As the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of single-junction solar cells approaching its theoretical limit, tandem solar cells have attracted great attention due to their ability to break this limitation. For example, the PCE of crystalline silicon-based solar cells (c-Si) reached 26.81% with an area of 274.4 cm2, approaching the theoretical limit of 29.4%. By combining the c-Si with perovskites, the theoretical PCE limitation of 29.4% can be further increased to 45%. The wide-bandgap (1.68 eV) inverted (p-i-n) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are ideal candidates to integrate on top of narrow-bandgap solar cells to fabricate tandem solar cells, owing to the simple fabrication process and tunable bandgap. However, the PCE of wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells is limited by the severe open-circuit voltage loss due to non-radiative recombination arising from trap-assisted recombination and interfacial recombination. In this thesis, Poly[(9,9-bis[3-(trimethylammonium)propyl-2,7-fluorene)]-alt-2,7- (9,9-dioctylfluorene) diiodide (PFN-I), as modification layer between hole transport layer (HTL) and perovskite, was applied to efficiently passivate the interfacial defects, moderate the growth of perovskite crystal and modify the interfacial energy level alignment to enhance hole extraction. Through comprehensive characterization, it has been observed that the introduction of PFN-I into the system effectively reduces non-radiative recombination. Therefore, a PCE of 21.9% with an open-circuit voltage of 1.24 V and a fill factor of 80% was obtained for 1.68 eV-bandgap inverted PSCs.

This thesis treats the reflective and structural properties of multilayer structures. Soft X-ray multilayer mirrors intended as near-normal incidence reflective optics and polarizers in the water window (λ=2.4-4.4 nm) are the main focus. Such mirrors require multilayer periodicities between 1.2-2.2 nm, a large number ~600of multilayer periods (N), and atomically flat interfaces. Bi-metallic multilayers were deposited by dual-target magnetron sputtering on Si(001) Geometrical roughness and intermixing/interdiffusion at the interfaces were investigated in connection with the impact of ion-surface interactions during growth of Cr/Ti, Cr/Sc, and Ni/V multilayers. This was achieved by comparing multilayers grown with or without high-flux low energy (Eion<30 eV) ion assistance. The use of modulated ion assistance resulted in a substantial improvement of interface flatness and abruptness in each of theAb-initio calculations indicate that the stabilization of the amorphous layer structure is due to a lowering of the total energy of the system by eliminating high energy incoherent interfaces between crystalline Sc and Cr. Light element incorporation in Cr/Sc multilayers was investigated through residual gas pressure variation. It is shown that multilayers retain their structural and optical properties within the high vacuum range of 2×10-7-to-2×10-6 Torr. The incorporation of 34 at.% nitrogen at a higher residual gas pressure ( ~2×10-5 Torr) resulted in highly textured understoichiometricx/ScNy multilayers. As a result of nitrogen incorporation, interface widths as small as 0.29 nm, and near-normal incidence reflectivity enhancement (at λ=3.11 nm) by 100 % (compared to pure Cr/Sc multilayers) was achieved. Light element incorporation was also found to be advantageous for the thermal stability of the multilayers. In-situ hard X-ray reflectivity measurements performed during isothermal annealing in thex/ScNy are stable up to 350 °C. As an alternative route to metallic multilayers, single crystal CrN/ScN superlattices, grown by reactive sputtering in N atmosphere onto MgO(001), were also investigated. The superlattice synthesis at 735 °C, resulted in highly abrupt interfaces with minimal interface widths of 0.2 nm. As-deposited superlattices with only 61 periodsλ=3.11 nm as well as very high thermal stability up to 850 °C. / Denna avhandling behandlar syntes, analys, och materialvetenskap rörande så kallade multilagerspeglar för mjuk röntgenstrålning. Speglarna är lämpade som optiska komponenter för instrument såsom röntgenmikroskop i våglängdsområdet 2,4 nm till 4,4 nm, även kallat vattenfönstret. Tack vare de senaste decenniernas stora teknologiska och vetenskapliga framsteg i att framställa mycket intensiva källor för mjuk röntgenstrålning, såsom tex synkrotronljuskällor, frielektronlasrar, och plasmagenererade källor, är det nu tänkbart att utnyttja denna strålning till nya tillämpningar som tidigare inte varit möjliga. Några exempel är; röntgenmikroskopi av biologiska preparat med upplösning ca 1/100 av det som är möjligt med synligt ljus, fotolitografi av Det finns flera stora utmaningar för att lyckas tillverka multilagerspeglar. Först och främst måste man hitta materialkombinationer som ger upphov till reflektion i mellanytorna mellan materialen men som inte samtidigt absorberar all röntgenstrålning. Dessutom måste materialen gå att belägga på varandra i flera hundra tunna lager, vart och ett endast ca 1 nanometer tjockt, med en ytojämnhet om endast några tiondels nanometer. Den absoluta tjockleks precision i varje I det här arbetet har fyra olika typer av multilagerbeläggningar undersökts: krom/titan (Cr/Ti), krom/skandium (Cr/Sc), nickel/vanadin (Ni/V) samt kromnitrid/skandiumnitrid (CrN/ScN). Materialvalen har baserats på teoretiska beräkningar som visat att dessa materialsystem genererar mycket god reflektans i vattenfönstret. Varje kombination av metaller är optimal för en specifik våglängd och de individuella lagertjocklekarna måste optimeras teoretiskt för varje enskilt För Cr/Sc multilager har vi visat att lagren som beläggs har en oordnad, så kallad amorf, struktur mellan metallatomerna som har sitt ursprung i att multilagrets totala energi kan sänkas om mellanytor mellan kristallint Cr och kristallint Sc kan undvikas. Studier av effekterna av kväveupptag hos Cr/Sc multilagerspeglar under sputtringsprocessen har lett till ökad förståelse av materialsystemet. Till exempel har vi visat att kvävet framförallt binder till de inre regionerna av Sc och inte så mycket till Cr-lagren eller i mellanytorna. Med kväve i strukturen har vi gjort speglar som tål höga temperaturer, vilket är av stor betydelse för tillämpningar baserade högintensiva ljuskällor. Så kallade supergitter, dvs multilager

In the current age of fast-depleting conventional energy sources, top priority is given to exploring non-conventional energy sources, designing highly efficient energy storage systems and converting existing machines/instruments/devices into energy-efficient ones. ‘Energy efficiency’ is one of the important challenges for today’s scientific and research community, worldwide. In line with this demand, the current research was focused on developing two highly energy-efficient devices – field emitters and Li-ion batteries, using beneficial properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT). Interface-engineered, directly grown CNTs were used as cathode in field emitters, while similar structure was applied as anode in Li-ion batteries. Interface engineering was found to offer minimum resistance to electron flow and strong bonding with the substrate. Both field emitters and Li-ion battery anodes were benefitted from these advantages, demonstrating high energy efficiency. Field emitter, developed during this research, could be characterized by low turn-on field, high emission current, very high field enhancement factor and extremely good stability during long-run. Further, application of 3-dimensional design to these field emitters resulted in achieving one of the highest emission current densities reported so far. The 3-D field emitter registered 27 times increase in current density, as compared to their 2-D counterparts. These achievements were further followed by adding new functionalities, transparency and flexibility, to field emitters, keeping in view of current demand for flexible displays. A CNT-graphene hybrid structure showed appreciable emission, along with very good transparency and flexibility. Li-ion battery anodes, prepared using the interface-engineered CNTs, have offered 140% increment in capacity, as compared to conventional graphite anodes. Further, it has shown very good rate capability and an exceptional ‘zero capacity degradation’ during long cycle operation. Enhanced safety and charge transfer mechanism of this novel anode structure could be explained from structural characterization. In an attempt to progress further, CNTs were coated with ultrathin alumina by atomic layer deposition technique. These alumina-coated CNT anodes offered much higher capacity and an exceptional rate capability, with very low capacity degradation in higher current densities. These highly energy efficient CNT based anodes are expected to enhance capacities of future Li-ion batteries.

Vi lever i spännande tider, där vi har tillgång till olika användargränssnitt som hjälper oss att kommunicera med andra människor i realtid, oavsett var i världen de befinner sig. Ricoh är ett globalt IT företag som har utvecklat ett kompakt videokonferenssystem för dessa ändamål som heter ”P3500M”. Utveckling av mjukvara för denna typ av teknologi kan medföra olika tekniska utmaningar. Samtidigt håller organisationer viktiga möten via videokonferens och ställer ofta höga krav på kvalitén. Att skapa ett användbart gränssnitt som beaktar alla dessa aspekter kan bli en utmanande uppgift. Denna studie syftar till att utveckla ett nytt konceptgränssnitt som effekti- viserar utveckling, samt användning av videokonferenssystem och P3500M används som en ut- gångspunkt. Genom att utnyttja framväxande webbaserade teknologier och riktlinjer från tidigare studier inom produktutveckling med användbarhet i fokus, har man i denna studie resulterat i skapandet av en designlösningen som heter ”Cloud Vision”. Studien föreslår ett nytt sätt att ut- veckla användbara gränssnitt för videokonferenssystem, genom utveckling av en central webbap- plikation som tillhandahåller gränssnittet. Med gränssnitt som kan appliceras på olika videokon- ferenssystem som en separat modul, oberoende av plattform, kan det bli lättare att underhålla utvecklingen och hålla fokus på användbarhetsperspektiven. / We live in exciting times, where we have access to different user interfaces that help us commu- nicate with other people in real-time, regardless of where they are in the world. Ricoh is a global IT company that has developed a compact videoconferencing system for these purposes, called ”P3500M”. Development of software for this type of technology can lead to various technical challenges. At the same time, organizations have important meetings through videoconferencing and often make high demands on the quality. To create a useful interface that takes all these aspects into account can be a challenging task. This study aims to develop a new concept interface that streamlines the development and use of videoconferencing systems, where P3500M is used as a starting point. By making use of emerging web technologies and guidelines from previous studies in product development with usability in mind, this study results in the creation of a new design called ”Cloud Vision”. The study proposes a new way to develop usable interfaces for videoconfe- rencing systems, through the development of a central web application that provides the interface. With interfaces that can be applied to various videoconferencing systems as a separate module, regardless of platform, it can be easier to maintain the development and keep focus on usability perspectives.

In the pursuit of renewable and sustainable energy sources, this century presents humanity with an imperative driven by the crisis of conventional energy shortages and environmental pollution. Clean electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies play a pivotal role in shaping the future landscape of power generation and energy utilization. However, the judicious design of the catalysts capable of efficiently and robustly driving electrochemical conversion remains a pressing challenge. In my dissertation, I addressed the critical challenges related to enhancing energy conversion efficiency in zinc-air batteries (ZABs) and electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction (CO2RR). These innovations show promise in utilizing renewable electricity to generate power and actively contribute to decarbonization efforts. The core focus of my dissertation revolves around the strategy of interface engineering for materials design and characterization. It is coupled with an in-depth mechanistic investigation of structure-property relationship at the interface level. The construction of a strong metal-support oxide interaction (SMMOI) has been demonstrated in the PdNiMnO porous film and has shown promising results. This interaction significantly enhances the activity of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) through electronic perturbation of Pd, reducing the reliance on precious metals and substantially improving the ZAB performance. On the other hand, my dissertation expands the decarbonization concept of electrocatalytic CO2RR towards value-added chemical production such as CO and formate. By designing bio-inspired tin oxide (SnOx) porous films through multiscale approaches of morphology engineering, surface chemistry, and phase transformation, the CO2RR Faradaic efficiency can be significantly improved. This is achieved by establishing a triple-phase interface and preserving the active phase through controlled pulsed electrochemical potentials during reactions. This innovative approach effectively addresses limitations associated with CO2 capture on the electrode and CO2 solubility issues in the electrolyte. The interface engineering strategies outlined in this dissertation illuminate the path toward next-generation catalyst designs that are highly efficient and tailored for sustainable and renewable energy applications.

To achieve sustainable production of H2 fuel through water splitting, low-cost electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are required to replace Pt and IrO2 catalysts. Here, for the first time, we present the interface engineering of novel MoS2/Ni3S2 heterostructures, in which abundant interfaces are formed. For OER, such MoS2/Ni3S2 heterostructures show an extremely low overpotential of ~218 mV at 10 mA cm-2, which is superior to that of the state-of-the-art OER electrocatalysts. Using MoS2/Ni3S2 heterostructures as bifunctional electrocatalysts, an alkali electrolyser delivers a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a very low cell voltage of ~1.56 V. In combination with density function theory (DFT) calculations, this study demonstrates that the constructed interfaces synergistically favor the chemisorption of hydrogen and oxygencontaining intermediates, thus accelerating the overall electrochemical water splitting.

No description available.

In recent years, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have attracted considerable attention as a potential source of renewable energy over traditional materials due to their light weight, low production cost, mechanically stability and compatibility with flexible substrates in roll to roll processing for high volume production. In the OPVs interface plays an important role in determining the performance of the device. Interface signifies formation of efficient contact with electrode, film, and transport of free charge carrier, which results in better performance in the device. Interface engineering also helps in improving mechanical robustness of the device. Hence, understanding of interface, modification and its evaluation is important in fabrication of efficient device. In this thesis interface is modified such that the performance of the device can be improved (chapter 3 and chapter 4). In Chapter 5 and chapter 6 interface is modified such that device can be fabricated on uncommon substrate. Fabrication of device on uncommon substrates (fiber reinforced plastic and flexible glass substrate), has unique challenges. In chapter 5 and chapter 6, we look at how interface is modified to overcome the challenges associated and also understand the role of interface in improving the performance of device on such substrates is discussed. In Chapter 1 we discuss about working of organic solar cells and the challenges associated in device fabrication. Understanding of interface to overcome challenges associated is explained. It also covers brief introduction to the succeeding chapters discussed in the thesis and its recent developments. To understand the properties of interface and to analyze device performance various characterization techniques have been used are discussed in chapter 2. This chapter also covers the materials and general device fabrication techniques used in this thesis. In chapter 3, a narrow bandgap (NBG) polymer used as a near IR sensitizer in P3HT: PCBM blend. Since, P3HT with a band gap of ~1.9 eV, the commonly used p-type material absorbs approximately ~25 % of incident light. Hence, MP2 (NBG polymer) is used along with P3HT: PCBM in active layer to form a ternary blend, which helps in increased absorption. Basic properties of MP2 are evaluated using UV-visible spectroscopy, differential scanning calaorimetry(DSC), thermogravimetric analyser (TGA), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. To evaluate enhanced absorption of ternary UV-visible spectroscopy is carried out. Charge transfer from one moiety to other in ternary blend is evaluated using PL and Ttime resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC). Morphology of the ternary is assessed using atomic force microscope (AFM) and structural characterization is carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Performance of the device is evaluated by current-voltage (J-V) characterizations. Further improved performance is supported by external quantum efficiency (EQE). Charge extraction with linear increasing voltage (CELIV) of the device is done to evaluate the recombination mechanism in the device and to assess the performance of the device. One-dimensional (1D) ZnO nanostructures provide direct paths for charge transport, and also offer large interfacial area to make them an ideal electron transport layer. In chapter 4 highly aligned ZnO nanorods is used as electron transport layer in OPV. Growth of ZnO nanorods is two-step processes, growing seed layer and growing ZnO nanorods from hydrothermal process using an appropriate seed layer. Two different soft-chemical solution- growth methods (upward and downward) are developed to fabricate self-assembled, oriented ZnO nanorods. Substrate mounting, surface properties and optical transmittance are optimized by varying the nanorods growth conditions. Further the ZnO nanorods are UV ozone treated and its effect on performance of nanostructured buffer layer based device is evaluated. In Chapter 5 OPV is fabricated on an opaque FRP substrate. Fabrication of OPV device on opaque substrate plastic is unique and hence understanding various properties is vital. Such devices fabrication require bottom up approach, with transparent electrode as the top electrode and metal electrode on the surface of FRP. FRP has inherent rough surface of about few microns RMS roughness. In order to reduce the roughness of the substrate FRP was planarized. The planarized layer is chosen, such that it chemically binds with the substrate. The chemical interaction between substrate and planarizing coating is evaluated by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. The binding of planarized layer and FRP is evaluated using nanoscratch technique and surface energies are studied using contact angle measurements. In addition, adhesion properties of the metal electrodes, which are deposited on planarized FRP are evaluated using nanoscratch technique. Fabrication of OPV requires a top transparent electrode. Simple spin coating technique is used to optimize the top electrode. The property of top electrode is evaluated using UV-visible spectroscopy for transmittance, and sheet resistance of the electrode is characterized. OPV device is fabricated on planarized FRP substrate using optimized top transparent electrode and its PV properties is evaluated. Performance of the device is evaluated for two different bottom electrodes and further performance of device is enhanced using buffer layers. Usually flexible OPVs are fabricated on plastic substrate such as PET, PEN. However they are not structurally stable at high temperatures and have high oxygen and moisture Permeability. In Chapter 6 Organic based photovoltaic devices were fabricated on flexible glass. Flexible glass has high strength and it is also known for low oxygen and moisture permeability. Fabrication of device on flexible glass has never been done before and hence, generation of data is necessary for commercialization of the technology. Device fabrication is optimized by using two different transparent conducting layers (ITO- sputter deposited, PEDOT: PSS-solution processed) and device performance was evaluated for both. Since the substrate is flexible in nature understanding the performance of the device during flexing is important. For this 2-parallel plate flexural apparatus is fabricated for in-situ measurements along with current voltage measurements. These devices are flexed cyclically and performance of device is evaluated. Therefore, work discussed in the thesis show by modifying the interface of the device, and understanding various interfaces of the device is crucial for improving the performance of the device. Also by engineering the interface, devices can be fabricated on various types of substrate.

To achieve sustainable production of H2 fuel through water splitting, low-cost electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are required to replace Pt and IrO2 catalysts. Here, for the first time, we present the interface engineering of novel MoS2/Ni3S2 heterostructures, in which abundant interfaces are formed. For OER, such MoS2/Ni3S2 heterostructures show an extremely low overpotential of ~218 mV at 10 mA cm-2, which is superior to that of the state-of-the-art OER electrocatalysts. Using MoS2/Ni3S2 heterostructures as bifunctional electrocatalysts, an alkali electrolyser delivers a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a very low cell voltage of ~1.56 V. In combination with density function theory (DFT) calculations, this study demonstrates that the constructed interfaces synergistically favor the chemisorption of hydrogen and oxygencontaining intermediates, thus accelerating the overall electrochemical water splitting.

<p>    </p> <p>In this thesis, a thermodynamically consistent phase field formulation was developed to identify the physical origin of interfacial transitions that drive macroscopic phenomena, start- ing at the single-particle length scale and building up to the polycrystalline length scale. At the single-particle length scale, the framework identified two interfacial phases that are stable at the surface of Sn nanoparticles: 1) a disordered interfacial phase, i.e., the experimentally observed premelted surface layer; and 2) an ordered surficial phase displaying a remnant de- gree of order in fully melted particles. Regimes of melting behavior as a function of particle size and temperature are discussed. To bridge the gap between single-particle and densified polycrystals, an analytical model was developed to capture the physical driving forces for densification during electric field-assisted sintering. Here, the model acknowledges the struc- tural contributions of particle-particle interfaces to the strength of mechanical, electrical, and surficial driving forces for densification, and shows good agreement with experimental flash sintering data. Finally, the theory was applied to polycrystalline LiCoO₂ (LCO) and shows that the experimentally observed metal-insulator transition is driven by grain bound- ary lithium segregation, the interfacial misorientation, and the size of the abutting grains. A critical misorientation as a function of the macroscopic lithium content exists above which the grain boundaries undergo a metal-insulating transition, suggesting that the fabrication of textured LCO microstructures will delay the metal-insulator transition. </p>