ◽

Zbigniew Starowicz ◽

Marek Lipiński

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Electron Transport ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Perovskite Solar Cells ◽

Precursor Solution ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Short Circuit Current Density ◽

Transport Layer ◽

Electron Transport Layer

In recent years, lead halide perovskites have attracted considerable attention from the scientific community due to their exceptional properties and fast-growing enhancement for solar energy harvesting efficiency. One of the fundamental aspects of the architecture of perovskite-based solar cells (PSCs) is the electron transport layer (ETL), which also acts as a barrier for holes. In this work, the influence of compact TiO2 ETL on the performance of planar heterojunction solar cells based on CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite was investigated. ETLs were deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates from a titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) precursor solution using the spin-coating method with changing precursor concentration and centrifugation speed. It was found that the thickness and continuity of ETLs, investigated between 0 and 124 nm, strongly affect the photovoltaic performance of PSCs, in particular short-circuit current density (JSC). Optical and topographic properties of the compact TiO2 layers were investigated as well.

Download Full-text

High short-circuit current density in a non-toxic Bi2S3 Quantum dot sensitized solar cell

Materials Today Energy ◽

10.1016/j.mtener.2021.100783 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100783

Author(s):

Christopher Rosiles-Perez ◽

Sirak Sidhik ◽

Luis Ixtilico-Cortés ◽

Fernando Robles-Montes ◽

Tzarara López-Luke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cell ◽

Quantum Dot ◽

Current Density ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Short Circuit Current Density

Download Full-text

CdTe-Based Thin Film Solar Cells: Past, Present and Future

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14061684 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 1684

Author(s):

Alessandro Romeo ◽

Elisa Artegiani

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Solar Cell ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Short Circuit Current Density ◽

Open Circuit ◽

Early Years ◽

Solar Cell Efficiency ◽

Cell Efficiency

CdTe is a very robust and chemically stable material and for this reason its related solar cell thin film photovoltaic technology is now the only thin film technology in the first 10 top producers in the world. CdTe has an optimum band gap for the Schockley-Queisser limit and could deliver very high efficiencies as single junction device of more than 32%, with an open circuit voltage of 1 V and a short circuit current density exceeding 30 mA/cm2. CdTe solar cells were introduced at the beginning of the 70s and they have been studied and implemented particularly in the last 30 years. The strong improvement in efficiency in the last 5 years was obtained by a new redesign of the CdTe solar cell device reaching a single solar cell efficiency of 22.1% and a module efficiency of 19%. In this paper we describe the fabrication process following the history of the solar cell as it was developed in the early years up to the latest development and changes. Moreover the paper also presents future possible alternative absorbers and discusses the only apparently controversial environmental impacts of this fantastic technology.

Download Full-text

Over 30% efficiency bifacial 4-terminal perovskite-heterojunction silicon tandem solar cells with spectral albedo

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-94848-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sangho Kim ◽

Thanh Thuy Trinh ◽

Jinjoo Park ◽

Duy Phong Pham ◽

Sunhwa Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cell ◽

Conversion Efficiency ◽

Crystalline Silicon ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Solar Spectrum ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Short Circuit Current Density ◽

Production Costs ◽

White Sand ◽

Reflected Light

AbstractWe developed and designed a bifacial four-terminal perovskite (PVK)/crystalline silicon (c-Si) heterojunction (HJ) tandem solar cell configuration albedo reflection in which the c-Si HJ bottom sub-cell absorbs the solar spectrum from both the front and rear sides (reflected light from the background such as green grass, white sand, red brick, roofing shingle, snow, etc.). Using the albedo reflection and the subsequent short-circuit current density, the conversion efficiency of the PVK-filtered c-Si HJ bottom sub-cell was improved regardless of the PVK top sub-cell properties. This approach achieved a conversion efficiency exceeding 30%, which is higher than those of both the top and bottom sub-cells. Notably, this efficiency is also greater than the Schockley–Quiesser limit of the c-Si solar cell (approximately 29.43%). The proposed approach has the potential to lower industrial solar cell production costs in the near future.

Download Full-text

Ultrathin Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells with Ag/AlOx Passivating Back Reflector

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14144268 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (14) ◽

pp. 4268

Author(s):

Jessica de Wild ◽

Gizem Birant ◽

Guy Brammertz ◽

Marc Meuris ◽

Jef Poortmans ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Surface Roughness ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Short Circuit Current Density ◽

Open Circuit ◽

Electron Microscopic ◽

Current Increase ◽

Time Resolved ◽

Cigs Solar Cells

Ultrathin Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) absorber layers of 550 nm were grown on Ag/AlOx stacks. The addition of the stack resulted in solar cells with improved fill factor, open circuit voltage and short circuit current density. The efficiency was increased from 7% to almost 12%. Photoluminescence (PL) and time resolved PL were improved, which was attributed to the passivating properties of AlOx. A current increase of almost 2 mA/cm2 was measured, due to increased light scattering and surface roughness. With time of flight—secondary ion mass spectroscopy, the elemental profiles were measured. It was found that the Ag is incorporated through the whole CIGS layer. Secondary electron microscopic images of the Mo back revealed residuals of the Ag/AlOx stack, which was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements. It is assumed to induce the increased surface roughness and scattering properties. At the front, large stains are visible for the cells with the Ag/AlOx back contact. An ammonia sulfide etching step was therefore applied on the bare absorber improving the efficiency further to 11.7%. It shows the potential of utilizing an Ag/AlOx stack at the back to improve both electrical and optical properties of ultrathin CIGS solar cells.

Download Full-text

Enhancement of the performance of CdS/CdTe heterojunction solar cell using TiO2/ZnO bi-layer ARC and V2O5 BSF layers: A simulation approach

The European Physical Journal Applied Physics ◽

10.1051/epjap/2020200213 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 92 (2) ◽

pp. 20901

Author(s):

Abdul Kuddus ◽

Md. Ferdous Rahman ◽

Jaker Hossain ◽

Abu Bakar Md. Ismail

Keyword(s):

Solar Cell ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Photovoltaic Performance ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Short Circuit Current Density ◽

Open Circuit ◽

Heterojunction Solar Cell ◽

Back Surface ◽

Heterojunction Solar Cells

This article presents the role of Bi-layer anti-reflection coating (ARC) of TiO2/ZnO and back surface field (BSF) of V2O5 for improving the photovoltaic performance of Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) and Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) based heterojunction solar cells (HJSCs). The simulation was performed at different concentrations, thickness, defect densities of each active materials and working temperatures to optimize the most excellent structure and working conditions for achieving the highest cell performance using obtained optical and electrical parameters value from the experimental investigation on spin-coated CdS, CdTe, ZnO, TiO2 and V2O5 thin films deposited on the glass substrate. The simulation results reveal that the designed CdS/CdTe based heterojunction cell offers the highest efficiency, η of ∼25% with an enhanced open-circuit voltage, Voc of 0.811 V, short circuit current density, Jsc of 38.51 mA cm−2, fill factor, FF of 80% with bi-layer ARC and BSF. Moreover, it appears that the TiO2/ZnO bi-layer ARC, as well as ETL and V2O5 as BSF, could be highly promising materials of choice for CdS/CdTe based heterojunction solar cell.

Download Full-text

Room-Temperature Wafer Bonded Multi-Junction Solar Cell Grown by Solid State Molecular Beam Epitaxy

MRS Advances ◽

10.1557/adv.2016.429 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (43) ◽

pp. 2907-2916 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Shulong Lu ◽

Shiro Uchida

Keyword(s):

Solar Cell ◽

Molecular Beam Epitaxy ◽

Wafer Bonding ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Molecular Beam ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Short Circuit Current Density ◽

Device Structure ◽

Junction Solar Cell

ABSTRACTWe studied the InGaP/GaAs//InGaAsP/InGaAs four-junction solar cells grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), which were fabricated by the novel wafer bonding. In order to reach a higher conversion efficiency at highly concentrated illumination, heat generation should be minimized. We have improved the device structure to reduce the thermal and electrical resistances. Especially, the bond resistance was reduced to be the lowest value of 2.5 × 10-5 Ohm cm2 ever reported for a GaAs/InP wafer bond, which was obtained by the specific combination of p+-GaAs/n-InP bonding and by using room-temperature wafer bonding. Furthermore, in order to increase the short circuit current density (Jsc) of 4-junction solar cell, we have developed the quality of InGaAsP material by increasing the growth temperature from 490 °C to 510 °C, which leads to a current matching. In a result, an efficiency of 42 % at 230 suns of the four-junction solar cell fabricated by room-temperature wafer bonding was achieved.

Download Full-text

IMPROVING STABILITY OF CHLOROPHYLL AS NATURAL DYE FOR DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

Jurnal Teknologi ◽

10.11113/jt.v80.10258 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 80 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zainal Arifin ◽

Sudjito Soeparman ◽

Denny Widhiyanuriyawan ◽

Suyitno Suyitno ◽

Argatya Tara Setyaji

Keyword(s):

Current Density ◽

Open Circuit Voltage ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Short Circuit Current Density ◽

Open Circuit ◽

Natural Dyes ◽

Dye Sensitized ◽

Sensitized Solar Cells

Natural dyes have attracted much researcher’s attention due to their low-cost production, simple synthesis processes and high natural abundance. However the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based natural dyes have higher tendency to degradation. This article reports on the enhancement of performance and stability of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using natural dyes. The natural dyes were extracted from papaya leaves by ethanol solvent at a temperature of 50 °C. Then the extracted dyes were isolated and modified into Mg-chlorophyll using column chromatography. Mg-chlorophyll was then synthesized into Fe-chlorophyll to improve stability. The natural dyes were characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The performance of DSSCs was tested using a solar simulator. The results showed the open-circuit voltage, the short-circuit current density, and the efficiency of the extracted papaya leaves-based DSSCs to be 325 mV, 0.36 mA/cm2, and 0.07%, respectively. Furthermore, the DSSCs with purified chlorophyll provide high open-circuit voltage of 425 mV and short-circuit current density of 0.45 mA/cm2. The use of Fe-chlorophyll for sensitizing the DSSCs increases the efficiency up to 2.5 times and the stability up to two times. The DSSCs with Fe-chlorophyll dyes provide open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, and efficiency of 500 mV, 0.62 mA/cm2, and 0.16%, respectively. Further studies to improve the current density and stability of natural dye-based DSSCs along with an improvement in the anchor between dyes and semiconducting layers are required.

Download Full-text