Measuring charge transport from transient photovoltage rise times. A new tool to investigate electron transport in nanoparticle films

Charge transport rate at open-circuit potential (V(oc)) is proposed as a new characterization method for dye-sensitized (DS) and other nanostructured solar cells. At V(oc), charge density is flat and measurable, which simplifies quantitative comparison of transport and charge density. Transport measured at V(oc) also allows meaningful comparison of charge transport rates between different treatments, temperatures, and types of cells. However, in typical DS cells, charge transport rates at V(oc) often cannot be measured by photocurrent transients or modulation techniques due to RC limitations and/or recombination losses. To circumvent this limitation, we show that charge transport at V(oc) can be determined directly from the transient photovoltage rise time using a simple, zero-free-parameter model. This method is not sensitive to RC limitation or recombination losses. In trap limited devices, such as DS cells, the comparison of transport rates between different devices or conditions is only valid when the Fermi level in the limiting conductor is at the same distance from the band edge. We show how to perform such comparisons, correcting for conduction band shifts using the density of states (DOS) distribution determined from the same photovoltage transients. Last we show that the relationship between measured transport rate and measured charge density is consistent with the trap limited transport model.     

Aggregation and supramolecular membrane interactions that influence anion transport in tryptophan-containing synthetic peptides

Self-assembly is a desired property in supramolecular chemistry, but extensive aggregation may be counterproductive. Rigid systems typically have better organization, but are inherently less dynamic. This work shows that ion transport by amphiphilic heptapeptides (synthetic anion transporters or SATs) is affected by aggregation of the monomers in the bulk aqueous phase to which they are added and within the bilayer. Ion transport was assessed for all compounds by assay of Cl(-) release from liposomes. The mechanism of ion transport was confirmed by planar bilayer conductance studies for two compounds at opposite ends of the efficacy scale. Dynamic light scattering, the Langmuir trough, transmission electron microscopy, ion release from liposomes, and planar bilayer conductance studies were used to assess the importance of self-assembly versus aggregation in ion transport. Generally, greater aggregation was has an adverse effect on the transport, although at least dimerization is required for amphiphilic heptapeptides to readily transport Cl(-). Anion transport in these systems was found to be sensitive to changes in the C-terminal portion of the (Gly)(3)Pro(Gly)(3) sequence. Moreover, a significant difference in transport efficacy was apparent when L-Trp was replaced by D-Trp in the same position.     

Electron transport in solution-grown TIPS-pentacene single crystals: Effects of gate dielectrics and polar impurities

The n-channel behavior has been occasionally reported in the organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) that usually exhibit p-channel transport only. Reconfirmation and further examination of these unusual device performances should deepen the understanding on the electron transport in organic semiconductors. 6,13-bis(triisopropyl-silylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-pentacene), a widely examined p-channel material as Au is used for source-drain electrodes, has recently been reported to exhibit electron transport when grown from non-polar solvent on divinyltetramethyldisiloxanebis (benzocyclobutene) (BCB) dielectric, spurring the study on this unusual electron transport. This paper describes FET characteristics of solution-grown TIPS-pentacene single crystals on five polymer gate dielectrics including polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(4-vinyl phenol) (PVP), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)). In addition to the p-channel behavior, electron transport occurs in the crystals on PMMA, PS, thick PVA (40 nm) and a bilayer dielectric of PMMA on P(VDF-TrFE-CFE), while does not on PVP and thin PVA (2 nm). The two distinct FET characteristics are consistent with the previous reported trap effect of hydroxyl groups (in PVP and PVA) and reduced injection barrier by Na⁺ ions (as impurity in PVA). The highest electron mobility of 0.48 cm² V^-1 s^-1 has been achieved in the crystals on PMMA. Furthermore, the electron transport is greatly attenuated after the crystals are exposed to the vapor of a variety of polar solvents and the attenuated electron transport partially recovers if the crystals are heated, indicating the adverse effect of polar impurities on electron transport. By reconfirming the n-channel behavior in the OFETs based on TIPS-pentacene, this work has implications for the design of n-channel and ambipolar OFETs.     

超分子化合物构筑的碱金属离子传输膜的制备与性能

采用苯并15冠5、没食子酸甲酯以及1-溴十一烯等物质为原料,合成超分子化合物2-(1-甲基羟甲基)-[1,4,7,10,13-苯并15冠5]-3,4,5-三[4-(10-十一烯-1-羰基)苄氧基]苯甲酸酯.然后用紫外光接枝法将其接枝到聚丙烯腈(PAN)微孔膜表面,构筑具有离子传输功能的离子传输复合膜,接枝量为3.025 mg/cm2.通过ATR,XPS,SEM以及AFM等手段对离子传输膜的结构性能进行表征.结果表明,这种超分子化合物在PAN膜的表面自组装成柱状通道,并形成致密皮层.采用自行设计的膜运输装置对膜的离子识别和运输功能进行评测.通过与非功能材料(丙烯酸)接枝膜的对比,可以认为本文制备的离子识别膜可以选择性识别和运输碱金属阳离子,其运输能力顺序为Na+>K+>Li+.     

The effect of chelating agent on the separation of Fe(III) and Ti(IV) from binary mixture solution by cation-exchange membrane

The competitive transport of Fe(III) and Ti(IV) ions and the effect of chelating agents on separation from binary mixture solutions through charged polysulfone cation-exchange membrane (SA3S) has been studied under Donnan dialysis conditions. The amount of chelating agent was taken as an equimolar of Fe(III) ion in the feed phase. In this process, the membrane separated two electrolyte solutions: the feed solution, initially containing metal salts (Fe, Ti), or metal salts solution, containing a chelating agent, and the other side (receiver solution) being HCl solution. An external potential field is not applied. It was observed that the chelating agents affect the metal transport; the transport of Fe(III) is decreased and the transport of Ti(IV) is increased.     

Anisotropy of proton transport in an organic-inorganic compound [(C6H10N2)2(SO4)23H2O]n (C6H10N2 = phenylenediammonium dication)

Proton transport along different axes in an organic-inorganic compound [(C(6)H(10)N(2))(2)(SO(4))(2)·3H(2)O](n) (1) was investigated, revealing that proton transport is not only influenced by the structure of the proton transport pathway, but also by the order-disorder extent of proton carriers.     

Diffusion through colloidosome shells

Colloidosomes are aqueous cores surrounded by a shell composed of packed colloidal particles. Recent studies suggest that these colloidal shells reduce, or even inhibit, the transport of molecular species (diffusants). However, the effect of the colloidal shell on transport is unclear: In some cases, the reduction in transport of diffusants through the shell was found to be independent of the size of the colloidal particles composing the shell. Other studies find, however, that shells composed of small colloidal particles of order 100nm or less hindered transport of diffusants more than those composed of micro-scale colloidal particles. In this paper we present a simple diffusion model that accounts for three processes that reduce diffusant transport through the shell: (i) a reduction in the penetrable volume available for transport, which also increases the tortuousity of the diffusional path, (ii) narrow pore size which may hinder transport for larger diffusants through size exclusion, and (iii) a reduction in interfacial area due to 'blocking' of the surface by the adsorbed particles. We find that the colloidal particle size does not affect the reduction in transport through the colloidal shell when the shell is a monolayer. However, in closely packed, thick layers where the thickness of the multi-layer shell is fixed, the rate of transport decreases significantly with colloidal particle dimensions. These results are in excellent agreement with previously published experimental results.     

改性LiClO_4－（PEO）_（20）电解质锂离子迁移数的测定

采用交流阻抗和恒电位计时电流法测定了ＬｉＣｌＯ４·（ＰＥＯ）２０·（ＰＣ）１２·（ＥＣ）１２高分子电解质的锂离子迁移数。在非水溶液和高分子电解质中,锂是热力学不稳定的,表面生成一层固体电解质钝化膜,严重地影响了锂离子迁移数的准确测定。本方法避免固体电解质钝化膜的影响,给出正确的锂离子迁移数测定值,实验表明,ＬｉＣｌＯ４·（ＰＥＯ）２０·（ＰＣ）１２·（ＥＣ）１２电解质的电导率为０．８×１０－３／ｃｍ,锂离子迁移数为０．３。     

Transcellular transport of low density lipoprotein through cultured newborn rat skin epidermal cell monolayer

Epidermal cells from newborn rat skin were cultured on type IV collagen-coated Millipore filter, and the transport of low density lipoprotein (LDL) labeled with Rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RB-LDL) through the cultured cell layer was examined. The transport of RB-LDL was dependent on temperature and biological energy. The transport was low at 17 degrees C, but above 20 degrees C, it became high with increase in temperature up to 37 degrees C. The transport was markedly inhibited by the energy inhibitors 2-deoxyglucose and NaN3. Furthermore, the transport was saturable at the RB-LDL concentration of about 300 micrograms/ml and the activation energy of the transport was determined as 104.6 kJ/mol. No degradation product of LDL (apoprotein B) was observed during LDL transport through the cultured cell layer. The transport of RB-LDL through skin epidermal cells in culture is suggested to be mediated by transcytotic vesicles, but not by endocytosis and exocytosis via the lysosomal system, nor through cellular junctions.     

Extraction and transport of chromium(VI) through a bulk liquid membrane containing triphenylphosphine

The solvent extraction of chromium(VI) in chloroform, dichloromethane, dichloroethane and its transport through a chloroformic bulk liquid membrane from sulphuric acid solutions with the neutral extractant triphenylphosphine (TPP) were studied. It was highlighted that the TPP extractant is an interesting complexing and efficient carrier for transport of chromium(VI) as [(HTPP)HCr2O7] complex from a 2M sulphuric acid solutions. It has a high ability to concentrate the chromium(VI) in the receiving phase according to the Donnan equilibrium. The co-extraction and the co-transport of sulphuric acid is very low and has no effect on the transport efficiency. The transport rate depends mainly on the initial concentration of the extractant.     

Photodriven Active Ion Transport Through a Janus Microporous Membrane

Precise control of ion transport is a fundamental characteristic for the sustainability of life. It remains a great challenge to develop practical and high‐performance artificial ion‐transport system that can allow active transport of ions (protons) in an all solid‐state nanoporous material. Herein, we develop a Janus microporous membrane by combining reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and conjugated microporous polymer (CMP) for controllable photodriven ion transport. Upon light illumination, a net ionic current is generated from the CMP to the rGO side of the membrane, indicating that the rGO/CMP Janus membrane can realize photodriven directional and anti‐gradient ion transport. Analogously to the p‐n junction in photovoltaic devices, light is firstly converted into separated charges to trigger a transmembrane potential, which subsequently drives directional ion movement. For the first time, this method enables integration of a photovoltaic effect with an ionic field to drive active ion transport. With the advantages of scaled up production and easy fabrication, the concept of photovoltaic ion transport based on Janus microporous membrane may find wide application in energy storage and conversion, photodriven ion‐sieving, and water treatment.     

Ballistic energy transport along PEG chains: distance dependence of the transport efficiency

Dual-frequency relaxation-assisted two-dimensional infrared (RA 2DIR) spectroscopy was used to investigate energy transport in polyethylene glycol (PEG) oligomers of different length, having 0, 4, 8, and 12 repeating units and end-labeled with azido and succinimide ester moieties (azPEGn). The energy transport initiated by excitation of the N≡N stretching mode of the azido group in azPEGn in CCl(4) at ca. 2100 cm(-1) was recorded by probing the C=O stretching modes (reporters) of the succinimide ester moiety. Sensitive to the excess energy delivered to the reporter modes, RA 2DIR permits observation of both the through-bond and through-solvent energy transport contributions. The cross-peak data involving the reporter modes with different thermal sensitivity and the data for mixtures of compounds permitted concluding that through-bond energy transport is the dominant mechanism for most cross peaks in all four azPEGn compounds. The through-bond energy transport time, evaluated as the waiting time at which the cross peak maximum is reached, was found to be linearly dependent on the chain length of up to 60 ?, suggesting a ballistic energy transport regime. The through-bond energy transport speed determined from the chain-length dependence of T(max) in CCl(4) is found to be ca. 450 m s(-1). The cross-peak amplitude at the maximum decays exponentially with the chain length; a characteristic decay distance is found to be 15.7 ± 1 ?. The cross-peak amplitude at zero waiting time, determined by the end-to-end distance distribution, is found to decay with the chain length (L) as ～L(-1.4), which is close to predictions of the free flight chain model. The match indicates that the end-group interaction does not strongly perturb the end-to-end distribution, which is close to the ideal random coil distribution with the Gaussian probability density.     

Elevated temperatures enhance KCCl activity in sickle cells

The maintenance of red blood cell volume is important in the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease. The KCl cotransporter (KCCl) is capable of mediating sickle cell dehydration. In this study, we have determined the effect of increased temperature (over the range 37-41 degrees C) on basal K+ transport and K+ transport following activation of KCCl by urea or N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). An increased temperature was found to have only a small effect (approximately a 20% increase) on basal K+ transport. In contrast, the increase was much greater (about 60%) after activation of KCCl by urea. Following activation of KCCl by NEM, the increase in K+ transport with increasing temperature was small (about 10%). This suggests that it is the signalling system rather than the transporter itself that is sensitive to temperature.     

Extraction and recovery of lignosulfonate from its aqueous solution using bulk liquid membrane

The paper presents an experimental study on the coupled transport of lignosulfonate (LS) through bulk liquid membrane (BLM) and thereby to identify the best set of solvent, operating conditions and mode of transport that would yield optimum performance of the BLM. Trioctylamine (TOA) is used as carrier. Among various solvents, tested for the above purpose, dichloroethane is found to be the best. The effects of operating condition, viz. pH, temperature, and carrier concentration, on the equilibrium distribution of LS are investigated. The effects of temperature, stirring of aqueous and organic phases, stirring speed, carrier concentration, initial feed and strip phase concentration on the separation of LS using BLM are also studied. It is observed that transport of LS can be enhanced by increasing the temperature and stirring speed of feed phase. Stirring of strip phase has no appreciable effects on the transport of LS. With increase in initial feed concentration the initial rate of the transport of LS is higher but continues for a longer time. Recovery of LS is much higher in co-transport mode in comparison to counter transport mode. Application of 1.25 M NaOH as stripping solution gives high recovery (70%) and high strip flux (70% of feed flux).     

Deciphering radical transport in the large subunit of class I ribonucleotide reductase

Incorporation of 2,3,6-trifluorotyrosine (F(3)Y) and a rhenium bipyridine ([Re]) photooxidant into a peptide corresponding to the C-terminus of the β protein (βC19) of Escherichia coli ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) allows for the temporal monitoring of radical transport into the α2 subunit of RNR. Injection of the photogenerated F(3)Y radical from the [Re]-F(3)Y-βC19 peptide into the surface accessible Y731 of the α2 subunit is only possible when the second Y730 is present. With the Y-Y established, radical transport occurs with a rate constant of 3 × 10(5) s(-1). Point mutations that disrupt the Y-Y dyad shut down radical transport. The ability to obviate radical transport by disrupting the hydrogen bonding network of the amino acids composing the colinear proton-coupled electron transfer pathway in α2 suggests a finely tuned evolutionary adaptation of RNR to control the transport of radicals in this enzyme.     

Facilitated Transport of Ions and Glucose by Amphotericin B Across Lipid Bilayers in the Presence or Absence of Cholesterol

The transport of ions and glucose across bilayer lipid membranes (BLM) facilitated by amphotericin B (AmB) is studied by use of planar BLMs and liposomal membranes. The transport characteristics change with time in the presence of cholesterol, while it is independent of time in the absence of cholesterol. The carrier‐type transport is observed immediately after the addition of AmB. In the presence of cholesterol, AmB forms a 1 : 1 complex with cholesterol and the channel is formed by aggregation of AmB‐cholesterol complexes. It is concluded that the number of the channels increases with time and that the carrier‐type transport decreases instead.     

The dependence of electro-osmotic flow on current density and time

The dependence of the water transport number on current density is examined for three membranes whose characteristics cover a wide spectrum: poly(vinylbenzenesulfonate), porous Vycor glass and cellulose. Experiments and theory show that non-linear volume—time plots in electro-osmotic experiments arise from displacements of the membrane in the electric field, and that reliable water transport numbers can be obtained at a given current density. When the current density is varied, experiments show that the observed water transport number can: (a) increase at low current densities because of osmotic flow superimposed on water transport by the electric field; (b) decrease at higher current densities because of accumulation of salt in the membrane; (c) decrease more at current densities near and above the limiting value because of an increased contribution of hydrogen and hydroxide ions to transport. These phenomena arise from a combination of diffusion films at both membrane—solution interfaces and from the dependence of counteflon and water transport numbers on external salt concentration.     

Selective and efficient uphill transport of Cu(II) through liquid membrane

1,2-Bis methyl (2-aminocyclopentene carbodithioate) ethane is an excellent synthetic carrier for efficient and specific transport of Cu(II) ions through a liquid membrane and has the ability to transport Cu(II) ions uphill.     

1,2,5,6-Naphthalenediimide-based conjugated copolymers linked by ethynyl units

Two copolymers of P1 and P2 comprising benzothiadiazole, 1,4-bis(dodecyloxy)-benzene units were synthesized by Sonogashira coupling polymerization based on ethynyl-linked 1,2,5,6-naphthalenediimide.Their thermal, optical,electrochemical as well as charge transport properties were studied. Bottom-gate top-contact organic field-effect transistors(OFETs) measurements of P1 and P2 thin films showed different charge transport behaviors. P1 displayed pure electron transport behaviors in OFETs with electron mobility up to 10~(-3 )cm~2·V~(-1)·s~(-1), while P2 exhibited hole transport features. The molecular structure analysis revealed that the structure of P1 has the acceptor-linker-acceptor′(A-L-A′) characteristic, and P2 possesses the donor-linker-acceptor(D-L-A) structure feature. The results demonstrate that different molecular structures lead them to have distinct charge transport behaviors. In particular, the first pure electron transport copolymer in OFETs based on 1,2,5,6-naphthalenediimide is achieved.     

Dynamics of inter- and intrastrand hole transport in DNA hairpins

The dynamics of photoinduced electron transfer has been investigated in DNA hairpins possessing a stilbenedicarboxamide (Sa) electron acceptor, a guanine (G) primary donor, and two adjacent guanines (GG) as secondary donors. Hole transport from G to GG across a single A is more rapid than across AA or T by factors of 20 +/- 7 and 40 +/- 15, respectively. Intrastrand hole transport across a single A is more rapid than interstrand transport by a factor of 7 +/- 3.