Assoc.Prof.Dönüş Tuncel's Laboratory

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      Research Interests:

    The research in our group combines synthetic organic, supramolecular and polymer chemistry to prepare functional materials such as supramolecular polymers, cucurbituril containing rotaxanes and polyrotaxanes, water soluble conjugated polymers, carbon nanotubes-conjugated polymer nanocomposites, functional and mechanically-stable conjugated polymer nanoparticles which have potential applications in the use of polymeric opto-electronic devices (LEDs, solid state lighting and photovoltaic devices), chemo- and bio-sensors, molecular switches. We are also interested in the design and synthesis of nanoparticles and nanocapsules based on light-emitting polymers for biomedical applications such as live cell imaging and theranostic nanomedicine.

    Selected Publications:

1-) Facile synthesis of cross-linked patchy fluorescent conjugated polymer nanoparticles by click reactions, click for paper.

        Vüsala İbrahimova, Şeyma ekiz, Özlem Gezici and Dönüş Tuncel

        Polym. Chem.,  2011, 2, 2818-2824

        DOI: 10. 1039/CPY00332A

                                                                   

Cross-linked, patchy fluorescent conjugated nanoparticles were prepared either via Cu*catalyzed or cucurbit[n]uril (CB6)-catalyzed click reactions between azide grpups containing hydrophobic blue, green and yellow emitting fluorene-based conjugated polymers and a hydrophilic diaminealkyne containing cross-linker.

    

  2) D. Tuncel, Non-covalent interactions betwen the conjugated polymers and carbon nanotubes ,  Nanoscale,  click for paper.

            Feature Article, 2011, 3, 3545.

                                                          

 

 

The aim of this feature article is to review the recent results on the conjugated polymer-based non-covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes.

 

 

    3) E.J.Park, T.Erdem, V.Ibrahimova, S. Nizamoglu, H.V.Demir, D.Tuncel, White-Emitting Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles with Cross-Linked Shell for Mechanical Stability and Controllable Photometric Properties in Color-Conversion LED Applications, ACS Nano, 2011, 5, 2483–2492. Click for paper.

 

                                                    

 

    4) D. Tuncel, M. Artar, S.B. Hanay, The effect of cucurbit[n]uril on the solubility, morphology and the photophysical properties of nonionic conjugated polymers in an aqueous medium, Journal of Polymer Science: Part A, Polymer Chemistry, 2010, 48, 4894-4899 (featured as a cover). Click for paper.

 

                                                                                                                   

 

5) B. Baykal, V. Ibrahimova, G. Er, E. Bengü and D. Tuncel, Dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in an aqueous medium by water dispersible- conjugated polymer nanoparticles, Chemical Communications, 2010, 46, 6762-6764. Click for paper.

 

                                                       

 

Vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) synthesized by the alcohol catalytic CVD (ACCVD) technique are dispersed in water with the aid of water-dispersible conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs).

6) D. Tuncel, H.V. Demir, Conjugated polymer nanoparticles, Nanoscale, 2010, 2, 484-494 (Invited Feature Article, May, June, July, Top Ten articles). Click for paper.

                                                           

Conjugated polymer nanoparticles are highly versatile nano-structured materials that can potentially find applications in various areas such as optoelectronics, photonics, bio-imaging, bio-sensing and nanomedicine.

 

7)  "Sequence-Specific Self-Sorting of the Binding Sites of a Ditopic Guest by Cucurbituril Homologues and Subsequent Formation of a Hetero[4]pseudorotaxane," G.Celtek, M.Artar, O.A.Scherman, D.Tuncel, Chem. Eur. J., 2009, 14, 4110. Click for paper.

                                

                                          

 

 8) I. O. Huyal, U. Koldemir, T. Ozel, H. V. Demir, D. Tuncel, ‘On the origin of high quality white light emission from hybrid inorganic/organic light emitting materials’ J. Mater. Chem., 2008, 18, 3568 (inside cover). Click for paper.

                                                                                                                                              

 

 9) ‘Nano particles based on fluorescent conjugated polymers’ I. O. Huyal, T. Ozel, D. Tuncel, H. V. Demir, ‘Quantum efficiency enhancement in film by making nanoparticles of polyfluorene’, Optics Express, 2008, 16, 13391. Click for paper.

                                                 

                                                              

     

 10) D. Tuncel, Ö. Özsar, H.B. Tiftik, B. Salih, ‘Molecular switch based on a cucurbit[6]uril containing bistable [3]rotaxane’ Chem. Commun., 2007, 1369. Click for paper.

 

                                                      

 

A bistable CB6-based [3]rotaxane with two recognition sites has been prepared in a high yield synthesis through CB6-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition; this rotaxane behaves as a molecular switch by the movement of rings under base, acid and heat stimuli from one location to the other.