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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/11375/11680
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dc.contributor.advisorXu, Guen_US
dc.contributor.advisorHany Aziz, Richard A. Klenkleren_US
dc.contributor.advisorTony Petric, Igor Zhitomirskyen_US
dc.contributor.authorWang, Keweien_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-06-18T16:56:01Z-
dc.date.available2014-06-18T16:56:01Z-
dc.date.created2011-12-15en_US
dc.date.issued2012-04en_US
dc.identifier.otheropendissertations/6631en_US
dc.identifier.other7636en_US
dc.identifier.other2405542en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11375/11680-
dc.description.abstract<p>Nanomaterials have been heavily studied in the past two decades. Previous findings have demonstrated that the characteristics of nanocomposites and the performance of nanomaterial-based devices are both determined by the interfacial characteristics of the nanomaterials. However, there are still some remaining challenges from interfacial characteristics to device applications, which are specified as follows: the difficulty in identifying the interfacial contacts of nanostructured surfaces, the instability of nanocomposite surfaces, and the under-researched mechanism of the correlation between interfacial characteristics and the performance of devices.</p> <p>Therefore, the main theme of this thesis is to investigate the interfacial contacts of nanostructured solid-liquid interfaces by direct observation, and to develop a stable nanocomposite based on which the direct observation of the interfacial contact can be better conducted, and to eventually investigate the effect of interfacial contacts on the performance of organic solar cells.</p> <p>As the previous identification of the solid-liquid interface is limited to a microscale range, a direct method of tracing the different wetting states of water was developed, on nanostructured surfaces. This method provided an answer to a long standing question of, whether there is a transition from Wenzel to Cassie states in the sliding angle drop on nanocomposite thin films. In order to complete the observation of the wetting states of water, a stable superhydrophobic nanocomposite thin film with hierarchical structure was developed.</p> <p>Furthermore, with the knowledge of identifying the wetting states and the preparing procedures of the nanocomposites, a surfactant-free small-molecule nanoparticle organic solar cell with a much improved fill factor was developed by spin coating. The inverse correlation of series resistance and parallel resistance was discovered, due to the morphology change and the variation of the charge carrier concentration near the donor-acceptor interface in small-molecule organic solar cells.</p>en_US
dc.subjectNanomaterialsen_US
dc.subjectNanocompositesen_US
dc.subjectOrganic solar cellsen_US
dc.subjectPolymer and Organic Materialsen_US
dc.subjectSemiconductor and Optical Materialsen_US
dc.subjectPolymer and Organic Materialsen_US
dc.titleNANOMATERIALS: FROM INTERFACIAL CHARACTERISTICS TO DEVICE APPLICATIONSen_US
dc.typethesisen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMaterials Science and Engineeringen_US
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
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