Room‐Temperature‐Operated Ultrasensitive Broadband Photodetectors by Perovskite Incorporated with Conjugated Polymer and Single‐Wall Carbon Nanotubes

In this work, room‐temperature‐operated ultrasensitive solution‐processed perovskite photodetectors (PDs) with near infrared (NIR) photoresponse are reported. In order to enable perovskite PDs possessing extended NIR photoresponse, novel n‐type low bandgap conjugated polymer, poly[(N,N′‐bis(2‐octyldodecyl)‐1,4,5,8‐naphthalene diimide‐2,6‐diyl) (2,5‐dioctyl‐3,6‐di(thiophen‐2‐yl)pyrrolo[3,4‐c]pyrrole‐1,4‐dione‐5,5′‐diyl)] (NDI‐DPP), which has strong absorption in the NIR region, is developed and then employed in perovskite PDs. By the formation of type II band alignment between NDI‐DPP with single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), the NIR absorption of NDI‐DPP is exploited, which contributes to the NIR photoresponse for the perovskite PDs, where perovskite is incorporated with NDI‐DPP and SWCNTs as well. In addition, SWCNTs incorporated with perovskite active layer can offer the percolation pathways for high charge‐carrier mobility, which tremendously boosts the charge transfer in the photoactive layer, and consequently improves the photocurrent in the visible region. As a result, the perovskite PDs exhibit the responsivities of ≈400 and ≈150 mA W^?1 and the detectivities of over 6 × 10¹² Jones (1 Jones = 1 cm Hz^1/2 W^?1) and over 2 × 10¹² Jones in the visible and NIR regions, respectively. This work reports the development of perovskite PDs with NIR photoresponse, which is terrifically beneficial for the practical applications of perovskite PDs.     

Photoresponsive Transistors Based on Lead‐Free Perovskite and Carbon Nanotubes

Lead‐free perovskite materials are exhibiting bright application prospects in photodetectors (PDs) owing to their low toxicity compared with traditional lead perovskites. Unfortunately, their photoelectric performance is constrained by the relatively low charge conductivity and poor stability. In this work, photoresponsive transistors based on stable lead‐free bismuth perovskites CsBi₃I₁₀ and single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are first reported. The SWCNTs significantly strengthen the dissociation and transportation of the photogenerated charge carriers, which lead to dramatically improved photoresponsivity, while a decent I_light/I_dark ratio over 10² can be maintained with gate modulation. The devices exhibit high photoresponsivity (6.0 × 10⁴ A W^?1), photodetectivity (2.46 × 10¹⁴ jones), and external quantum efficiency (1.66 × 10⁵%), which are among the best reported results in lead‐free perovskite PDs. Furthermore, the excellent stability over many other lead‐free perovskite PDs is demonstrated over 500 h of testing. More interestingly, the device also shows the application potential as a light‐stimulated synapse and its synaptic behaviors are demonstrated. In summary, the lead‐free bismuth perovskite‐based hybrid phototransistors with multifunctional performance of photodetection and light‐stimulated synapse are first demonstrated in this work.     

Imidazolium Polyesters: Structure–Property Relationships in Thermal Behavior,Ionic Conductivity,and Morphology

New bis(ω‐hydroxyalkyl)imidazolium and 1,2‐bis[N‐(ω‐hydroxyalkyl)imidazolium]ethane salts are synthesized and characterized; most of the salts are room temperature ionic liquids. These hydroxyl end‐functionalized ionic liquids are polymerized with diacid chlorides, yielding polyesters containing imidazolium cations embedded in the main chain. By X‐ray scattering, four polyesters are found to be semicrystalline at room temperature: mono‐imidazolium‐C₁₁‐sebacate‐C₆ ( 4e ), mono‐imidazolium‐C₁₁‐sebacate‐C₁₁ ( 4c ), bis(imidazolium)ethane‐C₆‐sebacate‐C₆ ( 5a ), and bis(imidazolium)ethane‐C₁₁‐sebacate‐C₁₁ ( 5c ), all with hexafluorophosphate counterions. The other imidazolium polyesters, including all those with bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI^?) counterions, are amorphous at room temperature. Room temperature ionic conductivities of the mono‐imidazolium polyesters (4 × 10^?6 to 3 × 10^?5 S cm^?1) are higher than those of the corresponding bis‐imidazolium polyesters (4 × 10^?9 to 8 × 10^?6 S cm^?1), even though the bis‐imidazolium polyesters have higher ion concentrations. Counterions affect ionic conduction significantly; all polymers with TFSI^? counterions have higher ionic conductivities than the hexafluorophosphate analogs. Interestingly, the hexafluorophosphate polyester, 1,2‐bis(imidazolium)ethane‐C₁₁‐sebacate‐C₁₁ ( 5c ), displays almost 400‐fold higher room temperature ionic conductivity (1.6 × 10^?6 S cm^?1) than the 1,2‐bis(imidazolium)ethane‐C₆‐sebacate‐C₆ analog ( 5a , 4.3 × 10^?9 S cm^?1), attributable to the differences in the semicrystalline structure in 5c as compared to 5a . These results indicate that semicrystalline polymers may result in high ionic conductivity in a soft (low glass tranition temperature, T_g) amorphous phase and good mechanical properties of the crystalline phase.     

High‐Performance Organic Photovoltaic Devices Using a New Amorphous Molecular Material with High Hole Drift Mobility,Tris[4‐(5‐phenylthiophen‐2‐yl)phenyl]amine

A new amorphous molecular material, tris[4‐(5‐phenylthiophen‐2‐yl)phenyl]amine (TPTPA), is synthesized and characterized. TPTPA forms a stable amorphous glass with a glass‐transition temperature of 83 °C when the melt sample is cooled. It also forms amorphous thin films by a thermal deposition technique. TPTPA exhibits a hole drift mobility of 1.0 × 10^?2 cm² V^?1 s^?1 at an electric field of 1.0 × 10⁵ V cm^?1 and at 293 K, as determined by the time‐of‐flight method, which is of the highest level among those of amorphous molecular materials. pn‐Heterojunction organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) using TPTPA as an electron donor and C₆₀ or C₇₀ as an electron acceptor exhibit high performance with fill factors of 0.66～0.71 and power conversion efficiencies of 1.7～2.2% under air‐mass (AM) 1.5G illumination at an intensity of 100 mW cm^?2, which are of the highest level ever reported for OPVs using amorphous molecular materials.     

Thiophene–Benzothiadiazole Co‐Oligomers: Synthesis,Optoelectronic Properties,Electrical Characterization,and Thin‐Film Patterning

Newly synthesized thiophene (T) and benzothiadiazole (B) co‐oligomers of different size, alternation motifs, and alkyl substitution types are reported. Combined spectroscopic data, electrochemical analysis, and theoretical calculations show that the insertion of a single electron‐deficient B unit into the aromatic backbone strongly affects the LUMO energy level. The insertion of additional B units has only a minor effect on the electronic properties. Cast films of oligomers with two alternated B rings (B–T–B inner core) display crystalline order. Bottom‐contact FETs based on films cast on bare SiO₂ show hole‐charge mobilities of 1 × 10^?3–5 × 10^?3 cm² V^?1s^?1 and I_on/I_off ratios of 10⁵–10⁶. Solution‐cast films of cyclohexyl‐substituted compounds are amorphous and do not show FET behavior. However, the lack of order observed in these films can be overcome by nanorubbing and unconventional wet lithography, which allow for fine control of structural order in thin deposits.     

Bipolar Charge Transport in PCPDTBT‐PCBM Bulk‐Heterojunctions for Photovoltaic Applications

An experimental study of the transport properties of a low‐bandgap conjugated polymer giving high photovoltaic quantum efficiencies in the near infrared spectral region (E_g‐opt ～ 1.35 eV) is presented. Using a organic thin film transistor geometry, we demonstrate a relatively high in‐plane hole mobility, up to 1.5 · × 10^?2 cm² V^?1 s^?1 and quantify the electron mobility at 3 × · 10^?5 cm² V^?1 s^?1 on a SiO₂ dielectric. In addition, singular contact behavior results in bipolar quasi‐Ohmic injection both from low and high workfunction metals like LiF/Al and Au. X‐ray investigations revealed a degree of interchain π‐stacking that is probably embedded in a disordered matrix. Disorder also manifests itself in a strong positive field dependence of the hole mobility from the electric field. In blends made with the electron acceptor methanofullerene [6,6]‐phenyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), the transistor characteristics suggest a relatively unfavorable intermixing of the two components for the application to photovoltaic devices. We attribute this to a too fine dispersion of [C60]‐PCBM in the polymer matrix, that is also confirmed by the quenching of the photoluminescence signal measured in PCPDTBT [C60]‐PCBM films with various composition. We show that a higher degree of phase separation can be induced during the film formation by using 1,8‐octanedithiol (ODT), which leads to a more efficient electron percolation in the [C60]‐PCBM. In addition, the experimental results, in combination with those of solar cells seem to support the correlation between the blend morphology and charge recombination. We tentatively propose that the drift length, and similarly the electrical fill factor, can be limited by the recombination of holes with electrons trapped on isolated [C60]‐PCBM clusters. Ionized and isolated [C60]‐PCBM molecules can modify the local electric field in the solar cell by build‐up of a space‐charge. The results also suggest that further improvements of the fill factor may also be limited by a strong electrical‐field dependence of the hole transport.     

Selective Determination of Dopamine on a Boron‐Doped Diamond Electrode Modified with Gold Nanoparticle/Polyelectrolyte‐coated Polystyrene Colloids

Negatively charged gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and a polyelectrolyte (PE) have been assembled alternately on a polystyrene (PS) colloid by a layer‐by‐layer (LBL) self‐assembly technique to form three‐dimensional (Au/PAH)₄/(PSS/PAH)₄ multilayer‐coated PS spheres (Au/PE/PS multilayer spheres). The Au/PE/PS multilayer spheres have been used to modify a boron‐doped diamond (BDD) electrode. Cyclic voltammetry is utilized to investigate the properties of the modified electrode in a 1.0 M KCl solution that contains 5.0 × 10^?3 M K₃Fe(CN)₆, and the result shows a dramatically decreased redox activity compared with the bare BDD electrode. The electrochemical behaviors of dopamine (DA) and ascorbic acid (AA) on the bare and modified BDD electrode are studied. The cyclic voltammetric studies indicate that the negatively charged, three‐dimensional Au/PE/PS multilayer sphere‐modified electrodes show high electrocatalytic activity and promote the oxidation of DA, whereas they inhibit the electrochemical reaction of AA, and can effectively be used to determine DA in the presence of AA with good selectivity. The detection limit of DA is 0.8 × 10^?6 M in a linear range from 5 × 10^?6 to 100 × 10^?6 M in the presence of 1 × 10^?3 M AA.     

Programmed High‐Hole‐Mobility Supramolecular Polymers from Disk‐Shaped Molecules

In this paper a simple, casting solution technique for the preparation of two‐dimensional (2D) arrays of very‐high molecular weight (MW) 1D‐Pc supramolecular inorganic polymers is described. The soluble fluoroaluminium tetra‐tert‐butylphthalocyanine (ttbPcAlF) is synthesized and characterized, which can be self‐assembled to form 2D arrays of very‐high‐MW 1D‐Pc supramolecular inorganic polymers. High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) demonstrates that the 1D‐ttbPcAlF, having a cofacial ring spacing of ～0.36 nm and an interchain distance of ～1.7 nm, self‐assembles into 2D‐nanosheets (～140 nm in length, ～20 nm in width, and equivalent to MW of 3.2 × 10⁵ g mol^?1). The film cast from a 1,2‐dichloroethane (DCE) solution shows a minimum hole‐mobility of ～0.3 cm² V^?1 s^?1 at room temperature by flash‐photolysis time‐resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) measurements and a fairly high dark dc‐conductivity of ～1 × 10^?3 S cm^?1.     

High‐Performance UV–Vis–NIR Phototransistors Based on Single‐Crystalline Organic Semiconductor–Gold Hybrid Nanomaterials

Hybrid materials in optoelectronic devices can generate new functionality or provide synergistic effects that enhance the properties of each component. Here, high‐performance phototransistors with broad spectral responsivity in UV–vis–near‐infrared (NIR) regions, using gold nanorods (Au NRs)‐decorated n‐type organic semiconductor and N ,N ′‐bis(2‐phenylethyl)‐perylene‐3,4:9,10‐tetracarboxylic diimide (BPE‐PTCDI) nanowires (NWs) are reported. By way of the synergistic effect of the excellent photo‐conducting characteristics of single‐crystalline BPE‐PTCDI NW and the light scattering and localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) of Au NRs, the hybrid system provides new photo‐detectivity in the NIR spectral region. In the UV–vis region, hybrid nanomaterial‐based phototransistors exhibit significantly enhanced photo‐responsive properties with a photo‐responsivity (R ) of 7.70 × 10⁵ A W^?1 and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 1.42 × 10⁸% at the minimum light intensity of 2.5 µW cm^?2, which are at least tenfold greater than those of pristine BPE‐PTCDI NW‐based ones and comparable to those of high‐performance inorganic material‐based devices. While a pristine BPE‐PTCDI NW‐based photodetector is insensitive to the NIR spectral region, the hybrid NW‐based phototransistor shows an R of 10.7 A W^?1 and EQE of 1.35 × 10³% under 980 nm wavelength‐NIR illumination. This work demonstrates a viable approach to high‐performance photo‐detecting systems with broad spectral responsivity.     

A New Lithium‐Ion Conductor LiTaSiO5: Theoretical Prediction,Materials Synthesis,and Ionic Conductivity

Owing to the nonleakage and incombustibility, solid electrolytes are crucial for solving the safety issues of rechargeable lithium batteries. In this work, a new class of solid electrolyte, acceptor‐doped LiTaSiO₅, is designed and synthesized based on the concerted migration mechanism. When Zr⁴⁺ is doped to the Ta⁵⁺ sites in LiTaSiO₅, the high‐energy lattice sites are partly occupied by the introduced lithium ions, and the lithium ions at those sites interact with the lithium ions placed in the low‐energy sites, thereby favoring the concerted motion of lithium ions and lowering the energy barrier for ion transport. Therefore, the concerted migration of lithium ions occurs in Zr‐doped LiTaSiO₅, and a 3D lithium‐ion diffusion network is established with quasi‐1D chains connected through interchain channels. The lithium‐ion occupation, as revealed by ab initio calculations, is validated by neutron powder diffraction. Zr‐doped LiTaSiO₅ electrolytes are successfully synthesized; Li_1.1Ta_0.9Zr_0.1SiO₅ shows a conductivity of 2.97 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 at 25 °C, about two orders of magnitude higher than that of LiTaSiO₅, and it increases to 3.11 × 10^?4 S cm^?1 at 100 °C. This work demonstrates the power of theory in designing new materials.     

Spectral efficiency improvement with SISO and SIMO in M‐QAM over millimeter‐wave links

This paper proposes a spectral efficiency improvement technique for millimeter wave (mmWave) links. The proposed technique provides an efficient utilization of the mmWave link capacity. This technique is applied in three cases the single‐input single‐output (SISO), single‐input multiple‐output (SIMO) with the maximal ratio combining and with the equal gain combining. The M‐ary quadrature amplitude modulation scheme is used in our work. The power series expansion is used for deriving closed‐form expressions for bit error rate (BER) performances in all studied cases. The BER closed‐form expressions are confirmed by the numerical solution of the integral equations. The simulation results show that a high spectral efficiency can be accomplished by the proposed technique. As well as the derived expressions closely match with the numerical solution of integration expressions at different values of modulations order the Rician factor. For instance, the spectral efficiency gain achievement is 8 at signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) equals 34 dB in the case of SISO system whereas in the case of SIMO system, the same gain is achieved at SNR equals 24 dB. As well as the BER performance is enhanced from 1.188 × 10^?4, 7.112 × 10^?4, 4.164 × 10^?3, and 3.286 × 10^?2 to 8.717 × 10^?16, 1.119 × 10^?12, 1.308 × 10^?9, and 4.905 × 10^?6 for M = 4, 16, 64, and 256, respectively, at SNR equals 30 dB.     

High‐Performance Ferroelectric Polymer Side‐Gated CdS Nanowire Ultraviolet Photodetectors

An efficient ferroelectric‐enhanced side‐gated single CdS nanowire (NW) ultraviolet (UV) photodetector at room temperature is demonstrated. With the ultrahigh electrostatic field from polarization of ferroelectric polymer, the depletion of the intrinsic carriers in the CdS NW channel is achieved, which significantly reduces the dark current and increases the sensitivity of the UV photodetector even after the gate voltage is removed. Meanwhile, the low frequency noise current power of the device reaches as low as 4.6 × 10^?28 A² at a source‐drain voltage V_ds = 1 V. The single CdS NW UV photodetector exhibits high photoconductive gain of 8.6 × 10⁵, responsivity of 2.6 × 10⁵ A W^?1, and specific detectivity (D*) of 2.3 × 10¹⁶ Jones at a low power density of 0.01 mW cm^?2 for λ = 375 nm. In addition, the spatially resolved scanning photocurrent mapping across the device shows strong photocurrent signals near the metal contacts. This is promising for the design of a controllable, high‐performance, and low power consumption ultraviolet photodetector.     

High‐Performance [001]c‐Textured PNN‐PZT Relaxor Ferroelectric Ceramics for Electromechanical Coupling Devices

[001]_C‐Textured 0.55Pb(Ni_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–0.15PbZrO₃–0.3PbTiO₃ (PNN‐PZT) ceramics are prepared by the templated grain‐growth method using BaTiO₃ (BT) platelet templates. Samples with different template contents are fabricated and compared in terms of texture fraction, microstructure, and piezoelectric, ferroelectric and dielectric properties. High piezoelectric performance (d₃₃ = 1210 pC N^?1, d₃₃* = 1773 pm V^?1 at 5 kV cm^?1) and high figure of merit g₃₃?d₃₃ (21.92 × 10^?12 m² N^?1) are achieved in the [001]_C‐textured PNN‐PZT ceramic with 2 vol% BaTiO₃ template, for which the texture fraction is 82%. In addition, domain structures of textured PNN‐PZT ceramics are observed and analyzed, which provide clues to the origin of the giant piezoelectric and electromechanical coupling properties of PNN‐PZT ceramics.     

High Performance BiOCl Nanosheets/TiO2 Nanotube Arrays Heterojunction UV Photodetector: The Influences of Self‐Induced Inner Electric Fields in the BiOCl Nanosheets

BiOCl nanosheets/TiO₂ nanotube arrays heterojunction UV photodetector (PD) with high performance is fabricated by a facile anodization process and an impregnation method. The heterojunction at the interface and the internal electric fields in the BiOCl nanosheets faciliate the separation of photogenerated charge carriers and regulate the transportation of the electrons. Compared with the large dark current (≈10^?5 A), low on/off ratio (8.5), and slow decay time (>60 s) of the TiO₂ PD, the optimized heterojunction PD (6‐BiOCl–TiO₂) yields dramatically decreased dark current (≈1 nA), ultrahigh on/off ratio (up to 2.2 × 10⁵), and fast decay speed (0.81 s) under 350 nm light illumination at ?5 V. Moreover, it exhibits an increased responsivity of 41.94 A W^?1, a remarkable detectivity (D*) of 1.41 × 10¹⁴ Jones, and a high linear dynamic range of 103.59 dB. The loading amount and growth orientations of the BiOCl nanosheets alter the roles of the self‐induced internal electric field in regulating the behaviors of the charge carriers, thus affecting the photoelectric properties of the heterojunction PDs. These results demonstrate that rational construction of novel heterojunctions hold great potentials for fabricating photodetectors with high performance.     

Impact of Morphology on Charge Carrier Transport and Thermoelectric Properties of N‐Type FBDOPV‐Based Polymers

The impact of the chemical structure and molecular order on the charge transport properties of two donor–acceptor copolymers in their neutral and doped states is investigated. Both polymers comprise 3,7‐bis((E)‐7‐fluoro‐1‐(2‐octyl‐dodecyl)‐2‐oxoindolin‐3‐ylidene)‐3,7‐dihydrobenzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]difuran‐2,6‐dione (FBDOPV) as electron‐accepting unit, copolymerized with 9,9‐dioctyl‐fluorene (P(FBDOPV‐F)) or with 3‐dodecyl‐2,2′‐bithiophene (P(FBDOPV‐2T‐C₁₂)). These copolymers possess an amorphous and semi‐crystalline nature, respectively, and exhibit remarkable electron mobilities of 0.065 and 0.25 cm² V^–1 s^–1 in field effect transistors. However, after chemical n‐doping with 4‐(1,3‐dimethyl‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐benzoimidazol‐2‐yl)phenyl)dimethylamine (N‐DMBI), electrical conductivities four orders of magnitude higher can be achieved for P(FBDOPV‐2T‐C₁₂) (σ = 0.042 S cm^?1). More charge‐transfer complexes are formed between P(FBDOPV‐F) and N‐DMBI, but the highly localized polaronic states poorly contribute to the charge transport. Doped P(FBDOPV‐2T‐C₁₂) exhibits a negative Seebeck coefficient of –265 µV K^?1 and a thermoelectric power factor (PF) of 0.30 µW m^?1 K^?2 at 303 K which increases to 0.72 µW m^?1 K^?2 at 388 K. The in‐plane thermal conductivity (κ_|| = 0.53 W m^?1 K^?1) on the same micrometer‐thick solution‐processed film is measured, resulting in a figure of merit (ZT) of 5.0 × 10^?4 at 388 K. The results provide important design guidelines to improve the doping efficiency and thermoelectric properties of n‐type organic semiconductors.     

Electronic Structure Regulation of Layered Vanadium Oxide via Interlayer Doping Strategy toward Superior High‐Rate and Low‐Temperature Zinc‐Ion Batteries

Currently, development of suitable cathode materials for zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs) is plagued by the sluggish kinetics of Zn²⁺ with multivalent charge in the host structure. Herein, it is demonstrated that interlayer Mn²⁺‐doped layered vanadium oxide (Mn_0.15V₂O₅·nH₂O) composites with narrowed direct bandgap manifest greatly boosted electrochemical performance as zinc‐ion battery cathodes. Specifically, the Mn_0.15V₂O₅·nH₂O electrode shows a high specific capacity of 367 mAh g^?1 at a current density of 0.1 A g^?1 as well as excellent retentive capacities of 153 and 122 mAh g^?1 after 8000 cycles at high current densities up to 10 and 20 A g^?1, respectively. Even at a low temperature of ?20 °C, a reversible specific capacity of 100 mAh g^?1 can be achieved at a current density of 2.0 A g^?1 after 3000 cycles. The superior electrochemical performance originates from the synergistic effects between the layered nanostructures and interlayer doping of Mn²⁺ ions and water molecules, which can enhance the electrons/ions transport kinetics and structural stability during cycling. With the aid of various ex situ characterization technologies and density functional theory calculations, the zinc‐ion storage mechanism can be revealed, which provides fundamental guidelines for developing high‐performance cathodes for ZIBs.     

Boron‐doped hydrogenated silicon carbide alloys containing silicon nanocrystallites for highly efficient nanocrystalline silicon thin‐film solar cells

Boron‐doped hydrogenated silicon carbide alloys containing silicon nanocrystallites (p‐nc‐SiC:H) were prepared using a plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition system with a mixture of CH₄, SiH₄, B₂H₆ and H₂ gases. The influence of hydrogen dilution on the material properties of the p‐nc‐SiC:H films was investigated, and their roles as window layers in hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc‐Si:H) solar cells were examined. By increasing the R_H (H₂/SiH₄) ratio from 90 to 220, the Si―C bond density in the p‐nc‐SiC:H films increased from 5.20 × 10¹⁹ to 7.07 × 10¹⁹/cm³, resulting in a significant increase of the bandgap from 2.09 to 2.23 eV in comparison with the bandgap of 1.95 eV for p‐nc‐Si:H films. For the films deposited at a high R_H ratio, the Si nanocrystallites with a size of 3–15 nm were formed in the amorphous SiC:H matrix. The Si nanocrystallites played an important role in the enhancement of vertical charge transport in the p‐nc‐SiC:H films, which was verified by conductive atomic force microscopy measurements. When the p‐nc‐SiC:H films deposited at R_H = 220 were applied in the nc‐Si:H solar cells, a high conversion efficiency of 8.26% (V_oc = 0.53 V, J_sc = 23.98 mA/cm² and FF = 0.65) was obtained compared to 6.36% (V_oc = 0.44 V, J_sc = 21.90 mA/cm² and FF = 0.66) of the solar cells with reference p‐nc‐Si:H films. Further enhancement in the cell performance was achieved using p‐nc‐SiC:H bilayers consisting of highly doped upper layers and low‐level doped bottom layers, which led to the increased conversion efficiency of 9.03%. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Versatile,Benzimidazole/Amine‐Based Ambipolar Compounds for Electroluminescent Applications: Single‐Layer,Blue, Fluorescent OLEDs,Hosts for Single‐Layer,Phosphorescent OLEDs

A series of compounds containing arylamine and 1,2‐diphenyl‐1H‐benz[d]imidazole moieties are developed as ambipolar, blue‐emitting materials with tunable blue‐emitting wavelengths, tunable ambipolar carrier‐transport properties and tunable triplet energy gaps. These compounds possess several novel properties: (1) they emit in the blue region with high quantum yields; (2) they have high morphological stability and thermal stability; (3) they are capable of ambipolar carrier transport; (4) they possess tunable triplet energy gaps, suitable as hosts for yellow‐orange to green phosphors. The electron and hole mobilities of these compounds lie in the range of 0.68–144 × 10^?6 and 0.34–147 × 10^?6 cm² V^?1 s^?1, respectively. High‐performance, single‐layer, blue‐emitting, fluorescent organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) are achieved with these ambipolar materials. High‐performance, single‐layer, phosphorescent OLEDs with yellow‐orange to green emission are also been demonstrated using these ambipolar materials, which have different triplet energy gaps as the host for yellow‐orange‐emitting to green‐emitting iridium complexes. When these ambipolar, blue‐emitting materials are lightly doped with a yellow‐orange‐emitting iridium complex, white organic light‐emitting diodes (WOLEDs) can be achieved, as well by the use of the incomplete energy transfer between the host and the dopant.     

Laser Direct Writing of Ultrahigh Sensitive SiC‐Based Strain Sensor Arrays on Elastomer toward Electronic Skins

Electronic skins (e‐skins) have been widely investigated as important platforms for healthcare monitoring, human/machine interfaces, and soft robots. However, mask‐free formation of patterned active materials on elastomer substrates without involving high‐cost and complicate processes is still a grand challenge in developing e‐skins. Here, SiC‐based strain sensor arrays are fabricated on elastomer for e‐skins by a laser direct writing (LDW) technique, which is mask‐free, highly efficient, and scalable. The direct synthesis of active material on elastomer is ascribed to the LDW‐induced conversion of siloxanes to SiC. The SiC‐based devices own a highest sensitivity of ≈2.47 × 10⁵ achieved at a laser power of 0.8 W and a scanning velocity of 1.25 mm s^?1. Moreover, the LDW‐developed device provides a minimum strain detection limit of 0.05%, a small temperature drift, and a high mechanical durability for over 10 000 cycles. When it is mounted onto human skins, the SiC‐based device is able to monitor external stimuli and human health conditions, with the capability of wireless data transmission. Its potential application in e‐skins is further proved by an LDW‐fabricated device having 3 × 3 SiC sensor array for tactile sensing.     

Gadolinium‐Doped Iron Oxide Nanoprobe as Multifunctional Bioimaging Agent and Drug Delivery System

In this study, a high‐performance T₁–T₂ dual‐model contrast agent by gadolinium‐doped iron oxide nanoparticle (GION) is developed. Following its development, the application of this agent in vivo by combining doxorubicin (DOX) and folic acid (FA) (FA–GION–DOX) for targeted drug delivery to monitor cancer treatment is explored. GION showed transverse and longitudinal relaxivities up to 182.7 × 10^?3 and 7.87 × 10^?3m ^?1 s^?1, respectively, upon Gd/Fe ratio in GION at 1/4. DOX released from FA–GION–DOX is pH dependent and only kills cancer cell after FA receptor‐mediated internalization into the acidic environment of endosomes and lysosomes. Systemic delivery of FA–GION–DOX significantly inhibits the growth of tumors and shows good magnetic resonance enhancement in a human cervical cancer xenograft model. Thus, FA–GION–DOX has a potential application for the targeted and magnetic resonance imaging guided therapy of cervical cancer.