Non-Contact Local Conductance Mapping of Individual Graphene Oxide Sheets during the Reduction Process.

We used electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) to investigate local conducting states of atomically thin individual graphene oxide (GO) sheets and monitor the spatial evolution of their conducting properties during the reduction process. Because of the thinness of the GO sheets and finite carrier density, the electric field is partially screened in the reduced GO, which is manifested in the EFM phase signals. We found inhomogeneous oxidation states in as-prepared GO sheets and followed the evolution of reduction process in the individual GO sheets during both thermal and chemical reduction. We also compared the EFM measurement results with simultaneous IV characteristics to assess correlations between two measurements.

Charge transport in light emitting devices based on colloidal quantum dots and a solution-processed nickel oxide layer.

We fabricated hybrid light emitting devices based on colloidal CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots and a solution-processed NiO layer. The use of a sol-gel NiO layer as a hole injection layer (HIL) resulted in overall improvement in device operation compared to a control device with a more conventional poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) HIL. In particular, luminous efficiency increased substantially because of the suppression of excessive currents and became as large as 2.45 cd/A. To manifest the origin of current reduction, temperature- and electric field-dependent variations of currents with respect to bias voltages were investigated. In a low bias voltage range below the threshold for luminance turn-on, the Poole-Frenkel (PF) emission mechanism was responsible for the current-density variation. However, the space-charge-limited current modified with PF-type mobility ruled the current-density variation in high bias voltage range above the threshold.

Fully solution-processed semitransparent organic solar cells with a silver nanowire cathode and a conducting polymer anode.

We report the fabrication of efficient indium-tin-oxide-free organic solar cells based on poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM). All layers of the devices from the lowermost silver nanowire cathode to the uppermost conducting polymer anode are deposited from solution and processed at plastic-compatible temperatures<200 °C. Owing to the absence of an opaque metal electrode, the devices are semitransparent with potential applications in power-generating windows and tandem-cells. The measured power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 2.3 and 2.0% under cathode- and anode-side illumination, respectively, match previously reported PCE values for equivalent semitransparent organic solar cells using indium tin oxide.

Transfer-printing of as-fabricated carbon nanotube devices onto various substrates.

Exact replicas of carbon nanotube devices as fabricated on SiO(2) /Si substrates are prepared on various non-conventional substrates such as nonplanar or soft substrates by a simple, yet versatile, transfer-printing "cut-and-paste" method. In this way, harsh growth and fabrication processes can be minimized on the target substrates. The electrical characteristics of transfer-printed devices are compared to those of original devices.

Local electrical characteristics of dielectrophoretically deposited carbon nanotubes.

Electrostatic force microscopy and scanning gate microscopy are employed to investigate the local electrical characteristics of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) devices that are fabricated by alternating current dielectrophoresis with high spatial resolutions. The results show good electrical anchoring of nanotubes to electrodes and absence of local gate dependence as well as global gate dependence while device resistance can be dominated by contact resistances among bundles of SWCNTs.

Uncovering operational mechanisms of a single-walled carbon nanotube network device using local probe electrical characterizations.

The apparent field-effect-transistor (FET)-like operations of a device based on a network of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are elucidated with the help of local probe electrical characterization methods using an atomic force microscope. The apparent switching behavior of the device with an on-off ratio>10(4) is found to be due to just two localized areas in the network of SWCNTs based on the measurements by electrostatic force microscopy and scanning gate microscopy. The result demonstrates that the conductance of a network of SWCNTs can be dominated by localized perturbations.