Transition metal-catalysed molecular n-doping of organic semiconductors.

Chemical doping is a key process for investigating charge transport in organic semiconductors and improving certain (opto)electronic devices1-9. N(electron)-doping is fundamentally more challenging than p(hole)-doping and typically achieves a very low doping efficiency (η) of less than 10%1,10. An efficient molecular n-dopant should simultaneously exhibit a high reducing power and air stability for broad applicability1,5,6,9,11, which is very challenging. Here we show a general concept of catalysed n-doping of organic semiconductors using air-stable precursor-type molecular dopants. Incorporation of a transition metal (for example, Pt, Au, Pd) as vapour-deposited nanoparticles or solution-processable organometallic complexes (for example, Pd2(dba)3) catalyses the reaction, as assessed by experimental and theoretical evidence, enabling greatly increased η in a much shorter doping time and high electrical conductivities (above 100 S cm-1; ref. 12). This methodology has technological implications for realizing improved semiconductor devices and offers a broad exploration space of ternary systems comprising catalysts, molecular dopants and semiconductors, thus opening new opportunities in n-doping research and applications12, 13.

A detailed analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequencing and conventional PCR-based testing for the diagnosis of bacterial pathogens and discovery of novel bacteria.

This study represents the first analysis of the bacterial community in chickens affected by swollen head syndrome, utilizing 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Samples were obtained from clinical laying chickens and were examined for the presence of Avibacterium paragallinarum (APG) and Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). From the samples, five APG-positive (APG) and APG-negative (N-APG) samples were chosen, along with five specific pathogen-free chickens, for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results showed that APG and ORT were widely detected in the chicken samples with swollen head syndrome (SHS, 9/10), while APG was detected in all five specific pathogen-free (SPF) samples. In contrast, conventional PCR sensitivity was found to be inadequate for diagnosis, with only 35.7% (5/14) and 11.1% (1/9) sensitivity for APG and ORT, respectively, based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing data. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was able to quantify the bacteria in the samples, revealing that the relative abundance of APG in the APG group ranged from 2.7 to 81.3%, while the relative abundance of APG in the N-APG group ranged from 0.1 to 21.0%. Notably, a low level of APG was also detected in all 5 SPF samples. The study also identified a significant number of animal and human common bacterial pathogens, including but not limited to Gallibacterium anatis, Riemerella columbina, Enterococcus cecorum, Mycoplasma synoviae, Helicobacter hepaticus, and Staphylococcus lentus. In conclusion, 16S rRNA gene sequencing is a valuable tool for bacterial pathogen diagnosis and the discovery of novel bacterial pathogens, while conventional PCR is not reliable for diagnosis.

The Complexity of Neuropathic Pain and Central Sensitization: Exploring Mechanisms and Therapeutic Prospects.

Neuropathic pain is a common pain syndrome, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. The mechanism of neuropathic pain is complex. Peripheral tissue injury can trigger peripheral sensitization; however, what really plays a key role is the sensitization of the central nervous system. Central sensitization is a key factor in the perception of chronic pain. Central sensitization refers to the increased sensitivity of the central nervous system to pain treatment, which is related to the change of the functional connection mode of the neural network. The current study aims to reveal the basic molecular mechanisms of central sensitization, including the involvement of P2 purine X4 receptor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. In terms of treatment, although there are drugs and physical therapy, the accuracy of targeting is limited and the efficacy needs to be further improved. Future therapeutic strategies may involve the development of new drugs designed to specifically inhibit the central sensitization process. This article focuses on the effector molecules involved in central sensitization, aiming to elucidate the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain and provide a basis for the development of more effective treatment models.

Quantum dots as advanced nanomaterials for food quality and safety applications: A comprehensive review and future perspectives.

The importance of food quality and safety lies in ensuring the best product quality to meet consumer demands and public health. Advanced technologies play a crucial role in minimizing the risk of foodborne illnesses, contamination, drug residue, and other potential hazards in food. Significant materials and technological advancements have been made throughout the food supply chain. Among them, quantum dots (QDs), as a class of advanced nanomaterials with unique physicochemical properties, are progressively demonstrating their value in the field of food quality and safety. This review aims to explore cutting-edge research on the different applications of QDs in food quality and safety, including encapsulation of bioactive compounds, detection of food analytes, food preservation and packaging, and intelligent food freshness indicators. Moreover, the modification strategies and potential toxicities of diverse QDs are outlined, which can affect performance and hinder applications in the food industry. The findings suggested that QDs are mainly used in analyte detection and active/intelligent food packaging. Various food analytes can be detected using QD-based sensors, including heavy metal ions, pesticides, antibiotics, microorganisms, additives, and functional components. Moreover, QD incorporation aided in improving the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of film/coatings, resulting in extended shelf life for packaged food. Finally, the perspectives and critical challenges for the productivity, toxicity, and practical application of QDs are also summarized. By consolidating these essential aspects into this review, the way for developing high-performance QD-based nanomaterials is presented for researchers and food technologists to better capitalize upon this technology in food applications.

Dithienoquinoxalineimide-Based Polymer Donor Enables All-Polymer Solar Cells Over 19 % Efficiency.

All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) have been regarded as one of the most promising candidates for commercial applications owing to their outstanding advantages such as mechanical flexibility, light weight and stable film morphology. However, compared to large amount of new-emerging excellent polymer acceptors, the development of high-performance polymer donor lags behind. Herein, a new D-π-A type polymer donor, namely QQ1, was developed based on dithienoquinoxalineimide (DTQI) as the A unit, benzodithiophene with thiophene-conjugated side chains (BDTT) as the D unit, and alkyl-thiophene as the π-bridge, respectively. QQ1 not only possesses a strong dipole moment, but also shows a wide band gap of 1.80 eV and a deep HOMO energy level of -5.47 eV, even without halogen substituents that are commonly indispensable for high-performance polymer donors. When blended with a classic polymer acceptor PY-IT, the QQ1-based all-PSC delivers an outstanding PCE of 18.81 %. After the introduction of F-BTA3 as the third component, a record PCE of 19.20 % was obtained, the highest value reported so far for all-PSCs. The impressive photovoltaic performance originates from broad absorption range, reduced energy loss, and compact π-π stacking. These results provide new insight in the rational design of novel nonhalogenated polymer donors for further development of all-PSCs.

Cyano-Functionalized Pyrazine: A Structurally Simple and Easily Accessible Electron-Deficient Building Block for n-Type Organic Thermoelectric Polymers.

Developing low-cost and high-performance n-type polymer semiconductors is essential to accelerate the application of organic thermoelectrics (OTEs). To achieve this objective, it is critical to design strong electron-deficient building blocks with simple structure and easy synthesis, which are essential for the development of n-type polymer semiconductors. Herein, we synthesized two cyano-functionalized highly electron-deficient building blocks, namely 3,6-dibromopyrazine-2-carbonitrile (CNPz) and 3,6-Dibromopyrazine-2,5-dicarbonitrile (DCNPz), which feature simple structures and facile synthesis. CNPz and DCNPz can be obtained via only one-step reaction and three-step reactions from cheap raw materials, respectively. Based on CNPz and DCNPz, two acceptor-acceptor (A-A) polymers, P(DPP-CNPz) and P(DPP-DCNPz) are successfully developed, featuring deep-positioned lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels, which are beneficial to n-type organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) and OTEs performance. An optimal unipolar electron mobility of 0.85 and 1.85 cm2 V-1 s-1 is obtained for P(DPP-CNPz) and P(DPP-DCNPz), respectively. When doped with N-DMBI, P(DPP-CNPz) and P(DPP-DCNPz) show high n-type electrical conductivities/power factors of 25.3 S cm-1 /41.4 µW m-1 K-2 , and 33.9 S cm-1 /30.4 µW m-1 K-2 , respectively. Hence, the cyano-functionalized pyrazine CNPz and DCNPz represent a new class of structurally simple, low-cost and readily accessible electron-deficient building block for constructing n-type polymer semiconductors.

Intrathecal Injection of Botulinum Toxin Type A has an Analgesic Effect in Male Rats CCI Model by Inhibiting the Activation of Spinal P2X4R.

Purinergic receptor P2X4 (P2X4R) plays an essential role in neuropathic pain. However, the specific mechanism needs to be clarified. Botulinum toxin type A is a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum type A. This study found that intrathecal injection of botulinum toxin type A produced an excellent analgesic effect in a rat model of chronic constriction sciatic nerve injury and inhibited the activation of P2X4R, microglia, and astrocytes. The administration of a P2X4R activator can up-regulate the expression of P2X4R and eliminate the analgesic effect of intrathecal injection of botulinum toxin type A. In addition, we found that microglia and astrocytes in the spinal cord of rats injected with botulinum toxin type A were reactivated after administration of the P2X4R activator. Our results suggest that intrathecal injection of botulinum toxin type A has an analgesic effect in a rat model of chronic constriction sciatic nerve injury by inhibiting the activation of P2X4R in the spinal cord.

Synthesis, Properties, and Semiconducting Characteristics of Bisbenzothieno[b]-Fused BODIPYs.

A novel family of bisbenzothieno[b]-fused BODIPYs containing seven fused aromatic rings has been developed from readily available benzothieo[3,2-b]pyrroles through an efficient two-step synthetic route, exhibiting planar skeletons with excellent photostabilities, deep-red absorptions, and near-infrared emissions (up to 753 nm). Importantly, the thin-film transistors based on BTB with a meso-dimethylamino-phenyl group exhibit unipolar n-type charge transporting characteristics with a high electron mobility of 0.013 cm2 V-1 s-1.

ARRDC3 polymorphisms may affect the risk of glioma in Chinese Han.

This study ascertained to explore the potential contribution of ARRDC3 polymorphisms in the risk and prognosis of glioma. One thousand sixty-one patients and healthy controls were conducted to assess whether ARDC3 polymorphism was associated with glioma risk and prognosis. Four sites in ARRDC3 were selected and genotyped in MassARRAY platform. The calculated odd ratios and 95% confidence intervals from logistic regression were applied for risk assessment. The relationship between ARRDC3 variants and glioma prognosis was evaluated using log-rank test, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and so on. Also, false-positive report probability (FPRP) and statistical power were also assessed. Our findings suggested the negative role of ARRDC3 polymorphisms in the glioma risk. We also found the effect of candidate SNPs in ARRDC3 on the susceptibility to glioma was dependent on the age, gender, and histology of glioma patients. The results suggested that the genetic polymorphisms of ARRDC3 were related to an increased risk of glioma.

Simulation of performance evaluation model for medical-elderly care integrated institutions based on system dynamics.

BACKGROUND: Based on the Chinese model of medical-elderly care integration, this paper aims to explore the impact of different investment levels on the performance of the medical-elderly care integrated institutions. METHODS: Using the method of system dynamics, this paper establishes the performance evaluation model of medical-elderly care integrated institutions, sets the system element input, service level, and policy support as the key factors, and uses Vensim PLE software for simulation. RESULTS: The three key factors have different degrees of positive impact on the performance of medical-elderly care integrated institutions. On the whole, policy support has the most significant impact on the performance of institutions, followed by the level of medical-elderly care integrated services. Institutional input mainly has a great impact on the performance of institutions in the early stage. In addition, the model simulation results also show the emergence effect: the improvement rate of institutional performance under the comprehensive simulation is higher than the sum of the improvement rates under the separate action of single factor. CONCLUSION: Government policies have played an important role in promoting the development of medical-elderly care integrated institutions. The service level and resource input can effectively promote the performance of medical-elderly care integrated institutions. Institutions should formulate development strategies from a systematic perspective, and pay attention to the integration of "medical" and "elderly care" resources.

Thiazole Imide-Based All-Acceptor Homopolymer with Branched Ethylene Glycol Side Chains for Organic Thermoelectrics.

n-Type semiconducting polymers with high thermoelectric performance remain challenging due to the scarcity of molecular design strategy, limiting their applications in organic thermoelectric (OTE) devices. Herein, we provide a new approach to enhance the OTE performance of n-doped polymers by introducing acceptor-acceptor (A-A) type backbone bearing branched ethylene glycol (EG) side chains. When doped with 4-(2,3-dihydro-1,3-dimethyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-N,N-dimethylbenzenamine (N-DMBI), the A-A homopolymer PDTzTI-TEG exhibits n-type electrical conductivity (σ) up to 34 S cm-1 and power factor value of 15.7 µW m-1 K-2 . The OTE performance of PDTzTI-TEG is far greater than that of homopolymer PBTI-TEG (σ=0.27 S cm-1 ), indicating that introducing electron-deficient thiazole units in the backbone further improves the n-doping efficiency. These results demonstrate that developing A-A type polymers with EG side chains is an effective strategy to enhance n-type OTE performance.

Cyano-Functionalized Bithiophene Imide-Based n-Type Polymer Semiconductors: Synthesis, Structure-Property Correlations, and Thermoelectric Performance.

n-Type polymers with deep-positioned lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels are essential for enabling n-type organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with high stability and n-type organic thermoelectrics (OTEs) with high doping efficiency and promising thermoelectric performance. Bithiophene imide (BTI) and its derivatives have been demonstrated as promising acceptor units for constructing high-performance n-type polymers. However, the electron-rich thiophene moiety in BTI leads to elevated LUMOs for the resultant polymers and hence limits their n-type performance and intrinsic stability. Herein, we addressed this issue by introducing strong electron-withdrawing cyano functionality on BTI and its derivatives. We have successfully overcome the synthetic challenges and developed a series of novel acceptor building blocks, CNI, CNTI, and CNDTI, which show substantially higher electron deficiencies than does BTI. On the basis of these novel building blocks, acceptor-acceptor type homopolymers and copolymers were successfully synthesized and featured greatly suppressed LUMOs (-3.64 to -4.11 eV) versus that (-3.48 eV) of the control polymer PBTI. Their deep-positioned LUMOs resulted in improved stability in OTFTs and more efficient n-doping in OTEs for the corresponding polymers with a highest electrical conductivity of 23.3 S cm-1 and a power factor of ∼10 µW m-1 K-2. The conductivity and power factor are among the highest values reported for solution-processed molecularly n-doped polymers. The new CNI, CNTI, and CNDTI offer a remarkable platform for constructing n-type polymers, and this study demonstrates that cyano-functionalization of BTI is a very effective strategy for developing polymers with deep-lying LUMOs for high-performance n-type organic electronic devices.

Genetic variants of CYP4F12 gene are associated with glioma susceptibility.

Glioma is a common and fatal primary malignant tumor of the central nervous system, and its prognosis is poor. To determine the susceptibility markers of gliomas in Chinese population we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of glioma in the Han Chinese population, with a total of 485 glioma cases and 485 controls. Genotyping was conducted using the Applied Biosystems Axiom Precision Medicine Diversity Array. Besides, we carried out imputation using IMPUTE 2.0 software, and the 1000 Genomes Phase 3 was used as the reference panel. The logistic regression model was used to analyze the association of each SNP with glioma risk, assuming an additive genetic model, which was implemented in PLINK version 1.9. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated from logistic regression analysis with adjustment for age and gender. The results revealed that the SNP (rs688755) in the exon region of CYP4F12 at 19p13.12 reached genome-wide significance associated with gliomas (P = 2.35 × 10-8 , OR = 3.55, 95% CI = 2.20-5.74). Our findings provide deeper insight into the genetic contribution to glioma in different populations.

The Respiratory Burst Oxidase Homolog Protein D (GhRbohD) Positively Regulates the Cotton Resistance to Verticillium dahliae.

Verticillium wilt, mainly caused by a soil-inhabiting fungus Verticillium dahliae, can seriously reduce the yield and quality of cotton. The complex mechanism underlying cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt remains largely unknown. In plants, reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated by Rbohs is one of the earliest responses of plants to biotic and abiotic stresses. In our previous study, we performed a time-course phospho-proteomic analysis of roots of resistant and susceptible cotton varieties in response to V. dahliae, and found early differentially expressed protein burst oxidase homolog protein D (GhRbohD). However, the role of GhRbohD-mediated ROS in cotton defense against V. dahliae needs further investigation. In this study, we analyzed the function of GhRbohD-mediated resistance of cotton against V. dahliae in vitro and in vivo. Bioinformatics analysis showed that GhRbohD possessed the conservative structural attributes of Rbohs family, 12 members of RbohD out of 57 Rbohs in cotton. The expression of GhRbohD was significantly upregulated after V. dahliae inoculation, peaking at 6 hpi, and the phosphorylation level was also increased. A VIGS test demonstrated that ROS production, NO, H2O2 and Ca2+ contents of GhRbohD-silenced cotton plants were significantly reduced, and lignin synthesis and callose accumulation were damaged, important reasons for the impairment of GhRbohD-silenced cotton's defense against V. dahliae. The expression levels of resistance-related genes were downregulated in GhRbohD-silenced cotton by qRT-PCR, mainly involving the lignin metabolism pathway and the jasmonic acid signaling pathway. However, overexpression of GhRbohD enhanced resistance of transgenic Arabidopsis to V. dahliae challenge. Furthermore, Y2H assays were applied to find that GhPBL9 and GhRPL12C may interact with GhRbohD. These results strongly support that GhRbohD activates ROS production to positively regulate the resistance of plants against V. dahliae.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Ribosomal Protein GhRPS6 and Its Role in Cotton Verticillium Wilt Resistance.

Verticillium wilt is threatening the world's cotton production. The pathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae can survive in the soil in the form of microsclerotia for a long time, colonize through the root of cotton, and invade into vascular bundles, causing yellowing and wilting of cotton leaves, and in serious cases, leading to plant death. Breeding resistant varieties is the most economical and effective method to control Verticillium wilt. In previous studies, proteomic analysis was carried out on different cotton varieties inoculated with V. dahliae strain Vd080. It was found that GhRPS6 was phosphorylated after inoculation, and the phosphorylation level in resistant cultivars was 1.5 times than that in susceptible cultivars. In this study, knockdown of GhRPS6 expression results in the reduction of SA and JA content, and suppresses a series of defensive response, enhancing cotton plants susceptibility to V. dahliae. Overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana transgenic plants was found to be more resistant to V. dahliae. Further, serines at 237 and 240 were mutated to phenylalanine, respectively and jointly. The transgenic Arabidopsis plants demonstrated that seri-237 compromised the plant resistance to V. dahliae. Subcellular localization in Nicotiana benthamiana showed that GhRPS6 was localized in the nucleus. Additionally, the pathogen inoculation and phosphorylation site mutation did not change its localization. These results indicate that GhRPS6 is a potential molecular target for improving resistance to Verticillium wilt in cotton. This lays a foundation for breeding disease-resistant varieties.

Stable Organic Diradicals Based on Fused Quinoidal Oligothiophene Imides with High Electrical Conductivity.

Unpaired electrons of organic radicals can offer high electrical conductivity without doping, but they typically suffer from low stability. Herein, we report two organic diradicaloids based on quinoidal oligothiophene derivative (QOT), that is, BTICN and QTICN, with high stability and conductivity by employing imide-bridged fused molecular frameworks. The attachment of a strong electron-withdrawing imide group to the tetracyano-capped QOT backbones enables extremely deeply aligned LUMO levels (from -4.58 to -4.69 eV), cross-conjugated diradical characters, and remarkable ambient stabilities of the diradicaloids with half-lives > 60 days, which are among the highest for QOT diradicals and also the widely explored polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-based diradicals. Specifically, QTICN based on a tetrathiophene imide exhibits a cross-conjugation assisted self-doping in the film state as revealed by XPS and Raman studies. This property in combination with its ordered packing yields a high electrical conductivity of 0.34 S cm-1 for the QTICN films with substantial ambient stability, which is also among the highest values in organic radical-based undoped conductive materials reported to date. When used as an n-type thermoelectric material, QTICN shows a promising power factor of 1.52 uW m-1 K-2. Our results not only provide new insights into the electron conduction mechanism of the self-doped QOT diradicaloids but also demonstrate the great potential of fused quinoidal oligothiophene imides in developing stable diradicals and high-performance doping-free n-type conductive materials.

Norepinephrine prophylaxis for postspinal anesthesia hypotension in parturient undergoing cesarean section: a randomized, controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and safety of prophylactic infusion of norepinephrine (NE) versus normal saline in patients undergoing cesarean section. METHODS: Patients (n = 97) were randomized to receive a bolus of NE (6 µg) immediately following spinal anesthesia with maintenance NE (0.05 µg/kg/min IV) or normal saline (n = 98). The primary endpoint was the incidence of postspinal anesthesia hypotension [systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 80% of baseline] at 1-20 min following spinal anesthesia. Secondary outcomes were the overall stability of SBP control versus baseline, inferior vena cava collapsibility index (IVC-CI), other adverse events (bradycardia, nausea, vomiting, and hypertension), and neonatal outcomes (blood gas values and Apgar scores). RESULTS: The rates of postspinal anesthesia hypotension and severe postspinal anesthesia hypotension (SBP < 60% of the baseline) were significantly lower in the NE group (17.5% vs. 62.2%, p < 0.001; 7.2% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.031). In the NE group, SBP remained more stable and closer to baseline (p < 0.001), and IVC-CI values were lower 5 min after spinal anesthesia and 5 min after fetal delivery (p = 0.045; p < 0.001, respectively). Other adverse effects and neonatal outcomes were not different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Prophylactic NE infusion effectively lowers the incidence of postspinal anesthesia hypotension and does not increase other adverse events in patients or neonates.

Distannylated Bithiophene Imide: Enabling High-Performance n-Type Polymer Semiconductors with an Acceptor-Acceptor Backbone.

A distannylated electron-deficient bithiophene imide (BTI-Tin) monomer was synthesized and polymerized with imide-functionalized co-units to afford homopolymer PBTI and copolymer P(BTI-BTI2), both featuring an acceptor-acceptor backbone with high molecular weight. Both polymers exhibited excellent unipolar n-type character in transistors with electron mobility up to 2.60 cm2 V-1 s-1 . When applied as acceptor materials in all-polymer solar cells, PBTI and P(BTI-BTI2) achieved high power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.67 % and 8.61 %, respectively. The PCE (6.67 %) of polymer PBTI, synthesized from the distannylated monomer, is much higher than that (0.14 %) of the same polymer PBTI*, synthesized from typical dibrominated monomer. The 8.61 % PCE of copolymer P(BTI-BTI2) is also higher than those (<1 %) of homopolymers synthesized from dibrominated monomers. The results demonstrate the success of BTI-Tin for accessing n-type polymers with greatly improved device performance.

A ratiometric fluorescence sensor for ultra-sensitive detection of trypsin inhibitor in soybean flour using gold nanocluster@carbon nitride quantum dots.

Gold nanocluster@carbon nitride quantum dot nanocomposites protected by bovine serum albumin (BSA-AuNC@CNQDs) were designed as a ratiometric fluorescence nanosensor for ultra-sensitive detection of trypsin inhibitor (TI). CNQDs were prepared via thermal treatment of carbon nitride powder. BSA-CNQDs acted as templates to synthesize BSA-AuNC@CNQDs with dual-emission peaks at 450 and 650 nm. Trypsin can catalyze the hydrolysis of BSA and decompose BSA-AuNC@CNQDs resulting in fluorescence quenching. The fluorescence quenching at 650 nm was prevented by the addition of TI to inhibit the activity of trypsin. The nanosensor-trypsin system showed a satisfactory ability toward TI detection. The ratiometric responses (the ratio of intensity at 650 to 450 nm, I650/I450) had an excellent linearity (R2 = 0.981) with logarithmic values of TI concentrations in the broad range of 1-10,000 ng/mL. The limit of detection (LOD, 0.089 ng/mL) indicates ultra-sensitive detection of TI can be achieved. Additionally, TI in soybean flour was detected by the proposed ratiometric method with satisfactory recoveries (98.15-105.52%) and less than 6% of coefficient of variation. This study reveals that BSA-AuNC@CNQDs have potential applications in detection of TI in real samples.

Fused Bithiophene Imide Oligomer and Diketopyrrolopyrrole Copolymers for n-Type Thin-Film Transistors.

Diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based copolymers have received considerable attention as promising semiconducting materials for high-performance organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). However, these polymers typically exhibit p-type or ambipolar charge-transporting characteristics in OTFTs due to their high-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels. In this work, a new series of DPP-based n-type polymers have been developed by incorporating fused bithiophene imide oligomers (BTIn) into DPP polymers. The resulting copolymers BTIn-DPP show narrow band gaps as low as 1.27 eV and gradually down-shifted frontier molecular orbital energy levels upon the increment of imide group number. Benefiting from the coplanar backbone conformation, well-delocalized π-system, and favorable polymer chain packing, the optimal polymer in the series shows promising n-type charge transport with an electron mobility up to 0.48 cm2 V-1 s-1 in OTFTs, which is among the highest values for the DPP-based n-type polymers reported to date. The results demonstrate that incorporating fused bithiophene imide oligomers into polymers can serve as a promising strategy for constructing high-performance n-type polymeric semiconductors.