materials-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Advanced Materials and Devices for Energy Harvesting

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2023) | Viewed by 3471

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: energy harvesting; smart materials; energy storage; power management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things, the manner of communication has been changed by the application of various portable and wireless electronic devices and sensors. The main features of these tiny electronics and sensors are portability and miniaturization and rechargeable energy storage devices is currently the major choice for powering these devices. However, with the inherent shortcomings of these energy storage devices such as limited charge times and potential safety risks, they are not fully applicable and all-weather to electronics. Moreover, wasted batteries also bring serious pollution problems, which becomes more and more serious as time goes on. Hence, a powerful and sustainable energy harvesting technique, which can transfer various forms of energy from the surrounding environment into electricity, can be an alternative to remedy the shortcomings of traditional battery technology. Accordingly, a series of distinct mature technologies for energy conversion have been developed to convert environment energy into electricity, which includes electromagnetic generators, solar cells, thermoelectric generators, biofuel cells and nanogenerators. Therefore, through this Special Issue, I am seeking your original, unpublished works that describe recent advances in energy materials and energy harvesting techniques. I also extend my warm invitation for research papers from a broad range of topics related to energy storage technique and power managing methods, self-powered sensors, air monitoring, and many other related applications. Our team will work hard towards the rapid and wide dissemination of your valuable theoretical studies, progress reviews, and novel applications.

Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome. I look forward to receiving your work.

Prof. Dr. Xiangyu Chen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Energy harvesting 
  • Energy conversion materials
  • Energy storage 
  • Power management 
  • Sensory system 
  • Nano fabrication

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

9 pages, 2777 KiB  
Article
pH-Effect in the Fabrication of ZnO Nanostructured Thin Films by Chemical Bath Deposition for Increasing the Efficiency of Solar Cells
by Abel Garcia-Barrientos, Roberto Carlos Ambrosio-Lazaro, Rafael Ramirez-Bone, Mario A. Garcia-Ramirez, Obed Perez-Cortes, Ruben Tapia-Olvera and Jairo Plaza-Castillo
Materials 2023, 16(8), 3275; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16083275 - 21 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1384
Abstract
In this study, the impact of pH on the production of ZnO nanostructured thin films using chemical bath deposition was investigated for the purpose of enhancing the efficiency of solar cells. The ZnO films were directly deposited onto glass substrates at various pH [...] Read more.
In this study, the impact of pH on the production of ZnO nanostructured thin films using chemical bath deposition was investigated for the purpose of enhancing the efficiency of solar cells. The ZnO films were directly deposited onto glass substrates at various pH levels during the synthesis process. The results indicate that the crystallinity and overall quality of the material were not affected by the pH solution, as observed through X-ray diffraction patterns. However, scanning electron microscopy revealed that surface morphology improved with increasing pH values, leading to changes in the size of the nanoflowers between pH 9 and 11 values. Furthermore, the ZnO nanostructured thin films synthesized at pH levels of 9, 10, and 11 were utilized in the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells. The ZnO films synthesized at pH 11 exhibited superior characteristics in short-circuit current density and open-circuit photo-voltage compared with those produced at lower pH values. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials and Devices for Energy Harvesting)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 4874 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Luminescent Down-Shifting Spectral Conversion Effects on Silicon Solar Cells with Various Combinations of Eu-Doped Phosphors
by Wen-Jeng Ho, Jheng-Jie Liu and Bo-Xun Ke
Materials 2022, 15(2), 452; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15020452 - 07 Jan 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1403
Abstract
Luminescent down-shifting (LDS) spectral conversion is a feasible approach to enhancing the short-wavelength response of single junction solar cells. This paper presents the optical and electrical characteristics of LDS spectral conversion layers containing a single species or two species of Eu-doped phosphors applied [...] Read more.
Luminescent down-shifting (LDS) spectral conversion is a feasible approach to enhancing the short-wavelength response of single junction solar cells. This paper presents the optical and electrical characteristics of LDS spectral conversion layers containing a single species or two species of Eu-doped phosphors applied to the front surface of silicon solar cells via spin-on coating. The chemical composition, surface morphology, and fluorescence emission of the LDS layers were respectively characterized using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, optical imaging, and photoluminescence measurements. We also examined the LDS effects of various phosphors on silicon solar cells in terms of optical reflectance and external quantum efficiency. Finally, we examined the LDS effects of the phosphors on photovoltaic performance by measuring photovoltaic current density–voltage characteristics using an air-mass 1.5 global solar simulator. Compared to the control cell, the application of a single phosphor enhanced efficiency by 17.39% (from 11.14% to 13.07%), whereas the application of two different phosphors enhanced efficiency by 31.63% (from 11.14% to 14.66%). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials and Devices for Energy Harvesting)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop