Efficient Ternary Polymer Solar Cells with Two Well‐Compatible Donors and One Ultranarrow Bandgap Nonfullerene Acceptor

Nonfullerene polymer solar cells (PSCs) are fabricated by using one wide bandgap donor PBDB‐T and one ultranarrow bandgap acceptor IEICO‐4F as the active layers. One medium bandgap donor PTB7‐Th is selected as the third component due to the similar highest occupied molecular orbital level compared to that of PBDB‐T and their complementary absorption spectra. The champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs is increased from 10.25% to 11.62% via incorporating 20 wt% PTB7‐Th in donors, with enhanced short‐circuit current (J_SC) of 24.14 mA cm^?2 and fill factor (FF) of 65.03%. The 11.62% PCE should be the highest value for ternary nonfullerene PSCs. The main contribution of PTB7‐Th can be summarized as the improved photon harvesting and enhanced exciton utilization of PBDB‐T due to the efficient energy transfer from PBDB‐T to PTB7‐Th. Meanwhile, PTB7‐Th can also act as a regulator to adjust PBDB‐T molecular arrangement for optimizing charge transport, resulting in the enhanced FF of ternary PSCs. This experimental result may provide new insight for developing high‐performance ternary nonfullerene PSCs by selecting two well‐compatible donors with different bandgap and one ultranarrow bandgap acceptor.     

A Facile Method to Fine‐Tune Polymer Aggregation Properties and Blend Morphology of Polymer Solar Cells Using Donor Polymers with Randomly Distributed Alkyl Chains

The device performance of polymer solar cells (PSCs) is strongly dependent on the blend morphology. One of the strategies for improving PSC performance is side‐chain engineering, which plays an important role in controlling the aggregation properties of the polymers and thus the domain crystallinity/purity of the donor–acceptor blends. In particular, for a family of high‐performance donor polymers with strong temperature‐dependent aggregation properties, the device performances are very sensitive to the size of alkyl chains, and the best device performance can only be achieved with an optimized odd‐numbered alkyl chain. However, the synthetic route of odd‐numbered alkyl chains is costly and complicated, which makes it difficult for large‐scale synthesis. Here, this study presents a facile method to optimize the aggregation properties and blend morphology by employing donor polymers with a mixture of two even‐numbered, randomly distributed alkyl chains. In a model polymer system, this study suggests that the structural and electronic properties of the random polymers comprising a mixture of 2‐octyldodecyl and 2‐decyltetradecyl alkyl chains can be systematically tuned by varying the mixing ratio, and a high power conversion efficiency (11.1%) can be achieved. This approach promotes the scalability of donor polymers and thus facilitates the commercialization of PSCs.     

A C-NMR study of 10,12-tricosadiynoic acid and the corresponding phospholipid and phospholipid polymer

Diacetylene phospholipids are presently being studied because of their potential to polymerise in vesicles, multilayers and natural biomembranes. ¹³C-NMR spectra and spin-lattice relaxation times have now been obtained of a diacetylene phospholipid present in a sonicated dispersion in water. Similar data have been obtained of a monoacetylene phospholipid and a saturated phospholipid. For further comparison the spectrum of a diacetylenic fatty acid in benzene-d₆ was also examined and relaxation data obtained. A comparison of the various relaxation data provides an indication of the restricted motion associated with the two conjugated triple bonds of the diacetylene phospholipid within the lipid bilayer structure. A proximity interaction between diacetylene groups occurs and a conformation for the diacetylene part of the lipid in the bilayer is deduced. The ¹³C-NMR spectrum of a soluble phospholipid polymer in C²HCl₃, obtained by ultraviolet irradiation of the diacetylene phospholipid, shows that the two conjugated triple bonds of the monomer is replaced in the polymer by an alternating double and triple bonded conjugated structure.     

Microgravity tissue engineering

Summary Tissue engineering studies were done using isolated cells, three-dimensional polymer scaffolds, and rotating bioreactors operated under conditions of simulated microgravity. In particular, vessel rotation speed was adjusted such that 10 mm diameter × 2 mm thick cell-polymer constructs were cultivated in a state of continuous free-fall. Feasibility was demonstrated for two different cell types: cartilage and heart. Conditions of simulated microgravity promoted the formation of cartilaginous constructs consisting of round cells, collagen and glycosaminoglycan (GAG), and cardiac tissue constructs consisting of elongated cells that contracted spontaneously and synchronously. Potential advantages of using a simulated microgravity environment for tissue engineering were demonstrated by comparing the compositions of cartilaginous constructs grown under four different in vitro culture conditions: simulated microgravity in rotating bioreactors, solid body rotation in rotating bioreactors, turbulent mixing in spinner flasks, and orbital mixing in petri dishes. Constructs grown in simulated microgravity contained the highest fractions of total regenerated tissue (as a percent of construct dry weight) and of GAG, the component required for cartilage to withstand compressive force.     

Synthesis,characterization and biocompatibility of PEGA resins

Three types of beaded polyethylene glycol polyacrylamide copolymers (PEGA) with a high content of polyethylene glycol (PEG) were synthesized by inverse suspension polymerization and characterized for peptide synthesis and with respect to their physical properties. Several peptides of high purity have been synthesized on the resin. The properties which were determined were loading of amino group, swelling, bead size distribution, porosity, flexibility and compatibility with active biomolecules. A loading of 0.35 mmol/g has been obtained and the swelling was excellent in solvents of various polarities ranging from water to dichloromethane. The ¹³C-NMR T₁-relaxation times of a resin containing a peptide were determined in DMSO-d₆ and the resin was found to exhibit a behaviour similar to the components in free solution.     

A new class of network-polymeric chiral stationary phases

A strategy based on the use of homo bi- and multifunctional building blocks for the synthesis of a new class of network-polymeric chiral stationary phases has been evaluated. The key steps comprise acylation of N,N′-diallyl-L-tartardiamide (DATD) and reaction with a multifunctional hydrosilane, yielding a network polymer incorporating the bifunctional C₂-symmetric chiral selector. Covalent bonding to a functionalized silica takes place during the latter process. Many of these chiral sorbents show interesting enantioselective properties toward a wide variety of racemic solutes under normal-phase (hexane-based) conditions. The retention is mainly caused by the hydrogen-bonding ability of the analyte, which is regulated by mobile phase additives like alcohol or ether cosolvents. The most interesting chiral stationary phases, in terms of broad enantioselectivity, were obtained from O,O′-diaryol-DATD-derivatives, particularly those containing the 3,5-dimethylbenzoyl and the 4-(tert-butyl)benzoyl moieties. Since high column efficiencies can be obtained with these chiral sorbents, an α-value of ca. 1.2 is usually sufficient to produce baseline separation. A large number of neutral as well as acidic or basic drug racemates are resolved without derivatization. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Alternating Magnetic Field-Responsive Hybrid Gelatin Microgels for Controlled Drug Release

Magnetically-responsive nano/micro-engineered biomaterials that enable a tightly controlled, on-demand drug delivery have been developed as new types of smart soft devices for biomedical applications. Although a number of magnetically-responsive drug delivery systems have demonstrated efficacies through either in vitro proof of concept studies or in vivo preclinical applications, their use in clinical settings is still limited by their insufficient biocompatibility or biodegradability. Additionally, many of the existing platforms rely on sophisticated techniques for their fabrications. We recently demonstrated the fabrication of biodegradable, gelatin-based thermo-responsive microgel by physically entrapping poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) chains as a minor component within a three-dimensional gelatin network. In this study, we present a facile method to fabricate a biodegradable drug release platform that enables a magneto-thermally triggered drug release. This was achieved by incorporating superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and thermo-responsive polymers within gelatin-based colloidal microgels, in conjunction with an alternating magnetic field application system.     

Genome‐wide screen of genes imprinted in sorghum endosperm,and the roles of allelic differential cytosine methylation

Imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon referring to allele‐biased expression of certain genes depending on their parent of origin. Accumulated evidence suggests that, while imprinting is a conserved mechanism across kingdoms, the identities of the imprinted genes are largely species‐specific. Using deep RNA sequencing of endosperm 14 days after pollination in sorghum, 5683 genes (29.27% of the total 19 418 expressed genes) were found to harbor diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms between two parental lines. The analysis of parent‐of‐origin expression patterns in the endosperm of a pair of reciprocal F₁ hybrids between the two sorghum lines led to identification of 101 genes with ≥ fivefold allelic expression difference in both hybrids, including 85 maternal expressed genes (MEGs) and 16 paternal expressed genes (PEGs). Thirty of these genes were previously identified as imprinted in endosperm of maize (Zea mays), rice (Oryza sativa) or Arabidopsis, while the remaining 71 genes are sorghum‐specific imprinted genes relative to these three plant species. Allele‐biased expression of virtually all of the 14 tested imprinted genes (nine MEGs and five PEGs) was validated by pyrosequencing using independent sources of RNA from various developmental stages and dissected parts of endosperm. Forty‐six imprinted genes (30 MEGs and 16 PEGs) were assayed by quantitative RT–PCR, and the majority of them showed endosperm‐specific or preferential expression relative to embryo and other tissues. DNA methylation analysis of the 5’ upstream region and gene body for seven imprinted genes indicated that, while three of the four PEGs were associated with hypomethylation of maternal alleles, no MEG was associated with allele‐differential methylation.     

Solid‐State Solar Thermal Fuels for Heat Release Applications

Closed cycle systems offer an opportunity for solar energy harvesting and storage all within the same material. Photon energy is stored within the chemical conformations of molecules and is retrieved by a triggered release in the form of heat. Until now, such solar thermal fuels (STFs) have been largely unavailable in the solid‐state, which would enable them to be utilized for a multitude of applications. A polymer STF storage platform is synthesized employing STFs in the solid‐state. This approach enables uniform films capable of appreciable heat storage of up to 30 Wh kg^?1 and that can withstand temperature of up to 180 °C. For the first time a macroscopic energy release is demonstrated using spatial infrared heat maps with up to a 10 °C temperature change. These findings pave the way for developing highly efficient and high energy density STFs for applications in the solid‐state.     

Green‐Solvent‐Processed All‐Polymer Solar Cells Containing a Perylene Diimide‐Based Acceptor with an Efficiency over 6.5%

To realize high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) in green‐solvent‐processed all‐polymer solar cells (All‐PSCs), a long alkyl chain modified perylene diimide (PDI)‐based polymer acceptor PPDIODT with superior solubility in nonhalogenated solvents is synthesized. A properly matched PBDT‐TS1 is selected as the polymer donor due to the red‐shifted light absorption and low‐lying energy level in order to achieve the complementary absorption spectrum and matched energy level between polymer donor and polymer acceptor. By utilizing anisole as the processing solvent, an optimal efficiency of 5.43% is realized in PBDT‐TS1/PPDIODT‐based All‐PSC with conventional configuration, which is comparable with that of All‐PSCs processed by the widely used binary solvent. Due to the utilization of an inverted device configuration, the PCE is further increased to over 6.5% efficiency. Notably, the best‐performing PCE of 6.58% is the highest value for All‐PSCs employing PDI‐based polymer acceptors and green‐solvent‐processed All‐PSCs. The excellent photovoltaic performance is mainly attributed to a favorable vertical phase distribution, a higher exciton dissociation efficiency (P_diss) in the blend film, and a higher electrode carrier collection efficiency. Overall, the combination of rational molecular designing, material selection, and device engineering will motivate the efficiency breakthrough in green‐solvent‐processed All‐PSCs.