A novel methodology has been developed for the formation of block copolymers that combines ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with functional chain-transfer agents (CTAs), functional chain-terminators (CTs) and self-assembly. Telechelic homopolymers of cyclooctene derivatives that are end-functionalized with hydrogen-bonding or metal-coordination sites are formed via the combination of ROMP with a corresponding functional CTA. These telechelic homopolymers are fashioned with a high control over molecular weight and without the need for post-polymerization procedures. The homopolymers undergo fast and efficient self-assembly with their complement homopolymer or small molecule analogues to form block copolymer architectures. The block copolymers have similar association constants to small molecule analogues described in the literature, regardless of size or the nature of the complementary unit or the polymer side-chain. The ROMP of side-chain functionalized norbornene polymers is coupled with functional CTs to produce block copolymer with main- and side-chain self-assembly sites. Combinations of these norbornene polymers with their complement polymer via self-assembly produce non-covalent AB type block copolymers fast and efficiently. ABA type block copolymers are realized by combining the difunctional homopolymer formed via the CTA pathway with the CT synthesized mono-functional polymer. These polymers show similar association constants regardless of the sequence of polymer formation.

This study investigates the self-assembly of ligands consisting of sterically hindered backbones. Ligands synthesised in this study took advantage of the twisted nature of benzil-2,3-dihydrazone brought about by the steric repulsion between two neighbouring phenyl groups. Synthesis of all ligands used a simple imine condensation reaction, where benzil-2,3-dihydrazone was combined with a chosen aromatic aldehyde. Coordination studies were conducted using first row transition metals and described in text are the solid state structures of twelve new discrete supramolecular complexes, characterised by single crystal X-ray crystallography. Chapter 1 outlines an introduction to the topics discussed in this text, while providing examples drawn from literature and nature. Chapter 2 details the modified synthesis of bis-2-pyridyliminohydrazono-1,2-diphenylethane, L1, and the in-depth background of previous studies with the ligand. The complexes of L1 with Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Cu(I) and Zn(II) determined by single X-ray crystallography are presented, noting the structural effects different metal ion sources have upon L1. In chapter 3 the modified synthesis and characterisation of bis-2-imidazolyliminohydrazono-1,2-diphenylethane, L2, is presented. Crystallographically characterised complexes from the combination of L2 with Mn(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Zn(II) show the formation of interesting topologies which are compared to structures previously determined. Chapter 4 begins with a brief introduction to clusters, followed by the synthesis and characterisation of a recently synthesised ligand, bis-2-salicyliminohydrazono-1,2-diphenylethane, L3,. The formation of a Ni(II) cluster with L3 is further discussed in detail, and outlines the future scope for the work with these ligands. The synthesis and characterisation of L4, and the discussion of mononuclear complex formed between L4 and Cu(II) is also introduced. The chapter concludes with a discussion with the potential future direction of this work with these ligands and their related compounds. Chapter 5 concludes the results and discussion with a brief summary of these results. Chapter 6 outlines the synthesis and characterisation of all ligands and complexes used in this study as well as potential ligands for future studies.

Self-assembly has big importance in synthesizing supramolecular structures. Highly fluorescent molecular squares with boradiazaindacene (BODIPY) building blocks were obtained via usage of metal driven self-asembly. The boradiazaindacene units were connected with the Pd(II) complex unit enforcing a near-90 degree angle between the building blocks. Thus, we believe we have the first example of BODIPY carrying fluorescent squares. With collective experience in BODIPY chemistry in our group, we may have the first example of functionalizable molecular square. Self-assembled light harvesting systems will be ultimate biomimetic example of photosynthetic reaction center.

We have designed and synthesized a fluorescent, self-assembled molecular square containing a highly fluorescent well known flurophore boradiazaindacene (BODIPY) dye. Pt(II) complexes were used to hold together BODIPY derivatives and give the right angle to form the square structure. Usage of BODIPY fluorophore is very important on such structures because its variety of superior properties. BODIPY is a well studied fluorophore in our group and it is known that this self assembled square can be easily modified to any area of use it is needed.

This thesis targets cyclic peptide supramolecular structures for biomaterial applications. The introduction gives a brief insight into supramolecular interactions, peptides, and their application in biomaterials. These supramolecular interactions range from the weak forces of electrostatics and van der Waals interactions, to hydrogen bonding and metal-coordination. The application of peptides and supramolecular interactions has become a highly studied area of chemistry, which has quickly gotten attention in the area of biomaterials. The use of peptides in biomaterials seems obvious since in vivo rejection of this material might be limited. Nature can be used as a blue print to direct the path for hydrogen bonding motifs and metal-coordinating interactions and can be applied potentially towards supramolecular biomaterials. Finally, the introduction reviews the use of cyclic peptides and accounts for the synthetic design of the cyclic octapeptide to be used throughout the thesis work. The second chapter of the thesis provides the details by which the synthetic scheme for creating the linear peptides of interest and ultimately the cyclic peptides is described in detail. Many synthetic challenges were met and overcome during this thesis work; the most notable was overcoming purification challenges and poor amino acid coupling reactions that resulted in low yields. This thesis focuses primarily on the di-substituted pyridylalanine cyclic octapeptide, however much of the initial work on the mono-substituted cyclic octapepide was carried out in tandem allowing for comparison of the two peptides necessary for future work.

Experimentally measuring how ligand modifications affect metal-ligand bonding and electronic structure is an important goal with relevance to diverse fields such as transition metal catalysis and f-element separations. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is an excellent technique for investigating structure/function relationships in metal complexes because it can be used to quantify variations in covalent metal-ligand bonding and electronic structure. Here I describe a series of XAS investigations aimed at elucidating how ligand and structural changes affect chemical bonding and properties in transition metal and uranium complexes. The synthesis and characterization of several new classes of f-element complexes are also discussed. Diphosphines are very important ligands in homogeneous catalysis because they can be used to tune reaction rates, the electronic properties of transition metals, and the stereochemistry of catalytic products. P K-edge XAS studies on solid Ni and Pd diphosphine compounds have shown that M-P covalency is not exclusively dependent on the P-M-P angle (i.e. bite angle), which changes as a function of differing linker groups on the diphosphine backbone. Building on these studies, I show how changes in diphosphine bite angle influence Pd-P covalency in solution and when phenyl substituents attached to phosphorus are replaced with alkyl substituents. This work required the development of an improved solid energy calibration standard for routine energy referencing of P K-edge XAS spectra. I discuss the limitations of P K-edge XAS energy standards used previously and propose tetraphenylphosphonium bromide as a new energy calibration standard for future P K-edge XAS work. The use of nuclear power has resulted in critical challenges surrounding the long-term storage and remediation of nuclear waste. Advanced nuclear fuel cycles can address the scientific challenges of nuclear waste, but require the difficult separation of minor actinides and lanthanides. A multi-donor ligand containing a thioether appendage was prepared to determine if it would bind differently to lanthanide and actinide metals, thereby resulting in metal complexes that could be separated due to differing solubilities. In a related study, a new class of homoleptic lanthanide and actinide borohydride complexes called phosphinodiboranates were prepared. I discuss how the differing solution structures of f-element phosphinodiboranates may offer potential for f-element separations. A series of polyoxovanadate alkoxide clusters was synthesized to investigate the underlying electronic properties that make them useful in catalysis and small-molecule activation. The clusters can access four discrete pseudo-reversible one-electron transfer reactions. V K-edge XAS studies were performed to elucidate variations in electronic structure and bonding in the clusters as a function of redox events, and the results indicate that covalency plays a significant role in the one-electron transfer reactions. These results inspired the synthesis and characterization of an actinide polyoxovanadate compound. Activation and functionalization of the oxo bond in UO22+ is important for understanding the fundamental chemistry of uranium and for developing metal separation processes. A novel uranyl polyoxovanadate compound was studied with V K-edge XAS to determine if covalent interactions between the uranium and vanadium metal centers exist (similar to those observed for the polyoxovanadate alkoxide clusters), and if such interactions could be exploited for activation of the oxo bond in the uranyl dication. Results indicate, however, that the U-O bond remains inactivated.

No description available.

Les foldamères d’oligoquinoline carboxamide forment des structures hélicoïdales en solution et dans le solide. Ces structures sont stabilisées par liaisons hydrogène, empilement aromatique et interactions électrostatiques. Dans une première partie de ce manuscrit, les fonctions amide connectant les unités quinolines ont été substituées par des fonctions vinylène, isostères de celles-ci. Ces composés quinolynènes-vinylènes, seuls, forment principalement des structures étendues en solution. Toutefois lorsque ces nouvelles unités sont en faible proportion au sein de l’oligomères contenant principalement de connections amides, des architectures hélicoïdales ont pu être obtenues. Dans une seconde partie, des ions Cu (II) ont été introduits au centre des hélices d’oligoquinoline carboxamide. Ces ions sont liés aux atomes d’azote des quinolines, et à ceux des fonctions amides après leur déprotonation. Une organisation linéaire de ces ions a été observée dans le solide. L’auto-assemblage d’hélices, en faisceaux, par empilement aromatique d’unités acridines portées par les chaines latérales a été entrepris dans une troisième partie de ce manuscrit. De faibles associations ont pu être mises en évidence en solution. Dans le solide ces interactions, bien que faibles, ont permis le contrôle de l’organisation des hélices dans le cristal. Dans une dernière partie de ce manuscrit, la coordination de métaux a été utilisée afin de permettre l’assemblage d’hélices d’oligoquinoline carboxamide. Des ligands acridine et pyridine ont été fixés sur la périphérie de l’hélice de façon à permettre la coordination par des métaux de transition tel que le palladium (II). Ces assemblages d’hélices induits par le palladium, ont été caractérisés par RMN en solution et par diffraction des rayons X dans le solide. / Oligo-quinolinecarboxamide foldamers form stable helical structures in solution and in the solid state. These helices are stabilized by hydrogen bonds, π-π stacking and electrostatic interactions. In a first part of this manuscript, vinyl functions have been introduced as isosteres of amides. The resulting quinolylene-vinylene oligomers form mainly extended structures in solution. Helical folded conformations can nevertheless be stabilized by attaching two segments of oligoamides at both ends of an oligoquinolylene-vinylene. In a second part, copper (II) ions have been loaded into the single helices of quinolinecarboxamide foldamers. The copper (II) ions coordinate the nitrogen atoms of the quinoline units and also deprotonated amide nitrogen atoms. A one dimensional alignment of the copper (II) ions was observed in the solid state. In a third part, acridine functionalized foldamers were prepared in order to test their self-assembly into bundles through interactions between aromatic functions at the exterior of helices. Associations of the acridine functionalized oligoamides are weak in organic solution. In contrast, in the solid state, interactions between helices are mainly governed by acridine units. In a fourth part, metal coordination has been used to promote helix-helix assembly of quinoline oligoamides foldamers. Acridine and pyridine rings have been attached on the side chains of these oligomers to allow coordination with metals, palladium (II) in this case. The helix-helix assembly of quinoline oligoamides by palladium coordination has been confirmed by NMR and x-ray diffraction.

This thesis begins with a brief analysis of the synthetic methodologies utilized in polymer science. A conclusion is drawn inferring that upper limits in molecular design are inevitable, arising as a direct consequence of the predominance of covalent strategies in the field. To address these concerns, the universal polymer backbone (UPB) concept has been hypothesized. A UPB has been defined as any copolymer, side-chain functionalized with multiple recognition elements that are individually capable of forming strong, directional, and reversible non-covalent bonds. Non-covalent functionalization of these scaffolds can lead to the formation of a multitude of new polymer structures, each stemming from a single parent or universal polymer backbone. To prepare such a UPB, isomerically pure exo-norbornene esters containing either a PdII SCS pincer complex or a diaminopyridine residue were synthesized, polymerized, and copolymerized via ROMP. All polymerizations were living under mild reaction conditions. Kinetic studies showed that the kp values are highly dependent upon the isomeric purity but completely independent of the terminal recognition units. Non-covalent functionalization of these copolymers was accomplished via 1) directed self-assembly, 2) multi-step self- assembly, and 3) one-step orthogonal self-assembly. This system shows complete specificity of each recognition motif for its complementary unit with no observable changes in the association constant upon functionalization. To explore potential applications of this UPB concept, random terpolymers possessing high concentrations of pendant alkyl chains and small amounts of recognition units were synthesized. Non-covalent crosslinking using a directed functionalization strategy resulted in dramatic increases in solution viscosities for metal crosslinked polymers with only minor changes in viscosity for hydrogen bonding motifs. The crosslinked materials were further functionalized via self-assembly by employing the second recognition motif, which gave rise to functionalized materials with tailored crosslinks. This non-covalent crosslinking/functionalization strategy could allow for rapid and tunable materials synthesis by overcoming many difficulties inherent to the preparation of covalently crosslinked polymers. Finally, the current status of the UPB concept is reviewed and methodological extensions of the concept are suggested. Evaluation of how UPBs may be used to optimize materials and their potential use in fabricating unique electro-optical materials, sensors, and drug delivery vesicles are explored.

This thesis begins with a brief overview of supramolecular chemistry and selfassembly and simple examples derived from Nature that provide the motivation for the work presented here. The concept of a synthetic noncovalent toolbox is then introduced. The discussion then focuses more explicitly on side-chain and main-chain functionalized motifs and the methodologies employed in supramolecular polymer functionalization. The primary hypothesis of the thesis is that the combination of supramolecular strategies, ring-opening metathesis polymerization, and a well-understood toolbox of functionalities capable of noncovalent interactions, comprises a method for generating bioinspired materials. This hypothesis was tested by synthesizing unique functionalized supramolecular polymers that allowed for a detailed understanding of the orthogonality of noncovalent interactions and how such interactions can begin to mimic the complexity of functional biomaterials. The strategies and methods discussed in the synthesis of these bioinspired materials are divided into three chapters: (1) an exploration of the self-sorting phenomena between two non-complementary pairs of hydrogen bonds along polymer side-chains, (2) the extension of the self-sorting concept to include a metal coordination moiety, and (3) the side-chain functionalization strategies of chapters 2 and 3 in combination with the main-chain ROMP methodologies discussed in chapter 1 to form orthogonally self-assembled multifunctional block copolymers. The main results of this thesis include the results that multifunctional block copolymers can be fashioned via ROMP, functionalized in both the main- and side-chains, and self-assembled in an orthogonal fashion. In addition, these studies have found that self-sorting between pairs of non-complementary hydrogen bonding motifs can occur in supramolecular synthetic systems, that the interactions are extremely solvent dependent and that these interactions can result in unexpected phenomena. These results demonstrate the importance of a fully understood toolbox for the rapid development of supramolecular materials. The knowledge derived from this toolbox and presented in chapters 2, 3, and 4, allows for the careful selection of compounds for cleverly designed self-assembly materials inspired by Nature. Finally, conclusions are drawn to the success of the synthetic toolbox and the various strategies presented herein, and potential future directions are discussed.