This work delineates the mechanism by which directional nanowire growth occurs in the directed electrochemical nanowire assembly (DENA) technique for growing nanowires on micro-electrode arrays. Indium, polythiophene, and polypyrrole nanowires are the subjects of this study. This technique allows the user to specify the growth path without the use of a mechanical template. Nanowire growth from ...

The combination of high capacity redox active pendent groups and conducting polymers, realized in conducting redox polymers (CRPs), provides materials with high charge storage capacity that are electronically conducting which makes CRPs attractive for electrical energy storage applications. In this report, six polythiophene and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(PEDOT)-based CRPs with a diethyl t...

Owing to its hydrophilicity, negative charge, small size, and labile degradation by endogenous nucleases, small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery must be achieved by a carrier system. In this study, cationic copolymers composed of low-molecular-weight polyethylenimine and polythiophenes were synthesized and evaluated as novel self-tracking siRNA delivery vectors. The concept underlying the desig...


 Improving Hybrid Solar Cells: Overcoming Charge Extraction Issues in Bulk Mixtures of Polythiophenes and Zinc Oxide Nanostructures! ! Grant Olson! ! ! Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have received a great deal of focus in recent years as a possible alternative to expensive silicon based solar technology. Current challenges for organic photovoltaics are centered around improving their lifetimes a...

Molecular engineering on the conjugated side chains of two-dimensional (2D) conjugated polymers was conducted and its effect on the optical, electronic, self-assembly and photovoltaic properties was investigated. A new monomer, M2, was prepared by capping (E)-30-(2-(2,5-dibromothiophen-3-yl)vinyl)4,400-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-2,20:50,200-terthiophene, M1, with two heptanoyl groups, and then coupled w...

We measured the time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) on a film of a polythiophene derivative to investigate the formation and relaxation processes of a self-trapped exciton (STE). On the highand low-energy sides of the PL spectrum, we observed an ultrafast decay component emitted during the STE formation. We also found that PL of the derivative originates from two STE states with opposite symme...

This thesis details the development of new materials for high-performance chemical sensing as well as organic electronic applications. In Chapter 2, we develop a chemiresistive material based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) functionalized polythiophene, with a largely simplified fabrication process. The sensor shows high sensitivity and selectivity fo...