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Sári D, Ferroudj A, Semsey D, El-Ramady H, Brevik EC, Prokisch J. Tellurium and Nano-Tellurium: Medicine or Poison? Nanomaterials (Basel) 2024; 14:670. [PMID: 38668165 PMCID: PMC11053935 DOI: 10.3390/nano14080670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
Tellurium (Te) is the heaviest stable chalcogen and is a rare element in Earth's crust (one to five ppb). It was discovered in gold ore from mines in Kleinschlatten near the present-day city of Zlatna, Romania. Industrial and other applications of Te focus on its inorganic forms. Tellurium can be toxic to animals and humans at low doses. Chronic tellurium poisoning endangers the kidney, liver, and nervous system. However, Te can be effective against bacteria and is able to destroy cancer cells. Tellurium can also be used to develop redox modulators and enzyme inhibitors. Soluble salts that contain Te had a role as therapeutic and antimicrobial agents before the advent of antibiotics. The pharmaceutical use of Te is not widespread due to the narrow margin between beneficial and toxic doses, but there are differences between the measure of toxicity based on the Te form. Nano-tellurium (Te-NPs) has several applications: it can act as an adsorptive agent to remove pollutants, and it can be used in antibacterial coating, photo-catalysis for the degradation of dyes, and conductive electronic materials. Nano-sized Te particles are the most promising and can be produced in both chemical and biological ways. Safety assessments are essential to determine the potential risks and benefits of using Te compounds in various applications. Future challenges and directions in developing nano-materials, nano-alloys, and nano-structures based on Te are still open to debate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniella Sári
- Nano-Food Laboratory, Department of Animal Husbandry, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (A.F.); (D.S.); (J.P.)
| | - Aya Ferroudj
- Nano-Food Laboratory, Department of Animal Husbandry, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (A.F.); (D.S.); (J.P.)
| | - Dávid Semsey
- Nano-Food Laboratory, Department of Animal Husbandry, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (A.F.); (D.S.); (J.P.)
| | - Hassan El-Ramady
- Nano-Food Laboratory, Department of Animal Husbandry, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (A.F.); (D.S.); (J.P.)
- Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
| | - Eric C. Brevik
- College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA;
| | - József Prokisch
- Nano-Food Laboratory, Department of Animal Husbandry, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; (A.F.); (D.S.); (J.P.)
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Zhang L, Zheng J, Liu C, Xie Y, Lu H, Luo Q, Liu Y, Yang H, Shen K, Mai Y. Over 10% Efficient Sb 2 (S,Se) 3 Solar Cells Enabled by CsI-Doping Strategy. Small 2024:e2310418. [PMID: 38267816 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202310418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Antimony selenosulfide (Sb2 (S,Se)3 ) is an emerging quasi-1D photovoltaic semiconductor with exceptional photoelectric properties. The low-symmetry chain structure contains complex defects and makes it difficult to improve electrical properties via doping method. This article reports a doping strategy to enhance the efficiency of Sb2 (S,Se)3 solar cells by using alkali halide (CsI) as the hydrothermal reaction precursor. It is found that the Cs and I ions are effectively doped and atomically coordinate with Sb ions and S/Se ions. The CsI-doping Sb2 (S,Se)3 absorbers exhibit enhanced grain morphologies and reduced trap densities. The consequential CsI-doping Sb2 (S,Se)3 based solar cells demonstrate favorable band alignment, suppressed carrier recombination, and improved device performance. An efficiency as high as 10.05% under standard AM1.5 illumination irradiance is achieved. This precursor-based alkali halide doping strategy provides a useful guidance for high-efficiency antimony selenosulfide solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhang
- Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Jianzha Zheng
- Institute of New Energy Technology, College of Physics & Optoelectronic Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Macao, Macao SAR, 999078, China
| | - Cong Liu
- Institute of New Energy Technology, College of Physics & Optoelectronic Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Yifei Xie
- Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Hanyu Lu
- Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Qinrong Luo
- Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Yulong Liu
- Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Huidong Yang
- Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Kai Shen
- Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
- Institute of New Energy Technology, College of Physics & Optoelectronic Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Yaohua Mai
- Department of Electronic Engineering, College of Information Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
- Institute of New Energy Technology, College of Physics & Optoelectronic Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
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