Introducing tellurium fine tunes the atomic ratio of Se/Sb in Sb2Se3, turning it between Se-rich and Se-poor states effecting the corresponding deep defects.

Antimony selenide (Sb 2 Se 3 ) has attracted increasing attention in photovoltaic applications due to its unique quasi-one-dimensional crystal structure, suitable optical band gap with a high extinction coefficient, and excellent stability. As a promising light-harvesting material, the available synthetic methods for the fabrication of a high-quality film have been quite limited and seriously impeded both the fundamental study and the efficiency improvement. Here, we developed a facile and low-cost hydrothermal method for in situ deposition of Sb 2 Se 3 films for solar cell applications. In this process, we apply KSbC 4 H 4 O 7 and Na 2 SeSO 3 as the antimony and selenium sources, respectively, in which thiourea (TU) serves as an additive to suppress the formation of Sb 2 O 3 impurities. As a result, improved phase purity and enhanced crystallinity of the Sb 2 Se 3 film are thus obtained, along with decreased trap states. Finally, the planar heterojunction Sb 2 Se 3 solar cell delivered a power conversion efficiency of 7.9%, which is thus far the highest reported efficiency among solution-processed Sb 2 Se 3 solar cells. This simple procedure and efficiency achievement demonstrate the great potential of the hydrothermal deposition process for the fabrication of high-efficiency Sb 2 Se 3 solar cells.

Antimony selenosulfide (Sb2(S,Se)3) is an emerging low‐cost, nontoxic solar material with suitable bandgap and high absorption coefficient. Developing effective methods for fabricating high‐quality films would benefit the device efficiency improvement and deepen the fundamental understanding on the optoelectronic properties. Herein, equipment is developed that allows online introduction of precursor vapor during the reaction process, enabling sequential coevaporation of Sb2Se3 and S powders for the deposition of Sb2(S,Se)3 thin films. With this unique ability, it is revealed that the deposition sequence manipulates both the interfacial properties and optoelectronic properties of the absorber film. A power conversion efficiency of 8.0% is achieved, which is the largest value in vapor‐deposition‐derived Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells. The research demonstrates that multi‐source sequential coevaporation is an efficient technique to fabricate high‐efficiency Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells.

Solution process is a convenient and cost‐effective approach to the deposition of thin films for optoelectronic devices. The quality of as‐prepared films depends critically on the applied precursor materials as well as solvents. Herein, a method is developed to synthesize Sb2(S1−xSex)3 thin films and demonstrate the role played by water during the film formation. In the synthesis, antimony trichloride, selenourea, and thiourea used as Sb, Se, and S sources are dissolved in N,N‐dimethylformamide and dimethyl sulfoxide mixed solvents. It is found that a tiny amount of water (1%) in the solution enables an essential increase in grain size that in turn facilitates carrier transport and suppresses recombination. The deep‐level transient spectroscopy analysis shows that water additive helps to reduce defect density and type in the as‐obtained films. Finally, the improved film quality leads to a certified power conversion efficiency of 7.42%, a top efficiency in Sb2(S,Se)3‐based solar cells regardless of the device configurations. This study provides an effective approach to tailor the optoelectronic properties of Sb2(S,Se)3 and a practical strategy to improve the device efficiency.

In this study, we provide fundamental understanding on defect properties of the Sb2(S,Se)3 absorber film and the impact on transmission of photo-excited carriers in N–i–P architecture solar cells by both deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and optical deep level transient spectroscopy (ODLTS) characterizations. Through conductance–voltage and temperature-dependent current–voltage characterization under a dark condition, we find that the Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cell demonstrates good rectification and high temperature tolerance. The DLTS results indicates that there are two types of deep level hole traps H1 and H2 with active energy of 0.52 eV and 0.76 eV in the Sb2(S,Se)3 film, and this defect property is further verified by ODLTS. The two traps hinder the transmission of minority carrier (hole) and pinning the Fermi level, which plays a negative role in the improvement of open-circuit voltage for Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells. This research suggests a critical direction toward the efficiency improvement of Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells.

Probing the conformational and functional hotspot sites within aqueous native protein complexes is still a challenging task. Herein, a mass spectrometry (MS)-based two-step isotope labeling-lysine reactivity profiling (TILLRP) strategy is...

The research is focused on the hot deformation behavior of Ti-42Al-5Mn (at %) ingot produced by vacuum induction melting (VIM) and vacuum arc remelting (VAR). Firstly, the isothermal compression test is performed at the temperatures between 1100 and 1300 C with the strain rates in the range of 0.001-10 s À1 . The processing map is plotted on the base of the strain-stress curves, and the constitutive equation is also established by regression analysis based on the experimental results. Secondly, different deformation features in β, γ phase, and γ lath of lamellae are investigated by electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results reveal that, the alloy can be hot worked from 1300 C-10 s À1 to 1100 C-0.1 s À1 , and the stress exponent and apparent activation energy are calculated to be 2.71 and 597 kJ mole À1 , respectively. It shows that, during the isothermal compression process, the γ phase usually has a higher dislocation density than β phase, and the γ lath of lamellae has generated both dislocation glide and deformation twinning.

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