Xiaofen Chen

Green‐Solvent‐Processed Molecular Solar Cells

High-efficiency bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells with power conversion efficiencies of more than 5 % can be fabricated using the green solvent 2-MeTHF. The active layers comprise a blend of a molecular semiconductor donor with intermediate dimensions (X2) and the soluble fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61 -butyricacidoctylester (PC61 BC8 ). A switch of the processing solvent from chloroform to 2-MeTHF leads to no negative impacts on the morphology and charge-transport properties of optimally performing BHJ films. Examinations by absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering reveal no significant modification of morphology. These results show that green solvents can be excellent alternatives for large-area printing of high-performance organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and thus open new opportunities for sustainable mass production of organic solar cells and other optoelectronic devices.

Conjugated Oligoelectrolytes Increase Power Generation in E. coli Microbial Fuel Cells

A series of conjugated oligoelectrolytes with structural variations is used to stain E. coli. By taking advantage of a high-throughput screening platform that incorporates gold anodes, it is found that MFCs with COE-modified E. coli generate significantly higher power densities, relative to unmodified E. coli. These findings highlight the potential of using water-soluble molecules inspired by the work on organic semiconductors to improve electrode/microbe interfaces.

Membrane permeabilization underlies the enhancement of extracellular bioactivity in Shewanella oneidensis by a membrane-spanning conjugated oligoelectrolyte

A stilbene-based membrane spanning conjugated oligoelectrolyte 4,4′-bis(4′-N,N-bis(6″-(N,N,N-trimethyl ammonium) hexyl) amino)-styryl) stilbene tetraiodide (DSSN+) has been reported to be able to interact with bacterial cells and enhance their bioelectricity generation in bioelectrochemical devices, although the mechanism remains elusive. The goal of this study was to elucidate the impacts of DSSN+ on extracellular bioactivity and the underlying mechanism. Specifically, extracellular ferrihydrite reduction by Shewanella oneidensis was used to evaluate the influence of cell-DSSN+ interaction. Our results show that DSSN+ enhanced ferrihydrite reduction by S. oneidensis in a growth-dependent manner. The incorporation of DSSN+ into S. oneidensis cell membrane increased the extracellular concentration of redox shuttles, i.e., flavins, and extracellular enzyme activities without significantly decreasing cell viability. The findings suggested that membrane permeabilization is the dominant mechanism for the enhancement of extracellular bioactivity in S. oneidensis by DSSN+. We further demonstrated that the interaction between DSSN+ and S. oneidensis cells enhanced biofilm formation and stability without compromising the overall biofilm activity. Taken together, our results suggest that membrane spanning conjugated oligoelectrolytes, of which DSSN+ is one of many possible molecular structures, may be applied to enhance extracellular bioactivity in bacteria toward more efficient biofilm-based biocatalysis.

Towards environmentally friendly processing of molecular semiconductors

We present the design and synthesis of molecular organic semiconductors enabling processing from environmentally friendly solvents, including ethyl acetate. The structural changes employed do not adversely influence the attractive optical or electronic properties of the parent chromophore. Thin film transistors demonstrate the semiconducting ability of the new structures when processed from ethyl acetate.

Conjugated oligoelectrolyte represses hydrogen oxidation by Geobacter sulfurreducens in microbial electrolysis cells.

A conjugated oligoelectrolyte (COE), which spontaneously aligns within cell membranes, was shown to completely inhibit H2 uptake by Geobacter sulfurreducens in microbial electrolysis cells. Coulombic efficiencies that were 490±95%, due to H2 recycling between the cathode and microorganisms on the anode, were reduced to 86±2% with COE addition. The use of the COE resulted in a 67-fold increase in H2 gas recovery, and a 4.4-fold increase in acetate removal. Current generation, H2 recovery and COD removals by Geobacter metallireducens, which cannot use H2, were unaffected by COE addition. These results show that this COE is an effective H2 uptake inhibitor, and that it can enable improved and sustained H2 gas recovery in this bioelectrochemical system.