A simple lamination process of the top electrode for perovskite solar cells is demonstrated. The laminate electrode consists of a transparent and conductive plastic/metal mesh substrate, coated with an adhesive mixture of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate), PEDOT:PSS, and sorbitol. The laminate electrode showed a high degree of transparency of 85%. Best cell performance was...

We report quasi-continuous-wave, cascaded Nd:GdVO(4) self-Raman lasers based on a secondary Raman transition at 382 cm(-1) for which the Raman gain was estimated to be 0.7 cm/GW. Laser output was obtained in the near-infrared at 1108 nm, 1156 nm and 1227 nm. By incorporating intracavity sum-frequency generation (SFG) or second-harmonic generation (SHG), high power output at four discrete visibl...

Photovoltaic power generation is a growing renewable primary energy source, expected to assume a major role as we strive toward fossil fuel free energy production. However, the photovoltaic efficiencies limit the conversion of solar radiation into useful power output. Hybrid systems extend the functionality of concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) from simply generating electricity, to providing si...

In this work, we have reported for the first time an efficient all-polymer tandem cell using identical sub-cells based on P2F-DO:N2200. A high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.70% was achieved, which is among the highest efficiencies for all polymer solar cells and 43% larger than the PCE of single junction cell. The largely improved device performance can be mainly attributed to the enha...

In this work, lead phthalocyanine (PbPc) and ZnO/InN inorganic semiconductor films prepared by oblique-angle deposition (OAD) were layered to form heterojunction organic/inorganic hybrid photovoltaic solar cells. Among the available organic materials, phthalocyanines, particularly the non-planar ones such as PbPc, are notable for their absorption in the visible and near infrared regions. The or...

Continuous studies on the use of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon as the central block of an organic photosensitizer have brought forth a new opportunity toward efficiency enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). In this paper, a nonacyclic aromatic hydrocarbon 9,19-dihydrodinaphtho[3,2,1-de:3',2',1'-op]pentacene, tethered with four 4-hexylphenyl solubilizing groups is reported. The n...

Here, we report advanced materials and devices that enable high-efficiency mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion from the natural contractile and relaxation motions of the heart, lung, and diaphragm, demonstrated in several different animal models, each of which has organs with sizes that approach human scales. A cointegrated collection of such energy-harvesting elements with rectifiers an...

Regioregular conjugated polymers containing alternating pyridyl[2,1,3]thiadiazole (PT) and indacenodithiophene (IDT) structural units were synthesized. In these copolymers, the pyridyl nitrogen atoms on PT are precisely arranged along the backbone so that each one has an adjacent proximal and an adjacent distal counterpart across the two IDT flanking units. We find that despite the absence of o...

Six new heteroleptic Ru(II) complexes (MC118, MC120-123 and MC126), of general formula Ru(L1)(L2)(NCS)2, where L1 and L2 are respectively dicarboxylated and π-conjugated functionalized (dissymmetric) bipyridine ligands, were designed, synthesized and applied as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells. These complexes were characterized both experimentally and theoretically, showing promising ...

Layers of poly(methyl methacrylate) doped with the Eu complex Eu(DPEPO)(hfac)3 (EuDH) provide a means for down-shifting incident ultraviolet (UV) light into the visible range, with beneficial effects on the performance of solar cells, as demonstrated with thin-film InGaP devices formed by epitaxial liftoff. Experimental and computational results establish important aspects of gain and loss mech...