Erik O. Gabrielsson

Organic Dye-Sensitized Tandem Photoelectrochemical Cell for Light Driven Total Water Splitting

Light driven water splitting was achieved by a tandem dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cell with two photoactive electrodes. The photoanode is constituted by an organic dye L0 as photosensitizer and a molecular complex Ru1 as water oxidation catalyst on meso-porous TiO2, while the photocathode is constructed with an organic dye P1 as photoabsorber and a molecular complex Co1 as hydrogen generation catalyst on nanostructured NiO. By combining the photocathode and the photoanode, this tandem DS-PEC cell can split water by visible light under neutral pH conditions without applying any bias.

Toward Complementary Ionic Circuits: The npn Ion Bipolar Junction Transistor

Many biomolecules are charged and may therefore be transported with ionic currents. As a step toward addressable ionic delivery circuits, we report on the development of a npn ion bipolar junction transistor (npn-IBJT) as an active control element of anionic currents in general, and specifically, demonstrate actively modulated delivery of the neurotransmitter glutamic acid. The functional materials of this transistor are ion exchange layers and conjugated polymers. The npn-IBJT shows stable transistor characteristics over extensive time of operation and ion current switch times below 10 s. Our results promise complementary chemical circuits similar to the electronic equivalence, which has proven invaluable in conventional electronic applications.

Enhancement of p-Type Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Performance by Supramolecular Assembly of Electron Donor and Acceptor

Supramolecular interactions based on porphyrin and fullerene derivatives were successfully adopted to improve the photovoltaic performance of p-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) measurements suggest a change in binding configuration of ZnTCPP after co-sensitization with C60PPy, which could be ascribed to supramolecular interaction between ZnTCPP and C60PPy. The performance of the ZnTCPP/C60PPy-based p-type DSC has been increased by a factor of 4 in comparison with the DSC with the ZnTCPP alone. At 560 nm, the IPCE value of DSCs based on ZnTCPP/C60PPy was a factor of 10 greater than that generated by ZnTCPP-based DSCs. The influence of different electrolytes on charge extraction and electron lifetime was investigated and showed that the enhanced Voc from the Co2+/3+(dtbp)3-based device is due to the positive EF shift of NiO.

Bis(1,1-bis(2-pyridyl)ethane)copper(I/II) as an efficient redox couple for liquid dye-sensitized solar cells

A new redox couple, [Cu(bpye)2]+/2+, has been synthesized, and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Overall efficiencies of 9.0% at 1 sun and 9.9% at 0.5 sun were obtained, which are considerably higher than those obtained for cells containing the reference redox couple, [Co(bpy)3]2+/3+. These results represent a record for copper-based complex redox systems in liquid DSSCs. Fast dye regeneration, sluggish recombination loss processes, faster electron self-exchange reactions and suitable redox potentials are the main reasons for the observed increase in efficiency. In particular, the main disadvantage of cobalt complex-based redox couples, charge-transport problems, appears to be resolved by a change to copper complex redox couples. The results make copper complex-based redox couples very promising for further development of highly efficient DSSCs.

Ultra-low voltage air-stable polyelectrolyte gated n-type organic thin film transistors

Complementary circuits, processing digital signals, are a cornerstone of modern electronics. Such circuits require both p- and n-type transistors. Polyelectrolytes are used as gate insulators in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) to establish an electric double layer capacitor upon gate bias that allows low operational voltages (<1 V). However, stable and low-voltage operating n-channel organic transistors have proven difficult to construct. Here, we report ultra-low voltage n-channel organic polymer-based transistors that are stable in ambient atmosphere. Our n-type OTFTs exhibit on/off ratios around 103 for an applied drain potential as low as 0.1 V. Since small ions are known to promote electrochemical reactions within the semiconductor’s channel bulk and typically slow down the transistor, we use a solid polycationic gate insulator that suppresses penetration of anions into the n-channel semiconductor. As a result, our n-channel OTFTs switch on in under 5 ms and off in less than 1 ms.

A Four‐Diode Full‐Wave Ionic Current Rectifier Based on Bipolar Membranes: Overcoming the Limit of Electrode Capacity

Full-wave rectification of ionic currents is obtained by constructing the typical four-diode bridge out of ion conducting bipolar membranes. Together with conjugated polymer electrodes addressed with alternating current, the bridge allows for generation of a controlled ionic direct current for extended periods of time without the production of toxic species or gas typically arising from electrode side-reactions.

Polyphosphonium‐based bipolar membranes for rectification of ionic currents

Bipolar membranes (BMs) have interesting applications within the field of bioelectronics, as they may be used to create non-linear ionic components (e.g., ion diodes and transistors), thereby extending the functionality of, otherwise linear, electrophoretic drug delivery devices. However, BM based diodes suffer from a number of limitations, such as narrow voltage operation range and/or high hysteresis. In this work, we circumvent these problems by using a novel polyphosphonium-based BM, which is shown to exhibit improved diode characteristics. We believe that this new type of BM diode will be useful for creating complex addressable ionic circuits for delivery of charged biomolecules.

Spatially Controlled Amyloid Reactions Using Organic Electronics

Abnormal protein aggregates, so called amyloid fibrils, are mainly known as pathological hallmarks of a wide range of diseases, but in addition these robust well-ordered self-assembled natural nanostructures can also be utilized for creating distinct nanomaterials for bioelectronic devices. However, current methods for producing amyloid fibrils in vitro offer no spatial control. Herein, we demonstrate a new way to produce and spatially control the assembly of amyloid-like structures using an organic electronic ion pump (OEIP) to pump distinct cations to a reservoir containing a negatively charged polypeptide. The morphology and kinetics of the created proteinaceous nanomaterials depends on the ion and current used, which we leveraged to create layers incorporating different conjugated thiophene derivatives, one fluorescent (p-FTAA) and one conducting (PEDOT-S). We anticipate that this new application for the OEIP will be useful for both biological studies of amyloid assembly and fibrillogenesis as well as for creating new bioelectronic nanomaterials and devices.

An Electrochromic Bipolar Membrane Diode

Conducting polymers with bipolar membranes (a complementary stack of selective membranes) may be used to rectify current. Integrating a bipolar membrane into a polymer electrochromic display obviates the need for an addressing backplane while increasing the devices bistability. Such devices can be made from solution-processable materials.

Polyphosphonium-based ion bipolar junction transistors

Advancements in the field of electronics during the past few decades have inspired the use of transistors in a diversity of research fields, including biology and medicine. However, signals in living organisms are not only carried by electrons but also through fluxes of ions and biomolecules. Thus, in order to implement the transistor functionality to control biological signals, devices that can modulate currents of ions and biomolecules, i.e., ionic transistors and diodes, are needed. One successful approach for modulation of ionic currents is to use oppositely charged ion-selective membranes to form so called ion bipolar junction transistors (IBJTs). Unfortunately, overall IBJT device performance has been hindered due to the typical low mobility of ions, large geometries of the ion bipolar junction materials, and the possibility of electric field enhanced (EFE) water dissociation in the junction. Here, we introduce a novel polyphosphonium-based anion-selective material into npn-type IBJTs. The new material does not show EFE water dissociation and therefore allows for a reduction of junction length down to 2 μm, which significantly improves the switching performance of the ion transistor to 2 s. The presented improvement in speed as well the simplified design will be useful for future development of advanced iontronic circuits employing IBJTs, for example, addressable drug-delivery devices.