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Dr Tao Wang

Biography

Tao Wang was born in China. He got both his BSc (Polymer Materials, 2002) and MSc (Materials Science, 2005) from Wuhan University of Technology, China. His early research was on structures and properties of polymer blends and polymer-inorganic systems. From Oct. 2005 to Feb. 2009, he studied his PhD (Soft Condensed Matter Physics) with Prof Joe Keddie in the University of Surrey (UK), and collaborated with Prof. Costantino Creton (CNRS, ESPCI, France) and Prof. José Asua (The University of the Basque Country, Spain). His PhD work was on polymer colloids/carbon nanotube nanomaterials, looking at morphology, electrical properties, and mechanical properties from both macroscale to nanoscale. During his PhD study, he was awarded an Institute of Physics Polymer Physics Group Best Student Paper Prize (UK, 2007), an Institute of Physics Applied Physics and Technology Division Student Prize (UK, 2007), and a Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad (China Scholarship Council and the Ministry of Education, China, 2007).

He then took a post-doc research associate in the same group for around half a year, on an EC FP6 project called "NAnostructured waterborne POLymEr films with OutstaNding properties" (NAPOLEON). This work studied polymer-polymer and polymer-inorganic nanoparticles as building blocks for the next generation of coatings, adhesives, cosmetics and additives for paper and textiles.

From Oct. 2009, he moved to the University of Sheffield as a post-doc research associate, working with Prof. David Lidzey and Prof. Richard Jones. He looks at the nanoscale morphology of polymer:fullerene bulk hetero-junction solar cells, using grazing incidence small and wide angle X-ray scattering, spectroscopic ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The morphology control is used to optimize the power conversion efficiency of organic photovoltaic devices. Recently, he began to work on organic solar cells deposited by spray coating for large-area air-stable devices.

Selected Publications

1. Correlating structure with function in thermally-annealed PCDTBT:PC70BM photovoltaic blends. Tao Wang, Andrew J Pearson, Alan D F Dunbar, Paul A Staniec, Darren C Watters, Hunan Yi, Anthony J Ryan, Richard A L Jones, Ahmed Iraqi, David G Lidzey. Adv. Funct. Mater. 22:1399-1408 (2012) (Journal Cover)
2. Rationalising phase transitions with thermal annealing temperatures for P3HT:PCBM organic photovoltaic devices. Andrew J Pearson, Tao Wang, Richard A L Jones, David G Lidzey, Paul A Staniec, Paul E Hopkison, Athene M Donald. Macromolecules, 45:1499-1508 (2012)
3. The nanoscale morphology of a PCDTBT:PCBM photovoltaic blend. Paul A Staniec, Andrew J Parnell, Alan D F Dunbar, Hunan Yi, Andrew J Pearson, Tao Wang, Paul E Hopkison, Athene M Donald, Anthony J Ryan, Ahmed Iraqi, Richard A L Jones, David G Lidzey. Adv. Energy Mater. 1, 499-504 (2011)
4. A phase diagram of the P3HT:PCBM organic photovoltaic system: Implications for device processing and performance. Paul E Hopkison, Paul A Staniec, Andrew J Pearson, Alan D F Dunbar, Tao Wang, Anthony J Ryan, Richard A L Jones, David G Lidzey, Athene M Donald. Macromolecules 44: 2908-2917 (2011)
5. Evolution of structure, optoelectronic properties and device performance of polythiophene: fullerene solar cells during thermal annealing. Tao Wang, Andrew J Pearson, David G Lidzey, Richard A L Jones. Adv. Funct. Mater. 21:1383-1390 (2011)
6. The development of nanoscale morphology in polymer:fullerene photovoltaic blends during solvent casting. Tao Wang, Alan D F Dunbar, Paul A Staniec, Andrew J Pearson, Paul E Hopkison, J Emyr Macdonald, Samuele Lilliu, Claire Pizzey, Nicholas J Terrill, Athene M Donald, Anthony J Ryan, Richard A L Jones, David G. Lidzey. Soft Matter, 6: 4128-4134 (2010)
7. Crosslinked network development in compatibilized alkyd/acrylic hybrid latex films for the creation of hard coatings. Tao Wang, Carolina de las Heras Alarcón, Monika Goikoetxea, Itxaso Beristain, Maria Paulis, Maria J. Barandiaran, José M. Asua, Joseph L. Keddie. Langmuir 26: 14323-14333 (2010)
8. Soft polymer and nanoclay supracolloidal particles in adhesives: Synergistic effects on mechanical properties. Tao Wang, Patrick J. Colver, Stefan A. F. Bon, Joseph L. Keddie. Soft Matter, 5, 3842-3849 (2009) (Journal Cover)
9. Protein nanopatterning on self-organized poly(styrene-b-isoprene) thin film templates. Dan Liu, Tao Wang, Joseph L Keddie. Langmuir 25, 4526-4534 (2009)
10. Design and fabrication of colloidal polymer nanocomposites. Tao Wang, Joseph L Keddie. Adv. Colloid. Inter. Sci. 147-148, 319-332 (2009)
11. The importance of molecular friction in a soft polymer-nanotube nanocomposite. Tao Wang, Alan B Dalton, Joseph L Keddie. Macromolecules 41, 7656-7661 (2008)
12. A molecular mechanism for toughening and strengthening waterborne nanocomposites. Tao Wang, Chun-Hong Lei, Dan Liu, Mihaela Manea, José M. Asua, Costantino Creton, Alan B Dalton, Joseph L Keddie. Adv. Mater. 20, 90-94 (2008)
13. Waterborne, nanocomposite pressure-sensitive adhesives with high tack energy, optical transparency, and electrical conductivity. Tao Wang, Chun-Hong Lei, Alan B Dalton, et al. Adv. Mater. 18, 2730-2734 (2006) (Editor's Choice, Science, 314: 1053, 2006)