No abstract

Surface passivation is a widely used approach to promote the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In the present project, a series of new organic surface passivation molecules, which contain the same triphenylamino group with the hole transfer material of PSCs, have been synthesized. These new passivation molecules are supposed to have both "carrier transfer" capability and "defect passivation" potential. We find that, by using N-((4-(N,N,N-triphenyl)phenyl)ethyl)ammonium bromide (TPA-PEABr) as a surface passivation molecule, the efficiency of the PSCs can be improved from 16.69 to 18.15%, mainly due to an increased Voc (1.09 V compared with 1.02 V in control devices). The increased Voc is due to the reduced surface defect density and a better alignment for the related energy levels after introducing the TPA-PEABr molecules. Moreover, the stability of the PSCs can be significantly improved in TPA-PEABr passivated devices due to the hydrophobic nature of TPA-PEABr. Our results successfully demonstrate that passivation of the perovskite surface with a carefully designed multifunctional small organic molecule should be a useful approach for more stable PSCs with high efficiency.

No abstract

No abstract

Lithium silicate (Li4SiO4) material can be applied for CO2 capture in energy production processes, such as hydrogen plants, based on sorption-enhanced reforming and fossil fuel-fired power plants, which has attracted research interests of many researchers. However, CO2 absorption performance of Li4SiO4 material prepared by the traditional solid-state reaction method is unsatisfactory during the absorption/regeneration cycles. Improving CO2 absorption capacity and cyclic stability of Li4SiO4 material is a research highlight during the energy production processes. The state-of-the-art kinetic and quantum mechanical studies on the preparation and CO2 absorption process of Li4SiO4 material are summarized, and the recent studies on the effects of preparation methods, dopants, and operating conditions on CO2 absorption performance of Li4SiO4 material are reviewed. Additionally, potential research thoughts and trends are also suggested.

No abstract

No abstract

A novel calcium-based synthetic CO2 sorbent with hollow core-shell structure was prepared by a carbon microsphere template route where carbide slag, alumina cement and glucose were employed as the low-cost calcium precursor, support and carbon source, respectively. The effects of the alumina cement addition, the pre-calcination temperature during the preparation process, the carbon template addition and calcination conditions on CO2 capture performances of the calcium-based synthetic sorbents were studied during calcium looping cycles. The synthetic sorbent containing 5 wt.% alumina cement possesses the highest CO2 capture capacity during calcium looping cycles, which is mainly composed of CaO and Ca12Al14O33. The CO2 capture capacities of the synthetic sorbent under mild and severe calcination conditions can retain 0.37 and 0.29 g/g after 20 cycles, which are 57% and 99% higher than those of carbide slag under the same conditions, respectively.