Spiro Linkage as an Alternative Strategy for Promising Nonfullerene Acceptors in Organic Solar Cells

This work focuses on developing diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)‐based small molecular nonfullerene acceptors for bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells. The materials, SF‐DPP s, have an X‐shaped geometry arising from four DPP units attached to a spirobifluorene (SF) center. The spiro‐dimer of DPP‐fluorene‐DPP is highly twisted, which suppresses strong intermolecular aggregation. Branched 2‐ethylhexyl (EH), linear n‐octyl (C8), and n‐dodecyl (C12) alkyl sides are chosen as substituents to functionalize the N,N‐positions of the DPP moiety to tune molecular interactions. SF‐DPPEH , the best candidate in SF‐DPP s family, when blended with poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) showed a moderate crystallinity and gives a J_sc of 6.96 mA cm^?2, V_oc of 1.10 V, a fill factor of 47.5%, and a power conversion efficiency of 3.63%. However, SF‐DPPC8 and SF‐DPPC12 exhibit lower crystallinity in their BHJ blends, which is responsible for their reduced J_sc. Coupling DPP units with SF using an acetylene bridge yields SF‐A‐DPP molecules. Such a small modification leads to drastically different morphological features and far inferior device performance. These observations demonstrate a solid structure–property relationship by topology control and material design. This work offers a new molecular design approach to develop efficient small molecule nonfullerene acceptors.     

Thermally Controlled,Patterned Graphene Transfer Printing for Transparent and Wearable Electronic/Optoelectronic System

Graphene has been highlighted as a platform material in transparent electronics and optoelectronics, including flexible and stretchable ones, due to its unique properties such as optical transparency, mechanical softness, ultrathin thickness, and high carrier mobility. Despite huge research efforts for graphene‐based electronic/optoelectronic devices, there are remaining challenges in terms of their seamless integration, such as the high‐quality contact formation, precise alignment of micrometer‐scale patterns, and control of interfacial‐adhesion/local‐resistance. Here, a thermally controlled transfer printing technique that allows multiple patterned‐graphene transfers at desired locations is presented. Using the thermal‐expansion mismatch between the viscoelastic sacrificial layer and the elastic stamp, a “heating and cooling” process precisely positions patterned graphene layers on various substrates, including graphene prepatterns, hydrophilic surfaces, and superhydrophobic surfaces, with high transfer yields. A detailed theoretical analysis of underlying physics/mechanics of this approach is also described. The proposed transfer printing successfully integrates graphene‐based stretchable sensors, actuators, light‐emitting diodes, and other electronics in one platform, paving the way toward transparent and wearable multifunctional electronic systems.     

Humidity‐Triggered Self‐Healing of Microporous Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coatings for Hydrophobic Drug Delivery

Layer‐by‐layer (LbL) self‐assemblies have inherent potential as dynamic coatings because of the sensitivity of their building blocks to external stimuli. Here, humidity serves as a feasible trigger to activate the self‐healing of a microporous polyethylenimine/poly(acrylic acid) multilayer film. Microporous structures within the polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) film are created by acid treatment, followed by freeze‐drying to remove water. The self‐healing of these micropores can be triggered at 100% relative humidity, under which condition the mobility of the polyelectrolytes is activated. Based on this, a facile and versatile method is suggested for directly integrating hydrophobic drugs into PEM films for surface‐mediated drug delivery. The high porosity of microporous film enables the highest loading (≈303.5 μg cm^?2 for a 15‐bilayered film) of triclosan to be a one‐shot process via wicking action and subsequent solvent removal, thus dramatically streamlining the processes and reducing complexities compared to the existing LbL strategies. The self‐healing of a drug‐loaded microporous PEM film significantly reduces the diffusion coefficient of triclosan, which is favorable for the long‐term sustained release of the drug. The dynamic properties of this polymeric coating provide great potential for its use as a delivery platform for hydrophobic drugs in a wide variety of biomedical applications.