Late transition metal complexes of silver(I), rhodium(I), ruthenium(II), palladium(II) and platinum(II) containing a nitrile-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene ligand (C-CN) were prepared. The nitrile group on the C–CN ligand was shown to undergo hydrolysis under basic conditions, leading to a silver(I) carbene complex with a primary-amido functional group, and a trimetallic complex of palladium(II) with a partially hydrolyzed C–N–N–C donor ligand. The reduction of a nitrile-functionalized imidazolium salt in the presence of nickel(II) chloride under mild conditions yielded an axially chiral square-planar nickel(II) complex containing a unique primary-amino functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene ligand (C-NH2). A transmetalation reaction moved this chelating C–NH2 ligand from nickel(II) to ruthenium(II), osmium(II), and iridium(III), yielding important catalysts for the hydrogenation of polar double bonds. The ruthenium(II) complex, [Ru(p-cymene)(C–NH2)Cl]PF6 catalyzed the transfer and H2-hydrogenation of ketones. The bifunctional hydride complex, [Ru(p-cymene)(C–NH2)H]PF6, which contains a Ru–H/N–H couple showed no activity under catalytic conditions unless when activated by a base. The outer-sphere mechanism involving bifunctional catalysis of ketone reduction is disfavored according to experimental and theoretical studies and an inner-sphere mechanism is proposed involving the decoordination of the amine donor from the C–NH2 ligand. The ruthenium(II) complex [RuCp*(C–NH2)py]PF6 showed higher activity than the iridium(III) complex [IrCp*(C–NH2)Cl]PF6 in the hydrogenation of ketones. This ruthenium(II) complex also catalyzes the hydrogenation of an aromatic ester, a ketimine, and the hydrogenolysis of styrene oxide. We proposed an alcohol-assisted outer sphere bifunctional mechanism for both systems based on experimental findings and theoretical calculations. The cationic iridium(III) hydride complex, [IrCp*(C–NH2)H]PF6 , was prepared and this failed to react with a ketone in the absence of base. The crucial role of the alkoxide base was demonstrated in the activation of this hydride complex in catalysis. Calculations support the proposal that the base deprotonates the amine group of this hydride complex and triggers the migration of the hydride to the η5-Cp* ring producing a neutral iridium(I) amido complex. This system contains an active Ir–H/N–H couple required for the outer sphere hydrogenation of ketones in the bifunctional mechanism.

Chemical modification is an important way to improve the properties of existing polymers, and one of the important examples is the hydrogenation of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) in organic solvent by homogeneous catalysis in order to extend its application. This process has been industrialized for many years to provide high performance elastomers (HNBR) for the automotive industry, especially those used to produce components in engine compartments. In the current commercial process, a batch reactor is employed for the hydrogenation step, which is labor intensive and not suitable for large volume of production. Thus, novel hydrogenation devices such as a continuous process are being developed in our research group to overcome these drawbacks. In order to make the process more practical for industrial application, high concentration polymer solutions should be targeted for the continuous hydrogenation. However, many problems are encountered due to the viscosity of the high concentration polymer solution, which increases tremendously as the reaction goes on, resulting in severe mass transfer and heat transfer problems. So, hydrogenation kinetics in high concentration NBR solution, as well as the rheological properties of this viscous solution are very essential and fundamental for the design of novel hydrogenation processes and reactor scale up. In the present work, hydrogenation of NBR in high concentration solution was carried out in a batch reactor. A commercial rhodium catalyst, Wilkinson’s catalyst, was used with triphenylphosphine as the co-catalyst and chlorobenzene as the solvent. The reactor was modified and a PID controller was tuned to fit this strong exothermic reaction. It was observed that when NBR solution is in a high concentration the kinetic behavior was greatly affected by mass transfer processes, especially the gas-liquid mass transfer. Reactor internals were designed and various agitators were investigated to improve the mechanical mixing. Experimental results show that the turbine-anchor combined agitator could provide superior mixing for this viscous reaction system. The kinetic behavior of NBR hydrogenation under low catalyst concentration was also studied. It was observed that the hydrogenation degree of the polymer could not reach 95% if less than 0.1%wt catalyst (based on polymer mass) was used, deviating from the behavior under a normal catalyst concentration. The viscosity of the NBR-MCB solutions was measured in a rotational rheometer that has a cylinder sensor under both room conditions and reaction conditions. Parameters that might affect the viscosity of the solutions were studied, especially the hydrogenation degree of polymer. Rheological properties of NBR-MEK solutions, as well as NBR melts were also studied for relevant information. It is concluded that the hydrogenation kinetics deviates from that reported by Parent et al. [6] when polymer is in high concentration and/or catalyst is in low concentration; and that the reaction solution (HNBR/NBR-MCB solution) deviates from Newtonian behavior when polymer concentration and hydrogenation degree are high.

Thesis (Ph.D.); Submitted to the University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California (US); 15 Dec 2004. / Published through the Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information. "LBNL--56814" Westerberg, Staffan Per Gustav. USDOE Director. Office of Science. Office of Basic Energy Sciences (US) 12/15/2004. Report is also available in paper and microfiche from NTIS.

Les composites à matrice Titane avec des renforts nanométriques présente des améliorations intéressantes quant aux propriétés mécaniques, sans affecter la ductilitédu matériau. Ce travail de thèse se concentre sur l’élaboration et la caractérisation dematériaux composites de Titane obtenus par deux différents procédés de métallurgie despoudres : La densification par déformation plastique sévère utilisant l’ECAP (Equal ChannelAngular Pressing) et les procédés de frittage par hydrogénation/déshydrogénation (HDH).L’ECAP est un procédé de densification rapide utilisant la déformation plastique desmatériaux, se faisant à relativement basse température. Les procédés HDH utilisent ladéshydrogénation du titane comme un levier sur les mécanismes de frittage. Les différentsnano-renforts utilisés dans ces travaux sont les particules sphériques de TiC et les aiguillesde TiB. Cette étude montre l’influence de la nature et de la forme des renforts, ainsi que duprocédé de métallurgie des poudres utilisé, sur les propriétés et la microstructure final desmatériaux denses. / Titanium based composites using nano-sized reinforcements are goodcandidates for the improvement in mechanical properties without affecting ductility. Thisstudy is dedicated to fabrication and characterisation of Ti-based composites using twodifferent powder metallurgy processes: Densification using severe plastic deformation viaEqual Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) and Hydrogenation/Dehydrogenation (HDH)sintering processes (pressureless sintering and hot pressing).ECAP is a fast process basedon a severe plastic deformation of material at relatively low temperature. HDH processes usethe dehydrogenation of Ti as a leverage of the sintering. The different nanosizedreinforcements used in this study are the TiC spherical particles and the whisker shaped TiB.This study shows the influence of either the reinforcement nature and type, and the powdermetallurgy processes used, on the final microstructure and properties of the dense materials.

La réfrigération magnétique, basée sur l'effet magnétocalorique (EMC), est une alternative intéressante aux méthodes de réfrigération traditionnelles, basées sur des cycles de compression/détente, car elle présente des rendements énergétiques nettement plus élevés et permet d'éviter l'utilisation de gaz nocifs contribuant à l'effet de serre et problématiques pour l'environnement. Cette technologie s'appuie sur l’EMC géant de certains matériaux magnétiques autour de la température ambiante. Cet effet permet d'augmenter ou de diminuer la température du matériau lors de son aimantation ou désaimantation adiabatique autour de sa température de transition magnétique.La majeure partie des travaux de thèse se focalise sur la famille des matériaux de type La(Fe,Si)13 dans lesquels un effet magnétocalorique géant a été mis en évidence et pour lesquels la faisabilité industrielle semble la plus favorable. Dans un premier temps, les propriétés structurales et magnétiques de ces alliages sont explorées et optimisées, en remplaçant aussi bien la terre rare que le métal de transition par d'autres éléments. Les méthodes d’élaboration, des traitements thermiques, ainsi que le contrôle de la stœchiométrie sont guidées par les caractérisations structurales, microstructurales, physiques (thermiques et magnétiques).D’autre part, l'effet de l'insertion d'éléments interstitiels légers est également étudié et une grande partie du travail porte sur la détermination des conditions de stabilité de ces interstitiels dans les matériaux. Grâce à l'extension des distances Fe-Fe, la température de Curie de la phase magnétocalorique peut être augmentée jusqu'à des plages proches de latempérature ambiante. L'influence d’une faible concentration en carbone sur les propriétés magnétiques des échantillons est examinée avant hydrogénation et la teneur en carbone est optimisée.Afin d'étudier la diffusion des éléments interstitiels, la cinétique de sorption d'hydrogène est étudiée par la méthode de Sieverts ainsi que par diffraction neutronique. La diffraction neutronique in situ et à haute résolution permet une localisation des atomes interstitiels et donne accès au schéma d’insertion. Cette étude permet de préciser l’effet de l’insertion d’interstitiels légers et des substitutions d’éléments de terre rare sur la structure des alliages métalliques complexes de type La-Fe-Si. Nous montrons que la dépression ou l’accélération de la cinétique d'hydrogénation peut être liée à la variation hétérogène particulière de la maille et des liaisons dans la structure de type NaZn13. Un mécanisme pour le chemin de diffusion est suggéré.Le mécanisme d'insertion d'atomes légers est non seulement fortement lié à l'espace disponible, mais aussi associés à la facilité du chemin de diffusion dans le réseau. Nous démontrons avec des résultats expérimentaux qu'une addition modérée de carbone dans la phase La(Fe,Si)13 avant l'hydrogénation peut effectivement ralentir la cinétique d'insertion de l'hydrogène. Dans les phases La-Ce-Fe-Si, une insertion de carbone peut aider à retenir les atomes d'hydrogène lors de la désorption, par conséquent, offre une possibilité d'avoir une meilleure stabilité des matériaux hydrogénés pour des applications à long terme. La stabilité des matériaux hydrogénés est mesurée par DSC et une amélioration de la stabilité thermique du matériau est réalisée par un dopage au carbone.Un volet exploratoire est consacré aux alliages Fe-Cr-Ni et Fe-Cr-Mn qui pourraient potentiellement avoir un effet magnétocalorique exploitable. Les transitions magnétiques et structurales de ces alliages de compositions différentes sont étudiées et leur potentiel d'application magnétocalorique est discuté. / The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is characterized by a magnetic entropy change and an adiabatic temperature change. The NaZn13-type La(Fe,Si)13 system has attracted wide interest because of its first-order ferromagnetic phase transition with a large magnetocaloric effect. The transition temperature can be flexibly adjusted through substitution or interstitial insertion. Particularly, hydrogen interstitials can adapt the temperature range to room-temperature applications. Precise adjustment can be achieved by full hydrogen absorption then partial desorption. However, fully hydrogenated alloys are unstable upon heating. It is important to have a better understanding of its hydrogen stability to optimize its application potential.In the first part, the structural, magnetic, and magnetocaloric properties of La(Fe,Si)13 phases are studied. In particular, we have investigated the effect of substitution of Ce on the La site and Mn on the Fe sites. The partial substitution of Ce results in the decrease of TC with decreasing lattice constant. At the same time, Ce substitution for La results in a reduced volume of the octahedral interstitial site due to steric effect. The interstitial insertion is impeded by Ce partial substitution.Secondly, the effects of interstitial atoms such as hydrogen and carbon are examined. These elements are able to enter the interstitial voids in the La(Fe,Si)13 phase, expanding the lattice. Through the extension of Fe-Fe distances, the Curie temperature of the magnetocaloric phase can be raised up to room temperature range. The influence of small concentration of carbon on the magnetic properties of samples is examined prior to hydrogenation and carbon content is optimized. In order to investigate the interstitial dynamics, the hydrogen sorption kinetics is studied by the means of Sieverts’ volumetric method and neutron diffraction. Particular attention has been given to the adjustment of the structure in the course of hydrogen/deuterium interstitial absorption and desorption.Steady-state and in-situ neutron diffractions provide precise information of the interstitial atom location of the sequential filling of the accommodating sites. The structural investigation allows specifying the deformations undergone in the complex metallic alloys La-Fe-Si when subjected to light interstitial insertion or rare earth substitution at the cation site. We show that the depression or enhancement of the hydrogenation kinetics may be related to the particular inhomogeneous cell variation of bonding in the structure. A mechanism for the diffusion path is suggested.The mechanism is light atom insertion into the interstitial sites is not only strongly related to the available space for accommodation, but also associated with the facility of the diffusion path in the lattice. We demonstrate with experimental results that a modest addition of carbon in the La-Fe-Si phase prior to hydrogenation can effectively slow down the hydrogen insertion kinetics. In Ce-substituted La-Ce-Fe-Si phases, carbon insertion can help retain hydrogen atoms during desorption, therefore, offering a prospect to have improved stability of hydrogenated materials for long-term applications. The hydrogen stability of the material is examined by means of thermal desorption in DSC and an enhancement of the thermal stability of the material is achieved with carbon-doping.Lastly, in the search of new rare-earth-free materials for magnetocaloric applications, we have explored the capacity of alloys of types FeCrNi and FeCrMn. The magnetic and structural transitions of these alloys of different compositions are studied and their potential for magnetocaloric application is examined in this thesis.

Ce travail s’inscrit dans le contexte d’un fort accroissement des émissions de gaz à effetde serre au niveau mondial. Une idée est de réutiliser ce CO2 comme matrice de stockageénergétique pour fabriquer un carburant de synthèse en le combinant avec de l’hydrogèneproduit à partir de décomposition de l’eau par apport d’énergie nucléaire ou renouvelable,évitant ainsi le recours au pétrole ou au charbon. Cette idée prend tout son sens dans lecontexte spécifique français où l’électricité, majoritairement produite par énergie nucléaire etrenouvelable a une faible empreinte carbone. Dans ce cadre nous nous proposonsd’hydrogéner le CO2 en gaz de synthèse par la réaction Reverse Water-Gas-Shift (RWGS),lequel gaz de synthèse est alors transformé en carburant. Ce projet de recherche est composéde deux parties principales :La première partie se focalise sur le développement d’un catalyseur sélectif et stable pourla réaction de RWGS à température modérée (723-773 K). A cet égard nous avons procédé àune modélisation conjointe de la micro-cinétique de la réaction de RWGS et des principalesréactions parasites pour déterminer un composé multi-métallique innovant ; celui-ci a pu êtreconfronté avec succès aux catalyseurs industriels utilisés, dans les conditions optimales de laréaction de RWGS. Dans une deuxième partie, nous avons effectué un remontagethermodynamique de l’ensemble d’une conversion du CO2 issu de fumées industrielles encarburant de synthèse (dimethyl ether, DME) sur un cas concret à grande échelle en France.La simulation du procédé CO2 to DME montre une efficacité énergétique du procédé de 52%et une réduction des émissions du CO2 de la cimenterie de 88%. / This work is in the context of large-scale efforts to enhance greenhouse gas emissionsmitigation. A potential way to recycle CO2 as a carbon feedstock to produce a synthetic fuelby the conversion of CO2 and hydrogen, produced from water electrolysis using nuclear orrenewable energy. This process may be sustainable in some specific context like in Frenchcontext; French electricity is mainly generated by nuclear and renewable energies that havelow carbon footprints. In this work, a synthetic fuel is produced by CO2 hydrogenation intosynthesis gas via the Reverse Water-Gas Shift (RWGS) reaction, then synthesis gas isconverted into a synthetic fuel. This research project consists of two main parts:The first part focuses on the development of a selective and stable catalyst for the RWGSreaction at moderate temperature (723-773 K). We have applied the micro-kinetic approach ofthe RWGS reaction and its side reactions in order to determine a multi-metallic catalyst,which has shown to perform better selectivity and stability than a conventional, commercialcatalyst under the optimal operating conditions of the RWGS reaction. In the second part, weconducted the simulations of a large-scale dimethyl ether (DME) production process by theconversion of CO2 from industrial flue gases in the French context. The simulation of the CO2to DME process showed the process energy efficiency of 52% and the emissions reductionpotential of 88% of total CO2 emissions.

By examining structure activity relationships for a given catalytic reaction it is possible to discover what ligand features and parameters lead to stable and highly active/selective catalyst systems. With this knowledge in hand it may be possible to rationally design next generation ligands and catalysts to affect improved substrate transformations, with higher selectivities and faster reaction times. The success of Burk's DuPhos ligands in asymmetric hydrogenation demonstrated that chiral phosphacycles can be a potent source of chiral induction, whilst in a similar vein the work of van Leeuwen and Kamer established the wide bite angle xanthene based ligands as excellent catalysts in a range of reactions including hydroformylation. In a preliminary study with Osborne they showed that combining these wide bite angle ligand backbones with Burk's phospholane moieties led to a new powerful ligand in asymmetric allylic substitution. To examine the potential of combining these two ligand features further we designed and synthesised nine new C2-symmetric bidentate wide bite angle bisphosphacyclic ligands, featuring phosphetane, phospholane or diazaphospholane rings, aiming at a wide diversity of steric and electronic properties. The application of these ligands as chiral auxiliaries in transition metal catalysed reactions, including; hydrogenation, hydrocyanation, hydroformylation and allylic alkylation has been investigated. Good to excellent enantioselectivities were observed in all reactions, with maximum ee's of 92.5% observed in hydrogenation, using N-(3,4-dihydro-1-napthalenyl)-acetamide as substrate, and of 96.2% in the alkylation of 1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate.

L’hydrogénation sélective de l’acétylène est un processus fondamental pour l’industrie pétrochimique qui permet la purification de l’éthylène utilisé dans les réactions de polymérisation. Ce processus est promu par des catalyseurs au palladium, qui présentent une bonne sélectivité en éthylène par rapport au produit d’hydrogénation totale, c’est-à-dire l’éthane. Les catalyseurs de palladium pur sont malheureusement désactivés par des oligomères qui se forment comme sous-produits de la réaction d’hydrogénation. Les catalyseurs d’usage industriel sont, pour cette raison, plutôt des alliages de palladium avec d’autres métaux, comme par exemple, l’argent. Ces alliages réduisent la production des oligomères, sans pour autant les supprimer complètement. Ce travail de thèse a été focalisé sur la compréhension à l’échelle moléculaire de la formation de ce mélange d’oligomères, souvent appelée « huile verte ». Pour commencer, une approche de champ moyen a été développée pour déterminer rapidement l’état de la surface catalytique de l’alliage Pd-Ag en condition de réaction. Ce modèle a montré que l’acétylène est capable de réorganiser la couche de la surface et de générer des îles de palladium. Pour confirmer cette prédiction, nous avons effectué des simulations Monte Carlo en utilisant un Hamiltonien modèle. Ces calculs ont produits des résultats similaires au modèle analytique simple. Ayant attribué la formation des oligomères aux domaines de palladium ainsi obtenus, les étapes de d’oligomérisation ont été étudies et comparés à celles qui décrivent l’hydrogénation de l’acétylène. Les calculs, réalisé avec l’approximation de la théorie de la fonctionnelle de la densité (DFT), ont montré que la formation des oligomères est compétitive avec l’hydrogénation. En plus, les oligomères sont plus faciles à hydrogéner que l’acétylene et pourraient, donc, impacter négativement sur l’hydrogénation sélective de l’acétylène. Le rôle exact des îles de palladium sous conditions réalistes est encore à clarifier, sachant que le palladium est recouvert d’une grande variété d’espèces chimiques. Les techniques d’intelligence artificielle peuvent aider à atteindre ce but : nous avons ainsi démontré qu’il est possible d’interpoler les résultats des calculs DFT d’une façon automatique et de décrire l’énergie du système en série de coefficients « cluster ». Ceci permet de prendre en compte les interactions latérales entre espèces chimiques à la surface du palladium. / Selective hydrogenation of acetylene in ethylene-rich flows is a fundamental process in the petrochemical industry since it allows the purification of ethylene for polymer applications. The reaction is catalyzed by Pd, which features acceptable selectivity towards ethylene compared to the total hydrogenation product, ethane. Pure Pd is, however, deactivated by oligomeric byproducts, known as ”green oil” in the literature. Therefore, most industrial catalysts are Pd-Ag alloys, where Ag helps to suppress the secondary reactions. This work addresses the formation of initial oligomers on Pd and Ag-Pd catalysts. A mean field based theoretical model was built to efficiently screen the topology of the topper most layer of the alloy catalyst under relevant conditions. This model gave evidence for strongly favored Pd island formation. To confirm this result, the system was then re-investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations including the effect of segregation. Emergence of large domains of Pd were confirmed over large ratios of Ag to Pd. Green oil is expected to form on these catalytically active islands. To obtain a detailed view on the oligomerization process, activation energies were computed both for hydrogenation and oligomerization steps by periodic density functional theory on Pd(111). Oligomerization was found to be competitive with hydrogenation, with the hydrogenation of the oligomers being among the fastest processes. The role of Pd domains to green oil formation is still to be clarified under realistic conditions, where the surface is covered by many different species. A step forward to this goal was taken by developing a machine-learning tool which automatically interpolates model Hamiltonians on graphical lattices based on DFT computations, accounting for lateral interactions and distorted adsorption modes on crowded surfaces.

Doctor of Philosophy / Chemical Engineering / Mary E. Rezac / Membrane contact reactors (MCRs) have been evaluated for the selective hydro-treating of model reactions; the partial hydrogenation of soybean oil (PHSO), and the conversion of lactic acid into commodity chemicals. Membranes were rendered catalytically active by depositing metal catalyst onto the polymer "skin" of an asymmetric membrane. Hydrogen was supplied to the support side of the membrane and permeated from the support side to the skin side, where it adsorbed directly onto the metal surface. Liquid reactant was circulated over the membrane, allowing the liquid to come into direct contact with the metal coated surface of the membrane, where the reaction occurred. Our membrane contact reactor approach replaces traditional three-phase batch slurry reactors. These traditional reactors possess inherent mass transfer limitations due to low hydrogen solubility in liquid and slow diffusion to the catalyst surface. This causes hydrogen starvation at the catalyst surface, resulting in undesirable side reactions and/or extreme operating pressures of 100 atmospheres or more. By using membrane reactors, we were able to rapidly supply hydrogen to the catalyst surface. When the PHSO is performed in a traditional slurry reactor, the aforementioned hydrogen starvation leads to a high amounts of trans-fats. Using a MCR, we were able to reduce trans-fats by over 50% for equal levels of hydrogenation. It was further demonstrated that an increase in temperature had minimal effects on trans-fat formation, while significantly increasing hydrogenation rates; allowing the system to capture higher reaction rates without adversely affecting product quality. Additionally, high temperatures favors the hydrogenation of polyenes over monoenes, leading to low amounts of saturated fats. MCRs were shown to operator at high temperatures and: (1) capture high reaction rates, (2) minimize saturated fats, and (3) minimize trans-fats. We also demonstrated lactic acid conversion into commodity chemicals using MCRs. Our results show that all MCR experiments had faster reaction rate than all of our controls, indicating that MCRs have high levels of hydrogen coverage at the catalyst. It was also demonstrated that changing reaction conditions (pressure and temperature) changed the product selectivities; giving the potential for MCRs to manipulate product selectivity.

Ce travail porte sur la préparation et la caractérisation de catalyseurs bimétalliques Cu-Zn, Ni-Zn et Fe-Zn supportés sur TiO2 avec des rapports atomiques variables et sur l'étude de leurs propriétés catalytiques pour l'hydrogénation sélective d'hydrocarbures polyinsaturés. Les méthodes de co-dépôt-précipitation à l'urée (DPu) et co-dépôt-précipitation à pH fixe (DP8) ont été utilisées pour la préparation des matériaux. Les ions métalliques se déposent séquentiellement sur la surface de TiO2 (selon la séquence CuII < ZnII ?FeII <NiII) durant la méthode DPu, alors qu'ils se déposent simultanément en utilisant la méthode DP8. Après réduction de l'échantillon à une température appropriée (350°C pour Cu-Zn, 450°C pour Ni-Zn et 500°C pour Fe-Zn), les analyses par DRX et STEM-HAADF couplé à EDS ont montré que des nanoparticules bimétalliques étaient formées pour les systèmes Cu-Zn/TiO2 (alliage Cu3Zn1 ou Cu0.9Zn0.1) et Ni-Zn/TiO2 (alliage Ni1Zn1 ou Ni4Zn1) avec une taille moyenne de particule inférieure à 5 nm. Seul du fer métallique a été détecté par DRX dans le cas de Fe-Zn/TiO2. Zn est inactif pour l'hydrogénation sélective du butadiène et agit comme un modificateur des catalyseurs monométalliques dont l'activité suit la séquence: Cu < Fe < Ni. L'ajout de Zn diminue légèrement l'activité, influence la sélectivité en butènes, mais augmente fortement la stabilité des catalyseurs. Cette plus grande stabilité des catalyseurs bimétalliques a été attribuée à la formation d'une quantité inférieure de dépôt carboné pendant la réaction, ceci résultant de la modification de la taille des ensembles de surface du métal actif par alliage avec Zn. / This work investigates the preparation and characterization of titania-supported non-noble bimetallic Cu-Zn, Ni-Zn and Fe-Zn catalysts with various atomic ratios and their catalytic properties for the selective hydrogenation of polyunsaturated hydrocarbons. Co-deposition-precipitation with urea (DPu) and co-deposition-precipitation at fixed pH (DP8) methods were employed for the samples preparation. The metal ions were sequentially deposited onto the TiO2 surface (the sequence of pH for ions deposition being CuII < ZnII ≈FeII < NiII) during the DPu, while they were simultaneously deposited using DP8 method. After sample reduction at proper temperature (350 °C for Cu-Zn, 450 °C for Ni-Zn and 500 °C for Fe-Zn), XRD and STEM-HAADF coupled with EDS showed that bimetallic nanoparticles were formed in Cu-Zn/TiO2 (Cu3Zn1 or Cu0.9Zn0.1 alloy) and Ni-Zn systems (Ni1Zn1 or Ni4Zn1 alloy) with average particle size smaller than 5 nm. Only metallic Fe was detected by XRD in Fe-Zn/TiO2. Zn is inactive for butadiene selective hydrogenation, and acts as a modifier of the monometallic catalysts whose activity follows the sequence: Cu < Fe < Ni. The addition of Zn slightly decreases the activity and influences the selectivity to butenes, but provides much more stable catalysts. The higher stability of the bimetallic catalysts was ascribed to the formation of lower amount of carbonaceous species during the reaction, resulting from the change in the size of the active metal surface ensembles by alloying with Zn.