Dipole Moments Regulation of Biphosphonic Acid Molecules for Self-assembled Monolayers Boosts the Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells Exceeding 19.7.

PEDOT: PSS has been widely used as a hole extraction layer (HEL) in organic solar cells (OSCs). However, their acidic nature can potentially corrode the indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode over time, leading to adverse effects on the longevity of the OSCs. Herein, we have developed a class of biphosphonic acid molecules with tunable dipole moments for self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), namely, 3-BPIC(i), 3-BPIC, and 3-BPIC-F, which exhibit an increasing dipole moment in sequence. Compared to centrosymmetric 3-BPIC(i), the axisymmetric 3-BPIC and 3-BPIC-F exhibit higher adsorption energies (Eads) with ITO, shorter interface spacing, more uniform coverage on ITO surface, and better interfacial compatibility with the active layer. Thanks to the incorporation of fluorine atoms, 3-BPIC-F exhibits a deeper highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level and a larger dipole moment compared to 3-BPIC, resulting in an enlarged work function (WF) for the ITO/3-BPIC-F substrate. These advantages of 3-BPIC-F could not only improve hole extraction within the device but also lower the interfacial impedance and reduce nonradiative recombination at the interface. As a result, the OSCs using SAM based on 3-BPIC-F obtained a record high efficiency of 19.71%, which is higher than that achieved from the cells based on 3-BPIC(i) (13.54%) and 3-BPIC (19.34%). Importantly, 3-BPIC-F-based OSCs exhibit significantly enhanced stability compared to that utilizing PEDOT:PSS as HEL. Our work offers guidance for the future design of functional molecules for SAMs to realize even higher performance in organic solar cells.

Platinum and Iridium Oxide Co-modified TiO2 Nanotubes Array Based Photoelectrochemical Sensors for Glutathione.

Oriented TiO2 nanotubes, which are fabricated by anodic oxidation method, are prospective in photoelectrochemical analysis and sensors. In this work, Pt and IrO2 co-modified TiO2 nanotubes array was prepared via a two-step deposition process involving the photoreductive deposition of Pt and chemical deposition of IrO2 on the oriented TiO2 nanotubes. Due to the improved separation of photo-generated electrons and holes, Pt-IrO2 co-modified TiO2 nanotubes presented significantly higher PEC activity than pure TiO2 nanotubes or mono-modified TiO2 nanotubes. The PEC sensitivity of Pt-IrO2 co-modified TiO2 nanotubes for glutathione was also monitored and good sensitivity was observed.