Mechanical properties and reliability of advanced energy/electronic materials

Abstract

A fundamental understanding of the mechanical behavior of energy/electronic materials is essential to design and develop the mechanically robust devices. Despite the great achievement of performances in energy/electronic devices, the mechanical and electrical reliabilities of the devices has always been a concern due to its limited mechanical characteristics. Moreover, the mechanical reliability issues become crucial with the demand of the flexible and stretchable devices. In this thesis, the mechanical properties and reliability of advanced energy/electronic materials have been systematically investigated. The mechanical behaviors of the materials have been investigated in two aspects

the mechanical properties of thin films and the interfacial reliability of the devices. In solar energy systems, the intrinsic mechanical properties and fracture mechanism of polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction films and conjugated polymers are mainly studied. All-polymer active layer have been adopted to enhance the mechanical reliability of polymer solar cells instead of polymer-fullerene solar cells. Regarding hydrogen energy, the mechanical properties of proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell electrodes have also been investigated for the first time. In electronic material parts, the interfacial adhesion properties of metal nanoparticle thin films have been enhanced by controlling sintering conditions, and a fundamental adhesion mechanism has been investigated. Our results can potentially be used in state-of-the-art energy/electronic technologies and to develop the mechanically robust energy/electronic devices.