Spin polarized ab-initio calculations have been carried out to study the structural and electronic properties of REHg (RE = Ho and Er) intermetallic compounds in B2 crystal structure. The calculations have been performed by using both generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and local spin density approximation (LSDA). The calculated values of lattice constant (a0) for these compounds with GGA ...

We examine exhaustively the behavior of avalanches in critical height sandpile models based in twoand three-dimensional lattices of various topologies. We get that for two-dimensional lattices the spatial and temporal distributions characterizing bulk avalanches do not depend on the lattice topology. For the three-dimensional case, we detect a small dependence of the topology for the temporal d...

Monolithic bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) exhibit a unique combination of mechanical properties, such as high strength and large elasticity limits, but the lack of ductility is considered the main Achilles’ heel of BMG systems. To increase the competitiveness of BMGs vis-à-vis conventional structural materials, the problem of catastrophic failure via intense plastic strain localization (‘shear ba...

Using the extended ab initio atomistic thermodynamics approach together with density functional theory calculations the interfacial structure and composition of Pt-electrodes in electrochemical environments at elevated electrode potentials was studied. Focusing on the electrode potential region, at which the oxide-formation occurs, the bulk systems and all lowindex surfaces of α-PtO2, β-PtO2, a...

Solar photovoltaic (SPV) has emerged as one of the major renewable source of electricity generation. Solar electricity is more expensive than that produced by traditional sources. But over the past two decades, the cost gap has been closing. Solar photovoltaic (SPV) technology has emerged as a useful power source of applications such as lightning, meeting the electricity needs of villages, hosp...

Electricity generation using solar photovoltaic systems pose a unique challenge to improve the efficiency and to minimise the manufacturing cost. Research and development in this area has been expanding as it is environmentally friendly and helps the planet to reduce the greenhouse gas emission while reducing the carbon footprint. As a result, solar photovoltaic (PV) electrical power generation...

Organolead trihalide perovskite (OTP) materials are emerging as naturally abundant materials for low-cost, solution-processed and highly efficient solar cells. Here, we show that, in OTP-based photovoltaic devices with vertical and lateral cell configurations, the photocurrent direction can be switched repeatedly by applying a small electric field of <1 V μm(-1). The switchable photocurrent, ge...

Carrier lifetime in photoelectric processes is the average time an excited carrier is free before recombining or trapping. Lifetime is directly related to defects and it is a key parameter in analyzing photovoltaic effects in semiconductors. We show here a scanning probe method combined with photoinduced current spectroscopy that allows mapping with nanoscale resolution of the generation and re...

The role of bathocuproine BCP buffer layer inserted between active layer and Al contact in photovoltaic cells based on phthalocyanine Pc and C60 was investigated. Photoluminescence PL experiments show exciton quenching at the C60–Al interface to be strongly reduced by inserting BCP. Current-voltage characteristics of photovoltaic cells with planar geometry front electrode/ Pc/C60/BCP/Al show th...