Half of the sun’s power lies in the infrared. As a result, the optimal bandgaps for solar cells in both the single-junction and even the tandem architectures lie beyond 850 nm. However, progress in low-cost, large-area, physically-flexible solar cells has instead been made in organic and polymer materials possessing absorption onsets in the visible. Recent advances have been achieved in solution-cast infrared photovoltaics through the use of colloidal quantum dots. Here we report stable solution-processed photovoltaic devices having 3.6% power conversion efficiency in the infrared. The use of a strongly-bound bidentate linker, benzenedithiol, ensures device stability over weeks. We investigate in detail the physical mechanisms underlying the operation of this class of device. We find that diffusion of electrons and holes over hundreds of nanometers through our PbSe colloidal quantum dot solid is chiefly responsible for the high external quantum efficiencies obtained in this new class of devices.

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The effect of infra-red heating (micronization) on the composition and textural properties of full-fat soybeans and its product (soy isolate, soymilk and tofu) were investigated. There was little difference in the overall proximate composition between the micronized and processed soybeans. Yield, protein content and textural properties of tofu made from micronized beans using standard procedures (70$ sp circ$C and CaSO$ sb4$.2H$ sb2$O as coagulating agent) were lower than those of tofu from unprocessed beans; tofu prepared from micronized beans and coagulated at 90$ sp circ$C using a mixture of citric acid (0.01M) and calcium sulphate (0.03M) showed improved characteristics. The microstructure of tofu prepared from micronized beans lacked the regularity of honeycomb-like structure as shown by tofu from unprocessed beans. / Functional, biochemical and nutritional properties of the micronized soybeans, soy isolate, soymilk and tofu were studied. The results indicate the following: the digestibility of micronized soybean (84.3%) was higher compared to the unprocessed soybean (76.5%); the available lysine content of soy isolate, soymilk and tofu from micronized soybeans were higher than the corresponding products derived from unprocessed beans; the unprocessed soybean flour displayed maximum foam capacity at pH 9.0 while the micronized soybean flour showed no foam capacity at pH 3.0 and 5.0; polyacrylamide-disc gel electrophoresis showed that heat treatment by micronization had little effect on the protein constitution of the soybean and on the protein-carbohydrate interaction but induced some interactions of protein and lipid components in the soybeans.

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