Solution‐processible polymer solar cells fabricated on a papery substrate

We report on solution‐processible polymer solar cells (PSCs) fabricated on a papery substrate using carton. Highly conductive PEDOT:PSS was used as a bottom anode and planarization layer, and a semi‐transparent top cathode was applied. This research could be an important approach to the development of all‐solution‐processible papery PSCs as well as paper electronics.

     

cis-Diaquabis（di-2-pyrimidinyl sulfide- K2N,N） Cobalt（II） Ditetrafluoridoborate： Lone Pair-aromatic and Anion-П Interactions in the Self-assembly of Coordination Complex

The title complex, [Co(DprS)2 (H2O)2]2(BF4)4 (DprS is di-2-pyrimidinyl sulfide), was obtained and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR and X-ray crystallography. The complex crystallizes in space group P21/c with a=11.742(1), b=22.439(2), c=20.538(2) , β=109.713(5)°, Z=4, V=5094.3(3)3 , Dc=1.692 g·cm-3 , μ=0.929 mm-1 , F(000)=2600, R=0.0756 and wR=0.1929. The asymmetric unit of the title complex is comprised of two isomeric cobalt(Ⅱ) centers (Co(1) and Co(2)) with a cis-[Co(DprS)2(H2O)2]2+ moiety. Each Co(Ⅱ) center exhibits a similar distorted N4O2-octahedral coordination geometry surrounded by a pair of DprS in a N,N’-chelate mode and two aqua ligands in a cis-relationship. Unconventional S···π(pyrimidinyl), N···π(pyrimidinyl), and anion(BF4-)···π(pyrimidinyl) are found to combine with the C H···F and O H···F interactions to stabilize a whole three-dimensional framework with the mononuclear units (Co(1) and Co(2)). The ligand conformation will be also discussed.     

Bienzyme Electrode Compatible Behavior for Water-Soluble and-Insoluble Substrates

Abstract

A bienzymatic sensing layer containing two enzymes able to work sequentially, choline oxidase (ChOD) and phospholipase D (PLaseD), was used to design an electrochemical biosensor for the detection of either a water-soluble (choline) or insoluble (phosphatidylcholine) substrate. A photocrosslinkable polymer, poly(vinyl alcohol) bearing styrylpyridinium groups (PVA-SbQ), was used as host-matrix for enzyme immobilization. Controlled amounts of PVA-SbQ and of the two enzymes were directly coated on a platinum disk, then photopolymerized. The compatibility of working conditions for choline and phosphatidylcholine detection in the presence of Triton X-100 and CaCl₂ was investigated. The effect of the activity ratio PLaseD / ChOD on the sensor performance was determined. The sensitivities to choline and to phosphatidylcholine were 18 mA.1mol^?1 and 0.66 mA.1.mol^?1 respectively, the detection limit being 1.5.10^?8 M for choline and 1.5.10^?6 M for phosphatidylcholine. The linear range extended up to ca. 10^?4 M for choline and ca. 2.10^?5 M for phosphatidylcholine and the response time was close to 30 seconds for choline and ca. 2 min for phosphatidylcholine.     

1.3 μm range effectively cylindrical In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As quantum wires grown on (2 2 1)A InP substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Vertically coupled quantum wires (QWRs) have been made by alternately stacking nominally 3.6 nm thick In_0.53Ga_0.47As self-organized QWR layers and 1 nm thick In_0.52Al_0.48As barrier layers on (2 2 1)A-oriented InP substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The surface of In_0.53Ga_0.47As QWR layers was corrugated at an amplitude of 1.1 nm and period of 27 nm, and lateral confinement potential is induced by their thickness modulation. The wavelength of photoluminescence (PL) from the stacked QWRs at 15 K becomes longer from 1220 to 1327 nm with increasing total number of stacked QWR layers, N_SL, from 1 to 9, while PL full-width at half-maximum is reduced from 22 to 8.6 meV. The PL intensity with the polarization parallel to the wire direction, I, is 1.30 times larger than that with the normal polarization, I, when N_SL=1. The PL intensity ratio, I/I, reaches as large as 4 when N_SL=9, indicating successful control of relative strength between vertical confinement and lateral confinement of carriers. The value of I/I obtained for the stacked QWRs with N_SL=9 is the same value as cylindrical QWRs have. The results indicate that effectively cylindrical QWRs with the best uniformity and 1.3 μm range emission were realized by stacking of self-organized QWR layers.     

Ultrafast plasmon dynamics and evanescent field distribution of reproducible surface-enhanced Raman-scattering substrates

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a potent tool in bioanalytical science because the technique combines high sensitivity with molecular specificity. However, the widespread and routine use of SERS in quantitative biomedical diagnostics is limited by tight requirements on the reproducibility of the noble metal substrates used. To solve this problem, we recently introduced a novel approach to reproducible SERS substrates. In this contribution, we apply ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy to investigate the photo-induced collective charge-carrier dynamics in such substrates, which represents the fundamental origin of the SERS mechanism. The ultrafast experiments are accompanied by scanning-near field optical microscopy and SERS experiments to correlate the appearance of plasmon dynamics with the resultant evanescent field distribution and the analytically relevant SERS enhancement. Figure Ultrafast time-resolved differential absorption spectroscopy combined with scanning near-field optical microscopy (left) and atomic force microscopy (right) yields insight into the photoinduced charge-carrier dynamics in innovative reproducible SERS-substrates Dana Cialla and Ronald Siebert contributed equally to this work.     

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering: realization of localized surface plasmon resonance using unique substrates and methods

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement and the reproducibility of the SERS signal strongly reflect the quality and nature of the SERS substrates because of diverse localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitations excited at interstitials or sharp edges. LSPR excitations are the most important ingredients for achieving huge enhancements in the SERS process. In this report, we introduce several gold and silver nanoparticle-based SERS-active substrates developed solely by us and use these substrates to investigate the influence of LSPR excitations on SERS. SERS-active gold substrates were fabricated by immobilizing colloidal gold nanoparticles on glass slides without using any surfactants or electrolytes, whereas most of the SERS-active substrates that use colloidal gold/silver nanoparticles are not free of surfactant. Isolated aggregates, chain-like elongated aggregates and two-dimensional (2D) nanostructures were found to consist mostly of monolayers rather than agglomerations. With reference to correlated LSPR and SERS, combined experiments were carried out on a single platform at the same spatial position. The isolated aggregates mostly show a broadened and shifted SPR peak, whereas a weak blue-shifted peak is observed near 430 nm in addition to broadened peaks centered at 635 and 720 nm in the red spectral region in the chain-like elongated aggregates. In the case of 2D nanostructures, several SPR peaks are observed in diverse frequency regions. The characteristics of LSPR and SERS for the same gold nanoaggregates lead to a good correlation between SPR and SERS images. The elongated gold nanostructures show a higher enhancement of the Raman signal than the the isolated and 2D samples. In the case of SERS-active silver substrates for protein detection, a new approach has been adopted, in contrast to the conventional fabrication method. Colloidal silver nanoparticles are immobilized on the protein functionalized glass slides, and further SERS measurements are carried out based on LSPR excitations. A new strategy for the detection of biomolecules, particularly glutathione, under aqueous conditions is proposed. Finally, supramolecular J-aggregates of ionic dyes incorporated with silver colloidal aggregates are characterized by SERS measurements and correlated to finite-difference time-domain analysis with reference to LSPR excitations. Figure SPR and SERS images for isolated, elongated and two-dimensional gold nanostructures     

Unconventional photon blockade induced by the self-Kerr and cross-Kerr nonlinearities

We study the use of the self-Kerr and cross-Kerr nonlinearities to realize strong photon blockade in a weakly driven, four-mode optomechanical system. According to the Born−Oppenheimer approximation, we obtain the cavity self-Kerr coupling and the inter-cavity cross-Kerr coupling, adiabatically separated from the mechanical oscillator. Through minimizing the second-order correlation function, we find out the optimal parameter conditions for the unconventional photon blockade. Under the optimal conditions, the strong photon blockade can appear in the strong or weak nonlinearities.