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To further enhance the mechanical endurance of ZnO–Cu–ZnO (ZCZ) films and CuZnSnS (CZTS) solar cells with deposited ZCZ films (ZCZ CSCs), Ag elements were introduced into metallic layers of ZCZ films using magnetron sputtering Cu–Ag co-sputtering techniques. The Ag addition effectively reduced the stresses generated during the growth of the Cu film, resulting in the suppression of three-dimensional island growth and the formation of a more uniform metallic film. Specifically, ZnO–Cu/Ag(35 W)–ZnO (ZCA35Z) films exhibited an average transmittance (T -ave) of 89%, outperforming the ZCZ film with a T -ave of 80%, achieved by increasing the continuity of metallic layers. Moreover, ZCA35Z CSCs demonstrated a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) value of 6.38% compared to ZCZ CSCs (6.01%) without bending. Additionally, the PCE value of ZCA35Z CSCs showed a 9% improvement over ZCZ CSCs at a bending diameter of 10 mm. Remarkably, even after 1000 bending cycles, the PCE value of ZCA35Z CSCs exhibited a substantial 15% enhancement compared to ZCZ CSCs, which can be attributed to the continuous Cu films enhancing carrier migration and reducing optical losses. This new method to enhance the mechanical endurance of ZCZ films and ZCZ CSCs by increasing Cu film continuity via Cu–Ag co-sputtering presents a promising approach to boost the performance of flexible electronics. [Display omitted] • ZCZ films' optical and electrical properties were enhanced by improving Cu film continuity. • The average transmittance of ZCAZ films is up to 89.05%. • The films show an ultra-low resistivity of 1.19 × 10-4 Ω cm at 35W Ag power. • PCE of ZCA35Z CSCs was improved by 15% compared to ZCZ CSCs with 1000 bending cycles. • ZCAZ film enabling flexible CZTS solar cells with desirable mechanical endurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ABA modification increased the optical band gap of NiO x from 3.65 eV to 3.71 eV. • The grain size of perovskite on ABA modified NiO x increased by over 28%. • The efficiency of the PSCs was enhanced to 19.1% via the modified NiO x. • After 6 days, the unpackaged PSCs decay to about 70 % of pristine efficiency. The quality of the interface between the nickel oxide (NiO x) and the perovskite contact is essential to the efficiency and stability of the device. How to effectively suppress the reaction at the interface between NiO x and perovskite is the key to improve the interface quality. Herein, a simple and scalable interface enhancement strategy for building efficient and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs) using 4-aminobenzoic acid (ABA) molecules to modify the sputtered NiO x surface as the hole transport layers (HTLs). Meanwhile, ABA molecules not only reduce the defect density and improve the quality of perovskite films (PVK), but also improve the carrier extraction ability of NiO x and reduce interfacial non-radiative recombination. Eventually, the optimized inverted device efficiency is increased to 19.1%, and the device stability is significantly improved under unencapsulated atmospheric conditions. This provides a reference for the commercial development of PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing and preparing lightweight electromagnetic shielding materials at the micron level is crucial for aerospace and military applications. Vertical graphene nanowalls (VGNs) offer high efficiency for electromagnetic shielding due to attributes such as high carrier mobility, porosity, and low density. This study presents the preparation of ultra-thin VGNs/metal stacked films via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for VGNs, and combined electron beam evaporation (EBE) with cyclic PECVD for metal layers. The PECVD technique ensures homogeneity and controllable thickness of the VGNs. The experimental results demonstrate that the interface between the VGNs and the metal layer exhibits good interfacial contact, resulting in high carrier mobility. Furthermore, incorporating a metal layer with a thickness ratio of 10 % significantly enhances conductivity by an order of magnitude. The hybrid structures exhibit remarkable electromagnetic shielding effectiveness per unit thickness (∼5300 dB mm−1) evaluated in the X-band range (8–12 GHz). Stacked films as thin as 0.01 mm achieve up to 53.4 dB of electromagnetic shielding. Finite element simulations indicate that the presence of opposing electric fields at the graphene-metal interface contributes to higher ohmic loss. The coupling effect at the interface significantly contributes to the material's excellent electromagnetic shielding effectiveness. [Display omitted] • Ultrathin VGN/metal stacked structures were prepared by alternating EBE/PEVCD. • The addition of a metal layer greatly improved the conductivity of the structure. • The VGN/metal stacks exhibited 53.4 dB of EMI shielding efficiency in the X-band. • The EMI shielding efficiency per unit thickness of the stacks reached 5340 dB·mm−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]