#silicon oxide

[materialsscienceandengineering]

An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly published research.

An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly published research from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense's Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF), the NREL research was done for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop low-cost innovative energy sources for powering the armed forces worldwide.

The research is the latest effort to determine the effectiveness of perovskites for use in space applications, where it would be exposed to protons, alpha particles, atomic oxygen, and other stressors. The ability to use perovskites to generate power in space is enticing because they offer a lower-cost and lightweight option to other technologies with the potential for achieving efficiencies similar to those of current space PV technologies.

Just as on Earth, perovskite solar cells need to have suitable durability. However, the environment in space is significantly different. While the biggest challenges on Earth are related to weather, in space perovskites must address the problems that come from radiation bombardment and extreme temperature swings. Perovskites show signs of better tolerance to radiation than many other solar cells, but plenty of testing remains to be conducted.

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[materialsscienceandengineering]

Researchers unravel charge carrier dynamics of silicon oxide tunneling junctions

Prof. Ye Jichun's team at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), collaborating with researchers at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, has revealed the underlying dynamics of Silicon oxide (SiOx) tunneling junctions, including pinhole formation processes and charge-carrier transport mechanisms. The study was published in Cell Reports Physical Science.

As one of the most promising alternatives to reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of devices, tunnel oxide passivating contact (TOPCon) technology has attracted considerable attention in the photovoltaic (PV) community. However, the physical mechanism of the core structures of TOPCon, i.e., polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si)/ SiOx/ crystalline silicon (c-Si) junctions, has not been clarified, restricting the further improvement of device efficiency.

To address this problem, researchers at NIMTE conducted extensive experiments and simulations, unraveling the underlying charge carrier dynamics of the SiOx tunneling junctions.

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[materialsscienceandengineering]

Tale of the tape: Sticky bits make better batteries

Where things get sticky happens to be where interesting science happens in a Rice University lab working to improve battery technology.

Using techniques similar to those they employed to develop laser-induced graphene, Rice chemist James Tour and his colleagues turned adhesive tape into a silicon oxide film that replaces troublesome anodes in lithium metal batteries.

For the Advanced Materials study, the researchers used an infrared laser cutter to convert the silicone-based adhesive of commercial tape into the porous silicon oxide coating, mixed with a small amount of laser-induced graphene from the tape's polyimide backing. The protective silicon oxide layer forms directly on the current collector of the battery.

The idea of using tape came from previous attempts to produce free-standing films of laser-induced graphene, Tour said. Unlike pure polyimide films, the tape produced not only laser-induced graphene from the polyimide backing but also a translucent film where the adhesive had been. That caught the curiosity of the researchers and led to further experimentation.

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[vicky-nanjappa]

UP: FSL director suspended after terming harmless powder as plastic explosive The Forensic Sciences Laboratory director of Uttar Pradesh was suspended after he termed silicon oxide, a food additive, which was found inside the state assembly a few days back, as a dangerous plastic explosive.  Read more