High solid-state photoluminescence quantum yield of carbon-dot-derived molecular fluorophores for light-emitting devices.

Several recent studies of carbon dots (CDs) synthesized by bottom-up methods under mild conditions have reported the presence of organic molecular fluorophores in CD dispersions. These fluorophores have a tendency to aggregate, and their properties strongly depend on whether they are present in the form of discrete molecules or aggregates. The aggregation becomes more prominent in the solid state, which motivates the study of the properties of the fluorophores associated with CDs in the solid state.

Photostability of blue phosphorescent films on plasmonic surfaces.

Organometallic phosphors are an important class of emissive materials used in high-efficiency organic light-emitting devices. However, problems of low photostability arise for blue-emitting phosphors due to chemical and environmental degradation and triplet quenching processes. Various approaches have been developed to improve the photostability of such phosphors, including the design of new organometallic molecules and control of host-dopant composition in thin films.

Self-Assembled Monolayers for Improved Charge Injection of Silver Back Electrodes in Inverted Organic Electronic Devices.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed from thiol compounds bound to Ag and Au electrodes have been used as an important strategy in improving the stability and efficiency of optoelectronic devices. Thiol compounds provide only one binding site with the metal electrode which limits their influence. Dithiolane/dithiol compounds can provide multiple binding sites and could be useful in enhancing the performance of the device.

Photon Recycling in Semiconductor Thin Films and Devices.

Photon recycling (PR) plays an important role in the study of semiconductor materials and impacts the properties of their optoelectronic applications. However, PR has not been investigated comprehensively and it has not been demonstrated experimentally in many different kinds of semiconductor materials and devices. In this review paper, first, the authors introduce the background of PR and describe how this phenomenon was originally identified in semiconductors.

Optical and Electrical Properties of Organic Semiconductor Thin Films on Aperiodic Plasmonic Metasurfaces.

Metal electrodes are playing an increasingly important role in controlling photon absorption and in promoting optimal light management in thin-film semiconductor devices. For organic optoelectronic devices, the conventional fabrication approach is to build the device on top of a transparent electrode, with metal electrode deposition as the last step. This makes it challenging to control the surface of the metal electrode to promote good light management properties.

Plasmonic sphere-on-plane systems with semiconducting polymer spacer layers.

The optical properties of metal-film-coupled nanoparticles (NPs) are highly sensitive to physical and optical interactions between the NPs and the spacer medium in the gap between the NP and metal film. Here, we investigate the physical and optical interactions between gold NPs (AuNPs) and semiconducting conjugated polymer thin-film spacers in a "sphere-on-plane" type metal-film-coupled NP system, and their influence on the plasmonic scattering of individual AuNPs. We choose two different conjugated polymers: one with an absorption spectrum that is resonant with the plasmonic modes of the AuNPs and another that is non-resonant.

Controllable Cooperative Self-Assembly of PS-b-PAA/PS-b-P4VP Mixture by Tuning the Intercorona Interaction.

The cooperative self-assembly of amphiphilic polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PS144-b-PAA22) and polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS144-b-P4VP33) diblock copolymers in DMF/H2O mixtures has been investigated. Both copolymers self-assemble into small spherical micelles (SSMs) if used individually. However, the equimolar mixture of these two copolymers cooperatively self-assembles into vesicles.

Aqueous-Processed Insulating Polymer/Nanocrystal Hybrid Solar Cells.

A novel kind of hybrid solar cell (HSC) was developed by introducing water-soluble insulating polymer poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) into nanocrystals (NCs), which revealed that the most frequently used conjugated polymer could be replaced by an insulating one. It was realized by strategically taking advantage of the characteristic of decomposition for the polymer at annealing temperature, and it was interesting to discover that partial decomposition of PVA left behind plenty of pits on the surfaces of CdTe NC films, enlarging surface contact area between CdTe NCs and subsequently evaporated MoO3. Moreover, the residual annealed PVA filled in the voids among spherical CdTe NCs, which led to the decrease of leakage current.

Layer-by-layer-assembled healable antifouling films.

Healable antifouling films are fabricated by the exponential layer-by-layer assembly of PEGylated branched poly(ethylenimine) and hyaluronic acid followed by post-crosslinking. The antifouling function originates from the grafted PEG and the extremely soft nature of the films. The rapid and multiple healing of damaged antifouling functions caused by cuts and scratches can be readily achieved by immersing the films in normal saline solution.