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This study focuses numerically on dynamics in two dimensions of vesicles in microcirculation. The method used is based on boundary integral formulation. This study is inspired by the behavior of red blood cells (RBCs) in the microvasculature. Red RBCs carry oxygen from the lungs and deliver it through the microvasculature. The shape adopted by RBCs can affect blood flow and influence oxygen delivery. Our simulation using vesicles (a simple model for RBC) reveals unexpected complexity as compared to the case where a purely unbounded Poiseuille flow is considered [Kaoui, Biros, and Misbah, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 188101 (2009)]. In sufficiently large channels (in the range of 100 μm; the vesicle size and its reduced volume are taken in the range of those of a human RBC), such as arterioles, a slipperlike (asymmetric) shape prevails. A parachutelike (symmetric) shape is adopted in smaller channels (in the range of 20 μm, as in venules), but this shape loses stability and again changes to a pronounced slipperlike morphology in channels having a size typical of capillaries (5-10 μm). Stiff membranes, mimicking malaria infection, for example, adopt a centered or off-centered snakelike locomotion instead (the denomination snaking is used for this regime). A general scenario of how and why vesicles adopt their morphologies and dynamics among several distinct possibilities is provided. This finding potentially points to nontrivial RBCs dynamics in the microvasculature.

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Mixed cation and anion based perovskites solar cells (FAPbI3)0.85(MAPbBr3)0.15 gave enhanced stability under outdoor conditions, however, it yielded limited power conversion efficiency when SnO2 and Spiro-OMeTAD were employed as electron and hole transport layer (ETL/HTL). The inevitable interfacial recombination of charge carriers at ETL/perovskite and perovskite/HTL interface diminished the efficiency in planar (n-i-p) perovskite solar cells. Employing computational approach for uni-dimensional device simulator, the effect of band offset on charge recombination at both interfaces were investigated. We noted that it acquired cliff structure when the conduction band minimum of the ETL is lower than that of the perovskite, and thus maximizes interfacial recombination. However, if the conduction band minimum of ETL is higher than perovskite, i.e. spike structure is formed, which improve the performance of solar cell up to an optimum value of conduction band offset allowing to reach performance of 25.21%, with an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 1231 mV, a current density Jsc of 24.57 mA/cm 2 and a fill factor of 83.28%. Additionally, we found that beyond the optimum offset value, large spike structure could decrease the performance. With an optimized, energy level of Spiro-OMeTAD and the thickness of mixed-perovskite layer performance of 26.56 % can be attained. Our results demonstrate a detailed understanding about the energy level tuning between the charge selective layers and perovskite and furthermore how the improvement in PV performance can be achieved by adjusting the energy level offset.

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Using first principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT), the electronic properties of SnO 2 bulk and thin films are studied. The electronic band structures and total energy over a range of SnO 2-multilayer have been studied using DFT within the local density approximation (LDA). We show that changing the interatomic distances and relative positions of atoms could modify the band-gap energy of SnO 2 semiconductors. Electronic-structure calculations show that band-gap engineering is a powerful technique for the design of new promising candidates with a direct band-gap. Our results present an important advance toward controlling the band structure and optoelectronic properties of few-layer SnO 2 via strain engineering, with important implications for practical device applications.

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