Neste trabalho, são discutidas as características de transistores de filmes finos (TFTs) nos quais nanopartículas de óxido de zinco (ZnO) são empregadas como material ativo na camada semicondutora. O crescimento contínuo do interesse por este componente está associado à busca pelo desenvolvimento da tecnologia de dispositivos eletrônicos flexíveis, transparentes e de baixo custo. TFTs integrados com nanopartículas de ZnO são apresentados, e uma extensa rotina de caracterização elétrica transiente é realizada para avaliar como estes dispositivos se comportam e degradam ao longo do tempo. Foram medidas, ao total, 80 amostras de transistores integrados em duas configurações distintas: inverted staggered e inverted coplanar. A partir das medidas analisadas foram identificados dois grupos de comportamentos elétricos dominantes, os quais foram classificados em: efeitos abruptos e efeitos de memória. A partir dos dados coletados, foram formuladas hipóteses para modelar o comportamento típico observado. Para tanto, utiliza-se dos mecanismos de atividade de traps, de interação da camada semicondutora com o meio ambiente, de polarização de dipolos e difusão de cargas móveis no dielétrico, de formação de caminhos percolados paralelos pelas nanopartículas e de difusão de vacâncias de oxigênio e íons metálicos que podem estar associados ao comportamento elétrico observado. / In this work, the characteristics of thin-film transistors (TFTs) employing nanoparticulated zinc oxide (ZnO) as the active semiconductor channel layer are discussed. The growing interest in this component is associated to the development of low-cost, flexible and transparent electronic devices. The TFTs integrated with ZnO nanoparticles are presented and an extensive transient electrical characterization campaign was performed in order to evaluate how these devices behave and degrade over time. The measurement was performed for 80 samples of two different integration setups: inverted staggered and inverted coplanar. In the performed tests two main disturbances were identified, which were classified as abrupt and memory effects. From the collected data, hypothesis to model the observed typical behavior are formulated. Trapping activity, ambient interaction, dielectric dipoles, mobile charges, formed parallel-paths, oxygen vacancies and metallic ions diffusion are mechanisms that may be associated to the observed behavior.

L’attribution des signatures spectrales liées aux défauts dans l’oxyde de zinc fait encore l’objet de controverses. Ceci est probablement dû à la grande variété de défauts possibles, à l’incertitude de leur niveau d’énergie ainsi que leur énergie de formation dans la bande interdite. De plus, l’imprécision concernant les conditions de mesures et la possible présence d’impuretés inhérentes à certaines méthodes de synthèse peuvent souvent mener à des interprétations erronées. Le but de ce travail de thèse est donc d’identifier les défauts intrinsèques naturellement présents dans du ZnO fraîchement préparé ou bien formés via différents types de traitements post-synthèse. Pour atteindre ce but, notre stratégie fut (i) de préparer des nanoparticules modèles de ZnO en utilisant deux types de synthèses en phase vapeur (Combustion et CVS) (ii) de combiner des mesures in situ de photoluminescence (PL) et de RPE, également associées à des spectroscopies complémentaires (Raman, UV visible, FTIR) de façon à révéler, attribuer les défauts et discuter leur comportement selon les conditions de synthèses et de traitements post-synthèse et (iii) de révéler la réactivité des surfaces défectueuses de nos échantillons de ZnO en étudiant leur interaction avec des molécules d’eau ou de 2-méthyl-3-butyn-2-ol (MBOH). Nous avons ainsi observé que VO2+ et Zni+ sont les défauts natifs prédominants dans tous les échantillons fraîchement préparés de ZnO, dans des quantités relatives dépendant de la pression partielle d’oxygène utilisée lors de la synthèse. Les lacunes neutres d’oxygène (VO0) ont également été détectées dans le cas des préparations effectuées dans des conditions particulièrement riches en zinc. VO+ peut se former dans le ZnO smoke après post-traitement (recuit sous vide ou sous vapeur de zinc), la formation d’électrons associée participant à la réduction de Zni+ en Zn0. Au contraire, calciner sous O2 mène à des processus opposés, voire, sous excès d’O2, à la formation de défaut de type Oi. La dissociation de l’eau sur des surfaces préalablement calcinées sous vide mène au remplissage de VO+ et à la réduction de Zn2+ en Zn+. Des tests catalytiques de conversion du MBOH ont montré que de tels processus redox, contrôlés par les conditions de prétraitement, affectent la réactivité de surface de nos matériaux. / By far, the assignment of defects-related spectroscopic features of zinc oxide is still a matter of great controversy. This is probably due to the variety of possible defects in ZnO as well as to their still uncertain formation energies and positions within the band gap. Uncontrolled measurement conditions and impurities related to some synthesis methods can additionally mislead interpretations. The aim of this work is to identify the intrinsic native defects in pure ZnO or formed upon different kind of post-synthesis treatments. To fulfill this goal our strategy was to: i) prepare model zinc oxide nanoparticles using two different vapor-phase synthesis techniques (Combustion and CVS) ii) identify, assign and discuss the occurrence of the defects in line with the synthesis and post treatments conditions by combining in situ PL and EPR measurements together with other complementary spectroscopies (Raman, UV vis, FTIR) and iii) reveal the surface reactivity of defective ZnO samples by studying the interaction with water or 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol (MBOH). We observed that in all as-synthesized ZnO samples VO2+ and Zni+ are the predominant native defects with relative amounts depending on the partial pressure of oxygen used during the synthesis. Neutral oxygen vacancies (VO0) are additionally detected in samples prepared in conditions particularly rich in zinc. The formation of Vo+ is demonstrated in ZnO smoke upon post treatment (annealing in high vacuum or zinc vapor) while the associated electron release is shown to participate to the reduction of Zni+ into Zn0. On the contrary, annealing in oxygen leads to reverse processes while if used in an excess, to creation of Oi-related defects. Dissociation of water on vacuum annealed surface leads to the filling up of VO+, and reduction of Zn2+ into Zn+. Such redox processes controlled by the pretreatment conditions affect the surface reactivity through the change of the acid base balance, as revealed by MBOH conversion catalytic tests.

Chapter 1. A Brief Overview of Low Molecular Mass Gels and their Applications This chapter deals with molecular gels derived from the self-assembly of small organic molecules (typical molecular weight < 2000 daltons), endowed with appropriate functions to promote anisotropic growth of supramolecular aggregates, by means of various non-covalent interactions like van der Waals, π-πstacking, H-bonding etc., leading to a self-assembled fibrillar network (SAFIN). Several representative examples from the literature (Chart 1) are discussed to demonstrate the structural diversity of the gelator molecules which form self-assembled organogels or hydrogels. Chart 1 Besides emphasizing on the diverse molecular structures of the gelators, applications of gel phase materials as functional nanostructures are also discussed (Scheme 1). Some of the aspects that have been elaborated in this context include the use of gels as reaction media, as sensors, in light harvesting, as biomaterials and in optoelectronic applications. Scheme 1 Chapter 2. Supramolecular Chirality in Organogels: Spectroscopic, Morphological and Rheological Investigations of Gels/Xerogels derived from Alkyl Pyrenyl Urethanes This chapter addresses the formation of chiral supramolecular structures in the organogels derived from chiral 1R (or 2R), and its mixture with its enantiomer (1S) and a series of achiral analogues (3-9) by extensive circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic measurements (Chart 2). Morphological studies by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were complemented by the measurements of their bulk properties by thermal stability and rheological studies. Specific molecular recognition events (1/3 vs 2/3) and solvent effects (isooctane vs dodecane) were found to be critical in the formation of the chiral aggregates. Computational studies were carried out to understand the interactions responsible for the formation of chiral superstructures. Chapter 3. Self-assembled Composite Organogels based on a Thermo-reversible Photoactive n-Acene Fibrillar Scaffold and Organic Ligand stabilized ZnO Nanoparticles Organic/inorganic composite organogels were obtained in n-BuOH by the self-assembly of 2,3-di-n-decyloxyanthracene (DDOA, Chart 3) in this solvent in the presence of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) capped with different organic ligands (Chart 4). When ligands (oleic acid or 2,3-substituted anthracenic acid/oleic acid mixed shell) having structural similarity with the gelator molecule were used to cap the NPs, a homogeneous dispersion of the NPs in the gel matrix was obtained, as confirmed by microscopy (TEM and confocal fluorescence microscopy) experiments. The efficient integration of these NPs into the gel fibers resulted in a significant quenching (20-25%) of DDOA emission, even with extremely small loading of these NPs (~ 10-4mol% compared to DDOA) into the gel fibers. The mechanical properties (rheology were unaffected relative to the pristine DDOA organogel. However, the presence of the NPs lowered the critical gelation concentration and accelerated the gelation kinetics. Attempts to disperse these NPs (the ones without fluoro capping) on the aerogel fibers of DDOA by dissolving both DDOA and the NPs in supercritical (sc) CO2 were not successful (Fig. 1), since the NPs could not be dissolved in scCO2. Figure 1. (a) TEM images of DDOA aerogels obtained from scCO2, containing A23-NPs, scale bar 200 nm; (b) SEM image of DDOA aerogel obtained in the presence of OL-NPs, scale bar 10 µm. Chapter 4. Donor-Acdeptor Interaction Promoted Gelation Of Organic Fluids by Anthracene Carboxamides/2,4,7-Trinitrofluorenone Tris Carboxamides of anthracene were found to form charge-transfer driven organogels in a range of aliphatic alcohols in the presence of an equivalent of (electron-deficient) 2,4,7-trinitrofluorenone (TNF) (Chart 5). Intense color developed in the gel state during the sol to gel phase transition process (Fig 2) Besides, none of these carboxamides were able to form gel in the absence of TNF, suggesting the importance of charge-transfer interaction in the gel formation. Importantly, most of these gels formed only through rapid cooling of the hot solution, otherwise, leading to the precipitation of the CT complex from the solvent. This result indicated that the kinetics is very important for the formation of these gels. Optimum stoichiometry of the donor and acceptor was found to be 1:1. At this molar ratio of the donor and the acceptor, the gels not only showed the highest thermal stability (thermal gel melting experiments), they also displayed the highest values of the mechanical strength and the yield stress (rheology experiments). All the gels showed extensive quenching of the emission of the monomeric anthracenic donor. For the gels derived from the 2-substituted donor, a low energy emission at high wavelength indicated the formation of an emissive CT exciplex. X-ray powder diffraction studies of these xerogels revealed the presence of layered, fibrillar structures in the xerogel phase. (For structural formula pl see the abstract file)

This work reports the outdoor weathering performance of ultraviolet (UV)-stabilized polypropylene (PP) products (using PP resins from Encore Wire). Different hindered amine light stabilizers (HALSs) and nano-ZnO were used to stabilize PP-film-based formulations that were exposed under UV light for 6 weeks simulating for in harsh outdoor weather of Dallas, Texas, USA in 2016. Characterization of the exposed PP film products was done in terms of mechanical and friction spectroscopic properties. The PP film formulations were divided into 15 categories based on the type of HALS and nano-ZnO incorporated. This was done to derive meaningful comparison of the various film formulations. Following exposure under UV light, the lifetimes of certain formulations were determined. On the basis of the mechanical and friction properties, it was determined that generally, the HALS or nano-ZnO stabilized PP film give better properties and if those two kinds of UV stabilizers can work together.

Widespread use of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) in solid state lighting and display technologies require efficiency and lifetime improvements, as well as cost reductions, inclusive of the transparent conducting oxide (TCO). Indium tin oxide (ITO) is the standard TCO anode in OLEDs, but indium is expensive and the Earth's reserve of this element is limited. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and its variants such as aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) exhibit comparable electrical conductivity and transmissivity to ITO, and are of interest for TCO applications. However, the workfunction of ZnO and AZO is smaller compared to ITO. The smaller workfunction of AZO results in a higher hole injection barrier at the anode/organic interface, and methods of tuning its workfunction are required. This dissertation tested the hypothesis that workfunction tuning of AZO films could be achieved by surface modification with electronegative oxygen and fluorine plasmas, or, via use of nanoscale transition metal oxide layers (MoOx, VOx and WOx). Extensive UPS, XPS and optical spectroscopy studies indicate that O2 and CFx plasma treatment results in an electronegative surface, surface charge redistribution, and a surface dipole moment which reinforces the original surface dipole leading to workfunction increases. Donor-like gap states associated with partially occupied d-bands due to non-stoichiometry determine the effective increased workfunction of the AZO/transition-metal oxide stacks. Reduced hole injection barriers were engineered by ensuring that the surface ad-layers were sufficiently thin to facilitate Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. Improved band alignments resulted in improved hole injection from the surface modified AZO anodes, as demonstrated by I-V characterization of hole only structures. Energy band alignments are proposed based on the aforementioned spectroscopies. Simple bilayer OLEDs employing the surface modified AZO anodes were fabricated and characterized to compare their performance with standard ITO. Anodes consisting of AZO with MoOx or VOx interfacial layers exhibited 50% and 71% improvement in power efficiency (PE) and external quantum efficiency (EQE), respectively, compared to ITO at a working voltage of 9 V. The efficiencies of dipole reinforced AZO (O2/CFx plasma treated) anodes were comparable to ITO. The improved performance of the surface modified AZO anodes compared to as-deposited AZO is ascribed to improved hole injection, improved charge balance, and improved radiative recombination kinetics. The results suggest that surface modified AZO anodes are a promising alternative to ITO, given the lower cost and Earth abundance of Al and Zn.

Content: Polyacrylate as film-forming materials has been widely used in leather finishing, but its compactness significantly obstructs the hygienic property of upper leather. Therefore, considerable efforts have been made to endow polyacrylate with required properties. In this study, we demonstrated a facile and rapid sonochemical process to synthesis the flower-like ZnO nanostructures. The related morphology and structure of product were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Meanwhile, flower-like ZnO were introduced into the polyacrylate matrix by physical blending method, whose morphology, latex stability, water vapor permeability and water resistance were measured. The results showed that flower-like ZnO assembled by ellipsoid-like nanorods with the length of about 600 nm was successfully fabricated. The sizes of flower-like ZnO were 1.2 μm. According to SEM images, flower-like ZnO evenly dispersed were observed in composite matrix. Compared with pure polyacrylate, polyacrylate/flower-like ZnO composites exhibited the superior stability. Meanwhile, its water vapor permeability and water resistancewere increased by 52.91% and 53.13%, severally. The reason for this is that ZnO with rough structure can increase voids in polyacrylate film and thus improving hygienic property of polyacrylate film. Additionally, the hydrophilic groups on surface of ZnO can product the crosslinking with polyacrylate chains, which contributed to the enhancement of water resistance. Thus, a promising coating with hygienic property and water resistance for leather finishing agent was approved. Take-Away: 1. Polyacrylate/flower-like ZnO composites exhibited excellent hygienic property. 2. This composite coating achieves simultaneous enhancement in water vapor permeability and water resistance. 3. The morphology of ZnO can effect the properties of polyacrylate.

The effects of surface plasmon for InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells and ZnO nanoparticles optical linear and nonlinear emission efficiency had been experimentally studied. Due to the critical design for InGaN MQWs with inverted hexagonal pits based on GaN, both contribution of surface plasmon effect and image charge effect at resonant and off resonant frequencies were experimentally and theoretically investigated. With off- resonant condition, the InGaN MQWs emission significantly enhanced by metal nanoparticles. This enhancement was caused by the image charge effect, due to the accumulation of carriers to NPs region. When InGaN emission resonated with metal particles SP modes, surface Plasmon effect dominated the emission process. We also studied the surface plasmon effect for ZnO nanoparticles nonlinear optical processes, SHG and TPE. Defect level emission had more contribution at high incident intensity. Emissions are different for pumping deep into the bulk and near surface. A new assumption to increase the TPE efficiency was studied. We thought by using Au nanorods localized surface plasmon mode to couple the ZnO virtual state, the virtual state’s life time would be longer and experimentally lead the emission enhancement. We studied the TPE phenomena at high and near band gap energy. Both emission intensity and decay time results support our assumption. Theoretically, the carriers dynamic mechanism need further studies.

Chemical bath deposition (CBD) is the analog in liquid phase of the well-known chemical vapor deposition technique in the vapor phase. In CBD, deposition of thin films takes place from aqueous solutions at low temperatures by a chemical reaction between dissolved precursors, with the help of a complexing agent. Among all techniques used to grow Group II-VI semiconductors, CBD has the advantage of being a simple, low temperature, and inexpensive large-area deposition technique. So far, its contribution in thin film solar cells industry has been mainly limited to growing n-type CdS and/or ZnS window layers for CdTe-based and CIGS-based solar cells. In this work we first optimize the CBD process of CdS using nitrilotriacetic acid and hydrazine as complexing agents as an alternative to ammonia. We then study the effect of the cadmium precursor on the optical/electrical properties, as well as crystal structure, morphology, and composition of CBD-CdS films. A better understanding of the CBD process of CdS as a whole has been achieved and high quality CBD-CdS films have been obtained. Next, we investigate in-situ doping of CBD-CdS with group III elements, such as B, Al, In, and Ga. The objective is to show that CBD is capable of not only growing CdS but also of doping it to reduce its resistivity and, as a result, facilitate its use in solar cells as well as other optoelectronic device fabrication. A four orders of magnitude drop of film resistivity has been achieved without a significant change in film bandgap, structure, or morphology. Finally, we test the possibility of using CBD to grow transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films, such as Al-doped ZnO films and cadmium stannate films. First, we study CBD of ZnO and later in-situ doping of ZnO using Al. High quality ZnO thin films have been grown using CBD with the help of four different complexing agents. Post heat treatment in argon ambient helped reduce resistivity of CBD-ZnO undoped films to ~ 10-1 Ω-cm. In-situ doping of such films using Al shows promising results. Such films could be an alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO) layers that are commonly used as TCO layers for solar cells. Another approach is to use CBD to grow CdO and SnO2 thin films, with the goal of obtaining Cd2SnO4 by later annealing of these two layers. Cadmium stannate is another TCO candidate that could replace ITO in the near future. We have succeeded in growing CBD-CdO thin films using three different complexing agents. Undoped CBD-CdO films with a resistivity as low as 1.01 x10-2 Ω-cm and a carrier density as high as 2.59 x 1020 cm-3 have been obtained. SnO2 films have been successfully grown using CBD. Fabrication of Cadmium stannate thin films using CBD is investigated. In summary, our objective to expand the use of CBD beyond just growing CdS and ZnS, and to test the possibility of using it for in-situ doping of group II-VI semiconductors as well as TCO layers fabrication proved to be successful. We believe that this may have a significant impact on solar cells as well as other optoelectronic devices fabrication industry, due to the simplicity and the cost-effectiveness of CBD.

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have received a great deal of focus in recent years as a possible alternative to expensive silicon based solar technology. Current challenges for organic photovoltaics are centered around improving their lifetimes and increasing their power conversion efficiencies. One approach to improving the lifetime of such devices has been the inclusion of inorganic metal oxide layers, but interaction between the metal oxides and common conjugated polymers is not favorable. Here we present two methods by which the interactions between polythiophenes and nanostructured ZnO can be made to be more favorable. Using the first method, direct side on attachment of polythiophene to ZnO nanowires via chemical grafting, we demonstrate chemical linkage between the polymer and ZnO phases. The attachment was confirmed to affect the morphological properties of the polymer layer as well, inducing highly ordered regions of the polymer at the ZnO surface via chemical attachment and physical adsorption. Using the second method to improve polythiophene ZnO interactions, we have functionalized ZnO nanowires with organic molecules that favorably interact with conjugated polymer and organic solvents. Photovoltaic devices were made using a blended active layer of functionalized ZnO nanowires and P3HT. Electrical analysis of the resultant devices concluded that the devices were functional photovoltaic cells and isolated the dominant loss mechanisms for further device improvement.

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