No description available.

<p>This thesis presents methods for air sampling and determination of isocyanates, amines, aminoisocyanates and anhydrides. These organic compounds are generated during thermal degradation of polymers such as polyurethane (PUR) or epoxy.</p><p>Isocyanates, amines and anhydrides are airway irritants known to cause occupational asthma. Some of the compounds are listed as human carcinogens. Many workers are exposed.</p><p>Isocyanates and anhydrides are reactive and needs to be immediately derivatized during sampling. Methods have been developed for determination of airborne isocyanates, aminoisocyanates and anhydrides using di-n-butylamine (DBA) as reagent to form stabile urea derivatives or amide derivatives. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) enabled detection limits as low as 10 attomoles. A nitrogen-selective LC-detector enabled quantification of DBA-derivatives in reference solutions. </p><p>A novel sampler is presented. The sampler consists of a denuder in series with a three-stage cascade impactor and an end filter. The sampler made it possible to reveal the distribution of isocyanates between gas and different particle size fractions. During thermal degradation of PUR, isocyanates were associated to particle size fractions (<1 µm) that may penetrate to the lower airways. The distribution during 8 minutes changes noticeably. Aromatic isocyanates become associated to small particles (<1 µm). As a reference method, air-sampling was performed using an impinger filled with di-n-butylamine (DBA) in toluene, connected in series with a glass fiber filter. There was a good agreement between the denuder-impactor sampler and the reference method.</p>

This thesis presents methods for air sampling and determination of isocyanates, amines, aminoisocyanates and anhydrides. These organic compounds are generated during thermal degradation of polymers such as polyurethane (PUR) or epoxy. Isocyanates, amines and anhydrides are airway irritants known to cause occupational asthma. Some of the compounds are listed as human carcinogens. Many workers are exposed. Isocyanates and anhydrides are reactive and needs to be immediately derivatized during sampling. Methods have been developed for determination of airborne isocyanates, aminoisocyanates and anhydrides using di-n-butylamine (DBA) as reagent to form stabile urea derivatives or amide derivatives. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) enabled detection limits as low as 10 attomoles. A nitrogen-selective LC-detector enabled quantification of DBA-derivatives in reference solutions. A novel sampler is presented. The sampler consists of a denuder in series with a three-stage cascade impactor and an end filter. The sampler made it possible to reveal the distribution of isocyanates between gas and different particle size fractions. During thermal degradation of PUR, isocyanates were associated to particle size fractions (&lt;1 µm) that may penetrate to the lower airways. The distribution during 8 minutes changes noticeably. Aromatic isocyanates become associated to small particles (&lt;1 µm). As a reference method, air-sampling was performed using an impinger filled with di-n-butylamine (DBA) in toluene, connected in series with a glass fiber filter. There was a good agreement between the denuder-impactor sampler and the reference method.

In dieser Dissertation wird ein Prozess für die absorptive CO2-Abtrennung aus Gasströmen vorgestellt, der durch die Nutzung des neu entwickelten Waschmittels GenosorbN in einem Postcombustion-Prozess einen geringeren Energiebedarf als bisher bekannte Verfahren aufweist. Für die Nachrüstung bereits vorhandener Kraftwerke ist der Postcombustion-Prozess vorteilhaft, da er im Vergleich zum IGCC- oder dem Oxyfuel-Verfahren die geringsten Änderungen im Kraftwerksprozess selbst erfordert. Die bisher für die CO2-Abtrennung diskutierten Absorptionsmittel, wie z. B. MEA (Mono-Ethanol-Amin), haben allerdings vor allem in der Regeneration einen sehr hohen Energiebedarf, der vom Kraftwerk zusätzlich zur Verfügung gestellt werden muss. In Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Umwelttechnik der TU Dresden und der Clariant GmbH wurde das Absorptionsmittel GenosorbN (chemische Bezeichnung: Poly(methyldiglykol)amin) entwickelt. GenosorbN weist als Hybrid-Waschmittel gegenüber CO2 sowohl physikalische als auch chemische Bindungseigenschaften auf. Ausgehend von der Löslichkeitscharakteristik dieses Absorptionsmittels für CO2 und wichtigen Stoffwerten (z. B. Wärmekapazität und Lösungswärme von CO2) wurden mit Hilfe eines umfangreichen Versuchsprogramms an einer Technikumsanlage Betriebsparameter für einen energetisch günstigen technischen Einsatz ermittelt. Dabei hat sich herausgestellt, dass der Absorptionsprozess mit unverdünntem GenosorbN gegenüber einer MEA-Wäsche bei einem CO2-Abscheidegrad von ca. 90 % einen um ca. 20 - 27 % geringeren Energiebedarf in der Waschmittelregeneration aufweisen kann. Außerdem ist für die Desorption ein energetisch minderwertiger Heizdampf mit geringerem Temperatur- bzw. Druckniveau als bei dem MEA-Prozess ausreichend, da die Regenerationstemperatur um 40 - 50 K niedriger ist. Eine zusätzliche Druckabsenkung auf 400 mbar Absolutdruck im Desorber begünstigt die Regeneration deutlich. / This dissertation presents a process for the absorptive CO2-separation from gas streams, which shows a lower energy requirement than established methods by using the newly developed absorption liquid GenosorbN in a postcombustion-process. To retrofit an already existing power plant, the postcombustion-process is advantageous, because it needs the least changes in the power plant-process itself compared to the IGCC- or the Oxyfuel-process. The absorbents discussed for the CO2-separation up to now, for example MEA (mono-ethanol-amine), cause a high energy requirement mainly in the solvent regeneration, which has to be provided additionally from the power plant. The solvent GenosorbN (chemical notation: poly(methyldiglycol)amine) was developed in cooperation between the Institute of Process Engineering and Environmental Engineering of the Technical University of Dresden and the Clariant GmbH. GenosorbN is a hybrid-absorbent and therefore it shows both physical and chemical bonding forces. Based on the solvents characteristic of solubility for CO2 and important data on chemical media (for example heat capacity and enthalpy of solution) operating parameters for an energetic advantageous technical application were identified by a lot of test series at a pilot plant. The measurements show that the absorption process with the undiluted GenosorbN has a circa 20 - 27 % lower energy demand for the solvent regeneration compared to the MEA-process to reach a degree of separation of 90 %. Furthermore a low-value heating steam with lower temperature and therefore lower pressure level suffices because of the significant lower (40 - 50 K) regeneration temperature. An additional pressure reduction to 400 mbar absolute pressure in the regeneration column favours the solvent regeneration considerably.

<p>Adsorption on solid surfaces from solution is a fundamental property of a surfactant. It might even be the most important aspect of surfactant behavior, since it influences many applications, such as cleaning, detergency, dispersion, separation, flotation, and lubrication. Consequently, fundamental investigations of surfactant adsorption are relevant to many areas.</p><p>The main aim of this thesis has been to elucidate the adsorption properties, primarily on the solid/water interface, of a particular class of polyhydroxyl based surfactants: the alkyl glucosides. By the use of ellipsometry, the equilibrium and kinetic aspects of adsorption on titanium dioxide with respect to structural effects has been studied. Furthermore, the effects of small amounts of cationic surfactant additives on the adsorption on silica have been investigated. The results have been compared with similar studies for other nonionic surfactants.</p><p>We have found that the surfactant structure has a strong effect on the adsorption properties. An increase in the surfactant chain length increases the cooperativity of the system. An increase in the head group polymerization decreases the cooperativity and the plateau adsorbed amount at equilibrium. The effect of surfactant structure on the adsorption kinetics depends on the concentration relative to the cmc, while the there is a decrease in the rate of desorption with increasing hydrophobic chain length independent of the concentration. The adsorption/desorption process is concluded to be diffusion driven, as suggested by the model used. When comparing these results with studies on ethylene oxide based surfactants, we conclude that the two types of surfactants exhibit similar trends on surfaces onto which they adsorb.</p><p>Adsorption from binary surfactant solutions is even more interesting than adsorption from single surfactant solutions, since it brings us one step closer to the systems used in applications. In addition, adsorption from a mixture can be very different from adsorption from any of the single surfactants in the mixture. Alkyl glucosides alone do not adsorb on silica, but addition of small amounts of a cationic surfactant to the alkyl glucoside solution allows for adsorption on silica. A comparison between the adsorption and bulk properties has shown that mixed micellization explains most, but not all, effects of the coadsorption properties. Changing the pH in the mixed systems reveals that a surfactant with a pH-dependent charge and the ability to adapt its charge to the environment, e.g. a surface, enhances the adsorbed amount over a wider range of pH values than a purely cationic surfactant.</p><p>It is well known that alkyl glucosides and ethylene oxides adsorb differently on different types of hydrophilic surfaces. As a consequence, replacing ethylene oxides with alkyl glucosides might not be all straight-forward; however, we have shown that the effect of the surface can be eliminated by the use of a cosurfactant.</p>

No description available.

La presence simultanee sur le substrat n-ethoxycarbonyl-n-(2,2,2-trichloroethylidene)amine des groupes carboxylate d'ethyle sur l'atome d'azote et trichloromethyle sur l'atome de carbone confere au motif iminique des proprietes particulieres qui ont ete mises en evidence au cours de ce travail. Les reactions de cycloaddition des diarylnitrilimines permettent d'acceder avec de bons rendements a des derives du 1,3-diphenyl-5-trichloromethyl-#2-1,2,4-triazoline-4-carboxylate d'ethyle. Ces composes peuvent etre aisement transformes en 1,3-diaryl-1,2,4-triazoles. Les reactions des precurseurs des arylnitriloxydes presentent une competition entre cycloaddition dipolaire-1,3 conduisant a des derives du 3-phenyl-5-trichloromethyl-#2-1,2,4-oxadiazoline-4-carboxylate d'ethyle et addition nucleophile permettant d'acceder a des derives du 1-o-(-chlorobenzaldoximino)-2,2,2-trichloroethylcarbamate d'ethyle. La reaction du diazoacetate d'ethyle conduit, via une reaction d'addition nucleophile, a un nouveau diazocompose qui a manifeste ensuite une reactivite dipolaire-1,3 vis-a-vis des esters acetyleniques et des maleimides. Dans le cas des esters acetyleniques, la reaction de cycloaddition s'accompagne d'une evolution conduisant a des pyrazoles tres substitues par suite d'une transposition sigmatropique 1,5. Avec les maleimides, on observe une reaction de cycloaddition diastereospecifique suivie d'une elimination d'azote conduisant a un maleimido-cyclopropane. La diastereospecificite observee a ete rationalisee en faisant appel a un mode d'approche des reactants du type endo-anti. La reaction du diphenyldiazomethane permet d'atteindre avec un bon rendement un nouvel 2-azabuta-1,3-diene. Un mecanisme a ete propose: il fait appel a une ouverture thermique d'une aziridine conduisant a un ylure d'azomethine qui se stabilise en donnant l'azadiene fortement conjugue par elimination de chloroformiate d'ethyle. La presence des groupes esters et des atomes de chlore sur l'imine semble donc jouer un role important pour autoriser cette evolution.

Self-assembly processes were used to construct supramolecular architectures based on metal-ligand interactions. The structures formed strongly depend on the used metal ion, the ligand type, the chosen counter ion and solvent as well as on the experimental conditions. The focus of the studies was the design of multifunctional N-donor ligands and the characterization of their complexing and structural properties. This work was divided into three distinct main parts: The bis(2-pyridylimine), the bis(2-hydroxyaryl) imine and the tripodal imine / amine ligand approach. In the first part a series of bis(2-pyridylimine) derivatives having different linking elements were employed as building blocks for novel supramolecular architectures. Reaction of individual d-block metal salts with these ligands has led to the isolation of coordination polymers, a metallamacrocycle, double-stranded helicates, triple-stranded helicates as well as of circular meso-helicates. The nature of the spacer in the Schiff base ligands, the noncovalent weak interactions, such as hydrogen bond, face-to-face π-π and edge-to-face CH-π interactions, are all important factors influencing the architecture of the final products. Topological control of the assembly process of the hexanuclear meso-helicates is clearly associated with the bidentate coordination of the sulfate anion which directs the formation of a double- rather than a triple-stranded helicate around the octahedrally coordinated Cu(II). Surprisingly, the variation of the linker function in the ligands, which significantly changes the linking angle of the pyridylimine strands, has only a little influence of the resulting structure. Also the use of a mixture of ligands does not influence the meso-helicate topology; the result is the symmetrically mixed meso-helicate. The new iron(II) triple helicate [Fe2(L5)3](PF6)4 14 {L5 = bis[4-(2-pyridylmethyleneimino)phenyl]-1,1-cyclohexane} in its chloride form binds strongly to DNA as confirmed by induced circular dichroism signals in both the metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) and in-ligand bands of the helicate. The induced CD spectrum gives some evidence that [Fe2(L5)3]4+ interacts with the DNA in a single binding mode, which is consistent with major groove binding. The cytotoxicity of the new iron(II) triple helicate 14 was evaluated on human lung cancer A549 cells and compared with that of cisplatin and that of the previously reported iron(II) triple helicate [Fe2(L1)3]4+{L1 = bis[4-(2-pyridylmethyleneimino)phenyl]methane}. The first results show some distinguishing features for 14 obviously caused by the existing structural differences of the complexes. In the second part of the thesis, novel uranyl complexes of the bis(2-hydroxyaryl) imine ligands have been synthesized and characterized. 1D coordination polymers and mononuclear structures were formed. In all complexes a distorted hexagonal bipyramidal coordination geometry around the uranyl centre is observed. The imine nitrogen atoms of the ligands do not bind to the metal centre but interact strongly with the hydroxy group via H-bonding. DFT calculations made with L8 ( α,α’-Bis(salicylimino)-m-xylene) are in good agreement with the X-ray crystal structure data. Liquid-liquid extraction studies involving selected ligands and Eu(III) or U(VI) indicate remarkably high selectivity for U(VI) over Eu(III) at weak acidic pH conditions. We believe that the study made opens up new possibilities for uranyl ion extraction which could be interesting in view of the treatment of nuclear waste. In the third part of the thesis, a series of multifunctional tripodal ligands with different N-donor centres were used for U(VI) and lanthanide, Nd(III), Eu(III) and Yb(III), binding and extraction. Reaction of these metal ions with selected tripodal ligands afforded complexes which were characterized by ESI mass spectroscopy. The complex composition was found to be 1:1 in all cases. The extraction behaviour of the tripodal ligands towards Eu(III) and U(VI) was studied both in the absence and presence of octanoic acid as co-ligand using the extraction system Eu(NO3)3 or UO2(NO3)2–buffer–H2O/ ligand–CHCl3. These separation systems show a remarkably high selectivity for U(VI) over Eu(III). It is interesting to note that the addition of the octanoic acid to the extraction system leads to high synergistic effects. A series of Eu(III) extraction experiments were done to clarify the composition of the extracted complexes. The results clearly point to the formation of various species with changing composition.

Neste trabalho apresenta-se o estudo do comportamento eletroquímico anódico - direto (oxidação na superfície do eletrodo) e indireto (oxidação através de um oxidante eletrogerado, ou mediador) de &#946;-ceto-sulfetos e &#946;hidróxi-sulfetos de estruturas variadas. Foram utilizadas as técnicas de voltametria cíclica (anodo:pérola de Pt; referência: Ag/AgI; solvente: MeCN anidra e NaClO4 0,1 M como eletrólito de suporte) e de oxidações anódicas preparativas (potencial controlado ou corrente constante; eletrodos de Pt polida 4 cm2; solvente:MeCN/H2O (9:1v/v); NaClO4 0,2 M). Foram sintetizadas e estudadas as seguintes cetonas &#945;-sulfeniladas: 2-etiltio- (I.1), 2-etiltio-2-metil (I.2) e, 2-feniltio-(I.3)-ciclo-hexano-1-onas; 2-metiltio-(II.1) e 2-metiltio-2-metil-(II.2)-1-tetralonas; 1-fenil-2-metiltio-butano-1-ona (III.1); 2-etiltio-1,2-difenil-etano-1-ona (IV.1) e três derivados aril-substituídos [4.4-OMe (IV.2); 4-OMe (IV.3); 2.2-Cl (IV.3); 2,2-Cl (IV.4)]. Os mediadores preparados e eletroquimicamente investigados foram os derivados bromados da trifenilamina (V.1): tris(4-bromofenil)amina (V.2) e tris(2,4-dibromo-fenil)amina (V.3). Os álcoois correspondentes foram preparados por redução direta das cetonas. Os resultados dos estudos eletroquímicos das cetonas demonstraram que o diferente comportamento eletroquímico deve-se a fatores estereoeletrônicos. Somente (III.1) e (IV.1, 2 e 3) eram oxidados indiretamente. As oxidações anódicas diretas dos &#946;-hidróxi-sulfetos mostraram-se mais seletivas que as das cetonas relativas. Além do mais, a comparação entre as oxidações direta e indireta destes álcoois revelou que enquanto diretamente obtem-se dois ou três produtos, indiretamente os sulfóxidos correspondentes são obtidos. Como único produto, de todos álcoois exceto daqueles relativos às cetonas (IV. 2, 3 e 4). Também foi observado que a estereoquimica cis entre os grupos hidroxila e alquiltio é fator determinante para as oxidações eletroquímicas indiretas. Os estereoisômeros trans não eram oxidados indiretamente. Um intermediário cíclico, formado durante o processo de oxidação, é sugerido como explicação para estes fatos. Também foi observado que ocorre clivagem da ligação carbono-carbono entre os grupos hidroxila e alquiltio na oxidação anódica, quando os carbonos substituídos são terciários (no caso de 2-etiltio-1,2-dimetil-ciclohexan-1-ol), ou estão ligados a grupos fenila (IV.1, 2, 3 e 4). São obtidos os compostos carbonílicos correspondentes em bons rendimentos. / In the present work a study of the electrochemical oxidation behaviour under direct (oxidation at the electrode) and indirect (oxidation by on in situ electrogenerated species, a mediator) conditions of several &#946;-keto and &#946;-hydroxysulphides is reported. Cyclic voltammetry (anode: Pt bead, reference: Ag/AgI, 0.1 M NaClO4) in anhydrous acetonitrile) and preparative scale electrolysis under controlled potential or at constant current (anode: Pt 2 x 2 cm, 0.2 M NaClO4 in acetonitrile - water (9:1 v/v) were employed. The studied mediators were tris-(4-bromophenyl) and tris-2,4-dibromophenyl)amines. The following &#945;-sulphenylated ketones were synthesized: 2-ethylthio-(I.1), 2-ethylthio-2-methyl (I.2) and 2-phenylthio-(I.3)-cyclohexan-1-ones; 2-methylthio-(II.1) and 2-methylthio-2-methyl-(II.2)-1-tetralones; 1-phenyl-2-methylbutan-1-one (III.1); 2-ethylthio-1,2-diphenylethan-1-one (IV.1) and three aryl derivatives [4,4\'-OMe (IV.2), 4\'-Ome (IV.3), 2,2\'-Cl (IV.3)]. The corresponding alcohols were prepared by direct reduction of the ketones. The results of the electrochemical studies for the investigated ketones demonstrated that their different behaviour is due to stereoelectronic effects. Only (III.1, IV.1, IV.2 and IV.3) were indirectly oxidized. The direct anodic oxidations of the &#946;-hydroxy-sulphides were more selective than those of the corresponding ketones. Moreover, a comparison between direct and indirect oxidations of such alcohols reveal that while the former can give two or three products, the latter yields the relatives sulphoxides as the only products with all the alcohols except the ones related to (IV.2, 3 and 4). It was also noticed that the cis stereochemistry between hydroxyl and alkylthio groups is the determining feature in the indirect electrochemical oxidation of cyclic alcohols. No oxidation was observed in the case of the trans stereoisomers. A cyclic intermediate, formed during the oxidation process, is suggested to explain these facts. In addition, a cleavage of the carbon-carbon bond between the hydroxyl and alkylthio groups was observed in the anodic oxidation, when the substituted carbons are tertiary (in the case of 2-ethylthio-1,2- dimethylciclohexan-1-ol), or linked to phenyl groups (IV.1, 2, 3 and 4). In these cases, the corresponding carbonyl compounds were obtained in good yields.

Metal ion contamination in surface and ground water is a major threat as it has a direct implication on the health of terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna. Lead (Pb2+), mercury (Hg2+), cadmium (Cd2+), nickel (Ni2+), copper (Cu2+) and cobalt (Co2+) are few of these metal ions which are classified under the high risk category. Of these, lead and mercury are of greater concern, as even nanomolar concentrations can be lethal, as they can be bio-accumulated and result in physiological as well as neurological disorders. In Asian countries like India and China, heavy metal pollution is more prevalent, as a consequence of poor governmental policies or ineffective or inadequate measures to combat this problem. In recent times, the monitoring and assessment of water pollution is a critical area of study, as it has a direct implication for its prevention and control. The major techniques used for metal ion detection are atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), X-ray fluorescence, ion chromatography, neutron activation, etc. Alternatively, the electrochemical, optical and electrical methods provide a platform for the fabrication of portable devices, which can facilitate the on-site analysis of samples in a rapid and cost-effective manner. This has led to a new field of research called chemical sensors or chemo sensory devices. The main aim of this study is to develop various chemosensory materials and test their response towards metal ion sensing. In this study, electroactive polymers have been synthesized for various sensor applications. The focus has been to design synthesize and test various functionalized electroactive polymers (FEAP) for the development of electrochemical, optical and chemoresistive sensors. Electroactive polymers like polyaniline, polypyrrole, polypyrrole grafted to exfoliated graphite oxide and dipyrromethene conjugated with p-(phenylene vinylene) have been synthesized and evaluated after functionalizing with metal coordinating ligands. These metal coordinating ligands were selected, in order to enhance their metal uptake capacity. Various metal ligands like imidazole, tertiary amine group, iminodiacetic acid, and dipyrromethene incorporated either in the polymer backbone or as a part of the backbone have been chosen for the metal binding. These functionalized electroactive polymers (FEAP) served as active material for metal ion sensing. The present investigation is subdivided into three sections. The first part includes design and chemical synthesis of the functionalized polymers by a series of organic reactions. The synthesis has been followed up by characterization using spectroscopic methods including NMR, FTIR, GCMS and Mass spectrometry. In the second part of the investigation, the synthesized polymer has been characterized for the changes in electronic, electric and optical properties after interaction with the selected metal ions. For this, the FEAP is allowed to interact with various metal ions and the changes in the relevant properties have been measured. This includes the study of changes in the conductivity, electronic properties like absorption or emission of the polymer, changes in the redox properties, etc. The third phase of investigation deals with the fabrication of the devices using the active FEAP. The sensor devices comprised of either films, or electrode modified with FEAP or solution of the FEAP, in combination with an appropriate technique has been used for the sensing. The major objectives are enumerated below 1. Functionalzation of polyaniline with imidazole functional group to get imidazole functionalized polyaniline (IMPANI) and study of the electronic, electrical and optical properties of the same. 2. Preparation of films of IMPANI and study of the change in conductivity of the film upon interaction with various metal ions, namely Cu2+, Co2+ and Ni2+ in their chloride form. 3. Synthesis of amine functionalized aniline monomer and chemical graft polymerization onto exfoliated graphite oxide as a substrate to synthesise the amine funtionalised polyaniline grafted to exfoliated graphite oxide (EGAMPANI). Modification of the carbon paste electrode (CPE) with EGAMPANI and study of the electrode characteristic. 4. Study of the electrode properties of EGAMPANI modified carbon paste electrode. 5. Evaluation of the EGAMPANI modified carbon paste electrode as a multi-elemental voltammetric sensor for Pb2+, Hg2+ and Cd2+ in aqueous system. 6. Functionalization of polypyrrole with iminodiacetic acid and characterization of the polymer to synthesis iminodiacetic acid functionalized polypyrrole (IDA-PPy). 7. Modification of the CPE with IDA-PPy by drop casting method and evaluation of the Pb2+ sensing properties. 8. Study of the effect of other metal ions say Hg2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+ on the anodic stripping current of Pb2+ using EGAMPANI modified CPE. 9. Synthesis of dipyrromethene-p-(phenylene vinylene) conjugated polymer for heavy metal ion sensing. 10. Study of the changes in the optical absorption and emission properties of the polymer in THF and evaluation of the change in these optical properties upon interaction with the metal ions as analyte. The salient findings of the research work are highlighted as follows, In the first synthesis, aniline has been functionalized with imidazole group and this monomer has been chemical oxidatively polymerized to obtain imidazole functionalized polyaniline (IMPANI). The synthesized polymer possesses a nano-spherical structure, as confirmed from the morphological characterisation using scanning electron microscopy. The IMPANI has been interacted with a representative metal ion, copper (II) chloride, and the copper complexed polymer (Cu-IMPANI) has been subjected to various studies. The coordination of copper with IMPANI results in an increase of molecular weight of the polymer as a result of aggregation, as observed from dynamic light scattering measurements. Apart from this, a significant finding is the decrease of the pH of the system after copper ion coordination attesting to the generation of a secondary hydrochloride ion during the coordination of the copper to the imidazole side chain. This is further confirmed by an increase in conductivity of the Cu-IMPANI compared to IMPANI, measured using the four-probe technique. The increase of conductivity due to copper coordination is one order of magnitude higher. The films which have been prepared from IMPANI and Cu-IMPANI exhibit different morphology. The Cu-IMPANI film prepared by prior co-ordination of Cu ion with IMPANI powder shows a flaky structure, which is not preferable for the conductivity measurements, as a consequence of discontinuity in the medium. To overcome this problem, IMPANI films were initially prepared and then interacted with copper ions for a desired duration, before measurement of the conductivity. This latter procedure enabled the preparation of smooth films for the development of chemoresistive sensors. In continuation of the initial study highlighted above, IMPANI films of thickness 0.02 ± 0.001 mm have been prepared using IMPANI and PANI in DMPU in the ratio of 7:3 by mass. After exposure of the films with respective metal chlorides, such as Ni2+, Co2+ and Cu2+, a change in conductivity is observed in the concentration range of 10-2 to 1 M of metal chlorides. The sensor response may be arranged in the sequence: Ni2+ > Cu2+ > Co2+ at 1M concentration. On the contrary, films prepared from PANI-EB under identical conditions do not exhibit any appreciable change in conductivity. The optimum exposure time is determined to be 10 min for a maximum change in conductivity, after exposure to the chosen metal ions. In the second system taken up for investigation, a tertiary amine containing polyaniline (AMPANI) has been grafted to exfoliated graphite oxide. The amine containing polyaniline grafted to exfoliated graphite oxide (EGAMPANI) has been characterised for structural, morphological and elemental composition. The grafting percentage has been determined to be 7 % by weight of AMPANI on the EGO surface. The synthesized EGAMPANI (5 weight %) has been used to modify carbon paste electrode (CPE) for electrochemical sensor studies. Based on the differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric studies, the electrochemical response may be arranged in the following sequence: Pb 2+>Cd 2+>Hg 2+ The minimum detection levels obtained are 5×10-6, 5×10-7, and 1.0×10-7 M for Hg2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ ions respectively. In the next study, an iminodiacetic acid functionalized polypyrrole (IDA-PPy) has been synthesized and characterised for its elemental and structural properties. This has been further used to modify the CPE by drop casting method and used for the specific detection of Pb2+ in acetate buffer. Various parameters governing the electrode performance such as concentration of depositing solution, pH of depositing solution, deposition potential, deposition time, and scan rate, have been optimized to achieve maximum performance and found to be 20 μl, 4.5, -1.3 V, 11 min, 8 mV s-1 respectively for the chosen parameters. Additionally, the influence of other heavy metal ions on the lead response has been studied and it is observed that Co, Cu and Cd ions are found to be interfering. Further, the response of Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Ni and Zn on IDA-PPy functionalized electrode has been evaluated. The selectivity of IDA-PPy modified electrode for Pb2+ is observed in the concentration range of 1 × 10-7 M and below. The IDA-PPy modified CPE shows a linear correlation for Pb2+ concentration in the range from 1×10-6 to 5×10-9 M and with a lowest limit of detection (LLOD) of 9.6×10-9 M concentration. The efficacy of the electrode for lead sensing has also been evaluated with an industrial effluent sample obtained from a lead battery manufacturing unit. The fourth synthesis pertained to the development of an optical sensor for Fe2+, and Co2+ ions. For this, dipyrromethene as a metal coordinating ligand in conjugation with p-phenylenevinylene has been synthesized and tested for its structural as well as optical properties. It is observed that the polymer shows three absorptions, namely at 294 nm, 357 nm and a major absorption observed as a broad band ranging from 484 to 670 nm. The emission spectrum of the polymer excited at 357 nm shows a characteristic blue emission with a maximum intensity centered at 425 nm. The emission quenching in the presence of various metal ions have been tested and are found to be quenched in presence of Fe2+ and Co2+ ions. All the other metal ions tested namely, Cr3+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ are not found to exhibit any change in the emission spectra below the concentration of 1 × 10-4 M. The linear correlation of the emission intensity with the concentration of the Co2+ and Fe2+ ions has been determined using Stern-Volmer plot. For Co2+ the Stern-Volmer regime is observed from 1×10-4 to 9×10-4 M concentration and the quenching constant Ksv is determined to be 8.67 ×103 M-1. For Fe2+, the linearity is found to be in the regime of 1×10-5 to 9×10-5 M and the quenching constant Ksv is determined to be 7.90 × 103 M-1. In conclusion, different electroactive polymers functionalized with metal coordinating ligands have been synthesized, characterised and evaluated for metal sensing applications. Techniques like electrochemical, optical and conductivity have been used to characterise the response of these FEAP towards metal sensing. It is can be concluded that the electrochemical sensors are more reliable for sensing especially at very low concentrations of metal ions such as Pb, Cd and other techniques like optical and conductimetric are good for detecting metal ions namely Fe, Co, Ni, Cu. The selectivity towards the metal ions is a function of the metal chelating ligand and the extent of sensitivity is dependent upon the technique employed.