Cover Picture: Light-Triggered Molecular Level Self-Healing Spiropyran Thin Film (Chin. J. Chem. 12/2013)

Plasmonic Light Trapping Transforming Thin-Film Photovoltaics

The photovoltaics (PV) market represents the fastest growing renewable energy technology, with a 35% annual growth rate, which is projected to be worth $150B by 2018.[1] The global cumulative installed PV capacity has exceeded 140 GW in 2013 and is generating 160 TWh/year of electricity, representing 0.85% of worldwide electricity demand. At the present growth rate, it is projected that over 20...

Thin-film devices for polarized light- introduction

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Self-powered thin-film motion vector sensor

Harnessing random micromeso-scale ambient energy is not only clean and sustainable, but it also enables self-powered sensors and devices to be realized. Here we report a robust and self-powered kinematic vector sensor fabricated using highly pliable organic films that can be bent to spread over curved and uneven surfaces. The device derives its operational energy from a close-proximity triboele...

Self-assembling organic thin-film transistors

Organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) dielectric layers that selfassemble and enable transistor function at low voltages have been developed by a team of chemists. Myung-Han Yoon et al. developed working transistors that employ organosilane-based dielectric layers that organize themselves from solution. The resulting dielectric films are 2.3–5.5 nm thick, smooth, and nearly defect-free. The films...