Braun, Max B., authorPrieto, Amy, advisorFinke, Richard, committee memberRappe, Anthony, committee memberNeilson, James, committee memberde la Venta, Jose, committee member2018-01-172018-01-172017https://hdl.handle.net/10217/185761The production, storage, and subsequent consumption of energy are at the foundation of all human activity and livelihood. The theme of this dissertation is the pursuit of fundamentalunderstanding of the chemistry of materials that are used for energy production and storage. A strong emphasis is placed on a synthetic foundation that allows for systematic investigation into the fundamental chemistry that controls the applicable properties of the materials of interest. This dissertation is written in the "journals format" style—which is accepted by the Graduate School at Colorado State University—and is based on one peer-reviewed publication that has appeared in Chemistry of Materials as well as two manuscripts to be submitted, one to The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, and one to ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. In order to create a context forthese publications, Chapters 1 and 3 provide an overview of the motivations for the projects, and then continue to detail the initial synthetic investigations and considerations for the two projects. In addition to recounting Mg nanocrystals synthetic refinement that was necessary for reproducible hydride kinetic analysis, Chapter 1 also briefly introduces some of the conventional models used for fitting of the hydriding kinetics data. Furthermore, initial investigations into the use of these models for our system are presented. Chapter 2 is a paper to be submitted to The Journal of Physical Chemistry C that describes the local and extended structure characterization of Mg nanocrystals (NCs) with a small amount of nickel added during synthesis. Ni has a dramatic effect on the de/hydriding kinetics of Mg NCs, and this chapter describes the use of a combination of multiple state-of-the-art characterization techniques to gain insight into the structural perturbations due to Ni inclusion in the Mg NCs. This insight is then used to establish the characteristics of Ni inclusion that results in the enhanced hydrogen absorption processes. Chapter 3 introduces the many considerations needed to be taken into account during the development of a novel synthesis for copper zinc tin chalcogenide colloidal nanocrystals. In addition to introducing synthetic approaches to achieve this goal, Chapter 3 also describes essential characteristics that need to be considered for further investigation into the properties of films made from the nanocrystals. Chapter 4 is a publication that appeared in Chemistry of Materials, that describes an approach to tuning the surface and ligand chemistry of Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystals for use as an absorber layer in next generation photovoltaic devices. The publication describes ligand exchange chemistry achieved via layer-by-layer dip-casting of nanocrystal thin films, and the effects that this exchange chemistry has on the resulting films. It also details the fabrication of full photovoltaic (PV) devices to characterize the benefits of controlling the surface chemistry can have on PV performance. Chapter 5 is a paper—to be submitted to ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces—that describes the investigations into how varying the chalcogen ratio (i.e., S:Se) leads to changes in the physical and electrical properties of thin films made from Cu2ZnSn(S1-xSex)4 (where 0 < x < 1) NCs. It highlights the novel synthetic procedure (detailed in chapter 3) that was required for a systematic, deconvoluted evaluation of S:Se composition on the materials optical and electronic properties. Moreover, the characteristics of full PV devices based on thin films of each stoichiometry (x=0 to x=1) are assessed to establish a relationship between composition and the materials performance.born digitaldoctoral dissertationsengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.kesterite photovoltaicsrenewable energynanoparticleschemistry of materialsText