Pucketthenningsen4069

Optimizing the nanostructure of the active layer of polymer solar cells (PSCs) is one of the main challenges to achieve high device performances. The phase separation of the donor polymer and molecular acceptor within the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) layer is often driven by the crystallisation of the acceptor molecules. Hence, a suitable crystallisation tendency of the chosen acceptor is ultimately important. In this work, we identified melting temperature as an indicator for the crystallisation tendency and introduced extended fused-aromatic rings to the end groups of the nonfullerene acceptor molecule to enhance the intermolecular binding energy as well as its crystallisation tendency. read more The crystallinity, crystal regularity and average crystal size were significantly increased for those molecules with larger fused end groups. link2 The devices containing molecule IDTTC with two fused thiophene rings, which displayed intermediate crystallisation tendency, were found to possess an optimized phase separation scale, balanced hole/electron mobility and highest device performances with the fill factor as high as 73.2% and a power conversion efficiency of 13.49%. With the above observations, we established a new route and paradigm to adjust the crystallisation tendency and BHJ nanostructure of nonfullerene acceptor molecules, thus enhancing the device performances through molecular engineering.Constipation is a prevalent and burdensome gastrointestinal (GI) disorder that seriously affects the quality of human life. This study evaluated the effects of the P. pentosaceus B49 (from human colostrum) on loperamide (Lop)-induced constipation in mice. Mice were given P. pentosaceus B49 (5 × 109 CFU or 5 × 1010 CFU) by gavage daily for 14 days. The result shows that P. pentosaceus B49 treatment relieved constipation in mice by shortening the defecation time, increasing the GI transit rate and stool production. Compared with the constipation control group, the P. pentosaceus B49-treated groups showed decreased serum levels of inhibitory neurotransmitters (vasoactive intestinal peptide and nitric oxide), increased serum levels of excitatory neurotransmitters (acetylcholinesterase, motilin, and gastrin), and elevated cecal concentration of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Analysis of cecal microbiota reveals that P. pentosaceus B49 was colonized in the intestine of constipated mice, and altered the cecal microbiota by increasing beneficial SCFAs-producing bacteria (i.e., Lactobacillus, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, and Bacteroidales_S24-7) and decreasing potential pathogenic bacteria (i.e., Staphylococcus and Helicobacter). Moreover, transcriptome analysis of the colon tissue shows that P. pentosaceus B49 partly normalized the expression of genes related to GI peristalsis (i.e., Ache, Chrm2, Slc18a3, Grp, and Vip), water and electrolyte absorption and transport (i.e., Aqp4, Aqp8, and Atp12a), while down-regulating the expression of pro-inflammatory and pro-oncogenic genes (i.e., Lbp, Lgals2, Bcl2, Bcl2l15, Gsdmc2, and Olfm4) in constipated mice. Our findings indicate that P. pentosaceus B49 effectively relieves constipation in mice and is a promising candidate for treating constipation.Metal selenites and tellurites have demonstrated excellent second-harmonic generation (SHG) properties in inorganic solid compounds, such as strong SHG efficiency, a wide transparent range, appropriate birefringence, etc. During the past ten years, important progress has been achieved in this field. The largest SHG efficiency of selenites and tellurites reached 13.5 × KDP (BiFSeO3) and 2 × KTP (CdTeMoO6), respectively. The shortest UV absorption edge of tellurites has been pushed to 205 nm in BaF2TeF2(OH)2 successfully. In terms of the chemical compositions, research studies are no longer concentrated on d0 transition metal compounds only, and the most electronegative fluorine has been used increasingly to widen the optical bandgaps and enrich the structural types of the materials. This paper reviewed the recent developments of selenite and tellurite based SHG materials. Challenges in creating new high powered SHG materials and perspectives for future work are presented.Antibiotic treatment, as an important therapeutic intervention, can cause damage to the host microbiome and the intestinal mucosal barrier. In order to find a way to alleviate the side effects of antibiotics, the present study investigated the effects of fucoidan (ANP) isolated from Ascophyllum nodosum on gut microbiota dysbiosis and colonic inflammation induced by ciprofloxacin-metronidazole (CiMe) in C57BL/6J mice. Our results showed that dietary ANP prevented colon shortening, alleviated the colonic tissue damages, and partially reversed the alteration of gut microbiota by increasing the abundance of potentially beneficial bacteria, e.g., Ruminococcaceae_UCG_014 and Akkermansia and decreasing the abundance of harmful bacteria, e.g., Proteus and Enterococcus. ANP also suppressed the overproduction of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 and promoted the expression of IL-10. In addition, ANP reversed the decreased production of short-chain fatty acids in CiMe-treated mice. Furthermore, correlation analysis indicated the presence of critical gut microbiota, which played important roles in reducing the inflammation-related indices. Thus, the present study suggests that fucoidan isolated from Ascophyllum nodosum is effective in providing protection against the negative effects of antibiotics on gut microbiota and colonic health.Stimuli-responsive optical materials attract lots of attention due to their broad applications. Herein, a novel smart stimuli-responsive supramolecular polymer was successfully constructed using a simple tripodal quaternary ammonium-based gelator (TH). The TH self-assembles into a supramolecular polymer hydrogel (TH-G) and shows aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties. Interestingly, the transparency and fluorescence of the TH-G xerogel film (TH-GF) could be reversibly regulated by use of triethylamine (TEA) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) vapor. When alternately fumed with TEA and HCl vapor, the optical transmittance of the TH-GF was changed from 8.9% to 92.7%. Meanwhile, the fluorescence of the TH-G shows an "ON/OFF" switch. The reversible switching of the transparency and the fluorescence of the TH-GF is attributed to the assembly and disassembly of the supramolecular polymer TH-G. link3 Based on these stimuli-response properties, the TH-GF could act as an optical material and shows potential applications as smart windows or fluorescent display material controlled by TEA and HCl vapor.In this work, by performing state-of-the-art first-principles methods combined with molecular dynamic (MD) simulation, we theoretically investigate the electronic and mechanical behaviours of small-angle twisted bilayer black phosphorus (tbBP) under uniaxial tensile deformation. Twistronics, namely the regulation of electronic properties by Moiré physics, is demonstrated as the gene - the most crucial factor dominating not only electronic behaviour but also mechanical behaviour of tensile deformed tbBP. Compared to untwisted few-layer black phosphorus (utBP) with strong electronic sensitivity to geometric deformation, the existence of Moiré patterns in tbBP leads to spatial electronic localization, giving rise to the conservation of direct band gaps and stability of phonon limited carrier mobility under tensile deformation along the armchair direction. Moreover, during the fracture failure process, the nucleation of micro-cracks is preferentially detected at the transitional pattern boundary areas in tbBP, which could be attributed to the intra-layer maldistribution of mechanical strengths in Moiré superlattices. The explorations of twistronics in tensile strained bilayer black phosphorus contribute to the better understanding of such Moiré superlattice structures and provide insights for the design of new 2D van der Waals heterostructures in flexible nano-electronic devices.2-(Arylamino)-4,6-di-tert-butylphenols containing 4-substituted phenyl groups (RapH2) react with oxobis(ethylene glycolato)osmium(vi) in acetone to give square pyramidal bis(amidophenoxide)oxoosmium(vi) complexes. A mono-amidophenoxide complex is observed as an intermediate in these reactions. Reactions in dichloromethane yield the diolate (Hap)2Os(OCH2CH2O). Both the glycolate and oxo complex are converted to the corresponding cis-dichloride complex on treatment with chlorotrimethylsilane. The novel bis(aminophenol) ligand EganH4, containing an ethylene glycol dianthranilate bridge, forms the chelated bis(amidophenoxide) complex (Egan)OsO, where the two nitrogen atoms of the tetradentate ligand bind in the trans positions of the square pyramid. Structural and spectroscopic features of the complexes are described well by an osmium(vi)-amidophenoxide formulation, with the amount of π donation from ligand to metal increasing markedly as the co-ligands change from oxo to diolate to dichloride. In the oxo-bis(amidophenoxides), the symmetry of the ligand π orbitals results in only one effective π donor interaction, splitting the energy of the two osmium-oxo π* orbitals and rendering the osmium-oxo bonding appreciably anisotropic.Understanding the uptake and storage of gases by microporous materials is important for our future energy security. As such, we demonstrate here the application of two-dimensional NMR relaxation experiments for probing the admission and corresponding exchange dynamics of methane within microporous zeolites. Specifically, we report low-field (12.7 MHz) 1H NMR relaxation-exchange correlation measurements of methane within commercial LTA zeolites (3A and 4A) at 25 and 35 bar and ambient temperature. Our results demonstrate the clear identification of bulk-pore and pore-pore exchange processes within zeolite 4A, facilitating the calculation and comparison of effective exchange rate dynamics across varying diffusion length scales and gas pressures. Additional data acquired for zeolite 3A reveals the sensitivity of NMR relaxation phenomena to size-exclusive gas admission phenomena, illustrating the potential of benchtop NMR protocols for material screening applications.Core-shell-corona (CSC) micelles have multiple layers, which can serve as separate compartments. This property allows them to combine multiple functionalities in a single nanoparticle, with obvious application potential. Here, we propose a new type of CSC micelles with an apolar core and a polyelectrolyte complex shell incorporating coordination polymers. We obtain these particles by using a poly(styrene)-b-poly(vinyl pyridine)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PVP-b-PEO) triblock copolymer with quaternized PVP blocks. This polymer leads to well-defined CSC micelles with a cationic shell, which allows us to entrap anionic coordination polymers without disturbing the micellar structure. Useful properties can be imported in this way, e.g., europium (Eu)-based coordination polymers endow the CSC micelles with strong luminescence. Moreover, copper ions (Cu2+) can quench the luminescence because they disturb the Eu-ligand coordination. Upon adding sulfide ions (S2-), copper ions precipitate as CuS and the Eu-ligand bond as well as the corresponding luminescence are restored.