Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Theses/Dissertations

Doctoral Dissertations

Nanoparticle

Polymer and Organic Materials

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Resistive Switching Characteristics Of Nanostructured And Solution-Processed Complex Oxide Assemblies, Zimu Zhou May 2020

Resistive Switching Characteristics Of Nanostructured And Solution-Processed Complex Oxide Assemblies, Zimu Zhou

Doctoral Dissertations

Miniaturization of conventional nonvolatile (NVM) memory devices is rapidly approaching the physical limitations of the constituent materials. An emerging random access memory (RAM), nanoscale resistive RAM (RRAM), has the potential to replace conventional nonvolatile memory and could foster novel type of computing due to its fast switching speed, high scalability, and low power consumption. RRAM, or memristors, represent a class of two terminal devices comprising an insulating layer, such as a metal oxide, sandwiched between two terminal electrodes that exhibits two or more distinct resistance states that depend on the history of the applied bias. While the sudden resistance reduction …


Rheological Investigations Of Self-Assembled Block Copolymer Nanocomposites With Complex Architectures, Benjamin Yavitt Jul 2019

Rheological Investigations Of Self-Assembled Block Copolymer Nanocomposites With Complex Architectures, Benjamin Yavitt

Doctoral Dissertations

The self-assembly of block copolymers (BCP) into microphase separated structures is an attractive route to template and assemble functional nanoparticles (NP) into highly ordered nanocomposites and is central to the “bottom up” fabrication of future materials with tunable electronic, optical, magnetic, and mechanical properties. The optimization of the co-assembly requires an understanding of the fundamentals of phase behavior, intermolecular interactions and dynamics of the polymeric structure. Rheology is a novel characterization tool to investigate these processes in such systems that are not accessible by other means. With the combination of X-ray scattering techniques, structure-property relationships are determined as a function …


Refractive Index Engineering And Optical Properties Enhancement By Polymer Nanocomposites, Cheng Li Mar 2016

Refractive Index Engineering And Optical Properties Enhancement By Polymer Nanocomposites, Cheng Li

Doctoral Dissertations

The major part of this dissertation discusses the engineering of the refractive index of materials using solution-processable polymer nanocomposites and their applications in building optical components and devices. Three particular polymer nanocomposites have been introduced to achieve materials with tunable refractive indices and enhanced optical properties, which can be used to manipulate the behavior of light or electromagnetic radiations. In the first system, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)/polymer nanocomposites are developed. Thin films with tunable, low refractive indicies were fabricated from the composites. The mechanical strength of these films was characterized, and their application in antireflective coatings is discussed. In the …


Functional Nanostructures From Nanoparticle Building Blocks, Jimmy Lawrence Mar 2015

Functional Nanostructures From Nanoparticle Building Blocks, Jimmy Lawrence

Doctoral Dissertations

Advances in the synthetic strategies of engineered nanomaterials, multifunctional molecules and polymers have opened pathways for the development of functional nanomaterials having unique optoelectronic, mechanical, and biological properties. By designing the chemistry of surface ligands, the organic interface of nanoparticles, one can further the versatility and utilization of engineered nanomaterials, opening pathways for breakthroughs in sensing, catalysis, and delivery using nanomaterials. This thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of small molecule and polymer ligand functionalized inorganic nanoparticles (e.g., metal, semiconducting). Embedding specific chemical functionality into the ligand periphery of nanoparticles enables the resulting functional nanoparticles to react selectively …


Functional Nanocomposites From Self-Assembly Of Block Copolymers With Nanoparticles, Xinyu Wang Nov 2014

Functional Nanocomposites From Self-Assembly Of Block Copolymers With Nanoparticles, Xinyu Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation studied the proper distribution and location control of nanoparticles (NPs) within block copolymer (BCP) templates. A facile ligand exchange reaction was introduced for the hydrophilic magnetic NPs (MNPs) that are readily dispersed in polar solvents with outstanding stability. Small molecule ligands were selected to associate strongly with particle surfaces, provide hydrophilic termini for polarity matching with polar solvents, and offer the potential for hydrogen-bonding interactions to facilitate NP incorporation into polymers. Areal ligand densities of NPs indicated a significant increase in the ligand coverage after the exchange reaction. Hydrophilic MNPs were shown to drive the self-assembly of BCPs …