Composited Film of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and Graphene Oxide as Hole Transport Layer in Perovskite Solar Cells

It is important to lower the cost and stability of the organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) for industrial application. The commonly used hole transport materials (HTMs) such as Spiro-OMeTAD, poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine] (PTAA) and poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) are very expensive. Here, 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) monomers are in-situ polymerized on the surface of graphene oxide (GO) as PEDOT-GO film. Compared to frequently used polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS), GO avoids the corrosion of the perovskite and the use of H2O solvent. The composite PEDOT-GO film is between carbon pair electrode and perovskite layer as hole transport layer (HTL). The highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) is 14.09%.

Synthesis and Characterization of Polystyrene Sulfonic Acid from Expanded Polystyrene Foam as a Catalyst in the Synthesis of Triacetin

In Indonesia, the composition of waste has gradually changed over time. To reduce expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam waste, we converted it into a heterogeneous acid catalyst, namely Polystyrene Sulfonic Acid (PSSA). The catalyst was then used in an esterification reaction to generate triacetin. In this research, the synthesis of PSSA was performed using a sulfonation reaction with silver sulfate (Ag2SO4) as the catalyst. Based on FTIR analysis, the sulfonation reaction was successful. The use of 0.5% and 1% catalysts led to a significant increase in the degree of sulfonation of PSSA, while there was a relatively constant increase when using 1.5–2.5% catalysts. The highest degree of sulfonation (78.63%) was achieved when the reaction was performed using 2% Ag2SO4 catalyst for 25 min. The PSSA with the highest degree of sulfonation was characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), SEM-EDX, and BET-BJH. This PSSA had a semi-crystalline structure with a crystallinity of 73.83%, a particle size of 1.75 nm, mesoporous pores with a radius of 16.984 Å, and a sulfur content of 15% (% mass).

REGULARITIES FOR THE PREPARATION OF POLYMER COMPOSITES WITH NANOSIZED PARTICLES OF COBALT OXIDE

The influence of the nature of the water-soluble polymer on the dimensional characteristics, morphology and chemical composition of cobalt-containing particles obtained in polymer films has been investigated. In the presence of polystyrene sulfonic acid and polyacrylic acid, polydisperse particles with a size of 20-50 nm are formed, forming aggregates of various structures. In the poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone film, the resulting particles are uniformly distributed over the film surface, do not form aggregates and have an average size of 30-40 nm. The chemical composition of the resulting particles was determined by X-ray microanalysis.

REGULARITIES OF THE INTERACTION OF POLYSTYRENE SULPHOIC ACID WITH COBALT IONS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

Mixtures of solutions of sodium salt of polystyrene sulfonic acid and cobalt sulfate were investigated by spectrophotometric and conductometric methods of analysis. It was shown that polystyrene sulfonic acid macromolecules do not form complexes with cobalt ions in both acidic (pH = 2) and alkaline (pH = 9) media.

Extracellular and intracellular intermittent magnetic-fluid hyperthermia treatment of SK-Hep1 hepatocellular carcinoma cells based on magnetic nanoparticles coated with polystyrene sulfonic acid

The use of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) magnetized on applying an alternating magnetic field (AMF) to stimulate the thermal characteristics and to induce tumor apoptosis is a currently active area of research in cancer treatment. In previous work, we developed biocompatible and superparamagnetic polystyrene-sulfonic-acid-coated magnetic nanoparticles (PSS-MNPs) as applications for magnetically labeled cell trapping, but without assessment of treatment effects on tumor diseases. In the present work, we examined PSS-MNP-induced magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) on SK-Hep1 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells for lethal thermal effects with a self-made AMF system; an adjustable AMF frequency generated a variable intensity of magnetic field and induced MNP relaxation. The extracellular and intracellular MFH treatments on a SK-Hep1 cell line were implemented in vitro; the result indicates that the lethal effects were efficient and caused a significantly decreased cell viability of SK-Hep1 cells. As the PSS-MNP concentration decreased, especially in intracellular MFH treatments, the MFH effects on cells, however, largely decreased through heat spreading to the culture medium. On controlling and decreasing the volume of culture medium, the problem of heat spreading was solved. It can be consequently expected that PSS-MNPs would be a prospective agent for intracellular cancer magnetotherapy.

Application of Polyaniline for Flexible Semiconductors

“In situ” polymerization method was used to develop PANI-PSSA /textile. Polyaniline doped with polystyrene sulfonic acid (PANI-PSSA) used as coatings for textiles were obtained by aqueous and emulsion route. The emulsion route uses chloroform as solvent. Polymerization has been achieved in one step on the wool or polyamide textiles. For coated and uncoated textiles, dried at room temperature, were characterized structurally by Infrared Spectroscopy with Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR), morphologically by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and electrically. The synthesis methods lead to differences in structure, morphology and properties of the coated polyamide and wool textiles.