Chemistry Commons^™

Push-Pull Molecules: Models And Polymer Building Blocks For Organic Photovoltaic Applications, Raymond Devaughn

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Several fluorenone alkynyl based oligo conjugated molecules were synthesized and characterized. Most compounds exhibited UV-Vis absorption onset at ca. 500 nm and a PL emission onset of ~329-370 nm, with excimer emission suspected from most systems near ~530-560 nm. Experimentally determined E_HOMO and E_LUMO energies range from -6.02 to -5.73 eV and -3.47 and 3.55 eV, respectively, with the lowest experimental E_g lying at -2.26 eV for 2-(trimethoxyphenylacetylene)-fluorenone. Cyclic voltammetry indicates quasi-reversible reduction for all systems, with 2,7-bis(nitrophenylacetylene)fluorenone exhibiting a high reduction potential of -1.25 eV. Only 2,7-bis(trimethoxyphenylacetylene)fluorenone exhibited a quasi-reversible oxidation, due to electron rich methoxy …

Synthesis Of Monomers For New Conjugated Polymers, Kedar Girish Jadhav

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

ABSTRACT

SYNTHESIS OF MONOMERS FOR NEW CONJUGATED POLYMERS

This dissertation addresses the problem of synthesis of different monomers for donor and acceptor polymers in photovoltaic applications. In general, functionalization of conjugated polymers and understanding of molecular packing of electron donors and electron acceptors are very important to produce efficient solar cells. As a result, it is important to design and synthesize novel monomers which will require making new π-conjugated donors and acceptors polymers and understand the influence of these new polymers in bulk heterojunction to design polymer solar cells. In this study, two different monomers were synthesized. The first monomer …

A Paleoclimate Modeling Experiment To Calculate The Soil Carbon Respiration Flux For The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, David M. Tracy

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) (55 million years ago) stands as the largest in a series of extreme warming (hyperthermal) climatic events, which are analogous to the modern day increase in greenhouse gas concentrations. Orbitally triggered (Lourens et al., 2005, Galeotti et al., 2010), the PETM is marked by a large (-3‰) carbon isotope excursion (CIE). Hypothesized to be methane driven, Zeebe et al., (2009) noted that a methane based release would only account for 3.5°C of warming. An isotopically heavier carbon, such as that of soil and C3 plants, has the potential to account for the …