Identifier

etd-04242012-150651

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Chemistry

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Organic salts consist of bulky anions and/or cations whose properties can be tailored for specific purposes. Ionic liquids (ILs) are (semi)organic salts with melting points below 100 ºC. They typically exhibit neglible vapor pressures, high thermal stability, wide liquidus range, and tunable solubility. Moreover specific functions can be built into their respective ions. The first part of the dissertation involves discussions of chiral ionic liquids with additional protic, magnetic, and magneto-luminescent properties, respectively. In addition to their enantioselective sensing capabilities, the ILs may find use in chiral separations and catalysis. The second part of the dissertation involves discussions of fluorescent one-dimensional (1D) nano and microstructures from a group of uniform materials based on organic salts (GUMBOS). These GUMBOS are essentially ‘frozen’ ILs with melting points that range from 25 ºC to 250 ºC. Similar to their liquid ‘cousins’, GUMBOS can be tailored for a variety of applications. Further tunability is obtained through size-confinement effects as a result of the nano (and micro) scale of these materials. The 1D nanomaterials were prepared according to templated and self-assembly methods. In one study a porous alumina membrane was used as a sacrificial template for growing nanotubes, nanowires and nanoarrays from rhodamine 6G tetraphenylborate GUMBOS, [R6G][TPB]. These materials may find possible use in sensing, lasing and waveguiding applications. In another study a series of 1D thiacarbocyanine (TC) GUMBOS nano and microsized structures were obtained by ionic self-assembly through a modified reprecipitation approach. Blended nanomaterials consisting of multiple fluorophores were also prepared, exhibiting Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). The TC nano and microscale structures offer promise as multicolor-imaging and bioimaging agents, and in (bio)sensing applications.

Date

2012

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Warner, Isiah M.

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.2873

Included in

Chemistry Commons

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