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Institute
- Institut für Chemie (39) (remove)
The present work is devoted to establishing of a new generation of self-healing anti-corrosion coatings for protection of metals. The concept of self-healing anticorrosion coatings is based on the combination of the passive part, represented by the matrix of conventional coating, and the active part, represented by micron-sized capsules loaded with corrosion inhibitor. Polymers were chosen as the class of compounds most suitable for the capsule preparation. The morphology of capsules made of crosslinked polymers, however, was found to be dependent on the nature of the encapsulated liquid. Therefore, a systematic analysis of the morphology of capsules consisting of a crosslinked polymer and a solvent was performed. Three classes of polymers such as polyurethane, polyurea and polyamide were chosen. Capsules made of these polymers and eight solvents of different polarity were synthesized via interfacial polymerization. It was shown that the morphology of the resulting capsules is specific for every polymer-solvent pair. Formation of capsules with three general types of morphology, such as core-shell, compact and multicompartment, was demonstrated by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy. Compact morphology was assumed to be a result of the specific polymer-solvent interactions and be analogues to the process of swelling. In order to verify the hypothesis, pure polyurethane, polyurea and polyamide were synthesized; their swelling behavior in the solvents used as the encapsulated material was investigated. It was shown that the swelling behavior of the polymers in most cases correlates with the capsules morphology. Different morphologies (compact, core-shell and multicompartment) were therefore attributed to the specific polymer-solvent interactions and discussed in terms of “good” and “poor” solvent. Capsules with core-shell morphology are formed when the encapsulated liquid is a “poor” solvent for the chosen polymer while compact morphologies are formed when the solvent is “good”. Multicompartment morphology is explained by the formation of infinite networks or gelation of crosslinked polymers. If gelation occurs after the phase separation in the system is achieved, core-shell morphology is present. If gelation of the polymer occurs far before crosslinking is accomplished, further condensation of the polymer due to the crosslinking may lead to the formation of porous or multicompartment morphologies. It was concluded that in general, the morphology of capsules consisting of certain polymer-solvent pairs can be predicted on the basis of polymer-solvent behavior. In some cases, the swelling behavior and morphology may not match. The reasons for that are discussed in detail in the thesis. The discussed approach is only capable of predicting capsule morphology for certain polymer-solvent pairs. In practice, the design of the capsules assumes the trial of a great number of polymer-solvent combinations; more complex systems consisting of three, four or even more components are often used. Evaluation of the swelling behavior of each component pair of such systems becomes unreasonable. Therefore, exploitation of the solubility parameter approach was found to be more useful. The latter allows consideration of the properties of each single component instead of the pair of components. In such a manner, the Hansen Solubility Parameter (HSP) approach was used for further analysis. Solubility spheres were constructed for polyurethane, polyurea and polyamide. For this a three-dimensional graph is plotted with dispersion, polar and hydrogen bonding components of solubility parameter, obtained from literature, as the orthogonal axes. The HSP of the solvents are used as the coordinates for the points on the HSP graph. Then a sphere with a certain radius is located on a graph, and the “good” solvents would be located inside the sphere, while the “poor” ones are located outside. Both the location of the sphere center and the sphere radius should be fitted according to the information on polymer swelling behavior in a number of solvents. According to the existing correlation between the capsule morphology and swelling behavior of polymers, the solvents located inside the solubility sphere of a polymer give capsules with compact morphologies. The solvents located outside the solubility sphere of the solvent give either core-shell or multicompartment capsules in combination with the chosen polymer. Once the solubility sphere of a polymer is found, the solubility/swelling behavior is approximated to all possible substances. HSP theory allows therefore prediction of polymer solubility/swelling behavior and consequently the capsule morphology for any given substance with known HSP parameters on the basis of limited data. The latter makes the theory so attractive for application in chemistry and technology, since the choice of the system components is usually performed on the basis of a large number of different parameters that should mutually match. Even slight change of the technology sometimes leads to the necessity to find the analogue of this or that solvent in a sense of solvency but carrying different chemistry. Usage of the HSP approach in this case is indispensable. In the second part of the work examples of the HSP application for the fabrication of capsules with on-demand-morphology are presented. Capsules with compact or core-shell morphology containing corrosion inhibitors were synthesized. Thus, alkoxysilanes possessing long hydrophobic tail, combining passivating and water-repelling properties, were encapsulated in polyurethane shell. The mechanism of action of the active material required core-shell morphology of the capsules. The new hybrid corrosion inhibitor, cerium diethylhexyl phosphate, was encapsulated in polyamide shells in order to facilitate the dispersion of the substance and improve its adhesion to the coating matrix. The encapsulation of commercially available antifouling agents in polyurethane shells was carried out in order to control its release behavior and colloidal stability. Capsules with compact morphology made of polyurea containing the liquid corrosion inhibitor 2-methyl benzothiazole were synthesized in order to improve the colloidal stability of the substance. Capsules with compact morphology allow slower release of the liquid encapsulated material compared to the core-shell ones. If the “in-situ” encapsulation is not possible due to the reaction of the oil-soluble monomer with the encapsulated material, a solution was proposed: loading of the capsules should be performed after monomer deactivation due to the accomplishment of the polymerization reaction. Capsules of desired morphologies should be preformed followed by the loading step. In this way, compact polyurea capsules containing the highly effective but chemically active corrosion inhibitors 8-hydroxyquinoline and benzotriazole were fabricated. All the resulting capsules were successfully introduced into model coatings. The efficiency of the resulting “smart” self-healing anticorrosion coatings on steel and aluminium alloy of the AA-2024 series was evaluated using characterization techniques such as Scanning Vibrating Electron Spectroscopy, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and salt-spray chamber tests.
Metals are often used in environments that are conducive to corrosion, which leads to a reduction in their mechanical properties and durability. Coatings are applied to corrosion-prone metals such as aluminum alloys to inhibit the destructive surface process of corrosion in a passive or active way. Standard anticorrosive coatings function as a physical barrier between the material and the corrosive environment and provide passive protection only when intact. In contrast, active protection prevents or slows down corrosion even when the main barrier is damaged. The most effective industrially used active corrosion inhibition for aluminum alloys is provided by chromate conversion coatings. However, their toxicity and worldwide restriction provoke an urgent need for finding environmentally friendly corrosion preventing systems. A promising approach to replace the toxic chromate coatings is to embed particles containing nontoxic inhibitor in a passive coating matrix. This work presents the development and optimization of effective anticorrosive coatings for the industrially important aluminum alloy, AA2024-T3 using this approach. The protective coatings were prepared by dispersing mesoporous silica containers, loaded with the nontoxic corrosion inhibitor 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, in a passive sol-gel (SiOx/ZrOx) or organic water-based layer. Two types of porous silica containers with different sizes (d ≈ 80 and 700 nm, respectively) were investigated. The studied robust containers exhibit high surface area (≈ 1000 m² g-1), narrow pore size distribution (dpore ≈ 3 nm) and large pore volume (≈ 1 mL g-1) as determined by N2 sorption measurements. These properties favored the subsequent adsorption and storage of a relatively large amount of inhibitor as well as its release in response to pH changes induced by the corrosion process. The concentration, position and size of the embedded containers were varied to ascertain the optimum conditions for overall anticorrosion performance. Attaining high anticorrosion efficiency was found to require a compromise between delivering an optimal amount of corrosion inhibitor and preserving the coating barrier properties. This study broadens the knowledge about the main factors influencing the coating anticorrosion efficiency and assists the development of optimum active anticorrosive coatings doped with inhibitor loaded containers.
Conventional energy sources are diminishing and non-renewable, take million years to form and cause environmental degradation. In the 21st century, we have to aim at achieving sustainable, environmentally friendly and cheap energy supply by employing renewable energy technologies associated with portable energy storage devices. Lithium-ion batteries can repeatedly generate clean energy from stored materials and convert reversely electric into chemical energy. The performance of lithium-ion batteries depends intimately on the properties of their materials. Presently used battery electrodes are expensive to be produced; they offer limited energy storage possibility and are unsafe to be used in larger dimensions restraining the diversity of application, especially in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). This thesis presents a major progress in the development of LiFePO4 as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries. Using simple procedure, a completely novel morphology has been synthesized (mesocrystals of LiFePO4) and excellent electrochemical behavior was recorded (nanostructured LiFePO4). The newly developed reactions for synthesis of LiFePO4 are single-step processes and are taking place in an autoclave at significantly lower temperature (200 deg. C) compared to the conventional solid-state method (multi-step and up to 800 deg. C). The use of inexpensive environmentally benign precursors offers a green manufacturing approach for a large scale production. These newly developed experimental procedures can also be extended to other phospho-olivine materials, such as LiCoPO4 and LiMnPO4. The material with the best electrochemical behavior (nanostructured LiFePO4 with carbon coating) was able to delive a stable 94% of the theoretically known capacity.
Controlling interactions in synthetic polymers as precisely as in proteins would have a strong impact on polymer science. Advanced structural and functional control can lead to rational design of, integrated nano- and microstructures. To achieve this, properties of monomer sequence defined oligopeptides were exploited. Through their incorporation as monodisperse segments into synthetic polymers we learned in recent four years how to program the structure formation of polymers, to adjust and exploit interactions in such polymers, to control inorganic-organic interfaces in fiber composites and induce structure in Biomacromolecules like DNA for biomedical applications.
In the first section of the thesis graphitic carbon nitride was for the first time synthesised using the high-temperature condensation of dicyandiamide (DCDA) – a simple molecular precursor – in a eutectic salt melt of lithium chloride and potassium chloride. The extent of condensation, namely next to complete conversion of all reactive end groups, was verified by elemental microanalysis and vibrational spectroscopy. TEM- and SEM-measurements gave detailed insight into the well-defined morphology of these organic crystals, which are not based on 0D or 1D constituents like known molecular or short-chain polymeric crystals but on the packing motif of extended 2D frameworks. The proposed crystal structure of this g-C3N4 species was derived in analogy to graphite by means of extensive powder XRD studies, indexing and refinement. It is based on sheets of hexagonally arranged s-heptazine (C6N7) units that are held together by covalent bonds between C and N atoms. These sheets stack in a graphitic, staggered fashion adopting an AB-motif, as corroborated by powder X-ray diffractometry and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. This study was contrasted with one of many popular – yet unsuccessful – approaches in the last 30 years of scientific literature to perform the condensation of an extended carbon nitride species through synthesis in the bulk. The second section expands the repertoire of available salt melts introducing the lithium bromide and potassium bromide eutectic as an excellent medium to obtain a new phase of graphitic carbon nitride. The combination of SEM, TEM, PXRD and electron diffraction reveals that the new graphitic carbon nitride phase stacks in an ABA’ motif forming unprecedentedly large crystals. This section seizes the notion of the preceding chapter, that condensation in a eutectic salt melt is the key to obtain a high degree of conversion mainly through a solvatory effect. At the close of this chapter ionothermal synthesis is seen established as a powerful tool to overcome the inherent kinetic problems of solid state reactions such as incomplete polymerisation and condensation in the bulk especially when the temperature requirement of the reaction in question falls into the proverbial “no man’s land” of classical solvents, i.e. above 250 to 300 °C. The following section puts the claim to the test, that the crystalline carbon nitrides obtained from a salt melt are indeed graphitic. A typical property of graphite – namely the accessibility of its interplanar space for guest molecules – is transferred to the graphitic carbon nitride system. Metallic potassium and graphitic carbon nitride are converted to give the potassium intercalation compound, K(C6N8)3 designated according to its stoichiometry and proposed crystal structure. Reaction of the intercalate with aqueous solvents triggers the exfoliation of the graphitic carbon nitride material and – for the first time – enables the access of singular (or multiple) carbon nitride sheets analogous to graphene as seen in the formation of sheets, bundles and scrolls of carbon nitride in TEM imaging. The thus exfoliated sheets form a stable, strongly fluorescent solution in aqueous media, which shows no sign in UV/Vis spectroscopy that the aromaticity of individual sheets was subject to degradation. The final section expands on the mechanism underlying the formation of graphitic carbon nitride by literally expanding the distance between the covalently linked heptazine units which constitute these materials. A close examination of all proposed reaction mechanisms to-date in the light of exhaustive DSC/MS experiments highlights the possibility that the heptazine unit can be formed from smaller molecules, even if some of the designated leaving groups (such as ammonia) are substituted by an element, R, which later on remains linked to the nascent heptazine. Furthermore, it is suggested that the key functional groups in the process are the triazine- (Tz) and the carbonitrile- (CN) group. On the basis of these assumptions, molecular precursors are tailored which encompass all necessary functional groups to form a central heptazine unit of threefold, planar symmetry and then still retain outward functionalities for self-propagated condensation in all three directions. Two model systems based on a para-aryl (ArCNTz) and para-biphenyl (BiPhCNTz) precursors are devised via a facile synthetic procedure and then condensed in an ionothermal process to yield the heptazine based frameworks, HBF-1 and HBF-2. Due to the structural motifs of their molecular precursors, individual sheets of HBF-1 and HBF-2 span cavities of 14.2 Å and 23.0 Å respectively which makes both materials attractive as potential organic zeolites. Crystallographic analysis confirms the formation of ABA’ layered, graphitic systems, and the extent of condensation is confirmed as next-to-perfect by elemental analysis and vibrational spectroscopy.
For the first time stabilizer-free vinylidene fluoride (VDF) polymerizations were carried out in homogeneous phase with supercritical CO₂. Polymerizations were carried out at 140°C, 1500 bar and were initiated with di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP). In-line FT-NIR (Fourier Transform- Near Infrared) spectroscopy showed that complete monomer conversion may be obtained. Molecular weights were determined via size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and polymer end group analysis by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The number average molecular weights were below 104 g∙mol−1 and polydispersities ranged from 3.1 to 5.7 depending on DTBP and VDF concentration. To allow for isothermal reactions high CO₂ contents ranging from 61 to 83 wt.% were used. The high-temperature, high-pressure conditions were required for homogeneous phase polymerization. These conditions did not alter the amount of defects in VDF chaining. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that regular stack-type particles were obtained upon expansion of the homogeneous polymerization mixture. To reduce the required amount of initiator, further VDF polymerizations using chain transfer agents (CTAs) to control molecular weights were carried out in homogeneous phase with supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) at 120 °C and 1500 bar. Using perfluorinated hexyl iodide as CTA, polymers of low polydispersity ranging from 1.5 to 1.2 at the highest iodide concentration of 0.25 mol·L-1 were obtained. Electrospray ionization- mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) indicates the absence of initiator derived end groups, supporting livingness of the system. The “livingness” is based on the labile C-I bond. However, due to the weakness of the C-I bond perfluorinated hexyl iodide also contributes to initiation. To allow for kinetic analyses of VDF polymerizations the CTA should not contribute to initiation. Therefore, additional CTAs were applied: BrCCl3, C6F13Br and C6F13H. It was found that C6F13H does not contribute to initiation. At 120°C and 1500 bar kp/kt0.5~ 0.64 (L·mol−1·s−1)0.5 was derived. The chain transfer constant (CT) at 120°C has been determined to be 8·10−1, 9·10−2 and 2·10−4 for C6F13I, C6F13Br and C6F13H, respectively. These CT values are associated with the bond energy of the C-X bond. Moreover, the labile C-I bond allows for functionalization of the polymer to triazole end groups applying click reactions. After substitution of the iodide end group by an azide group 1,3 dipolar cycloadditions with alkynes yield polymers with 1,2,3 triazole end groups. Using symmetrical alkynes the reactions may be carried out in the absence of any catalyst. This end-functionalized poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) has higher thermal stability as compared to the normal PVDF. PVDF samples from homogeneous phase polymerizations in supercritical CO₂ and subsequent expansion to ambient conditions were analyzed with respect to polymer end groups, crystallinity, type of polymorphs and morphology. Upon expansion the polymer was obtained as white powder. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that DTBP derived polymer end groups led to stack-type particles whereas sponge- or rose-type particles were obtained in case of CTA fragments as end groups. Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy and wide angle X-ray diffraction indicated that the type of polymorph, α or β crystal phase was significantly affected by the type of end group. The content of β-phase material, which is responsible for piezoelectricity of PVDF, is the highest for polymer with DTBP-derived end groups. In addition, the crystallinity of the material, as determined via differential scanning calorimetry is affected by the end groups and polymer molecular weights. For example, crystallinity ranges from around 26 % for DTBP-derived end groups to a maximum of 62 % for end groups originating from perfluorinated hexyl iodide for polymers with Mn ~2200 g·mol–1. Expansion of the homogeneous polymerization mixture results in particle formation by a non-optimized RESS (Rapid Expansion from Supercritical Solution) process. Thus, it was tested how polymer end groups affect the particles size distribution obtained from RESS process under controlled conditions (T = 50°C and P = 200 bar). In all RESS experiments, small primary PVDF with diameters less than 100 nm without the use of liquid solvents, surfactants, or other additives were produced. A strong correlation between particle size and particle size distribution with polymer end groups and molecular weight of the original material was observed. The smallest particles were found for RESS of PVDF with Mn~ 4000 g·mol–1 and PFHI (C6F13I) - derived end groups.
First studies of electron transfer in [N]phenylenes were performed in bimolecular quenching reactions of angular [3]- and triangular [4]phenylene with various electron acceptors. The relation between the quenching rate constants kq and the free energy change of the electron transfer (ΔG0CS ) could be described by the Rehm-Weller equation. From the experimental results, a reorganization energy λ of 0.7 eV was derived. Intramolecular electron transfer reactions were studied in an [N]phenylene bichomophore and a corresponding reference compound. Fluorescence lifetime and quantum yield of the bichromophor display a characteristic dependence on the solvent polarity, whereas the corresponding values of the reference compound remain constant. From the results, a nearly isoenergonic ΔG0CS can be determined. As the triplet quantum yield is nearly independent of the polarity, charge recombination leads to the population of the triplet state.
The aim of this work was the generation of carbon materials with high surface area, exhibiting a hierarchical pore system in the macro- and mesorange. Such a pore system facilitates the transport through the material and enhances the interaction with the carbon matrix (macropores are pores with diameters > 50 nm, mesopores between 2 – 50 nm). Thereto, new strategies for the synthesis of novel carbon materials with designed porosity were developed that are in particular useful for the storage of energy. Besides the porosity, it is the graphene structure itself that determines the properties of a carbon material. Non-graphitic carbon materials usually exhibit a quite large degree of disorder with many defects in the graphene structure, and thus exhibit inherent microporosity (d < 2nm). These pores are traps and oppose reversible interaction with the carbon matrix. Furthermore they reduce the stability and conductivity of the carbon material, which was undesired for the proposed applications. As one part of this work, the graphene structures of different non-graphitic carbon materials were studied in detail using a novel wide-angle x-ray scattering model that allowed precise information about the nature of the carbon building units (graphene stacks). Different carbon precursors were evaluated regarding their potential use for the synthesis shown in this work, whereas mesophase pitch proved to be advantageous when a less disordered carbon microstructure is desired. By using mesophase pitch as carbon precursor, two templating strategies were developed using the nanocasting approach. The synthesized (monolithic) materials combined for the first time the advantages of a hierarchical interconnected pore system in the macro- and mesorange with the advantages of mesophase pitch as carbon precursor. In the first case, hierarchical macro- / mesoporous carbon monoliths were synthesized by replication of hard (silica) templates. Thus, a suitable synthesis procedure was developed that allowed the infiltration of the template with the hardly soluble carbon precursor. In the second case, hierarchical macro- / mesoporous carbon materials were synthesized by a novel soft-templating technique, taking advantage of the phase separation (spinodal decomposition) between mesophase pitch and polystyrene. The synthesis also allowed the generation of monolithic samples and incorporation of functional nanoparticles into the material. The synthesized materials showed excellent properties as an anode material in lithium batteries and support material for supercapacitors.
Two examples of our biophotonic research utilizing nanoparticles are presented, namely laser-based fluoroimmuno analysis and in-vivo optical oxygen monitoring. Results of the work include significantly enhanced sensitivity of a homogeneous fluorescence immunoassay and markedly improved spatial resolution of oxygen gradients in root nodules of a legume species.