Category

Thin films

ApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGISAXSInorganic materialMaterialOrientation analysisPhase analysisRenewable energySAXSSurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Tuning Pore Dimensions of Mesoporous Inorganic Films by Homopolymer Swelling

Reid, Barry; Alvarez-Fernandez, Alberto; Schmidt-Hansberg, Benjamin; Guldin, Stefan

The functionality and applications of mesoporous inorganic films are closely linked to their mesopore dimensions. For material architectures derived from a block copolymer (BCP) micelle coassembly, the pore size is typically manipulated by changing the molecular weight corresponding to the pore-forming block. However, bespoke BCP synthesis is often a costly…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGIWAXSMaterialOrientation analysisPhase analysisRenewable energySurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Regulating the phase separation of ternary organic solar cells via 3D architectured AIE molecules

Adil, Muhammad Abdullah; Zhang, Jianqi; Wang, Yuheng; Yu, Jinde; Yang, Chen; Lu, Guanghao; Wei, Zhixiang

An optimized bulk heterojunction (BHJ) interface, certifying enhanced exciton-splitting, charge separation and recombination inhibition, is vastly desired to obtain high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). Herein, the ternary strategy has been employed to effectively modify the phase separation between the J71:ITIC blend by incorporating a 3D aggregation-induced emission (AIE) material,…
27 January 2020
ApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGIWAXSInorganic materialMaterialOrientation analysisOtherRenewable energySurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Fine Multi-Phase Alignments in 2D Perovskite Solar Cells with Efficiency over 17% via Slow Post-Annealing

Wu, Guangbao; Li, Xing; Zhou, Jiyu; Zhang, Jianqi; Zhang, Xuning; Leng, Xuanye; Wang, Peijun; Chen, Ming; Zhang, Dongyang; Zhao, Kui; Liu, Shengzhong (Frank); Zhou, Huiqiong; Zhang, Yuan

Layered Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) phase (2D) halide perovskites have attracted tremendous attention due to the wide tunability on their optoelectronic properties and excellent robustness in photovoltaic devices. However, charge extraction/transport and ultimate power conversion efficiency (PCE) in 2D perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are still limited by the non-eliminable quantum well effect.…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialRenewable energySAXSTechniqueThin films

Lignin@Nafion Membranes Forming Zn Solid–Electrolyte Interfaces Enhance the Cycle Life for Rechargeable Zinc-Ion Batteries

Yuan, Du; Manalastas, William; Zhang, Liping; Chan, Jun Jie; Meng, Shizhe; Chen, Yingqian; Srinivasan, Madhavi

Metallic zinc is an ideal anode material for rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs), taking us beyond the lithium-ion era. In-depth understanding of the Zn metal surface is currently required owing to diverse but uncorrelated data about the Zn surface in mild environments. Herein, the surface chemistry of Zn is elucidated and…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGISAXSGIWAXSMaterialRenewable energySurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

A top-down strategy identifying molecular phase stabilizers to overcome microstructure instabilities in organic solar cells

Zhang, Chaohong; Heumueller, Thomas; Leon, Salvador; Gruber, Wolfgang; Burlafinger, Klaus; Tang, Xiaofeng; Perea, Jose D.; Wabra, Isabell; Hirsch, Andreas; Unruh, Tobias; Li, Ning; Brabec, Christoph J.

The operational stability of organic solar cells (OSCs) is the essential barrier to commercialization. Compared to thermally-induced degradation, photo-stability of OSCs is far away from being resolved. Here, we demonstrate that the thermal- and photo-degradation of metastable bulk-heterojunction OSCs are governed by the same mechanism. Understanding the fundamental principles behind…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCrystalline fractionCustomer publicationsGISAXSGIWAXSMaterialOrientation analysisRenewable energySurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Comprehensive Investigation and Analysis of Bulk-Heterojunction Microstructure of High-Performance PCE11:PCBM Solar Cells

Zhang, Chaohong; Heumueller, Thomas; Gruber, Wolfgang; Almora, Osbel; Du, Xiaoyan; Ying, Lei; Chen, Junwu; Unruh, Tobias; Cao, Yong; Li, Ning; Brabec, Christoph J.

Worldwide research efforts have been devoted to organic photovoltaics in the hope of a large-scale commercial application in the near future. To meet the industrial production requirements, organic photovoltaics that can reach power conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 10% along with promising operational device stability are of utmost interest. In…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGISAXSMaterialOrientation analysisPolymer researchSelf-assembled materialSurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Morphological Evolution of Poly(solketal methacrylate)-block-polystyrene Copolymers in Thin Films

Yu, Duk Man; Smith, Darren M.; Kim, Hyeyoung; Mapas, Jose Kenneth D.; Rzayev, Javid; Russell, Thomas P.

The morphological evolution of the lamellar microdomains in the thin films of symmetric poly(solketal methacrylate-b-styrene) (PSM-b-PS) copolymers that can be converted into poly(glycerol monomethacrylate-b-styrene) (PGM-b-PS) copolymers through acid hydrolysis reaction was investigated. This simple chemical transformation was performed in the solid state using trifluoroacetic acid vapor,…
27 January 2020
ApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGIWAXSInorganic materialMaterialRenewable energyTechniqueThin films

Controlling Processing, Morphology, and Mechanical Performance in Blends of Polylactide and Thermotropic Polyesters

de Kort, Gijs W.; Rastogi, Sanjay; Wilsens, Carolus H. R. M.

Thermoplastic composites based on thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) materials are interesting candidates for reinforced composite application due to their promising mechanical performance and potential for recyclability. In combination with a societal push toward the more sustainable use of materials, these properties warrant new interest in this class of composites.…
27 January 2020
ApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGIWAXSInorganic materialMaterialOrientation analysisRenewable energySurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Two-dimensional inverted planar perovskite solar cells with efficiency over 15% via solvent and interface engineering

Lian, Xiaomei; Chen, Jiehuan; Zhang, Yingzhu; Tian, Shuoxun; Qin, Minchao; Li, Jun; Andersen, Thomas Rieks; Wu, Gang; Lu, Xinhui; Chen, Hongzheng

High short-circuit current (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) are both required for two-dimensional (2D) perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) with high power conversion efficiency (PCE). In this work, solvent engineering is combined with interface engineering to fabricate 2D PVSCs with enhanced Jsc and Voc. Mixing formamide with N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) was found…
25 November 2019
ApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGIWAXSInorganic materialMaterialRenewable energySizeSurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Room-Temperature Meniscus Coating of >20% Perovskite Solar Cells: A Film Formation Mechanism Investigation

Hu, Hanlin; Ren, Zhiwei; Fong, Patrick W. K.; Qin, Minchao; Liu, Danjun; Lei, Dangyuan; Lu, Xinhui; Li, Gang

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are ideally fabricated entirely via a scalable solution process at low temperatures to realize the promise of simple manufacturing, low-cost processing, compatibility with flexible substrates, and perovskite-based tandem solar cells. However, high-quality photoactive perovskite thin films under those processing conditions is a challenge. Here, a laminar…
25 November 2019