Investigating the Correlation between Electrolyte Concentration and Electrochemical Properties of Ionogels

Ionogels are hybrid materials comprising an ionic liquid confined within a polymer matrix. They have garnered significant interest due to their unique properties, such as high ionic conductivity, mechanical stability, and wide electrochemical stability. These properties make ionogels suitable for various applications, including energy storage devices, sensors, and solar cells. However, optimizing the electrochemical performance of ionogels remains a challenge, as the relationship between specific capacitance, ionic conductivity, and electrolyte solution concentration is yet to be fully understood. In this study, we investigate the impact of electrolyte solution concentration on the electrochemical properties of ionogels to identify the correlation for enhanced performance. Our findings demonstrate a clear relationship between the specific capacitance and ionic conductivity of ionogels, which depends on the availability of mobile ions. The reduced number of ions at low electrolyte solution concentrations leads to decreased ionic conductivity and specific capacitance due to the scarcity of a double layer, constraining charge storage capacity. However, at a 31 vol% electrolyte solution concentration, an ample quantity of ions becomes accessible, resulting in increased ionic conductivity and specific capacitance, reaching maximum values of 58 ± 1.48 μS/cm and 45.74 F/g, respectively. Furthermore, the synthesized ionogel demonstrates a wide electrochemical stability of 3.5 V, enabling diverse practical applications. This study provides valuable insights into determining the optimal electrolyte solution concentration for enhancing ionogel electrochemical performance for energy applications. It highlights the impact of ion pairs and aggregates on ion mobility within ionogels, subsequently affecting their resultant electrochemical properties.

Sources of Thermal Power Generation and Their Influence on the Operating Temperature of Organic Solar Cells

Thermal stability, closely associated with the operating temperature, is one of the desired properties for practical applications of organic solar cells (OSCs). In this paper, an OSC of the structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P₃HT:PCBM/ZnO/Ag was fabricated, and its current-voltage (J-V) characteristics and operating temperature were measured. The operating temperature of the same OSC was simulated using an analytical model, taking into consideration the heat transfer, charge carrier drift-diffusion and different thermal generation processes. The simulated results agreed well with the experimental ones. It was found that the thermalization of charge carriers above the band gap had the highest influence on the operating temperature of the OSCs. The energy off-set at the donor/acceptor interface in the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) was shown to have a negligible impact on the thermal stability of the OSCs. However, the energy off-sets at the electrode/charge-transporting layer and BHJ/charge-transporting layer interfaces had greater impacts on the operating temperature of OSCs at the short circuit current and maximum power point conditions. Our results revealed that a variation over the energy off-set range from 0.1 to 0.9 eV would induce an almost 10-time increase in the corresponding thermal power generation, e.g., from 0.001 to 0.01 W, in the cells operated at the short circuit current condition, contributing to about 16.7% of the total solar power absorbed in the OSC.

Data of chemical analysis and electrical properties of SnO2-TiO2 composite nanofibers

In this data article, we provide energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectra of the electrospun composite (SnO₂-TiO₂) nanowires with the elemental values measured in atomic and weight%. The linear sweep voltammetry data of composite and its component nanofibers are provided. The data collected in this article is directly related to our research article “Synergistic combination of electronic and electrical properties of SnO₂ and TiO₂ in a single SnO₂-TiO₂ composite nanowire for dye-sensitized solar cells” [1].

Adsorbed carbon nanomaterials for surface and interface-engineered stable rubidium multi-cation perovskite solar cells

The current work reports the simultaneous enhancement in efficiency and stability of low-temperature, solution-processed triple cation based MA_0.57FA_0.38Rb_0.05PbI₃ (MA: methyl ammonium, FA: formamidinium, Rb: rubidium) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by means of adsorbed carbon nanomaterials at the perovskite/electron transporting layer interface. The quantity and quality of the adsorbents are precisely controlled to electronically modify the ETL surface and lower the energy barrier across the interface. Carbon derivatives namely fullerene (C₆₀) and PC₇₁BM ([6,6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester) are employed as adsorbents in conjunction with ZnO and together serve as a bilayer electron transporting layer (ETL). The adsorbed fullerene (C₆₀-ZnO, abbreviated as C-ZnO) passivates the interstitial trap-sites of ZnO with interstitial intercalation of oxygen atoms in the ZnO lattice structure. C-ZnO ETL based PSCs demonstrate about a 19% higher average PCE compared to conventional ZnO ETL based devices and a nearly 9% higher average PCE than PC₇₁BM adsorbed-ZnO (P-ZnO) ETL based PSCs. In addition, the interstitial trap-state passivation with a C-ZnO film upshifts the Fermi-level position of the C-ZnO ETL by 130 meV, with reference to the ZnO ETL, which contributes to an enhanced n-type conductivity. The photocurrent hysteresis phenomenon in C-ZnO PSCs is also substantially reduced due to mitigated charge trapping phenomena and concomitant reduction in an electrode polarization process. Another major highlight of this work is that, C-ZnO PSCs demonstrate a superior device stability retaining about 94% of its initial PCE in the course of a month-long, systematic degradation study conducted in our work. The enhanced device stability with C-ZnO PSCs is attributed to their high resistance to aging-induced recombination phenomena and a water-induced perovskite degradation process, due to a lower content of oxygen-related chemisorbed species on the C-ZnO ETL. The intricate mechanisms behind the efficiency and stability enhancement are investigated in detail and explained in the context of enhanced surface and interfacial electronic properties.

Photo-degradation of high efficiency fullerene-free polymer solar cells

Polymer solar cells are a promising technology for the commercialization of low cost, large scale organic solar cells. With the evolution of high efficiency (>13%) non-fullerene polymer solar cells, the stability of the cells has become a crucial parameter to be considered. Among the several degradation mechanisms of polymer solar cells, burn-in photo-degradation is relatively less studied. Herein, we present the first systematic study of photo-degradation of novel PBDB-T:ITIC fullerene-free polymer solar cells. The thermally treated and as-prepared PBDB-T:ITIC solar cells were exposed to continuous 1 sun illumination for 5 hours. The aged devices exhibited rapid losses in the short-circuit current density and fill factor. The severe short-circuit current and fill factor burn in losses were attributed to trap mediated charge recombination, as evidenced by an increase in Urbach energy for aged devices.

Solution-Processed Lithium-Doped ZnO Electron Transport Layer for Efficient Triple Cation (Rb, MA, FA) Perovskite Solar Cells

The current work reports the lithium (Li) doping of a low-temperature processed zinc oxide (ZnO) electron transport layer (ETL) for highly efficient, triple-cation-based MA_0.57FA_0.38Rb_0.05PbI₃ (MA: methylammonium, FA: formamidinium, Rb: rubidium) perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Lithium intercalation in the host ZnO lattice structure is dominated by interstitial doping phenomena, which passivates the intrinsic defects in ZnO film. In addition, interstitial Li doping also downshifts the Fermi energy position of Li-doped ETL by 30 meV, which contributes to the reduction of the electron injection barrier from the photoactive perovskite layer. Compared to the pristine ZnO, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the PSCs incorporating lithium-doped ZnO (Li-doped) is raised from 14.07 to 16.14%. The superior performance is attributed to the reduced current leakage, enhanced charge extraction characteristics, and mitigated trap-assisted recombination phenomena in Li-doped devices, thoroughly investigated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. Li-doped PSCs also exhibit lower photocurrent hysteresis than ZnO devices, which is investigated with regard to the electrode polarization phenomena of the fabricated devices.

Interfacial engineering of hole transport layers with metal and dielectric nanoparticles for efficient perovskite solar cells

In this work, we have demonstrated the incorporation of metal (Ag NPs) and dielectric nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs) into the hole transporting layers of inverted PSCs using facile deposition methods.

A high performance and low-cost hole transporting layer for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells

A F4TCNQ doped FDT HTL based PSC demonstrates 75% higher device stability than a conventional Li-TFSI doped FDT based PSC.

Simultaneous enhancement in stability and efficiency of low-temperature processed perovskite solar cells

Low temperature (140 °C) processed MA_0.6FA_0.4PbI₃/AZO devices exhibit 20% higher PCE and two-fold higher device stability compared to MA_0.6FA_0.4PbI₃/ZnO devices.

Analysis of burn-in photo degradation in low bandgap polymer PTB7 using photothermal deflection spectroscopy

Sub-bandgap defect characterization in PTB7 by photothermal deflection spectroscopy (PDS).

Electrospun ZnO nanowire plantations in the electron transport layer for high-efficiency inverted organic solar cells

Inverted bulk heterojunction organic solar cells having device structure ITO/ZnO/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) /MoO3/Ag were fabricated with high photoelectric conversion efficiency and stability. Three types of devices were developed with varying electron transporting layer (ETL) ZnO architecture. The ETL in the first type was a sol-gel-derived particulate film of ZnO, which in the second and third type contained additional ZnO nanowires of varying concentrations. The length of the ZnO nanowires, which were developed by the electrospinning technique, extended up to the bulk of the photoactive layer in the device. The devices those employed a higher loading of ZnO nanowires showed 20% higher photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE), which mainly resulted from an enhancement in its fill factor (FF). Charge transport characteristic of the device were studied by transient photovoltage decay and charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage techniques. Results show that higher PCE and FF in the devices employed ZnO nanowire plantations resulted from improved charge collection efficiency and reduced recombination rate.