Interface properties are of critical importance for high‐performance bulk‐heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells (OSCs). Here, a universal interface approach to tune the surface free energy (γS) of hole‐transporting layers (HTLs) in a wide range through introducing poly(styrene sulfonic acid) sodium salts or nickel formate dihydrate into poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is reported. Based on the optimal γS of HTLs and thus improved face‐on molecular ordering in BHJs, enhanced fill factor and power conversion efficiencies in both fullerene and nonfullerene OSCs are achieved, which is attributed to the increased charge carrier mobility and sweepout with reduced recombination. It is found that the face‐on orientation‐preferred BHJs (PBDB‐TF:PC71BM, PBDB‐T:PC71BM, and PBDB‐TF:IT‐4F) favor HTLs with higher γS while the edge‐on orientation‐preferred BHJs (PDCDT:PC71BM, P3HT:PC71BM and PDCBT:ITIC) are partial to HTLs with lower γS. Based on the surface property–morphology–device performance correlations, a suggestion to select a suitable HTL in terms of γS for a specific BHJ with favored molecular arrangement is provided. This work enriches the fundamental understandings on the interface characteristics and morphological control toward high‐efficiency OSCs based on a wide range of BHJ materials.

The process of aging is mitigated by the maintenance and repair of chromosome ends (telomeres), resulting in extended lifespan. This review examines the molecular mechanisms underlying the actions and regulation of the enzyme telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), which functions as the primary mechanism of telomere maintenance and regulates cellular life expectancy. Underpinning increased cell proliferation, telomerase is also a key factor in facilitating cancer cell immortalization. The review focuses on aspects of hormonal regulations of telomerase, and the intracellular pathways that converge to regulate telomerase activity with an emphasis on molecular interactions at protein and gene levels. In addition, the basic structure and function of two key telomerase enzyme components-the catalytic subunit TERT and the template RNA (TERC) are discussed briefly.

We report a faster rate of hole transfer under a smaller Δ HOMO in a comparative study of two group organic solar cells (OSCs) consisting of IT-4F as an acceptor and PBDBT and PBDBT-SF as donors. In the OSCs based on PBDBT-SF:IT-4F, a higher short-circuit current (J SC ) was observed with a Δ HOMO of 0.31 eV compared to a lower J SC in PBDBT:IT-4F OSCs with a larger Δ HOMO (0.45 eV). Intensive investigation indicates that the rate of transfer of a hole from IT-4F to PBDBT-SF or PBDBT is inversely proportional to the Δ HOMO between IT-4F and donors. The larger J SC in the PBDBT-SF:IT-4F device is attributed to a synergy of faster hole transfer, slower recombination, and rapid charge extraction enabled by desired morphology and balanced charge carrier mobilities with PBDBT-SF, suggesting that under a sufficiently high Δ HOMO , comprehensive considerations of the transport, film morphology, and energy levels are needed when designing new materials for high-performance OSCs.

Large voltage losses are the main obstacle for achieving high efficiency in organic solar cells (OSCs). Here we construct ternary OSCs by introducing an asymmetric small molecule acceptor AITC into PBDB-TCl: BTP-eC9 system and demonstrate the effectiveness in simultaneously decreasing energy disorder and non-radiative voltage losses. It is found that the introduction of AITC can modify domain size and increase degree of crystallinity, which enhances the open circuit voltage and power conversion efficiency (19.1%, certified as 18.9%). Inspiringly, the constructed tandem OSCs based on PBDB-TCl: AITC: BTP-eC9 ternary active layer output a recorded efficiency of 20.6% (certified as 20.3%), which is the highest value in OSCs field till now. This work demonstrates that decreasing the voltage losses by ternary strategy and constructing of tandem architecture are effective approaches towards improving the photovoltaic performance.