Photovoltaic devices such as solar cells, hybrid solar cell-batteries, and other such devices may include an active layer disposed between two electrodes. The active layer may have perovskite material and other material such as mesoporous material, interfacial layers, thin-coat interfacial layers, and combinations thereof. The perovskite material may be photoactive. The perovskite material may be disposed between two or more other materials in the photovoltaic device. Inclusion of these materials in various arrangements within an active layer of a photovoltaic device may improve device performance. Other materials may be included to further improve device performance, such as, for example: additional perovskites, and additional interfacial layers.

Photodiodes configured to convert incident photons in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) to electric current, where the photodiodes have a PbS/PbCl.sub.x core/shell nanocrystal absorber layer. The PbCl.sub.x shell in the PbS/PbCl.sub.x nanocrystals provide native passivation in the (100) crystal facets and enable removal of native ligands and ligand exchange on the (111) crystal facets of the PbS/PbCl.sub.x nanocrystals such that the photodiode exhibits reduced current densities under reverse bias and greater infrared photoresponse, providing improved device performance as compared to photodiodes having absorber layers formed from PbS core nanocrystals alone.

Various perovskite solar cell embodiments include a flexible metal substrate (e.g., including a metal doped TiO.sub.2 layer), a perovskite layer, and a transparent electrode layer (e.g., including a dielectric/metal/dielectric structure), wherein the perovskite layer is provided between the flexible metal substrate and the transparent electrode layer. Also, various tandem solar cell embodiments including a perovskite solar cell and either a quantum dot solar cell, and organic solar cell or a thin film solar cell.

A solar cell device having a solid state light absorber region that incorporates a donor-acceptor particle structure. The particle structure includes acceptor particles that generate a flow of electrons in the solid state light absorber region in response to absorbed photons; and donor particles comprising a phosphorescent material, wherein each donor particle is coupled to a group of acceptor particles, and wherein the phosphorescent material absorbs high energy photons and emits lower energy photons that are absorbed by the acceptor particles.

The present invention relates to coating compositions, comprising i) single or mixed metal oxide nanoparticles, wherein the volume average diameter (D.sub.v50) of the metal oxide nanoparticles is in the range of 1 to 20 nm; the nanoparticles comprise at least one volatile surface-modifying compound selected from alcohols, β-diketones, or salts thereof; carboxylic acids and β-ketoesters and Ge mixtures thereof, wherein the total amount of volatile surface-modifying compounds is at least 5% by weight, preferably at least 10% by weight based on the amount of metal oxide nano-particles, and ii) a solvent, coatings obtained therefrom and the use of the comositions for coating surface relief micro- and nanostructures (e.g. holograms), manufacturing of optical waveguides, solar panels, light outcoupling layers for display and lighting devices and anti-reflection coatings. Coatings obtained from the coating composition have a high refractive index and holograms are bright and visible from any angle, when the coating compositions are applied to them.

A photovoltaic device comprises plural layers separated into plural cells, each comprising a region of a photoactive layer and electrodes on opposite sides thereof. Each of the regions of the photoactive layer are formed comprising a first part that comprises photoactive material and a second part that is not photoactive and that has a greater transmittance of visible light than the light absorbing photoactive material, in pre-selected locations, or in a pre-selected distribution of locations, across the region of the photoactive layer. One of the first and second parts are located in plural separate areas within the other of the first and second parts. The transparency of the photovoltaic device is increased by the transmission of light through the second part that is not photoactive.

A photoelectric conversion element may include a first substrate, a first transparent electrode disposed on the first substrate, a hole-blocking layer disposed on the first transparent electrode, an electron-transporting layer that is disposed on the hole-blocking layer and includes an electron-transporting semiconductor on a surface of which a photosensitizing compound is adsorbed, a hole-transporting layer that is connected to the electron-transporting layer and includes a hole-transporting material, and a second electrode disposed on the hole-transporting layer, wherein the photoelectric conversion element includes an output extraction terminal part configured to extract electricity out from the photoelectric conversion element, and the output extraction terminal part is formed with a plurality of micropores piercing through the hole-blocking layer.

The present invention relates to a photovoltaic device (1). The device comprises a solar cell unit (2) comprising a porous light-absorbing layer (3) at a top side (2a), of a porous first conducting layer (4), a porous substrate (5) of an insulating material. The solar cell unit comprises a conducting medium. The photovoltaic device comprises a first conductor (7) in electrical contact with the first conducting layer (4), a second conductor (8) in electrical contact with the second conducting layer (6), and an encapsulation (9) encapsulating the solar cell unit. The encapsulation comprises a top sheet (9a) and a bottom sheet (9b). The first and second conductors (7, 8) are arranged between the encapsulation (9) and the solar cell unit (2) at the bottom side (2b) of the solar cell unit (2). The second conductor (8) is arranged between the second conducting layer (6) and the bottom sheet (9b) of the encapsulation (9), and the first conductor (7) is arranged between the porous substrate (5) and the bottom sheet (9b). The first conductor (7) is electrically insulated from the second conducting layer (6). A part (14) of the porous substrate (5) comprises conducting material (12) disposed between the first conductor (7) and the first conducting layer (4) to provide electrical contact between the first conductor and the first conducting layer.

A light harvesting supercapacitor and a method of preparing the light harvesting supercapacitor are disclosed. The light harvesting supercapacitor includes a transparent substrate, an active layer including TiO.sub.2 nanoparticles and polyaniline (PANI) nanoparticles disposed on the transparent substrate, an electrolyte layer including a solid separator and poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) disposed on the active layer, a carbon electrode disposed on the electrolyte layer; and a metal layer disposed on the activated carbon electrode. The method of preparing the light harvesting supercapacitor involves pulsed laser ablation in a liquid of bulk PANI to form the PANI nanoparticles. The light harvesting supercapacitor can be used in a photovoltaic device.

The present application discloses stilbene derivative compounds and phenylbenzofuran compositions, useful in the manufacture of dye-sensitized solar cells and other similar technology.