Efficient ternary organic photovoltaics incorporating a graphene-based porphyrin molecule as a universal electron cascade material.

A graphene-based porphyrin molecule (GO-TPP) was synthesized by covalent linkage of graphene oxide (GO) with 5-(4-aminophenyl)-10,15,20-triphenyl porphyrin (TPP-NH2). The yielded graphene-based material is a donor-acceptor (D-A) molecule, exhibiting strong intermolecular interactions between the GO core (A) and the covalently anchored porphyrin molecule (D). To demonstrate the universal role of GO-TPP as an electron cascade material, ternary blend organic photovoltaics based on [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric-acid-methyl-ester (PC71BM) as an electron acceptor material and two different polymer donor materials, poly[N-9'-hepta-decanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(40,70-di-2-thienyl-20,10,30-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT) and the highly efficient poly({4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl}{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl}) (PTB7), were fabricated. The addition of GO-TPP into the active layer implies continuous percolation paths between the D-A interfaces, enhancing charge transport, reducing exciton recombination and thus improving the photovoltaic performance of the device. A simultaneous increase of short circuit current density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF), compared to the PTB7:PC71BM reference cell, led to an improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.81% for the PTB7:GO-TPP:PC71BM-based device, owing mainly to the more efficient energy level offset between the active layer components.

Molecular dynamics simulations of a hyperbranched poly(ester amide): statics, dynamics, and hydrogen bonding.

Fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are employed in order to examine static and dynamic characteristics of a hyperbranched poly(ester amide), Hybrane, in the bulk state. The force field used is validated via a comparison to available static, dynamic, and thermodynamic data. Properties pertinent to both local and global length scales like atomic and molecular spatial arrangement, bond-reorientation dynamics, shape and size fluctuations, rotational motion of the whole molecule, and diffusional motion are examined in detail in order to assess the relation between microscopic mechanisms and macroscopic behavior. The atomistic-level detail of the model utilized allows a close examination of the intra- and intermolecular hydrogen-bonding formation and the relevant residence time scales; these are among the key factors that determine the behavior of such polymers in the nanoscale, important for a wide range of applications. The detailed nature of the present investigation will provide insight in a more general basis for the behavior of nonregularly branched polymers of comparable molecular weight and similar chemical composition.

Quasielastic neutron scattering of poly(methyl phenyl siloxane) in the bulk and under severe confinement.

Quasielastic neutron scattering was utilized to investigate the influence of confinement on polymer dynamics. Poly(methyl phenyl siloxane) chains were studied in the bulk as well as severely confined within the approximately 1-2 nm interlayer spacing of intercalated polymer/layered organosilicate nanohybrids. The temperature dependence of the energy resolved elastic scattering measurements for the homopolymer and the nanocomposites exhibit two distinct relaxation steps: one due to the methyl group rotation and one that corresponds to the phenyl ring flip and the segmental motion. Quasielastic incoherent measurements show that the very local process of methyl rotation is insensitive to the polymer glass transition temperature and exhibits a wave-vector independent relaxation time and a low activation energy, whereas it is not affected at all by the confinement. At temperatures just above the calorimetric glass transition temperature, the observed motion is the phenyl ring motion, whereas the segmental motion is clearly identified for temperatures about 60 K higher than the glass transition temperature. For the nanohybrid, the segmental motion is found to be strongly coupled to the motion of the surfactant chains for temperatures above the calorimetric glass transition temperature of the bulk polymer. However, the mean square displacement data show that the segmental motion in confinement is faster than that of the bulk polymer even after the contribution of the surfactant chains is taken into consideration.

Metal nanocrystals incorporated within pH-responsive microgel particles.

Cross-linked sterically stabilized latexes of approximately 250 nm diameter were synthesized by emulsion polymerization of 2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate using a bifunctional oligo(propylene oxide)-based diacrylate cross-linker and a poly(ethylene oxide)-based macromonomer as the stabilizer at pH 9. These particles exhibit reversible swelling properties in water by adjusting the solution pH. At low pH, they exist as swollen microgels as a result of protonation of the tertiary amine units. Deswelling occurs above pH 7 [the effective pK(a) of poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)], leading to the formation of the original compact latex particles. The swollen microgels can be used as nanoreactors: efficient impregnation with Pt nanoparticles can be achieved by incorporating precursor platinum compounds, followed by metal reduction. Dynamic light scattering was used to compare two methods of Pt nanoparticle impregnation with respect to the size and stability of the final Pt-loaded microgel particles. In the first method, the H2PtCl6 precursor was added to hydrophobic latex particles at high pH, followed by metal reduction. In the second method, H2PtCl6 was added to hydrophilic swollen microgel particles at low pH, and then this metal salt was reduced in situ using NaBH4 and the pH was raised by the addition of base. Both the Pt salt-loaded (metalated) microgels and the final Pt nanoparticle-loaded microgels had well-defined structures that were independent of the synthesis route. Polymer-metal interactions were investigated by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, which confirmed that the Pt salt was completely reduced to zero-valent Pt. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies verified the formation of nanometer-sized Pt nanoparticles within these microgels, which can be used as recoverable colloidal catalyst supports for various organic reactions.