The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is an independent organization devoted to the development of standards.

American Society for Testing and Materials

Jump relaxation in solid electrolytes

With rapid progress in a power conversion efficiency (PCE) to reach 25%, metal halide perovskite-based solar cells became a game-changer in a photovoltaic performance race. Triggered by the development of the solid-state perovskite solar cell in 2012, intense follow-up research works on structure design, materials chemistry, process engineering, and device physics have contributed to the revolutionary evolution of the solid-state perovskite solar cell to be a strong candidate for a next-generation solar energy harvester. The high efficiency in combination with the low cost of materials and processes are the selling points of this cell over commercial silicon or other organic and inorganic solar cells. The characteristic features of perovskite materials may enable further advancement of the PCE beyond those afforded by the silicon solar cells, toward the Shockley-Queisser limit. This review summarizes the fundamentals behind the optoelectronic properties of perovskite materials, as well as the important approaches to fabricating high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. Furthermore, possible next-generation strategies for enhancing the PCE over the Shockley-Queisser limit are discussed.

High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells.

Photothermal materials with broad solar absorption and high conversion efficiency have recently attracted significant interest. They are becoming a fast-growing research focus in the area of solar-driven vaporization for clean water production. The parallel development of thermal management strategies through both material and system designs has further improved the overall efficiency of solar vaporization. Collectively, this green solar-driven water vaporization technology has regained attention as a sustainable solution for water scarcity. In this review, we will report the recent progress in solar absorber material design based on various photothermal conversion mechanisms, evaluate the prerequisites in terms of optical, thermal and wetting properties for efficient solar-driven water vaporization, classify the systems based on different photothermal evaporation configurations and discuss other correlated applications in the areas of desalination, water purification and energy generation. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review on the current development in efficient photothermal evaporation, and suggest directions to further enhance its overall efficiency through the judicious choice of materials and system designs, while synchronously capitalizing waste energy to realize concurrent clean water and energy production.

Solar absorber material and system designs for photothermal water vaporization towards clean water and energy production

An approach is proposed which combines simultaneously advantages both of pulse (PT) and modulated infrared thermography. In a nondestructive evaluation perspective, the specimen is pulse heated as in PT and the mix of frequencies of the thermal waves launched into the specimen is unscrambled by performing the Fourier transform of the temperature evolution over the field of view. Of interest is the maximum phase image with many attractive features: deeper probing, less influence of surface infrared and optical characteristics, rapid image recording (pulse heating, surface‐wide inspection), and the possibility to inspect high thermal conductivity specimens. Several results are presented and the theory is discussed as well.

Pulse phase infrared thermography

Introduction. History. Overview. Thermal waves. Optical generation of thermal waves - photothermal effect. Instrumentation and detection techniques. Transient thermal phenomena. Photoacoustic spectroscopy and its applications. Thermal wave non-destructive evaluation. Characterization of semiconducting materials. Thermal property measurement. Monitoring and measurement of gases and the atmosphere.

Photothermal science and techniques

The determination of hopping rates and carrier concentrations in ionic conductors by a new analysis of ac conductivity

Transient thermography was employed in the inspection of defects in various aircraft composite panels. Three different categories of defects were investigated in the laboratory; notches on aluminium alloy panels under carbon or boron composite patching, a simulation of delamination on a boron composite patch, and fibre breakout on carbon composites. In all situations, the defects were artificially created. After detecting the defects, quantitative analysis concerning the contrast of the detected defects was carried out. Finally, information about the size of the artificial delaminated panel in relation to transient time was also performed.

Darryl P Almond

Papers

Photothermal science and techniques

The determination of hopping rates and carrier concentrations in ionic conductors by a new analysis of ac conductivity

Transient thermography in the assessment of defects of aircraft composites

Temperature dependence of the a.c. conductivity of Naβ-alumina

Impedance and modulus spectroscopy of “real” dispersive conductors