Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) using titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) electrodes with different haze were investigated. It was found that the incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) of DSCs increases with increase in the haze of the TiO 2 electrodes, especially in the near infrared wavelength region. Conversion efficiency of 11.1%, measured by a public test center, was achieved using high haze TiO 2 electrodes. This indicates that raising the haze of TiO 2 electrodes is an effective technique for improvement of conversion efficiency.
Most solid-state materials are composed of p-block anions, only in recent years the introduction of hydride anions (1s2) in oxides (e.g., SrVO2H, BaTi(O,H)3) has allowed the discovery of various interesting properties. Here we exploit the large polarizability of hydride anions (H–) together with chalcogenide (Ch2–) anions to construct a family of antiperovskites with soft anionic sublattices. The M3HCh antiperovskites (M = Li, Na) adopt the ideal cubic structure except orthorhombic Na3HS, despite the large variation in sizes of M and Ch. This unconventional robustness of cubic phase mainly originates from the large size-flexibility of the H– anion. Theoretical and experimental studies reveal low migration barriers for Li+/Na+ transport and high ionic conductivity, possibly promoted by a soft phonon mode associated with the rotational motion of HM6 octahedra in their cubic forms. Aliovalent substitution to create vacancies has further enhanced ionic conductivities of this series of antiperovskites, resulting in Na2.9H(Se0.9I0.1) achieving a high conductivity of ~1 × 10–4 S/cm (100 °C).
The ethyl acetate soluble fraction of hops (Humulus lupulus) showed potent inhibitory activity on the production of nitric oxide (NO) induced by a combination of LPS and IFN-gamma. Four known prenylflavonoids (1-4) and a new prenylflavonoid (5), hulupinic acid (6), lupulone (7), and its six new derivatives (8-13) were isolated from the active fraction. The structures were determined on the basis of physiochemical properties and spectroscopic analysis. Their inhibitory activities on the production of NO in macrophage RAW 264.7 cells were examined.
Adhesion of yeast-form C. albicans was indifferent to surface roughness. In contrast, mycelial adhesion increased with surface roughness of the resin because mycelia infiltrated the minute protuberances on rough surfaces.
Viscosities of several refractory metals (titanium, nickel, zirconium, niobium, ruthenium, rhodium, hafnium, iridium and platinum) and terbium have been measured by the oscillation drop method with an improved procedure. The measured data were less scattered than our previous measurements. Viscosities at their melting temperatures showed good agreement with literature values and some predicted values.
There
is an urgent need to develop solid electrolytes based on
organic molecular crystals for application in energy devices. However,
the quest for molecular crystals with high Li-ion conductivity is
still in its infancy. In this study, the high Li-ion conductivity
of a Li{N(SO2F)2}(NCCH2CH2CN)2 molecular crystal is reported. The crystal shows
a Li-ion conductivity of 1 × 10–4 S cm–1 at 30 °C and 1 × 10–5 S cm–1 at −20 °C, with a low activation
energy of 28 kJ mol–1. The conductivity at 30 °C
is one of the highest values attainable by molecular crystals, whereas
that at −20 °C is approximately 2 orders of magnitude
higher than previously reported values. Furthermore, the all-solid-state
Li-battery fabricated using this solid electrolyte demonstrates stable
cycling, thereby maintaining 90% of the initial capacity after 100
charge–discharge cycles. The finding of high Li-ion conductivity
in molecular crystals paves the way for their application in all-solid-state
Li-batteries.
Understanding the liquid structure provides information that is crucial to uncovering the nature of the glass-liquid transition. We apply an aerodynamic levitation technique and high-energy X-rays to liquid (l)-Er 2 O 3 to discover its structure. The sample densities are measured by electrostatic levitation at the International Space Station. Liquid Er 2 O 3 displays a very sharp diffraction peak (principal peak). Applying a combined reverse Monte Carlomolecular dynamics approach, the simulations produce an Er-O coordination number of 6.1, which is comparable to that of another nonglass-forming liquid, l-ZrO 2. The atomic structure of l-Er 2 O 3 comprises distorted OEr 4 tetraclusters in nearly linear arrangements, as manifested by a prominent peak observed at~180°in the Er-O-Er bond angle distribution. This structural feature gives rise to long periodicity corresponding to the sharp principal peak in the X-ray diffraction data. A persistent homology analysis suggests that l-Er 2 O 3 is homologically similar to the crystalline phase. Moreover, electronic structure calculations show that l-Er 2 O 3 has a modest band gap of 0.6 eV that is significantly reduced from the crystalline phase due to the tetracluster distortions. The estimated viscosity is very low above the melting point for l-ZrO 2 , and the material can be described as an extremely fragile liquid.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.