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The strong aggregation of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) severely limits its use as the hole-transport material in emerging quantum dot photodetectors and photovoltaics. Herein, we propose a facile and cost-effective strategy to control the solution-state aggregation of hole transporting layers by designing a dual polythiophene blend based on P3HT and its alkylthio-substituted analogue named Poly(3-hexylthiothiophene) (P3HTT). In our photodetector device, we have used the dual polythiophene as the hole transport layer and achieved a specific detectivity (D*) on the order of 1012 Jones. In particular, by incorporating a small amount of P3HTT into the dual polythiophene mixture, we observed a remarkable 28% performance enhancement. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the solution structure of the dual polythiophene blend, elucidates the evolution of the condensed matter structure, and ultimately presents a promising avenue for enhancing the performance of low-cost quantum dot photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analytical solution for two-dimensional heterogeneous materials containing nano-fibers or pores, taking into account the Steigmann-Ogden elastic surface under far-field loading. The solution is validated against numerical results from the complex function method in recent literature, and the closed-form expressions for specific displacement and stress fields are provided. The effects of surface elasticity parameters, surface residual stress, fiber/pore size, and far-field load on local stress distribution are numerically investigated. Results show that surface elasticity parameters can disturb internal stresses within the fiber domain, while surface bending stiffness parameters significantly impact stress concentrations, which is different from the uniform stress distribution in the classical Eshelby problem. The analytical expressions reveal interesting phenomena, e.g., the stress/displacement fields of fiber composites under hydrostatic load are only related to the surface Lamé parameters, and the non-constant coefficient in the analytical expression under shear load is kept twice of that under uniaxial tensile load, which are first reported in this paper. The developed solution is crucial for accurately capturing the mechanical responses of nanocomposites with significant surface effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, to promote the separation of photogenerated carriers, prevent the catalyst from photo-corrosion, and improve the photo-Fenton synergistic degradation of organic pollutants, the coating structure of FeOOH/BiO2−x rich in oxygen vacancies was successfully synthesized by a facile and environmentally friendly two-step process of hydrothermal and chemical deposition. Through a series of degradation activity tests of synthesized materials under different conditions, it was found that FeOOH/BiO2−x demonstrated outstanding organic pollutant degradation activity under visible and near-infrared light when hydrogen peroxide was added. After 90 min of reaction under photo-Fenton conditions, the degradation rate of Methylene Blue by FeOOH/BiO2−x was 87.4%, significantly higher than the degradation efficiency under photocatalysis (60.3%) and Fenton (49.0%) conditions. The apparent rate constants of FeOOH/BiO2−x under photo-Fenton conditions were 2.33 times and 3.32 times higher than photocatalysis and Fenton catalysis, respectively. The amorphous FeOOH was tightly coated on the layered BiO2−x, which significantly increased the specific surface area and the number of active sites of the composites, and facilitated the improvement of the separation efficiency of the photogenerated carriers and the prevention of photo-corrosion of BiO2−x. The analysis of the mechanism of photo-Fenton synergistic degradation clarified that ·OH, h+, and ·O2− are the main active substances involved in the degradation of pollutants. The optimal degradation conditions were the addition of the FeOOH/BiO2−x composite catalyst loaded with 20% Fe at a concentration of 0.5 g/L, the addition of hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 8 mM, and an initial pH of 4. This outstanding catalytic system offers a fresh approach to the creation and processing of iron-based photo-Fenton catalysts by quickly and efficiently degrading various organic contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programmed cell death protein‐1 (PD‐1)/programmed death ligand‐1 (PD‐L1) immune checkpoint blockade as a breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy has shown unprecedented positive outcomes in the clinic. However, the overall effectiveness of PD‐L1 antibody is less than expected. An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that PD‐L1 is widely distributed and expressed not only on the cell membrane but also on the inside of the cells as well as on the extracellular vesicles secreted by tumour cells. Both endogenous and exogenous PD‐L1 play significant roles in influencing the therapeutic effect of anti‐tumour immunity. Herein, we mainly focused on the distribution and function of PD‐L1 and further summarized the potential targeted therapeutic strategies. More importantly, in addition to taking the overall expression abundance of PD‐L1 as a predictive indicator for selecting corresponding PD‐1/PD‐L1 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), we also proposed that personalized combination therapies based on the different distribution of PD‐L1 are worth attention to achieve more efficient and effective therapeutic outcomes in cancer patients. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on Cancer Microenvironment and Pharmacological Interventions. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v181.2/issuetoc [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving a more balanced charge transport by morphological control is crucial in reducing bimolecular and trap‐assisted recombination and enhancing the critical parameters for efficient organic solar cells (OSCs). Hence, a facile strategy is proposed to reduce the crystallinity difference between donor and acceptor by incorporating a novel multifunctional liquid crystal small molecule (LCSM) BDTPF4‐C6 into the binary blend. BDTPF4‐C6 is the first LCSM based on a tetrafluorobenzene unit and features a low liquid crystal phase transition temperature and strong self‐assembly ability, conducive to regulating the active layer morphology. When BDTPF4‐C6 is introduced as a guest molecule into the PM6 : Y6 binary, it exhibits better compatibility with the donor PM6 and primarily resides within the PM6 phase because of the similarity‐intermiscibility principle. Moreover, systematic studies revealed that BDTPF4‐C6 could be used as a seeding agent for PM6 to enhance its crystallinity, thereby forming a more balanced and favourable charge transport with suppressed charge recombination. Intriguingly, dual Förster resonance energy transfer was observed between the guest molecule and the host donor and acceptor, resulting in an improved current density. This study demonstrates a facile approach to balance the charge mobilities and offers new insights into boosting the efficiency of single‐junction OSCs beyond 20 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving a more balanced charge transport by morphological control is crucial in reducing bimolecular and trap‐assisted recombination and enhancing the critical parameters for efficient organic solar cells (OSCs). Hence, a facile strategy is proposed to reduce the crystallinity difference between donor and acceptor by incorporating a novel multifunctional liquid crystal small molecule (LCSM) BDTPF4‐C6 into the binary blend. BDTPF4‐C6 is the first LCSM based on a tetrafluorobenzene unit and features a low liquid crystal phase transition temperature and strong self‐assembly ability, conducive to regulating the active layer morphology. When BDTPF4‐C6 is introduced as a guest molecule into the PM6 : Y6 binary, it exhibits better compatibility with the donor PM6 and primarily resides within the PM6 phase because of the similarity‐intermiscibility principle. Moreover, systematic studies revealed that BDTPF4‐C6 could be used as a seeding agent for PM6 to enhance its crystallinity, thereby forming a more balanced and favourable charge transport with suppressed charge recombination. Intriguingly, dual Förster resonance energy transfer was observed between the guest molecule and the host donor and acceptor, resulting in an improved current density. This study demonstrates a facile approach to balance the charge mobilities and offers new insights into boosting the efficiency of single‐junction OSCs beyond 20 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrinsically stretchable organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) have garnered significant attention as crucial devices for powering next‐generation wearable electronics. Despite the rapid power conversion efficiency gains in champion OPVs, their brittle stretchability has failed to meet the demands of the Internet of Things era, severely hindering further development and practical applications. In this regard, a new dual‐donor polymer blending strategy is demonstrated for constructing intrinsically stretchable OPVs by designing a novel high‐molecular–weight conjugated polymer PM6‐HD. This PM6 derivative featuring long alkyl chains can reach a sufficiently high molecular weight and thus exhibits a high fracture strain exceeding 90%, which is ≈12 times higher than the benchmark PM6. Synergistic optimization of mechanical properties and photovoltaic performance in polymer:small molecule and all‐polymer systems constructed from the physical blends of PM6 and PM6‐HD is achieved. Crucially, the resulting intrinsically stretchable OPV demonstrates excellent stretchability and stability, with a record PCE80% strain of 50.3% and the efficiency retention of above 80% even after 1000 cycles of cyclic stretching at high strains. This work contributes to the advancement of intrinsically stretchable OPV technology and opens up new possibilities for its integration into wearable electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]