Les nanoparticules bimétalliques supportées sont des catalyseurs particulièrement attractifs en raison d’une activité et d’une stabilité accrues par rapport à leurs homologues monométalliques. Dans cette thèse des solides à base d'or ont été étudiés en tant que catalyseurs de l'oxydation sélective du glucose en absence de base. Il a été mis en évidence que la variation du ratio molaire entre l’or et le second métal (Pd, Pt, or Cu) a un impact différent sur les performances catalytiques en fonction de la nature du second métal, du support et de la méthode de préparation. Les séries Au-Pd supportés sur TiO2 et préparés par la méthode de sol-immobilisation et Au-Cu supportés sur TiO2 et préparés par la méthode de précipitation-réduction ont montré un effet synergique important, en particulier lorsque le rapport entre les deux métaux était de 1. Ces catalyseurs convertissent sélectivement le glucose en acide gluconique et leur activité a été trouvée supérieure à celle des contreparties monométalliques. L'analyse XPS a démontré que les espèces Au+δ, Pd+2 et CuOH jouent alors un rôle important dans la réaction étudiée en absence de base. Le bismuth en tant que second métal n'a montré aucun effet bénéfique, au contraire du palladium et du cuivre. Les catalyseurs à base d’Au et de Pt supportés sur ZrO2 se sont avérés quant à eux très stables lorsque la teneur en or était inférieure à 0,3% en masse. La nature du support a un impact très important sur le mécanisme de la réaction conduite en absence base sur des catalyseurs à base d’or. La raison réside dans les interactions que ce support développe avec la phase bimétallique favorisant ainsi la formation des espèces actives / The supported bimetallic nanoparticles are particularly attractive catalysts due to the increased activity and stability over their monometallic counterparts. In this thesis, gold-based solids have been studied as catalysts for the selective base-free oxidation of glucose. It has been demonstrated that the variation of the molar ratio between gold and the second metal (Pd, Pt, or Cu) has a different impact on the catalytic performances depending on the nature of the second metal, the support and the method of preparation. TiO2 supported Au-Pd series prepared by the sol-immobilization method and Au-Cu series prepared by the precipitation-reduction method showed a significant synergistic effect, particularly when the ratio of the two metals was 1. Under the reaction conditions used (T = 60 °C or 80 °C, P = 5 bar air, t = 5 h), these catalysts selectivity to gluconic acid and their activity was found to be greater than that of monometallic counterparts, especially when the catalyst is supported on TiO2. XPS analysis showed that the Au+δ, Pd+2 and CuOH species played an important role in the base-free reaction. Bismuth as the second metal showed no beneficial effect, unlike palladium and copper. The Au-Pt catalysts supported on ZrO2 proved to be still active when the gold content was less than 0.3 wt.%. Ultimately, the nature of the support has a very important impact on the mechanism of the base-free reaction conducted on gold-based catalysts (formation of H2O2 in situ). The reason lies in the interactions of the support with the bimetallic phase thus favoring the formation of the active species

This work provides a detailed characterization study on H2S poisoning of Pd and Pd/Au alloy composite membranes to obtain fundamental understandings of sulfur poisoning phenomena and preparation of sulfur tolerant membranes. The enhancement of the sulfur tolerance by alloying Pd with Au has been confirmed by both permeation test and microstructure analysis (SEM and XRD). While pure Pd membranes exhibited the permeance decline in the presence of H2S due to both sulfur adsorption and bulk Pd4S formation, Pd/Au alloy membranes showed the permeance loss merely resulted from the surface sulfur adsorption without bulk sulfide formation up to 55 ppm H2S. The XPS study confirmed that the H2S adsorption on the Pd/Au alloy surfaces was dissociative, and both surface Au and Pd sulfides were formed with the preferential Au-S bonding. The adsorption type of sulfur on the Pd/Au alloy surfaces was monolayer with a limited coverage, which increased with decreasing temperature. The permeance loss of Pd/Au membranes was essentially fully recoverable in H2, and the integrity of the membranes remained unaltered after the poisoning/recovery tests. Increasing Au composition in the Pd/Au membranes increased the sulfur tolerance. A Pd/Au alloy membrane of 16.7 wt% Au exhibited a permeance over 50% of its original value in the presence of 5 ppm H2S at 400°C, while a Pd membrane showed 85% permeance loss. The Pd/Au alloy membranes were fabricated by the Au displacement deposition, which had an empirical reaction order of 3.2 determined by the AAS. The HT-XRD study verified that the formed Pd/Au alloy layers were thermally stable up to 500°C.

<p> The mean square displacement spectrum of a single mass defect and that of its neighbours is examined for both a light and a heavy defect to observe the extent of the perturbation of the pure crystal. </p> <p> Nearest neighbour force constant changes for a 3% random distribution of gold defects in a copper host are calculated by fitting to experimental elastic constants for this alloy. The phonon shifts and widths are calculated for the system with various sets of force constant changes, and comparison is made with experiment. </p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)