Lei Xie

Silicon solar cells are essential for sustainable energy but remain limited by efficiency losses, particularly in the fill factor^1,2,3. Here we develop a hybrid interdigitated back-contact solar cell that combines advanced all-surface passivation with laser-treated tunnelling contacts. This approach achieves a power conversion efficiency of 27.81%, approaching 95% of the theoretical limit⁴. By integrating high- and low-temperature processes, we suppress recombination and enhance contact performance, achieving a fill factor of 87.55%—nearly 98% of the theoretical limit. A model links the ideality factor to carrier loss mechanisms, elucidating carrier recombination in both the bulk and the surface and clarifies key fill factor losses owing to recombination. These innovations provide both experimental and theoretical advances towards scalable, high-efficiency silicon photovoltaics.

Back contact silicon solar cells, valued for their aesthetic appeal by removing grid lines on the sunny side, find applications in buildings, vehicles and aircrafts, enabling self-power generation without compromising appearance^1-3. Patterning techniques arrange contacts on the shaded side of the silicon wafer, offering benefits for light incidence as well. However, the patterning process complicates production and causes power loss. Here we employ lasers to streamline back contact solar cell fabrication and enhance power conversion efficiency. Our approach produces the first silicon solar cell to exceed 27% efficiency. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers are deposited on the wafer for surface passivation and collection of light-generated carriers. A dense passivating contact, diverging from conventional technology practice, is developed. Pulsed picosecond lasers at different wavelengths are used to create back contact patterns. The developed approach is a streamlined process for producing high-performance back contact silicon solar cells, with a total effective processing time of about one-third that of emerging mainstream technology. To meet terawatt demand, we develop rare indium-less cells at 26.5% efficiency and precious silver-free cells at 26.2% efficiency. The integration of solar solutions in buildings and transportation is poised to expand with these technological advancements.

Sulforhodamine B (SRB) is widely utilized for cell staining and laser field. But its application is limited by aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ). In this work, we evaluated the use of UiO-66 and UiO-67 of Zr-based metal organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) as the host to adsorb SRB molecules due to the high stabily and good loading capacity of Zr-MOFs. The fluorescence properties of the compounds were then discussed respectively. Due to the aperture difference between UiO-66 and UiO-67, they showed distinct fluorescence properties after loading SRB. When the concentration reaches 5 ppm, fluorescence quenching begins to occur in SRB@UiO-66, while it occurs in SRB@UiO-67 at 2 ppm. The solution of quenching phenomenon could open new avenues for the extensive use of SRB.

On account of its low cost, non‐toxicity and high theoretical capacity, ZnS has been considered as one of the most potential anode materials for the following generation lithium‐ion batteries. However, the shortcomings that ZnS shows, such as low conductivity and large volume changes, make its wide application difficult. Herein, we combined ZnS with metal‐organic framework material (ZIF‐8) to form a carbon layer on the surface of nitrogen‐doped zinc sulfide, and obtained a new material ZnS@NC with a specific surface area of 191 m² g⁻¹. The results show that the reversible specific capacity of the composite is 853 mAh g⁻¹ when the current is 500 mAg⁻¹, which is caused by the increase of specific capacity with nitrogen doping and the effective adjustment of the volume of the carbon layer coated on the periphery of the ZnS particles during charging and discharging process. Promisingly, the performance of ZnS@NC composite is far superior to that of the bare ZnS.

Co₃O₄ nanostructures have been extensively studied as anode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of their stability and high energy density. However, several drawbacks including low electrical transport and severe volume changes over a long period of operation have limited their utilities in LIBs. Rational composite design is becoming an attractive strategy to improve the performance and stability of potential lithium-ion-battery anode materials. Here, a simple method for synthesizing hollow Co₃O₄@TiO₂ nanostructures using metal–organic frameworks as sacrificial templates is reported. Being used as an anode material for LIBs, the resulting composite exhibits remarkable cycling performance (1057 mAh g^–1 at 100 mA g^–1 after 100 cycles) and good rate performance. The optimized amorphous Co₃O₄@TiO₂ hollow dodecahedron shows a significant improvement in electrochemical performance and shows a wide prospect as an advanced anode material for LIBs in the future.

Since the 1990s, with the benefit of available large-volumed samples, wide detector windows, and portability, Paris-Edinburgh press has been widely used in neutron facilities to study the structures and physical properties of condensed matter under high-pressure extreme conditions. In the present study, We perform high-pressure neutron diffraction experiments in neutron source of China using the Paris-Edinburgh press. The experiments are carried out on a high-pressure neutron diffraction spectrometer (Fenghuang) at China Mianyang Research Reactor (CMRR). Fenghuang is a high-intensity and moderate-resolution diffractometer which has been upgraded from a neutron powder diffractometer and can be used under ambient and extreme conditions. A single cylinder pump with a max load of 200 MPa provides a loading pressure for Paris-Edinburgh press, and a precise mobile platform is used to hang and to locate the Paris-Edinburgh press. Using the tungsten-carbide (WC) toroidal anvils with TiZr gasket, we obtain the neutron diffraction spectra of Fe samples at different pressures successfully. We also obtain the neutron diffraction spectra respectively at pressures of 9.7 GPa and 10.7 GPa by using a WC single-toroidal anvil and a WC double-toroidal anvil under load 100 MPa. The TiZr gasket blows out before the load reaches 100 MPa in the WC single-toroidal anvil assembly, while it remains good in the WC double-toroidal anvil assembly under the same load. The WC single-toroidal anvil assembly becomes unstable under load about 80 MPa, and the WC double-toroidal anvil assembly is still stable under load 100 MPa. Thus, the stability of the double-toroidal anvil assembly is much higher than that of the single-toroidal anvil assembly. It is found that the thickness of the gasket edge is very important for the stability of the assembly during loading. The thicker the edge of the gasket, the more stable the assembly is. The main reason is that the groove of the double concave anvil can enhance the lateral support ability of the gasket, thereby making the double concave surface assembly more stable than the single concave surface assembly.

Three kinds of metal-organic framework materials (MOF-5, MLI-101(Cr), UiO-66) are synthesized, which are based on transition metal (Zn, Cr, Zr) as the center ions, and terephthalic acid (H₂BDC) as organic ligand. At the same time, three kinds of MOFs were characterized and analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-visible absorption spectrometer (UV-Vis), and fluorescence spectrometer (PL). This article analyzes the fluorescence effects of these three MOFs and investigates the role of different transition metal ions in MOF luminescence. The results show that the ionic radii of Zn^{2 +} and Zr^{4 +} are similar, which are 0.074 nm and 0.072 nm, respectively. MOF-5 and UiO-66 have similar fluorescence effects, both of which emit blue-violet light. However, MIL-101 (Cr) fluorescence centers on Cr^{3 +} with an ionic radius of 0.0651 nm emits yellow-green light, which is different from the foregoing MOFs. Therefore, the ionic radius of the transition metal has an important effect on the fluorescence effect of the MOF. For larger ionic radii, the fluorescence of MOF is generally in the blue-violet square region.

Isostructural zirconium-based metal–organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) have attracted the attention of researchers because of their remarkable stability at high temperatures and high pressures and their chemical stabilities against acids and bases. Due to this stability, Zr-MOFs can be utilized in adsorption research, and the adsorption performance of a Zr-MOF depends on the pore size and the surroundings of the MOF. In this study, as the dimensions changed and the adsorption was carried out, the Zr-MOF material remained stable, and the adsorption of the best state was achieved at 235 mg/g. Through the simulation of theoretical kinetic models of Zr-MOFs, we initially postulated that the adsorption capacity is proportional to the pore size and that acid orange 7 (AO7) was adsorbed by the MOFs. Afterwards, we verified our hypotheses through a series of Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) data analysis; non-local density function theory (NLDFT) was mainly used to analyze the data. Moreover, we determined that physical adsorption occurs on the surface of the MOFs during the adsorption process, while chemisorption occurs in the form of dye molecules combining with active sites. Ultimately, we concluded that the larger the pore size, the stronger the adsorption capacity, and this contribution casts a new light on the issue of wastewater treatment.

Owing to their high surface area and porosity, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been gradually employed for a myriad of applications ranging from sensing, pollutant adsorption, and drug delivery to environmental remediation and catalysis. Magnetic nanoparticles-metal-organic frameworks (MMOFs) hybrid materials can facilitate facile removal of MOFs from solutions. In this report, we report the synthesis of Fe₃O₄@UiO-66 by encapsulation and simulated the drug loading and release by studying the adsorption and release of AO7. Thus, we loaded these MMOFs with AO7 and found that they were able to trigger and control its release by simply applying an external magnetic field. The magnetic field heats the magnets in the MOF, which causes the load to burst from the framework.