About

Alexandria Smith is an Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality in the Department of African American and African Studies at the University of Virginia. Her work focuses on Black feminist and queer literature and theory, particularly exploring the roles of embodiment in life writing and theory, and examining how Blackness interacts with and disrupts conceptions of gender and sexuality. She is engaged in a book project that investigates the distinct and sometimes competing conceptions of Black womanhood within Black feminist, queer, and trans studies. Alexandria earned her PhD in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Rutgers University and holds a BA in Comparative Women’s Studies and International Studies from Spelman College. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies from 2021 to 2023. Her scholarly writing has been published or is forthcoming in various academic journals and platforms, including Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal, The Journal of Feminist Scholarship, Cultural Studies, Black Perspectives, and The New Inquiry.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Chemical engineering
• Organic chemistry
• Polymer chemistry
• Materials science
• Chromatography
• Engineering

Selected publications

• Interrogation of a fluoropolymer dispersion manufactured with a non-fluorinated polymerization aid for targeted and non-targeted fluorinated residuals by liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry

  Journal of Chromatography A · 2024 · 6 citations

  • Chemistry
  • Chromatography
  • Organic chemistry
  PublisherDOI

• Elucidation of Targeted and Non-Targeted Fluorinated Impurities in the Manufacturing of Ptfe Utilizing a Non-Fluorinated Polymerization Aid

  2023

  • Materials science
  • Polymer chemistry
  • Chemical engineering
  PublisherDOI

• Polymeric Platinum(II) Bipyridine Dithiolate Complexes: Exploring the Influence of Macromolecular Outer Spheres on Solvatochromism with UV–Vis Spectroscopy

  Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics · 2010-05-27 · 1 citations

  article1st author

  Abstract Solvatochromic properties were investigated for a series of Pt(bpyR 2 )(tdt) complexes where bpyR 2 represents a polymeric 4,4′‐disubstituted bipyridine (bpy) ligand of the form bpyPEG 2 (ester or ether linkage), bpyPCL 2 , bpyPMMA 2 , or bpy(PCL)(PMMA) (tdt, toluene‐3,4‐dithiolate; PEG, poly(ethylene glycol); PCL, poly( ε ‐caprolactone); and PMMA, poly(methyl methacrylate). Previously reported trends for small molecule analogues [i.e., Pt(dbbpy)(tdt), where dbbpy = 4,4′‐di‐ t ‐butyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine] were not closely followed with many of these polymeric samples due to the influence of the outer sphere, and thus, local electronic environment of the metal center, by the substituted polymer chains. Absorption spectra for precursor polymeric Pt(bpy)Cl 2 complexes shifted as expected based on the electronic nature of substituents on the bipyridine, however the solvated polymer outer spheres may also be playing a role. magnified image

  PublisherDOI

• Fabrication of Highly-Ordered TiO₂ Nanotube Arrays and Their Use in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

  Nano Letters · 2009-01-23 · 298 citations

  article

  Highly ordered TiO(2) nanotubes were successfully fabricated using a nanoporous alumina templating method. A modified sol-gel route was used to infiltrate the alumina pores with Ti(OC(3)H(7))(4) which was subsequently converted into TiO(2) nanotubes. The average external diameter, tube lengths, and wall thickness achieved were 295 nm, 6-15 microm, and 21-42 nm, respectively. Diffraction data reveals that the nanotubes consist solely of the anatase phase. Dye-sensitized solar cells using TiO(2) nanotube arrays as the working electrode yielded power conversion efficiencies as high as 3.5% with a maximum incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of 20% at 520 nm.

  PublisherDOI

• Fabrication of Organic Thin-Film Transistors Using Layer-by-Layer Assembly

  The Journal of Physical Chemistry B · 2007-05-19 · 20 citations

  article

  Layer-by-layer assembly is presented as a deposition technique for the incorporation of ultrathin gate dielectric layers into thin-film transistors utilizing a highly doped organic active layer. This deposition technique enables the fabrication of device structures with a controllable gate dielectric thickness. In particular, devices with a dielectric layer comprised of poly(allylamine hydrochloride)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAH/PAA) bilayer films were fabricated to examine the properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as the transistor active layer. The transistor Ion/off ratio and switching speed are shown to be controlled by the gate bias, which is dependent upon the voltage applied and the number of bilayers deposited for the gate dielectric. The devices operate in the depletion mode as a result of dedoping of the active layer with the application of a positive gate bias. The depletion and recovery rate are highly dependent on the level of hydration in the film and the environment under which the device is operated. These observations are consistent with an electrochemical dedoping of the conducting polymer during operation.

  PublisherDOI

• Photovoltaic-Active Dithienosilole-Containing Polymers

  Macromolecules · 2007-11-28 · 145 citations

  article

  Silole-containing polymers consisting of a dithienosilole homopolymer backbone (12) or an alternating dithienosilole and 4,7-bis(2-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole copolymer backbone (13) were synthesized. The presence of planar dithienosilole tricyclic units along these π-conjugated polymer backbones lowered the band gap and led to strong absorption in the visible region of the solar spectrum. The introduction of electron-withdrawing benzothiadiazole moieties along the dithienosilole backbone further reduced the optical band gap and increased the interchain interaction. Bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells using 1:1 w/w polymer 12 or 13:PCBM (methanofullerene [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester) blends as the photoactive layers were prepared. Photovoltaic cells with copolymer 13 as the electron donor and PCBM as the electron acceptor exhibited an increased energy conversion efficiency by a factor of 3 up to 0.18% under an AM 1.5 simulated solar light at 100 mW/cm2 after thermal annealing at 140 °C.

  PublisherDOI

• BISTABILITY IN DOPED ORGANIC THIN FILM TRANSISTORS (PREPRINT)

  Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) · 2007-03-01

  article

  Organic thin film transistors (TFTs) with the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid), PEDOT:PSS, as the active layer and crosslinked, layer-by-layer assembled poly(allylamine hydrochloride)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAH/PAA) multilayers as the gate dielectric layer were investigated. A combination of spectroscopic data and device performance characteristics were used to study the behavior of these TFT devices under a variety of controlled environmental test conditions. It was shown that depletion and recovery of the device can be induced to occur in a means that is consistent with the electrochemical oxidation and reduction of water contained in the film. In addition to acting as a reactant, moisture also acts as a plasticizer to control the movility of other species contained in the film and thereby permits bistable operation of these devices. Raman spectroscopy was used to show that the observed device switching behavior is due to a change in the PEDOT doping level.

  Publisher

• Bistability in Doped Organic Thin Film Transistors

  The Journal of Physical Chemistry B · 2007-08-14 · 3 citations

  article

  Organic thin film transitors (TFTs) with the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid), PEDOT:PSS, as the active layer and cross-linked, layer-by-layer assembled poly(allylamine hydrochloride)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAH/PAA) multilayers as the gate dielectric layer were investigated. A combination of spectroscopic data and device performance characteristics was used to study the behavior of these TFT devices under a variety of controlled environmental test conditions. It was shown that depletion and recovery of the device can be induced to occur by a means that is consistent with the electrochemical oxidation and reduction of water contained in the film. In addition to acting as a reactant, moisture also acts as a plasticizer to control the mobility of other species contained in the film and thereby permits bistable operation of these devices. Raman spectroscopy was used to show that the observed device switching behavior is due to a change in the PEDOT doping level.

  PublisherDOI

• FABRICATION OF ORGANIC THIN FILM TRANSISTORS USING LAYER- BY-LAYER ASSEMBLY (PREPRINT)

  Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) · 2007-03-01

  article

  Layer-by-layer assembly is presented as a deposition technique for the incorporation of ultra-thin gate dielectric layers into thin-film transistors utilizing a highly doped organic active layer. This deposition technique enables the fabrication of device structures with a controllable gate dielectric thickness. In particular, devices with a dielectric layer comprised of poly(allylamine hydrochloride)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAH/PAA) bilayer films were fabricated to examine the properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as the transistor active layer. The transistor Ion/off ratio and switching speed are shown to be controlled by the gate bias, which is dependent upon the voltage applied and the number of bilayers deposited for the gate dielectric. The devices operate in the depletion mode as a result of de-doping of the active layer with the application of a positive gate bias. The depletion and recovery rate are highly dependent on the level of hydration in the film and the environment under which the device is operated. These observations are consistent with an electrochemical de-doping of the conducting polymer during operation.

  Publisher

• Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):Poly(styrenesulfonate)

  Macromolecules · 2006-08-15 · 74 citations

  article

  Ultrathin films of the conducting polymer system PEDOT:PSS, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate), were fabricated through layer-by-layer assembly with PAH, poly(allylamine hydrochloride). A variety of grades of PEDOT:PSS were used to study the effects of the PEDOT to PSS weight ratio and particle size on the assembly behavior. All systems studied exhibited linear film-growth behavior as indicated by film thickness and UV−vis absorption measurements. Assembly of grades with a relatively small proportion of PEDOT to PSS behaved similarly to PSS/PAH bilayer films fabricated from pristine components. Grades with a higher proportion of PEDOT resulted in thicker bilayers, primarily due to the incorporation of more PEDOT into the film. When compared to their spin-coated analogues, layer-by-layer assembled films incorporated a smaller amount of PEDOT with respect to the PSS. This is highly suggestive of partial decomplexation of the PEDOT from the PSS during the assembly process. Surprisingly, the percent of decomplexation is estimated to be just over 50% for all of the grades studied. That is, slightly less than half of the PEDOT originally present in solution is incorporated into the layer-by-layer film, independent of both the PEDOT:PSS particle size and weight ratio. The combination of this depressed level of PEDOT together with the incorporation of PAH into the film results in the conductivity of the layer-by-layer films being ∼1 order of magnitude less than that for spin-coated films of the same grade.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Michael F. Durstock

  United States Air Force Research Laboratory

  43 shared

• Barney E. Taylor

  42 shared

• Cassandra L. Fraser

  University of Virginia

  36 shared

• Jeffery T. Stricker

  29 shared

• Anna D. Guđmundsdóttir

  University of Cincinnati

  20 shared

• Rachel Smith

  Van Andel Institute

  13 shared

• Tae‐Sik Kang

  Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

  9 shared

• Jill E. Boyle

  DuPont (United States)

  5 shared

Awards & honors

• 2021 - 2023 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Carter G. Woodson Ins…