The functionality and applications of mesoporous inorganic films are closely linked to their mesopore dimensions. For material architectures derived from a block copolymer (BCP) micelle coassembly, the pore size is typically manipulated by changing the molecular weight corresponding to the pore-forming block. However, bespoke BCP synthesis is often a costly…
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com27 January 2020
A series of ultrathin, homogenous gold nanoparticle (AuNP) substrates for surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) were prepared using a simple air/water interface approach. These SALDI substrates enabled soft ionization and provided significant improvements in terms of signal intensities and reduced background levels in comparison to other AuNP morphologies for
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com27 January 2020
Ellipsometry porosimetry provides full adsorption/desorption isotherms and is among the most accurate techniques to probe porosity in thin films. Here we address a novel technique based on desorption scanning for a precise assessment of the porosity features revealing the size distribution of interconnections between the various populations of pores in…
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com27 January 2020
A new transition between alternating gyroid (GA) structure and cylindrical morphology was observed in thin films for a poly(isoprene-block-styrene-block-(2-vinylpyridine)) (ISP) triblock terpolymer (I/S/P volume fraction = 0.20:0.66:0.14) exhibiting in bulk a Q214 (space group I4132) morphology. Thin films were organized using solvent vapor annealing (SVA) and characterized by atomic force
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com27 January 2020
The operational stability of organic solar cells (OSCs) is the essential barrier to commercialization. Compared to thermally-induced degradation, photo-stability of OSCs is far away from being resolved. Here, we demonstrate that the thermal- and photo-degradation of metastable bulk-heterojunction OSCs are governed by the same mechanism. Understanding the fundamental principles behind…
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com27 January 2020
Worldwide research efforts have been devoted to organic photovoltaics in the hope of a large-scale commercial application in the near future. To meet the industrial production requirements, organic photovoltaics that can reach power conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 10% along with promising operational device stability are of utmost interest. In…
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com27 January 2020
The morphological evolution of the lamellar microdomains in the thin films of symmetric poly(solketal methacrylate-b-styrene) (PSM-b-PS) copolymers that can be converted into poly(glycerol monomethacrylate-b-styrene) (PGM-b-PS) copolymers through acid hydrolysis reaction was investigated. This simple chemical transformation was performed in the solid state using trifluoroacetic acid vapor,
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com27 January 2020
This work studies the influence of dip-coating parameters on self-assembly in ultra-thin films of asymmetric polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) copolymers from a 1-chloropentane solution using a combination of several experimental techniques. Small-Angle X-ray Scattering, Atomic Force Microscopy, Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Transmission Electron Microscopy
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com27 January 2020
The processing of mesoporous inorganic coatings typically requires a high-temperature calcination step to remove organic precursors that are essential during the material assembly. Lowering the fabrication energy costs and cutting back on the necessary resources would provide a greater scope for the deployment in applications such as architectural glass, optical…
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com27 January 2020
This work focuses on developing high-efficiency perylene diimide (PDI)-based small molecular nonfullerene acceptors with a simple synthetic strategy. We reported a new electron acceptor, Py-e-PDI, obtained via cross-coupling four PDI units with a planar pyrene core through ethynyl groups. Although the ring-fusion synthetic procedure was omitted, the large planar core…
sergio.rodrigues@xenocs.com25 November 2019