In this work we examine Ag-Au and Ni-Cu nanoclusters: their structural,compositional, and morphological characteristics are investigated in detail. The clusters are produced by the inert gas aggregation (IGA) method from magnetron sputtered alloy targets, in an UHV compatible system. The design of the system is optimized for production and deposition of the clusters with size in the range 5 nm < D < 10 nm. In order to increase the flux of sub-5 nm clusters in the system, we conducted modeling and experimental studies of cluster motion: the simulations showed that skimmers with wider internal angles might significantly improve the flux of smaller nanoclusters; however, the experimental study revealed a major influence of the background gas on scattering of such nanoclusters which consequently led to the loss of their flux. A comprehensive study of Ag0:85Au0:15 nanoclusters was conducted over a period of more than 2 years. Nanoclusters with sizes in the range 3 nm < D < 10 nm were deposited onto a-C films at various surface coverages and systematically investigated by transmission electron microscopy. We found that Ag-Au nanoclusters initially exhibited icosahedral and decahedral structural motifs, with a very small fraction of face centered cubic nanoclusters present. This may suggest that the source conditions used in the experiments (primarily Ar flow) left Ag-Au nanoclusters kinetically trapped in structures which correspond to local thermodynamic minima, rather than global energetically favoured atomic configurations. When left exposed to ambient conditions, over time Ag-Au nanoclusters exhibited structural, morphological, and compositional changes: core-shell and Janus nanoclusters were observed in aged samples, as well as fragmentation of bigger particles. We attribute these changes to oxidation of the Ag component and increased diffusion of Ag₂O over the substrates. The final morphology of aged nanocluster-based thin films is governed by a combination of diffusion, Ostwald ripening, and the Plateau-Rayleigh instability. High resolution transmission electron microscopy confirmed the presence of fivefold symmetric structures in Ni-Cu nanoclusters; however, their higher oxidation rate may have influenced the structures from the outset. In addition, when these nanoclusters were exposed to the electron beam, crystalline artifacts (nanochimneys)started to grown on them, with a structure corresponding to the NiO structure. Ni-Cu nanoclusters are subsequently used as catalysts in a pilot study of carbon nanotube synthesis which confirmed that such alloy nanoclusters are catalytically active for single-wall and multi-wall carbon nanotube growth.

A study is presented on the synthesis and characterization of nanoporous AgPt and AgAu alloys after annealing and dealloying in 5% HClO4. Dealloying removes the less-noble atom from the alloy surface to produce nanoporous, highly-interconnected ligaments. Voltammetry of AgPt and AgAu shows the critical potential, Ec, at various potential scan rates. Potential hold current decay experiments on Ag-23Pt and Ag-23Au further show the intrinsic Ec to be 275 mV and 290 mV, respectively. Ec was governed by thermodynamic clustering in the alloys as opposed to dissolution-diffusion kinetic effects. EDX shows the starting 77Ag-23Pt material changes composition after dealloying to about 12Ag-88Pt. XRD indicates the presence of ordering in AgPt via a superlattice (100)-peak for a specific anneal treatment. EIS measurements done on as-annealed and dealloyed AgPt and AgAu samples show the onset of bulk porosity and show that capacitance increase is equal for both alloys at two different dealloying potentials.

A study is presented on the synthesis and characterization of nanoporous AgPt and AgAu alloys after annealing and dealloying in 5% HClO4. Dealloying removes the less-noble atom from the alloy surface to produce nanoporous, highly-interconnected ligaments. Voltammetry of AgPt and AgAu shows the critical potential, Ec, at various potential scan rates. Potential hold current decay experiments on Ag-23Pt and Ag-23Au further show the intrinsic Ec to be 275 mV and 290 mV, respectively. Ec was governed by thermodynamic clustering in the alloys as opposed to dissolution-diffusion kinetic effects. EDX shows the starting 77Ag-23Pt material changes composition after dealloying to about 12Ag-88Pt. XRD indicates the presence of ordering in AgPt via a superlattice (100)-peak for a specific anneal treatment. EIS measurements done on as-annealed and dealloyed AgPt and AgAu samples show the onset of bulk porosity and show that capacitance increase is equal for both alloys at two different dealloying potentials.

L’or, habituellement considéré comme catalytiquement inactif, fait preuve d’une activité étonnante pour diverses réactions d’oxydation pourvu qu’il soit supporté sur un oxyde approprié. Ces dix dernières années, des méthodes de synthèse par dissolution sélective du composé le moins noble d’un alliage métallique (dealloying) ont permis l’obtention de catalyseurs d’or nanoporeux. Ces catalyseurs font preuve d’une très forte activité catalytique vis-à-vis de la réaction d’oxydation du monoxyde de carbone. Cependant, des études plus récentes semblent montrer que cette activité est due aux impuretés présentes dans les catalyseurs, qui sont imputables aux limitations de la méthode de synthèse utilisée. Dans cette étude, un catalyseur nanoporeux d’or pur a été obtenu par oxydation spontanée d’un alliage AuZr à température ambiante puis dissolution sélective totale de ZrO2 dans HF. Ce catalyseur démontre des caractéristiques structurales et morphologiques similaires à celles des échantillons obtenus par dealloying. Leur évaluation catalytique a été réalisée par réaction d’oxydation du CO et en PrOx : les résultats montrent que l’or pur nanoporeux n’est pas catalytiquement actif. La préparation de catalyseurs AgAu selon la même méthode a permis l’obtention de catalyseurs de différentes teneurs en argent, proches des résidus obtenus par dealloying. L’impact de la présence de l’impureté d’argent sur la catalyse est avéré : elle permet d’exacerber l’activité de l’or à température ambiante par synergie des deux éléments. Cependant, l’effet promoteur de l’hydrogène disparaît en PrOx et l’impact de la concentration d’argent est faible lors de l’oxydation du CO. Une étude exploratoire sur les nanomousses NiPd a été menée en parallèle. Le palladium, qui présente le meilleur compromis activité/sélectivité pour les hydrogénations sélectives, voit son activité exacerbée lorsqu’il est déposé à la surface d’un monocristal de Nickel. Cet effet n’existe pas pour des nanoparticules Pd/Ni supportées. Un catalyseur NiPd a donc été préparé dans cette étude selon la méthode des nickels de Raney® afin de combiner les propriétés des monocristaux et des nanoparticules / Gold, generally considered as catalytically inactive, demonstrates a surprising activity toward several oxidation reactions when supported on a proper oxide. New synthesis ways have been developed for ten years to obtain nanoporous gold catalysts based on selective dissolution of the less noble component of a metallic alloy (dealloying). These catalysts exhibit very high activity towards the carbon monoxide oxidation reaction. However recent studies seem to reveal that this activity could be due to impurities inherent to dealloying. In this study a very pure nanoporous catalyst was obtained by spontaneous oxidation of a AuZr alloy at room temperature; a total selective dissolution of ZrO2 was then carried out in HF. Its structural and morphological characteristics proved to be similar to the dealloyed catalysts ones. The evaluation of its catalytic properties by CO oxidation showed that pure nanoporous gold was not catalytically active. Besides bimetallic AgAu catalysts were prepared following the same preparation method with three silver concentrations chosen close to the residual impurities concentrations obtained by dealloying. Their catalytic properties proved to be impacted by silver impurities: gold activity was emphasized at room temperature by synergy between the two elements. However, the promotional effect of hydrogen disappeared in PrOx and the role of silver concentration was low for CO oxidation. In parallel an exploratory study was carried out on NiPd nanofoams. The catalysts were prepared following the Raney® nickel method to improve the palladium activity towards the selective hydrogenation reaction. The results showed a slight increase of the catalytic activity