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Thesis (M.Sc. Agriculture (Horticultrure)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / The current South African ‘Hass’ type avocado cultivars are inadequate to enhance competitiveness, cultivar diversity and profitability. In an effort to ensure competitiveness and maintain sustainability, the Agricultural Research CouncilInstitute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops (ARC-ITSC) as one the South African Avocado Industry’s (SAAI) main stakeholder, has bred and selected new superior ‘Hass’ type avocado selections. However, the cold storage potential and associated physico-chemical ripening properties of these selections (‘Jalna’, ‘OA 184’ and ‘Balboa’) have not been documented. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of cold storage on internal and external physico-chemical ripening variables of the new ‘Hass’ type avocado selections. New ‘Hass’ type avocado fruit maturity was evaluated using moisture content, thereafter, harvested, sorted, graded and stored under two temperature regimes (2.0°C and 5.5°C) for 28 days to simulate export conditions. The experiment was a completely randomised factorial design with three treatment factors; temperature regimes (2.0°C and 5.5°C), days to ripening and ‘Hass’ type avocado selections fruit and control (commercial ‘Hass’) replicated three times. After withdrawal from cold storage, fruit were ripened at ambient temperature and evaluated for electrical conductivity, external chilling injury, fruit water loss, skin colour change, ripening percentage, firmness, respiration rate and seed:fruit weight ratio. Results indicated that treatment factors had no significant effect on moisture content (P=0.733) and chilling injury (P=0.776). Treatment factors had a significant effect on electrical conductivity (P=0.004), skin colour parameters; eye colour (P<0.001), hue angle (P<0.001), lightness (P=0.011) and chroma (P=0.042). Selection ‘Jalna’ fruit started changing colour whilst in storage (2.0°C and 5.5°C). Furthermore, ‘Hass’ type avocado selection fruit followed a declining pattern for lightness, chroma and hue angle in agreement with commercial ‘Hass’. Moreover, results indicated that treatment factors had a significant effect (P<0.001) on respiration rate, fruit firmness, ripening percentage and seed:fruit weight ratio. Selection ‘Jalna’ and ‘OA 184’ desynchronised mesocarp softening with exocarp due to genetically non-softening exocarp. Treatment factors had no significant effect (P=0.998) on fruit water loss during ripening. Selection ‘OA 184’ fruit showed export potential due to its good storage, ripening physico-chemical and shelf-life properties. Studies on cold sterilisation would add more value on generated scientific information, as such would enable the SAAI to gain access to high paying export markets. In addition, the selections should be planted and evaluated in other avocado producing region

Pine tree substrate (PTS) is a relatively new substrate for container crop production. There are no detailed studies that elucidate how storage time impacts PTS chemical, physical, and biological aspects. The objective of this research was to determine how PTS storage time influenced PTS chemical and physical properties, nitrification, and plant growth. Pine tree substrate was manufactured by hammer-milling chips of loblolly pine trees (Pinus taeda L.) through two screen sizes, 4.76 mm (PTS) and 15.9 mm amended with peat (PTSP). PTS and PTSP were amended with lime at five rates. A peat-perlite mix (PL) served as a control treatment. Prepared substrates were placed in storage bags and stored in an open shed in Blacksburg, Virginia. Subsamples were taken at 1, 42, 84, 168, 270, and 365 days. At each subsampling day, twelve 1-L containers were filled with each substrate. Six containers were left fallow and six were planted with marigold (Tagetes erecta L. "Inca Gold") seedlings. Substrate was also collected from select treatments for Most Probable Number assays to estimate density of nitrifying microorganisms, and for chemical and physical property analyses. Pour-through extracts were collected from fallow containers at 0, 2, and 4 weeks, and from marigold containers at harvest for determination of pH, electrical conductivity, ammonium-N and nitrate-N. At harvest, marigold height, width, and dry weight were measured. At least 1 kg·m-3 lime for PTS, and 2 to 4 kg·m-3 lime for PTSP were needed to maintain pH values ≥ 5.5 for 365 days. Bound acidity of unlimed PTS increased but cation exchange capacity for unlimed PTS and PTSP decreased over 365 days. Carbon to nitrogen ratio and bulk density values were unchanged over time in all treatments. There were minor changes in particle size distribution for limed PTS and unlimed and limed PTSP. Marigold growth in PTS and PTSP was ≥ PL in all limed treatments, except at day 1. Nitrite-oxidizing microorganisms were present and nitrification occurred in PTS and PTSP at all subsampling days. Pine tree substrate is relatively stable in storage, but pH decreases, and lime addition may be necessary to offset this decrease. / Ph. D.

Geophysical methods are essential for exploration and monitoring of subsurface formations, e.g. in carbon dioxide sequestration or enhanced geothermal energy. One of the keys to their successful application is the knowledge of how the measured physical quantities are related to the desired reservoir parameters. The work presented in this thesis shows that the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) in pore space gives rise to multiple processes all of which contribute to the electrical rock conductivity variation. Basically, three mechanisms take place: (1) CO2 partially replaces the pore water, which is equivalent to a decrease in water saturation. (2) CO2 chemically interacts with the pore water by dissolution and dissociation. These processes change both the chemical composition and the pH of the pore filling fluid. (3) The low-pH environment can give rise to mineral dissolution and/or precipitation processes and changes the properties of the grain-water interface. Investigations on the pore water phase show that the reactive nature of CO2 in all physical states significantly acts on the electrical conductivity of saline pore waters. The physico-chemical interaction appears in different manifestations depending mainly on the pore water composition (salinity, ion types) but also on both temperature and pressure. The complex behaviour includes a low- and a high-salinity regime originating from the conductivity increasing effect of CO2 dissociation, which is opposed by the conductivity decreasing effect of reduced ion activity caused by the enhanced mutual impediment of all solutes. These results are fundamental since the properties of the water phase significantly act on all conduction mechanisms in porous media. In order to predict the variation of pore water conductivity, both a semi-analytical formulation and an empirical relationship for correcting the pore water conductivity, which depends on salinity, pressure and temperature, are derived. The central part of the laboratory experiments covers the spectral complex conductivity of water-bearing sand during exposure to and flow-through by CO2 at pressures up to 30MPa and temperatures up to 80°C. It is shown that the impact of CO2 on the real part of conductivity of a clean quartz sand is dominated by the low- and high-salinity regime of the pore water. The obtained data further show that chemical interaction causes a reduction of interface conductivity, which could be related to the low pH in the acidic environment. This effect is described by a correction term, which is a constant value as a first approximation. When the impact of CO2 is taken into account, a correct reconstruction of fluid saturation from electrical measurements is possible. In addition, changes of the inner surface area, which are related to mineral dissolution or precipitation processes, can be quantified. Both the knowledge gained from the laboratory experiments and a new workflow for the description and incorporation of geological geometry models enable realistic finite element simulations. Those were conducted for three different electromagnetic methods applied in the geological scenario of a fictitious carbon dioxide sequestration site. The results show that electromagnetic methods can play an important role in monitoring CO2 sequestration. Compared to other geophysical methods, electromagnetic techniques are generally very sensitive to pore fluids. The proper configuration of sources and receivers for a suitable electromagnetic method that generates the appropriate current systems is essential. Its reactive nature causes CO2 to interact with a water-bearing porous rock in a much more complex manner than non-reactive gases. Without knowledge of the specific interactions between CO2 and rock, a determination of saturation and, consequently, a successful monitoring are possible only to a limited extend. The presented work provides fundamental laboratory investigations for the understanding of the electrical properties of rocks when the reactive gas CO2 enters the rock-water system. All laboratory results are put in the context of potential monitoring applications. The transfer from petrophysical investigations to the planning of an operational monitoring design by means of close-to-reality 3D FE simulations is accomplished.

As interessantes propriedades eletrônicas, mecânicas e óticas dos materiais orgânicos conjugados fizeram emergir diversas aplicações tecnológicas e comerciais em dispositivos baseados nesses materiais, tais como sensores, memórias, células solares e diodos emissores de luz poliméricos (LEDs). Neste sentido, o tema central desta tese é o estudo das propriedades elétricas e morfológicas e os mecanismos de transporte eletrônico de cargas no PEDOT:PSS, uma blenda polimérica que consiste de um policátion condutivo, o poli(3,4- etilenodioxitiofeno) (PEDOT) e do poliânion poli(estirenosulfonado) (PSS). PEDOT:PSS é amplamente usado como material de eletrodo em aplicações na área de eletrônica plástica, como mencionado anteriormente. Apesar da condutividade elétrica dos filmes finos de PEDOT:PSS possa variar várias ordens de grandeza, dependendo do método pela qual é processado e transformado em filme fino, as razões para este comportamento é essencialmente desconhecido. Esta tese descreve um estudo detalhado do transporte eletrônico de cargas anisotrópico e sua correlação com a morfologia, as condições e as dimensões da separação de fase entre os dois materiais, PEDOT e PSS. Antes de abordar as propriedades do PEDOT:PSS, uma camada de filme fino inorgânica usada para aumentar o tempo de vida de dispositivos orgânicos é descrita no Capítulo 2. Um importante mecanismo de degradação em LEDs poliméricos é a fotooxidação da camada ativa. Assim, isolar a camada ativa da água, oxigênio e luz, torna-se crucial para o aumento do tempo de vida. Um sistema de deposição química a partir da fase de vapor estimulada por plasma (PECVD) é usado para depositar filmes finos de nitreto de carbono em baixas temperaturas, menores que 100 °C, sobre PLEDs com a intenção de aumentar o tempo de vida destes dipositivos e diminuir a fotodegradação do poli[2-metoxi-5- (2-etil-hexiloxi)-p-fenileno vinileno] (MEH-PPV) em ambiente atmosférico. O filme fino de nitreto de carbono possui as características de um material que pode bloquear a umidade e que tem espessura e flexibilidade adequados para a nova geração de PLEDs flexíveis. As características dos filmes finos de nitreto de carbono e MEH-PPV foram investigadas usando-se técnicas de espectroscopia ótica, com particular ênfase no processo de degradação do MEHPPV sob iluminação. Os resultados mostraram que o filme fino de nitreto de carbono protege o filme polimérico e diminui consideravelmente a fotooxidação. Para avaliar o efeito do encapsulamento em dispositivos reais, LEDs poliméricos foram fabricados e pelas curvas de corrente-tensão um aumento no tempo de vida é confirmado quando a camada de nitreto de carbono é presente. O tempo de vida desejado, maior que 10.000 horas, para aplicações comerciais não foi atingido, entretanto, o encapsulamento pode ser melhorado otimizando as propriedades da camada de nitreto de carbono e combinando-as com camadas de outros materiais orgânicos e inorgânicos. Os capítulos seguintes deste trabalho aborda os estudos realizados com o PEDOT:PSS, uma vez que é amplamente usado em eletrônica orgânica, mas relativamente tem recebido pouca atenção com respeito ao transporte eletrônico de cargas, bem como sua correlação com a morfologia. No Capítulo 3, experimentos com microscopia de varredura por sonda (SPM, Scanning Probe Microscopy) e medidas de condutividade macroscópica são utilizados para estudar e obter um modelo 3D morfológico completo que explica, qualitativamente, a condutividade anisotrópica observada nos filmes finos de PEDOT:PSS depositados pela técnica de spin coating. Imagens topográficas de microscopia de varredura por tunelamento (STM) e imagens da seção transversal observadas com o microscópio de forca atômica (X-AFM) revelaram que o filme fino polimérico é organizado em camadas horizontais de partículas planas ricas em PEDOT, separadas por lamelas quasi-contínuas de PSS. Na direção vertical, lamelas horizontais do isolante PSS reduzem a condutividade e impõe o transporte eletrônico a ser realizado por saltos em sítios vizinhos próximos (nn-H, nearest-neighbor hopping) nas lamellas de PSS. Na direção lateral, o transporte eletrônico via saltos 3D em sítios a longas distâncias (3D-VRH, variable range hopping) ocorre entre as ilhas ricas em PEDOT que são separadas por barreiras muito mais finas de PSS, causando um aumento da condutividade nesta direção. Esta discussão é estendida ao Capítulo 4 com uma descrição quantitativa do transporte eletrônico de cargas predominantes. Particularmente, é demonstrado que o transporte de cargas via saltos 3D em sítios a longas distâncias ocorre entre ilhas ricas em PEDOT e não entre segmentos isolados de PEDOT ou dopantes na direção lateral, enquanto que na direção vertical o transporte de cargas via saltos em sítios vizinhos próximos ocorre dentro das lamelas do quasi-isolante PSS. Em algumas aplicações, faz-se necessário usar PEDOT:PSS com alta condutividade elétrica. Isso pode ser feito adicionando-se sorbitol à solução aquosa de PEDOT:PSS. Após um tratamento térmico, e dependendo da quantidade de sorbitol adicionado, a condutividade aumenta várias ordens de grandeza e as causas e consequências de tal comportamento foram investigadas neste trabalho. O Capítulo 5 investiga as várias propriedades tecnológicas do PEDOT:PSS altamente condutivo tratado com sorbitol, tais como a própria condutividade, os efeitos dos tratamentos térmicos e exposição à umidade. É observado que o aumento da condutividade elétrica, devido à adição de sorbitol na solução aquosa, é acompanhado por uma melhoria na estabilidade da condutividade elétrica em condições atmosféricas. Surpreendentemente, a condutividade elétrica do PEDOT:PSS, sem tratamento com sorbitol (~ 10-3 S/cm), aumenta mais de uma ordem de grandeza sob ambiente úmido de 30-35 % umidade relativa. Este efeito é atribuido a uma contribuição iônica à condutividade total. Análise Temogravimetrica (TGA), espectrometria de massa com sonda de inserção direta (DIP-MS) e análise calorimétrica diferencialmodulada (MDSC) foram usadas como técnicas adicionais para o entendimento dos estudos deste Capítulo. No Capítulo 6, microscopia de varredura por sonda-Kelvin (SKPM) foi empregada para medir o potencial de superfície dos filmes finos de PEDOT:PSS tratados com diferentes concentrações de sorbitol. Mostra-se que a mudança no potencial de superfície é consistente com uma redução de PSS na superfície do filme fino. Para estudar o transporte eletrônico nos filmes finos de PEDOT:PSS altamente condutivos tratados com sorbitol, o Capítulo 7 usa medidas de temperatura e campo elétrico em função da conduvitidade correlacionados com analises morfológicas realizadas por STM. É observado que o transporte eletrônico por saltos, na direção lateral, muda de 3D-VRH para 1D-VRH quando o PEDOT:PSS é tratado com sorbitol. Esta transição é explicada por uma auto-organização das ilhas ricas em PEDOT em agregados 1D, devido ao tratamento com sorbitol, tornando-se alinhadas em domínios micrométricos, como observado pelas imagens de STM. / Employing the unique mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of the conjugated organic and polymer materials several technological and commercial applications have been developed, such as sensors, memories, solar cells and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In this respect, the central theme of this thesis is the electrical conductivity and mechanisms of charge transport in PEDOT:PSS, a polymer blend that consists of a conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polycation (PEDOT) and a poly(styrenesulfonate) polyanion (PSS). PEDOT:PSS is omnipresent as electrode material in plastic electronics applications mentioned above. Although the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS can vary by several orders of magnitude, depending on the method by which it is processed into a thin film, the reason for this behavior is essentially unknown. This thesis describes a detailed study of the anisotropic charge transport of PEDOT:PSS and its correlation with the morphology, the shape, and the dimension of the phase separation between the two components, PEDOT and PSS. Before addressing the properties of PEDOT:PSS, a new barrier layer is described in Chapter 2 that enhances the lifetime of organic devices. An important degradation mechanism in polymer LEDs is photo-oxidation of the active layer. Hence, isolating the active layer from water and oxygen is crucial to the lifetime. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is used to deposit a thin layer of carbon nitride at low deposition temperatures, below 100 °C, on a polymer LED that uses poly[2-methoxy-5-(2´-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4- phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV) as active layer. A thin layer of carbon nitride acts as barrier for humidity, but is still sufficiently bendable to be used in flexible polymer LEDs. The characteristics of carbon nitride and MEH-PPV films have been investigated using optical spectroscopy, with particular emphasis on the degradation process of MEH-PPV under illumination. The measurements show that the carbon nitride coating indeed protects the polymer film and diminishes the photo-oxidation considerably. To study the effect of the encapsulation in real devices, polymer LEDs were made and their current-voltage characteristics confirm the enhanced lifetime in the presence of a carbon nitride barrier layer. However, the target, a lifetime of more than 10,000 hours for commercial applications, was not achieved. The remaining chapters of this thesis describe the investigations of PEDOT:PSS. PEDOT:PSS is widely used in organic electronics. So far, relatively little attention has, been paid to the mechanisms of charge transport in this material and the correlation of those properties to the morphology. In Chapter 3, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and macroscopic conductivity measurements are used to obtain a full 3D morphological model that explains, qualitatively, the observed anisotropic conductivity of spin coated PEDOT:PSS thin films. Topographic scanning probe microscopy (STM) and cross-sectional atomic force microscopy images (X-AFM) reveal that the thin film is organized in horizontal layers of flattened PEDOT-rich particles that are separated by quasi-continuous PSS lamella. In the vertical direction, the horizontal PSS insulator lamellas lead to a reduced conductivity and impose nearest-neighbor hopping (nn-H) transport. In the lateral direction, 3D variable-range hopping (3D-VRH) transport takes place between PEDOT-rich clusters which are separated by much thinner barriers, leading to an enhanced conductivity in this direction. This discussion is extended in Chapter 4, where a quantitative description of the length scales of the predominant transport is obtained. Particularly, it is demonstrated that the hopping process takes place between PEDOT-rich islands and not between single PEDOT segments or dopants in the lateral direction, whilst in the vertical direction the current limiting hopping transport occurs between dilute states inside the quasi-insulating PSS lamellas. By a post-treatment it is possible to modify PEDOT:PSS to raise its conductivity, by orders of magnitude. Typically, the addition of sorbitol to the aqueous dispersion of PEDOT:PSS that is used to deposit thin films via spin coating leads to an enhancement of the conductivity after thermal annealing. The causes and consequences of such behavior were investigated in detail. Chapter 5 describes the various properties of the highly conductive sorbitol-treated PEDOT:PSS, such as the conductivity itself, and the effects of thermal annealing and exposure to moisture. It is found that the conductivity enhancement upon addition of sorbitol is accompanied by a better environmental stability. Surprisingly, the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS thin films without sorbitol treatment is increased by more than one order of magnitude in an environment with more than 30-35 % relative humidity. This effect is attributed to an ionic contribution to the overall conductivity. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), direct insert probe-mass spectrometry (DIP-MS) and modulation differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) were used as additional tools to demonstrate that, after thermal treatment, the concentration of sorbitol in the final PEDOT:PSS layer is negligibly small. In Chapter 6, scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) is employed to measure the surface potential and work function of this PEDOT:PSS films that were deposited from water with different sorbitol concentrations. It is shown that work function of PEDOT:PSS is reduced with increasing sorbitol concentration. This shift can be explained by and is in agreement with- a reduction in the surface enrichment with PSS of the film. To study the charge transport properties of the highly conductive sorbitoltreated PEDOT:PSS films, temperature dependent and electric field dependent measurements are correlated with morphological analysis by STM in Chapter 7. It is found that by sorbitol treatment the hopping transport changes from 3DVRH to 1D-VRH. This transition is explained by a sorbitol-induced selforganization of the PEDOT-rich grains into 1D aggregates that are aligned within micrometer sized domains, as observed in STM images.

Diese Arbeit demonstriert die vollständige thermoelektrische Charakterisierung einzelner einkristalliner Bismuttellurid- und Silbernanodrähte und deren anschließende lokale strukturelle und chemische Charakterisierung mittels analytischer Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie. Die lokale strukturelle, chemische und morphologische Charakterisierung entlang der Nanodrähte trägt essentiell zum Verständnis des thermoelektrischen Transportes bei und bestätigt die Korrelation zwischen Oberflächen- und den thermoelektrischen Eigenschaften. Für durchmesservariierte Bismuttelluridnanodrähte wird der Einfluss der Morphologie auf die Wärmeleitfähigkeit bei Raumtemperatur quantifiziert. Im Vergleich zu einem glatten Referenznanodraht zeigt der durchmesservariierte Nanodraht gleicher Zusammensetzung und Kristallorientierung eine Reduktion der Wärmeleitfähigkeit um 55 %. Diese Reduktion kann durch Phononenrückstreuung an der eingekerbten Oberfläche erklärt werden. Die elektrische Leitfähigkeit und der Seebeckkoeffizient der Bismuttelluridnanodrähte deuten auf einen topologischen Oberflächenzustand hin. Für Silbernanodrähte werden die elektrische Leitfähigkeit und die Wärmeleitfähigkeit im Temperaturbereich von 1,4 K bis 300 K gemessen. Mit fallender Temperatur steigt die relative Reduktion der Wärmeleitfähigkeit im Verhältnis zur elektrischen Leitfähigkeit stärker, sodass die Lorenzzahl die klassische Wiedemann-Franz-Relation nicht erfüllt und eine Funktion der Temperatur darstellt. Der Temperaturverlauf der Lorenzzahl der Silbernanodrähte entspricht der 1938 von Makinson aufgestellten Theorie für hochreine Metalle und ist im Tieftemperaturbereich um bis zu zwei Größenordnungen zum Sommerfeldwert reduziert. / This work demonstrates the full thermoelectric characterisation of individual single crystalline bismuth telluride and silver nanowires and their subsequent local structural and chemical characterisation via analytical transmission electron microscopy along the whole nanowires. Therefore, the correlation between the structure, in particular the surface morphology, and the thermoelectric transport properties is unambiguously shown. For diameter varied bismuth telluride nanowires the influence of the morphology on the thermal conductivity is quantified at room temperature. The diameter varied nanowire shows a reduction of 55 % with respect to the smooth nanowire of the same chemical composition and structural orientation. This reduction can be explained by phonon backscattering at the indents. The electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient indicate the presence of a topological surface state. For silver nanowires the electrical and thermal conductivity are determined in the temperature range between 1.4 K and 300 K. With decreasing temperature the relative reduction of the thermal conductivity is higher than the reduction of the electrical conductivity resulting in a temperature-dependent Lorenz number, so that the classical Wiedemann-Franz relation is not fulfilled. The temperature characteristic of the silver nanowires'' Lorenz number is in agreement with the theory Makinson established for highly pure metals in 1938 and is reduced by two orders of magnitude with respect to the Sommerfeld value in the low temperature regime.

Ce manuscrit se focalise sur l’effet de divers matériaux composites sur les différentes problématiques de compatibilité électromagnétique dans un véhicule automobile. Les modèles surfaciques des matériaux diélectriques sont validés en confrontant des résultats de mesures et de simulation de leurs permittivités. Ceux des matériaux conducteurs le sont en confrontant le modèle d’impédance de surface à un modèle filaire et en effectuant des mesures des simulations de paramètres S sur une structure majoritairement constituée par un matériau de ce type. Dans les deux cas, la technique de modélisation donne de bons résultats. L’évaluation de l’effet de ces matériaux sur les problématiques de CEM au niveau d’un véhicule est faite sur un démonstrateur qui intègre les équipements et les faisceaux embarqués dans un véhicule en les représentants par des monopôles et des fils conducteurs. L’évaluation des effets des différents matériaux composites sur les problématiques CEM est faite par mesure et simulation des couplages électromagnétiques à l’intérieur du démonstrateur et entre le démonstrateur et une antenne test. L’analyse des couplages électromagnétiques confirme que le modèle d’impédance de surface reproduit assez bien les comportements des matériaux composites étudiés. Concernant l’effet des matériaux composites sur les problématiques CEM au niveau d’un véhicule, cette étude mène à deux résultats majeurs du point de vue de la compatibilité électromagnétique. Le premier concerne l’usage des matériaux diélectriques qui augmente globalement la plupart des couplages mesurés de 5 dB à 30 dB. Le second porte sur le matériau conducteur étudié qui n’a quasiment aucun effet sur les différents couplages analysés en comparaison de la structure en acier. / The main concern of this thesis is the characterization of the impacts of some composite materials on the main electromagnetic compatibility issues in a vehicle. The surface models of the dielectric materials are validated by confronting their simulated and measured permittivity. The surface model of the studied conductive material is validated by confronting it to a wire model and by measuring and simulating the S parameters on a structure constituted by such a material. It appears in both cases of dielectric and conductive composite materials that the surface impedance modeling technique gives a good description of the materials. The analysis of the effects of these materials on the EMC issues within a vehicle is done by use of a demonstrator representing the car body. The different equipment and harnesses embedded in a vehicle are represented in the demonstrator by some wires and monopoles. The evaluation of the impact of the composite materials on the EMC issues is done by measuring and simulating the different couplings within the demonstrator and between the demonstrator and a test antenna. The analysis of the different couplings confirms that the surface impedance material modeling approach describes well the materials under test. Concerning the impact of the composite materials on the EMC issues at a vehicle level, this analysis fulfills two main results. The first one concerns the dielectric materials. Indeed the use of these materials increases the different coupling by a value varying between at least 5 dB to 30 dB. The second conclusion concerns the use of conductive composite materials. It appears that they have no effect on the different couplings in comparison to the full steel structure.

Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es neue Wege aufzuzeigen, mit deren Hilfe Modelle der chemischen Bindung in intermetallischen Verbindungen entwickelt werden können. Diese Modelle sollten sowohl auf experimentelle als auch auf quantenchemische Befunde gestützt und physikalisch sinnvoll sein. Untersuchungsobjekt waren intermetallische AB2-Verbindungen mit der Struktur des CuAl2-Typs. Von den vielen Vertretern wurden drei Substanzklassen mit insgesamt sechs Verbindungen gewählt, nämlich CuAl2, die Stannide (MnSn2, FeSn2 und CoSn2) sowie die Antimonide (TiSb2 und VSb2). Für die Bestimmung der physikalischen Eigenschaften der Verbindungen wurden Einkristalle mit verschiedenen synthetischen Methoden (Antimonide und Stannide: Synthese in der Schmelze; FeSn2: chemischer Transport; CuAl2: modifiziertes Bridgman-Verfahren) hergestellt. Für alle Verbindungen wurden Einkristallstrukturanalysen durchgeführt, die die aus der Literatur bekannten Strukturlösungen deutlich verbessern konnten. An die Ermittlung der Existenzbedingungen schloss sich die Charakterisierung der Verbindungen hinsichtlich ihrer physikalischen Eigenschaften an. Informationen über Art und Stärke der chemischen Bindung wurden anhand von polarisierten Raman-Messungen an orientierten Einkristallen, Ermittlung der Hall-Tensor- und Widerstands-Tensor-Komponenten, XAS-Spektren und Hochdruckuntersuchungen ermittelt. Um die experimentell bestimmten Eigenschaften der Verbindungen besser verstehen zu können, wurden quantenchemische Berechnungen an den Verbindungen durchgeführt. Auf der Basis von TB-LMTO-ASA-Berechnungen wurden die Bandstrukturen und die DOS der Verbindungen ermittelt. Die anschließende Berechnung der ELF gab Hinweise auf die Bindungstopologie in den Verbindungen. Demnach ändert sich die Topologie der chemischen Bindung mit dem konstituierenden Hauptgruppenmetall und alle bindenden Wechselwir­kungen in den Verbindungen besitzen kovalenten Charakter. Zusätzlich wurden anhand von Frozen-Phonon-Berechnungen mittels LAPW-Berechnungen die Schwingungsfrequenzen der Raman-aktiven Moden der Verbindungen TiSb2, VSb2 und CuAl2 ermittelt, wodurch die experimentelle Symmetriezuordnung bestätigt werden konnte. In Zusammenarbeit mit Herrn Dr. A. Yaresko (Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Dresden) wurden die Hall-Tensor-Komponenten der Verbindungen berechnet. Aus der großen Anzahl an Daten über die Verbindungen wurden anschließend Modelle der chemischen Bindung erstellt. Zunächst wurde anhand der Bindungs-Topologie aus den ELF-Berechnungen der Ort der partiell kovalenten Bindungen im Realraum erfasst. Basierend auf dieser Bindungstopologie wurden mit Hilfe von Kraftkonstanten-Modellen die Bindungsstärken auf der Grundlage der Raman-Daten ermittelt. Die erhaltenen Modelle wurden aufgrund von berechneten Phononen-Dispersions-Diagrammen auf ihre mechanische Stabilität hin überprüft. Die experimentellen Bindungsordnungen der verschiedenen Bindungen wurden durch Vergleich mit spektroskopischen Daten von überwiegend metallorganischen Verbindungen aus der Literatur ermittelt. Abschließend wurde die Art der chemischen Bindung aufgrund der ELF-Berechnungen, relativen Raman-Intensitäten und Daten aus der Literatur über Mößbauer- und NMR-Untersuchungen sowie den Eigenschaften der Verbindungen abgeleitet. Demnach herrscht die kovalente Bindung in diesen Verbindungen vor, zusätzlich sind jedoch freie Ladungsträger vorhanden, die für die elektrische Leitfähigkeit verantwortlich sind. Den Abschluss der Arbeit bildet ein Vergleich der verschiedenen Verbindungen hinsichtlich Topologie, Art und Stärke der chemischen Bindung und eine Weiterentwicklung der Strukturtheorie des CuAl2-Typs. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnten wesentliche und neue Beiträge zum Verständnis der chemischen Bindung in intermetallischen Verbindungen mit der Struktur des CuAl2-Typs erarbeitet werden.

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