The inorganic perovskite has a better stability than the hybrid halide perovskite, and at the same time it has the potential to achieve an excellent photoelectric performance as the organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskite. Thus, the pursuit of a low-cost and high-performance inorganic perovskite solar cell (PSC) is becoming the research hot point in the research field of perovskite devices. In setting out to build vacuum-free and carbon-based all-inorganic PSCs with the traits of simple fabrication and low cost, we propose the ones with a simplified vertical structure of FTO/CsPbIBr₂/carbon upon interfacial modification with PEI species. In this structure, both the electron-transporting-layer and hole-transporting-layer are abandoned, and the noble metal is also replaced by the carbon paste. At the same time, FTO is modified by PEI, which brings dipoles to decrease the work function of FTO. Through our measurements, the carrier recombination has been partially suppressed, and the performance of champion PSCs has far exceeded the control devices without PEI modification, which yields a power conversion efficiency of 4.9% with an open circuit voltage of 0.9 V and a fill factor of 50.4%. Our work contributes significantly to give an available method to explore charge-transporting-layer-free, low-cost, and high-performance PSCs.

Wide-bandgap all-inorganic CsPbIBr2 solar cells with MoOx/Ag/TeO2 composite transparent electrode have been firstly used to construct a 4T perovskite/Si-heterojunction tandem cells. The calculation results showed that the long wavelength transmission (600 to 1100 nm) of MoOx/Ag film can be enhanced remarkably by adding a TeO2 optical capping layer. This resulted in an obviously increase of the PCE (JSC) from 10.70% (17.56 mA/cm2) to 14.76% (24.67 mA/cm2) for corresponding bottom Si cell in CsPbIBr2/Si devices, although the PCE of top CsPbIBr2 cell decreased from 17.52% to 16.58%, the overall PCE of tandem device has increased from 28.22% to 31.34%. This JSC-dependent PCE improvement mainly came from the more balanced light absorption, which can be understood by the optical interference induced light field redistributions in CsPbIBr2/Si devices. Specially, comparing with the original Si cell, the JSC and PCE losses in bottom Si cell have been suppressed to about 33% and 32%, which is superior to most the reported pervoskite/Si tandem cells. Therefore, the tandem of Si cell and CsPbIBr2 cell with optimized MoOx(20 nm)/Ag(8 nm)/TeO2(50 nm) transparent electrode could be the promising cost-effective photovoltaic in the future. This work is instructive to the fabrication of pervoskite/Si tandem solar cells.

Developing an OER electrocatalyst that balances high performance with low cost is crucial for widely adopting PEM water electrolyzers. Ru-based catalysts are gaining attention for their cost-effectiveness and high activity, positioning them as promising alternatives to Ir-based catalysts. However, Ru-based catalysts can be prone to oxidation at high potentials, compromising their durability. In this study, we utilize a simple synthesis method to synthesize a SnO₂, Nb₂O₅, and RuO₂ composite catalyst (SnO₂/Nb₂O₅@RuO₂) with multiple interfaces and abundant oxygen vacancies. The large surface area and numerous active sites of the SnO₂/Nb₂O₅@RuO₂ catalyst lead to outstanding acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance, achieving current densities of 10, 50, and 200 mA cm⁻² at ultralow overpotentials of 287, 359, and 534 mV, respectively, significantly surpassing commercial IrO₂. Moreover, incorporating Nb₂O₅ into the SnO₂/Nb₂O₅@RuO₂ alters the electronic structure at the interfaces and generates a high density of oxygen vacancies, markedly enhancing durability. Consequently, the membrane electrode composed of SnO₂/Nb₂O₅@RuO₂ and commercial Pt/C demonstrated stable operation in the PEM cell for 25 days at an industrial current density of 1 A cm⁻². This research presents a convenient approach for developing a highly efficient and durable Ru-based electrocatalyst, underscoring its potential for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis.

Optical microcavity configuration is one optical strategy to enhance light trapping in devices using planar electrodes. In this work, the potential application of optical microcavity configuration with ultrathin metal electrodes in highly efficient perovskite solar cells (PSCs) was investigated. By comparing with the device with conventional indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrodes, it is shown that by carefully designing the Ag/dielectric planar electrode, a device with an optical microcavity structure can achieve comparable—or even higher—power conversion efficiency than a conventional device. Moreover, there is a relative high tolerance for the Ag film thickness in the optical microcavity structure. When the thickness of the Ag film is increased from 8 to 12 nm, the device still can attain the performance level of a conventional device. This gives a process tolerance to fabricate devices with an optical microcavity structure and reduces process difficulty. This work indicates the great application potential of optical microcavities with ultrathin metal electrodes in PSCs; more research attention should be paid in this field.

This paper starts from the key factors affecting photovoltaic power generation and first studies the lighting characteristics of different regions. It then conducts an analysis of the characteristics of the massive spectral data collected, determines the extraction method of spectral data, and calculates the difference in short-circuit current of photovoltaic modules due to spectral differences for specific regions. This has guiding significance for further research on the differences in the operation of novel and efficient photovoltaic modules in different regions.