Dihedral Angles and Photoluminescence Quantum Yields: An NMR Analysis

The synthesis of two different series of donor-acceptor (D-A) molecules is reported, consisting of a series of four structurally related donors and two different acceptors. The subtle differences in the electron density of these D-A-D and D-A compounds are clearly reflected in the different chemical shifts of certain donor protons in the 1H NMR spectra. These shifts show a cosine squared correlation of the dihedral angle between the donor units and the neighbouring phenyl unit of the acceptor. This correlation is also related to optical properties such as the photoluminescence quantum yield, which shows a similar trend due to the different degree of charge transfer during excitation and relaxation processes. In this way, it is possible to directly correlate a molecular structural parameter with a material property on a purely experimental basis, which should be applicable to many donor-acceptor systems.

Exploring zinc oxide morphologies for aqueous solar cells by a photoelectrochemical, computational, and multivariate approach

Dye-sensitized solar cells assembled with aqueous electrolytes are emerging as a sustainable photovoltaic technology suitable for safe indoor and portable electronics use. While the scientific community is exploring unconventional materials for preparing electrodes and electrolytes, this work presents the first study on zinc oxide as a semiconductor material to fabricate photoanodes for aqueous solar cells. Different morphologies (i.e., nanoparticles, multipods, and desert roses) are synthesized, characterized, and tested in laboratory-scale prototypes. This exploratory work, also integrated by a computational study and a multivariate investigation on the factors that influence electrode sensitization, confirms the possibility of using zinc oxide in the field of aqueous photovoltaics and opens the way to new morphologies and processes of functionalization or surface activation to boost the overall cell efficiency.

Inverse gas chromatography as a tool for screening materials: The relation between Lewis acid-base constants and triboelectric charge density of polymers

Since Saint-Flour and Papirer first introduced Gutmann's acceptor number and donor number parameters into the inverse gas chromatography (IGC) field in 1982, IGC has become an important technology for the measurement of surface Lewis acid-base properties of solid materials. However, introducing new roles of Lewis acid-base parameters, especially using them to predict material properties rather than just explain material properties, is an important aspect in developing IGC technology. In this paper, we first introduce the Schultz and Abraham methods for measurement of acid-base properties and discuss the traditional role of acid-base parameters. Then, we present a relation between the ratio of acid-base constants, K_a/K_b, and triboelectric charge density of some polymers to prove the possible new application field of IGC.

Design and DFT study of nitrogen-rich donor systems for improved photovoltaic performance in dye-sensitized solar cells

Donor modifications, especially through N-annulation, for enhancing the structure–performance relationship of D–π–A systems for DSSC applications.