Improving the performance of arylamine-based hole transporting materials in perovskite solar cells： Extending π-conjugation length or increasing the number of side groups？

In this work, we prepared three simple arylamine-based hole transporting materials from commercially available starting materials. The effect of extending z-conjugation length or increasing the number of side groups compared with reference compound on the photophysical, electrochemical, hole mobility properties and performance in perovskite solar cells were further studied. It is noted that these two kinds of molecular modifications can significantly lower the HOMO level and improve the hole mobility, thus improving the hole injection from valence band of perovskite. On the other hand, the compound with more side groups showed higher hole injection efficiency due to lower HOMO level and higher hole mo- bility compared with the compound with extending π-conjugation length. The perovskite solar cells with the modified molecules as hole transporting materials showed a higher efficiency of 15.40% and 16.95%, respectively, which is better than that of the reference compound （13.18%）. Moreover, the compound with increasing number of side groups based devices showed comparable photovoltaic performance with that of conventional spiro-OMeTAD （16.87%）.

Ba(SO_(3)CH_(3))-(2):A Deep-Ultraviolet Transparent Crystal with Excellent Optical Nonlinearity Based on a New Polar Non-π-Conjugated NLO Building Unit SO_(3)CH_(3)^(−)

In this study,the first methyl sulfonate deepultraviolet(DUV)nonlinear optical(NLO)crystal,Ba(SO_(3)CH_(3))_(2),was successfully synthesized with the polar non-π-conjugated tetrahedron,SO_(3)CH_(3)^(−),as a novel DUV NLO building unit.Results showed that Ba(SO_(3)CH_(3))_(2)not only had a very short absorption edge of 159 nm,which is the shortest among reported phase-matchable sulfates or sulfonates,but also exhibited excellent optical properties.(Powder X-ray diffractionwas ca.1.5×KH_(2)PO_(4)and birefringence was 0.04 at 589.3 nm.)It also exhibited high thermal stability and remarkable stability against air and moisture.Additionally,bulk Ba(SO_(3)CH_(3))_(2)crystal could be obtained conveniently from a simple solution evaporation process.Therefore,Ba(SO_(3)CH_(3))_(2)should have great potential as a DUV NLO crystal in the near future.

Compounds consisting of coplanar π-conjugated B_(3)O_(6)-typed structures:An emerging source of ultraviolet nonlinear optical materials

Nonlinear optical(NLO)materials as a crucial part of the laser science have attracted increasing attention from researchers because of their wide applications in information storages,modern science and technologies,et al.Based on the anionic group theory,theπ-conjugated 6-membered rings(6-MRs),B_(3)O_(6)-typed structures have key contributions to the superior optical properties ofβ-Ba_(2)B_(2)O_(4)(β-BBO).In recent years,the organic coplanarπ-conjugated B_(3)O_(6)-typed structures have caught researchers'attention due to similar configurations to the(B_(3)O_(6))groups,which are the potential sources for expending the(B_(3)O_(6))groups with outstanding optical properties.Up to know,researchers have obtained many ultraviolet(UV)NLO crystals with excellent properties withπ-conju-gated B_(3)O_(6)-typed groups.Herein,these B_(3)O_(6)-typed groups could be divided into different categories according to the atoms constituting the 6-MRs:(H_(x)C_(3)N_(3)O_(3))^(x-3)(x=0-3)(cyanurate ion),(H_(x)C_(4)N_(2)O_(3))^(x-4)(x=2,3)(barbi-turate ion),(C_(3)H_(7)N_(6))^(+)(melamine ion),(C_(5)H_(6)ON)^(+)(4-hydroxypyridine cation),and(C_(4)H_(6)N_(3))^(+)(2-amino-pyrimidinium cation).In this review,we introduced the research advances of NLO materials withπ-conjugated B_(3)O_(6)-typed groups,and summarized the crystal structures,synthetic methods,optical performances,as well as the relationships between structures and properties.This work provided a clear perspective for understanding the coplanarπ-conjugated B_(3)O_(6)-typed groups with their optical functional properties and promote the searches to develop potential NLO functional crystals.