Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy was used to anal- yse numerous graphene-sheet based materials in an attempt to study their effects on the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEM-FC) mate- rials. It has been noted in the literature that fuel cells which incorporated these materials (e.g. functionalized graphene, doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs), etc.) displayed increased performance over a wider range of environmental conditions, chiefly temperature and relative humidity. The inter-material interactions behind this phenomenon are poorly described at best. Due to its extreme site speci ficity and sensitivity to minute differences in nuclear electromagnetic environments, ss- NMR is an ideal tool for investigating the complicated interactions at work in these systems. While the electronically conductive, amorphous, non-stoichiometric, and low spin-density nature of these materials presented challenges to the collection of NMR spectra, the results presented here display the remarkable utility of this method in the study of analogues and derivatives of graphene. Graphene Oxide (GO), a derivative of graphene, has intrinsic proton conduc- tivity which is similar to Na fon, the most popular proton exchange membrane material currently used in fuel cells. Research into acid-functionalized graphene oxides and determining the role of acidic groups in increasing proton conductivity will help to improve polymer electrolyte membrane performance in fuel cell sys- tems. Multinuclear solid-state NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy was used to analyse the structure and dynamics of GO and a number of sulfonic acid derivatives of GO, both novel and previously reported. 13C spectra showed the disappearance of surface-based oxygen groups upon GO functionalization, and can be used to identify linker group carbon sites in previously synthesized and novel functional- ized GO samples with high speci city. Dehydration of these samples allows the collection of 1H spectra with resolved acidic proton and water peaks. The effect of dehydration on the proton spectrum is partially reversible through rehydration. Deuteration of the acidic groups in high temperature and acidic conditions was virtually unsuccessful, indicating that only the surface and not the intercalated functional groups play a role in the enhanced proton conductivity of ionomer / functionalized GO composites. Increased surface area and increased delamination of functionalized GO is suggested to be important to improved PEM-FC perfor- mance. This synthesis and method of analysis proves the utility of ssNMR in the study of structure and dynamics in industrially relevant amorphous carbon ma- terials, despite the obvious di culties caused by naturally broad signals and low sensitivity. Graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been investigated closely in re- cent years due to their apparent positive effect on the electrochemical performance of new fuel cell and battery systems as catalyst stabilizers, supports, or as metal- free catalysts. This is particularly true for doped graphene and CNTs, where only a small amount of doping with nitrogen and/or phosphorus can have a re- markable effect on materials performance. A direct link between structure and function in these materials is, as of yet, unclear. Doped graphene and CNTs were synthesized using varied chemical vapour deposition (CVD)-based methods, and ssNMR was used to unambiguously identify dopant atom sites, revealing that these particular synthesis methods result in highly homogeneous populations of installed phosphorus and nitrogen atoms. We present the first experimental 15N spectrum for graphitic nitrogen in N-doped graphene. 15N-labeled nitrogen doped graphene synthesized as reported here produces mainly graphitic nitrogen sites located on the edges of sheets and around defect sites. 1H-1H and 1H-15N corre- lations were also used to probe dopant nitrogen sites in labelled and unlabelled N-doped graphene. A nearly homogeneous population of phosphorus in P-doped graphene is found, with an overwhelming majority of graphitic phosphorus and a small amount of phosphate oligomer. Similar findings are noted for the phos- phorus sites in phosphorus and nitrogen co-doped CNTs with a minor change in chemical shift, as would be expected from two chemically similar phosphorus sites in carbon allotropes (CNTs versus graphene sheets) with signifi cantly different electronic structures. Ionomeric sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) membranes were doped with functionalized graphenes, and the proton conductivities of these composite membranes was measured at fuel cell operational temperatures and percent relative humidities (%RH). The differences in proton conductivity between pure SPEEK membranes and composites with different dopants and doping levels at varied conditions were investigated through high-fi eld 1H ssNMR. It was found that high- speed MAS was able to dehydrate membranes under water-saturated conditions, and so lower %RH conditions were better able to produce reliable ssNMR results. The addition of graphitic dopants appeared to have an overall detrimental effect on the bulk proton conductivity of membranes, while concurrently these doped membranes had a broadened operational temperature window. In an attempt to explore the positive influence of nitrogen doping on the effec- tive lifetime of carbon-supported platinum catalysts used in automotive hydrogen fuel cell systems, solid-state NMR was employed to probe the difference (if any) between doped catalyst supports made from different carbon and nitrogen sources. 1H spectroscopy showed a variety of sites present in the doped samples; some likely from residual starting material but others from novel sites within the doped cat- alyst supports. Double-quantum and 2D 1H experiments were used to examine the structure of these catalysts, while 13C CPMG experiments (see Chapter 2) revealed subtle differences in the nuclear relaxation rates of these materials, poten- tially related to their electronic conductivity. The results of the ssNMR analysis were insuffcient to provide an unambiguous picture of the dopant sites within these carbon black samples; this was due in equal parts to the lack of isotopically labelled dopants, the effects of electronic induction and ring current shifts on data acquisition and analysis, and the broad array of different 13C chemical shift en- vironments present in the carbon black itself. While the data is still interesting spectroscopically, suggestions are made at the end of this chapter to expand upon the lessons learned through this study to produce more useful results from similar samples in the future. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy was used to anal- yse numerous graphene-sheet based materials in an attempt to study their effects on the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEM-FC) materials. It has been noted in the literature that fuel cells which incorporated these materials (e.g. functionalized graphene / graphite, doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs), etc.) displayed increased performance over a wider range of environmental conditions, chiefly temperature and relative humidity. The inter-material interactions behind this phenomenon are poorly described at best. Due to its extreme site specifi city and sensitivity to minute differences in nuclear electromagnetic environments, ss- NMR is an ideal tool for investigating the complicated interactions at work in these systems. While the electronically conductive, amorphous, non-stoichiometric, and low spin-density nature of these materials presented challenges to the collection of NMR spectra, the results presented here display the remarkable utility of this method in the study of analogues and derivatives of graphene. Covalently functionalized graphene / graphite was synthesized, and the struc- tures of several derivatives were recorded with remarkable resolution, such that functional group carbons were resolvable. The proton dynamics of this material were remarkably slow, and so improvements in composite PEM ion conductiv- ity were proposed to be caused by surface interactions between dopant and poly- mer. The proton dynamics of ionomer graphene composites were also investigated through ssNMR. A number of graphene and CNT samples doped with phosphorus and 15N-labelled nitrogen were also analysed, and the synthesis methods employed were found to produce chemically homogeneous dopant sites with few by-products. Absent isotopic labelling, nitrogen dopant sites in carbon black samples were found to affect the relaxation properties of protons within nitrogen doped carbon black.

Nanographene oxide particles (NGO) were produced via oxidative exfoliation of graphite. Three different sizes of NGO (300 nm, 200 nm and 100 nm) have been separated by using probe sonication and sucrose density gradient centrifugation. There is great interest in functionalized NGO as a nanocarrier for in vitro and in vivo drug delivery, in order to improve dispersibility and stability of the nanocarrier platforms in physiological media. In this study, the NGO particles were covalently functionalized with zero generation polyamidoamide (PAMAM-G0) and with gelatin via noncovalent interaction. Spectroscopic techniques have been used to discriminate the chemical states of NGO prior and after functionalization. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed a clear change in the chemical state of NGO after functionalization, for both covalent and noncovalent approaches. Raman spectroscopy gave obvious insight after oxidation of graphite and functionalization of NGO particles depending on the variation of intensity ratios between D, G and 2D bands. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) exhibited the presence of oxygen containing functional groups distributed onto graphene sheets after oxidation of graphite. Furthermore, the FTIR is complementary with the XPS which performed a strong reduction in the oxygen contents after functionalization. UV visible spectroscopy was used to understand the binding capacity of gelatin coated NGO particles. The Microscopy tools, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to estimate the dimensions of NGO particles (thickness and lateral width). The nanohybrid systems (NGO-PAMAM and Gelatin-NGO) loaded with carboplatin (CP) were sought for anticancer activity investigation in HeLa and neuroblastoma cancer cells respectively. Mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were used as a model of normal cells. On HeLa cells, the pristine NGO particles with average widths of 200 nm and 300 nm showed a cytotoxic effect at low (50 g.ml−1) and high (100 g.ml−1) concentrations. While the pristine NGO sample with an average width of 100 nm revealed no significant cytotoxicity at 50 g.ml−1, and only recorded a 10% level at 100 g.ml−1. The mesenchymal stem cells showed less than 35% viability for all size distributions. After functionalization with PAMAM, the carrier was found to be able to deliver carboplatin to the cancer cells, by enhancing the drug anticancer efficiency. Moreover, the carboplatin loaded NGO carrier shows no significant effect on the viability of hMSCs even at high concentration (100 g.ml−1). On neuroblastoma cells, the cell viability assay validated gelatin-NGO nanohybrids as a useful nanocarrier for CP release and delivery, without obvious signs of toxicity. The nano-sized NGO (200 nm and 300 nm) did not enable CP to kill the cancer cells efficiently, whilst the CP loaded gelatin-NGO 100 nm resulted in a synergistic activity through increasing the local concentration of CP inside the cancer cells.

Nanoscience dominates almost all areas of science and technology in the 21st century. Nanoparticles are of fundamental interest since they possess unique size dependent properties (optical, electrical, mechanical, chemical, magnetic etc.), which are quite different from the bulk and the atomic state. The research work presented in the thesis is on the preparation, characterization and studies on Ir, Os and graphene oxide-based systems. Interconnected Ir and Os nanochains are prepared under environmentally friendly conditions in aqueous media and subsequently used as substrates for surface enhanced Raman scaterring studies and also as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and formaldehyde oxidation. Ir and IrOx nanostructures are prepared using borohydride at different temperatures. The nature of interaction of heme proteins with IrOx is studied using spectroscopic techniques. Electrochemical studies on reduced graphene oxide include sensing of biomolecules with high sensitivity and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in aqueous alkaline medium. rGO is also used as support for anchoring Ir nanoparticles and the catalyst is used for the oxidation of benzyl amines to corresponding imines. The thesis is divided in to seven chapters and details are given below. Chapter 1 gives an introduction about the synthetic strategies and properties of metal nanostructures. This is followed by literature survey on Ir, Os and graphene oxide-based systems relevant to the present study. Aim and scope of the present investigation is given at the end. Chapter 2 discusses the experimental procedures and characterization techniques used in the present study. Chapter 3 involves the preparation, characterization and studies on interconnected Ir nanochains. Assemblies of small sized nanoparticles forming network-like structures have attracted enormous interest and different metal nanoassemblies have been reported using different procedures. Ir3+ reduction is kinetically not a very favourable process and hence there are not many attempts to synthesize Ir-based nanostructures. Assemblies of interconnected Ir nanoparticles have been synthesized in the present studies using borohydride as reducing agent and ascorbic acid as capping agent, at high temperatures. Polyfunctional capping molecules such as ascorbic acid and vitamin P play important role for the formation of network- like Ir nanostructures. Optical properties of the networks are probed using UV-Vis spectroscopy and evolution of coupled plasmon of Ir nanochains at 418 nm (figure 1) is observed. The nanochains are used as substrates for SERS studies while the catalytic activity is followed for the reduction of nitroaromatics. Electrocatalytic activity of Ir nanochains is exemplified using oxygen reduction and formaldehyde oxidation. Ir nanochains show better electrocatalytic activities than nanoparticles as shown in figure 2. Figure 1. Time dependent UV-Vis absorption spectra of Ir nanoparticles recorded at various time intervals of (a) 5; (b) 15; (c) 30 and (d) 60 minutes of reduction of Ir3+ using borohydride and the corresponding TEM images. Figure 2. Polarization curves for oxygen reduction on (i) Ir nanochains and (ii) Ir nanoparticles in (A) 0.5 M H2SO4 and (B) 0.1 M KOH at a scan rate of 0.005 V/s. Rotation speed used is 1000 rpm. Chapter 4 discusses the preparation of Ir and IrOx using borohydride. The reaction temperature determines the product. Various physicochemical, microscopic and spectroscopic techniques have been used to understand the evolution of nanostructures. Borohydride reduces Ir3+ at high temperatures to form high surface area foams, while at 25oC, it results in an alkaline environment that helps in the hydrolysis of the Ir precursor to form IrOx nanoparticles. Porous IrOx is formed when Ir foams are annealed at high temperatures. Water oxidation has been demonstrated using IrOx nanoparticles and foams. Biocompatibility of IrOx is used to study the nature of interaction of heme proteins and the formation of bioconjugates using spectroscopic techniques. IrOx forms bioconjugates with substantial changes observed in secondary and tertiary structures of proteins. Chapter 5 explores the synthesis of interconnected ultrafine Os nanoclusters and the nanostructured materials are used as SERS substrates. Os nanochains are prepared under environmentally friendly conditions using polyfunctional molecules like ascorbic acid and vitamin P as both reducing agent and capping agent in aqueous media. Small sized (1-1.5 nm) Os nanoparticles spontaneously self-assemble to form clusters of few tens of nm that in turn self-organize to form branched nanochains of several microns in size. The as-formed nanochains show surface plasmon absorption in the visible region 540 nm which make them active substrates for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) studies. High SERS activity is observed for fluorescent analyte, rhodamine 6G and non-fluorescent analyte, mercaptopyridine, with different laser excitation sources. Efficient energy transfer from fluorescent R6G dye to Os nanochains is observed based on steady state and time resolved fluorescence measurements.Figure 3. (I) Time dependent UV-Vis absorption spectra of Os nanochains recorded at different time intervals of (a) 5; (b) 7; (c) 15; (d) 30 and (e) 60 minutes. Inset shows the TEM images of Os nanochains after 60 minutes of reduction. (II) SERS spectra of 4-MPy adsorbed on Os nanochains from (a) 1 mM; (b) 10 µM and (c) 1 µM solutions using 514 nm laser excitation. Chapter 6 discusses the studies based on reduced graphene oxide. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is explored as electrodes for simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA), ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) at low concentrations useful in medical diagnostics (figure 4A). It is also used as metal-free electrocatalyst for ORR (figure 4B). The use of rGO as a support for anchoring Ir nanoparticles is probed and subsequently the Ir/rGO is used as catalyst for direct aerobic oxidation of benzyl amine derivatives to corresponding imines. Chapter 7 describes the summary of the work and scope for further studies. Appendix 1 discusses the preparation of different Ir nanostructures using simple galvanic displacement reaction on copper foil while appendix 2 describes the preparation of different sized Ir nanoparticles and their electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen reduction reaction

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A adoção de políticas de incentivo ao desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias de geração de energia tem sido consenso entre especialistas de gestão ambiental. Nesta perspectiva, sistemas de conversão como células a combustível de baixa temperatura de operação (60120 °C) constituem alternativas propícias para fornecimento de energia com emissão reduzida de poluentes. Em adição, o etanol representa uma opção atrativa como combustível devido às vantagens relacionadas à característica renovável e à consolidação da indústria de bioetanol em países como Brasil e Estados Unidos. Contudo, a oxidação do etanol resulta em perdas de eficiência por causa da dificuldade de clivagem da ligação carbono-carbono. Tradicionalmente, platina tem sido usada como catalisador em decorrência das elevadas energia de adsorção e densidade de corrente de troca. Entretanto, a melhora na cinética de reação requer maior utilização catalítica. Neste contexto, um processo de síntese de óxido de grafeno reduzido foi desenvolvido para estabilizar e suportar a fase metálica, aperfeiçoando a área eletroquimicamente ativa. Uma metodologia convencional de síntese química e processamento de óxido de grafeno, a partir de grafite, foi aprimorada visando à fabricação de materiais com características desejáveis aos processos eletrocatalíticos. As estratégias foram baseadas em princípios combinados para introdução controlada de defeitos, redução no estado de aglomeração com auxílio de funcionalização direcionada com surfactante brometo de cetiltrimetilamônio (CTAB) e manufatura de dispersões com aumentada estabilidade coloidal. A nova nanoestrutura forneceu elevada densidade de sítios ativos, que incorreu em valores de corrente mássica aumentados em torno de 2,5 e 5,4 vezes frente à platina suportada em negro de fumo e grafeno aglomerado, respectivamente. / In the last decade, the adoption of policies aimed at developing new technologies for clean energy production has been a broad consensus among environment experts. From this perspective, low-temperature fuel cells (60120 °C) would appear to be promising systems to provide continuous and low-carbon power supply. As an alternative fuel, ethanol would be an appealing option due to renewability and mass production scalability. Nevertheless, the sluggish kinetics of ethanol electro-oxidation represents a major roadblock for the development of direct ethanol fuel cells. Platinum has been the most commonly used catalyst because of the highest energy adsorption and exchange current density. Optimizing reaction kinetics by tuning catalyst utilization has been applied to achieve improved performance on platinum-based catalysts. In this context, reduced graphene oxide sheets were developed to stabilize and support platinum nanoparticles, as well as to enhance the electrochemically active surface area. A conventional wet chemical methodology for synthesizing and processing graphene oxide from graphite was improved for assembling bi and/or tridimensional nanostructures with relevant microstructural features to electrocatalysis. The approach for reducing mass-transport resistances was based on a three-step design strategy aimed at the controlled introduction of defects, in situ cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant functionalization/intercalation and a manufacturing perspective on graphene dispersions from a basic solution thermodynamics theory. The unique nanoarchitecture provided a high density of active sites, which incurred in a mass current value increased by about 2.5 and 5.4 times compared to platinum supported on state-of-the-art carbon black and restacked graphene, respectively.

A adoção de políticas de incentivo ao desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias de geração de energia tem sido consenso entre especialistas de gestão ambiental. Nesta perspectiva, sistemas de conversão como células a combustível de baixa temperatura de operação (60120 °C) constituem alternativas propícias para fornecimento de energia com emissão reduzida de poluentes. Em adição, o etanol representa uma opção atrativa como combustível devido às vantagens relacionadas à característica renovável e à consolidação da indústria de bioetanol em países como Brasil e Estados Unidos. Contudo, a oxidação do etanol resulta em perdas de eficiência por causa da dificuldade de clivagem da ligação carbono-carbono. Tradicionalmente, platina tem sido usada como catalisador em decorrência das elevadas energia de adsorção e densidade de corrente de troca. Entretanto, a melhora na cinética de reação requer maior utilização catalítica. Neste contexto, um processo de síntese de óxido de grafeno reduzido foi desenvolvido para estabilizar e suportar a fase metálica, aperfeiçoando a área eletroquimicamente ativa. Uma metodologia convencional de síntese química e processamento de óxido de grafeno, a partir de grafite, foi aprimorada visando à fabricação de materiais com características desejáveis aos processos eletrocatalíticos. As estratégias foram baseadas em princípios combinados para introdução controlada de defeitos, redução no estado de aglomeração com auxílio de funcionalização direcionada com surfactante brometo de cetiltrimetilamônio (CTAB) e manufatura de dispersões com aumentada estabilidade coloidal. A nova nanoestrutura forneceu elevada densidade de sítios ativos, que incorreu em valores de corrente mássica aumentados em torno de 2,5 e 5,4 vezes frente à platina suportada em negro de fumo e grafeno aglomerado, respectivamente. / In the last decade, the adoption of policies aimed at developing new technologies for clean energy production has been a broad consensus among environment experts. From this perspective, low-temperature fuel cells (60120 °C) would appear to be promising systems to provide continuous and low-carbon power supply. As an alternative fuel, ethanol would be an appealing option due to renewability and mass production scalability. Nevertheless, the sluggish kinetics of ethanol electro-oxidation represents a major roadblock for the development of direct ethanol fuel cells. Platinum has been the most commonly used catalyst because of the highest energy adsorption and exchange current density. Optimizing reaction kinetics by tuning catalyst utilization has been applied to achieve improved performance on platinum-based catalysts. In this context, reduced graphene oxide sheets were developed to stabilize and support platinum nanoparticles, as well as to enhance the electrochemically active surface area. A conventional wet chemical methodology for synthesizing and processing graphene oxide from graphite was improved for assembling bi and/or tridimensional nanostructures with relevant microstructural features to electrocatalysis. The approach for reducing mass-transport resistances was based on a three-step design strategy aimed at the controlled introduction of defects, in situ cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant functionalization/intercalation and a manufacturing perspective on graphene dispersions from a basic solution thermodynamics theory. The unique nanoarchitecture provided a high density of active sites, which incurred in a mass current value increased by about 2.5 and 5.4 times compared to platinum supported on state-of-the-art carbon black and restacked graphene, respectively.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:36:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-08-18 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / A two-dimensional structure with a thickness of one atom in a Bravais lattice in a "honeycomb". So it is known graphene, with interesting property both in basal plane as the edges of the material. Consisting of carbon atoms in its sp2 hybridization, graphene has applications to mechanical areas, electrical, optical, chemistry, biology. This requires mastered the techniques of obtaining graphene. This paper presents the study of obtaining exfoliated material, seeking to control the process as well as obtain graphene by electrochemical. The process of obtaining exfoliation is important because through it can obtain more control over the exfoliated material. The material obtained was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. Our results show that it is possible to obtain exfoliated material, and as the spectra material by analyzing the intensity of the peaks. / Uma estrutura bidimensional com a espessura de um átomo, em uma rede de bravais em forma de favos de mel . Assim é conhecido o grafeno, com propriedade interessante tanto no plano basal como nas bordas do material. Constituído de átomos de carbono em sua hibridização sp2, o grafeno possui aplicações às áreas de mecânica, elétrica, ótica, química, biologia. Para isso é necessário dominar as técnicas de obtenção de grafeno. Este trabalho apresenta o estudo da obtenção de material esfoliado, buscando controle no processo, além de se obter grafeno por via eletroquímica. O processo de obtenção por esfoliação eletroquímica é importante, pois por meio dele pode-se adquirir mais controle sobre o material esfoliado. O material obtido foi analisado através da técnica de Espectroscopia Raman. Os resultados mostraram que é possível obter material esfoliado e a análise deste material através da intensidade das bandas de seu espectro Raman.

The uniform dispersion of the nano fillers without agglomeration in a polymeric matrix is widely adapted for the purpose of mechanical properties enhancement. In the context to biomedical applications, the type and amount of nanoparticles can potentially influence the biocompatibility. In order to address these issues, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) based composites reinforced with graphene oxide (GO) were prepared by melt mixing followed by compression moulding. In an attempt to tailor the dispersion and to improve the interfacial adhesion, polyethylene (PE) was immobilized onto GO sheets by nucleophilic addition-elimination reaction. A good combination of yield strength (ca. 20 MPa), elastic modulus (ca. 600 MPa) and an outstanding elongation at failure (ca. 70 %) were recorded with 3 wt % polyethylene grafted graphene oxide (PE-g-GO) reinforced HDPE composites. Considering the relevance of protein adsorption as a biophysical precursor to cell adhesion, the protein adsorption isotherms of bovine serum albumin (BSA) were determined to realize three times higher equilibrium constant (Keq) for PE-g-GO reinforced HDPE composites as compared to GO reinforced composites. In order to assess the cytocompatibility, osteoblast cells (MC3T3) were grown on HDPE/GO and HDPE/PE-g-GO composites, in vitro. The statistically significant increase in metabolically active cell was observed, irrespective of the substrate composition. Such observation indicated that HDPE with GO or PE-g-GO addition (upto 3 wt %) can be used as cell growth substrate. The extensive proliferation of cells with oriented growth pattern also supported the fact that tailored GO addition can support cellular functionality, in vitro. Taken together, the experimental results suggest that the PE-g-GO in HDPE can effectively be utilized to enhance both mechanical and cytocompatibility properties and can further be explored for potential biomedical applications.

The diploma thesis deals with the possibility of using the addition of nanoparticles to improve the properties of cement composites. The theoretical part summarizes the findings of research in this area with a focus on methods of dispersion of nanoparticles and their treatment for use in cement composites. The experimental part focuses on the comparison of methods of dispersion and plasma treatment of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoparticle solutions from the point of view of the agglomeration process. During this work, a method of systematic optical/visual monitoring of sedimentation/agglomeration was developed to complement sophisticated methods such as spectrophotometry (UV/Vis) and electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the effect of the addition of rGO on the properties of cement mortar, in the form of aqueous solutions prepared by the dispersion methods determined in the previous section, was investigated.

This diploma thesis deals with the influence of addition of carbon nanoparticles on cement composites. The theoretical part of the diploma thesis is focused on the research of information about carbon nanoparticles, more precisely about carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide. There are summarized methods of dispersing carbon nanotubes and their effects on cement composites. The practical part follows the theoretical part of the research. In the first phase, the correct technique of graphene oxide dispersion was verified. Subsequently, the effects of graphene oxide on the mechanical properties of cement mortars were verified. In the final phase of the diploma thesis, the knowledge gained from the previous part was verified on concrete samples.