This thesis presents work done to improve the switching speed and contrast performance of electrochromic devices. Layer-by-Layer (LbL) assembly was used to deposit thin electrochromic films of materials ranging from organic, inorganic, conducting polymers, etc. The focus was on developing new materials with high contrast and long lifecycles. A detailed switching-speed study of solid-state EC devices of already-developed (PEDOT (Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)), polyviologen, inorganic) materials and some new materials (Prodot-Sultone) was performed. Work was done to achieve the optimum thickness and number of bilayers in LbL films resulting in high-contrast and fast switching. Device sizes were varied for comparison of the performance of the lab-made prototype device with the commercially available "small pixel" size displays. Symmetrical EC devices were fabricated and tested whenever conducting polymers are used as an EC material. This symmetrical configuration utilizes conducting polymers as an electroactive layer on each of two ITO-coated substrates; potential is applied to the two layers of similar conducting polymers and the device changes color from one redox state to another. This method, along with LbL film assembly, are the main factors in the improvement of switching speed results over already-published work in the literature. PEDOT results show that EC devices fabricated by LbL assembly with a switching speed of less than 30 ms make EC flat-panel displays possible by adjusting film thickness, device size, and type of material. The high contrast value (84%) for RuP suggests that its LbL films can be used for low-power consumption displays where contrast, not fastest switching, is the prime importance. In addition to the electrochromic work, this thesis also includes a section on the application of LbL assembly in fabricating electromechanical bending actuators. For bending actuators based on ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs), a new class of conductive composite network (CNC) electrode was investigated, based on LbL self-assembled multilayers of conductive gold (Au) nanoparticles. The CNC of an electromechanical actuator fabricated with 100 bilayers of polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH)/Au NPs exhibits high strain value of 6.8% with an actuation speed of 0.18 seconds for a 26 µm thick IPMC with 0.4 µm thick LbL CNCs under 4 volts. / Ph. D.

The convergence of supramolecular and polymer sciences has led to the construction of analogs of traditional covalently-constructed polymeric structures and architectures by supramolecular methods. Host-guest complexations of polymers are also possible through well-defined synthesis of polymeric building blocks, for novel supramolecular polymers. Monotopic polymeric building blocks were synthesized by controlled radical polymerizations with a crown or paraquat initiator. The combinations of terminal and central functionalities of host and guest polymeric building blocks provided chain-extended and tri-armed homopolymers, and diblock and tri-armed copolymers. A supramolecular graft copolymer was formed from a main-chain poly(ester crown ether) and a paraquat terminated polystyrene. This comb-like copolymer was characterized by a large viscosity increase. A four-armed polystyrene-b-poly(n-butyl methacrylate) was synthesized from a pseudorotaxane macroinitiator derived from a complex of a crown-centered polystyrene and a dufunctional paraquat compound. A single peak with higher molecular weight from size exclusion chromatography proved the copolymer formation. Supramolecular interactions enhance the ionic conductivity of semi-crystalline ionic polymers; the ionic conductivity of a C₆-polyviologen and dibenzo-30-crown-10 mixture was 100 times higher than the polyviologen itself. However, ionic conductivities of amorphous polyviologens with polyethers were influenced only by glass transition temperature changes. New imidazolium ionic liquid monomers and imidazolium based polymers were synthesized for potential applications in electroactive devices, such as actuators. Structure-property relationships for pendant imidazolium polyacrylates and main-chain imidazolium polyesters were investigated. Terminal ethyleneoxy moeties enhanced ionic conduction 2~3 times; however, the alkyl chain length effect was negligible. For the imidazoium polyesters, higher ion conductivities result from 1) mono-imidazolium over bis-imidazolium, and 2) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide polymers over hexafluorophosphate analogs. A semi-crystalline hexafluorophosphate polyester with C₁₀-sebacate-C₁₀, displayed 400-fold higher ionic conductivity than the amorphous C₆-sebacate-C₆ analogue, suggesting the formation of a biphasic morphology in the former polyester. New dicationic imidazolium salts have interesting features. 1,2-Bis[N-(N'-alkylimidazoilum)]ethane salts stack well in the solid state and possess multiple solid-solid phase transitions. They complex with dibenzo-24-crown-8 and a dibenzo-24-crown-8 based pyridyl cryptand with <i>K_a</i> = ~30 and 360 M¹, respectively. Some of these dicationic imidazolium salts have low entropies of fusion, typical of plastic crystals. These newly discovered imidazolium homopolymers have ionic conductivities up to 10⁴ (S cm⁻¹); however, better properties are still required. Well-designed block copolymers should provide both good electrical and mechanical properties from bicontinuous morphologies, such ion channels. / Ph. D.