Improvement in the light conversion efficiency of silicon solar cell by spin coating of CuO,ZnO nanoparticles and CuO/ZnO mixed metal nanocomposite material

Synthesis of pure Zinc oxide (ZnO), Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) and their (ZnO/CuO) nanocomposites (NCs) in 1:1 M ratio were successfully prepared by co-precipitation method. The structural properties of the as synthesized nanoparticles and nanocomposite materials were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Optical band-gap studies were done using UV–Visible absorption spectroscopy. Photovoltaic properties of pure ZnO NPs, CuO NPs and ZnO/CuO NCs coated over a single-crystalline silicon solar cell were carried out to compare improvement of light-conversion efficiency in coated solar cell. The maximum light conversion efficiencies were found to be of 8.02% for CuO (3 mg/ml concentration) and 7.28% for ZnO NPs (3 mg/ml concentration), whereas that of mixed metal nanocomposite CuO/ZnO NCs was found to be 7.62%. at very low concentration of 1 mg/ml. This indicates with low concentration of mixed metal NCs an improvement in light efficiency can be obtained. The enhancement in efficiency could be due to formation of p - n heterojunction by CuO/ZnO NCs composites which enhances the number of electrons and holes participating in conduction on the surface.     

Insight into luminescent iridium complexes: Their potential in light-emitting electrochemical cells

Cyclometallated iridium complexes possess fascinating electrochemical and photophysical properties that make them excellent candidates for a variety of photonic and optoelectronic applications. In particular, light-emitting electrochemical cells (LEECs) based on iridium-containing ionic transition-metal complexes (Ir-iTMCs) are a promising alternative to conventional organic light-emitting diodes with several advantages, including a simpler device structure, solution processability, and reduced manufacturing costs. This review aims to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of the current status of Ir-iTMC-based LEECs using the archetypal complex [Ir(ppy)₂(bpy)]PF₆ as a reference emitter. After a discussion of the device fundamentals and important photophysical and device parameters, key strategies for tuning the emission characteristics and device stability through LUMO and HOMO stabilization/destabilization are presented using numerous examples from the literature, with a particular focus on ligand modification with hydrophobic, electron-withdrawing, and electron-donating substituents, π-stacking interactions, and alternative ancillary and cyclometalated ligand skeletons. Comprehensive data tables summarizing the photophysical and LEEC properties of the various classes of iridium complexes reported to date are also provided. Finally, in an effort to highlight promising directions for future research, the current champion iridium complexes for fabricating state-of-the-art LEECs are identified, and the merits and limitations of existing approaches are discussed.     

Insulating Polymers as Additives to Bulk-Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells: The Effect of Miscibility

Adding insulating polymers to conjugated polymers is an efficient strategy to tailor their mechanical properties for flexible organic electronics. In this work, we selected two insulating polymers as additives for high-performance photoactive layers and investigated the mechanical and photovoltaic properties in organic solar cells (OSCs). The insulating polymers were found to reduce the electron mobilities in the photoactive layers, and hence the power conversion efficiencies were significantly decreased. More importantly, we found that the insulating polymers exhibited negative effect on the mechanical properties of the photoactive layers, with reduced Young's modulus and low crack onset strains. Further studies revealed that the insulating polymers had poor miscibility with the photoactive layers, providing large domains and more cavities in blend thin films, which act as negative effect for the tensile test. The studies indicate that rational selection of insulating polymers, especially enhancing the non-covalent interaction with the photoactive layers, will be critically important for the stretchable OSCs.     

Optimizing the Photovoltaic Performance of Organic Solar Cells for Indoor Light Harvesting

Organic solar cells (OSCs) harvesting indoor light are highly promising for emerging technologies, such as internet of things. Herein, the photovoltaic performance of PTB7-Th:PC₇₁BM solar cells constructed using “optimized (with 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO))” and “non-optimized (without DIO)” processing conditions are compared for indoor and outdoor applications. We find that in comparison to the “optimized” solar cell, the “non-optimized” solar cell is less efficient under simulated solar light illumination (100 mW cm⁻², spectral range 350–1100 nm), owing to significant bimolecular charge carrier recombination losses. However, under simulated indoor illumination (3.28 mW cm⁻², spectral range 400–700 nm), bimolecular recombination losses are effective suppressed, thus the power conversion efficiency of the solar cell without DIO was increased to 14.7 %, higher than that of the solar cell with DIO (14.2 %). These results suggest that the common strategy used to optimize the OSCs could be undesired for indoor OSCs. We demonstrate that the efforts for realizing the desired “morphology” of the active layer for the outdoor OSCs may be unnecessary for indoor OSCs, allowing us to realize high-efficiency indoor OSCs using a non-halogenated solvent.     

Brassinin inhibits proliferation and induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in nasopharyngeal cancer C666-1 cells

BackgroundNasopharyngeal cancer is a tumor that occurs in the mucous epithelium of the nasopharynx. Due to its rapid growth and early metastatic nature, the successful treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer is highly challenging.ObjectiveHere, we intended to assess the in vitro anticancer property of brassinin against the nasopharyngeal cancer C666-1 cells.MethodologyThe in vitro free radical scavenging property of the brassinin was assessed by various free radical scavenging activities such as FRAP, DPPH, chemiluminescence (CL), and ORAC assays. The cytotoxic level of the brassinin (1–50 µM) against the nasopharyngeal cancer C666-1 cells and normal Vero cells were assessed by the MTT cytotoxicity assay. The levels of TBARS, GSH, and the SOD activity was assessed using kits. The level of ROS generation, MMP, and apoptosis were investigated by the respective fluorescent staining techniques. The flow cytometry analysis was done to scrutinize the cell cycle arrest. The Bax/Bcl-2 level and caspase activities were examined using respective kits.ResultsThe brassinin treatment effectively scavenged the free radicals, which are assessed by the FRAP, DPPH, chemiluminescence (CL), and ORAC assays. The proliferation of brassinin treated C666-1 cells were decreased remarkably, while the same concentration of brassinin did not disturbed the Vero cell viability. The 30 µM of brassinin effectively increased the ROS production, depleted the MMP, and stimulated the apoptosis in the C666-1 cells. The brassinin increased the TBARS and depleted the GSH and SOD in the C666-1 cells. The flow cytometry analysis revealed that the brassinin administration improved the G0/G1 ratio and decreased the proportion of cells with ‘S’ and ‘G2/M’ phase. The Bax, caspase-3 and ?9 were elevated and Bcl-2 level was decreased in the brassinin administered C666-1 cells.ConclusionOur findings discovered that the brassinin has the capacity to prevent the proliferation and stimulate the apoptotic cell death C666‐1 cells via blocking cell cycle and increasing oxidative stress and apoptotic markers. Hence, it can be a talented therapeutic agent to treat the nasopharyngeal cancer in the future.     

Screening of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of functionalized tetrahydrocarbazole linked 1,2-diazoles and their docking studies

Inflammatory diseases are associated with life-threatening syndromes like hepatitis, cancer, and trauma injury while some decrease the quality of life such as rheumatism, arthritis, and tuberculosis. 1,2-Diazoles (pyrazolines) play a vital role in COX-2 inhibition thus dinitro-tetrahydrocarbazole linked pyrazolines have been synthesized and endeavor to screen for anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and molecular docking studies. For this purpose, 6,8-dinitro-acetyl-2,3,4,9-tetrahydrocarbazole (I), aromatic aldehydes (IIa-e) and hydrazines (IIIa-b) were combined via multicomponent reaction approach under the influence of microwave irradiations to afford pyrazolines (1–10). All new molecules were screened for in vitro anti-inflammatory activity by human red blood cells membrane stabilization, antioxidant potential by2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl,2,2´-azinobis (3-ethylbenzo thiazoline)-6-sulphonic acid, lipid peroxidation, and total antioxidant capacity assays along with cytotoxicity by brine shrimp lethality assay. Molecular docking was performed by using the Auto Dock program. Both disubstituted and trisubstituted diazoles showed excellent membrane stabilizing effects, (91.89 % and 77 %, respectively). The presence of phenol, furan, thiocarbamide, and chloro-moieties have the most prominent effect. Toxicity results indicated that compounds were less toxic at the tested dose (0.1 mg/ml). The antioxidant study showed that compound 2 was more active showing low IC₅₀ values (32.2 and 39.2 µg/ml) in DPPH and total phenolic contents assays respectively. Compound 3 (44.0 µg/ml) showed the highest potential assay in ABTS radical neutralization assay while compound 7 (65.0 µg/ml) showed maximum potential in lipid peroxidation. All diazoles (1–10) were screened for in vitro anti-inflammatory potential where disubstituted diazoles were found better than trisubstituted analogs and exhibited significant antioxidant potential. Molecular docking of diazoles showed a good correlation of their anti-inflammatory activity with p38α MAPK, COX-2, and 5-LOX enzymes that are molecular therapeutic targets of inflammation.     

A new high: Cannabis as a budding source of carbon-based materials for electrochemical power sources

Cannabis sativa L., a low-cost, fast-growing herbaceous plant, is seeing a resurgence in widespread cultivation as a result of new policies and product drive. Its biodegradable and environmentally benign nature coupled with its high specific surface area and three-dimensional hierarchal structure makes it an excellent candidate for use as a biomass-derived carbon material for electrochemical power sources. It is proposed that this ‘wonder crop’ could have an important role in the energy transition by providing high-functioning carbon-based materials for electrochemistry. In this article, all instances of C. sativa usage in batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors are discussed with a focus on highlighting the high capacity, rate capability, capacitance, current density and half-wave potential that can be achieved with its utilisation in the field.     

3D bioprinted cancer cells are more tolerant to serum starvation than 2D cells due to autophagy

Cancer is a global issue and a serious threat to human health, one approach to treatment is starvation therapy. Recently, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinted tumor tissue models have been developed; however, whether 3D bioprinted models are good for in vitro study of starvation therapy is unclear. In this study, we studied the state of cells with serum-free medium in both 3D bioprinted scaffold and 2D cell cultures and found that 3D bioprinted cancer cells (3D cells) were more tolerant to serum starvation than 2D cells in terms of cell viability, cell proliferation, and M2 macrophage polarization. Moreover, the ratio of LC3II/I, an index of autophagy, increased much more in 3D cells, and 3D cells showed more autophagosomes than 2D cells after serum starvation, which indicated that the autophagy levels were higher in 3D cells. These results suggested that 3D cells are more tolerant to serum starvation than 2D cells, and autophagy may play an important role in this process.     

Elucidating the Binding Mode between Heparin and Inflammatory Cytokines by Molecular Modeling

Heparan sulfate (HS) interacts with a broad spectrum of inflammatory cytokines, thereby modulating their biological activities. It is believed that there is a structural-functional correlation between each protein and sugar sequences in the HS polysaccharides, however, the information in this regard is limited. In this study, we compared the binding of four inflammatory cytokines (CCL8, IL-1beta, IL-2 and IL-6) to immobilized heparin by an SPR analysis. To define the molecular base of the binding, we used a heparin pentasaccharide as representative structure to dock into the 3D-molecular structure of the cytokines. The results show a discrepancy in K_D values obtained by SPR analysis and theoretical calculation, pointing to the importance to apply more than one method when describing affinity between proteins and HS. By cluster analysis of the complex formed between the pentasaccharide and cytokines, we have identified several groups in heparin forming strong hydrogen bonds with all four cytokines, which is a significant finding. This molecular and conformational information should be valuable for rational design of HS/heparin-mimetics to interfere cytokine-HS interactions.     

New polymer electrolyte membrane for medium-temperature fuel cell applications based on cross-linked polyimide Matrimid and hydrophobic protic ionic liquid

New hydrophobic protic ionic liquid, 2-butylaminoimidazolinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (BAIM-TFSI), has been synthesized. The ionic liquid showed good thermal stability to at least 350 °C. The conductivity of BAIM-TFSI determined by electrochemical impedance method was found to be 5.6 × 10^?2 S/cm at 140 °C. Homogeneous composite films based on commercial polyimide (PI) Matrimid and BAIM-TFSI containing 30–60 wt% of ionic liquid were prepared by casting from methylene chloride solutions. Thermogravimetric analysis data indicated an excellent thermal stability of PI/BAIM-TFSI composites and thermal degradation points in the temperature range 377 °C–397 °C. The addition of ionic liquid up to 50 wt% in PI films does not lead to any significant deterioration of the tensile strength of the polymer. The dynamic mechanical analysis results indicated both an increase of storage modulus E′ of PI/BAIM-TFSI composites at room temperature and a significant E′ decrease with temperature compared with the neat polymer. The cross-linking of the PI with polyetheramine Jeffamine D-400 allowed to prepare PI/Jeffamine/BAIM-TFSI (50%) membrane with E′ value of 300 MPa at 130 °C. The ionic conductivity of this cross-linked composite membrane reached the level of 10^?2 S/cm at 130 °C, suggesting, therefore, its potential use in medium-temperature fuel cells operating in water-free conditions.