Pushing the Limits of Flexibility and Stretchability of Solar Cells: A Review

Emerging forms of soft, flexible, and stretchable electronics promise to revolutionize the electronics industries of the future offering radically new products that combine multiple functionalities, including power generation, with arbitrary form factor. For example, skin-like electronics promise to transform the human-machine-interface, but the softness of the skin is incompatible with traditional electronic components. To address this issue, new strategies toward soft and wearable electronic systems are currently being pursued, which also include stretchable photovoltaics as self-powering systems for use in autonomous and stretchable electronics of the future. Here recent developments in the field of stretchable photovoltaics are reviewed and their potential for various emerging applications are examined. Emphasis is placed on the different strategies to induce stretchability including extrinsic and intrinsic approaches. In the former case, engineering and patterning of the materials and devices are key elements while intrinsically stretchable systems rely on mechanically compliant materials such as elastomers and organic conjugated polymers. The result is a review article that provides a comprehensive summary of the progress to date in the field of stretchable solar cells from the nanoscale to macroscopic functional devices. The article is concluded by discussing the emerging trends and future developments.

Hydration and swelling: a theoretical investigation on the cooperativity effect of H-bonding interactions between p-hydroxy hydroxymethyl calix[4]/[5]arene and H2O by many-body interaction and density functional reactivity theory

In order to explore the nature of the hydration and swelling of superabsorbent resin, a theoretical investigation into the cooperativity effect of the H-bonding interactions in the hydrates of four model compounds that can be regarded as the units of hydroquinone formaldehyde resin (HFR) (i.e., O-hydroxymethyl-1,4-dihydroxybenzene, methylene di-O-hydroxymethyl-1,4-dihydroxybenzene, p-hydroxy hydroxymethyl calix[4]arene and p-hydroxy hydroxymethyl calix[5]arene) was carried out by many-body interaction and density functional reactivity theory. The HFR···H₂O···H₂O complexes, in which the H₂O···H₂O moieties are bound with both the hydroxyl groups of HFR, are the most stable. For the HFR(H₂O)_n clusters, the interaction energy per building block is increased as the number of the size n increases, indicating the cooperativity effect. Therefore, a deduction is given that the cooperativity effects of the H-bonding interactions play an important role in the process of the hydration and swelling of HFR, and the swelling behavior is mainly attributed to the cooperativity effects which arised from the interactions between the H₂O molecules. The origin of the cooperativity effect was examined employing several information-theoretic quantities in the density functional reactivity theory. The degree of swelling of HFR was quantitated using a measure of volume. Graphical abstract.

High-performance supercapacitors based on hierarchically porous carbons with a three-dimensional conductive network structure

Novel clews of carbon nanobelts (CsCNBs), which have high specific surface area, three-dimensional conductive network structure, hierarchically porous framework and excellent hydrophilicity, have been successfully prepared by carbonization and KOH activation.

A Universal Strategy To Prepare Sulfur-Containing Polymer Composites with Desired Morphologies for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are probably the most promising candidates for the next-generation batteries owing to their high energy density. However, Li-S batteries face severe technical problems where the dissolution of intermediate polysulfides is the biggest problem because it leads to the degradation of the cathode and the lithium anode, and finally the fast capacity decay. Compared with the composites of elemental sulfur and other matrices, sulfur-containing polymers (SCPs) have strong chemical bonds to sulfur and therefore show low dissolution of polysulfides. Unfortunately, most SCPs have very low electron conductivity and their morphologies can hardly be controlled, which undoubtedly depress the battery performances of SCPs. To overcome these two weaknesses of SCPs, a new strategy was developed for preparing SCP composites with enhanced conductivity and desired morphologies. With this strategy, macroporous SCP composites were successfully prepared from hierarchical porous carbon. The composites displayed discharge/charge capacities up to 1218/1139, 949/922, and 796/785 mA h g^-1 at the current rates of 5, 10, and 15 C, respectively. Considering the universality of this strategy and the numerous morphologies of carbon materials, this strategy opens many opportunities for making carbon/SCP composites with novel morphologies.

Facile Synthesis of Nitrogen and Oxygen Co-Doped Clews of Carbon Nanobelts for Supercapacitors with Excellent Rate Performance

Facile synthesis of carbon materials with high heteroatom content, large specific surface area (SSA) and hierarchical porous structure is critical for energy storage applications. In this study, nitrogen and oxygen co-doped clews of carbon nanobelts (NCNBs) with hierarchical porous structures are successfully prepared by a carbonization and subsequent activation by using ladder polymer of hydroquinone and formaldehyde (LPHF) as the precursor and ammonia as the activating agent. The hierarchical porous structures and ultra-high SSA (up to 2994 m² g⁻¹) can effectively facilitate the exchange and transportation of electrons and ions. Moreover, suitable heteroatom content is believed to modify the wettability of the carbon material. The as-prepared activated NCNBs-60 (the NCNBs activated by ammonia at 950 °C for 60 min) possess a high capacitance of 282 F g⁻¹ at the current density of 0.25 A g⁻¹, NCNBs-45 (the NCNBs are activated by ammonia at 950 °C for 45 min) and show an excellent capacity retention of 50.2% when the current density increase from 0.25 to 150 A g⁻¹. Moreover, the NCNBs-45 electrode exhibits superior electrochemical stability with 96.2% capacity retention after 10,000 cycles at 5.0 A g⁻¹. The newly prepared NCNBs thus show great potential in the field of energy storage.

Fully conjugated ladder polymers

Fully conjugated ladder polymers (cLPs), in which all the backbone units on the polymer main-chain are π-conjugated and fused, have attracted great interest owing to their intriguing properties, remarkable chemical and thermal stability, and potential suitability as functional organic materials. The synthesis of cLPs can be, in general, achieved by two main strategies: single-step ladderization and post-polymerization ladderization. Although a variety of synthetic methods have been developed, the chemistry of cLPs must contend with structural defects and low solubility that prevents complete control over synthesis and structural characterization. Despite these challenges, cLPs have been used for a wide range of applications such as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic field effect transistors (OFETs), paralleling developments in processing methods. In this perspective, we discuss the background of historical syntheses including the most recent synthetic approaches, challenges related to the synthesis and structural characterization of well-defined cLPs with minimum levels of structural defects, cLPs' unique properties, and wide range of applications. In addition, we propose outlooks to overcome the challenges limiting the synthesis, analysis, and processing of cLPs in order to fully unlock the potential of this intriguing class of organic materials.

An Investigation of the High Performance of a Novel Type of Benzobisoxazole Fiber Based on 3,3-Diaminobenzidine

The mechanical and thermal properties of poly{2,6-diimidazo[4,5-b:4′5′-e] pyridinylene-1,4(2,5-dihydroxy) phenylene} (PIPD)-3,3-diaminobenzidine (DAB) fibers were analyzed. Compared to other types of benzimidazole fiber structures and properties, PIPD-DAB is distinguished by a unique combination of strength, tensile modulus, and thermal properties. The PIPD polymer was prepared from 2,3,5,6-tetra-aminopyridine (TAP) and 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (DHTA) in polyphosphoric acid (PPA). In order to enhance the tensile strength and modulus, a third comonomer, 3,3-diaminobenzidine (DAB), was incorporated into the PIPD molecular structure. The change in molecular structure was recorded using Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Compared to the PIPD fibers (average tensile strength of PIPD is 3.9 GPa, average tensile modulus of PIPD is 287 GPa), the tensile strength and modulus of PIPD-DAB increased to 4.2 and 318 GPa, respectively. In addition, the thermal decomposition temperature of the PIPD fibers is enhanced by 35 °C, due to the incorporated DAB. PIPD-DAB is a promising material for use under high tensile loads and/or high temperatures.