Cornell Laboratories

for Organic Electronics

The Abruña Lab, Chemistry and Chemical Biology

As electrochemists, we are interested in all aspects of interfacial charge transfer and transport. Within the context of organic electronics, we are involved in the synthesis and characterization (via electrochemical, spectroscopic, structural and transport techniques) of molecular and supramolecular assemblies with emphasis on transition metal complexes and conducting polymers, for applications in molecular electronics, OLED's, batteries, sensors and biosensors. 

The Chan Lab, Chemistry and Chemical Biology

We are a group of theorists using multiscale quantum chemical methods and numerical renormalization group ideas to understand electron and energy transfer in organic systems ranging from conjugated polymers to photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes.

The Clancy Lab, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Our group investigates mainly computational and some experimental studies of the structural and electronic properties of small organic materials and heterojunctions. Our main goal is to provide a fundamental understanding of the "design rules" that govern high performance organic electronic materials. Our interests cover a broad spectrum of multiscale modeling approaches from electronic structure calculations, to semi-empirical Molecular Dynamics, mesoscale Kinetic Monte Carlo approaches, and parameter-free continuum modeling. Current projects include pentacene and thiophene thin film growth, understanding charge transport and injection in organic semiconductors, and C₆₀/pentacene heterojunctions.

The Dichtel Lab, Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Our group utilizes the tools of synthetic and supramolecular chemistry to design and prepare compounds that have interesting optical and electronic properties and that make well-defined interfaces with nanostructured materials. We are particularly interested in photoinduced electron transfer in ordered organic systems and molecules that bind to carbon-based nanomaterials.

The Engstrom Lab, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

The Engstrom Research Group makes use of the tools of the experimental surface scientist to examine a wide variety of phenomena occurring on surfaces, ranging from applications in microelectronic device fabrication, organic and molecular-based electronics, and catalysis. The group is particularly known for its use of supersonic molecular beam techniques, which affords unprecedented control of the molecule's state as it strikes a surface. Surface reactions, adsorption and thin film deposition can be monitored in situ using techniques such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Recently the group has added scanning tunneling microscopy, which facilitates atomic-scale imaging, and in situ, real time synchrotron x-ray scattering, which facilitates study of fast structural dynamics, to its array of techniques. Many of the current areas of focus include study of the interfaces between hard (e.g., inorganic) and soft (e.g., organic, molecule-based) materials, and in particular, developing novel methods to form robust and reliable interfaces between the two.

The Hanrath Lab, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

We joined CLOE in 2007 to combine the benefits of organic materials with the unique tunable properties of semiconductor nanocrystals as building blocks in solar energy conversion and storage systems. Our current efforts focus on understanding the influence of surface chemistry on the kinetic and energetic aspects of charge transfer across the organic/inorganic interface, and its role in determining the morphology of the resulting hybrid blends.

The Hennig Lab, Materials Science and Engineering

Our research in computational materials science focuses on atomistic studies of defects, phase transitions, electronic properties and mechanical behavior of materials. We aim to develop computational techniques that both accurately predict materials properties and provide an estimate of their accuracy and to apply these methods to accelerated materials development and enhanced understanding of the effect of atomic-scale processes on meso and macroscale behavior. Our strengths are atomic multi-scale simulations that combine highly accurate quantum mechanical methods such as density functional theory and quantum Monte Carlo with efficient molecular dynamics simulations and saddle-point techniques. Current research projects aim at understanding the properties of organic electronic materials from an atomistic point of view.

The Malliaras Lab, Materials Science and Engineering

We are a diverse group of scientists and engineers who investigate the electronic properties of organic materials and advance their applications in electronics. Our interests span key aspects of organic electronics, including understanding the structure of organic thin films, developing their processing and patterning, understanding charge transport and injection in organic semiconductors, studying their device physics, and exploring their application in biosensors.

The Marohn Lab, Chemistry and Chemical Biology

We are a group of chemists, physicists, and engineers who use variable-temperature high-vacuum electric force microscopy in conjunction with charge transport measurements to explore mechanisms of charge transport, injection, and trapping in organic films and devices. A focus of our group is developing new routes to probing fundamental processes in organic electronic materials at submicron spatial resolution and high temporal resolution using scanned probes. Examples of ongoing work include developing approaches to detecting magnetic resonance mechanically; using microcantilevers to measure photomodulated capacitance and surface potential in order to study excitonic processes in photovoltaic materials; and making local measurements of electric-field and electric-field-gradient fluctuations using custom-fabricated attonewton-sensitivity cantilevers as a means to probe local charge fluctuations with the goal of inferring local hole and electron diffusion constants.

The McEuen Lab, Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics

Our group studies carbon-based nanomaterials, particularly carbon nanotubes and single graphene sheets. We are interested in the fundamental electronic, optical, chemical, and mechanical properties of these remarkable materials. Current projects include studies of electronic/optoelectronic properties of nanotube p-n junctions, terahertz measurements of ballistic transport in nanotubes, interfacing nanotubes and graphene with chemical and biological systems, and the use of graphene as an atomically thin membrane.

The Ober Lab, Materials Science and Engineering

The focus of our research is the organic materials (low k or semiconductor), the lithographic patterning and the interface construction of flexible electronics. In particular, we are focused on the biology-materials interface for life science applications. Our group consists of a diverse group of talented materials scientists, chemists and chemical engineers dedicated to solving these exciting problems.

The Park Lab, Chemistry and Chemical Biology

Our group’s main research interest is to explore novel physical properties of nanoscale materials using advanced electrical and optical spectroscopic tools. We are particularly interested in developing detailed understanding of charge transport and photon energy conversion mechanism in organic polymers and their composites with inorganic nanocrystals and nanowires.