Halogen-Free Wide Band Gap Polymer Donors Based on Dicyanobithiophene for Efficient Organic Solar Cells.

Conjugated polymer donors have always been one of the important components of organic solar cells (OSCs), particularly those featuring simple synthetic routes, proper energy levels, and appropriate aggregation behavior. In this work, we employed a nonfused electron-deficient building block, dicyanobithiophene (2CT), for constructing high-performance donors. Combining this with side-chain engineering, two novel halogen-free polymer donors, PB2CT-BO and PB2CT-HD, were reported.

Interaction among Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes in Concentrated Aqueous Solution.

Interaction among concentrated spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (SPB) dispersions in water was systematically investigated by means of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and rheological methods. SPB consist of a core of polystyrene (PS) and a poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) brush shell. The "polyelectrolyte peak" appeared in SAXS spectra and was observed in WAXS curves for the first time.

Facile Fluorescence "Turn on" Sensing of Lead Ions in Water via Carbon Nanodots Immobilized in Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes.

Heavy metal detection has become very important for the protection of water resource. In this work, a novel controllable probe is presented for the sensitive detection of Pb in aqueous solutions. The probe was synthesized via the immobilization of surface functionalized carbon dots (named as CAEA-Hs) into the shell of the spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (SPB).

Preparation and characterization of Ag-Pd bimetallic nano-catalysts in thermosensitive microgel nano-reactor.

Thermosensitive microgels consisting of a solid core of polystyrene and a shell of cross-linked poly(-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) were synthesized as nano-reactors, in which Ag-Pd bimetallic nanoparticles were prepared through simultaneous reduction reaction. The spatial distribution of metallic nanoparticles in the microgels was analyzed by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and the results indicated that metal nanoparticles were mainly located in the inner layer of microgels. The catalytic activity of Ag-Pd bimetallic nanoparticles was investigated using the reduction of -nitrophenol to -aminophenol by NaBH as model reaction.

Core-Shell-Corona Silica Hybrid Nanoparticles Templated by Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes: A Study by Small Angle X-ray Scattering.

Core-shell-corona silica/polymer hybrid nanoparticles with narrow size distribution were prepared in the template of spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (SPB) which consist of a solid polystyrene (PS) core densely grafted with linear poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) chains. The microstructure of obtained hybrid nanoparticles was studied by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and in combination with dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The generation of silica shell within the brush is confirmed by the significant increase of the electron density in the shell, and the silica shell showed a unique inner-loose-outer-dense structure, whose thickness is pH sensitive but is insensitive to ionic strength as revealed by fitting SAXS data.

Protein Immobilization onto Cationic Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes Studied by Small Angle X-ray Scattering.

The immobilization of bovine serum albumins (BSA) onto cationic spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (SPB) consisting of a solid polystyrene (PS) core and a densely grafted poly(2-aminoethyl methacrylate hydrochloride) (PAEMH) shell was studied by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The observed dynamics of adsorption of BSA onto SPB by time-resolved SAXS can be divided into two stages. In the first stage (tens of milliseconds), the added proteins as in-between bridge instantaneously caused the aggregation of SPB.

Modification of Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes by Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembly as Observed by Small Angle X-ray Scattering.

Multilayer modified spherical polyelectrolyte brushes were prepared through alternate deposition of positively charged poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and negatively charged poly-l-aspartic acid (PAsp) onto negatively charged spherical poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) brushes (SPBs) on a poly(styrene) core. The charge reversal determined by the zeta potential indicated the success of layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition. The change of the structure during the construction of multilayer modified SPBs was observed by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS).