The drive toward increased semiconductor device densities and improved performance has set in motion the search for low-dielectric-constant materials. While introducing porosity in silica holds promise for reducing the dielectric constant, it remains elusive how to accomplish this without seriously degrading the thermomechanical performance. This article demonstrates a contemporary protocol for...

We review the concepts and methods of modeling of the dye-sensitized solar cell, starting from fundamental electron transfer theory, and using phenomenological transport-conservation equations. The models revised here are aimed at describing the components of the current-voltage curve of the solar cell, based on small perturbation experimental methods, and to such an end, a range of phenomena o...

Dielectric elastomer is one of the new types electronic materials that have both drive ability and electric generating capacity. In this research, fundamental tests were performed to evaluate abilities of dielectric elastomer. As the result, it was found that dielectric elastomer had very efficient drive ability and electric generating capacity, and that it was applicable to both slow and high ...

Dielectrics are an important class of materials that are ubiquitous in modern electronic applications. Even though their properties are important for the performance of devices, the number of compounds with known dielectric constant is on the order of a few hundred. Here, we use Density Functional Perturbation Theory as a way to screen for the dielectric constant and refractive index of materia...

We investigate the relationship between dielectric response and charge transport in molecule-based materials operating in the quantum coherent regime. We find that quantum interference affects these observables differently, for instance, allowing current passing through certain materials to be reduced by orders of magnitude without affecting dielectric behavior (or band gap). As an example, we ...

A systematic investigation by dielectric spectroscopy of 18 different water-rich mixtures with very different hydrophilic substances shows universal features for the water dynamics. The temperature dependence of the relaxation times exhibits a crossover from non-Arrhenius to Arrhenius behavior at the T(g) range of the mixtures. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the relaxation times pre...

In the last years, a new AFM based dielectric spectroscopy approach has been developed for measuring the dielectric relaxation of materials at the nanoscale, the so called nanoDielectric Spectroscopy (nDS). In spite of the effort done so far, some experimental aspects of this technique remain still unclear. In particular, one of these aspects is the possibility of extending the experimental fre...

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been intensively studied over the past decade because they represent a new category of hybrid inorganic-organic materials with extensive surface areas, ultrahigh porosity, along with the extraordinary tailorability of structure, shape and dimensions. In this highlight, we summarize the current state of MOF research and report on structure-property relationsh...