Laser-Patternable and Stretchable Metal Electrodes Using Metal-Amine Coordination Complexes.

Coordination bonding is a crucial interaction between heteromaterials that enhances both mechanical toughness and stretchability, with mussels serving as a natural example of thriving in harsh marine environments due to this interaction. However, stretchable electronic materials based on this fundamental interaction have been rarely reported. In this study, a stretchable electrode, called the metal-amine coordination-complex-based electrode (MACE) is introduced, which involves the formation of coordination complexes between a solid metal and an organic layer.

Exfoliation Technology for Scalable Ligand-Free Core-Semishell Metal Nanoparticle Films.

Core-shell metallic nanoparticles (NPs) are considered promising materials for their multifunctional properties. However, traditionally synthesized NPs have crucial issues that their ligands interfere with the direct interaction between NPs and neighboring materials, and it is very difficult to form a uniform film without the mixture of a template. In this article, we report an unprecedented exfoliation technology for fabricating a scalable ligand-free core-semishell metal NP film based on the evaporation system through a self-assembled monolayer-assisted surface energy control combined with a deep ultraviolet surface treatment around the core NPs.

Retarding Ion Exchange between Conducting Polymers and Ionic Liquids for Printable Top Electrodes in Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells.

Semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) are considered to be an influential tool for aesthetic and economic building-integrated photovoltaics, which can be fabricated by the printing technology. A poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and ionic liquid (IL) composite has been considered as an electrode for ST-OSCs because of its high electrical conductivity, high transparency, and printability. However, we found that the introduction of IL into the PEDOT:PSS solution for enhancing its electrical conductivity results in (1) nonreliable printing of PEDOT:PSS/IL composite films because of gradual gelation of the mixture solution and (2) the production of chemically reactive ion pairs during ion exchange between PSS and IL, which induces the oxidation of the underlying organic semiconductors during printing.

A series connection architecture for large-area organic photovoltaic modules with a 7.5% module efficiency.

The fabrication of organic photovoltaic modules via printing techniques has been the greatest challenge for their commercial manufacture. Current module architecture, which is based on a monolithic geometry consisting of serially interconnecting stripe-patterned subcells with finite widths, requires highly sophisticated patterning processes that significantly increase the complexity of printing production lines and cause serious reductions in module efficiency due to so-called aperture loss in series connection regions. Herein we demonstrate an innovative module structure that can simultaneously reduce both patterning processes and aperture loss.

Self-assembly of interfacial and photoactive layers via one-step solution processing for efficient inverted organic solar cells.

Vertically self-assembled bilayers with an interfacial bottom layer and a photoactive top layer are demonstrated via a single coating step of a blend composed of an amine-containing nonconjugated polyelectrolyte (NPE) and an organic electron donor-acceptor bulk heterojunction composite. The self-assembled NPE layer reduces the work function of an indium tin oxide (ITO) cathode, which leads to efficient inverted organic solar cells without any additional interface engineering of the ITO.