Submitted by Edileide Reis (leyde-landy@hotmail.com) on 2013-04-23T14:28:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Walter Gomes Junior.pdf: 2468331 bytes, checksum: a8f65f5330af597dd96c972cdf079013 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-04-23T14:28:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Walter Gomes Junior.pdf: 2468331 bytes, checksum: a8f65f5330af597dd96c972cdf079013 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Os heteropoliácidos são polioxometalatos, compostos de um cluster óxido, com prótons associados, apresentando alta acidez de Brönsted, que tem atraído interesse acadêmico e industrial, devido a capacidade de promover catálise “verde”, atuando como catalisador homogênea e heterogênea. Diversas reações orgânicas já foram conduzidas neste sistema catalítico, sendo que a acilação Friedel-Crafts do metoxinaftaleno (2-MN) com anidrido acético (Ac2O) e as condensações de Claisen-Schmidt da acetofenona com benzaldeídos foram testados neste trabalho utilizando heteropoliácidos do tipo Keggin mássico (HPW), suportado em sílica (HPW-SiO2) e na forma de sal de césio (Cs2,2H0,8PW) e de potássio (K2,5H0,5PW). A acilação Friedel-Crafts do 2-MN com anidrido acético foi realizada em fase líquida, utilizando diversos solventes. Os melhores resultados de conversão e seletividade foram obtidos com nitrobenzeno. A máxima conversão foi obtida para concentrações iniciais de reagentes equivalentes ([2-MN]0 = [Ac2O]0). Dos catalisadores utilizados, as melhores conversões foram obtidas com o HPW mássico, que também se mostrou mais seletivo ao 2-acetil-6-metoxinaftaleno , chegando a 90,1%, a 130ºC em 1h de reação. O isômero cineticamente favorável, 1-acetil-2-metoxinaftaleno é formado e logo convertido a 2-acetil-6-metoxinaftaleno a 130ºC em nitrobenzeno. A temperatura de reação afeta a seletividade, mas tem pouco efeito na conversão do 2-MN. As reações de condensação de Claisen-Schmidt da acetofenona com benzaldeídos substituídos (benzaldeido, 4-clorobenzaldeído, 4-nitrobenzaldeído, 4- metoxibenzaldeído e 4-hidroxibenzaldeído) para a síntese de chalconas conduzidas sem o uso de solventes, se mostraram muito efetivas, com conversões e seletividade superiores a 60% e 90%, respectivamente, sobre HPW mássico, em fase homogênea, com uso de pequenas quantidades de catalisador (razão molar substrato/catalisador = 200 ou superior). Os sais de césio e de potássio apresentaram resultados modestos, sendo que estes materiais conduziram reações em fase heterogênea. As reações com benzaldeídos substituídos mostraram grande influência dos grupos substituintes. Além do ótimo desempenho catalítico, esses materiais mostraram possibilidade de regeneração e re-utilização. / Salvador

In this thesis, a wide breadth of topics related to the field of surface science are addressed using density functional theory (DFT). Specifically, five studies with relevance to molecular electronics and heterogeneous catalysis are presented, with a particular focus on interadsorbate interactions, reactivity and characterisation of molecules on transition metal surfaces. The first part of this work focuses on giving strong theoretical underpinning to the atomic-scale observations provided by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) experiments conducted by my group colleagues. The theoretical calculations presented here provide support to the experimental evidences but also serve to unravel information that is inaccessible from the experiments. On the one hand, the variety of results obtained in this thesis using standard DFT methods serve to highlight the capabilities of the computationally low-demanding methods for modelling processes occurring on metal surfaces. On the other hand, we notice that these workhorse methods in DFT have inherent limitations for providing an accurate description of some properties, in particular binding energies. This, further improvements in the level of theory are necessary for advancing the computational accuracy of standard DFT methods in materials science. The second part of this thesis is devoted to highlight the high level of accuracy obtained by the new theoretical approaches in the field of materials science. Due to the recent implementation of new algorithms combined with the increasing computer power that is available to the scientific community, these sophisticated methods are becoming more accessible for modelling solid-state systems. Here, the recent implementation of the random-phase approximation (RPA) for solids is employed to perform to benchmark study on the adsorption of benzene on different close-packed transition metal surfaces. The development of new theoretical tools is also essential to improve our predictive capabilities in surface science. A novel approach to correct vibrational intensities by including anharmonicities using density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) is proposed. The new method is tested for the adsorption of different organic molecules on various transition metal surfaces. The results obtained by this implementation demonstrate excellent improvements for predicting accurate spectra of molecules on surfaces.

Orientador: Maria Valnice Boldrin Zanoni / Banca: Regina Celia Galvão Frem / Banca: Lúcio Cesar de Almeida / Resumo: O presente trabalho ilustra duas vertentes para modificação de eletrodo com complexo as pirinato de cobre (II), [(Cu) 2 (Asp) 4 ]. A primeira baseou - se no desenvolvimento de um sensor eletroquímico para detecção de íons nitrito em soluções aquosas. I nicialmente foi estudado o comportamento eletroquímico por voltametria cíclica, sobre eletrodo de carbono vítreo em tampão B - R (0,1 mol L - 1 ) . Nesta condição do estudo, verific ou - se que o complexo apresenta comportamento irreversível e controlado por difusão . Em seguida, imobilizou - se o [( Cu ) 2 (Asp) 4 ] por ciclagens sucessivas sobre a superfície do eletrodo de carbono vítreo, observandoa capacida de eletrodo modificado de tectar os íons nitrito em solução aquosa cerca de 57% melhor que o eletrodo de carbono vítreo sem modificação . O eletrodo de carbono vítreo modificado aplicado para analisar uma amostra comercial de sal de cura ( que contem 5 % (m/m ) de NO 2 - ), diluída em tampão B - R na concentração de 1,0 g L - 1 . O método utilizado foi o adição de padrão, resultando em uma concentração de 0,059 g L - 1 de íons nitrito, obtendo erro de 18%. Indicando boa performanc e do ECV modificado com [(Cu) 2 (Asp) 4 ] para sensor eletroquímico de NO 2 - . A segunda vertente fundamenta - se na modificação de eletrodos de nanotubos de Ti/TiO 2 com [ ( Cu ) 2 (Asp) 4 ] para aplicação de fotoc átodo na redução de NO 2 - . A investigação da redução de íons nitrito por fotoeletrocatálise revelou a melhor condição em 15 mmol L - 1 de NaCl, como eletrólito de suporte, sob potencial de - 0,6 V em pH original da solução sobre o eletrodo modificado com [ ( Cu ) 2 (Asp) 4 ] . A redução de 5,0 mg L - 1 de nitrito nestas condições resultou na redução total em apenas 6 minutos formando 47% de íons amônio e 53% de nitrogênio dissolvidos como outras espécies, sem a presença de íons nitrato.... / Abstract: ABSTRACT This paper illustrates two aspects to electrode modified with aspirinat o complex of copper (II), [(Cu) 2 (Asp) 4 ]. The first was based on the development of an electrochemical sensor for the detection of nitrite ions in aqueous solutions. Initially we studied the electrochemical behavior by cyclic voltammetry on glassy c arbon electrode in B - R buffer (0, 1mol L - 1 ). In this condition the study, it was found that irreversible complex features and behavior controlled by di ffusion. Then the [(Cu) 2 (Asp) 4 ] By cycling successive on the surface of the glassy carbon electrode was immobilized by observing the electrode capacity modified detecting the nitrite ions in aqueous solution about 57% better than the electrode glassy carbon without modification. The modified glassy carbon electrode applied to analyze a commercial sample of curing salt (containing 5% (m/m) of NO 2 - ), diluted in BR buffer at a co ncentration of 1.0 g L - 1 . The method used was the added pattern, resulting in a concentration of 0.059 g L - 1 of nitrite ions, obtaining 18% error. Indicating good p erformance of glassy c arbon electrode modified [(Cu) 2 (Asp) 4 ] for electrochemical sensor NO 2 - . The second part is based on the modification of nanotubes electrodes of Ti/ TiO 2 with [(Cu) 2 (Asp) 4 ] for application of photocathode in reducing NO 2 - . The investigation of reducing nitrite ions per photoelectrocatalysis showed the best condition in 15 mmol L - 1 NaCl as supporting electrolyte under potential - 0.6 V at the original pH of the solution on the electrode modified with [(Cu) 2 (Asp) 4 ]. The reduction 5.0 mg L + of nitrite under these conditions resulted in a complete reduction in only 6 minutes to form ammonium ions 47% and 53% of nitrogen and other dissolved species without the presence of nitrate ions. Modification of tubular nanostructures Ti /TiO 2 with [(Cu) 2 (Asp) 4 ] performed better in... / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:21:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 parte1.pdf: 1916067 bytes, checksum: e4045cc0ffe2f947f30aea1666f195a2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-09-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Air pollution is of great concern to all of us, and among the main causes are the gases emitted from fossil fuels burning. Therefore, the search for clean technologies is of prime importance nowadays. Thus, in the present work the reaction mechanism for the hydrodesulfurization is investigated. Such reaction is widely used in oil refinery, where new materials, with lowest cost and greater range of application, are searched for. This reaction causes the reduction of hydrocarbons containing sulfur-based functional groups, such as thiols, sulfides and thiophenes, releases hydrogen sulfide, and is catalyzed by molybdenum sulfides or oxides. Since the absorption of SOx compounds is harmful to health and environment, the levels of these types of compounds should be considerably reduced, according to the Kyoto Protocol and the current legislation. In the present study, the hydrodesulfurization reaction involving thiophene is investigated through the use of Quantum Chemical Methods. A mechanism is proposed, using the MoO3, NiMoO4 and CrMoO4 compounds as catalysts. Besides, the effects of Mo6+, Ni2+ and Cr2+ ions are analyzed and also, a mechanism is proposed, considering Thermodynamic and Kinetic Chemistry aspects, once they are not completely established in literature. Geometry optimization and harmonic frequency calculations are performed using the PM6 method, implemented in MOPAC2007. The catalysts structures are built from experimental data provided by the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database. Reaction enthalpies, entropies, Gibbs free energies, as well as activation and reaction energies are computed. Some results of this work comprehend values referring to absortion energies for the catalysts MoO3, MoO3:Ni e MoO3:Cr, corresponding to -117.23, -115.26 and -407.14 kJ mol-1, respectively, originating the following stability order: Cr > Mo > Ni. / A atmosfera sofre graves efeitos oriundos da poluição gerada, principalmente, pelos gases procedentes dos combustíveis fósseis. Por conseguinte, a busca por tecnologias limpas é de suma importância na contemporaneidade. Pertinente a esse fato, o trabalho em questão investiga o mecanismo para a reação de hidrodessulfurização, que é empregada nas refinarias de petróleo, onde são averiguados novos materiais, com custos menos onerosos e de maior aplicabilidade. A partir dessa reação, reduzem-se hidrocarbonetos que contêm grupos funcionais contendo enxofre, como tióis, tiofenos e sulfetos, liberando gás sulfídrico, sendo promovida por sulfetos ou óxidos de molibdênio. A absorção dos compostos SOX causa efeitos prejudiciais à saúde e ao meio ambiente, de modo que os níveis desses compostos devem ser reduzidos consideravelmente, conforme o Protocolo de Kyoto e a legislação vigente. Neste estudo teórico, a reação de hidrodessulfurização envolve o tiofeno, empregando os catalisadores MoO3, MoO3:Ni e MoO3:Cr, a fim de avaliar o efeito dos íons Mo6+, Ni2+ e Cr2+, além de propor o mecanismo para a mesma, considerando os aspectos da Termodinâmica e da Cinética Química, visto que o mesmo não é estabelecido completamente pela literatura. Para otimização de geometria e cálculos das frequências harmônicas, utilizou-se o método PM6, incorporado ao MOPAC2007. Os catalisadores foram construídos a partir de dados experimentais oriundos do Inorganic Crystal Structure Database, tornando a estrutura de cada catalisador inédita para este tipo de investigação. Resultados como entalpia, entropia, energia livre de Gibbs, energia de ativação e de reação foram averiguados. Alguns resultados deste trabalho, englobam os valores referentes às energias de adsorção para os catalisadores MoO3, MoO3:Ni e MoO3:Cr, que corresponderam a -117,23, -115,26 e -407,14 kJ mol-1, respectivamente, originando a seguinte ordem de estabilidade: Cr > Mo > Ni.

Catalisadores de óxido de vanádio suportados sobre titânia foram preparados pelo processo sol-gel. A secagem do material foi efetuada em condições supercríticas (aerogel) e pelo método convencional (xerogel). As características texturais foram determinadas por adsorção de N2 à 77K para obtenção de isotermas de adsorção, área superficial BET, distribuição, forma e tamanho de poros. A morfologia do material foi verificada por microscopia eletrônica de varredura. A estrutura e a identificação dos grupos superficiais foram determinadas por difratometria de raios-X e espectroscopia de infravermelho. Obteve-se sólidos com áreas superficiais ate três vezes superiores que os valores médios encontrados na literatura. Porosidade de ate 300 cm3g-1 para os aerogéis. Três tipos de espécies vanádio foram identificados nos catalisadores: grupos superficiais vanadis monoméricos, grupos vanadatos poliméricos e cristalitos de V2O5. O suporte e formado por TiO2 nas formas anatásio e rutilo com predominância da primeira forma nos aerogeis. A análise de microscopia mostrou urna granulometria ligeiramente esférica com partículas em torno de 6OMEGAm e boa dispersão do óxido de vanádio sobre a titânia. / In this work, catalysts of V2O5/ TiO2 were obtained by sol-gel method, and dried under two different conditions: supercritical (aerogel) and conventional one (xerogel). The textural characterization was carried out by adsorption of N2 at 77K, determining the adsorption isotherm, BET surface area and size, shape and distribution of porous structure. The morphology of synthesized material was studied by SEM, the structure and surface groups were characterized by XDR and FTIR, respectively. The surface area was about three time of reported in the literature. The porosity achieves values of 300 cm3g-1for aerogels. Three surface species were identified for vanadium: monomeric vanadyl, polymeric vanadates groups and V2O5 in crystallites forms. Two different forms of crystallization, rutile and anatase, were found for TiO2 support, being the first of them predominant for aerogels. The analysis of SEM micrographies exhibited a spheric granulation of particles of about 6OMEGAm and showed a good dispersion of vanadium oxide on titanium.

Orientador: Kil Jin Park / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T03:09:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bevilaqua_Gabriela_M.pdf: 2266405 bytes, checksum: 32b324014175a32c748994b5091ea509 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O impacto ambiental devido ao uso de combustíveis fósseis e as questões políticas envolvendo seu uso tem impulsionado a busca por combustíveis derivados da biomassa. Desta forma, o biodiesel tem aparecido nesse contexto de modo a substituir, parcialmente ou totalmente, a utilização de combustíveis derivados de petróleo. O biodiesel é definido como uma mistura de ésteres obtidos principalmente a partir da reação de triacilglicerídios e álcool. A reação mais comumente utilizada para sua síntese é a transesterificação. Algumas condições reacionais afetam o rendimento, tais como: proporção entre triacilglicerídios e álcool (razão molar), concentração de catalisador (por massa de óleo), temperatura, tempo e tipo de catalisador. Embora os catalisadores homogêneos sejam usados com maior freqüência na indústria, eles apresentam o inconveniente de produzir sabão e desativar durante o processo. Além disso, não podem ser recuperados. Neste cenário, passou-se a investigar o uso dos catalisadores heterogêneos na produção de biodiesel. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a síntese de biodiesel etílico utilizando catalisador zeolítico faujasita impregnado com hidróxido de potássio e óxido de cálcio como catalisadores heterogêneos, assim como investigar as variáveis reacionais que influenciam o rendimento da reação como tempo, temperatura e razão molar etanol/óleo vegetal. A melhor conversão em ésteres etílicos utilizando a zeólita faujasita foi de 14,11%, a 70 °C, razão molar de 14:1 e tempo de 3,5 horas. Já a melhor conversão utilizando óxido de cálcio como catalisador foi de 11,66% a 60 °C, razão molar de 12:1 e tempo de 3 horas. As amostras foram analisadas por ressonância magnética nuclear de hidrogênio (RMN-H1). Os maiores rendimentos ocorreram na transesterificação etílica utilizando a faujasita como catalisador. Tanto o óxido de cálcio como a zeólita faujasita mostraram baixo desempenho catalítico para a transesterificação etílica nas condições reacionais estudadas quando comparado com o desempenho de catalisadores homogêneos / Abstract: The environmental impact due to the use of fossil fuels and the political issues surrounding its use has driven the search for fuels derived from biomass. Thus, biodiesel has appeared in this context in order to replace partially or totally, the use of petroleum fuels. Biodiesel is defined as a mixture of esters derived mainly from the reaction of triglyceride and alcohol. The reaction most commonly used for their synthesis is the transesterification. Some reaction conditions affect yield, such as ratio of triacylglycerols and alcohol (molar ratio), catalyst concentration (per mass of oil), temperature, time and type of catalyst. Although homogeneous catalysts are most frequently used in industry, they have the disadvantage of producing soap and off during the process. Also, can not be recovered. In this scenario, we started to investigate the use of heterogeneous catalysts in biodiesel production. This work aimed to study the synthesis of biodiesel using ethyl faujasite zeolitic catalyst impregnated with potassium hydroxide and calcium oxide as heterogeneous catalysts, as well as to investigate the reaction variables that influence the yield of the reaction such as time, temperature and molar ratio ethanol / vegetable oil. The best conversion into ethyl esters using a faujasite zeolite was 14.11% at 70 ° C, molar ratio of 14:1 and a time of 3.5 hours. Already the best conversion using calcium oxide as catalyst was 11.66% at 60 ° C, molar ratio of 12:1 and a time of 3 hours. The samples were analyzed by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR-H1). The highest yields occurred in the ethyl or using faujasite catalyst. The calcium oxide as the faujasite zeolite showed low catalytic performance for the ethyl or the reaction conditions studied when compared with the performance of homogeneous catalysts / Mestrado / Tecnologia Pós-Colheita / Mestre em Engenharia Agrícola

The main focus of this thesis has been directed towards developing novel surface-confined transition metal complexes for applications in heterogeneous catalysis and for the preparation of anisotropic particle surfaces. The first part describes the heterogenization of a homogeneous transition metal-based catalyst tetraphenyl cobalt porphyrin (CoTPP) on silicon wafers and on silica particles. The activity in hydroquinone oxidation for the silica particle-immobilized CoTPPs was found to be increased 100-fold compared to its homogeneous congener whereas the silicon wafer-immobilized CoTPPs achieved lower activity due to the formation of clusters of catalyst molecules on the support surface as detected with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The second part of this thesis describes the development and characterization of anisotropic particle-surfaces by electrochemical site-specific oxidation of surface-confined thiols. Reactive patches or gold gradients could be obtained on the particle surfaces depending on the type of working electrode used and on the electrolyte composition. The particle surface functionalities were characterized with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the particle-surface-confined patches and gradients were conjugated with proteins to obtain fluorescence for investigation using fluorescence microscopy. Gold-functionalized siliceous mesocellular foams were further demonstrated to be highly efficient and selective catalysts in the cycloisomerization of 4-alkynoic acids to lactones. The final part of this thesis describes the preparation and characterization of palladium nanoparticles heterogenized in the pores of siliceous mesocellular foam. The nanoparticles were analyzed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and found to have a size of 1-2 nm. Primary- and secondary benzylic- and allylic alcohols were oxidized by the heterogeneous palladium nanoparticles in high to excellent yields using air atmosphere as the oxygen source. The nanopalladium catalyst was used up to five times without any decrease in activity and the size of the nanoparticles was retained according to TEM. / <p>At the time of doctoral defence the following paper were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper1: Manuscript; Paper 4: Manuscript</p>

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon monoxide are considered the main greenhouse gas pollutants from either automotive engines or stationary sources. The increased concentration of these pollutants in air severely affects human health and causes changes in earth climate and vegetation growth rates. Ethylene is one of the VOCs closely related with photocatalytic pollution when it reacts with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sun light to form ground-level ozone. It is also responsible for quick repining of fruits and vegetables. Carbon monoxide, on the other hand, is a poisonous gas mainly released by vehicle emissions, and when inhaled in high concentrations, it causes severe health problems related to the respiratory system leading to significant rates of deaths annually in Europe and North America. Globally, The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that seven million people die yearly due to poor air quality-related reasons which urges current and future stringent regulations to control air pollution emissions. In the past four decades, several equipment modifications and processes have been studied for reducing these emissions. Among them is the phenomenon of Electrochemical Promotion of Catalysis (EPOC) which was first reported in the early 1980s. EPOC has been successfully shown to convert automotive, indoor and industrial air pollutants such as VOCs, CO and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to harmless gases. It involves reversible changes in the catalytic properties of catalysts deposited on solid electrolytes when a small electric current or potential is applied. More recently, it was demonstrated that EPOC can be thermally induced without any electrical polarization, in analogy to the well-known phenomenon of metal-support interaction, by using noble metal nanocatalysts supported on ionically conducting materials such as yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The objective of this research is to gain deeper understanding of the factors affecting metal-support interaction between the active metal and the support to enhance their catalytic activity for environmentally-important reaction systems; specifically, ethylene and carbon monoxide oxidation as well as hydrogen fuel purification by carbon monoxide methanation. First, the activity of platinum nanoparticles deposited on carbon black, which is a conventional support used in catalysis, is studied. The effect of particle size of four Pt/C nanoparticles synthesized using a modified reduction method for ethylene (C2H4) complete catalytic oxidation is investigated. These catalysts show high activity towards C2H4 oxidation which is found to be a strongly size-dependent reaction. Full conversion of 1000 ppm C2H4 is achieved over the smallest nanoparticles (1.5 nm) at 100oC while higher temperature 170oC is required to completely oxidize ethylene over the largest nanoparticle (6.3 nm). The second stage of this research compares the catalytic activity of platinum and ruthenium nanoparticles when deposited on ionic or mixed ionic conductive vs. non ionic conductive supports for CO and VOCs oxidation. The Pt and Ru nanoparticles are deposited on yttria-stabilized zirconia (8% Y2O3-stabilised ZrO2), cerium (IV) oxide (CeO2), samarium-doped ceria (SDC), gamma-alumina (γ-Al2O3), carbon black and on novel perovskite group Sm1-xCexFeO3 (x = 0, 1, 5) resulting in ≤ 1 wt. (weight) % of Pt and Ru on each support. It is found that the nanocatalysts deposited on ionic conductive or mixed ionic conductive supports outperformed the catalysts deposited on non ionic conductors due to strong metal-support interaction that greatly affects the electronic and catalytic properties of the catalysts. The enhanced catalytic activity towards CO and C2H4 oxidation reactions is shown by earlier catalytic activity and complete conversion, lower activation energies, greater turnover frequencies and higher intrinsic rates per active surface area. To further investigate the effect of ionic conductivity of the supports and the exchange of O2- (oxygen vacancy) between the support and the catalyst surface, complete oxidation of pollutants is studied in the absence of oxygen in the gas phase. For the first time, complete oxidation of CO and C2H4 in an oxygen-free environment at low temperatures (< 250oC) is achieved, which represents the main novel finding in this research. The idea of pollutant removal in the absence of oxygen is extended to a practical reaction for fuel cells application which is hydrogen fuel purification from CO impurities at temperatures < 100oC. Moreover, the effect of particle size, pollutant concentration, operating conditions and support nature in the absence of oxygen in the gas feed is studied. It is proposed that the metal nanoparticles and the solid electrolyte form local nano-galvanic cells at the vicinity of the three-phase boundary where the anodic reaction is CO or C2H4 oxidation and the cathodic reaction is the surface partial reduction of the support. A systematic catalyst reactivation process is suggested and the catalytic activity of these nano-catalysts is studied which can be further investigated for air pollution control applications such as in vehicle catalytic converters, indoor air quality units and power plant emissions.

Air pollutants can cause poor air quality; however, the use of heterogeneous catalytic oxidation has been shown to be an efficient and cost-effective removal method. Some examples of commercial application of such catalysts include catalytic convertors in automobiles and industrial process exhausts. Research with regards to improving these technologies has included using less-expensive catalyst materials, increasing catalytic performance, and achieving higher efficiency. The concept of metal-support interaction (MSI) is one method of altering catalytic performance through changing the properties of the metal catalyst due to the interaction with the support material. Similarly, the phenomenon of electrochemical promotion of catalysis (EPOC) has also been shown to enhance the catalytic activity, however, through the application of a small electrical stimulus to a catalyst-working electrode deposited on a solid electrolyte (e.g. yttria-stablized zirconia). The properties of the metal catalyst are altered due to the movement of ions (in this case, O2-) from the electrolyte. Since its discovery, several factors were identified that are preventing EPOC from being commercialized, including the use of thick film catalysts. Implementing nano-catalysts makes this method competitive with typical heterogeneous catalysts; however, it has not been studied by many research groups. Furthermore, many heterogeneous catalytic studies have been performed separately for each of these phenomena; however, a connection between EPOC and MSI has yet to be fully understood. The overall objective of this project is to study the concept of EPOC over highly-dispersed nano-catalysts and determine how MSI relates to the change in catalytic activity. Supported nano-catalysts were synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for catalytic performance using model reactions. A reactor was designed to carry out the electrochemical studies, where the EPOC concept was successfully implemented and a relationship with MSI established. Furthermore, additional studies were conducted to determine the role of the O2- in the catalyst support and its relationship to MSI.

This thesis covers the simulation and modelling of the transesterification of triglyceride oils to make biodiesel, using heterogeneous catalysts. Initially, data fitting was performed to fit overall kinetic rate equations to experimental data, ignoring diffusional behaviour. Additionally, experiments were undertaken to investigate the influence of feed ratio on the reaction kinetics. A single site mechanism with surface reaction as the rate limiting step was found to most closely match the experimental conversion profiles for the operating conditions studied. To incorporate diffusional behaviour into the modelling a multicomponent diffusion methodology was adapted for use within this system. To verify transport properties of the system and the suitability of this theoretical diffusion calculation, measurement of density and viscosity for a range of mixtures was undertaken, along with molecular dynamics simulation to produce diffusion coefficients. Finally, a novel algorithm was developed to simulate coupled diffusion and reaction within the pores of the catalyst and the subsequent bulk concentration changes this produced.