Novel Technological Materials Produced by Functionalization and Combination of Advanced Materials

CESAR A BARBERO

Viña del Mar

Workshop; International Workshop FRONTIERS IN MATERIALS RESEARCH III; 2006

CIMAT

PLENARIA Advanced materials present unique properties which can be used for technological applications in energy, analytical chemistry, electronics, biomedicine, etc. However, advanced materials also have disadvantages like poor processability, weak mechanical properties and high price. The combination of two of more materials could overcome those problems and/or create novel materials with better properties, in a synergistic way. In the present communication, it will be described the development of such combination of different advanced materials: conducting polymers, carbon nanotubes, metallic nanoparticles, nanostructured carbon, nanofibers of conducting polymers and stimuli responsive hydrogels. It will be shown that combinatorial synthesis and high throughput screening of conducting polymers and related materials renders materials with novel properties, including solubility in common solvents.[1],[2] The soluble conducting polymers could be patterned onto surfaces by lithographic techniques,[3],[4] and used as template of inorganic crystals growth. The materials could also be used to improve the processability of carbon nanotubes and conducting polymer nanofibers. Additionally the functionalized materials could be self assembled into multilayers trough electrostatic interactions.[5] An alternative combination of conducting polymers with stimuli responsive hydrogels allows producing composites which respond to microwave radiation. Nanoporous carbon materials are produced by cluster stabilization of precursor resins using polyelectrolytes or natural fibers.[6] Similarly, metallic nanoparticles are produced by template reduction with conducting polymers or reduction inside miniemulsions. The carbon materials are combined with metallic nanoparticles to produce more efficient fuel cell electrocatalysts. Other applications will be discussed. References [1] C. Barbero, H.J. Salavagione, D.F. Acevedo, D.E. Grumelli, F. Garay, G.A. Planes, G.M. Morales,  M.C. Miras, Electrochimica Acta, 49(2004)3671-3686. [2] D.F. Acevedo, M.C. Miras, C.A. Barbero, Journal of Combinatorial Chemistry, 7(2005)513-516. [3] H.J. Salavagione, M.C. Miras, C. Barbero,  J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 5290-5291. [4] H.J. Salvagione, M.C. Miras, C.A. Barbero, Macromol. Rapid. Comm., 27(2006)26-30. [5] D.F. Acevedo, J. Balach, C. Rivarola, M.C. Miras,  C.A. Barbero, Faraday Discussions, 131(2006)235. [6] M.M. Bruno, N.G. Cotella, M.C. Miras, C.A. Barbero,  Chem. Commun. (2005) 5896.