To enhance solar harvesting in organic solar cells, uniform-sized metal nanoparticles of ∼13 nm were incorporated to the device via pulse-current electrodeposition, which is a kind of simple and quick solution process that can control the density and size of metal nanoparticles. By incorporating plasmonic Ag nanoparticles on surface modified transparent electrodes, overall power conversion efficiency was increased from 3.05% to 3.69%, mainly resulting from the improved photocurrent density as a result of enhanced absorption of the photoactive conjugate polymer due to the high electromagnetic field strength in the vicinity of the excited surface plasmons.

TiO(2) is one of the most investigated compounds in contemporary materials science. Due to a set of virtually unique electronic properties, it finds intense use in photoelectrochemical applications such as photocatalysis or solar cells. The main drawback in view of direct exploitation of solar-light-based effects is its large band gap of >3 eV. Visible-light-activated TiO(2) can be prepared by doping (band-gap engineering) through incorporation or decoration with other metal ions, nonmetal ions, and semiconductors. Most recently, efforts in TiO(2) research have been even more intensified by the finding of self-organized nanotubular oxide architectures that can be prepared by a simple but optimized anodization of Ti metal surfaces. These nanotubular geometries provide large potential for enhanced and novel functional features. This Review examines doped TiO(2) and in particular TiO(2) nanotubes. Various types of dopants, doping methods, and applications of modified TiO(2) nanotubes are discussed.

The present work demonstrates that uniform and highly ordered arrays of TiO(2)-WO(3) nanotubes can be grown by anodization of Ti alloys in an ethylene glycol/fluoride based electrolyte under selected electrochemical conditions. These aligned mixed oxide nanotube structures are highly suitable for enhanced electrochromic reactions; in particular we show that already small amounts of WO(3) (such as 0.2 at%) present in the tube oxide drastically improve the electrochromic properties (contrast, onset potential, cycling stability) of nanotube layer based devices.

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In the present work, we describe an anodization process that is able to fully transform a thin Ti metal layer on a conductive glass into a TiO(2) nanotubular array. Under optimized conditions, nanotube electrodes can be obtained that are completely transparent and defect-free and allow electrochromic switching. These electrochromic electrodes show remarkable properties and can be directly integrated into devices.

Solution‐processed organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have continued to show their potential as a low‐cost power generation technology; however, there has been a significant gap between device efficiencies fabricated with lab‐scale techniques—i.e., spin coating—and scalable deposition methods. Herein, temperature‐controlled slot die deposition is developed for the photoactive layer of OPVs. The influence of solution and substrate temperatures on photoactive films and their effects on power conversion efficiency (PCE) in slot die coated OPVs using a 3D printer‐based slot die coater are studied on the basis of device performance, molecular structure, film morphology, and carrier transport behavior. These studies clearly demonstrate that both substrate and solution temperatures during slot die coating can influence device performance, and the combination of hot substrate (120 °C) and hot solution (90 °C) conditions result in mechanically robust films with PCE values up to 10.0% using this scalable deposition method in air. The efficiency is close to that of state‐of‐the‐art devices fabricated by spin coating. The deposition condition is translated to roll‐to‐roll processing without further modification and results in flexible OPVs with PCE values above 7%. The results underscore the promising potential of temperature‐controlled slot die coating for roll‐to‐roll manufacturing of high performance OPVs.