Oligo(aniline)s (OAs) with at least four aniline units have analogous redox and doping properties to their parent poly(aniline) systems. Recently, the use of straightforward organic synthesis methods to introduce well-defined functionalities in OA molecules has been reported. Materials based on these functionalized OAs retain the properties exhibited by the parent polymer and show enhanced propel1ies such as processability and crystallinity. Moreover, a systematic control over these functionalities has yielded materials with tunable optoelectronic properties. In this thesis, OAs covalently functionalized with bio-inspired building blocks (biomotit) are used to form materials with well -defined assembly propel1ies. Short molecular weight biomolecules with well understood self-assembly properties are promising building blocks for the formation of specific supramolecular assemblies with anisotropic properties. Among these molecules, dipeptides and purines assemble into well -defined anisotropic morphologies, such as fibre-like nanostructures, by changing simple experimental conditions like concentration, solvent polarity and pH. The present research project aims to a) develop an effective synthetic strategy to yield OAs covalently functionalised with biomotifs, . i.e., dipeptides and guanine, b) the characterisation of their electroactive propel1ies, i.e., doping acid, and c) their self-assembly properties to produce anisotropic assemblies, i.e., nanofibres. The results demonstrate that OAs can be functionalized with biomotifs, i.e., dipeptides and guanine, using a Buchwald-Hartwig amination coupling reaction. The optimisation of the reaction conditions is strongly dependent on the chemical structure of the starting precursors, i.e., unprotected amine, imine, amide and carboxylic groups. The two series of as-synthesised biomotif-functionalised diblock OAs with different endfunctionalised biomotifblocks were doped with stoichiometry portions of acid dopant. These results demonstrate the retention of electroactive properties in the OA-based block after functionalization with biomoitifs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:683461 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Sanchez-Sanchez, Angel |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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