SusChEM: Naturally produced fungal compounds for sustainable (opto)electronics

该项目将探索一种用于有机光伏发电的可持续光电材料的新来源，用于可再生发电。这个项目使用了生物衍生材料，真菌衍生的颜料。这种材料的一个例子是木质素，这是一种蓝绿色颜料，由原产于美国太平洋西北部的非致病木染真菌铜绿假单胞菌和铜绿假单胞菌分泌。这种颜料自15世纪以来一直被用于艺术，因为它鲜艳的颜色和稳定性，但它的光电特性还没有被探索过。在本项目中，我们将系统地研究木聚糖胺及其衍生物的(光学)电子性质，并将其应用于太阳能电池等有机电子器件中。除了有机电子领域，该项目还将影响木制品和林业行业，这些行业将受益于具有市场价值的氯氰酸病木材带来的商业潜力的增加。该项目将为参与的研究生、本科生和预科学生提供丰富的涉及物理、化学和木材科学的跨学科经验。该项目的成果是支持使用这些材料的有机光伏的基础知识，以及从真菌/生物质资源大规模生产颜料的能力。真菌衍生的色素很丰富；它们是有机电子产品中一种基本未被开发的资源。该项目的目标是建立木脂素及其衍生物的光物理特性，木脂素是一种平面共轭真菌衍生色素。该项目将致力于实现以下三个目标：建立控制木质素衍生物在溶液中的光物理的机制，建立氢键和pi-pi堆积之间的相互作用对分子堆积和光电性质的影响，以及探索木质素衍生物在(光学)电子器件中的性能。旨在优化木材真菌提取、分批培养生长和纯化的实验将与分子光物理和基于木质素基的有机半导体器件的表征相结合。该项目为以下方面创造了独特的机会：(A)在(光电)电子学中使用生物衍生的(低成本、低毒性、丰富的)可持续来源；(B)通过分子光物理和固态分子堆积的可调性，探索圆周率堆积和氢键的协同工作以实现可调光电性能的可能性。这一结果不仅对有机电子领域具有重要意义，而且对依赖氢键颜料的应用也具有重要意义，氢键颜料包括彩色打印机油墨、纺织染料和商用涂料。

The project will explore a new source of sustainable optoelectronic materials for organic photovoltaics for renewable electricity generation. This project uses bio-derived materials, fungi-derived pigments. An example of such materials is xylindein, which is a blue-green pigment secreted by the non-pathogenic wood-staining fungi Chlorociboria aeruginosa and C. aeruginascens native to the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. This pigment has been used in art since the 15th century, owing to its vibrant color and stability, but its optoelectronic properties have not been explored. In this project, (opto)electronic properties of xylindein and its derivatives will be systematically investigated and incorporated into organic electronic devices such as solar cells. In addition to the field of organic electronics, the project will impact wood products and forestry industries, which stand to benefit from increased commercial potential from Chlorociboria-infested wood having market value. The project will provide a rich interdisciplinary experience involving physics, chemistry, and wood science to the participating graduate, undergraduate, and pre-college students. The outcome of this project is fundamental knowledge supporting organic photovoltaics using these materials and the ability to mass produce the pigments from fungi/biomass resources. Fungi-derived pigments are abundant; they represent a largely unexplored resource for organic electronics. The goal of the project is to establish photophysical characteristics of xylindein, a planar conjugated fungi-derived pigment, and its derivatives. The project will aim to fulfill the following three objectives: to establish the mechanisms that govern photophysics of xylindein derivatives in solution, to establish effects of interplay between hydrogen bonding and pi-pi stacking on molecular packing and optoelectronic properties, and to explore performance of xylindein derivatives in (opto)electronic devices. Experiments aiming to optimize wood fungi extraction, batch culture growth, and purification will be combined with characterization of molecular photophysics and xylindein-based organic semiconductor devices. The project creates unique opportunities for: (a) the use of bio-derived (low-cost, low-toxicity, abundant) sustainable sources in (opto)electronics; and (b) the possibility to explore synergistic work of pi-stacking and hydrogen bonding for tunable optoelectronic properties via tunability of molecular photophysics and solid-state molecular packing. The results will be important not only for the field of organic electronics, but also for applications relying on hydrogen-bonded pigments that include color printer inks, textile dyes, and commercial paints.