Development and characterization of luminescent molecular materials and their application in technical textiles

The objective of this research project was to develop materials that exhibit luminous emission, with the ultimate goal of using these materials on textiles for technical applications. In order to accomplish this aim, a series of experiments were conducted to gain a deeper understanding of these materials and to master the technique for transferring the luminous property to the chosen substrate (textile fabrics). The work undertaken in this thesis can be divided into two main sections, which are complementary to each other. The first part focuses on the technical and instrumental aspects, in which various characterization methods and measurement techniques based on optical fiber coupling instruments were developed, reviewed, and validated. The second part primarily deals with the preparation and synthesis of molecules and compounds, as well as their integration into textile fabrics. There are several techniques that can be used for this purpose, and in the context of this work, the sol-gel chemistry, polymer knife coating, and raw-polymer spray-coating methods were employed as functionalization pathways. The entire process from molecules to the final fabric was optically investigated, studied, and further optimized using the fiber coupled assemblies established in the technical part. Ultimately, luminescent textile fabrics were produced that have the potential to be used in the design of a self-luminous camping tent.