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14 May 2012

Volume 100, Issue 20, Articles (20xxxx)

Issue Cover Spotlight Figure

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 203104 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3701731 (4 pages)

Z. Y. Jiang, X. X. Jiang, S. Su, X. P. Wei, S. T. Lee, and Y. He
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Migration mechanism for atomic hydrogen in porous carbon materials

Badri Narayanan, Yufeng Zhao, and Cristian V. Ciobanu

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 203901 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4718351 (4 pages)

Online Publication Date: 14 May 2012

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To explain the fast kinetics of H in porous carbon, we propose that the migration relies on H hopping from a carbon nanotube (CNT) to another. Using density functional theory, we have found that the barrier for H hopping becomes smaller than that for diffusion along a tube for certain CNT separations, decreasing to less than 0.5 eV for separations of ∼3.1 Å. Such significant reduction occurs irrespective of radius, chirality, registry, and orientation of the two CNTs: the diffusion is thus facilitated by the porous nature of the material itself. The mechanism proposed is applicable for any porous carbon-based nanomaterials.
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81.05.U- Carbon/carbon-based materials
81.05.Rm Porous materials; granular materials
81.07.De Nanotubes
66.30.J- Diffusion of impurities
61.46.Fg Nanotubes
61.43.Gt Powders, porous materials

Parametric energy conversion of thermoacoustic vibrations

C. Guthy, C. W. Van Neste, S. Mitra, S. Bhattacharjee, and T. Thundat

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 203902 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4714693 (4 pages)

Online Publication Date: 14 May 2012

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We demonstrate a parametric energy conversion method of thermoacoustic (TA) vibrations into electrical oscillations of a LC circuit. The inductance modulation necessary to excite the parametric oscillations is achieved by varying the air gap between two halves of a ferrite E-core coil. As a proof-of-concept, the parametric converter was attached to a Sondhauss tube that converts the heat into acoustic vibrations. The maximum total acoustic power output of this thermoacoustic engine was ∼5.3 mW. A flexible metallic membrane capping the Sondhauss tube connected to the moving half E-core served as a mechanical oscillator. The resonance frequency of the membrane was matched with the operating frequency (130 Hz) of the Sondhauss tube for resonant energy extraction. We have characterized the power output of the complete system as a function of electrical load. The maximum electrical power of 2.3 mW produced by the system corresponds to an acoustic-to-electric conversion efficiency of 44%.
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43.35.Ud Thermoacoustics, high temperature acoustics, photoacoustic effect

Reevaluation of the beneficial effect of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 grain boundaries using Kelvin probe force microscopy

Zhenhao Zhang, Xiaochen Tang, Oliver Kiowski, Michael Hetterich, Uli Lemmer, Michael Powalla, and Hendrik Hölscher

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 203903 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4714905 (4 pages) | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: 14 May 2012

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Potential variations at grain boundaries are analyzed on the surface and on untreated cross sections of the absorber in a Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cell applying Kelvin probe force microscopy. We observe three different types of potential variations between grain boundaries (dip-, step-, or peak-shape). The potential variations on cross sections are smaller than that on surfaces. Since the properties of grain boundaries on cross sections can be expected to resemble more closely the ones buried in the bulk as those on absorber surfaces, it is important to interpret functionalities of grain boundaries based on observations on cross sections.
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88.40.H- Solar cells (photovoltaics)

Sodium ionic conduction in complex hydrides with [BH4]− and [NH2]− anions

Motoaki Matsuo, Shingo Kuromoto, Toyoto Sato, Hiroyuki Oguchi, Hitoshi Takamura, and Shin-ichi Orimo

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 203904 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4716021 (4 pages) | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: 14 May 2012

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We report the experimental results of structural and sodium ionic conductive properties of the Na(BH4)–Na(NH2)–NaI system. Na(BH4)0.5(NH2)0.5 with [BH4]− and [NH2]− complex anions formed by combining Na(BH4) and Na(NH2) complex hydrides shows the most superior sodium ionic conductivity of 2 × 10−6 S/cm at 300 K because of the specific antiperovskite-type structure with vacancies in the Na+ site Furthermore, Na(BH4)0.5(NH2)0.5 shows a high electrochemical stability of at least 6 V (vs Na+/Na). The result suggests that Na(BH4)0.5(NH2)0.5 could be a potential candidate for solid electrolyte.
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66.30.H- Self-diffusion and ionic conduction in nonmetals
82.45.Gj Electrolytes
61.72.jd Vacancies

Generalized approach to the description of recombination kinetics in bulk heterojunction solar cells—extending from fully organic to hybrid solar cells

Bert Conings, Linny Baeten, Hans-Gerd Boyen, Donato Spoltore, Jan D’Haen, Marlies K. Van Bael, and Jean V. Manca

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 203905 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4714902 (5 pages) | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: 15 May 2012

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Lately, research efforts in photovoltaics towards hybrid solar cells based on nanostructured metal oxides and conjugated polymers have been intensifying. However, very limited effort has been spent so far to investigate their recombination kinetics in comparison with their fully organic counterpart. In this work, impedance spectroscopy under different illumination intensities is used to probe the recombination kinetics of hybrid solar cells based on ZnO nanorod arrays and poly(3-hexylthiophene). A recombination-based model developed for fully organic solar cells is effectively applied in our hybrid solar cells, demonstrating their similarity in device physics and establishing the nanorod array/polymer compound as true bulk heterojunction.
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88.40.jr Organic photovoltaics
88.40.hj Efficiency and performance of solar cells

Inverted organic solar cells based on aqueous processed ZnO interlayers at low temperature

Sai Bai, Zhongwei Wu, Xiaoli Xu, Yizheng Jin, Baoquan Sun, Xiaojun Guo, Shasha He, Xin Wang, Zhizhen Ye, Huaixin Wei, Xiaoyuan Han, and Wanli Ma

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 203906 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4719201 (4 pages) | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: 18 May 2012

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A facile solution processable and low temperature (≤150 °C) approach was developed to deposit ZnO electron transport interlayers for inverted organic solar cells. The ZnO thin films were fabricated from the stable and non-toxic aqueous precursor solutions of ammine-hydroxo zinc complex, [Zn(NH3)x](OH)2. The resulting inverted poly (3-hexylthiophene): [6-6]-phenyl C61 butryric acid methyl ester solar cells exhibited power conversion efficiency of 4.17% as well as decent stability. We demonstrate that the work function of the ZnO electron transport interlayers was critical in terms of governing the photovoltaic performance of the inverted devices.
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88.40.jr Organic photovoltaics
88.40.hj Efficiency and performance of solar cells
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