Ambipolar inverters based on cofacial vertical organic electrochemical transistor pairs for biosignal amplification.

On-site signal amplification for bioelectronic sensing is a desirable approach to improving recorded signal quality and to reducing the burden on signal transmission and back-end electronics. While organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have been used as local transducers of bioelectronic signals, their current output presents challenges for implementation. OECT-based circuits offer new opportunities for high-performance signal processing. In this work, we introduce an active sensing node based on cofacial vertical OECTs forming an ambipolar complementary inverter. The inverter, which shows a voltage gain of 28, is composed of two OECTs on opposite side walls of a single active area, resulting in a footprint identical to a planar OECT. The inverter is used as an analog voltage preamplifier for recording electrocardiogram signals when biased at the input voltage corresponding to peak gain. We further demonstrate compatibility with nontraditional fabrication methods with potential benefits for rapid prototyping and large-area printed electronics.

Influence of Side Chains on the n-Type Organic Electrochemical Transistor Performance.

n-Type (electron transporting) polymers can make suitable interfaces to transduce biological events that involve the generation of electrons. However, n-type polymers that are stable when electrochemically doped in aqueous media are relatively scarce, and the performance of the existing ones lags behind their p-type (hole conducting) counterparts. Here, we report a new family of donor-acceptor-type polymers based on a naphthalene-1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic-diimide-bi-thiophene (NDI-T2) backbone where the NDI unit always bears an ethylene glycol (EG) side chain. We study how small variations in the side chains tethered to the acceptor as well as the donor unit affect the performance of the polymer films in the state-of-the-art bioelectronic device, the organic electrochemical transistor (OECT). First, we find that substitution of the T2 core with an electron-withdrawing group (i.e., methoxy) or an EG side chain leads to ambipolar charge transport properties and causes significant changes in film microstructure, which overall impairs the n-type OECT performance. We thus show that the best n-type OECT performer is the polymer that has no substitution on the T2 unit. Next, we evaluate the distance of the oxygen from the NDI unit as a design parameter by varying the length of the carbon spacer placed between the EG unit and the backbone. We find that the distance of the EG from the backbone affects the film order and crystallinity, and thus, the electron mobility. Consequently, our work reports the best-performing NDI-T2-based n-type OECT material to date, i.e., the polymer without the T2 substitution and bearing a six-carbon spacer between the EG and the NDI units. Our work provides new guidelines for the side-chain engineering of n-type polymers for OECTs and insights on the structure-performance relationships for mixed ionic-electronic conductors, crucial for devices where the film operates at the aqueous electrolyte interface.

The influence of relative humidity and ground material on indoor walking-induced particle resuspension.

The resuspension of indoor particulate matters caused by people indoor walking could affect indoor air quality and human health. Therefore, it is particularly important to study the resuspension rules of the particulate matters in different indoor environments. The influence of the ground material and the relative humidity on resuspension of the particulate matters were investigated under three kinds of ground materials and three different relative humidity. Results showed that different relative humidity and different ground materials had different effects on the mass concentration of the particulate matters. In addition, different particle sizes had diverse influence on the mass concentration. Compared with low-level loop pile carpet and shaggy carpet, hardwood floor was more conductive to human health which was less likely to cause the resuspension of the particulate matters. At the same time, relative humidity had a great influence on the resuspension of the particulate matters. With the increase of relative humidity, the resuspension rate of fine particulate matters decreased.

Bedford-Type Palladacycle-Catalyzed Miyaura Borylation of Aryl Halides with Tetrahydroxydiboron in Water.

A mild aqueous protocol for palladium catalyzed Miyaura borylation of aryl iodides, aryl bromides and aryl chlorides with tetrahydroxydiboron (BBA) as a borylating agent is developed. The developed methodology requires low catalyst loading of Bedford-type palladacycle catalyst (0.05 mol %) and works best under mild reaction conditions at 40 °C in short time of 6 h in water. In addition, our studies show that for Miyaura borylation using BBA in aqueous condition, maintaining a neutral reaction pH is very important for reproducibility and higher yields of corresponding borylated products. Moreover, our protocol is applicable for a broad range of aryl halides, corresponding borylated products are obtained in excellent yields up to 93% with 29 examples demonstrating its broad utility and functional group tolerance.

Reactivity switch enabled by counterion: highly chemoselective dimerization and hydration of terminal alkynes.

A counterion-controlled reactivity tuning in Pd-catalyzed highly chemoselective and regioselective dimerization and hydration of terminal alkynes is reported. The use of acetate as counterion favors the formation of an alkenyl alkynyl palladium intermediate which forms hitherto less reported 1,3-diaryl-substituted conjugated enynes after reductive elimination. Using chloride, which is a better leaving group, leads to anion exchange on the alkenylpalladium intermediate with hydroxide which after reductive elimination and tautomerization delivered the hydration products.

Amine-catalyzed direct photoarylation of unactivated arenes.

Constructing biaryls through direct aromatic C-H functionalization of unactivated arenes has become a popular topic in organic chemistry. Many efficient methods have been developed. In this Communication, a direct arylation of unactivated arenes with a broad range of aryl iodides is reported. This reaction proceeds through a new type of amine-catalyzed single electron transfer initiated radical coupling procedure to form biaryls in high yields under UV irradiation at room temperature. Only 20 mol% of TMEDA is used as the catalyst. No other additives are required for this transformation, thus avoiding the use of toxic transition metal catalysts, strong bases, or large amounts of other organic additives. This greener protocol provides a new strategy to achieve direct aromatic C-H functionalization and offers a new example of cost-effective and environmentally benign access to biaryls.