Current measurements in the intermittent-contact mode of atomic force microscopy using the Fourier method: a feasibility analysis

• Berkin Uluutku and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 453–465, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.37

• characterization of such materials may lead to additional challenges, where for some frequencies the carriers may not be able to respond fast enough to the intermittent interaction. Examples of such materials, which are often characterized with C-AFM, are those used in photovoltaics, which have very particular

Implementation of data-cube pump–probe KPFM on organic solar cells

• Benjamin Grévin,
• Olivier Bardagot and
• Renaud Demadrille

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 323–337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.24

• ); organic photovoltaics; photocarrier dynamics; pump–probe configuration; time-resolved measurements; Introduction Many emerging photovoltaic technologies rely on the use of thin film materials displaying structural and/or chemical heterogeneities at the μm or nm scale. This is the case for solution

• precise understanding of the relationship of the structural, chemical and optoelectronic properties of the device. Especially, a universal problem in third-generation photovoltaics consists in identifying the sources of carrier loss by the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers. This has prompted

• less data points to probe the parts of the time-domain where the SP evolves more slowly. Organic BHJ Solar Cells In this work, PTB7:PC71BM BHJ photovoltaic thin films have been used as test samples (Figure 3) for pp-KPFM experiments. In the following, a few concepts of organic photovoltaics are

Fabrication of Ag-modified hollow titania spheres via controlled silver diffusion in Ag–TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures

• Bartosz Bartosewicz,
• Malwina Liszewska,
• Bogusław Budner,
• Marta Michalska-Domańska,
• Krzysztof Kopczyński and
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 141–146, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.12

• range than the Ag–TiO2 CSNs they are made from. In addition, a significant number of AgNPs can be observed on their surface and, therefore, based on the existing literature, these nanostructures should be of great interest for applications in solar light-driven photocatalysis and photovoltaics [30

Recent progress in perovskite solar cells: the perovskite layer

• Xianfeng Dai,
• Ke Xu and
• Fanan Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 51–60, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.5

• manufacturing large-scale perovskite solar modules at high speed. Moreover, it is shown that the development of low-dimensional perovskites plays an important role in improving the long-term ambient stability of PSCs. Finally, these latest advancements can enhance the competitiveness of PSCs in photovoltaics

• been developed into solar cells, photodetectors and light-emitting diodes (Figure 1). In OIHP photovoltaics, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have entered our field of vision. With their high efficiency and low cost, they are expected to be highly influential in next-generation photovoltaic technology. In

• development of large-scale semi-transparent PSCs with large area, having diverse applications in the field of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) or as top cells for tandem devices. It has become a problem that a considerable amount of toxic Pb-containing material is discarded during the spin coating

Semitransparent Sb₂S₃ thin film solar cells by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis for use in solar windows

• Jako S. Eensalu,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Erki Kärber,
• Lothar Weinhardt,
• Monika Blum,
• Clemens Heske,
• Wanli Yang,
• Ilona Oja Acik and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2396–2409, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.230

• . Keywords: antimony sulfide; semitransparent solar cells; solar windows; thin films; ultrasonic spray pyrolysis; Introduction Modern buildings, especially high-rise buildings, have a large window area available for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Covering the windows with semitransparent thin

• Newport Cornerstone 260), a digital lock-in detector (Merlin) and a factory-calibrated Si reference detector. The integrated short-circuit current density (JSC) from EQE was calculated in AM1.5G conditions with the online tool Open Photovoltaics Analysis Platform and compared with the JSC obtained from

• -chemical methods for next-generation photovoltaics” and European Regional Development Fund project TK141 (TAR16016EK) “Advanced materials and high-technology devices for energy recuperation systems”. This research used resources of the Advanced Light Source, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility

Polyvinylpyrrolidone as additive for perovskite solar cells with water and isopropanol as solvents

• Chen Du,
• Shuo Wang,
• Xu Miao,
• Wenhai Sun,
• Yu Zhu,
• Chengyan Wang and
• Ruixin Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2374–2382, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.228

• remarkable light absorption capacity [5] and the tunable band gap [6] of inorganic–organic lead halide perovskite crystals make them suitable for the production of organic semiconductors [7], photodetectors [8], and photovoltaics [5]. In 2009, Kojima et al. achieved a breakthrough in using mesoporous TiO2 as

Nanostructured and oriented metal–organic framework films enabling extreme surface wetting properties

• Andre Mähringer,
• Julian M. Rotter and
• Dana D. Medina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1994–2003, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.196

• ][41][42][43][44][45]. Thereby, they are attractive synthesis targets for a large variety of applications, including gas storage and separation, chemical sensing, thermoelectrics, capacitors, transistors or photovoltaics [46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. Due to their exceptional variety of structural

Charge-transfer interactions between fullerenes and a mesoporous tetrathiafulvalene-based metal–organic framework

• Manuel Souto,
• Joaquín Calbo,
• Samuel Mañas-Valero,
• Aron Walsh and
• Guillermo Mínguez Espallargas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1883–1893, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.183

• , understanding the CT processes between the electron-acceptor C60 and the electron-donor molecules is fundamental in order to optimise photovoltaics and develop efficient solar cells [28]. The encapsulation of C60 in MOFs [29] has become a very interesting strategy for the purification of fullerenes [30][31][32

Tuning the performance of vanadium redox flow batteries by modifying the structural defects of the carbon felt electrode

• Ditty Dixon,
• Deepu Joseph Babu,
• Aiswarya Bhaskar,
• Hans-Michael Bruns,
• Joerg J. Schneider,
• Frieder Scheiba and
• Helmut Ehrenberg

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1698–1706, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.165

• battery (VRFB); Introduction In every part of the world, the contribution of electrical energy harvested from a renewable source, such as wind, photovoltaics, etc., to the electrical grid system is increasing. In contrast to electric energy production from fossil or nuclear fuels, the generation of

Fabrication of silver nanoisland films by pulsed laser deposition for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Bogusław Budner,
• Mariusz Kuźma,
• Barbara Nasiłowska,
• Bartosz Bartosewicz,
• Malwina Liszewska and
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 882–893, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.89

• ][8][9], photovoltaics [10] or optical sensing through localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) [11]. It is therefore not surprising that quite a number of studies have been initiated and performed in order to design and fabricate highly active SERS substrates based on metallic nanoparticles and

Renewable energy conversion using nano- and microstructured materials

• Harry Mönig and
• Martina Schmid

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 771–773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.76

• benefits arising from core–shell nanowire arrays for Si heterojunction solar cells. Contacts with a high surface-to-volume ratio can clearly be seen. Particularly in photovoltaics, they may be prone to increased recombination losses. For other applications, such as water splitting, porous materials may

Ultraviolet patterns of flowers revealed in polymer replica – caused by surface architecture

• Anna J. Schulte,
• Matthias Mail,
• Lisa A. Hahn and
• Wilhelm Barthlott

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 459–466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.45

• structure and its reflective properties is also relevant for biomimetic applications, for example, in the field of photovoltaics. Based on previous work, we selected three model species with distinct UV-patterns to explore the possible contribution of the surface architecture to the UV-signaling. Using a

Advanced scanning probe lithography using anatase-to-rutile transition to create localized TiO₂ nanorods

• Julian Kalb,
• Vanessa Knittel and
• Lukas Schmidt-Mende

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 412–418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.40

• optoelectronic characteristics. The fabrication of nanostructured TiO2 is inexpensive and hence employed in many applications such as photodetectors [2], photovoltaics [3][4][5][6], photocatalysis [7][8][9][10][11], surficial disinfection [12], biosensing [13], gas sensing [14][15][16], dewetting [17][18][19

Geometrical optimisation of core–shell nanowire arrays for enhanced absorption in thin crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells

• Robin Vismara,
• Olindo Isabella,
• Andrea Ingenito,
• Fai Tong Si and
• Miro Zeman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 322–331, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.31

• Robin Vismara Olindo Isabella Andrea Ingenito Fai Tong Si Miro Zeman Photovoltaic Materials and Devices/Else Kooi Lab, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 4, 2628CD Delft, The Netherlands École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and

• illumination conditions, by exciting resonances inside the absorber layer. However, passivation of nanowires is critical to further improve the efficiency of such devices. Keywords: heterojunction; nanowires; optical modelling; photovoltaics; silicon; Introduction The implementation of effective and low-cost

Raman study of flash-lamp annealed aqueous Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanocrystals

• Yevhenii Havryliuk,
• Oleksandr Selyshchev,
• Mykhailo Valakh,
• Alexandra Raevskaya,
• Oleksandr Stroyuk,
• Constance Schmidt,
• Volodymyr Dzhagan and
• Dietrich R. T. Zahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 222–227, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.20

• “Investigation of nanostructures based on multicomponent metal chalcogenides for a new generation of photovoltaics and luminescent biomarkers”).

Uniform Sb₂S₃ optical coatings by chemical spray method

• Jako S. Eensalu,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Erki Kärber,
• Ilona Oja Acik,
• Arvo Mere and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 198–210, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.18

• Optoelectronic Materials Physics at Tallinn University of Technology for recording SEM images and EDX measurements, Estonian Research Council project IUT19-4 “Thin films and nanomaterials by wet-chemical methods for next-generation photovoltaics” and European Regional Development Fund project TK141 “Advanced

Femtosecond laser-assisted fabrication of chalcopyrite micro-concentrator photovoltaics

• Franziska Ringleb,
• Stefan Andree,
• Berit Heidmann,
• Jörn Bonse,
• Katharina Eylers,
• Owen Ernst,
• Torsten Boeck,
• Martina Schmid and
• Jörg Krüger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 3025–3038, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.281

• patterning; laser-induced forward transfer; micro-concentrator solar cell; photovoltaics; Review Introduction In the field of renewable energies, the largest growth by far on a global scale in 2015/2016 took place in photovoltaics. However, the share of renewables in total energy consumption has recently

• fabrication methods for microabsorbers. In thin-film photovoltaics, Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) solar cells with an efficiency record of 22.9% for planar cells [2] and 19.2% for sub-modules [3] are among the leading technologies. Figure 1 shows the structure of a planar CIGSe solar cell representing the current

• principle is illustrated for the case of dot-shaped solar cells. Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) require significantly less absorber material and, at the same time, the concentration of light allows for a more efficient energy conversion. The material saving potential for a squared array of microabsorbers

Site-controlled formation of single Si nanocrystals in a buried SiO₂ matrix using ion beam mixing

• Xiaomo Xu,
• Thomas Prüfer,
• Daniel Wolf,
• Hans-Jürgen Engelmann,
• Lothar Bischoff,
• René Hübner,
• Karl-Heinz Heinig,
• Wolfhard Möller,
• Stefan Facsko,
• Johannes von Borany and
• Gregor Hlawacek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2883–2892, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.267

• exception of optical applications. The latter is due to its indirect band gap in the bulk state. Benefiting from their reduced size, Si NCs show optical activity [1][2] and quantum confinement behavior [3] and have inspired novel applications in microelectronics [4], optics [1] and photovoltaics [5][6]. In

Au–Si plasmonic platforms: synthesis, structure and FDTD simulations

• Anna Gapska,
• Marcin Łapiński,
• Paweł Syty,
• Wojciech Sadowski,
• Józef E. Sienkiewicz and
• Barbara Kościelska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2599–2608, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.241

• photovoltaics. Although, of course, obtaining appropriate homogeneity of nanostructures requires further research. Scheme of the formation of the gold nanoislands. SEM images of 2.8 nm Au films on a Si(111) substrate: a) as prepared, annealed at b) 150 °C, c) 200 °C, d) 250 °C, e) 300 °C, f) 350 °C, g) 363 °C

Thickness-dependent photoelectrochemical properties of a semitransparent Co₃O₄ photocathode

• Malkeshkumar Patel and
• Joondong Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2432–2442, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.228

• favourable HER properties [20]. We also developed compact Co3O4 films by a reactive sputtering method, in which sputtered Co particles were converted into a compact Co3O4 film by controlling the flowing O2 gas, to offer a self-powered ultraviolet photodetector [17] and semitransparent photovoltaics [39]. It

Lead-free hybrid perovskites for photovoltaics

• Oleksandr Stroyuk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2209–2235, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.207

• with an outlook highlighting the most promising strategies for future progress of photovoltaic systems based on lead-free perovskite compounds. Keywords: light harvesting; low-toxic materials; organo-inorganic perovskites; solar cells; Review Introduction The field of photovoltaics and photochemical

• sensitizers in liquid-junction solar cells [3][4]. These systems have shown remarkable progress, improving from 0.1% a decade ago to over 12% in 2018 [5]. Simultaneously, a new rising star in semiconductor photovoltaics – hybrid organo–inorganic lead-based perovskites (MPbX3, where M = methylammonium (MA

Dumbbell gold nanoparticle dimer antennas with advanced optical properties

• Janning F. Herrmann and
• Christiane Höppener

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2188–2197, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.205

• .9.205 Abstract Plasmonic nanoantennas have found broad applications in the fields of photovoltaics, electroluminescence, non-linear optics and for plasmon enhanced spectroscopy and microscopy. Of particular interest are fundamental limitations beyond the dipolar approximation limit. We introduce

Spin-coated planar Sb₂S₃ hybrid solar cells approaching 5% efficiency

• Pascal Kaienburg,
• Benjamin Klingebiel and
• Thomas Kirchartz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2114–2124, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.200

• Pascal Kaienburg Benjamin Klingebiel Thomas Kirchartz IEK5-Photovoltaics, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany Faculty of Engineering and CENIDE, University of Duisburg-Essen, Carl-Benz-Str. 199, 47057 Duisburg, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.9.200 Abstract Antimony sulfide solar cells have

Phosphorus monolayer doping (MLD) of silicon on insulator (SOI) substrates

• Noel Kennedy,
• Ray Duffy,
• Luke Eaton,
• Dan O’Connell,
• Scott Monaghan,
• Shane Garvey,
• James Connolly,
• Chris Hatem,
• Justin D. Holmes and
• Brenda Long

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2106–2113, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.199

• electronics, thermoelectrics and photovoltaics. MLD is capable of damage-free source/drain doping of planar SOI. There have been no previous publications of MLD on SOI substrates, which due to their confined dimensions, may provide an opportunity to limit dopant atom diffusion and therefore achieve active

A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO₂/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications

• Laurie Letertre,
• Roland Roche,
• Olivier Douhéret,
• Hailu G. Kassa,
• Denis Mariolle,
• Nicolas Chevalier,
• Łukasz Borowik,
• Philippe Dumas,
• Benjamin Grévin,
• Roberto Lazzaroni and
• Philippe Leclère

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2087–2096, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.197

• for their fabrication, these devices are deposited on rigid substrates and involve relatively heavy and costly materials of possibly low abundance and/or toxicity [4]. New PV technologies, such as organic photovoltaics (OPV) and hybrid solar cells, are now being developed [2] to cope with such issues