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Metal alkoxides are easily available and versatile precursors for functional materials, such as solid catalysts. However, the poor solubility of metal alkoxides in organic solvents usually hinders their facile application in sol–gel processes and complicates access to complex carbonate or oxidic compounds after hydrolysis of the precursors. In our contribution we have therefore shown three different solubilization strategies for metal alkoxides, namely the derivatization, the hetero-metallization and CO2 insertion. The latter strategy leads to a stoichiometric insertion of CO2 into the metal–oxygen bond of the alkoxide and the subsequent formation of metal alkyl carbonates. These precursors can then be employed advantageously in sol–gel chemistry and, after controlled hydrolysis, result in chemically defined crystalline carbonates and hydroxycarbonates. Cu- and Zn-containing carbonates and hydroxycarbonates were used in an exemplary study for the synthesis of Cu/Zn-based bulk catalysts for methanol synthesis with a final comparable catalytic activity to commercial standard reference catalysts.

L'enjeu de cette thèse réside dans la compréhension et l'amélioration de la sulfuration de catalyseurs à base de W. Elle a pour objectif la rationalisation des différentes étapes de préparation de catalyseurs d’hydrotraitement de type NiWS depuis la préparation jusqu'au test catalytique par une approche moléculaire (appelée «chimie de surface contrôlée» ou CSC), ce qui permet de proposer de nouvelles voies pour lever le verrou majeur, lié à la mauvaise sulfuration du W. Au cœur de cette approche se situe l'utilisation d'une méthode de préparation originale, ayant recours à des composés moléculaires métallo-organiques bien-définis comme précurseurs de la phase sulfurée WS2, combinée à une analyse poussée par spectroscopies multiples (IR, RMN, XPS) et chimie computationnelle.La famille des alcoxydes de tungstène a été sélectionnée ; les précurseurs mono ou di-nucléaires tels que W(OEt)6, [W(=O)(OEt)4]2 ou [W(OEt)5]2 ont été greffés sur silice-alumine partiellement deshydroxylée, et leur conversion en phase sulfure a montré que le type de précurseurs moléculaires influençaient peu les propriétés des catalyseurs non promus (WS2/ASA), en termes de taux de sulfuration (déterminé par XPS) ou d’activité catalytique, en hydrogénation du toluène en présence d’aniline. Le composé [W(OEt)5]2 a ensuite été sélectionné pour approfondir l’étude des catalyseurs préparés par CSC.L'approche visant à améliorer la compréhension des différentes espèces de surface formées a été réalisée par l'étude des matériaux avant et après sulfuration. L'augmentation de la quantité de W déposé sur les matériaux CSC a permis de révéler la formation de (1) une couche d’espèces greffées sur la surface de silice-alumine, puis (2) de couches successives, formées d'espèces plus mobiles. L'étude portant sur la sulfuration de ces matériaux en fonction de leur teneur en W, et de la température de sulfuration, a permis de les comparer aux catalyseurs sulfurés dits «conventionnels». Cette étude approfondie a mis en évidence une amélioration de la sulfuration du W pour les matériaux CSC aux températures habituellement utilisées (350°C). La vitesse intrinsèque d’hydrogénation des catalyseurs CSC, jusqu’à deux fois supérieure à celle des catalyseurs conventionnels, a en partie été expliquée par un meilleur taux de sulfuration, et par la morphologie 2D des feuillets WS2 (STEM-HAADF), de forme triangulaire tronquée, dans le cas d’un catalyseur conventionnel.Finalement, ayant démontré que l’emploi d’espèces moléculaires mono et binucléaires permettait d’améliorer les catalyseurs non promus par rapport à l’approche conventionnelle utilisant des clusters polyanioniques, les catalyseurs promus de type NiW/ASA ont été étudiés. Différents précurseurs ont été utilisés (par exemple Ni(acac)2) ainsi que différentes méthodes de dépôt (dépôt du nickel sur un matériau sulfuré, ou non) et quantités de nickel. Ces travaux ont permis d’estimer l’influence de ces paramètres sur la sulfurabilité du W et du Ni, ainsi que sur l’activité catalytique des catalyseurs, et montrer que l’emploi d'une approche moléculaire dans la préparation des phases NiWS supportées permet d’améliorer la promotion des feuillets sulfures par le nickel, mais aussi d'accéder à des catalyseurs pouvant avoir des vitesses intrinsèques d’hydrogénation quatre fois supérieures celles de catalyseurs conventionnelles de référence. Ces résultats catalytiques sont très probablement liés à une balance optimisée entre «nature» et «quantité» de sites actifs mixtes Ni-W. Cela démontre l’intérêt d’une approche moléculaire pour la préparation de catalyseurs d'hydrotraitement plus performants. / The aim of this thesis is to understand and improve the sulphidation of W-based hydrotreating catalysts by understanding and characterising each step of their preparation, from the synthesis to catalytic tests, via a controlled surface chemistry approach (or "CSC", also referred as surface organometallic chemistry, "SOMC", in the literature). This molecular approach opens new avenues for the improvement of W sulphidation, which is one strong limitation for using this metal in hydrotreatment. The core of this study is based on the use of well-defined metallo-organic precursors as precursors of the tungsten sulphide phase, each step of materials preparation being characterised by multiple spectroscopy techniques (IR, NMR, XPS) combined with ab initio molecular modelling.Mono or dinuclear tungsten alkoxides such as [W(OEt)5]2, W(OEt)6 or [W(=O)(OEt)4]2 were grafted on partially dehydroxylated amorphous silica-alumina. Their conversion into sulphide materials reveals that the precursor does not influence significantly the amount of WS2 phase formed (level of sulphidation observed by XPS) as well as catalytic properties in toluene hydrogenation in the presence of aniline. Only [W(OEt)5]2 was used in the following experiments.So as to better understand the genesis of the sulphide phase, CSC materials were characterised before and after sulphidation. Before sulphidation, the use of increasing amounts of W precursor reveals the formation of (1) first, a layer of tungsten surface species grafted on the surface, and (2) second, layers of more mobile species, more loosely bonded to the grafted species. Then, these CSC materials were sulphided into WS2 catalysts (with different W-loading, and different sulphidation temperatures) and were compared to conventionally prepared samples. The results reveal an improvement of tungsten sulphidation for CSC samples already at ambient sulphidation temperature and also at more usual sulphidation temperatures (350°C). Catalytic activities up to 2 times higher than conventional references were also obtained. They are explained in part by the better level of sulphidation of CSC samples and by a different 2D morphology of WS2 crystallites (STEM-HAADF), observed to be hexagonal-like for CSC samples while conventional ones have truncated triangle-like shapes.Then, as non-promoted CSC samples were more active than their conventional counterparts, nickel promoted catalysts (NiWS) were prepared, with the use of different Ni precursors (such as Ni(acac)2), different preparation methods and Ni amounts. This study gives insights into the sulphidation of W and Ni, and reveals that samples prepared via a molecular approach (CSC) can exhibit intrinsic hydrogenation rates up to four times higher than reference catalysts. These results are explained by an optimal balance between the nature of active Ni-W mixed sites and their amount. These interesting results, obtained for non-promoted and Ni-promoted catalysts, show that the use of a molecular approach is suitable to design highly active hydrotreating catalysts.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemical Engineering / Keith L. Hohn / Vanadium phosphorous oxide (VPO) is traditionally manufactured from solid vanadium oxides by synthesizing VOHPO[4subscript][dot in middle of line]0.5H[2subscript]O (the precursor) followed by in-situ activation to produce (VO)[2subscript]P[2subscript]O[subscript]7 (the active phase). These catalysts considerably improve their performance when prepared as nanostructured materials and this study discusses an alternative synthesis method based on sol-gel techniques capable of producing nanostructured VPO. Vanadium(V) triisopropoxide oxide was reacted with ortho-phosphoric acid in tetrahydrofuran (THF). This procedure yielded a gel of VOPO[4subscript] with interlayer entrapped molecules. The gels were dried at high pressure in an autoclave with controlled excess and composition of THF-2-propanol mixtures. The surface area of the obtained materials was between 50 and 120 m[2superscript]/g. Alcohol produced by the alkoxide hydrolysis and incorporated along with the excess solvent reduced the vanadium during the drying step. Therefore, after the autoclave drying, the solid VOPO[4subscript] was converted to the precursor; and, non-agglomerated platelets were observed. Use of additional 2-propanol increased the amount of precursor in the powder but reduced its surface area and increased its crystallite size. In general, sol-gel prepared catalysts were significantly more selective than the traditionally prepared materials, and it is suggested that the small crystallite size obtained in the precursor influenced the crystallite size of the active phase increasing their selectivity towards maleic anhydride. The evaluation of these materials as catalysts for the partial oxidation of n-butane at 673 K under mixtures of 1.5% n-butane in air yielded selectivity of 40% at 50% conversion compared to 25% selectivity at similar level of conversion produced by the traditionally prepared catalysts. Variations in the catalytic performance are attributed to observed polymorphism in the activated materials, which is evidenced by remarkable differences in the intrinsic activity. All precursors and catalysts were characterized by IR, XRD, SEM and BET, and the products of the catalytic tests were analyzed by GC.

Mesoporous γ-Al2O3 is one of the most widely used catalyst supports for commercial catalytic applications. The performance of a catalyst strongly depends on the combination of textural, chemical and physical properties of the support. Pore size is essential since each catalytic system requires a unique pore size for optimal catalyst loading, diffusion and selectivity. In addition, high surface area and large pore volume usually result in higher catalyst loading, which increases the number of catalytic reaction sites and decreases reaction time. Therefore, determination of surface area and porosity of porous supports is critical for the successful design and optimization of a catalyst support. Moreover, it is important to produce supports with good thermal stability since pore collapsing due to sintering at high temperatures often results in catalyst deactivation. In addition, the ability to control the acidity of the catalyst enables us to design desirable acid sites to optimize product selectivity, activity, and stability in different catalytic applications. This dissertation presents a simple, one-pot, solvent-deficient method to synthesize thermally stable silica-doped alumina (SDA) without using templates. The XRD (X-ray diffraction), HTXRD (high temperature X-ray diffraction), SS NMR (solid state nuclear magnetic resonance), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), TGA(thermogravimetric analysis), and N2 adosorption techniques are used to characterize the structures of the synthesized SDAs and understand the origin of increased thermal stability. The obtained SDAs have a surface area of 160 m2/g, pore volume of 0.99 cm3/g, and a bimodal pore size distribution of 23 and 52 nm after calcination at 1100◦C. Compared to a commercial SDA, the surface area, pore volume, and pore diameter of synthesized SDAs are higher by 46%, 155%, and 94%, respectively. A split-plot fractional-factorial experimental design is also used to obtain a useful mathematical model for the control of textural properties of SDAs with a reduced cost and number of experiments. The proposed quantitative models can predict optimal conditions to produce SDAs with high surface areas greater than 250 m2/g, large pore volume greater than 1 cm3/g, and large (40-60 nm) or medium (16-19 nm) pore diameters. In my approach, I control acid sites formation by altering preparation variables in the synthesis method such as Si/Al ratio and calcination temperatures. The total acidity concentration (Brønsted and Lewis) of the synthesized SDAs are determined using ammonia temperatured program, pyridine fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and MAS NMR. The total acidity concentration is increased by introducing a higher mole ratio of Si to Al. In addition, the total acidity concentration is decreased by increasing calcination temperature while maintaining high surface area, large porosity, and thermal stability of γ-alumina support. I also present an optimized synthesis of various aluminum alkoxides (aluminum n-hexyloxide (AH), aluminum phenoxide (APh) and aluminum isopropoxide (AIP)) with high yields (90-95%). One mole of aluminum is reacted with excess alcohol in the presence of 0.1 mole % mercuric chloride catalyst. The synthesized aluminum alkoxides are used as starting materials to produce high surface area alumina catalyst supports. Aluminum alkoxides and nano aluminas are analyzed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 27Al NMR, gCOSY (2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy), IR (infrared spectroscopy), XRD, ICP (induced coupled plasma), and elemental analysis.

Synthetic and degradable polymers are an attractive choicein many areas, since it is possible to control the way in whichthey are manufactured; more specifically, pathways tomanipulate the architecture, the mechanical properties and thedegradation times have been identified. In this work,L-lactide, 1,5-dioxepan-2-one and ε-caprolactone were usedas monomers to synthesize polymers with different architecturesby ring-opening polymerization. By using novel initiators,triblock copolymers, functionalized linear macromonomers andstar-shaped aliphatic polyesters with well-defined structureshave been synthesized. To synthesize triblock copolymers,cyclic germanium initiators were studied. The polymerizationproceeded in a controlled manner although the reaction rateswere low. To introduce functionality into the polymer backbone,functionalized cyclic tin alkoxides were prepared and used asinitiators. During the insertion-coordination polymerization,the initiator fragment consisting mainly of a double bond wasincorporated into the polymer backbone. The double bond wasalso successfully epoxidized and this gave unique possibilitiesof synthesizing graft polymers with precise spacing. Themacromonomer technique is a very effective method for producingwell-defined graft polymers. Spirocyclic tin initiators weresynthesized and used to construct star-shaped polymers. Thestar-shaped polymers were subsequently crosslinked in apolycondensation reaction. These crosslinked structures swelledin water, and swelling tests showed that by changing thestructure of the hydrogel network, the degree of swelling canbe altered. A first evaluation of the surface characteristicsof the linear triblock copolymers was also performed. AFManalysis of the heat-treated surfaces revealed nanometer-scalefibers and tests showed that keratinocytes were able to growand proliferate on these surfaces. / QC 20100602

V práci je zkoumán vliv podmínek na průběh hydrolýzy alkoxidů titanu a vlastností připravovaných nanočástic oxidu titaničitého s důrazem na teplotu a množství vody přítomné v systému. Připravované hydrolyzáty alkoxidů titanu a nanočástice oxidu titaničitého připravené z hydrolyzátů jsou studovány metodami XRD, DTA – TGA, SEM – EDS, BET a PCCS. Nanočástice magnetitu byly syntetizovány pomocí precipitační reakce z roztoku Mohrovy soli a jejich krystalová struktura, velikost a povrchové vlastnosti byly sledovány s vyhodnocením vlivu teploty a při modifikaci povrchu polykarboxyletherovým superplastifikátorem. Pro upevnění TiO2 na povrch magnetitu byla použita kombinovaná metoda aplikace vybraných nanočástic TiO2 s hydrolýzou TiO2 pomocí alkoxidů titanu za účelem přípravy fotokatalyticky aktivního core-shell práškového katalyzátoru s vylepšenými vlastnostmi adsorpce na povrchu. Studovány byly možnosti aplikace TiO2 na povrch Mn-Zn feritu, kdy byl studován vliv depozice tenkých vrstev C a Au na morfologii povrchu. Fotokatalytická aktivita vybraných připravených materiálů byla studována pomocí dekompozice methylenové modři v roztoku a par isopropanolu a ethanolu rozkládaných pomocí Mn-Zn feritu v experimentálním chemickém reaktoru s magnetickým polem stabilizovaným ložem nosiče katalyzátoru.

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Synthese von neuartigen Zinn(II)alkoxiden, deren Potential für die Zwillingspolymerisation und die Darstellung von zinnhaltigen organisch-anorganischen Nanokompositen beschrieben. Partielle Hydrolyse der Zinn(II)alkoxide führt zur Bildung von fünf- und sechskernigen Zinnoxidoclustern, die eine gute Löslichkeit in organischen polaren Lösungsmitteln besitzen. Eine Nachbehandlung der durch Zwillingspolymerisation erhaltenen Hybridmaterialien unter reduzierenden Bedingungen (Ar/H2) liefert Nanokomposite bestehend aus Zinnnanopartikeln eingebettet in eine Kohlenstoff/Siliziumdioxid-Matrix. Weiterhin werden verschiedene metallhaltige Additive wie z.B. Carboxylate in der Zwillingspolymerisation verwendet und deren Eignung zur Darstellung von zinnhaltigen Nanokompositen sowie zur Legierungsbildung mit Zinn im Nanokomposit untersucht. Mit ausgewählten Materialien werden elektrochemische Messungen durchgeführt, wobei deren potentieller Einsatz als Anodenmaterial für Lithiumionen-Batterien geprüft wird (Kooperation BASF SE, Research Performance Materials GMV/P). Die Charakterisierung der neu synthetisierten Verbindungen und Nanokomposite erfolgt unter anderem mittels Einkristallröntgenstrukturanalyse, Röntgenpulverdiffraktometrie, NMR-Spektroskopie, Infrarotspektroskopie, Elektronenmikroskopie sowie thermischen Analysemethoden

Les bioverres du système quaternaire SiO2-CaO-Na2O-P2O5 obtenus par fusion doivent être coulés à 1400°C, ce qui ne permet pas la mise en forme de matériaux complexes comme par exemple des composites macroporeux en biocéramiques (HA et TCP) recouverts d’une couche uniforme de bioverre. Pour contourner cette limitation, la voie sol-gel a été utilisée dans cette étude. Le but principal a été de synthétiser par le procédé sol-gel, deux compositions quaternaires du système SiO2-CaO-Na2O-P2O5 habituellement obtenues par fusion. Il s’agit des compositions 45S5® de L.L. Hench et 47Q de C. Duée. Ces verres sont inversés, c’est à dire qu’ils contiennent plus d’éléments modificateurs (calcium et sodium) que d’éléments formateurs (silicium et phosphore). Pour la synthèse sol-gel, du TEOS (TétraEthylOrthoSilicate) et du TEP (TriEthylPhosphate) ont été utilisés pour introduire les formateurs. En utilisant des précurseurs minéraux pour le calcium et le sodium, il existe des difficultés à maintenir le gel amorphe lors de son séchage. En effet, les précurseurs minéraux sont le siège de mécanismes de dissolution-précipitation liés entre autres aux solvants choisis, à la nature et à la concentration des anions dans le milieu. L’étude s’est donc orientée vers l’utilisation d’autres précurseurs des modificateurs afin de limiter la part des anions qui contribuent au phénomène de précipitation non souhaité. Deux procédés de synthèse originaux ont été alors mis au point avec des précurseurs alcoolates, acétates et du glycérol. Avec ces procédés, la nature amorphe des composés a été confirmée et leurs caractéristiques thermiques ont été ensuite étudiées. Tous les verres sol-gel réalisés sont bioactifs. Les compositions de base, 45S5® et 47Q, ont été ensuite dopées avec de l’argent afin de doter les bioverres d’une action antibactérienne. Des cellules L132 ont été utilisées pour évaluer la toxicité des poudres des deux procédés solgel. Le procédé le moins toxique a été conservé pour la suite de l’étude. Les bioverres dopés et non dopés ont été alors déposés à la surface d’échantillons plats et macroporeux en HA et TCP par une technique de trempage-retrait. Des tests de prolifération et de formation de biofilms par Pseudomonas aeruginosa ont été réalisés sur des pastilles de TCP recouvertes et ont mis en évidence un effet toxique des dépôts contenant de l’argent. Des mesures de prolifération et de vitalité sur des cellules humaines MG63 ont été également réalisées et ont permis d’observer également un effet toxique. Cet effet n’est pas souhaitable dans ce cas car il affecte la biocompatibilité de l’implant. Il devrait cependant être confirmé par d’autres tests réalisés avec d’autres lignées cellulaires. / Bioglasses of quaternary system SiO2-Na2O-CaO-P2O5 obtained by melting are cast at 1400 ° C, which does not allow the shape of complex materials, for example macroporous bioceramics composites (HA and TCP) coated with an uniform layer of bioglass. To overcome this limitation, the sol-gel process has been used in this study. The aim has been to synthesize by sol-gel process, two quaternary compositions usually obtained by melting in the SiO2- CaO-Na2O-P2O5 system. These are two compositions: 45S5® of L.L. Hench and 47Q made by C. Duée. These glasses are reversed, ie they contain more modifiers elements (calcium and sodium) as formers elements (silicon and phosphorus). For the sol-gel synthesis, TEOS (TetraEthylOrthoSilicate) and TEP (TriEthylPhosphate) have been used to introduce the formers. When minerals precursors are used for calcium and sodium, there are difficulties to maintain amorphous the gel during its drying. Indeed, minerals precursors have some dissolution-precipitation mechanisms linked to the selected solvents and the nature and concentration of anions in the medium. The use of other modifiers precursors has been made in the study to limit the proportion of anions contributing to the undesired precipitation phenomenon. Two original synthesis methods have been developed with alkoxide precursors, acetates and glycerol. With these processes, the amorphous nature of the compounds has been confirmed and their thermal characteristics have been studied. All sol-gel glasses are bioactives. The compositions, 45S5® and 47Q, have been doped with silver to add an antibacterial action to the bioglasses. L132 cells have been used to test the toxicity on the powders of the two sol-gel processes. The least toxic process is has been retained for the other tests. Doped and undoped bioglasses have been coated on the surface of flat and macroporous samples of HA and TCP by a dip-coating technique. Proliferation tests and biofilms formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been made on coated TCP and show toxic effects of silver. Proliferation and vitality tests have been also made on MG63 human cells and have allowed to observe a toxic effect. This effect is not suitable in this case because it affects the biocompatibility of the implant. It would, however, be confirmed by other tests with other cell lines.