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At least 937 records · Page 52

A facile and scalable route to nano-crystallized kesterite Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} fibers via electrospinning/sulfurization

Detailed characterization of the microstructure and its properties have been done on the nanocrystallized CZTS nanofibers fabricated via electrospinning following sulfurization. The fiber growth mechanism is proposed to explain the spontaneous reaction and crystallization of CZTS, as confirmed by the thermodynamic calculations. - Abstract: In this work, we report facile route to quaternary kesterite Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} (CZTS) microfibers through electrospinning method. Precursor fibers are electrospun from the solution composed of Cu(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2}, Zn(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2{sup ,}} and SnCl{sub 4} as the solutes, ethylene glycol methyl ether as the solvent, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the plasticizer. CZTS fibers are obtained after annealing at 773 K for 40 min in a sulfur ambient. Characterization including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectra, confirm the formation of single-phased, well-crystallized CZTS fibers, with a band gap of about 1.48 eV estimated from the optical absorption curve. In addition, the fiber growth mechanism is proposed to explain the spontaneous reaction and crystallization of CZTS, as confirmed by the thermodynamic calculations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Scalable production of Cu@C composites for cross-coupling catalysis

Highlights: • Cu@C core–shell composite was prepared by reduction of [Cu(NH{sub 3}){sub 4}]{sup 2+} with glucose. • The carbon shell in Cu@C can be tuned to the different degree of carbonization. • The Cu@C composites were utilized to catalyze the C−N cross coupling reaction. • The catalytic ability of Cu@C depends on the degree of shell-carbonization. - Abstract: A novel Cu@C core–shell microstructure was prepared by reduction of [Cu(NH{sub 3}){sub 4}]{sup 2+} with glucose using a mild hydrothermal process. The carbon shell of such Cu@C composite can be tuned to different carbonization degrees just through varying the calcination conditions. The structural properties of as-prepared Cu@C were investigated in detail by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron micrographs (TEM) and Raman spectra. In addition, these Cu@C composites were firstly used to catalyze the C−N cross coupling of amines with iodobenzene. Among them, the catalytic ability of Cu@C composites increased as their surface carbon’s carburization degree improved.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Low vacuum annealing of polymer at low temperatures towards direct and scalable growth of graphene

Highlights: • Low Temperature and pressure growth process. • Synthesis of transfer free single layer graphene in the absence of reducing gases. • Sandwich structure growth process. - Abstract: A transfer-free method is demonstrated for the synthesis of graphene flakes directly on insulating substrate (SiO{sub 2}/Si) by carbon decomposition and diffusion through a layer of nickel. The 100 nm nickel catalyst was deposited on the top of SiO{sub 2} (300 nm)/Si substrate. The sandwich structure was prepared wherein spin-coated polymer was used as a carbon source for the graphene formation. The carbon molecules decomposed and diffused into the nickel layer during annealing of sandwich structures in low vacuum (∼5 × 10{sup −1} Pa) at 600–750 °C for 10 min. When cooled to room temperature (25 °C), graphene is formed at the interface between Ni and SiO{sub 2}/Si, the nickel film was removed by chemical etching. The observed graphene on SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates is confirmed by optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The Raman spectroscopy mapping over a 55 × 55 μm{sup 2} area confirmed the good quality of graphene flakes obtained.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Amorphous complexion-aided sintering enables scalable processing of bulk nanocrystalline Cu-Zr with high strength and compressive plasticity

Nanocrystalline alloys can have exceptional strengths, yet due to limited microstructural stability it is difficult to fabricate bulk pieces through traditional processing routes that retain nanosized grains. In this study, centimeter-sized Cu-Zr alloy pellets were fabricated via a simple and improved powder metallurgy processing route. Different consolidation temperatures and times were employed to investigate the effect of amorphous grain boundary complexions on densification and the resulting mechanical properties. Bulk compression tests were carried out, with the samples that were hot pressed at 900 °C for 10 h exhibiting an excellent combination of average yield strength of 722 ± 45 MPa and average failure strain of 25.3 ± 2.4 %. Furthermore, we find that a powder processing route which enables amorphous complexion-assisted sintering leads to samples that (1) reach full density without requiring quenching treatments or other complex processing, (2) demonstrate appreciable plasticity, and (3) have strength that competes with commercially available high-strength Cu alloys.

Bulk nanocrystalline alloy↗

Vacuum-free laminated top electrode with conductive tapes for scalable manufacturing of efficient perovskite solar cells

The efficiency of organometal trihalide perovskites (OTP) solar cells have reached that parity of single crystal silicon, and its nature abundant raw material and solution-process capability promise a bright future for commercialization. However, the vacuum based techniques for metal electrode deposition and additional encapsulation layer increase the cost of the perovskite solar cells dramatically and impede their commercialization process. Here, we report a vacuum-free low temperature lamination technique to fabricate the top electrode by commercial conductive tapes (C-tape). The simple fabrication method yields good quality contact and high efficiency device of 12.7%. The C-tapes also encapsulated the devices effectively, resulting in greatly improved device stability. As a result, the combination of lamination of electrodes and encapsulation layers into a single step significantly reduce the cost of device fabrication.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Achieving high spatial resolution using a microchannel plate detector with an economic and scalable approach

We report a second generation position-sensitive microchannel plate detector using the induced signal approach has been realized. This detector is presently capable of measuring the incident position of electrons, photons, or ions. To assess the spatial resolution, the masked detector was illuminated by electrons. The initial, measured spatial resolution of 276 μm FWHM was improved by requiring a minimum signal amplitude on the anode and by employing digital signal processing techniques. The resulting measured spatial resolution of 119 μm FWHM corresponds to an intrinsic resolution of 98 μm FWHM when the effect of the finite slit width is de-convoluted. This measurement is a substantial improvement from the last reported spatial resolution of 466 μm FWHM using the induced signal approach. To understand the factors that limit the measured resolution, the performance of the detector is simulated.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗