There is intense interest in graphene in fields such as physics, chemistry, and materials science, among others. Interest in graphene's exceptional physical properties, chemical tunability, and potential for applications has generated thousands of publications and an accelerating pace of research, making review of such research timely. Here is an overview of the synthesis, properties, and applications of graphene and related materials (primarily, graphite oxide and its colloidal suspensions and materials made from them), from a materials science perspective.

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Graphene and Graphene Oxide: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) offer the possibilities to design solar cells with a large flexibility in shape, color, and transparency. DSC research groups have been established around the worl ...

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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites: a review from preparation to processing

2.3. Evaluation of Photocatalytic Water Splitting 6507 2.3.1. Photocatalytic Activity 6507 2.3.2. Photocatalytic Stability 6507 3. UV-Active Photocatalysts for Water Splitting 6507 3.1. d0 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6507 3.1.1. Ti-, Zr-Based Oxides 6507 3.1.2. Nb-, Ta-Based Oxides 6514 3.1.3. W-, Mo-Based Oxides 6517 3.1.4. Other d0 Metal Oxides 6518 3.2. d10 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6518 3.3. f0 Metal Oxide Photocatalysts 6518 3.4. Nonoxide Photocatalysts 6518 4. Approaches to Modifying the Electronic Band Structure for Visible-Light Harvesting 6519

Semiconductor-based Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

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Honeycomb Carbon: A Review of Graphene

Hotspots, frontiers, and emerging trends of tandem solar cell research: A comprehensive review

A TiO2 slurry was prepared by hydrothermal treating mixture of commercial TiO2 (P25), ethanol and distilled water in an autoclave. A flexible photoanode and dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was fabricated on an ITO-coated poly (ethylene naphthalate) sheet (ITO/PEN) substrate by a doctor-blade technique. The sample was characterized with SEM, UV-vis, FTIR, and the photoelectric properties of the DSSC were measured. The influence of preparation conditions on the properties of the flexible DSSC was investigated. It is found that the TiO2 slurry hydrothermally treated in 185°C for 12 h has good stability and uniformity. Based on the slurry, a flexible DSSC with light-to-electric conversion efficiencies of 3.4% is achieved under irradiation with a simulate solar light intensity of 100 mW/cm2.

Preparation of photoanode and its application to flexible dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel photoelectrochemical solar cell with high efficiency in converting ultraviolet light to electricity

Superabsorbent polymer (SAP) is a kind of functional macromolecule with super-high water absorption and retention properties, which attracts extensive research and has wide application, especially in the areas of hygiene and agriculture. With reference to the Web of Science database, the SAP research literature from 2000 to 2019 is reviewed both quantitatively and qualitatively. By examining research hotspots, top research clusters, the most influential works, the representative frontier literature, and key emerging research trends, a visual panorama of the continuously and significantly increasing SAP research over the past 2 decades was presented, and issues behind the sharp increase in the literature were discovered. The findings are as follows. The top ten keywords/hotspots headed by hydrogel highlight the academic attention on SAP properties and composites. The top ten research themes headed by clay-based composites which boast the longest duration and the strongest impact have revealed the academic preference for application rather than theoretical study. Academically influential scholars and research studies have been acknowledged, and the Wu group was at the forefront of the research; however, more statistically significant works have been less detected in the last 10 years despite the sharper increase in publications. Hydrogel, internal curing, and aerogel are both current advances and future directions.

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Hotspots, Frontiers, and Emerging Trends of Superabsorbent Polymer Research: A Comprehensive Review.

Y2O3:Tb3+ nanorods have been successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method and then introduced into the photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cell. As a p-type dopant, Y2O3:Tb3+ enhances the Fermi level of TiO2 film. Meanwhile, it also improves the short-circuit current density and the light-to-electric energy conversion efficiency by acting as a luminescence medium which can convert ultraviolet light to visible light efficiently. As a result, the conversion efficiency can reach 7.942 % when the doping amount is 4 wt%. The light-to-electric conversion efficiency is increased by a factor of 2.051 compared to that of a cell without Y2O3:Tb3+ doping. The mechanism has been discussed as well.

Jianming Lin

Papers

Hotspots, frontiers, and emerging trends of tandem solar cell research: A comprehensive review

Preparation of photoanode and its application to flexible dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel photoelectrochemical solar cell with high efficiency in converting ultraviolet light to electricity

Hotspots, Frontiers, and Emerging Trends of Superabsorbent Polymer Research: A Comprehensive Review.

Improving photoelectrical performance of dye sensitized solar cells by doping Y2O3:Tb3+ nanorods