Understanding the Coffee ring Effect on Self-discharge Behavior of Printed micro-Supercapacitors

Printed micro-supercapacitor exhibits its flexibility in geometry design and integration,showing unprecedented potential in powering the internet of things and portable devices.However,the printing process brings undesired processing defects(e.g.,coffee ring effect),resulting in severe self-discharge of the printed micro-supercapacitors.The impact of such problems on device performance is poorly understood,limiting further development of microsupercapacitors.Herein,by analyzing the self-discharge behavior of fully printed micro-supercapacitors,the severe self-discharge problem is accelerated by the ohmic leakage caused by the coffee ring effect on an ultrathin polymer electrolyte.Based on this understanding,the coffee ring effect was successfully eradicated by introducing graphene oxide in the polymer electrolyte,achieving a decline of 99%in the self-discharge rate.Moreover,the micro-supercapacitors with uniformly printed polymer electrolyte present 7.64 F cm^(-3)volumetric capacitance(14.37 mF cm^(-2)areal capacitance),exhibiting about 50%increase compared to the one without graphene oxide addition.This work provides a new insight to understand the relationship between processing defects and device performance,which will help improve the performance and promote the application of printed micro-supercapacitors.

“Coffee ring” controlment in spray prepared >19% efficiency Cs_(0.19)FA_(0.81)PbI_(2.5)Br_(0.5) perovskite solar cells

Achieving high-quality perovskite films with uniform morphology and homogeneous crystallinity is challenging owing to the coffee ring effect(CRE) in the spray-coating technologies. In this study, an evaporation/spray-coating two-step deposition method is used to fabricate Cs_(0.19)FA_(0.81)PbI_(2.5)Br_(0.5)light harvesters for perovskite solar cells(PSCs). Considering the solid–liquid reaction, we establish a reaction-dependent regulating strategy that inhibits CRE successfully and prepare a high-quality perovskite layer, wherein the solvent for the FAI/Br solution during the spraying process is changed from isopropanol to n-butyl alcohol(NBA). The retarded-drying-enhanced spreading of the NBA solution inhibits contact line pinning to suppress the capillary flows and increases the reaction between metal halides(CsI/PbI_(2)) and organic salts(FAI/Br), which result in a reduction in the accumulation of solutes in the periphery effectively inhibiting CRE. Consequently, we obtain a high performance Cs_(0.19)FA_(0.81)PbI_(2.5)Br_(0.5) PSC with a power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 19.17%. An enlarged perovskite film(10 × 10 cm^(2)) containing 40 sub-cells is prepared. The average PCE of these devices is 18.33 ± 0.56%, proving the reliability of the "coffee ring" regulating strategy. This study provides an effective approach for CRE controlment in spraying technology to achieve high repeatability devices with good performance.

Fabrication of Superhydrophobic–Hydrophilic Patterned Cu@Ag Composite SERS Substrate via Femtosecond Laser

Ultralow concentration molecular detection is critical in various fields,e.g.,food safety,environmental monitoring,and dis-ease diagnosis.Highly sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)based on ultra-wettable surfaces has attracted attention due to its unique ability to detect trace molecules.However,the complexity and cost associated with the preparation of traditional SERS substrates restrict their practical application.Thus,an efficient SERS substrate preparation with high sensitivity,a simplified process,and controllable cost is required.In this study,a superhydrophobic–hydrophilic patterned Cu@Ag composite SERS substrate was fabricated using femtosecond laser processing technology combined with silver plating and surface modification treatment.By inducing periodic stripe structures through femtosecond laser processing,the developed substrate achieves uniform distribution hotspots.Using the surface wettability difference,the object to be measured can be confined in the hydrophilic region and the edge of the hydrophilic region,where the analyte is enriched by the coffee ring effect,can be quickly located by surface morphology difference of micro-nanostructures;thus,greatly improving detec-tion efficiency.The fabricated SERS substrate can detect Rhodamine 6G(R6G)at an extraordinarily low concentration of 10^(−15)mol/L,corresponding to an enhancement factor of 1.53×10^(8).This substrate has an ultralow detection limit,incurs low processing costs and is simple to prepare;thus,the substrate has significant application potential in the trace analysis field.

Thickness Uniformity Adjustment of Inkjet Printed Light-emitting Polymer Films by Solvent Mixture

In this paper, thickness uniformity of poly（9,9-di-n-octylfluorene） films patterned by inkjet printing was im- proved by the use of solvent mixtures （a solvent with higher volatility, higher surface energy and lower viscosity, with another solvent with lower volatility, lower surface energy and higher viscosity）. The average thickness of inkjet printed poly（9,9-di-n-octylfluorene） films was increased from ca. 30 nm to ca. 100 nm when solvent mixtures were used instead of pure chlorobenzene. More flat PFO films were formed instead of the original films with con- cave-lens like cross-section formed by coffee ring effect. This improvement was explained by combination of in- tense Marangoni flow at early drying process and weak complementary flow at the later drying process formed in the solvent mixture. Patterned poly（9,9-di-n-octylfluorene） films were used for fabrication of electroluminescence devices with improved electronic property. Array of pixels with about 80% effective light-emitting area was ob- tained.