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Thin Films for Energy Production and Storage
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Thin Films for Energy Production and Storage

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2022) | Viewed by 10247

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alessia Le Donne

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Milano-Bicocca Solar Energy Research Center (MIB-SOLAR), University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cozzi 55 (Building U5), I-20125 Milano, Italy
Interests: first- and second-generation solar cells; thin films deposition by vacuum methods; material characterization; device construction and testing
Dr. Vanira Trifiletti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering and Materials Science (SEMS), Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
Interests: nanostructured materials for renewable energy applications; photovoltaic and thermoelectric devices; chemical and physical synthesis of single crystals and thin films; material characterization; device construction and testing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As it is well known, in the last decades, thin films have gained a lot of attention from the scientific community in a plethora of applications.

First of all, any sort of thin film provides material saving. For many years, the cost and weight reductions related to the employment of thin films, as opposed to bulk materials, were among the main driving forces of their extensive development. Nowadays, the availability of many raw materials is seriously decreasing, while both the energy and technology needs for the daily life are strongly increasing, which makes material saving even more crucial. We are therefore pleased to guest edit a Special Issue devoted to “Thin Films for Energy Production and Storage”. 

Here, we solicit the submission of manuscripts on the growth and characterization of inorganic or hybrid thin films, as well as devices based on them, for applications in solar photovoltaics, energy storage (e.g., electrodes in batteries), and energy harvesting (e.g., piezoelectric and thermoelectric applications). Most of these applications require the development of cost effective and/or easily scalable layers, which strongly depend on the growth technique. On the one hand, vacuum methods offer either the chance to grow high purity thin films (evaporation method) or less technological challenges toward up-scaling the system, while keeping good control of the deposition rate (sputtering method). On the other hand, the non-vacuum techniques are attracting more and more attention because of their lower production cost. Papers on thin films produced either by vacuum or non-vacuum methodologies are welcome, with a focus on eco-friendly approaches. Last, but not least, manuscripts on thin films involving Earth-abundant elements are of particular interest.

Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Dr. Alessia Le Donne
Dr. Vanira Trifiletti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Thin film growth
  • Optical, electrical, and structural properties
  • Thin film-based devices
  • Solar photovoltaics
  • Energy storage
  • Energy harvesting
  • Eco-friendly approaches
  • Earth-abundant materials

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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8 pages, 2852 KiB  
Communication
Two-Step Synthesis of Bismuth-Based Hybrid Halide Perovskite Thin-Films
by Vanira Trifiletti, Sally Luong, Giorgio Tseberlidis, Stefania Riva, Eugenio S. S. Galindez, William P. Gillin, Simona Binetti and Oliver Fenwick
Materials 2021, 14(24), 7827; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247827 - 17 Dec 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2311
Abstract
Lead halide perovskites have been revolutionary in the last decade in many optoelectronic sectors. Their bismuth-based counterparts have been considered a good alternative thanks to their composition of earth-abundant elements, good chemical stability, and low toxicity. Moreover, their electronic structure is in a [...] Read more.
Lead halide perovskites have been revolutionary in the last decade in many optoelectronic sectors. Their bismuth-based counterparts have been considered a good alternative thanks to their composition of earth-abundant elements, good chemical stability, and low toxicity. Moreover, their electronic structure is in a quasi-zero-dimensional (0D) configuration, and they have recently been explored for use beyond optoelectronics. A significant limitation in applying thin-film technology is represented by the difficulty of synthesizing compact layers with easily scalable methods. Here, the engineering of a two-step synthesis in an air of methylammonium bismuth iodide compact thin films is reported. The critical steps of the process have been highlighted so that the procedure can be adapted to different substrates and application areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films for Energy Production and Storage)
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10 pages, 20839 KiB  
Article
High Temperature Electrical Properties of Co-Substituted La4BaCu5O13+δ Thin Films Fabricated by Sputtering Method
by Woosuck Shin, Akihiro Tsuruta, Toshio Itoh, Takafumi Akamatsu and Ichiro Terasaki
Materials 2021, 14(10), 2685; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14102685 - 20 May 2021
Viewed by 1743
Abstract
The high-temperature conductivity of the perovskite oxides of a La4BaCu5O13+δ (LBCO) thin film prepared by RF sputtering deposition and thermal annealing has been studied. While the bulk LBCO compound was metallic, the LBCO film deposited on a [...] Read more.
The high-temperature conductivity of the perovskite oxides of a La4BaCu5O13+δ (LBCO) thin film prepared by RF sputtering deposition and thermal annealing has been studied. While the bulk LBCO compound was metallic, the LBCO film deposited on a Si substrate by sputtering and a post annealing process showed semiconductor-like conduction, which is considered to be due to the defects and poor grain connectivity in the LBCO film on the Si substrate. The LBCO film deposited on a SrTiO3 substrate was of high film quality and showed metallic conduction. When the cation site Cu was substituted by Co, the electrical conductivity of the LBCO film increased further and its temperature dependence became smaller. The transport properties of LBCO films are investigated to understand its carrier generation mechanism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films for Energy Production and Storage)
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8 pages, 1644 KiB  
Article
Annealing of Boron-Doped Hydrogenated Crystalline Silicon Grown at Low Temperature by PECVD
by Marta Chrostowski, José Alvarez, Alessia Le Donne, Simona Binetti and Pere Roca i Cabarrocas
Materials 2019, 12(22), 3795; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12223795 - 19 Nov 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2741
Abstract
We investigate low-temperature (<200 °C) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for the formation of p–n junctions. Compared to the standard diffusion or implantation processes, silicon growth at low temperature by PECVD ensures a lower thermal budget and a better control of the doping [...] Read more.
We investigate low-temperature (<200 °C) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for the formation of p–n junctions. Compared to the standard diffusion or implantation processes, silicon growth at low temperature by PECVD ensures a lower thermal budget and a better control of the doping profile. We previously demonstrated the successful growth of boron-doped epitaxial silicon layers (p+ epi-Si) at 180 °C. In this paper, we study the activation of boron during annealing via dark conductivity measurements of p+ epi-Si layers grown on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) profiles of the samples, carried out to analyze the elemental composition of the p+ epi-Si layers, showed a high concentration of impurities. Finally, we have characterized the p+ epi-Si layers by low-temperature photoluminescence (PL). Results revealed the presence of a broad defect band around 0.9 eV. In addition, we observed an evolution of the PL spectrum of the sample annealed at 200 °C, suggesting that additional defects might appear upon annealing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films for Energy Production and Storage)
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Review

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13 pages, 15548 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances on Thermoelectric Silicon for Low-Temperature Applications
by Dario Narducci and Federico Giulio
Materials 2022, 15(3), 1214; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15031214 - 06 Feb 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2419
Abstract
Silicon is the most widely used functional material, as it is geo-abundant and atoxic. Unfortunately, its efficiency as a thermoelectric material is very poor. In this paper, we present and discuss advances of research on silicon and related materials for thermoelectric applications, mostly [...] Read more.
Silicon is the most widely used functional material, as it is geo-abundant and atoxic. Unfortunately, its efficiency as a thermoelectric material is very poor. In this paper, we present and discuss advances of research on silicon and related materials for thermoelectric applications, mostly focusing on the comparison between the two strategies deployed to increase its performance, namely either reducing its thermal conductivity or, in polycrystalline materials, increasing its power factor. Special attention will be paid to recent results concerning silicon thin films. The enhancement of Si performances has motivated efforts to develop integrated heat microharvesters operating around room temperature, which will be reviewed also in view of their applications to power wireless sensors for the Internet of Things. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films for Energy Production and Storage)
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