Junction formation and current transport mechanisms in hybrid n-Si/PEDOT:PSS solar cells

We investigated hybrid inorganic-organic solar cells combining monocrystalline n-type silicon (n- Si) and a highly conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The build-in potential, photo- and dark saturation current at this hybrid interface are monitored for varying n-Si doping concentrations. We corroborate that a high build-in potential forms at the hybrid junction leading to strong inversion of the n-Si surface. By extracting work function and valence band edge of the polymer from ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, a band diagram of the hybrid n-Si/PEDOT:PSS heterojunction is presented. The current- voltage characteristics were analyzed using Schottky and abrupt pn-junction models. The magnitude as well as the dependence of dark saturation current on n-Si doping concentration proves that the transport is governed by diffusion of minority charge carriers in the n-Si and not by thermionic emission of majorities over a Schottky barrier. This leads to a comprehensive explanation of the high observed open-circuit voltages of up to 634 mV connected to high conversion efficiency of almost 14%, even for simple planar device structures without antireflection coating or optimized contacts. The presented work clearly shows that PEDOT:PSS forms a hybrid heterojunction with n-Si behaving similar to a conventional pn-junction and not, like commonly assumed, a Schottky junction

Elektrostatische Wechselwirkungen in komplexen Flüssigkeiten und ihre Beschreibung mit Molekulardynamiksimulationen

Wasser ist eine hochpolare Flüssigkeit. Ihre ungewöhnlichen elektrostatischen Eigenschaften haben das organische Leben, das sich dort entwickelt hat, geprägt. Daher bestimmen beispielsweise die elektrostatischen Wechselwirkungen zwischen der wässrigen Zellflüssigkeit und den darin gelösten Proteinen, den molekularen Funktionsträgern der Biologie, sowohl die Struktur als auch die Dynamik dieser Makromoleküle. Mikroskopische Simulationsbeschreibungen der in Protein-Lösungsmittel Systemen ablaufenden Prozesse müssen deshalb jene Probleme lösen, welche durch den sehr langsamen 1/r Abfall der Coulomb Wechselwirkung und die endliche Größe von Simulationsmodellen aufgeworfen werden. Die vorliegende Arbeit fasst eine Reihe von Publikationen zusammen, in denen zunächst mit dem sog. SAMM/RF Algorithmus eine genaue und recheneffiziente Lösung für die angesprochenen methodischen Probleme vorgeschlagen und verifiziert wird [G. Mathias, B. Egwolf, M. Nonella, P. Tavan, J. Chem. Phys. 118, 10847-10860 (2003)]. Bei molekularmechanischen (MM) Molekulardynamik (MD) Simulationen ermöglicht dieser Algorithmus die Beschreibung sehr großer Systeme mit mehr als 10^5 Atomen auf einer Nanosekunden-Zeitskala. Für flüssiges Wasser konnten damit winkelaufgelöste Korrelationsfunktionen, die von mir vorgeschlagen wurden, auch bei großen Abständen statistisch genau berechnet werden [G. Mathias, P. Tavan, J. Chem. Phys. 120, 4393-4403 (2004)]. Damit ließ sich die dipolare Struktur der Solvatschalen um ein gegebenes Wassermolekül analysieren. Darüber hinaus wurde nachgewiesen, dass sich Wasser ab Distanzen von etwa 15 A° wie ein homogenes Dielektrikum verhält. Die SAMM/RF Methode wurde ferner zur Beschreibung der langreichweitigen Elektrostatik bei Hybridrechnungen eingesetzt, welche Dichtefunktional Methoden mit MM Kraftfeldern kombinieren, um so Schwingungsspektren biologischer Chromophore in polaren und in komplexen Lösungsmitteln quantitativ genau berechnen zu können. An den Beispielen des Retinalchromophors im Meta-III Zustand des Rhodopsins [R. Vogel, F. Siebert, G. Mathias, P. Tavan, G. Fan, M. Sheves, Biochemistry 42, 9863-9874 (2003)], der Chinone im bakteriellen Reaktionszentrum [M. Nonella, G. Mathias, M. Eichinger, P. Tavan, J. Phys. Chem. B 107, 316-322 (2003)] und eines Chinonmoleküls in wässriger Lösung [M. Nonella, G. Mathias, P. Tavan, J. Phys. Chem. A 107, 8638-8647 (2003)] wird gezeigt, wie elektrostatische Wechselwirkungen eines Moleküls mit seiner Lösungsmittelumgebung seine Schwingungsspektren modifizieren

Catalog of Galactic Beta Cephei Stars

We present an extensive and up-to-date catalog of Galactic Beta Cephei stars. This catalog is intended to give a comprehensive overview of observational characteristics of all known Beta Cephei stars. 93 stars could be confirmed to be Beta Cephei stars. For some stars we re-analyzed published data or conducted our own analyses. 61 stars were rejected from the final Beta Cephei list, and 77 stars are suspected to be Beta Cephei stars. A list of critically selected pulsation frequencies for confirmed Beta Cephei stars is also presented. We analyze the Beta Cephei stars as a group, such as the distributions of their spectral types, projected rotational velocities, radial velocities, pulsation periods, and Galactic coordinates. We confirm that the majority of these stars are multiperiodic pulsators. We show that, besides two exceptions, the Beta Cephei stars with high pulsation amplitudes are slow rotators. We construct a theoretical HR diagram that suggests that almost all 93 Beta Cephei stars are MS objects. We discuss the observational boundaries of Beta Cephei pulsation and their physical parameters. We corroborate that the excited pulsation modes are near to the radial fundamental mode in frequency and we show that the mass distribution of the stars peaks at 12 solar masses. We point out that the theoretical instability strip of the Beta Cephei stars is filled neither at the cool nor at the hot end and attempt to explain this observation

Pyrimidinone: Versatile Trojan horse in DNA photodamage?

(6-4) Photolesions between adjacent pyrimidine DNA bases are prone to secondary photochemistry. It has been shown that singlet excited (6-4) moieties form Dewar valence isomers as well as triplet excitations. We here report on the triplet state of a minimal model for the (6-4) photolesion, 1-methyl-2(1H)-pyrimidinone. Emphasis is laid on its ability to abstract hydrogen atoms from alcohols and carbohydrates. Steady-state and time-resolved experiments consistently yield bimolecular rate constants of ∼104 M−1 s−1 for the hydrogen abstraction. The process also occurs intramolecularly as experiments on zebularine (1-(β-D-ribofuranosyl)-2(1H)-pyrimidinone) show

Killer-like receptors and GPR56 progressive expression defines cytokine production of human CD4+ memory T cells

All memory T cells mount an accelerated response on antigen reencounter, but significant functional heterogeneity is present within the respective memory T-cell subsets as defined by CCR7 and CD45RA expression, thereby warranting further stratification. Here we show that several surface markers, including KLRB1, KLRG1, GPR56, and KLRF1, help define low, high, or exhausted cytokine producers within human peripheral and intrahepatic CD4+ memory T-cell populations. Highest simultaneous production of TNF and IFN-γ is observed in KLRB1+KLRG1+GPR56+ CD4 T cells. By contrast, KLRF1 expression is associated with T-cell exhaustion and reduced TNF/IFN-γ production. Lastly, TCRβ repertoire analysis and in vitro differentiation support a regulated, progressive expression for these markers during CD4+ memory T-cell differentiation. Our results thus help refine the classification of human memory T cells to provide insights on inflammatory disease progression and immunotherapy development