Understanding asymmetric switching times in accumulation mode organic electrochemical transistors.

Understanding the factors underpinning device switching times is crucial for the implementation of organic electrochemical transistors in neuromorphic computing, bioelectronics and real-time sensing applications. Existing models of device operation cannot explain the experimental observations that turn-off times are generally much faster than turn-on times in accumulation mode organic electrochemical transistors. Here, using operando optical microscopy, we image the local doping level of the transistor channel and show that turn-on occurs in two stages-propagation of a doping front, followed by uniform doping-while turn-off occurs in one stage. We attribute the faster turn-off to a combination of engineering as well as physical and chemical factors including channel geometry, differences in doping and dedoping kinetics and the phenomena of carrier-density-dependent mobility. We show that ion transport limits the operation speed in our devices. Our study provides insights into the kinetics of organic electrochemical transistors and guidelines for engineering faster organic electrochemical transistors.

Ulinastatin inhibits the metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by involving uPA/uPAR signaling.

Distant metastasis is the primary reason for treatment failure in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In this study, we investigated the effect of ulinastatin (UTI) on NPC metastasis and its underlying mechanism. Highly-metastatic NPC cell lines S18 and 58F were treated with UTI and the effect on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were determined by MTS and Transwell assays. S18 cells with luciferase-expressing (S18-1C3) were injected into the left hind footpad of nude mice to establish a model of spontaneous metastasis from the footpad to popliteal lymph node (LN). The luciferase messenger RNA (mRNA) was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and the metastasis inhibition rate was calculated. Key molecular members of the UTI-related uPA, uPAR, and JAT/STAT3 signaling pathways were detected by qPCR and immunoblotting. UTI suppressed the migration and infiltration of S18 and 5-8F cells and suppressed the metastasis of S18 cells in vivo without affecting cell proliferation. uPAR expression decreased from 24 to 48 h after UTI treatment. The antimetastatic effect of UTI is partly due to the suppression of uPA and uPAR. UTI partially suppresses NPC metastasis by downregulating the expression of uPA and uPAR.

Unsymmetrically Chlorinated Non-Fused Electron Acceptor Leads to High-Efficiency and Stable Organic Solar Cells.

Searching the cost-effective organic semiconductors is strongly needed in order to facilitate the practice of organic solar cells (OSCs), yet to be fulfilled. Herein, we have succeeded in developing two non-fused ring electron acceptors (NFREAs), leading to the highest efficiency of 16.2 % for the NFREA derived OSCs. These OSCs exhibit the superior operational stabilities under one sun equivalent illumination without ultraviolet (UV) filtration. It is revealed that the modulation of halogen substituents on aromatic side chains, as the new structural tool to tune the intermolecular interaction and optoelectronic properties of acceptors, not only promotes the interlocked tic-tac-toe frame of three-dimensional stacks in solid, but also improves charge dynamics of acceptors to enable high-performance and stable OSCs.

Simple Non-Fused Electron Acceptors Leading to Efficient Organic Photovoltaics.

Despite the remarkable progress achieved in recent years, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) still need work to approach the delicate balance between efficiency, stability, and cost. Herein, two fully non-fused electron acceptors, PTB4F and PTB4Cl, are developed via a two-step synthesis from single aromatic units. The introduction of a two-dimensional chain and halogenated terminals for these non-fused acceptors plays a synergistic role in optimizing their solid stacking and orientation, thus promoting an elongated exciton lifetime and fast charge-transfer rate in bulk heterojunction blends. As a result, PTB4Cl, upon blending with PBDB-TF polymer, has enabled single-junction OPVs with power conversion efficiencies of 12.76 %, representing the highest values among the reported fully unfused electron acceptors so far.

A Reversible Structural Phase Transition by Electrochemically-Driven Ion Injection into a Conjugated Polymer.

We find that conjugated polymers can undergo reversible structural phase transitions during electrochemical oxidation and ion injection. We study poly[2,5-bis(thiophenyl)-1,4-bis(2-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethoxy)benzene] (PB2T-TEG), a conjugated polymer with glycolated side chains. Using grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS), we show that, in contrast to previously known polymers, this polymer switches between two structurally distinct crystalline phases associated with electrochemical oxidation/reduction in an aqueous electrolyte. Importantly, we show that this unique phase change behavior has important physical consequences for ion-polaron pair transport. Notably, using moving front experiments visualized by both optical microscopy and super-resolution photoinduced force microscopy (PiFM), we show that a laterally propagating ion-polaron pair front in PB2T-TEG exhibits non-Fickian transport, retaining a sharp step-edge profile, in stark contrast to the Fickian diffusion more commonly observed in polymers like P3MEEMT. This structural phase transition is reminiscent of those accompanying ion uptake in inorganic materials like LiFePO4. We propose that the engineering of similar properties in future conjugated polymers may enable the realization of new materials with superior performance in electrochemical energy storage or neuromorphic memory applications.

Antioxidants suppress radiation-induced apoptosis via inhibiting MAPK pathway in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is relatively sensitive to ionizing radiation, and radiotherapy is the main treatment modality for non-metastatic NPC. Radiation therapy generates overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can cause DNA damage and induce apoptosis in tumors, thereby killing the malignant cells. Although dietary antioxidant supplementation reduces oxidative stress and promotes tumor progression, the effects of antioxidants on the NPC cells upon radiation have not been reported. In the present study, we showed that antioxidants (ß-Carotene, NAC, GSH) played an anti-apoptotic role in response to radiation via decreasing ROS production and inhibiting MAPK pathway in NPC cells. Based on that, we conclude that the use of supplemental antioxidants during radiotherapy should be avoided because of the possibility of tumor protection and reduced treatment efficacy.

Highly Efficient Fullerene-Free Organic Solar Cells Operate at Near Zero Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital Offsets.

Herein, we investigated a series of fullerene-free organic solar cells (OSCs) based on six different donor:acceptor (D:A) blends with varied highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) offsets from -0.05 to 0.21 eV. First, to verify the energetic compatibility of a specific D:A pair, especially for HOMO offsets, we established a simple method to estimate the hole transfer tendencies between D and A by using bilayer hole-only devices. It reveals that the asymmetrical diode effect of the bilayer hole-only devices can correlate with the FF and Jsc of the relevant OSCs. Second, to find out whether HOMO offset is the main restriction of hole transfer, we measured transient absorption spectra and examined the hole transfer behavior in the blends, revealing that the occurrence of hole transfer is independent of the HOMO offsets and ultrafast in the time scale of ≤4.6 ps for those blends with ≥0 eV HOMO offsets. In contrast, a negative HOMO offset can significantly slow down the hole transfer with a half-time of ∼400 ps. Furthermore, we compare the device parameters under varied light intensities and discover that the bimolecular recombination should be one of the main restrictions for high device performance. Surprisingly, small HOMO offsets of 0 and 0.06 eV can also enable high PCEs of 10.42% and 11.75% for blend 2 (PTQ10:HC-PCIC) and blend 3 (PBDB-TF:HC-PCIC), respectively. Overall, our work demonstrates not only the validity of high-performance OSCs operating at the near zero HOMO offsets but also the charge dynamic insights of these blends, which will help gain understanding on the further improvement of OSCs.

The role of spin in the kinetic control of recombination in organic photovoltaics.

In biological complexes, cascade structures promote the spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, preventing their recombination. In contrast, the photogenerated excitons in organic photovoltaic cells are dissociated at a single donor-acceptor heterojunction formed within a de-mixed blend of the donor and acceptor semiconductors. The nanoscale morphology and high charge densities give a high rate of electron-hole encounters, which should in principle result in the formation of spin-triplet excitons, as in organic light-emitting diodes. Although organic photovoltaic cells would have poor quantum efficiencies if every encounter led to recombination, state-of-the-art examples nevertheless demonstrate near-unity quantum efficiency. Here we show that this suppression of recombination arises through the interplay between spin, energetics and delocalization of electronic excitations in organic semiconductors. We use time-resolved spectroscopy to study a series of model high-efficiency polymer-fullerene systems in which the lowest-energy molecular triplet exciton (T1) for the polymer is lower in energy than the intermolecular charge transfer state. We observe the formation of T1 states following bimolecular recombination, indicating that encounters of spin-uncorrelated electrons and holes generate charge transfer states with both spin-singlet ((1)CT) and spin-triplet ((3)CT) characters. We show that the formation of triplet excitons can be the main loss mechanism in organic photovoltaic cells. But we also find that, even when energetically favoured, the relaxation of (3)CT states to T1 states can be strongly suppressed by wavefunction delocalization, allowing for the dissociation of (3)CT states back to free charges, thereby reducing recombination and enhancing device performance. Our results point towards new design rules both for photoconversion systems, enabling the suppression of electron-hole recombination, and for organic light-emitting diodes, avoiding the formation of triplet excitons and enhancing fluorescence efficiency.

Perovskite/Organic Bulk-Heterojunction Integrated Ultrasensitive Broadband Photodetectors with High Near-Infrared External Quantum Efficiency over 70.

Ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) broadband detection is important for image sensing, communication, and environmental monitoring, yet remains as a challenge in achieving high external quantum efficiency (EQE) in the broad spectrum range. Herein, sensitive broadband integrated photodetectors (PDs) with high EQE levels are reported. The organic bulk-heterojunction (OBHJ) layer, based on a NIR sensitive organic acceptor, is employed to extend the response spectrum of the perovskite PDs. A key strategy of introducing dual electron transport materials respectively for Vis and NIR regions into the active layer of integrated PDs is applied. Further combined with the proper energy level alignment and reasonable distribution of PC61 BM in the active layer, the extraction and transport of photo induced charges in between perovskite and OBHJ is promoted efficiently. The integrated PD with the optimized structure exhibits an EQE mostly beyond 70% in the Vis-NIR region, which is the highest value among the ever reported solution-processable broadband PDs. The highest responsivity is 0.444 and 0.518 A W-1 in the Vis and NIR region, respectively. The specific detectivity is beyond 1010 Jones in the range from 340 to 940 nm, enabling the device to detect weak signals in the UV to NIR broad region.

Functional Carbon Nanofibers with Semi-Embedded Titanium Oxide Particles via Electrospinning.

The formulation of optoelectronic components into 1D nanostructures allows the promotion of new materials with multifunctionalities. In this work, it is demonstrated that new synthesis of photocatalytic carbon nanofiber decorated with semi-embedded titanium oxide (TiO2 ), namely, TiO2 @carbon fiber, is conveniently accessed through the electrospinning of polyacrylonitrile polymer and TiO2 particle comixture, and then followed by photon-activated self-erosion to expose the embedded TiO2 and carbonization. The hybrid nanofibers are characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activities of the resultant fibers are tested with photodegradation of Rhodamine B in aqueous solution, which reveals that the carbon nanofiber with semi-embedded TiO2 drastically improved catalytic efficiency and recyclability, comparing to those fibers without or with embedded TiO2 .

Efficient Organic Solar Cells with Non-Fullerene Acceptors.

Fullerene-free OSCs employing n-type small molecules or polymers as the acceptors have recently experienced a rapid rise with efficiencies exceeding 12%. Owing to the good optoelectronic and morphological tunabilities, non-fullerene acceptors exhibit great potential for realizing high-performance and practical OSCs. In this Review, recent exciting progress made in developing highly efficient non-fullerene acceptors is summarized, mainly correlating factors like absorption, energy loss and morphology of new materials to their correspondent photovoltaic performance.

Molecular electron acceptors for efficient fullerene-free organic solar cells.

Nowadays, organic solar cells (OSCs) with efficiencies over 10% have been achieved through the elaborate design of electron donors and fullerene acceptors. However, the drawbacks of fullerene acceptors, like poor absorption, limited chemical and energetic tunabilities, high-cost purification and morphological instability, have become the bottlenecks for the further improvement of OSCs. To overcome the mentioned shortages from fullerene, research studies on non-fullerene electron acceptors have boomed. To date, the highest efficiency of fullerene-free OSCs has been pushed to be 12%, which surpasses that of fullerene-based OSCs. In this perspective, we focus on summarizing the development of small molecule electron acceptors designed to replace the fullerene derivatives. Since it has been revealed that the search for matched donor:acceptor pairs is important for accomplishing high efficiencies, we therefore divide electron acceptors into several categories according to the donors used in fullerene-free OSCs. After the introduction of these acceptors, we outline the designing rules as well as perspectives for the development of non-fullerene acceptors. We believe that the development of non-fullerene electron acceptors will make organic photovoltaics closer to practical applications.

Dopant-Free Hole-Transporting Material with a C3h Symmetrical Truxene Core for Highly Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells.

Herein we present a new structural design of hole-transporting material, Trux-OMeTAD, which consists of a C3h Truxene-core with arylamine terminals and hexyl side-chains. This planar, rigid, and fully conjugated molecule exhibits excellent hole mobility and desired surface energy to the perovskite uplayer. Perovskite solar cells fabricated using the p-i-n architecture with Trux-OMeTAD as the p-layer, show a high PCE of 18.6% with minimal hysteresis.

Influence of Regio- and Chemoselectivity on the Properties of Fluoro-Substituted Thienothiophene and Benzodithiophene Copolymers.

By studying the regio- and chemoselectivity of fluoro-substituted thienothiophene and benzodithiophene copolymers, we found polymers made from conventional one-pot polycondensation reaction consist of two distinctly different segments with a ratio of 0.36/0.64. Through further comparative studies of neat regioregular polymers based on each individual segment, we have identified the specific segment that contributes to the superior absorption, packing order, and charge mobility in the corresponding polymers. The unique structure-property relationships are the result of cooperative molecular arrangements of the key segment and noncovalent interaction between the fluoro group and the aromatic proton on the thiophene side-chain of the polymers.

Crystalline co-assemblies of functional fullerenes in methanol with enhanced charge transport.

Supramolecular arrangement of conjugated molecules has crucial influence on their material properties. For fullerenes and metallofullerenes, tight and ordered packing is beneficial for intermolecular charge transport and energy transfer, but it is tricky to achieve, especially for functionalized cages due to the often extensive solvation and steric effects of functional groups. In this study, we use an amphiphilic fullerene derivative soluble in methanol to form co-assemblies with insoluble fullerene derivatives, pristine fullerene, and metallofullerene via strong π-π interactions. These mixtures are processable in methanol and show fullerene-templated crystalline structures in spin-cast films. Devices are successfully fabricated on a field-effect transistor platform with this approach, and all co-assemblies show metallic-like conductive properties with significantly enhanced conductivity compared to the pure amphiphilic fullerene derivative.

Selectively Modulating Componential Morphologies of Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells.

Achieving precise control over the nanoscale morphology of bulk heterojunction films presents a significant challenge for the conventional post-treatments employed in organic solar cells (OSCs). In this study, a near-infrared photon-assisted annealing (NPA) strategy is developed for fabricating high-performance OSCs under mild processing conditions. It is revealed a top NIR light illumination, together with the bottom heating, enables the selective tuning of the molecular arrangement and assembly of narrow bandgap acceptors in polymer networks to achieve optimal morphologies, as well as the acceptor-rich top surface of active layers. The derived OSCs exhibit a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.25%, representing one of the highest PCEs for the reported binary OSCs so far. Moreover, via the NPA strategy, it has succeeded in accessing top-illuminated flexible OSCs using thermolabile polyethylene terephthalate from mineral water bottles, displaying excellent mechanical stabilities. Overall, this work will hold the potential to develop organic solar cells under mild processing with various substrates.

Photodegradation of Organic Solar Cells under Visible Light and the Crucial Influence of Its Spectral Composition.

While wavelength-dependent photodegradation of organic solar cells (OSCs) under visible light is typically discussed in terms of UV/blue light-activated phenomena, we recently demonstrated wavelength-dependent degradation rates up to 660 nm for PM6:Y6. In this study, we systematically investigated this phenomenon for a broad variety of devices based on different donor:acceptor combinations. We found that the spectral composition of the light used for degradation, tuned in a spectral range from 457 to 740 nm and under high irradiances of up to 30 suns, has a crucial influence on the device stability of almost all tested semiconductors. The relevance of this phenomenon was investigated in the context of simulated AM1.5 illumination with metal halide lamps and white LEDs. It is concluded that the current stability testing protocols in OSC research have to be adjusted to account for this effect to reveal the underlying physics of this still poorly understood mechanism.

Highly Efficient and Stable ITO-Free Organic Solar Cells Based on Squaraine N-Doped Quaternary Bulk Heterojunction.

Simultaneously achieving high efficiency and robust device stability remains a significant challenge for organic solar cells (OSCs). Solving this challenge is highly dependent on the film morphology of the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photoactive blends; however, there is a lack of rational control strategy. Herein, it is shown that the molecular crystallinity and nanomorphology of nonfullerene-based BHJ can be effectively controlled by a squaraine-based doping strategy, leading to an increase in device efficiency from 17.26% to 18.5% when doping 2 wt% squaraine into the PBDB-TF:BTP-eC9:PC71 BM ternary BHJ. The efficiency is further improved to 19.11% (certified 19.06%) using an indium-tin-oxide-free column-patterned microcavity (CPM) architecture. Combined with interfacial modification, CPM quaternary OSC excitingly shows an extrapolated lifetime of ≈23 years based on accelerated aging test, with the mechanism behind enhanced stability well studied. Furthermore, a flexible OSC module with a high and stable efficiency of 15.2% and an overall area of 5 cm2 is successfully fabricated, exhibiting a high average output power for wearable electronics. This work demonstrates that OSCs with new design of BHJ and device architecture are highly promising to be practical relevance with excellent performance and stability.

TSPAN1 inhibits metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma via suppressing NF-kB signaling.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) originates in the epithelial cells of the nasopharynx and is a common malignant tumor in southern China and Southeast Asia. Metastasis of NPC remains the main cause of death for NPC patients even though the tumor is sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Here, we found that the transmembrane protein tetraspanin1 (TSPAN1) potently inhibited the in vitro migration and invasion, as well as, the in vivo metastasis of NPC cells via interacting with the IKBB protein. In addition, TSPAN1 was essential in preventing the overactivation of the NF-kB pathway in TSPAN1 overexpressing NPC cells. Furthermore, reduced TSPAN1 expression was associated with NPC metastasis and the poor prognosis of NPC patients. These results uncovered the suppressive role of TSPAN1 against NF-kB signaling in NPC cells for preventing NPC metastasis. Its therapeutic value warrants further investigation.

Robust and Sustainable Indium Anode Leading to Efficient and Stable Organic Solar Cells.

The fast degradation of the charge-extraction interface at indium tin oxide (ITO) poses a significant obstacle to achieving long-term stability for organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, a sustainable approach for recycling non-sustainable indium to construct efficient and stable OSCs and scale-up modules is developed. It is revealed that the recovered indium chloride (InCl3 ) from indium oxide waste can be applied as an effective hole-selective interfacial layer for the ITO electrode (noted as InCl3 -ITO anode) through simple aqueous fabrication, facilitating not only energy level alignment to photoactive blends but also mitigating parasitic absorption and charge recombination losses of the corresponding OSCs. As a result, OSCs and modules consisting of InCl3 -ITO anodes achieve remarkable power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 18.92% and 15.20% (active area of 18.73 cm2 ), respectively. More importantly, the InCl3 -ITO anode can significantly extend the thermal stability of derived OSCs, with an extrapolated T80 lifetime of ≈10 000 h.