Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xvi, 273 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-215).

The demand for electrical energy storage has increased tremendously in recent years, especially in the applications of portable electronic devices, transportation and renewable energy. The performances of lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries depend on their electrode materials. In commercial Li-ion batteries with graphite anodes the intercalation potential of lithium in graphite is close to the reversible Li/Li⁺ half-cell potential. The proximity of the potentials can result in unintended electroplating of metallic instead of intercalation of lithium in the graphite anode and frequently leads to internal shorting and overheating, which constitute unacceptable hazards, especially when the batteries are large, as they are in cars and airplanes. Moreover, graphite cannot be readily used as the anode material of Na-ion batteries, because electroplating of metallic sodium on graphite is kinetically favored over sodium intercalation in graphite. This dissertation examines safer Li-ion and Na-ion battery anode materials. / text

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Anatomy / Master / Master of Philosophy

Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) has been widely used for various optoelectronic devices such as display panels, light-emitting diodes and solar cells due to its unique optical and electrical properties. Thin ITO films can be fabricated by a number of methods such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), laser ablation, dc sputtering, e-beam deposition, vapor phase deposition, electrochemical deposition and hydrothermal method. Apart from the conventional thin film form, one dimensional ITO nanorods or nanowires are attracting much research interest due to their high aspect ratio and large surface to volume ratio. For instance, a network made of ITO nanowires can exhibit high transparency (over 95 %) and high flexibility without losing its conducting property as reported recently. This network can be potentially used for flexible photovoltaic devices. In this study, ITO nanorods or nanowires were fabricated using the vapor deposition, dc sputtering and e-beam deposition. The use of short ITO nanorods (100 nm) on glass and commercial ITO substrates as bottom electrodes improving the charge collection of bulk heterojunction organic solar cells had been demonstrated. The morphology of the ITO nanostructures was studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The crystal structure and growth direction were studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED), respectively. Optical properties were examined using transmission and photoluminescence measurements. The performance of the organic solar cells was examined using the I-V characteristics and external quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements. The growth mechanism of the ITO nanowires using different fabrication methods was discussed. The effects of the substrate temperature, oxygen content, choice of substrate and evaporation rate on the morphology, transmittance and sheet resistivity were investigated. When short ITO nanorods were incorporated into the bulk heterojunction organic solar cells, a significant improvement of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) was observed. The higher efficiency of the studied solar cells was attributed to the improved charge collection. / published_or_final_version / Physics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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M. Tech. Chemical Engineering. / Discusses the application of nanotechnology process to offer wholesale benefits in water and wastewater treatment, extremely very few researches have been conducted in this field. Even with the few, studies have mainly focused on using single ion aqueous solution. Such approach is novel but the results may not give true picture of performance of nano-materials. It's known that water quality adversely affect sorption process. It's thus product to use real field water and wastewater to get valuable results. Presently, there is almost no information is open literature regarding the application of nano-scale adsorbents in treating real water and wastewater.

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published_or_final_version / abstract / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy