This work studies various properties of polymer layers and hybrid layers containing inorganic nanoparticles. MEH-PPV and Polythiophene films are characterized by different experimental techniques. Dark J-V characteristics were measured at different temperatures and the mobility of holes was evaluated in a few cases. Photovoltage spectra are used for a determination of the exciton diffusion length and the SPV method is discussed. The influence of the inorganic nanoparticles CdS and ZnO incorporated into the polymer layers is studied by various experimental methods and the applications of these layers in the inorganic-organic hybrid solar cells are discussed. The inorganic nanoparticle size distributions are obtained by several experimental techniques and the results correspond with the assumptions.

Usando a técnica de decaimento do potencial de superfície e de correntes termo estimuladas, foi investigado em cristais de naftaleno, o movimento de cargas elétricas injetadas por uma descarga corona. Os resultados obtidos nas medidas de decaimento, foram explicados satisfatoriamente usando um modelo teórico de transporte de cargas, na presença de armadilhas rasas e profundas. A partir desse modelo foram calculadas: a mobilidade modulada dos portadores, o tempo de captura das armadilhas profundas e estimada a sua seção de captura. Nas medidas de corrente termo-estimuladas, foram identificadas as armadilhas rasas e profundas e determinada as suas profundidades energéticas. / Using the method of surface potential decay, and thermal stimulated currents, it was possible to study the motion of electrical charges, injected in naphthalene single crystals, by a negative corona discharge in the air. The results obtained in the measurements of the decay, were explained by using a theoretical model of transport of charges in the presence of shallow and deep traps. With the help of this model, the trap modulated mobility of the carriers, the trapping time of the deep traps, and the capture cross section were calculated. In the measurements of thermal stimulated currents, it was possible to identify the deep and shallow traps and also to calculate their activation energies.

Foi construída uma nova versão de um sistema para medidas de correntes termo-estimuladas em circuito aberto (DTE). Mostrou-se que no Teflon FEP, carregado com corona negativa, os ruídos que aparecem nas curvas de DTE , que são devidos a micro rupturas elétricas na amostra, causam uma variação de potencial considerável na mesma. Verificou-se também que a corrente anômala originada pelo deslocamento de cargas na camada de ar entre a amostra e a placa sensora pode perturbar as medidas de DTE com amostras virgens carregadas positivamente. A inversão de polaridade da corrente nas medidas de DTE na região próxima a temperatura ambiente, foi explicado como sendo devido a variação da capacitância da amostra em função da temperatura. Medidas de DTE, realizadas com o polímero PETP (Mylar), mostraram que o processo de transporte que dá origem ao pico de corrente acima de 100 C é devido a uma condutividade intrínseca originária da geração de portadores em centros neutros de ionização. Essa geração possui uma dependência com o campo elétrico do tipo Poole-Frenkel e a mobilidade dos portadores livres, depende do volume livre o qual tem valor maior que o de equilíbrio abaixo da temperatura da transição vítrea / A new version of thermo stimulated current setup (DTE) in open circuit was built. It was shown in measurements electric noise is present in the DTE curve in Tefon FEP negatively charged which is due to micro electric breakdown in the sample. It was also found that the electric current in air gap between the sample surface and the sensor plate can disturb DTE measurements performed in positively charged samples. The polarity inversion on the DTE curves at room temperature range is due to the capacitance variation with the temperature. DTE measurements on PETP (Mylar) showed that the charge transport gives a current peak at 100 C due to an intrinsic conductivity generated by carriers from ionization centers. This process is described by a Poole-Frenkel

To better understand the physical and electronic properties of donor and acceptor-based structures used in organic electronic applications, a variety of oligothiophene and naphthalene diimide-based small conjugated molecules were designed, synthesized, and characterized. The materials were initially synthesized using oxidative copper-chloride coupling reactions, palladium-catalyzed amination reactions, Friedal-Crafts acylations, Negishi coupling reactions, and Stille coupling reactions. Once isolated, the physical properties of the compounds were characterized through a combination of X-ray crystal structure, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, UV-vis. absorption spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry, along with comparison to quantum-chemical calculations. In some cases, the radical cations or radical anions were generated by chemical oxidation and analyzed by vis-NIR spectroscopy. Furthermore, the electronic properties of the materials were investigated through incorporation as solution-processed active layers in organic field-effect transistors. Multiple examples exhibited hole- and / or electron-transport properties with electron mobility values of up to 1.5 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, which is among the highest yet reported for an n-channel OFET based on a solution-processed small molecule.

Carbon nanotubes show a wide range of transport behavior that varies from ballistic to hopping regime, depending on the nature of disorder in the system. Minute variations in disorder can lead from weak to strong localization, and this yields complex and intriguing features in the analysis of transport data. This dissertation reports an experimental study of charge transport in optically transparent single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) networks and field-effect devices. The SWNT network comprises randomly aligned (bundles of) tubes that have both high optical transparency in visible, near-infrared (IR) wavelength range and high electrical conductivity. Various aspects of charge transport in this material including magnetotransport, high electric-field transport and gate induced field-effect are investigated and presented within a consistent framework. The temperature dependence of resistance suggests hopping transport in the network. Since strong localization is observed for the disordered network, the disorder is further characterized by a magnetotransport study and a pulsed electric-field dependence study down to low temperatures (1.3 K). The magnetoresistance (MR) has contributions from two quantum effects -a forward interference mechanism leading to a negative MR and a wavefunction shrinkage mechanism leading to positive MR. The temperature dependence of the coefficient of this negative MR is shown to follow inverse power-law dependence, in accordance with theoretical predictions. The intrinsic parameters obtained from this analysis suggest a transverse localization of charge on the bundle boundaries. The electric-field dependence, measured to high fields, follows the predictions of hopping transport in high electric-field regime. A scaling analysis indicates that electric-field and temperature play similar roles in the transport. The calculated dependence of ‘threshold electric-field’ is also suggestive of this competing process between phonons and electric-field. The applicability of the concept of ‘effective temperature’ is explored for this system; the electric-field induced suppression of MR is studied. The network resistance as well as the optical transparency of the network is modulated with gate voltage using an electrolyte gate dielectric. The gating can tune the absorptions associated with the van Hove singularities in the SWNT DOS and a time response study for this ‘smart window’ is done for the modulation. A novel technique is used to characterize organic and nanotube field-effect transistors and this allows estimation of device parameters such as transconductance and channel impedance. The ac impedance of the SWNT network is also investigated as a possible tool to probe network connectivity. To summarize, the role of disorder in charge transport is investigated for these novel transparent SWNT networks using magnetic-field, electric-field, temperature and field-effect dependent transport measurements.

This dissertation research is focused on first principles studies of graphene and single organic molecules for nanoelectronics applications. These nanosized objects attracted considerable interest from the scientific community due to their promise to serve as building blocks of nanoelectronic devices with low power consumption, high stability, rich functionality, scalability, and unique potentials for device integration. Both graphene electronics and molecular electronics pursue the same goal by using two different approaches: top-down approach for graphene devices scaling to smaller and smaller dimensions, and bottom-up approach for single molecule devices. One of the goals of this PhD research is to apply first-principles density functional theory (DFT) to study graphene/metal and molecule/metal contacts at atomic level. In addition, the DFT-based approach allowed us to predict the electronic characteristics of single molecular devices. The ideal and defective graphene/metal interfaces in weak and strong coupling regimes were systematically studied to aid experimentalists in understanding graphene growth. In addition, a theory of resonant charge transport in molecular tunnel junctions has been developed. The first part of this dissertation is devoted to the study of atomic, electronic, electric, and thermal properties of molecular tunnel junctions. After describing the model and justifying the approximations that have been made, the theory of resonant charge transport is introduced to explain the nature of current rectification within a chemically asymmetric molecule. The interaction of the tunneling charges (electrons and holes) with the electron density of the metal electrodes, which in classical physics is described using the notion of an image potential, are taken into account at the quantum-mechanical level within the tight binding formalism. The amount of energy released onto a molecule by tunneling electrons and holes in the form of thermal vibration excitations is related to the reorganization energy of the molecule, which is also responsible for an effective broadening of molecular levels. It was also predicted that due to the asymmetry of electron and hole resonant energy levels with respect to the Fermi energy of the electrodes, the Joule heating released from the metallic electrodes is also non-symmetric and can be used for the experimental determination of the type of charge carriers contributing to the molecular conductance. In the second part of the dissertation research ideal and defective graphene/metal interfaces are studied in weak and strong interface coupling regimes. The theoretical predictions suggest that the interface coupling may be controlled by depositing an extra metallic layer on top of the graphene. DFT calculations were performed to evaluate the stability of a surface nickel carbide, and to study graphene/carbide phase coexistence at initial stages of graphene growth on Ni(111) substrate at low growth temperatures. Point defects in graphene were also investigated by DFT, which showed that the defect formation energy is reduced due to interfacial interactions with the substrate, the effect being more pronounced in chemisorbed graphene on Ni(111) substrate than in physisorbed graphene on Cu(111) substrate. Our findings are correlated with recent experiments that demonstrated the local etching of transfered graphene by metal substrate imperfections. Both graphene and molecular electronics components of the PhD dissertation research were conducted in close collaboration with several experimental groups at the University of South Florida, Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of Chicago, and Arizona State University.

We develop methods how to calculate charge transport in disordered systems applicable in all disorder regimes. They allow to calculate vertex corrections to the electrical conductivity and the diffusion coefficient in models of elastically scattered electrons in the presence of random scatterers. These methods are based on an asymptotic limit to high spatial dimensions. The resulting formulas lead to reliable results free of unphysical behavior, as illustrated on a gallery of numerical examples.

Les matériaux les plus répandus dans le domaine du photovoltaïque (PV) organique à base de polymères sont le poly(3-hexylthiophène) régiorégulier (rr-P3HT) et le [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acide methyl ester (PCBM). La couche active est une hétérojonction en volume (BHJ) de nanodomaines interpénétrés accepteur d’électron (le PCBM) et donneur d’électron (le P3HT). Le contrôle de la morphologie de la couche active et de sa stabilité est un défi majeur pour le développement des cellules organiques et est au centre de ce travail de thèse.Dans un premier temps, nous avons cherché à contrôler la morphologie du mélange P3HT:PCBM via l’utilisation de compatibilisants. Deux familles de copolymères à blocs rigide et souple ont été étudiées. Elles ont en commun leur bloc rigide à base de P3HT et diffèrent par leur bloc souple. Pourla première famille, le bloc souple poly-butylacrylate est greffé de C60, ce qui lui confère une affinité chimique avec les domaines de PCBM, et la seconde famille a un bloc souple poly(4-vinylpiridine) (P4VP) non greffé en C60. De par son affinité chimique avec le C60, le PCBM se localisera préférentiellement au voisinage des domaines P4VP.Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons exploité les propriétés d’auto-assemblages des copolymères à blocs afin de les étudier en tant que matériaux photo-actifs. Nous avons cherché à appréhender l’influence de la nature du bloc flexible let de a taille des blocs souple et rigide sur l’organisation des copolymères ainsi que sur les propriétés de transport de charge et sur les performances PV. / Polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells use an interpenetrating network of TT-conjugated electron-donor polymers and electron-acceptor C60 as photo-active layer. Currently, the most investigated blends are constituted of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (rr-P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The nanostructured active layer determines to great extend the overall performance of the devices.First of all, we introduced rod-coil block copolymers as compatibilizer into P3HT:PCBM blends and investigate their influence on the blend morphology and the related photovoltaic performance. Two P3HT-based block copolymer families have been studied. The first one has a C60-grafted polybutylacrylate coil block and the second one is based on poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) coil block. The film morphology and device efficiencies are investigated as a function of copolymer content, P3HT/PCBM mass ratio and coil nature.A second possible route to obtain a stable donor/acceptor nanostructure consists of using semiconductor block copolymers as photoactive layer, since these materials are able to self-assemble into donor/acceptor BHJ by microphase separation. We explored P3HT-P4VP rod-coil block copolymers blended with PCBM in view of their utilization in photovoltaic devices. The copolymer selfassembles into nano-domains rich in either P3HT or P4VP, while the strong chemical affinity of P4VP with PCBM leads to an accumulation of the latter in the P4VP domains, providing them an acceptorcharacter. It is found that organized and thermally stable thin films, that exhibit ambipolar field effect mobilities, can be achieved for a specific rod/coil ratio.

Usando a técnica de decaimento do potencial de superfície e de correntes termo estimuladas, foi investigado em cristais de naftaleno, o movimento de cargas elétricas injetadas por uma descarga corona. Os resultados obtidos nas medidas de decaimento, foram explicados satisfatoriamente usando um modelo teórico de transporte de cargas, na presença de armadilhas rasas e profundas. A partir desse modelo foram calculadas: a mobilidade modulada dos portadores, o tempo de captura das armadilhas profundas e estimada a sua seção de captura. Nas medidas de corrente termo-estimuladas, foram identificadas as armadilhas rasas e profundas e determinada as suas profundidades energéticas. / Using the method of surface potential decay, and thermal stimulated currents, it was possible to study the motion of electrical charges, injected in naphthalene single crystals, by a negative corona discharge in the air. The results obtained in the measurements of the decay, were explained by using a theoretical model of transport of charges in the presence of shallow and deep traps. With the help of this model, the trap modulated mobility of the carriers, the trapping time of the deep traps, and the capture cross section were calculated. In the measurements of thermal stimulated currents, it was possible to identify the deep and shallow traps and also to calculate their activation energies.

Foi construída uma nova versão de um sistema para medidas de correntes termo-estimuladas em circuito aberto (DTE). Mostrou-se que no Teflon FEP, carregado com corona negativa, os ruídos que aparecem nas curvas de DTE , que são devidos a micro rupturas elétricas na amostra, causam uma variação de potencial considerável na mesma. Verificou-se também que a corrente anômala originada pelo deslocamento de cargas na camada de ar entre a amostra e a placa sensora pode perturbar as medidas de DTE com amostras virgens carregadas positivamente. A inversão de polaridade da corrente nas medidas de DTE na região próxima a temperatura ambiente, foi explicado como sendo devido a variação da capacitância da amostra em função da temperatura. Medidas de DTE, realizadas com o polímero PETP (Mylar), mostraram que o processo de transporte que dá origem ao pico de corrente acima de 100 C é devido a uma condutividade intrínseca originária da geração de portadores em centros neutros de ionização. Essa geração possui uma dependência com o campo elétrico do tipo Poole-Frenkel e a mobilidade dos portadores livres, depende do volume livre o qual tem valor maior que o de equilíbrio abaixo da temperatura da transição vítrea / A new version of thermo stimulated current setup (DTE) in open circuit was built. It was shown in measurements electric noise is present in the DTE curve in Tefon FEP negatively charged which is due to micro electric breakdown in the sample. It was also found that the electric current in air gap between the sample surface and the sensor plate can disturb DTE measurements performed in positively charged samples. The polarity inversion on the DTE curves at room temperature range is due to the capacitance variation with the temperature. DTE measurements on PETP (Mylar) showed that the charge transport gives a current peak at 100 C due to an intrinsic conductivity generated by carriers from ionization centers. This process is described by a Poole-Frenkel