Solid-state amorphous materials show amazing promise in thin-film electronics. The interface-to-bulk ratio of thin films makes interfacial chemistries of these systems of utmost importance. Thin films of amorphous metals, dielectrics and semiconductors have novel chemistries that are not only based upon their elemental constituent makeup, but also based upon the...
Chemistry of preparing dense film from solution deposition is explored with several cases in this thesis. Surface dense structure, conversion at melting point, and ion exchange in aqueous solution are the main topics covered here for the thin films of aluminum oxide phosphate and tin dioxide. Thin film density, optical...
A scalable synthesis of the "flat" tridecameric inorganic cluster [Al₁₃(μ₃-OH)₆(μ-OH)₁₈(H₂O)₂₄]¹⁵⁺ has been realized by treating an aqueous aluminum nitrate solution with zinc-metal powder at room temperature. Single crystals and polycrystalline samples are readily obtained in yields exceeding 55% relative to the starting reagent Al(NO₃)₃. Products have been characterized by X-ray...
This dissertation explores the engineering of carbon nanotube electronic devices using atomic force microscopy (AFM) based techniques. A possible application for such devices is an electronic interface with individual biological molecules. This single molecule biosensing application is explored both experimentally and with computational modeling.
Scanning probe microscopy techniques, such as...
The focus of this thesis is developing materials for thin-film transistors (TFTs). Cu₃SbS₄ is explored as p-channel layer. Cu₃SbS₄ TFTs show p-type, depletion-mode behavior with a small amount of gate-controlled modulation of the channel conductance. This behavior is consistent with Hall measurements indicating a mobility of 17 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ and hole...
Polyoxometalates are a rapidly growing class of discrete metal oxide clusters with a wide range of applications including functional materials. These anionic clusters of the group V and VI transition metals are inexpensive and non-toxic. Within group V polyoxometalates, niobium and tantalum chemistry has been underdeveloped owing to their unique...
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May Nyman
Polyoxometalates are a rapidly growing class of discrete metal oxide clusters
Since bulk p-CuO/n-ZnO heterocontacts were first proposed for gas detection, rapid development has taken place in improving the overall functionality of these structures. While bulk heterocontacts have been shown to exhibit desirable sensitivity and selectivity characteristics, these devices suffer from innate diffusion and ZnO/CuO connectivity drawbacks that limit their effective...
The optical response of metallic structures is dominated by the dynamics of their free electron plasma. Plasmonics, the area of optics specializing in the electromagnetic behavior of heterogeneous structures with metallic inclusions, is undergoing rapid development, fueled in part by recent progress in experimental fabrication techniques and novel
theoretical approaches....