Germanium ion doping of CsPbI3 to obtain inorganic perovskite solar cells with low temperature processing

Although the all-inorganic perovskite CsPbI3 exhibits superior thermal- and photo-stability compared with organic-inorganic perovskites, formation of the photoactive α-phase requires sintering at approximately 320 oC. Herein, we report the partial substitution of Ge2+ ions for Pb2+ as a means of tuning the stability of the material and enabling α-phase formation at 90 oC.

SnSe/Cu2SnSe3 Heterojunction Structure with High Initial Coulombic Efficiency for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

Due to high theoretical specific capacity and abundant reserves, tin selenide-based materials have received tremendous attentions in the fields of lithium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, the huge volume changes during insertion/de-intercalation processes deteriorate the Coulombic Efficiency greatly. In order to solve it, the researchers have made great efforts by means of controlling nanoparticles granularity, carbon coating, ion doping et al. In this study, SnSe/Cu2SnSe3 heterojunction nanocomposites were synthesized by solvo-thermal method. The resulting SnSe/Cu2SnSe3 is a three-dimensional flower-like hierarchical nanostructure composed of nanoscale thin lamellae of a thickness of 8-12 nm. The unique nanostructure could shorten the diffusion path of lithium ions and expedite charge transfer, and therefore enhance the reaction kinetics. Compared with SnSe, the initial Coulombic efficiency of SnSe/Cu2SnSe3 is raised from 59% to 90% as the anode material of lithium-ion batteries.

Preparation and Characterization of Mg Doped ZnAI2O4Spinel Nanoparticles

In the present study, combustion technique is adopted to study the impact of Mg2+ ion doping on ZnAI2O4 nanoparticles (NPs). L-arginine is used as a fuel component. The Mg2+ ions play a pivotal role in persuading various characteristics of ZnAI2O4 NPs. Various characterization technqiues such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Thermo-gravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) were carried out in order to synthesize the nanoparticles. Single phase cubic spinel structure of ZnAl2O4 (gahnite) formation was confirmed from the XRD characterization process of the nanoparticles. Estimated average crystallite size range of 11.85 nm to 19.02 nm was observed from Debye-Scherrer. Spherical morphology with uniform distributions was observed from HR-SEM characterization images. From the band gap studies, the attained band gap values were found to lie within 5.41 eV–4.66 eV range. The ZnAl2O4 and Mg:ZnAl2O4 NPs exhibited super-paramagnetic nature confirmed by magnetic measurements. The obtained results make ZnAl2O 4and Mg:ZnAl2O4 NPs appropriate for various optical, catalytic, energy and data storage applications.

Non-equilibrium methods for synthesis and modification of gallium oxide

Synthesis and modification of gallium oxide as a wide-bandgap semiconductor is a topical task in the fields of power electronics, UV detectors, gas sensors, telecommunication. In the present work, the Ga2O3 films deposited on sapphire substrates by magnetron sputtering have been studied. The influence of deposition parameters and subsequent annealing on the structure and optical properties of the synthesized films is analyzed. Ion doping of magnetron-deposited films with silicon is carried out by the ion implantation method. It is shown by the Raman scattering and optical transmission spectroscopy that ion irradiation leads to the disordering of the crystal structure, but subsequent annealing results in a partial recovery of the structure. Hall-effect measurements for irradiated and then annealed films do not reveal the formation of a conducting layer. Apparently, this is due to the fact that the main contribution to the resistance is made by grain boundaries in the magnetron-deposited films.