Ternary Blends Research Articles

NiOx Nanoparticles Hole-Transporting Layer Regulated by Ionic Radius-Controlled Doping and Reductive Agent for Organic Solar Cells with Efficiency of 19.18.

Nickel oxide (NiOx ) has garnered considerable attention as a prospective hole-transporting layer (HTL) in organic solar cells (OSCs), offering a potential solution to the stability challenges posed by traditional HTL, PEDOT:PSS, arising from acidity and hygroscopicity. Nevertheless, the lower work function (WF) of NiOx relative to donor polymers reduces charge injection efficiency in OSCs. Herein, NiOx nanoparticles are tailored through rare earth doping to optimize WF and the impact of ionic radius on their electronic properties is explored. Lanthanum (La3+ ) and yttrium (Y3+ ) ions, with larger ionic radii, are effectively doped at 1 and 3%, respectively, while scandium (Sc3+ ), with a smaller ion radius, allows enhanced 5% doping. Higher doping ratios significantly enhance WF of NiOx . A 5% Sc3+ doping raises WF to 4.99eV from 4.77eV for neat NiOx while maintaining high conductivity. Consequently, using 5% Sc-doped NiOx as HTL improves the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of OSCs to 17.13%, surpassing the 15.64% with the neat NiOx . Further enhancement to 18.42% is achieved by introducing the reductant catechol, outperforming the PEDOT:PSS-based devices. Additionally, when employed in a ternary blend system (D18:N3:F-BTA3), an impressive PCE of 19.18 % is realized, top-performing among reported OSCs utilizing solution-processed inorganic nanoparticles.

Assessment of the potential use of construction and demolition waste (CDW) fines as eco-pozzolan in binary and ternary cements

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) represents a significant portion of the total volume of solid waste generated worldwide, an alternative is to use the fine fraction as eco-pozzolan. The study aims to evaluate the use CDW fines (< 63 µm) as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in binary (cement and CDW) and ternary (cement, CDW and metakaolin) matrices. Binary mixtures were prepared with 5–20% CDW and ternary mixtures with up to 50% substitution (5–40%CDW, 45–10%MK). Experimental techniques of X-ray fluorescence (XRF), particle size distribution, X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM-EDS microscopy, thermogravimetry (TG) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) were used. The physical, mechanical and microstructural properties of the pastes were evaluated. The results show that CDW fines can be used in large quantities in ternary blends to refine the pore structure, reduce water absorption and maintain mechanical strength in the 40 MPa class.

Enhancing Nutritional Profile of Pasta: The Impact of Sprouted Pseudocereals and Cushuro on Digestibility and Health Potential.

We hypothesized that optimizing the formulation of pasta by incorporating sprouted pseudocereal flours, specifically quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) or kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus L.) and cushuro (Nostoc sphaericum Vaucher ex Bornet & Flahault) flours, could offer the potential to simultaneously enhance nutritional quality and health-promoting properties in pasta. In this study, our objective was to optimize the formulation of composite flour (a ternary blend of wheat, sprouted pseudocereal, and cushuro flours) using a mixture composite design to maximize total soluble phenolic compounds (TSPC), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), antioxidant activity, and mineral bioaccesilability by reducing phytic acid (PA) content. Two optimal formulations were identified: one consisting of 79% wheat flour (WF), 13% SQF, and 8% CuF (oPQC), and the other composed of 70% WF, 15% SKF, and 15% CuF (oPKC). These optimized pastas exhibited reduced starch content and notably higher levels of total dietary fiber (1.5-3.61-fold), protein (1.16-fold), fat (1.3-1.5-fold), ash (2.2-2.7-fold), minerals (K, Na, Fe, Zn, Mg, Mn, and Ca), PA (3-4.5-fold), TSPC (1.3-1.9-fold), GABA (1.2-2.6-fold), and ORAC (6.5-8.7-fold) compared to control pasta (100% WF). Notably, the glycemic index of oPQC (59.8) was lower than that of oPKC (54.7) and control pasta (63.1). The nutritional profile of the optimized pasta was largely retained after cooking, although some significant losses were observed for soluble dietary fiber (18.2-44.0%), K (47.5-50.7%), Na (42.5-63.6), GABA (41.68-51.4%), TSPC (8-18%), and antioxidant activity (45.4-46.4%). In vitro digestion of cooked oPQC and oPKC demonstrated higher bioaccessible content of GABA (6.7-16.26 mg/100 g), TSPC (257.7-261.8 mg GAE/100 g), Ca (58.40-93.5 mg/100 g), and Fe (7.35-7.52 mg/100 g), as well as antioxidant activity (164.9-171.1 µmol TE/g) in intestinal digestates compared to control pasta. These findings suggest that the incorporation of sprouted pseudocereals and cushuro flour offers a promising approach to enhance the nutritional quality and bioactive content of wheat-based pasta, potentially providing health benefits beyond traditional formulations.

18.6% Efficiency All-Polymer Solar Cells Enabled by a Wide Bandgap Polymer Donor Based on Benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d']bisthiazole.

The limited selection of wide bandgap polymer donors for all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) is a bottleneck problem restricting their further development and remains poorly studied. Herein, a new wide bandgap polymer, namely PBBTz-Cl, is designed and synthesized by bridging the benzobisthiazole acceptor block and chlorinated benzodithiophene donor block with thiophene units for application as an electron donor in all-PSCs. PBBTz-Cl not only possesses wide bandgap and deep energy levels but also displays strong absorption, high-planar structure, and good crystallinity, making it a promising candidate for application as a polymer donor in organic solar cells. When paired with the narrow bandgap polymer acceptor PY-IT, a fibril-like morphology forms, which facilitates exciton dissociation and charge transport, contributing to a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.15% of the corresponding all-PSCs. Moreover, when introducing another crystalline polymer acceptor BTP-2T2F into the PBBTz-Cl:PY-IT host blend, the absorption ditch in the range of 600-750nm is filled, and the blend morphology is further optimized with the trap density reducing. As a result, the ternary blend all-PSCs achieve a significantly improved PCE of 18.60%, which is among the highest values for all-PSCs to date.

Side‐Chain Engineering of Y‐Series Acceptors with Halogenated End‐Group for Efficient Indoor Organic Photovoltaics

AbstractDiverse design strategies for nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) have aided the development of efficient indoor organic photovoltaics (OPVs) for Internet‐of‐things‐enabled gadgets. However, the side‐chain approach to Y‐series NFAs for fabricating indoor OPVs remains largely unexplored. In this study, the synthesis and photovoltaic characteristics of two side‐chain engineered NFAs with halogenated end‐groups (BTP‐PO‐4F and BTP‐PO‐4Cl) are investigated. NFAs with a Y6 core unit are modified with butyloctyl inner side chains and ethylhexyloxynaphthyl outer side chains. The extended conjugation moiety contributed to red‐shifted absorption, with the chlorination effect presenting a more pronounced influence than fluorination. Further, the outer moiety introduced a slight electron‐withdrawing effect on the Y6 core unit, resulting in energy‐level downshifts. An excellent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.2% is achieved in fluorinated OPVs under a light‐emitting diode lamp (1000 lux). Moreover, integrating the Y6 NFA into the binary blend further enhanced the PCE, reaching 28.3% in PM6:Y6:halogenated NFA ternary OPVs. The panchromatic absorption, high crystallinity, and cascaded energy levels of the ternary blends contribute to achieving a sufficient spectral match and suppress trap‐assisted recombination, ultimately fostering a substantially enhanced fill factor and PCEs under indoor lighting.

Bio-Based PLA/PBS/PBAT Ternary Blends with Added Nanohydroxyapatite: A Thermal, Physical, and Mechanical Study.

The physical and mechanical properties of novel bio-based polymer blends of polylactic acid (PLA), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), and poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) with various added amounts of nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) were investigated in this study. The formulations of PLA/PBS/PBAT/nHA blends were divided into two series, A and B, containing 70 or 80 wt% PLA, respectively. Samples of four specimens per series were prepared using a twin-screw extruder, and different amounts of nHA were added to meet the regeneration needs of bone graft materials. FTIR and XRD analyses were employed to identify the presence of each polymer and nHA in the various blends. The crystallization behavior of these blends was examined using DSC. Tensile and impact strength tests were performed on all samples to screen feasible formulations of polymer blends for bone graft material applications. Surface morphology analyses were conducted using SEM, and the dispersion of nHA particles in the blends was further tested using TEM. The added nHA also served as a nucleating agent aimed at improving the crystallinity and mechanical properties of the blends. Through the above analyses, the physical and mechanical properties of the polymer blends are reported and the most promising bone graft material formulations are suggested. All blends were tested for thermal degradation analysis using TGA and thermal stability was confirmed. The water absorption experiments carried out in this study showed that the addition of nHA could improve the hydrophilicity of the blends.

Evaluation of Kunkur Fines for Utilization in the Production of Ternary Blended Cements

Ternary blended cements, such as limestone calcined clay cement (LC3), represent a type of strategic binder for the mitigation of environmental impacts associated with cement production. These are estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by about 40% compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). In this paper, we explore the possibility of producing such ternary blends by utilizing secondary raw materials that may be locally available. Specifically, the primary limestone that is commonly used in LC3 is herein substituted with quarry dust obtained by sourcing “kunkur”, a carbonate-rich sedimentary rock (also known as caliche) that can be locally utilized for the production of ordinary OPC clinker. To optimize the blending proportions of ternary cement consisting of OPC, calcined clay, and kunkur fines, a “design of experiment” (DoE) approach was implemented with the goal of exploring the possibility of reducing the amount of the OPC fraction to values lower than 50%. The properties of the formulated blends were assessed by a combination of techniques that comprise mechanical strength testing, XRD time-dependent quantitative phase analysis, and SEM–EDS microstructural and microchemical analyses. The results suggest that ternary blended cement based on kunkur fines forms hydration products, such as hemicarboaluminates, which are also observed in LC3. This shows that such waste materials can potentially be used in sustainable cement blends; however, the presence of kaolinite in the kunkur fines seems to affect their strength development when compared to both OPC and conventional LC3.

Study of fresh properties of cemented paste backfill material with ternary cement blends

This study is aimed at evaluating the effects of ternary blended Portland cement type I (PCI) with slag and limestone (LS) powder on key engineering fresh properties of CPB: (i) rheological properties and (ii) setting time. CPB samples with PCI/Slag ratios of 50/50 (Group A) and 80/20 (Group B) were considered in this study. The effect of LS in the ternary mix was investigated by replacing the slag with increasing doses of LS (5, 10, and 20 wt%). The specimens were cast and cured over periods of 0, 0.25, 1, 2 and 4 h and tested for rheological properties (yield stress, viscosity). In addition, tests were performed to identify the initial and final setting time of the samples. In addition, microstructural tests, zeta potential and pH measurements, and monitoring experiments (temperature, electrical conductivity) were carried out to better comprehend the underlying mechanisms behind the observed changes in rheological behavior and setting time. The findings have shown that the replacement of slag by a higher dosage of LS in the ternary binder significantly affects the rheological properties of the studied CPB. It reduces the yield stress and increases the viscosity of CPB. The effect of LS on the rheological properties of CPB is mainly attributed to the physical (e.g., filler effect, lubrication, particle size) and chemical (nucleation and changes in repulsive forces between CPB particles) effects of LS in the ternary system. The findings also revealed that increasing the proportion of limestone in the CPB ternary binder system prolonged the setting time (initial and final) of the CPB mixture due to the nucleation and dilution effects of LS. Overall, the synergy between slag and LS was observed; the optimal use of LS and slag in the ternary system can serve as a sustainable alternative to the predominantly used ordinary Portland cement (OPC) or OPC/Slag binary binder, thereby reducing the energy consumption and carbon footprint associated with cement and CPB technology. The results of this research will be valuable for a better comprehension of the impacts of ternary binder with an increasing percentage of LS on the rheology and setting time of the CPB mix, ultimately, the efficient design of the mixing plant, especially the backfill transportation system.

Delayed Crystallization Kinetics Allowing High-Efficiency All-Polymer Photovoltaics with Superior Upscaled Manufacturing.

Though encouraging performance is achieved in small-area organic photovoltaics (OPVs), reducing efficiency loss when evoluted to large-area modules is an important but unsolved issue. Considering that polymer materials show benefits in film-forming processability and mechanical robustness, a high-efficiency all-polymer OPV module is demonstrated in this work. First, a ternary blend consisting of two polymer donors, PM6 and PBQx-TCl, and one polymer acceptor, PY-IT, is developed, with which triplet state recombination is suppressed for a reduced energy loss, thus allowing a higher voltage; and donor-acceptor miscibility is compromised for enhanced charge transport, thus resulting in improved photocurrent and fill factor; all these contribute to a champion efficiency of 19% for all-polymer OPVs. Second, the delayed crystallization kinetics from solution to film solidification is achieved that gives a longer operation time window for optimized blend morphology in large-area module, thus relieving the loss of fill factor and allowing a record efficiency of 16.26% on an upscaled module with an area of 19.3 cm2 . Besides, this all-polymer system also shows excellent mechanical stability. This work demonstrates that all-polymer ternary systems are capable of solving the upscaled manufacturing issue, thereby enabling high-efficiency OPV modules.

Response surface optimization approach to enhance the performance of diesel engine using ternary blends of biobutanol and biodiesel doped with ZnO nanoparticles

The major challenge currently is posed by the implementation of stringent emission norms with desired engine performance in the Diesel engine. To reduce India’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, an approach that combines waste reduction strategies, recycling initiative, and responsive utilization of waste to energy solutions can play a key role in addressing the environmental issues and self reliance of energy demand. The present work is based on the optimization of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) on the variable compression ratio Diesel engine using ternary blends of Biobutanol, biodiesel, and diesel through Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The process parameters include ternary blends (Biobutanol: 0–10% v/v; biodiesel: 0–20% v/v; and diesel), ZnO: 0–100 ppm, and compression ratio: 16–20. The performance is achieved through the optimized values at a compression ratio of 18.13, nanoparticles concentration of 62.39 ppm, biodiesel content of 11.45% v/v, and Biobutanol content of 5.04 % v/v. The engine's optimized parameters comprise a 65.9 bar cylinder pressure (CP), 67.18 J/℃A of heat release rate (HRR), 31.27% brake thermal efficiency (BTE), 13.224 MJ/kW-h brake specific energy consumption (BSEC), 0.057% volume of carbon monoxide (CO), 31.05 ppm of unburnt hydrocarbons (HC), 555.8 ppm oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and 28.8 % smoke. Validation of the optimized parameters is conducted through actual engine experimental trials, with errors falling within permissible limits of less than 5%. The results suggest that ternary blends will serve as a feasible alternative for Compression Ignition (CI) engines.

Solution‐Processed Ternary Organic Photodetectors with Ambipolar Small‐Bandgap Polymer for Near‐Infrared Sensing

AbstractOrganic photodetectors (OPDs) detecting light in the near‐infrared (NIR) range from 900 to 1200 nm offer numerous applications in biomedical imaging and health monitoring. However, an ultra‐low bandgap of the electron donor compound required to achieve NIR detection poses a unique challenge in selecting a complementary acceptor material with a suitable energy‐level offset. To tackle this, a solution‐processed, fullerene‐dominated, ternary device is engineered by adding an ultra‐low bandgap (0.6–0.8 eV) ambipolar polymer, polybenzobisthiadiazole‐dithienocyclopentane (PBBTCD), into the active layer of visible‐light‐responsive OPDs (bandgap of 1.8 eV) to form a ternary blend. The resulting OPD benefits from the extended absorption beyond 1000 nm. The cascaded energy level alignment within the ternary blend and the applied reverse bias both improve the overall NIR photocurrent responsivity by 2 orders of magnitude, reaching 0.4 mA W−1 at 1050 nm and −2 V for ternary devices. Furthermore, a photovoltage responsivity of 0.3 mV m2 W−1 along with significant open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.12 V allow NIR detection in the Voc mode. Prominently, this ability is accomplished with a minimal presence of PBBTCD. Taken together, this work indicates potential strategies for extending the spectral activity of conventional OPDs through introduction of an ambipolar ultra‐low bandgap polymer as a minor element.

Multi-objective optimization of ternary blends of Algal biodiesel-diesel-1-decanol to mitigate environmental pollution in powering a diesel engine using RSM, ANOVA, and artificial bee colony.

This research presents an in-depth examination that utilizes a hybrid technique consisting of response surface methodology (RSM) for experimental design, analysis of variance (ANOVA) for model development, and the artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm for multi-objective optimization. The study aims to enhance engine performance and reduce emissions through the integration of global maxima for brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and global minima for brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC), hydrocarbon (HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions into a composite objective function. The relative importance of each objective was determined using weighted combinations. The ABC algorithm effectively explored the parameter space, determining the optimum values for brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) and 1-decanol% in the fuel mix. The results showed that the optimized solution, with a BMEP of 4.91 and a 1-decanol % of 9.82, improved engine performance and cut emissions significantly. Notably, the BSFC was reduced to 0.29kg/kWh, demonstrating energy efficiency. CO emissions were lowered to 0.598 vol.%, NOx emissions to 1509.91ppm, and HC emissions to 29.52 vol.%. Furthermore, the optimizing procedure produced an astounding brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of 28.78%, indicating better thermal energy efficiency within the engine. The ABC algorithm enhanced engine performance and lowered emissions overall, highlighting the advantageous trade-offs made by a weighted mix of objectives. The study's findings contribute to more sustainable combustion engine practises by providing crucial insights for upgrading engines with higher efficiency and fewer emissions, thus furthering renewable energy aspirations.

Miscibility screening promotes the efficiency and stability of P3HT‐based organic solar cells

AbstractThe power conversion efficiency of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) has witnessed continuous breakthroughs in the past few years, mostly benefiting from the extensive use of a facile ternary blending strategy by blending the host polymer donor:small molecule acceptor mixture with a second small molecule acceptor. Nevertheless, this rather general strategy used in the well‐known PM6 systems fails in constructing high‐performance P3HT‐based ternary OPVs. As a result, the efficiencies of all resulting ternary blends based on a benchmark host P3HT:ZY‐4Cl and a second acceptor are no more than 8%. Employing the mutual miscibility of the binary blends as a guide to screen the second acceptor, here we were able to break the longstanding 10%‐efficiency barrier of ternary OPVs based on P3HT and dual nonfullerene acceptors. With this rational approach, we identified a multifunctional small molecule acceptor BTP‐2Br to simultaneously improve the photovoltaic performance in both P3HT and PM6‐based ternary OPVs. Attractively, the P3HT:ZY‐4Cl:BTP‐2Br ternary blend exhibited a record‐breaking efficiency of 11.41% for P3HT‐based OPVs. This is the first‐ever report that over 11% efficiency is achieved for P3HT‐based ternary OPVs. Importantly, the study helps the community to rely less on trial‐and‐error methods for constructing ternary solar cells.

Manipulating the Charge Carriers Through Functionally Bridged Components Advances Low‐Cost Organic Solar Cells with Green Solvent Processing

AbstractOrganic solar cell (OSC) development continues to demonstrate impressive device efficiency improvements. However, the materials synthetic simplicity essential to industrialization remains seriously lacking attention, imparting inferior performance records in low‐cost devices. Hence, low bandgap and completely non‐fused electron acceptors (CNFEAs) having simple molecular structures are investigated herein. In contrast to typically explored fused‐ring acceptors with smaller backbone conformational variations, minimizing the interface recombination sites through a greater extent of localized domains is identified as more critical in CNFEAs, leading to remarkable fill factors (FFs) approaching 75%, among the highest currently realized for low‐cost systems. However, this comes with diminishing charge generation efficiency. The general ternary blend optimization strategy modifying the morphology of host components is limited in preserving such remarkably high FFs. To suppress the trade‐off while keeping notable FFs, a new perspective of constructing functionally bridged components based on optical, electronic, and thermodynamic properties is introduced here. Specifically, charge generation is unrestrained from the host acceptor localized domains through the introduction of a “bridge” component while also taking advantage of the configuration to channel polarons toward the efficient transport moieties of the host components. Accordingly, this work incubates understanding‐guided optimizations toward the advancement of more practical devices.

Effect of diethanolisopropanolamine and ethyldiisopropylamine on hydration and strength development of cement-fly ash-limestone ternary blend

Effect of diethanolisopropanolamine (DEIPA) and ethyldiisopropylamine (EDIPA) at dosages of 0.02 % and 0.05 % on hydration and strength development of cement-fly ash-limestone ternary blend is investigated. Results indicate that both dosages of DEIPA or EDIPA promote the chemical effect of limestone and the hydration of aluminates from cement and fly ash to form carboaluminates due to their complexation effect, especially 0.05 % of EDIPA. For silicates hydration, 0.02 % of DEIPA or EDIPA accelerate it with more C–S–H gel formation while 0.05 % of DEIPA or EDIPA retard it due to the excessive aluminates hydration and carboaluminates formation at 3 d. However, both dosages of DEIPA and EDIPA promote silicates hydration at 28 d. Besides, DEIPA or EDIPA at both dosages can refine the pore structure with decreased porosity due to the promoted hydration of aluminates and/or silicates and formation of hydration products, although DEIPA and EDIPA exhibit air entraining effect to cause larger pores (>1000 nm). As a result, 0.02 % of DEIPA or EDIPA increase compressive strength of the blend mortar at both 3 and 28 d while 0.05 % of DEIPA or EDIPA slightly decrease it at 3 d but increase it at 28 d. It can be concluded that DEIPA contributes to higher early strength while EDIPA contributes to higher later strength of the ternary blend at both dosages.

Co-combustion of binary and ternary blends of industrial sludge, lignite and pine sawdust via thermogravimetric analysis: Thermal behaviors, interaction effects, kinetics evaluation, and artificial neural network modeling

Co-combustion behaviors, performances, and kinetic parameters of binary and ternary blends of industrial sludge (IS), lignite (HL), and pine sawdust (SD) were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis, as well as interaction effects and artificial neural network (ANN) modeling. The measure of blending HL and SD into the IS would boost the ignition temperature, while decreased burnout temperature. For the binary blends of IS and HL, the combustion performance would be best with 30% HL ratio, and the combustible index (Ci), combustion stability index (G) and comprehensive combustibility index (CCI) were separately 7.57 × 10−5 %/min·°C2, 3.22 × 10−5 %/min·°C2, 1.39 × 10−7 %2/min2·°C3. With the SD ratio increasing, the combustion performance of the IS and SD blends, and ternary blends improved. It was observed that the interaction effects did exist during the co-combustion of the binary and ternary blends, which were beneficial for the IS combustion disposal. The combination of Coats-Redfern and Malek methods was utilized to the combustion kinetics analysis of blends. The combustion process of binary and ternary blends of IS, HL, and SD could be effectively predicted by the ANN model, and the regression coefficients of the training, validation, testing, and all of the ANN model were all 0.99996.

Functional composites by programming entropy-driven nanosheet growth.

Nanomaterials must be systematically designed to be technologically viable1-5. Driven by optimizing intermolecular interactions, current designs are too rigid to plug in new chemical functionalities and cannot mitigate condition differences during integration6,7. Despite extensive optimization of building blocks and treatments, accessing nanostructures with the required feature sizes and chemistries is difficult. Programming their growth across the nano-to-macro hierarchy also remains challenging, if not impossible8-13. To address these limitations, we should shift to entropy-driven assemblies to gain design flexibility, as seen in high-entropy alloys, and program nanomaterial growth to kinetically match target feature sizes to the mobility of the system during processing14-17. Here, following a micro-then-nano growth sequence in ternary composite blends composed of block-copolymer-based supramolecules, small molecules and nanoparticles, we successfully fabricate high-performance barrier materials composed of more than 200 stacked nanosheets (125 nm sheet thickness) with a defect density less than 0.056 µm-2 and about 98% efficiency in controlling the defect type. Contrary to common perception, polymer-chain entanglements are advantageous to realize long-range order, accelerate the fabrication process (<30 min) and satisfy specific requirements to advance multilayered film technology3,4,18. This study showcases the feasibility, necessity and unlimited opportunities to transform laboratory nanoscience into nanotechnology through systems engineering of self-assembly.

Exploiting the donor‐acceptor‐additive interaction's morphological effect on the performance of organic solar cells

AbstractOrganic solar cells (OSCs) have demonstrated over 19% power conversion efficiency (PCE) with the help of material innovation and device optimization. Co‐working with newly designed materials, traditional solvent additives, 1‐chloronaphthalene (CN), and 1,8‐diodooctane (DIO) are still powerful in morphology modulation towards satisfying efficiencies. Here, we chose recently reported high‐performance polymer donors (PM6 &amp; D18‐Fu) and small molecular acceptors (Y6 &amp; L8‐BO) as active layer materials and processed them by different conditions (CN or DIO or none). Based on corresponding 12 groups of device results, and their film morphology characterizations (both ex‐situ and in‐situ ones), the property‐performance relationships are revealed case by case. It is thereby supposed to be taken as a successful attempt to demonstrate the importance and complexity of donor‐acceptor‐additive interaction, since the device performance and physics analyses are also tightly combined with morphology variation. Furthermore, ternary blend construction for PCE improvement provides an approaching 19% level and showcases the potential of understanding‐guided‐optimization (UGO) in the future of OSCs.

Polymer Multi-Block and Multi-Block+ Strategies for the Upcycling of Mixed Polyolefins and Other Plastics.

Due to a continued rise in the production and use of plastic products, their end-of-life pollution has become a pressing global issue. One of the biggest challenges in plastics recycling is the separation of different polymers. Multi-block copolymers (MBCPs) represent an efficient strategy for the upcycling of mixed plastics via induced compatibilization, but this approach is limited by difficulties associated with synthesis and structural modification. In this contribution, several synthetic strategies are explored to prepare MBCPs with tunable microstructures, which were then used as compatibilizer additives to upcycle mixtures of polyolefins with other plastics. A multi-block+ strategy based on a reactive telechelic block copolymer platform was introduced, which enabled block extension during the in situ melt blending of mixed plastics, leading to better compatibilizing properties as well as better 3D printing capability. This strategy was also applicable to more complex ternary plastic blends. The polymer multi-block strategy enabled by versatile MBCPs synthesis and the multi-block+ strategy enabled by in situ block extension show exciting opportunities for the upcycling of mixed plastics.

Polymer Multi‐Block and Multi‐Block+ Strategies for the Upcycling of Mixed Polyolefins and Other Plastics

AbstractDue to a continued rise in the production and use of plastic products, their end‐of‐life pollution has become a pressing global issue. One of the biggest challenges in plastics recycling is the separation of different polymers. Multi‐block copolymers (MBCPs) represent an efficient strategy for the upcycling of mixed plastics via induced compatibilization, but this approach is limited by difficulties associated with synthesis and structural modification. In this contribution, several synthetic strategies are explored to prepare MBCPs with tunable microstructures, which were then used as compatibilizer additives to upcycle mixtures of polyolefins with other plastics. A multi‐block+ strategy based on a reactive telechelic block copolymer platform was introduced, which enabled block extension during the in situ melt blending of mixed plastics, leading to better compatibilizing properties as well as better 3D printing capability. This strategy was also applicable to more complex ternary plastic blends. The polymer multi‐block strategy enabled by versatile MBCPs synthesis and the multi‐block+ strategy enabled by in situ block extension show exciting opportunities for the upcycling of mixed plastics.