Title: Preparation of magnetic and optical nanoparticles Author: Anton Repko Department: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University of Prague Supervisor: RNDr. Daniel Nižňanský, Ph.D. Supervisor's e-mail address: niznansk@natur.cuni.cz Abstract: In the present work we study methods of preparation of magnetic and optical nanoparticles by hydrothermal method. Specifically, we prepared particles of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) and sodium yttrium fluoride (NaYF4) doped by Yb3+ a Er3+ from corresponding nitrates in the system of water - ethanol - oleic acid, and in modified systems. By this method, it is possible to prepare particles of narrow size distribution (monodisperse particles). Pre- pared particles of ferrite show superparamagnetism and particles of NaYF4 up-conversion, i.e. conversion of infrared (980 nm) to visible light. Keywords: nanocrystals, superparamagnetism, up-conversion, CoFe2O4, NaYF4, hydrothermal synthesis

A síntese de nanopartículas com morfologia controlada vem sendo objeto de interesse crescente no campo da Ciência dos Materiais. Devido a essa motivação, o principal objetivo desse trabalho foi a síntese e caracterização de pseudoboemita e boemita apresentando uma ou duas dimensões nanométricas. O método de síntese utilizado para a obtenção de pseudoboemita fibrilar é baseado na reação de um alcóxido de alumínio, em solução aquosa de ácido acético. Para a preparação de boemita, um único método de síntese, a síntese hidrotérmica, foi utilizado, com o emprego de três precursores: uma pseudoboemita, um sal orgânico (o monohidróxido diacetato de alumínio) e o trihidróxido de alumínio gibsita, este último em duas formas: uma gibsita comercial e uma gibsita sintetizada que utiliza iodo como ativador. As pseudoboemitas e as boemitas obtidas foram caracterizadas por difração de raios-X e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Algumas amostras de pseudoboemita e de boemita foram caracterizadas por análise térmica diferencial e por espectroscopia vibracional na região do infravermelho. Foram obtidas pseudoboemitas com morfologia fibrilar (partículas anisométricas alongadas); no caso das boemitas foram produzidas distintas morfologias (de acordo com o precursor e com as condições de síntese empregadas em sua obtenção): fibrilar (duas dimensões em escala nanométrica), nanoplacas (uma dimensão em escala nanométrica) e partículas com simetria cúbica (nenhuma dimensão em escala nanométrica). A presença do íon acetato na síntese hidrotérmica foi determinante na formação de boemita com morfologia de placas. / The synthesis of nanoparticles with controlled morphology is of increasing interests in the field of Materials Science. Due to this motivation, the main objective was the synthesis and characterization of boehmite pseudoboehmite presenting one or two nanoscale dimensions. The method of synthesis used to obtain fibrillar pseudoboehmite is based on the reaction of an aluminum alkoxide in aqueous acetic acid. For the preparation of boehmite, a single synthesis method, the hydrothermal synthesis, was used with three different precursors: a pseudoboehmite, an organic salt (aluminum monohydroxide diacetate) and the aluminum trihydroxide gibbsite, the latter in two forms: a commercial gibbsite and a gibbsite synthesized that utilizes iodine as activator. The pseudoboehmites and boehmites obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Some samples of pseudoboehmite and boehmite were characterized by differential thermal analysis and by vibrational spectroscopy in the infrared region. Pseudoboehmites were obtained with fibrillar morphology (anisometric elongated particles); for boehmites, different morphologies were produced (according to the precursor and the synthesis conditions employed in their production): fibrillar (two dimensions in nanoscale), nanoplates (one dimension in nanoscale) and particles with cubic symmetry (no dimensions in nanoscale). The presence of acetate ion in hydrothermal synthesis was instrumental in the formation of boehmite with plate morphology.

Os depósitos de caulim apresentam-se amplamente distribuídos no planeta, e das reservas brasileiras classificadas como medidas e indicadas, 97% encontram-se na região norte do país onde estão localizadas as principais empresas produtoras de caulim destinado à indústria de papéis. Ocorre que durante as etapas de processamento do minério são gerados grandes volumes de rejeito constituído predominantemente por caulinita, um dos argilominerais mais utilizados como matéria-prima em síntese de zeólitas. Neste trabalho, materiais zeolíticos foram sintetizados utilizando como fonte principal de silício e alumínio um rejeito industrial gerado durante o beneficiamento do caulim para cobertura de papel; o material de partida e as fases formadas como produtos de reação foram caracterizados por difração de raios X, microscopia eletrônica de varredura, espectroscopia de refletância difusa no infravermelho com transformada de Fourier, análise térmica e área superficial específica pelo método BET; sendo posteriormente avaliados quanto à capacidade de adsorção por azul de metileno em sistema descontínuo. O processo de síntese ocorreu em condições hidrotermais através de autoclavagem estática e os efeitos tempo-temperatura, assim como também as relações Si/Al e Na/Al foram considerados. Os resultados mostram que na metodologia desenvolvida com o rejeito de caulim, inicialmente calcinado a 700°C por 2 horas, submetido em seguida à reação em meio alcalino a 90ºC por 48 horas na presença de uma fonte adicional de sílica foi obtida zeólita do tipo faujasita com boa cristalinidade como fase predominante no produto de síntese. Os dados dos ensaios de adsorção determinados por espectrofotometria UV-visível e ajustados pelos modelos de Langmuir e Freundlich sugerem que o material faujasítico apresenta boa capacidade adsortiva atingindo eficiências entre 85 e 92% para concentrações na faixa de 10 a 30 mg/L, demonstrando assim, ser o referido material uma alternativa eficiente e de baixo custo quando utilizado para a remoção de corantes de solução aquosa no tratamento de efluentes industriais. / Kaolin deposits have become widely distributed on the planet, Brazilian\'s reserves classified as measured and indicated, 97% are in the northern region where are located the main producers of kaolin for the paper industry. During the processing steps of the ore are generated large amount of waste constituted predominantly by kaolinite, one of the most widely used clayminerals as a raw material in synthesis of zeolites. In the present work, zeolitic materials were synthesized using as main source of silicon and aluminum an industrial waste generated during the processing of kaolin for paper coating, the starting material and formed phases as reaction products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the infrared Fourier transform, thermal analysis and specific surface area by BET method; and subsequently evaluated for adsorption capacity for methylene blue in a batch system. The synthesis process occurred in hydrothermal conditions and the effects, time-temperature, as well as the relations Si/Al and Na/Al were considered. The results show that in the methodology developed from kaolin waste, initially calcined at 700°C for 2 h, subjected then reaction in alkaline medium at 90°C for 48 h in presence of additional silica was obtained faujasite-type zeolite with good crystallinity as phase predominant in the synthesis product. Adsorption data determined by UV-visible spectrophotometry were fitted using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms models and suggest that the zeolitic material has good adsorptive capacity, achieving efficiencies between 85 and 92% at concentrations in the range 10 30 mg/L, thus becoming, this material, an effective and low-cost alternative when used for the removal of dyes from aqueous solution in the treatment of industrial effluents.

Neste trabalho foi estudada a produção, por síntese hidrotermal assistida por microondas, nanoestruturas de pentóxido de nióbio (Nb2O5) a partir do precursor pentacloreto de nióbio (NbCl5). A síntese foi realizada nas temperaturas de 150 e 200 °C durante 130 min, e o produto obtido foi tratado termicamente a temperaturas de 600, 800 e 1000 °C por 60 min com taxa de aquecimento de 10 °C/min. Os produtos obtidos foram caracterizados por análise termogravimétrica (ATG), para detectar a perda de massa com a temperatura; por difração de raios X (DRX), para análise da estrutura cristalina; por espectroscopia de infravermelho por transformada de Fourier (FTIR) e por espectroscopia Raman, para identificação das fases formadas; por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET), para verificação da morfologia do material; e por espectroscopia de refletância difusa (ERD), para identificar as propriedades ópticas do material. Além dessas, foram realizados cálculos do tamanho do cristalito pela equação de Scherrer. Os resultados indicaram a formação de nanoestruturas com diversas fases cristalinas de nióbio (TT, T, B, M e H-Nb2O5). O tamanho do cristalito variou em função da temperatura de tratamento térmico praticado: entre 35,85 e 38,80 nm para as amostras sintetizadas a 150 °C; e entre 34,84 e 40,93 nm para as amostras sintetizadas a 200 °C. Com a análise por refletância difusa foram obtidos os valores de band gaps para as amostras sintetizadas, e os resultados identificaram material semicondutor com uma variação de 3,13 a 3,90 eV. / In this work was studied the production by hydrothermal synthesis assist for microwave, niobium pentoxide nanocrystals (Nb2O5) obtained from the precursor pentachloride niobium (NbCl5). The synthesis was carried out at temperature of 150 and 200 °C for 130 min and the product obtained was calcined at temperatures 600, 800 and 1000 °C for 60 min and heating rate at 10 °C/min. The following characterizations were performed for analysis of the material, among them, thermal gravimetric analysis (ATG) for detecting the lost mass by temperature, X-ray diffraction (XRD) for analysis of the crystal structure, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopic was used for analyze the changes in superficial chemical connections, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electronic microscopic (TEM) for morphology of material and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) for identification the material optical properties. Moreover, calculate were realized of crystallite size by Scherrer’s equation. The results showed the formation of nanostrutured with various phases (TT, T, B, M e H-Nb2O5). The crystallite size varied in function of thermal treatment temperature from 35,85 to 38,80 nm for synthesizes samples in 150 °C and 34,84 to 40,93 nm for synthesizes samples in 200 °C. With the analysis by diffuse reflectance were obtained the band gap values for the synthesized samples and the results identify a semiconductor material with a variation from 3,13 to 3,90 eV.

Este trabalho objetivou estudar a síntese de zeólita NaA sob condições hidrotérmicas e aplicála na adsorção de metais pesados. Para a síntese de zeólita NaA, caulim do município de Ipixuna, Pará, foi calcinado a 700 °C por 3 horas para obtenção de metacaulim e usado como fonte de sílica e alumina. Para efeito de comparação, cloreto de alumínio e metassilicato de sódio também foram utilizados na síntese de zeólitas como precursores de Si e Al. A influência da alcalinidade na síntese dos produtos zeolíticos foi avaliada utilizando-se diferentes concentrações de NaOH. Todas as sínteses foram realizadas a 110 °C em autoclaves. Visando à compreensão da influência do tempo na quantidade e tipo de fase formada, foram realizadas sínteses com diferentes tempos de cristalização. Os produtos de reação foram caracterizados por difração de raios X, espectroscopia na região do infravermelho, análise termogravimétrica, análise térmica diferencial, microscopia eletrônica de varredura e adsorção de nitrogênio para cálculo de área específica pelo método BET. A amostra que apresentou maior proporção de zeólita NaA foi utilizada como adsorvente em soluções de Cu2+, Ni2+ e Cd2+ com concentrações iniciais de 25 a 400 mg/L. A concentração de equilíbrio desses metais, após remoção pela zeólita NaA, foi determinada por espectrofotometria de absorção atômica. Os resultados mostraram que o aumento da alcalinidade e do tempo de cristalização favoreceu a obtenção de sodalita, uma fase zeolítica concorrente à Zeólita A, nos produtos de síntese. A zeólita NaA provou ser um excelente adsorvente para remoção dos metais analisados, apresentando uma capacidade de adsorção máxima de aproximadamente 79, 65 e 32 mg/g para Cd2+, Cu2+ e Ni2+, respectivamente. O modelo de isoterma de adsorção que melhor descreveu a remoção de metais pela zeólita NaA foi o de Langmuir. / The aim of this work was to study the synthesis of zeolite NaA under hydrothermal conditions and use it as adsorbent of heavy metals. To synthesize zeolite NaA, kaolin from the city of Ipixuna, Pará, was calcined at 700 °C for 3 hours and used as source of silica and alumina. For comparison purposes, aluminum chloride and sodium metasilicate were also used in the synthesis of zeolites as precursors of Si and Al. The influence of alkalinity on the synthesis of the zeolitic products was evaluated using different NaOH concentrations. All the syntheses were performed at 110 °C by autoclaving. To understand the influence of time on the type and relative amount of the obtained phases, syntheses with different crystallization times were carried out. The reaction products were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, thermal differential analysis, scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption for calculating surface area by the BET method. One of the samples, which exhibited the highest content of zeolite NaA, was used as adsorbent of Cu2+, Ni2+ and Cd2+ solutions with initial concentrations ranging from 25 to 400 mg/L. The equilibrium concentration of these heavy metals, after removal by zeolite NaA, was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results showed that increasing alkalinity of the reaction medium led to the formation of sodalite, a concurrent zeolitic phase, in the products. Zeolite NaA turned out to be an excellent adsorbent for removing heavy metals, with an adsorption capacity of 79, 65 and 32 mg/g for Cu2+, Cd2+ and Ni2+, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm model was the most appropriate to describe the removal of metals by zeolite A.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:41:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ArilsonJNS.pdf: 3626777 bytes, checksum: 66cf6233a47c3a2d53f0c71191f75125 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-11-12 / Heterogeneous catalysts such as aluminophosphate and silicoaluminophosphate, molecular sieves with AEL of ALPO-11 and SAPO-11, were synthesized by the hydrothermal method with the following molar composition: 2.9 Al +3.2 P + 3.5 DIPA +32.5 H20 (ALPO-11); 2.9 Al +3.2 P + 0.5 Si + 3.5 DIPA +32.5 H20 (SAPO-11) starting from silica (only in the SAPO-11), pseudoboehmite, orthophosphoric acid (85%) and water, in the presence of a di-isopropylamine organic template. The crystallization process occurred when the reactive hydrogel was charged into a vessel and autoclaved at 170?C for a period of 48 hours under autogeneous pressure. The obtained materials were washed, dried and calcined to remove the molecular sieves of DIPA. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermo gravimetric differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and nitrogen adsorption (BET). The acidic properties were determined using adsorption of n-butylamine followed by programmed thermodessorption. This method revealed that ALPO-11 has weaker acid sites due to structural defects, while SAPO-11 shows an acidity that ranges from weak to moderate. However, a small quantity of strong acid sites could be detected there. The deactivation of the catalysts was conducted by the cracking of the n-hexane in a fixed bed continuous flow microrreator coupled on line to a gas chromatograph. The main products obtained were: ethane, propane, isobutene, n-butane, n-pentane and isopentane. The Vyazovkin (model-free) kinetics method was used to determine the regeneration and removal of the organic template / Foram sintetizados catalisadores heterog?neos do tipo aluminofosfatos e silicoaluminofosfatos pelo m?todo hidrot?rmico a partir de alumina hidratada (pseudobohemita), ?cido fosf?rico 85%, s?lica gel, ?gua e diisopropilamina (DIPA) usada como direcionador estrutural org?nico. Estes reagentes foram misturados a fim de obter g?is com as seguintes composi??es: 2.9 Al +3.2 P + 3.5 DIPA +32.5 H20; para ALPO e 2.9 Al +3.2 P + 0.5 Si + 3.5 DIPA +32.5 H20 para SAPO. O processo de cristaliza??o ocorreu ? temperatura de 170 0C durante 48 h, quando foi poss?vel obter as fases puras para ALPO 11 e SAPO 11. Os materiais obtidos foram lavados com ?gua deionizada, secos e calcinados para remover as mol?culas do direcionador. Os materiais foram caracterizados por difra??o de raios-X (DRX), microscopia eletr?nica de varredura (MEV), espectroscopia de absor??o na regi?o do infravermelho (FTIR), an?lise t?rmica via TG/DTG e adsor??o de nitrog?nio (BET). As propriedades ?cidas foram determinadas usando adsor??o de n-butilamina seguida de termodessor??o programada. Este m?todo revelou que o ALPO 11 possuem s?tios ?cidos fracos devido a defeitos estruturais, j? a amostra SAPO 11 apresenta uma acidez tipicamente fraca a moderada. Entretanto, uma pequena quantidade de s?tios ?cidos fortes foi detectada. A desativa??o dos catalisadores foi conduzida pela rea??o de craqueamento do n-hexano em um microrreator catal?tico de leito fixo com fluxo cont?nuo acoplado em linha com um cromat?grafo a g?s. Como principais produtos foram obtidos: etano, propano, isobutano, n-butano,e n-pentano, isopentano. Para determinar a regenera??o e a remo??o do direcionador org?nico foi aplicado o m?todo cin?tico Vyazovkin (Model Free)

Microporous materials have a wide range of important applications in separation, gas adsorption, ion-exchange and catalysis. Open-framework germanates are a family of microporous compounds and are of particular interest. This thesis focuses on the synthesis and characterization of new open-framework germanates as well as introducing the transition-metal nickel into germanate structures. One new microporous germanosilicate, SU-78 and four new open-framework germanates, SU-74, SU-75, SU-69 and SU-76 have been obtained by using organic molecules as structure directing agents (SDAs). The incorporation of nickel and organic SDAs in the synthesis resulted in five novel nickel germanates, SUT-1, SUT-2, SUT-3, SUT-4 and SUT-5, in which nickel complexes act either as framework-forming components or as structure directing agents. The general synthesis route is described and the variables that affect the synthesis products are summarized. Different techniques applied on the characterization of chemical and physical properties of the products are also introduced. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Submitted. Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Submitted. Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

Novel open-framework germanates and open low-dimensional structures were synthesized and characterized. Their crystal structures were solved by single crystal X-ray diffraction or X-ray powder diffraction combined with other techniques. Although related open-framework materials, such as zeolites, are of interest for the ability to selectively accommodate guest species in their rings, pores and channels, germanates are primarily of interest for their unique structural properties. Compared to aluminosilicate-based zeolites, germanium oxides readily form frameworks with extra-large rings and low framework density. The formation of elegant germanate architectures is attributed to the unique Ge-O bond geometries compared to Si-O, and the tendency to form large clusters. This thesis is to serve as an introduction to germanate synthesis, structures and characterization. Structures are categorized in accordance to their building units; the Ge7X19 (Ge7), Ge9X25-26 (Ge9) and Ge10X28 (Ge10) (X = O, OH, or F) clusters. Structure determination techniques as well as the characterization techniques used to examine the properties of the materials are presented. While most of the discussed techniques have routinely been used to study crystalline open-frameworks, we introduce the use of infrared spectroscopy for the identification of cluster types, valuable for structure determination by X-ray powder diffraction. Structures and properties of the novel materials ASU-21, SU-62, SU-63, SU-64, SU-65, SU-66, SU-71, SU-72, SU-73, SU-74, SU-75 and SU-JU-14 are described and put into context with previously known structures. The novel structures are all built of the Ge7, Ge9 or Ge10 clusters, and vary from a framework with novel topology to the first open zero-dimensional germanate cavities built of such clusters. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Submitted. Paper 6: Submitted. Paper 7: Manuscript. Paper 8. Manuscript. Paper 10: Unpublished book chapter.</p><p> </p>

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures, especially nanowires, have been one of the most important semiconductive materials used for photocatalysis due to their unique material properties and remarkable performance. In this project, vertically-aligned ZnO nanowires on glass substrate have been synthesized by using the facile hydrothermal methods with the help of pre-coated ZnO seeding layer. The crystalline structure, morphology and UV-Vis transmission spectra of the as-synthesized sample were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Ultra-violet Visible (UV-Vis) Spectrophotometer. The photocatalytic activity of the sample was examined for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) as the test dye in aqueous solution under UV-A irradiation. The extent of direct hydrolysis of the MO dye under UV light without the photocatalysts was first measured to eliminate the possible contribution from the undesired variables to the overall efficiency. The effects of pH and initial concentration of the MO solution, as well as the nanowire growth time, on the photocatalytic efficiency have been investigated, in order to determine the optimal conditions for photocatalytic applications of ZnO nanowires in the industry. Furthermore, the reproducibility of the experimental methods used in this project was tested to ensure the reliability of the experimental results obtained; and the reusability of the prepared ZnO nanowire arrays were also evaluated to investigate the stability of the products for photocatalytic applications in a large scale. In addition, a micro-chamber based microfluidic device with integrated ZnO nanowire arrays has been fabricated and used for photodegradation studies of MO solution under continuous-flow conditions. As expected, the micro-chamber based approach exhibited much improved photodegradation efficiency as compared to the conventional method using bulk dye solution. The effects of the flow rate and chamber height of the microfluidic device have also been investigated in order to determine the optimal experimental conditions for photodegradation reactions in microfluidic devices.

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) is one of the most promising cathode materials for lithium ion rechargeable batteries. It has a high theoretical specific capacity (170 mAh/g) and operating potential (3.45 V vs. Li+/Li). Additionally, the material is extremely stable thermally and electrochemically at ambient conditions, which is very suitable to be used in electric vehicles. However, the electronic and ionic conductivities of the material are quite low, which limits the power performance of the batteries. In the last decade, extensive work was reported on various methods to improve the electronic conductivity extrinsically, for example carbon coating, metallic additives and molecular wiring. Nevertheless, energy density of the cells will be reduced because of non-electrochemically active nature of the additives. In principle, electronic and ionic conductivities can be boosted intrinsically. One of the methods is to increase the number of charge carriers in the material, for instance in two-phase solid solution system LiαFePO4/Li1-βFePO4 or single solid solution phase LixFePO4. Since the formation of solid solution has been reported to be size dependent, it is highly desired to know how to synthesize LiFePO4 particles with different sizes. In this study, we have used hydrothermal synthesis and polyol process to control the size of LiMPO4 (M: Fe, Mn, and Co) particles. We will present how we prepare particles with different sizes. Moreover, the solid solution properties of various sizes of LiMPO4 (M: Mn and Fe) were studied. The result will be presented. Part of the preliminary findings have been published in the peer-reviewed journals or conference presentations: 1) Journal of Materials Chemistry [Ellis B.; Kan W. H.; Makahnouk W. R. M.; Nazar L. F. J. Mater. Chem. 2007, 17 (30) 3248., 2) Journal of the American iv Chemical Society [Lee K. T.; Kan W. H.; Nazar L. F. J. Am. Chem. Soc. (submitted)], 3) Material Research Society Meeting [Kan W. H.; Maunders C.; Badi S.; Ellis B.; Botton G.; Nazar L. F. MRS Fall Meeting 2008 in Boston]