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The optimal device architecture and its fabrication parameters for vapor-deposited perovskite solar cells are investigated by machine learning, predicting the highest power conversion efficiency of 26.1%.

In recent years, lithium-containing ceramic materials have attracted considerable research attention as high-temperature adsorbents of carbon dioxide. The recycling of electrode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries for use as photocatalysts in recovering CO2 and degrading organic pollutants is worthy of exploration. Solid, magnetic ferrite-containing photocatalysts are easily separated from reaction solutions by using magnetic devices. Solid catalysts (e.g., LiFeO2, LiFe5O8, NaFeO2, and K2Fe2O4) were prepared through the calcination of Fe2O3 and M2CO3. CO2 was photoreduced and crystal violet (CV) and 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (2-HBA) were photodegraded under visible light irradiation. The optimized K2Fe2O4 photocatalyst increased the rate of photocatalytic conversion from CO2 to methane at 20.9 µmol g−1 h−1. The catalytic efficiency indicated that the optimized reaction rate constants of CV with LiFeO2, NaFeO2, and K2Fe2O4 were 2.98 × 10−1, 5.32 × 10−1, and 4.36 × 10−1 h−1, respectively. The quenching effect achieved through the use of various scavengers and the electron paramagnetic resonance in CV degradation revealed the substantial contribution of the reactive superoxide anion radical O2 − and the minor roles of h+ and the OH radical. Its usefulness in the synthesis of solid-base catalyst MFeO2 is promising for environmental control and relevant applications, particularly in solar energy manufacturing.

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites have emerged as promising light harvesting materials for many optoelectronic devices. Here, we present a facile mechanochemical synthesis (MCS) route for the preparation of a series of pure phase mixed-cation/anion (FAPbI3)x(MAPbBr3)1−x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) hybrid perovskite materials for high-efficiency thin-film perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The use of (α-FAPbI3)0.95(MAPbBr3)0.05 perovskite prepared by MCS for the thin-film PSCs achieves a maximum PCE of 15.9% from a current–voltage (J–V) scan, which stabilises at 15.4% after 120 s of the maximum power point output. Furthermore, PSCs based on (KPbI3)0.05(FAPbI3)0.9(MAPbBr3)0.05 perovskite prepared by MCS exhibit higher photovoltaic performance and lower hysteresis compared with (α-FAPbI3)0.95(MAPbBr3)0.05, with a maximum PCE of 16.7%. These results indicate that the use of mechanochemically synthesised perovskites provides a promising strategy for high performance PSCs and superior control in optoelectronic properties, leading to improved control in fabrication approaches and facilitating the development of efficient and stable PSCs in the future.

Hybrid perovskites have recently received much attention in optoelectronic applications. However, hybrid perovskites are unstable in a humid environment. Mixed halide perovskites (MHPs) show enhanced stability and band-gap tunability upon engineering of their halide composition. Here, MHPs are prepared through a solvent-free mechanochemical synthesis (MCS) route that allows superior control over halide compositions than the solvent synthesis routes (SS). The MCS route eliminates the problem in the preparation of MAPb(Ix Br1-x )3 with continuously varying x, while maintaining the material properties and suppressing phase segregation present in SS routes. UV-vis absorption and X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the production of the desired pure-phase MHPs. For MAPb(Ix Br1-x )3 (0≤x≤1), with increased ratio of halide (x), the cubic phase gradually transforms into the tetragonal phase and band-gap tunability is accomplished. The MCS route for the preparation of MHPs is a very promising and efficient technique for superior control in optoelectronic properties, leading to improved control in fabrication approaches.

In recent years, lithium-containing ceramic materials have attracted considerable research attention as high-temperature adsorbents of carbon dioxide. The recycling of electrode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries for use as photocatalysts in recovering CO

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have emerged as promising light harvesting materials for many optoelectronic devices. Here, we present a facile mechanochemical synthesis (MCS) route for the preparation of a series of pure phase mixed-cation/anion (FAPbI

Carbon fibers with excellent performances suffer from their low surface activity in many applications. Modifying fiber surfaces can improve the properties of fiber–matrix interface, which can expan...

The performances of fiber dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs), in terms of charge collection efficiency, light-harvesting ability, and structural stability, are improved through a novel hierarchically structured photoanode based on a Ti microridge/nanorod-modified wire substrate. The microridge made of several Ti micropits is inserted into TiO2 layer to shorten the photoelectron transport distance from the original place in the TiO2 layer to substrate and to increase the electron transport rate. The Ti micropits are used as light-gathering centers to collect the reflected light. Meanwhile, the Ti nanorods are evenly distributed on the surface of the microridge-coated Ti wire substrate, which increases the contact area between the substrate and the TiO2 layer in order to suppress the electron recombination and scatters the incident light to further improve the light-harvesting ability. Therefore, the charge collection and power conversion efficiencies of the novel FDSSC have been accordingly enhanced by 17.7% and 61.6%, respectively, compared with traditional FDSSC. Moreover, the structural stability of the novel FDSSC has been strengthened.

As the development of smart electronics, self-powered sources have been attracting increasing attention. This review summarizes research progress of photovoltaic fibers and their integrated power sources with multi-stage energy conversion. Recent development of three dimensional photovoltaic fibers is glanced with special attention to structure design and materials of typical photovoltaic types (inorganic, organic, dye/quantum dot sensitized and perovskite solar cells). The application of carbon materials in fiber energy is focused as it is a hot topic recently. The hybrid energy systems based on fiber solar cells and fiber supercapacitors, fiber batteries and fiber nanogenerators are summarized together with hybrid energy textiles. This review provides a macroscopic view of novel energy fibers and will attract research interest in flexible/wearable fiber electronics and energy textiles.

A spring-like Ti@TiO2 nanowire array wire has been introduced into a stretchable fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cell (FDSSC) as a photoanode to achieve high flexibility and elasticity in this paper. Given the TiO2 layer, which was prepared by a hydrothermal reaction in the optimized NaOH concentration of 2.5 mol L−1, with a 1D structure and high adhesion between the TiO2 nanowire array and the Ti wire substrate, the novel FDSSC still possesses photoelectric conversion efficiency retention rates of approximately 97.00% and 95.95% after bending to a radius of 1.0 cm and stretching to 100% strain, respectively. EIS result shows the degradation mechanism of the FDSSC photoelectric performance: the bending test leads to more terrible electron combination; the stretching operation increases the internal resistance and charge-transfer resistance at the counter electrode. Moreover, it's worth noting that, this is the first time to show a 100%-stretching degree in the FDSSC research field so far.

Research on perovskite solar cells is currently at a high level of activity and many types of special solar architectures have been derived. The fiber-shaped perovskite solar cell (FPSC) is one very important type of these architectures, as it could be a potential power source of portable/wearable electronics. For the first time, we introduce lead acetate as the lead source to improve the perovskite film morphology on highly curved fiber substrates and then enhance the FPSC performance. A large grain size and uniform perovskite film could be obtained via a simple dip-coating process. The FPSCs achieved a PCE of 7.53% and VOC of 0.96 V under AM 1.5 illumination. This non-halide lead source could promote the development of efficient and large-sized devices with solid fiber solar cells.

Organic–inorganic halide perovskites have been widely used in photovoltaic technologies. Despite tremendous progress in their efficiency and stability, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are still facing the challenges of upscaling and stability for practical applications. As a mature film preparation technology, magnetron sputtering has been widely used to prepare metals, metallic oxides, and some semiconductor films, which has great application potential in the fabrication of PSCs. Here, a unique technology where high‐quality perovskite films are prepared via magnetron sputtering for controllable composition, solvent‐free, large‐area, and massive production, is presented. This strategy transforms the perovskite materials from powder to thin films by magnetron sputtering and post‐treatment (vapor‐assisted treatment with methanaminium iodide gas and methylamine gas treatment), which is greatly favorable to manufacture tandem solar cells. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs with perovskite films fabricated by magnetron sputtering is 6.14%. After optimization, high‐performance perovskite films with excellent electronic properties are obtained and stable PSCs with excellent reproducibility are realized, showing a PCE of up to 15.22%. The entirely novel synthetic approach opens up a new and promising way to achieve high‐throughput magnetron sputtering for large‐area production in commercial applications of planar heterojunction and tandem PSCs., The mechanosynthesized perovskite powder is used to fabricate films and solar cells by magnetron sputtering. The stable PSCs with excellent reproducibility show a PCE of up to 15.22%. This approach realizes solvent‐free preparation of perovskite films with controllable composition, which would open up a promising way to achieve high‐throughput magnetron sputtering for large‐area production of planar heterojunction and tandem PSCs.

This work reports photovoltaic fibers based on organic dyes and their waveguide photovoltaic modules. The organic photovoltaic fibers achieve energy conversion efficiency of > 3% via balancing dye adsorption and interface charge recombination. The waveguide modules achieve power output enhancement up to 2.7. Suitable partners of organic dyes and luminescent solar concentrators would break through conventional thinking of extending absorption region of organic dyes to improve photovoltaic performance and would contribute to high power output with narrow-absorption sensitizers. As far as we know, this is the first time that organic dyes are involved in fiber solar cells and their modules. Our study may open a door toward cost-effective, lightweight and efficient building integrated photovoltaic power sources.

Carbon fibers (CFs) and CF-reinforced composites have been widely used as high performance structural materials in various military and civilian fields for decades. Owing to the rapid advances and boom in flexible/wearable electronics, CF materials endowed with excellent material properties have received great attention for building lightweight, cost-efficient and miniaturized flexible/wearable energy devices. Herein, a detailed overview of recent progress in wire/fiber-shaped flexible power devices made from micro-CFs is given for the first time. With an emphasis on electrode materials and architecture designs, CF-based wire/fiber energy devices including fiber nanogenerators, wire/fiber solar cells, wire-type batteries, fiber supercapacitors and integrated/hybrid fiber devices are discussed. Aiming to motivate more exciting applications, research directions and perspectives, efficient flexible wire-type CF energy devices are proposed.

A novel strategy that uses SCN− is introduced to develop neutral-colored, semitransparent perovskite film of discrete islands. Micro-structured arrays of perovskite precursor “islands” are formed from the (SCN−)-doped precursor solution by the spin-coating method and demonstrates the maximum AVT of 50% with a device efficiency of 2.4%.

The emergence of wearable electronics has demanded advances in efficient flexible/wearable energy devices. Photovoltaic wires (PVWs) have unique 3D light-harvesting capabilities and available electrode materials that are attractive for this purpose. Developing low-cost and efficient Pt-free fibrous counter electrodes (CEs) for PVWs is essential. Herein, ultralow-cost nanocarbon, with considerable electrochemical activity, was deposited onto arbitrary fibers, including TiO2 semiconductor, metal wires, and polymeric carbon fibers, using a facile dip-coating method. These fibers were then used as efficient catalytic fibrous CEs in PVWs. The influence of nanocarbon loading and charge transfer resistance on electrocatalytic activity were investigated in nanocarbon-penetrated Ti/TiO2 nanotube array CEs and dummy cells based on SS wire/nanocarbon CEs. Due to the balanced influences of conductive substrate and nanocarbon electrocatalytic film, PVWs assembled from SS wire/nanocarbon CE and an all-carbon carbon fiber/nanocarbon CE achieved efficiencies of 6.09% and 5.10% under AM1.5G illumination (100 mW cm−2), respectively. Furthermore, a double-sided illuminated PVW had an apparent efficiency of 10.8%. This work demonstrates innovative cost-efficient photovoltaic wires that may help boost low-cost, bifacial and highly flexible/wearable photovoltaics toward practical applications.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells have experienced a skyrocketing photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) increase in recent years, and become the “rock star” in the field of solar cells. After only 4 years, the certificated PCE of these materials based solid state solar cells have reach the maximum 22.1%, which is comparable to the highest PCE of the commercial silicon-based solar cells and higher than those of the organic solar cells and the dye-sensitized solar cells. Besides the promising efficiency, these materials surpass its competitors with the adaptability to solution- process at low-temperature and in air, and better flexibility, which can lead to lower large-scale production cost and more application potential for wearable electronics. The outstanding device performance of the hybrid perovskite solar cells have attracted intensive research interest, and besides increasing the PCE, lots of efforts have been focused on functional diversification for this solar cells. Compare to the commercial solar cells based on rigid silicon, organic- inorganic hybrid perovskite materials exhibit better flexibility which is beneficial for applications in flexible electronic devices, and due to the mild preparation conditions and the solution processablity, it is easy to prepare a variety of nanostructures. Those advantages have expanded the application scope of the hybrid perovskite materials, especially for fabricating flexible and semi-transparent solar cells which have potential use in building integrated photovoltaic such as solar cell windows and solar cell curtains. Here in this review, we focus on the recent progress of the flexible and semi-transparent solar cells based on organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials. In the part of the flexible hybrid perovskite solar cells, two mainstream device structures, namely planar and fiber-shaped devices, are discussed and the device structure and materials selection are analyzed in detail. As for the planar flexible perovskite solar cells, the choosing of the low-temperature processable function materials for the solar cells seems to be one of key factors due to the fact that most flexible planar substrates are vulnerable to the high-temperature treatments. As for the fiber-shaped perovskite solar cells, the choosing of the proper transparent conductive electrode materials is crucial which should have a good balance between the transparency and conductivity, and due to the difficulty of forming high-quality perovskite function layer on the curved surface of a certain wire, the prepare methods have to be upgraded too. In the part of the semi-transparent hybrid perovskite solar cells, two main strategies (reducing film thickness and forming isolated island structure) are discussed and a lot of reported preparation methods are analyzed in detail. As for the former strategy of reducing film thickness, the advantages are the comparatively higher PCE, easier manufacture and better controllability and the disadvantage is the unfavorable brownish color. As for the latter strategy of forming isolated island structure, the advantage is the better full-spectrum transmission and the disadvantages are comparatively more complicated manufacture and worse controllability. The whole paper has presented the development of the flexible and semi-transparent perovskite solar cells so far and gave detailed discussions for the reported works. Based on these analyzations, the organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites will find their special and unique position in the field of flexible and semi-transparent solar cells and may aggressively push the field forward.

An innovative method to prepare poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/MnO2 composite electrodes without adding any binder, conductive agent, or catalyst is reported. The preparation process for the supercapacitor electrodes is facile and involves simple spin coating and in situ polymerization of vacuum-deposited 2,5-dibromo-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene. A uniform and stable PEDOT/MnO2 composite thin film is obtained after the in situ synthesis of the PEDOT thin film on the surface of the MnO2 nanoparticles with strong adhesion. The PEDOT/MnO2 supercapacitor electrodes exhibit excellent performance with a high specific capacitance of 575.0 F g−1 at a current density of 8 A g−1. The symmetrical supercapacitor offers an energy density of 14.6 Wh kg−1 with a high power density of 1365 Wh kg−1. Moreover, the PEDOT/MnO2 supercapacitor electrodes can be prepared from flexible substrates, of which the specific capacitance still reaches 352.9 F g−1 at a current density of 5 A g−1. The preparation method should facilitate the use of the multicomponent composite in further energy-storage applications as well as in many other related fields.

We applied SiO 2 nanoparticles as an alternative to mesoporous TiO 2 or Al 2 O 3 scaffolds and achieved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of up to 16.2%. Careful characterization of the effects of different scaffolds on device performance reveals that SiO 2 -based perovskite solar cells show much higher PCE due to the higher Voc and fill factor ( FF ), and the hysteresis for SiO 2 -based perovskite solar cell is less severe than for Al 2 O 3 -based perovskite solar cell. Time-correlated-single-photoncounting (TCSPC) luminescence decay and external quantum efficiency (EQE) tests provide further insights into the charge transfer behavior and light-harvesting characteristics of the proposed devices. Potential mechanisms of the observed phenomena are also suggested. Taken together, our results demonstrate that SiO 2 nanoparticles may potentially replace mesoporous TiO 2 or Al 2 O 3 scaffolds in perovskite solar cells to achieve remarkably high PCE.

A quick and simple method for optimizing assembly force of the direct methanol fuel cell has been introduced. Meanwhile, the effect mechanism of operating parameters on fuel cell performance and the properties of single anode and cathode have been intuitively investigated by a three-electrode system in this paper. The impedance curves indicate that internal resistance is the suitable intermediate to connect assembly torque and assembly force. The cathode polarization curve and limiting current density of methanol crossover are shown that the increasing methanol concentration markedly exacerbates the polarization in cathode due to serious methanol crossover phenomenon. Also, the higher cathode backpressure mainly improves cathode property, and lowers methanol crossover simultaneously. Finally, the summaries of peak power densities prove that the main factor that affected the optimal flow rates of methanol and oxygen is not the concentration or backpressure, but the working temperature.

A combined heterogeneous catalytic ozonation (CATAZONE) and electrochemical oxidation (EO) process (E-CATAZONE) for a quick and effective oxidation of refractory organic pollutants (i.e. Rhodamine B) (RhB) was developed. In this process, a porous Ti gas diffuser (PTGD) coated with mesoflower-structured TiO 2 was fabricated and simultaneously acted as anodes, ozone (O 3 ) gas diffusers and catalysts for E-CATAZONE process. Results showed that E-CATAZONE presented a unique synergy between heterogeneous catalytic ozonation and electrochemical oxidation on hydroxyl radical ( OH) production and RhB mineralization. Owing to the unique 3-D porous structure, novel morphology, as well as its multi-catalytic capabilities for both the CATAZONE and EO reactions, mesoflower-structured TiO 2 coated porous Ti gas diffusers (MFT-PTGDs) exhibit higher catalytic activity than PTGDs alone for the E-CATAZONE process, thus a high COD (chemical oxygen demand) removal rate of 95.7% was achieved at 2.5 h, showing an apparent pseudo-first-order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.96 h −1 . According to different operation conditions, results also show that the O 3 sparging mode and the electrochemical role of MFT-PTGD significantly affects COD removal. It is found that flow-through mode for O 3 sparging and use of MFT-PTGD as the anode were particularly beneficial for the E-CATAZONE oxidation of Rhodamine B. Thus, the proposed E-CATAZONE presents significantly high oxidation ability than sole CATAZONE and EO processes by using MFT-PTGDs.

Organolead trihalide perovskite materials have been attracting increasing attention due to their promising role in solid solar cells. Several advantages make them potential candidates for optoelectronics: (1) solution- or/and vapor-processed preparation at low temperature; (2) tunable optical bandgap, wide absorption spectrum but narrow photoluminescence peaks; (3) long carrier life time, large diffusion length and high charge mobility; (4) various nanostructures via tuning capping agents and solvents. In this review, we summarize recent attempts toward efficient LEDs based on organolead trihalide perovskite materials. The strategies of materials science, device design and interface engineering are highlighted. Recent development and future perspectives are summarized for practical perovskite light technologies.

In this work, PbCl2 is used as an additive to assist organolead trihalide perovskite film formation in a two-step sequential deposition process. PbCl2 inhibits PbI2 crystallization and contributes to the full conversion of PbI2 and enhanced perovskite film morphology control. Cl− incorporation into the perovskite improves charge transport within the film, as confirmed by the resulting prolonged photoluminescence lifetime observed. A reaction temperature of approximately 50 °C between the PbI2/PbCl2 film and CH3NH3I isopropanol solution is essential for synthesizing high-performance perovskite solar cells. Addition of PbCl2 results in a perovskite solar cell energy efficiency of 14% and achieves an average efficiency enhancement of approximately 30% compared with that obtained from the control group.

Memristors are devices that can store and process information based on their switchable internal resistance. Although these devices offer better performance than the conventional technology, the use of materials such as complex metal oxides usually requires high-temperature annealing processing or vacuum processing such as sputtering, which complicates the fabrication of the devices and hinders their development for practical use. Here we show a high-performance memristor based on organometal trihalides and electrochemical active metals, which achieved an on–off current ratio of 1.9 × 109. The devices can be solution-processed at low temperature and in air, which may be further developed into printable electronics. We explored the influence of different metal electrodes and device structures on memristor performance and the results indicated the great potential of methyl ammonium lead halide perovskite for information storage and computing. Our work provides new application prospects for these materials and may also contribute to the better understanding of other perovskite-based optoelectronic devices.

A completely flexible fiber-shaped dye sensitized solar cell has been truly realized for the first time, due to a novel photoanode with a TiO2 micron-cone-nanowire array structure prepared by a simple two-step process. The TiO2 micron-cone array, made using an electrochemical method, is used as a frame for a novel photoanode, with its roots sinking deep down into a Ti wire substrate. The TiO2 nanowire array is coated onto the TiO2 micron-cone surface by a hydrothermal reaction to form a dye-adsorption layer to the enhance power conversion efficiency of the novel device. With a high dye-adsorption capacity and strong combination between the TiO2 micron-cone and Ti substrate, the minimum bending radius of the photoanode could reach 0.45 mm, and 96.6% retention of the initial conversion efficiency was obtained after bending 100 times.

Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in solid solar cells based on organolead trihalides, which have achieved a certified efficiency of 20.1%. The success in perovskite solar cells extended the knowledge of perovskite materials and inspired their study for special solar architectures. Fiber-shaped solar cells are a type of photovoltaic device fabricated on one-dimensional conductive substrates, which could be potential candidates for wearable/portable electronics. In this study, we integrate the structure of Ti/c-TiO2/meso-TiO2/perovskite/spiro-OMeTAD/Au into the fiber format. The fiber-shaped perovskite solar cells achieved a 5.3% PCE under AM 1.5 illumination and an apparent 8.4% efficiency in the diffuse model. The device design required no transparent conductive oxides and a thin film of gold nanoparticles was employed as a semitransparent top electrode. All the processes for device fabrication were easy to handle and energy-saving. The fiber devices exhibited high reproducibility, which could open new doors towards efficient solid fiber shaped photovoltaic cells.

This study aimed to examine gender differences in the association between serum uric acid (SUA) and the risk of prediabetes in a longitudinal cohort. A total of 8237 participants in the Beijing Health Management Cohort study were recruited and surveyed during 2008–2009, and followed up in 2011–2012 and 2014–2015 surveys. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to evaluate the association between SUA and prediabetes. Furthermore, subgroup analyses assessed the primary outcome according to status of abdominal obesity, age and status of hypertension. During six years of follow-up, we identified 1083 prediabetes events. The GEE analyses confirmed and clarified the association between SUA and prediabetes (RR = 1.362, 95% CI = 1.095–1.696, p = 0.006) after adjusting for other potential confounders, especially in females (RR = 2.109, 95% CI = 1.329–3.347, p = 0.002). In addition, this association was stronger in the subgroup of females aged ≥48 years old (RR = 2.384, 95% CI = 1.417–4.010, p = 0.001). The risk for prediabetes increased significantly with increasing SUA for females in the Chinese population. This association was strongly confirmed in older females aged ≥48 years old rather than in younger females, which may provide clues for pathogenic mechanisms of gender differences in the association between SUA and prediabetes.

Background. Hyperuricemia is known to be a risk factor for diabetes. However, information is limited regarding the association between changes in hyperuricemia and the risk of diabetes.Methods. A total of 15,403 participants who were free of diabetes at the time of 2009 and 2011 surveys in the Beijing Health Management Cohort (BHMC) study were recruited and followed up until 2016. Participants were classified into four groups according to 2-year changes in hyperuricemia: no hyperuricemia, remittent hyperuricemia, incident hyperuricemia, and persistent hyperuricemia. Modified Poisson regression models were used to evaluate the effect of 2-year changes in hyperuricemia on the risk of diabetes.Results. During the 5-year follow-up, we identified 841 new cases of diabetes (216 women). Remittent hyperuricemia and incident hyperuricemia had a 35% and 48% higher risk for developing diabetes compared with no hyperuricemia. Especially, persistent hyperuricemia was associated with a 75% higher risk of diabetes (RR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.47-2.08). Compared with minor serum uric acid (SUA) change, over 10% decline and over 30% increase in SUA levels were subsequently associated with lower (RR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.72-0.99) and higher (RR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.27-2.30) diabetes risk, respectively.Conclusions. Changes in hyperuricemia, especially persistent hyperuricemia, are more appropriate to reflect the risk of diabetes than a single measurement of hyperuricemia at baseline. Strategies aiming at preventing hyperuricemia are urgently needed to reduce the increasing burden of diabetes.

Catalyst-free and scalable synthesis of graphene on various glass substrates at low temperatures is of paramount significance to numerous applications such as low-cost transparent electronics and state-of-the-art displays. However, systematic study within this promising research field has remained scarce thus far. Herein, we report the direct growth of graphene on various glasses using a low-temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. Such a facile and scalable approach guarantees the growth of uniform, transfer-free graphene films on various glass substrates at a growth temperature range of 400–600 °C. The morphological, surface wetting, optical, and electrical properties of the obtained graphene can be tailored by controlling the growth parameters. Our uniform and high-quality graphene films directly integrated with low-cost, commonly used glasses show great potential in the fabrication of multi-functional electrodes for versatile applications in solar cells, transparent electronics, and smart windows.

A nonadditive hole-transporting material (HTM) of a triphenylamine derivative of N,N'-di(3-methylphenyl)-N,N'-diphenyl-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl (TPD) is used for the organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) can be significantly enhanced by inserting a thin layer of 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatriphenylenehexacarbonitrile (HAT-CN) without adding an ion additive because the hole-transporting properties improve. The short-circuit current density (J(sc)) increases from 8.5 to 13.1 mA/cm(2), the open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) increases from 0.84 to 0.92 V, and the fill-factor (FF) increases from 0.45 to 0.59, which corresponds to the increase in PCE from 3.2% to 7.1%. Moreover, the PCE decreases by only 10% after approximately 1000 h without encapsulation, which suggests an alternative method to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells.

Ti/TiO2 micron-cone array (TMCA) prepared through a synergy of chemical and electrochemical reactions was used as the frame and electron transfer channel for the photoanode of a fiber dye-sensitized solar cell (FDSSC). A TiO2 multilayer structure composed of compact, light scattering, and porous layers was introduced into the fiber photoanode for the first time based on the TMCA. The novel fiber photoelectric device attained a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 8.07%, the highest value for FDSSCs with a Pt wire counter electrode to date, and a good flexibility. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This work presents flexible fiber shaped zinc bromide batteries and dye sensitized solar cells for efficient energy conversion and storage. The rechargeable FBs based on zinc bromide chemistry achieved a capacity up to 19 mA h mL−1 and an energy efficiency of 69%. The 31.5 cm long flexible fiber dye sensitized solar cell (FDSC) based on a titanium dioxide bilayer exhibits an efficiency (η) of 4.01% (6.68% in the diffuse model), which is the longest single FDSC with the highest power output (5.99 mW). The hybrid energy system with these two types of flexible power fibers achieved a promising overall energy conversion efficiency of 3.4%. All the preparation is easy to handle and suitable for large scale production and this study may pave the way for flexible, lightweight, and efficient power sources.

Flexible fiber/wire-shaped solar cells are a kind of photovoltaic cell fabricated on wire-like substrates. Fiber-type devices, including inorganic, organic, dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells, have made great progress in recent years. In particular, the energy conversion efficiency of fiber dye-sensitized solar cells has increased from 9%. In this review, we have provided very detailed insights into the development of various fiber/wire-shaped solar cells, conventional materials, and innovative designs. Particularly, we focused on the properties of fiber dye-sensitized solar cells, innovations for solar energy harvesting, and the integrated power systems for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. Although recent studies only provided the initial ideas, flexible fiber/wire-shaped solar cells facilitated the breakthrough for novel solar architecture and portable/wearable electronics or e-textiles of the future.

In this paper, we report the results of lightweight waveguide fiber dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSCs) with built-in luminescent solar concentrator (LSC). The effect of different LSC designs on the photovoltaic performance of waveguide devices was analyzed. An enhancement factor of up to 5.7 in the maximum output power of FDSCs was realized through omnidirectional absorption enhancement over a large area. The improvement in the output power of semi-transparent waveguide FDSCs was also achieved in the large tilted angle range from 0° to 80° and 100° to 180°. FDSCs show reasonable photovoltaic performance under natural sunlight at a near vertical angle and even under the shade. Our results indicate that waveguide FDSCs thus developed are highly viable for application in practical solar windows.