Dynamic Tuning of a Thin Film Electrocatalyst by Tensile Strain.

We report the ability to tune the catalytic activities for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by applying mechanical stress on a highly n-type doped rutile TiO films. We demonstrate through operando electrochemical experiments that the low HER activity of TiO can reversibly approach those of the state-of-the-art non-precious metal catalysts when the TiO is under tensile strain. At 3% tensile strain, the HER overpotential required to generate a current density of 1 mA/cm shifts anodically by 260 mV to give an onset potential of 125 mV, representing a drastic reduction in the kinetic overpotential.

Visible-light-assisted photoelectrochemical water oxidation by thin films of a phosphonate-functionalized perylene diimide plus CoOx cocatalyst.

A novel perylene diimide dye functionalized with phosphonate groups, N,N'-bis(phosphonomethyl)-3,4,9,10-perylenediimide (PMPDI), is synthesized and characterized. Thin films of PMPDI spin-coated onto indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates are further characterized, augmented by photoelectrochemically depositing a CoOx catalyst, and then investigated as photoanodes for water oxidation. These ITO/PMPDI/CoOx electrodes show visible-light-assisted water oxidation with photocurrents in excess of 150 μA/cm(2) at 1.

Compensating poly(3-hexylthiophene) reveals its doping density and its strong exciton quenching by free carriers.

Adding increasing quantities of an n-type compensating dopant, cobaltocene, to poly(3-hexylthiophene) reveals an almost perfect mirror symmetry between the conductivity and the luminescence intensity. The sharp minimum/maximum shows that the uncompensated p-type doping density is 1.2 × 10(18) cm(-3) and that excitons are strongly quenched by free charge carriers, not by bound charges.

Cross-linked perylene diimide-based n-type interfacial layer for inverted organic photovoltaic devices.

This contribution describes the synthesis and characterization of a perylene diimide (PDI)-based n-type semiconductor and its application to organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices having inverted architecture. Films of N,N'-bis(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)-1,6,7,12-tetrachloroperylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxyldiimide (Cl(4)PSi(2)) and blends of this material with various polymers are solution-deposited on tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) substrates as interfacial layers (IFLs). The organic IFL described in this work is based on the air- and light-stable PDI core, annealed at low temperatures compatible with flexible substrates, and crosslinks in air for compatibility with device fabrication.

Chemically treating poly(3-hexylthiophene) defects to improve bulk heterojunction photovoltaics.

Defect engineering has been of vital importance to the development of inorganic semiconductors. Here, we report the chemical modification of electrical defects in the prototypical organic semiconductor, regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT. Previously, we have covalently treated defect sites with either a nucleophile or an electrophile, leaving the defects of primarily opposite polarity.

Doping highly ordered organic semiconductors: experimental results and fits to a self-consistent model of excitonic processes, doping, and transport.

An in-depth study of n-type doping in a crystalline perylene diimide organic semiconductor (PPEEB) reveals that electrostatic attractions between the dopant electron and its conjugate dopant cation cause the free carrier density to be much lower than the doping density. Measurements of the dark currents as a function of field, doping density, electrode spacing, and temperature are reported along with preliminary Hall-effect measurements. The activation energy of the current, E(aJ), decreases with increasing field and with increasing dopant density, n(d).

Epitaxial chemical deposition of ZnO nanocolumns from NaOH solutions.

A new method of depositing expitaxial ZnO nanocolumns on sputter-coated ZnO substrates is described that utilizes supersaturated zincate species in sodium hydroxide solutions and requires no complexing agents. Uniform arrays of columns are grown reproducibly over entire substrates in 10-50 min. Columns are 50-2000 nm long and 50-100 nm wide.