We perform Monte-Carlo simulations of a binary, strongly separated mixture of A- and B-type homopolymers with some amount of random AB copolymers added. The interface is analyzed and the interface tension is calculated using the model of capillary waves. We can clearly demonstrate that random copolymers are localized at real, fluctuating interfaces between incompatible polymer species and micellization is not favored over adsorption. Our study proves that random copolymers are potential candidates for compatibilization of polymer-polymer mixtures. By simulating random copolymers in a one-component bulk and comparing their free energy to the copolymers adsorbed at the two-phase interface we show that the adsorption is thermodynamically stable. We use scaling arguments developed for ideal and non-fluctuating interfaces to rationalize the simulation results and we calculate the reduction of interface tension with increasing amount of the adsorbed copolymers.

The aim of this thesis is to modify and improve the n-type semiconducting polymer PNDIT2 for thermoelectric generators (TEGs) applications. Although the PNDIT2 is considered a prime n-type material due to its high electron mobility, low air-stability of radical anions after doping and the low doping efficiency with molecular dopants are severe drawbacks and lead to limited application in TEGs. To this end, the backbone structure of PNDIT2 is modified by polymer analogous thionation and the branched aliphatic side chains are replaced by branched, fully oligoethylene glycol-based side chains. PNDIT2 was prepared by DAP and subjected to various conditions of thionation. The polymer analogous thionation of PNDIT2 was done by using Lawesson´s reagent (LR). The O/S conversion was controlled by solvent, T and amount of LR. For an excess of LR, only two carbonyls out of four present in the NDI repeating unit are converted to thiocarbonyls with regioselective trans-conformation (2S-trans-PNDIT2). Chlorobenzene (CB) is an excellent solvent in which the highest O/S conversion was achieved and the best reproducibility. Tri- or tetra- substitution in one NDI repeat unit did not take place due to steric hinderance of T2 comonomer. Thionation affected all properties. The lower thermal stability, UV-vis spectra were bathochromically shifted and a new band of the thionated NDI unit appeared. Chain aggregation was stronger as probed by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy. The LUMO energy level of 2S-trans-PNDIT2 was lowered by 0.2 eV, giving -4.0 eV. This is at the border of what is needed for air stability of radical anions. The scattering on thin films indicated lower order and less crystalline textures of 2S-trans-PNDIT2 compared to PNDIT2. Likewise, electron mobility decreased with increasing conversion. While chapter 2 focused on the synthesis, opto-electronic and thermal properties of 2S-trans-PNDIT2, chapter 3 was concerned with details on morphology and electrical properties. To this end, 2S-trans-PNDIT2 was doped by N-DPBI in toluene at various concentrations and conductivities were determined. Undoped 2S-trans-PNDIT2 exhibited one order of magnitude higher conductivity than pristine PNDIT2. After doping with 5 wt.-% N-DPBI, the conductivity of 2S-trans-PNDIT2 increased by two orders of magnitude and reached a maximum conductivity of 6*10-3 S/cm at 15 wt.-% doping. This value was approx.5 times higher than the conductivity of PNDIT2 at the same doping level. Furthermore, the stability of conductivity of doped 2S-trans-PNDIT2 under ambient conditions was investigated and compared to PNDIT2. Upon exposure air (50 % humidity), conductivity of PNDIT2 rapidly decreased to the pristine film level, while the conductivity of 2S-trans-PNDIT2 was reduced by a factor of less than two after 16 h. While the initially higher conductivity of 2S-trans-PNDIT2 is ascribed to its less crystalline structure and thus higher doping efficacy, its better stability can be ascribed to the lower LUMO energy level. The topic of chapter 4 is on the synthesis of fully ether-based, polar and branched side chains (EO) and introduction into PNDIT2. The advantages of polar side chains over aliphatic side chains have been reported. However, previously reported PNDIT2 with linear polar side chains is limited in MW due to solubility. The EO side chain with amine functionality was synthesized in three steps and used for monomer synthesis (EO-NDIBr2). Initial efforts to use DAP to prepare P(EO-NDIT2) from EO-NDIBr2 and pristine bithiophene gave only oligomeric products. Stille polycondensation was therefore used, giving high MW. As extreme aggregation occurred in solvents used for GPC, absolute MW were determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy. To enable reliable end group analysis, model compounds with methyl end groups were prepared. In P(EO-NDIT2), methyl end groups are dominating as a result of incorrect transmetalation from the stannylated monomer. The end groups seen by 1H NMR spectroscopy were further confirmed by MALDI-ToF. Absolute MW were between Mn,NMR= 11 kg/mol to 116 kg/mol depending on reaction conditions. Aggregation was further probed by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy as a function of the solvent and temperature, shining light into the degree of aggregation, which is important for thin film preparation. Solvent quality decreased with the following order: CHCl3, 1-Chloronaphthalene (CN), 1,2-Dichlorobenzene (o-DCB), DMF, 1,4-Dioxane, CB and Anisole (AN). According to these results, three doping protocols based on CB and o-DCB, as well as temperature variations, were used to prepare films for conductivity measurements. The best results were obtained for processing from chlorobenzene at 80 °C, which aggregates are dissolved. Strikingly, maximum conductivity values were achieved already for 5 wt.-% dopant concentration. The PF reached a maximum even for 1 wt.-% doping level. This unusually low value is promising and suggests a high doping efficacy.

The demand for multifunctional nanocontainers possessing both recognition ability and responsive nature is increasing greatly because of their high potential in various biomedical applications. The engineering of such smart nanovesicles is useful to enhance the efficiency of many therapeutic and diagnostic tools that have the applicability in targeted drug delivery systems as well as designing sensing devices or conducting selective reactions as nanoreactors in the scope of nanobiotechnology. For this purpose, this study demonstrates the formation of multifunctional and stimuli-responsive polymersomes comprising various abilities including pH and light sensitivity as well as many reactive groups with sufficient accessibility to be used as smart and recognitive nanocontainers. The fabrication included several steps starting from the synthesis of azide and adamantane terminated block copolymers, which were then self-assembled to prepare the polymersomes with the corresponding functional groups for the subsequent post-conjugations at the vesicle periphery. The accessible and sufficiently reactive groups were quantitatively proven when UV and IR cleavable NVOC protected amino groups as well as β-cyclodextrin molecules were conjugated to the pre-formed polymersomes through click chemistry and strong host-guest complexations. The gained light responsivity with the aid of successful NVOC attachment enabled further selective photochemical reactions triggered either by UV or NIR light leading to liberated amine groups on the polymersome surface. Therein, these released amino groups were further conjugated with a model fluorescent compound as mimicking the attachment of biorecognition elements to see the direct picture of the applicability. To realize this concept in a more localized and selective way as well as to avoid the possible side effects of UV light, the NIR-light induced photochemical reactions and further dye coupling were performed when polymersomes were immobilized onto solid substrates. This fixation was achieved by adapting the host-guest chemistry into this part and conjugating the adamantane decorated polymersomes onto β-cyclodextrin coated substrates. Several investigations including adhesion behavior, pH sensitivity and mechanical properties of the established multifunctional polymersomes under liquid phase have been performed. It has been found that the polymersome shape is highly dependent on the attractive forces of the substrate and needs to be optimized to avoid the flattening of the vesicles. For these optimization steps, different conditions were investigated including the decrease of cyclodextrin amount and additional surface passivation with PEG molecules on the solid substrates. Besides, the calculated Young’s and bending modulus of the polymersome membrane from AFM measurements showed a robust but still flexible “breathable” membrane which is an important criterion for the applicability of these smart and stable vesicles. In addition, the hosting ability as well as diffusion limits and sufficient membrane permeability of the polymersomes were observed by encapsulating gold nanoparticles as a smart cargo and doxorubicin molecules as an anticancer drug. In conclusion, the established multifunctional polymersomes are highly versatile and thus present new opportunities in the design of targeted and selective recognition systems which is highly interesting for various applications including development of microsystem devices, design of chemo/biosensors, and also for conducting enhanced, combined therapy in the field of drug delivery.

Gegenstand der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die polymeranaloge Reaktion von chromophoren Aryl-boronsäuren mit 1,2-Diol-basierenden Methacrylat-Copolymeren. Über die Herstellung der dafür benötigten Ausgangsverbindungen sowie deren Charakterisierung mit Hilfe spektroskopischer und thermischer Analysemethoden wird zunächst umfassend berichtet. Hierbei ist u.a. die Auf-klärung der in den Copolymeren aus n-Butylmethacrylat (BMA) und 2,3-Di-hydroxypropylmethacrylat vorliegenden Polymerkonstitution von Interesse. Als chromophore Grundkörper der Arylboronsäuren wurden Indanon- sowie Tricyanofuran-Derivate, aber auch ausgedehnte Elektronensysteme mit einem Nitro- bzw. Cyano-Akzeptor verwendet. Bei der Synthese immobilisierter Arylboronsäuren wurde einerseits das chromophore Elektronensystem variiert. Andererseits wurden mit einer ausgewählten chromophoren Arylboronsäure verschiedene Funktionalisierungsgrade am Copolymer eingestellt bzw. Copolymere mit unterschiedlichem BMA-Anteil mit einem Funktionalisierungsgrad von 60 % bezogen auf die vorhandenen Diol-Einheiten funktionalisiert. Die optischen Eigenschaften der immobilisierten chromophoren Arylboronsäuren wurden mit der UV/vis-Spektroskopie untersucht. Der Einfluss des Funktionalisierungsgrades sowie des variablen BMA-Anteils auf die thermischen Eigenschaften wurde mittels DSC und TGA studiert. Weiterhin erfolgten an den immobilisierten chromophoren Arylboronsäuren Untersuchungen hinsichtlich des Komplexbildungsverhaltens gegenüber Fluorid-Ionen. Ein besonderes Augenmerk wurde hier auf den Einfluss der BMA-Einheiten auf die Zugänglichkeit der Bor-Atome sowie die Wechselwirkung mit vorhandenen Diol-Einheiten gelegt.

The wetting behavior of water on methacrylate copolymer films was studied on anodically oxidized and micro-roughened aluminium surfaces and also on smooth model surfaces. The copolymerization of tert-butyl methacrylate with a methacrylate containing a fluoroorganic side chain led to a considerable decrease of the surface free energy, but not to a superhydrophobic behavior of polymer-coated, micro-roughened aluminium surfaces. However, copolymers containing both hydrophobic and hydrophilic sequences are able to form superhydrophobic films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that an enrichment of the interface between the solid phase and the air by fluorine-containing polymer components was the reason for the strong decrease of the surface free energy. The hydrophilic segments of the copolymers improved the ability to wet the highly polar aluminium surface and to form films of higher density.

Organic semiconducting polymers are widely employed in organic electronics such as organic photovoltaics (OPVs), organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Their remarkable mechanical and charge transport properties as well as solution processability allow low-cost fabrication of light-weight and flexible devices. Among them indacenodithiophene (IDT)-based materials are promising candidates for application in organic electronics. Due to their low energetic disorder, extended conjugation and high electron density the IDT-based polymers show high field-effect mobilities and high absorption coefficients. However, their synthesis suffers from long reaction sequences and is often accomplished using toxic materials. Commercialization requires development of more efficient and sustainable reaction pathways to ease tailoring of structures and to limit molecular defects. Herein, the development of new synthetic pathways towards IDT-based polymers is presented in which all C-C coupling steps are achieved by C-H activation – an atom-economic alternative to conventional transition-metal catalyzed cross couplings. Two different strategies were established to synthesize a series of well-defined IDT-based homo- and copolymers with different side chain patterns and varied molecular weights. The first way starts by synthesis of a precursor polymer and subsequent cyclization affording IDT homopolymers. In the second approach, cyclized IDT monomers were prepared first and then polymerized using direct arylation polycondensation (DAP) yielding IDT homo- and copolymers. The synthetic pathways were optimized in terms of maximizing molecular weights and limiting defect structures. While the first pathway enables synthesis of well-defined homopolymers, the latter is the method of choice for preparation of IDT-based copolymers in high yields and adjustable molecular weights. The polymers were further characterized in detail by optical, thermal, electrical and morphological analyses. OFETs as well as all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) were fabricated to investigate the influence of structural modifications and molecular weight on their optoelectronic performance. Thus, this thesis provides a comprehensive study of the structure-property correlations of IDT-based polymers and simplified synthetic protocols for the design and preparation of donor-acceptor copolymers in the future.

Highly proton conducting polymers for operation in hydrogen/oxygen proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) provide often a poor mechanical strength due to high water contents. To strengthen the conducting polymers, blends with different ratios of partially fluorinated sulfonic acid graft and diblock copolymers with perfluorinated polymers were prepared. To analyze the effect of the different quantities of the compounds, with regard to water sorption and proton conducting properties, membranes were prepared by dissolving the components and drop casting. Partially sulfonated poly([vinylidene difluoride-co-chlorotrifluoroethylene]-g-styrene) (P(VDF-co-CTFE)-g-SPS) was blended with polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), decreasing the ion exchange capacity (IEC). The blended polymers absorbed less water. However, the by AC impedance spectroscopy determined proton conductivity stayed stable or increased slightly. The effective proton mobility remained constant. Partially sulfonated poly([vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene]-b-styrene) (P(VDF-co-HFP)-b-SPS) with two different PS-block lengths were blended with different amounts of poly(vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-co-HFP)). In that case, the polymers absorbed less water and the proton conductivity decreased stepwise by adding more than 20 wt% P(VDF-co-HFP). The results indicate that a blending of P(VDF-co-CTFE)-g-SPS with PVDF inhibits swelling without having an effect on the proton conductivity, though water sorption and IEC are reduced.

Highly proton conducting polymers for operation in hydrogen/oxygen proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) provide often a poor mechanical strength due to high water contents. To strengthen the conducting polymers, blends with different ratios of partially fluorinated sulfonic acid graft and diblock copolymers with perfluorinated polymers were prepared. To analyze the effect of the different quantities of the compounds, with regard to water sorption and proton conducting properties, membranes were prepared by dissolving the components and drop casting. Partially sulfonated poly([vinylidene difluoride-co-chlorotrifluoroethylene]-g-styrene) (P(VDF-co-CTFE)-g-SPS) was blended with polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), decreasing the ion exchange capacity (IEC). The blended polymers absorbed less water. However, the by AC impedance spectroscopy determined proton conductivity stayed stable or increased slightly. The effective proton mobility remained constant. Partially sulfonated poly([vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene]-b-styrene) (P(VDF-co-HFP)-b-SPS) with two different PS-block lengths were blended with different amounts of poly(vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-co-HFP)). In that case, the polymers absorbed less water and the proton conductivity decreased stepwise by adding more than 20 wt% P(VDF-co-HFP). The results indicate that a blending of P(VDF-co-CTFE)-g-SPS with PVDF inhibits swelling without having an effect on the proton conductivity, though water sorption and IEC are reduced.:1 Introduction 2 Literature Review 2.1 Fuel Cells 2.1.1 Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells 2.1.2 Other Types of Fuel Cells 2.2 Proton Conductivity 2.3 Proton Conducting Polymers 2.4 Impedance Spectroscopy 2.5 Polymers 2.6 Blending 2.7 Synthesis 2.7.1 Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization 2.7.2 Emulsion Polymerization 3 Results 3.1 Synthesis 3.1.1 Polyvinylidene Diuoride (PVDF) 3.1.2 Diblock Copolymers P(VDF-co-HFP)-b-SPS and Blends 3.1.3 Graft Copolymer P(VDF-co-HFP)-b-SPS Blends 3.2 Degree of Sulfonation 3.3 Ionomer Content 3.4 Ion Exchange Capacity 3.5 Water Content and Uptake 3.6 Proton Concentration 3.7 Watermolecules per Ionic Group 3.8 Proton Conductivity 3.9 Proton Mobility 4 Discussion & Conclusion 5 Experimental Part 5.1 Synthesis 5.1.1 Synthesis of PVDF 5.1.2 Synthesis of P(VDF-co-HFP)-b-PS 5.1.3 Sulfonation of the Polystyrene Block 5.2 Polymer Characterization 5.3 Membrane Preparation 5.4 Membrane Characterization Bibliography Appendix

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