Solution‐processable functionalized graphene (SPFGraphene, see figure) is used as the electron‐accepting material in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices for the first time, showing that it is a competitive alternative. The fabrication and performance of bulk heterojunction OPV devices with SPFGraphene and different donor materials is presented, together with the impact of post‐fabrication annealing.
A soluble graphene, which has a one‐atom thickness and a two‐dimensional structure, is blended with poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and used as the active layer in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer photovoltaic cells. Adding graphene to the P3HT induces a great quenching of the photoluminescence of the P3HT, indicating a strong electron/energy transfer from the P3HT to the graphene. In the photovoltaic devices with an ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:graphene/LiF/Al structure, the device efficiency increases first and then decreases with the increase in the graphene content. The device containing only 10 wt % of graphene shows the best performance with a power conversion efficiency of 1.1%, an open‐circuit voltage of 0.72 V, a short‐circuit current density of 4.0 mA cm−2, and a fill factor of 0.38 under simulated AM1.5G conditions at 100 mW cm−2 after an annealing treatment at 160 °C for 10 min. The annealing treatment at the appropriate temperature (160 °C, for example) greatly improves the device performance; however, an annealing at overgenerous conditions such as at 210 °C results in a decrease in the device efficiency (0.57%). The morphology investigation shows that better performance can be obtained with a moderate content of graphene, which keeps good dispersion and interconnection. The functionalized graphene, which is cheap, easily prepared, stable, and inert against the ambient conditions, is expected to be a competitive candidate for the acceptor material in organic photovoltaic applications.
The term B-factor,
sometimes called the Debye–Waller factor,
temperature factor, or atomic displacement parameter, is used in protein
crystallography to describe the attenuation of X-ray or neutron scattering
caused by thermal motion. This review begins with analyses of early
protein studies which suggested that B-factors, available from the
Protein Data Bank, can be used to identify the flexibility of atoms,
side chains, or even whole regions. This requires a technique for
obtaining normalized B-factors. Since then the exploitation of B-factors
has been extensively elaborated and applied in a variety of studies
with quite different goals, all having in common the identification
and interpretation of rigidity, flexibility, and/or internal motion
which are crucial in enzymes and in proteins in general. Importantly,
this review includes a discussion of limitations and possible pitfalls
when using B-factors. A second research area, which likewise exploits
B-factors, is also reviewed, namely, the development of the so-called
B-FIT-directed evolution method for increasing the thermostability
of enzymes as catalysts in organic chemistry and biotechnology. In
both research areas, a maximum of structural and mechanistic insights
is gained when B-factor analyses are combined with other experimental
and computational techniques.
Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) were loaded on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets prepared by ultrasonication-assisted liquid exfoliation of bulk g-C3N4 via green photoreduction of Au(III) under visible light irradiation using g-C3N4 as an effective photocatalyst. The nanohybrids show superior photocatalytic activities for the decomposition of methyl orange under visible-light irradiation to bulk g-C3N4, g-C3N4 nanosheets, and AuNP/bulk g-C3N4 hybrids.
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