The global distribution of linear and cyclic volatile methyl silxoanes (VMS) was investigated at 20 sites worldwide, including 5 locations in the Arctic, using sorbent-impregnated polyurethane foam (SIP) disk passive air samplers. Cyclic VMS are currently being considered for regulation because they are high production volume chemicals that are potentially persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic. Linear and cyclic VMS (including L3, L4, L5, D3, D4, D5, and D6) were analyzed for in air at all urban, background, and Arctic sites. Concentrations of D3 and D4 are significantly correlated, as are D5 and D6, which suggests different sources for these two pairs of compounds. Elevated concentrations of D3 and D4 on the West coast of North America and at high elevation sites suggest these sites are influenced by trans-Pacific transport, while D5 and D6 have elevated concentrations in urban areas, which is most likely due to personal care product use. Measured concentrations of D5 were compared to modeled concentrations generated using both the Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model (DEHM) and the Berkeley-Trent Global Contaminant Fate Model (BETR Global). The correlation coefficients (r) between the measured and modeled results were 0.73 and 0.58 for the DEHM and BETR models, respectively. Agreement between measurements and models indicate that the sources, transport pathways, and sinks of D5 in the global atmosphere are fairly well understood.

Recently, considerable progress is achieved in lab prototype perovskite solar cells (PSCs); however, the stability of outdoor applications of PSCs remains a challenge due to the high sensitivity of perovskite material under moist and ultraviolet (UV) light conditions. In this work, the UV photostability of PSC devices is improved by incorporating a photon downshifting layer—SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+ (SAED)—prepared using the pulsed laser deposition approach. Light‐induced deep trap states in the photoactive layer are depressed, and UV light‐induced device degradation is inhibited after the SAED modification. Optimized power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.8% is obtained through the enhanced light harvesting and reduced carrier recombination provided by SAED. More importantly, a solar energy storage effect due to the long‐persistent luminescence of SAED is obtained after light illumination is turned off. The introduction of downconverting material with long‐persistent luminescence in PSCs not only represents a new strategy to improve PCE and light stability by photoconversion from UV to visible light but also provides a new paradigm for solar energy storage.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Single-atom and double-atom catalysts have emerged as new frontiers in many fields due to their high atom-utilization efficiency, excellent catalytic properties and good durability. In this decade, Fe-based atomic catalysts...

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with high efficiency have recently received tremendous attention, but the stability under light irradiation, namely, photostability, of PSCs still represents a major obstacle that must be overcome before their practical applications can be used. The degeneration of perovskite under ultraviolet irradiation from sunlight is a major impacting factor. To solve this problem, in this work we introduce fluorescent carbon dots (CDs), which could effectively convert ultraviolet to blue light in the mesoporous TiO (m-TiO) layer of the traditional PSCs. As a result, CD-based devices exhibit an improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.4% on average compared to 14.6% for bare devices, and the light stability of CD-based devices is highly enhanced. These devices can maintain nearly 70% of the initial efficiency after 12 h of full sunlight illumination, while the bare devices maintain only 20% of the initial efficiency. This work indicates that fluorescent down conversion based on CDs is a novel and effective approach to improve the performance and photostability of PSCs.