@phdthesis{Maier2024,
  author    = {Maier, Matthias},
  title     = {Inorganic and Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Polymers Containing BN Units in the Main Chain},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-35153},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-351536},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2024},
  abstract  = {π-Conjugated organic polymers have attracted tremendous attention in the last decades, and the interest in these materials is mainly driven by their applicability in next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices (OLEDs, OFETs, photovoltaics). The partial or complete replacement of carbon atoms by main group elements in conjugated polymers can significantly change the characteristics and applications of these macromolecules. In this work, a class of inorganic polymers comprising a backbone of exclusively boron and nitrogen atoms (poly(iminoborane)s, PIBs) and their monodisperse oligomers is described. In addition, novel inorganic-organic hybrid polymers containing BN units in their polymer backbone were synthesized and characterized. In chapter 2.1, the development of catalytic B-N coupling routes for the controlled synthesis of macromolecular materials is described. While the reaction of an N-silyl-B-chloro-aminoborane with the electrophilic reagent trimethylsilyl triflate led to effective B-N coupling, the reaction with a silver(I) salt resulted in an intramolecular Cl/Me exchange between the boron and silicon centers. In chapter 2.2-2.4, the study of oligo- and poly(iminoborane)s is discussed. Monodisperse and cyclolinear oligo(iminoborane)s based on diazaborolidines with up to 7 boron and 8 nitrogen atoms were synthesized by successively extending the B-N main chain. However, the use of benzodiazaborolines only led to limited BN catenation. Furthermore, the redistribution processes resulting from the reaction of longer oligomers with non-stoichiometric amounts of (di)halogenated boranes is reported. In chapter 2.5-2.6, the synthesis of 1,2,5-azadiborolanes as building blocks for the synthesis of poly(iminoborane)s and inorganic-organic hybrid polymers is described. While the attempt to apply an azadiborolane with sterically demanding groups on the boron-bridging ethylene unit for the construction of PIB was unfeasible, it was successfully incorporated in inorganic-organic hybrid polymers. Photophysical studies indicated π-conjugation along the polymer chain. A first attempt to synthesize PIBs based on azadiborolanes with unsubstituted ethylene units showed promising results. In chapter 2.7-2.8, a comprehensive study of poly(arylene iminoborane)s, which are BN analogs of poly(arylene vinylene)s is described, and the properties of four polymers as well as twelve monodisperse oligomers were investigated. Photophysical investigations of the monomers, dimers and polymers showed a systematic bathochromic shift of the absorption maximum with increasing chain length and thiophene content. Based on TD-DFT calculations of the model oligomers, the lowest-energy absorption band could be assigned to HOMO to LUMO transitions with π-π* character. The oligo- and poly(arylene iminoborane)s showed only very weak to no emission in solution but they were emissive in the solid state. For four oligomers the aggregation induced emission (AIE) in a THF/water mixture was investigated and DLS studies confirmed the formation of nanoaggregates. In chapter 2.9, oligo- and polymerizations of sulfur-containing building blocks and subsequent pH-triggered degradation of the products is described. While a sulfilimine-containing oligomer could not be isolated, the sulfone-, sulfoximine-, and sulfoxide-containing molecular oligomers and polymers could be successfully synthesized by B=N or B-O bond formation reactions. The sulfur-containing building blocks were successfully released under acidic or basic conditions, which was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.},
  subject      = {Anorganische Polymere},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Fritze2021,
  author    = {Fritze, Lars},
  title     = {Ways to Novel Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Materials Applying New B-C Bond Formation Strategies},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-24217},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-242173},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {π-Conjugated oligomers and polymers with tricoordinate boron centers incorporated into the main chain have attracted considerable attention as the interaction of the vacant p orbital on boron with an adjacent π system of the chain leads to conjugated materials with intriguing optical and electronic properties. This enables applicability in organic electronics and optoelectronics (OLEDs, OFETs, photovoltaics) or as sensory materials. The potential of our B-C coupling protocol using metal-free catalytic Si/B exchange condensation is demonstrated by the synthesis of a series of π-conjugated monodisperse (het)aryl oligoboranes. Variation of the (het)aryl moieties allowed for tunability of the optoelectronic properties of the materials. Additionally, catalytic C-C cross-coupling strategies were applied to synthesize oligofuryl-based mono- and bisboranes, as well as polymers. These studies led to very robust and highly emissive compounds (f up to 97 \%), which allow for tuning of their emission color from blue to orange. Furthermore, this work includes investigations of reaction routes to a kinetically stabilized tetraoxaporphyrinogen. Being a key aspect of this work, a full investigation of the mechanism of the catalytic Si/B exchange was carried out. Additionally, this work presents the use of borenium cations to perform B-C coupling via intermolecular electrophilic borylation. Similar to the Si/B exchange, this route is capable of giving access to diaryl(bromo)boranes.},
  subject      = {Konjugierte Polymere},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Riensch2021,
  author    = {Riensch, Nicolas Alexander},
  title     = {Silicon/Boron Exchange Routes to Novel Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Molecules, Oligomers, Polymers and Macrocycles},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-23865},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238657},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Industrially used semiconducting materials, building blocks of modern electronics and computer industry, are mostly based on inorganic, crystalline solids, which have the drawback of relatively high production costs. As an alternative, organic pi-conjugated systems show enhanced flexibility and processability as well as the opportunity to obtain light-weight materials. They have emerged as attractive candidates, especially since elements beyond hydrogen and carbon can be used to create pi-conjugated frameworks. In recent years, pi-conjugated oligomers and polymers with tricoordinate boron centers incorporated into the main chain of such organic polymers have attracted considerable attention as the interaction of the vacant p orbital on boron with an adjacent pi system of the chain leads to extended conjugated materials. These materials show intriguing optical and electronic properties and potential applications in organic electronics and optoelectronics (OLEDs, OFETs, photovoltaics) or as sensory materials. In this thesis, a catalytic Si/B exchange reaction protocol is used as a facile and highly effective B-C bond formation method to synthesize organoboron molecules, oligomers, polymers and macrocycles. This reaction is applied to synthesize a series of thienyl- and furylborane based materials. Special focus is on furylborane based materials, which, in general, have been only scarcely explored so far. This is mainly due to synthetic challenges since furan decomposes readily in the presence of light and oxygen. Our mild and highly selective reaction protocol in combination with sufficient kinetic protection of the boron centers gives access to a series of extended organoboranes featuring furylborane units in the main chain. Furthermore, kinetically stabilized furylboranes are established as highly robust and versatile building blocks for pi conjugated materials. The obtained materials reveal remarkable luminescence properties. The scope of potential starting materials was investigated by a catalyst screening, demonstrating that the Si/B exchange reaction can also be performed for less reactive aryldichloroboranes. Furthermore, borazine-based hybrid cyclomatrix microspheres have been synthesized via a Si/B exchange condensation reaction under precipitation polymerization conditions. Finally, synthetic routes to tetrabora- and diboraporphyrinogens were attempted in a multi-step reaction procedure. In the case for tetraboraporphyrinogens, the final macrocyclization reaction under pseudo high-dilution conditions afforded a mixture of macrocycles with different ring sizes. UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopic analysis indicated significant differences in comparison to their linear congeners.},
  subject      = {Bororganische Verbindungen},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Lorenz2021,
  author    = {Lorenz, Thomas},
  title     = {Conjugated Polymers with BN Units in the Main Chain},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-21923},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-219230},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {In recent years <mi>PI</mi>-conjugated organoboron polymers and BN-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have attracted a lot of interest due to their great potential in organic electronics. However, there are only few known examples of conjugated polymers with BN units in their main chain. Within this work silazane cleavage with silicon-boron (Si/B) exchange for the synthesis of a novel class of inorganic-organic hybrid polymers is demonstrated. These polymers consist of alternating NBN and para-phenylene units in the main chain. Photophysical studies and TD-DFT calculations for the polymer and molecular model systems were carried out, revealing a low extent of <mi>PI</mi>-conjugation across the NBN units. The new polymers can be used as macromolecular polyligands by a cross-linking reaction with a ZrIV compound. In the next chapter the synthesis and characterization of the first poly(p-phenylene iminoborane) is presented. This novel inorganic-organic hybrid polymer can be described as a BN analogue of the well-known poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) and is also accessible using the previously described Si/B exchange as synthetic strategy. Photophysical investigations and TD-DFT calculations on the polymer and corresponding model oligomers provide clear evidence for <mi>PI</mi>-conjugation across the B=N units and extension of the conjugation path with increasing chain length. Furthermore, a possible application of Si/B exchange for the synthesis of polysulfoximines was explored. Herein, diaryl sulfoximines and a p-phenylene bisborane serve as building blocks for new BN- and BO-doped alternating inorganic-organic hybrid copolymers. While the BN-linked polymers were accessible by a facile silicon/boron exchange protocol, the synthesis of polymers with B-O linkages in the main chain is achieved by salt elimination. In the last chapter the concept of Si/B exchange was investigated for the synthesis of BP-linked oligomers. Herein oligomers with sterically less demanding substituents (substituents: 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl or 2,4,6-tri-iso-propylphenyl) at the phosphorus are accessible using Si/B exchange, but the oligomer with Mes* (2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl) as substituent needed a salt elimination pathway to give the desired product. Experimental data and theoretical investigations indicate, that the P-substituent has a high influence on the geometry of the phosphorus center and therefore on the possible conjugation over the BP units.},
  subject      = {Polyphenylenvinylenanaloga},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Voelker2014,
  author    = {V{\"o}lker, Sebastian},
  title     = {Synthesis, Spectroscopic and Electrochemical Properties of Squaraine Polymers},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-101638},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {In this work the synthesis, the spectroscopic and electrochemical investigation as well as some applications of a broad diversity of indolenine squaraine dyes were presented. This diversity was based on two parent squaraine dyes, one standard trans-configured compound (M1) and one in which one central oxygen atom was replaced by a dicyanomethylene moiety (M2), which increased the acceptor strength and induced a cis-configuration. The variety of synthesised dyes included functionalised squaraine monomers, donor- and acceptor-substituted monomeric model squaraines, donor- and acceptor-squaraine copolymers, pure squaraine homopolymers, a squaraine-squaraine copolymer, as well as some conjugated cyclic oligomers. In order to be able to synthesise all these different kinds of dyes, several bromine and boronic ester derivatives were synthesised, which enabled the use of the Suzuki cross coupling reaction, to generate model dyes and copolymers. In addition, the bromine derivatives were used to carry out the Yamamoto homocoupling reaction to the respective homopolymers and macrocycles. The absorption maximum of unsubstituted reference dye M1 was found at ~ 15500 cm-1, while that of M2 was red-shifted to ~ 14300 cm-1 due to the increased acceptor strength of the central unit. The extinction coefficients were in the order of ~ 300000 M-1 cm-1 and ~ 200000 M-1 cm-1, respectively. It was found that the implementation of functional groups (M3-M9), additional electron donors (M10-M19) or acceptors (M20-M22) at the periphery lead to bathochromic shifts of the absorption depending on the strength of either - and/or -donating properties of the substituents. For the bis- and triarylamine substituted dyes M10-M13 and the dibrominated dyes M5 and M7 the electronic structure of the mono- and diradical (di)cations was explored using the interplay of cyclic voltammetry, spectroelectrochemistry, and DFT calculations. It was demonstrated that the monoradical cations still show a cyanine-like character and are delocalised Robin-Day class III species due to the low redox potential of the squaraine bridge between the additional amine redox centres. To the best of my knowledge, this made M13+∙, with an N-N-distance of 26 bonds between the additional redox centres to the longest bis(triarylamine) radical cation that is completely delocalised. For the diradical dications, the situation was of larger complexity. The computed most stable energetic state of the dianisylamine-substituted dyes turned out to be a broken-symmetry state with almost equal contributions of an open-shell singlet and triplet state. In addition, it was shown that the HOMO-1→HOMO transition dominated the absorption spectra of the diradical dications where the trans-/cis-configuration of the squaraines had a direct impact due to symmetry reasons. Based on the donor-squaraine model compounds M10-M19, a series of donor-squaraine copolymers was synthesised (P7-P12) in order to further red shift and broaden the low energy absorption band. However, these effects were only of marginal extent. Both the optical and the electrochemical derived band gaps were barely lowered compared to the respective monomeric model dyes. This was assigned to an increased squaraine-squaraine distance and resulting lower exciton coupling between the squaraine chromophores due to the bridging units. In addition, according to semiempirical calculations the bridges were twisted out of the squaraine plane what reduced conjugational effects between the chromophores. To sum up, the idea to insert additional electron rich bridging units in order to create copolymers with broad and red-shifted absorption did not fully work out for the presented systems. The addition of strong electron accepting NDI units at the periphery resulted in M21, the most unique monomeric model squaraine in this work. The common picture of a sharp low energy squaraine absorption completely altered due to the addition of the NDIs and a rather broad and solvent dependent low energy absorption was found. Spectroelectrochemical experiments and semiempirical calculations showed that this band is a superposition of the common squaraine HOMO→LUMO transition and a partial squaraine→NDI charge transfer transition. The latter was lost upon oxidation of the squaraine and the absorption spectrum of the monocation of M21 was found to be nearly a 1:1 image of a pure squaraine monocation. Both the monomeric model M21 and the respective copolymer P13 showed low electrochemically obtained band gaps of 1.05-1.20 eV, which were the lowest of all squaraines in this work. For both dyes, transient absorption measurements in the fs-time regime revealed the ultrafast formation of a CS state via an intermediate CT state within a few ps. Besides, charge recombination to the ground state also occured within a few ps. In the polymer, there was barely any further energy or charge transfer within the excited state lifetime and therefore the CS state was confined on adjacent squaraine-NDI pairs and did not further travel along the polymer strand. The Ni-mediated Yamamoto homocoupling reaction was applied for the synthesis of the homopolymers (P1-P5). In contrast to the donor-squaraine copolymers, those polymers revealed strongly red-shifted and broad absorption in the red to NIR region in addition to a sharp fluorescence. These features could be explained to originate mainly from the exciton coupling of localised excited states and the presence of different superstructures in solution. For the polymers P1 and P2, an elongated J-type polymer chain caused the strong lowest energy absorption band whereas a zig-zag type arrangement of the single chromophores lead to transitions into both low and high energy excited states of the excitonic manifold. For the polymers P3 and P4, several polymer fractions of different size were investigated. Here, also an elongated chain with J-type character induced the lowest energy absorption band whereas a helical H-type arrangement caused transitions to higher energies of the excitonic manifold. The fractions to which these structures were formed depended on the chain length and the solvent. In thin film measurements, it was shown that the initially in solution formed superstructures were partly retained in the thin film but could be altered by annealing procedures. A control of the superstructures should enable the controlled tuning of the optical properties. Despite the strong interaction of the chromophores in the excited state, the redox potentials of the homopolymers barely differed to those of the respective reference dyes, indicating negligible electronic interaction in the ground state. In addition squaraine-squaraine copolymer P6, consisting of alternating parent dyes M1 and M2, was synthesised. Likewise to the homopolymers, a broad and red-shifted absorption was observed. This was explained by exciton coupling theory, which was extended to also suit alternating copolymers. In toluene, an extraordinary narrow and intense lowest energy absorption band was observed. This exchange narrowing might be a result of a highly ordered J-type structure of the polymer especially in this solvent because it was not found in others. The features of the polymer may be compared to typical J-aggregates formed from monomeric cyanine molecules for example and the polymer used as model for excitonic interactions in an alternating copolymer. Transient absorption measurements revealed a strong energy dependence of the decay traces of the copolymer, most strikingly at early decay times. This was assigned to the occurrence of multiple excitations of one polymer strand (due to the large extinction coefficients of the polymer) and resulting exciton-exciton annihilation. Due to the large exciton diffusion constants that were estimated, the static exciton-exciton annihilation was the rate limiting process of the decay, in contrast to other conjugated polymers, where in thin film measurements the decay was diffusion controlled. To sum up, for the polymers consisting of exclusively squaraine chromophores, it was shown that the exciton coupling of single chromophores with strong transition dipole moments was a fruitful way to tune the absorption spectra. As a side product of some of the polycondensation reactions, unprecedented cyclic conjugated oligomers such as the triarylamine-bridged dimer Dim1, the cyclic homotrimers Tri1-Tri3, and the tetramer Tet1 were obtained by recycling GPC in low yields. Especially the cyclic trimers showed unusual absorption and even more extraordinary fluorescence properties. They showed multiple fluorescence bands in the NIR that covered a range from ~ 8000-12500 cm-1 (800-1250 nm). First hints from theoretical calculations indicated that the trimer was not fully planar but comprised a mixture of both planar and bent single squaraine chromophores. However, final results of the calculations were still missing at the time of writing. In the last part of this work, the application of some monomeric and polymeric squaraines in binary and ternary bulk heterojunction solar cells was demonstrated. Also the utilisation as a dopant in a polymer matrix in an OLED device was shown. The homopolymers P1-P4 were tested in the binary BHJ solar cells revealing poor performances and especially very low short circuit currents. The utilisation of the polymers P3 and P4 that carried the dicyanomethylene group resulted in higher open circuit voltages due to the lower LUMO energy levels but still an overall poor performance. Neither for the different alkyl chains nor for the size of the polymers was a trend observed. In the ternary BHJ solar cells, small amounts of either monomer M14 or polymers P1A, P4-1 or P13 were added to a P3HT/PCBM system in order to generate an additional pathway for charge or energy transfer that should result in a better device performance. However, for none of the tested squaraines, improved solar cells could be built. In similarity to the binary solar cells, the short circuit currents were lower compared to a P3HT/PCBM reference device. These low short circuit currents indicated that the morphology of the squaraine dyes was the major limitation in those devices. It is possible that the dimethyl groups at the indolenine hindered a favoured alignment of the compounds that would allow decent charge transport. In the squaraine doped OLED the squaraine M6 worked rather well as an NIR emitter. Already at low dye loads the fluorescence of the host polymer SY-PPV was completely quenchend and emission from the squaraine was observed. For electroluminescence measurements, a lower dye load (0.5 wt.\%) compared to the photoluminescence measurements was sufficient, indicating that apart from FRET additional quenching mechanisms were at work in the electrically driven devices such as charge carrier dynamics.},
  subject      = {Squaraine},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Sperlich2013,
  author    = {Sperlich, Andreas},
  title     = {Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Conjugated Polymers and Fullerenes for Organic Photovoltaics},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-81244},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {In the presented thesis, the various excited states encountered in conjugated organic semiconductors are investigated with respect to their utilization in organic thin-film solar cells. Most of these states are spin-baring and can therefore be addressed by means of magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The primary singlet excitation (spin 0), as well as positive and negative polaronic charge carriers (spin 1/2) are discussed. Additionally, triplet excitons (spin 1) and charge transfer complexes are examined, focussing on their differing spin-spin interaction strength. For the investigation of these spin-baring states especially methods of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) are best suited. Therefore according experimental methods were implemented in the course of this work to study conjugated polymers, fullerenes and their blends with continuous wave as well as time-resolved EPR and optically detected magnetic resonance.},
  subject      = {Organische Solarzelle},
  language  = {en}
}