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Tandem solar cells (TSCs) present a prospective avenue to surpass the theoretical efficiency limits of single-junction solar cells (SJSCs). Antimony sulfide (Sb2S3), a 1.7 eV bandgap semiconductor, holds high potential to serve as the top-cell absorber for TSCs. Up to now, there are few reports on Sb2S3 two-terminal (2T) TSCs due to the limit of the hole transport layer (HTL) and interconnection layer. Herein, we succeed in implementing Sb2S3-based 2T-TSCs with the assistance of lead sulfide quantum dot (PbS QD) rear cells. Firstly, by using the 1,2-ethanedithiol capped quantum dots as HTL, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the Sb2S3 SJSC reaches 7.82%, a top value among all-inorganic Sb2S3 SC reports. More importantly, an efficient Au recombination layer is developed to bridge the two subcells and obtain the summation of the subcell open-circuit voltages (1.128 V) with a minimal voltage loss rate of ∼0.8%. After the modulation of the subcell absorber thickness by optical simulation and device investigation, the champion device achieves the photocurrent matching and its 2T-TSC PCE reaches 10.92%, the highest reported value among Sb2S3-based TSCs. Our work opens the door for Sb2S3 based 2T-TSCs, and is expected to trigger the hot research interest for all-inorganic antimony-based TSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides have been extensively studied due to their fascinating physical properties for constructing high-performance photodetectors. However, their relatively low responsivities, current on/off ratios and response speeds have hindered their widespread application. Herein, we fabricated a high-performance photodetector based on few-layer MoTe2 and CdS0.42Se0.58 flake heterojunctions. The photodetector exhibited a high responsivity of 7221 A/W, a large current on/off ratio of 1.73×104, a fast response speed of 90/120 µs, external quantum efficiency (EQE) reaching up to 1.52×106 % and detectivity (D*) reaching up to 1.67×1015 Jones. The excellent performance of the heterojunction photodetector was analyzed by a photocurrent mapping test and first-principle calculations. Notably, the visible light imaging function was successfully attained on the MoTe2/CdS0.42Se0.58 photodetectors, indicating that the device had practical imaging application prospects. Our findings provide a reference for the design of ultrahigh-performance MoTe2-based photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought has a devastating impact, presenting a formidable challenge to agricultural productivity and global food security. Among the numerous ABC transporter proteins found in plants, the ABCG transporters play a crucial role in plant responses to abiotic stress. In Medicago sativa, the function of ABCG transporters remains elusive. Here, we report that MsABCG1, a WBC‐type transporter highly conserved in legumes, is critical for the response to drought in alfalfa. MsABCG1 is localized on the plasma membrane, with the highest expression observed in roots under normal conditions, and its expression is induced by drought, NaCl and ABA signalling. In transgenic tobacco, overexpression of MsABCG1 enhanced drought tolerance, evidenced by increased osmotic regulatory substances and reduced lipid peroxidation. Additionally, drought stress resulted in reduced ABA accumulation in tobacco overexpressing MsABCG1, demonstrating that overexpression of MsABCG1 enhanced drought tolerance was not via an ABA‐dependent pathway. Furthermore, transgenic tobacco exhibited increased stomatal density and reduced stomatal aperture under drought stress, indicating that MsABCG1 has the potential to participate in stomatal regulation during drought stress. In summary, these findings suggest that MsABCG1 significantly enhances drought tolerance in plants and provides a foundation for developing efficient drought‐resistance strategies in crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE)-associated proteins are a class of transmembrane proteins involved in intracellular trafficking pathways. However, the functions of many SNARE domain-containing proteins remain unclear. We have previously identified a SNARE-associated gene in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) KILLING ME SLOWLY1 (MsKMS1), which is involved in various abiotic stresses. In this study, we investigated the function of MsKMS1 in the seed germination of transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Phylogenetic analysis showed that MsKMS1 was homologous to the SNARE-associated or MAPR component-related proteins of other plants. Germination assays revealed that MsKMS1 negatively regulated seed germination under normal, D-mannitol and abscisic acid-induced stress conditions, yet MsKMS1 -overexpression could confer enhanced heat tolerance in transgenic tobacco. The suppressive effect on germination in MsKMS1 -overexpression lines was associated with higher abscisic acid and salicylic acid contents in seeds. This was accompanied by the upregulation of abscisic acid biosynthetic genes (ZEP and NCED) and the downregulation of gibberellin biosynthetic genes (GA20ox2 and GA20ox3). Taken together, these results suggested that MsKMS1 negatively regulated seed germination by increasing abscisic acid and salicylic acid contents through the expression of genes related to abscisic acid and gibberellin biosynthesis. In addition, MsKMS1 could improve heat tolerance during the germination of transgenic tobacco seeds. Plants, as sessile, have developed a series of mechanisms to adapt the environmental stresses, which was regulated by a cascade of genes and transcriptional factors. Here, we analysed the gene function of MsKMS1 in seed germination of transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) under abiotic stress conditions and found that MsKMS1 negatively affected seed germination by increasing ABA and salicylic acid contents, regulating the expression of genes related to ABA and GA biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has weak light absorption due to its atomically-thin thickness, thus hindering the development of MoS2-based optoelectronic devices. CdSxSe 1 − x has excellent photoelectric performance in the visible light range, and its nanostructure shows great potential in new nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this work, a composite photodetector device with the combination of monolayer MoS2 nanosheets and CdS 0. 4 2 Se 0. 5 8 nanobelts has been successfully prepared, which can not only maintain the inherent excellent properties of the two blocks, but also play a synergistic role between them, thus improving the photoelectric performance of the device. The monolayer MoS2 nanosheet /CdS 0. 4 2 Se 0. 5 8 nanobelt photodetector has a wide spectral response range (400–800 nm), high responsivity (527.22 A/W) and large external quantum efficiency (EQE) (1. 0 6 × 1 0 5 %). Compared with the isolated monolayer MoS2 nanosheet, both the responsivity and EQE of the hybrid photodetector are increased by 117.4 times under 620 nm illumination. This study provides a way to prepare hybrid photodetectors with wide spectral response and high responsivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bandgap‐tunable mixed‐halide perovskite materials have attracted considerable interest because of their indispensability as top counterparts in tandem solar cells. However, the soft and disordered lattice always suffers from severe phase segregation under illumination, which is particularly susceptible to residual lattice strain. Herein, we report a strain regulation strategy by using alkenamides terminated Ti3C2Tx MXenes as an additive into perovskite precursor. Apart from the role of a template for grain growth to obtain high‐quality films, the stretchable alkyl chain promotes lattice shrinkage or expansion to form an elastic grain boundary to eliminate the spatially distributed stain and shut down ion migration channels. As a result, the all‐inorganic perovskite solar cells based on CsPbIBr2 and CsPbI2Br halides achieve prolonged device stability under harsh conditions and the best power conversion efficiencies up to 11.06% and 14.30%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]