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All‐polymer solar cells have experienced rapid development in recent years by the emergence of polymerized small molecular acceptors (PSMAs). However, the strong chain entanglements of polymer donors (PDs) and polymer acceptors (PAs) decrease the miscibility of the resulting polymer mixtures, making it challenging to optimize the blend morphology. Herein, we designed three PAs, namely PBTPICm‐BDD, PBTPICγ‐BDD and PBTPICF‐BDD, by smartly using a BDD unit as the polymerized unit to copolymerize with different Y‐typed non‐fullerene small molecular acceptors (NF‐SMAs), thus achieving a certain degree of distortion and giving the polymer system enough internal space to reduce the entanglements of the polymer chains. Such effects increase the chances of the PD being interspersed into the acceptor material, which improve the solubility between the PD and PA. The PBTPICγ‐BDD and PBTPICF‐BDD displayed better miscibility with PBQx‐TCl, leading to a well optimized morphology. As a result, high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 17.50 % and 17.17 % were achieved for PBQx‐TCl : PBTPICγ‐BDD and PBQx‐TCl : PBTPICF‐BDD devices, respectively. With the addition of PYFT‐o as the third component into PBQx‐TCl : PBTPICγ‐BDD blend to further extend the absorption spectral coverage and finely tune microstructures of the blend morphology, a remarkable PCE of 18.64 % was realized finally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All‐polymer solar cells have experienced rapid development in recent years by the emergence of polymerized small molecular acceptors (PSMAs). However, the strong chain entanglements of polymer donors (PDs) and polymer acceptors (PAs) decrease the miscibility of the resulting polymer mixtures, making it challenging to optimize the blend morphology. Herein, we designed three PAs, namely PBTPICm‐BDD, PBTPICγ‐BDD and PBTPICF‐BDD, by smartly using a BDD unit as the polymerized unit to copolymerize with different Y‐typed non‐fullerene small molecular acceptors (NF‐SMAs), thus achieving a certain degree of distortion and giving the polymer system enough internal space to reduce the entanglements of the polymer chains. Such effects increase the chances of the PD being interspersed into the acceptor material, which improve the solubility between the PD and PA. The PBTPICγ‐BDD and PBTPICF‐BDD displayed better miscibility with PBQx‐TCl, leading to a well optimized morphology. As a result, high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 17.50 % and 17.17 % were achieved for PBQx‐TCl : PBTPICγ‐BDD and PBQx‐TCl : PBTPICF‐BDD devices, respectively. With the addition of PYFT‐o as the third component into PBQx‐TCl : PBTPICγ‐BDD blend to further extend the absorption spectral coverage and finely tune microstructures of the blend morphology, a remarkable PCE of 18.64 % was realized finally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic self‐assembled molecules (OSAMs) based hole‐transporting materials play a pivotal role in achieving highly efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells (IPSCs). However, the reported carbazol‐based OSAMs have serious drawbacks, such as poor wettability for perovskite solution spreading due to the nonpolar surface, worse matched energy arrangement with perovskite, and limited molecular species, which greatly limit the device performance. To address above problems, a novel OSAM [4‐(3,6‐glycol monomethyl ether‐9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl) butyl]phosphonic acid (GM‐4PACz) was synthesized as hole‐transporting material by introducing glycol monomethyl ether (GM) side chains at carbazolyl unit. GM groups enhance the surface energy of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO)/SAM substrate to facilitate the nucleation and growth of up perovskite film, suppress cation defects, release the residual stress at SAM/perovskite interface, and evaluate energy level for matching with perovskite. Consequently, the GM‐4PACz based IPSC achieves a champion PCE of 25.52 %, a respectable open‐circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.21 V, a high stability, possessing 93.29 % and 91.75 % of their initial efficiency after aging in air for 2000 h or tracking at maximum power point for 1000 h, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic self‐assembled molecules (OSAMs) based hole‐transporting materials play a pivotal role in achieving highly efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells (IPSCs). However, the reported carbazol‐based OSAMs have serious drawbacks, such as poor wettability for perovskite solution spreading due to the nonpolar surface, worse matched energy arrangement with perovskite, and limited molecular species, which greatly limit the device performance. To address above problems, a novel OSAM [4‐(3,6‐glycol monomethyl ether‐9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl) butyl]phosphonic acid (GM‐4PACz) was synthesized as hole‐transporting material by introducing glycol monomethyl ether (GM) side chains at carbazolyl unit. GM groups enhance the surface energy of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO)/SAM substrate to facilitate the nucleation and growth of up perovskite film, suppress cation defects, release the residual stress at SAM/perovskite interface, and evaluate energy level for matching with perovskite. Consequently, the GM‐4PACz based IPSC achieves a champion PCE of 25.52 %, a respectable open‐circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.21 V, a high stability, possessing 93.29 % and 91.75 % of their initial efficiency after aging in air for 2000 h or tracking at maximum power point for 1000 h, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile solid additives have attracted increasing attention in optimizing the morphology and improving the performance of currently dominated non‐fullerene acceptor‐based organic solar cells (OSCs). However, the underlying principles governing the rational design of volatile solid additives remain elusive. Herein, a series of efficient volatile solid additives are successfully developed by the crossbreeding effect of chalcogenation and iodination for optimizing the morphology and improving the photovoltaic performances of OSCs. Five benzene derivatives of 1,4‐dimethoxybenzene (DOB), 1‐iodo‐4‐methoxybenzene (OIB), 1‐iodo‐4‐methylthiobenzene (SIB), 1,4‐dimethylthiobenzene (DSB) and 1,4‐diiodobenzene (DIB) are systematically studied, where the widely used DIB is used as the reference. The effect of chalcogenation and iodination on the overall property is comprehensively investigated, which indicates that the versatile functional groups provided various types of noncovalent interactions with the host materials for modulating the morphology. Among them, SIB with the combination of sulphuration and iodination enabled more appropriate interactions with the host blend, giving rise to a highly ordered molecular packing and more favorable morphology. As a result, the binary OSCs based on PM6:L8‐BO and PBTz‐F:L8‐BO as well as the ternary OSCs based on PBTz‐F:PM6:L8‐BO achieved impressive high PCEs of 18.87%, 18.81% and 19.68%, respectively, which are among the highest values for OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inverted perovskite solar cells (IPSCs) have attracted unprecedented attention due to their negligible hysteresis, long‐term operational stability, low temperature, and cost‐effective fabrication process, as well as wide applications. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of IPSCs has skyrocketed from 3.9% in 2013 to certified 26.1% in 2023, which is over the certified 25.8% of regular counterpart, benefiting from the emergence of a great number of organic hole‐transporting materials (HTM). This review provides an overview of the recent development of organic hole‐transporting materials in the efficiency and stability of IPSCs, including organic small molecules and conjugated conductive polymers. The effective strategies for the charge‐transport layer and perovskite films of IPSCs are also discussed. Finally, the prospective for further development of IPSCs is outlined, including developing novel hole‐transporting materials and fabricating techniques to meet the requirements of commercial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A double‐fibril network of the photoactive layer morphology is recognized as an ideal structure facilitating exciton diffusion and charge carrier transport for high‐performance organic solar cells (OSCs). However, in the layer‐by‐layer processed OSCs (LbL‐OSCs), polymer donors and small molecule acceptors (SMAs) are separately deposited, and it is challenging to realize a fibril network of pure SMAs with the absence of tight interchain entanglement as polymers. In this work, crystalline small molecule donors (SMDs), named TDZ‐3TR and SeDZ‐3TR, were designed and introduced into the L8‐BO acceptor solution, forcing the phase separation and molecular fibrilization. SeDZ‐3TR showed higher crystallinity and lower miscibility with L8‐BO acceptor than TDZ‐3TR, enabling more driving force to favor the phase separation and better molecular fibrilization of L8‐BO. On the other hand, two donor polymers of PM6 and D18 with different fibril widths and lengths were put together to optimize the fibril network of the donor layer. The simultaneously optimization of the acceptor and donor layers resulted in a more ideal double‐fibril network of the photoactive layer and an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.38 % in LbL‐OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A double‐fibril network of the photoactive layer morphology is recognized as an ideal structure facilitating exciton diffusion and charge carrier transport for high‐performance organic solar cells (OSCs). However, in the layer‐by‐layer processed OSCs (LbL‐OSCs), polymer donors and small molecule acceptors (SMAs) are separately deposited, and it is challenging to realize a fibril network of pure SMAs with the absence of tight interchain entanglement as polymers. In this work, crystalline small molecule donors (SMDs), named TDZ‐3TR and SeDZ‐3TR, were designed and introduced into the L8‐BO acceptor solution, forcing the phase separation and molecular fibrilization. SeDZ‐3TR showed higher crystallinity and lower miscibility with L8‐BO acceptor than TDZ‐3TR, enabling more driving force to favor the phase separation and better molecular fibrilization of L8‐BO. On the other hand, two donor polymers of PM6 and D18 with different fibril widths and lengths were put together to optimize the fibril network of the donor layer. The simultaneously optimization of the acceptor and donor layers resulted in a more ideal double‐fibril network of the photoactive layer and an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.38 % in LbL‐OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As simple and versatile tools, additives have been widely used to refine active layer morphology and have played a crucial role in boosting the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, three novel solvent additives named Th‐FSi, Th‐ClSi, and Th‐BrSi with the same backbone of 2,5‐bis(trimethylsilyl)thiophene are designed and synthesized by substituting different halogens of fluorine, chlorine, and bromine, respectively. Notably, Th‐ClSi exhibits the more significant dipole moment and engages in non‐covalent interactions with a small‐molecule acceptor (SMA) L8‐BO, which slight adjustments in intermolecular interaction, crystallinity, and molecular packing in the PM6:L8‐BO active layer. Consequently, the OSCs incorporating Th‐ClSi outperform their Th‐FSi and Th‐BrSi counterparts in photo‐capturing, reduced energy loss, superior exciton dissociation, and charge transfer properties, out‐coming yields in an enhanced PCE of 18.29%. Moreover, by integrating a near‐infrared absorbing SMA (BTP‐eC9) guest into the PM6:L8‐BO matrix, the absorption spectrum to span 880–930 nm, and the resultant ternary OSCs achieve a commendable PCE of 19.17%, ranking among the highest efficiencies reported to date is expanded. These findings underscore the promise of halogenated thiophene‐based solvent additives as a potent avenue for morphological fine‐tuning and consequent PCE enhancement in OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antral follicles consist of an oocyte cumulus complex surrounding by somatic cells, including mural granulosa cells as the inner layer and theca cells as the outsider layer. The communications between oocytes and granulosa cells have been extensively explored in in vitro studies, however, the role of oocyte-derived factor GDF9 on in vivo antral follicle development remains elusive due to lack of an appropriate animal model. Clinically, the phenotype of GDF9 variants needs to be determined. Methods: Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed on two unrelated infertile women characterized by an early rise of estradiol level and defect in follicle enlargement. Besides, WES data on 1,039 women undergoing ART treatment were collected. A Gdf9Q308X/S415T mouse model was generated based on the variant found in one of the patients. Results: Two probands with bi-allelic GDF9 variants (GDF9His209GlnfsTer6/S428T, GDF9Q321X/S428T) and eight GDF9S428T heterozygotes with normal ovarian response were identified. In vitro experiments confirmed that these variants caused reduction of GDF9 secretion, and/or alleviation in BMP15 binding. Gdf9Q308X/S415T mouse model was constructed, which recapitulated the phenotypes in probands with abnormal estrogen secretion and defected follicle enlargement. Further experiments in mouse model showed an earlier expression of STAR in small antral follicles and decreased proliferative capacity in large antral follicles. In addition, RNA sequencing of granulosa cells revealed the transcriptomic profiles related to defective follicle enlargement in the Gdf9Q308X/S415T group. One of the downregulated genes, P4HA2 (a collagen related gene), was found to be stimulated by GDF9 protein, which partly explained the phenotype of defective follicle enlargement. Conclusions: GDF9 bi-allelic variants contributed to the defect in antral follicle development. Oocyte itself participated in the regulation of follicle development through GDF9 paracrine effect, highlighting the essential role of oocyte-derived factors on ovarian response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To simultaneously stabilize cesium lead triiodide (CsPbI3) precursor solution and passivate the defects in CsPbI3 film is greatly significant for achieving highly stable and efficient CsPbI3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, an effective redox 4‐fluorobenzothiohydrazide (FBTH) is developed to stabilize the precursor solution and passivate iodine/lead‐related defects for high‐quality CsPbI3 film. The comprehensive research confirms that 1) a new compound FBTH‐I is obtained from an effective redox interaction between FBTH and molecular iodine (I2) in perovskite precursor solution, which can effectively impede the formation of I2 molecule and restrain I− migration in perovskite film by forming N–H···I bond; 2) FBTH‐I can also passivate Pb‐related defects via forming S···Pb interaction. Consequently, the CsPbI3 PSC based on FBTH‐treated precursor solution exhibits a fascinating power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.41%, which is one of the highest PCE values among the reported pure CsPbI3 PSCs so far, and an outstanding stability against the harsh conditions, such as thermal annealing and continuous light‐illumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing volatile solid additives have emerged as a promising method to optimize the morphology and improve the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, principles governing the efficient design of solid additives remain elusive. Herein, the programmed fluorination and/or bromination on benzene core to develop efficient additives for OSCs is reported. The programmed fluorination and/or bromination endow the five halogen benzene derivatives, 1,3,5‐trifluorobenzene, hexafluorobenzene, 1,3,5‐tribromo‐2,4,6‐trifluorobenzene (TFTB), 1,3,5‐tribromobenzene, and hexabromobenzene, with different melting and boiling points, volatility, as well as interactions with the host blend. Studies indicate that the additives with extremely high and low volatility are almost powerless and even detrimental to the morphology evolution. Among them, the combination of fluorine and bromine atoms on TFTB not only enables the more appropriate m.p./b.p. and volatility, but also exerts stronger molecular interactions with the host blend, giving rise to higher ordered molecular packing and more favorable morphology. Importantly, TFTB exhibits good universality to optimize the performances of OSCs with high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs; over 18%) in a group of binary blend systems, and an impressive PCE of 19.43% in the ternary PBTz‐F:PM6:L8‐BO system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is 26.1%, their stability is still a roadblock for large‐scale commercialization. In the initial density‐functional theory research, it is shown that the most damaging type of defect that destroys device performance is undercoordinated Pb2+ on the surface of the perovskite thin film. An ultraviolet‐absorbent material, 2‐hydroxybenzophenone (HBP), is utilized to specifically passivate this type of defect. In theoretical studies, it is shown that it effectively binds to the undercoordinated Pb2+ via its –C═O group. It also passivates I−‐related defects by forming a hydrogen bond using its –OH group, resulting in decreased trap density and hence prolonged carrier lifetime. The HBP can absorb ultraviolet irradiation, leading to much‐reduced UV degradation; its hydrophobic benzene rings protect the perovskite from moisture permeation. As a result, the constructed device reaches a high PCE of 16.39% with superior stability. The bare device maintains 80.4% of its initial PCE after exposure to ambient air for 792 h. In comparison, the control device without HBP retains only 63.2% of its initial efficiency. Under UV irradiation (80 mW cm−2, 365 nm) for 13 h, the former retains 77.9% of its initial PCE while the control device lost 52% of its initial value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All‐inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been the research focus due to their high thermal stability and proper band gap for tandem solar cells. However, their power conversion efficiency (PCE) is still lower than that of organic‐inorganic hybrid PSCs. Herein, a sacrificing dye (Rhodamine B isothiocyanate, RBITC) is developed to regulate the growth of perovskite film by in situ release of ethylammonium cations, isothiocyanate anions and benzoic acid molecules upon annealing and illumination. The ethylammonium cations can efficiently passivate surface defects. The isothiocyanate anions incorporate with uncoordinated Pb to regulate the crystallization process. The benzoic acid molecules facilitate the nucleation of the perovskite crystals. Especially, the illumination can accelerate the release of these beneficial ions/molecules to improve the quality of perovskite films further. After optimization with RBITC, a high open circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.24 V and a champion PCE of 20.95% are obtained, which are among the highest Voc and PCE values of CsPbI3 PSCs. Accordingly, the operational stability of the PSC devices is significantly improved. The results provide an efficient chemical strategy to regulate the formation of perovskite films in whole crystallization process for high performance all‐inorganic PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Alkyl-tailored Y-SMAs named YR-SeNF series with near-infrared absorption, different molecular crystallinity and self-assembly abilities are developed. The related organic solar cells (OSCs) with an active layer processed from halogen-free solvents and spin-coating-free technologies achieve a ~ 19% efficiency. Ternary OSCs offer a robust operating stability under MPP tracking and well-keep > 80% of the initial efficiency for even over 400 h. Power-conversion-efficiencies (PCEs) of organic solar cells (OSCs) in laboratory, normally processed by spin-coating technology with toxic halogenated solvents, have reached over 19%. However, there is usually a marked PCE drop when the blade-coating and/or green-solvents toward large-scale printing are used instead, which hampers the practical development of OSCs. Here, a new series of N-alkyl-tailored small molecule acceptors named YR-SeNF with a same molecular main backbone are developed by combining selenium-fused central-core and naphthalene-fused end-group. Thanks to the N-alkyl engineering, NIR-absorbing YR-SeNF series show different crystallinity, packing patterns, and miscibility with polymeric donor. The studies exhibit that the molecular packing, crystallinity, and vertical distribution of active layer morphologies are well optimized by introducing newly designed guest acceptor associated with tailored N-alkyl chains, providing the improved charge transfer dynamics and stability for the PM6:L8-BO:YR-SeNF-based OSCs. As a result, a record-high PCE approaching 19% is achieved in the blade-coating OSCs fabricated from a green-solvent o-xylene with high-boiling point. Notably, ternary OSCs offer robust operating stability under maximum-power-point tracking and well-keep > 80% of the initial PCEs for even over 400 h. Our alkyl-tailored guest acceptor strategy provides a unique approach to develop green-solvent and blade-coating processed high-efficiency and operating stable OSCs, which paves a way for industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor interface quality between cesium lead triiodide (CsPbI3) perovskite and the electron transport layer limits the stability and efficiency of CsPbI3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, a 4‐amino‐2,3,5,6‐tetrafluorobenzoate cesium (ATFC) is designed as a bifacial defect passivator to tailor the perovskite/TiO2 interface. The comprehensive experiments demonstrate that ATFC can not only optimize the conductivity, electron mobility, and energy band structure of the TiO2 layer by passivation of the undercoordinated Ti4+, oxygen vacancy (VO), and free OH defects but also promote the yield of high‐quality CsPbI3 film by synergistic passivation of undercoordinated Pb2+ defects with the CO group and F atom, and limiting I− migration via F···I interaction. Benefiting from the above interactions, the ATFC‐modified CsPbI3 device yields a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.11% and an excellent open‐circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.24 V. Meanwhile, the optimized CsPbI3 PSC maintains 92.74% of its initial efficiency after aging 800 h in air atmosphere, and has almost no efficiency attenuation after tracking at maximum power point for 350 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All‐inorganic CsPbX3 (X = I, Br, Cl or their mixtures) perovskites attract enormous attention in recent years due to their excellent optoelectronic properties, outstanding thermal/light stability, and wide range of applications in electronic devices. Encouragingly, the reported power conversion efficiency of CsPbX3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs) rockets up from 2.9% in 2015 to the present 21.0%. In order to further promote the performance of CsPbX3 PSCs toward the Shockley–Queisser efficiency limit, it is important to optimize the quality of perovskite films by crystallization kinetics modulation and defect suppression. In this review, first, some fundamental information about all‐inorganic CsPbX3 perovskites is briefly introduced, including the crystallization mechanism, growth mode, crystal structure, and phase stability as well as possible defects and their effects on device performance. Second, the recent exciting progress of the crystallization modulation strategies for high‐quality CsPbX3 films is summarized and discussed in detail. The advantages of different strategies, including annealing engineering, solvent engineering, precursor engineering, composition engineering, and interface engineering, are highlighted. Finally, methods for improving the efficiency of inorganic PSCs are discussed, and the future development prospects of inorganic PSCs are also outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement of power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of the perovskite solar cell (PSC) is hindered by carrier recombination originating from the defects at the buried interface of the PSC. It is crucial to suppress the nonradiative recombination and facilitate carrier transfer in PSC via interface engineering. Herein, P‐biguanylbenzoic acid hydrochloride (PBGH) is developed to modify the tin oxide (SnO2)/perovskite interface. The effects of PBGH on carrier transportation, perovskite growth, defect passivation, and PSC performance are systematically investigated. On the one hand, the PBGH can effectively passivate the trap states of Sn dangling bonds and O vacancies on the SnO2 surface via Lewis acid/base coordination, which is conducive to improving the conductivity of SnO2 film and accelerating the electron extraction. On the other hand, PBGH modification assists the formation of high‐quality perovskite film with low defect density due to its strong interaction with PbI2. Consequently, the PBGH‐modified PSC exhibits a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.79%, which is one of the highest PCEs among all the FACsPbI3‐based PSCs reported to date. In addition, the stabilities of perovskite films and devices under high temperature/humidity and light illumination conditions are also systematically studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surmounting complicated defects at the electron transport layer (ETL) and perovskite interface plays a non‐trivial role in improving efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, an asymmetric interface modification strategy (AIMS) is developed to passivate the defects from both a SnO2 ETL and the perovskite buried surface via incorporating 1,3‐thiazole‐2,4‐diammonium (TDA) into the SnO2/perovskite interface. Detailed experimental and calculated results demonstrate that N3 (the nitrogen atom bonding to the imine) in the TDA preferentially cures the free hydroxyl (OH), oxygen vacancy (VO), and the Sn‐related defects on the SnO2 surface, while N1 (the nitrogen atom bonding to the vinyl) is more inclined to passivate the Pb2+ and I− related defects at the perovskite buried surface. As a result, the TDA‐modified FACsPbI3 PSC yields a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.96% with a gratifying open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.20 V. In addition, the optimized PSCs exhibit charming air‐operational stability with the unencapsulated device sustaining 97.04% of its initial PCE after storage in air conditions for 1400 h. The encapsulated device maintains 90.21% of its initial PCE after maximum power point tracking for 500 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surmounting complicated defects at the electron transport layer (ETL) and perovskite interface plays a non‐trivial role in improving efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, an asymmetric interface modification strategy (AIMS) is developed to passivate the defects from both a SnO2 ETL and the perovskite buried surface via incorporating 1,3‐thiazole‐2,4‐diammonium (TDA) into the SnO2/perovskite interface. Detailed experimental and calculated results demonstrate that N3 (the nitrogen atom bonding to the imine) in the TDA preferentially cures the free hydroxyl (OH), oxygen vacancy (VO), and the Sn‐related defects on the SnO2 surface, while N1 (the nitrogen atom bonding to the vinyl) is more inclined to passivate the Pb2+ and I− related defects at the perovskite buried surface. As a result, the TDA‐modified FACsPbI3 PSC yields a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.96% with a gratifying open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.20 V. In addition, the optimized PSCs exhibit charming air‐operational stability with the unencapsulated device sustaining 97.04% of its initial PCE after storage in air conditions for 1400 h. The encapsulated device maintains 90.21% of its initial PCE after maximum power point tracking for 500 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells are reviewed in detail from the views of compositions, additives, charge transport layers, interfaces and preparation methods. The key factors affecting open-circuit voltage and photostability are carefully discussed. The future directions and challenges in developing wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells are highlighted. Perovskite-based tandem solar cells have attracted increasing interest because of its great potential to surpass the Shockley–Queisser limit set for single-junction solar cells. In the tandem architectures, the wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskites act as the front absorber to offer higher open-circuit voltage (VOC) for reduced thermalization losses. Taking advantage of tunable bandgap of the perovskite materials, the WBG perovskites can be easily obtained by substituting halide iodine with bromine, and substituting organic ions FA and MA with Cs. To date, the most concerned issues for the WBG perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are huge VOC deficit and severe photo-induced phase separation. Reducing VOC loss and improving photostability of the WBG PSCs are crucial for further efficiency breakthrough. Recently, scientists have made great efforts to overcome these key issues with tremendous progresses. In this review, we first summarize the recent progress of WBG perovskites from the aspects of compositions, additives, charge transport layers, interfaces and preparation methods. The key factors affecting efficiency and stability are then carefully discussed, which would provide decent guidance to develop highly efficient and stable WBG PSCs for tandem application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A desired morphology is essential for achieving efficient polymer solar cells. Donors and acceptors with appropriate crystallization can lead to a suitable phase-separated morphology for effective photocurrent generation process. Inspired by the success of Y6 acceptors and the 2D side chain engineering on popular polymer donors and small molecule acceptors, the usage of unique 2D 3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene (EDOT) side chains on Y6 to regulate its crystallinity, compatibility, and thus the related blend morphology is explored. In this study, two molecules of BTP-EDOT-4F and BTP-EDOT-4Cl with such unique 2D EDOT side chains are designed and synthesized. Due to the advantage of EDOT side chain, when these molecules are blended with PM6, the decent power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 16.78% and 15.87% are obtained. Furthermore, BTP-EDOT-4F is selected as the third component and added into PM6:L8-BO binary system to form ternary blends. The optimized crystallinity, compatibility, and morphology of such ternary blend are discovered in the presence of BTP-EDOT-4F, which enables efficient exciton dissociation and charge transport as well as decreased recombination, resulting in higher short circuit current density Jsc) and fill factor. Finally, the outstanding PCE of 18.56% is achieved in ternary blends containing PM6, L8-BO, and BTP-EDOT-4F. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High density of defects at interface severely affects the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, cobalt (II) hexafluoro‐2,4‐pentanedionat (CoFAc), a hinge‐type fluorine‐rich complex, is introduced onto the surface of formamidinium cesium lead iodide (FACsPbI3) film to address the issues of perovskite/Spiro‐OMeTAD interface. The existence of CoFAc passivates both organic cation and halide anion vacancies by establishing powerful hydrogen bonds with HC(NH2)2+ (FA+) and strong ionic bonds with Pb2+ in perovskite films. In addition, CoFAc serves as a connecting link to enhance interfacial hole‐transport kinetics via interacting with Spiro‐OMeTAD. Consequently, FACsPbI3 PSCs with CoFAc modification display a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.64% with a charming open‐circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.191 V, which is the record VOC among all the reported organic‐inorganic hybrid PSCs with TiO2 as electron transport layer. Furthermore, CoFAc‐modified devices exhibit an outstanding long‐term stability, which can maintain 95% of their initial PCEs after exposure to ambient atmosphere for 1500 h without any encapsulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) is a thorny problem often encountered in the field of assisted reproduction. Existing evidences suggest that immune dysregulation may be involved in the pathogenesis of RIF. The purpose of this study is to explore immune-related genes contributing to RIF through data mining. The endometrial expression profiles of 24 RIF and 24 controls were obtained from the GEO database. The immune infiltration in bulk tissue was estimated by single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) method based on marker gene sets for immune cells generated from endometrial single-cell RNA sequencing data. The results showed that the infiltration levels of B cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs) were significantly reduced in the RIF group. Four hub genes (GJA1, PRKAG2, CPT1A, and ICA1) were identified by integrated analysis of weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), random forest and LASSO regression. Moreover, these hub genes were significantly correlated with certain immune-related factors, especially CXCL12, CEACAM1, and XCR1. Single-gene GSEA indicated that the pathways associated with hub genes included the regulation of cell cycle, the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and transplant rejection, etc. A predictive model for RIF was constructed based on hub genes and performed well in the training dataset and the other two external datasets. Thus, this study identified immune-related key genes in RIF and provided new biomarkers for early diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructing terpolymer has attracted increasing attention as a strategy to improve the performance of polymer solar cell. Terpolymer usually offers an opportunity to lower the frontier molecular orbital energy level, introduces additional absorption band and sometimes optimizes the morphology of the active blend. Generally, the additional segment in terpolymer backbone inevitably introduces backbone disorder, which causes entropy rises. However, selecting a suitable dipole unit introduces extra driving forces for crystallization by enhancing intermolecular interactions. This provides a handy knob for tradeoff between intermolecular interaction and backbone disorder, thus regulating the blend morphology. Herein, a high dipole and electron‐deficient group of pyrrolo[3,4‐f]benzotriazole‐5,7(6H)‐dione (TzBI) is incorporated into the high‐performance donor polymer and a series of terpolymers with different content of TzBI are designed. As expected, the morphology is optimized gradually for improving charge generation and charge transport, also suppressing charge recombination. The champion device with 10% TzBI exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.36%, which is 5% increase compared to the controlled device. This study presents a charming terpolymer strategy by highly electron‐deficient and high dipole segment to realize a tradeoff between intermolecular interaction and backbone disorder, facilitating the optimization of morphology and elevation of fill factor and device efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Side‐chain engineering with heteroatoms is not only effective in tuning frontier molecular orbitals, but also possible for forming secondary bonds which can be utilized to planarize the molecular backbone, hence, improving the photon absorption as well as charge‐transport abilities of polymer solar‐cell (PSC) materials. Herein, two types of unconventional side chains, namely carboxylate and carbamate, containing various heteroatoms are introduced to the thiophene bridges in high performance benzodithiophene (BDT) based donor polymers to from the novel polymers PTzTz‐C and PTzTz‐N, respectively. In these polymers, non‐covalent O⋅⋅⋅S and N⋅⋅⋅H interactions induce a high tendency to aggregation. In a ternary‐blend PSC with PTzTz‐N added to the high‐performance D18 : BTP‐eC9 blend, complimentary absorption and improved thin‐film morphology were observed with a top power conversion efficiency of 18.76 %, which is an improvement of almost 5 % over the D18 : BTP‐eC9 binary blends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Side‐chain engineering with heteroatoms is not only effective in tuning frontier molecular orbitals, but also possible for forming secondary bonds which can be utilized to planarize the molecular backbone, hence, improving the photon absorption as well as charge‐transport abilities of polymer solar‐cell (PSC) materials. Herein, two types of unconventional side chains, namely carboxylate and carbamate, containing various heteroatoms are introduced to the thiophene bridges in high performance benzodithiophene (BDT) based donor polymers to from the novel polymers PTzTz‐C and PTzTz‐N, respectively. In these polymers, non‐covalent O⋅⋅⋅S and N⋅⋅⋅H interactions induce a high tendency to aggregation. In a ternary‐blend PSC with PTzTz‐N added to the high‐performance D18 : BTP‐eC9 blend, complimentary absorption and improved thin‐film morphology were observed with a top power conversion efficiency of 18.76 %, which is an improvement of almost 5 % over the D18 : BTP‐eC9 binary blends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All‐inorganic CsPbI3 perovskite presents preeminent chemical stability and a desirable band gap as the front absorber for perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. Unfortunately, CsPbI3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs) still show low efficiency due to high density of defects in solution‐prepared CsPbI3 films. Herein, three kinds of hydrazide derivatives (benzoyl hydrazine (BH), formohydrazide (FH) and benzamide (BA)) are designed to reduce the defect density and stabilize the phase of CsPbI3. Calculation and characterization results corroborate that the carboxyl and hydrazine groups in BH form strong chemical bonds with Pb2+ ions, resulting in synergetic double coordination. In addition, the hydrazine group in the BH also forms a hydrogen bond with iodine to assist the coordination. Consequently, a high efficiency of 20.47 % is achieved, which is the highest PCE among all pure CsPbI3‐based PSCs reported to date. In addition, an unencapsulated device showed excellent stability in ambient air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All‐inorganic CsPbI3 perovskite presents preeminent chemical stability and a desirable band gap as the front absorber for perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. Unfortunately, CsPbI3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs) still show low efficiency due to high density of defects in solution‐prepared CsPbI3 films. Herein, three kinds of hydrazide derivatives (benzoyl hydrazine (BH), formohydrazide (FH) and benzamide (BA)) are designed to reduce the defect density and stabilize the phase of CsPbI3. Calculation and characterization results corroborate that the carboxyl and hydrazine groups in BH form strong chemical bonds with Pb2+ ions, resulting in synergetic double coordination. In addition, the hydrazine group in the BH also forms a hydrogen bond with iodine to assist the coordination. Consequently, a high efficiency of 20.47 % is achieved, which is the highest PCE among all pure CsPbI3‐based PSCs reported to date. In addition, an unencapsulated device showed excellent stability in ambient air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formamidinium methylammonium lead iodide (FAMAPbI3) perovskite has been intensively investigated as a potential photovoltaic material because it has higher phase stability than its pure FAPbI3 perovskite counterpart. However, its power conversion efficiency (PCE) is significantly inferior due to its high density of surface detects and mismatched energy level with electrodes. Herein, a bifunctional passivator, methyl haloacetate (methyl chloroacetate, (MClA), methyl bromoacetate (MBrA)), is designed to reduce defect density, to tune the energy levels and to improve interfacial charge extraction in the FAMAPbI3 perovskite cell by synergistic passivation of both CO groups and halogen anions. As predicted by modeling undercoordinated Pb2+, the MBrA shows a very strong interaction with Pb2+ by forming a dimer complex ([C6H10Br2O4Pb]2+), which effectively reduces the defect density of the perovskite and suppresses non‐radiative recombination. Meanwhile, the Br− in MBrA passivates iodine‐deficient defects. Consequently, the MBrA‐modified device presents an excellent PCE of 24.29%, an open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.18 V (Voc loss ≈ 0.38 V), which is one of the highest PCEs among all FAMAPbI3‐based perovskite solar cells reported to date. Furthermore, the MBrA‐modified devices without any encapsulation exhibit remarkable long‐term stability with only 9% of PCE loss after exposure to ambient air for 1440 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lasso peptides are a subclass of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) and feature the threaded, lariat knot-like topology. The basic post-translational modifications (PTMs) of lasso peptide contain two steps, including the leader peptide removal of the ribosome-derived linear precursor peptide by an ATP-dependent cysteine protease, and the macrolactam cyclization by an ATP-dependent macrolactam synthetase. Recently, advanced bioinformatic tools combined with genome mining have paved the way to uncover a rapidly growing number of lasso peptides as well as a series of PTMs other than the general class-defining processes. Despite abundant reviews focusing on lasso peptide discoveries, structures, properties, and physiological functionalities, few summaries concerned their unique PTMs. In this review, we summarized all the unique PTMs of lasso peptides uncovered to date, shedding light on the related investigations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single bulk‐heterojunction active layer based on non‐fullerene acceptors (NFAs) has dominated the power conversional efficiencies above 18% in state‐of‐the‐art organic solar cells (OSCs). However, a deep understanding of the relationship between charge carrier process and film microstructure remains unclear for emerging NFA OSCs. Herein, with the superstar PM6:Y6 blend as a model, the charge generation process in active layers is successfully manipulated by designing three different film microstructures, and they are correlated with the final photovoltaic performance in OSC devices. The amount of intermediate intra‐moiety excited states from the nanoscale Y6 aggregates can be effectively enhanced by controlling the phase separation domains and film crystallinity in the bicontinuous PM6:Y6 networks. This robustly improves the hole transfer, and thus promotes charge generation. As a result, the optimal films show superior device performance, that is, the high efficiencies of 16.53% and 17.98% for PM6:Y6‐ and D18:Y6‐based single junction OSCs, respectively. The results presented here give a rational guide for optimizing the charge carrier process through controlling morphological microstructures toward high‐performance NFA OSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic CsPbI2Br perovskite is promising for solar cell applications due to its excellent thermal stability and optoelectronic characteristics. Unfortunately, the current high‐efficiency CsPbI2Br perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are mostly fabricated in an inert atmosphere due to their instability to moisture. Herein, a low‐dimensional intermediate‐assisted growth (LDIAG) method is reported for the deposition of CsPbI2Br film in ambient atmosphere by introducing imidazole halide (IMX: IMI and IMBr) into the precursor solution to control both nucleation and growth kinetics. The IMX first combines with PbI2 in the precursor film to form a 2D intermediate which then gradually releases PbI2 to slowly form high‐quality CsPbI2Br film during annealing. It is found that the LDIAG method produces a uniform, highly crystalline, pinhole‐free, and stable CsPbI2Br film with low defect density. Consequently, the solar cell efficiency is increased to as high as 17.26%, one of the highest for this type of device. Furthermore, the bare device without any encapsulation shows excellent long‐term stability with ≈86% of its initial efficiency retained after being exposed to the ambient environment for 1000 h. This work provides a perspective to tune the intermediate phases and crystallization pathway for high‐performance inorganic PSCs formed under ambient conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) is one of the most vital parts of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET). At present, no matter what kinds of COS protocols are used, clinicians have to face the challenge of selection of gonadotropin starting dose. Although several nomograms have been developed to calculate the appropriate gonadotropin starting dose in gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist protocol, no nomogram was suitable for GnRH antagonist protocol. This study aimed to develop a predictive nomogram for individualized gonadotropin starting dose in GnRH antagonist protocol. Single-center prospective cohort study was conducted, with 198 women aged 20-45 years underwent IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)-ET cycles. Blood samples were collected on the second day of the menstrual cycle. All women received ovarian stimulation using GnRH antagonist protocol. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to identify predictive factors of ovarian sensitivity (OS). A nomogram for gonadotropin starting dose was developed based on the multivariate regression model. Validation was performed using concordance statistics and bootstrap resampling. A multivariate regression model based on serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level, antral follicle count (AFC), and body mass index (BMI) was developed and accounted for 59% of the variability of OS. An easy-to-use predictive nomogram for gonadotropin starting dose was established with excellent accuracy. The concordance index (C-index) of the nomogram was 0.833 (95% CI, 0.829-0.837). Internal validation using bootstrap resampling further showed the good performance of the nomogram. In conclusion, gonadotropin starting dose in antagonist protocol can be predicted precisely by a novel nomogram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: We propose a novel AR CAPTCHA that first uses Augmented Reality to design CAPTCHA. Users should use their cameras on mobile devices to capture a marker in the 3D physical world or PC screens to find the appropriate angle to recognize each 3D character rendered on the marker in a 3D registration manner, which is very hard for machines or robots to do the same thing. Besides, we add many random 2D characters on the marker to make the state‐of‐the‐art scene text recognition methods fail to recognize the target 3D characters. To ensure availability, we design dual‐channel scenario setting (mobile phone and physical world) that enhances the security level of CAPTCHA and single‐channel scenario setting (mobile phone only) that the gyroscope could be used for our CAPTCHA. The experimental results reveal that the recognition accuracy of machines is nearly 0%, while a human could recognize AR CAPTCHA in only a few seconds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the role of selected serum inflammatory cytokines and berberine in the insulin signaling pathway among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: Selected serum inflammatory cytokines were analyzed in the particle cells, which were interfered by berberine, from 78 infertile women who were to be treated with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) /Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection-Embryo Transfer (icsi-et). Among them, 49 patients had PCOS infertility, and 29 were non-PCOS patients whose infertility resulted from fallopian tube and male factors. The elisa method was used to detect the changes in the expression levels of inflammatory factors in the cells. The correlations between the serum inflammatory cytokine expression levels and the corresponding clinical hormones were analyzed. The changes in the expression (mRNA and protein) levels of the serum inflammatory cytokines were studied by real-time quantitative PCR and protein printing. Fluorescence microscope and flow cytometry were used to detect the glucose uptake capacity of ovarian granulosa cells in PCOS patients under the action of insulin after berberine. Results: In the PCOS group, IL-17a (P = 0.001), IL-1Ra (P<0.0001), and IL-6 (P = 0.035) were significantly higher than those in the non-PCOS group. In the non-PCOS group, AMH level was negatively correlated with inflammatory cytokines IL-17a (r = -0.819;P = 0.004), IL-1a (r = -0.716;P = 0.0.02), IL-1b (r = -0.678;P = 0.031), IL-2 (r = -0.765;P = 0.01), and IL-8 (r = -0.705;P = 0.023). However, in the PCOS group, AMH levels were not significantly correlated with the levels of the examined inflammatory cytokines. Berberine significantly reduced the expression level of mTOR mRNA (P = 0.001), and increased the expression level of IRS-1 mRNA (P = 0.009) in the PCOS granule cells. Conclusion: In this study, we find that the elevated levels of serum inflammatory factors IL-17a, IL-1Ra, and IL-6 cause women to be in a subclinical inflammatory state for a long time. Abnormal changes in inflammatory factors alter their original negative correlations with AMH levels, thereby weakening the metabolism of glycolipids, promoting insulin resistance, destroying the normal ovulation and fertilization system of women, leading to polycystic ovary syndrome characterized by menstrual thinning and abnormal ovulation. Berberine can improve the sensitivity of insulin by regulating the signal pathway of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in PCOS patients and achieve a therapeutic effect of treating PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate whether treated hyperprolactinemia has an impact on pregnancy outcomes in in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection‐embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI‐ET). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 535 women who underwent IVF/ICSI‐ET between January 2012 and December 2016, of which 123 had treated hyperprolactinemia (case group), 369 were matched controls. Besides, 43 remained hyperprolactinemic after treatment consisted of abnormal group. Cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) after one oocyte retrieval cycle was taken as the primary outcome. A time‐to‐event analysis using Fine and Gray's test was used to compare CLBR between case and control groups. Results: The median prolactin level was 80.00 ng/mL before dopamine agonist treatment in case group, and it reduced to 14.80 ng/mL after the treatment, similar to the level of control group (15.17 ng/mL, P = 0.316). No significant differences in baseline characteristics were found between case and control groups. The CLBR after one oocyte retrieval cycle were 69.1% (85/123) and 66.4% (245/369) in the case group and control group, respectively (P = 0.580). No significant differences were found between case and control groups in perinatal outcomes. Pregnancy and perinatal outcomes of abnormal group were similar to those of case and control groups. Conclusion: Impact of treated hyperprolactinemia on CLBR and perinatal outcomes in IVF‐ET was not evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]