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In this work, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with CHNHPbICl as active layer and spiro-OMeTAD as hole-transport media have been fabricated by one-step method. The methylammonium iodide (CHNHI) solution with different concentrations is used to modify the interface between mesoporous TiO (meso-TiO) film and CHNHPbICl perovskite layer. Several techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical absorption, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and photoluminescence are used to investigate the effect of the interfacial modification. It is found that the interfacial modification by CHNHI enhance the crystallinity and increase the grain size of CHNHPbICl layer, and improve the surface wetting properties of perovskite precursor on meso-TiO film. The sunlight absorption and external quantum efficiency of PSCs in the visible region with wavelength less than 600 nm have been improved. The Nyquist plots obtained from the EIS suggest that the CHNHI modification can reduce the charge recombination rates. The photoluminescence measurement shows that the exciton dissociation in the modified devices is more effective than that in the control samples. The photovoltaic performance of the modified devices can be significantly improved with respect to the reference (control) devices. The CHNHI modified devices at the optimized concentration demonstrate the average power conversion efficiency of 12.27 % in comparison with the average efficiency of 9.68 % for the reference devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity presents a significant public health challenge, demanding effective dietary interventions. This study employed a high-fat diet-induced obesity mouse model to explore the impacts of inulin with different polymerization degrees on obesity management. Our analysis reveals that high-degree polymerization inulin (HDI) exhibited a significantly higher oil binding capacity and smaller particle size compared to low-degree polymerization inulin (LDI) ( p  < 0.05). HDI was more effective than LDI in mitigating body weight gain in high-diet induced obese mice, although neither LDI nor HDI affected blood sugar levels when compared to the high-fat diet control group ( p  < 0.05). Both HDI and LDI administrations reduced liver weight and enhanced brown adipose tissue thermogenesis compared to the high-fat diet induced control group ( p  < 0.05). Additionally, HDI suppressed hepatic lipogenesis, resulting in a further reduction in liver triglycerides compared to the high-fat diet-induced obese mice ( p  < 0.05). Notably, HDI improved gut health by enhancing intestinal morphology and modulating gut microbiota structure. HDI administration notably increased the relative abundance of cecal Akkermansia , a gut microbe associated with improved metabolic health, while LDI showed limited efficacy ( p  < 0.05 and p  > 0.05, respectively). These findings underscore the importance of the structural properties of inulin in its potential to combat obesity and highlight the strategic use of inulin with varying polymerization degrees as a promising dietary approach for obesity management, particularly in its influence on gut microbiota composition and hepatic lipid metabolism regulation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Gan, Zhao, Zhang, Zhao, Li, Jia, Shi, Wang, Guo, Qiao, Cui and Wang.)

Inorganic cesium lead iodide (CsPbI 3 ) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted enormous attention due to their excellent thermal stability and optical bandgap (∼1.73 eV), well-suited for tandem device applications. However, achieving high-performance photovoltaic devices processed at low temperatures is still challenging. Here we reported a new method for the fabrication of high-efficiency and stable γ-CsPbI 3 PSCs at lower temperatures than was previously possible by introducing the long-chain organic cation salt ethane-1,2-diammonium iodide (EDAI 2 ) and regulating the content of lead acetate (Pb(OAc) 2 ) in the perovskite precursor solution. We find that EDAI 2 acts as an intermediate that can promote the formation of γ-CsPbI 3 , while excess Pb(OAc) 2 can further stabilize the γ-phase of CsPbI 3 perovskite. Consequently, improved crystallinity and morphology and reduced carrier recombination are observed in the CsPbI 3 films fabricated by the new method. By optimizing the hole transport layer of CsPbI 3 inverted architecture solar cells, we demonstrate efficiencies of up to 16.6%, surpassing previous reports examining γ-CsPbI 3 in inverted PSCs. Notably, the encapsulated solar cells maintain 97% of their initial efficiency at room temperature and under dim light for 25 days, demonstrating the synergistic effect of EDAI 2 and Pb(OAc) 2 in stabilizing γ-CsPbI 3 PSCs., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are widely used as photocathodes because of their large electrochemically available surface-area density and inherent ability to decouple light absorption from the transport of minority carriers. In order to minimize overpotential for solar-driven hydrogen (H 2 ) production, a combination of an ultrathin molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) layer with SiNWs as photocathode has attracted much attention. Herein, for the first time, this study presents the synthesis of a composite photocathode via direct growth of ultrathin MoS 2 nanosheets on SiNWs (referred to as SiNWs/MoS 2 ) by one-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Due to the high surface-area density of the arrays of SiNWs, the discontinuous MoS 2 nanosheets grown on the SiNWs achieved a much higher density of active sites. Moreover, the coating of MoS 2 on the SiNWs was found to protect the photocathode during the photoelectrochemical (PEC) reaction. A high efficiency with photocurrent j sc of 16.5 mA cm -2 (at 0 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode) and an excellent stability over 48 h of PEC operation were achieved under a simulated 1 sun irradiation.