Materiais altamente especializados (polifuncionais) continuam a ser candidatos chave para avanços na área tecnológica e biológica. Buscando aplicação em campos diversos, foram sintetizadas estruturas dendríticas (dendrímeros e polímeros hiperramificados) do tipo poliéster. Esses materiais foram utilizados para dois fins distintos, a aplicação em sistemas de Drug Delivery e em sistemas catalíticos. Em relação aos sistemas de Drug Delivery, foram estudados dois aspectos principais: (i) Impregnação de fármacos na matriz dendrimérica utilizando scCO2 como solvente - foi estudado o comportamento dos materiais frente ao solvente neotério em termos de estrutura (arquitetura da macromolécula), grupos modificadores (acetonida, hidroxila, acetila e cadeia lineares de polilactato) e densidade do solvente. Os materiais que apresentaram características adequadas foram utilizados no estudo da impregnação de fármacos modelo (Ibuprofeno e Fluconazol) na matriz dendrimérica, utilizando-se scCO2 como solvente. Ambos os fármacos foram eficientemente aprisionados no interior da matriz e apresentaram interações com sua estrutra (analisadas por espectroscopia Raman e 1H RMN). (ii) Estudo do potencial para uso como nanocarreadores em Drug Delivery destinados as vias aéreas - Estudou-se o emprego dos dendrímeros do tipo poliéster de diferentes gerações (G3 e G4) modificados com um marcador fluorescente (FITC), conjugados ou não a poli(etilenoglicol) (PEG), como potenciais nanocarreadores para sistemas de Drug Delivery destinados as vias aéreas. Foram realizados testes in vitro para avaliar o transporte e a internalização desses materiais em um modelo de epitélio pulmonar (monocamada de células Calu-3). O transporte e internalização se mostraram dependentes do tamanho da espécie, sendo que dendrímeros conjugados com PEG apresentaram baixa internalização e mais eficiente transporte através da monocamada, situação oposta à ocorrida com os dendrímeros não conjugados. Estudou-se a degradabilidade desses materiais em condições de pH de relevância biológica, assim como a citotoxicidade dos dendrímeros íntegros e de seus fragmentos frente às células Calu-3, sendo que todas as espécies demonstraram baixa toxicicidade na faixa de concentração estudada. O dendrímero modificado com PEG foi utilizado em uma formulação do tipo \"pressurized metered-dose inhaler\" (pMDI). A performance do aerossol obtido com o pMDI foi avaliada, in vitro, através de um impactador de cascata de Andersen (Andersen Cascade Impactor, ACI), mostrando excelentes resultados, com ao redor de 90% da formulação atingindo regiões profundas do pulmão (eg. alvéolos). Em relação à aplicação em sistemas catalíticos, poliésteres hiperramificados, similares aos dendrímeros empregados nos demais estudos, foram modificados de modo a se obter grupos -NH2 terminais e utilizados para magnificação de performance de catalisadores baseados em ródio. Os poliésteres hiperramificados modificados foram imobilizados em nanopartículas ferromagnéticas, do tipo Fe3O4@SiO2, a fim de se obter uma elevada densidade de grupos aminos terminais, os quais foram posteriormente modificados e serviram de ancoragem para um catalisador de Rh. Foi avaliado o incremento do conteúdo de metal na nanopartícula (de 0,2% para 1,0% m/m), assim como seu efeito catalítico em reações de hidroformilação. / Highly specific materials (polyfunctional) continue to be key candidates to address the challenges of technological and biological fields. Aiming to reach different applications, polyester dendritic structures (dendrimers and hyperbranched polymers) were synthesized. These materials were used in two different ways, application in Drug Delivery systems and in catalytic systems. Regarding the usage in the Drug Delivery systems, two major aspects were studied: (i) Impregnation of drugs in the dendrimeric matrix using scCO2 as solvent - It was studied the behavior of these materials in the neoteric solvent in terms of structure (architecture of the macromolecule), modifying groups (acetonide, hydroxyl, acetyl and linear polylactide chains) and density of the solvent. The materials that showed appropriate characteristics were used for the impregnation of model drugs (Ibuprofen and Fluconazole) in the dendrimeric matrix, using scCO2 as solvent. The two drugs were efficiently trapped in the matrix, and showed interactions with its structure (analyzed by Raman Spectroscopy and 1H NMR) (ii) Study of potential usage as nanocarriers in Drug Delivery systems for the airways - It was studied the application of polyester dendrimers of different generations (G3 and G4), labeled with FITC and conjugated or not with polyethylene glycol (PEG) as potentials nanocarriers for Drug Delivery systems for the airways. In vitro tests were performed to analyze the transport and internalization of these materials in a model of lung epithelia (Calu-3 monolayer). Transport and internalization showed to be size dependent, where the PEGylated dendrimers showed low internalization and more efficient transport through the monolayer, with the opposite situation for the non-conjugated dendrimers. The degradation of the materials was studied in biological relevant values of pH, as well the cytotoxicity on Calu-3 of the dendrimers and their building-blocks. All materials showed very low cytotoxicity in the range of concentrations used. The G4 PEGylated dendrimer was used to prepare a pMDI (pressurized metered-dose inhaler) formulation. The performance of the resulting aerosol was evaluated, in vitro, using an eight stage Andersen Cascade Impactor (ACI). The results showed excellent deep lung deposition, where almost 90% of the formulation reached deep compartments, as alveoli. In the catalytic system application, hyperbranched polyesters, similar to the employed dendrimers, were modified to incorporate peripheral -NH2 groups and used to magnify the catalytic effect of Rhodium-based catalysts. The modified hyperbranched polyesters were immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2), resulting in a high density of terminal amine groups. These groups were modified and used for the anchorage of a Rhodium catalyst. It was evaluated the increase in the metal load of the nanoparticles (from 0.2% to 1.0% w/w), as well the catalytic effect in hydroformylation reactions.

Afin de réduire la teneur en soufre des essences, l’hydrodésulfuration transforme les molécules soufrées en hydrocarbures en présence d’un catalyseur supporté (métaux de transition sulfurés : MoS2) et dopé (Co, Ni). Cette phase active, déposée sur des nanoparticules, présente un nombre plus important de défauts, sites actifs essentiels à la catalyse. Les nanoparticules ont un ratio S/V élevé, une grande réactivité de surface avec une juste utilisation des quantités de métaux. L’objectif de ce projet de thèse est de synthétiser des catalyseurs nanométriques de type coeur@coquille possédant une meilleure activité catalytique qu’un simple mélange mécanique de deux métaux sulfurés. Le coeur est composé de Fe3O4 ou de nanodiamants et la coquille de MoS2, NiMoS, CoMoS ou NiCoMoS, supporté sur du TiO2 ou de la γ-Al2O3. Une réaction modèle (HDS du thiophène) a été utilisée afin d’évaluer l’activité catalytique et d’optimiser la structure du catalyseur. L’étude portera sur les paramètres de synthèse et l’effet de la taille du coeur, la synthèse utilisée, les interactions entre le coeur et la coquille, le support, la (co)– promotion (Ni/Co) et l’activation par la température. / In hydrodesulfurization of fossil fuels, the sulfur levels are reduced by sulfur extraction from hydrocarbons by using supported catalysts (MoS2), doped (Co, Ni). Ultra-deep hydrodesulfurization will be achieved by improving new catalysts. Nanoparticles are a promising candidate with their high S/V ratio and permit to use the precise amount of metallic sulphide. The aim of this thesis is the synthesis of core@shell nanometric catalyst with improved activities. Core composed of Fe3O4 or nanodiamonds will be surrounded by a shell formed of MoS2, NiMoS, CoMoS or NiCoMoS, supported on TiO2, γ-Al2O3. Model reaction (thiophene) has allowed to compare conversion rates between each catalyst. Additionally, characterizations have provided a better understanding of the HDS catalyst structure and performances. Some factors have been investigated such as the size of the core, theinteractions between the core and the shell, the type of synthesis, the support chosen, the synergetic effect with doping ions and also the activation of the catalyst at low temperature.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:42:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LuizaPFCG_TESE.pdf: 3362653 bytes, checksum: 0de0a428d24980a5f9b2bf94d2e9214f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-23 / To overcome the challenge of meeting growing energy demand in a sustainable way, biodiesel has shown very promising as alternative energy can replace fossil fuels, even partially. Industrially, the biodiesel is produced by homogeneous transesterification reaction of vegetable oils in the presence of basic species used as catalysts. However, this process is the need for purification of the esters obtained and the removal of glycerin formed after the reaction. This context, the alternative catalysts have that can improve the process of biodiesel production, aiming to reduce costs and facilitate its production. In this study, the AlSBA-15 support with Si / Al ratio = 50 was synthesized, as like as the heterogeneous catalysts of zinc oxide and magnesium supported on mesoporous AlSBA-15 silica, in the concentrations of 5, 10, 15 and 30 %, relative to the support. The textural properties and structural characterization of catalysts and supports were determined by techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled to the chemical analyzer, adsorption / desorption of N2, thermal analysis (TG / DTG), absorption spectroscopy in the infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Characterization results indicated that the support AlSBA-15 retained the hexagonal ordered after the incorporation of zinc oxide and magnesium oxide in the holder. For heterogeneous catalysts, ZnO-AlSBA-15, that was observed the presence of zinc oxide nanoparticles dispersed in the surface and interior channels of the mesoporous and microporous support. The catalytic activity was evaluated by the transesterification reaction of sunflower oil via methylic route, and some reaction parameters were optimized with the most active catalyst in biodiesel production by sunflower oil. For the series of heterogeneous catalysts, the sample with 30 % ZnO supported on AlSBA-15 showed a better conversion of triglyceride to methyl esters, about 95.41 % of reaction conditions: temperature 175 ?C, with molar ratio of 42:1, stirring at 200 rpm and under a pressure of 14 bar for 6 h. The catalyst MgO-AlSBA-15 showed no catalytic activity in the studied reactions / Para superar o desafio de atender a crescente demanda por energia de forma sustent?vel, o biodiesel tem se demonstrado bastante promissor como alternativa energ?tica, que possa substituir os combust?veis fosseis, mesmo que parcialmente. Industrialmente, o biodiesel ? produzido atrav?s de rea??o homog?nea de transesterifica??o de ?leos vegetais na presen?a de esp?cies b?sicas utilizadas como catalisadores. Entretanto, este processo h? a necessidade de purifica??o dos ?steres obtidos e a remo??o da glicerina formada ap?s a rea??o. Diante deste contexto, tem-se buscado catalisadores alternativos, que possa aprimorar o processo de produ??o de biodiesel, visando diminuir os custos e facilitar a sua produ??o. Neste trabalho, foram sintetizados o suporte AlSBA-15 na raz?o Si/Al = 50, e os catalisadores heterog?neos de ?xido de zinco e de magn?sio suportado sobre s?lica mesoporosa AlSBA-15, nas concentra??o de 5, 10, 15 e 30 %, com rela??o ao suporte. As propriedades texturais e a caracteriza??o estrutural dos catalisadores e do suporte foram determinadas pelas t?cnicas de: difratometria de raios X (DRX), microscopia eletr?nica de varredura (MEV), microscopia eletr?nica de transmiss?o (MET) acoplada ao analisador qu?mico, adsor??o/dessor??o de N2, an?lise t?rmica (TG/DTG), espectroscopia de absor??o na regi?o do infravermelho (FTIR) e espectroscopia fotoeletr?nica de raios X (XPS). Os resultados de caracteriza??o indicaram que o suporte AlSBA-15 preservou a estrutura hexagonal ordenada, ap?s a incorpora??o do ?xido de zinco e do ?xido de magn?sio no suporte. Em rela??o aos catalisadores heterog?neos, ZnO-AlSBA-15, observou-se a presen?a de nanopart?culas de ?xido de zinco dispersas na superf?cie e no interior dos canais microporosos e mesoporosos do suporte. A atividade catal?tica foi avaliada pela rea??o de transesterifica??o do ?leo de girassol via rota met?lica, e alguns par?metros reacionais foram otimizados com o catalisador mais ativo na produ??o de biodiesel pelo ?leo de girassol. Para as s?ries de catalisadores heterog?neos, a amostra com 30 % ZnO suportado na AlSBA-15 apresentou melhor convers?o dos triglicer?deos em ?steres met?licos, cerca de 95,41 %, nas condi??es reacional de: temperatura de 175 ?C, com raz?o molar de 42:1, em agita??o de 200 rpm e sob press?o de 14 bar durante 6 h. O catalisador MgO-AlSBA-15 n?o apresentou atividade catal?tica nas rea??es estudadas

Dans le contexte actuel de développement de nouvelles sources d'énergie non fossiles tout en minimisant l'impact environnemental, la production de carburants solaires par la valorisation des émissions anthropiques de CO2 apparaît comme une solution à fort potentiel. Le principal défi dans les processus artificiels photo-induits concerne le caractère bidimensionnel des systèmes utilisés, en raison de la faible profondeur de pénétration des photons. Ce travail de thèse se concentre sur le développement de mousses solides alvéolaires, issues de la chimie intégrative, présentant une porosité hiérarchiquement organisée. A travers l’imprégnation de précurseurs de TiO2, des photocatalyseurs autosupportés ont été synthétisés et ont montré une augmentation de la pénétration des photons d’un ordre de grandeur. D’autre part, ces solides limitent les réactions inverses par un effet de dilution, tout en assurant une sélectivité élevée envers la génération d'alcanes. Un modèle cinétique, basé sur un formalisme mixte de Langmuir-Hinshelwood et Eley-Rideal, est proposé pour décrire le comportement des matériaux. / In the current context of developing novel non-fossil energy sources while minimizing the environmental impact, solar-driven-fuel-production by exploiting anthropogenic CO2 emissions appears to be a solution with great potential. The main challenge in artificial photo-induced processes concerns the two-dimensional character of the systems used, due to the low photon penetration depth. This thesis work focuses on the development of alveolar solid foams, derived from integrative chemistry and bearing a hierarchically organized porosity. By TiO2 precursor impregnation, self-standing photocatalysts were synthesized and provided a photon penetration increase by an order of magnitude. Moreover, these solids limit back-reactions by a dilution effect, while ensuring high selectivity towards alkane generations. A kinetic model, based on a mixed formalism of Langmuir-Hinshelwood and Eley-Rideal, is proposed to describe material behavior.

Dans le contexte de la valorisation de la biomasse par catalyse hétérogène, la chimie théorique est essentielle pour guider la détermination de la nature des sites actifs en combinaison avec des caractérisations expérimentales. Ensuite, le mécanisme de réaction peut être étudié pour déterminer l’état de transition et intermédiaire déterminant la vitesse et ensuite concevoir de meilleurs catalyseurs in silico. Nous avons mis en œuvre cette approche dans plusieurs réactions impliquant des alcools qui jouent un rôle clé dans le passage du pétrole à la biomasse comme source de matière première pour les produits chimiques de commodités ou spécialités. Tout d'abord, nous nous sommes concentrés sur l'oxydation des alcools en phase liquide par l'oxygène, une réaction qui nécessite généralement un environnement alcalin, ce qui nuit à l'économie d’atomes du processus car il génère le sel carboxylate au lieu de l'acide carboxylique. Nous avons proposé un modèle d'interface métal / eau basique incluant l'adsorption d'anion hydroxyde. Cet anion charge la surface métallique et modifie son activité catalytique. Ce modèle a tout d’abord été validé en comparant l’activité prédite de Au et de Pt en présence et en l’absence de base, puis a été utilisé pour étudier l’oxydation d’éthoxylates d’alcool par des bimétalliques. Ensuite, nous sommes passés à la déshydratation en phase gazeuse d’alcools en C3 et C4 en utilisant des catalyseurs à base de phosphate. La modélisation des surfaces s’est basée sur des caractérisations expérimentales. La couverture moléculaire de l'eau à la surface en fonction de la pression et de la température a été établie à l'aide de la thermodynamique ab initio. Les simulations de spectres infrarouges d'adsorption de CO, NH3 et C2H2 nous ont permis d'identifier les sites acido-basiques qui jouent un rôle important dans l'investigation du mécanisme de réaction qui a suivi. / In the context of biomass valorization by heterogeneous catalysis, computational chemistry is key to provide guidance to establish the nature of the active sites in combination with experimental characterizations. Then, the reaction mechanism can be studied to determine the rate determining transition state and intermediate and further design in silico better catalysts. We implemented this approach in several reactions involving alcohols that are key in the shift from a petroleum chemical feedstock to a biomass-based feedstock. Firstly, we focused on liquid phase alcohol oxidation by oxygen, a reaction that generally requires an alkaline environment, which is detrimental to the atom economy of the process since it generates the carboxylate salt instead of the carboxylic acid. We proposed a model of metal/basic water interface that includes the adsorption of hydroxide anion. It charges the metallic surface and modifies its catalytic activity. This model was first validated comparing the predicted activity of Au and Pt in presence and in absence of a base, and then used oxidation of alcohol ethoxylates by bimetals. Then, we switched to gas phase dehydration of C3 and C4 alcohols using phosphate-based catalysts. The modeling of the surfaces was based on experimental characterizations. The molecular coverage of water on the surface in function of the pressure and temperature was established using ab initio thermodynamic. The simulations of infrared spectra of CO, NH3 and C2H2 adsorption allowed us to identify the acido-basic sites which play an important role in the reaction mechanism investigation that followed.

La qualité de l'air intérieur est devenue une préoccupation de santé publique du fait notamment de l'augmentation du temps passé dans les environnements intérieurs et les espaces clos. L'objectif de ce travail est de développer des procédés mettant en œuvre la décharge couronne afin de traiter les polluants gazeux chimiques et particulaires dans l'air intérieur. Le premier volet du travail concerne la dégradation des polluants gazeux chimiques présents en très faibles concentrations dans l’air intérieur. Le couplage d’une décharge couronne et d’un catalyseur est mis en œuvre pour dégrader du toluène dans des conditions représentatives de l’air intérieur. Cette étude démontre la très bonne efficacité de la décharge couronne vis-à-vis du toluène avec de faibles densités d’énergie. Elle identifie les conditions opératoires optimales et propose des mécanismes réactionnels suite à l’identification des principaux produits de réaction. Cependant, le plasma génère des espèces indésirables comme l'ozone et les oxydes d'azote qui doivent impérativement être détruits. Nous avons choisi d'adjoindre à la décharge couronne un catalyseur à base d'oxydes de métaux de transition (MnOx/Al2O3). Différents catalyseurs sont synthétisés puis modifiés par greffage d’agents modifiants. Leur efficacité vis-à-vis de l’ozone et des NOx est quantifiée en présence de différentes teneurs en vapeur d’eau. Le deuxième volet concerne la collecte des particules par filtration électrostatique. Trois procédés sont étudiés ; ils associent un étage d’ionisation et un étage de collecte. L’ionisation est assurée soit par un électrofiltre fil-plaque soit par des aiguilles portées à un potentiel de quelques kilovolts. L’efficacité de collecte est mesurée dans la gamme de 10 nm à 20 µm en fonction de différents paramètres opératoires (tension, polarité, vitesse, paramètres géométriques, concentration en particules, humidité, etc.). Les aiguilles ont une efficacité légèrement inférieure à celle de l’électrofiltre mais présentent une très faible production de l'ozone et une consommation énergétique moindre. L’étude paramétrique permet de dimensionner, d'optimiser la géométrie du procédé et de définir les meilleures conditions de fonctionnement / Indoor air quality has become a public health issue because of the increased time spent in indoor environments and confined spaces. The goal of this work is to develop processes using corona discharge to treat chemical gaseous and particulate pollutants in indoor air. The first part of the work concerns the degradation of chemical gaseous pollutants present in very low concentrations in indoor air. The coupling of a corona discharge and a catalyst is implemented to degrade toluene under conditions representative of the indoor air. Tests were carried out under a range of operating and environmental conditions. This study demonstrates the very good efficiency of the corona discharge for toluene with very low specific density. Optimal operating conditions are identified and reaction mechanisms are proposed following the identification of the main reaction products. However, the generations of by-products, ozone and NOx, which can be hazardous compounds, have to be taken into account. The combination of corona discharge with catalysis seems as a promising way to ensure the suitability and the safety of non-thermal plasma as an indoor air cleaner. Different catalysts based on transition metal oxides (MnOx/Al2O3) are synthesized and then modified by grafting modifying agents. Their efficiency for ozone and NOx elimination is quantified in the presence of different water vapor contents. The second part concerns the particle collection by electrostatic precipitation. Three processes are studied; they combine an ionization stage and a collection stage. The ionization is ensured either by a wire-plate electrostatic precipitator (ESP) or by needles brought to a potential of a few kilovolts. The collection efficiency is measured in the range of 10 nm to 20 μm according to different operating parameters (voltage, polarity, velocity, geometrical parameters, particle concentration, humidity, etc.). The needles have a slightly lower efficiency than the ESP but present a very low production of ozone and a lower energy consumption. The parametric study makes it possible to dimension, to optimize the geometry of the process and to define the best operating conditions

La recherche de nouvelles méthodes pour l’acquisition de données physiques et chimiques de réactions en limitant les effet néfastes sur l’Homme est d’une grande importance pour la chimie moderne. L’utilisation de nouveaux outils miniaturisés permet de limiter les quantités de produits chimiques utilisées tout en augmentant la productivité de la recherche. En effet, l’étude de différents paramètres contrôlés simultanément permet d’augmenter le nombre d’expériences pour un temps donné. Malgré tout, cette étape doit être réalisée après détermination au préalable des paramètres clés de la réaction par l’utilisation d’outils haut débit tels que la robotique. Cesdifférents outils sont utilisés pour l’optimisation et la recherche d’une nouvelle voie de synthèse d’une réaction d’intérêt industriel.De plus, pour répondre à l’intérêt de la catalyse hétérogène dans l’industrie pour la séparation facilitée et le recyclage de ces catalyseurs, nous avons développé deux outils miniaturisés. Cesderniers permettent l’étude et l’acquisition de données de réactions chimiques catalysées par des solides. Le développement s’est inscrit en deux étapes : une caractérisation physique des outils puis l’étude d’une réaction modèle industrielle, l’acylation de l’anisole par des catalyseurs de type zéolite. / The search for new methods for the acquisition of physical and chemical reactions by limiting the effect on humans is of great importance for modern chemistry. The use of new miniaturized tools can limit the quantities of chemicals used while increasing research productivity. Indeed, the study of the various parameters monitored simultaneously increases the number of experimentsfor a given time. Nevertheless, this step must be performed after prior determination ofthe key parameters of the reaction by the use of high flow tools such as robotics. These tools are used for optimization and the search for new synthetic pathway of a reaction of industrial interest. In addition, to meet the interests of heterogeneous catalysis in industry for easier separation and recycling of these catalysts, we have developed two miniaturized tools. These allow the study and data acquisition of chemical reactions catalyzed by solid. Development was registeredin two stages : a physical characterization tools and the study of an industrial model reaction, the acylation of anisole with zeolite catalysts.

A demanda por combustíveis cada vez menos prejudiciais ao meio ambiente, leva à necessidade de desenvolvimento de processos industriais cada vez mais eficientes. No caso da produção de diesel, há uma crescente preocupação com a emissão de derivados do enxofre após a queima do combustível. Tais derivados são responsáveis, principalmente, pelo surgimento de chuvas ácidas. A tecnologia de retirada de enxofre dos combustíveis fósseis já está bem estabelecida na indústria, através de processos catalíticos conhecidos como hidrotratamento. O aprimoramento destes processos está intimamente ligado ao desenvolvimento de catalisadores cada vez mais eficientes. Visando o desenvolvimento de tais materiais, este trabalho apresenta a síntese de catalisadores Ni-Mo/Al2O3 para hidrodessulfurização no refino de petróleo, preparados a partir do método de síntese conhecido como processo poliol e posteriormente sulfetados in situ. A preparação destes catalisadores demonstrou que tal método de síntese favorece a formação do óxido misto de níquel e molibdênio em duas estruturas cristalinas distintas, ?-NiMoO4 e ?-NiMoO4. Normalmente, a formação destas fases não é muito explorada na literatura de catalisadores para hidrodessulfurização. Outro resultado muito interessante obtido a partir deste trabalho é em relação às propriedades texturais de tais catalisadores. Observa-se que, a partir do processo poliol, poucas alterações em termos de área específica e volume de poros dos catalisadores em relação à alumina adotada como suporte são esperadas. No entanto, testes catalíticos demonstraram que os resultados de conversão em termos de hidrodessulfurização da molécula modelo dibenzotiofeno foram insatisfatórios em comparação a um catalisador comercial. Acredita-se que este comportamento seja proveniente da formação do NiMoO4, que mitiga a ação promotora do níquel na estrutura do óxido de molibdênio. O presente trabalho demonstra a necessidade de maiores estudos em relação à aplicação das duas estruturas de molibdato de níquel frente às reações de hidrodessulfurização. / The demand for less harmful fuels to the environment leads to the necessity of developing more and more efficient industrial processes. In the case of diesel production, there is a growing concern about the emission of sulfur compounds after the fuel has been burned. Such compounds are mainly responsible for the emerging of acid rain. Sulfur removing technology for fossil fuels is already well established in the industry through catalytic processes known as hydrotreatment. The improvement of these processes is closely connected to the development of increasingly efficient catalysts. Aiming for the development of such materials, this study presents the synthesis of Ni-Mo/Al2O3 catalysts for hydrodesulfurization in petroleum refining, prepared from the synthesis method known as the polyol-mediated synthesis and after in situ sulfidation. The preparation of these catalysts has shown that such a synthesis method favors the formation of the mixed oxide of nickel and molybdenum in two distinct crystalline structures, ?-NiMoO4 and ?-NiMoO4. Normally, the formation of these structures is not much explored in the literature of hydrodesulfurization catalysts. Another really interesting result obtained from this work is in relation to the textural properties of such catalysts. It is observed that, from the polyolmediated synthesis, few changes in terms of specific surface area and pore volume of the catalysts in comparison with the alumina adopted as a support are expected. However, catalytic tests have shown that the conversion results in terms of hydrodesulfurization of the dibenzothiophene molecule model were unsatisfactory compared to a commercial catalyst. It is believed that this behavior comes from the formation of NiMoO4, which mitigates the promoting action of nickel in the structure of molybdenum oxide. The present work demonstrates the necessity for further studies regarding the application of the two nickel molybdate structures to the hydrodesulfurization reactions.

Die feste nichtkristalline Lewis-Säure Aluminiumchlorofluorid (ACF, AlCl(x)F(3-x), x = 0.05 .. 0.3) hat die höchste bisher bekannte Lewis-Acidität aller heterogenen Katalysatoren. Sie erreicht die Stärke von Antimonpentafluorid SbF5 und übertrifft sie in manchen Fällen sogar. In dieser Arbeit wurden die Bulk-Struktur des ACF und der sehr ähnlichen Verbindung Aluminiumbromofluorid (ABF) mittels IR-, ESR-, NMR- und Röntgenabsorptionsspektroskopie studiert. Die Oberfläche der Verbindungen wurde durch die Adsorption von Gasen bei niedrigen Temperaturen untersucht, sowie durch IR- und ESR-Spektroskopie adsorbierter Sondenmoleküle. Das thermische Verhalten dieser nichtkristallinen Verbindungen wurde mittels DTA verfolgt. Die Lewis-Acidität kleiner Modellverbindungen wurde NMR-spektroskopisch und mit ab initio Methoden untersucht. Alle Daten wurden mit denen der gut charakterisierten und bekannten Modifikationen des Aluminiumfluorids (AlF3) verglichen. Die kombinierten Ergebnisse der Messungen an beiden festen Phasen erlauben die Entwicklung eines Strukturmodells für diese Verbindungen, das die meisten spektroskopischen Daten und die außergewöhnlich hohe Lewis-Acidität erklären kann. Beide Phasen sind sehr ähnlich zueinander. Das Vorhandensein des schwereren Halogens (Cl, Br) erzeugt eine Störung des Netzwerkes und verhindert die Ausbildung geordneter Strukturen. Der Grad der Unordnung in diesen Phasen ist höher als bei allen anderen Verbindungen des Aluminiumfluorids. Daraus resultiert eine gestörte Oberfläche, was wiederum zu koordinativ ungesättigtem Aluminium an der Oberfläche führt. Die sauren Zentren in ACF und ABF sind stärker als in anderen aluminiumhaltigen Lewis-Säuren. / The solid non-crystalline Lewis acid aluminum chlorofluoride (ACF, AlCl(x)F(3-x), x = 0.05 .. 0.3) has the highest Lewis acidity of any heterogeneous catalyst known so far. It reaches the acidity of antimony pentafluoride (SbF5) and in some cases even exceeds it. In this work the bulk structure of ACF and of the very similar compound aluminium bromofluoride (ABF) was studied by IR, ESR, NMR, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The surface of the compounds was investigated by adsorption of gases at low temperatures, as well as by IR and ESR spectroscopy of adsorbed probe molecules. The thermal behavior of these non-crystalline compounds was followed by DTA. The Lewis acidity of small model compounds was studied by NMR spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. All data were compared to those of well characterized known samples of the different modifications of aluminum fluoride (AlF3). The combined results of the measurements of both solid phases allow to set up a structure model for these compounds which can explain most of the spectrocopic data and the extraordinary high Lewis acidity. Both phases are very similar to each other. The occurrence of the heavier halogen (Cl, Br) causes a perturbation of the network and prevents it from forming ordered structures. The degree of disorder of these phases is higher than for any other known compounds of aluminum fluoride. This results in an disordered surface which leads to coordinatively unsaturated aluminum at the surface. The acidic centers of ACF and ABF are stronger than in any other aluminum containing Lewis acid.

The focus of this research was to improve the sustainability of various processes by employing tunable solvents, switchable solvents, and catalysis. In Chapter 2, we report applications of tunable solvents to metal and enzyme catalyzed reactions of hydrophobic substrates. Tunable solvents are defined as solvent that change properties rapidly but continuously upon the application of an external physical stimulus and we utilize these solvents to couple homogeneous reactions with heterogeneous separations. We developed organic-aqueous tunable solvents that utilize propane for efficient phase separation at moderate pressures around 1 MPa; for example the water contents in the propane-expanded THF is 3 wt% at 0.8MPa at 30°C. Also, we extended the use of CO2-organic-aqueous tunable solvents to a pharmaceutically-relevant reaction--the hydroformylation of p-methylstyrene. The homogeneous reactions provide fast rates with excellent yields. At 60°C, the reaction reaches completion after 180 minutes with 95% branched aldehyde yield. The CO2-induced heterogeneous separation of the product from the catalyst provides an efficient and simple way to remove 99% of the product, to retain 99.9% of catalyst, and to recycle the Rh-TPPMS catalyst for five consecutive reactions. In chapter 3, we investigated the use of reversible ionic liquids (RevILs) for synthesis of nanoparticles. RevILs are formed by the reversible reaction of compounds with basic nitrogen functionalities (molecular liquid) with CO2 at ambient pressure to form a liquid salt (ionic liquid). We demonstrated that RevILs form microemulsions that can be switched-on by bubbling CO2 and switched-off by heating. These microemulsions solubilize ionic compounds such as chloroauric acid. We utilized these microemulsions as a template for controlled synthesis of gold nanoparticles. With 2-component RevILs, [TMBGH]+[O2COCH3]-/N-propyl-octylsulfonamide/hexane were used to form particles in the size range of 6-20 nm with an average particles size of 11.4±3.3. With 1-component RevILs, (3-aminopropyl)-tripropylsilane was used to prepare semi-spherical gold particles with an average size of about 20nm. The 1-component RevILs systems provide a simpler method to form microemulsions when compared to the 2-componenet RevILs systems since they eliminate the need for alcohols and surfactants. In chapter 4, we developed a catalyst that efficiently decomposes hydrazine to selectively produce ammonia. This enables the use of the chemical propulsion hydrazine for electric propulsion as well. We prepared nickel, copper, cobalt, ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium nanoparticles that were supported on silica and we tested these silica-supported metals for the decomposition of hydrazine. To study the catalytic activity, we designed and constructed a continuous flow reactor. The results show that nano-nickel supported on silica is the most active and selective catalyst with 100% conversion of hydrazine and 94±3% yield of ammonia.