Surfactant templating provides for the synthesis of ordered mesoporous silica and the opportunity to tailor the pore size, pore structure, particle morphology and surface functionality of the silica through the selection of synthesis conditions and surfactant template. This work extends the synthesis of nanostructured silica using fluorinated surfactant templates to the synthesis of organic/inorganic composites. The effect of fluorinated surfactant templates (C6F13C2H4NC5H5Cl, C8F17C2H4NC5H5Cl and C10F21C2H4NC5H5Cl), which have highly hydrophobic fluorocarbon tails, on functional group incorporation, accessibility, and silica textural properties is examined and compared to properties of hydrocarbon surfactant (C16H33N(CH3)3Br, CTAB) templated silica. Hydrocarbon (vinyl, n-decyl and 3-aminopropyl) and fluorocarbon (perfluoro-octyl, perfluorodecyl) functional group incorporation by direct synthesis is demonstrated, and its effects on silica properties are interpreted based on the aggregation behavior with the surfactant templates. Silica materials synthesized with CTAB possess greater pore order than materials synthesized with the fluorocarbon surfactants. The incorporation of the short vinyl chain substantially reduces silica pore size and pore order. However, pore order increases with functionalization for materials synthesized with the fluorinated surfactant having the longest hydrophobic chain. The incorporation of longer chain functional groups (n-decyl, perfluorodecyl, perfluoro-octyl) by direct synthesis results in hexagonal pore structured silica for combinations of hydrocarbon/fluorocarbon surfactant and functional groups. The long chain of these silica precursors, which can be incorporated in the surfactant micelle core, affect the pore size less than vinyl incorporation. Synthesis using the longer chain fluoro-surfactant (C8F17C2H4NC5H5Cl) template in ethanol/water solution results in highest incorporation of both n-decyl and the fluorocarbon functional groups, with a corresponding loss of material order in the fluorinated material. Matching the fluorocarbon surfactant (C6F13C2H4NC5H5Cl) to the perfluoro-octyl precursor did not show improved functional group incorporation. Higher incorporation of the perfluoro-octyl functional group was observed for all surfactant templates, but the perfluoro-decyl silica is a better adsorbent for the separation of hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon tagged anthraquinones. Incorporating a reactive hydrophilic functional group (3-aminopropyl) suggests further applications of the resulting nanoporous silica. Greater amine incorporation is achieved in the CTAB templated silica, which has hexagonal pore structure; the order and surface area decreases for the fluorinated surfactant templated material.

This dissertation focuses on the solution-state polymer assembly of conjugated polymers with specific attention to nano- and molecular-scale morphology. Understanding how to control these structures holds potential for applications in polymer-based electronics. Optimization of conjugated polymer morphology was performed with three objectives: 1) segregation of donor and acceptor materials on the nanometer length-scale, 2) achieving molecular-scale ordering in terms of crystallinity within distinct domains, and 3) maximizing the number and quality of well-defined donor/acceptor interfaces. Chapter 1 introduces the development of a mixed solvent method to create crystalline poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) fibrils in solution. Chapter 2 describes fibril purification and approaches to robust and functional fibrils, while chapters 3 and 4 demonstrate the formation of hybrid nanocomposite wires of P3HT and cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanoparticles by two methods: 1) co-crystallization of free and P3HT-grafted CdSe for composite nanowires and 2) direct attachment of CdSe nanoparticles at fibril edges to give superhighway structures. These composite structures show great potential in the application of optoelectronic devices, such as the active layer of solar cells. Finally, ultrafast photophysical characterization of these polymers, using time-resolved photoluminescence and transient absorption, was performed to determine the aggregation types present in suspended fibrils and monitor the formation and decay of charged species in fibrils and donor-acceptor systems

L'objectif de cette recherche est d'établir des mécanismes de formation de la structure des systèmes hybrides organique-inorganique à base des oligomères uréthane et silicates en fonction de la réactivité de la composant organique, d'identifier l'impact de l'organisation structurelle du OIS obtenue sur leurs propriétés électriques et thermomécaniques, de sorption et de l'activité du capteur. La signification pratique des résultats est la détermination de l'impact de la réactivité composant organique sur la structure des systèmes hybrides polymère organique-inorganique avec la possibilité d'obtenir des matériaux avec des propriétés spéciales prévisibles. Les résultats peuvent être utilisés comme base scientifique pour comprendre l'interconnexion de la structure, les propriétés et les moyens de leur régulation en direction de systèmes hybrides polymère organique-inorganique. La sensibilité très élevée pour les différents types de solvants, qui, combiné avec une haute sélectivité, a été révélé pour les systèmes de synthèse, la possibilité de leur utilisation pratique en tant que matières capteur existe.

L'objectif de cette recherche est d'établir des mécanismes de formation de la structure des systèmes hybrides organique-inorganique à base des oligomères uréthane et silicates en fonction de la réactivité de la composant organique, d'identifier l'impact de l'organisation structurelle du OIS obtenue sur leurs propriétés électriques et thermomécaniques, de sorption et de l'activité du capteur. La signification pratique des résultats est la détermination de l'impact de la réactivité composant organique sur la structure des systèmes hybrides polymère organique-inorganique avec la possibilité d'obtenir des matériaux avec des propriétés spéciales prévisibles. Les résultats peuvent être utilisés comme base scientifique pour comprendre l'interconnexion de la structure, les propriétés et les moyens de leur régulation en direction de systèmes hybrides polymère organique-inorganique. La sensibilité très élevée pour les différents types de solvants, qui, combiné avec une haute sélectivité, a été révélé pour les systèmes de synthèse, la possibilité de leur utilisation pratique en tant que matières capteur existe. / The aim of the research is to establish mechanisms of structure formation of hybrid organic-inorganic systems based on urethane oligomers and silicates, depending on reactivity of organic component, to identify the impact of structural organization of OIS obtained on their electrophysical and thermomechanical properties, sorption and sensor activity.The practical significance of the results is the determination of the impact of organic component reactivity on the structure of hybrid organic-inorganic polymer systems with the possibility of obtaining of the materials with predictable special properties. The results can be used as scientific basis for understanding the interconnection of structure, properties and ways of their directional regulation of hybrid organic-inorganic polymer systems. Whereas, the extremely high sensitivity to different types of solvents, which combined with the high selectivity, was revealed for the synthesized systems, the possibility of their practical use as sensor materials exists.