In this work the thermal behavior with the glass transition of phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and their blends was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Both TGA and DSC measurements show that PCBM contains around 1% residual solvent in the crystalline structure. The glass transition of PCBM, P3HT and their blends was determined by quenching techniques. The quenched state of the materials has a strong effect on the glass transition of the materials, especially in the case of PCBM. In all blend compositions only one glass transition temperature was found. These results indicate that PCBM and P3HT are thermodynamically miscible in all blend compositions.

In this work the surface modification and functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were investigated. CNTs were firstly treated by acid mixture H2SO4/HNO3 to introduce the carboxylic group onto the surface of CNTs. This carboxylic group was used as reaction precursor in the functionalization. Two functional groups, dodecylamine (DDA) and 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (3-APTES), were successfully covalently attached to CNTs. The functionalized CNTs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravimetric analysis (DSC/TGA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. The CNTs attached to the organofunctional moieties have greater versatility for further utilization in different application fields such as biology, nanocomposites, solar energy, etc.

An electrode made of Au nanoparticles, ca. 13 nm in diameter, displays outstanding catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction in water. At an overpotential of 200 mV it operates with a catalytic rate TOF of 0.3 s-1, which is among the best performances ever achieved for a Pt-free H2-evolving catalyst.

We report herein investigation on crystallization of amorphous molybdenum sulfide a-MoS x induced by electron and laser beam resulting in formation of crystalline molybdenum disulfide c-MoS2. This crystallization occurred in situ during transmission electron microscopic and Raman analyses of a-MoS x material. It was also found that a-MoS x to c-MoS2 phase transformation was not fully beneficial for H2-evolving catalytic performance. c-MoS2 showed better robustness but significantly lower catalytic performance. Furthermore, c-MoS2 was less tolerant to oxidation stress, as the one caused by photogenerated holes within the light harvester, compared with a-MoS x catalyst. Thus, a-MoS x is a better candidate for implementation within photocatalysts for overall solar water-splitting application.