Considering the unavoidable time delay effects and ubiquitous environmental noise in practical applications, along with the strong nonlinearity and multiple couplings inherent in actual systems, the resulting dynamical behavior becomes extremely complex, necessitating the development of new theoretical research methods. In this paper, a strongly nonlinear energy harvesting system with time delay is taken as the research object. To address the above difficulties, an extended stochastic averaging method is proposed to investigate the time delay induced stochastic dynamics of the system. The energy-dependent frequency is first constructed according to the operating mechanism of the multi-well potential function. Then, the stochastic averaging method of energy envelope is extended to derive analytical expressions for the stationary probability density and the mean output power. Finally, the effects of time delay parameters on the stationary response and the mean output power are analyzed in detail. Results show that even small time delays cannot be ignored in practical applications, as both the time-delayed feedback gain and the time delay have significant influences on the dynamic characteristics of systems. Moreover, adopting appropriate time-delayed feedback control can markedly enhance system performance. The effectiveness of the extended stochastic averaging method is verified through Monte Carlo numerical simulations.
​​Under the background of environmental change, it is crucial to identify the characteristics and driving mechanisms of grassland cover change in the Fenhe River Basin to facilitate regional ecological restoration and effective grassland resource management. Taking 2000-2023 as the study period, this study used trend analysis and a land-use transition matrix to examine the spatiotemporal patterns of grassland cover change in the Fenhe River Basin. A random forest model combined with SHAP analysis was applied to identify and compare the main environmental driving factors. The results showed a clear overall decline in grassland cover from 2000 to 2023, with a spatial pattern of gradual decrease from north to south. The decline was most pronounced in the downstream region, followed by the midstream and upstream regions. Among the environmental factors, evapotranspiration (ET) was the most important influence on grassland cover change, showing the highest importance scores at both the basin scale and within all subregions. These scores were significantly higher than those of the other factors, with more prominent effects in the midstream and downstream areas. Precipitation and temperature also significantly affected grassland cover change and exhibited marked spatial heterogeneity. Temperature played a stronger role than precipitation in the upstream region, whereas precipitation was more influential in the midstream and downstream regions. The effects of elevation and slope were generally stable, reflecting their background and constraining roles. Furthermore, the SHAP analysis indicated that the relationships between environmental factors and grassland cover change were not simply linear. ET generally showed a strong positive contribution, while precipitation and temperature displayed certain threshold effects. Slope and elevation imposed stable topographic constraints. These findings provide a scientific basis for grassland conservation, ecological restoration, and integrated basin management in the Fenhe River Basin.
Knowledge of the behavior of high-strength concrete reinforced with bamboo fibers remains limited with respect to compressive deformability and flexural fracture energy. The effect of alkali-treated bamboo fibers (1.0% and 1.5% by weight of cement; 2% NaOH) on the fresh-mix properties, mechanical performance, compressive deformability, and flexural fracture energy of high-strength concrete was evaluated. The addition of fibers increased the air content and reduced the consistency of the mix. The compressive strength changed by + 4% and - 6%, while the strain corresponding to peak stress increased by 11% and 7%. The splitting tensile strength decreased by 14%, whereas the flexural tensile strength increased significantly by 12%. A more pronounced effect was observed for fracture energy, which increased significantly: Gf,δ by 20% and 143%, and Gf, CMOD by 20% and 33%. The increase in fracture energy may be associated with delayed microcrack initiation in the notch-tip zone, limited microcrack coalescence, and short-term load retention near the peak value, as confirmed by the flexural response curves and by the analysis of the evolution of the principal tensile strain ε₁ concentration zone. Scanning electron microscopy revealed only minor qualitative changes in fiber surface morphology after alkali treatment.
Houttuynia cordata is a traditional medicinal plant with various bioactivities mainly caused by its terpenoids. However, the effects of geography, environment, biosynthesis, and multiple pharmacological targets of these compounds are still not well understood. We used UPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS metabolomics to analyze terpenoids in accession 7# grown across six regions in China (Yunnan, Guangxi, Hubei, Chongqing, Guizhou, and Sichuan) and identified key environmental factors linked through random forest analysis. Network pharmacology identified potential targets and pathways for differentially accumulated terpenoids, further validated by molecular docking. Transcriptome sequencing identified terpenoid biosynthetic genes. A total of 502 terpenoid metabolites were detected, and chemotypic diversity was strongly shaped by geographical origin. Altitude (bio21) and annual precipitation (bio12) emerged as the primary environmental factors associated with 58 and 18 differential metabolites, respectively. Network analysis of 39 terpenoids revealed 239 potential targets, with 23 core targets (e.g., ESR1, STAT3, BCL2, AR) enriched in cancer, endocrine resistance, and hormone-related pathways. Docking confirmed stable interactions between key terpenoids (byzantionoside B, ursonic Acid) and core targets (ESR1, AR, BCL2) with binding energies < -7.5 kcal mol-1. Transcriptomic analysis uncovered 103 differentially expressed genes in the MVA and MEP pathways, with several (e.g., AACT, FPPS, HMGR, DXS) showing strong correlations with core terpenoid accumulation. This multi-omics study provides insights into substantial geospatial variation in H. cordata terpenoids, identifies altitude and precipitation as major environmental factors associated with terpenoid accumulation, and offers a predictive framework for the biosynthetic network and multi-target pharmacological potential, especially anticancer. It offers a theoretical basis for quality control and optimized cultivation.
The Persian Gulf is both an ecologically fragile marine system and a global energy chokepoint. Past conflicts have shown that warfare in the region can cause extensive and persistent damage to coastal and marine habitats. Today, that risk is amplified by the Gulf's shallow, semi-enclosed character, restricted exchange with the open ocean, extreme temperature and salinity, expanding hypoxia, and heavy reliance on desalination and other seawater-dependent infrastructure. Armed conflict could therefore trigger oil and chemical releases, chronic contamination, and habitat degradation, with cascading consequences for fisheries, water security, shipping, and industrial operations. Because these impacts are foreseeable and could be severe, prolonged, and transboundary, environmental preparedness in the Gulf should be integrated into regional security, infrastructure protection, and emergency planning.
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a major airborne pollutant in low-temperature livestock housing. Individual environmental factors have been widely studied. However, the actual growth environments of livestock and poultry usually involve the combined effects of multiple environmental factors. This study aims to investigate the fundamental mechanisms underlying energy metabolism disorders in the lung-intestine axis of finishing pigs under the combined effects of low temperature and PM2.5. This study characterized the physical, chemical, and microbial composition of the PM2.5 collected from pig houses. Inflammatory responses and energy metabolism were assessed at the tissue level. Key signaling pathways were functionally validated using in vitro cell models. Analysis of the lung-gut transcriptome elucidated the specific mechanisms by which the lung-gut axis responds to adverse environmental injuries. This study found that PM2.5 affects the energy metabolism process of lung macrophages, and low temperatures exacerbate the effects of PM2.5. Environmental factors trigger lactate production and mitochondrial dysfunction in macrophages through the HIF-PDK pathway. This dysfunction results in the release of pro-inflammatory factors that mediate systemic inflammation. Elevated levels of intestinal injury markers detected in serum indicate intestinal damage. Lung-gut transcriptomic analysis revealed impairments in immune and metabolic pathways. These findings were validated in intestinal tissues, supporting the activation of the lung-gut axis, which mediates systemic inflammation and intestinal damage following respiratory exposure. In summary, these findings elucidate the specific mechanisms through which combined cold exposure and PM2.5 exposure disrupt pulmonary and intestinal immune-metabolic homeostasis. This underscores the necessity of implementing interventions in intensive livestock production systems.
The exponential growth of the electric vehicle (EV) market has triggered a massive accumulation of spent lithium-ion batteries (sLIBs), which urgently requires sustainable recycling strategies to reduce environmental risks and ensure the availability of key mineral resources. While traditional pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes are established for large-scale operations, they are limited by high energy consumption, high reagent consumption, and hazardous secondary emissions. This review systematically evaluates current recycling methods, ranging from traditional smelting and acid-leaching to emerging electrochemical paradigms. A primary focus is placed on the redox-mediated method, a transformative electrochemical strategy designed to overcome the high energy consumption of traditional strategies and the inherent kinetic limitations in direct electrochemical extraction. This method introduces a redox mediator that decouples the electrochemical reaction into the mediator regeneration reaction at the electrode interface and the delithiation reaction at the solid-liquid interface, thereby enabling efficient and targeted energy-supplying recycling. Furthermore, the redox mediator recovery method can be ingeniously combined with value-added processes such as hydrogen production and zinc deposition, significantly reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint compared to traditional methods. This article shows the value of the redox mediator method, which combines waste treatment and resource regeneration.
This study projects India's per capita CO2emissions and ecological footprint in order to assess future sustainability concerns and policy requirements. The study is based on historical data for India from 1900 to 2020, including economic, population, and energy consumption parameters. Long-term trends and seasonal fluctuations in the data are captured by time series forecasting models, namely the Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and the Seasonal Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA). Given India's reliance on fossil fuels and its quick economic growth, energy consumption and GDP stand out as the two factors that contribute most to the rise in emissions. The findings show that environmental pressures in India are continuing to rise. By 2030, per capita CO₂ emissions are expected to climb to about 2.3 metric tons, and the ecological footprint is also expected to continue to grow. The results highlight how urgent it is to change the anticipated course by policy measures. Stricter emissions policies, increased use of renewable energy, advancements in energy efficiency, and the implementation of carbon capture technology are important steps. This study supports India's climate goals and sustainable development initiatives by supplementing integrated assessment models with clear and understandable baseline projections.
Wildfire smoke is an increasingly important environmental health risk, and growing evidence links wildfire-attributable fine particulate matter (PM2.5) to acute mortality. In Brazil, wildfires frequently co-occur with land-use change, yet it remains unclear whether the short-term mortality impacts of wildfire PM2.5 vary according to the surrounding deforestation context and its underlying drivers. We conducted a two-stage, multi-location time-series study to estimate the short-term association between daily wildfire-attributable PM2.5 and all-cause mortality in Brazil from 2003-2023, and to evaluate contextual effect modification by deforestation intensity. In the first stage, we fit quasi-Poisson regression models with distributed lag non-linear models (DLNMs) adjusting for long-term/seasonal trends, day of week, and moving averages of temperature and relative humidity. In the second stage, we pooled region-specific lag and cumulative estimates using multivariate meta-regression, entering driver-specific contextual deforestation intensity as an effect modifier. Across Brazil, higher daily wildfire-attributable PM2.5 was associated with increased all-cause mortality, with effects distributed over lags up to 14 days. Effect modification varied by deforestation driver. At average contextual deforestation (z=0), pooled cumulative RRs over lags 0-14 days were consistently elevated (≈1.015-1.017 per 10 μg/m3, depending on driver). Higher contextual deforestation was associated with stronger cumulative associations for several drivers, including renewable energy projects (low: 1.007 [0.998-1.016]; high: 1.027 [1.016-1.038]), reservoirs/dams (low: 1.012 [1.002-1.022]; high: 1.021 [1.010-1.033]), roads (low: 1.012 [1.006-1.019]; high: 1.020 [1.013-1.027]), and legal mining (low: 1.015 [1.009-1.022]; high: 1.017 [1.010-1.023]). In contrast, agriculture showed an attenuation at higher deforestation intensity (low: 1.027 [1.021-1.034]; high: 1.003 [0.996-1.009]). Lag-response patterns indicated that modification was often most evident at later lags for infrastructure- and extraction-related drivers. These findings underscore the importance of integrating air-pollution epidemiology with land-use science to identify which land-use trajectories may amplify or mitigate wildfire smoke-related health burdens.
Air pollution remains critical global challenge, with sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contributing to environmental degradation and adverse health outcomes. Among mitigation technologies, biochar (BC) has gained attention as sustainable adsorbent for gas-phase pollutant control due to its hierarchical porosity, tunable surface chemistry, and production from renewable biomass. This review examines mechanistic foundations and design strategies of engineered biochar for removal of SOx, NOx, and VOCs, while comparing its performance with conventional technologies that are pollutant-specific, energy-intensive, or limited under industrial conditions. Key synthesis routes including pyrolysis, hydrothermal carbonization, and co-pyrolysis are discussed alongside modification strategies such as activation, heteroatom doping, and metal functionalization, which enhance pore structure, surface reactivity, and pollutant selectivity. Reported studies indicate that engineered biochars achieve adsorption capacities up to ~ 200 mg g-1 for SO₂ and ~ 245 mg g-1 for aromatic VOCs such as toluene, while demonstrating effective NOx removal under flue-gas conditions. These performances are governed by hierarchical porosity, defect-rich carbon structures, and oxygen-containing functional groups that promote acid-base interactions, π-π stacking, and redox-mediated adsorption pathways. Computational tools increasingly support adsorbent design: Density Functional Theory provides atomistic insight, while Machine Learning enables rapid prediction across datasets. Despite progress, challenges remain, including regeneration energy demand, reduced selectivity under humid conditions, and limited industrial scalability. By integrating experimental insights with computational approaches, this review outlines a predictive framework for developing efficient and durable advanced biochar adsorbents for next-generation air pollution control.
Allura Red (E129) is a widely used synthetic azo dye in food, pharmaceutical, and beverage industries, whose increasing discharge into aquatic systems has raised environmental and public health concerns. Its recalcitrant nature, potential toxicity, and formation of aromatic amine intermediates during degradation necessitate effective wastewater treatment strategies. Although numerous laboratory-scale studies report high removal efficiencies, a consolidated critical assessment of treatment technologies with emphasis on mechanism, scalability, and sustainability remains limited. This review systematically evaluates major approaches for Allura Red removal, including adsorption, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), electrochemical oxidation, membrane filtration, photocatalysis, and biological treatments. Adsorption is identified as the most extensively studied technique due to operational simplicity and low cost; however, limitations like adsorbent regeneration, pore blockage, and secondary waste generation hinder large-scale implementation. AOPs and electrochemical methods demonstrate rapid degradation and high mineralization efficiencies (>95%) but are constrained by energy demand and operational costs. Membrane systems provide high rejection rates yet suffer from fouling, while biological methods offer eco-friendly alternatives with longer treatment times. Key research gaps include insufficient pilot-scale validation, limited toxicity assessment of degradation by-products, and lack of life-cycle and techno-economic analyses. Future efforts should focus on hybrid systems, green materials, and scalable sustainable designs.
Photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production offers a sustainable route for solar-to-chemical energy conversion, yet precise control over structure-reactivity relationships in organic photocatalysts remains limited. Here, we report diazine-based donor-acceptor (D-A) imine-linked covalent organic polymers (COPs) designed for efficient H2O2 generation. By regulating the condensation centers (para, meta, and ortho), we find that para-regulated polymers exhibit the highest structural stability and photocatalytic reactivity. Mechanistic and theoretical analyses reveal that H2O2 photosynthesis is dominated by indirect 2e- oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and complemented by a 4e- water oxidation reaction (WOR), alleviating the dependence on O2-rich environments. Importantly, localized protonation is shown to be essential for O2 adsorption and activation, with Pauling-type end-on binding favoring selective 2e- ORR. In addition, -CN incorporation and para-regulation effectively lower the rate-limiting energy barriers, strengthening interfacial electron transfer. Dynamic proton reservoir behavior further endows the system with broad pH adaptability, maintaining stable local proton levels throughout the reaction. This work highlights the importance of condensation center regulation in programming reactant activation and charge transfer behavior, providing a design principle for advanced COPs in artificial photosynthesis.
Plant water potential is a central integrator of plant water status, linking hydraulic function with physiological performance and ecosystem water dynamics across species and systems. This review is motivated by the need to capture these dynamics under rapidly changing environmental conditions, which are often missed by discrete measurements. We evaluate the main approaches for continuous monitoring of plant water potential, including direct in situ sensors, indirect methods based on plant water content, and remote-sensing proxies. We discuss the principles, measurement mechanisms, practical constraints, and environmental sensitivities of each approach. Relative to traditional methods, such as pressure chambers, continuous measurements offer major advantages by resolving rapid variation in water status and strengthening inference on plant-soil-atmosphere interactions. These approaches are especially valuable under dynamic field conditions, where temporal variability in vapor pressure deficit, soil moisture, temperature, and radiation strongly shapes hydraulic behavior. We conclude that continuous monitoring has substantial potential to advance plant and ecosystem science, but wider application will depend on careful interpretation and greater harmonization across comparable methodologies. By synthesizing core principles, methodological challenges and best practices, this review provides a practical framework for researchers and practitioners applying continuous water potential measurements.
The environmental adaptability of pathogenic bacteria enhances their stress tolerance, increasing the difficulty of inactivating them during food processing and posing a serious threat to food safety. rpoS and rpoE, which guide the synthesis of the transcriptional regulators σS and σE, are involved in bacterial stress responses. Herein, the effects of rpoS and rpoE on Salmonella Typhimurium's responses under acid (pH 4.5), osmosis (3.5% NaCl), and heat (42 °C) stresses, as well as the acid-induced osmotic cross-stress responses, were investigated. The coregulatory mechanisms of rpoS and rpoE on cross-stress responses were further elucidated by integrating transcriptomics and multiple physiological data. The results indicated that knocking out rpoS and rpoE significantly prolonged the cell lag phase under acid, osmosis, and cross-stress conditions while reducing the maximum cell counts. Functional analysis of differentially expressed genes coregulated by rpoS and rpoE revealed that they not only regulate energy metabolism, glucose utilization, amino acid synthesis of Salmonella but also affect motility and virulence. Specifically, rpoS and rpoE coregulated trehalose metabolism through the TreY/TreZ pathway and trehalase activity, alongside adjusting osmolyte pools, including methionine, aspartate, tyrosine, and proline, to maintain osmotic equilibrium. Meanwhile, rpoS and rpoE were involved in cell motility by regulating flagellar formation. Additionally, expression of the virulence gene spiA was altered, and the knockout strain exhibited attenuated in vivo virulence. These results offer valuable insights into the regulatory mechanism of rpoS and rpoE on Salmonella stress responses, as well as potential targets when formulating control measures against this pathogen during food processing.
The Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge (IFAS) system emerges as an advanced nitrogen removal technology, particularly effective for treating high-nitrogen wastewater due to its sophisticated configuration. This research introduces an enhanced Integrated Upper Fixed-film Activated Sludge (IUFAS) reactor featuring a two-stage series design. By strategically positioning carrier media in the upper compartment and implementing controlled influent distribution with aeration in the lower section, the system achieves functional compartmentalization within a single reactor without liquid and sludge recirculation. Experimental results under influent conditions of chemical oxygen demand/total nitrogen (C/N) ratio (4 ∼ 5) and hydraulic retention time (10 h) confirmed effective nitrogen removal, evidenced by effluent total nitrogen consistently below 7 mg N/L and removal efficiency exceeding 87%. Notably, the optimized IUFAS configuration achieved functional zoning by establishing a pronounced dissolved oxygen gradient between the upper (0.1 ∼ 0.7 mg/L) and bottom compartments (0.3 ∼ 3.6 mg/L). This oxygen stratification facilitated distinct nitrogen removal pathways, including stable anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) as evidenced by successful Candidatus Brocadia enrichment in the secondary reactor's upper zone. Microbial analysis further indicated potential modulation of electron flow by sulfate-reducing bacteria and sulfur-driven denitrifying bacteria, whose synergistic activity optimized electron transfer pathways and enhanced denitrification efficiency. Additionally, microalgae reduced aeration demand, lowering energy consumption. These findings propose novel strategies for optimizing carbon source allocation in nitrogen removal processes, supporting the development of energy-efficient wastewater treatment systems.
Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have been extensively studied due to their high energy density; however, their practical application is limited by the scarcity of lithium resources. Emerging mono- and multivalent cation-based metal batteries offer promising alternatives that may overcome this limitation owing to their high abundance. Nevertheless, the development of these batteries using conventional liquid electrolytes (LEs) faces challenges such as safety concerns, parasitic reactions and dendrite formation. Replacing LEs with polymer electrolytes (PEs) can significantly improve battery safety and interfacial compatibility. Among various PEs, single-ion conducting polymer electrolytes (SICPEs) are particularly attractive due to their high cation transference numbers, flexibility, and easy processability. Despite this, systematic strategies for immobilizing anions across different battery systems remain insufficiently discussed and summarized. In addition, the design of SICPEs often depends on experimental trial and error, and the prevalent use of fluorine-containing components in their molecular structures raises significant environmental concerns. This review provides a comprehensive summary of strategies for developing anion-immobilizing SICPEs, highlighting the similarities and differences of different SICPEs for lithium and other emerging battery systems. Finally, we outline existing challenges and future research directions to inspire innovative solutions for tailoring SICPE properties and advancing their practical applications.
High-entropy oxides (HEOs) have emerged as a promising class of multicomponent ceramic materials, with exceptional tunability in both structural and functional properties, due to their configurational entropy-driven stabilization. Herein, we report the synthesis of a novel rocksalt-structured (CuZnNiCoSr)O HEO prepared via reverse coprecipitation method. Rietveld refinement of powder X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of a phase-pure rocksalt structure (Fm3̅m, a = 4.24(4) Å). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed multiple redox-active species (Ni2+/Ni3+, Co2+/Co3+) and abundant oxygen vacancies which contributed to enhanced catalytic performance. The electrode achieved a specific capacitance of 298.67 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 and good cycling stability with 96.36% retention after 1000 cycles. The optical bandgap decreased from 3.72 eV at 1073 K to 1.66 eV at 1473 K, showing a clear dependence on the calcination temperature. In addition, (CuZnNiCoSr)O showed exceptional photocatalytic activity, degrading methylene blue (MB) by 97.39% in 60 min, with a rate constant of 0.03551 min-1, following pseudo first-order kinetics. These results provide valuable insights into the rational design of HEOs and highlight (CuZnNiCoSr)O as a multifunctional material with great potential for energy storage and environmental remediation applications.
Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) utilizing vanadium-based oxide cathode materials exhibit considerable potential for large-scale energy storage applications, attributed to their high theoretical capacity, intrinsic safety, and environmental advantages. However, the relatively sluggish kinetics and irreversible structural degradation lead to rapid capacity fading, which presents a substantial challenge for the transition from laboratory-scale research to industrial application. Herein, we propose a synergistic inhibition strategy combining physical barrier and chemical anchoring effects to enhance the stability of V2O3. To this end, peapod-like carbon-coated V2O3 nanowires (P-V2O3@C) are rationally designed and successfully synthesized as a high-performance freestanding film cathode material by hydrothermal treatment and in situ carbothermal reduction reaction. This unique peapod-like carbon-coated nanostructure not only suppresses vanadium dissolution intermediates through the synergistic effect of the carbon layer as a physical barrier and V-C bonds with chemical anchoring functionality, but also provides optimized transport pathways and additional intercalation sites for electrons and ions, thereby enhancing the reaction kinetics and improving the cycling stability of P-V2O3@C. Consequently, the AZIBs with the P-V2O3@C film electrode exhibit a remarkable specific capacity (406 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1), excellent high-rate capability (160 mAh g-1 at 5 A g-1), and outstanding long-term stability (87.3% capacity retention under 6000 cycles at 5 A g-1). This work offers a versatile strategy and new insights for the development of advanced transition metal (vanadium, manganese, etc.) based oxide cathode materials for high performance AZIBs.
Thiourea-based polymers are an emerging class of functional materials characterized by strong directional hydrogen bonding, tunable polarity, and versatile supramolecular interactions. These features enable materials with adaptive mechanical behavior, molecular recognition capability, and environmental responsiveness. Despite their promise, the development of thiourea-functionalized polymers remains limited by persistent synthetic challenges, including poor solubility, competing side reactions, restricted architectural control, and difficulties in scalable processing. In addition, existing literature has largely focused on small-molecule thiourea systems, leaving polymer-level structure-property relationships insufficiently explored. This review critically examines recent advances in the design, synthesis, and functional applications of thiourea-based polymers, emphasizing structure-defining synthetic constraints, supramolecular organization, and materials performance. Strategies for incorporating thiourea motifs into polymer backbones, side chains, and cross-linked networks are discussed in relation to their influence on hydrogen-bonding networks, mechanical integrity, and environmental stability. Emerging applications in optoelectronic, separation, self-healing, and biomedical materials are highlighted, and key challenges and opportunities for sustainable design and scalable fabrication are identified.
The construction of a high-quality interface with excellent surface passivation and carrier transport is critical to the device performance of solar cells. Low-dimensional perovskite structures are widely explored for surface passivation due to their effective suppression of interfacial defects and enhanced environmental stability. While terminal molecules for constructing low-dimensional structures provide excellent passivation, they can introduce potential barriers for charge transport if the energy levels are not well-aligned. Herein, a tryptamine molecule is explored as the terminal molecule for the construction of a low-dimensional structure for passivating the buried interface of perovskite solar cells. Based on the inclusion of nitrogen atoms in the aromatic heterocyclic structure, the terminal molecule shows an uplifted HOMO level that aligns well with the perovskite skeleton, giving rise to enhanced orbit coupling. Therefore, this low-dimensional structure enables excellent surface passivation and interfacial carrier transport simultaneously, generating an outstanding open-circuit voltage (VOC) up to 1.266 V and an efficiency of 23.53% for single-junction wide-bandgap (1.68 eV) perovskite solar cells. This improvement enables the fabrication of the perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell with an efficiency of 33.22% (32.88% assessed by a third party) and a VOC of 1.987 V. Moreover, the fast carrier transport at the interface suppressed the halide phase segregation, bringing much enhanced operation stability.