Chapters authored
Materials for Photovoltaics: Overview, Generations, Recent Advancements and Future Prospects
As a consequence of rising concern about the impact of fossil fuel-based energy on global warming and climate change, photovoltaic cell technology has advanced significantly in recent years as a sustainable source of energy. To date, photovoltaic cells have been split into four generations, with the first two generations accounting for the majority of the current market. First generation of thin-film technologies is based on monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon and gallium arsenide cells and includes well-known medium- or low-cost technologies with moderate yields, whereas, second generation includes devices with lower efficiency and manufacturing costs. Third generation is based on novel materials and has a wide range of design options, as well as expensive but highly efficient cells. However, fourth generation, also known as “inorganics-in-organics,” combines the low cost and flexibility of polymer thin films with the durability of innovative inorganic nanostructures (metal nanoparticles or metal oxides) in organic-based nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, graphene, and their derivatives). The aim of this chapter was to highlight the current state of photovoltaic cell technology in terms of manufacturing materials and efficiency by providing a comprehensive overview of the four generations as well as the relevance of graphene and its derivatives in solar cell applications.
Part of the book: Thin Films Photovoltaics
Overview of Liquid Crystal Research: Computational Advancements, Challenges, Future Prospects and Applications
Liquid crystal (LC) is a fascinating state of matter that combines order and mobility at multiple hierarchical levels, spanning from nanoscale to the macroscale, or from molecular to the macroscopic, and is composed of molecules and layers as thin as of a few nanometer in size. This unique combination allows such a system to adapt to a wide range of external stimuli, including temperature, magnetic field, electric field, mechanical stress, light, chemical reaction, and electrochemical response, by determining a new lowest energy configuration. Liquid crystalline nanostructures efficiently transmit and amplify information and attributes over macroscopic sizes due to their dynamic nature. The responsiveness and diversity of LCs provide enormous potential and challenges for fundamental scientific insights as well as opening the door to countless applied applications. Recent breakthroughs in nanotechnology have boosted the discipline, both in terms of theoretical simulations and the ability to fabricate nanoscale structures such as sub-wavelength gratings, nanoporous materials, and nanoparticles. Because LC materials are switchable, a new family of active plasmonic and nanophotonic devices is emerging, describing fascinating basic research processes as well as the creation of upgraded devices. This chapter discusses the fundamentals, computational advances, future prospects and challenges, as well as potential applications of LCs.
Part of the book: Liquid Crystals