| 1. |
- Chen, Qiaonan, 1992, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Flexible Conjugation-Break Spacers of Non-Conjugated Polymer Acceptors on Photovoltaic and Mechanical Properties of All-Polymer Solar Cells
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nano-Micro Letters. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2311-6706 .- 2150-5551. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Highlights: A series of non-conjugated acceptor polymers with flexible conjugation-break spacers (FCBSs) of different lengths were synthesized.The effect of FCBSs length on solubility of the acceptor polymers, and their photovoltaic and mechanical properties in all-polymer solar cells were explored.This work provides useful guidelines for the design of semiconducting polymers by introducing FCBS with proper length, which can giantly improved properties that are not possible to be achieved by the state-of-the-art fully conjugated polymers. Abstract: All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) possess attractive merits including superior thermal stability and mechanical flexibility for large-area roll-to-roll processing. Introducing flexible conjugation-break spacers (FCBSs) into backbones of polymer donor (PD) or polymer acceptor (PA) has been demonstrated as an efficient approach to enhance both the photovoltaic (PV) and mechanical properties of the all-PSCs. However, length dependency of FCBS on certain all-PSC related properties has not been systematically explored. In this regard, we report a series of new non-conjugated PAs by incorporating FCBS with various lengths (2, 4, and 8 carbon atoms in thioalkyl segments). Unlike common studies on so-called side-chain engineering, where longer side chains would lead to better solubility of those resulting polymers, in this work, we observe that the solubilities and the resulting photovoltaic/mechanical properties are optimized by a proper FCBS length (i.e., C2) in PA named PYTS-C2. Its all-PSC achieves a high efficiency of 11.37%, and excellent mechanical robustness with a crack onset strain of 12.39%, significantly superior to those of the other PAs. These results firstly demonstrate the effects of FCBS lengths on the PV performance and mechanical properties of the all-PSCs, providing an effective strategy to fine-tune the structures of PAs for highly efficient and mechanically robust PSCs.[Figure not available: see fulltext.]
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| 2. |
- Hu, Tianyu, et al.
(författare)
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Steric hindrance induced low exciton binding energy enables low-driving-force organic solar cells
- 2024
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Ingår i: Aggregate. - 2692-4560 .- 2766-8541. ; In Press
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Exciton binding energy (Eb) has been regarded as a critical parameter in charge separation during photovoltaic conversion. Minimizing the Eb of the photovoltaic materials can facilitate the exciton dissociation in low-driving force organic solar cells (OSCs) and thus improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE); nevertheless, diminishing the Eb with deliberate design principles remains a significant challenge. Herein, bulky side chain as steric hindrance structure was inserted into Y-series acceptors to minimize the Eb by modulating the intra- and intermolecular interaction. Theoretical and experimental results indicate that steric hindrance-induced optimal intra- and intermolecular interaction can enhance molecular polarizability, promote electronic orbital overlap between molecules, and facilitate delocalized charge transfer pathways, thereby resulting in a low Eb. The conspicuously reduced Eb obtained in Y-ChC5 with pinpoint steric hindrance modulation can minimize the detrimental effects on exciton dissociation in low-driving-force OSCs, achieving a remarkable PCE of 19.1% with over 95% internal quantum efficiency. Our study provides a new molecular design rationale to reduce the Eb.
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| 3. |
- Sun, Fengbo, et al.
(författare)
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1,5-Diiodocycloctane: a cyclane solvent additive that can extend the exciton diffusion length in thick film organic solar cells
- 2024
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Ingår i: Energy and Environmental Sciences. - 1754-5692 .- 1754-5706. ; 17:5, s. 1916-1930
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The short exciton diffusion length associated with most state-of-the-art organic semiconductors used in organic solar cells (OSCs) imposes severe limits on the exciton transport in the larger donor/acceptor domains and the exciton dissociation at the interface, which hinder further improvements in the power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of the thick-film devices. In this study, a new cyclane, 1,5-diiodocycloctane (DICO), was employed as a solvent additive to effectively extend the exciton LD within the bulk-heterojunction blend, which can function with the multiple photovoltaic materials system. Due to the great enhancement of molecular stacking and exclusively large domain sizes of photovoltaic materials with the assistance of the DICO additive, the trap density in devices is significantly reduced, thereby nearly doubling the LD in the thick film OSCs. Notably, the DICO-processed PM6/L8-BO-based OSC showed high thickness tolerance for the bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) layer, delivering a high PCE of 19.1% in the case of a 110 nm thick film and still maintaining an excellent PCE of 17.2% in the case of a 300 nm thick film. Crucially, a noticeably increased stability of the multiple materials system was observed in the DICO-processed OSCs. These findings enrich the additive family with new cyclane systems to extend the exciton LD in thick film OSCs with high performance.
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| 4. |
- Wu, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Modulating the nanoscale morphology on carboxylate-pyrazine containing terpolymer toward 17.8% efficiency organic solar cells with enhanced thermal stability
- 2022
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Ingår i: Chemical Engineering Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1385-8947. ; 446
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It had been commonly accepted in the organic photovoltaic (OPV) community that subtle variations in the molecular structure of active layer materials would cause profound impacts on their aggregating structure and blend morphology and therefore the performance of such polymer solar cells (PSCs). Herein, we employed an electron-deficient building block 3,6-dithiophenyl-2-carboxylate pyrazine (DTCPz) for constructing one series of promising donor terpolymers of PMZ1, PMZ2, and PMZ3, respectively, gaining their relatively lower-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels, more closed π-π stacking and enhanced crystallinity in thin films, and lower miscibility with acceptor Y6, in comparison with their parent polymer counterpart (namely PM6). Reaching DTCPz moieties up to 20% (mol/mol%) in its terpolymer composition, the resulting polymer (PMZ2) achieved more favorable phase separation with improved exciton dissociation, and charge transport and extraction. As a result, an outstanding fill factor of 77.2% and a promising power conversion efficiency of 17.8 % was achieved. Moreover, the corresponding device shows better thermal stability over the PM6-based one. This work suggests a facile method for significantly improving the thin film morphology of the active-layer materials via fine-tuning the chemical structure of electron-deficient units on the backbone of the wide bandgap donor polymer, therefore achieving enhanced photovoltaic performance and thermal stability for practical applications.
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| 5. |
- Wu, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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New Electron Acceptor with End-Extended Conjugation for High-Performance Polymer Solar Cells
- 2021
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Ingår i: Energy & Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5029 .- 0887-0624. ; 35:23, s. 19061-19068
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To develop high-efficiency polymer solar cells (PSCs), the acceptors in a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) blend are supposed to possess complementary absorption bands in the near-infrared region and a suitable energy level to be well-matched with the donors. In this work, a new small molecular acceptor (SMA) named IDTT8-N based on an indacenodithienothiophene (IDTT) core was designed and synthesized. In comparison to the counterpart molecule IDTN with an indacenodithiophene (IDT) core, IDTT8-N with the extended π-conjugation length of an IDT core not only exhibits a red shift of ca. 35 nm in optical absorption but also has little change on its lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level. Therefore, PSCs based on PM6:IDTT8-N exhibit a superior short-circuit current density (Jsc) and high open-circuit voltage (Voc). Moreover, apart from the strong face-on molecular stacking, distinct end-group π-πstacking of IDTT8-N can be observed in the blends, facilitating the charge transport. Therefore, the optimized PM6:IDTT8-N-based devices exhibit dramatically high and balanced electron mobility (μe) and hole mobility (μh), whose magnitudes are over 10-3 cm2 V-1 s-1. Consequently, an extraordinary PCE of 14.1% with a relatively high Jsc of 20.98 mA cm-2 and a Voc of 0.94 V was recorded. To our knowledge, it is the new record among PSCs with a SMA based on 2-(3-oxocyclopentylidene)malononitrile (INCN) as end groups. These results indicate that extending the π-conjugation length of the fused ring core of a SMA is an efficient method to both enhance the absorption and the molecular interaction of the acceptor as well as the photovoltaic performance of PSCs.
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| 6. |
- Wu, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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On the Conformation of Dimeric Acceptors and Their Polymer Solar Cells with Efficiency over 18 %
- 2023
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Ingår i: Angewandte Chemie International Edition. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1433-7851 .- 1521-3773. ; 62:45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The determination of molecular conformations of oligomeric acceptors (OAs) and their impact on molecular packing are crucial for understanding the photovoltaic performance of their resulting polymer solar cells (PSCs) but have not been well studied yet. Herein, we synthesized two dimeric acceptor materials, DIBP3F-Se and DIBP3F-S, which bridged two segments of Y6-derivatives by selenophene and thiophene, respectively. Theoretical simulation and experimental 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic studies prove that both dimers exhibit O-shaped conformations other than S- or U-shaped counter-ones. Notably, this O-shaped conformation is likely governed by a distinctive "conformational lock" mechanism, arising from the intensified intramolecular & pi;-& pi; interactions among their two terminal groups within the dimers. PSCs based on DIBP3F-Se deliver a maximum efficiency of 18.09 %, outperforming DIBP3F-S-based cells (16.11 %) and ranking among the highest efficiencies for OA-based PSCs. This work demonstrates a facile method to obtain OA conformations and highlights the potential of dimeric acceptors for high-performance PSCs.
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| 7. |
- Zhang, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Recent advances of recycling proteins from seafood by-products: Industrial applications, challenges, and breakthroughs
- 2024
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Ingår i: Trends in Food Science and Technology. - 0924-2244. ; 149
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The exploration of unconventional sources of animal protein, driven by the increasing global demand, has brought the seafood industry into focus. Despite being high in protein, seafood by-products are often underutilized. Utilizing these by-products is important for meeting global protein demands and aligns with sustainable development goals. Therefore, the industrial application of seafood by-product proteins is important. Scope and approach: This review critically assesses techniques for extracting proteins from seafood by-products, categorizing them based on their working principles according to protein properties. The challenges faced by these techniques in industrial applications is evaluated. Additionally, the review delves into the industrial applications of recovered proteins in the food, animal feed, medical, and cosmetics industries, discussing both challenges and breakthroughs. Key findings and conclusions: The increasing global protein demand has shifted the focus of recycling seafood by-products from non-food to food applications. While conventional methods such as enzymatic hydrolysis continue to be used, there is a growing interest in more eco-friendly technologies. Despite facing challenges in quality assurance, technology transfer, financial constraints, market acceptance, and regulatory concerns, these proteins show promise for broad industrial applications in food, animal feed, medical, and cosmetic products. Technological innovations and integrated biorefineries represent major breakthroughs in this field. To further advance, it is important to bridge the gap between laboratory research and production-scale operations and improve communication between researchers and industry stakeholders. By scaling up to industrial-level production, these proteins could enhance the value of the seafood industry and contribute to resource sustainability.
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| 8. |
- Zhang, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Role of lingonberry press cake in producing stable herring protein isolates via pH-shift processing: A dose response study
- 2024
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Ingår i: Food Chemistry: X. - 2590-1575. ; 22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effects of cross-processing lingonberry press cake (LPC) (2.5–30 %, dw/dw) with herring co-products on protein yield, oxidative stability and color of pH-shift-produced protein isolates were investigated. Even at 2.5 % LPC, the formation of volatile oxidation-derived aldehydes, including hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, heptanal, octanal, and 2,4-heptadienal, were prevented during the actual protein isolate production. Adding 10 % LPC successfully prevented formation of all these aldehydes also during eight days ice storage which was explained by the partitioning of phenolics, especially ideain (1.09 mg/g dw) and procyanidin A1 (65.5 mg/g dw), into isolates. Although higher amounts of LPC (20–30 %) further prolonged the oxidation lag phase, it reduced total protein yield, increased the consumption of acid and base, and darkened protein isolates. Therefore, it is recommended to use 10 % LPC when pH-shift-processing sensitive fish raw materials as a route to mitigate lipid oxidation and at the same time promote industrial symbiosis and more circular food production.
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