Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rudolf Holze
Summary: Intrinsically conducting polymers, a subclass of macromolecules, have attracted research interest due to their unique properties that combine those of organic polymers and metallic materials. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the behavior and properties of these polymers in electrochemical cells for energy conversion and storage. It discusses representative examples, the state of research and development, and focuses on the importance of stability. The article also highlights future trends and perspectives.
Review
Polymer Science
Ze-Fan Yao, Jie-Yu Wang, Jian Pei
Summary: This review focuses on the formation, behavior, and evolution of solution-state aggregation of conjugated polymers, exploring their influence on the solid-state morphology and microstructure, and ultimately elucidating the relationship between microstructure and properties of conjugated polymers.
PROGRESS IN POLYMER SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Scott P. O. Danielsen, Colin R. Bridges, Rachel A. Segalman
Summary: The chain conformations of conjugated polymers, which are important for their optoelectronic properties, have been studied using small-angle neutron scattering. It was found that the persistence lengths of the polymers depend on their molecular structures, particularly the size and branching of pendant side chains. The measured persistence lengths were in agreement with those calculated using density functional theory. Moreover, longer persistence lengths were shown to be correlated with higher charge-carrier mobility, emphasizing the importance of rational molecular design for obtaining conjugated polymers with advantageous optoelectronic properties.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Kartik Choudhary, Alexander X. Chen, Gregory M. Pitch, Rory Runser, Armando Urbina, Tim J. Dunn, Moses Kodur, Andrew T. Kleinschmidt, Benjamin G. Wang, Jordan A. Bunch, David P. Fenning, Alexander L. Ayzner, Darren J. Lipomi
Summary: The mechanical properties of pi-conjugated polymers play a crucial role in determining the stability and manufacturability of devices used in energy and healthcare applications. The morphology of the solid film, influenced by the processing method, affects properties such as modulus, toughness, and strength. Different scalable deposition processes result in thin films with varying mechanical properties, with solution shearing producing films with the highest modulus, strength, and toughness.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Connor P. Callaway, Aaron L. Liu, Rahul Venkatesh, Yulong Zheng, Myeongyeon Lee, J. Carson Meredith, Martha Grover, Chad Risko, Elsa Reichmanis
Summary: The emergence of data analytics techniques and materials informatics has accelerated the discovery and development of organic semiconductor electronic devices. Combining high-throughput experimentation laboratory techniques and data analytics offers significant opportunities to explore the vast parameter space of organic semiconductor thin films. Incorporating a comprehensive informatics methodology into experimental development can yield a deeper understanding of the physicochemical mechanisms influencing device performance.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Connor P. Callaway, Aaron L. Liu, Rahul Venkatesh, Yulong Zheng, Myeongyeon Lee, J. Carson Meredith, Martha Grover, Chad Risko, Elsa Reichmanis
Summary: The emergence of data analytics techniques and materials informatics has accelerated the discovery and development of organic semiconductors for electronic devices. By combining high-throughput experimentation (HTE) laboratory techniques with data analytics, better control of thin-film morphology and the construction of process-structure-property relationships can be achieved, leading to predictive capabilities.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Review
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Qi-Yi Li, Ze-Fan Yao, Jie-Yu Wang, Jian Pei
Summary: The article focuses on the aggregation of conjugated small molecules and polymers and their impact on optoelectronic properties, emphasizing the importance of aggregation and the relationship between multi-scale structures and properties. The whole process from molecules to devices is subdivided into several parts, summarizing the progress and challenges of the relationship between optoelectronic properties and multi-level aggregation.
REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Eui Hyun Suh, Sang Beom Kim, Han Sol Yang, Jaeyoung Jang
Summary: This study demonstrates the feasibility of modulating doping mechanisms by utilizing the competitive interactions between BCF and H2O or Lewis basic groups in polymers. Polymers without strong Lewis basic groups undergo Bronsted acid doping, leading to the formation of delocalized free charge carriers and superior thermoelectric properties. However, polymers with strong Lewis basic groups undergo both doping mechanisms competitively, resulting in decreased thermoelectric properties. Nevertheless, the reduced thermoelectric properties can be improved by thermal annealing.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Junyang Deng, Lei Zheng, Chenming Ding, Yifu Guo, Yifan Xie, Jiawei Wang, Yubin Ke, Mengmeng Li, Ling Li, Rene A. J. Janssen
Summary: This study demonstrates the reversible control of solid-state molecular orientation of polymers by tuning the supramolecular structure in solution through temperature. The experimental observations highlight the predominant role of solution-state supramolecular assembly in solid-state packing orientation.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Guanwu Yin, Takeshi Namikoshi, Masahiro Teraguchi, Takashi Kaneko, Toshiki Aoki
Summary: In this study, five types of absolute asymmetric polymerizations were achieved, resulting in soluble high molecular weight chiral polymers without the use of chiral compounds or circularly polarized light. This new mechanism provides clues for a better understanding of the origin of chirality in our world.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yangyang Wan, Xu Zhang, Guillermo C. Bazan, Thuc-Quyen Nguyen, Gang Lu
Summary: This study comprehensively investigates the properties of polarons and bi-polarons in CPEs, including their stability, structural deformation, electronic structure, and optical absorption. The research reveals that these properties depend on the electrostatic interaction between the polarons and ionic functionalities, as well as the combinations of donor and acceptor units in the CPEs backbones. Additionally, the study sheds light on the electrochemical stability of CPEs and discusses strategies to improve it.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wenbo Luo, Tao Wang, Zhongyan Huang, Haoxin Huang, Nengquan Li, Chuluo Yang
Summary: A new approach of integrating multiresonance TADF moiety into the conjugated backbone is demonstrated to successfully develop blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) conjugated polymers with narrowband emission. The solution-processed devices achieve high external quantum efficiency (EQE) and narrow emission characteristics.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Polymer Science
Buket Bezgin Carbas
Summary: This review provides a brief description of electrochromic conductive polymers containing fluorene, focusing on their chemical, electrochemical, and optical properties. Understanding the effects of the position of functional groups on the conjugated polymer chain is crucial for researchers in this field.
Review
Polymer Science
Zheng Li, Ying-Wei Yang
Summary: Conjugated macrocycle polymers (CMPs) are a type of organic porous materials with supramolecular macrocycles embedded in the conjugated skeleton, offering flexibility for molecular design and customized functionalization. They have shown promise in various applications and have sparked growing interest in the research community.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
S. Enoch, Atul B. B. Nipate, Vellanki Lakshmi, Rajeswara Rao Malakalapalli
Summary: Croconic acid, a highly electron-deficient building block, was used to create a conjugated microporous polymer (CTPA). The CTPA possessed strong donor-acceptor interactions, resulting in near-IR absorption, a narrow bandgap, and high electrical conductivity upon doping. Compared to its squaric acid counterpart (STPA), CTPA exhibited superior optical, electronic, and electrical properties.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Xiaojin Yan, Bo Hou, Yu Shao, Yu-Chun Xu, Wei-Yi Li, Qing-Yun Guo, Jinlin He, Peihong Ni, Wen-Bin Zhang
Summary: The self-assembly of giant molecules has attracted attention due to their fast phase separation kinetics and small feature size. However, there is not much study on multicomponent giant surfactants. In this work, a series of triblock bola-form giant surfactants with diverse functionalities were built through a modular synthetic strategy. These molecules were thoroughly characterized and it was revealed that they exhibit different phase separation scenarios.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ze-Fan Yao, Emil Lundqvist, Yuyao Kuang, Herdeline Ann M. Ardona
Summary: This article provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art for controlling the molecular order, nanoscale assembly, microstructure domains, and macroscale architectures of electroactive organic interfaces used for biomedical applications. It discusses the leading strategies and challenges for engineering the multi-scale organization of electroactive organic materials, including biomolecule-based materials, synthetic conjugated molecules, polymers, and their biohybrid analogs. Importantly, this review also discusses how the dependence of conduction phenomena on structural organization is observed for electroactive organic materials and their living counterparts in electrogenic tissues and biotic-abiotic interfaces.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tianzuo Li, Fan Zhang, Jing Fang, Yajie Liu, Wen-Bin Zhang
Summary: Chemical topology refers to the arrangement of atoms and bonds in a molecule. The linear configuration of proteins is determined by the molecular mechanism for translation. Our research group has developed methods for the cellular synthesis of topological proteins, such as lasso proteins, protein rotaxanes, and protein catenanes, opening up new protein classes and paving the way for exploring their practical applications.
CHINESE JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Yu Shao, Bo Hou, Weiyi Li, Xiaojin Yan, Xiaoge Wang, Yuchun Xu, Qingshu Dong, Weihua Li, Jinlin He, Wen -Bin Zhang
Summary: In this work, we designed and synthesized three-component bolaform giant surfactants that can form three-phase-four-layer lamellar (LAM3) structures with sub-5 nm feature sizes. By utilizing phase separation among three mutually incompatible components, we obtained LAM3 structures with sharp interfaces and d-spacings of 12-19 nm. Moreover, the morphology of the LAM3 structures can be transformed into a hierarchical lamellar structure with extremely small Si-rich layers (approximately 2 nm in thickness) through oxygen plasma treatment. This study demonstrates the versatility of these bolaform giant surfactants in producing unconventional nanostructures with small feature sizes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mingfei Xiao, Xinglong Ren, Kangyu Ji, Sein Chung, Xiaoyu Shi, Jie Han, Zefan Yao, Xudong Tao, Szymon J. Zelewski, Mark Nikolka, Youcheng Zhang, Zhilong Zhang, Zichen Wang, Nathan Jay, Ian Jacobs, Weijing Wu, Han Yu, Yarjan Abdul Samad, Samuel D. Stranks, Boseok Kang, Kilwon Cho, Jin Xie, He Yan, Shangshang Chen, Henning Sirringhaus
Summary: By studying the structure-property relationship of several low-disorder conjugated polymers, we propose an empirical selection rule for choosing high reliability organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with ideal characteristics. The successful candidates should have low energetic disorder along their backbones and form thin films with spatially uniform energetic landscapes. We demonstrate that the semicrystalline polymer PffBT4T-2DT satisfies these requirements and exhibits exceptionally high reliability factor (close to 100%), making it an ideal candidate for OTFT applications. Our findings expand the selection of polymer semiconductors with textbook-like OTFT characteristics and provide insights into the molecular design criteria for next-generation polymer semiconductors.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zi-Di Yu, Yang Lu, Zi-Yuan Wang, Hio-Ieng Un, Szymon J. Zelewski, Ying Cui, Hao-Yang You, Yi Liu, Ke-Feng Xie, Ze-Fan Yao, Yu-Cheng He, Wen-Bing Hu, Jie-Yu Wang, Henning Sirringhaus, Jian Pei
Summary: The charge transport properties of conjugated polymers are often limited by energetic disorder. Recently, amorphous conjugated polymers with planar backbone conformations and low energetic disorder have been investigated. However, there is a lack of strategy to finely tune the interchain Tr-Tr contacts of these polymers. In this study, excellent conductivity and thermoelectric performance were achieved in polymers based on thiophene-fused benzodifurandione oligo(p-phenylene-vinylene) by reducing the crystallization rate of side chains and controlling the degree of interchain pi-pi contacts.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fan Zhang, Yajie Liu, Yu Shao, Wen-Bin Zhang
Summary: This study presents the second and third generations of the SpyStapler-mediated SpyTag/BDTag ligation system for the efficient synthesis of 4-arm star proteins and higher-order protein catenanes. The improved SpyStapler003 can overcome steric hindrance in protein ligation and improve the efficiency of assembling radial protein catenanes. The combination of passive and active template strategies enables the construction of linear protein catenanes, expanding the topological diversity and enhancing the stability and affinity of nanobodies.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jingjing Wei, Yu Shao, Shixin Qiao, Aaron Li, Shaogang Hou, Wen-Bin Zhang
Summary: This feature article focuses on the experimental use of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) as a powerful analytical technique to probe biological events ranging from biomacromolecular interactions and conformational changes of biomacromolecules to surface immobilization of biomacromolecules and cell morphological changes.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yu Shao, Di Han, Yangdan Tao, Fengfeng Feng, Ge Han, Bo Hou, Hao Liu, Shuguang Yang, Qiang Fu, Wen-Bin Zhang
Summary: We report the synthesis, assembly, and phase behaviors of a series of precisely defined regioisomeric Janus nanograins with distinct core symmetry, which can generate unconventional phase structures and considerable phase complexity in soft matter. The results demonstrate that regioisomerism could indeed generate profound phase complexity.
ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ze-Fan Yao, Yuyao Kuang, Phillip Kohl, Youli Li, Herdeline Ann M. Ardona
Summary: In this study, a carbodiimide-based approach combined with electrostatic modulation was used to instruct pi-conjugated peptides to self-assemble and be responsive to thermal disassembly cues. The formation of nanostructures at non-equilibrium states was studied using quaterthiophene-functionalized peptides as a model system.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Weijie Wang, Xian Xu, Fengfeng Feng, Yu Shao, Hanxin Jian, Hao Liu, Xue-Hui Dong, Aimin Ge, Shuguang Yang
Summary: In this study, the interfacial behaviors of giant amphiphilic molecules with different number of hydrophobic BPOSS blocks were investigated. The number of BPOSS blocks and compression rate were found to significantly influence the interfacial behaviors. The study provides insights into the static elasticity, stability, and reversibility of Langmuir films.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiyeon Lee, Dahye Im, Yajie Liu, Jing Fang, Xibao Tian, Minsu Kim, Wen-Bin Zhang, Jongcheol Seo
Summary: A technique combining ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) and supercharging electrospray ionization (ESI) has been demonstrated to effectively differentiate protein chemical topology. By incorporating as many charges as possible into proteins via supercharging ESI, the protein chains can be largely unfolded and stretched, revealing their hidden chemical topology. Different chemical topologies result in different geometric sizes of the unfolded proteins due to constraints in torsional rotations. The introduction of new topological indices allows for successful differentiation of various protein chemical topologies. This technique provides an easy classification of the topological features of complex proteins, previously concealed by their inherent complexity, and establishes a visual standard for discerning protein topologies.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
