A potential naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b ']dithiophene-based polymer with large open circuit voltage for efficient use in organic solar cells

A novel copolymer, PNDT-BTN, based on naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b'] dithiophene (NDT) and alkoxy naphthalene, was designed and synthesized by the Pd-catalyzed Stille-coupling method. The copolymer demonstrated good solubility and film-forming ability, along with good thermal stability. PNDT-BTN exhibited a broad absorption (from 300 to 600 nm), centered at 492 nm. HOMO and LUMO energy levels of the polymer were estimated to be -5.56 eV and -3.48 eV, respectively. The polymer solar cell fabricated from the blend of the polymer (donor) and PC71BM (acceptor) exhibited a high power conversion efficiency of 4.29% with a high V-OC of 0.98 V. To the best of our knowledge, this is among the highest V-OC values of PSCs based on NDT derivatives. This work demonstrates that the replacement of a vinylene group in a conjugated polymer with alkoxy naphthalene moieties is able to significantly lower HOMO energy levels, and therefore, increase the open circuit voltage of solar cells.open1198sciescopu

An interaction map of circulating metabolites, immune gene networks, and their genetic regulation

Background: Immunometabolism plays a central role in many cardiometabolic diseases. However, a robust map of immune-related gene networks in circulating human cells, their interactions with metabolites, and their genetic control is still lacking. Here, we integrate blood transcriptomic, metabolomic, and genomic profiles from two population-based cohorts (total N = 2168), including a subset of individuals with matched multi-omic data at 7-year follow-up. Results: We identify topologically replicable gene networks enriched for diverse immune functions including cytotoxicity, viral response, B cell, platelet, neutrophil, and mast cell/basophil activity. These immune gene modules show complex patterns of association with 158 circulating metabolites, including lipoprotein subclasses, lipids, fatty acids, amino acids, small molecules, and CRP. Genome-wide scans for module expression quantitative trait loci (mQTLs) reveal five modules with mQTLs that have both cis and trans effects. The strongest mQTL is in ARHGEF3 (rs1354034) and affects a module enriched for platelet function, independent of platelet counts. Modules of mast cell/basophil and neutrophil function show temporally stable metabolite associations over 7-year follow-up, providing evidence that these modules and their constituent gene products may play central roles in metabolic inflammation. Furthermore, the strongest mQTL in ARHGEF3 also displays clear temporal stability, supporting widespread trans effects at this locus. Conclusions: This study provides a detailed map of natural variation at the blood immunometabolic interface and its genetic basis, and may facilitate subsequent studies to explain inter-individual variation in cardiometabolic disease.Peer reviewe

Naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b ']dithiophene-based Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells: How Molecular Structure Influences Nanoscale Morphology and Photovoltaic Properties

Organic bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices based on a series of three naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b']dithiophene (NDT) derivatives blended with phenyl-C-71-butyric acid methyl ester were studied. These three derivatives, which have NDT units with various thiophene-chain lengths, were employed as the donor polymers. The influence of their molecular structures on the correlation between their solar-cell performances and their degree of crystallization was assessed. The grazing-incidence angle X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy results showed that the three derivatives exhibit three distinct nanoscale morphologies. We correlated these morphologies with the device physics by determining the J-V characteristics and the hole and electron mobilities of the devices. On the basis of our results, we propose new rules for the design of future generations of NDT-based polymers for use in bulk heterojunction solar cells.X110sciescopu

TPD-Based Copolymers with Strong Interchain Aggregation and High Hole Mobility for Efficient Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

ADA conjugated polymer, PTPD-TVT, containing thienopyrroledione and thiophenevinylenethiophene (TVT) units was synthesized as an electron donor for organic photovoltaic devices. It possesses a small bandgap and has excellent coplanarity and high hole mobility. To further enhance the interchain interactions between the polymer chains, a selenophenevinyleneselenophene (SVS) unit was also introduced and copolymerized to form the PTPD-SVS polymer. Devices made from PTPD-TVT and PTPD-SVS have rather promising power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 4.87 and 5.74%, respectively. The higher PCE value for solar cells based on PTPD-SVS was attributed to an enhanced carrier mobility resulting from stronger interchain aggregation in the BHJ active layer. These results show that the incorporation of a vinylene unit in TPD-based polymers is an effective way to reduce the bandgap and thereby improve charge transport for efficient photovoltaic devices.113430sciescopu

DTBDT-TTPD: a new dithienobenzodithiophene-based small molecule for use in efficient photovoltaic devices

We designed and synthesized a dithienobenzodithiophene (DTBDT)-based molecule with a planar molecular geometry, DTBDT-TTPD, for the fabrication of solution-processable organic solar cells (OSCs). DTBDT-TTPD exhibited both a low optical band gap of 1.88 eV and a low-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of -5.61 eV, indicating that DTBDT-TTPD is a promising electron donor for use in OSCs. OSCs prepared with DTBDT-TTPD as the electron donor and 16,6]-phenyl-C-71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) as the electron acceptor were fabricated. An optimized power conversion efficiency of 4.98% with a high short circuit current of 10.6 mA cm(-2) was achieved after finely tuning the morphology through an annealing step. These results indicate that DTBDT-TTPD is an effective compound for producing very promising characteristics in small-molecule solar cell devices.X111513sciescopu

Alkyl Chain Length Dependence of the Field-Effect Mobility in Novel Anthracene Derivatives

X113933sciescopu