Origin of Hole-Trapping States in Solution-Processed Copper(I) Thiocyanate and Defect-Healing by I2 Doping

Solution-processed copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) typically exhibits low crystallinity with short-range order; the defects result in a high density of trap states that limit the device's performance. Despite the extensive electronic applications of CuSCN, its defect properties are not understood in detail. Through X-ray absorption spectroscopy, pristine CuSCN prepared from the standard diethyl sulfide-based recipe is found to contain under-coordinated Cu atoms, pointing to the presence of SCN⁻ vacancies. A defect passivation strategy is introduced by adding solid I₂ to the processing solution. At small concentrations, the iodine is found to exist as I⁻ which can substitute for the missing SCN⁻ ligand, effectively healing the defective sites and restoring the coordination around Cu. Computational study results also verify this point. Applying I₂-doped CuSCN as a p-channel in thin-film transistors shows that the hole mobility increases by more than five times at the optimal doping concentration of 0.5 mol.%. Importantly, the on/off current ratio and the subthreshold characteristics also improve as the I₂ doping method leads to the defect-healing effect while avoiding the creation of detrimental impurity states. An analysis of the capacitance-voltage characteristics corroborates that the trap state density is reduced upon I₂ addition.     

Monte Carlo simulation study of the effect of chain tacticity on demixing of polyethylene/polypropylene blends

The molecular origin of the demixing behavior for 50: 50 (wt/wt) polyethylene/polypropylene (PE/PP) with different tacticity of PP at the melts (473 K) was investigated by Monte Carlo simulation of coarse-grained polymer model. Isotactic (iPP), atactic (aPP) and syndiotactic (sPP) polypropylenes were used for blending with PE. Coarse-graining polymer chains were represented by 50 beads, corresponding to C₁₀₀H₂₀₂ and C₁₅₀H₃₀₂ for PE and PP, respectively. The simulation was performed on a high coordination lattice incorporating short-range intramolecular interactions from the Rotational Isomeric State (RIS) model and long-range intermolecular interactions Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential function of ethane and propane units. Chain dimensions, the characteristic ratio (C _n ) and self-diffusion coefficient (D) of PE in the blends are sensitive to the stereochemistry of PP chains. Compared with neat PE melts, PE dimension was relatively unchanged in PE/iPP and PE/aPP blends but slightly decreased in PE/sPP blends. PP dimension was increased in PE/iPP and PE/aPP mixture but decreased in PE/sPP blend in comparison with neat PP melts. In addition, diffusion of PE and PP chains in PE/PP mixture was decreased and increased, respectively, compared to the pure melts. Interchain pair correlation functions were used to detect the immiscibility of the blends. The tendency of demixing of PE/aPP and PE/iPP blends were weaker than that of PE/sPP blend.     

Chopper Modulators Using Current Conveyor Analogue Switches

The new CMOS Cowan, Ring, and Full-AM chopper modulators using current conveyor analogue switches are presented. The proposed chopper modulators use a square wave carrier current for controlling the transfer of a sine wave baseband voltage from nodes Y to nodes X, and the baseband currents from nodes X to nodes Z, of the current conveyors. The proposed chopper modulators are verified by simulating from the layout with a 0.5 μ m/level 49 MOSFET model of AMI obtained through MOSIS. With a supply voltage of ± 1.5 V, the operation range for the baseband voltage is between −300 mV and 300 mV. The operation range for the carrier current, bias currents for CCIIs, is ranged from ten to few hundred microamps. Using the carrier current of 20 μ A, the power consumption is not more than 0.8 mW in the operation range of the baseband voltage.     

CMOS dual output current mode half-wave rectifier

A CMOS dual output current mode half-wave rectifier is presented. The proposed rectifier is composed of three main components: a dual output V–I converter, two half-wave current rectifiers and two I–V converters. A voltage input signal is changed into two current signals by the V–I converter. The current rectifiers rectify these current signals, resulting in positive and negative half-wave current signals that are converted to positive and negative half-wave voltage signals by the I-Vconverters. The theory of operation is described, and the simulated results obtained from the PSPICE program are used to verify the theoretical prediction. Simulated rectifier performance with a 0.5μm MOSFET model using ±1.2V supply voltage demonstrates good rectifier integrity at operating frequencies up to 100MHz.     

One-pot synthesis of substituted indolo[1,2-a]quinolines under transition-metal-free conditions

A simple and efficient one-pot synthesis of substituted indolo[1,2-a]quinolines under transition-metal-free conditions has been developed. When 2-fluorobenzaldehyde was treated with substituted 2-methylindoles in the presence of Cs₂CO₃, the desired products were typically obtained in good to excellent yields. This reaction sequence involves a nucleophilic aromatic substitution and a Knoevenagel condensation reaction. Our mechanistic investigation revealed that both reactions could proceed as an intermolecular reaction in the first step.     

Decarbonylative Silylation of Esters by Combined Nickel and Copper Catalysis for the Synthesis of Arylsilanes and Heteroarylsilanes

An efficient nickel/copper‐catalyzed decarbonylative silylation reaction of carboxylic acid esters with silylboranes is described. This reaction provides access to structurally diverse silanes with high efficiency and excellent functional‐group tolerance starting from readily available esters.     

Asymmetric Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Substitution of Diaryl Methanols with Thiols and Alcohols for the Synthesis of Chiral Thioethers and Ethers

An enantioselective addition of thiols and alcohols to aza‐ortho‐quinone methides, starting from diaryl methanols, was developed. The asymmetric additions occur under mild reaction conditions in the presence of chiral phosphoric acids and furnish the corresponding adducts with excellent yields and enantioselectivities.     

Treatment in Swelling Solutions Modifying Cellulose Fiber Reactivity – Part 1: Accessibility and Sorption

Of prime importance in reactions involving insoluble cellulosic fibers is the sorption of reagents, which is governed by their degrees of accessibility in substrates. Swelling treatments of cellulosics in alkali solutions alter substrate accessibility leading to changes in their reactivity. In this paper, the first of a two-part series, we collate and examine the results from various studies involving different techniques to characterize modifications in cellulosic fibers after swelling treatments in alkali solutions. Results from measurements of structure and accessibility in fibers with techniques such as water retention, inverse size exclusion chromatography (ISEC), iodine sorption, fiber diameters, and fiber-splitting propensities indicate that the influence of swelling treatments on fiber structure/accessibility is differs with alkali type. The results show that a non-uniform rather than uniform distribution of reagents within structures is a more accurate representation of reactions involving swollen cellulosic fibers. Hence, the observed changes in cellulose-fiber reactivity are governed by the degrees of fiber swelling, and reagent sorption and accessibility during swelling treatments.