Papers by Caterina Ducati
Applied Physics Letters, 2003
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Applied Physics A, 2006
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Nature, Mar 21, 2018
Metal halide perovskites are of great interest for various high-performance optoelectronic applic... more Metal halide perovskites are of great interest for various high-performance optoelectronic applications. The ability to tune the perovskite bandgap continuously by modifying the chemical composition opens up applications for perovskites as coloured emitters, in building-integrated photovoltaics, and as components of tandem photovoltaics to increase the power conversion efficiency. Nevertheless, performance is limited by non-radiative losses, with luminescence yields in state-of-the-art perovskite solar cells still far from 100 per cent under standard solar illumination conditions. Furthermore, in mixed halide perovskite systems designed for continuous bandgap tunability (bandgaps of approximately 1.7 to 1.9 electronvolts), photoinduced ion segregation leads to bandgap instabilities. Here we demonstrate substantial mitigation of both non-radiative losses and photoinduced ion migration in perovskite films and interfaces by decorating the surfaces and grain boundaries with passivating ...
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Small
The development of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries is dogged by the rapid capacity decay arising ... more The development of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries is dogged by the rapid capacity decay arising from polysulfide dissolution and diffusion in organic electrolytes. To solve this critical issue, a praline-like flexible interlayer consisting of high-loading titanium oxide (TiO2 ) nanoparticles and relatively long carbon nanofibers is fabricated. TiO2 nanoparticles with a size gradient occupy both the external and internal of carbon fiber and serve as anchors that allow the chemical adsorption of polysulfides through a conductive nanoarchitecture. The porous conductive carbon backbone helps in the physical absorption of polysulfides and provides redox reaction sites to allow the polysulfides to be reused. More importantly, it offers enough mechanical strength to support a high load TiO2 nanoparticle (79 wt%) that maximizes their chemical role, and can accommodate the large volume changes. Significant enhancement in cycle stability and rate capability is achieved for a readily available sulfur/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite cathode simply by incorporating this hierarchically nanostructured interlayer. The design and synthesis of interlayers by in situ integration of metal oxides and carbon fibers via a simple route offers the potential to advance Li-S batteries for practical applications in the future.
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Nano Letters, 2016
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Advanced Functional Materials, 2016
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The lack of thermal stability of perovskite solar cells is hindering the progress of this technol... more The lack of thermal stability of perovskite solar cells is hindering the progress of this technology towards adoption in the consumer market. Different pathways of thermal degradation are activated at different temperatures in these complex nanostructured hybrid composites. Thus, it is essential to explore the thermal response of the mesosuperstructured composite device to engineer materials and operating protocols. Here we produce devices according to four well-established recipes, and characterize their photovoltaic performance as they are heated within the operational range. The devices are analysed using transmission electron microscopy as they are further heated in situ, to monitor changes in morphology and chemical composition. We identify mechanisms for structural and chemical changes, such as iodine and lead migration, which appear to be correlated to the synthesis conditions. In particular, we identify a correlation between exposure of the perovskite layer to air during pro...
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Advanced Science, 2015
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Nanoscale, 2014
We present a multiscale simulation of charge transport in a solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell... more We present a multiscale simulation of charge transport in a solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell, where the real morphology between TiO2 and the hole transport material is included.
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AIP Conference Proceedings, 2003
Sulfide nanowires and filled MoS2 nanotubes are seen to selectively self‐assemble from multilayer... more Sulfide nanowires and filled MoS2 nanotubes are seen to selectively self‐assemble from multilayered fullerene and Ni thin films on molybdenum substrates by annealing in a controlled atmosphere at temperatures below 550°C. Patterned, direct growth on transmission electron microscopy grids allowed a detailed electron microscopy study of as‐grown structures. The nanorods are less than 100 nm in diameter and more than 10 μm long. Despite the comparatively low synthesis temperature, the structures are of very high crystallinity. The crystal growth is dependent on precursor stacking, annealing atmosphere and temperature. We could not reproduce the synthesis of crystalline arrays of single walled carbon nanotubes of identical chirality, as reported in the literature.
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Carbon, 2005
Carbon nanofibres are grown on a carbon fibre cloth using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposit... more Carbon nanofibres are grown on a carbon fibre cloth using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition from a gas mixture of acetylene and ammonia. A cobalt colloid is used as a catalyst to achieve a good coverage of nanofibres on the surface of the carbon fibres in the cloth. The low temperature growth conditions that we used would allow growth on
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Nano letters, 2010
Improving the solar light harvesting and photon-to-electron conversion efficiency for hybrid, org... more Improving the solar light harvesting and photon-to-electron conversion efficiency for hybrid, organic− inorganic photovoltaics are critical challenges. Titania based solid-state hybrid solar cells are moderately efficient at converting visible photons to electrons, but major ...
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ABSTRACT We demonstrate catalytic and seeded shape-selective growth of CdSe nanostructures by a s... more ABSTRACT We demonstrate catalytic and seeded shape-selective growth of CdSe nanostructures by a steady-state vapor-transport process. By varying the powder and sample temperatures, we observe a transition from a regime where catalytic growth is dominant to a metal-free self-induced nucleation regime. We then show that the best structural and optical quality are obtained by using Use colloidal nanocrystals as seeds for metal-free growth, as indicated by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Nano Lett, 2006
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Microscopy and Microanalysis, Aug 1, 2008
Self-assembled nanowires and nanotubes offer the prospect of accurate and scalable device enginee... more Self-assembled nanowires and nanotubes offer the prospect of accurate and scalable device engineering at an atomistic scale. However, deterministic nanotube growth and the control of nanowire dopant profiles and heterostructures are limited by an incomplete understanding of the role of commonly used catalysts and specifically their interface dynamics.
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Journal of applied physics, Nov 1, 2003
Silicon nanowires were selectively grown at temperatures below 400 C by plasma enhanced chemical ... more Silicon nanowires were selectively grown at temperatures below 400 C by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using silane as the Si source and gold as the catalyst. A detailed growth study is presented using electron microscopy, focused ion beam preparation, and Raman spectroscopy. A radio-frequency plasma significantly increased the growth rate. The Si nanowires show an uncontaminated, crystalline silicon core surrounded by a 2-nm-thick oxide sheath. The as-grown diameters are small enough for the ...
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Small, 2006
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A solution-phase route for the preparation of single-crystalline iron phosphide nanorods and nano... more A solution-phase route for the preparation of single-crystalline iron phosphide nanorods and nanowires is reported. We have shown that the mixture of trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) and trioctylphosphine (TOP), which are commonly used as the solvents for semiconductor nanocrystal synthesis, is not entirely inert. In the current process, TOP, serving as phosphor source, reacts with Fe precursors to form FeP nanostructures with large aspect ratios. In addition, the experimental results show that both TOP and TOPO are necessary for the formation of FeP nanowires and their ratio appears to control the morphology of the produced FeP structures. A possible growth mechanism is discussed.
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Papers by Caterina Ducati