1D and 2D Materials, and Flexible Substrates

This paper reviews two of the primary research topics pursued by the EH Yang Research Group at Stevens Institute of Technology. Chemical vapor deposition is used to synthesize single crystalline or polycrystalline monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), including MoS2, WS2, WSe2 and MoSe2, as well as their heterostructures. This research could have a significant impact on the future research and commercialization of TMD-based optoelectronics and nanoelectronics. Flexible electrodes and energy storage technologies are developed toward wearable and multifunctional electronics. A facile fabrication technique is developed utilizing vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, which enables the fabrication of flexible supercapacitors with a stable charge/discharge under varied strains. Lastly, smart polymer membranes are investigated and utilized to demonstrate a novel in situ control of droplet pinning on the polymer surface, enabling the control of droplet adhesion from strongly pinned to extremely slippery (and vice versa), presenting great potential for manipulation and control of liquid droplets for various applications including oil separation.