| 1. |
- Asplund, Maria, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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Biocompatibility of PEDOT/biomolecular composites intended for neural communication electrodes
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Annan publikation (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Electrodes of the conjugated polymer poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) have been shown to possess very attractive electrochemical properties for functional electrical stimulation (FES) or recording in the nervous system. Biomolecules already present in nervous tissue, added as counter ions in PEDOT electropolymerisation, could be a route to further improve the biomaterial properties of PEDOT, eliminating the need of surfactant counter ions like docedyl benzene sulphonate (DBS) or polystyrene sulphonate (PSS) in the polymerisation process. Such PEDOT/biomolecular composites using heparin, or hyaluronic acid, have been electrochemically investigated in a previous study and have been shown to retain the attractive electrochemical properties already proven for PEDOT:PSS. The aim of the present study is to evaluate biocompatibility of these PEDOT/biomolecular composites in vitro and also evaluate PEDOT:heparin biocompatibility in cortical tissue in vivo. Hereby, we also aim to identify a suitable test protocol, that can be used in future evaluations when further material developments are made. Material toxicity was first tested on cell lines, both through a standardised agarose overlay assay on L929 fibroblasts, and through elution tests on human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Subsequently, a biocompatibility in vivo test was performed using PEDOT:heparin coated platinum probes implanted in the cerebral cortex of Sprague-Dawley rats. Tissue was collected at three weeks and six weeks of implantation and evaluated by immunohistochemistry. No cytotoxic response was seen to any of the PEDOT:biomolecular composites tested here. Furthermore, elution tests were found to be a practical and effective way of screening materials for toxicity and had a clear advantage over the agarose overlay assay, which was difficult to apply on other cell types than fibroblasts. Elution tests would therefore be recommendable as a screening method, at all stages of material development. In the in vivo tests, the stiffness of the platinum substrate was a significant problem, and extensive glial scarring was seen in most cases irrespective of implant material. However, quantification of immunological response through distance measurements from implant site to closest neuron, and counting of macrophage densities in proximity to polymer surface, was comparable to those of platinum controls. These results indicate that PEDOT:heparin surfaces were as compatible with cortical tissue as pure platinum controls.
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| 2. |
- Asplund, Maria, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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Wire electronics and woven logic, as a potential technology for neuroelectronic implants
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Annan publikation (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- New strategies to improve neuron coupling to neuroelectronic implants are needed. In particular, to maintain functional coupling between implant and neurons, foreign body response like encapsulation must me minimized. Apart from modifying materials to mitigate encapsulation it has been shown that with extremely thin structures, encapsulation will be less pronounced. We here utilize wire electrochemical transistors (WECTs) using conducting polymer coated fibers. Monofilaments down to 10 μm can be successfully coated and weaved into complex networks with built in logic functions, so called textile logic. Such systems can control signal patterns at a large number of electrode terminals from a few addressing fibres. Not only is fibre size in the range where less encapsulation is expected but textiles are known to make successful implants because of their soft and flexible mechanical properties. Further, textile fabrication provides versatility and even three dimensional networks are possible. Three possible architectures for neuroelectronic systems are discussed. WECTs are sensitive to dehydration and materials for better durability or improved encapsulation is needed for stable performance in biological environments.
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| 3. |
- Bergqvist, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Time-resolved morphology formation of solution cast polymer : fullerene blends revealed by in-situ photoluminescence spectroscopy
- 2015
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The nanoscale morphology of the photo-active layer in organic solar cells is critical for device efficiency. The photoactive layer is cast from solution and during drying both the polymer and the fullerene self-assemble to form a blend. Here, we introduce in-situ spectroscopic photoluminescence (PL) combined with laser reflectometry to monitor the drying process of an amorphous polymer:fullerene blend. When casting only the pristine components (polymer or PCBM only), the strength of PL emission is proportional to the solid content of the drying solution, and both kinetics reveal a rapid aggregation onset at the final stage of film drying. On the contrary, when casting polymer:fullerene blends, the strength of PL emission is proportional to the wet film thickness and reveals polymer/fullerene charge transfer (CT) already at the earliest stages of film drying, i.e. in dilute solutions. The proposed method allows to detect polymer/fullerene phase separation during film casting – from a reduction in the PL quenching rate as the film dries. Poor solvents lead to phase separation already at early stages of film drying (low solid content), resulting in a coarse final morphology as confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). We therefore anticipate that the proposed method will be an important tool in the future development of processing inks, not only for solution-cast polymer:fullerene solar cells but also for organic heterojunctions in general.
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| 4. |
- Bergqvist, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Uniaxial anisotropy in PEDOT:PSS electrodes enhances the photo current at oblique incidence in organic solar cells
- 2015
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this work an uniaxial anisotropic treatment of the transparent conductor PEDOT:PSS is included in the transfer matrix method (TMM), used to calculate the optical power dissipation in organic solar cells. PEDOT:PSS is known to be anisotropic and exhibit a weaker absorption and lower refractive index in the out of plane direction. For p-polarized light at large oblique incidence the inclusion of anisotropy show a gain of over 10% for the maximum photocurrent as compared to an isotropic treatment. Due to the interference in devices with reflecting bottom electrodes, the active layer absorption gain is not always occurring for the wavelengths with highest dichroism. This work show that using PEDOT:PSS as top electrode further strengthens the argument that thin film solar cells perform better than their silicon counterparts under oblique incidence. We also confirm previous studies showing that the optical interference maxima is shifted to slightly thicker films for oblique incidence for solar cells with reflective bottom electrodes.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Bäcklund, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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PEDOT-S coated protein fibril microhelices
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We show here the preparation and characterization of micrometer sized conductive helices. We utilize protein fibrils as structural templates to create chiral helices with either right or left handed helicity. The helices are coated with the conductive polymer alkoxysulfonate poly(ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT-S) to create micrometer sized conductive helices. The coating acts as a stabilizer for the template structure, facilitates the preparation of solid state films and shows significant conductivity. The helices have been investigated using Circular Dichroism (CD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the conductivity have been measured for solid state films.
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| 8. |
- Gabrielsson, Roger H, et al.
(författare)
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Hydrogels of polypyrrole and self doped PEDOT for porous electrodes and supercapacitors
- 2012
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this work is to extend the knowledge of the mechanism of electropolymerization of pyrrole and PEDOT-S by means of in situ electrochemical quartz microbalance with dissipation studies (EQCM-D), which allow us to evaluate the chemical and physical processes during electrochemical deposition of these conductive polymer composites. Meanwhile, the relationship between the morphology of the films and the mechanism of the electropolymerization of pyrrole in presence of PEDOT-S will be discussed. The resulting material is electroactive, black and conducting. This material is a polymer composite where doped polypyrrole chains are found in an environment of doped PEDOT-S chains. They can be identified through the cyclic voltammetry studies of the composite, through element composition and through their optical signatures in electrochromism. The composite has properties suitable for a supercapacitor electrode, and capacitance of up to 650 F/g has been obtained.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Tang, Zheng, et al.
(författare)
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Universal modification of poor cathodes into good ones by a polymer interlayer for high performance reversed organic solar cells
- 2014
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In organic bulk-heterojunction solar cells, energy losses at the active layer/electrode interface are often observed. Modification of these interfaces with organic interlayers optimizes charge carrier injection and extraction and thus improves device performance. In this work, the effects of cathode modification by a conjugated polymer interlayer PFPA1 on the performance of reversed organic solar cells (substrate/cathode/active layer/transparent anode) based on different active material systems and different substrate electrodes are systematically investigated. A reduction of the work function irrespective of the substrate cathode used is observed upon the deposition of the PFPA1 interlayer; further related to an improved built-in electric field and open-circuit voltage. The amphiphilic character of the PFPA1 interlayer alters the surface energy of the substrate cathode, leading to the formation of a better active layer morphology aiding efficient exciton dissociation and photocurrent extraction in the modified solar cells. Hence, internal quantum efficiency is found significantly higher than that of their unmodified counterparts, while optically, the modified and unmodified solar cells are identical. Moreover, the deep HOMO of the PFPA1 interlayer improves the selectivity for all investigated substrate cathodes, thus enhancing the fill factor. We demonstrate a possibility of improving photovoltaic performance of reversed solar cells via a simple and universal interface modification and provide the basic guidelines for development and characterization of interface materials for organic solar cells in general.
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