The University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Economical Buffer Layer Boosts Performance of Organic Solar Cells
New compositions of matter have been invented, specifically organic buffer layer materials that can greatly enhance power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices and can effectively functionalize metal electrodes. Conventional-architecture OPV devices made using the new buffer layer have average PCEs greater than 8%, with the highest PCE value exceeding 9.5%. This new buffer layer can be used with Ag, Cu, and Au cathodes, opening routes to all-solution-based device fabrication and roll-to-roll processing. In addition, the new buffer layer materials can be applied at a layer thickness of up to 55 nm, avoiding processing challenges that occur with ultrathin buffer layers and enabling a simplified and reproducible process for device fabrication.
Published: 8/10/2023   |   Inventor(s): Todd Emrick, Thomas Russell, Zachariah Page, Yao Liu
Category(s): Physical Science, Material science, Clean Energy, Devices
Stablizing Liquid Drops ofof Arbitrary Shapes by the Interfacial Jamming of Nanoparticles
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Published: 8/10/2023   |   Inventor(s): Thomas Russell, Todd Emrick, Mengmeng Cui
Category(s): Material science, Nanotechnology, Engineering, Physical Science
Novel Hydrophilic Conjugated Polymers as Efficient Hole Extraction Layers for Solar Cell Applications
This invention provides novel hydrophilic conjugated polymers that can be used as hole extraction layers in solar cells to enhance power conversion efficiency and solar cell stability. The polymers can be synthesized in water at room temperatures without using toxic transition metals or flammable organic solvents.
Published: 8/10/2023   |   Inventor(s): Todd Emrick, Zachariah Page, Yao Liu, Thomas Russell
Category(s): Physical Science, Material science, Clean Energy
Nanopatterned Articles Produced Using Reconstructed Block Copolymer Films
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Published: 8/10/2023   |   Inventor(s): Thomas Russell, Soojin Park, Jia-Yu Wang, Bokyung Kim
Category(s): Material science, Nanotechnology, Devices, Engineering, Computers
A Simple, Scalable Method for Producing Bicontinuous Jammed Emulsions (or Bijels) with Sub-micrometer Domains
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Published: 8/6/2024   |   Inventor(s): Thomas Russell, Caili Huang, Joseph Forth, Brett Helms
Category(s): Physical Science, Nanotechnology, Material science
Sub-5 nm Full Pitch Lamellar Microdomains by Chemical Transformation
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Published: 8/10/2023   |   Inventor(s): Thomas Russell, Duk Man Yu, Javid Rzayev, Jose Kenneth Mapas
Category(s): Material science, Nanotechnology, Physical Science
Polymeric Interlayer Boosts Performance of Organic Solar Cells
This invention provides new polymeric interlayer materials that can greatly enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic or polymer solar cells.
Published: 8/10/2023   |   Inventor(s): Todd Emrick, Thomas Russell, Zachariah Page, Yao Liu
Category(s): Material science, Physical Science, Clean Energy
NEW METHODS TO GENERATE 10-TERABIT-PER-SQUARE-INCH ARRAYS OF NANOSCOPIC ELEMENTS WITH LONG-RANGE LATERAL ORDER
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of California at Berkeley have recently developed novel methods to produce block copolymer thin films containing near perfectly ordered arrays of nanoscopic elements on macroscopic non-flexible or flexible substrates. The long-range lateral order of the block copolymer nanoscopic elements is achieved by using substrates with saw-tooth patterns to guide the copolymer self-assembly. The block copolymer thin films produced using saw-tooth patterned substrates have areal densities of nanocylinders in excess of 10 terabits per square inch, and can be easily processed to generate templates with long-range lateral order of nanopores for a wide variety of commercial applications
Published: 8/3/2023   |   Inventor(s): Thomas Russell, Soojin Park, Ting Xu
Category(s): Nanotechnology, Material science, Physical Science, Engineering, Electronics, Devices
A Simple Route for Preparation of Nanoporous Templates
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed simple and environmentally friendly methods for fabricating nanopatterned templates and substrates with highly oriented and ordered nanodomains or nanostructures. Metal-coated block copolymer films with highly ordered nanoscale cylindrical pores oriented normal to the film surface can be fabricated by using simple solvent vapor annealing, film reconstruction, and glancing angle metal evaporation processes. By controlling the thickness of the metal layer and the thermal annealing conditions, two other types of metal-decorated, nanopatterned films with nanodots or nanoring-shaped voids can be generated. These metal-decorated films can be used as masks or templates for subsequent pattern transfer into underlying substrates with high fidelity via etching, or as scaffolds for the fabrication of arrays of nanoscopic elements from any material that can be evaporated, sputtered or electrochemically deposited into the voids of the nanopatterned films.
Published: 5/24/2024   |   Inventor(s): Thomas Russell, Soojin Park, Jia-Yu Wang, Bokyung Kim
Category(s): Material science
A Simple, Robust Route for Generating Unidirectionally Aligned, Nanoscopic Line Patterns of Block Copolymers over Arbitrarily Large Areas
Researchers at UMass Amherst, UC Berkeley and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology have collaboratively developed a simple, robust route for producing unidirectionally aligned, nanoscopic line patterns of block copolymers over arbitrarily large areas, with an order parameter in excess of 0.97. The fabrication process combines the “bottom-up,” directed self-assembly of block copolymer approach to generation of nanoscopic surface structures with a unique strategy to guide perfect assembly of horizontally positioned nanocylindrical domains of block copolymers on non-defect-free substrates. In addition, the fabrication process does not require photolithography, e-beam lithography, or other processes employing a “top-down” patterning approach. The exceptional alignment is attainable either on reconstructed, faceted single crystal surfaces or on their replicas made with flexible, inexpensive polymeric materials. The block copolymer line patterns with perfect structural order over arbitrarily large areas can be used in subsequent roll-to-roll type pattern transfer and patterning processes and to serve as templates and scaffolds for the manufacture of a variety of addressable media and devices.
Published: 8/10/2023   |   Inventor(s): Thomas Russell, Sung Woo Hong, Dong-Hyun Lee, Soojin Park, Ting Xu
Category(s): Nanotechnology, Material science, Computers, Devices, Engineering, Electronics, Physical Science