Three‐dimensional (3 D) perovskite has attracted a lot of attention owing to its success in photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. However, one of its major crucial issues lies in its stability, which has ...limited its commercialization. An important property of organic–inorganic perovskite is the possibility of forming a layered material by using long organic cations that do not fit into the octahedral cage. These long organic cations act as a “barrier” that “caps” 3 D perovskite to form the layered material. Controlling the number of perovskite layers could provide a confined structure with chemical and physical properties that are different from those of 3 D perovskite. This opens up a whole new batch of interesting materials with huge potential for optoelectronic applications. This Minireview presents the synthesis, properties, and structural orientation of low‐dimensional perovskite. It also discusses the progress of low‐dimensional perovskite in PV solar cells, which, to date, have performance comparable to that of 3 D perovskite but with enhanced stability. Finally, the use of low‐dimensional perovskite in light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodetectors is discussed. The low‐dimensional perovskites are promising candidates for LED devices, mainly because of their high radiative recombination as a result of the confined low‐dimensional quantum well.
Peeling back the layers: The synthesis, properties, and structural orientation of low‐dimensional perovskite are surveyed. Controlling the number of perovskite layers can provide a confined structure with chemical and physical properties that are different from those of 3 D perovskite. The use of low‐dimensional perovskite in photovoltaic solar cells is discussed, as is its use in light‐emitting diodes and photodetectors.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
We report on accelerated degradation testing of MAPbX3 films (X = I or Br) by exposure to concentrated sunlight of 100 suns and show that the evolution of light absorption and the corresponding ...structural modifications are dependent on the type of halide ion and the exposure temperature. One hour of such exposure provides a photon dose equivalent to that of one sun exposure for 100 hours. The degradation in absorption of MAPbI3 films after exposure to 100 suns for 60 min at elevated sample temperature (∼45–55 °C), due to decomposition of the hybrid perovskite material, is documented. No degradation was observed after exposure to the same sunlight concentration but at a lower sample temperature (∼25 °C). No photobleaching or decomposition of MAPbBr3 films was observed after exposure to similar stress conditions (light intensity, dose, and temperatures). Our results indicate that the degradation is highly dependent on the hybrid perovskite composition and can be light- and thermally enhanced.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Conventional definitions of habitability require abundant liquid surface water to exist continuously over geologic timescales. Water in each of its thermodynamic phases interacts with solar and ...thermal radiation and is the cause for strong climatic feedbacks. Thus, assessments of the habitable zone require models to include a complete treatment of the hydrological cycle over geologic time. Here, we use the Community Atmosphere Model from the National Center for Atmospheric Research to study the evolution of climate for an Earth-like planet at constant CO2, under a wide range of stellar fluxes from F-, G-, and K-dwarf main sequence stars. Around each star we find four stable climate states defined by mutually exclusive global mean surface temperatures (Ts); snowball (Ts ≤ 235 K), waterbelt (235 K ≤ Ts ≤ 250 K), temperate (275 K ≤ Ts ≤ 315 K), and moist greenhouse (Ts ≥ 330 K). Each is separated by abrupt climatic transitions. Waterbelt, temperate, and cooler moist greenhouse climates can maintain open-ocean against both sea ice albedo and hydrogen escape processes respectively, and thus constitute habitable worlds. We consider the warmest possible habitable planet as having Ts ∼ 355 K, at which point diffusion limited water-loss could remove an Earth ocean in ∼1 Gyr. Without long timescale regulation of non-condensable greenhouse species at Earth-like temperatures and pressures, such as CO2, habitability can be maintained for an upper limit of ∼2.2, ∼2.4, and ∼4.7 Gyr around F-, G-, and K-dwarf stars respectively, due to main sequence brightening.
Summary
Cicer arietinum L. (chickpea) is the third most important food legume crop. We have generated the draft sequence of a desi‐type chickpea genome using next‐generation sequencing platforms, ...bacterial artificial chromosome end sequences and a genetic map. The 520‐Mb assembly covers 70% of the predicted 740‐Mb genome length, and more than 80% of the gene space. Genome analysis predicts the presence of 27 571 genes and 210 Mb as repeat elements. The gene expression analysis performed using 274 million RNA‐Seq reads identified several tissue‐specific and stress‐responsive genes. Although segmental duplicated blocks are observed, the chickpea genome does not exhibit any indication of recent whole‐genome duplication. Nucleotide diversity analysis provides an assessment of a narrow genetic base within the chickpea cultivars. We have developed a resource for genetic markers by comparing the genome sequences of one wild and three cultivated chickpea genotypes. The draft genome sequence is expected to facilitate genetic enhancement and breeding to develop improved chickpea varieties.
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Abstract Atmospheric pollutants such as chlorofluorocarbons and NO 2 have been proposed as potential remotely detectable atmospheric technosignature gases. Here we investigate the potential for ...artificial greenhouse gases including CF 4 , C 2 F 6 , C 3 F 8 , SF 6 , and NF 3 to generate detectable atmospheric signatures. In contrast to passive incidental by-products of industrial processes, artificial greenhouse gases would represent an intentional effort to change the climate of a planet with long-lived, low-toxicity gases and would possess low false positive potential. An extraterrestrial civilization may be motivated to undertake such an effort to arrest a predicted snowball state on their home world or to terraform an otherwise uninhabitable terrestrial planet within their system. Because artificial greenhouse gases strongly absorb in the thermal mid-infrared window of temperate atmospheres, a terraformed planet will logically possess strong absorption features from these gases at mid-infrared wavelengths (∼8–12 μ m), possibly accompanied by diagnostic features in the near-infrared. As a proof of concept, we calculate the needed observation time to detect 1 10(100) ppm of C 2 F 6 /C 3 F 8 /SF 6 on TRAPPIST-1 f with JWST MIRI’s Low Resolution Spectrometer (LRS) and NIRSpec. We find that a combination of 110(100) ppm each of C 2 F 6 , C 3 F 8 , and SF 6 can be detected with a signal-to-noise ratio ≧ 5 in as few as 2510(5) transits with MIRI/LRS. We further explore mid-infrared direct-imaging scenarios with the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets mission concept and find these gases are more detectable than standard biosignatures at these concentrations. Consequently, artificial greenhouse gases can be readily detected (or excluded) during normal planetary characterization observations with no additional overhead.
The photochemical stability of encapsulated films of mixed halide perovskites with a range of MAPb(I1−xBrx)3 (MA=methylammonium) compositions (solid solutions) was investigated under accelerated ...stressing using concentrated sunlight. The relevance of accelerated testing to standard operational conditions of solar cells was confirmed by comparison to degradation experiments under outdoor sunlight exposure. We found that MAPbBr3 films exhibited no degradation, while MAPbI3 and mixed halide MAPb(I1−xBrx)3 films decomposed yielding crystallization of inorganic PbI2 accompanied by degradation of the perovskite solar light absorption, with faster absorption degradation in mixed halide films. The crystal coherence length was found to correlate with the stability of the films. We postulate that the introduction of Br into the mixed halide solid solution stressed its structure and induced more structural defects and/or grain boundaries compared to pure halide perovskites, which might be responsible for the accelerated degradation. Hence, the cause for accelerated degradation may be the increased defect density rather than the chemical composition of the perovskite materials.
To be or not to be (efficient and stable): Photochemical stability studies of MAPb(I1−xBrx)3 (MA=methylammonium) photovoltaic materials show that mixed halide compositions are less stable than pure halide ones. We postulate that these solid solutions contain internal stresses and structural defects, which might be responsible for their accelerated degradation.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The Himalaya, by virtue of its location and stupendous height, acts as a great climatic divide and regulates meteorological conditions in the subcontinent regions of South Asia. However, the ...associated complexities and their effects are yet to be resolved to understand the meteorology of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). In this review volume, we synthesize the results and inferences of several studies carried out in the IHR using in situ data, remotely sensed data, and model-based meteorological observations. Results provide insights into climate change, scientific gaps, and their causes in deciphering meteorological observations from the last century to recent decades and envisage impacts of climate change on water reservoirs in the future. Warming trend of air temperature, in contrast to global temperature, has been projected in recent decades (after 1990) with a greater warming rate in the maximum temperature than the minimum temperature. This drifting of air temperature from the beginning of last century accelerates the diurnal temperature range of the Himalayas. An elevation-dependent warming trend is mostly perceived in the northwest Himalayan region, implicating an increased warming rate in the Greater Himalaya as compared to the lower and Karakoram Himalaya. No definite trends of precipitation have been observed over different regions of the IHR, suggesting heterogeneous cryosphere-climate interaction between western and central Himalaya. In this review, we have tried to emphasize to the scientific community and policy-makers for enhancing the knowledge of physical and dynamical processes associated with meteorological parameters in the Himalayan terrain.
Abstract
To identify promising exoplanets for atmospheric characterization and to make the best use of observational data, a thorough understanding of their atmospheres is needed. Three-dimensional ...general circulation models (GCMs) are one of the most comprehensive tools available for this task and will be used to interpret observations of temperate rocky exoplanets. Due to parameterization choices made in GCMs, they can produce different results, even for the same planet. Employing four widely used exoplanetary GCMs—ExoCAM, LMD-G, ROCKE-3D, and the UM—we continue the TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Atmosphere Intercomparison by modeling aquaplanet climates of TRAPPIST-1e with a moist atmosphere dominated by either nitrogen or carbon dioxide. Although the GCMs disagree on the details of the simulated regimes, they all predict a temperate climate with neither of the two cases pushed out of the habitable state. Nevertheless, the intermodel spread in the global mean surface temperature is nonnegligible: 14 K and 24 K in the nitrogen- and carbon dioxide-dominated case, respectively. We find substantial intermodel differences in moist variables, with the smallest amount of clouds in LMD-Generic and the largest in ROCKE-3D. ExoCAM predicts the warmest climate for both cases and thus has the highest water vapor content and the largest amount and variability of cloud condensate. The UM tends to produce colder conditions, especially in the nitrogen-dominated case due to a strong negative cloud radiative effect on the day side of TRAPPIST-1e. Our study highlights various biases of GCMs and emphasizes the importance of not relying solely on one model to understand exoplanet climates.
We report a hybrid mesoporous-planar architecture of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite based solar cells, to combine the benefits of both the mesoporous and planar architectures in a single ...device. A mesoporous-TiO2 grid was fabricated on a compact TiO2 layer, through a self-assembly process based on directional wetting, providing regions with and without mesoporous-TiO2, followed by perovskite deposition and back contact evaporation (hybrid cells). The hybrid cells showed up to 10.7% power conversion efficiency (PCE) as compared to 13.5% and 6.3% for their mesoporous and planar counterparts, respectively. Interestingly, the hybrid cells are found to show a short circuit current density (Jsc) as high as the Jsc of the mesoporous TiO2 based cells and proved to conserve the current density even in the absence of mesoporous-TiO2 from planar parts of the hybrid cells. The cells showed the best fill factor as compared to their mesoporous and planar counterparts. The areal variation in the meso to planar ratio has also been realized by changing the grid size to demonstrate the effect of the architecture on the cell performance. Charge extraction measurements have been used to obtain insight into the recombination inside different solar cells architectures. The hybrid cell structure emerged as a novel promising design for perovskite solar cells.
Abstract This paper highlights methods from geostatistics that are relevant to the interpretation, intercomparison, and synthesis of atmospheric model data, with a specific application to exoplanet ...atmospheric modeling. Climate models are increasingly used to study theoretical and observational properties of exoplanets, which include a hierarchy of models ranging from fast and idealized models to those that are slower but more comprehensive. Exploring large parameter spaces with computationally expensive models can be accomplished with sparse sampling techniques, but analyzing such sparse samples can pose challenges for conventional interpolation functions. Ordinary kriging is a statistical method for describing the spatial distribution of a data set in terms of the variogram function, which can be used to interpolate sparse samples across any number of dimensions. Variograms themselves may also be useful diagnostic tools for describing the spatial distribution of model data in exoplanet atmospheric model intercomparison projects. Universal kriging is another method that can synthesize data calculated by models of different complexity, which can be used to combine sparse samples of data from slow models with larger samples of data from fast models. Ordinary and universal kriging can also provide a way to synthesize model predictions with sparse samples of exoplanet observations and may have other applications in exoplanet science.
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