@article {47720,
	title = {Amphifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles with {\textquoteleft}{\textquoteleft}molecular gates{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} for controlled drug uptake and release},
	journal = {Particle \& Particle Systems Characterization},
	volume = {38},
	year = {2021},
	month = {DEC},
	pages = {2100185},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {It is demonstrated that the uptake and release of hydrophobic drugs/dyes by mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) is critically dependent on the functional groups present on their outer surfaces. For this, amphifunctional MSNs are synthesized, possessing hydrophobic pores and hydrophilic functional groups on the outer surface. Further, the outer surface is modified with a different chain length of molecules, e.g., propargyl alcohol, triethylene glycol, and PEG (2000) via azide-alkyne click chemistry. The effect of these different surface functional groups on uptake of drug/dye is demonstrated with Nile red, proflavine (free base form), and rhodamine 6G. The uptake of these molecules is found to be inversely proportional to the bulkiness of surface functionality. To counter this effect, an alternate method of loading is proposed and demonstrated. Finally, the effect of these different functional groups on the release of loaded drug proflavine is studied, which supports the hypothesis that bulkier outer surface groups also hinder the release of drugs loaded in the porous MSN.},
	keywords = {drug delivery and release, Mesoporous silica, molecular gating, surface functionalization},
	issn = {0934-0866},
	doi = {10.1002/ppsc.202100185},
	author = {Shinde, Pravin and Prasad, V, Bhagavatula L.}
}
@article {48033,
	title = {Thiocyanate- and thiol-functionalized p-doped quantum dot colloids for the development of bulk homojunction solar cells},
	journal = {Energy Technology},
	volume = {10},
	year = {2022},
	month = {SEP},
	pages = {2200455},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>
	Progress in device engineering and surface passivation strategies has led to steady progress in colloidal quantum dot (QD) solar cells. Bulk homojunction (BHJ) device architecture has several advantages over the conventional planar junction in developing QD solar cells. Herein, surface ligand chemistry is utilized to control the doping type and dispersibility of oppositely doped PbS QDs to develop BHJ solar cells. Thiocyanate and thiol ligand combination is introduced to develop p-PbS QD ink, which is blended with halide-passivated n-PbS QDs to build BHJ solar cells. It is shown that BHJ solar cells are benefited from high energy offset and higher hole mobility. This leads to the superior carrier extraction from a thicker active layer without compromising fill factor and open circuit voltage. Power conversion efficiency has reached 10.7\% in 530 nm-thick BHJ solar cells, a 24\% improvement over the best performing planar solar cells. With the help of the 1D solar cell capacitance simulator, it is shown that a 15\% efficient QD solar cell can be realized by further improving the hole mobility above 0.1 cm(2) V-1 s(-1).</p>
},
	keywords = {bulk homojunctions, Doping, quantum dots, solar cells, surface functionalization},
	issn = {2194-4288},
	doi = {10.1002/ente.202200455},
	author = {Dambhare, V. Neha and Sharma, Ashish and Mahajan, Chandan and Rath, Arup K.}
}
