The Crystalline Porous Polymeric materials (CPPs) also well known as Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) have concerned substantial research interest because of their extensive applications in molecular storage and separation, catalysis, sensing, opto-electronics etc. [1]. The overall properties and real time employments of such materials not only rely on the compositions but also their nano-scale morphology which plays an incredible role [2]. Therefore, an explicit understanding of the morphology-modulation with respect to their constituents is really demanding. This study accounted a detailed molecular level investigation on morphological evaluation in COFs emanates entirely from its primary building units. Here two new highly crystalline, permanently porous imine linked based COFs named 2,3-DhaTta (Surface area 1700 m2/g) and 2,3-DhaTab (Surface area 413 m2/g) was solvothermally synthesised by faintly varying linker core while retaining all other external factors unchanged. These COFs are found to self template into diverge morphologies including ribbons (2,3-DhaTta) and hollow spheres (2,3-DhaTab). Their mechanisms of formation have been thoroughly and systematically investigated where hollow sphere formation in this case was guided by inside out Ostwald Ripening phenomenon. Moreover, based on DFT (Density Functional Theory) study a significant correlation between stacking energy of two adjacent COF layers with their backbone planarity was established which was believed to be the predominant guiding factor for governing their crystallinity, porosity and morphological diversity evaluation [3].

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) represent undoubtedly the most significant breakthrough in photovoltaic technology since the 1970s, with an increase in their power conversion efficiency from less than 5% to over 22% in just a few years. Hole-transporting materials (HTMs) are an essential building block of PSC architectures. Currently, 2,2 ,7,7 -tetrakis-(N,N -di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9 -spirobifluorene), better known as spiro-OMeTAD, is the most widely-used HTM to obtain high-efficiency devices. However, it is a tremendously expensive material with mediocre hole carrier mobility. To ensure wide-scale application of PSC-based technologies, alternative HTMs are being proposed. Solution-processable HTMs are crucial to develop inexpensive, high-throughput and printable large-area PSCs. In this review, we present the most recent advances in the design and development of different types of HTMs, with a particular focus on mesoscopic PSCs. Finally, we outline possible future research directions for further optimization of the HTMs to achieve low-cost, stable and large-area PSCs.

Organic hole-transporting materials (HTMs), AZO-I and AZO-II, were synthesized via Schiff base chemistry by functionalizing a phenothiazine core with triarylamine(s) through azomethine bridges. Substantial enhancements in the power conversion efficiency (PCE = 12.6% and 14% for AZO-I and AZO-II, respectively) and stability (68% or 91% of PCE retained after 60 days for AZO-I or AZO-II, respectively) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) were achieved when switching from mono-(AZO-I) to disubstituted (AZO-II) HTMs. The extremely low production costs (9 and 12 $/g for AZO-I and AZO-II, respectively), together with the Pd-catalyst-free synthesis, make these materials excellent candidates for lowcost and eco-friendly PSCs.

Interfaces play a crucial role in determining perovskite solar cells, (PSCs) performance and stability. It is therefore of great importance to constantly work toward improving their design. This study shows the advantages of using a hole‐transport material (HTM) that can anchor to the perovskite surface through halogen bonding (XB). A halo‐functional HTM (PFI) is compared to a reference HTM (PF), identical in optoelectronic properties and chemical structure but lacking the ability to form XB. The interaction between PFI and perovskite is supported by simulations and experiments. XB allows the HTM to create an ordered and homogenous layer on the perovskite surface, thus improving the perovskite/HTM interface and its energy level alignment. Thanks to the compact and ordered interface, PFI displays increased resistance to solvent exposure compared to its not‐interacting counterpart. Moreover, PFI devices show suppressed nonradiative recombination and reduced hysteresis, with a Voc enhancement of ≥20 mV and a remarkable stability, retaining more than 90% efficiency after 550 h of continuous maximum‐power‐point tracking. This work highlights the potential that XB can bring to the context of PSCs, paving the way for a new halo‐functional design strategy for charge‐transport layers, which tackles the challenges of charge transport and interface improvement simultaneously.

Two new solution processable pyrene based electroluminescent organic semiconductors (PY-PH & PY-CA) and their OLED performance reported.