Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Magnetic, Optical And Dielectric Effects On Photovoltaic Processes In Organic Solar Cells, Huidong Zang

Doctoral Dissertations

Organic bulk heterojunction photovoltaics have attracted extensive attention during the past decade due to the global energy crisis, and it had been nominated as one of the most promising substitution for the next generation of green energy. Organic Photovoltaics, also named as “plastic solar cells”, have many advantages including super-low cost, flexibility, and compatibility with the ink printing fabrication technique, etc. Although the photovoltaic efficiency of the organic bulk heterojunction is still not as high as that of the inorganic ones, its great potential makes it the most promising solar cells in the future. In this dissertation, Chapter 1 presents …

Modulation Of Bone And Nerve Cell Behavior Using Biodegradable Polymer Networks, Lei Cai

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents novel biodegradable and photo-crosslinkable building blocks to achieve polymer networks with controlled surface chemistry, stiffness, and topographical features for investigating cell-material interactions and targeting hard and soft tissue engineering applications. Chapter I reviews the recent progress in polymeric gel systems and how their physical properties can be tailored to regulate cell functions and satisfy the clinical needs. Chapter II presents a facile method to synthesize photo-crosslinkable poly(epsilon-caprolactone) acrylates (PCLAs) and reveal tunable cell responses to photo-crosslinked PCLAs. Chapter III investigates the mechanism of colorization in preparing crosslinkable polymers by reacting hydroxyl-containing polymers with unsaturated anhydrides or acyl …

Polymer Mediated Therapeutic Delivery For Neural Interface Applications, Yu Cao

Doctoral Dissertations

The technology of interfacing neurons with machines through implantable neural electrodes has significant implications. Although there have been studies implanting such electrodes in human to help patients with motor disorders, longevity of these implants remains an unresolved issue. One of the key factors influencing longevity has been adverse tissue response toward the implanted electrodes

The objective of this research is to engineer a comprehensive solution that can manage the response at the cellular level while preserving the electrode functions. Given the complexity of the host response, we hypothesize that a multi-pronged approach would better improve the longevity of the electrodes. …