The wide bandgap Sb 2 S 3 is considered to be one of the most promising absorber layers in single-junction solar cells and a suitable top-cell candidate for multi-junction (tandem) solar cells. However, compared to mature thinfilm technologies, Sb 2 S 3 based thin-film solar cells are still lagging behind in the power conversion efficiency race, and the highest of just 7.5% has been achieved to date in a sensitized single-junction structure. Furthermore, to break single junction solar cell based Shockley-Queisser (S-Q) limits, tandem devices with wide bandgap top-cells and low bandgap bottom-cells hold a high potential for efficient light conversion. Though matured and desirable bottom-cell candidates like silicon (Si) are available, the corresponding mature wide bandgap top-cell candidates are still lacking. Hence, a literature review based on Sb 2 S 3 solar cells is urgently warranted. In this review, the progress and present status of Sb 2 S 3 solar cells are summarized. An emphasis is placed mainly on the improvement of absorber quality and device performance. Moreover, the low-performance causes and possible overcoming mechanisms are also explained. Last but not least, the potential and feasibility of Sb 2 S 3 in tandem devices are vividly discussed. In the end, several strategies and perspectives for future research are outlined.

HgTe colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are promising absorber systems for infrared detection due to their widely tunable photoresponse in all infrared regions. Up to now, the best-performing HgTe CQD photodetectors have relied on using aggregated CQDs, limiting the device design, uniformity and performance. Herein, we report a ligand-engineered approach that produces well-separated HgTe CQDs. The present strategy first employs strong-binding alkyl thioalcohol ligands to enable the synthesis of well-dispersed HgTe cores, followed by a second growth process and a final postligand modification step enhancing their colloidal stability. We demonstrate highly monodisperse HgTe CQDs in a wide size range, from 4.2 to 15.0 nm with sharp excitonic absorption fully covering short- and midwave infrared regions, together with a record electron mobility of up to 18.4 cm2 V–1 s–1. The photodetectors show a room-temperature detectivity of 3.9 × 1011 jones at a 1.7 μm cutoff absorption edge.

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Antimony sulfide is a promising wide bandgap light‐harvesting material owing to its high absorption coefficient, nontoxicity, superior stability, and low cost. However, the reported Sb2S3 absorber suffers from complicated defect characteristics due to its quasi‐1D structure. Herein, a codoping technique from chlorine and selenium is developed in hydrothermal method to regulate the film defect properties and promote the device efficiency. The theoretical calculation and experimental results demonstrate that the Cl&Se codoping plays a synergistic role in absorber film quality improvement. Se doping could efficiently fill the intrinsic deep defect level VS and Cl is a benign n‐type dopant and favor [hk1] oriented deposition. Systematic device physical characterizations verify the codoped device superior heterojunction quality and much lower interface and bulk defect density comparing with control one. The optimal codoping device delivers a certified power conversion efficiency of 7.15% (5.9% for control one), the highest certified value in planar Sb2S3 solar cells. This study develops an effective doping strategy with multi‐element synergistic incorporation which sheds new light on high‐efficiency Sb2S3 solar cells.

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Infrared solar cells (IRSCs) can supplement silicon or perovskite SCs to broaden the utilization of the solar spectrum. As an ideal infrared photovoltaic material, PbS colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) with tunable bandgaps can make good use of solar energy, especially the infrared region. However, as the QD size increases, the energy level shrinking and surface facet evolution makes us reconsider the matching charge extraction contacts and the QD passivation strategy. Herein, different to the traditional sol‐gel ZnO layer, energy‐level aligned ZnO thin film from a magnetron sputtering method is adopted for electron extraction. In addition, a modified hybrid ligand recipe is developed for the facet passivation of large size QDs. As a result, the champion IRSC delivers an open circuit voltage of 0.49 V and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.47% under AM1.5 full‐spectrum illumination, and the certified PCE is over 10%. Especially the 1100 nm filtered efficiency achieves 1.23%. The obtained devices also show high storage stability. The present matched electron extraction and QD passivation strategies are expected to highly booster the IR conversion yield and promote the fast development of new conception QD optoelectronics.

Perchlorate is used widely in fireworks, and, if ingested, it has the potential to disrupt thyroid function. The concentrations of perchlorate in water and soil samples and in urine samples of women of reproductive age from Liuyang, the largest fireworks production area in China, were investigated. The results showed that the average perchlorate concentrations in groundwater, surface water, farmland soil, and urine samples of women from the fireworks production area were significantly greater than those from the control area. The health risk of perchlorate ingested through drinking water was assessed based on the mode recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The values of hazard quotient of river water and groundwater in the fireworks production area were much greater than the safe level (=1), which indicates that adverse health effects may result from perchlorate when these sources of water are used as drinking water. These results indicated that the environment of the fireworks production area has been polluted by perchlorate and that residents were and are facing greater exposure doses of perchlorate. Fireworks production enterprises may be a major source of perchlorate contamination.

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