Electrospinning is a versatile and viable technique for generating ultrathin fibers. Remarkable progress has been made with regard to the development of electrospinning methods and engineering of electrospun nanofibers to suit or enable various applications. We aim to provide a comprehensive overview of electrospinning, including the principle, methods, materials, and applications. We begin with a brief introduction to the early history of electrospinning, followed by discussion of its principle and typical apparatus. We then discuss its renaissance over the past two decades as a powerful technology for the production of nanofibers with diversified compositions, structures, and properties. Afterward, we discuss the applications of electrospun nanofibers, including their use as "smart" mats, filtration membranes, catalytic supports, energy harvesting/conversion/storage components, and photonic and electronic devices, as well as biomedical scaffolds. We highlight the most relevant and recent advances related to the applications of electrospun nanofibers by focusing on the most representative examples. We also offer perspectives on the challenges, opportunities, and new directions for future development. At the end, we discuss approaches to the scale-up production of electrospun nanofibers and briefly discuss various types of commercial products based on electrospun nanofibers that have found widespread use in our everyday life.

Electrospinning and Electrospun Nanofibers: Methods, Materials, and Applications

Hydrothermal technology for nanotechnology

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) belong to the group of thin-film solar cells which have been under extensive research for more than two decades due to their low cost, simple preparation methodology, low toxicity and ease of production. Still, there is lot of scope for the replacement of current DSSC materials due to their high cost, less abundance, and long-term stability. The efficiency of existing DSSCs reaches up to 12%, using Ru(II) dyes by optimizing material and structural properties which is still less than the efficiency offered by first- and second-generation solar cells, i.e., other thin-film solar cells and Si-based solar cells which offer ~ 20–30% efficiency. This article provides an in-depth review on DSSC construction, operating principle, key problems (low efficiency, low scalability, and low stability), prospective efficient materials, and finally a brief insight to commercialization.

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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Fundamentals and Current Status

Quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) have emerged as a promising candidate for next-generation solar cells due to the distinct optoelectronic features of quantum dot (QD) light-harvesting materials, such as high light, thermal, and moisture stability, facilely tunable absorption range, high absorption coefficient, multiple exciton generation possibility, and solution processability as well as their facile fabrication and low-cost availability. In recent years, we have witnessed a dramatic boost in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of QDSCs from 5% to nearly 13%, which is comparable to other kinds of emerging solar cells. Both the exploration of new QD light-harvesting materials and interface engineering have contributed to this fantastically fast improvement. The outstanding development trend of QDSCs indicates their great potential as a promising candidate for next-generation photovoltaic cells. In this review article, we present a comprehensive overview of the development of QDSCs, including: (1) the fundamental principles, (2) a history of the brief evolution of QDSCs, (3) the key materials in QDSCs, (4) recombination control, and (5) stability issues. Finally, some directions that can further promote the development of QDSCs in the future are proposed to help readers grasp the challenges and opportunities for obtaining high-efficiency QDSCs.

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Quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

Recent advances in eco-friendly and cost-effective materials towards sustainable dye-sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are regarded as prospective solar cells for the next generation of photovoltaic technologies and have become research hotspots in the PV field. The counter electrode, as a crucial component of DSSCs, collects electrons from the external circuit and catalyzes the redox reduction in the electrolyte, which has a significant influence on the photovoltaic performance, long-term stability and cost of the devices. Solar cells, dye-sensitized solar cells, as well as the structure, principle, preparation and characterization of counter electrodes are mentioned in the introduction section. The next six sections discuss the counter electrodes based on transparency and flexibility, metals and alloys, carbon materials, conductive polymers, transition metal compounds, and hybrids, respectively. The special features and performance, advantages and disadvantages, preparation, characterization, mechanisms, important events and development histories of various counter electrodes are presented. In the eighth section, the development of counter electrodes is summarized with an outlook. This article panoramically reviews the counter electrodes in DSSCs, which is of great significance for enhancing the development levels of DSSCs and other photoelectrochemical devices.

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Counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

In this report, redispersable CdS nanoparticles are synthesized via a specific one-step solvothermal reaction and are employed as electron-selective materials for organometal halide perovskite solar cells. The as-synthesized CdS nanoparticles can be well re-dispersed in toluene to form a uniform and stable CdS ink. On this basis, a CdS electron-selective contact layer can be directly prepared by spin-coating CdS ink and without a further annealing process. The CdS electron-selective contact layer has high optical transmittance at visible wavelengths. Its electron extraction and transfer properties are also investigated using current density–voltage curves, incident photocurrent conversion efficiency, stabilized current density and photoluminescence spectra. The use of a CdS electron-selective contact layer in a planar perovskite solar cell equipped with a Cs0.05(MA0.17FA0.83)0.95Pb(I0.83Br0.17)3 light-absorption layer results in a high power conversion efficiency of 16.5%.

Efficient perovskite solar cells employing a simply-processed CdS electron transport layer

MO (M = Ni, Cu and Mn) or M2O3 (M = Fe and Cr) were intercalated into the interlayer of HNbWO6 by hydrothermal reaction on HNbWO6 with 1 M soluble M(NO3)2 or M(NO3)3 aqueous solution at 120°C <SPAN

Yu Lin

Papers

Counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

Efficient perovskite solar cells employing a simply-processed CdS electron transport layer

Hydrothermal synthesis of HNbWo6/Mo series nanocomposites and their photocatalytic properties