| 1. |
- Fan, Qunping, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanically Robust All-Polymer Solar Cells from Narrow Band Gap Acceptors with Hetero-Bridging Atoms
- 2020
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Ingår i: Joule. - : Elsevier BV. - 2542-4351. ; 4:3, s. 658-672
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We developed three narrow band-gap polymer acceptors PF2-DTC, PF2-DTSi, and PF2-DTGe with different bridging atoms (i.e., C, Si, and Ge). Studies found that such different bridging atoms significantly affect the crystallinity, extinction coefficient, electron mobility of the polymer acceptors, and the morphology and mechanical robustness of related active layers. In all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs), these polymer acceptors achieved high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) over 8.0%, while PF2-DTSi obtained the highest PCE of 10.77% due to its improved exciton dissociation, charge transport, and optimized morphology. Moreover, the PF2-DTSi-based active layer showed excellent mechanical robustness with a high toughness value of 9.3 MJ m−3 and a large elongation at a break of 8.6%, which is a great advantage for the practical applications of flexible devices. As a result, the PF2-DTSi-based flexible all-PSC retained >90% of its initial PCE (6.37%) after bending and relaxing 1,200 times at a bending radius of ∼4 mm.
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| 2. |
- Fan, Qunping, et al.
(författare)
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Unidirectional Sidechain Engineering to Construct Dual-Asymmetric Acceptors for 19.23 % Efficiency Organic Solar Cells with Low Energy Loss and Efficient Charge Transfer
- 2023
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Ingår i: Angewandte Chemie International Edition. - : WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH. - 1433-7851 .- 1521-3773. ; 62:36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Achieving both high open-circuit voltage (V-oc) and short-circuit current density (J(sc)) to boost power-conversion efficiency (PCE) is a major challenge for organic solar cells (OSCs), wherein high energy loss (E-loss) and inefficient charge transfer usually take place. Here, three new Y-series acceptors of mono-asymmetric asy-YC11 and dual-asymmetric bi-asy-YC9 and bi-asy-YC12 are developed. They share the same asymmetric D(1)AD(2) (D-1=thieno[3,2-b]thiophene and D-2=selenopheno[3,2-b]thiophene) fused-core but have different unidirectional sidechain on D-1 side, allowing fine-tuned molecular properties, such as intermolecular interaction, packing pattern, and crystallinity. Among the binary blends, the PM6 : bi-asy-YC12 one has better morphology with appropriate phase separation and higher order packing than the PM6 : asy-YC9 and PM6 : bi-asy-YC11 ones. Therefore, the PM6 : bi-asy-YC12-based OSCs offer a higher PCE of 17.16 % with both high V-oc and J(sc), due to the reduced E-loss and efficient charge transfer properties. Inspired by the high V-oc and strong NIR-absorption, bi-asy-YC12 is introduced into efficient binary PM6 : L8-BO to construct ternary OSCs. Thanks to the broadened absorption, optimized morphology, and furtherly minimized E-loss, the PM6 : L8-BO : bi-asy-YC12-based OSCs achieve a champion PCE of 19.23 %, which is one of the highest efficiencies among these annealing-free devices. Our developed unidirectional sidechain engineering for constructing bi-asymmetric Y-series acceptors provides an approach to boost PCE of OSCs.
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| 3. |
- He, Yingnan, et al.
(författare)
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Separable amino-functionalized biochar/alginate beads for efficient removal of Cr(VI) from original electroplating wastewater at room temperature
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 373
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An alginate gel bead composite adsorbent with polyethyleneimine (PEI) as a surface modifier and Eichhornia crassipes (EC) biochar, known as EC-alg/PEI-3, was added internally to the adsorb Cr(VI) from an aqueous environment. The functionalized gel beads were characterized using SEM, XPS, FTIR, and other techniques. The maximum adsorption capacities of EC-alg/PEI-3 were 714.3 mg g−1 at 10 °C and 769.2 mg g−1 at 25 °C. In the treatment of highly concentrated electroplating wastewater, EC-alg/PEI-3 can be dosed at 1.4 g L−1 to reduce the concentration of Cr(VI) to below 0.05 ppm. EC-alg/PEI-3 maintained a competitive adsorption capacity after six cycles. This spherical adsorbent material is easy to prepare, has a very high adsorption capacity, is environmentally friendly, and can be easily recycled. The EC-alg/PEI-3 gel beads are promising for the treatment of industrial wastewater.
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| 4. |
- Hu, Min, et al.
(författare)
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Perturbed ovarian and uterine glucocorticoid receptor signaling accompanies the balanced regulation of mitochondrial function and NFκB-mediated inflammation under conditions of hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance.
- 2019
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Ingår i: Life sciences. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-0631 .- 0024-3205. ; 232
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aimed to determine whether glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signaling, mitochondrial function, and local inflammation in the ovary and uterus are intrinsically different in rats with hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance compared to controls.Female Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to daily injections of human chorionic gonadotropin and/or insulin.In both the ovary and the uterus, decreased expression of the two GR isoforms was concurrent with increased expression of Fkbp51 but not Fkbp52 mRNA in hCG+insulin-treated rats. However, these rats exhibited contrasting regulation of Hsd11b1 and Hsd11b2 mRNAs in the two tissues. Further, the expression of several oxidative phosphorylation-related proteins decreased in the ovary and uterus following hCG and insulin stimulation, in contrast to increased expression of many genes involved in mitochondrial function and homeostasis. Additionally, hCG+insulin-treated rats showed increased expression of ovarian and uterine NFκB signaling proteins and Tnfaip3 mRNA. The mRNA expression of Il1b, Il6, and Mmp2 was decreased in both tissues, while the mRNA expression of Tnfa, Ccl2, Ccl5, and Mmp3 was increased in the uterus. Ovaries and uteri from animals co-treated with hCG and insulin showed increased collagen deposition compared to controls.Our observations suggest that hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance disrupt ovarian and uterine GR activation and trigger compensatory or adaptive effects for mitochondrial homeostasis, allowing tissue-level maintenance of mitochondrial function in order to limit ovarian and uterine dysfunction. Our study also suggests that hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance activate NFκB signaling resulting in aberrant regulation of inflammation-related gene expression.
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| 5. |
- Huang, Ruihua, et al.
(författare)
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Star-shaped porous nitrogen-doped metal-organic framework carbon as an electrochemical platform for sensitive determination of Cd(II) in environmental and tobacco samples
- 2022
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Ingår i: Analytica Chimica Acta. - : Elsevier. - 0003-2670 .- 1873-4324. ; 1228
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) were first assembled via the chemical co-precipitation, and high-quality carbon-based metal-free nanomaterials were synthesized using a heat-treatment process. The internal and morphological characteristics of hexagonal Star ZIF-8 were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical sensor with a good response to Cd(II) was prepared via square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) with Star ZIF-8 nanomaterial-modified glassy carbon electrodes. The main parameters were adjusted to obtain the optimal stripping response and a wide linear range. Concurrently, under the calculation of SWASV, the sensitivity of Star ZIF-8-Nafion/GCE to Cd(II) was increased by five orders of magnitude (0.5–230 μg/L), and the determination level was even low to 0.48 μg/L. Based on the high anti-interference ability and stability of the sensor, the application potential of Star ZIF-8 carbon-based metal-free nanomaterials for the detection of trace Cd(II) in was confirmed.
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| 6. |
- Huang, Yimin, et al.
(författare)
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Facile synthesis of sodium lignosulfonate/polyethyleneimine/sodium alginate beads with ultra-high adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) removal from water
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Hazardous Materials. - : Elsevier. - 0304-3894 .- 1873-3336. ; 436
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chromium (VI) is a widely occurring toxic heavy metal ion in industrial wastewater that seriously impacts the environment. In this study, we used environmentally friendly sodium lignosulfonate (SL), polyethyleneimine (PEI), and sodium alginate (SA) to synthesize SL/PEI/SA beads by employing a simple crosslinking method with to develop a novel absorbent with excellent adsorption capacity and practical application in wastewater treatment. We studied the adsorption performance of SL/PEI/SA through batch adsorption and continuous dynamic adsorption experiments. SL/PEI/SA has ultra-high adsorption capacity (2500 mg·g-1) at 25 ℃, which is much higher than that of existing adsorbents. Humic acids and coexisting anions commonly found in wastewater have minimal effect on the adsorption performance of SL/PEI/SA. In the column system, 1 g SL/PEI/SA can treat 8.1 L secondary electroplating wastewater at a flow rate of 0.5 mLmin-1, thereby enabling the concentration of Cr(VI) in secondary electroplating wastewater to meet the discharge standard (< 0.2 mg·L-1). It is worth noting that the concentration of competitive ions in secondary electroplating wastewater is more than 500 times higher than that of Cr(VI). These results demonstrate that the novel SL/PEI/SA beads can be effectively applied in the removal of Cr(VI) in wastewater.
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| 7. |
- Jia, Xiuxiu, et al.
(författare)
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Rod-shaped lanthanum oxychloride-decorated porous carbon material for efficient and ultra-fast removal of phosphorus from eutrophic water
- 2023
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Ingår i: Separation and Purification Technology. - : Elsevier. - 1383-5866 .- 1873-3794. ; 306
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Removal of excess phosphorus (P) from water systems can effectively prevent eutrophication and maintain the ecological balance. In this study, we used a novel freeze-drying thermal oxidation process to prepare a rod-shaped lanthanum oxychloride decorated porous carbon material, polyvinylpyrrolidone /LaOCl (PL). PL showed excellent performance in removing P from water; the preparation method had not been reported previously. Specifically, the adsorption capacity of PL for P was as high as 90.9 mg P/g, and the removal rate was greater than 92.0 % over a wide pH range (2.5–11). Fast adsorption kinetics is an important feature for P removal. The high removal rate of PL for P could be achieved in a short time; that is, more than 97.8 % of the P species could be removed in only 25 min (initial concentration: 20 mg P/L). For water samples from the natural Laoyu River (24 μg P/L), 0.01 g of PL could reduce approximately 53 L of water to below the eutrophication threshold value (20 μg P/L). Furthermore, after five repetitions of the adsorption–desorption process, no significant decrease in the P removal efficiency was observed. The high adsorption capacity, fast adsorption kinetics, and persistent cyclic stability of PL for P in water were attributed to the advanced preparation process, in which freeze-drying ensured the porosity of the adsorbent and the uniformity of LaCl3 distribution; and the subsequent heat treatment created conditions for the generation of LaOCl species with stable adsorption activity. The adsorption mechanism mainly involved ion exchange, electrostatic attraction, and hydrogen bonding. This study provides a theoretical basis for preparing new adsorbing materials of P and technical support for preventing water eutrophication.
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| 8. |
- Li, Hailong, et al.
(författare)
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The performance of a heat pump using nanofluid (R22+TiO2) as the working fluid - an experimental study
- 2015
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Ingår i: Energy Procedia. - : Elsevier BV. - 1876-6102. ; 75, s. 1838-1843
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It has been well known that the nano-particles, including metals, oxides, carbides, or carbon nanotubes, can increase the conduction and convection coefficients and consequently, enhance the heat transfer. Using nanofluids as working fluids in the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump systems has attracted much attention. This work set-up a test rig to experimentally study the system performance of a heat pump with nanofluid as refrigerant, which was prepared by mixing 5wt% TiO2 with R22. Results show that adding the nano particle TiO2 didn't changed the heat absorbed in the evaporator clearly but increase the heat released in the condenser. As a results, compared to using pure R22, when using R22 + TiO2, the COP of the cooling cycle was decreased slightly, however, the COP of the heating cycle was increased significantly increased power consumption of compression.
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| 9. |
- Su, Wenyan, et al.
(författare)
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13.4 % Efficiency from All-Small-Molecule Organic Solar Cells Based on a Crystalline Donor with Chlorine and Trialkylsilyl Substitutions
- 2021
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Ingår i: ChemSusChem. - : Wiley. - 1864-5631 .- 1864-564X. ; 14:17, s. 3535-3543
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How to simultaneously achieve both high open-circuit voltage (Voc) and high short-circuit current density (Jsc) is a big challenge for realising high power conversion efficiency (PCE) in all-small-molecule organic solar cells (all-SM OSCs). Herein, a novel small molecule (SM)-donor, namely FYSM−SiCl, with trialkylsilyl and chlorine substitutions was designed and synthesized. Compared to the original SM-donor FYSM−H, FYSM−Si with trialkylsilyl substitution showed a decreased crystallinity and lower highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level, while FYSM−SiCl had an improved crystallinity, more ordered packing arrangement, significantly lower HOMO level, and predominant “face-on” orientation. Matched with a SM-acceptor Y6, the FYSM−SiCl-based all-SM OSCs exhibited both high Voc of 0.85 V and high Jsc of 23.7 mA cm−2, which is rare for all-SM OSCs and could be attributed to the low HOMO level of FYSM−SiCl donor and the delicate balance between high crystallinity and suitable blend morphology. As a result, FYSM−SiCl achieved a high PCE of 13.4 % in all-SM OSCs, which was much higher than those of the FYSM−H- (10.9 %) and FYSM−Si-based devices (12.2 %). This work demonstrated a promising method for the design of efficient SM-donors by a side-chain engineering strategy via the introduction of trialkylsilyl and chlorine substitutions.
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| 10. |
- Zhang, Yuehui, et al.
(författare)
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Hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance-induced fetal loss : evidence for placental mitochondrial abnormalities and elevated reactive oxygen species production in pregnant rats that mimic the clinical features of polycystic ovary syndrome
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Physiology. - : WILEY. - 0022-3751 .- 1469-7793. ; 597:15, s. 3927-3950
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) commonly suffer from miscarriage, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Herein, pregnant rats chronically treated with 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and insulin exhibited hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance, as well as increased fetal loss, and these features are strikingly similar to those observed in pregnant PCOS patients. Fetal loss in our DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, disturbed superoxide dismutase 1 and Keap1/Nrf2 antioxidant responses, over-production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and impaired formation of the placenta. Chronic treatment of pregnant rats with DHT or insulin alone indicated that DHT triggered many of the molecular pathways leading to placental abnormalities and fetal loss, whereas insulin often exerted distinct effects on placental gene expression compared to co-treatment with DHT and insulin. Treatment of DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine improved fetal survival but was deleterious in normal pregnant rats. Our results provide insight into the fetal loss associated with hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance in women and suggest that physiological levels of ROS are required for normal placental formation and fetal survival during pregnancy. Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) commonly suffer from miscarriage, but the underlying mechanism of PCOS-induced fetal loss during pregnancy remains obscure and specific therapies are lacking. We used pregnant rats treated with 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and insulin to investigate the impact of hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance on fetal survival and to determine the molecular link between PCOS conditions and placental dysfunction during pregnancy. Our study shows that pregnant rats chronically treated with a combination of DHT and insulin exhibited endocrine aberrations such as hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance that are strikingly similar to those in pregnant PCOS patients. Of pathophysiological significance, DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats had greater fetal loss and subsequently decreased litter sizes compared to normal pregnant rats. This negative effect was accompanied by impaired trophoblast differentiation, increased glycogen accumulation, and decreased angiogenesis in the placenta. Mechanistically, we report that over-production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the placenta, mitochondrial dysfunction, and disturbed superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and Keap1/Nrf2 antioxidant responses constitute important contributors to fetal loss in DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats. Many of the molecular pathways leading to placental abnormalities and fetal loss in DHT+insulin treatment were also seen in pregnant rats treated with DHT alone, whereas pregnant rats treated with insulin alone often exerted distinct effects on placental gene expression compared to insulin treatment in combination with DHT. We also found that treatment with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) improved fetal survival in DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats, an effect related to changes in Keap1/Nrf2 and nuclear factor-kappa B signalling. However, NAC administration resulted in fetal loss in normal pregnant rats, most likely due to PCOS-like endocrine abnormality induced by the treatment. Our results suggest that the deleterious effects of hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance on fetal survival are related to a constellation of mitochondria-ROS-SOD1/Nrf2 changes in the placenta. Our findings also suggest that physiological levels of ROS are required for normal placental formation and fetal survival during pregnancy.
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| 11. |
- Zhang, Yuehui, et al.
(författare)
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Hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance-induced fetal loss: evidence for placental mitochondrial abnormalities and elevated ROS production in pregnant rats that mimic the clinical features of PCOS. : PCOS-induced fetal loss is linked to placental defects
- 2019
-
Ingår i: The Journal of physiology. - 1469-7793. ; 597:15, s. 3927-3950
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) commonly suffer from miscarriage, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Herein, pregnant rats chronically treated with 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and insulin exhibited hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance, as well as increased fetal loss, and these features are strikingly similar to those observed in pregnant PCOS patients. Fetal loss in our DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats was associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, disturbed SOD1 and Keap1/Nrf2 antioxidant responses, over-production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and impaired formation of the placenta. Chronic treatment of pregnant rats with DHT or insulin alone indicated that DHT triggered many of the molecular pathways leading to placental abnormalities and fetal loss, whereas insulin often exerted distinct effects on placental gene expression compared to co-treatment with DHT and insulin. Treatment of DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine improved fetal survival but was deleterious in normal pregnant rats. Our results provide insight into the fetal loss associated with hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance in women and suggest that physiological levels of ROS are required for normal placental formation and fetal survival during pregnancy.Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) commonly suffer from miscarriage, but the underlying mechanism of PCOS-induced fetal loss during pregnancy remains obscure and specific therapies are lacking. We used pregnant rats treated with 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and insulin to investigate the impact of hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance on fetal survival and to determine the molecular link between PCOS conditions and placental dysfunction during pregnancy. Our study shows that pregnant rats chronically treated with a combination of DHT and insulin exhibited endocrine aberrations such as hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance that are strikingly similar to those in pregnant PCOS patients. Of pathophysiological significance, DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats had greater fetal loss and subsequently decreased litter sizes compared to normal pregnant rats. This negative effect was accompanied by impaired trophoblast differentiation, increased glycogen accumulation, and decreased angiogenesis in the placenta. Mechanistically, we report that over-production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the placenta, mitochondrial dysfunction, and disturbed SOD1 and Keap1/Nrf2 antioxidant responses constitute important contributors to fetal loss in DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats. Many of the molecular pathways leading to placental abnormalities and fetal loss in DHT+insulin treatment were also seen in pregnant rats treated with DHT alone, whereas pregnant rats treated with insulin alone often exerted distinct effects on placental gene expression compared to insulin treatment in combination with DHT. We also found that treatment with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) improved fetal survival in DHT+insulin-treated pregnant rats, an effect related to changes in Keap1/Nrf2 and NFκB signaling. However, NAC administration resulted in fetal loss in normal pregnant rats, most likely due to PCOS-like endocrine abnormality induced by the treatment. Our results suggest that the deleterious effects of hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance on fetal survival are related to a constellation of mitochondrial-ROS-SOD1/Nrf2 changes in the placenta. Our findings also suggest that physiological levels of ROS are required for normal placental formation and fetal survival during pregnancy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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| 12. |
- Zhang, Yuehui, et al.
(författare)
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Hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance modulate gravid uterine and placental ferroptosis in PCOS-like rats. : Uterine and placental ferroptosis in pregnant PCOS-like rats
- 2020
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Ingår i: The Journal of endocrinology. - 1479-6805. ; 246:3, s. 247-63
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous studies in rats showed that maternal exposure to 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and insulin (INS) from gestational day 7.5 to 13.5 induces hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance (HAIR) and subsequently leads to placental insufficiency and fetal loss. We therefore hypothesized that maternal HAIR triggers ferroptosis in the uterus and placenta in association with fetal loss in pregnant rats. Compared with controls, we found that co-exposure to DHT and INS led to decreased levels of Gpx4 and glutathione (GSH), increased GSH+glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and malondialdehyde (MDA), aberrant expression of ferroptosis-associated genes (Acsl4, Tfrc, Slc7a11, and Gclc), increased iron deposition, and activated ERK/p38/JNK phosphorylation in the gravid uterus. However, in the placenta, DHT and INS exposure only partially altered the expression of ferroptosis-related markers (e.g., Gpx4, GSH+GSSG, MDA, Gls2 and Slc7a11 mRNAs, and phosphorylated p38 levels). In the uteri co-exposed to DHT and INS, we also observed shrunken mitochondria with electron-dense cristae, and increased Dpp4 mRNA expression. In contrast, in placentas co-exposed to DHT and INS we found decreased Dpp4 mRNA expression and increased Cisd1 mRNA expression. Further, DHT+INS-exposed pregnant rats exhibited decreased apoptosis in the uterus and increased necroptosis in the placenta. Our findings suggest that maternal HAIR causes the activation of ferroptosis in the gravid uterus and placenta, although this is mediated via different mechanisms operating at the molecular and cellular levels. Furthermore, our data suggest other cell death pathways may play a role in coordinating or compensating for HAIR-induced ferroptosis when the gravid uterus and placenta are dysfunctional.
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| 13. |
- Zhang, Yuehui, et al.
(författare)
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Hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance modulate gravid uterine and placental ferroptosis in PCOS-like rats.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Endocrinology. - : Bioscientifica. - 0022-0795 .- 1479-6805. ; 246:3, s. 247-263
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous studies in rats showed that maternal exposure to 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and insulin (INS) from gestational day 7.5 to 13.5 induces hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance (HAIR) and subsequently leads to placental insufficiency and fetal loss. We therefore hypothesized that maternal HAIR triggers ferroptosis in the uterus and placenta in association with fetal loss in pregnant rats. Compared with controls, we found that co-exposure to DHT and INS led to decreased levels of Gpx4 and glutathione (GSH), increased GSH+glutathione disulfide (GSSG) and malondialdehyde (MDA), aberrant expression of ferroptosis-associated genes (Acsl4, Tfrc, Slc7a11, and Gclc), increased iron deposition, and activated ERK/p38/JNK phosphorylation in the gravid uterus. However, in the placenta, DHT and INS exposure only partially altered the expression of ferroptosis-related markers (e.g., Gpx4, GSH+GSSG, MDA, Gls2 and Slc7a11 mRNAs, and phosphorylated p38 levels). In the uteri co-exposed to DHT and INS, we also observed shrunken mitochondria with electron-dense cristae, and increased Dpp4 mRNA expression. In contrast, in placentas co-exposed to DHT and INS we found decreased Dpp4 mRNA expression and increased Cisd1 mRNA expression. Further, DHT+INS-exposed pregnant rats exhibited decreased apoptosis in the uterus and increased necroptosis in the placenta. Our findings suggest that maternal HAIR causes the activation of ferroptosis in the gravid uterus and placenta, although this is mediated via different mechanisms operating at the molecular and cellular levels. Furthermore, our data suggest other cell death pathways may play a role in coordinating or compensating for HAIR-induced ferroptosis when the gravid uterus and placenta are dysfunctional.
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| 14. |
- Falzarano, Maria Sofia, et al.
(författare)
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Urine-Derived Stem Cells Express 571 Neuromuscular Disorders Causing Genes, Making Them a Potential in vitro Model for Rare Genetic Diseases
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Physiology. - : FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. - 1664-042X. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Neuromuscular disorders (NMDs) are a heterogeneous group of genetic diseases, caused by mutations in genes involved in spinal cord, peripheral nerve, neuromuscular junction, and muscle functions. To advance the knowledge of the pathological mechanisms underlying NMDs and to eventually identify new potential drugs paving the way for personalized medicine, limitations regarding the availability of neuromuscular disease-related biological samples, rarely accessible from patients, are a major challenge. & nbsp; Aim: We characterized urinary stem cells (USCs) by in-depth transcriptome and protein profiling to evaluate whether this easily accessible source of patient-derived cells is suitable to study neuromuscular genetic diseases, focusing especially on those currently involved in clinical trials. & nbsp; Methods: The global transcriptomics of either native or MyoD transformed USCs obtained from control individuals was performed by RNA-seq. The expression of 610 genes belonging to 16 groups of disorders () whose mutations cause neuromuscular diseases, was investigated on the RNA-seq output. In addition, protein expression of 11 genes related to NMDs including COL6A, EMD, LMNA, SMN, UBA1, DYNC1H1, SOD1, C9orf72, DYSF, DAG1, and HTT was analyzed in native USCs by immunofluorescence and/or Western blot (WB). & nbsp; Results: RNA-seq profile of control USCs shows that 571 out of 610 genes known to be involved in NMDs, are expressed in USCs. Interestingly, the expression levels of the majority of NMD genes remain unmodified following USCs MyoD transformation. Most genes involved in the pathogenesis of all 16 groups of NMDs are well represented except for channelopathies and malignant hyperthermia related genes. All tested proteins showed high expression values, suggesting consistency between transcription and protein representation in USCs. & nbsp; Conclusion: Our data suggest that USCs are human cells, obtainable by non-invasive means, which might be used as a patient-specific cell model to study neuromuscular disease-causing genes and that they can be likely adopted for a variety of in vitro functional studies such as mutation characterization, pathway identification, and drug screening.
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| 15. |
- Fan, Qunping, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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A Non-Conjugated Polymer Acceptor for Efficient and Thermally Stable All-Polymer Solar Cells
- 2020
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Ingår i: Angewandte Chemie - International Edition. - : Wiley. - 1433-7851 .- 1521-3773. ; 59:45, s. 19835-19840
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A non-conjugated polymer acceptor PF1-TS4 was firstly synthesized by embedding a thioalkyl segment in the mainchain, which shows excellent photophysical properties on par with a fully conjugated polymer, with a low optical band gap of 1.58 eV and a high absorption coefficient >105 cm−1, a high LUMO level of −3.89 eV, and suitable crystallinity. Matched with the polymer donor PM6, the PF1-TS4-based all-PSC achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.63 %, which is ≈45 % higher than that of a device based on the small molecule acceptor counterpart IDIC16. Moreover, the PF1-TS4-based all-PSC has good thermal stability with ≈70 % of its initial PCE retained after being stored at 85 °C for 180 h, while the IDIC16-based device only retained ≈50 % of its initial PCE when stored at 85 °C for only 18 h. Our work provides a new strategy to develop efficient polymer acceptor materials by linkage of conjugated units with non-conjugated thioalkyl segments.
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| 16. |
- Fan, Qunping, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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High-performance all-polymer solar cells enabled by a novel low bandgap non-fully conjugated polymer acceptor
- 2021
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Ingår i: Science in China Series B. - : Springer Nature. - 1674-7291 .- 1869-1870. ; 64, s. 1380-1388
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Anon-fully conjugated polymer as a new class of acceptor materials has shown some advantages over its small molecular counterpart when used in photoactive layers for all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs), despite a low power conversion efficiency (PCE) caused by its narrow absorption spectra. Herein, a novel non-fully conjugated polymer acceptor PFY-2TS with a low bandgap of similar to 1.40 eV was developed, via polymerizing a large pi-fused small molecule acceptor (SMA) building block (namely YBO) with a non-conjugated thioalkyl linkage. Compared with its precursor YBO, PFY-2TS retains a similar low bandgap but a higher LUMO level. Moreover, compared with the structural analog of YBO-based fully conjugated polymer acceptor PFY-DTC, PFY-2TS shows similar absorption spectrum and electron mobility, but significantly different molecular crystallinity and aggregation properties, which results in optimal blend morphology with a polymer donor PBDB-T and better device physical processes in all-PSCs. As a result, PFY-2TS-based all-PSCs achieved a PCE of 12.31% with a small energy loss of 0.56 eV enabled by the reduced non-radiative energy loss (0.24 eV), which is better than that of 11.08% for the PFY-DTC-based ones. Our work clearly demonstrated that non-fully conjugated polymers as a new class of acceptor materials are very promising for the development of high-performance all-PSCs.
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| 17. |
- Fan, Qunping, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Over 14% efficiency all-polymer solar cells enabled by a low bandgap polymer acceptor with low energy loss and efficient charge separation
- 2020
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Ingår i: Energy & Environmental Science. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 1754-5692 .- 1754-5706. ; 13:12, s. 5017-5027
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Obtaining both high open-circuit voltage (V-oc) and short-circuit current density (J(sc)) has been a major challenge for efficient all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs). Herein, we developed a polymer acceptor PF5-Y5 with excellent optical absorption capability (onset extending to similar to 880 nm and maximum absorption coefficient exceeding 105 cm(-1) in a film), high electron mobility (3.18 x 10(3) cm(2) V-1 s(-1)) and high LUMO level (-3.84 eV) to address such a challenge. As a result, the PBDB-T:PF5-Y5-based all-PSCs achieved a high power conversion efficiency of up to 14.45% with both a high Voc (0.946 V) and a high Jsc (20.65 mA cm(-2)), due to the high and broad absorption coverage, small energy loss (0.57 eV) and efficient charge separation and transport in the device, which are among the best values in the all-PSC field. In addition, the all-PSC shows a similar to 15% improvement in PCE compared to its counterpart small molecule acceptor (Y5)-based device. Our results suggest that PF5-Y5 is a very promising polymer acceptor candidate for applications in efficient all-PSCs.
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| 18. |
- Hu, Min, et al.
(författare)
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Hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance induce gravid uterine defects in association with mitochondrial dysfunction and aberrant ROS production.
- 2019
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Ingår i: American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism. - : American Physiological Society. - 1522-1555 .- 0193-1849. ; 316:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at increased risk of miscarriage, which often accompanies the hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance seen in these patients. However, neither the combinatorial interaction between these two PCOS-related etiological factors nor the mechanisms of their actions in the uterus during pregnancy are well understood. We hypothesised that hyperandrogensim and insulin resistance exert a causative role in miscarriage by inducing defects in uterine function that are accompanied by mitochondrial-mediated oxidative stress, inflammation and perturbed gene expression. Here we tested this hypothesis by studying the metabolic, endocrine and uterine abnormalities in pregnant rats after exposure to daily injection of 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT, 1.66 mg/kg body weight/day) and/or insulin (6.0 IU/day) from gestational day 7.5 to 13.5. We showed that while DHT-exposed and insulin-exposed pregnant rats presented impaired insulin sensitivity, DHT+insulin-exposed pregnant rats exhibited hyperandrogenism and peripheral insulin resistance, which mirrors pregnant PCOS patients. Compared to controls, hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance in the dam was associated with alterations in uterine morphology and aberrant expression of genes responsible for decidualization, placentation, angiogenesis and insulin signaling. Moreover, we observed changes in uterine mitochondrial function and homeostasis and suppression of both oxidative and antioxidative defenses in response to the hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance. These findings demonstrate that hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance induce mitochondria-mediated damage and a resulting imbalance between oxidative and antioxidative stress responses in the gravid uterus.
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| 19. |
- Hu, Wei, et al.
(författare)
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Axisymmetric and Asymmetric Naphthalene-Bisthienothiophene Based Nonfullerene Acceptors: On Constitutional Isomerization and Photovoltaic Performance
- 2020
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Ingår i: ACS Applied Energy Materials. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2574-0962. ; 3:6, s. 5734-5744
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two pairs of constitutional isomers of fused-octacyclic nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) based on a naphthalene-bisthienothiophene core with or without fluorination at the ending groups have been developed. Compared with the axisymmetric NFAs N66-IC and N66-2FIC with two six-member-ring bridges, their asymmetric constitutional isomers N65-IC and N65-2FIC both with one six-member-ring bridge and one five-member-ring bridge exhibit remarkable red-shifted absorption, higher crystallinity, and slightly down-shifted LUMO energy levels. Organic solar cells based on PBDB-T-2F:N65-2FIC achieved a promising power conversion efficiency of 10.19%, which is three times higher than that of its counterpart PBDB-T-2F:N66-2FIC cell (3.46%). While being blended with PBDB-T as the donor material, the asymmetric acceptor analogue N65-IC based solar cell pronounces a PCE of 9.03%, being significantly improved from that of 5.45% for the PBDB-T:N66-IC based cell, which is in consistency with the results from those cells from their both fluorinated donor and acceptor counterparts. Design rules on either both fluorinated, both nonfluorinated, or cross-combined donor/acceptors for device fabrication has been explored. In addition, PBDB-T-2F:N65-2FIC possesses very promising device stability with 85% of its initial PCE after an exposure time of 1500 h under one sun illumination, which is meaningful for their future commercial devices.
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| 20. |
- Hu, Xiping, et al.
(författare)
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SAfeDJ : A crowd-cloud codesign approach to situation-aware music delivery for drivers
- 2015
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Ingår i: ACM Transactions on Multimedia Computing, Communications, and Applications (TOMCCAP). - : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). - 1551-6857 .- 1551-6865. ; 12:1s, s. 21:1-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Driving is an integral part of our everyday lives, but it is also a time when people are uniquely vulnerable. Previous research has demonstrated that not only does listening to suitable music while driving not impair driving performance, but it could lead to an improved mood and a more relaxed body state, which could improve driving performance and promote safe driving significantly. In this article, we propose SAfeDJ, a smartphone-based situation-aware music recommendation system, which is designed to turn driving into a safe and enjoyable experience. SAfeDJ aims at helping drivers to diminish fatigue and negative emotion. Its design is based on novel interactive methods, which enable in-car smartphones to orchestrate multiple sources of sensing data and the drivers' social context, in collaboration with cloud computing to form a seamless crowdsensing solution. This solution enables different smartphones to collaboratively recommend preferable music to drivers according to each driver's specific situations in an automated and intelligent manner. Practical experiments of SAfeDJ have proved its effectiveness in music-mood analysis, and mood-fatigue detections of drivers with reasonable computation and communication overheads on smartphones. Also, our user studies have demonstrated that SAfeDJ helps to decrease fatigue degree and negative mood degree of drivers by 49.09% and 36.35%, respectively, compared to traditional smartphone-based music player under similar driving situations.
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
- Li, Guohui, et al.
(författare)
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Efficient heat dissipation perovskite lasers using a high-thermal-conductivity diamond substrate
- 2023
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Ingår i: SCIENCE CHINA Materials. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2095-8226 .- 2199-4501. ; 66:6, s. 2400-2407
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Efficient heat dissipation that can minimize temperature increases in device is critical in realizing electrical injection lasers. High-thermal-conductivity diamonds are promising for overcoming heat dissipation limitations for perovskite lasers. In this study, we demonstrate a perovskite nanoplatelet laser on a diamond substrate that can efficiently dissipate heat generated during optical pumping. Tight optical confinement is also realized by introducing a thin SiO2 gap layer between nanoplatelets and the diamond substrate. The demonstrated laser features a Q factor of ∼1962, a lasing threshold of 52.19 µJ cm−2, and a low pump-density-dependent temperature sensitivity (∼0.56 ± 0.01 K cm2 µJ−1) through the incorporation of the diamond substrate. We believe our study could inspire the development of electrically driven perovskite lasers. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].
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| 23. |
- Liu, Shungang, et al.
(författare)
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The role of connectivity in significant bandgap narrowing for fused-pyrene based non-fullerene acceptors toward high-efficiency organic solar cells
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Materials Chemistry A. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2050-7488 .- 2050-7496. ; 8:12, s. 5995-6003
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Great attention has been paid to developing low bandgap non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) for matching wide bandgap donor polymers to increase the photocurrent and therefore the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of NFA organic solar cells, while pyrene-core based acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) NFAs have been mainly reported via the 2,9-position connection due to their bisthieno[3′,2′-b']thienyl[a,h]pyrene fused via a five-membered ring bridge at the ortho-position of pyrene as the representative one named FPIC5, which has prohibited further narrowing their energy gap. Herein, an acceptor FPIC6 was exploited by creating the 1,8-position connection through fusing as bisthieno[3′,2′-b′]thienyl[f-g,m-n]pyrene linked at the bay-position via a six-membered bridge, with enhanced push-pull characteristics within such A-D-A structure. As a structural isomer of FPIC5, FPIC6 exhibited a much lower bandgap of 1.42 eV (1.63 eV for FPIC5). Therefore, the photocurrent and PCE of PTB7-Th:FPIC6 cells were improved to 21.50 mA cm-2 and 11.55%, respectively, due to the balanced mobilities, better photoluminescence quenching efficiency and optimized morphology, which are both ∼40% better than those of PTB7-Th:FPIC5 cells. Our results clearly proved that a pyrene fused core with 1,8-position connection with electron-withdrawing end groups instead of 2,9-position connection is an efficient molecular design strategy to narrow the optical bandgap and improve the photovoltaic performance of NFA based OSCs.
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| 24. |
- Ma, Ruijie, et al.
(författare)
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All-polymer solar cells with over 16% efficiency and enhanced stability enabled by compatible solvent and polymer additives
- 2022
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Ingår i: Aggregate. - : Wiley. - 2692-4560 .- 2766-8541. ; 3:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Considering the robust and stable nature of the active layers, advancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) has long been the priority for all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs). Despite the recent surge of PCE, the photovoltaic parameters of the state-of-the-art all-PSC still lag those of the polymer:small molecule-based devices. To compete with the counterparts, judicious modulation of the morphology and thus the device electrical properties are needed. It is difficult to improve all the parameters concurrently for the all-PSCs with advanced efficiency, and one increase is typically accompanied by the drop of the other(s). In this work, with the aids of the solvent additive (1-chloronaphthalene) and the n-type polymer additive (N2200), we can fine-tune the morphology of the active layer and demonstrate a 16.04% efficient all-PSC based on the PM6:PY-IT active layer. The grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements show that the shape of the crystallites can be altered, and the reshaped crystallites lead to enhanced and more balanced charge transport, reduced recombination, and suppressed energy loss, which lead to concurrently improved and device efficiency and stability.
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| 25. |
- Wang, Yufei, et al.
(författare)
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Acidochromic organic photovoltaic integrated device
- 2023
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Ingår i: Chemical Engineering Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1385-8947. ; 452
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tremendous efforts have been devoted to boosting the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs) via the introduction of cathode interlayers (CILs). However, CIL materials have limited diversity and the development of multifunctional devices is largely neglected. Herein, an acidochromic organic photovoltaic integrated device is firstly proposed by introducing an acid-sensitive stimulating-reaction organic molecule as both the CIL of OSCs and the sensor of monitoring environmental acidity. The oxazolidine unit of acidochromic molecule can form a ring-opening structure after acid treatment, resulting in the remarkable color change with the direct reflection of pH value of ecological environment. The additive-free PM6:Y6 OSCs using the acidochromic molecule as the CIL achieve an excellent PCE of above 15.29 %, which is 47 % higher than that of the control device. The PCE can even maintain above 92 % after treating CIL with various strong acids (pH = 1). Moreover, the color of acidified films and the degraded performance of acidified OSCs can be easily restored by alkaline treatment. The successful application of CIL in other highly efficient photovoltaic systems proves its good universality. This work triggers the promising application of acidochromic molecules in solar cells as CIL with the additional function of recognition of acid environment.
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