The study shows strong influence of the conformation of the main chains of polythiophenes in solutions on their spectroscopic properties. The conformational changes affect strength of interactions between neighboring chains and lead to the formation of aggregates of stacked polythiophene chains. Stacked chains show red shift of the optical absorption and lead to visible vibronic structure of absorption bands. Multilayered systems prepared by periodic adsorption of the cationic and anionic polythiophene polyelectrolytes on various substrates show proportionality of the overall layer thickness to the number of coatings, which allows a control of the layer thickness. Adsorption of the conjugated polyelectrolytes on the anatase form of titanium dioxide show better penetration of the anionic polythiophene to porous anatase. The adsorption of polymer into the mesoporous structure is not complete: maximum adsorption of PTTA (poly(thiophene-3-ylacetic acid)) adsorbed on anatase do not correspond to the inner surface of mesoporous anatase. Alternating adsorption from the solutions of polythiophene with anionic and cationic side groups on mesoporous anatase allows preparation of the Graetzel-like photovoltaic cell provided that the adsorption process starts with the anionic polythiophene and the layers are deposited...

Avec 35 millions de personnes atteintes dans le monde, la maladie d'Alzheimer (MA) est la maladie neurodégénérative la plus répandue. L'une des caractéristiques pathologiques de cette maladie est l'apparition de plaques amyloïdes, composées d'agrégats de peptide beta-amyloïde. Aujourd'hui, le diagnostic repose essentiellement sur des tests neuropsychologiques et sur la mise en évidence de changements dans la structure du cerveau tels que l'atrophie corticale (diminution du volume du cerveau). Cependant les symptômes de cette maladie n'apparaissent qu'à un stade très développé. Ainsi la détection in vivo des dépôts de peptide beta-amyloïde avant le développement de la maladie pourrait conduire à un diagnostic plus précoce et plus probant. Elle pourrait également faciliter le suivi et l'évaluation des effets des interventions thérapeutiques au cours du traitement. Dans ce travail, nous avons développé une méthode de diagnostic précoce innovante, capable de cibler et de détecter les plaques Abeta à la fois par l'imagerie par résonance magnétique et par l'imagerie de fluorescence. Nous avons développé un nouveau type d'agents de contraste intelligents pour l'imagerie multimodale, basé sur des nanoparticules magnétiques sur lesquelles sont greffés les polythiophènes luminescents (LCPs). Les LCPs à la surface des nanoparticules magnétiques se lient aux plaques Abeta de manière sélective et spécifique. Lors de cette liaison, la liberté conformationnelle des polythiophènes se trouve limitée, ce qui conduit à des spectres d'émission spécifiques dépendant de la conformation, et rend pertinent l'usage de l'imagerie par résonance magnétique et de fluorescence des plaques Abeta / Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting around 35 million people worldwide. One of the characteristic pathological hallmarks of AD is amyloid plaques; consist of beta-amyloid peptide aggregates. Today’s diagnosis depends essentially on neuropsychological tests and in highlighting change in brain structure such as cortical atrophy. A major issue is that symptoms appear only at a developed stage of the disease. Then in vivo detection of beta-amyloid deposits at an early stage could lead to earlier and more conclusive diagnosis of AD and help monitoring the effect of therapeutic interventions. In this work, we develop an innovative and early diagnosis method, able to target and detect beta-amyloid deposits aggregates both by magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging. Thus we develop a new kind of smart contrast agent for multimodal imaging, based on magnetic nanoparticles on which are grafted luminescent conjugated polythiophenes (LCPs). LCPs on the surface of the magnetic nanoparticles bound to beta-amyloid aggregates selectively and specifically. Upon biding to beta-amyloid aggregates the conformational freedom of the backbone is restricted, leading to specific conformation-dependent emission spectra from the LCPs, opening the way for magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging of the beta-amyloid plaques

Os polímeros conjugados, principalmente da classe dos politiofenos, despontaram como materiais alternativos para a obtenção de camadas quimicamente seletivas em sensores de gases. Dentre as principais vantagens desses materiais estão a possibilidade de obtenção de dispositivos sensores que operem à temperatura ambiente e a diversidade de materiais. Assim, por exemplo, com uma simples modificação da cadeia lateral do politiofeno pode-se obter materiais com diferentes afinidades químicas, o que pode contribuir para a melhora da seletividade desses dispositivos. A seletividade e a sensibilidade são as maiores limitações práticas dos sensores de gases que utilizam os polímeros conjugados como camadas sensoras. Neste trabalho, diferentes derivados do politiofeno foram sintetizados via polimerização oxidativa com cloreto férrico e caracterizados químico-estruturalmente por FTIR, RMN 1H, HPSEC e análise térmica (TG). Filmes desses polímeros foram obtidos pelas técnicas spin-coating e casting, sendo que a escolha da técnica de preparo foi baseada na solubilidade desses polímeros em clorofórmio. Foi demonstrado que as características superficiais e as propriedades de absorção no Uv-vis e de emissão dos filmes desses politiofenos são influenciadas pelos tipos de cadeias laterais presentes nesses polímeros. Esses filmes foram também utilizados no estudo das suas propriedades sensoras óticas e elétricas para a detecção de VOCs e umidade, sendo demonstrado que os sensores óticos são menos sensíveis aos analitos propostos do que os sensores elétricos, apresentando valores de sensibilidades no intervalo de 10-7 a 10-5 ppm-1, respectivamente, com algumas exceções. As respostas de ambos os tipos de sensores contendo PHT foram qualitativamente e quantitativamente reprodutíveis, entretanto, as características de reprodutibilidade dos sensores elétricos de PHT apresentaram grande influência das condições elétricas iniciais de seus filmes. Diferentes padrões de detecção foram apresentados para as detecções óticas e elétricas de um determinado polímero, demonstrando que estes polímeros são bons candidatos para serem utilizados como camadas ativas em dispositivos de detecção de VOCs (compostos orgânicos voláteis). / The conjugated polymers, especially polythiophenes, have emerged as alternative materials to obtain chemically selective layers in gas sensors. The main advantages of these materials are the possibility of obtaining sensing devices that operate at room temperature and the diversity of materials. For example, a simple modification of the side chain of polythiophene can provide materials with different chemical affinities, which can contribute to the improvement of the selectivity of these devices. The selectivity and sensitivity are the main practical limitations of the gas sensors containing conjugated polymers as sensing layers. In this study, different polythiophene derivatives have been synthesized by oxidative polymerization with ferric chloride and characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, HPSEC and thermal analysis (TG). Films of these polymers have been obtained by spin-coating techniques and casting, depending on their solubility in chloroform. It has been shown that the surface characteristics and the properties of absorption in the UV-vis and the emission of the films of these polythiophene derivatives are dependent on the type of side chain attached to the thiophene ring. These films have been used in the study of their optical and electrical sensing properties of VOCs and humidity, and it has been demonstrated that optical sensors are less sensitive to these analytes than the electrical ones. Their fractional sensitivities are 10-7 and 10-5 ppm-1, respectively, with some exceptions. The responses of such sensors have been qualitatively and quantitatively reproducible, however, the responses of electrical sensors showed influence of the initial electrical characteristics of the films. Different detections patterns were showed for optical and electrical detections of a particular polymer, showing that these polymers are good candidates to be used as active layers in sensing devices to detect VOCs.

This study reports on the synthesis of N-doped carbon spheres (N-CSs) by a simple synthetic procedure. A horizontal CVD type reactor was used to synthesize N-CSs from pyridine. Depending on the dilution of the pyridine with toluene, a nitrogen content of 0.13-5 mol % was obtained. The use of a vertical CVD reactor gave N-CSs with a N-content of 0.19-3 mol % when an ammonium solution and acetylene were used as reactants. The diameters of carbon spheres were found to be in the range of 40 nm to 1000 nm for both CVD reactors. The diameter can be controlled by varying the flow rate, temperature, time, concentration and the reactor type. The samples were characterized by TEM, HRTEM, elemental analysis, Raman spectroscopy, TGA, PXRD and ESR. We have demonstrated that unsubstituted thiophene can be polymerized by Fe3+-catalyzed oxidative polymerization. The average particle size was about 50 nm, within a narrow particlesize distribution. The undoped carbon spheres (CSs) were reacted with thiophene to give polymer/carbon composites containing polythiophene and carbon nanospheres via chemical oxidative polymerization reaction. Polythiophene molecules were either chemically bonded or physically adsorbed to the surface of carbon spheres. The microstructure and properties of the two types of composites were compared. The thermogravimetric analysis data confirmed that the presence of CSs in the polymer\carbon composites is responsible for the higher thermal stability of the composite material in comparison with pristine polythiophene. The FTIR analysis showed that covalent functionalized nanocomposites exhibit a high intensity of a C-S bond This study reports on the synthesis of N-doped carbon spheres (N-CSs) by a simple synthetic procedure. A horizontal CVD type reactor was used to synthesize N-CSs from pyridine. Depending on the dilution of the pyridine with toluene, a nitrogen content of 0.13-5 mol % was obtained. The use of a vertical CVD reactor gave N-CSs with a N-content of 0.19-3 mol % when an ammonium solution and acetylene were used as reactants. The diameters of carbon spheres were found to be in the range of 40 nm to 1000 nm for both CVD reactors. The diameter can be controlled by varying the flow rate, temperature, time, concentration and the reactor type. The samples were characterized by TEM, HRTEM, elemental analysis, Raman spectroscopy, TGA, PXRD and ESR. We have demonstrated that unsubstituted thiophene can be polymerized by Fe3+-catalyzed oxidative polymerization. The average particle size was about 50 nm, within a narrow particlesize distribution. The undoped carbon spheres (CSs) were reacted with thiophene to give polymer/carbon composites containing polythiophene and carbon nanospheres via chemical oxidative polymerization reaction. Polythiophene molecules were either chemically bonded or physically adsorbed to the surface of carbon spheres. The microstructure and properties of the two types of composites were compared. The thermogravimetric analysis data confirmed that the presence of CSs in the polymer\carbon composites is responsible for the higher thermal stability of the composite material in comparison with pristine polythiophene. The FTIR analysis showed that covalent functionalized nanocomposites exhibit a high intensity of a C-S bondThis study reports on the synthesis of N-doped carbon spheres (N-CSs) by a simple synthetic procedure. A horizontal CVD type reactor was used to synthesize N-CSs from pyridine. Depending on the dilution of the pyridine with toluene, a nitrogen content of 0.13-5 mol % was obtained. The use of a vertical CVD reactor gave N-CSs with a N-content of 0.19-3 mol % when an ammonium solution and acetylene were used as reactants. The diameters of carbon spheres were found to be in the range of 40 nm to 1000 nm for both CVD reactors. The diameter can be controlled by varying the flow rate, temperature, time, concentration and the reactor type. The samples were characterized by TEM, HRTEM, elemental analysis, Raman spectroscopy, TGA, PXRD and ESR. We have demonstrated that unsubstituted thiophene can be polymerized by Fe3+-catalyzed oxidative polymerization. The average particle size was about 50 nm, within a narrow particlesize distribution. The undoped carbon spheres (CSs) were reacted with thiophene to give polymer/carbon composites containing polythiophene and carbon nanospheres via chemical oxidative polymerization reaction. Polythiophene molecules were either chemically bonded or physically adsorbed to the surface of carbon spheres. The microstructure and properties of the two types of composites were compared. The thermogravimetric analysis data confirmed that the presence of CSs in the polymer\carbon composites is responsible for the higher thermal stability of the composite material in comparison with pristine polythiophene. The FTIR analysis showed that covalent functionalized nanocomposites exhibit a high intensity of a C-S bond at 695 cm-1 , which is not observed in the noncovalent functionalized nanocomposites

Conjugated polymers and oligomers are great materials for use in the next generation devices namely organic field effect transistors, light emitting diodes and polymeric solar cells. Apart from having the potential for developing power-efficient, flexible, robust and inexpensive devices, conjugated polymers can also be tuned by molecular design to optimize device characteristics. One key problem for the full commercial exploitation of conjugated polymers is that the charge carrier mobility of the state-of-the-art polymer semiconductors is much lower than required for many applications. The performance of the devices is strongly dependent on the molecular structure and supermolecular assembly of the conjugated polymer chains. This thesis covers our attempts to design molecular structure to control and improve the solid state properties of conjugated polymers. The relative placement of side chains along the backbone has a great influence on the solid state ordering of conjugated polymers. Poly(2,5-disubstituted-1,4-phenylene ethynylene)s (PPE)s, an important class of conjugated polymers, are generally synthesized by Pd-catalyzed coupling polymerizations of appropriately substituted diiodo and diethynyl benzenes (i.e., A-A and B-B type monomers). In asymmetrically substituted PPEs, this results in an irregular substitution pattern of the side chains along the polymer backbone. We report a new synthetic approach to prepare regioregular unsymmetrically substituted PPEs by polymerization of 4-iodophenylacetylenes (i.e., A-B type monomer). We provide a detailed discussion of various approaches to the synthesis of PPEs with different regioregularities and provide a description of the differences between regioregular and regiorandom analogs. The effect of regioregularity becomes even more important when the two side chains are very dissimilar or amphiphilic. We explore the effect of relative placement hydrophobic (dodecyloxy) / hydrophilic (tri(ethylene glycol) and hydrophobic (dodecyloxy)/fluorophilic (fluoroalkyl) side chains along the poly(1,4-phenylene ethynylene) backbone. We found that the regioregular substitution of the polymer backbone provides a structure in which the side chains segregate to afford a Janus-type structure. The regioregular polymer chains pack more densely in a monolayer at the air-water interface, and pack into a bilayer in the solid state to form a highly crystalline material. Pentacenes are very important organic molecules for use as semiconductor in oFETs due to their low band gap and high field effect mobility. One approach to reduce the bandgap of a polymeric system and improve performance is to include low bandgap small molecules into the conjugated backbone. A new copolymer system consisting of pentacene and terthiophene was developed and its optical and electronic properties along with its stability were evaluated. We report the use of ultrasonication of P3HT as a novel operationally-simple process to significantly improve the field effect mobility of P3HT-based FETs, thereby potentially eliminating the need for dielectric surface modifications or further processing of the device. Investigation of the sonicated polymer samples by number of characterization techniques indicates that ultrasonication leads to aggregation and ordering of the P3HT chains resulting in increase in the mobility.

Os polímeros conjugados, principalmente da classe dos politiofenos, despontaram como materiais alternativos para a obtenção de camadas quimicamente seletivas em sensores de gases. Dentre as principais vantagens desses materiais estão a possibilidade de obtenção de dispositivos sensores que operem à temperatura ambiente e a diversidade de materiais. Assim, por exemplo, com uma simples modificação da cadeia lateral do politiofeno pode-se obter materiais com diferentes afinidades químicas, o que pode contribuir para a melhora da seletividade desses dispositivos. A seletividade e a sensibilidade são as maiores limitações práticas dos sensores de gases que utilizam os polímeros conjugados como camadas sensoras. Neste trabalho, diferentes derivados do politiofeno foram sintetizados via polimerização oxidativa com cloreto férrico e caracterizados químico-estruturalmente por FTIR, RMN 1H, HPSEC e análise térmica (TG). Filmes desses polímeros foram obtidos pelas técnicas spin-coating e casting, sendo que a escolha da técnica de preparo foi baseada na solubilidade desses polímeros em clorofórmio. Foi demonstrado que as características superficiais e as propriedades de absorção no Uv-vis e de emissão dos filmes desses politiofenos são influenciadas pelos tipos de cadeias laterais presentes nesses polímeros. Esses filmes foram também utilizados no estudo das suas propriedades sensoras óticas e elétricas para a detecção de VOCs e umidade, sendo demonstrado que os sensores óticos são menos sensíveis aos analitos propostos do que os sensores elétricos, apresentando valores de sensibilidades no intervalo de 10-7 a 10-5 ppm-1, respectivamente, com algumas exceções. As respostas de ambos os tipos de sensores contendo PHT foram qualitativamente e quantitativamente reprodutíveis, entretanto, as características de reprodutibilidade dos sensores elétricos de PHT apresentaram grande influência das condições elétricas iniciais de seus filmes. Diferentes padrões de detecção foram apresentados para as detecções óticas e elétricas de um determinado polímero, demonstrando que estes polímeros são bons candidatos para serem utilizados como camadas ativas em dispositivos de detecção de VOCs (compostos orgânicos voláteis). / The conjugated polymers, especially polythiophenes, have emerged as alternative materials to obtain chemically selective layers in gas sensors. The main advantages of these materials are the possibility of obtaining sensing devices that operate at room temperature and the diversity of materials. For example, a simple modification of the side chain of polythiophene can provide materials with different chemical affinities, which can contribute to the improvement of the selectivity of these devices. The selectivity and sensitivity are the main practical limitations of the gas sensors containing conjugated polymers as sensing layers. In this study, different polythiophene derivatives have been synthesized by oxidative polymerization with ferric chloride and characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, HPSEC and thermal analysis (TG). Films of these polymers have been obtained by spin-coating techniques and casting, depending on their solubility in chloroform. It has been shown that the surface characteristics and the properties of absorption in the UV-vis and the emission of the films of these polythiophene derivatives are dependent on the type of side chain attached to the thiophene ring. These films have been used in the study of their optical and electrical sensing properties of VOCs and humidity, and it has been demonstrated that optical sensors are less sensitive to these analytes than the electrical ones. Their fractional sensitivities are 10-7 and 10-5 ppm-1, respectively, with some exceptions. The responses of such sensors have been qualitatively and quantitatively reproducible, however, the responses of electrical sensors showed influence of the initial electrical characteristics of the films. Different detections patterns were showed for optical and electrical detections of a particular polymer, showing that these polymers are good candidates to be used as active layers in sensing devices to detect VOCs.

Le but de cette thèse est d'étudier l'effet de l’alignement et le contrôle de la morphologie de films minces de polythiophènes et de les corréler avec les propriétés optiques, de transport de charges et thermoélectriques. Puisque les polymères semiconducteurs sont intrinsèquement anisotropes, il est essentiel de les aligner afin de comprendre leur propriétés. Cette étude a été réalisée en employant deux techniques qui ont permises d’obtenir des films minces orientés. Le brossage à haute température et la cristallisation épitaxiale directionnelle (CED) ont conduit à des films de polythiophène hautement orientés avec des paramètres d'ordre allant jusqu'à 0.87 et des taux de crystallinité jusqu'à 65%. La technique de brossage nous a permis de contrôler avec précision les tailles des domaines cristallins dans des films de P3HT brossés. Par cette méthode, nous avons pu également déterminer les températures de fusion à l'équilibre de différents poly(3-alkyl-thiophène). Nous avons appris que la largeur de bande du couplage excitonique W dépend des dimensions des cristaux dans les films minces brossés. Cette étude à aussi montrer l’importance de la planarité des chaînes pontant les domaines cristallins à travers les zones amorphes sur les propriétés de transport de charges. Nous avons également mis en évidence la morphologie particulière du poly (3-butylthiophène) (P3BT) et le rôle des groupements butyles. La méthode de cristallisation epitaxialle a été utilisée pour orienter des films de poly(3-dioctylphenyl-thiophène) (PDOPT). Nous avons examiné l'effet de la masse moléculaire du PDOPT sur le degré de cristallinité et l'alignement. Ceci nous a permis de proposer un modèle structural montrant l’absence de pi-stacking dans ce polythiophène. Finalement, nous proposons une méthode en deux étapes d’élaboration de films minces conducteurs alignés. Le brossage des films puis le dopage des polymères semiconducteurs de type-P a permis d’obtenir des propriétés thermoélectriques anisotropes améliorées.Cette thèse démontre l'importance du contrôle de la morphologie et de l'alignement des polymères semiconducteurs et conducteurs pour comprendre leurs propriétés fortement anisotropes. / The aim of this thesis is to study the effect of alignment and morphological control on polythiophene thin films and to correlate this control with the optical, charge transport and thermoelectric properties. Since semiconducting polymers are inherently anisotropic by nature, studying these polymers in the aligned state was essential to understand their properties. This study could be achieved by employing two techniques that are successful in orienting polymers in thin films. High-temperature rubbing (HTR) along with directional epitaxial crystallization (DEC) produced highly oriented polythiophene thin films with order parameters reaching 0.87 and crystallinities up to 65%. HTR was a successful method to control crystal sizes in rubbed poly(3-hexyl-thiophene) P3HT films. By this method, the equilibrium melting temperatures of other poly(3-alkyl-thiophene) P3ATs were calculated. We learned that the free excitonic bandwidth depends on the crystal dimensions in the rubbed thin films. We also learned that the planarity of tie-chains linking consecutive crystalline domains plays a very important role in field-effect mobility. We also discuss the peculiar morphology of poly(3-butyl-thiophene) (P3BT) and the role of the butyl side groups. Then DEC method was proposed to orient poly(3-dioctylphenyl-thiophene) (PDOPT) thin films. We examined the effect of molecular weight of PDOPT on the level of crystallinity and alignment. Consequently, this relation provided fundamental information that helped us refine the crystal structure of PDOPT. Finally, a versatile method to produce highly aligned conducting polymers was proposed. HTR followed by P-type doping proved to be an excellent way to produce highly aligned conducting thin films with enhanced thermoelectric properties. This thesis brings value to the importance of morphology control and the alignment of semiconducting thin films to understand the various properties of these highly anisotropic systems.

O ácido politiofeno acético (PTAA) é um derivado do politiofeno bastante versátil. Sua solubilidade em alguns solventes orgânicos e em soluções básicas aquosas lhe confere extensa processabilidade na forma de filmes finos, característica importante para dispositivos e sensores. Neste trabalho, investigou-se a formação de filmes de PTAA com as técnicas de automontagem e Langmuir-Blodgett (LB). Os filmes automontados foram preparados com dois policátions, hidrocloreto de poli-alilamina (PAH) e cloreto de poli-dialildimetilamônio (PDAC). O crescimento dos filmes depende do pH das soluções e do tipo de policátion, sugerindo dependência do mecanismo de crescimento com as interações específicas polímeropolímero. A conformação do PTAA em filme tem correlação com sua conformação em solução, apontando para um efeito de memória. Por outro lado, a energia de superfície destes filmes não sofre influência da arquitetura nem dessas diferenças conformacionais. Ou seja, embora o volume do filme possa ser distinto, as superfícies possuem propriedades semelhantes. A morfologia dos filmes foi caracterizada a partir de imagens de AFM utilizando conceitos de geometria fractal e estatística. A dimensão fractal dos filmes é semelhante, indicando o mesmo processo de crescimento dos filmes, independentemente das condições da deposição. Os filmes obtidos em pH ácido tinham tamanho de grão e comprimentos de correlação maiores, sugerindo a deposição de cadeias mais enoveladas. Foi possível fabricar filmes autossustentados sem degradação aparente do material a partir de filmes automontados de PAH/PTAA, entrecruzando termicamente os grupos ácido carboxílico e amina. Este é o primeiro relato de filmes deste tipo com derivado do politiofeno. Os filmes LB de PTAA foram obtidos sem adjuvantes, mas as condições de deposição precisam ser aprimoradas. Para explorar a elevada afinidade química entre compostos contendo enxofre e metais pesados, filmes foram utilizados para detecção espectroscópica e eletroquímica. Espectros de fotoluminescência e UV-Vis demonstraram que os metais interagem apenas com os estados excitados resultando na supressão da fluorescência; no entanto, sem especificidade e apenas para longos períodos de exposição. Espectros de FTIR mostraram a presença dos sais na matriz dos filmes. Por sua vez, voltametrias cíclicas permitiram detectar Pb+2 e Hg+2, mas a irreversibilidade dos processos eletroquímicos, causando alargamento dos picos de oxirredução, inviabiliza a detecção simultânea. / Polythiophene acetic acid (PTAA) is a versatile polythiophene derivative. Its solubility in some organic solvents and in basic aqueous solutions makes it attractive for processing thin films, an important feature for the fabrication of devices and sensors. In this thesis, we investigate the formation of PTAA films using the layer-by-layer (LbL) and the Langmuir- Blodgett (LB) techniques. The LbL films were prepared with poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(diallydimethylammonium chloride) (PDAC), with film growth depending on the pH of the solutions and type of polycation, thus indicating that the growth mechanism depends on polymer-polymer interactions. The conformation of the PTAA molecules in solid state was correlated with that in solution, in a kind of memory effect. The surface energy of the films was not affected by the film architecture or different conformations. The film morphology was characterized with AFM images using concepts of fractal geometry and statistics. The fractal dimension was similar for all films, and therefore the overall growth obeys the same process regardless of the deposition conditions. Nevertheless, films obtained at acidic pH exhibited larger grain size and correlation lengths than those produced at basic pHs, suggesting deposition of more coiled chains. It was also possible to fabricate selfsustained films without apparent PTAA degradation from the PAH/PTAA LbL films, upon thermal crosslinking of carboxylic acid and amine groups. This is the first report of such films with a polythiophene derivative. LB films of PTAA were obtained without co-spreading materials, but the deposition conditions need to be optimized. To explore the high chemical affinity between PTAA and compounds containing sulfur and heavy metals, some films were used for spectroscopic and electrochemical detection. The UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectra indicated that the metals affect only the excited states, leading to fluorescence quenching after long exposure times and without specificity for the metals. The FTIR spectra pointed to salts in the films. Pb+2 and Hg+2 ions could be detected using cyclic voltammetry, but their simultaneous detection was hampered by the irreversibility of the electrochemical processes which caused broadening of the oxi-reduction peaks.

Les performances des cellules photovoltaïques organiques de type hétérojonction en volume sont entre autres influencées par les propriétés opto-électroniques du polymère semiconducteur donneur d’électrons. L’objectif de cette thèse était de développer de nouveaux polymères π-conjugués pour permettre une meilleure exploitation du spectre solaire et donc améliorer la photogénération des charges. Pour cela, plusieurs dérivés de polythiophènes comportant des substituants aromatiques phényles ont été synthétisés par la méthode de GRIM, à noter l’homopolymère poly[(3-(4-hexylphényl) thiophène] (P3HPT) et le copolymère à blocs poly[3-(4-hexylphényl)thiophène]-bloc-poly(3-hexylthiophène) (P3HPT-b-P3HT). Nous avons également étudié une nouvelle famille de polymères à faible bande interdite basés sur l’alternance d’unités thiophène et dithiéno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole riches en électrons et 2,1,3- benzothiadiazole pauvres en électrons. Après synthèse des différents monomères, les copolymères alternés ont été ensuite obtenus par polycondensation par couplage de Stille. Les différents matériaux synthétisés ont été d’abord caractérisés par analyse thermogravimétrique et par calorimétrie différentielle à balayage afin d’étudier leurs propriétés thermiques. Ensuite, des caractérisations structurales (en particulier DRX et neutrons), optiques (UV-visible) et morphologiques (AFM) ont été réalisées. A partir des résultats obtenus, nous avons pu évaluer les relations entre les structures et les propriétés des matériaux. Finalement, des cellules photovoltaïques à base des polymères synthétisés ont été réalisées et leurs performances ont été corrélées aux propriétés des matériaux. / The performances of organic solar cells based on the concept of bulk heterojunction configuration are strongly influenced by the optoelectronic properties of the electron donor polymer. The aim of this thesis was to develop new π-conjugated polymers to allow a better exploitation of the solar spectrum and thus improving the photogeneration of charges. For this,several polythiophene derivatives substituted by phenyl aromatic groups have been synthesized by the GRIM method, note the homopolymer poly[(3-(4-hexylphenyl)thiophene] (P3HPT) and the diblock copolymer poly[3-(4- exylphenyl)thiophene]-block-poly(3- hexylthiophène) (P3HPT-b-P3HT). We also studied a new family of low band gap polymers based on the alternation of electron-rich thiophene and dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole units andelectron-deficient 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole units. After synthesis of the various monomers, alternating copolymers were then obtained by Stille cross-coupling polycondensation. The different synthesized materials were first characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and by differential scanning calorimetry to study their thermal properties. Then, structural(especially XRD and neutron), optical (UV-visible) and morphological (AFM) characterizations were performed. From the obtained results, we were able to evaluate the relation between structures and properties of materials. Finally, photovoltaic cells based on the synthesized polymers were performed and their performances were correlated to material properties.

O ácido politiofeno acético (PTAA) é um derivado do politiofeno bastante versátil. Sua solubilidade em alguns solventes orgânicos e em soluções básicas aquosas lhe confere extensa processabilidade na forma de filmes finos, característica importante para dispositivos e sensores. Neste trabalho, investigou-se a formação de filmes de PTAA com as técnicas de automontagem e Langmuir-Blodgett (LB). Os filmes automontados foram preparados com dois policátions, hidrocloreto de poli-alilamina (PAH) e cloreto de poli-dialildimetilamônio (PDAC). O crescimento dos filmes depende do pH das soluções e do tipo de policátion, sugerindo dependência do mecanismo de crescimento com as interações específicas polímeropolímero. A conformação do PTAA em filme tem correlação com sua conformação em solução, apontando para um efeito de memória. Por outro lado, a energia de superfície destes filmes não sofre influência da arquitetura nem dessas diferenças conformacionais. Ou seja, embora o volume do filme possa ser distinto, as superfícies possuem propriedades semelhantes. A morfologia dos filmes foi caracterizada a partir de imagens de AFM utilizando conceitos de geometria fractal e estatística. A dimensão fractal dos filmes é semelhante, indicando o mesmo processo de crescimento dos filmes, independentemente das condições da deposição. Os filmes obtidos em pH ácido tinham tamanho de grão e comprimentos de correlação maiores, sugerindo a deposição de cadeias mais enoveladas. Foi possível fabricar filmes autossustentados sem degradação aparente do material a partir de filmes automontados de PAH/PTAA, entrecruzando termicamente os grupos ácido carboxílico e amina. Este é o primeiro relato de filmes deste tipo com derivado do politiofeno. Os filmes LB de PTAA foram obtidos sem adjuvantes, mas as condições de deposição precisam ser aprimoradas. Para explorar a elevada afinidade química entre compostos contendo enxofre e metais pesados, filmes foram utilizados para detecção espectroscópica e eletroquímica. Espectros de fotoluminescência e UV-Vis demonstraram que os metais interagem apenas com os estados excitados resultando na supressão da fluorescência; no entanto, sem especificidade e apenas para longos períodos de exposição. Espectros de FTIR mostraram a presença dos sais na matriz dos filmes. Por sua vez, voltametrias cíclicas permitiram detectar Pb+2 e Hg+2, mas a irreversibilidade dos processos eletroquímicos, causando alargamento dos picos de oxirredução, inviabiliza a detecção simultânea. / Polythiophene acetic acid (PTAA) is a versatile polythiophene derivative. Its solubility in some organic solvents and in basic aqueous solutions makes it attractive for processing thin films, an important feature for the fabrication of devices and sensors. In this thesis, we investigate the formation of PTAA films using the layer-by-layer (LbL) and the Langmuir- Blodgett (LB) techniques. The LbL films were prepared with poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(diallydimethylammonium chloride) (PDAC), with film growth depending on the pH of the solutions and type of polycation, thus indicating that the growth mechanism depends on polymer-polymer interactions. The conformation of the PTAA molecules in solid state was correlated with that in solution, in a kind of memory effect. The surface energy of the films was not affected by the film architecture or different conformations. The film morphology was characterized with AFM images using concepts of fractal geometry and statistics. The fractal dimension was similar for all films, and therefore the overall growth obeys the same process regardless of the deposition conditions. Nevertheless, films obtained at acidic pH exhibited larger grain size and correlation lengths than those produced at basic pHs, suggesting deposition of more coiled chains. It was also possible to fabricate selfsustained films without apparent PTAA degradation from the PAH/PTAA LbL films, upon thermal crosslinking of carboxylic acid and amine groups. This is the first report of such films with a polythiophene derivative. LB films of PTAA were obtained without co-spreading materials, but the deposition conditions need to be optimized. To explore the high chemical affinity between PTAA and compounds containing sulfur and heavy metals, some films were used for spectroscopic and electrochemical detection. The UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectra indicated that the metals affect only the excited states, leading to fluorescence quenching after long exposure times and without specificity for the metals. The FTIR spectra pointed to salts in the films. Pb+2 and Hg+2 ions could be detected using cyclic voltammetry, but their simultaneous detection was hampered by the irreversibility of the electrochemical processes which caused broadening of the oxi-reduction peaks.