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The self-assembly of amphiphilic polymers in aqueous systems is important for a plethora of applications, in particular in the field of cosmetics and detergents. When introducing thermoresponsive blocks, the aggregation behavior of these polymers can be controlled by changing the temperature. While confined to simple diblock copolymer systems for long, the complexity - and thus the versatility - of such smart systems can be strongly enlarged, once designed monomers, specific block sizes, different architectures, or additional functional groups such as hydrophobic stickers are implemented. In this work, the structure-property relationship of such thermoresponsive amphiphilic block copolymers was investigated by varying their structure systematically. The block copolymers were generally composed of a permanently hydrophobic sticker group, a permanently hydrophilic block, and a thermoresponsive block exhibiting a Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) behavior. While the hydrophilic block consisted of N,N dimethylacrylamide (DMAm), different monomers were used for the thermoresponsive block, such as N n propylacrylamide (NPAm), N iso propylacrylamide (NiPAm), N,N diethylacrylamide (DEAm), N,N bis(2 methoxyethyl)acrylamide (bMOEAm), or N acryloylpyrrolidine (NAP) with different reported LCSTs of 25, 32, 33, 42 and 56 °C, respectively. The block copolymers were synthesized by successive reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. For the polymers with the basic linear, the twinned hydrophobic and the symmetrical quasi miktoarm architectures, the results were well defined block sizes and end groups as well as narrow molar mass distributions (Ɖ ≤ 1.3). More complex architectures, such as the twinned thermoresponsive and the non-symmetrical quasi miktoarm one, were achieved by combining RAFT polymerization with a second technique, namely atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) or single unit monomer insertion (SUMI), respectively. The obtained block copolymers showed well defined block sizes, but due to the complexity of these reaction paths, the dispersities were generally higher (Ɖ ≤ 1.8) and some end groups were lost.
The thermoresponsive behavior of the block copolymers was investigated by turbidimetry and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Below the phase transition temperature, the polymers were soluble in water and small micellar structures were visible. However, above the phase transition temperature, the aggregation behavior was strongly dependent on the architecture and the chemical structure of the thermoresponsive block. Thermoresponsive blocks comprising PNAP and PbMOEAm with DPn = 40 showed no cloud point (CP), since their already high LCSTs were further increased by the attached hydrophilic block. Depending on the architecture as well as on the block size, block copolymers with PNiPAm, PDEAm and PNPAm showed different CP’s. Large aggregates were visible for block copolymers with PNiPAm and PDEAm above their CP. For PNPAm containing block copolymers, the phase transition was very sensitive towards the architecture resulting in either small or large aggregates.
In addition, fluorescence studies were performed using PDMAm and PNiPAm homo and block copolymers with linear architecture, functionalized with complementary fluorescence dyes introduced at the opposite chain ends. The thermoresponsive behavior was studied in pure aqueous solution as well as in an oil in water (o/w) microemulsion. The findings indicate that the block copolymer behaves as polymeric surfactant at low temperatures, with one relatively small hydrophobic end group and an extended hydrophilic chain forming ‘hairy micelles’ similar as the other synthesized architectures. Above the phase transition temperature of the PNiPAm block, however, the copolymer behaves as associative telechelic polymer with two non-symmetrical hydrophobic end groups, which do not mix. Thus, instead of a network of bridged ‘flower micelles’, large dynamic aggregates are formed. These are connected alternatingly by the original micellar cores as well as by clusters of the collapsed PNiPAm blocks. This type of bridged micelles is even more favored in the o/w microemulsion than in pure aqueous solution.
Natural products have proved to be a major resource in the discovery and development of many pharmaceuticals that are in use today. There is a wide variety of biologically active natural products that contain conjugated polyenes or benzofuran structures. Therefore, new synthetic methods for the construction of such building blocks are of great interest to synthetic chemists. The recently developed one-pot tethered ring-closing metathesis approach allows for the formation of Z,E-dienoates in high stereoselectivity. The extension of this method with a Julia-Kocienski olefination protocol would allow for the formation of conjugated trienes in a stereoselective manner. This strategy was applied in the total synthesis of conjugated triene containing (+)-bretonin B. Additionally, investigations of cross metathesis using methyl substituted olefins were pursued. This methodology was applied, as a one-pot cross metathesis/ring-closing metathesis sequence, in the total synthesis of benzofuran containing 7-methoxywutaifuranal. Finally, the design and synthesis of a catalyst for stereoretentive metathesis in aqueous media was investigated.
Under the in vivo condition, a cell is continually interacting with its surrounding microenvironment, which is composed of its neighboring cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). These components generate and transmit the microenvironmental signals to regulate the fate and function of the target cells. Except the signals from the microenvironment, stimuli from the ambient environment, such as temperature changes, also play an important in modulating the cell behaviors, which are considered as regulators from the macroenvironment. In this regard, recapitulation of these environmental factors to steer cell function will be of crucial importance for therapeutic purposes and tissue regeneration. Although the role of a variety of environmental factors has been evaluated, it is still challenging to identify and provide the appropriate factors, which are required for optimizing the survival of cells and for ensuring effective cell functions.
Thus, in vitro recreating the environmental factors that are present in the extracellular environment would help to understand the mechanism of how cells sense and process those environmental signals. In this context, this thesis is aimed to harness these environmental parameters to guide cell responses. Here, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and human keratinocytes (KTCs), HaCaT cells, were used to investigate the impact of signals from the microenvironment or stimuli from the macroenvironment.
Firstly, polydopamine (PDA) or chitosan (CS) modifications were applied to generate different substrate surfaces for hiPSCs and KTCs (Chapter 4 to Chapter 6). Our results showed that the PDA modification was efficient to increase the cell-substrate adhesion and consequently promoted cell spreading. While CS modification was able to decrease the cell-substrate adhesion and enhance the cell-cell interaction, which enabled the morphology shift from monolayered cells to multicellular spheroids. The quantitative result was acquired using the atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single-cell force spectroscopy. The balance between the cell-substrate and cell-cell adhesion yielded a net force, which determined the preference of the cell to adhere to its neighboring cells or to the substrate. The difference in the adhesive behaviors further affected the cellular function, such as the proliferation and differentiation potential of both hiPSCs and HaCaT cells.
Next, the cyclic temperature changes (ΔT) were selected here to study the influence of macroenvironmental stimuli on hiPSCs and KTCs (Chapter 7 and Chapter 8). The macroenvironmental temperature ranging from 10.0 ± 0.1 °C to 37.0 ± 0.1 °C was achieved using a thermal chamber equipped with a temperature controller. This temperature range was selected to explore the responses of hiPSCs to the extreme environments, while a temperature variation between 25.0 ± 0.1 °C and 37.0 ± 0.1 °C was applied to mimic the ambient temperature variations experienced by the skin epithelial KTCs. The ΔT led to cell stiffening in both hiPSCs and HaCaT cells in a cytoskeleton-dependent manner, which was measured by AFM. Specifically, in hiPSCs, the cell stiffening was resulted from the rearrangement of the actin skeleton; in HaCaT cells, was due to the difference of the Keratin (KRT) filaments. Except for inducing cell hardening, ΔT also caused differences in the protein expression profiles in hiPSCs or HaCaT cells, compared to those without ΔT treatment, which might be attributed to the alterations in their cytoskeleton structures.
To sum up, the results of the thesis demonstrated how individual factors from the micro-/macro-environment can be harnessed to modulate the behaviors of hiPSCs and HaCaT cells. Engineering the microenvironmental cues using surface modification and exploiting the macroenvironmental stimuli through temperature control were identified as precise and potent approaches to steer hiPSC and HaCaT cell behaviors. The application of AFM served as a non-invasive and real-time monitoring platform to trace the change in cell topography and mechanics induced by the environmental signals, which provide novel insights into the cell-environment interactions.
The world energy consumption has constantly increased every year due to economic development and population growth. This inevitably caused vast amount of CO2 emission, and the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere keeps increasing with economic growth. To reduce CO2 emission, various methods have been developed but there are still many bottlenecks to be solved. Solvents easily absorbing CO2 such as monoethanol-amine (MEA) and diethanolamine, for example, have limitations of solvent loss, amine degradation, vulnerability to heat and toxicity, and the high cost of regeneration which is especially caused due to chemisorption process. Though some of these drawbacks can be compensated through physisorption with zeolites and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) by displaying significant adsorption selectivity and capacity even in ambient conditions, limitations for these materials still exist. Zeolites demand relatively high regeneration energy and have limited adsorption kinetics due to the exceptionally narrow pore structure. MOFs have low stability against heat and moisture and high manufacturing cost.
Nanoporous carbons have recently received attention as an attractive functional porous material due to their unique properties. These materials are crucial in many applications of modern science and industry such as water and air purification, catalysis, gas separation, and energy storage/conversion due to their high chemical and thermal stability, and in particular electronic conductivity in combination with high specific surface areas. Nanoporous carbons can be used to adsorb environmental pollutants or small gas molecules such as CO2 and to power electrochemical energy storage devices such as batteries and fuel cells. In all fields, their pore structure or electrical properties can be modified depending on their purposes.
This thesis provides an in-depth look at novel nanoporous carbons from the synthetic and the application point of view. The interplay between pore structure, atomic construction, and the adsorption properties of nanoporous carbon materials are investigated. Novel nanoporous carbon materials are synthesized by using simple precursor molecules containing heteroatoms through a facile
templating method. The affinity, and in turn the adsorption capacity, of carbon materials toward polar gas molecules (CO2 and H2O) is enhanced by the modification of their chemical construction. It is also shown that these properties are important in electrochemical energy storage, here especially for supercapacitors with aqueous electrolytes which are basically based on the physisorption of ions on carbon surfaces. This shows that nanoporous carbons can be a “functional” material with specific physical or chemical interactions with guest species just like zeolites and MOFs.
The synthesis of sp2-conjugated materials with high heteroatom content from a mixture of citrazinic acid and melamine in which heteroatoms are already bonded in specific motives is illustrated. By controlling the removal procedure of the salt-template and the condensation temperature, the role of salts in the formation of porosity and as coordination sites for the stabilization of heteroatoms is proven. A high amount of nitrogen of up to 20 wt. %, oxygen contents of up to 19 wt.%, and a high CO2/N2 selectivity with maximum CO2 uptake at 273 K of 5.31 mmol g–1 are achieved. Besides, the further controlled thermal condensation of precursor molecules and advanced functional properties on applications of the synthesized porous carbons are described. The materials have different porosity and atomic construction exhibiting a high nitrogen content up to 25 wt. % as well as a high porosity with a specific surface area of more than 1800 m2 g−1, and a high performance in selective CO2 gas adsorption of 62.7. These pore structure as well as properties of surface affect to water adsorption with a remarkably high Qst of over 100 kJ mol−1 even higher than that of zeolites or CaCl2 well known as adsorbents. In addition to that, the pore structure of HAT-CN-derived carbon materials during condensation in vacuum is fundamentally understood which is essential to maximize the utilization of porous system in materials showing significant difference in their pore volume of 0.5 cm3 g−1 and 0.25 cm3 g−1 without and with vacuum, respectively.
The molecular designs of heteroatom containing porous carbon derived from abundant and simple molecules are introduced in the presented thesis. Abundant precursors that already containing high amount of nitrogen or oxygen are beneficial to achieve enhanced interaction with adsorptives. The physical and chemical properties of these heteroatom-doped porous carbons are affected by mainly two parameters, that is, the porosity from the pore structure and the polarity from the atomic composition on the surface. In other words, controlling the porosity as well as the polarity of the carbon materials is studied to understand interactions with different guest species which is a fundamental knowledge for the utilization on various applications.
Innerhalb dieser Arbeit erfolgte die erstmalige systematische Untersuchung von Vinylsulfonsäureethylester (1a), Phenylvinylsulfon (1b), N-Benzyl-N-methylethensulfonamid (1c) in der FUJIWARA-MORITANI Reaktion (alternativ als DHR bezeichnet). Bei dieser übergangsmetallkatalysierten Reaktion erfolgt der Aufbau einer neuen C-C-Bindung unter der doppelten Aktivierung einer C-H-Bindung. Somit kann ein atomökonomischer Aufbau von Molekülen realisiert werden, da keine Beiprodukte in Form von Salzen entstehen. Als aromatischer Reaktant wurden Acetanilide (2) verwendet, damit eine regiospezifische Kupplung durch die katalysatordirigierende Acetamid-Gruppe (CDG) erfolgt. Für die Pd-katalysierte DHR wurde eine umfangreiche Optimierung durchgeführt und anschließend konnten neun verschieden, substituierte 2 mit 1a und sieben verschieden, substituierte 2 mit 1b funktionalisiert werden. Da eine Reaktion mit 1c ausblieb, erfolgte ein Wechsel auf eine Ru-katalysierte Methode für die DHR. Mit dieser Methode konnte 1c mit Acetaniliden funktionalisiert werden und das Spektrum der verwendeten 2, in Form von deaktivierenden Substituenten erweitert werden.
Im Anschluss wurden die sulfalkenylierten Acetanilide in weiterführenden Reaktionen untersucht. Hierfür wurde eine Reaktionssequenz bestehend aus einer DeacetylierungDiazotierung-Kupplungsreaktion verwendet, um die Acetamid-Gruppe in eine Abgangsgruppe zu überführen und danach in einer MATSUDA-HECK Reaktion zu kuppeln. Mit dieser Methode konnten mehrere 1,2-Dialkenylbenzole erhalten werden und die CDG ein weiteres Mal genutzt werden. Neben der Überführung der CDG in eine Abgangsgruppe konnte diese auch in die Synthese verschiedener Heterozyklen integriert werden. Dafür erfolgte zunächst eine 1,3-Zykloaddition durch deprotonierten Tosylmethylisocanid an der elektronenarmen Sulfalkenylgruppe zur Synthese von Pyrrolen. Anschließend erfolgte eine Kupplung der PyrrolFunktion und der CDG durch Zyklokondensation, wodurch Quinoline dargestellt wurden. Durch diese Synthesen konnten Schwefelanaloga des Naturstoffes Marinoquionolin A erhalten werden.
Ein weitere übergangsmetallkatalysierte C-H-Aktivierungsreaktion, die MATSUDA-HECK Reaktion, wurde genutzt, um 1b zu mit verschieden, subtituierten Diazoniumsalzen zu arylieren. Hier konnten zahlreichen Styrenylsulfone erhalten werden. Der erfolgreiche Einsatz der Vinylsulfonylverbindungen in der Kreuzmetathese konnte innerhalb dieser Arbeit nicht erreicht werden. Daher erfolgte die Synthese verschiedener dialkenylierter Sulfonamide. Hierfür wurde die Kettenlänge der Alkenyl-Gruppe am Schwefel zwischen 2-3 und am Stickstoff zwischen 3-4 variiert. Der Einsatz der dialkenylierten Sulfonamide erfolgte in den zuvor untersuchten C-H-Aktivierungsmethoden.
N-Allyl-N-phenylethensulfonamid (3) konnte erfolgreich in der DHR und HECK Reaktion funktionalisiert werden. Hierbei erfolgte eine methodenspezifische Kupplung in Abhängigkeit von der Elektronendichte der entsprechenden Alkenyl-Gruppe. Die DHR führte zur selektiven Arylierung der Vinyl-Gruppe und die HECK Reaktion zur Arylierung an der Allyl-Gruppe. Gemischte Produkte wurden nicht erhalten. Für die weiteren Diolefine wurde komplexe Produktgemische erhalten. Des Weiteren wurden die Diolefine in der Ringschlussmetathese untersucht und die entsprechenden Sultame in sehr guten Ausbeuten erhalten. Die Verwendung der Sultame in der C-H-Aktivierung war erfolglos. Es wird vermutet, dass für diese zweifachsubstituierten Sulfonamide die vorhandenen Reaktionsbedingungen optimiert werden müssen.
Abschließend wurden verschiedene, enantiomerenreine Olefine ausgehend von Levoglucosenon dargestellt. Hierfür wurde Levoglucosenon zunächst mit einem Allyl- und 3-Butenylgrignard Reagenz umgesetzt. Die entsprechenden Produkte wurden in moderaten Ausbeuten erhalten. Eine weitere Methode begann mit der Reduktion von Levoglucosenon zum Levoglucosenol. Dieser Alkohol wurde mit Allylbromid erfolgreich verethert. Neben der Untersuchungen zur Ethersynthese, erfolgte die Veresterung von Levoglucosenol mit verschiedenen Sulfonylchloriden zu den entsprechenden Sulfonsäureestern. Diese Olefine wurden in einer Dominometathesereaktion untersucht. Ausgehend vom Allyllevoglucosenylether erfolgte die Darstellung eines Dihydrofurans.
The development and optimization of carbonaceous materials is of great interest for several applications including gas sorption, electrochemical storage and conversion, or heterogeneous catalysis. In this thesis, the exploration and optimization of nitrogen containing carbonaceous materials by direct condensation of smart chosen, molecular precursors will be presented. As suggested with the concept of noble carbons, the choice of a stable, nitrogen-containing precursor will lead to an even more stable, nitrogen doped carbonaceous material with a controlled structure and electronic properties. Molecules fulfilling this requirement are for example nucleobases. The direct condensation of nucleobases leads to highly nitrogen containing carbonaceous materials without any further post or pretreatment. By using salt melt templating, pore structure adjustment is possible without the use of hazardous or toxic reagents and the template can be reused.
Using these simple tools, the synergetic effect of the pore structure and nitrogen content of the materials can be explored. Within this thesis, the influence of the condensation parameters will be correlated to the structure and performance of the materials. First, the influence of the condensation temperature to the porosity and nitrogen content of guanine will be discussed and the exploration of highly CO2 selective structural pores in C1N1 materials will be shown. Further tuning the pore structure of the materials by salt melt templating will be then explored, the potential of the prepared materials as heterogeneous catalysts and their basic catalytic strength will be correlated to their nitrogen content and pore morphology. A similar approach is used to explore the water sorption behavior of uric acid derived carbonaceous materials as potential sorbents for heat transformation applications. Changes in maximum water uptake and hydrophilicity of the prepared materials will be correlated to the nitrogen content and pore architecture. Due to the high thermal stability, porosity, and nitrogen content of ionic liquid derived nitrogen doped carbonaceous materials, a simple impregnation and calcination route can be conducted to obtain copper nano cluster decorated nitrogen-doped carbonaceous materials. The activity as catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction of the obtained materials will be shown and structure performance relations are discussed.
In conclusion, the versatility of nitrogen doped carbonaceous materials with a nitrogen to carbon ratio of up to one will be shown. The possibility to tune the pore structure as well as the nitrogen content by using a simple procedure including salt melt templating as well as the use of molecular precursors and their effect on the performance will be discussed.
The negative impact of crude oil on the environment has led to a necessary transition toward alternative, renewable, and sustainable resources. In this regard, lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is a promising renewable and sustainable alternative to crude oil for the production of fine chemicals and fuels in a so-called biorefinery process. LCB is composed of polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose), as well as aromatics (lignin). The development of a sustainable and economically advantageous biorefinery depends on the complete and efficient valorization of all components. Therefore, in the new generation of biorefinery, the so-called biorefinery of type III, the LCB feedstocks are selectively deconstructed and catalytically transformed into platform chemicals. For this purpose, the development of highly stable and efficient catalysts is crucial for progress toward viability in biorefinery. Furthermore, a modern and integrated biorefinery relies on process and reactor design, toward more efficient and cost-effective methodologies that minimize waste. In this context, the usage of continuous flow systems has the potential to provide safe, sustainable, and innovative transformations with simple process integration and scalability for biorefinery schemes.
This thesis addresses three main challenges for future biorefinery: catalyst synthesis, waste feedstock valorization, and usage of continuous flow technology. Firstly, a cheap, scalable, and sustainable approach is presented for the synthesis of an efficient and stable 35 wt.-% Ni catalyst on highly porous nitrogen-doped carbon support (35Ni/NDC) in pellet shape. Initially, the performance of this catalyst was evaluated for the aqueous phase hydrogenation of LCB-derived compounds such as glucose, xylose, and vanillin in continuous flow systems. The 35Ni/NDC catalyst exhibited high catalytic performances in three tested hydrogenation reactions, i.e., sorbitol, xylitol, and 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol with yields of 82 mol%, 62 mol%, and 100 mol% respectively. In addition, the 35Ni/NDC catalyst exhibited remarkable stability over a long time on stream in continuous flow (40 h). Furthermore, the 35Ni/NDC catalyst was combined with commercially available Beta zeolite in a dual–column integrated process for isosorbide production from glucose (yield 83 mol%).
Finally, 35Ni/NDC was applied for the valorization of industrial waste products, namely sodium lignosulfonate (LS) and beech wood sawdust (BWS) in continuous flow systems. The LS depolymerization was conducted combining solvothermal fragmentation of water/alcohol mixtures (i.e.,methanol/water and ethanol/water) with catalytic hydrogenolysis/hydrogenation (SHF). The depolymerization was found to occur thermally in absence of catalyst with a tunable molecular weight according to temperature. Furthermore, the SHF generated an optimized cumulative yield of lignin-derived phenolic monomers of 42 mg gLS-1. Similarly, a solvothermal and reductive catalytic fragmentation (SF-RCF) of BWS was conducted using MeOH and MeTHF as a solvent. In this case, the optimized total lignin-derived phenolic monomers yield was found of 247 mg gKL-1.
The optical properties of chromophores, especially organic dyes and optically active inorganic molecules, are determined by their chemical structures, surrounding media, and excited state behaviors. The classical optical go-to techniques for spectroscopic investigations are absorption and luminescence spectroscopy. While both techniques are powerful and easy to apply spectroscopic methods, the limited time resolution of luminescence spectroscopy and its reliance on luminescent properties can make its application, in certain cases, complex, or even impossible. This can be the case when the investigated molecules do not luminesce anymore due to quenching effects, or when they were never luminescent in the first place. In those cases, transient absorption spectroscopy is an excellent and much more sophisticated technique to investigate such systems. This pump-probe laser-spectroscopic method is excellent for mechanistic investigations of luminescence quenching phenomena and photoreactions. This is due to its extremely high time resolution in the femto- and picosecond ranges, where many intermediate or transient species of a reaction can be identified and their kinetic evolution can be observed. Furthermore, it does not rely on the samples being luminescent, due to the active sample probing after excitation. In this work it is shown, that with transient absorption spectroscopy it was possible to identify the luminescence quenching mechanisms and thus luminescence quantum yield losses of the organic dye classes O4-DBD, S4-DBD, and pyridylanthracenes. Hence, the population of their triplet states could be identified as the competitive mechanism to their luminescence. While the good luminophores O4-DBD showed minor losses, the S4-DBD dye luminescence was almost entirely quenched by this process. However, for pyridylanthracenes, this phenomenon is present in both the protonated and unprotonated forms and moderately effects the luminescence quantum yield. Also, the majority of the quenching losses in the protonated forms are caused by additional non-radiative processes introduced by the protonation of the pyridyl rings. Furthermore, transient absorption spectroscopy can be applied to investigate the quenching mechanisms of uranyl(VI) luminescence by chloride and bromide. The reduction of the halides by excited uranyl(VI) leads to the formation of dihalide radicals X^(·−2). This excited state redox process is thus identified as the quenching mechanism for both halides, and this process, being diffusion-limited, can be suppressed by cryogenically freezing the samples or by observing these interactions in media with a lower dielectric constant, such as ACN and acetone.
In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Herstellung und Charakterisierung von Mixed-Matrix-Membranen (MMM) für die Gastrennung thematisiert. Dazu wurden verschiedene Füllstoffe genutzt, um in Verbindung mit dem Membranmaterial Polysulfon MMMs herzustellen. Als Füllstoffe wurden 3 aktive und 2 passive Füllstoffe verwendet. Die aktiven Füllstoffe besaßen Porenöffnungen, die in der Lage sind Gase in Abhängigkeit der Molekülgröße zu trennen. Daraus folgt ein höherer idealer Trennfaktor für bestimmte Gaspaare als in Polysulfon selbst. Aufgrund der durch die Poren gebildeten permanenten Kanäle in den aktiven Füllstoffen ergibt sich ein schnellerer Gastransport (Permeabilität) als in Polysulfon. Es handelte sich bei den aktiven Füllstoffen um den Zeolith SAPO-34 und 2 Chargen eines Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework (ZIF) ZIF-8. Die beiden Chargen ZIF-8 unterschieden sich in ihrer spezifischen Oberfläche, was diesen Einfluss speziell in die Untersuchungen zum Gastransport einbeziehen sollte. Bei den passiven Füllstoffen handelte es sich um ein aminofunktionalisiertes Kieselgel und unporöse (dichte) Glaskügelchen. Das Kieselgel besaß Poren, die zu groß waren, um Gase effektiv zu trennen. Die Glaskügelchen konnten keine Gastrennung ermöglichen, da sie keine Poren besaßen.
Aus der Literatur ist bekannt, dass die Einbettung von Füllstoffen oft zu Defekten in MMMs führt. Ein Ziel dieser Arbeit war es daher die Einbettung zu optimieren. Weiterhin sollte der Gastransport in MMMs dieser Arbeit mit dem in einer unbeladenen Polysulfonmembran verglichen werden. Aufgrund des selektiveren Trennverhaltens der aktiven Füllstoffe im Vergleich zum Membranmaterial, sollte mit der Einbettung aktiver Füllstoffe die Trennleistung der MMMs mit steigender Füllstoffbeladung immer weiter verbessert werden.
Um die Eigenschaften der MMMs zu untersuchen, wurden diese mittels Rasterelektronenmikroskop (REM), Gaspermeationsmessungen (GP) und Thermogravimetrischer Analyse gekoppelt mit Massenspektrometrie (TGA-MS) charakterisiert.
Untersuchungen am REM konnten eine Verbesserung der Einbettung zeigen, wenn ein polymerer Haftvermittler verwendet wurde. Verglichen wurde die optimierte Einbettung mit der Einbettung ohne Haftvermittler und Ergebnissen aus der Literatur, in der die Verwendung verschiedener Silane als Haftvermittler beschrieben wurde. Trotz der verbesserten Einbettung konnte lediglich bei geringen Beladungen an Füllstoff (10 und 20 Ma-% bezogen auf das Membranmaterial) eine geringe Steigerung des idealen Trennfaktors in den MMMs gegenüber der unbeladenen Polysulfonmembranen beobachtet werden. Bei höheren Füllstoffbeladungen (30, 40 und 50 Ma-%) war ein deutlicher Anstieg der Permeabilität bei stark sinkendem idealen Trennfaktor zu beobachten. Mit Hilfe von TGA-MS Messungen konnte darüber hinaus festgestellt werden, dass der verwendete Zeolith SAPO-34 durch Wassermoleküle blockierte Porenöffnungen besaß. Das verhinderte den Gastransport im Füllstoff, wodurch die Trennleistung des Füllstoffes nicht ausgenutzt werden konnte. Die Füllstoffe ZIF-8 (chargenunabhängig) und aminofunktionalisiertes Kieselgel wiesen keine blockierten Poren auf. Dennoch zeigte sich in diesen MMMs keine Verbesserung der Gastrenn- oder Gastransporteigenschaften. MMMs mit dichten Glaskügelchen als Füllstoff zeigten dasselbe Gastrenn- und Gastransportverhalten, wie alle MMMs mit den zuvor genannten Füllstoffen.
In dieser Arbeit konnte, trotz optimierter Einbettung anorganischer Füllstoffe, für MMMs keine Verbesserung der Gastrenn- oder Gastransporteigenschaften nachgewiesen werden. Vielmehr wurde ein Einfluss der Füllstoffmenge auf die Gastransporteigenschaften in MMMs festgestellt. Die Änderungen der MMMs gegenüber Polysulfon stammen von den Folgen der Einbettung von Füllstoffen in das Matrixpolymer. Durch die Einbettung werden die Eigenschaften des Matrixpolymers ändern, sodass auch der Gastransport beeinflusst wird. Des Weiteren wurde dokumentiert, dass in Abhängigkeit der Füllstoffbeladung die entstehende Membranstruktur beeinflusst wird. Die Beeinflussung war dabei unabhängig von der Füllstoffart. Es wurde eine Korrelation zwischen Füllstoffmenge und veränderter Membranstruktur gefunden.
Eukaryotic cells can be regarded as complex microreactors capable of performing various biochemical reactions in parallel which are necessary to sustain life. An essential prerequisite for these complex metabolic reactions to occur is the evolution of lipid membrane-bound organelles enabling compartmental- ization of reactions and biomolecules. This allows for a spatiotemporal control over the metabolic reactions within the cellular system. Intracellular organi- zation arising due to compartmentalization is a key feature of all living cells and has inspired synthetic biologists to engineer such systems with bottom-up approaches.
Artificial cells provide an ideal platform to isolate and study specific re- actions without the interference from the complex network of biomolecules present in biological cells. To mimic the hierarchical architecture of eukaryotic cells, multi-compartment assemblies with nested liposomal structures also re- ferred to as multi-vesicular vesicles (MVVs) have been widely adopted. Most of the previously reported multi-compartment systems adopt bulk method- ologies which suffer from low yield and poor control over size. Microfluidic strategies help circumvent these issues and facilitate a high-throughput and robust technique to assemble MVVs of uniform size distribution.
In this thesis, firstly, the bulk methodologies are explored to build MVVs and implement a synthetic signalling cascade. Next, a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based microfluidic platform is introduced to build MVVs and the significance of PEGylated lipids for the successful encapsulation of inner com- partments to generate stable multi-compartment systems is highlighted.
Next, a novel two-inlet channel PDMS-based microfluidic device to create MVVs encompassing a three-step enzymatic reaction cascade is presented. A directed reaction pathway comprising of the enzymes α-glucosidase (α-Glc), glucose oxidase (GOx), and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) spanning across three compartments via reconstitution of size-selective membrane proteins is described. Furthermore, owing to the monodispersity of our MVVs due to microfluidic strategies, this platform is employed to study the effect of com- partmentalization on reaction kinetics.
Further integration of cell-free expression module into the MVVs would allow for gene-mediated signal transduction within artificial eukaryotic cells. Therefore, the chemically inducible cell-free expression of a membrane protein alpha-hemolysin and its further reconstitution into liposomes is carried out.
In conclusion, the present thesis aims to build artificial eukaryotic cells to achieve size-selective chemical communication that also show potential for applications as micro reactors and as vehicles for drug delivery.
Zentrales Element dieser Arbeit ist die Synthese und Charakterisierung praktisch nutzbarer Ionogele. Die Basis der Polymerionogele bildet das Modellpolymer Polymethylmethacrylat. Als Additive kommen ionische Flüssigkeiten zum Einsatz, deren Grundlage Derivate des vielfach verwendeten Imidazoliumkations sind. Die Eigenschaften der eingebetteten ionischen Flüssigkeiten sind für die Ionogele funktionsgebend. Die Funktionalität der jeweiligen Gele und damit der Transfer der Eigenschaften von ionischen Flüssigkeiten auf die Ionogele wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit mittels zahlreicher Charakterisierungstechniken überprüft und bestätigt. In dieser Arbeit wurden durch Ionogelbildung makroskopische Ionogelobjekte in Form von Folien und Vliesen erzeugt. Dabei kamen das Filmgießen und das Elektrospinnen als Methoden zur Erzeugung dieser Folien und Vliese zum Einsatz, woraus jeweils ein Modellsystem resultiert. Dadurch wird die vorliegende Arbeit in die Themenkomplexe „elektrisch halbleitende Ionogelfolien“ und „antimikrobiell aktive Ionogelvliese“ gegliedert. Der Einsatz von triiodidhaltigen ionischen Flüssigkeiten und einer Polymermatrix in einem diskontinuierlichen Gießprozess resultiert in elektrisch halbleitenden Ionogelfolien. Die flexiblen und transparenten Folien können Mittelpunkt zahlreicher neuer Anwendungsfelder im Bereich flexibler Elektronik sein. Das Elektrospinnen von Polymethylmethacrylat mit einer ionischen Flüssigkeit führte zu einem homogen Ionogelvlies, welches ein Modell für die Übertragung antimikrobiell aktiver Eigenschaften ionischer Flüssigkeiten auf poröse Strukturen zur Filtration darstellt. Gleichzeitig ist es das erste Beispiel für ein kupferchloridhaltiges Ionogel. Ionogele sind attraktive Materialien mit zahlreichen Anwendungsmöglichkeiten. Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit wird das Spektrum der Ionogele um ein elektrisch halbleitendes und ein antimikrobiell aktives Ionogel erweitert. Gleichzeitig wurden durch diese Arbeit der Gruppe der ionischen Flüssigkeiten drei Beispiele für elektrisch halbleitende ionische Flüssigkeiten sowie zahlreiche kupfer(II)chloridbasierte ionische Flüssigkeiten hinzugefügt.
The controlled dosage of substances from a device to its environment, such as a tissue or an organ in medical applications or a reactor, room, machinery or ecosystem in technical, should ideally match the requirements of the applications, e.g. in terms of the time point at which the cargo is released. On-demand dosage systems may enable such a desired release pattern, if the device contain suitable features that can translate external signals into a release function. This study is motivated by the opportunities arising from microsystems capable of an on-demand release and the contributions that geometrical design may have in realizing such features. The goals of this work included the design, fabrication, characterization and experimental proof-of-concept of geometry-assisted triggerable dosing effect (a) with a sequential dosing release and (b) in a self-sufficient dosage system. Structure-function relationships were addressed on the molecular, morphological and, with a particular attention, the device design level, which is on the micrometer scale. Models and/or computational tools were used to screen the parameter space and provide guidance for experiments.
Membrane contact sites are of particular interest in the field of synthetic biology and biophysics. They are involved in a great variety of cellular functions. They form in between two cellular organelles or an organelle and the plasma membrane in order to establish a communication path for molecule transport or signal transmission.
The development of an artificial membrane system which can mimic membrane contact sites using bottom up synthetic biology was the goal of this research study. For this, a multi - compartmentalised giant unilamellar vesicle (GUV) system was created with the membrane of the outer vesicle mimicking the plasma membrane and the inner GUVs posing as cellular organelles.
In the following steps, three different strategies were used to achieve an internal membrane - membrane adhesion.
Die herausragenden mechanischen Eigenschaften natürlicher anorganisch-organischer Kompositmaterialien wie Knochen oder Muschelschalen entspringen ihrer hierarchischen Struktur, die von der nano- bis hinauf zur makroskopischen Ebene reicht, und einer kontrollierten Verbindung entlang der Grenzflächen der anorganischen und organischen Komponenten.
Ausgehend von diesen Schlüsselprinzipien des biologischen Materialdesigns wurden in dieser Arbeit zwei Konzepte für die bioinspirierte Strukturbildung von Kompositen untersucht, die auf dem Verkleben von Nano- oder Mesokristallen mit funktionalisierten Poly(2-oxazolin)-Blockcopolymeren beruhen sowie deren Potenzial zur Herstellung bioinspirierter selbstorganisierter hierarchischer anorganisch-organischer Verbundstrukturen ohne äußere Kräfte beleuchtet. Die Konzepte unterschieden sich in den verwendeten anorganischen Partikeln und in der Art der Strukturbildung.
Über einen modularen Ansatz aus Polymersynthese und polymeranaloger Thiol-En-Funktionalisierung wurde erfolgreich eine Bibliothek von Poly(2-oxazolin)en mit unterschiedlichen Funktionalitäten erstellt. Die Blockcopolymere bestehen aus einem kurzen partikelaffinen "Klebeblock", der aus Thiol-En-funktionalisiertem Poly(2-(3-butenyl)-2-oxazolin) besteht, und einem langen wasserlöslichen, strukturbildenden Block, der aus thermoresponsivem und kristallisierbarem Poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazolin) besteht und hierarchische Morphologien ausbildet. Verschiedene analytische Untersuchungen wie Turbidimetrie, DLS, DSC, SEM oder XRD machten das thermoresponsive bzw. das Kristallisationsverhalten der Blockcopolymere in Abhängigkeit vom eingeführten Klebeblock zugänglich. Es zeigte sich, dass diese Polymere ein komplexes temperatur- und pH-abhängiges Trübungsverhalten aufweisen. Hinsichtlich der Kristallisation änderte der Klebeblock nicht die nanoskopische Kristallstruktur; er beeinflusste jedoch die Kristallisationszeit, den Kristallisationsgrad und die hierarchische Morphologie. Dieses Ergebnis wurde auf das unterschiedliche Aggregationsverhalten der Polymere in Wasser zurückgeführt.
Für die Herstellung von Kompositen nutzte Konzept 1 mikrometergroße Kupferoxalat-Mesokristalle, die eine innere Nanostruktur aufweisen. Die Strukturbildung über den anorganischen Teil wurde durch das Verkleben und Anordnen dieser Partikel erstrebt. Konzept 1 ermöglichte homogene freistehende stabile Kompositfilme mit einem hohen anorganischen Anteil. Die Partikel-Polymer-Kombination vereinte jedoch ungünstige Eigenschaften in sich, d. h. ihre Längenskalen waren zu unterschiedlich, was die Selbstassemblierung der Partikel verhinderte. Aufgrund des geringen Aspektverhältnisses von Kupferoxalat blieb auch die gegenseitige Ausrichtung durch äußere Kräfte erfolglos. Im Ergebnis eignet sich das Kupferoxalat-Poly(2-oxazolin)-Modellsystem nicht für die Herstellung hierarchischer Kompositstrukturen.
Im Gegensatz dazu verwendet Konzept 2 scheibenförmige Laponit®-Nanopartikel und kristallisierbare Blockcopolymere zur Strukturbildung über die organische Komponente durch polymervermittelte Selbstassemblierung. Komplementäre Analysemethoden (Zeta-Potenzial, DLS, SEM, XRD, DSC, TEM) zeigten sowohl eine kontrollierte Wechselwirkung zwischen den Komponenten in wässriger Umgebung als auch eine kontrollierte Strukturbildung, die in selbstassemblierten Nanokompositen resultiert, deren Struktur sich über mehrere Längenskalen erstreckt. Es wurde gezeigt, dass die negativ geladenen Klebeblöcke spezifisch und selektiv an den positiv geladenen Rändern der Laponit®-Partikel binden und so Polymer-Laponit®-Nanohybridpartikel entstehen, die als Grundbausteine für die Kompositbildung dienen. Die Hybridpartikel sind bei Raumtemperatur elektrosterisch stabilisiert - sterisch durch ihre langen, mit Wasser wechselwirkenden Poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazolin)-Blöcke und elektrostatisch über die negativ geladenen Laponit®-Flächen. Im Ergebnis ließ sich Konzept 2 und damit die Strukturbildung über die organische Komponente erfolgreich umsetzten. Das Laponit®-Poly(2-oxazolin)-Modellsystem eröffnete den Weg zu selbstassemblierten geschichteten quasi-hierarchischen Nanokompositstrukturen mit hohem anorganischen Anteil. Abhängig von der frei verfügbaren Polymerkonzentration bei der Kompositbildung entstanden zwei unterschiedliche Komposit-Typen. Darüber hinaus entwarf die Arbeit einen Erklärungsansatz für den polymervermittelten Bildungsprozess der Komposit-Strukturen.
Insgesamt legt diese Arbeit Struktur-Prozess-Eigenschafts-Beziehungen offen, um selbstassemblierte bioinspirierte Kompositstrukturen zu bilden und liefert neue Einsichten zu einer geeigneten Kombination an Komponenten und Herstellungsbedingungen, die eine kontrollierte selbstassemblierte Strukturbildung mithilfe funktionalisierter Poly(2-oxazolin)-Blockcopolymere erlauben.
The goal of regenerative medicine is to guide biological systems towards natural healing outcomes using a combination of niche-specific cells, bioactive molecules and biomaterials. In this regard, mimicking the extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding cells and tissues in vivo is an effective strategy to modulate cell behaviors. Cellular function and phenotype is directed by the biochemical and biophysical signals present in the complex 3D network of ECMs composed mainly of glycoproteins and hydrophilic proteoglycans. While cellular modulation in response to biophysical cues emulating ECM features has been investigated widely, the influence of biochemical display of ECM glycoproteins mimicking their presentation in vivo is not well characterized. It remains a significant challenge to build artificial biointerfaces using ECM glycoproteins that precisely match their presentation in nature in terms of morphology, orientation and conformation. This challenge becomes clear, when one understands how ECM glycoproteins self-assemble in the body. Glycoproteins produced inside the cell are secreted in the extra-cellular space, where they are bound to the cell membrane or other glycoproteins by specific interactions. This leads to elevated local concentration and 2Dspatial confinement, resulting in self-assembly by the reciprocal interactions arising from the molecular complementarity encoded in the glycoprotein domains. In this thesis, air-water (A-W) interface is presented as a suitable platform, where self-assembly parameters of ECM glycoproteins such as pH, temperature and ionic strength can be controlled to simulate in vivo conditions (Langmuir technique), resulting in the formation of glycoprotein layers with defined characteristics. The layer can be further compressed with surface barriers to enhance glycoprotein-glycoprotein contacts and defined layers of glycoproteins can be immobilized on substrates by horizontal lift and touch method, called Langmuir-Schäfer (LS) method. Here, the benefit of Langmuir and LS methods in achieving ECM glycoprotein biointerfaces with controlled network morphology and ligand density on substrates is highlighted and contrasted with the commonly used (glyco)protein solution deposition (SO) method on substrates. In general, the (glyco)protein layer formation by SO is rather uncontrolled, influenced strongly by (glyco)protein-substrate interactions and it results in multilayers and aggregations on substrates, while the LS method results in (glyco)proteins layers with a more homogenous presentation. To achieve the goal of realizing defined ECM layers on substrates, ECM glycoproteins having the ability to self-assemble were selected: Collagen-IV (Col-IV) and fibronectin (FN). Highly packed FN layer with uniform presentation of ligands was deposited on polydimethysiloxane VIII (PDMS) by LS method, while a heterogeneous layer was formed on PDMS by SO with prominent aggregations visible. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) on PDMS equipped with FN by LS exhibited more homogeneous and elevated vinculin expression and weaker stress fiber formation than on PDMS equipped with FN by SO and these divergent responses could be attributed to the differences in glycoprotein presentation at the interface. Col-IV are scaffolding components of specialized ECM called basement membranes (BM), and have the propensity to form 2D networks by self-polymerization associated with cells. Col- IV behaves as a thin-disordered network at the A-W interface. As the Col-IV layer was compressed at the A-W interface using trough barriers, there was negligible change in thickness (layer thickness ~ 50 nm) or orientation of molecules. The pre-formed organization of Col-IV was transferred by LS method in a controlled fashion onto substrates meeting the wettability criterion (CA ≤ 80°). MSC adhesion (24h) on PET substrates deposited with Col-IV LS films at 10, 15 and 20 mN·m-1 surface pressures was (12269.0 ± 5856.4) cells for LS10, (16744.2 ± 1280.1) cells for LS15 and (19688.3 ± 1934.0) cells for LS20 respectively. Remarkably, by selecting the surface areal density of Col-IV on the Langmuir trough on PET, there is a linear increase between the number of adherent MSCs and the Col-IV ligand density. Further, FN has the ability to self-stabilize and form 2D networks (even without compression) while preserving native β-sheet structure at the A-W interface on a defined subphase (pH = 2). This provides the possibility to form such layers on any vessel (even on standard six-well culture plates) and the cohesive FN layers can be deposited by LS transfer, without the need for expensive LB instrumentation. Multilayers of FN can be immobilized on substrates by this approach, as easily as Layer-by-Layer method, even without the need for secondary adlayer or activated bare substrate. Thus, this facile glycoprotein coating strategy approach is accessible to many researchers to realize defined FN films on substrates for cell culture. In conclusion, Langmuir and LS methods can create biomimetic glycoprotein biointerfaces on substrates controlling aspects of presentation such as network morphology and ligand density. These methods will be utilized to produce artificial BM mimics and interstitial ECM mimics composed of more than one ECM glycoprotein layer on substrates, serving as artificial niches instructing stem cells for cell-replacement therapies in the future.
The present work focuses on minimising the usage of toxic chemicals by integration of the biobased monomers, derived from fatty acid esters, to photopolymerization processes, which are known to be nature friendly. Internal double bond present in the oleic acid was converted to more reactive (meth)acrylate or epoxy group. Biobased starting materials, functionalized by different pendant groups, were used for photopolymerizing formulations to design of new polymeric structures by using ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV-LED) (395 nm) via free radical polymerization or cationic polymerization.
New (meth)acrylates (2,3 and 4) consisting of two isomers, methyl 9-((meth)acryloyloxy)-10-hydroxyoctadecanoate / methyl 9-hydroxy-10-((meth)acryloyloxy)octadecanoate (2 and 3) and methyl 9-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-10-(methacryloyloxy)octadecanoate / methyl 9-(methacryloyloxy)-10-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)octadecanoate (4), modified from oleic acid mix, and ionic liquid monomers (1a and 1b) bearing long alkyl chain were polymerized photochemically. New (meth)acrylates are based on vegetable oil, and ionic liquids (ILs) have nonvolatile behaviour. Therefore, both monomer types have green approach. Photoinitiated polymerization of new (meth)acrylates and ionic liquids was investigated in the presence of ethyl (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phenylphosphinate (Irgacure® TPO−L) or di(4-methoxybenzoyl)diethylgermane (Ivocerin®) as photoinitiator (PI). Additionally, the results were discussed in comparison with those obtained from commercial 1,6-hexanediol di(meth)acrylate (5 and 6) for deeper investigation of biobased monomer’s potential to substitute petroleum derived materials with renewable resources for possible coating applications. Kinetic study shows that methyl 9-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-10-(methacryloyloxy)octadecanoate / methyl 9-(methacryloyloxy)-10-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)octadecanoate (4) and ionic liquids (1a and 1b) have quantitative conversion after irradiation process which is important for practical applications. On the other hand, heat generation occurs in a longer time during the polymerization of biobased systems or ILs.
The poly(meth)acrylates modified from (meth)acrylated fatty acid methyl ester monomers generally show a low glass transition temperature because of the presence of long aliphatic chain in the polymer structure. However, poly(meth)acrylates containing aromatic group have higher glass transition temperature. Therefore, new 4-(4-methacryloyloxyphenyl)-butan-2-one (7) was synthesized which can be a promising candidate for the green techniques, such as light induced polymerization. Photokinetic investigation of the new monomer, 4-(4-methacryloyloxyphenyl)-butan-2-one (7), was discussed using Irgacure® TPO−L or Ivocerin® as photoinitiator. The reactivity of that monomer was compared to commercial 2-phenoxyethyl methacrylate (8) and phenyl methacrylate (9) basis of the differences on monomer structures. The photopolymer of 4-(4-methacryloyloxyphenyl)-butan-2-one (7) might be an interesting candidate for the coating application with the properties of quantitative conversion and high molecular weight. It also shows higher glass transition temperature.
In addition to the linear systems based on renewable materials, new crosslinked polymers were also designed in this thesis. Therefore, isomer mixture consisting of ethane-1,2-diyl bis(9-methacryloyloxy-10-hydroxy octadecanoate), ethane-1,2-diyl 9-hydroxy-10-methacryloyloxy-9’-methacryloyloxy10’-hydroxy octadecanoate and ethane-1,2-diyl bis(9-hydroxy-10-methacryloyloxy octadecanoate) (10) was synthesized by derivation of the oleic acid which has not been previously described in the literature. Crosslinked material based on this biobased monomer was produced by photoinitiated free radical polymerization using Irgacure® TPO−L or Ivocerin® as photoinitiator. Furthermore, material properties were diversified by copolymerization of 10 with 4-(4-methacryloyloxyphenyl)-butan-2-one (7) or methyl 9-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-10-(methacryloyloxy)octadecanoate / methyl 9-(methacryloyloxy)-10-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)octadecanoate (4). In addition to this, influence of comonomer with different chemical structure on the network system was investigated by analysis of thermo-mechanical properties, crosslink density and molecular weight between two crosslink junctions. An increase in the glass transition temperature caused by copolymerization of biobased monomer 10 with the excess amount of 4-(4-methacryloyloxyphenyl)-butan-2-one (7) was confirmed by both techniques, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). On the other hand, crosslink density decreased as a result of copolymerization reactions due to the reduction in the mean functionality of the system. Furthermore, surface characterization has been tested by contact angle measurements using solvents with different polarity.
This work also contributes to the limited data reported about cationic photopolymerization of the epoxidized vegetable oils in the literature in contrast to the widely investigation of thermal curing of the biorenewable epoxy monomers. In addition to the 9,10-epoxystearic acid methyl ester (11), a new monomer of bis-(9,10-epoxystearic acid) 1,2-ethanediyl ester (12) has been synthesized from oleic acid. These two biobased epoxies have been polymerized via cationic photoinitiated polymerization in the presence of bis(t-butyl)-iodonium-tetrakis(perfluoro-t-butoxy)aluminate ([Al(O-t-C4F9)4]-) and isopropylthioxanthone (ITX) as photinitiating system. Polymerization kinetic of 9,10-epoxystearic acid methyl ester (11) and bis-(9,10-epoxystearic acid) 1,2-ethanediyl ester (12) was investigated and compared with the kinetic of commercial monomers being 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3’,4’-epoxycyclohexane carboxylate (13), 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (14), and diglycidylether of bisphenol-A (15). Both biobased epoxies (11 and 12) showed higher conversion than cycloaliphatic epoxy (13), and lower reactivity than 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (14). Additional network systems were designed by copolymerization of bis-(9,10-epoxystearic acid) 1,2-ethanediyl ester (12) and diglycidylether of bisphenol-A (15) in different molar ratios (1:1; 1:5; 1:9). It addresses that, final conversion is dependent on polymerization rate as well as physical processes such as vitrification during polymerization. Moreover, low glass transition temperature of homopolymer derived from bis-(9,10-epoxystearic acid) 1,2-ethanediyl ester (12) was successfully increased by copolymerization with diglycidylether bisphenol-A (15). On the other hand, the surface produced from bis-(9,10-epoxystearic acid) 1,2-ethanediyl ester (12) shows hydrophobic character. Higher concentration of biobased diepoxy (12) in the copolymerizing mixture decreases surface free energy. Network systems were also investigated according to the rubber elasticity theory. Crosslinked polymer derived from the mixture of bis-(9,10-epoxystearic acid) 1,2-ethanediyl ester (12) and diglycidylether of bisphenol-A (15) (molar ratio=1:5) exhibits almost ideal polymer network.
Soft actuators have drawn significant attention due to their relevance for applications, such as artificial muscles in devices developed for medicine and robotics. Tuning their performance and expanding their functionality are frequently done by means of chemical modification. The introduction of structural elements rendering non-synthetic modification of the performance possible, as well as control over physical appearance and facilitating their recycling is a subject of a great interest in the field of smart materials. The primary aim of this thesis was to create a shape-memory polymeric actuator, where the capability for non-synthetic tuning of the actuation performance is combined with reprocessability. Physically cross-linked polymeric matrices provide a solid material platform, where the in situ processing methods can be employed for modification of the composition and morphology, resulting in the fine tuning of the related mechanical properties and shape-memory actuation capability.
The morphological features, required for shape-memory polymeric actuators, namely two crystallisable domains and anchoring points for physical cross-links, were embedded into a multiblock copolymer with poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(L-lactide) segments (PLLA-PCL). Here, the melting transition of PCL was bisected into the actuating and skeleton-forming units, while the cross-linking was introduced via PLA stereocomplexation in blends with oligomeric poly(D-lactide) (ODLA). PLLA segment number average length of 12-15 repeating units was experimentally defined to be capable of the PLA stereocomplexes formation, but not sufficient for the isotactic crystallisation. Multiblock structure and phase dilution broaden the PCL melting transition, facilitating its separation into two conditionally independent crystalline domains. Low molar mass of the PLA stereocomplex components and a multiblock structure enables processing and reprocessing of the PLLA-PCL / ODLA blends with common non-destructive techniques. The modularity of the PLLA-PCL structure and synthetic approach allows for independent tuning of the properties of its components. The designed material establishes a solid platform for non-synthetic tuning of thermomechanical and structural properties of thermoplastic elastomers.
To evaluate the thermomechanical stability of the formed physical network, three criteria were appraised. As physical cross-links, PLA stereocomplexes have to be evenly distributed within the material matrix, their melting temperature shall not overlap with the thermal transitions of the PCL domains and they have to maintain the structural integrity within the strain ε ranges further applied in the shape-memory actuation experiments. Assigning PCL the function of the skeleton-forming and actuating units, and PLA stereocomplexes the role of physical netpoints, shape-memory actuation was realised in the PLLA-PCL / ODLA blends. Reversible strain of shape-memory actuation was found to be a function of PLA stereocomplex crystallinity, i.e. physical cross-linking density, with a maximum of 13.4 ± 1.5% at PLA stereocomplex content of 3.1 ± 0.3 wt%. In this way, shape-memory actuation can be tuned via adjusting the composition of the PLLA-PCL / ODLA blend. This makes the developed material a valuable asset in the production of cost-effective tunable soft polymeric actuators for the applications in medicine and soft robotics.
Synthesis and Characterization of Upconversion Nanaparticles for Applications in Life Sciences
(2021)
Zusammenfassung zur Dissertation „Neuartige DBD-Fluoreszenzfarbstoffe: Synthese, Untersuchungen und Anwendungen“ von Leonard John
In dieser Arbeit konnten auf Basis der etablierten [1,3]-Dioxolo[4,5-f][1,3]benzodioxol (DBD) Fluoreszenzfarbstoffe zwei neue Konzepte zur Darstellung unsymmetrisch funktionalisierter DBD-Fluorophore entwickelt werden. Die Variation der elektronenziehenden Reste führte zu einer Erweiterung des Farbspektrums an DBD-Fluorophoren, wobei alle weiteren spektroskopischen Parameter (Fluoreszenzlebenszeit, -quantenausbeute und STOKES-Verschiebung) unverändert hohe Werte aufweisen. Neben der Variation der elektronenziehenden Reste wurde das "pi"-System des DBD-Farbstoffs mit der Einführung von Stilben-, und Tolan-Derivaten vergrößert. Stilben-Derivate zeigten ähnlich gute spektroskopische Eigenschaften wie die bereits etablierten DBD-Farbstoffe.
Fluorophore mit langwelliger Emission sind auf Grund der großen Gewebe-Eindringtiefe besonders interessant für biologische Anwendungen. Da der langwelligste Vertreter der O4-DBD-Farbstoffe in polaren Medien nur schwer löslich ist, wurde ein Weg zur Einführung löslichkeitsvermittelnder Gruppen gesucht. Hierbei fiel die Wahl auf eine Carbonsäure-Gruppe zur Steigerung der Hydrophilie. Eine von vier untersuchten Methoden erwies sich als zielführend, sodass das gewünschte Molekül isoliert werden konnte. Eine erhöhte Wasserlöslichkeit wurde allerdings nicht beobachtet.
Zur Erforschung von Fettstoffwechselkrankheiten wie der ALZHEIMER-Krankheit werden fluoreszenzmarkierte Lipide benötigt. Um unterschiedliche Bereiche einer Membran zu untersuchen, war das Ziel, den Fluorophor an unterschiedlichen Stellen innerhalb der Fettsäure zu lokalisieren. Hierbei sollte die Gesamtkettenlänge des DBD-Lipids einer C18-Kette, analog der Stearinsäure, entsprechen. Durch die stufenweise Einführung der Reste gelang es, drei DBD-Lipide herzustellen, wobei sich der Fluorophor an unterschiedlichen Positionen innerhalb der Kette befindet. Die photophysikalischen Eigenschaften der Lipide weichen nur marginal von denen der reinen Fluorophore ab. Eine Einlagerung in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) konnte für zwei Derivate beobachtet werden, wobei keine domänenspezifisch war.
Ein weiteres Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, die vier Sauerstoffatome im DBD-Grundkörper stufenweise durch Schwefelatome zu ersetzen und die Ringgrößen des DBD-Fluorophors zu variieren. Für die Ringgröße zeigte der 1,2-S2-DBD mit jeweils zwei Fünfringen die besten spektroskopischen Eigenschaften. Durch die Synthese von zwei weiteren schwefelhaltigen DBD-Grundkörpern (S1- und 1,4-S2-DBD) konnten insgesamt drei neue Farbstoffklassen zugänglich gemacht werden. Für alle neuen Chromophore wurden elektronenziehende Reste (Aldehyd, Acyl, Ester, Carboxy) eingeführt und die jeweiligen Derivate spektroskopisch untersucht. Mit steigender Anzahl an Schwefel-Atomen im Grundkörper zeigt sich eine bathochrome Verschiebung der Emission,
wobei die Werte für die Fluoreszenzlebenszeit- und -quantenausbeute abnehmen. Die optimalen spektroskopischen Eigenschaften aus langwelliger Emission, hoher Fluoreszenzlebenszeit und -quantenausbeute zeigt das 1,4-S2-Dialdehyd-Derivat. Für die S1- und 1,2-S2-Dialdehyd-
Derivate wurden Konzepte entwickelt, um bioreaktive Reste (Alkin, HOSu, Maleimid) einzuführen und die Fluorophore in biologischen Systemen anwenden zu können.
Die vorliegende Arbeit thematisiert die Synthese und Charakterisierung von neuen funktionalisierten ionischen Flüssigkeiten und deren Polymerisation. Die ionischen Flüssigkeiten wurden dabei sowohl mit polymerisierbaren Kationen als auch Anionen hergestellt. Zum einen wurden bei thermisch initiierten Polymerisationen Azobis(isobutyronitril) (AIBN) verwendet und zum anderen dienten bei photochemisch initiierten Polymerisationen Bis-4-(methoxybenzoyl)diethylgermanium (Ivocerin®) als Radikalstarter.
Mittels Gelpermeationschromatographie konnte das Homopolymer Polydimethylaminoethylmethacrylat untersucht werden, welches erst im Anschluss an die GPC-Messungen polymeranalog modifiziert wurde. Dabei wurden nach einer Quaternisierung und anschließender Anionenmetathese bei diesen Polymeren die Grenzviskositäten bestimmt und mit den Grenzviskositäten der direkt polymerisierten ionischen Flüssigkeiten verglichen. Bei der direkten Polymerisation von Poly(N-[2-(Methacryloyloxy)ethyl]-N-butyl-N,N-dimethyl-ammoniumbis(trifluormethylsulfonyl)imid) lag [η_Huggins] bei 100 mL/g und bei dem polymeranalog hergestellten Polymer betrug [η_Huggins] = 40 mL/g.
Die ionischen Flüssigkeiten mit polymerisierbaren funktionellen Gruppen wurden mittels Photo-DSC hinsichtlich der maximalen Polymerisationsgeschwindigkeit (Rpmax), der Zeit, in der dieses Maximum erreicht wurde, tmax, ihrer Glasüberganstemperatur (Tg) und des Umsatzes an Vinylprotonen untersucht. Bei diesen Messungen wurde zum einen der Einfluss der unterschiedlichen Alkylkettenlänge am Ammoniumion und der Einfluss von verschiedenen Anionen bei gleichbleibender Kationenstruktur analysiert. So polymerisierte das ethylsubstituierte Kation mit einer tmax von 21 Sekunden am langsamsten. Die maximale Polymerisationsgeschwindigkeit (Rpmax) betrug 3.3∙10-2 s-1. Die tmax Werte der übrigen alkylsubstituierten ionischen Flüssigkeiten mit einer polymerisierbaren funktionellen Gruppe hingegen lagen zwischen 10 und 15 Sekunden. Die Glasübergangstemperaturen der mittels photoinduzierter Polymerisation hergestellten Polymere lagen mit 44 bis 55 °C nahe beieinander. Alle Monomere zeigten einen hohen Umsatz der Vinylprotonen; er betrug zwischen 93 und 100%.
Mithilfe einer Bandanlage, ausgerüstet mit einer LED (λ = 395 nm), konnten Polymerfilme hergestellt werden. Der Umsatz an Doppelbindungsäquivalenten dieser Filme wurde anhand der 1H-NMR Spektroskopie bestimmt. Bei der dynamisch-mechanischen Analyse wurden die Polymerfilme mit einer konstanten Heizrate und Frequenz periodisch wechselnden Beanspruchungen ausgesetzt, um die Glasübergangstemperaturen zu bestimmen. Die niedrigste Tg mit 26 °C besaß das butylsubstituierte N-[2-(Methacryloyloxy)ethyl]-N-butyl-N,N-dimethyl-ammoniumbis(trifluormethylsulfonyl)imid, welches als Polymerfilm mit Ivocerin® als Initiator hergestellt wurde, wohingegen die höchste Tg bei dem gleichen Polymer, welches direkt durch freie radikalische Polymerisation der ionischen Flüssigkeit in Masse mit AIBN hergestellt wurde, 51 °C betrug. Zusätzlich wurden die Filme unter dem Aspekt der Topographie mit einem Rasterkraftmikroskop untersucht, welches eine Domänenstruktur des Polymers N-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]-N-butyl-N,N-dimethyl-ammonium tris(pentafluorethyl)trifluorphosphat offenbarte.
Die vorliegende Dissertation behandelt drei thematische Schwerpunkte. Im Ergebnisteil steht die chemische Synthese von sogenannten (1,7)-Naphthalenophanen im Vordergrund, die zur Substanzklasse von Cyclophanen gehören. Während zahlreiche Synthesemethoden Strategien zum Aufbau von Ringsystemen (wie z. B. von Naphthalenophanen) verfolgen, die Teil einer bereits existierenden aromatischen Struktur der Ausgangsverbindung sind, nutzen nur wenige Ansätze Reaktionen, die einen Ringschluss zum gewünschten Produkt erst im Zuge der Synthese etablieren. Eine Benzanellierung, die eine besondere Aufmerksamkeit im Arbeitskreis erfahren hat, ist die Dehydro-DIELS-ALDER-Reaktion (DDA-Reaktion). Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnte gezeigt werden, dass zwölf ausgewählte (1,7)-Naphthalenophane, die teilweise ringgespannt und makrozyklisch aufgebaut waren, mithilfe einer photochemischen Variante der DDA-Reaktion (PDDA-Reaktion) zugänglich gemacht werden können. Die Versuche, auf thermischem Wege (TDDA-Reaktion) (1,7)-Naphthalenophane herzustellen, misslangen. Die außergewöhnliche Reaktivität der Photoreaktanten konnte mithilfe quantenchemischer Berechnungen durch eine gefaltete Grundzustandsgeometrie erklärt werden. Darüber hinaus wurden Ringspannungen und strukturelle Spannungsindikatoren der relevanten Photoprodukte ermittelt und Trends in Abhängigkeit der Linkerlänge in den NMR-Spektren der Zielverbindungen ermittelt sowie diskutiert. Zudem zeigte eine Variation am Chromophor (Acyl-, Carbonsäure- und Carbonsäureester) der Photoreaktanten bei der Bestrahlung in Dichlormethan eine vergleichbare Photokinetik und -reaktivität. Der zweite Abschnitt dieser Dissertation ist dem Design und der Entwicklung zweier Photoreaktoren für UV-Anwendungen im kontinuierlichen Durchfluss gewidmet, da photochemische Transformationen bekanntermaßen in ihrer Skalierbarkeit limitiert sind. Im ersten Prototyp konnten mittels effizienter Parallelschaltung mit bis zu drei UV-Lampen (𝜆𝜆 = 254, 310 und 355 nm) Produktmaterialmengen von bis zu n = 188 mmol anhand eines ausgewählten Fallbeispiels erreicht werden. Im konstruktionstechnisch stark vereinfachten zweiten Photoreaktor wurden alle quarzhaltigen Elemente gegen günstigeres PLEXIGLAS® ersetzt. Das Resultat waren identische Raum-Zeit-Ausbeuten in Bezug auf das zuvor gewählte Synthesebeispiel. Demnach bietet die UV-Photochemie im kontinuierlichen Durchfluss Vorteile gegenüber der traditionellen Bestrahlung im Tauchreaktor. Hinsichtlich Reaktionszeit, Produktausbeuten und Lösemittelverbrauch ist sie synthetisch weit überlegen. Im letzten Abschnitt der Arbeit wurden diese Erkenntnisse genutzt, um biomedizinisch und pharmakologisch vielversprechende 1-Arylnaphthalen-Lignane mittels einer intramolekularen PDDA-Reaktion (IMPDDA-Reaktion) als Schlüsselschritt herzustellen. Hierzu wurden drei Konzepte erarbeitet und in der Totalsynthese von drei ausgewählten Zielstrukturen auf Basis des 1-Arylnaphthalengrundgerüsts realisiert.
Ionizing radiation is used in cancer radiation therapy to effectively damage the DNA of tumors leading to cell death and reduction of the tumor tissue. The main damage is due to generation of highly reactive secondary species such as low-energy electrons (LEE) with the most probable energy around 10 eV through ionization of water molecules in the cells. A simulation of the dose distribution in the patient is required to optimize the irradiation modality in cancer radiation therapy, which must be based on the fundamental physical processes of high-energy radiation with the tissue. In the present work the accurate quantification of DNA radiation damage in the form of absolute cross sections for LEE-induced DNA strand breaks (SBs) between 5 and 20 eV is done by using the DNA origami technique. This method is based on the analysis of well-defined DNA target sequences attached to DNA origami triangles with atomic force microscopy (AFM) on the single molecule level. The present work focuses on poly-adenine sequences (5'-d(A4), 5'-d(A8), 5'-d(A12), 5'-d(A16), and 5'- d(A20)) irradiated with 5.0, 7.0, 8.4, and 10 eV electrons. Independent of the DNA length, the strand break cross section shows a maximum around 7.0 eV electron energy for all investigated oligonucleotides confirming that strand breakage occurs through the initial formation of negative ion resonances. Additionally, DNA double strand breaks from a DNA hairpin 5'-d(CAC)4T(Bt-dT)T2(GTG)4 are examined for the first time and are compared with those of DNA single strands 5'-d(CAC)4 and 5'- d(GTG)4. The irradiation is made in the most likely energy range of 5 to 20 eV with an anionic resonance maximum around 10 eV independently of the DNA sequence. There is a clear difference between σSSB and σDSB of DNA single and double strands, where the strand break for ssDNA are always higher in all electron energies compared to dsDNA by the factor 3. A further part of this work deals with the characterization and analysis of new types of radiosensitizers used in chemoradiotherapy, which selectively increases the DNA damage upon radiation. Fluorinated DNA sequences with 2'-fluoro-2'-deoxycytidine (dFC) show an increased sensitivity at 7 and 10 eV compared to the unmodified DNA sequences by an enhancement factor between 2.1 and 2.5. In addition, light-induced oxidative damage of 5'-d(GTG)4 and 5'-d((CAC)4T(Bt-dT)T2(GTG)4) modified DNA origami triangles by singlet oxygen 1O2 generated from three photoexcited DNA groove binders [ANT994], [ANT1083] and [Cr(ddpd)2][BF4]3 illuminated in different experiments with UV-Vis light at 430, 435 and 530 nm wavelength is demonstrated. The singlet oxygen induced generation of DNA damage could be detected in both aqueous and dry environments for [ANT1083] and [Cr(ddpd)2][BF4]3.
Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Synthese von Disulfiden, der Thiol-Disulfid Metathesereaktion als Möglichkeit, Polymere zu funktionalisieren, und der Synthese von Polydisulfiden. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wird die Aminolyse von RAFT-Polymeren und die Abhängigkeit der Polymer-Polymer Disulfidbildung von der Molmasse untersucht. Dabei wurde durch die Aufnahme von Reaktionskinetiken mittels Gel-Permeations-Chromatographie (GPC) festgestellt, dass je länger die Polymerketten sind, desto weniger Disulfid Polymerkopplung tritt auf. RAFT-Polymere werden oft genutzt, um die RAFT-Polymer Endgruppe nach der Polymerisation zu modifizieren oder in einer chemischen Reaktion zu funktionalisieren. Hier kann die Aminolyse in Anwesenheit von kurzkettigen Disulfiden, wie zum Beispiel Cystin, durchgeführt werden, um die Bildung von Polymer-Polymer Disulfiden vollständig zu unterdrücken und ein endgruppenfunktionalisiertes Polymer zu erhalten. Bei dieser Reaktion greift das bei der Aminolyse entstehende Polymerthiolat die kurzkettigen Disulfide an, und es kommt zur Bildung von funktionalisierten Polymeren. Es wurde ein Polyethylenglykoldisulfid eingesetzt, um ein amphiphiles Blockcopolymer zu erhalten. Als RAFT-Polymer wurde Polystyrol (PS) verwendet, und es konnte die Bildung von Polystyrol-Polyethylenglykol Copolymeren nachgewiesen werden. Das amphiphile Polymer bildet im wässrigen Medium Vesikel. Die Oberfläche der Vesikel konnte mittels der Thiol-Disulfid Metathese umfunktionalisiert werden. Die Aminolyse von PS RAFT-Polymeren mit einem Polylaktiddisulfid oder einem Polybenzylglutamatdisulfid ergab Polystyrol-block-Polyester und Polystyrol-block-Polyaminosäuren Copolymere. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit liegt der Fokus auf der Synthese von Polydisulfiden und ihren thermischen Eigenschaften. Es wurden verschiedene Alkyldithiole synthetisiert und mittels Wasserstoffperoxid und Triethylamin polymerisiert. Dabei konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Polymere teilkristallin sind und dass der Schmelzpunkt und die Kristallinität der Polymere mit steigender Alkylkettenlänge zwischen den Disulfidbindungen zunehmen. Die Möglichkeit einer Polymerkettenerweiterung nach der Polymerisation ist mit diesem System gegeben. Die Abbaubarkeit der Polydisulfide konnte durch den Einsatz von Thiolen im basischen Milieu gezeigt werden.
Solar cells based on hybrid perovskites materials have become significantly important among the third generation photovoltaics over the last few years. The first solid state solar cell was reported in 2012. Over the years, the power conversion efficiencies of these devices have increased at a tremendous pace and this has made the perovskite solar cell devices a serious competitor in the well-established market of thin-film and wafer technologies. Over time, a large number of articles on this topic has been published in peer-reviewed journals. The presence of lead in the most efficient hybrid perovskite materials have raised questions about the possible toxicity of these devices and the extent of their environmental impact. Therefore, a lot of research has been devoted to finding alternative perovskite materials with similar or even better opto-electronic properties. An alternative strategy to improve the efficiency of thin film solar cells is to build efficient tandem cells by combining two or more perovskite materials with specifically tailored band gaps. The first step towards the development of perovskite-only tandem solar cells is to identify complementary hybrid perovskite materials with specific band gaps that maximize the efficiency of tandem solar cells. The optimal set of optical gaps for a tandem structure made of two materials is 1.9 eV and 1.0 eV. Since the electronic properties of hybrid perovskites are known to be strongly dependent on the composition and distortion of the crystal lattice, strong focus has been made towards the structure optimisation as well as the calculation of the energy band gaps of the materials using density functional theory (DFT). In an attempt to study the structure-property relationship of these perovskite materials and to find novel perovskite materials for future applications, researchers have employed computational screening procedures to study a large range of these materials by systematic replacement of the cations and anions from the prototypical perovskite. Density functional theory in particular is used as a theoretical tool, because of it’s precision to determine the properties of materials and also it’s computational viability in dealing with complex systems. In this thesis, the main focus is to do a systematic screening of the perovskite materials, of the composition ABX3 again by replacing the A-site, B-site and the X-site elements to find novel materials with band gaps suitable for application in tandem solar cells. As a first step towards contributing to this vibrant field of research, a high-throughput computational screening has been performed by replacing the metal and the halogen in the conventional CH3NH3PbI3 perovskites with homovalent metals and halogens to find materials in the desired range of band gaps that has already been mentioned earlier. This is achieved by performing a geometry optimisation on all the simulated structures followed by calculating their energy band gaps at the semilocal and the hybrid levels of theory. However, it is well known that the rotation of the organic cation CH3NH3 hinders the stability of these devices by the formation of hydrogen bonds between the hydrogen atoms of the cation and the halogens. This causes the materials to degrade under normal temperature and pressure conditions. As an attempt to prevent these devices from being unstable, a next step has been taken where the CH3NH3 cation has been replaced by inorganic cations of similar ionic radius. This is followed by another thorough screening, similar to the previous step. The stability of the materials has been determined by using the empirical Goldschmidt tolerance factor. As a last part of the thesis, a small proportion of the inorganic cation is mixed with CH3NH3 in order to form mixed-halide perovskites. These structures are optimised and their band gaps are calculated using density functional theory in order to predict materials suitable for single junction as well as tandem solar cell devices. It is expected that the contribution made through this thesis will be helpful for the progress of perovskite solar cells in terms of efficiencies and will also allow the community to explore the different properties these materials for further progress and development.
‘Smart’ Janus emulsions
(2021)
Emulsions constitute one of the most prominent and continuously evolving research areas in Colloid Chemistry, which involves the preparation of mixtures or dispersions of immiscible components in a continuous medium. Besides conventional oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsions, other emulsions of complex droplet morphologies have recently attracted significant research interests. Especially Janus emulsions, in which each droplet is comprised of two distinct sub-regions, have shown versatile potential applications. One of their advantages is the possibility of compartmentalization, which enables to play with two different chemistries in a single droplet. Though microfluidic methods are conventionally used to prepare Janus emulsions, their industrial applications are largely hindered by low throughput and extensive instrumentations. Recently, it has been discovered that simply one-pot moderate/high energy emulsification is also capable of developing Janus morphology, although their preparation and stabilization remain rather substantially challenging. This cumulative doctoral thesis focuses on the preparation and characterization of ‘smart’ Janus emulsions, i.e. Janus emulsions with special stimuli-responsive features. One-step moderate/high energy emulsification of olive and silicone oil in an aqueous medium was carried out. Special consideration was devoted to the interfacial tensions among the components to maintain the criteria of forming characteristic droplet architectures, in addition to avoiding multiple emulsion destabilization phenomena like imminent phase separation or even separated droplet formation. A series of investigations were conducted related to the formation of complexes of charged macromolecules and role of them as stabilizers to achieve stable Janus emulsions for a realistic timeframe (more than 3 months). The correlation between the size of the stabilizer particles and the droplet size of emulsion was established. Furthermore, it was observed that Janus emulsion gels with interesting rheological properties can be fabricated in the presence of suitable polyelectrolyte complexes. Janus emulsions that could be influenced by pH, temperature or magnetic field were successfully produced in presence of characteristic stimuli-responsive stabilizers. Afterwards, the effect of these changes was studied by different characterization techniques. The size and morphology could be tuned easily by changing the pH. The incorporation of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (synthesized separately by a co-precipitation method) to one component of the Janus emulsion was carried out so that the movement and orientation of the complex droplets in aqueous media could be controlled by an external magnetic field. Additionally, temperature-triggered instantaneous reversible breakdown of Janus droplets was also accomplished. The responses of the Janus droplets by the stimuli were well-documented and explained. Another goal of the present contribution was to exploit this special morphological feature of emulsions as a template for producing porous materials. This was demonstrated by the preparation of ultralight magnetic responsive aerogels, utilizing Janus emulsion gels. The produced aerogels also showed the capacity to separate toxic dye from water. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of investigation towards batch scale production of Janus emulsion with such special stimuli-responsive properties by a simple bulk emulsification method.
The impact that catalysis has on global economy and environment is substantial, since 85% of all chemical industrial processes are catalytic. Among those, 80% of the processes are heterogeneously catalyzed, 17% make use of homogeneous catalysts, and 3% are biocatalytic processes. Especially in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industry, a significant part of these processes involves chiral compounds. Obtaining enantiomerically pure compounds is necessary and it is usually accomplished by asymmetric synthesis and catalysis, as well as chiral separation. The efficiency of these processes may be vastly improved if the chiral selectors are positioned on a porous solid support, thereby increasing the available surface area for chiral recognition. Similarly, the majority of commercial catalysts are also supported, usually comprising of metal nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed on highly porous oxide or nanoporous carbon material.
Materials that have exceptional thermal and chemical stability, and are electrically conductive are porous carbons. Their stability in extreme pH regions and temperatures, the possibility to tailor their pore architecture and chemical functionalization, and their electric conductivity have already established these materials in the fields of separation and catalysis. However, their heterogeneous chemical structure with abundant defects make it challenging to develop reliable models for the investigation of structure-performance relationships. Therefore, there is a necessity for expanding the fundamental understanding of these robust materials under experimental conditions to allow for their further optimization for particular applications. This thesis gives a contribution to our knowledge about carbons, through different aspects, and in different applications.
On the one hand, a rather exotic novel application was investigated by attempts in synthesizing porous carbon materials with an enantioselective surface. Chapter 4.1 described an approach for obtaining mesoporous carbons with an enantioselective surface by direct carbonization of a chiral precursor. Two enantiomers of chiral ionic liquids (CIL) based on amino acid tyrosine were used as carbon precursors and ordered mesoporous silica SBA-15 served as a hard template for obtaining porosity. The chiral recognition of the prepared carbons has been tested in the solution by isothermal titration calorimetry with enantiomers of Phenylalanine as probes, as well as chiral vapor adsorption with 2-butanol enantiomers. Measurements in both solution and the gas phase revealed the differences in the affinity of carbons towards two enantiomers.
The atomic efficiency of the CIL precursors was increased in Chapter 4.2, and the porosity was developed independently from the development of chiral carbons, through the formation of stable composites of pristine carbon and CIL-derived coating. After the same set of experiments for the investigation of chirality, the enantiomeric ratios of the composites reported herein were even higher than in the previous chapter.
On the other hand, the structure‒activity relationship of carbons as supports for gold nanoparticles in a rather traditional catalytic model reaction, on the interface between gas, liquid, and solid, was studied. In Chapter 5.1 it was shown on the series of catalysts with different porosities that the kinetics of ᴅ-glucose oxidation reaction can be enhanced by increasing the local concentration of the reactants around the active phase of the catalyst. A large amount of uniform narrow mesopores connected to the surface of the Au catalyst supported on ordered mesoporous carbon led to the water confinement, which increased the solubility of the oxygen in the proximity of the catalyst and thereby increased the apparent catalytic activity of this catalyst.
After increasing the oxygen concentration in the internal area of the catalyst, in Chapter 5.2 the concentration of oxygen was increased in the external environment of the catalyst, by the introduction of less cohesive liquids that serve as efficient solvent for oxygen, perfluorinated compounds, near the active phase of the catalyst. This was achieved by a formation of catalyst particle-stabilized emulsions of perfluorocarbon in aqueous ᴅ-glucose solution, that further promoted the catalytic activity of gold-on-carbon catalyst.
The findings reported within this thesis are an important step in the understanding of the structure-related properties of carbon materials.
Ammonia is a chemical of fundamental importance for nature`s vital nitrogen cycle. It is crucial for the growth of living organisms as well as food and energy source. Traditionally, industrial ammonia production is predominated by Haber- Bosch process (HBP) which is based on direct conversion of N2 and H2 gas under high temperature and high pressure (~500oC, 150-300 bar). However, it is not the favorite route because of its thermodynamic and kinetic limitations, and the need for the energy intense production of hydrogen gas by reforming processes. All these disfavors of HBP open a target to search for an alternative technique to perform efficient ammonia synthesis via electrochemical catalytic processes, in particular via water electrolysis, using water as the hydrogen source to save the process from gas reforming.
In this study, the investigation of the interface effects between imidazolium-based ionic liquids and the surface of porous carbon materials with a special interest in the nitrogen absorption capability. As the further step, the possibility to establish this interface as the catalytically active area for the electrochemical N2 reduction to NH3 has been evaluated. This particular combination has been chosen because the porous carbon materials and ionic liquids (IL) have a significant importance in many scientific fields including catalysis and electrocatalysis due to their special structural and physicochemical properties. Primarily, the effects of the confinement of ionic liquid (EmimOAc, 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) into carbon pores have been investigated. The salt-templated porous carbons, which have different porosity (microporous and mesoporous) and nitrogen species, were used as model structures for the comparison of the IL confinement at different loadings. The nitrogen uptake of EmimOAc can be increased by about 10 times by the confinement in the pores of carbon materials compared to the bulk form. In addition, the most improved nitrogen absorption was observed by IL confinement in micropores and in nitrogen-doped carbon materials as a consequence of the maximized structural changes of IL. Furthermore, the possible use of such interfaces between EmimOAc and porous carbon for the catalytic activation of dinitrogen during the kinetically challenging NRR due to the limited gas absorption in the electrolyte, was examined. An electrocatalytic NRR system based on the conversion of water and nitrogen gas to ammonia at ambient operation conditions (1 bar, 25 °C) was performed in a setup under an applied electric potential with a single chamber electrochemical cell, which consists of the combination of EmimOAc electrolyte with the porous carbon-working electrode and without a traditional electrocatalyst. Under a potential of -3 V vs. SCE for 45 minutes, a NH3 production rate of 498.37 μg h-1 cm-2 and FE of 12.14% were achieved. The experimental observations show that an electric double-layer, which serves the catalytically active area, occurs between a microporous carbon material and ions of the EmimOAc electrolyte in the presence of sufficiently high provided electric potential. Comparing with the typical NRR systems which have been reported in the literature, the presented electrochemical ammonia synthesis approach provides a significantly higher ammonia production rate with a chance to avoid the possible kinetic limitations of NRR. In terms of operating conditions, ammonia production rate and the faradic efficiency without the need for any synthetic electrocatalyst can be resulted of electrocatalytic activation of nitrogen in the double-layer formed between carbon and IL ions.
Im Rahmen der vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und -forschung geförderten Forschungsinitiative „BonaRes – Boden als nachhaltige Ressource der Bioökonomie“ soll sich das Teilprojekt „I4S – integrated system for site-specific soil fertility management“ der Entwicklung eines integrierten Systems zum ortsspezifischen Management der Bodenfruchtbarkeit widmen. Hierfür ist eine Messplattform zur Bestimmung relevanter Bodeneigenschaften und der quantitativen Analyse ausgewählter Makro- und Mikronährstoffe geplant. In der ersten Phase dieses Projekts liegt das Hauptaugenmerk auf der Kalibrierung und Validierung der verschiedenen Sensoren auf die Matrix Boden, der Probennahme auf dem Acker und der Planung sowie dem Aufbau der Messplattform. Auf dieser Plattform sollen in der zweiten Phase des Projektes die verschiedenen Bodensensoren installiert, sowie Modelle und Entscheidungsalgorithmen zur Steuerung der Düngung und dementsprechend Verbesserung der Bodenfunktionen erstellt werden.
Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Grundlagenuntersuchung und Entwicklung einer robusten Online-Analyse mittels Energie-dispersiver Röntgenfluoreszenzspektroskopie (EDRFA) zur Quantifizierung ausgewählter Makro- und Mikronährstoffe in Böden für eine kostengünstige und flächendeckende Kartierung von Ackerflächen. Für die Entwicklung eines Online-Verfahrens wurde ein dem Stand der Technik entsprechender Röntgenfluoreszenzmesskopf in Betrieb genommen und die dazugehörigen Geräteparameter auf die Matrix Boden optimiert. Die Bestimmung der analytischen Qualitäts-merkmale wie Präzision und Nachweisgrenzen fand für eine Auswahl an Nährelementen von Aluminium bis Zink statt. Um eine möglichst Matrix-angepasste Kalibrierung zu erhalten, wurde sowohl mit zertifizierten Referenzmaterialien (CRM), als auch mit Ackerböden kalibriert. Da einer der größten Nachteile der Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse die Beeinflussung durch Matrixeffekte ist, wurde neben der klassischen univariaten Datenauswertung auch die chemometrische multivariate Methode der Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) eingesetzt. Die PLSR bietet dabei den Vorteil, Matrixeffekte auszugleichen, wodurch robustere Kalibriermodelle erhalten werden können. Zusätzlich wurde eine Hauptkomponentenanalyse (PCA) durchgeführt, um Gemeinsamkeiten und Ausreißer innerhalb des Probensets zu identifizieren. Es zeigte sich, dass eine Klassifizierung der Böden anhand ihrer Textur Sand, Schluff, Lehm und Ton möglich ist.
Aufbauend auf den Ergebnissen idealer Bodenproben (zu Tabletten gepresste luftgetrocknete Proben mit Korngrößen < 0,5 mm) wurde im Verlauf dieser Arbeit die Probenvorbereitung immer weiter reduziert und der Einfluss verschiedener Kenngrößen untersucht. Diese Einflussfaktoren können die Dichte und die Homogenität der Probe, sowie Korngrößeneffekte und die Feuchtigkeit sein. Anhand des RMSE (Wurzel der mittleren Fehlerquadratsumme) und unter Berücksichtigung der Residuen werden die jeweils erstellten Kalibriermodelle miteinander verglichen. Um die Güte der Modelle zu bewerten, wurden diese mit einem Testset validiert. Hierfür standen 662 Bodenproben von 15 verschiedenen Standorten in Deutschland zur Verfügung. Da die Ergebnisse an gepressten Tabletten für die Elemente Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe und Zn den Anforderungen für eine spätere Online-Analyse entsprechen, wurden im weiteren Verlauf dieser Arbeit Kalibriermodelle mit losen Bodenproben erstellt. Auch hier konnten gute Ergebnisse durch ausreichende Nachweisgrenzen und eine niedrige gemittelte Messabweichung bei der Vorhersage unbekannter Testproben erzielt werden. Es zeigte sich, dass die Vorhersagefähigkeit mit der multivariaten PLSR besser ist als mit der univariaten Datenauswertung, insbesondere für die Elemente Mn und Zn.
Der untersuchte Einfluss der Feuchtigkeit und der Korngrößen auf die Quantifizierung der Elementgehalte war vor allem bei leichteren Elementen deutlich zu sehen. Es konnte schließlich eine multivariate Kalibrierung unter Berücksichtigung dieser Faktoren für die Elemente Al bis Zn erstellt werden, so dass ein Einsatz an Böden auf dem Acker möglich sein sollte. Eine höhere Messunsicherheit muss dabei einkalkuliert werden. Für eine spätere Probennahme auf dem Feld wurde zudem der Unterschied zwischen statischen und dynamischen Messungen betrachtet, wobei sich zeigte, dass beide Varianten genutzt werden können. Zum Abschluss wurde der hier eingesetzte Sensor mit einem kommerziell erhältlichen Hand-Gerät auf sein Quantifizierungspotential hin verglichen. Der Sensor weist anhand seiner Ergebnisse ein großes Potential als Online-Sensor für die Messplattform auf. Die Ergebnisse unter Laborbedingungen zeigen, dass eine robuste Analyse Ackerböden unter Berücksichtigung der Einflussfaktoren möglich ist.
In recent years people have realised non-renewability of our modern society which relays on spending huge amounts of energy mostly produced from fosil fuels, such as oil and coal, and the shift towards more sustainable energy sources has started. However, sustainable sources of energy, such as wind-, solar- and hydro-energy, produce primarily electrical energy and can not just be poured in canister like many fosil fuels, creating necessity for rechragable batteries. However, modern Li-ion batteries are made from toxic heavy metals and sustainable alternatives are needed. Here we show that naturally abundant catecholic and guaiacyl groups can be utilised to replace heavy metals in Li-ion batteries.
Foremost vanillin, a naturally occurring food additive that can be sustainably synthesised from industrial biowaste, lignin, was utilised to synthesise materials that showed extraordinary performance as cathodes in Li-ion batteries. Furthermore, behaviour of catecholic and guiacyl groups in Li-ion system was compared, confirming usability of guiacayl containing biopolymers as cathodes in Li-ion batteries. Lastly, naturally occurring polyphenol, tannic acid, was incorporated in fully bioderived hybrid material that shows performance comparable to commercial Li-ion batteries and good stability.
This thesis presents an important advancement in understanding of biowaste derived cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. Further research should be conducted to better understand behaviour of guaiacyl groups during Li-ion battery cycling. Lastly, challenges of incorporation of lignin, an industrial biowaste, have to be addressed and lignin should be incorporated as a cathode material in Li-ion batteries.
Advanced hybrid materials are recognized as one of the most significant enablers for new technologies, which holds true especially on the quest for sustainable energy sources and energy production schemes (e.g., semiconductor based photocatalytic materials). Usually, a single component is far from meeting all the demands needed for these advanced applications. Hybrid materials are composed of at least two components commonly an inorganic and an organic material on the molecular level, which feature novel properties exceeding the sum of the individual parts and might be the milestones of next-generation applications. This dissertation aims to provide novel combinations of the metal-free semiconductor graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with polymers to obtain materials with advanced properties and applications. Visible light constitutes the core of the present work as it is the only energy source utilized either in synthesis or in the application process. In the area of applications by combination of g-C3N4 and polymers, two different hybrids were thoroughly elucidated, i.e.. their design and construction as well as potential application in photocatalysis. Novel soft 3D liquid objects were formed via charge-interaction driven interfacial jamming between polyelectrolytes in aqueous environment and colloidal dispersions of g-C3N4 in edible sunflower oil. As such, stable liquid objects could be molded into specific shapes and utilized for photodegradation of organic dyes in water. Furthermore, the grafting of polymers onto g-C3N4 was investigated. Allyl-end functionalized polymers were grafted onto g-C3N4 by a photoinitiated process to yield g-C3N4 with versatile and improved properties, e.g. advanced dispersibility enabling processing via spin coating. As g-C3N4 produces radicals under visible light irradiation, which is of significant interest for polymer science, g-C3N4 containing polymer latex and macrogel beads (MGB) were synthesized by emulsion photopolymerization and inverse suspension photopolymerization, respectively. A well-controlled emulsion photopolymerization process via g-C3N4 initiation was designed, which features synthesis of well-defined and cross-linked polymer particles. Furthermore, the polymerization process was investigated thoroughly, indicating an ad-layer polymerization in early stages of the process. The utilization of functionalized g-C3N4 allowed the polymerization of various monomer types. Moreover, g-C3N4 was utilized as photoinitiator in hydrogel MGB formation. The formed MGB properties could be tailored via process design, e.g. stirring rate, cross-linker content and g-C3N4 content. Finally, MGBs were introduced as photocatalyst for waste water remediation, i.e. the degradation of Rhodamine B in aqueous solution was studied. The present thesis therefore builds a bridge between g-C3N4 and polymers and provides strategies for hybrid material formation. Furthermore, several potential applications are revealed with significant implications for photocatalysis, polymerization processes and polymer materials.
Abstract. Catalysis is one of the most effective tools for the highly efficient assembly of complex molecular structures. Nevertheless, it is mainly represented by transition metal-based catalysts and typically is an energy consuming process. Therefore, photocatalysis utilizing solar energy is one of the appealing approaches to overcome these problems. A great alternative to classic transition metal-based photocatalysts, carbon nitrides, a group of organic polymeric semiconductors, have already shown their efficiency in water splitting, CO2 reduction, and organic pollutants degradation. However, these materials have also a great potential for the use in functionalization of complex organic molecules for synthetic needs as it was shown in recent years.
This work addresses the challenge to develop efficient system for heterogeneous organic photocatalysis, employing cheap and environmentally benign photocatalysts – carbon nitrides. Herein, fundamental properties of semiconductors are studied from the organic chemistry standpoint; the inherent properties of carbon nitrides, such as ability to accumulate electrons, are deeply investigated and their effect on the reaction outcome is established. Thus, understanding of the electron charging processes allowed for the synthesis of otherwise hardly-achieved diazetidines-1,3 by tetramerization of benzylamines. Furthermore, the high electron capacity of Potassium Poly(heptazine imide)s (K-PHI) made possible a multi-electron reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to bare or formylated anilines. Additionally, two deep eutectic solvents (DES) were designed as a sustainable reaction media and reducing reagent for this reaction. Eventually, the high oxidation ability of carbon nitride K-PHI is employed in a challenging reaction of halide anion oxidation (Cl―, Br―) to accomplish electrophilic substitution in aromatic ring. The possibility to utilize NaCl solution (seawater mimetic) for the chlorination of electron rich arenes was shown. Eventually, light itself is used as a tool in a chromoselective photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic thiols and thioacetatas to three different compounds, using UV, blue, and red LEDs.
All in all, the work enhances understanding the mechanism of heterogeneous photocatalysis in synthetic organic reactions and therefore, is a step forward to the sustainable methods of synthesis in organic chemistry.
In den letzten Jahrzehnten ist die Nachfrage nach kostengünstigen und flächendeckenden Kartierungsmöglichkeiten im Hinblick auf eine ertragssteigernde und umweltfreundlichere Bewirtschaftung von landwirtschaftlichen Nutzflächen stark gestiegen. Hierfür eignen sich spektroskopische Methoden wie die Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse (RFA), Raman- und Gammaspektroskopie sowie die laserinduzierte Plasmaspektroskopie (LIBS). In Abhängigkeit von der Funktionsweise der jeweiligen Methoden werden Informationen zu verschiedensten Bodeneigenschaften wie Nährelementgehalt, Textur und pH-Wert erhalten.
Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung eines Online-LIBS-Verfahrens zur Nährelementbestimmmung und Kartierung von Ackerflächen. Die LIBS ist eine schnelle und simultane Multielementanalyse bei der durch das Fokussieren eines hochenergetischen Laserpulses Probenmaterial von der Probenoberfläche ablatiert wird und in ein Plasma überführt wird. Beim Abkühlen des Plasmas wird Strahlung emittiert, welche Rückschlüsse über die elementare Zusammensetzung der Probe gibt. Diese Arbeit ist im Teilprojekt I4S (Intelligenz für Böden) im Forschungsprogramm BonaRes (Boden als nachhaltige Ressource für die Bioökonomie) des Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) entstanden. Es wurden insgesamt 651 Bodenproben von verschiedenen Test-Agrarflächen unterschiedlichster Standorte Deutschlands gemessen, ausgewertet und zu Validierungszwecken mit entsprechender Referenzanalytik wie die Optische Emissionsspektroskopie mittels induktiv gekoppeltem Plasma (ICP-OES) und die wellenlängendispersive Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse (WDRFA) charakterisiert.
Für die Quantifizierung wurden zunächst die Messparameter des LIBS-Systems auf die Bodenmatrix optimiert und für die Elemente geeignete Linien ausgewählt sowie deren Nachweisgrenzen bestimmt. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass eine absolute Quantifizierung basierend auf einem univariaten Ansatz aufgrund der starken Matrixeffekte und der schlechten Reproduzierbarkeit des Plasmas nur eingeschränkt möglich ist. Bei Verwendung eines multivariaten Ansatz wie der Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) für die Kalibrierung konnten für die Nährelemente im Vergleich zur univariaten Variante Analyseergebnisse mit höherer Güte und geringeren Messunsicherheiten ermittelt werden. Die Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass das multivariate Modell weiter verbessert werden kann, indem mit einer Vielzahl von gut analysierten Böden verschiedener Standorte, Bodenarten und einem breiten Gehaltsbereich kalibriert wird. Mithilfe der Hauptkomponentenanalyse (PCA) wurde eine Klassifizierung der Böden nach der Textur realisiert. Weiterhin wurde auch eine Kalibrierung mit losem Bodenmaterial erstellt. Trotz der Signalabnahme konnten für die verschiedenen Nährelemente Kalibriergeraden mit ausreichender, analytischer Güte erstellt werden.
Für den Einsatz auf dem Acker wurde außerdem der Einfluss von Korngröße und Feuchtigkeit auf das LIBS-Signal untersucht. Die unterschiedlichen Korngrößen haben nur einen geringen Einfluss auf das LIBS-Signal und das Kalibriermodell lässt sich durch entsprechende Proben leicht anpassen. Dagegen ist der Einfluss der Feuchtigkeit deutlich stärker und hängt stark von der Bodenart ab, sodass für jede Bodenart ein separates Kalibriermodell für verschiedene Feuchtigkeitsgehalte erstellt werden muss. Mithilfe der PCA kann der Feuchtigkeitsgehalt im Boden grob abgeschätzt werden und die entsprechende Kalibrierung ausgewählt werden.
Diese Arbeit liefert essentielle Informationen für eine Echtzeit-Analyse von Nährelementen auf dem Acker mittels LIBS und leistet einen wichtigen Beitrag zu einer fortschrittlichen und zukunftsfähigen Nutzung von Ackerflächen.
Metal halide perovskites have merged as an attractive class of materials for photovoltaic applications due to their excellent optoelectronic properties. However, the long term stability is a roadblock for this class of material’s industrial pathway. Increasing evidence shows that intrinsic defects in perovskite promote material degradation. Consequently, understanding defect behaviours in perovskite materials is essential to further improve device stability and performance. This dissertation, hence, focuses on the topic of defect chemistry in halide perovskites.
The first part of the dissertation gives a brief overview of the defect properties in halide perovskite. Subsequently, the second part shows that doping methylammonium lead iodide with a small amount of alkaline earth metals (Sr and Mg) creates a higher quality, less defective material resulted in high open circuit voltages in both n-i-p and p-i-n architecture. It has been found that the mechanism of doping has two distinct regimes in which a low doping concentration enables the inclusion of the dopants into the lattice whereas higher doping concentrations lead to phase segregation. The material can be more n-doped in the low doping regime while being less n-doped in the high doping regime. The threshold of these two regimes is based on the atomic size of the dopants.
The next part of the dissertation examines the photo-induced degradation in methylammonium lead iodide. This degradation mechanism links closely to the formation and migration of ionic defects. After they are formed, these ionic defects can migrate, however, not freely depending on the defect concentration and their distribution. In fact, a highly concentrated defect region such as the grain boundaries can inhibit the migration of ionic defects. This has implications for material design as perovskite solar cells normally employ a polycrystalline thin-film which has a high density of grain boundary.
The final study presented in this PhD dissertation focuses on the stability of the state-of-the-art triple cation perovskite-based solar devices under external bias. Prolonged bias (more than three hours) is found to promote amorphization in halide perovskite. The amorphous phase is suspected to accumulate at the interfaces especially between the hole selective layer and perovskite. This amorphous phase inhibits the charge collection and severely affects the device performance. Nonetheless, the devices can recover after resting without bias in the dark. This amorphization is attributed to ionic defect migration most likely halides. This provides a new understanding of the potential degradation mechanisms in perovskite solar cells under operational conditions.
Lately, the integration of upconverting nanoparticles (UCNP) in industrial, biomedical and scientific applications has been increasingly accelerating, owing to the exceptional photophysical properties that UCNP offer. Some of the most promising applications lie in the field of medicine and bioimaging due to such advantages as, among others, deeper tissue penetration, reduced optical background, possibility for multicolor imaging, and lower toxicity, compared to many known luminophores. However, some questions regarding not only the fundamental photophysical processes, but also the interaction of the UCNP with other luminescent reporters frequently used for bioimaging and the interaction with biological media remain unanswered. These issues were the primary motivation for the presented work.
This PhD thesis investigated several aspects of various properties and possibilities for bioapplications of Yb3+,Tm3+-doped NaYF4 upconverting nanoparticles. First, the effect of Gd3+ doping on the structure and upconverting behaviour of the nanocrystals was assessed. The ageing process of the UCNP in cyclohexane was studied over 24 months on the samples with different Gd3+ doping concentrations. Structural information was gathered by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and discussed in relation to spectroscopic results, obtained through multiparameter upconversion luminescence studies at various temperatures (from 4 K to 295 K). Time-resolved and steady-state emission spectra recorded over this ample temperature range allowed for a deeper understanding of photophysical processes and their dependence on structural changes of UCNP.
A new protocol using a commercially available high boiling solvent allowed for faster and more controlled production of very small and homogeneous UCNP with better photophysical properties, and the advantages of a passivating NaYF4 shell were shown.
Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between four different species of NaYF4: Yb3+, Tm3+ UCNP (synthesized using the improved protocol) and a small organic dye was studied. The influence of UCNP composition and the proximity of Tm3+ ions (donors in the process of FRET) to acceptor dye molecules have been assessed. The brightest upconversion luminescence was observed in the UCNP with a protective inert shell. UCNP with Tm3+ ions only in the shell were the least bright, but showed the most efficient energy transfer.
In the final part, two surface modification strategies were applied to make UCNP soluble in water, which simultaneously allowed for linking them via a non-toxic copper-free click reaction to the liposomes, which served as models for further cell experiments. The results were assessed on a confocal microscope system, which was made possible by lesser known downshifting properties of Yb3+, Tm3+-doped UCNP. Preliminary antibody-staining tests using two primary and one dye-labelled secondary antibodies were performed on MDCK-II cells.
Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites have attracted attention in recent years, caused by the incomparable increase in efficiency in energy convergence, which implies the application as an absorber material for solar cells. A disadvantage of these materials is, among others, the instability to moisture and UV-radiation. One possible solution for these problems is the reduction of the size towards the nano world. With that nanosized perovskites are showing superior stability in comparison to e.g. perovskite layers. Additionally to this the nanosize even enables stable perovskite structures, which could not be achieved otherwise at
room temperature.
This thesis is separated into two major parts. The separation is done by the composition and the band gap of the material and at the same time the shape and size of the nanoparticles. Here the division is made by the methylammonium lead tribromide nanoplatelets and the caesium lead triiodide nanocubes.
The first part is focusing on the hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (methylammonium lead tribromide) nanoplatelets with a band gap of 2.35 eV and their thermal behaviour. Due to the challenging character of this material, several analysis methods are used to investigate the sub nano and nanostructures under the influence of temperature. As a result, a shift of phase-transition temperatures towards higher temperatures is observed. This unusual behaviour can be explained by the ligand, which is incorporated in the perovskite outer structure and adds phase-stability into the system.
The second part of this thesis is focusing on the inorganic caesium lead triiodide nanocubes with a band gap of 1.83 eV. These nanocrystals are first investigated and compared by TEM, XRD and other optical methods. Within these methods, a cuboid and orthorhombic structure are revealed instead of the in literature described cubic shape and structure. Furthermore, these cuboids are investigated towards their self-assembly on a substrate. Here a high degree in self-assembly is shown. As a next step, the ligands of the nanocuboids are exchanged against other ligands to increase the charge carrier mobility. This is further investigated by the above-mentioned methods. The last section is dealing with the enhancement of the CsPbI3 structure, by incorporating potassium in the crystal structure. The results are suggesting here an increase in stability.
"How Wenzel and Cassie were wrong" – this was the eye-catching title of an article published by Lichao Gao and Thomas McCarthy in 2007, in which fundamental interpretations of wetting behavior were put into question. The authors initiated a discussion on a subject, which had been generally accepted a long time ago and they showed that wetting phenomena were not as fully understood as imagined. Similarly, this thesis tries to put a focus on certain aspects of liquid wetting, which so far have been widely neglected in terms of interpretation and experimental proof. While the effect of surface roughness on the macroscopically observed wetting behavior is commonly and reliably interpreted according to the well-known models of Wenzel and Cassie/Baxter, the size-scale of the structures responsible for the surface's rough texture has not been of further interest. Analogously, the limits of these models have not been described and exploited. Thus, the question arises, what will happen when the size of surface structures is reduced to the size of the contacting liquid molecules itself? Are common methods still valid or can deviations from macroscopic behavior be observed?
This thesis wants to create a starting point regarding these questions. In order to investigate the effect of smallest-scale surface structures on liquid wetting, a suitable model system is developed by means of self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formation from (fluoro)organic thiols of differing lengths of the alkyl chain. Surface topographies are created which rely on size differences of several Ångströms and exhibit surprising wetting behavior depending on the choice of the individual precursor system. Thus, contact angles are experimentally detected, which deviate considerably from theoretical calculations based on Wenzel and Cassie/Baxter models and confirm that sub-nm surface topographies affect wetting. Moreover, experimentally determined wetting properties are found to correlate well to an assumed scale-dependent surface tension of the contacting liquid. This behavior has already been described for scattering experiments taking into account capillary waves on the liquid surface induced by temperature and had been predicted earlier by theoretical calculations.
However, the investigation of model surfaces requires the provision of suitable precursor molecules, which are not commercially available and opens up a door to the exotic chemistry of fluoro-organic materials. During the course of this work, the synthesis of long-chain precursors is examined with a particular focus put on oligomerically pure semi-fluorinated n-alkyl thiols and n-alkyl trichlorosilanes. For this, general protocols for the syntheses of the desired compounds are developed and product mixtures are assayed to be separated into fractions of individual chain lengths by fluorous-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (F-HPLC).
The transition from model systems to technically more relevant surfaces and applications is initiated through the deposition of SAMs from long-chain fluorinated n-alkyl trichlorosilanes. Depositions are accomplished by a vapor-phase deposition process conducted on a pilot-scale set-up, which enables the exact control of relevant process parameters. Thus, the influence of varying deposition conditions on the properties of the final coating is examined and analyzed for the most important parameters. The strongest effect is observed for the partial pressure of reactive water vapor, which directly controls the extent of precursor hydrolysis during the deposition process. Experimental results propose that the formation of ordered monolayers rely on the amount of hydrolyzed silanol species present in the deposition system irrespective of the exact grade of hydrolysis. However, at increased amounts of species which are able to form cross-linked molecules due to condensation reactions, films deteriorate in quality. This effect is assumed to be caused by the introduction of defects within the film and the adsorption of cross linked agglomerates. Deposition conditions are also investigated for chain extended precursor species and reveal distinct differences caused by chain elongation.
Magnetotactic bacteria comprise a heterogeneous group of Gram negative bacteria which share the ability to synthesise intracellular magnetic nanoparticles surrounded by a lipid bilayer, known as magnetosomes, which are arranged in linear chains. The bacteria exert a unique level of control onto the biomineralization of these nanoparticles, which is seen in the controlled size and shape they have. These characteristics have attracted great attention on understanding the process by which the bacteria synthesise the magnetosomes. Moreover, the magnetosome chain impart the bacteria with a net magnetic dipole which makes them susceptible to interact with magnetic fields and thus orient with the Earth’s magnetic field. This feature has attracted as well much interest to understand how the swimming motility of these microorganisms is affected by the presence of magnetic fields. Most of the studies performed in these bacteria so far have been conducted in the traditional manner using large populations of cells. Such studies have the disadvantage of averaging many different individuals with heterogeneous behaviours and fail to consider individual variations. In addition, in large populations each bacterium will be subjected to a different microenvironment that will influence the bacterial behaviour, but which cannot be defined using these traditional methods. In this thesis, different microfluidic platforms are proposed to overcome these limitations and to offer the possibility to study magnetotactic bacteria in defined environments and down to a single-cell resolution. First, a sediment-like microfluidic platform is presented with the purpose of mimicking the porous environment they bacteria naturally dwell in. The platform allows to observe via transmitted light microscopy that bacterial navigation in crowded environments is enhanced by the Earth’s magnetic field strengths (B = 50 μT) rather than by null (B = 0 μT) or higher magnetic fields (B = 500 μT). Second, a microfluidic system to confine single-bacterial cells in physically defined environments is presented. The system allows to study via transmitted light microscopy the interplay between wall curvature, magnetic fields and bacterial speed affect the motion of a confined bacterium, and shows how bacterial trajectories depend on those three parameters. Third, a microfluidic platform to conduct semi in vivo magnetosome nucleation with a single-cell resolution via X-ray fluorescence is fabricated. It is shown that signal arising from magnetosome full chains can be observed individually in each bacterium. Finally, the iron uptake kinetics of a single bacterium are studied via a fluorescent reporter through confocal microscopy. Two different approaches are used for this: one of the previously mentioned platforms, as well as giant lipid vesicles. It is observed how iron uptake rates vary between cells, as well as how these rates are consistent with magnetosome formation taking place within some hours. The present thesis shows therefore how microfluidic technologies can be implemented for the study of magnetotactic bacteria at different degrees, and the level of resolution that can be attained by going into the single- cell scale.
Die vorliegende Dissertationsschrift mit dem Titel: „Ruthenium(II)- und Rhenium(I)-Komplexe des 1,6,7,12-Tetraazaperylens und seiner Dimethyl- und Tetramethylderivate“ von Matthias Kirste wurde unter der Leitung des Herrn Prof. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Holdt am Institut für Chemie der Universität Potsdam angefertigt. Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit Ruthenium(II)- und Rhenium(I)-Komplexen des großflächigen Liganden 1,6,7,12-Tetraazaperylen (tape) und seiner 2,11-Dimethyl-(dmtape)- und 2,5,8,11-Tetramethyl-(tmtape)-derivate. Es wurden die bekannten Herstellungen des tape- sowie des dmtape-Liganden verbessert und die Synthese des tmtape-Liganden neu entwickelt. Zudem gelang mit einer neu entwickelten chemischen Reaktion die Synthese des dianionischen 3,10-Disulfonato-1,6,7,12-tetraazaperylens. Mit dmtape und tmtape wurde jeweils ein neuer Ruthenium(II)-Komplex hergestellt. Die Komplexe wurden photophysikalisch und elektrochemisch charakterisiert. KT-DNS-Interkalationen wurden von einkernigen Ruthenium(II)-Komplexen mit jeweils tape-, dmtape- und tmtape als interkalative Einheit vermessen. Es zeigte sich, dass diese Komplexe mit einer hohen Bindungsaffinität in die doppelsträngige KT-DNS interkalieren. Aus den mononuklearen Ruthenium(II)-Komplexen gelang die Herstellung von heterodinuklearen RuIIReI-Komplexen, die charakteristische Signale in ihren UV/Vis-Absorptionsspektren zeigen und sehr leicht jeweils ein- sowie zweifach im Bereich von 70 mV bis -80 mV und -440 mV bis -600 mV vs. GKE reduzierbar sind. Diese dmtape- sowie tmtape-verbrückten heterodinuklearen RuIIReI-Komplexe ermöglichen eine Feinjustierung ihrer photophysikalischen und elektrochemischen Eigenschaften, wobei in dieser Arbeit mithilfe einer chemischen Reaktion eine gezielte Einstellung dieser Eigenschaften gezeigt werden konnte. Metallkomplexe mit solchen charakteristischen, leicht einstellbaren photophysikalischen sowie elektrochemischen Eigenschaften sind geeignete Sensor- und Elektronen-Shuttle-Moleküle besonders für bioanalytische Einsatzgebiete. Zudem könnten die vielen Einstellmöglichkeiten der elektronischen Struktur dieser Komplexe sehr interessant für katalytische Anwendungen sein.
Die vorgelegte Arbeit besteht aus drei Teilprojekten, der Realisierung eines Multiparametersensors (Temperatur, pH-Wert und Sauerstoffkonzentration), der Konzipierung und Untersuchung eines optischen Atemgassensors und Untersuchungen zur Anwendung des Konzeptes der Sauerstofflöschung in der Immuntechnologie. Zur Realisierung des Multiparametersensors wurden die einzelnen Sensorfarbstoffe, sofern notwendig, synthetisiert und anschließend einzeln unter Laborbedingungen charakterisiert. Im weiteren Verlauf wurde ein Versuchsaufbau konzipiert mit dem es möglich ist, alle verwendeten Sensorfarbstoffe mit einer Anregungsquelle anzuregen. Dabei erfolgte die Detektion der Parameter Temperatur und Sauerstoffkonzentration mittels Phasenmodulationsspektroskopie und die pH-Wert-bestimmung mittels stationärer Fluoreszenzspektroskopie. So konnte ein Multiparametersensor konzipiert werden, mit dem es möglich ist, die drei genannten Parameter simultan, in Echtzeit und ohne externe Temperaturmessung zu detektieren. Im Rahmen der Entwicklung eines optischen Atemgassensors konnte zunächst eine neue Sensorform entwickelt werden. Durch diese neue Sensorform, welche sich durch sehr kurze Ansprechzeiten auszeichnet, ist es möglich den Sauerstoffgehalt in der Exspirationsluft sehr detailreich zu erfassen. Durch freiwillige Selbstversuche mit dem Atemgassensor konnte eine Korrelation mit einer etablierten Untersuchungsmethode hergestellt werden. Während der Untersuchungen zur Anwendung des Konzeptes der Sauerstofflöschung in der Immuntechnologie konnte zunächst ein Modell entwickelt werden, welches die Wechselwirkung zwischen Antikörper und synthetisiertem Farbstoff, welcher als Antigen fungierte, beschreibt. Nachdem weiterhin eine Wechselwirkung zwischen Antikörper und Antigen in einfachen Medien, wie PBS-Pufferlösung, gezeigt werden konnte, gelang dies auch in komplexen Medien wie bovinem Serum, Kuhmilch oder Speichelflüssigkeit. So konnte ein System entwickelt werden, mit dem es möglich ist Antikörper-Antigen-Wechselwirkungen in komplexen biologischen Medien zu verfolgen.
Die Entwicklung nachhaltiger Bewirtschaftungs- und Produktionsmethoden ist eine der zentralen Fragestellungen der modernen Agrarwirtschaft. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit zwei Forschungsthemen, die das Konzept Nachhaltigkeit beinhalten. In beiden Fällen werden analytische Grundlagen für die Entwicklung entsprechender landwirtschaftlicher Arbeitsmethoden gelegt.
Das erste Thema ist an den sogenannten Präzisionsackerbau angelehnt. Bei diesem wird die Bearbeitung von Agrarflächen ortsabhängig ausgeführt. Das heißt, die Ausbringung von Saatgut, Dünger, Bewässerung usw. richtet sich nach den Eigenschaften des jeweiligen Standortes und wird nicht pauschal gleichmäßig über ein ganzes Feld verteilt. Voraussetzung hierfür ist eine genaue Kenntnis der Bodeneigenschaften. In der vorliegenden Arbeit sollten diese Parameter mittels der analytischen Technik der Laser-induzierten Breakdown Spektroskopie (LIBS), die eine Form der Elementaranalyse darstellt, bestimmt werden. Bei den hier gesuchten Bodeneigenschaften handelte es sich um die Gehalte von Nährstoffen sowie einige sekundäre Parameter wie den Humusanteil, den pH-Wert und den pflanzenverfügbaren Anteil einzelner Nährstoffe. Diese Eigenschaften wurden durch etablierte Referenzanalysen bestimmt. Darauf aufbauend wurden die Messergebnissen der LIBS-Untersuchungen durch verschiedene Methoden der sogenannten multivariaten Datenanalyse (MVA) ausgewertet. Daraus sollten Modelle zur Vorhersage der Bodenparameter in zukünftigen LIBS-Messungen erarbeitet werden. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit zeigten, dass mit der Kombination von LIBS und MVA sämtliche Bodenparameter erfolgreich vorhergesagt werden konnten. Dies beinhaltete sowohl die tatsächlich messbaren Elemente als auch die sekundären Eigenschaften, welche durch die MVA mit den Elementgehalten in Zusammenhang gebracht wurden.
Das zweite Thema beschäftigt sich mit der Vermeidung von Verlusten durch Schädlingsbefall bei der Getreidelagerung. Hier sollten mittels der Ionenmobilitätsspektrometrie (IMS) Schimmelpilzkontaminationen detektiert werden. Dabei wurde nach den flüchtigen Stoffwechselprodukten der Pilze gesucht. Die durch Referenzmessungen mit Massenspektrometern identifizierten Substanzen konnten durch IMS im Gasvolumen über den Proben, dem sogenannten Headspace, nachgewiesen werden. Dabei wurde nicht nur die Anwesenheit einer Kontamination festgestellt, sondern diese auch charakterisiert. Die freigesetzten Substanzen bildeten spezifische Muster, anhand derer die Pilze identifiziert werden konnten. Hier wurden sowohl verschiedene Gattungen als auch einzelne Arten unterschieden. Die Messungen fanden auf verschiedenen Nährböden statt um den Einfluss dieser auf die Stoffwechselprodukte zu beobachten. Auch die sekundären Stoffwechselprodukte der Schimmelpilze, die Mykotoxine, konnten durch IMS detektiert werden.
Beide in dieser Arbeit vorgestellten Forschungsthemen konnten erfolgreich abgeschlossen werden. Sowohl LIBS als auch IMS erwiesen sich für den Nachweis der jeweiligen Analyten als geeignet, und der Einsatz moderner computergestützter Auswertemethoden ermöglichte die genaue Charakterisierung der gesuchten Parameter. Beide Techniken können in Form von mobilen Geräten verwendet werden und zeichnen sich durch eine schnelle und sichere Analyse aus. In Kombination mit entsprechenden Modellen der MVA sind damit alle Voraussetzungen für Vor-Ort-Untersuchungen und damit für den Einsatz in der Landwirtschaft erfüllt.
Nanoparticles of magnetite (Fe3O4) are envisioned to find used in diverse applications, ranging from magnetic data storage, inks, ferrofluids as well as in magnetic resonance imaging, drug delivery, and hyperthermia cancer treatment. Their magnetic properties strongly depend on their size and morphology, two properties that can be synthetically controlled. Achieving appropriate control under soft chemical conditions has so far remained a challenging endeavor. One proven way of exerting this desired control has been using a biomimetic approach that emulates the proteome of magnetotactic bacteria by adding poly-L-arginine in the co- precipitation of ferrous and ferric chloride. The objective of the work presented here is to understand the impact of this polycation on the formation mechanism of magnetite and, through rational design, to enhance the control we can exert on magnetite nanoparticle size and morphology. We developed a SAXS setup to temporally and structurally resolve the formation of magnetite in the presence of poly-L-arginine in situ. Using analytical scattering models, we were able to separate the scattering contribution of a low-density 5 nm iron structure from the contribution of the growing nanoparticles. We identified that the low-density iron structure is a metastable precursor to the magnetite particles and that it is electrostatically stabilized by poly-L-arginine. In a process analogous to biomineralization, the presence of the charged macromolecule thus shifts the reaction mechanism from a thermodynamically controlled one to a kinetically controlled one. We identify this shift in reactions mechanism as the cornerstone of the proposed mechanism and as the crucial step in the paradigm of this extraordinary nanoparticle morphology and size control. Based on SAXS data, theoretical considerations suggest that an observed morphological transition between spherical, solid, and sub-structured mesocrystalline magnetite nanoparticles is induced through a pH-driven change in the wettability of the nanoparticle surface. With these results, we further demonstrate that SAXS can be an invaluable tool for investigating nanoparticle formation. We were able to change particle morphology from spherically solid particles to sub-structured mesocrystals merely by changing the precipitation pH. Improving the synthesis sustainability by substituting poly-L-arginine with renewable, polysaccharide-based polycations produced at the metric ton scale, we demonstrated that the ability to alter the reaction mechanism of magnetite can be generically attributed to the presence of polycations. Through meticulous analysis and the understanding of the formation mechanism, we were able to exert precise control over particle size and morphology, by adapting crucial synthesis parameters. We were thus able to grow mesocrystals up to 200 nm and solid nanocrystals of 100 nm by adding virtually any strong polycation. We further found a way to produce stable single domain magnetite at only slightly increased alkalinity, as magnetotactic bacteria do it. Thus through the understanding of the biological system, the consecutive biomimetic synthesis of magnetite and the following understanding of the mechanism involved in the in vitro synthesis, we managed to improve the synthetic control over the co-precipitation of magnetite, coming close biomineralization of magnetite in magnetotactic bacteria. Polyanions, in both natural as well as in synthetic systems, have been in the spotlight of recent research, yet our work shows the pivotal influence polycations have on the nucleation of magnetite. This work will contribute significantly to our ability to tailor magnetite nanoparticle size and morphology; in addition, we presume it will provide us with a model system for studying biomineralization of magnetite in vitro, putting the spotlight on the important influence of polycations, which have not had the scientific attention they deserve.
Aluminum oxide is an Earth-abundant geological material, and its interaction with water is of crucial importance for geochemical and environmental processes. Some aluminum oxide surfaces are also known to be useful in heterogeneous catalysis, while the surface chemistry of aqueous oxide interfaces determines the corrosion, growth and dissolution of such materials. In this doctoral work, we looked mainly at the (0001) surface of α-Al 2 O 3 and its reactivity towards water. In particular, a great focus of this work is dedicated to simulate and address the vibrational spectra of water adsorbed on the α-alumina(0001) surface in various conditions and at different coverages. In fact, the main source of comparison and inspiration for this work comes from the collaboration with the “Interfacial Molecular Spectroscopy” group led by Dr. R. Kramer Campen at the Fritz-Haber Institute of the MPG in Berlin. The expertise of our project partners in surface-sensitive Vibrational Sum Frequency (VSF) generation spectroscopy was crucial to develop and adapt specific simulation schemes used in this work. Methodologically, the main approach employed in this thesis is Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics (AIMD) based on periodic Density Functional Theory (DFT) using the PBE functional with D2 dispersion correction. The analysis of vibrational frequencies from both a static and a dynamic, finite-temperature perspective offers the ability to investigate the water / aluminum oxide interface in close connection to experiment.
The first project presented in this work considers the characterization of dissociatively adsorbed deuterated water on the Al-terminated (0001) surface. This particular structure is known from both experiment and theory to be the thermodynamically most stable surface termination of α-alumina in Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) conditions. Based on experiments performed by our colleagues at FHI, different adsorption sites and products have been proposed and identified for D 2 O. While previous theoretical investigations only looked at vibrational frequencies of dissociated OD groups by staticNormal Modes Analysis (NMA), we rather employed a more sophisticated approach to directly assess vibrational spectra (like IR and VSF) at finite temperature from AIMD. In this work, we have employed a recent implementation which makes use of velocity-velocity autocorrelation functions to simulate such spectral responses of O-H(D) bonds. This approach allows for an efficient and qualitatively accurate estimation of Vibrational Densities of States (VDOS) as well as IR and VSF spectra, which are then tested against experimental spectra from our collaborators.
In order to extend previous work on unimolecularly dissociated water on α-Al 2 O 3 , we then considered a different system, namely, a fully hydroxylated (0001) surface, which results from the reconstruction of the UHV-stable Al-terminated surface at high water contents. This model is then further extended by considering a hydroxylated surface with additional water molecules, forming a two-dimensional layer which serves as a potential template to simulate an aqueous interface in environmental conditions. Again, employing finite-temperature AIMD trajectories at the PBE+D2 level, we investigated the behaviour of both hydroxylated surface (HS) and the water-covered structure derived from it (known as HS+2ML). A full range of spectra, from VDOS to IR and VSF, is then calculated using the same methodology, as described above. This is the main focus of the second project, reported in Chapter 5. In this case, comparison between theoretical spectra and experimental data is definitely good. In particular, we underline the nature of high-frequency resonances observed above 3700 cm −1 in VSF experiments to be associated with surface OH-groups, known as “aluminols” which are a key fingerprint of the fully hydroxylated surface.
In the third and last project, which is presented in Chapter 6, the extension of VSF spectroscopy experiments to the time-resolved regime offered us the opportunity to investigate vibrational energy relaxation at the α-alumina / water interface. Specifically, using again DFT-based AIMD simulations, we simulated vibrational lifetimes for surface aluminols as experimentally detected via pump-probe VSF. We considered the water-covered HS model as a potential candidate to address this problem. The vibrational (IR) excitation and subsequent relaxation is performed by means of a non-equilibrium molecular dynamics scheme. In such a scheme, we specifically looked at the O-H stretching mode of surface aluminols. Afterwards, the analysis of non-equilibrium trajectories allows for an estimation of relaxation times in the order of 2-4 ps which are in overall agreement with measured ones.
The aim of this work has been to provide, within a consistent theoretical framework, a better understanding of vibrational spectroscopy and dynamics for water on the α-alumina(0001) surface,ranging from very low water coverage (similar to the UHV case) up to medium-high coverages, resembling the hydroxylated oxide in environmental moist conditions.
In recent years the development of renewable energy sources attracted much attention due to the increasing environmental pollution induced by burning fossil fuels. The growing public interest in reducing greenhouse gases and the use of pollution-free energies (bio-mass-, geothermal-, solar-, water- or wind energy) paved the way for scientific research in renewable energies. [1] Solar energy provides unlimited access and offers high applicational flexibility, which is needed for energy consumption in a modern society. The scientific interest in photovoltaics (PV) nowadays focuses on discovering new materials and improving materials properties, aiming for the production of highly efficient solar cells. Lately, a new type of absorber material based on the perovskite type structure reached power conversion efficiencies of more than 24%. [2] By varying the chemical composition the electronic properties as e.g. the band gap energy can be tuned to increase the absorption range of this absorber material. This makes them in particular attractive for use in tandem solar cells, where silicon and perovskite absorber layers are combined to absorb a large range of the vible light (28.0% efficiency). [2] However, perovskite based solar cells not only suffer from fast degradation when exposed to humidity, but also from the use of toxic elements (e.g. lead), which can result in long-term environmental damage. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the fundamental structural and optoelectronical properties of highly interesting hybrid perovskite materials, the MAPbX3 solid solution (MA=CH3NH3; X=I,Br,Cl) and the triple cation (FA1-xMAx)1-yCsyPbI3 solid solution (FA=HC(NH2)2). The study was performed on powder samples by using X-ray diffraction, revealing the crystal structure and solubility behavior of all solid solutions. Moreover the temperature-dependent behavior was studied using in-situ high resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction and combinatorial thermal analysis methods. The influence of compositional changes on the band gap energy variation were observed using spectroscopic methods as photoluminescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The obtained results have shown that for the MAPb(I1-xBrx)3 solid solution a large miscibility gap in the range of 0.29 ( ± 0.02) ≤ x ≤ 0.92 ( ± 0.02) is present. This miscibility gap limits the suitable compositional range for use in thin film solar cells of mixed halide compounds. From the temperature-dependent in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction studies the complete T-X-phase diagram was established. Studies on the MAPb(Cl1-xBrx)3 solid solution revealed that MAPb(Cl1-xBrx)3 forms a complete solid solution series. For the triple cation (FA1-xMAx)1-yCsyPbI3 solid solution the aim was to study the formation of the d-modification in FAPbI3, which is undesired for solar cell application. This can be overcome by stabilizing the favored high temperature cubic a-modification at ambient conditions. By partial substituting the formamidinium molecule by methylammonium and cesium the stabilization of the cubic modification was successful. The solubility limit of FA1-xCsxPbI3 solid solution was determined to be x=0.1, while a full miscibility was observed for the FA1-xMAxPbI3 solid solution. For the triple cation (FA1-xMAx)1-yCsyPbI3 solid solution a solubility limit of cesium was observed to be y=0.1. The optoelectronic properties were investigated, revealing a linear change of band gap energy with chemical composition. It is demonstrated that the stabilized triple cation compound with cubic perovskite-type crystal structure shows enhanced stability of approximately six months. Furthermore, a short insight into lead-free perovskite-type materials is given, using germanium as non-toxic alternative to lead. For germanium based perovskites a fast decomposition in air was observed, due to the preferred formation of GeI4 in oxygen atmosphere. In-situ low temperature synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements revealed a yet unknown low temperature modification of MAGeI3. [1] WESSELAK, Viktor; SCHABBACH, Thomas; LINK, Thomas; FISCHER, Joachim: Handbuch Regenerative Energietechnik. Springer, 2017 [2] NREL: Best Research-Cell Efficiencies. https://www.nrel.gov/pv/assets/pdfs/best-research-cell-efficiencies-190416.pdf. – 25.04.2019
Carbon nitride and poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) have been successfully applied in various fields of materials science owing to their outstanding properties. This thesis aims at the successful application of these polymers as innovative materials in the interfaces of hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells. A critical problem in harnessing the full thermodynamic potential of halide perovskites in solar cells is the design and modification of interfaces to reduce carrier recombination. Therefore, the interface must be properly studied and improved. This work investigated the effect of applying carbon nitride and PILs on a perovskite surface on the device performance. The facile synthetic method for modifying carbon nitride with vinyl thiazole and barbituric acid (CMB-vTA) yields 2.3 nm layers when solution processing is performed using isopropanol. The nanosheets were applied as a metal-free electron transport layer in inverted perovskite solar cells. The application of carbon nitride layers (CMB-vTA) resulted in negligible current-voltage hysteresis with a high open circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.1 V and a short-circuit current (Jsc) of 20.28 mA cm-2, which afforded efficiencies of up to 17%. Thus, the successful implementation of a carbon nitride-based structure enabled good charge extraction with minimized interface recombination between the perovskite and PCBM. Similarly, PILs represent a new strategy of interfacial modification using an ionic polymer in an n-i-p perovskite architecture.. The application of PILs as an interfacial modifier resulted in solar cell devices with an extraordinarily high efficiency of 21.8% and a Voc of 1.17 V. The implementation reduced non-radiative recombination at the perovskite surface through defect passivation. Finally, our work proposes a novel method to efficiently suppress non-radiative charge recombination using the unexplored properties of carbon nitride and PILs in the solar cell field. Additionally, the method for interfacial modification has general applicability because of the simplicity of the post-treatment approach, and therefore has potential applicability in other solar cells. Thus, this work opens the door to a new class of materials to be implemented.
Hepcidin-25 (Hep-25) plays a crucial role in the control of iron homeostasis. Since the dysfunction of the hepcidin pathway leads to multiple diseases as a result of iron imbalance, hepcidin represents a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of iron metabolism. Despite intense research in the last decade targeted at developing a selective immunoassay for iron disorder diagnosis and treatment and better understanding the ferroportin-hepcidin interaction, questions remain. The key to resolving these underlying questions is acquiring exact knowledge of the 3D structure of native Hep-25. Since it was determined that the N-terminus, which is responsible for the bioactivity of Hep-25, contains a small Cu(II)-binding site known as the ATCUN motif, it was assumed that the Hep-25-Cu(II) complex is the native, bioactive form of the hepcidin. This structure has thus far not been elucidated in detail. Owing to the lack of structural information on metal-bound Hep-25, little is known about its possible biological role in iron metabolism. Therefore, this work is focused on structurally characterizing the metal-bound Hep-25 by NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. For the present work, a protocol was developed to prepare and purify properly folded Hep-25 in high quantities. In order to overcome the low solubility of Hep-25 at neutral pH, we introduced the C-terminal DEDEDE solubility tag. The metal binding was investigated through a series of NMR spectroscopic experiments to identify the most affected amino acids that mediate metal coordination. Based on the obtained NMR data, a structural calculation was performed in order to generate a model structure of the Hep-25-Ni(II) complex. The DEDEDE tag was excluded from the structural calculation due to a lack of NMR restraints. The dynamic nature and fast exchange of some of the amide protons with solvent reduced the overall number of NMR restraints needed for a high-quality structure. The NMR data revealed that the 20 Cterminal Hep-25 amino acids experienced no significant conformational changes, compared to published results, as a result of a pH change from pH 3 to pH 7 and metal binding. A 3D model of the Hep-25-Ni(II) complex was constructed from NMR data recorded for the hexapeptideNi(II) complex and Hep-25-DEDEDE-Ni(II) complex in combination with the fixed conformation of 19 C-terminal amino acids. The NMR data of the Hep-25-DEDEDE-Ni(II) complex indicates that the ATCUN motif moves independently from the rest of the structure. The 3D model structure of the metal-bound Hep-25 allows for future works to elucidate hepcidin’s interaction with its receptor ferroportin and should serve as a starting point for the development of antibodies with improved selectivity.
Seit Jahrzehnten stellen die molekularen Schalter ein wachsendes Forschungsgebiet dar. Im Rahmen dieser Dissertation stand die Verbesserung der thermischen Stabilität, der Auslesbarkeit und Schaltbarkeit dieser molekularen Schalter in komplexen Umgebungen mithilfe computergestützter Chemie im Vordergrund.
Im ersten Projekt wurde die Kinetik der thermischen E → Z-Isomerisierung und die damit verbundene thermische Stabilität eines Azobenzol-Derivats untersucht. Dafür wurde Dichtefunktionaltheorie (DFT) in Verbindung mit der Eyring-Theorie des Übergangszustandes (TST) angewendet. Das Azobenzol-Derivat diente als vereinfachtes Modell für das Schalten in einer komplexen Umgebung (hier in metallorganischen Gerüsten). Es wurden thermodynamische und kinetische Größen unter verschiedenen Einflüssen berechnet, wobei gute Übereinstimmungen mit dem Experiment gefunden wurden. Die hier verwendete Methode stellte einen geeigneten Ansatz dar, um diese Größen mit angemessener Genauigkeit vorherzusagen.
Im zweiten Projekt wurde die Auslesbarkeit der Schaltzustände in Form des nichtlinearen optischen (NLO) Kontrastes für die Molekülklasse der Fulgimide untersucht. Die dafür benötigten dynamischen Hyperpolarisierbarkeiten unter Berücksichtigung der Elektronenkorrelation wurden mittels einer etablierten Skalierungsmethode berechnet. Es wurden verschiedene Fulgimide analysiert, wobei viele experimentelle Befunde bestätigt werden konnten. Darüber hinaus legte die theoretische Vorhersage für ein weiteres System nahe, dass insbesondere die Erweiterung des π-Elektronensystems ein vielversprechender Ansatz zur Verbesserung von NLO-Kontrasten darstellt. Die Fulgimide verfügen somit über nützliche Eigenschaften, sodass diese in Zukunft als Bauelemente in photonischen und optoelektronischen Bereichen Anwendungen finden könnten.
Im dritten Projekt wurde die E → Z-Isomerisierung auf ein quantenmechanisch (QM) behandeltes Dimer mit molekularmechanischer (MM) Umgebung und zwei Fluorazobenzol-Monomeren durch Moleküldynamik simuliert. Dadurch wurde die Schaltbarkeit in komplexer Umgebung (hier selbstorgansierte Einzelschichten = SAMs) bzw. von Azobenzolderivaten analysiert. Mit dem QM/MM Modell wurden sowohl Van-der-Waals-Interaktionen mit der Umgebung als auch elektronische Kopplung (nur zwischen QM-Molekülen) berücksichtigt. Dabei wurden systematische Untersuchungen zur Packungsdichte durchgeführt. Es zeigte sich, dass bereits bei einem Molekülabstand von 4.5 Å die Quantenausbeute (prozentuale Anzahl erfolgreicher Schaltprozesse) des Monomers erreicht wird. Die größten Quantenausbeuten wurden für die beiden untersuchten Fluorazobenzole erzielt. Es wurden die Effekte des Molekülabstandes und der Einfluss von Fluorsubstituenten auf die Dynamik eingehend untersucht, sodass der Weg für darauf aufbauende Studien geebnet ist.
Interactions involving biological interfaces such as lipid-based membranes are of paramount importance for all life processes. The same also applies to artificial interfaces to which biological matter is exposed, for example the surfaces of drug delivery systems or implants. This thesis deals with the two main types of interface interactions, namely (i) interactions between a single interface and the molecular components of the surrounding aqueous medium and (ii) interactions between two interfaces. Each type is investigated with regard to an important scientific problem in the fields of biotechnology and biology:
1.) The adsorption of proteins to surfaces functionalized with hydrophilic polymer brushes; a process of great biomedical relevance in context with harmful foreign-body-response to implants and drug delivery systems.
2.) The influence of glycolipids on the interaction between lipid membranes; a hitherto largely unexplored phenomenon with potentially great biological relevance.
Both problems are addressed with the help of (quasi-)planar, lipid-based model surfaces in combination with x-ray and neutron scattering techniques which yield detailed structural insights into the interaction processes. Regarding the adsorption of proteins to brush-functionalized surfaces, the first scenario considered is the exposure of the surfaces to human blood serum containing a multitude of protein species. Significant blood protein adsorption was observed despite the functionalization, which is commonly believed to act as a protein repellent. The adsorption consists of two distinct modes, namely strong adsorption to the brush grafting surface and weak adsorption to the brush itself. The second aspect investigated was the fate of the brush-functionalized surfaces when exposed to aqueous media containing immune proteins (antibodies) against the brush polymer, an emerging problem in current biomedical applications. To this end, it was found that antibody binding cannot be prevented by variation of the brush grafting density or the polymer length. This result motivates the search for alternative, strictly non-antigenic brush chemistries. With respect to the influence of glycolipids on the interaction between lipid membranes, this thesis focused on the glycolipids’ ability to crosslink and thereby to tightly attract adjacent membranes. This adherence is due to preferential saccharide-saccharide interactions occurring among the glycolipid headgroups. This phenomenon had previously been described for lipids with special oligo-saccharide motifs. Here, it was investigated how common this phenomenon is among glycolipids with a variety of more abundant saccharide-headgroups. It was found that glycolipid-induced membrane crosslinking is equally observed for some of these abundant glycolipid types, strongly suggesting that this under-explored phenomenon is potentially of great biological relevance.