<p dir="ltr">The primary goal of this work is to gain a fundamental understanding on how growth conditions affect the morphology and crystallography orientation of CeO₂/Au vertically aligned nanocomposite (VAN) thin films. Focus has been placed on how the changes in morphology and crystallography translate to tunable optical properties. The morphological effects have been observed and analyzed via two main approaches: the change in morphology was observed at multiple points along the film thickness, and the morphology at the film/substrate interface has been analyzed with respect to total film thickness. The changes in Au crystallography orientations have been observed by measuring peak shift in XRD patterns and determining the resulting in- and out-of-plane strain. To observe additional effects of this morphology change, optical measurements have been taken for films at the bottom, middle, and top of the thickness range. Strong trends in transmittance, plasmonic absorption peak shifts and hyperbolic permittivity behavior are correlated with the film thickness. This tunability of optical properties likely arises from changes in both Au pillar phase morphology and crystal orientation. These findings demonstrate that changing film thickness may be a desirable method to easily tune the morphology and optical properties of VAN thin films.</p>

Les oxydes à base de Cérium, ont fait l’objet de nombreuses études ces dernières décennies et se sont révélés des matériaux de choix, dans le domaine de la catalyse hétérogène. L’objectif à l’heure actuelle, est donc d’accroître la réactivité de ces oxydes, tout en élargissant leur gamme de températures optimales d’utilisation. Dans ce contexte particulier, il semble possible de moduler les propriétés des oxydes à base de cérium en contrôlant la morphologie des cristallites. Ce travail de thèse a donc été consacré à la détermination, l’élaboration et à la caractérisation de matériaux oxydes à base de cérium de morphologies contrôlées. Nous avons tout d’abord déterminé cristallographiquement et thermodynamiquement les morphologies accessibles au système étudié puis par traitement hydrothermale assistée par chauffage micro-ondes nous avons synthétisé les dites morphologies. Après caractérisation de la réactivité par ATG et thermographie Infrarouge nous avons optimisé ces matériaux par un dopage extrinsèque tout d’abord (dépôt de métaux précieux), puis par un dopage intrinsèque ensuite (Yttrium et Fer). Enfin, l’obtention de morphologies non accessibles cristallographiquement nous a amené à approfondir le(s) processus de germination croissance de ces particules et la forte réactivité des matériaux dopés fer nous a poussé à une caractérisation fine de la microstructure de ces matériaux. Au final nous avons pu corréler l’influence de la morphologie des cristallites sur la réactivité propre de l’ensemble des familles de matériaux étudiés. / Recent decades, numerous studies on cerium-based oxides have been realized and have revealed that cerium-based oxides were materials of choice in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. The aim now is therefore to increase the reactivity of these oxides, while expanding their range of optimal temperatures of Use. In this particular context, it seems possible to modulate the properties of cerium-based oxides by controlling the morphology of the crystallites. This thesis has been devoted to the identification, development and characterization of materials based on cerium oxides of controlled morphology. We first determined possible morphologies for the studied system, by hydrothermal synthesis by micro-wave assisted heating we have synthesized these morphologies and we characterized reactivity of these materials by infrared thermography and TGA. We have optimized these materials first, by extrinsic doping (deposition of precious metals) and then by intrinsic doping (Yttrium and Iron). New morphologies have been synthesized so we have studied the processes of nucleation-growth set in. The high reactivity of iron-doped materials has led us to a detailed characterization of the microstructure of these materials. Finally correlation reactivity/morphologies of crystallites have been achieved.

Le contexte environnemental (réchauffement climatique) et politique (augmentation du parc EnR) entraîne une mutation du paysage énergétique français. Le méthane de synthèse est présenté comme un vecteur énergétique permettant le stockage et le transport de l’électricité renouvelable en surproduction tout en recyclant le CO2 (Power-to-Methane). Un des objectifs de la thèse est de développer un catalyseur actif en co-méthanation d’un mélange post co-électrolyse H2/CO/CO2/H2O/CH4 (projet ANR CHOCHCO). Le catalyseur synthétisé est de type Ni/CZP. L’optimisation de la synthèse coprécipitation par l’utilisation combinée du sel précipitant (NH4)2CO3 et du tensioactif CTAB a mené à un catalyseur performant (absence de poison alcalin et augmentation de la surface spécifique) capable de produire du CH4 à basse température (250 °C) avec un rendement élevé. Le catalyseur a montré une résistance satisfaisante à la désactivation par dépôt de carbone et par frittage, indispensable pour le fonctionnement intermittent du procédé. Un modèle cinétique, de type Langmuir-Hinshelwood, a pour la première fois été développé sur un catalyseur de type Ni/CZP. / The environmental (global warming) and political (increase of the renewable electric farm) context leads to a mutation of the French energy landscape. Synthetic methane is presented as a energy carrier for storing and transporting renewable electricity in overproduction while recycling CO2, a process called Power-to-Methane. One of the objectives of the thesis is to develop an active catalyst for the co-methanation of a post-co-electrolysis mixture H2/CO/CO2/H2O/CH4 (CHOCHCO ANR project). A Ni/CZP type catalyst was synthesized in this purpose. The optimization of the coprecipitation synthesis by the combination of the precipitating salt (NH4)2CO3 and the surfactant CTAB has led to a high performance catalyst (absence of alkaline poison and increase of the specific surface area) able to produce CH4 at low temperature (250 °C) with a high yield. The catalyst showed a satisfactory resistance to carbon deposition and sintering deactivation, which is a key point for the intermittent operating conditions of the process. A kinetic model, of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood type, was developed for the first time on a Ni/CZP type catalyst.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In this work we study the structural and magnetic properties of pure and TM-doped CeO2 nanoparticles (TM: Mn, Cr, Co and Fe) obtained by the co-precipitation and hydrothermal methods. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results allied to the Rietveld refinement method indicate that all samples present single-phase with structure isomorphous to the CeO2. Average crystallites size was determined using the full width at half maximum from XRD patterns and their sizes were from of 7 to 13 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images 10% doped samples show the presence of particles with spherical-like morphology and average sizes in good agreement with the estimated by XRD. From ultraviolet–Visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy absorption measurements we estimated the optoelectronic gap of the samples, which vary between 2.87 and 3.44 eV. Analyses from magnetization curves as a function of temperature (MvsT) using Curie-Weiss law show that the number of paramagnetic ions per molecule (n) increases with the increasing of the Mn concentration. Already for 10% doped samples with different ions the (n) obeys the following order Mn ˂ Fe ˂ Cr ˂ Co for samples obtained by co-precipitation and Co ˂ Cr ˂ Mn ˂ Fe for the samples obtained by hydrothermal synthesis. Magnetization curves as a function of the magnetic field (MvsH) show that the the systems present a weak ferromagnetic behavior at 5K and paramagnetic at temperature higher than 200 K. / Neste trabalho estudamos as propriedades estruturais e magnéticas de nanopartículas de CeO2 pura e dopadas com diferentes concentrações de metais de transição (MT: Mn, Cr, Co e Fe) obtidas pelo método de co-precipitação e de síntese hidrotérmica. Resultados de difração de raios X (DRX) aliados ao método de refinamento Rietveld indicam a formação de uma única fase isomorfa ao CeO2, cujos tamanhos médios das nanopartículas variam entre 7 e 13 nm quando sintetizadas por co-precipitação e entre 8 e 12 nm quando obtidas por síntese hidrotérmica. Imagens de microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET) das amostras dopadas com 10% dos metais de transição mostram a presença de partículas com morfologia tendendo à esferas e tamanhos médios das partículas em bom acordo com os tamanhos estimados por DRX. Através de medidas de absorção na região do ultravioleta ao visível (UV-vis) estimamos o gap optoeletrônico das amostras, os quais variam entre 2,87 e 3,44 eV. Resultados das medidas de magnetização em função temperatura (MvsT) usando a lei de Curie-Weiss indicam que o número de íons paramagnéticos por molécula cresce de forma sistemática com o aumento da concentração de Mn nos dois métodos de síntese. Já para o caso das amostras dopadas com 10% do MT, esse número obedece a seguinte ordem Mn ˂ Fe ˂ Cr ˂ Co para o sistema obtido por co-precipitação e Co ˂ Cr ˂ Mn ˂ Fe para o sistema obtido por síntese hidrotérmica. Medidas de magnetização em função do campo magnético (MvsH) mostram que as nanopartículas apresentam um possível ordenamento ferromagnético fraco em 5K e um comportamento típico de um material paramagnético acima de 200K. / São Cristóvão, SE

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The aim of this work was to study the separate effect of fission fragment damage on the structural integrity and matrix dissolution of uranium dioxide in water. Radiation damage similar to fission damage was created by irradiating bulk undoped and doped ‘SIMFUEL’ disks of UO2, undoped bulk CeO2 and thin films of UO2 and CeO2 with high energy Xe and U ions. The UO2 thin films, with thicknesses in the range of 90 – 150 nm, were deposited onto (001), (110) and (111) orientations of single crystal LSAT (Al10La3O51Sr14Ta7) and YSZ (Yttria-Stabilised Zirconia) substrates. The CeO2 thin films were deposited onto single crystal silicon (001) substrates. Part of the bulk UO2 and CeO2 samples, the thin films of UO2 on the LSAT substrates and the thin films of CeO2 were irradiated with 92 MeV 129Xe23+ ions to a fluence of 4.8 × 1015 ions/cm2 to simulate the damage produced by fission fragments in uranium dioxide nuclear fuel. Part of the bulk UO2 and CeO2 samples and the thin films of UO2 on the YSZ substrates were irradiated with 110 MeV 238U31+ ions to a fluence of 5 × 1010, 5 × 1011 and 5 × 1012 ions/cm2 to study the accumulation of the damage induced. The irradiated and unirradiated samples were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused ion beam (FIB), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques to characterise the as-produced samples and assess the effects of the ion irradiations. Dissolution experiments were conducted to assess the effect of the Xe ion irradiation on the dissolution of the thin film UO2 samples on the LSAT substrates and the bulk and thin film CeO2 samples. The solutions obtained from the leaching of the irradiated and unirradiated samples were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). XRD studies of the bulk UO2 samples showed that the ion irradiations resulted in an increased lattice parameter, microstrain and decreased crystallite size, as expected. The irradiated UO2 thin films on the LSAT substrates underwent significant microstructural and crystallographic rearrangements. It was shown that by irradiating thin films of UO2 with high energy, high fluence ions, it is possible to produce a structure that is similar to a thin slice through the high burn-up structure. It is expected that the ion irradiation induced chemical mixing of the UO2 films with the substrate elements (La, Sr, Al, Ta). As a result, a material similar to a doped SIMFUEL with induced radiation damage was produced.