Enhancement of photovoltaic parameters of thermally stable graphene/LaVOsemitransparent solar cell by employing interfacial graphene quantum dots.

Semitransparent solar cells are attracting attention not only for their visual effects but also for their ability to effectively utilize solar energy. Here, we demonstrate a translucent solar cell composed of bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)-amide (TFSA)-doped graphene (Gr), graphene quantum dots (GQDs), and LaVO. By introducing a GQDs intermediate layer at the TFSA-Gr/LaVOinterface, we can improve efficiency by preventing carrier recombination and promoting charge collection/separation in the device.

Biodegradable thermogels.

All living creatures respond to external stimuli. Similarly, some polymers undergo conformational changes in response to changes in temperature, pH, magnetic field, electrical field, or the wavelength of light. In one type of stimuli-responsive polymer, thermogel polymers, the polymer aqueous solution undergoes sol-to-gel transition as the temperature increases.

Synthesis and characterization of novel thermo-responsive F68 block copolymers with cell-adhesive RGD peptide.

Thermosensitive poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) triblock copolymer, Pluronic F68, containing a hydrophobic unit, oligo-(lactic acid)(oligo-LA) or oligo-caprolactone (oligo-CL), 2-META and RGD as side groups was successfully synthesized and characterized by (1)H NMR, FTIR, and elemental analysis. Their aqueous solution displayed special gel-sol-gel phase transition behavior with increasing temperature from 10 to 70°C, when the polymer concentration was above critical micelle concentration (CMC). The gel-sol phase diagram was investigated using tube inversion method, rheological measurement, and dynamic light scattering.

Multiple Sol-Gel Transitions of PEG-PCL-PEG Triblock Copolymer Aqueous Solution.

An aqueous solution of a poly(ethylene glycol)-polycaprolactone-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PCL-PEG) with a composition of EG(13) CL(23) EG(13) undergoes multiple transitions, from sol-to-gel (hard gel)-to-sol-to-gel (soft gel)-to-sol, in the concentration range 20.0∼35.0 wt.

Enzymatically degradable thermogelling poly(alanine-co-leucine)-poloxamer-poly(alanine-co-leucine).

In the search for an enzymatically degradable thermogelling system, we are reporting poly(alanine-co-leucine)-poloxamer-poly(alanine-co-leucine) (PAL-PLX-PAL) aqueous solution. As the temperature increased, the polymer aqueous solution underwent sol-to-gel transition at 20-40 °C in a polymer concentration range of 3.0-10.

In situ thermal gelling polypeptide for chondrocytes 3D culture.

In the search for a cell-instructive or cell-interactive artificial extracellular matrix, synthetic hydrogels have been extensively investigated to apply three-dimensional (3D) cell culture and tissue engineering. Here, we are reporting a reverse thermal gelling l/dl-polyalanine block copolymer aqueous solution for chondrocyte 3D culture. The polymer aqueous solution undergoes sol-to-gel transition as the temperature increases, thus forming a 3D cell encapsulating scaffold in situ at 37 °C.

Closed-loop sol-gel transition of PEG-PEC aqueous solution.

We are reporting an unusual closed-loop phase behavior of poly(ethylene glycol)-beta-poly(ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate) (PEG-PEC) aqueous solutions. As the temperature increased from 0 to 60 degrees C, the aqueous polymer solution (12 wt %) underwent sol-to-gel and gel-to-syneresis transitions. However, the polymer aqueous solution persisted as a sol phase below 4.

Iron porphyrins anchored to a thermosensitive polymeric core-shell nanosphere as a thermotropic catalyst.

A thermosensitive nanocatalyst was prepared in the reaction of water-soluble iron(III) porphyrins and thermosensitive polymeric nanospheres with a core-shell structure; its catalytic activity in cyclohexene oxidation by iodosylbenzene was dependent markedly on reaction temperatures in aqueous solution.