Vorgestellt werden die gezielte mechanochemische sowie die fluorolytische Sol-Gel-Synthese von fluorierten Koordinationspolymeren mit dem Strukturmotiv einer direkten Metall-Fluor Bindung. Im Vorfeld beschränkten sich die mechanochemischen Synthesen von fluorierten Koordinationspolymeren (FCPs) darauf, Fluor über den organischen Linker im Netzwerk zu integrieren. Auch fehlten Studien, welche die Materialeigenschaften bezüglich der unterschiedlichen Fluorpositionen miteinander verglichen. Es wird die erste mechanochemische Synthese eines Koordinationspolymers mit einer direkten Metall-Fluorid-Bindung (Bariumterephthalatfluorid (BaF(p-BDC)0,5)) vorgestellt. Auch das Strontiumacetatfluorid (SrF(CH3COO)), Bariumacetatfluorid (BaF(CH3COO)) und das Bleiacetatfluorid (PbF(CH3COO) konnten durch unterschiedliche Synthesemethoden dargestellt werden. Die Kristallstrukturen wurden aus den Röntgenpulverdiffraktogrammen bestimmt. Unterstützt werden die Strukturlösungen u. a. durch die chemische Verschiebung in den 19F-MAS-NMR-Spektren, aus denen die Metall-Fluor-Abstände berechnet und mit denen aus den Kristallstrukturen verglichen wurden. Die vorgestellten Koordinationspolymere vervollständigen die Reihe der Verbindungen, welche aus Linkern mit gleichem Kohlenstoffskelett, gleichem Metallkation und ähnlicher chemischer Zusammensetzung, jedoch unterschiedlichen Fluorpositionen bestehen. Die gewählten Koordinationspolymere erlaubten damit den Vergleich der thermischen Stabilität, des Wasserabsorptionsverhaltens, sowie die Acidität der sauren Zentren an der Oberfläche bzgl. der unterschiedlichen Bindungsmotive des Fluors. In Abhängigkeit von der Fluorposition zeigen die Lanthanoid-dotierten Koordinationspolymere unterschiedlich lange Lebenszeiten der angeregten Zustände. Durch das Strukturmotiv der direkten Metall-Fluor-Bindung kann die Abklingzeit der angeregten Zustände des angeregten Lanthanoids deutlich verlängert werden. / The targeted mechanochemical and fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis of fluorinated coordination polymers with the structural motif of a direct metal-fluorine bond are presented. Previously, the mechanochemical syntheses of fluorinated coordination polymers (FCPs) were limited to integrating fluorine into the network via the organic linker. There were also no studies comparing the material properties of the different fluorine positions.The first mechanochemical synthesis of a coordination polymer with a direct metal fluorine bond (barium terephthalate fluoride (BaF(p-BDC)0.5)) is presented. Also the strontium acetate fluoride (SrF(CH3COO)), barium acetate fluoride (BaF(CH3COO)) and lead acetate fluoride (PbF(CH3COO)) can be obtained by different synthesis methods. The crystal structures were determined from the X-ray diffractograms. The structural solutions are supported, among other things, by the chemical shift in the 19F MAS NMR spectra, from which the metal-fluorine distances were calculated and compared with those from the crystal structures. The coordination polymers presented complete the series of compounds consisting of linkers with the same carbon skeleton, the same metal cation and similar chemical composition, but different fluorine positions. The selected coordination polymers thus allowed the comparison of thermal stability, water absorption behaviour and acidity of the acid centres on the surface with respect to the different bonding motives of the fluorine. Depending on the fluorine position, the lanthanide doped coordination polymers show different lifetimes of the excited states. Due to the structural motif of the direct metal-fluorine bond, the decay time of the excited states of the excited lanthanidecan be significantly extended.

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Mit zunehmender Miniaturisierung mikroelektronischer Bauelemente steigen die Anforderungen an reproduzierbare qualitätskonforme Schichten. Um die zur Herstellung notwendigen ALD/PVD/CVD-Schichtabscheideanlagen in einen zuverlässigen Zustand zu versetzen, ist eine regelmäßige Kammerreinigung notwendig. Während des Abscheideprozesses werden nicht nur das Substrat, sondern auch die umliegenden Kammerteile beschichtet. Diese Schichten wachsen mit jedem Beschichtungszyklus weiter an. Der Stress zwischen Schicht und Kammerwand steigt beständig, und es besteht das Risiko das Teile abplatzen und auf die Waferoberfläche fallen und damit die Struktur unbrauchbar machen. Um das zu verhindern, muss die Kammerwand in einen regelmäßigen Zustand versetzt werden, in dem sichergestellt ist, daß keine Schichtreste abplatzen können. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein neues Verfahren zur Trockenreinigung von ALD-Titannitrid Kammern vorgestellt. Dazu wurden TiN-Stücke (hergestellt im ALD, CVD, PVD-Verfahren) auf einem temperaturgeregelten Probenhalter platziert. Eine Argon/NF3 Gasmischung wurde in einer externen Plasmaquelle (RPS) zerlegt und in die Reaktionskammer geschleust. Die Ätzung wurde mit in-situ Reflexionsmessung beobachtet. Experimente mit Chlorzugabe wurden unternommen und ein starker Einfluss auf den Ätzmechanismus beobachtet. Die Ätzraten des TiN sind exponentiell abhängig von der Temperatur und proportional abhängig von der Verfügbarkeit atomaren Fluors. Dieses wird bei der Zerlegung von NF3 frei gesetzt und steht der Reaktion zur Verfügung. Die NF3-Zerlegung in Fluor und Stickstoff wurde mit Hilfe der Massenspektrometrie (QMS) untersucht, Zerlegungsgrade größer 96% wurden erreicht. Mit Hilfe dieser Messung kann der Einfluss der Kammerreinigung auf den Treibhausgasausstoß (GWP) bestimmt werden. Mit dem Ar/NF3-Verfahren können die GWP-Emissionen um 90% im Vergleich zur RIE-Ätzung mit SF6 reduziert werden. Mit Argon/Chlor-Plasmen konnte kein Titannitrid geätzt werden, da die physikalische Sputterkomponente fehlte. Durch Hinzufügen von Chlor zu einer Ar/NF3-Gasmischung konnte die Ätzrate um bis zu 270% im Bereich niedrige Temperaturen/niedriger Druck gesteigert werden. Bei höheren Temperaturen/höherem Druck fielen die Ar/NF3/Chlor Ätzraten allerdings deutlich hinter die des Ar/NF3 zurück. Die dazu führenden Effekte werden untersucht und ausgeführt. Die Nutzung von externen Plasmaquellen bietet eine vielversprechende Alternative um Abscheideanlagen von TiN-Rückständen reinigen zu können. Bei hohen Temperaturen werden deutlich höhere Ätzraten als bei anderen Schichten (SiN, SiO2, W) erreicht. Für Anwendungen im niedrigen Temperaturbereich erlaubt die Zugabe von Chlor interessante Anwendungsmöglichkeiten. / Demands on state of the art deposition technologies for semiconductor production focus on uniformity, repeatability and low defectivity. The chamber condition is a key parameter to achieve these high demands in chemical vapour deposition (CVD) processes and are even more critical to the atomic layer deposition processes (ALD). During the deposition process not only the wafer surface but other chamber parts as well are covered with a thin film. This film accumulates during the deposition cycles and is prone to fall off the walls and pollute the wafer surface. The chamber parts that are exposed to the deposition must be set back to a steady state so that no deposits fall off the walls. The chamber condition also changes uncontrolled with varying film condition on the wall. A new approach for cleaning of ALD-titanium nitride (TiN) deposition chambers was investigated. To determine etch rates TiN-samples (created by ALD, CVD and PVD) were placed on a temperature controlled sample holder. An argon/NF3 mixture was excited in an upstream remote plasma source (RPS) and then routed through the reaction chamber. No further plasma activation inside the reaction chamber was done. The etching was monitored by in-situ reflectometry and etch rates were calculated. The effect of chlorine addition was also studied and strong influence on etch rates was found. The etch rate of TiN is dependent exponentially on temperature and very low etch rates were achieved below 70◦C at a chamber pressure ranging from 20-300 Pa. It was found that this correlates very well with the vapour pressure of the reaction product TiF4. At temperatures of 300◦C etch rates up to 800 nm/min were achieved. The optimum pressure for etching was found at 100 Pa while the pressure effect was small. The etch rate was mainly dependent on the availability of activated fluorine to create TiF4 by the reaction 2 NF3 → N2 + 6 F* 2 TiN + 8 F* → 2 TiF4 + N2 The NF3 decomposition to nitrogen and fluorine was monitored by quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS) and was found to be greater than 96%. This figure allows an estimation of the amount of Global warm potential (GWP) gas emmited by the process for environmental considerations. Using argon/NF3 or argon/fluorine mixtures in RPS devices reduces the GWP emissions by more than 90% compared to RIE plasma cleaning with SF6. No etching occurred by using argon/chlorine only mixtures as no physical etch component was involved in RPS etch. However adding chlorine to the argon/NF3 mixture accelerated the etching process. Chlorine addition to the argon/NF3 mixture increased the etch rates up to 270% in the low pressure/low temperature regime. At higher temperatures or higher pressures the etch rates dropped below the etch rates achieved solely with fluorine chemistry. It must be emphasized that there is no physical acceleration of the ionized molecules toward the etched sample in this remote plasma setup. The usage of a remote plasma offers an alternative way to remove residues from chambers running TiN deposition processes. At high temperatures the Ar/NF3 offers remarkably high etching rates for TiN compared to other films (silicon nitride, -oxide, tungsten) usually cleaned by remote plasma. For low temperature applications the chlorine enhancement offers an interesting alternative to accelerate the etch process.

The discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials by Bednorz and Müller [2, 3] in early 1987, immediately followed by Wu et al. [4, 5] who showed that YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) becomes superconducting (92K) well above the boiling point of nitrogen (77K) created a great excitement in superconductivity research. Potential applications of high Tc-superconductors require large critical currents and high-applied magnetic fields. Effective ways to increase the critical current density at high magnetic fields in YBCO are the introduction of nanoparticles and chemical substitution of yttrium by other rare earth elements. Since low costs and environmental compatibility are essential conditions for the preparation of long length YBCO films, the cost effective chemical solution deposition (CSD) procedure was selected, given that no vacuum technology is required. To reveal the flexibility and the good optimization possibilities of the CSD approach two main processes were chosen for comparison: a fluorine-free method, namely the polymer-metal precursor technique, and a fluorine-based method, the metalorganic deposition (MOD) using the trifluoroacetates (TFA) technique. Sharp transition temperature widths DTc of 1.1K for the polymer metal method, 0.8K for TFA method and critical current densities Jc of _3.5MA/cm2 shows that high quality YBCO thin films can be produced using both techniques. Especially interesting is the magnetic field dependence of the critical current density Jc(B) of the Y(Dy)BCO (80 %) films showing that for the lower magnetic fields the critical current density Jc(B) is higher for a standard YBCO film, but at fields higher than 4.5T the critical current density Jc(B) of Y(Dy)BCO is larger than that for the YBCO. Above 8T, Jc(B) of the Y(Dy)BCO film is more than one order of magnitude higher than in pure YBCO film. / Die Entdeckung der Supraleitung in keramischen Materialien durch Bednorz und Müller 1987 und die kurz darauf folgende Beobachtung von Wu et al., dass YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) supraleitende Eigenschaften deutlich oberhalb (92K) des Siedepunktes von Stickstoff (77K) aufweist, führten zu einer enormen Intensivierung der Forschung hinsichtlich neuer supraleitender Materialien sowie deren Eigenschaften und möglichen Einsatzgebieten. Potentielle Anwendungsgebiete für diese neuen Hochtemperatur-Supraleiter erfordern hohe kritische Stromdichten und hohe kritische Feldstärken. Effektive Wege zur Erhöhung der kritischen Stromdichte in starken Magnetfeldern in YBCO sind der Einbau von Nanoteilchen oder die chemische Substitution von Yttrium durch ein anderes Seltenerd-Element. Da niedrige Kosten und gute Umweltverträglichkeit wichtige Voraussetzungen für die Herstellung von YBCO-Schichten großer Länge darstellen, werden in dieser Arbeit die Vorteile und Einsatzmöglichkeiten der Chemischen Lösungsabscheidung (chemical solution deposition - CSD) untersucht. CSD Prozesse sind besonders gut geeignet, weil sie keine Vakuum-Technologie erfordern und einen hohen Grad an Flexibilität garantieren. Zur Demonstration der guten Optimierbarkeit werden zwei wichtige CSD-Verfahren miteinander verglichen: die Polymer-Metall Precursor Technik - eine Fluor-freie Methode - und die metallorganische Abscheidung mittels Trifluoroacetat (TFA-MOD), bei der Fluor zum Einsatz kommt. Scharfe supraleitende Übergänge (Polymer-Metall Precursor Technik: DTc = 1.1K; TFA -MOD: DTc = 0.8K) sowie hohe kritische Stromdichten von ca. 3.5MA/cm2 (B= 0 T) zeigen, dass mit beiden Verfahren dünne YBCO-Schichten hoher Qualität hergestellt werden können. Außerdem bieten CSD-Verfahren durch die hervorragende Kontrollierbarkeit der Stöchiometrie des Precursors die Möglichkeit Yttrium teilweise oder vollständig durch andere Seltenerd-Metalle zu ersetzen und damit die kritische Stromdichte in hohen Magnetfeldern deutlich zu erhöhen. In dieser Arbeit wird gezeigt, dass besonders die TFA-Methode besonders geeignet ist, um (RE)BCO-Schichten (RE: rare earth) herzustellen. Untersucht wurden verschiedene Zusammensetzungen mit Sm, Dy und Ho. Außerordentlich interessant sind dabei die Ergebnisse für Y(Dy)BCO-Schichten. Schichten mit einem Dy-Gehalt von 80 % zeigen oberhalb von 4.5T deutlich höhere kritische Stromdichten als reine YBCO Schichten. Bei Magnetfeldern größer als 8T beträgt der Unterschied mehr als eine Größenordnung.

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No description available.

Объектом исследования являются ионообменные смолы Lewatit TP 260 и КУ-2×8 в форме Al3+. Цель работы – насыщение катионитов ионами металла (Al3+) и изучение их сорбционной способности по отношению к ионам фтора. В работе проведены теоретические и лабораторные исследования по сорбции фтора на Lewatit TP 260 и КУ-2×8 в Al-форме. Рассмотрен механизм сорбции фтора на катионитах с разными функциональными группами. / The object of the study is Lewatit TP 260 and KU-2×8 ion-exchange resins in the form of Al3+. The purpose of this work is the saturation of cation exchangers with metal ions (Al3+) and the study of their sorption ability with respect to fluorine ions. In this paper, theoretical and laboratory studies on fluorine sorption on Lewatit TP 260 and KU-2×8 in Al-form were carried out. The mechanism of fluorine sorption on cationites with different functional groups is considered.

In dieser Arbeit wird eine allgemeine Syntheseroute zu Au(I)‐Fluoridokomplexen sowie deren Reaktivität beschrieben. Die Verbindungen [Au(I)(L)] (L = Phosphanliganden, N‐Heterozyklische Carbene (NHC)) reagieren mit AgF zu den korrespondierenden Komplexen [Au(F)(L)]. Die hohe Reaktivität des Fluoridoliganden ermöglicht die Bildung neuer organometallischer Goldkomplexe. Mit terminalen Alkinen entstehen Alkinyl‐Komplexe, während mit Silylreagenzien die Verbindungen [Au(X)(SPhos)] (X = CF3, C2F5, C6F5, SPh) erhalten werden können. Weiterhin wird die Rolle der Au(I)‐Fluoridokomplexe in der Hydrofluorierung von Alkinen untersucht. Bei der Reaktion von [Au(F)(SPhos)] mit internen Alkinen werden Fluorvinyl‐ Verbindungen erhalten. Modellreaktionen, die die Elementarschritte der Reaktion simulieren sollen, deuten auf einen Outer‐Sphere‐Angriff des Fluorids an dem am Gold aktivierten Alkin hin. Außerdem wird eine Interaktion mit überschüssiger HF und dem Au(I)‐Fluoridoliganden vorgeschlagen. Um diese Interaktion weiter zu untersuchen, werden die Komplexe [Au(F)(L)] (L = SPhos, NHC) mit HF zur Reaktion gebracht, wobei die Komplexe [Au(FHF)(L)] entstehen, welche am besten als unsymmetrische Hydrogendifluoridverbindungen mit intermolekularen Wasserstoffbrückenbindungen beschrieben werden, was durch quantenchemische Rechnungen bestätigt wird. Zusätzlich werden Untersuchungen zu Halogenbrückenbindungen mit Pentafluoriodbenzol durchgeführt und die Stärke dieser Wechselwirkung quantitativ bestimmt. Die hohe Reaktivität des Fluoridoliganden kann in der Umsetzung von [Au(F)(SPhos)] mit NFSI genutzt werden. Der erhaltene Fluoramidokomplex insertiert CO in die N-F‐Bindung unter Entstehung eines Acetylfluorids. Im Gegensatz dazu führt die Reaktion mit CNtBu zur Koordination dessen. Weiterhin wird eine Möglichkeit zur Übertragung der N(F)SO2Ph‐Gruppe auf organische Moleküle aufgezeigt. / In this study, a general synthetic route to Au(I) fluorido complexes as well as their subsequent reactivities are presented. Reactions of [Au(I)(L)] (L = phosphines, N‐ heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs)) with AgF yield the respective fluorido compounds [Au(F)(L)]. Derivatisation of the gold complexes is possible with terminal alkynes, resulting in alkynyl compounds, as well as with silyl reagents, yielding the compounds [Au(X)(SPhos)] (X = CF3, C2F5, C6F5, SPh). The role of such Au(I) fluorido complexes in hydrofluorination reactions of alkynes is further studied. Fluorovinyl compounds are generated by reaction with internal alkynes. Model reactions simulating elemental steps of the reaction are conducted and a mechanism based on the findings is proposed. The nucleophilic attack of the fluorine at the gold‐coordinated alkyne presumably proceeds via an outer‐sphere pathway rather than an insertion reaction, forming the observed fluorovinyl compounds. Further interaction of the metal‐bound fluorine with excessive HF is also proposed. To follow up on this hydrogen bonding interaction with HF, complexes [Au(F)(L)] (L = SPhos, NHC) are treated with an HF source, revealing the formation of unsymmetrical bifluorido complexes in the form of [Au(FHF)(L)]. Similar to hydrogen bonding, the metal‐bound fluorine also takes part in halogen bonding with pentafluoroiodobenzene and the strength of this interaction is determined. The experimental findings are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations. To further exploit the high reactivity of the Au(I) fluorido complexes, [Au(F)(SPhos)] is treated with NFSI. The so obtained fluoroamido compound [Au{N(F)SO2Ph}(SPhos)] does not react as an electrophilic fluorinating reagent, but shows insertion of CO into the N-F bond. In contrast, reaction of this complex with CNtBu results in coordination of the isocyanide to the metal centre. Transfer of the N(F)SO2Ph moiety onto organic substrates is also shown.

”Durable water repellents (DWR) är textilimpregneringar som bidrar med vattenavvisande egenskaper som håller länge på funktionella tyg. Tyvärr är dessa hydrofobiska ytbehandlingar vanligtvis en källa till skadliga och persistenta kemikalier och de även är producerade från fossilbaserade resurser. Eftersom medvetenheten kring de här problemen har ökat, har innovativa, miljövänliga och biologiskt nedbrytbara alternativ tagits fram. Hittills finns dock inga produkter gjorda av 100% förnybara råvaror. I ett försök att utveckla en biobaserad, icke-giftig DWR som aktiveras under milda förhållanden, lades fokus på utveckling av en lagringsstabil sprayimpregneringsprodukt för hemmabruk. Vid formulering av emulsionerna/dispersionerna utvärderades en stor mängd biobaserade och kommersiellt tillgängliga hydrofobiska och amfifila molekyler med avseende den vattenavvisande effekt som de bidrog med på den behandlade textilen. Samtidigt bedömdes de producerade formuleringarna noggrant för att skapa förståelse om effekterna från ingredienserna och deras relation till produktens stabilitet. De kandidatprodukter som valdes ut och undersöktes vidare hade lovande vattenavvisande egenskaper och visade rimlig hållbarhetstid på åtminstone en månad i 40 °C. Standardiserade sprayscores på 3 (där 1 är sämst och 5 är bäst) nåddes efter 24 timmars hängtorkning i rumstemperatur. Dessutom uppnåddes sprayscore på 5 efter en kort, icke-industriell torktumling på låg temperatur och den behölls efter minst tio tvättar på syntetiska textiler. Utvalda produkter påverkade inte märkbart tygets andningsförmåga och majoriteten hade ingen influens på textilens mjukhet och färg. Förutom uppskalningsexperiment och partikelstorleksmätningar, granskades resultat med en tillämpningsstudie av formuleringarna på femton olika tygtyper. Produkternas effekter på utseende och känsla dokumenterades för de olika textilierna. Egenskaper som kontaktvinklar, sprayscores och tvättbeständighet bestämdes och jämfördes med en kommersiellt tillgänglig produkt. / Durable water repellents (DWR) are textile finishes that provide long-lasting water repelling properties to functional garments. However, these hydrophobic finishes are commonly a source of polluting and persistent chemicals and are produced from fossil resources. As a result of increasing awareness, innovation towards environmentally friendly and biodegradable alternatives has progressed, yet no 100% renewable sourced products are available. In an attempt to create a bio-based, non-toxic DWR, that is curable under mild conditions, focus was put on the development of a shelf stable spray impregnation product intended for consumer use. By formulating dispersion/emulsion systems, a wide variety of commercially available, renewable sourced amphiphilic and hydrophobic molecules were evaluated on their effect on the water repelling performance of treated textile fabrics. Simultaneously, the produced systems were assessed carefully to create understanding on the effect of substances and their corresponding ratios on the stability. Promising candidate products that were selected for further investigation showed reasonable stability for 1 month at 40 °C. Industrial standard spray ratings of 3 (where 1 is worst and 5 is best) after hang drying at room temperature could be reached within 24 hours. On top of that, spray ratings of 5 could be reached after short time, non-industrial tumble drying at low temperatures, which could even be retained for at least ten laundering cycles on synthetic textiles. The selected finishes did not have a measurable effect on the breathability of the treated fabrics, while the majority did not considerably affect the hands-feeling or colour of the textiles. Besides several scaling up experiments and particle size measurements, extrapolation of the findings was carried out by testing the developed formulations on fifteen different types of textiles. Effects on appearance and feel were documented, additionally, contact angle, spray score, and wash durability were determined and compared with a commercially available product.

The results described in this dissertation have demonstrated several alternative proton exchange membranes (PEM) for hydrogen-air and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) that perform as well or better than the state of the art Nafion perfluorosulfonic acid membrane. Direct aromatic nucleophilic substitution polycondensations of disodium 3,3′ S-disulfonate-4,4′ S-difluorodiphenylsulfone (SDFDPS), 4,4′ S-difluorodiphenylsulfone (DFDPS) (or their chlorinated analogs, SDCDPS, DCDPS) and 4,4′ S-thiobisbenzenethiol (TBBT) in the presence of potassium carbonate were investigated. Electrophilic aromatic substitution was employed to synthesize the SDFDPS or SDCDPS comonomers in high yields and purity. High molecular weight disulfonated poly(arylene thioether sulfone) (PATS) copolymers were easily obtained using the SDFDPS monomers, but in general, slower rates and a lower molecular weight copolymer was obtained using the analogous chlorinated monomers. Tough and ductile membranes were solution cast from N,N-dimethylacetamide for both series of copolymers. The degrees of disulfonation (20-50%, PATS 20-50) were controlled by varying the ratio of disulfonated to unsulfonated comonomers. Composite membranes were prepared by homogeneous solution blending the copolymers with phosphotungstic acid (PTA) in dimethylacetamide (DMAc). The composite PATS membranes exhibited moderate PTA molecule water extraction after acidification treatments performed at either room or boiling temperatures. The membranes containing HPA showed improved conductivity at high temperatures (120 °C) and low relative humidities when compared to the pure copolymers. Molecular weight of the copolymers plays a critical role in the overall copolymer physical behavior. It is well known that molecular weight has an enormous impact on practically all of the physical properties of polymeric systems. This dissertation discusses the influence of molecular weight on the characteristics of a specific family of PEM PATS copolymers. This study elucidated that the lower molecular weight materials did indeed behave differently than the higher molecular weight copolymers. Specifically, the water uptake and permeability to methanol decreased with increasing molecular weight. Furthermore, the fully hydrated mechanical properties also improved with molecular weight. The synthesis and fabrication of 45 mole percent disulfonated poly(arylene ether phenyl phosphine oxide diphenyl sulfone) terpolymer-heteropolyacid (HPA) composite membranes and membrane electrode assemblies were chosen for detailed investigation. A series of 45 mole percent disulfonated biphenol-based poly(arylene ether phenyl phosphine oxide diphenyl sulfone) terpolymers (BPSH45-PPO) were also synthesized by nucleophilic aromatic substitution polymerizations. The level of disulfonation was constant at 45 mole percent providing a compromise between high conductivity at low humidity and reasonable mechanical properties in liquid water. The amounts of 4,4′-difluorodiphenyl phenyl phosphine oxide comonomer incorporated into the terpolymer backbone were precisely controlled from 0-50 mole percent relative to the 4,4′-dihalodiphenyl sulfone. Phosphine oxide moieties were employed to enhance the interactions with the PTA relative to the pure copolymer. The composite BPSH45-PPO membranes exhibited lower HPA molecule water extraction after acidification at room and boiling temperatures, which was ascribed to the strong hydrogen and polar interactions between the phosphine oxide moiety and functional groups on the HPA. The membranes containing HPA displayed improved conductivity at high temperatures and low relative humidities when compared to the pure terpolymer samples. The increase of proton conductivity was attributed to the water retention characteristics of the HPA molecules, which allowed enhanced mobility of the protons even at lower humidification levels, providing superior hydrogen-air fuel cell performance. The effect of hexafluoroisopropylidene bisphenol (6FBP) incorporation into 45 mole percent disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymers was investigated. This novel series of directly disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymers with various mole ratios of the 6FBP were synthesized in high molecular weight. The levels of fluorination within the statistically random copolymer architecture were varied from 0-100 mole percent using 6FBP and the correct stoichiometric amount of 4,4′-biphenol. The 6FBP monomer was introduced to decrease the water swelling and improve bonding characteristics with Nafion-bonded electrodes. Indeed, water uptake decreased with increasing incorporation of the 6FBP monomer into the terpolymer. This suggested that the hydrophobic fluorinated material aided in water repulsion of the system. Proton conductivity decreased slightly as the amount of fluorination increased, which was interpreted to be due to the decrease in the ion-exchange capacity. High temperature hydrogen/air fuel cell experiments indicated better Nafion-bonded electrode adhesion for the partially fluorinated materials, as depicted by high temperature (120 °C) and low humidity (50% RH) hydrogen-air fuel cell performance. Investigations into polymeric electromechanical transducers were based on poly(arylene sulfone) ion-exchange membranes bonded between two conductive metal layer electrodes. Imposed deformations and small electric fields allowed similar explorations of both sensing and actuation applications. These copolymers produced larger sensitivities than the benchmark Nafion systems, which was interpreted as being due to their higher hydrated moduli. Methodologies for better defining the morphology of the electrodes were identified to enhance the capacitance and effective interfacial area of the conductive electrodes. The new procedures afforded major improvements to performance and transduction. Transducer actuation at lower frequencies was improved by employing a new direct assembly electrode fabrication technique that suggested a strong correlation between the capacitance and charge motion. / Ph. D.