| 1. |
- Xu, Husen, et al.
(author)
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Synergistically boosting performances of organic solar cells from dithieno[3,2-b]benzo[1,2-b;4,5-b′]dithiophene-based copolymers via side chain engineering and radical polymer additives
- 2024
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In: Journal of Materials Chemistry C. - 2050-7526 .- 2050-7534. ; 12:10, s. 3644-3653
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As a notable analogue of benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (BDT), dithieno[2,3-d:2′,3′-d′]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (DTBDT) is expected to be a more promising building block for polymer photovoltaic donor materials due to its larger coplanar core and extended conjugation length as well as a similar electron donor ability to BDT. However, the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs) from DTBDT-based copolymers is much lower than that of OSCs from BDT-based copolymers, which is attributed to the higher voltage loss of the OSCs from DTBDT-based polymers as compared to that from BDT-based polymers. In this study, approaches such as increasing the donor (D) and acceptor (A) spacing by lengthening the side chains of the polymer donors and use of radical conjugated polymer additives are synergistically employed in OSCs from 2-alkyl-3-chlorothiophene flanked DTBDT-alt-1,3-bis(thiophen-2-yl)-5,7-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4H,8H-benzo[1,2-c:4,5-c′]dithiophene-4,8-dione (BDD) polymers paired with Y6. Compared to the OSCs from the DTBDT-alt-BDD polymer with 2-ethylhexyl side chains (PBDT-Cl) paired with Y6, the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the counterpart OSCs from the DTBDT-alt-BDD polymer with 2-butyloctyl side chains (PDBT-Cl-BO) increased from 12.67% to 14.58%, with a remarkable improvement of the open circuit voltage (VOC). The reduction of non-radiative energy loss of the OSCs from PBDT-Cl-BO:Y6, ascribed to the increase of the DA spacing by lengthening the side chains, is supported through detailed studies such as Fourier-transform photocurrent spectroscopy external quantum efficiency (FTPS-EQE), electroluminescence (EL), electroluminescence external quantum efficiency (EQEEL), and molecular dynamics simulations (MD). Afterwards, the PCEs of the OSCs from the blends of PDBT-Cl-BO:Y6 were further improved from 14.58% to 15.93% with a notable improvement of short circuit densities (JSCs) and fill factors (FFs), along with a small improvement in VOC upon the addition of the radical conjugated polymer GDTA as an additive. For comparison, the PCEs of the OSCs from the blends of PDBT-Cl:Y6 remained almost unchanged upon the addition of GDTA. This work suggests a wise strategy to synergistically utilize side-chain engineering and radical conjugated polymer additives to reduce the non-radiative energy loss, thus improving the performance of OSCs from DTBDT-based polymer donors.
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| 2. |
- Chen, Anqi, et al.
(author)
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Highly Sensitive Graphene Oxide-based Fabry-Perot Low-frequency Acoustic Sensor With Low-coherence Polarized Demodulation Using Three-step Phase-Shifting Arctan Algorithms
- 2024
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In: Journal of Lightwave Technology. - 0733-8724 .- 1558-2213. ; In Press
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Developing low-frequency acoustic senor with high sensitivity is crucial for diverse applications, ranging from seismic monitoring, military operations, to pipeline surveillance. Here, we have proposed a high-sensitivity graphene oxide (GO)-based Fabry-Perot low-frequency sensor, in which a 170 nm thick, large-area and uniformly GO film was prepared by a vacuum filtration method. To enhance the accuracy and stability of the sensor, a low-coherence interference system based on birefringent crystal blocks was designed utilizing a three-step phase-shifting arctangent algorithm. Our sensor exhibited a sensitivity of -93.48 dB re 1 rad/μPa at 6-60 Hz with a fluctuation of 0.6 dB. The minimum detectable pressure of the sensor was measured at 0.37 μPa/Hz1/2 @20 Hz with a signal to noise ratio of 135.41 dB. Overall, this sensor offers simplicity in preparation, high sensitivity, low detectable sound pressure, making it a significant asset for low-frequency acoustic applications.
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| 3. |
- Wang, Na, et al.
(author)
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Label-free analysis of the β-hydroxybutyricacid drug on mitochondrial redox states repairment in type 2 diabetic mice by resonance raman scattering
- 2024
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In: Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0753-3322 .- 1950-6007. ; 172
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Mitochondrial redox imbalance underlies the pathophysiology of type2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and is closely related to tissue damage and dysfunction. Studies have shown the beneficial effects of dietary strategies that elevate β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) levels in alleviating T2DM. Nevertheless, the role of BHB has not been clearly elucidated. Methods: We performed a spectral study to visualize the preventive effects of BHB on blood and multiorgan mitochondrial redox imbalance in T2DM mice via using label-free resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS), and further explored the impact of BHB therapy on the pathology of T2DM mice by histological and biochemical analyses. Findings: Our data revealed that RRS-based mitochondrial redox states assay enabled clear and reliable identification of the improvement of mitochondrial redox imbalance by BHB, evidenced by the reduction of Raman peak intensity at 750 cm−1, 1128 cm−1 and 1585 cm−1 in blood, tissue as well as purified mitochondria of db/db mice and the increase of tissue mitochondrial succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) staining after BHB treatment. Exogenous supplementation of BHB was also found to attenuate T2DM pathology related to mitochondrial redox states, involving organ injury, blood glucose control, insulin resistance and systemic inflammation. Interpretation: Our findings provide strong evidence for BHB as a potential therapeutic strategy targeting mitochondria for T2DM.
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