@article{AlbrechtJanietzSchindleretal.2012,
  author    = {Albrecht, Steve and Janietz, Silvia and Schindler, Wolfram and Frisch, Johannes and Kurpiers, Jona and Kniepert, Juliane and Inal, Sahika and Pingel, Patrick and Fostiropoulos, Konstantinos and Koch, Norbert and Neher, Dieter},
  title     = {Fluorinated Copolymer PCPDTBT with enhanced open-circuit voltage and reduced recombination for highly efficient polymer solar cells},
  series = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
  volume    = {134},
  journal   = {Journal of the American Chemical Society},
  number    = {36},
  publisher = {American Chemical Society},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {0002-7863},
  doi       = {10.1021/ja305039j},
  pages     = {14932 -- 14944},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {A novel fluorinated copolymer (F-PCPDTBT) is introduced and shown to exhibit significantly higher power conversion efficiency in bulk heterojunction solar cells with PC70BM compared to the well-known low-band-gap polymer PCPDTBT. Fluorination lowers the polymer HOMO level, resulting in high open-circuit voltages well exceeding 0.7 V. Optical spectroscopy and morphological studies with energy-resolved transmission electron microscopy reveal that the fluorinated polymer aggregates more strongly in pristine and blended layers, with a smaller amount of additives needed to achieve optimum device performance. Time-delayed collection field and charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage are used to gain insight into the effect of fluorination on the field dependence of free charge-carrier generation and recombination. F-PCPDTBT is shown to exhibit a significantly weaker field dependence of free charge-carrier generation combined with an overall larger amount of free charges, meaning that geminate recombination is greatly reduced. Additionally, a 3-fold reduction in non-geminate recombination is measured compared to optimized PCPDTBT blends. As a consequence of reduced non-geminate recombination, the performance of optimized blends of fluorinated PCPDTBT with PC70BM is largely determined by the field dependence of free-carrier generation, and this field dependence is considerably weaker compared to that of blends comprising the non-fluorinated polymer. For these optimized blends, a short-circuit current of 14 mA/cm(2), an open-circuit voltage of 0.74 V, and a fill factor of 58\% are achieved, giving a highest energy conversion efficiency of 6.16\%. The superior device performance and the low band-gap render this new polymer highly promising for the construction of efficient polymer-based tandem solar cells.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Inal2013,
  author    = {Inal, Sahika},
  title     = {Responsive polymers for optical sensing applications},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-70806},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {LCST-type synthetic thermoresponsive polymers can reversibly respond to certain stimuli in aqueous media with a massive change of their physical state. When fluorophores, that are sensitive to such changes, are incorporated into the polymeric structure, the response can be translated into a fluorescence signal. Based on this idea, this thesis presents sensing schemes which transduce the stimuli-induced variations in the solubility of polymer chains with covalently-bound fluorophores into a well-detectable fluorescence output. Benefiting from the principles of different photophysical phenomena, i.e. of fluorescence resonance energy transfer and solvatochromism, such fluorescent copolymers enabled monitoring of stimuli such as the solution temperature and ionic strength, but also of association/disassociation mechanisms with other macromolecules or of biochemical binding events through remarkable changes in their fluorescence properties. For instance, an aqueous ratiometric dual sensor for temperature and salts was developed, relying on the delicate supramolecular assembly of a thermoresponsive copolymer with a thiophene-based conjugated polyelectrolyte. Alternatively, by taking advantage of the sensitivity of solvatochromic fluorophores, an increase in solution temperature or the presence of analytes was signaled as an enhancement of the fluorescence intensity. A simultaneous use of the sensitivity of chains towards the temperature and a specific antibody allowed monitoring of more complex phenomena such as competitive binding of analytes. The use of different thermoresponsive polymers, namely poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(meth)acrylates bearing oligo(ethylene glycol) side chains, revealed that the responsive polymers differed widely in their ability to perform a particular sensing function. In order to address questions regarding the impact of the chemical structure of the host polymer on the sensing performance, the macromolecular assembly behavior below and above the phase transition temperature was evaluated by a combination of fluorescence and light scattering methods. It was found that although the temperature-triggered changes in the macroscopic absorption characteristics were similar for these polymers, properties such as the degree of hydration or the extent of interchain aggregations differed substantially. Therefore, in addition to the demonstration of strategies for fluorescence-based sensing with thermoresponsive polymers, this work highlights the role of the chemical structure of the two popular thermoresponsive polymers on the fluorescence response. The results are fundamentally important for the rational choice of polymeric materials for a specific sensing strategy.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{InalCastellaniSellingeretal.2009,
  author    = {Inal, Sahika and Castellani, Mauro and Sellinger, Alan and Neher, Dieter},
  title     = {Relationship of photophysical properties and the device performance of novel hybrid small-molecular/polymeric solar cells},
  issn      = {1022-1336},
  doi       = {10.1002/marc.200900221},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {We investigate solar cells comprised of a vinazene derivative (HV-BT) as the electron acceptor and the well- known polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) as the electron donor. In the as-prepared blend, most of the excited state species, including the excimers on HV-BT, are quenched at the heterojunction. Although the photophysical properties of the blends change upon annealing, the blend solar cells largely remain uninfluenced by such treatments. A significant improvement is, however, observed when inducing phase separation at a longer length scale, for example, in solution-processed bilayer devices. Hereby, both the fill factor (FF) and the open circuit voltage are considerably increased, pointing to the importance of the heterojunction topology and the layer composition at the charge extracting contacts. An optimized device exhibits a power conversion efficiency of close to 1\%.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{InalChiappisiKoelschetal.2013,
  author    = {Inal, Sahika and Chiappisi, Leonardo and K{\"o}lsch, Jonas D. and Kraft, Mario and Appavou, Marie-Sousai and Scherf, Ullrich and Wagner, Manfred and Hansen, Michael Ryan and Gradzielski, Michael and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter},
  title     = {Temperature-regulated fluorescence and association of an Oligo(ethyleneglycol)methacrylate-based copolymer with a conjugated Polyelectrolyte-the effect of solution ionic strength},
  series = {The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces \& biophysical chemistry},
  volume    = {117},
  journal   = {The journal of physical chemistry : B, Condensed matter, materials, surfaces, interfaces \& biophysical chemistry},
  number    = {46},
  publisher = {American Chemical Society},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {1520-6106},
  doi       = {10.1021/jp408864s},
  pages     = {14576 -- 14587},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Aqueous mixtures of a dye-labeled non-ionic thermoresponsive copolymer and a conjugated cationic polyelectrolyte are shown to exhibit characteristic changes in fluorescence properties in response to temperature and to the presence of salts, enabling a double-stimuli responsiveness. In such mixtures at room temperature, i.e., well below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), the emission of the dye is strongly quenched due to energy transfer to the polycation, pointing to supramolecular interactions between the two macromolecules. Increasing the concentration of salts weakens the interpolymer interactions, the extent of which is simultaneously monitored from the change in the relative emission intensity of the components. When the mixture is heated above its LCST, the transfer efficiency is significantly reduced, signaling a structural reorganization process, however, surprisingly only if the mixture contains salt ions. To elucidate the reasons behind such thermo- and ion-sensitive fluorescence characteristics, we investigate the effect of salts of alkali chlorides, in particular of NaCl, on the association behavior of these macromolecules before and after the polymer phase transition by a combination of UV-vis, fluorescence, and H-1 NMR spectroscopy with light scattering and small-angle neutron scattering measurements.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{InalKoelschChiappisietal.2013,
  author    = {Inal, Sahika and Koelsch, Jonas D. and Chiappisi, Leonardo and Janietz, Dietmar and Gradzielski, Michael and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter},
  title     = {Structure-related differences in the temperature-regulated fluorescence response of LCST type polymers},
  series = {Journal of materials chemistry : C, Materials for optical and electronic devices},
  volume    = {1},
  journal   = {Journal of materials chemistry : C, Materials for optical and electronic devices},
  number    = {40},
  publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry},
  address   = {Cambridge},
  issn      = {2050-7526},
  doi       = {10.1039/c3tc31304b},
  pages     = {6603 -- 6612},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {We demonstrate new fluorophore-labelled materials based on acrylamide and on oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) bearing thermoresponsive polymers for sensing purposes and investigate their thermally induced solubility transitions. It is found that the emission properties of the polarity-sensitive (solvatochromic) naphthalimide derivative attached to three different thermoresponsive polymers are highly specific to the exact chemical structure of the macromolecule. While the dye emits very weakly below the LCST when incorporated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) or into a polyacrylate backbone bearing only short OEG side chains, it is strongly emissive in polymethacrylates with longer OEG side chains. Heating of the aqueous solutions above their cloud point provokes an abrupt increase of the fluorescence intensity of the labelled pNIPAm, whereas the emission properties of the dye are rather unaffected as OEG-based polyacrylates and methacrylates undergo phase transition. Correlated with laser light scattering studies, these findings are ascribed to the different degrees of pre-aggregation of the chains at low temperatures and to the extent of dehydration that the phase transition evokes. It is concluded that although the temperature-triggered changes in the macroscopic absorption characteristics, related to large-scale alterations of the polymer chain conformation and aggregation, are well detectable and similar for these LCST-type polymers, the micro-environment provided to the dye within each polymer network differs substantially. Considering sensing applications, this finding is of great importance since the temperature-regulated fluorescence response of the polymer depends more on the macromolecular architecture than the type of reporter fluorophore.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{InalKoelschChiappisietal.2013,
  author    = {Inal, Sahika and Koelsch, Jonas D. and Chiappisi, Leonardo and Kraft, Mario and Gutacker, Andrea and Janietz, Dietmar and Scherf, Ullrich and Gradzielski, Michael and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter},
  title     = {Temperature-Regulated Fluorescence Characteristics of Supramolecular Assemblies Formed By a Smart Polymer and a Conjugated Polyelectrolyte},
  series = {MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS},
  volume    = {214},
  journal   = {MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS},
  number    = {4},
  publisher = {WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH},
  address   = {WEINHEIM},
  issn      = {1022-1352},
  doi       = {10.1002/macp.201200493},
  pages     = {435 -- 445},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Aqueous mixtures of a coumarin-labeled non-ionic thermoresponsive copolymer and a cationic polythiophene exhibit marked changes in their fluorescence properties upon heating. At room temperature, emission from the label is significantly quenched due to energy transfer to the conjugated polyelectrolyte. Heating the mixture reduces the energy-transfer efficiency markedly, resulting in a clearly visible change of the emission color. Although the two macromolecules associate strongly at room temperature, the number of interacting sites is largely reduced upon the phase transition. Crucially, the intermolecular association does not suppress the responsiveness of the smart polymer, meaning that this concept should be applicable to chemo- or bioresponsive polymers with optical read-out, for example, as a sensor device.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{InalKoelschChiappisietal.2013,
  author    = {Inal, Sahika and K{\"o}lsch, Jonas D. and Chiappisi, Leonardo and Janietz, Dietmar and Gradzielski, Michael and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter},
  title     = {Structure-related differences in the temperature-regulated fluorescence response of LCST type polymers},
  doi       = {10.1039/C3TC31304B},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {We demonstrate new fluorophore-labelled materials based on acrylamide and on oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) bearing thermoresponsive polymers for sensing purposes and investigate their thermally induced solubility transitions. It is found that the emission properties of the polarity-sensitive (solvatochromic) naphthalimide derivative attached to three different thermoresponsive polymers are highly specific to the exact chemical structure of the macromolecule. While the dye emits very weakly below the LCST when incorporated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) or into a polyacrylate backbone bearing only short OEG side chains, it is strongly emissive in polymethacrylates with longer OEG side chains. Heating of the aqueous solutions above their cloud point provokes an abrupt increase of the fluorescence intensity of the labelled pNIPAm, whereas the emission properties of the dye are rather unaffected as OEG-based polyacrylates and methacrylates undergo phase transition. Correlated with laser light scattering studies, these findings are ascribed to the different degrees of pre-aggregation of the chains at low temperatures and to the extent of dehydration that the phase transition evokes. It is concluded that although the temperature-triggered changes in the macroscopic absorption characteristics, related to large-scale alterations of the polymer chain conformation and aggregation, are well detectable and similar for these LCST-type polymers, the micro-environment provided to the dye within each polymer network differs substantially. Considering sensing applications, this finding is of great importance since the temperature-regulated fluorescence response of the polymer depends more on the macromolecular architecture than the type of reporter fluorophore.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{InalKoelschChiappisietal.2013,
  author    = {Inal, Sahika and K{\"o}lsch, Jonas D. and Chiappisi, Leonardo and Janietz, Dietmar and Gradzielski, Michael and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter},
  title     = {Structure-related differences in the temperature-regulated fluorescence response of LCST type polymers},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-95379},
  pages     = {6603 -- 6612},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {We demonstrate new fluorophore-labelled materials based on acrylamide and on oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) bearing thermoresponsive polymers for sensing purposes and investigate their thermally induced solubility transitions. It is found that the emission properties of the polarity-sensitive (solvatochromic) naphthalimide derivative attached to three different thermoresponsive polymers are highly specific to the exact chemical structure of the macromolecule. While the dye emits very weakly below the LCST when incorporated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAm) or into a polyacrylate backbone bearing only short OEG side chains, it is strongly emissive in polymethacrylates with longer OEG side chains. Heating of the aqueous solutions above their cloud point provokes an abrupt increase of the fluorescence intensity of the labelled pNIPAm, whereas the emission properties of the dye are rather unaffected as OEG-based polyacrylates and methacrylates undergo phase transition. Correlated with laser light scattering studies, these findings are ascribed to the different degrees of pre-aggregation of the chains at low temperatures and to the extent of dehydration that the phase transition evokes. It is concluded that although the temperature-triggered changes in the macroscopic absorption characteristics, related to large-scale alterations of the polymer chain conformation and aggregation, are well detectable and similar for these LCST-type polymers, the micro-environment provided to the dye within each polymer network differs substantially. Considering sensing applications, this finding is of great importance since the temperature-regulated fluorescence response of the polymer depends more on the macromolecular architecture than the type of reporter fluorophore.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{InalKoelschSellrieetal.2013,
  author    = {Inal, Sahika and K{\"o}lsch, Jonas D. and Sellrie, Frank and Schenk, J{\"o}rg A. and Wischerhoff, Erik and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter},
  title     = {A water soluble fluorescent polymer as a dual colour sensor for temperature and a specific protein},
  series = {Journal of materials chemistry : B, Materials for biology and medicine},
  volume    = {1},
  journal   = {Journal of materials chemistry : B, Materials for biology and medicine},
  number    = {46},
  publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry},
  address   = {Cambridge},
  issn      = {2050-750X},
  doi       = {10.1039/c3tb21245a},
  pages     = {6373 -- 6381},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {We present two thermoresponsive water soluble copolymers prepared via free radical statistical copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEGMAs), respectively, with a solvatochromic 7-(diethylamino)-3-carboxy-coumarin (DEAC)-functionalized monomer. In aqueous solutions, the NIPAm-based copolymer exhibits characteristic changes in its fluorescence profile in response to a change in solution temperature as well as to the presence of a specific protein, namely an anti-DEAC antibody. This polymer emits only weakly at low temperatures, but exhibits a marked fluorescence enhancement accompanied by a change in its emission colour when heated above its cloud point. Such drastic changes in the fluorescence and absorbance spectra are observed also upon injection of the anti-DEAC antibody, attributed to the specific binding of the antibody to DEAC moieties. Importantly, protein binding occurs exclusively when the polymer is in the well hydrated state below the cloud point, enabling a temperature control on the molecular recognition event. On the other hand, heating of the polymer-antibody complexes releases a fraction of the bound antibody. In the presence of the DEAC-functionalized monomer in this mixture, the released antibody competitively binds to the monomer and the antibody-free chains of the polymer undergo a more effective collapse and inter-aggregation. In contrast, the emission properties of the OEGMA-based analogous copolymer are rather insensitive to the thermally induced phase transition or to antibody binding. These opposite behaviours underline the need for a carefully tailored molecular design of responsive polymers aimed at specific applications, such as biosensing.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{InalKoelschSellrieetal.2013,
  author    = {Inal, Sahika and K{\"o}lsch, Jonas D. and Sellrie, Frank and Schenk, J{\"o}rg A. and Wischerhoff, Erik and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter},
  title     = {A water soluble fluorescent polymer as a dual colour sensor for temperature and a specific protein},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-95336},
  pages     = {6373 -- 6381},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {We present two thermoresponsive water soluble copolymers prepared via free radical statistical copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEGMAs), respectively, with a solvatochromic 7-(diethylamino)-3-carboxy-coumarin (DEAC)- functionalized monomer. In aqueous solutions, the NIPAm-based copolymer exhibits characteristic changes in its fluorescence profile in response to a change in solution temperature as well as to the presence of a specific protein, namely an anti-DEAC antibody. This polymer emits only weakly at low temperatures, but exhibits a marked fluorescence enhancement accompanied by a change in its emission colour when heated above its cloud point. Such drastic changes in the fluorescence and absorbance spectra are observed also upon injection of the anti-DEAC antibody, attributed to the specific binding of the antibody to DEAC moieties. Importantly, protein binding occurs exclusively when the polymer is in the well hydrated state below the cloud point, enabling a temperature control on the molecular recognition event. On the other hand, heating of the polymer-antibody complexes releases a fraction of the bound antibody. In the presence of the DEAC-functionalized monomer in this mixture, the released antibody competitively binds to the monomer and the antibody-free chains of the polymer undergo a more effective collapse and inter-aggregation. In contrast, the emission properties of the OEGMA-based analogous copolymer are rather insensitive to the thermally induced phase transition or to antibody binding. These opposite behaviours underline the need for a carefully tailored molecular design of responsive polymers aimed at specific applications, such as biosensing.},
  language  = {en}
}