Microneme-located VP2 in Eimeria acervulina elicits effective protective immunity against infectious bursal disease virus.

Using transgenic Eimeria spp. to deliver exogenous antigens is a viable option for developing multivalent live vaccines. Previous research revealed that the location of antigen expression in recombinant Eimeria dictates the magnitude and type of immune responses. In this study, we constructed genetically modified Eimeria acervulina that expressed VP2 protein, a protective antigen from infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), on the surface or in the microneme of sporozoites. After vaccination, VP2-specific antibody was readily detected in specific pathogen-free chickens receiving transgenic E. acervulina parasites expressing VP2 in microneme, but animals vaccinated with which expressing VP2 on surface failed to produce detectable antibody after two times immunizations. Moreover, the bursal lesion of microneme-located VP2 transgenic E. acervulina immunized chickens was less severe compared with un-immunized animals after IBDV challenge infection. Therefore, genetically modified E. acervulina that express IBDV-derived VP2 in micronemes are effective in inducing specific antibody responses against VP2, while parasites that have VP2 expression on cell surface are not suitable. Thus, the use of Eimeria parasites as vaccine vectors needs to consider the proper targeting of exogenous immunogens. Our results have implications for the design of other vector vaccines.

Unraveling the Role of Non-Fullerene Acceptor with High Dielectric Constant in Organic Solar Cells.

Increasing the relative dielectric constant is a constant pursuit of organic semiconductors, but it often leads to multiple changes in device characteristics, hindering the establishment of a reliable relationship between dielectric constant and photovoltaic performance. Herein, a new non-fullerene acceptor named BTP-OE is reported by replacing the branched alkyl chains on Y6-BO with branched oligoethylene oxide chains. This replacement successfully increases the relative dielectric constant from 3.28 to 4.62. To surprise, BTP-OE offers consistently lower device performance relative to Y6-BO in organic solar cells (16.27% vs 17.44%) due to the losses in open-circuit voltage and fill factor. Further investigations unravel that BTP-OE has resulted in reduced electron mobility, increased trap density, enhanced first order recombination, and enlarged energetic disorder. These results demonstrate the complex relationship between dielectric constant and device performance, which provide valuable implications for the development of organic semiconductors with high dielectric constant for photovoltaic application.

Melatonin Promotes the Development of Secondary Hair Follicles in Adult Cashmere Goats by Activating the Keap1-Nrf2 Signaling Pathway and Inhibiting the Inflammatory Transcription Factors NFκB and AP-1.

Exogenous melatonin (MT) has been used to promote the growth of secondary hair follicles and improve cashmere fiber quality, but the specific cellular-level mechanisms involved are unclear. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of MT on the development of secondary hair follicles and on cashmere fiber quality in cashmere goats. The results showed that MT improved secondary follicle numbers and function as well as enhanced cashmere fiber quality and yield. The MT-treated goat groups had high secondary-to-primary ratios (S:P) for hair follicles, greater in the elderly group (p < 0.05). Antioxidant capacities of secondary hair follicles improved fiber quality and yield in comparison with control groups (p < 0.05/0.01). Levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS, RNS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were lowered (p < 0.05/0.01) by MT. There was significant upregulation of antioxidant genes (for SOD-3; GPX-1; NFE2L2) and the protein of nuclear factor (Nrf2), and downregulation of the Keap1 protein. There were significant differences in the expression of genes for secretory senescence-associated phenotype (SASP) cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, MMP-9, MMP-27, CCL-21, CXCL-12, CXCL-14, TIMP-1,2,3) plus their protein of key transcription factors, nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1), in comparison with the controls. We concluded that MT could enhance antioxidant capacity and reduce ROS and RNS levels of secondary hair follicles through the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway in adult cashmere goats. Furthermore, MT reduced the expression of the SASP cytokines genes by inhibiting the protein of NFκB and AP-1 in the secondary hair follicles in older cashmere goats, thus delaying skin aging, improving follicle survival, and increasing the number of secondary hair follicles. Collectively, these effects of exogenous MT enhanced the quality and yield of cashmere fibers, especially at 5-7 years old.

Prolactin Regulates Ovine Ovarian Granulosa Cell Apoptosis by Affecting the Expression of MAPK12 Gene.

Prolactin (PRL) has been reported to influence reproductive performance and cell apoptosis. However, its mechanism remains unclear. Hence, in the present study, ovine ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) were used as a cell model to investigate the relationship between PRL concentration and GC apoptosis, as well as its possible mechanisms. We examined the relationship between serum PRL concentration and follicle counts in sexually mature ewes. GCs were isolated from adult ewes and treated with different concentrations of PRL, while 500 ng/mL PRL was selected as the high concentration of prolactin (HPC). Then, we applied the transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) combined with a gene editing approach to explore the HPC contributing to cell apoptosis and steroid hormones. The apoptosis of GCs gradually increased at PRL concentrations above 20 ng/mL, while 500 ng/mL PRL significantly decreased the secretion of steroid hormones and the expression of L-PRLR and S-PRLR. The results indicated that PRL regulates GC development and steroid hormones mainly through the target gene MAPK12. The expression of MAPK12 was increased after knocked-down L-PRLR and S-PRLR, while it decreased after overexpressed L-PRLR and S-PRLR. Cell apoptosis was inhibited and the secretion of steroid hormones increased after interfering with MAPK12, while the overexpression of MAPK12 showed the opposite trend. Overall, the number of follicles gradually decreased with increasing PRL concentration. HPCs promoted apoptosis and inhibited steroid hormone secretion in GCs by upregulating MAPK12 through reducing L-PRLR and S-PRLR.

High Prolactin Concentration Induces Ovarian Granulosa Cell Oxidative Stress, Leading to Apoptosis Mediated by L-PRLR and S-PRLR.

High prolactin (PRL) concentration has been shown to induce the apoptosis of ovine ovarian granulosa cells (GCs), but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of apoptosis induced by high PRL concentration in GCs. Trial 1: The optimal concentration of glutathion was determined according to the detected cell proliferation. The results showed that the optimal glutathione concentration was 5 µmol/mL. Trial 2: 500 ng/mL PRL was chosen as the high PRL concentration. The GCs were treated with 0 ng/mL PRL (C group), 500 ng/mL PRL (P group) or 500 ng/mL PRL, and 5 µmol/mL glutathione (P-GSH group). The results indicated that the mitochondrial respiratory chain complex (MRCC) I-V, ATP production, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and thioredoxin peroxidase (TPx) in the C group were higher than those in the P group (p < 0.05), while they were lower than those in the P-GSH group (p < 0.05). Compared to the C group, the P group exhibited elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis (p < 0.05) and increased expression of ATG7 and ATG5 (p < 0.05). However, MRCC I-V, ATP, SOD, A-TOC, TPx, ROS, and apoptosis were decreased after the addition of glutathione (p < 0.05). The knockdown of either L-PRLR or S-PRLR in P group GCs resulted in a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in MRCC I-V, ATP, T-AOC, SOD and TPx, while the overexpression of either receptor showed an opposite trend (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that high PRL concentrations induce apoptotic cell death in ovine ovarian GCs by downregulating L-PRLR and S-PRLR, activating oxidative stress and autophagic pathways.

Internal daughter formation of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites is coordinated by transcription factor TgAP2IX-5.

Toxoplasma gondii rapidly propagates through endodyogeny of tachyzoites, a process in which daughter parasites divide within the cell of the mother parasite. Recent studies have revealed that transcription factors with AP2-domain participate in the process of cell division in T. gondii. However, the concise regulation of the division cycles by AP2 proteins is poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the effect of the transcription factor TgAP2IX-5 on the daughter cell formation in T. gondii. TgAP2IX-5 is a nuclear protein and is highly expressed during the S phase of the cell cycle of tachyzoites. TgAP2IX-5-disrupted strain showed a severe defect in replication and completely blocked lytic parasite growth. Following 3-indoleacetic acid treatment or without treatment of AP2IX-5-AID-3HA tagged strain for 30 min, 1 and 2 hr, the differentially expressed genes were 8, 54 and 202, respectively. Among these genes, the significantly downregulated ones were AP2 proteins, inner membrane complex (IMC) proteins and SAG-related proteins. Interestingly, loss of TgAP2IX-5 leads to a defect in internal daughter IMC formation and abnormalities in the morphology of organelles during cell division. Together, our study suggests that TgAP2IX-5 is crucial in regulating IMC formation of daughter cells in T. gondii.

Wide Bandgap Conjugated Polymers Based on Difluorobenzoxadiazole for Efficient Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cells.

Wide bandgap polymers with a donor-acceptor alternating structure play a key role in constructing high-efficiency organic solar cells (OSCs). However, only a handful of high-performance polymers are available owing to the limited choices of acceptor units. 5,6-Difluorobenzo[c][1,2,5]oxadiazole (ffBX) is a promising acceptor unit with high ionization potential, and can afford high charge carrier mobility and strong aggregation for the resulting polymers. Historically, ffBX is successfully used in constructing high-performance polymer donors for fullerene-based OSCs. However, this unit is far less been explored in non-fullerene OSCs. In this work, three ffBX-based wide bandgap polymers (Oc00, Oc25, and Oc50) with varied solubilizing side chain content for application in non-fullerene OSCs are reported. The polymers show matched energy levels and complementary optical absorption with the state-of-the-art non-fullerene acceptor Y6. Moreover, the polymer solubility, solid state packing, and bulk-heterojunction morphology are finely tuned via side chain engineering. Encouragingly, a decent efficiency of 14.25% is realized by the polymer Oc25 when blended with Y6 due to the efficient charge transport and favorable active layer morphology. These results suggest the promising prospect of ffBX in constructing high-performance polymer donors for non-fullerene OSCs.

LncGSAR Controls Ovarian Granulosa Cell Steroidogenesis via Sponging MiR-125b to Activate SCAP/SREBP Pathway.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play important roles in livestock fecundity, and many lncRNAs that affect follicular development and reproductive diseases have been identified in the ovary. However, only a few of them have been functionally annotated and mechanistically validated. In this study, we identified a new lncRNA (lncGSAR) and investigated its effects on the proliferation and steroidogenesis of ovine granulosa cells (GCs). High concentrations of glucose (add 33.6 mM glucose) caused high expression of lncGSAR in GCs by regulating its stability, and lncGSAR overexpression promoted GCs proliferation, estrogen secretion, and inhibited progesterone secretion, whereas interference with lncGASR had the opposite effect. Next, we found that the RNA molecules of lncGSAR act on MiR-125b as competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA), and SREBP-cleavage-activating protein (SCAP) was verified as a target of MiR-125b. LncGASR overexpression increased the expression of SCAP, SREBP, and steroid hormone-related proteins, which can be attenuated by MiR-125b. Our results demonstrated that lncGSAR can act as a ceRNA to activate SCAP/SREBP signaling by sponging MiR-125b to regulate steroid hormone secretion in GCs. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms of nutrient-regulated follicle development in ewes.

Long Non-Coding RNA GDAR Regulates Ovine Granulosa Cells Apoptosis by Affecting the Expression of Apoptosis-Related Genes.

Short-term dietary supplementation of ewes during the luteal phase can increase fertility, most probably by stimulating glucose uptake by the follicles. However, the molecular mechanism of glucose regulation of follicular development has not yet been clarified, especially the further study of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in determining fertility during follicular development. We generated granulosa cell (GC) models of different doses of glucose (0, 2.1, 4.2, 8.4, 16.8 and 33.6 mM), and observed that the highest cell viability was recorded in the 8.4 mM group and the highest apoptosis rates were recorded in the 33.6 mM group. Therefore, a control group (n = 3, 0 mM glucose), a low glucose group (n = 3, add 8.4 mM glucose), and a high glucose group (n = 3, add 33.6 mM glucose) of GCs were created for next whole genomic RNA sequencing. In total, 18,172 novel lncRNAs and 510 annotated lncRNAs were identified in the GCs samples. Gene Ontology indicated that differentially expressed lncRNAs associated with cell apoptosis were highly enriched. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis of lncRNA target genes found that the apoptosis pathway and the p53 signaling pathway were both enriched. Furthermore, we focused on the function of a lncGDAR and verified that lncGDAR could influence cell apoptosis in GC development through affecting the mRNA and protein expression of apoptosis-related markers. These results provide the basis for further study of the lncRNA regulation mechanism in nutrition on female fertility.

N-Type Quinoidal Polymers Based on Dipyrrolopyrazinedione for Application in All-Polymer Solar Cells.

Conjugated molecules and polymers with intrinsic quinoidal structure are promising n-type organic semiconductors, which have been reported for application in field-effect transistors and thermoelectric devices. In principle, the molecular and electronic characteristics of quinoidal polymers can also enable their application in organic solar cells. Herein, two quinoidal polymers, named PzDP-T and PzDP-ffT, based on dipyrrolopyrazinedione were synthesized and used as electron acceptors in all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs). Both PzDP-T and PzDP-ffT showed suitable energy levels and wide light absorption range that extended to the near-infrared region. When combined with the polymer donor PBDB-T, the resulting all-PSCs based on PzDP-T and PzDP-ffT exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.33 and 2.37 %, respectively. This is the first report on the application of intrinsic quinoidal conjugated polymers in all-PSCs. The photovoltaic performance of the all-PSCs was revealed to be mainly limited by the relatively poor and imbalanced charge transport, considerable charge recombination. Detailed investigations on the structure-performance relationship suggested that synergistic optimization of light absorption, energy levels, and charge transport properties is needed to achieve more successful application of intrinsic quinoidal conjugated polymers in all-PSCs.

A Facile Synthesized Polymer Featuring B-N Covalent Bond and Small Singlet-Triplet Gap for High-Performance Organic Solar Cells.

High-efficiency organic solar cells (OSCs) largely rely on polymer donors. Herein, we report a new building block BNT and a relevant polymer PBNT-BDD featuring B-N covalent bond for application in OSCs. The BNT unit is synthesized in only 3 steps, leading to the facile synthesis of PBNT-BDD. When blended with a nonfullerene acceptor Y6-BO, PBNT-BDD afforded a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.1 % in an OSC, comparable to the benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDT)-based counterpart. The nonradiative recombination energy loss of 0.19 eV was afforded by PBNT-BDD. PBNT-BDD also exhibited weak crystallinity and appropriate miscibility with Y6-BO, benefitting of morphological stability. The singlet-triplet gap (ΔEST ) of PBNT-BDD is as low as 0.15 eV, which is much lower than those of common organic semiconductors (≥0.6 eV). As a result, the triplet state of PBNT-BDD is higher than the charge transfer (CT) state, which would suppress the recombination via triplet state effectively.

Genetic modification of the protozoan Eimeria tenella using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Eimeria tenella has emerged as valuable model organism for studying the biology and immunology of protozoan parasites with the establishment of the reverse genetic manipulation platform. In this report, we described the application of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)/Cas9 (endonuclease) system for efficient genetic editing in E. tenella, and showed that the CRISPR/Cas9 system mediates site-specific double-strand DNA breaks with a single guide RNA. Using this system, we successfully tagged the endogenous microneme protein 2 (EtMic2) by inserting the red fluorescent protein into the C-terminal of EtMic2. Our results extended the utility of the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genetic modification system to E. tenella, and opened a new avenue for targeted investigation of gene functions in apicomplexan parasites.

Adjusting Aggregation Modes and Photophysical and Photovoltaic Properties of Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Small Molecules by Introducing B←N Bonds.

The packing mode of small-molecular semiconductors in thin films is an important factor that controls the performance of their optoelectronic devices. Designing and changing the packing mode by molecular engineering is challenging. Three structurally related diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based compounds were synthesized to study the effect of replacing C-C bonds by isoelectronic dipolar B←N bonds. By replacing one of the bridging C-C bonds on the peripheral fluorene units of the DPP molecules by a coordinative B←N bond and changing the B←N bond orientation, the optical absorption, fluorescence, and excited-state lifetime of the compounds can be tuned. The substitution alters the preferential aggregation of the molecules in the solid state from H-type (for C-C) to J-type (for B←N). Introducing B←N bonds thus provides a subtle way of controlling the packing mode. The photovoltaic properties of the compounds were evaluated in bulk heterojunctions with a fullerene acceptor and showed moderate performance as a consequence of suboptimal morphologies, bimolecular recombination, and triplet-state formation.

A Wide-Bandgap Conjugated Polymer Based on Quinoxalino[6,5-f ]quinoxaline for Fullerene and Non-Fullerene Polymer Solar Cells.

A wide-bandgap conjugated polymer, PNQx-2F2T, based on a ring-fused unit of quinoxalino[6,5-f ]quinoxaline (NQx), is synthesized for use as electron donor in polymer solar cells (PSCs). The polymer shows intense light absorption in the range from 300 to 740 nm and favorable energy levels of frontier molecular orbitals. The polymer has afforded decent device performance when blended with either fullerene-based acceptor [6,6]-phenyl-C71 -butylric acid methyl ester ([70]PCBM) or non-fullerene acceptor 3,9-bis(2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-indanone-methyl))-5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-n-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3-d: 2',3'-d']-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b']dithiophene (IT-M). The highest PCEs of 7.9% and 7.5% have been achieved for [70]PCBM or IT-M based PSCs, respectively. Moreover, the influence of molecular weight of PNQx-2F2T on solar cell performance has been investigated. It is found that fullerene-based devices prefer higher polymer molecular weight, while non-fullerene devices are not susceptible to the molecular weight of PNQx-2F2T. The device results are extensively explained by electrical and morphological characterizations. This work not only evidences the potential of NQx for constructing high-performance photovoltaic polymers but also demonstrates a useful structure-performance relationship for efficiency enhancement of non-fullerene PSCs via the development of new conjugated polymers.

Selection and characterization of a precocious line of Eimeria media.

Coccidiosis, caused by the infection of Eimeria parasites, is one of the most common diseases in domestic rabbits. Live anticoccidial vaccine formulated with attenuated precocious lines of pathogenic eimerian parasites is expected to be valuable for the control of rabbit coccidiosis as a similar strategy to produce anticoccidial vaccines against chicken coccidiosis has being used for several decades. Eimeria media, moderate pathogenic, is widespread in China. Therefore, attenuated anticoccidial vaccines against rabbit coccidiosis should contain vaccine strain(s) of E. media. In this study, a precocious line of E. media (Empre) was selected by collecting and propagating the early excreted oocysts with 16 successive generations. The prepatent period of Empre reduced from 108 h of its parental strain (Emwt) to 70 h. The fecundity of Empre was about 1/10 to 1/3 lower than that of Emwt. Each sporocyst of Empre sporulated oocyst contained only one large refractile body instead of two smaller ones seen in the parental strain. When vaccinated with 1 × 103 or 1 × 104 precocious line oocysts, the rabbits were completely protected against homologous challenge with the parental strain 14 days post challenge by terms of body weight gain and oocyst output counting, indicating the efficacy of Empre. Meanwhile, all immunized rabbits showed no clinical sign post immunization, indicating the safety of Empre. For co-immunization, 1 × 103Empre oocysts and 5 × 102 oocysts of a precocious line of E. intestinalis (EIP8) were inoculated to each rabbit in a trial. No diarrhea or mortality was found after vaccination, and the weight gains of the vaccinated group were similar to that of unvaccinated-unchallenged control (UUC) group, while the weight gains of the vaccinated group were similar to that of unvaccinated-unchallenged control (UUC) group (P > 0.05), but significantly higher than that of UCC group (P < 0.01) after challenge, indicating it is safe and effective when using co-immunization. These results together show that Empre, as a precocious line, is a good candidate of precocious line of E. media for anticoccidial vaccine development.

Transgenic Eimeria tenella Expressing Profilin of Eimeria maxima Elicits Enhanced Protective Immunity and Alters Gut Microbiome of Chickens.

Coccidiosis is one of the most serious diseases of livestock and birds in the world. Vaccination with live-parasite anticoccidial vaccines with genetic manipulation improving the immunogenicity of vaccine strains would be the best means for controlling coccidiosis in breeder and layer stocks, even in fast-growing broilers. Profilin from apicomplexan parasites is the first molecularly defined ligand for Toll-like receptor 11 (TLR11) and TLR12 in mice and is a potential molecular adjuvant. Here, we constructed a transgenic Eimeria tenella line (Et-EmPro) expressing the profilin of Eimeria maxima, the most immunogenic species of chicken coccidia, and evaluated the adjuvant effects of EmPro on the immunogenicity of E. tenella We found that immunization with the transgenic Eimeria parasites, compared with the wild type, elicited greater parasite antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity, characterized by increased numbers of interferon gamma (IFN-γ)-secreting lymphocytes. The transgenic parasite also induced better protective immunity against E. tenella challenge than the wild type. In addition, the diversity of the fecal microbiome of the birds immunized with the transgenic parasite differed from that of the microbiome of the wild-type-immunized birds, indicating interactions of Eimeria with the gut microbiome of chickens. Our results showing enhanced immunogenicity of E. tenella by use of EmPro as a molecular adjuvant derived from the most immunogenic affinis species represent a large step forward in the development of the next generation of coccidiosis vaccines using Eimeria as a vaccine platform expressing molecular adjuvants and potentially other pathogen antigens against not only coccidiosis but also other infectious diseases.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of Eimeria maxima (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) suggests DNA replication activities correlating with its fecundity.

BACKGROUND: Chicken coccidiosis, caused by the infection of Eimeria species, leads to important economic losses to the poultry industry. Vaccination with attenuated live parasites seems to be the best way to control this disease. Attenuated eimerian parasites with shortened prepatent times show great changes in intracellular development compared to their parent strains but the mechanisms involved in these biological differences are still unclear. RESULTS: In this study, we obtained a precocious line of E. maxima by sequential selection of 22 generations of early shed oocysts in chickens and performed a comparative transcriptome analysis of three different developmental stages of the precocious line and its parent strain using Illumina high-throughput sequencing. Our E. maxima precocious line showed decreased pathogenicity, reduced fecundity and a greatly shorted prepatent time of only 98 h. We found that typical gene changes in the stage development from unsporulated to sporulated oocyst and from sporulated oocyst to merozoite were marked by upregulated organelle genes and protein translation related genes, respectively. Additionally, major differences between the precocious line and its parent strain were detected in the merozoite stage, characterized by downregulated genes involved in protein cleavage and DNA replication activities. CONCLUSIONS: Our study generated and characterized an E. maxima precocious line, illustrating gene expression landscapes during parasite development by transcriptome analysis. We also show that the suppressed DNA replication progress in the merozoite stage in the precocious line may result in its reduced fecundity. These results provide the basis for a better understanding of the mechanism of precocity in Eimeria species, which can be useful in studies in early gametocytogenesis in apicomplexan parasites.

Morphology Optimization via Side Chain Engineering Enables All-Polymer Solar Cells with Excellent Fill Factor and Stability.

All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) composed of conjugated polymers as both donor and acceptor components in bulk heterojunction photoactive layers have attracted increasing attention. However, it is a big challenge to achieve optimal morphology in polymer:polymer blends. In response, we report herein a new strategy to adjust the nanoscale organization for all-PSCs. Specifically, side chain engineering of the well-known naphthalene diimide (NDI)-based polymer N2200 is modulated by introducing a fraction of linear oligoethylene oxide (OE) side chains to replace branched alkyl chains on the NDI units and by synthesizing a series of NDI-based polymer acceptors NOE x, where x is the percentage of OE chain substituted NDI units relative to total NDI units. Compared to the reference polymer NOE0, OE-chain-containing polymer NOE10 offers a much higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.1% with a record high fill factor (FF) of 0.75 in all-PSCs. Moreover, the NOE10-based all-PSC exhibits excellent long-term and thermal stabilities with >97% of the initial PCE being maintained after 300 h of aging at 65 °C. This work demonstrates an effective morphology optimization strategy to achieve highly efficient and stable all-PSCs and shows the excellent potential of NOE10 as an alternative to commercially available acceptor polymers N2200.

Subnaphthalocyanines as Electron Acceptors in Polymer Solar Cells: Improving Device Performance by Modifying Peripheral and Axial Substituents.

A new class of subnaphthalocyanines bearing various peripheral and axial substituents have been synthesized for use as electron acceptors in solution-processed bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells. The resulting solar cells exhibit modest photovoltaic performance with contributions from both the polymer donor and subnaphthalocyanine acceptor to the photocurrent.

The Role of the Axial Substituent in Subphthalocyanine Acceptors for Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Four hexachlorosubphthalocyanines SubPcCl6 -X bearing different axial substituents (X) have been synthesized for use as novel electron acceptors in solution-processed bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells. Subphthalocyanines are aromatic chromophoric molecules with cone-shaped structure, good solution processability, intense optical absorption in the visible spectral region, appropriate electron mobilities, and tunable energy levels. Solar cells with subphthalocyanines as the electron acceptor and PTB7-Th as the electron donor exhibit a power conversion efficiency up to 4 % and an external quantum efficiency approaching 60 % due to significant contributions from both the electron donor and the electron acceptor to the photocurrent, indicating a promising prospect of non-fullerene acceptors based on subphthalocyanines and structurally related systems.