Steric control of the donor/acceptor interface: implications in organic photovoltaic charge generation

The performance of organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices is currently limited by modest short-circuit current densities. Approaches toward improving this output parameter may provide new avenues to advance OPV technologies and the basic science of charge transfer in organic semiconductors. This work highlights how steric control of the charge separation interface can be effectively tuned in OPV devices. By introducing an octylphenyl substituent onto the investigated polymer backbones, the thermally relaxed charge-transfer state, and potentially excited charge-transfer states, can be raised in energy. This decreases the barrier to charge separation and results in increased photocurrent generation. This finding is of particular significance for nonfullerene OPVs, which have many potential advantages such as tunable energy levels and spectral breadth, but are prone to poor exciton separation efficiencies. Computational, spectroscopic, and synthetic methods were combined to develop a structure-property relationship that correlates polymer substituents with charge-transfer state energies and, ultimately, device efficiencies.     

Comparison of decomposition procedures for analysis of titanium dioxide using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

The determination of impurities in titanium dioxide pigments, such as Al, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, P, Zn and Zr, is relevant because trace elements affect pigment properties. The critical step in the analysis of this pigment is the conversion of the solid sample to a representative solution. This study compared four acid decomposition procedures for TiO₂ for the determination of Al, P and trace impurities using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The decomposition procedures investigated involved acid digestion with: (i) (NH₄)₂SO₄/H₂SO₄; (ii) HF/H₂SO₄; (iii) H₃PO₄; and (iv) HCl/HNO₃/HF. This latter mixture was tested in a microwave-assisted procedure with closed vessels. Comparing the procedures using conventional conductive heating, the procedure using (NH₄)₂SO₄/H₂SO₄ was the most suitable for complete decomposition of TiO₂ samples, requiring approximately 30 min. Applying a paired t-test, it was shown that all strategies led to results in agreement at a 95% confidence level with those obtained using X-ray fluorescence. The accuracy for Cr, Fe, P and Zr was also checked using a certified reference material, and again all results were in agreement at a 95% confidence level. The performance of two ICP-OESs, one based on a mini-torch using a radial view configuration, and the other based on an axial view configuration, were compared. Both plasmas are intensely affected by matrix constituents. The mini-torch plasma is less able to cope with high amounts of solids; however this parameter also negatively affects the background level when using axial-viewed ICP-OES.     

Some aspects of bonding and binding in polymeric chains

The status of theoretical calculations on polymers is illustrated by two specific problems. The first one is the interpretation of ESCA results on polymers by suitable ab initio calculations. The second problem is the very timely one of bond alternation in polymers. The reliability of theoretical calculations at various levels and the possible central role of electron correlation are discussed.     

Odd-even effects in self-assembled monolayers of omega-(biphenyl-4-yl)alkanethiols: a first-principles study

Conjugated molecules with a saturated alkyl linker between a thiol docking group and the pi-conjugated core have been shown to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with a high degree of long-range order and uniformity. Additionally, pronounced odd-even effects have been observed in a number of properties characterizing these SAMs. We focus on omega-(biphenyl-4-yl)alkanethiols with n = 0-6 -(CH2)n- units deposited on Au(111) and investigate the microscopic origin of these odd-even effects in terms of the local sulfur-gold bonding geometry by employing first-principles calculations. An additional structural parameter, the torsion angle between the two phenyl rings in the biphenyl moiety, is identified and its relation to the experimentally observed odd-even effects is discussed. More importantly, we address relevant quantities for the application of these SAMs in molecular electronic devices, in particular, the modification of the work function of the underlying metal substrate and the energetic alignment of the molecular orbitals in the SAM with the Fermi level. While no clear trend emerges for the former, we find pronounced odd-even effects for the latter. Furthermore, the insertion of a single methylene unit between the biphenyl core and the thiol appears to largely decouple the valence electronic systems of the pi-conjugated segment and the gold substrate. Our results thus provide a solid theoretical basis for the interface energetics in this important class of systems.     

Experimental and theoretical study of temperature dependent exciton delocalization and relaxation in anthracene thin films

The spectroscopy of solid anthracene is examined both experimentally and theoretically. To avoid experimental complications such as self-absorption and polariton effects, ultrathin polycrystalline films deposited on transparent substrates are studied. To separate the contributions from different emitting species, the emission is resolved in both time and wavelength. The spectroscopic data are interpreted in terms of a three-state kinetic model, where two excited states, a high energy state 1 and a low energy state 2, both contribute to the luminescence and are kinetically coupled. Using this model, we analyze the spectral lineshape, relative quantum yield, and relaxation rates as a function of temperature. For state 1, we find that the ratio of the 0-0 vibronic peak to the 0-1 peak is enhanced by roughly a factor of 3.5 at low temperature, while the quantum yield and decay rates also increase by a similar factor. These observations are explained using a theoretical model previously developed for herringbone polyacene crystals. The early-time emission lineshape is consistent with that expected for a linear aggregate corresponding to an edge-dislocation defect. The results of experiment and theory are quantitatively compared at different temperatures in order to estimate that the singlet exciton in our polycrystalline films is delocalized over about ten molecules. Within these domains, the exciton's coherence length steadily increases as the temperature drops, until it reaches the limits of the domain, whereupon it saturates and remains constant as the temperature is lowered further. While the theoretical modeling correctly reproduces the temperature dependence of the fluorescence spectral lineshape, the decay of the singlet exciton appears to be determined by a trapping process that becomes more rapid as the temperature is lowered. This more rapid decay is consistent with accelerated trapping due to increased delocalization of the exciton at lower temperatures. These observations suggest that exciton coherence can play an important role in both radiative and nonradiative decay channels in these materials. Our results show that the spectroscopy of polyacene solids can be analyzed in a self-consistent fashion to obtain information about electronic delocalization and domain sizes.     

Structural studies of cyclic ureas: 2. Enthalpy of formation of parabanic acid

Thermophysical and thermochemical studies have been carried out for crystalline parabanic acid. The thermophysical study was made by differential scanning calorimetry, DSC, over the temperature interval between T = (263 and 473) K. Two phase transitions were found: at T = (392.3 ± 1.6) K with the enthalpy of transition of (2.1 ± 0.4) kJ · mol⁻¹ and at T = (509.8 ± 1.5) K, when the compound was scanned to its fusion temperature. The standard (p = 0.1 MPa) molar enthalpy of formation, at T = 298.15 K, for crystalline parabanic acid was determined using static-bomb combustion calorimetry as −(590.2 ± 1.0) kJ · mol⁻¹. The standard molar enthalpy of sublimation, at T = 298.15 K, was derived from the variation of their vapour pressures, measured by the Knudsen-effusion method, with the temperature. These two thermochemical parameters yielded the standard molar enthalpy of formation in the gaseous phase, at T = 298.15 K, as −(470.8 ± 1.2) kJ · mol⁻¹.     

Fed-Batch production of glucose 6-Phosphate dehydrogenase using recombinant saccharomyces cerevisiae

The strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae W303-181, having the plasmid YEpPGK-G6P (built by coupling the vector YEPLAC 181 with the promoter phosphoglycerate kinase 1), was cultured by fed-batch process in order to evaluate its capability in the formation of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC.1.1.1.49). Two liters of culture medium (10.0 g/L glucose, 3.7 g/L yeast nitrogen broth (YNB), 0.02 g/L L-tryptophan, 0.02 g/L L-histidine, 0.02 g/L uracil, and 0.02 g/L adenine) were inoculated with 1.5 g dry cell/L and left fermenting in the batch mode at pH 5.7, aeration of 2.2 vvm, 30 degrees C, and agitation of 400 rpm. After glucose concentration in the medium was lower than 1.0 g/L, the cell culture was fed with a solution of glucose (10.0 g/L) or micronutrients (L-tryptophan, L-histidine, uracil, and adenine each one at a concentration of 0.02 g/L) following the constant, linear, or exponential mode. The volume of the culture medium in the fed-batch process was varied from 2 L up to 3 L during 5 h. The highest glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity (350 U/L; 1 U=1 micromol of NADP/min) occurred when the glucose solution was fed into the fermenter through the decreasing linear mode.     

Electronic and vibrational properties of nickel sulfides from first principles

We report the results of first-principles calculations (generalized gradient approximation-Perdew Wang 1991) on the electronic and vibrational properties of several nickel sulfides that are observed on Ni-based anodes in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) upon exposure to H2S contaminated fuels: heazlewoodite Ni3S2, millerite NiS, polydymite Ni3S4, and pyrite NiS2. The optimized lattice parameters of these sulfides are within 1% of the values determined from x-ray diffraction. The electronic structure analysis indicates that all Ni-S bonds are strongly covalent. Furthermore, it is found that the nickel d orbitals shift downward in energy, whereas the sulfur p orbitals shift upward with increasing sulfur content; this is consistent with the decrease in conductivity and catalytic activity of sulfur-contaminated Ni-based electrodes (or degradation in SOFC performance). In addition, we systematically analyze the classifications of the vibrational modes at the point from the crystal symmetry and calculate the corresponding vibrational frequencies from the optimized lattice constants. This information is vital to the identification with in situ vibrational spectroscopy of the nickel sulfides formed on Ni-based electrodes under the conditions for SOFC operation. Finally, the effect of thermal expansion on frequency calculations for the Ni3S2 system is also briefly examined.     

Kinetic study and pyrolysis: GC/MS products analysis of Spirulina platensis cultivated under a different growing medium

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Microalgae have a great potential to produce biofuels, but the cost is still too high mainly due to the biomass production. Mixotrophic cultivation has...