The present thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of magnesium, copper, and iron complexes and their application in the MOCVD (Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) process, as well as the synthesis and characterization of yttrium and gadolinium complexes and their use as spin-coating precursors for metal oxide thin layer formation. The objective of this scientific work is the development of the family of bis(β-ketoiminato) magnesium(II) complexes and a series of heteroleptic β-ketoiminato copper(II) precursors for the formation of magnesium oxide and copper/copper oxide layers by using the MOCVD process. Modifications of the ketoiminato ligands affect the physical and chemical properties of the respective complexes. Another central theme of this work is the development of β-diketonato iron(III) complexes for the deposition of carbon-free gamma- and alpha-Fe2O3 layers via MOCVD. The thermal behavior and vapor pressure of the precursors could be influenced by the variation of the β-diketonate ligands. In addition, the synthesis and characterization of yttrium and gadolinium β-diketonates and their use as spin-coating precursors are described. Field-effect transistors were successfully fabricated by the deposition of carbon nanotubes on top of the Y2O3 films.

Silk fibroin is a widely studied material in the context of tissue engineering. Thanks to its versatility and impressive properties, the fields where silk fibroin is used have grown. In particular, silk fibroin has proved to be useful in all the cases when an interface with living tissues is needed (e.g. biophotonics, bioelectronics). As a consequence of this increasing interest, a wide range of protocols have been developed to prepare different materials starting from cocoons. The aim of this thesis is to investigate new strategies to fabricate silk fibroin-based materials, either improving previously developed protocols or proposing new methodologies both with the purpose to overcome certain limitations of current approaches and to propose new areas of application. We choose to work on three topics: the production of patterns using photolithography on a fibroin photoresist films (fibroin photocrosslinkable photoresist, FPP), the production of sponges made from a chemically modified version of the native protein (Methacrylated fibroin, Sil-MA), and the production of a solid bulk resin made starting from the regenerated protein. In the case of the FPP (and its counterpart made of sericine, SPP) the fabrication of films and pattern was restricted to the use of harsh chemicals. In addition, the resulting material had a roughness that limits its use in optical applications, making the determination of the refractive index (RI) not possible. The novelty of our work consisted in the modification of the original protocol to make it environmentally sustainable and to decrease the roughness in order to use ellipsometry to determine the RI dispersion. The broadly used silk-based sponges can be prepared by several protocols but they all suffer of the same limitations: the sponges are stabilized only by physical crosslinking (the change from the random to the crystalline secondary structure), and there are no clear models that correlate the sponge properties to their composition. We produced a new sponge, chemically crosslinked, whose stability was ensured by the creation, of chemical bonds between the protein chains during an UV curing. This task was accomplished using a simple protocol and a statistical method to model the composition-properties relations. The possibility to obtain a bulk, non-porous solid monolith from fibroin (solid-fibroin) has been received attention only in the last few years. This material is produced by a transition from solution to solid through solvent evaporation, a very slow process that takes weeks to be completed. The advantage of this transition is that it occurs at room temperature, allowing the addition of thermally degradable molecules (e.g. enzymes). We were able to optimize a procedure to produce the same material by compression of a silk sponge at high pressure and low temperature. The advantage of this method is the lower amount of time required to produce the material, minutes instead of days.

A spin-cast silicone membrane has been successfully bonded between two injection-molded microstructured plastic discs. This sandwich structure creates a useful platform for mass production of microfluidic systems, provided that the bonds are leakproof. The bonds were achieved by a silicon dioxide coating deposited on the plastic discs by evaporation. This investigation is concerned with the process and the result only, no theory is discussed.

The present work is dealing with the synthesis and characterization of mono- to trinuclear Cu(II)- and Ni(II)-containing bis(oxamato) and bis(oxamidato) complexes, respectively. It will be derived to which extent the spin density distribution of mononuclear complexes, determined by electron paramagnetic resonance studies experimentally and calculated by quantum mechanical calculations, can be regarded as a measure of the magnitude of magnetic superexchange interactions of corresponding trinuclear complexes. The usability of tailor-made trinuclear complexes for their deposition in form of thin film by spin-coating is described as well as the magneto-optical characterization of these thin films. It is shown, that the tailor-made functionalization of mono- to trinuclear bis(oxamidato) complexes with long alkyl chains is suited to allow these complexes to assembly in monolayers on, e.g., HOPG(0001) (highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite), whereas the functionalization of the alkyl chains with S atoms allows the generation of self-assembled monolayers on metallic gold. Furthermore it is shown, that the functionalization of mono- and trinuclear Cu(II)-containing bis(oxamato) complexes with ferrocenediyle fragments allows to modify the magnetic properties by making use of the oxidation process Fe(II)/Fe(III). / Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Darstellung und Charakterisierung ein- bis dreikerniger Cu(II)- bzw. Ni(II)-haltiger bis(oxamato) oder bis(oxamidato) Komplexe. Es wird abgeleitet, inwiefern die aus Elektronenenspinresonanz- Untersuchungen experimentell und die quantenmechanisch berechneten Spindichteverteilungen einkerniger Komplexe ein Maß für die Größe der magnetischen Superaustauschwechselwirkungen korrespondierender dreikerniger Komplexe darstellt. Die Eignung maßgeschneiderter dreikerniger Komplexe zu ihrer Überführung in dünne Filme im nm-Bereich mittels Rotationsbeschichtung auf Si/SiO2-Substraten wird beschrieben sowie die magneto-optische Charakterisierung dieser dünnen Filme. Es wird gezeigt, dass durch gezielte Funktionalisierung mit langkettigen Alkylresten ein- bis dreikernige Cu(II)-haltige bis(oxamidato) Komplexe geeignet sind, auf Substraten wie HOPG(0001) (hochorientiertes pyrolytisches Graphit) zu Monolagen zu assemblieren während die zielgerichtete Funktionalisierung der Alkylketten mit S-Atomen es ermöglicht selbst-assemblierte Monolagen auf metallischem Gold zu generieren. Zusätzlich wird beschrieben, dass durch die Funktionalisierung von ein- und dreikernigen Cu(II)-haltigen bis(oxamato) mit Ferrocendiylresten die magentischen Eigenschaften durch den Oxidationsprozess Fe(II)/Fe(III) gezielt modifiziert werden können.

The present work is dealing with the synthesis and characterization of mono- to trinuclear Cu(II)- and Ni(II)-containing bis(oxamato) and bis(oxamidato) complexes, respectively. It will be derived to which extent the spin density distribution of mononuclear complexes, determined by electron paramagnetic resonance studies experimentally and calculated by quantum mechanical calculations, can be regarded as a measure of the magnitude of magnetic superexchange interactions of corresponding trinuclear complexes. The usability of tailor-made trinuclear complexes for their deposition in form of thin film by spin-coating is described as well as the magneto-optical characterization of these thin films. It is shown, that the tailor-made functionalization of mono- to trinuclear bis(oxamidato) complexes with long alkyl chains is suited to allow these complexes to assembly in monolayers on, e.g., HOPG(0001) (highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite), whereas the functionalization of the alkyl chains with S atoms allows the generation of self-assembled monolayers on metallic gold. Furthermore it is shown, that the functionalization of mono- and trinuclear Cu(II)-containing bis(oxamato) complexes with ferrocenediyle fragments allows to modify the magnetic properties by making use of the oxidation process Fe(II)/Fe(III). / Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Darstellung und Charakterisierung ein- bis dreikerniger Cu(II)- bzw. Ni(II)-haltiger bis(oxamato) oder bis(oxamidato) Komplexe. Es wird abgeleitet, inwiefern die aus Elektronenenspinresonanz- Untersuchungen experimentell und die quantenmechanisch berechneten Spindichteverteilungen einkerniger Komplexe ein Maß für die Größe der magnetischen Superaustauschwechselwirkungen korrespondierender dreikerniger Komplexe darstellt. Die Eignung maßgeschneiderter dreikerniger Komplexe zu ihrer Überführung in dünne Filme im nm-Bereich mittels Rotationsbeschichtung auf Si/SiO2-Substraten wird beschrieben sowie die magneto-optische Charakterisierung dieser dünnen Filme. Es wird gezeigt, dass durch gezielte Funktionalisierung mit langkettigen Alkylresten ein- bis dreikernige Cu(II)-haltige bis(oxamidato) Komplexe geeignet sind, auf Substraten wie HOPG(0001) (hochorientiertes pyrolytisches Graphit) zu Monolagen zu assemblieren während die zielgerichtete Funktionalisierung der Alkylketten mit S-Atomen es ermöglicht selbst-assemblierte Monolagen auf metallischem Gold zu generieren. Zusätzlich wird beschrieben, dass durch die Funktionalisierung von ein- und dreikernigen Cu(II)-haltigen bis(oxamato) mit Ferrocendiylresten die magentischen Eigenschaften durch den Oxidationsprozess Fe(II)/Fe(III) gezielt modifiziert werden können.