Unravelling the CO2 capture and conversion mechanism of a NiRu-Na2O switchable dual-function material in various CO2 utilisation reactions

Time-resolved operando DRIFTS-MS was performed to elucidate the CO2 capture and conversion mechanisms of a NiRuNa/CeAl DFM in CO2 methanation, reverse water-gas shift, and dry reforming of methane. CO2 was captured mainly in the form of carbonyls and bidentate carbonates, and a spillover mechanism occurred to obtain the desired products.

Iron-catalyzed graphitization for the synthesis of nanostructured graphitic carbons

Carbons are versatile and diverse materials that have numerous applications across energy and environmental sciences. Carbons with a graphitic structure are particularly appealing due to their high chemical stability, large surface areas and high thermal and electronic conductivity. Numerous methods exist to produce nanostructured graphitic carbons but some of these can be energy-intensive and/or have…

Materials chemistry approaches to the control of the optical features of perovskite solar cells

Perovskite solar cells have revolutionized the field of photovoltaics. Apart from their impressive photo-conversion efficiencies, the ease of their fabrication – principally when carried out by solution processing – has permitted addition of new functionalities to the photovoltaic cell. Some of these features are related to the optical properties. In this review, the different materials…

Impact of moisture on efficiency-determining electronic processes in perovskite solar cells

Moisture-induced degradation in perovskite solar cells was thoroughly investigated by structural (SEM, EDS, XRD and XPS) and device characterization (impedance and intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy) techniques. Both the influence of the perovskite composition and the nature of the hole selective material were analyzed. The degradation rate was found to be significantly slower for mixed perovskites…

Light management: porous 1-dimensional nanocolumnar structures as effective photonic crystals for perovskite solar cells

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells are a topic of increasing interest, as in a short time span they are able to lead in the third generation photovoltaics. Organohalide perovskites possess exceptional optoelectronic and physical properties, thus making their implementation possible in many diverse configurations of photovoltaic devices. In this work, we present three different configurations…

Nanocolumnar 1-dimensional TiO2 photoanodes deposited by PVD-OAD for perovskite solar cell fabrication

Perovskite solar cells have attracted increasing interest among the photovoltaic community in the last few years owing to their unique properties and high efficiency. In the present work, we report the fabrication of perovskite solar cells based on highly ordered 1-dimensional porous TiO2 photoanodes, which are uniform on a large area. These nanocolumnar porous TiO2…