New oligomers, intended for use as potential molecular electronics devices have been synthesized based on rational design principles. A large number of chemically and conformationally diverse molecules have been synthesized, in order to manipulate two physical characteristics of the oligomer: the molecular junction with the bulk phase material, and ...

Chapter 1 discusses recent results in the area of molecular electronics. Molecules have been shown to act as switches and memory components in two different test structures. We have synthesized and tested several molecules using cyclic voltammetry in an effort to fully understand the switching and memory mechanism. Chapter 2 deals with a novel reaction ...

Environmentally friendly solvents including water and ionic liquids have been used as a medium to functionalize singe-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Previously, in order to obtain individual functionalized SWCNTs, harsh chemicals or reaction conditions were necessary. The environmentally friendly solvents have now been demonstrated to yield ...

Ever-growing energy needs, limited energy resources, and the need to decrease soaring greenhouse gas emissions have brought about an urgent demand on the pursuit of energy alternatives, includ¬ing both renewable energy sources and sustainable storage technologies. Electrochemical capacitors (ECs) and reversible lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are two ...

Silicon oxide (SiO x 1 ∠ x [∠, double =]2) has long been used and considered as a passive and insulating component in the construction of electronic devices. In contrast, here the active role of SiO x in constructing a type of resistive switching memory is studied. From electrode-independent electrical behaviors to the visualization of the conducting ...

The Tour lab has previously demonstrated that antibody-targeted drug-loaded carbon nanoparticles, called PEGylated hydrophilic carbon clusters (PEG-HCCs), can be utilized for cancer-specific drug delivery both in vitro and in vivo. In this work, we append a range of receptor-binding peptides to PEG-HCCs, and show that these peptidyl-PEG-HCCs have ...

Chapter 1 discusses the purpose, the design, and the syntheses of new potential electronic devices. Based on previous and current studies, new oligo(phenylene ethynylene)s containing pyridyl alligator clips have been synthesized for molecular electronics using a series a palladium-catalyzed couplings. Although the testing of these devices is still ...

The first chapter examines the non-halogenated flame retardant additives. The synthesis and blending of these various boron compounds are discussed and the blending of these additives into commercial polymers is addressed. The burn results of these polymer and additives blends are displayed. Chapter 2 shows the various halogenated flame retardant ...

This thesis investigates the chemistry of graphene from its basic synthesis to further modulation of its structure, geometry and surface chemical functional groups. A series of wet chemistry and dry chemistry experiments were performed. The wet chemistry includes the diazonium salt functionalization, graphene oxidation and reduction, nanotube unzipping ...

Composite fibers comprised of 5:95 wt ratio of ultra-short single walled carbon nanotubes (US-SWCNT):polyacrylonitrile (PAN) were spun using a dry-jet wet-spinning method followed by oxidative stabilization at 285 °C. The as-spun and stabilized composite fibers exhibited a 50 and 40 % increase, respectively, in modulus when compared to neat PAN. The ...