Cover image provided courtesy of Zhuo Kang, Yue Zhang, and co-workers.

The charge transfer process is of great importance in organic solar cells (OSCs). In this article, recent progress of an unconventional charge transport pathway in organic solar cell, called Z-type devices, is discussed. The progress of its application and mechanism is introduced, and it is compared with similar processes in other organic photovoltaics.

Solar-driven interfacial steam generation covers a wide range of application from wastewater purification to desalination and distillation through development of photothermal materials via various synthesis approach and development technique in sustainable manner. The solar steam generation with salt rejection method can be a potential solution of seawater purification with most sustainable approach and zero-liquid discharge.

Carbonized sweet potato-based evaporators with salt resistance can be obtained by a simple preparation method. The evaporator exhibits excellent steam generation performance, achieving an evaporation rate of 1.7 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ under 1 sun irradiation, and after evaporation under high salinity, the evaporator still exhibits excellent self-desalting properties.

The premixing of camphor oil in air intake systems while compression ignition engines are powered with biofuels elevates the thermal efficiency, volumetric efficiency, and exergy efficiency and curtails nitric oxide and smoke emissions while increasing carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions.

The evaporation process within porous evaporators is simulated. It involves the coupling of heat transfer, water transport, and phase transition. A multiphysical field coupling model for heat transfer, flow, and mass transfer within porous structures is simulated. Temperature, evaporation flux, and vapor concentration within porous structures are obtained simultaneously, providing guidance for the design of efficient evaporators.

Improved laser doping (LD) of Si paste to fabricate P⁺⁺ local contacts for PERC cells is proposed. The predicted result of the boron LD profile is a peak dopant density of 2 × 10¹⁹ atoms cm⁻³ and a dopant depth of over 4.0 μm, which enhance the average efficiency by 0.11% for improved PERC cells and 0.09% for i-bifacial PERC cells, respectively.

WSnO₂ ink is studied as an electron transport material suitable for the roll-to-roll (R2R) perovskite solar cell (PSC) manufacturing system. By adding isopropyl alcohol to the SnO₂ ink, the wetting property is improved but the SnO₂ particles are aggregated. However, found out that the highly aggregated particles can form smooth films and highly efficient PSCs, unlike spin coating.

Inspired by tinite-ceramic, our innovative solar-driven thermoelectric nanogenerator marks a significant stride in efficient energy harvesting. Mimicking nature's design, our devices seamlessly convert solar heat into electrical power and steam generation in a single step, offering a streamlined approach to enhance energy conversion efficiency and pave the way for a greener future.

A new model is suggested for improving the power quality (PQ) in microgrids (MGs) using renewable energy sources (RESs) with the implementation of a novel hybrid tuna-glowworm swarm optimization (HT-GWSO) strategy for enhancing power. The HT-GWSO strategy is developed for PQ enhancement in MGs using RESs to get the finer gains of the proportionate integral controller along with the objective of reducing the error function.

A special six-stage constant current (SS-CC) charging protocol for lithium slurry battery is developed based on Li⁺ diffusion coefficient under different state of charges. Comparing with other charging protocols commonly used in lithium-ion batteries, such as constant current–constant voltage, the LSB charged by SS-CC protocol not only shows higher energy efficiency, but also enhances cycle stability.

Based on the standard charging process, two battery aging features are extracted by employing the incremental capacity analysis. To capture the underlying relationship between aging features and capacity, the hyperparameters of a decision tree are determined through Bayesian optimization. The decision tree model is trained offline and then deployed on the LabVIEW and MATLAB platforms for online SOH estimation.

Herein, influence of ambient wind speed and leakage volume on ammonia diffusion in case of different leakage port locations in ammonia storage tanks is analyzed.

The effects of hydrogenation amount (0–80%), oxidizer level (14–18%), and strain rate (10–1000 s⁻¹) on NO and CO emissions from graded MILD combustion are investigated under actual gas turbine operating conditions (T = 723 K, P = 16.5 atm). The emissions of NO and CO and their production pathways are analyzed, and the reactions with the greatest impact on emissions are determined.

The optimal power setter is designed to obtain the optimal output of the system under the influence of a certain load current and temperature. The recursive subspace model predictive control based on Laguerre function strategy proposed in this study is able to track the optimal output performance well in controlling the fuel cell output, which improves its response speed and robustness.

TiO₂/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) double-layer-coating strategy is proposed to improve the electrochemical performance of silicon monoxide (SiO). The TiO₂ provides high mechanical strength and its lithiation product greatly enhances the lithium-ion transport efficiency. The rGO coating suppresses the volume expansion and improves the electrical conductivity of SiO. Consequently, the TiO₂/rGO double-layer-coated SiO composite maintains a high reversible capacity.

Energy and exergy performance of simple vapor compression refrigeration unit (VCRU) is investigated experimentally with and without coupling heat exchanger of phase change material (PCM SP24) before the condenser. The study examines the VCRU performance, including pressure–enthalpy curve, COP, exergy analysis, and power consumption with and without the PCM.

Anionic vacancies can activate a catalyst by increasing its efficiency, and play an important role by facilitating the transfer of electrons and holes via vacant centers for electrocatalytic water splitting reaction specifically oxygen evolution reaction.

In the current study, we investigated a conventional planar n-i-p device structure with a lead-free fully inorganic perovskite Cs₂TiI₆ as the light harvester, TiO₂ as the electron transport layer and poly 3-hexylthiophene-2, 5-diyl (P3HT) organic material as the hole transport layer, as well as fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and shown in schematic Figure 1a of the device's FTO/TiO₂/CS₂TiBr₆/P3HT/Au structure. Figure 1b depicts the band alignment diagram of the proposed n-i-p device configuration. The designed device structures with current–voltage (J–V) characteristics and quantum efficiency were assessed once all layer settings and operational conditions had been set.

Herein, using a facile ultrasonic-assisted chemical route 1D layered LiVO₃ nanorods are synthesized and used for the fabrication of asymmetric AC // LiVO₃ supercapacitor coin cell device. The fabricated aqueous supercapacitor device delivers wide operating voltage window of 1.6 V along with good rate capability for different applied current density values.

The cover-like and return-like coupling magnetic core structures and their composite structures are designed. The unique concave structure has engineering practicability and economy. Using Ansoft for simulation, the structure improves the induced voltage and electromagnetic induction intensity and has a good magnetic field shielding effect. The wireless charging experimental platform is built, which verifies the improvement of transmission efficiency.

This study reports a flexible arch-shaped tribo-piezoelectric hybrid nanogenerator. The hybrid nanogenerator operates utilizing the charge accumulation and transfer principles inherent in piezoelectric nanogenerators and triboelectric nanogenerators, with output voltages and currents of up to 73 V and 35 μA, respectively. Rectified, it can light up to 120 LEDs to power electronic devices.

Antimony sulfoiodide (SbSI) has drawn much attention for energy harvesting and the detection of temperature. This material has superior properties such as ferroelectric and poses orthorhombic symmetry. Triboelectric nanogenerator technology helped in the design of self-powered applications and can act as a sustainable energy source.

A photothermal anti-icing surface with sustainable evaporation by the synergistic action of photothermal, energy storage, and hydrophilicity is proposed. It can achieve rapid evaporation of droplets at low temperatures and compensate for the shortcomings of photothermal anti-icing surface icing at a nonillumination condition. This excellent anti-icing strategy provides a promising method in the field of anti-icing.

This work explores silicone sealant gel as a novel active material to create a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG)-based self-powered touch keypad comprising 12 keys for security applications. While touching with finger skin, it generates sensor data to an Arduino microcontroller in order to recognize keypress patterns. The system initiates security alerts when specific patterns are detected.

The system comprises a solar collector, steam Rankine cycle, organic Rankine cycle, and reverse osmosis (RO) units. Conventional exergy analysis shows that the solar collector exhibits the highest exergy destruction of 0.798 kW, followed by RO unit. Advanced exergy analysis reveals that only 16.16% of avoidable exergy in solar collectors can be reduced due to technical constraints.

Aiming at the coordination problem between electric motor braking torque and pneumatic braking torque, this article proposes a bilevel electromechanical compound braking coordinated control strategy considering general braking state and emergency braking state. Lagrange quadratic interpolation prediction method is used to open pneumatic braking systems in advance, and model predictive control method is used to control wheel slip ratio.

Here, 5-bromo-6-chloro-3-indolyl sulfate potassium salt is introduced into SnO₂ electron transport layer for the first time. The efficiency of modified device is increased from 19.82% to 21.33%. Furthermore, the unencapsulated modified devices retained 91.7% of the initial power conversion efficiency after 624 h. This discovery provides a new tactic for the preparation of efficient and stable perovskite solar cells.

The basic function of the water flow lens system is to cool, decrease, and increase the light intensity with inevitable spectral oscillations, but in reality, that manipulation helps to better understand the possible additional optical and light effects and, thus, the nature of light itself, in the hopes of making significant progress toward the use of solar energy.

Comprehensive design and transient analysis of an off-grid zero-energy and nearly zero emission building in Phoenix by TRNSYS software, which has a hydrogen-integrated energy storage system and a battery as a backup power and profiting Trombe wall for increasing energy efficiency and hydrogen stove for making greenhouse emission nearly zero.

Air inlet pressure perturbations affect combustion in gas turbine can combustor. Numerical simulations show modified exhaust gases, temperature, and turbulence at outlet. Effects lead to increase–reduce the emissions of CO₂, CO, and NO_x. The results may help to define operation guidelines toward enhanced designs to reduce emissions. Temperature fields for perturbed and under perturbed pressure change drastically.

Herein, the features are extracted from the voltage data of the formation and grading processes, and the capacity is estimated by an improved random forest model. Compared to the current experimental measurement, the proposed method can save 56.7% of the energy consumption and 74.6% of the time in the grading process.

This article proposes a temporal covariance-involved distributionally robust optimization model for the photovoltaic–hydrogen integrated energy system scheduling considering multiple uncertainties from source, load, sides and market. The results show that the model achieves the economic, stable operation, and renewable energy accommodation under multiple uncertainties.

This study combines cold plasma and oscillatory systems for improved sunflower oil biodiesel. Variables examined are molar ratio (MR), catalyst concentration, plasma exposure, and residence time. The optimized conditions are plasma exposure for 59.99 s, 1.09% catalyst, MR of 7.17 in 86.43 s, yielded 94.75% conversion, and matches with EN 14214 standards.

Chemical process design for producing halide perovskite ink using biomass-derived gamma-valerolactone as a green solvent is demonstrated for the first time. A 98.4% purity of gamma-valerolactone is achieved through a catalyzed reaction between levulinic acid and isopropyl alcohol. Process simulations in ASPE show that the reactor temperature, feedstock flow rate, and precursor colloidal size greatly impact the final ink quality.

In this article, the effect of lithium-ion intercalation on halide perovskite structure is explored. The δ phase of FAPbI₃ converts to α phase and becomes stable after lithium intercalation. The cyclic voltammetry curve comparison shows that FAPbI₃ exhibits maximum area and hence highest capacitance followed by CsPbI₃ and MAPbI₃ electrodes. FAPbI₃ also exhibits maximum voltage window among all three perovskites.

This work provides a simple and feasible molten salt method for constructing an active nanocrystalline TiC shell on the surface of porous carbon. The highly active TiC nanoshells endow the core–shell composite with efficient chemical–physical synergistic adsorption, which can effectively confine and convert polysulfides, thereby improving the electrochemical performance of lithium–sulfur batteries.

This study focuses on the water-saturated natural gas hydrates. The decomposition rate of water-saturated hydrates in depressurization stage is constant and positive to the depressurization rate, while the decomposition rate in constant pressure stage is a function of residual hydrate amount. In addition, pressure delay effect is found within the water-saturated hydrate sediment.

A 3D network-like WO₃/V₂O₅/CC is prepared by a simple hydrothermal–calcination method. The V₂O₅ precursor solution ensures splendid electrochemical behavior. The optimal sample (WO₃/V₂O₅/CC-2) delivers huge specific capacitance of 495.6 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹, which consistently implies that a facile preparation method for the 3D self-supporting electrodes broadens their practical applications in the new-generation predominant energy storage devices.

This work focuses on the density functional theory and optimization of MASnI₃-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Key findings include a crucial bandgap (0.97 eV), photon absorption onset >2 eV, and characterization of material properties. Systematic optimization enhances efficiency to 16.72%, showcasing the potential for high efficiency in PSCs by carefully tuning device parameters and managing defect densities.

Hand-rubbing a polymer nanocomposite film, comprising 2 wt% graphene oxide-doped zinc oxide in a polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate (PVA-SA) blend, generates a triboelectric output voltage. The spin-coated thin films on a rough surface exhibit uniformly distributed nanoparticles, creating tribo-positive and tribo-negative charge areas through contact electrification. Compared to neat PVA-SA, the composite yields ≈5 times higher output voltage.

This work evaluates the Ti₃C₂ MXene used as an electrode material in different battery types (Li-, Na-, K-, and Mg-ion batteries) to improve the functionality of intercalation batteries. In this aim, the authors analytically investigate different synthesis methods and additives. These data have been provided from the literature.

This study proposes a method to match individual thermoelectric generator (TEG) components to the system environment based on two boundary conditions—temperature and heat flux. The performance of the TEG system is a quadratic function of temperature. TEG geometrical parameters can be determined to optimize system performance by varying temperature as an independent variable.

This article proposes a road energy harvester designed for toll stations. Utilizing crank-shaft mechanism, it efficiently converts suspension vibrations into electricity. Key components are oscillation input, transfer unit, generator, and energy storage. During modeling and testing, it achieves a peak output voltage of 6.9 V at an efficiency of 53.66% and can power lights, displays, and sensors at toll booths.

Proposed model contain three stages: Initially, a dataset is created based on photovoltaic array which contain temperature and irradiance. Then a deeplearning model is designed. Finally an optimization based controller is used to generates a pulse signal for converter.

A 3D microporous structure of polydimethylsiloxane/graphene oxide (GO) has been utilized as an active humidity sensor. This structure facilitates improved moisture absorption, which is further enhanced by the inclusion of GO. The sensor's high moisture absorption capacity prevents saturation at high humidity levels while maintaining excellent responsiveness. The porous structure enables the development of a flexible, lightweight, and portable sensor.

In this study effect of adding copper oxide (CuO) nanoparti the presence and morphology of CuO were analyzed by different characterization studies. In the final step, the addition of CuO resulted in a significant reduction in diesel engine performance, carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), and smoke emissions of 1.10%, 58.19%, 25.15%, and 26.67% respectively.

Co₃O₄/TiO₂ is obtained by heat treatment and chemical oxidation using ultrasound-assisted synthesis of ZIF-67. Meanwhile, polypyrrole (PPy) also has a certain chemical binding effect on LiPSs, and Co₃O₄/TiO₂/PPy can better prevent its dissolution. In addition, the conductive network formed by PPy nanotubes can accelerate the ion and electron transport, which leads to the improvement of the electrochemical performance of the battery.