Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden neue Erkenntnisse bei der Aufklärung der Mechanismen, die für die Reaktivität von Übergangsmetall- und Metalloxid-Clustern verantwortlich sind, gewonnen. Dies ist aus zwei Gründen gelungen: Zum einen erlaubt die gradienten-korrigierte Dichtefunktional-Methode eine zuverlässige Beschreibung von strukturellen und energetischen Eigenschaften dieser Cluster, insbesondere durch die Entwicklung einer neuen Generation von Hybrid-Austausch- und Korrelations-Funktionalen im Rahmen der verallgemeinerten Gradienten-Näherung. Diese wurden erstmalig in entsprechenden quantenchemischen Programmen implementiert und getestet. Zum zweiten stellte die fruchtbare Zusammenarbeit mit den experimentellen Bereichen, eine Herausforderung für die Theorie dar, mittels der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse zur konzeptionellen Planung der Experimente beizutragen (A. Fielicke, Dissertation, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2001). / In this work the transition metal and metal oxide clusters has been investigated with the aim of gaining a better insight into the mechanisms which govern their reactivity. The theoretical study of the structural and energetic properties of the clusters has been carried out within the framework of the density functional theory by means of a new family of gradient-corrected hybrid density functionals which has been coded for the first time into quantum chemistry packages. The theoretical findings stimulated the experimental investigation of the gas phase reactivity of these species which confirmed the correctness of the reaction mechanism models proposed (A. Fielicke, Doctoral Thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2001).

This doctoral study consists of three parts. In the first part, structural and electronic properties of Al_kTi_lNi_m (k+l+m=2,3) microclusters have been investigated by performing density functional theory (DFT) calculations within the B3LYP [which comprises the Becke-88 exchange functional and the correlation functional of Lee, Yang, and Parr] and the effective core potential (ECP) level. Dimers and trimers of the elements aluminum, titanium, and nickel, and their binary and ternary combinations have been studied in their ground states. The optimum geometries, possible dissociation channels, vibrational properties, and electronic structure of the clusters under study have been obtained. In the second part, after an empirical potential energy function (PEF) has been parametrized for the AlTiNi ternary system, stable (minimum-energy) structures of Al_kTi_lNi_m (k+l+m=4) microclusters have been determined by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The energetics of the microclusters in 1K and 300 K have been discussed. By performing, again, DFT calculations (within the B3LYP and ECP level), the possible dissociation channels and electronic properties of the obtained clusters have been calculated. In the last part, using the empirical PEF parametrized previously for the AlTiNi ternary system, minimum-energy structures of Al_nTi_nNi_n (n= 1-16) ternary alloy nanoparticles have been determined by performing MD simulations. The structural and energetic features of the obtained nanoparticles have been investigated.

Main group polycations and transition metal clusters had traditionally been synthesized via high-temperature routes by performing reactions in melts or by CTR, at room-temperature or lower temperature by using so-called superacid solvents, and at room-temperature in benzene–GaX3 media. Considering the major problems associated with higher temperature routes (e.g. long annealing time, risk of product decomposition, and low yield) and taking into account the toxicity of benzene and liquid SO2 in room-temperature or lower temperature synthesis, a soft and sustainable chemical approach has been developed, employing a Lewis-acidic IL [bmim]Cl/AlCl3. This new alternative reaction medium has proven to be an excellent solvent system for the single–step synthesis of main group polycations and transition metal clusters. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy have been used for the structural characterization of the isolated compounds. Physical properties and quantum chemical calculations of some of the compounds have also been carried out.

Le fort engouement pour les nanostructures luminescentes provient de leurs comportements émissifs originaux et de leur potentiel comme briques élémentaires pour de futurs dispositifs photoniques et optoélectroniques. Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés au contrôle de la couleur d’émission de nano-systèmes 1D organiques composés de deux types de luminophores. Dans une première partie, une famille peu connue de luminophores nanométriques a été étudiée: les clusters octaédriques de molybdène. Leur comportement photophysique et l’ensemble des fréquences des modes de vibration de l’entité Mo6Br14 ont été déterminés. Les spécificités de ces clusters ont été exploitées au sein de nanofils.Un premier type de nanofil coaxial synthétisé par méthode template a été conçu afin de séparer les deux types de luminophores. Les clusters (dans une matrice de PMMA) et le PPV ont été sélectionnés comme émetteurs rouge et vert respectivement, pour avoir une séparation spectrale. Le contrôle de la couleur sans transfert de charge ou d’énergie entre les deux luminophores a été validé par l’étude du comportement de photoluminescence stationnaire et résolue en temps, en accord avec un modèle phénoménologique. A l’opposé, des nanofils exploitant deux polymères conjugués fluorescents (PFO bleu, F8T2 vert) comme système donneur-accepteur ont été élaborés. Leur mélange ou leur séparation en géométrie cœur-gaine a permis d’explorer une nouvelle voie pour moduler les comportements excitoniques. Ces résultats montrent la versatilité des nanofils à base de polymère pour contrôler à l’échelle nanométrique les comportements d’émission de systèmes multi-luminophores. / Luminescent organic nanostructures are of great importance as building blocks in future miniaturized photonic and optoelectronic devices because these systems rely upon the ability to tune and get new optical characteristics. One-dimensional luminescent nanostructures are new and promising systems with complex morphologies now available. In this work, we particularly investigated the control and the tuning of the emitted color of two-luminophore based nanowires. In a first part, an unfamiliar family of luminophore has been investigated: the octahedral molybdenum clusters. The vibrational modes frequencies of Mo6Br14 cluster were fully determined, as well as their photophysical properties. The unique features of these clusters were exploited into nanowires.Then, using a template method, we designed coaxial nanowires allowing the spatial separation of the two luminophores. The transition metal clusters in a PMMA matrix and PPV were selected as red and green emitters, respectively, to achieve the spectral separation. Remarkably, it was found from time-resolved photoluminescence study and confirmed by a phenomenological model that any charge or energy transfer is involved in this system.Alternatively, coaxial and blend designs were used to investigate and possibly tune energy/charge transfers involved in the donor-acceptor behavior of two conjugated polymers: PFO (blue emitter) and F8T2 (green emitter). These results demonstrate the great versatility of polymer-based nanowires to finely control at the nanoscale the emission features of multi-luminophore materials.

Main group polycations and transition metal clusters had traditionally been synthesized via high-temperature routes by performing reactions in melts or by CTR, at room-temperature or lower temperature by using so-called superacid solvents, and at room-temperature in benzene–GaX3 media. Considering the major problems associated with higher temperature routes (e.g. long annealing time, risk of product decomposition, and low yield) and taking into account the toxicity of benzene and liquid SO2 in room-temperature or lower temperature synthesis, a soft and sustainable chemical approach has been developed, employing a Lewis-acidic IL [bmim]Cl/AlCl3. This new alternative reaction medium has proven to be an excellent solvent system for the single–step synthesis of main group polycations and transition metal clusters. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy have been used for the structural characterization of the isolated compounds. Physical properties and quantum chemical calculations of some of the compounds have also been carried out.