Das grundlegende Verständnis von Selbstorganisationsprozessen auf molekularem Niveau ist von entscheidender Bedeutung für den Fortschritt der Nanotechnologie. In diesem Zusammenhang werden hier Untersuchungen derartiger Prozesse an der Grenzfläche zwischen einer flüssigen Phase (z.B. einer Lösung) und einer kristallinen Festkörperoberfläche durchgeführt. Die Konzentration der Lösung und die Polarität des Lösungsmittels sind von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Kontrolle der durch Selbstorganisation gebildeten Strukturen von Molekülen an den flüssig-fest Grenzflächen zu einem Graphitsubstrat (HOPG). Im Mittelpunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit stehen die Einflüsse dieser beiden Parameter auf die Anordnung der Moleküle. Zunächst wird die Polarität der Lösungsmittel diskutiert. Lösungsmittel mit verschiedenen Polaritäten wie Phenyloctan (unpolar), Fettsäuren (moderat polar) und Fettalkohole (stark polar) wurden verwendet um Trimesinsäure (TMA) zu lösen. TMA bildet keine geordnete Struktur aus wenn es aus Phenyloctan (PO) abgeschieden wird. Ein poröses Muster ("Chicken-wire"-Struktur) entsteht aus der Lösung von TMA in Octansäure, wohingegen aus der Lösung von TMA in Undecanol ein Linienmuster durch Koadsorption von TMA und Undecanol Molekülen gebildet wird. Als nächstes werden die Auswirkungen der Ultraschallbehandlung der Lösungen zur Kontrolle der Konzentration der Lösung und die daraus resultierende unterschiedliche molekulare Packungsdichte und Strukturen beschrieben. Eine selbstassemblierte Struktur aus Zick-Zack-Dimerketten wird bei der TMA-PO Lösung nur beobachtet, wenn die Lösung für 5 Stunden Ultraschall ausgesetzt wurde. Die hoher Packungsdichte in Form der "Flower"-Struktur wird für Lösungen von TMA in Octansäure gefunden, nachdem diese für lange Zeit mit Ultraschall behandelt wurden. Ein weiterer Aspekt der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die entdeckte Veresterungsreaktion an der TMA-undecanol/HOPG Grenzfläche. 1-undecyl Monoester von TMA wurde überraschender Weise an dieser Grenzfläche gefunden, nachdem die TMA-Undecanol Lösungen, für lange Zeit Ultraschall ausgesetzt wurden. Diese Monoestermoleküle bilden sich an der flüssig-fest Grenzfläche allein auf Grund der erhöhten Konzentration von TMA (ohne jegliche externe Katalysatoren). Der physikalische Hintergrund der Prozesse des Lösens und der Ultraschallbehandlung sind der Gegenstand weiterer Untersuchungen. Selbstassemblierte Abscheidung tritt auch bei Verwendung nur der reinen Lösungsmittel (Octansäure beziehungsweise Undecanol) auf, was zu verschiedenen Mustern führt, welche ebenfalls durch Ultraschallbehandlung kontrolliert eingestellt werden können.

Metals and valuable metal compounds are important parts of our everyday lives with applications ranging from aluminum foil over circuit boards to high-performance alloys for engineering and buildings construction. Large-scale metal production processes provide access to metals contained in numerous naturally occurring ores, earths and minerals and should be considered one of the major drivers of industrialization, leading to a continuous increase in living standards. Thereby, metals are often present in the form of oxides or other compounds of low reactivity and high stability. This makes metal extraction an often energy-intensive, environmentally problematic endeavor, relying on high reaction temperatures around 1000 °C or aggressive, corrosive and toxic chemicals. A disruptive, new approach for more sustainable metal production could be ionometallurgy, i.e., metal extraction by means of ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs). ILs, per definition, are salts with a melting point below 100 °C, while DESs are eutectic mixtures of two or more reagents with a melting point below that of the individual components. Both classes of materials feature favorable properties, such as a good solubility for many inorganic salts. Ionometallurgy is a seemingly simple approach, dissolving metal oxides at moderate temperature in an IL or DES and subsequently either electrodepositing the respective metal or producing valuable metal compounds by downstream chemistry. This thesis elucidated the general feasibility of the direct ionometallurgical metal production from metal oxides in two betaine-based solvents, namely the IL betainium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Hbet][NTf2]) and a DES consisting of betaine hydrochloride, urea and glycerol in the molar ratio 1 : 4 : 2.5 ([Hbet]Cl/4U/2.5GLY). Initial solubility studies involved a broad screening of the reaction behavior of numerous metal oxides with different properties regarding the position of the metal in the periodic table, its oxidation state as well as the basicity of the oxide. Exploiting the Brønsted-acidic functional group of the betainium cation, metal oxide dissolution in this case follows the principle of an acid-base reaction. Correspondingly, [Hbet][NTf2] favors the dissolution of basic or amphoteric metal oxides, while acidic metal oxides remain unaffected. In-depth investigations were performed for the examples of copper, cobalt and aluminum and identified the metal oxide lattice energy, the crystal structure and the reaction temperature as well as complex stabilities of the metal ions as additional factors to influence the solubility. How additives can affect the reaction outcome in multiple ways was shown for the example of chloride. In the copper system, small amounts of chloride act catalytically, while larger concentrations not only decrease the reaction time but also exhibit a structure-directing effect. For cobalt oxides, chloride is assumed to be reaction-driving due to the high chloride affinity of cobalt(II). These results were supported by seven new crystal structures found in the course of these investigations. Thereby, for the first time, metal oxide dissolution in [Hbet][NTf2] was systematically investigated under water-poor conditions. Abstaining from aqueous IL solutions, although water was shown to promote metal oxide dissolution, enables access to several metals via electrodeposition. This is facilitated by the large electrochemical windows of [Hbet][NTf2] and [Hbet]Cl/4U/2.5GLY, amounting to −2.0–1.4 V and −2.3–0.9 V, respectively. Copper, cobalt, nickel, tin, lead, zinc, and small amounts of vanadium were shown to be electrochemically reducible, whereas manganese, molybdenum and aluminum could not be electrodeposited within the electrochemical stability range of the IL or DES. For the deposition of the noble metal copper, the chloride content, the deposition temperature and additional organic solvents were identified as crucial parameters for the deposition potential as well as the quality of the deposit. By copper-coating a steel plate, a potentially industrially relevant application was demonstrated. Compared to the conventional industrial process for copper production, this ionometallurgical approach could imply a significant simplification and proceed at much lower reaction temperatures. Starting from tenorite or oxidic copper waste, copper coatings could directly be producible avoiding multiple process steps. Furthermore, the cobalt system revealed, that the thorough understanding of the complex equilibria present in solution is crucial for the successful electrodeposition of the metal. Thus, no deposits were obtained when anionic [CoCl4]2– was the predominant cobalt complex species. The adjustment of the cobalt-to-chloride ratio is a suitable method to generate sufficient amounts of cationic cobalt complexes, allowing for the deposition of the metal. Overall, several metals were directly produced from their oxides by the ionometallurgical approach at temperatures below 175 ℃. This means a significant temperature reduction compared to the conventional processes. Encouragingly, [Hbet][NTf2] already showed first promising results when applied to industrially relevant starting materials, such as black mass for the recycling of lithium ion batteries or bauxite as a highly relevant, naturally occurring aluminum resource. While this qualifies ionometallurgy in principle as a considerable improvement regarding process sustainability, the impact of [Hbet][NTf2] and [Hbet]Cl/4U/2.5GLY was analyzed in more depth. Thereby, the recyclability of the solvents is considered a very important factor for the efficient implementation of ionometallurgy in larger scale. First experiments in a two-compartment electrochemical cell showed that metals can be electrodeposited cathodically with a tailorable anode reaction. The oxygen evolution reaction in an aqueous electrolyte proved as suitable benign oxidation reaction in the anode half cell. The intactness of [Hbet][NTf2] after metal electrodeposition in this set-up was evidenced by NMR spectroscopy, qualifying the IL for reuse in principle. As opposed to this, decomposition reactions were identified to take place in both the IL and the DES. At 175 °C, [Hbet][NTf2] undergoes the chloride-induced decomposition via a Hunsdieker and a Deacon reaction, which is avoidable by a lower reaction temperature of 150 °C. NMR studies suggest that [Hbet][NTf2] does not decompose during the ionometallurgical process at this temperature. However, in the case of [Hbet]Cl/4U/2.5GLY, NMR and mass spectrometric studies proved the degradation via several decomposition pathways at 60 °C already. These decomposition reactions change the composition of the DES, which also affects the solubility of metal oxides. The thermal and chemical stability of [Hbet][NTf2] and [Hbet]Cl/4U/2.5GLY, besides other factors, have direct implications for their consideration as green solvents. Thus, [Hbet][NTf2] should only be used at reaction temperatures below 150 °C. Furthermore, its industrial application might be impeded by the expensive and toxic [NTf2]– anion. While betaine-based solvents can be easily accessible due to the natural abundance of betaine, the synthesis effort of the [NTf2]– anion makes [Hbet][NTf2] a considerably expensive IL. [Hbet]Cl/4U/2.5GLY is cheaper and easier to be synthesized from naturally abundant substances, yet not a considerable option due to its decomposition at low temperature already. Its thermal and chemical instability pose hardly surmountable obstacles regarding the recycling and the toxicity of [Hbet]Cl/4U/2.5GLY. Thus, both [Hbet][NTf2] and [Hbet]Cl/4U/2.5GLY do not qualify as green solvents and more benign alternatives should be found in the future. Altogether, this thesis showed that the ionometallurgical production of metals from their oxides is possible and, moreover, could be a sustainable alternative to conventional processes. The presented investigations extend our understanding of metal oxide chemistry in ILs or DESs and provide proofs of concept, laying a foundation for further work that leaves numerous opportunities for ongoing exploration and optimization. Hence, ionometallurgy could be one step to face the urgent challenge of climate change.

The concept of a self-incompatible solvent is introduced as a molecule composed of two parts (compound 1 and 2) with unfavourable interactions. A third compound will be readily dissolved in this solvent to diminish this unfavourable interaction by dilution. The more incompatible compounds 1 and 2 are, the stronger this behaviour is expected to be. In this work, ionic liquids comprising non-polar carbon chain and polar ionic group are chosen to serve as a model of self-incompatible solvent. The interactions parameters k of the ionic liquids with active ingredients are investigated to examine the effect of self-incompatibility of the ionic liquid molecule. On the other hand, phase separation between compounds 1 and 2 will reduce the positive effect of self-incompatibility. The tendency of phase separation is increasing with increasing size of the two compounds. Thus, if compounds 1 and 2 are blocks tied together into a block copolymer, one expects a decreasing ability of the block copolymer to dissolve an active ingredient with increasing block length. In this work the ability of polybutadiene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PB-b-P2VP) block copolymers to dissolve the model compound anthracene is investigated. As expected, the solubility indeed decreases with increasing block length.

Source de carbone la plus abondante du règne végétal et non concurrentielle de la chaîne alimentaire, la cellulose est une alternative aux ressources fossiles crédible pour le développement de nouveaux matériaux polymères. Néanmoins, à ce jour, les nombreux travaux décrits dans la littérature et visant la valorisation et la modification chimique de ce biopolymère fascinant ne répondent pas suffisamment, ou tout au moins que très partiellement, aux critères de durabilité. Pour répondre à ces critères de développement durable, le caractère renouvelable de la cellulose et les concepts de procédés propres et de chimie ‘verte’, doivent être réellement pris en compte. Ceci implique un choix réfléchi des solvants et réactifs utilisés, une maîtrise des procédés de modification chimique et bien évidemment une évaluation de la pertinence des produits formés, pour lesquels les propriétés obtenues doivent être innovantes et supérieures aux matériaux polymères existants. Cette thèse se divise en trois parties principales, à savoir la solubilisation, la régénération et la modification chimique de la cellulose. Tout au long de ce travail, une attention particulière a été portée sur la durabilité de sa transformation chimique pour viser l’élaboration de matériaux cellulosiques processables et aux propriétés innovantes. Dans la première partie de la thèse, un système composé d’un catalyseur organique nucléophile (DBU) et de CO2 a permis la dissolution rapide de la cellulose dans le DMSO. Une étude détaillée visant à optimiser le système DMSO-DBU-CO2 a été réalisée grâce à un suivi par spectroscopie infrarouge in situ. Ainsi, jusqu'à 8 % massique de cellulose ont pu être dissous en 15 minutes à 30 °C sous une faible pression de CO2 (2-5 bars). L’originalité de ce système commutable (fixation-relargage réversible du CO2), par comparaison aux autres solvants classiques de la cellulose, inclut une recyclabilité plus facile par simple dépressurisation du CO2 et une solubilisation rapide et douce, à plus bas coût, en comparaison aux systèmes utilisant les liquides ioniques. La mise en évidence de la création de fonctions carbonate par réaction avec différents composés électrophiles tels les halogénures d’alkyle a permis d’avoir une connaissance approfondie de ce système. L'optimisation réussie d'un système ‘propre’ permettant la dissolution de la cellulose nous a conduit à étudier sa régénération. Dans cet objectif, des aérogels de cellulose ont été préparés par un procédé de solubilisation, coagulation et lyophilisation. Différents paramètres ont été examinés tels la concentration en cellulose, le solvant de coagulation ou encore la nature et concentration en super-base (DBU-CO2), sur les propriétés des aérogels (densité, morphologie, taille des pores). Les résultats obtenus démontrent que des aérogels avec une densité entre 0.05 et 1,2 g/cm3, des porosités entre 92 et 97 % et des tailles de pore entre 1,1 et 4,5 μm ont été obtenus. Enfin, l’analyse des aérogels par microscopie électronique à balayage (SEM), a révélé la formation de réseaux de cellulose interconnectés et macroporeux. La modification chimique de la cellulose pour l’élaboration de matériaux processables aux propriétés innovantes fait l’objet de la troisième partie de la thèse. Cette partie est divisée en deux sous-parties: la dérivatisation de la cellulose par réaction de transestérification d’une part, et par réaction multi-composants, d’autre part. Dans la première sous-partie et gardant à l'esprit les principes de la chimie verte, la nature unique du système commutable DBU-CO2 amenant un changement d’hydrophilie du squelette cellulosique a permis l’utilisation directe de l’huile de tournesol pour la transestérification de la cellulose. [...] / As the most abundant source of carbon in our planet, without any competition with food or feed supplies, cellulose is a viable alternative to replace the widely used and unsustainable fossil-based polymers. However, the majority of researchers working on this fascinating biopolymer fail to incorporate sustainability considerations during cellulose chemical transformation to make materials. The consequence is a shift of the “environmental burden” to other stages of the process cycle. Therefore, to ensure sustainability, both the renewability feature of cellulose as well as sustainability considerations concerning its transformation processes are necessary. This implies to consider the solvent, the reactants, the derivatization process and the wastes produced as well as an evaluation of the suitability of the resultant products, for which relevant properties have to be obtained to compete with existing alternatives. This thesis is therefore divided into three main parts (solubilization, regeneration and derivatization of cellulose), and addresses the various concerns of sustainability during cellulose transformation with an end-goal of making processable materials.In the first part of the thesis, a sustainable solvent system for cellulose was investigated. In this regard, a detailed optimization study of the DBU-CO2 switchable solvent system was performed using in-situ infrared spectroscopy. Upon optimization, up to 8 wt.% cellulose could be dissolve within 15 min at 30 °C using low CO2 pressure (2-5 bar). What makes this solvent system sustainable, when compared to other classical cellulose solvents, includes: easier recyclability by simple release of the CO2 pressure, fast and mild solubilization and lower cost compared to ionic liquids. Finally, by successfully trapping the formed in-situ cellulose carbonate using an electrophile, a clearer understanding of this solvent system was established.The successful optimization of a sustainable solvent system for cellulose led to the second part of the thesis: the regeneration of cellulose. Here, the general solubilization and coagulation ways followed by freeze-drying was adopted to prepare cellulose aerogels. Various processing conditions such as cellulose concentration, coagulating solvent and super base, were investigated on their effect of the aerogels properties (density, morphology, pore size). The obtained results showed aerogels with densities between 0.05 and 1.2 g/cm3, porosities between 92 and 97 % and pore sizes between 1.1 and 4.5 μm. In addition, from scanning electron microscopy (SEM), open large macroporous inter-connected cellulose networks were observed.The derivatization of cellulose to make thermally processable materials is covered in the third part of the thesis. This part is divided into two sub-parts; transesterification and multicomponent reaction modification. [...] / Als Kohlenstoffquelle mit der größten Verfügbarkeit auf unserem Planeten, ohne Konkurrenz zur Lebens- und Futtermittelversorgung, stellt Cellulose eine interessante Alternative dar, um die vielfältig genutzten, nicht-nachhaltigen Polymere auf Erdölbasis zu ersetzen. Die Mehrheit der Forscher, die mit diesem faszinierenden Biopolymer arbeiten, vernachlässigt allerdings Überlegungen zur Nachhaltigkeit in die chemische Modifizierung von Cellulose bei der Herstellung von Materialien zu integrieren. Die Konsequenz dessen ist eine Verlagerung der Umweltbelastung auf andere Abschnitte des Prozess-Zyklus. Um Nachhaltigkeit sicherzustellen, sind deshalb sowohl der erneuerbare Aspekt von Cellulose als auch Überlegungen zur Nachhaltigkeit im Reaktionsprozess wichtig. Dies beinhaltet die Berücksichtigung des Lösungsmittels, die Reaktanden, des Derivatisierungsprozesses, die produzierten Abfälle sowie eine Beurteilung der Nachhaltigkeit der resultierenden Produkte, die relevante Eigenschaften aufweisen müssen um mit bestehenden Alternativen konkurrieren zu können. Diese Arbeit ist deshalb in drei Teile gegliedert (Löslichkeit, Rückgewinnung und Derivatisierung von Cellulose) und befasst sich mit den verschiedenen Aspekten der Nachhaltigkeit während der Umsetzung von Cellulose mit dem Ziel, verarbeitbare Materialien herzustellen.Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wurde ein nachhaltiges Lösungsmittelsystem für Cellulose untersucht. In diesem Zusammenhang wurde eine detaillierte Optimierungsstudie des DBU-CO2 schaltbaren Lösungsmittelsystems mittels in-situ Infrarot Spektroskopie durchgeführt. Nach der Optimierung konnten bis zu 8 Gew.-% Cellulose innerhalb von 15 min. bei 30°C und einem niedrigen CO2-Druck (2-5 bar) gelöst werden. Verglichen mit klassischen Lösungsmitteln für Cellulose weist dieses Lösungsmittelsystem verschiedene nachhaltige Aspekte auf: Einfaches Recycling durch entfernen des CO2-Drucks, schnelles und mildes Auflösen und geringere Kosten als ionische Flüssigkeiten. Durch erfolgreiches Abfangen des in-situ gebildeten Cellulose-Carbonats mit einem Elektrophil, konnte schließlich ein besseres Verständnis dieses Lösungsmittelsystems erreicht werden. Die erfolgreiche Optimierung eines Lösungsmittelsystems für Cellulose führte zum zweiten Teil der Arbeit: der Regenerierung von Cellulose. Hier wurde der bereits mit anderen Systemen beschriebene Weg von Lösen und Ausfällen, gefolgt von Gefriertrocknen übernommen, um Cellulose-Aerogele herzustellen. Verschiedene Bedingungen bei der Verarbeitung wie die Cellulose-Konzentration, Lösungsmittel zum Ausfällen und die Superbase und deren Effekt auf die Eigenschaften der Aerogele (Dichte, Morphologie und Porengröße) wurden untersucht. So wurden Aerogele mit einer Dichte von 0.05-1.20 g/cm3, Porositäten zwischen 92 und 97% und Porengrößen zwischen 1.1 und 4.5 μm erhalten. Zusätzlich wurden im Rasterelektronenmikroskop offene große und makroporöse, miteinander verbundene Cellulose-Netzwerke beobachtet. [...]

With the advancements in the field of wireless sensor networks (WSNs), more and more applications require the sensor nodes to have long lifetime. Energy harvesting sources, e.g. thermoelectric generators (TEGs), can be used to increase the lifetime and capability of the WSNs. Integration of energy harvesters into sensor nodes of WSNs can realize self powered systems, providing the possibility for maintenance free WSNs. TEGs can convert the existing temperature differences into electricity. The efficiency of TEGs is directly related to the dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) of materials, which is given as ZT=σS^2 T/k, where σ is the electrical conductivity, S is the Seebeck coefficient, k is the thermal conductivity, T is the temperature and σS^2 is the power factor. Traditional thermoelectric (TE) materials are based on inorganic materials, of which the thermal conductivity is high. Over the past decade, the use of nanostructuring technology, e.g. superlattice, could decrease the thermal conductivity in order to enhance the efficiency of TE materials. However, the high cost and the rigidity of inorganic TE materials are limiting factors. As alternatives, polymer based materials have become the research focus due to their intrinsic low thermal conductivity, high flexibility and high electrical conductivity. Moreover, polymer based materials could be fabricated in solution form, giving the possibility for employing printing techniques hence a decrease in the production cost. Unlike the typical approach, in which secondary dopants are added into PEDOT:PSS solutions to modify the power factor of polymer films, this thesis is focused on a more efficient method to improve TE properties. This thesis demonstrates for the first time that post treatment of PEDOT:PSS films with the secondary dopant DMSO as the medium results in a much larger power factor than the traditional addition method. The post treatment method also avoids the usually required mixing step involved in the addition method. Different solvents were selected to discuss the impact factors in the modification of the power factor by this post treatment approach. The post treatment of PEDOT:PSS films was then extended to utilize a green solvent EMIMBF_4 (an ionic liquid) as the medium. EMIMBF_4 is found to exchange ions with PEDOT:PSS films. As a result, the EMIM^+ cations remain in the films and reduce the oxidation level of PEDOT chains, which affects the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical conductivity. Furthermore, TE materials based on hybrid composites with polymer as the matrix and Te nanostructures as the nanoinclusions were investigated. This thesis successfully developed a green synthesis method to obtain Te nanostructures, in which a non toxic reductant and a non toxic Te sources were used. Well controlled Te nanostructures including nanorods, nanowires and nanotubes were synthesized by wet chemical and hydrothermal synthesis. Those as synthesized Te nanowires were then integrated into PEDOT:PSS solution for composite films fabrication. A high Seebeck coefficient up to 200 μV/K was observed in the composite film. / Mit den Weiterentwicklungen der Drahtlosen Sensornetzwerke (engl. WSN, wireless sensor networks) stellen immer mehr Anwendungen die Forderung einer langen Lebensdauer der Sensorknoten. Energiegewinnungssysteme (engl. Energy Harvesters) wie z.B. thermoelektrische Generatoren (TEGs) können genutzt werden, um die Lebensdauer und Leistungsfähigkeit der WSN zu steigern. Mit der Integration von Energy Harvesters können WSN ohne äußere Stromversorgung realisiert und somit die Möglichkeit zur Wartungsfreiheit geschaffen werden. TEGs liefern Energie durch die Umwandlung einer Temperaturdifferenz in Elektrizität. Die Effektivität der TEG ist direkt verbunden mit der Material-Kennzahl ZT und ist gegeben durch ZT=σS^2 T/k, wobei σ die elektrische Leitfähigkeit ist, S der Seebeck Koeffizient, k die thermische Leifähigkeit, T die Temperatur und σS^2 der Leistungsfaktor. Herkömmliche thermoelektrische (TE) Materialien basieren auf anorganischen Materialien, von denen die thermische Leitfähigkeit hoch ist. Im Laufe des letzten Jahrzehnts konnte durch den Einsatz der Nanostrukturierung die thermische Leitfähigkeit verringern werden um damit die Effizienz von TE-Materialien zu steigern. Die Steifigkeit dieser Materialien ist ein anderer Aspekt. Als Alternative für anorganische TE Materialien sind Polymer basierte TE Materialien zum Fokus der Forschung geworden aufgrund einer intrinsisch niedrigen thermischen Leitfähigkeit, hohen Flexibilität und hohen elektrischen Leitfähigkeit. Des Weiteren können diese Polymere in gelöster Form verarbeitet werden, was die Möglichkeit für den Einsatz von Drucktechnologien und damit geringeren Produktionskosten gibt. Anders als der herkömmliche Ansatz den Leistungsfaktor der Polymerfilme durch die Ergänzung von sekundären Dotanten in PEDOT:PSS Lösungen zu verändern, wurde in dieser Arbeit eine effizientere Methode zur Verbesserung der TE Eigenschaften gesucht. In dieser Arbeit wird zum ersten Mal gezeigt, dass die Nachbehandlung von PEDOT:PSS Schichten mit sekundären Dotanten Dimethylsulfoxid (DMSO) als Medium der Nachbehandlung zu einem viel höheren Leistungsfaktor führt als bei der Zugabemethode und außerdem die sonst erforderliche Mischprocedur vermeidet. Es wurden verschiedene Lösungsmittel ausgewählt um die Einflussfaktoren bei der Modifikation des Leistungsfaktors durch die Nachbehandlung von Polymerschichten zu diskutieren. Die Nachbehandlung von PEDOT:PSS Schichten wurde nachfolgend erweitert um das umweltfreundliche Lösungsmittel EMIMBF4 (eine ionische Flüssigkeit) als das Medium einzusetzen. EMIMBF4 ist bekannt für den Austausch von Ionen mit PEDOT:PSS Schichten, so dass EMIM Kationen in der Schicht verbleiben, die Oxidationsstufe der PEDOT-Ketten senken und damit den Seebeck-Koeffizient und die elektrische Leitfähigkeit beeinflussen. Des Weiteren konzentriert sich diese Arbeit auf TE Materialien basierend auf Kompositen aus Polymeren mit Nanoeinlagerungen. Erfolgreiche Syntheseansätze wurden für Tellur-Nanostrukturen entwickelt, bei denen keine giftigen Reduktionsmittel und keine giftigen Tellur-Quellen zur Verwendung kamen. Es erfolgte die Erzeugung von kontrollierten Tellur-Nanostrukturen, einschließlich Nanostäben, Nanodrähten und Nanoröhren, mit nass-chemischer und hydrothermaler Synthese. Die so hergestellten Nanodrähte wurden dann in PEDOT:PSS Lösungen integriert für die Herstellung von Komposite-Schichten. Dabei konnte ein hoher Seebeck-Koeffizienten, bis zu 200 μV/K, festgestellt werden.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have made a great impact on materials science and are being explored for potential applications in several disciplines. In this article, we briefly highlight the current state-of-the-art techniques employing ILs as new crystallisation media, working as neutral solvent, template or charge compensating species. The use of an IL as environmental friendly solvent offers many advantages over traditional crystallisation methods. The change from molecular to ionic reaction media leads to new types of materials being accessible. Room temperature ILs have been found to be excellent solvent systems for the crystallisation of a wide range of substances and morphologies ranging from nanoscopic crystals to micro- and even to macroscopic crystals. Moreover, high temperature routes, such as crystallisation from melts or gas phase deposition, have been replaced by convenient room or low temperature syntheses, employing ILs as reaction media. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have made a great impact on materials science and are being explored for potential applications in several disciplines. In this article, we briefly highlight the current state-of-the-art techniques employing ILs as new crystallisation media, working as neutral solvent, template or charge compensating species. The use of an IL as environmental friendly solvent offers many advantages over traditional crystallisation methods. The change from molecular to ionic reaction media leads to new types of materials being accessible. Room temperature ILs have been found to be excellent solvent systems for the crystallisation of a wide range of substances and morphologies ranging from nanoscopic crystals to micro- and even to macroscopic crystals. Moreover, high temperature routes, such as crystallisation from melts or gas phase deposition, have been replaced by convenient room or low temperature syntheses, employing ILs as reaction media. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Das grundlegende Verständnis von Selbstorganisationsprozessen auf molekularem Niveau ist von entscheidender Bedeutung für den Fortschritt der Nanotechnologie. In diesem Zusammenhang werden hier Untersuchungen derartiger Prozesse an der Grenzfläche zwischen einer flüssigen Phase (z.B. einer Lösung) und einer kristallinen Festkörperoberfläche durchgeführt. Die Konzentration der Lösung und die Polarität des Lösungsmittels sind von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Kontrolle der durch Selbstorganisation gebildeten Strukturen von Molekülen an den flüssig-fest Grenzflächen zu einem Graphitsubstrat (HOPG). Im Mittelpunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit stehen die Einflüsse dieser beiden Parameter auf die Anordnung der Moleküle. Zunächst wird die Polarität der Lösungsmittel diskutiert. Lösungsmittel mit verschiedenen Polaritäten wie Phenyloctan (unpolar), Fettsäuren (moderat polar) und Fettalkohole (stark polar) wurden verwendet um Trimesinsäure (TMA) zu lösen. TMA bildet keine geordnete Struktur aus wenn es aus Phenyloctan (PO) abgeschieden wird. Ein poröses Muster ("Chicken-wire"-Struktur) entsteht aus der Lösung von TMA in Octansäure, wohingegen aus der Lösung von TMA in Undecanol ein Linienmuster durch Koadsorption von TMA und Undecanol Molekülen gebildet wird. Als nächstes werden die Auswirkungen der Ultraschallbehandlung der Lösungen zur Kontrolle der Konzentration der Lösung und die daraus resultierende unterschiedliche molekulare Packungsdichte und Strukturen beschrieben. Eine selbstassemblierte Struktur aus Zick-Zack-Dimerketten wird bei der TMA-PO Lösung nur beobachtet, wenn die Lösung für 5 Stunden Ultraschall ausgesetzt wurde. Die hoher Packungsdichte in Form der "Flower"-Struktur wird für Lösungen von TMA in Octansäure gefunden, nachdem diese für lange Zeit mit Ultraschall behandelt wurden. Ein weiterer Aspekt der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die entdeckte Veresterungsreaktion an der TMA-undecanol/HOPG Grenzfläche. 1-undecyl Monoester von TMA wurde überraschender Weise an dieser Grenzfläche gefunden, nachdem die TMA-Undecanol Lösungen, für lange Zeit Ultraschall ausgesetzt wurden. Diese Monoestermoleküle bilden sich an der flüssig-fest Grenzfläche allein auf Grund der erhöhten Konzentration von TMA (ohne jegliche externe Katalysatoren). Der physikalische Hintergrund der Prozesse des Lösens und der Ultraschallbehandlung sind der Gegenstand weiterer Untersuchungen. Selbstassemblierte Abscheidung tritt auch bei Verwendung nur der reinen Lösungsmittel (Octansäure beziehungsweise Undecanol) auf, was zu verschiedenen Mustern führt, welche ebenfalls durch Ultraschallbehandlung kontrolliert eingestellt werden können.:LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 6 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 7 CHAPTER II: BASIC PRINCIPLES 10 II.1. Principles of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) 10 II.2. Scanning tunneling microscopy at the liquid-solid interface (LSI) 15 II.3.The interactions between solvent and solute molecules in the solution 18 II.4. The interactions between molecules and the substrate 21 II.5. Solvent effects on self-assembly at the liquid-solid interface 23 II.5.1. Solvent co-adsorption effect 23 II.5.2. Solvent influences polymorphism 24 II.5.3. The influence of solvent functionality on self-assembled structures 25 II.6. Ultrasonic influences on concentration of solution 25 CHAPTER III: EXPERIMENTAL SECTION 28 III.1. Solute: Trimesic acid (TMA) (C6H3(COOH)3) 28 III.2. Solvents 28 III.2.1. Strong non-polar solvent: phenyloctane (octylbenzene) (C14H22) 29 III.2.2. Medium polar solvents: alkanoic acids (CnH2n+1COOH, n = 6, 7, 8) 29 III.2.3. Strong polar solvents: alkanoic alcohols (CnH2n+1OH, n = 10, 11) 30 III.3. Preparation of solutions 32 III.4. Substrates 33 III.5. Tip preparation 34 CHAPTER IV: SELF-ASSEMBLY OF TRIMESIC ACID (TMA) CONTROLLED BY SOLVENT POLARITY AND CONCENTRATION OF SOLUTION 36 IV.1. Trimesic acid (TMA) dissolved in a strong non-polar phenyloctane (PO) solvent 36 Results and discussion 37 Summary 46 IV.2. TMA dissolved in medium polar solvents, alkanoic acids 47 IV.2.1. TMA in octanoic acid at different sonication time 49 IV.2.2. TMA in heptanoic and nonanoic acids at different sonication time 56 Summary 57 IV.3. TMA dissolved in strong polar alkanoic alcohol solvents 58 IV.3.1. Linear pattern (LP) from non-sonicated solutions of TMA - undecanol 59 IV.3.2. High density linear pattern from 2 hours sonicated solutions of TMA - undecanol 61 IV.3.3. LP and ester formations from solutions of TMA in undecanol sonicated over extended time (4, 6, and 8 hours) 63 IV.3.4. Monoester at HOPG substrate-undecanol interface 65 IV.3.5. Linear pattern (LP) and ester formation from TMA-decanol solution 72 Summary 73 CHAPTER V: SELF-ASSEMBLY OF SOLVENT MOLECULES INFLUENCED BY SONICATION TIME 75 V.1. Self-assembly of octanoic acid on HOPG controlled by sonication time 75 V.1.1. Self-assembly of octanoic acid from 0-2 hours sonicated liquid on HOPG 76 V.1.2. Patterns deposited from 3 to 10 hours sonicated octanoic acid liquids 78 V.2. Self-assembly of undecanol on HOPG controlled by sonication time 79 V.2.1. Undecanol on HOPG at 0- 2 hours sonication 80 V.2.2. Undecanol on HOPG from 4- 6 hours sonicated liquids 82 CHAPTER VI: SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK 85 APPENDIX 89 REFERENCES 93 ERKLÄRUNG 108 CURRICULUM VITAE 109 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 110

We report the use of imidazolium based tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids (TAAILs) as solvents in the Mizoroki–Heck reaction. Different commercially available palladium sources, inorganic bases, TAAILs and reaction conditions were tested for the synthesis of trans-stilbene using bromobenzene and styrene. A variety of different stilbene derivatives were synthesized with exclusive formation of the (E)-isomers and isolated yields up to 97%. We were able to optimize the reaction conditions using only 0.25 mol% of Pd(OAc)2 as the catalyst and a reaction time of 4 hours. No additional ligands or additives are used in the reaction. The catalytic system using TAAILs achieved higher yields than commercially available imidazolium and phosphonium ionic liquids, demonstrating the potential of tailored ionic liquids as a reaction medium for the Mizoroki– Heck reaction.

Proteins have an indispensable role in the cell. They carry out a wide variety of structural, catalytic and signaling functions in all known biological systems. To perform their biological functions, proteins establish interactions with other bioorganic molecules including other proteins. Therefore, protein-protein interactions is one of the central topics in molecular biology. My thesis is devoted to three different topics in the field of protein-protein interactions. The first one focuses on solvent contribution to protein interfaces as it is an important component of protein complexes. The second topic discloses the structural and functional potential of fluorine's unique properties, which are attractive for protein design and engineering not feasible within the scope of canonical amino acids. The last part of this thesis is a study of the impact of charged amino acid residues within the hydrophobic interface of a coiled-coil system, which is one of the well-established model systems for protein-protein interactions studies. I. The majority of proteins interact in vivo in solution, thus studies of solvent impact on protein-protein interactions could be crucial for understanding many processes in the cell. However, though solvent is known to be very important for protein-protein interactions in terms of structure, dynamics and energetics, its effects are often disregarded in computational studies because a detailed solvent description requires complex and computationally demanding approaches. As a consequence, many protein residues, which establish water-mediated interactions, are neither considered in an interface definition. In the previous work carried out in our group the protein interfaces database (SCOWLP) has been developed. This database takes into account interfacial solvent and based on this classifies all interfacial protein residues of the PDB into three classes based on their interacting properties: dry (direct interaction), dual (direct and water-mediated interactions), and wet spots (residues interacting only through one water molecule). To define an interaction SCOWLP considers a donor–acceptor distance for hydrogen bonds of 3.2 Å, for salt bridges of 4 Å, and for van der Waals contacts the sum of the van der Waals radii of the interacting atoms. In previous studies of the group, statistical analysis of a non-redundant protein structure dataset showed that 40.1% of the interfacial residues participate in water-mediated interactions, and that 14.5% of the total residues in interfaces are wet spots. Moreover, wet spots have been shown to display similar characteristics to residues contacting water molecules in cores or cavities of proteins. The goals of this part of the thesis were: 1. to characterize the impact of solvent in protein-protein interactions 2. to elucidate possible effects of solvent inclusion into the correlated mutations approach for protein contacts prediction To study solvent impact on protein interfaces a molecular dynamics (MD) approach has been used. This part of the work is elaborated in section 2.1 of this thesis. We have characterized properties of water-mediated protein interactions at residue and solvent level. For this purpose, an MD analysis of 17 representative complexes from SH3 and immunoglobulin protein families has been performed. We have shown that the interfacial residues interacting through a single water molecule (wet spots) are energetically and dynamically very similar to other interfacial residues. At the same time, water molecules mediating protein interactions have been found to be significantly less mobile than surface solvent in terms of residence time. Calculated free energies indicate that these water molecules should significantly affect formation and stability of a protein-protein complex. The results obtained in this part of the work also suggest that water molecules in protein interfaces contribute to the conservation of protein interactions by allowing more sequence variability in the interacting partners, which has important implications for the use of the correlated mutations concept in protein interactions studies. This concept is based on the assumption that interacting protein residues co-evolve, so that a mutation in one of the interacting counterparts is compensated by a mutation in the other. The study presented in section 2.2 has been carried out to prove that an explicit introduction of solvent into the correlated mutations concept indeed yields qualitative improvement of existing approaches. For this, we have used the data on interfacial solvent obtained from the SCOWLP database (the whole PDB) to construct a “wet” similarity matrix. This matrix has been used for prediction of protein contacts together with a well-established “dry” matrix. We have analyzed two datasets containing 50 domains and 10 domain pairs, and have compared the results obtained by using several combinations of both “dry” and “wet” matrices. We have found that for predictions for both intra- and interdomain contacts the introduction of a combination of a “dry” and a “wet” similarity matrix improves the predictions in comparison to the “dry” one alone. Our analysis opens up the idea that the consideration of water may have an impact on the improvement of the contact predictions obtained by correlated mutations approaches. There are two principally novel aspects in this study in the context of the used correlated mutations methodology : i) the first introduction of solvent explicitly into the correlated mutations approach; ii) the use of the definition of protein-protein interfaces, which is essentially different from many other works in the field because of taking into account physico-chemical properties of amino acids and not being exclusively based on distance cut-offs. II. The second part of the thesis is focused on properties of fluorinated amino acids in protein environments. In general, non-canonical amino acids with newly designed side-chain functionalities are powerful tools that can be used to improve structural, catalytic, kinetic and thermodynamic properties of peptides and proteins, which otherwise are not feasible within the use of canonical amino acids. In this context fluorinated amino acids have increasingly gained in importance in protein chemistry because of fluorine's unique properties: high electronegativity and a small atomic size. Despite the wide use of fluorine in drug design, properties of fluorine in protein environments have not been yet extensively studied. The aims of this part of the dissertation were: 1. to analyze the basic properties of fluorinated amino acids such as electrostatic and geometric characteristics, hydrogen bonding abilities, hydration properties and conformational preferences (section 3.1) 2. to describe the behavior of fluorinated amino acids in systems emulating protein environments (section 3.2, section 3.3) First, to characterize fluorinated amino acids side chains we have used fluorinated ethane derivatives as their simplified models and applied a quantum mechanics approach. Properties such as charge distribution, dipole moments, volumes and size of the fluoromethylated groups within the model have been characterized. Hydrogen bonding properties of these groups have been compared with the groups typically presented in natural protein environments. We have shown that hydrogen and fluorine atoms within these fluoromethylated groups are weak hydrogen bond donors and acceptors. Nevertheless they should not be disregarded for applications in protein engineering. Then, we have implemented four fluorinated L-amino acids for the AMBER force field and characterized their conformational and hydration properties at the MD level. We have found that hydrophobicity of fluorinated side chains grows with the number of fluorine atoms and could be explained in terms of high electronegativity of fluorine atoms and spacial demand of fluorinated side-chains. These data on hydration agrees with the results obtained in the experimental work performed by our collaborators. We have rationally engineered systems that allow us to study fluorine properties and extract results that could be extrapolated to proteins. For this, we have emulated protein environments by introducing fluorinated amino acids into a parallel coiled-coil and enzyme-ligand chymotrypsin systems. The results on fluorination effect on coiled-coil dimerization and substrate affinities in the chymotrypsin active site obtained by MD, molecular docking and free energy calculations are in strong agreement with experimental data obtained by our collaborators. In particular, we have shown that fluorine content and position of fluorination can considerably change the polarity and steric properties of an amino acid side chain and, thus, can influence the properties that a fluorinated amino acid reveals within a native protein environment. III. Coiled-coils typically consist of two to five right-handed α-helices that wrap around each other to form a left-handed superhelix. The interface of two α-helices is usually represented by hydrophobic residues. However, the analysis of protein databases revealed that in natural occurring proteins up to 20% of these positions are populated by polar and charged residues. The impact of these residues on stability of coiled-coil system is not clear. MD simulations together with free energy calculations have been utilized to estimate favourable interaction partners for uncommon amino acids within the hydrophobic core of coiled-coils (Chapter 4). Based on these data, the best hits among binding partners for one strand of a coiled-coil bearing a charged amino acid in a central hydrophobic core position have been selected. Computational data have been in agreement with the results obtained by our collaborators, who applied phage display technology and CD spectroscopy. This combination of theoretical and experimental approaches allowed to get a deeper insight into the stability of the coiled-coil system. To conclude, this thesis widens existing concepts of protein structural biology in three areas of its current importance. We expand on the role of solvent in protein interfaces, which contributes to the knowledge of physico-chemical properties underlying protein-protein interactions. We develop a deeper insight into the understanding of the fluorine's impact upon its introduction into protein environments, which may assist in exploiting the full potential of fluorine's unique properties for applications in the field of protein engineering and drug design. Finally we investigate the mechanisms underlying coiled-coil system folding. The results presented in the thesis are of definite importance for possible applications (e.g. introduction of solvent explicitly into the scoring function) into protein folding, docking and rational design methods. The dissertation consists of four chapters: ● Chapter 1 contains an introduction to the topic of protein-protein interactions including basic concepts and an overview of the present state of research in the field. ● Chapter 2 focuses on the studies of the role of solvent in protein interfaces. ● Chapter 3 is devoted to the work on fluorinated amino acids in protein environments. ● Chapter 4 describes the study of coiled-coils folding properties. The experimental parts presented in Chapters 3 and 4 of this thesis have been performed by our collaborators at FU Berlin. Sections 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2 and Chapter 4 have been submitted/published in peer-reviewed international journals. Their organization follows a standard research article structure: Abstract, Introduction, Methodology, Results and discussion, and Conclusions. Section 3.3, though not published yet, is also organized in the same way. The literature references are summed up together at the end of the thesis to avoid redundancy within different chapters.