This thesis describes the preparation and study of a wide range of supported gold catalysts based on atomically-precise triphenyl phosphine stabilised gold clusters. This selected range of ligand-stabilised gold clusters were prepared in attempt to study the effect of increasing cluster nuclearity on the electronic and catalytic properties of these materials. A novel far-infrared study was conducted on the pure cluster materials in attempt to understand the metal-metal and the metal–ligand vibrations, which was also compared to the simulated spectra for each cluster. The design and activation of these novel catalysts based on gold clusters was discussed and the factors that influence activity were described. A comprehensive photoelectron study of the catalysts was conducted in an attempt to understand the electronic structure of the supported gold clusters and the effect of various activation conditions have on the electronic structure of the gold clusters. A selection of the prepared supported gold catalysts were tested for their catalytic activity for the partial oxidation of styrene and the influence of the several activation conditions on the reactivity of the catalyst is also examined. In collaboration, the application of a selection of ligand-stabilised gold clusters as hydrogen sensors and as catalysts for the photocatalytic generation of hydrogen from ethanol is also investigated.

Very recently, Rotello¡¦s research group synthesized nanoparticles bearing terpyridine (terpy) ligands and studied their self-assembly using a variety of transition metals. This paper describes a synthetic pathway to ferrocene- and biferrocene-functionalized terpyridine octanethiols, and the studies of self-organization of ferrocene- and biferrocene-functionalized terpyridine octanethiols chemisorbed on Au nanoparticles.

The preparation and spectroscopic characterizations of size-controlled Pyridine-functionalized gold clusters formed self-assembled 2D superlattices with hexagonal packing were studied. The characterizations of pyridine-modified Au clusters using TEM, UV-vis, NMR and ESCA techniques are also reported. Pyridine-functionalized monolayer-protected Au clusters (MPCs) were prepared as illustrated in Scheme 1. The gold nanoparticles prepared by the reduction with NaBH4 have 3.2 ¡Ó 0.88 nm average core diameters established by TEM. The ~3 nm particles were used to induce size and shap evolution with heating treatment in toluene or in TOABr (tetraoctylammonium bromide). The pyridine-functionalized MPCs exhibit an identifiable plasmon resonance band at ~515 nm. The confirmation of the functionalization of pyridyl octanethiol in Au MPCs came from the downfield NMR resonances in the region of 120-150 ppm, which were established the resonances of the Py moiety.

No description available.

It is ideal to theoretically predict the activity of a catalyst. It has been recognized that not only the type of metal, but also its atomic size plays an important role in catalysis. In the past, atomic clusters have been created by sputtering from a sacrificial metal plate and then using a mass selector to choose cluster sizes from 1-233 atoms of gold. This approach has practical limitations. In this thesis, I describe a procedure by which atomic clusters of gold containing 1-8 atoms are deposited in polyaniline as an isolation matrix. My atomic deposition follows a cyclic pathway. Atomic clusters of palladium and atomic alloys of gold and palladium are also deposited in polyaniline using the same process. It is to show that this method will also work for other metals. These composite materials are characterized, and the catalytic activity for alcohol oxidation is evaluated. This thesis is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter discusses the chemistry of polyaniline for using gold and palladium as catalysts. The technique developed to deposit the atomic clusters is discussed in the second chapter. This technique deposits one atom of metal per imine site on polyaniline, per cycle. The cycle is repeated n-times until a cluster of specified size, Mn, and composition has been synthesized. It is known that polyaniline plays an important role in stabilization of the formed clusters which prevents their aggregation. The optimization of this technique is the topic of the third chapter along with the description of how these composite films are produced. To end this chapter, the composite films are characterized by cyclic voltammetry, Kelvin probe, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In chapters 4 and 5, the catalytic activity of the polyaniline/gold composites for the oxidation of alcohols in alkaline media using cyclic voltammetry is evaluated. In chapter 4, the correlation of the electrochemical activity for the oxidation of n-PrOH with the odd-even pattern from the calculated HOMO-LUMO gap energies for the same size clusters is shown. It is shown that the infrared spectrum of polyaniline with different sizes of atomic gold clusters also follows the odd-even pattern. Chapter 5 expands on the discussion of the catalytic oxidation of alcohols. The oxidation of methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol is surveyed. The peak currents are again dominated by the odd-even pattern. In chapter 6, the versatility of the atomic deposition cycle is shown by depositing atomic palladium clusters. The peak currents for the oxidation of n-PrOH by these palladium composite films again follows the predicted pattern of the calculated HOMO-LUMO gap energies for atomic palladium clusters. This chapter also explores bimetallic atomic clusters of gold and palladium. The results indicate that the catalytic activity depends on the orientation of the cluster in the polyaniline matrix. Chapter 7 discusses the oxidation of methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol on AunPd1 bimetallic atomic clusters. The addition of palladium in the cluster increases the peak current densities for the oxidation of both alcohols except for the most stable of the atomic gold clusters, while it inactivated the electrodes for isopropanol. The possible future work for this project is discussed in chapter 8. Overall, this thesis has developed a novel and unique technique for depositing atomic metal clusters into a polyaniline matrix. The technique is versatile enough to deposit atomic metal clusters other than gold, as shown by creating atomic palladium clusters and atomic bimetallic clusters of gold and palladium. This is extremely useful, since this single technique can produce many different types of atomic catalysts. The composite materials have been shown to be catalytically active for the oxidation of alcohols in alkaline media. This indicates a significant improvement to conserve precious metals while still retaining a high catalytic activity.

The first chapter of this thesis describes the motivation behind using room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) in gas sensor research and reviews current applications of RTILs in various sensors. The second chapter describes electrochemical polymerization of aniline in room temperature 1-butyl-3-methylimmidazolium ionic liquids without addition of any acid. It is shown that the polymerization of aniline in BMI(BF4) does require small but controlled amounts of water whereas the polymerization in BMI(PF6) and in BMI(TF2N) does not require any water addition. The third chapter describes the construction of reference electrodes for RTIL applications that have a known and reproducible potential versus the ferrocene/ ferrocenium couple. They are based on reference electrodes of the first kind, Ag/Ag+ couple type, or of the second kind, based on Ag/AgCl in M+Cl-. The stability, reproducibility, and temperature behavior of the two reference systems have been characterized. The fourth chapter describes the electrochemical preparation and spectral analysis of gold clusters by adding gold atoms one-by-one through polyaniline s ability to form a strong complex with chloroaurate at the protonated imine sites. Our results confirm that both the amount and the size of gold clusters affects the properties of the composite material. The fifth chapter describes the development and characterization of a CHEMFET sensing layer based on a composite of CSA-doped polyaniline (PANI), and the room temperature ionic liquid BMI(TF2N) for the sensing of ammonia gas. The work function responses of the cast films with and without IL are analyzed by step-wise changes of ammonia gas concentration from 0.5 to 694 ppm in air as a function of the mole fraction of IL to PANI. The PANI CSA/BMI(TF2N) layers shows enhanced sensitivities, lower detection limit and shorter response times. The final chapter describes the preparation and characterization of field-effect transistors with mixed ionic-electronic conductors that have been created by varying the ratio of room temperature ionic liquid and emeraldine salt of polyaniline. Transistor with high electronic conductivity (32mol% ES-PANI) and Au gate contact exhibited theoretical behavior of an IGFET; whereas, the purely ionic gate behaved irreproducibly, indicating that a capacitive divider has been formed in the gate.

In this work the electronic and structural properties of anatase TiO2 (100) surface and gold adsorption have been investigated by using the first-principles calculations based on density functional theory (DFT). TiO2 is a wide band-gap material and to this effects it finds numerous applications in technology such as, cleaning of water, self-cleaning, coating, solar cells and so on. Primarily, the relation between the surface energy of the anatase (100)-1x1 phase and the TiO2-layers is examined. After an appropriate atomic layer has been chosen according to the stationary state of the TiO2 slab, the adsorption behavior of the Au atom and in the different combinations are searched for both the surface and the surface which is supported by a single Au atom/atoms. It has been observed that a single Au atom tends to adsorb to the surface which has an impurity of Au atom or atoms. Although, the high metal concentration on the surface have increased the strength of the adsorption, it is indicated that the system gains a metallic property which is believed to cause problems in the applications. In addition, the gold clusters of the dimer (Au2) and the trimer (Au3) have been adsorbed on the surface and their behavior on the surface is investigate. It is observed that the interaction between Au atoms in the atomic cluster each other is stronger than that of gold clusters and the surface.

During the last decades the specific manipulation of matter on the (sub-) nanometer scale, also known as nanoscience, became possible by technologies such as the scanning tunneling microscope. Nanocatalysts, i.e. catalytic active structures of up to a few nanometers in size, belong to this rather new class of materials. Unlike ordinary ’macroscopic’ catalytic materials, the performance of nanocatalysts does not simply scale, for instance, with the surface to volume ratio of the active material. In this Thesis model nanocatalysts are investigated by means of ab-initio density functional theory calculations. In paper I, we explain the experimentally observed catalytic characteristics of small gold clusters, Au1-4, on a regular magnesium oxide terrace towards the oxidation of carbon monoxide by thoroughly studying the adsorption of CO and O2 on these clusters. In the subsequent paper II, we study the feasibility of a catalytic water-mediated CO oxidation reaction on Au1-4/MgO and find that this reaction mechanism is not assessable for Au2,4/MgO and unlikely for Au1,3/MgO. Papers III and IV concentrate on the reactivity of clusters in the gas phase. Particularly, we focus on the relative stability of Au13 isomers and its potential for O2 dissociation (paper III). We find the lowest energy isomers, which contain a triangular prism at their center surrounded by a ring of the remaining seven atoms, to be generally stable upon O2 adsorption. The dissociation of O2 at certain sites of Au13 is found to be exothermic. In paper IV we performed scans of the Born-Oppenheimer potential energy surfaces of neutral and charged Cu3, Ag3, and Au3 to explore the thermally excited vibrations of these trimers. While the Born-Oppenheimer surface of Cu3 exhibits one fairly deep energy minimum, it is comparatively flat with two shallow minima in the case of Ag3. Hence for Ag3 there exist many thermally accessible geometries in a wide range of angles and bond lengths. For Au3, two distinct energy minima appear, being well-separated by a barrier of 180 meV. Already at room temperature, we find bond lengths changes of up to 5% for the studied trimers. Choosing Au3 as a case study for the changed reactivity of thermally excited modes, we find CO to bind up to 150 meV stronger to the excited cluster. Gold deposited on graphene and graphite was observed to form larger aggregates. In paper V, we study the electronic structures, high mobility, and substrate-mediated clustering processes of Au1-4 on graphene. Already in the 1970s is was speculated that dispersion forces, i.e. van der Waals forces, significantly contribute to the adsorption energies of gold atoms on graphite. We accounted for van der Waals interactions in our density functional theory calculations (paper VI) and investigated the influence of these dispersion forces on the binding of copper, silver, and gold adatoms on graphene. While copper and gold show a mixed adsorption mechanism, i.e. chemical binding plus attraction due to the van der Waals forces, silver is purely physisorbed on graphene. / Felaktigt tryckt som Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 719

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / An increase in the research interest related to nanomaterials, with gold-based ones being among the most studied, have been noticed. These materials are higlighted mainly due to their particular features acquired when sizes are reduced to nanometric scale. Metallic nanosystems have interesting physical properties such as photon emission and absorption, quantum confinement, among other optical phenomena. Many research works foccus on the synthesis, controlling sizes of these metallic systems. Gold clusters have been employed for diverse functions such as molecular dyagnosis,, detection of chemical/biological agents, bioengineering, ion sensing, catalysis of chemical reactions, to name a few uses. Thus, this work is foccused on the synthesis and characterization of Au15 clusters using glutathione as stabilizer, coupling the clusters to the cavities of a cyclodextrins-derived polymer. The objectives are to increase the yield on gold clusters and to avoid their formation outside the cavities of the cyclodextrin-derived polymer, to study the catalytic effect of the gold clusters in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (PNP) by NaBH4 to 4-aminophenol (PAP). Optical UV/visible absorption, photoluminescence (PL), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (MET) were used to characterize the samples. It was observed that the polymer matrix used allowed the synthesis of Au15 clusters with characteristic absorption at 405 nm, indicative of clusters with number of atoms near 15, as well as a strong emission both in solid state and in solution. The catalytic activity of the clusters obtained in the PNP reduction to PAP was demonstrated. / Percebe-se um aumento do interesse em pesquisas relacionadas a nanomateriais, sendo o ouro um dos materiais mais estudados. Este material destaca-se principalmente pelas características particulares adquiridas quando reduzido a escala nanometrica. Nanosistemas de metais pode possuir interessantes propriedades físicas, tais como emissão, absorção de fótons, confinamento quântico. Muitas pesquisas concentraram-se na síntese, controlando o tamanho desses Sistemas de metais. Clusters de ouro têm sido empregados para diversas finalidades tais como no diagnóstico molecular, detecção de agentes químicos/biológicos, bioengenharia, sensoriamento de íons, catalise de reações químicas, dentre outras. Assim, a presente pesquisa terá como foco sintetizar e caracterizar Clusters de Au15, usando como estabilizante a glutationa, acoplada em cavidades do polímero derivado de ciclodextrinas. Os objetivos são aumentar o rendimento dos Clusters de Au e evitar que sejam formados Clusters fora das cavidades do polímero derivado das ciclodextrinas, estudar o efeito catalítico dos Clusters de Au na redução do 4-nitrofenol (PNF) a 4-aminofenol (PAF) por NaBH4. Para a caracterização foram utilizados Absorção Óptica UV-Vis e fotoluminescência (PL), espectroscopia infravermelho por transformada de Fourier (FTIR- ATR), Microscopia Eletrônica de Transmissão (MET). Pode-se perceber que a matriz polimérica utilizada possibilitou a síntese dos Clusters de Au15, com absorção característica em 405 nm, esta que é característica do Au15, bem como uma forte emissão, tanto no estado solido, quanto em solução. Foi comprovado a atividade catalítica de tais Clusters na reação de redução do 4-nitrofenol a 4-aminofenol.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / In this work, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and nanoclusters (AuNCLs) were prepared by the reduction in diluted solution method, using the amphiphilic copolymer Pluronic F127(PF127) and thiolated Pluronic F127 (PF127-thiol), respectively. The copolymer was functionalized by sterification reaction using thioglycolic acid (TGA). The investigated parameters of synthesis were concentration of the PF127 solution, temperature, as well as, the UV irradiation. The nanosystems were characterized by UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Further, the system potentialities were investigated by a catalized reaction and incorporation of a model molecule (baicalein). Morphologies, sizes, polydispersity, amount of reduced ion as welll as kinetics parameters were depedent on the parameters of synthesis. The yeld of the functionalization reaction was 90%, calculated by 1H NMR. Using the PF127-thiol, the surface plasmonic ressonance band (SPR) was undetected and a strong absorption in the UV region observed, which indicated that nanoparticles smaller than 3 nm were obtained (AuNCLs). Catalitic property of the AuNPs were investigated by reduction of p-nitrophenol, in which the AuNPs synthesised by PF127 were more efficent than the systems obtained by citrate reduction. The encapsulation efficiency of the baicalein were around 90%. In conclusion, the synthesis of AuNPs by PF127 is not only adequate to modulate sizes and morphology but also to provide environmental advantage in comparison to some tradicional methods. In addition, these are promissing systems to biologic applications because of the biocompatibility of PF127. / Neste trabalho, nanopartículas e nanoclusters de ouro (AuNPs e AuNCLs, respectivamente) foram obtidos pelo método de redução em solução diluída, empregando o polímero anfifílico Pluronic F 127 não funcionalizado (PF127) e funcionalizado (PF 127-Tiol) como agente redutor/estabilizador, respectivamente. A funcionalização do polímero foi realizada por reação de esterificação com ácido tioglicólico (TGA), inserindo-se grupos tióis terminais. A concentração de PF127 e temperatura de obtenção foram parâmetros variados nos processos, além da incidência ou não de radiação UV. A caracterização dos nanosistemas foi realizada por espectroscopia de absorção no UV-Vis e por microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET). Os sistemas foram testados quanto à atividade catalítica, na redução do p-nitrofenol em borohidreto de sódio e na incorporação de uma molécula modelo, a baicaleína. As diferentes condições de síntese influíram sobre a morfologia, tamanho, quantidade, polidispersão e cinética de formação das nanopartículas. O rendimento da reação de funcionalização, estimado por 1H RMN, foi de 90%. O produto obtido (PF127-Tiol) foi empregado na redução do Au3+ e, nanopartículas menores que 3 nm foram obtidas, nesse caso, AuNCLs, evidenciados pelo desaparecimento da banda SPR e surgimento de uma forte absorção no UV, além da observação por MET. Os sistemas a partir do PF127 foram investigados quanto a aplicação em catálise, na qual as AuNPs preparados utilizando Pluronic foi mais eficiente do que as obtidas por redução por citrato. Na investigação da incorporação de uma molécula modelo, as eficiências de encapsulamento foram superiores a 90%. Dessa forma, esses sistemas mostraram-se promissores para uma diversa gama de aplicações de nanopartículas ou clusters de ouro, tais como na catálise de reações químicas e encapsulamamento de bioativos. A síntese por PF127 mostrou-se uma rota ambientalmente amigável e capaz de modulação nos tamanhos e formas das AuNPs,.Os sistemas ainda são promissores para uso em sistemas biológicos, tendo em vista a biocompatibilidade do PF127.