Effects of flow history on extensional rheological properties of wormlike micelle solution.

A wormlike micelle (WLM) solution is a complex fluid that forms when the surfactant concentration is high. It has rheological properties similar to those of polymer solutions. However, unlike polymer molecules, WLM chains possess the dynamic microstructure that can be reversibly broken and reassembled in flows.

Quantitative image analysis of the shape and size of circular wound sites generated by vertically stamped scratches.

A protocol for quantitative image analysis of wound generation is important to better understand the integrative process of wound healing and the closure mechanism. Here, we present a method for quantitative analysis of microscopic images of circular wound sites generated by vertically stamped scratches. To demonstrate proof-of-concept validation, we used two types of mechanical stamping tools, a mechanical pencil lead (type 1; brittle) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) pillars (type 2; ductile), to create circular wound sites.

Role of the electric field in selective ion filtration in nanostructures.

Nafion has received great attention as a proton conductor that can block negative ions. Here, we report the effect of a Nafion coating on an anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) nanoporous membrane on its function of ion rejection and filtering depending on the electric field. In our experiments, Nafion, once coated, was used to repel the negative ions (anions) from the coated surface, and then selectively allowed positive ions (cations) to pass through the nanopores in the presence of an electric field.

Mesoscopic perovskite solar cells with an admixture of nanocrystalline TiO₂ and Al₂O₃: role of interconnectivity of TiO₂ in charge collection.

Perovskite solar cells with high power conversion efficiency usually employ mesoporous TiO2, however the role of the TiO2 layer has not been clearly resolved. Here we prepared MAPbI3 (MA = CH3NH3) perovskite solar cells with an admixture of nanocrystalline TiO2 and Al2O3 to investigate the role of the mesoporous TiO2 layer. The Al2O3 content was varied from 0% (pure TiO2) to 100% (pure Al2O3) with nominal composition of (1 - x)TiO2 + xAl2O3 (x = 0, 0.

Control of I-V hysteresis in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cell.

Unlabelled: Mismatch of current (I)-voltage (V) curves with respect to the scan direction, so-called I-V hysteresis, raises critical issue in MAPbI3 (MA = CH3NH3) perovskite solar cell. Although ferroelectric and ion migration have been proposed as a basis for the hysteresis, origin of hysteresis has not been apparently unraveled. We report here on the origin of I-V hysteresis of perovskite solar cell that was systematically evaluated by the interface-dependent electrode polarizations.

Highly Reproducible Perovskite Solar Cells with Average Efficiency of 18.3% and Best Efficiency of 19.7% Fabricated via Lewis Base Adduct of Lead(II) Iodide.

High efficiency perovskite solar cells were fabricated reproducibly via Lewis base adduct of lead(II) iodide. PbI2 was dissolved in N,N-dimethyformamide with equimolar N,N-dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and CH3NH3I. Stretching vibration of S═O appeared at 1045 cm(-1) for bare DMSO, which was shifted to 1020 and 1015 cm(-1) upon reacting DMSO with PbI2 and PbI2 + CH3NH3I, respectively, indicative of forming the adduct of PbI2·DMSO and CH3NH3I·PbI2·DMSO due to interaction between Lewis base DMSO and/or iodide (I(-)) and Lewis acid PbI2.

Understanding the role of the dye/oxide interface via SnO2-based MK-2 dye-sensitized solar cells.

To understand the role of the dye/oxide interface, a model system using a nanocrystalline SnO2 and 3-hexyl thiophene based MK-2 dye is proposed. A thin interfacial TiO2 blocking layer (IBL) is introduced in between SnO2 and MK-2 and its effects on photocurrent-voltage, electron transport-recombination, and density of states (DOS) are systematically investigated. Compared to the bare SnO2 film, the insertion of IBL leads to a 14-fold improvement in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) despite little change in the dye adsorption amount, which is due to the 7-fold and 2-fold increase in the photocurrent density and voltage, respectively.

Highly efficient and recyclable nanocomplexed photocatalysts of AgBr/N-doped and amine-functionalized reduced graphene oxide.

Although silver bromide has recently drawn considerable attention because of its high photocatalytic activity, it tends to form agglomerated metallic silver under the irradiation of visible light. Therefore, photocatalytic activity decreases with time and cannot be applied for repeated uses. To overcome this limitation, in the present work, we complexed AgBr with nitrogen doped (N-doped) and amine functionalized reduced graphene oxide (GN).

Growth of CH3NH3PbI3 cuboids with controlled size for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells.

Perovskite solar cells with submicrometre-thick CH(3)NH(3)PbI(3) or CH(3)NH(3)PbI(3-x)Cl(x) active layers show a power conversion efficiency as high as 15%. However, compared to the best-performing device, the average efficiency was as low as 12%, with a large standard deviation (s.d.

Hierarchical SnO₂ nanoparticle-ZnO nanorod photoanode for improving transport and life time of photoinjected electrons in dye-sensitized solar cell.

A hierarchical photoanode comprising a SnO(2) nanoparticle underlayer and a ZnO nanorod overlayer was prepared and its photovoltaic performance was compared to photoanodes consisting of SnO(2) nanoparticle only and ZnO nanorod only. The photoanode layer thickness was adjusted to about 7.6 μm to eliminate thickness effect.

Improvement of mass transport of the [Co(bpy)3](II/III) redox couple by controlling nanostructure of TiO2 films in dye-sensitized solar cells.

Mass transport of the [Co(bpy)(3)](II/III) redox electrolyte is found to strongly depend on porosity and pore size of mesoporous TiO(2) films. Photocurrent density is improved by nearly two times with increasing the porosity from 0.52 to 0.

Pseudo first-order adsorption kinetics of N719 dye on TiO2 surface.

We have investigated the adsorption kinetics of Ru-based N719 dye on TiO(2) surface in dye-sensitized solar cell using 0.5 mM and 5 mM dye solutions. The amount of adsorbed dye on TiO(2) surface of ca.

Anthocyanin accumulation and expression of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes in radish (Raphanus sativus).

Radish [Raphanus sativus (Rs)] is an important dietary vegetable in Asian countries, especially China, Japan, and Korea. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of anthocyanin accumulation in radish, the gene expression of enzymes directly involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis was analyzed. These genes include phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H), 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL), chalcone synthase (CHS), chalcone isomerase (CHI), flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H), dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR), and anthocyanidin synthase (ANS).