Os líquidos iônicos, por geralmente apresentar, em sua estrutura, uma cadeia alquílica apolar e uma parte polar, como o cátion imidazólio, podem ser considerados estruturas anfifílicas, e apresentam semelhanças com os tensoativos. Tais estruturas, devido a este caráter anfifílico, podem interagir com estruturas do tipo Lipossomas ou até mesmo com biomoléculas, como a BSA. Neste trabalho, foram sintetizados três líquidos iônicos inéditos, com rendimentos de 52 a 66%, acoplados a sistemas quirais derivados de aminoácidos naturais e de fácil obtenção, como a L-Cisteína, a L-Serina e a L-Treonina. Estes foram caracterizados tanto do ponto de vista estrutural, quanto por suas propriedades fotofísicas. Como procedimento metodológico utilizou-se de ciclocondensação de aminoácidos, esterificação de Steglich e alquilação para inserção de cadeia carbônica ao anel metil-imidazol. Para investigação e confirmação dessas estruturas utilizou-se de estudos de Ressonância Magnética de 1H e de 13C, Infravermelho, além das espectroscopias de absorção na região do UV-Vis e de emissão de fluorescência. Por fim, estes novos líquidos iônicos foram testados com lipossomas e BSA, cujos resultados mostraram boa interação com essas biomoléculas. / Ionic liquids can be considered as amphiphilic structures and have similarities with the surfactants, once they generally have an apolar alkyl chain and a polar moiety, such as the imidazolium cation. Such structures, due to this amphiphilic character, may interact with liposome structures or even with biomolecules, such as BSA. In this work, three new ionic liquids containing chiral systems derived from naturally occurring amino acids, such as L-Cysteine, L-Serine and L-Threonine were synthesized, with yields ranging from 52 to 66%. They were fully characterized both from the structural point of view, and by its photophysical properties. As methodological procedures, amino acid cyclocondensation, Steglich esterification and alkylation were used. In order to investigate and confirm these structures, magnetic resonance studies of 1H and 13C, infrared, as well as absorption spectroscopies in the UV-Vis region and fluorescence emission were used. At last, these new ionic liquids were tested with liposomes and BSA, and the results showed good interaction with these biomolecules.

No fim do século XX cresceu o interesse por materiais com potencial para aplicação na área da nanotecnologia. Um destes materiais é o grafeno (alótropo do carbono da espessura de um átomo), indicado para aplicações que exploram desde propriedades ópticas até mecânicas. Todavia, os métodos de produção estabelecidos até o momento geram normalmente um produto com alto grau de defeitos estruturais. Por isso, o objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver um método mais brando para obtenção de grafeno, por meio do desenrolamento de nanotubos de carbono (NTC) de parede múltipla na presença de líquidos iônicos (LI) (que possuem caráter lubrificante e estabilizador) e adicioná-lo à resina epoxídica para avaliar seu efeito nas propriedades do nanocompósito. A metodologia consistiu em definir a rota a que a mistura NTC:LI (bis(trifluorometanosulfonil)imidato de 1-n-butil-3-metilimidazólio – BMImNTf2), na proporção 1:10, deveria ser submetida e depois avaliar variações para validação do método (alteração de temperatura, solventes – LI BMImCl e tolueno e nanocarga – grafite). As misturas de grafeno-NTC/LI produzidas foram adicionadas na proporção de 0,1% em massa de grafeno-NTC à resina epoxídica. A caracterização das misturas se deu pelas técnicas de microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET), espectroscopia Raman e microscopia de força atômica (AFM), e dos nanocompósitos, também por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), análise termogravimétrica (TGA), calorimetria diferencial exploratória (DSC), infravermelho (IV) análise dinâmico-mecânica (DMA) e ensaios mecânicos. A morfologia observada em MET e AFM evidenciou que a rota em que a mistura permaneceu 3 h em aquecimento e agitação magnética sob vácuo e 3 h sob sonificação resultou em grafeno de algumas camadas. Os resultados de Raman mostraram que foi produzido grafeno de boa qualidade, baseando-se na razão ID/IG. Nos nanocompósitos, confirmou-se que BMImNTf2 mantém as folhas de grafeno abertas. Já com BMImCl a morfologia dos NTC permanece inalterada, mas seu grau de emaranhamento é diminuído pela ação lubrificante deste LI, o que reflete em melhoria na resistência ao impacto. Os NTC sem a presença de um LI de forma geral não conferiram melhoria à matriz polimérica (ex: queda de 35% na dureza). / In the late twentieth century, the interest in materials with potential application in the nanotechnology´s field has increased. One of these materials is graphene (carbon allotrope of a single atom thickness), suitable for applications, which exploit properties such as optical or mechanical. However, the methods developed up to now to obtain graphene usually generate a product with high degree of structural defects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to produce graphene sheets through a milder route of unrolling multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) in ionic liquids (IL; which have a lubricating and stabilizing character) and to add it to an epoxy resin to evaluate its effect on the nanocomposite properties. The methodology consisted of defining the route through which the 1:10 mixture of CNT:IL (1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imidate - BMImNTf2) should be submitted, and then evaluate possible variations for validating the method (change in temperature, solvents - toluene and IL BMImCl and nanofiller - graphite). The produced graphene-CNT/IL mixtures were added at 0.1% by weight of graphene-CNT to epoxy resin. Characterization of the graphene/IL mixtures was done by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the nanocomposites also by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) and mechanical tests. The morphology observed using TEM and AFM showed that the route based on 3 h under heating, stirring and vacuum, followed by 3 h of sonication leads to CNT unrolling. Raman spectra showed that the produced graphene was of good quality, based on the low ID/IG ratio. In the nanocomposites, CNT unrolling was confirmed when IL BMImNTf2 was used, yielding reasonable property improvements. In the case of IL BMImCl, the unrolling of the CNT did not occur, but the lubricant effect of the IL decreased the degree of entanglement, which increased its impact strength. Differently, the non-treated CNT generally reduced the properties of the polymer matrix, e.g. a 35% drop in hardness.

This diploma work is aimed at the basic information about the importance of the drinkable regime especially at elderly people and at the topic of the drinkable regime at seniors in collective facilities in general. The theoretical part contents information about the process of human organism ageing and about the importance of the drinkable regime in senior age. It solves health consequences while the drinkable regime is not being kept sufficiently and it specifies the drinkable regime in senior age during hot and colder periods of the year. In particular chapters there are specified different kinds of water, their elements, particular parts of beverages and their pertinence for the senior population. The practical part analyses the results of the research that was performed by means of anonymous questionnaires in the facilities for seniors and in hospitals for patients under long-term treatment. These questionnaires are aimed at the frequency, amount and the assortment of the consumed beverages in particular periods of the year and it should reveal if the seniors are well informed about the drinkable regime in connection with their health condition. The research has proved that seniors are sufficiently informed about the principles of the drinkable regime but they are often limited by the financial situation or by the level of their self-support.

The first chapter of this thesis introduces the fundamental concepts governing the design and synthesis of supramolecular complexes. By illustrating the synthesis of several coordination cages reported in the literature, the principles underlying the construction of coordination cages by subcomponent self-assembly are elucidated. Ionic liquids are then proposed as solvents for cage systems; general methods for the preparation and synthesis of these solvents are described. The second chapter explores the use of ionic liquids as solvents for existing coordination cages. Potential methods of characterising these cages in ionic liquids are discussed; cages are demonstrated to be stable and capable of encapsulating guests in these ionic environments; and systems in which cages have good solubility in ionic liquids are designed. Building upon these observations, a triphasic sorting system is presented such that each of three different host-guest complexes are soluble in only one of three immiscible liquid phases. In contrast to the static triphasic system described in the second chapter, the third chapter explores directed phase transfer of coordination cages and their cargos from water, across a phase interface, and into an ionic liquid phase. The host-guest complex can then be recycled from the ionic liquid layer back into water after several additional steps. Furthermore, phase transfer of cationic cages is used to separate a mixture of cationic and anionic host-guest complexes. In the fourth chapter, fully reversible phase transfer of coordination cages is developed. Using anion exchange to modulate the solubility of three different cationic cages, reversible transport between water and ethyl acetate is demonstrated. Sequential phase transfer can also be achieved such that, from a mixture of cubic (+16) and tetrahedral (+8) cages, the cubic cage transfers from water to ethyl acetate before the tetrahedral cage. This process is fully reversible; upon the addition of a hydrophilic anion, the tetrahedral cage returns from ethyl acetate to water before the cubic cage.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The synthesis of two 1-methyl-3-alkylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (where alkyl = butyl, octyl; [BMIM]BF4 and [OMIM]BF4) based on room temperature ionic liquids (RTIL) is reported. The usefulness of these ionic liquids in organic synyhesis was evaluated through three reactions such as: (i) preparation of the N,N-dimethylenaminones (RCOCH=CHNMe2, where R = Ph, 4-Me-Ph, 4-F-Ph, 4-Cl-Ph, 4-Br-Ph, 4-O2N-Ph, fur-2-yl, tien-2-yl, pyrrol-2-yl, pyrid-2-yl, CH(OMe)2, octyl) from the condensation reaction of N,Ndimethylformamide dimethyl acetal with methylketones; (ii) preparation of the 6-dimethylamino-1,1,1-trifluoro-4-methoxy-3,5-dien-2-one [CF3COCH=CH(OMe)CH=CHNMe2, from the condensation reaction of N,Ndimethylformamide dimethyl acetal with appropriated 1,1,1-trifluoro-4-methoxy-3-penten-2- one and (iii) N-alkylation reaction of 3,5-dimethyl- and 5-trifluoromethyl-3-methyl-1Hpyrazoles, from the reaction of the N-H pyrazoles with alkyl halides (R1 X, where R1 = Bu, octyl, allyl, benzyl, CH₂CH₂CONEt₂). The reaction time, and the yields were investigated and this method showed advantages over the methods described in the literature. / Neste trabalho é relatado a síntese de dois líquidos iônicos, tetrafluorborato de 1-alquil-3-metil imidazolíneo, com alquil = butil, octil ([BMIM]BF4 and [OMIM]BF4) e sua utilização como meios reacionais. A adequabilidade dos líquidos iônicos foi avaliada em três reações: (i) síntese de N,N-dimetilenaminonas (RCOCH=CHNMe2, com R = Ph, 4-Me-Ph, 4-F-Ph, 4-Cl-Ph, 4-Br-Ph, 4-O2N-Ph, fur-2-il, tien-2-il, pirrol-2-il, pirid-2-il, CH(OMe)2, octil) a partir da reação de condensação N,N-dimetilformamida dimetilacetal com metilcetonas; (ii) síntese de 6-dimetilamino-1,1,1-trifluor-4-metoxi-3,5-dien-2-ona [CF3COCH=CH(OMe)CH=CHNMe2, a partir da reação de condensação de N,Ndimetilformamida dimetilacetal com 1,1,1-trifluor-4-metoxi-3-penten-2-ona e (iii) reação de N-alquilação de 3,5-dimetil- and 5-trifluorometil-3-metil-1H-pirazol, a partir da reação de NH pirazóis com haletos de alquila (R¹ X, com R¹ = Bu, octil, alil, benzil, CH₂CH₂CONEt₂). O tempo reacional e os rendimentos foram avaliados e o método mostrou vantagens em relação aos outros métodos descritos na literatura.

The technology employed by human beings for the generation, storage and usage of energy is presently undergoing the fastest and most profound change since the industrial revolution. The changes in the generation and usage of energy necessitate the development of new methods of energy storage. In these systems, electrochemical energy storage will play a crucial role and to this end new electrolytes need to be explored to complement these changes. One such class of liquids is ionic liquids, a class of salts that are molten at room temperature. These liquids have a broad applicability to batteries and supercapacitors. This thesis details work where molecular dynamics simulations have been used to explore the nanostructure of ionic liquids and their mixtures with various molecular solvents at simplistic electrodes. The thesis has two broad sections. The first is covered in Chapter 3, and explores the nanostructure of ionic liquid propylene carbonate solutions, developing a framework through which these nanostructures can be understood. The section concludes that the increasing dilution of ionic liquids decreases the surface charge at which the characteristic ionic liquid oscillatory interfacial structure gives way to a different structure featuring monotonic charge decay. The behaviour of ionic liquids at interfaces is found to be correlated to ion size and type, as well as concentration. A wide divergence in the observed behaviour is shown at positive and negative electrodes due to the asymmetry of propylene carbonate. The second section, consisting of two chapters, explores the interfacial nanostructure of solvate ionic liquids using two different boundary conditions to model the electrode. This work is the first simulation of solvate ionic liquids at electrified interfaces. This section will explore the effect of electrode model on the behaviour of these ionic liquids at the electrode. Chapter 4 uses a fixed charge electrode, whereas Chapter 5 uses one with a fixed potential. The section concludes that regardless of electrode model, the idealised portrait of a solvate ionic liquid - one where the liquid behaves exactly as an aprotic ionic liquid - is not applicable. In Chapter 4's exploration of fixed charged electrodes, the formation of 2 glyme to lithium complexes contradicts the idealised portrait of the liquid. A different change is observed in Chapter 5's exploration of fixed potential electrodes, with both lithium glyme and lithium anion clusters forming at the interface. The key difference between the two studies is that lithium does not coordinate to the electrode in the fixed charge simulations, while in the fixed potential case it does. At the end of Chapter 5 the results are compared against experimental data, with the efficacy of the two models discussed. The aim of both studies is to look at the nanostructure of ionic liquids, when the symmetry between co-ion and cation repulsion - and related effects - is broken by the presence of a non ionic constituent in the liquid.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemistry / Paul E. Smith / Kirkwood Buff (KB) theory is one of the most important theories of solutions. The theory can relate integrals over radial (pair) distribution functions (rdfs) in the grand canonical ensemble to common thermodynamic properties. An inversion of the KB theory has been proposed by Ben-Naim and this has led to the wide spread popularity of KB theory. The idea of the KB inversion procedure is to calculate KB integrals from available thermodynamic properties. The KB theory can be used to validate the force field (ff) parameters used in molecular dynamics simulations. We have tested a series of small molecule ff parameters using KB theory that consists of both atom centered partial atomic charges and extra charge sites. The results indicate that using extra charge sites, derived from QM calculations, does not necessarily provide a more accurate representation of condensed phase properties. A further study aimed at an ongoing project of deriving new biomolecular ff parameters based on KB theory, has developed ff parameters for esters in order to represent the ester conjugation of the phospholipid molecule. The models were further tested against experimental properties. Preferential solvation (PS) is an important concept of solution mixtures that can be described using KB theory. The difference between local composition and bulk composition in solution mixtures leads to the concept of PS. A generalized explanation based on local mole fractions was derived by Ben-Naim using KB theory. However, the original expressions have been modified over years. Here, we propose a new approach based on local volume fractions to explore PS in binary and ternary solution mixtures. Experimental and simulation data were used to examine different approaches to PS. A relationship between the rdf and the triplet distribution function can be obtained using the Kirkwood Superposition Approximation (KSA). A combination of Fluctuation Solution Theory and experimental rdfs are used to examine the KSA at a series of state points for pure water. The accuracy of several other approximate relationships between the pair and triplet correlation functions was also investigated and are in good agreement for regions of the phase diagram where the compressibility is small.

abstract: This investigation is divided into two portions linked together by the momentous reaches of electrochemistry science, principles influencing everyday phenomena as well as innovative research in the field of energy transformation. The first portion explores the strategies for flue gas carbon dioxide capture and release using electrochemical means. The main focus is in the role thiolates play as reversible strong nucleophiles with the ability to capture CO2 and form thiocarbonates. Carbon dioxide in this form is transported and separated from thiocarbonate through electrochemical oxidation to complete the release portion of this catch-and-release approach. Two testing design systems play a fundamental role in achieving an efficient CO2 catch and release process and were purposely build and adapted for this work. A maximum faradaic efficiency of seventeen percent was attained in the first membrane tests whose analysis is presented in this work. An efficiency close to thirty percent was attained with the membrane cell in recent experiments but have not been included in this manuscript. The second portion of this manuscript studies bulk stress evolution resulting from insertion/extraction of lithium in/from a lithium manganese oxide spinel cathode structure. A cantilever-based testing system uses a sophisticated, high resolution capacitive technique capable of measuring beam deflections of the cathode in the subnanometer scale. Tensile stresses of up to 1.2 MPa are reported during delithiation along with compressive stresses of 1.0 MPa during lithiation. An analysis of irreversible charge loss is attributed to surface passivation phenomena with its associated stresses of formation following patterns of tensile stress evolution. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Materials Science and Engineering 2016

Le SF6 (Hexafluorure de soufre) a été utilisé depuis longtemps comme un gaz d'isolation très adapté pour les appareillages électriques. Cependant, son impact sur le réchauffement climatique, estimé 24000 fois plus actif que le CO2 sur 100 ans, pose le problème de son remplacement à moyen terme. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'étudier deux solutions de remplacement du SF6 : les liquides biodégradables et les mélanges de gaz CF3I/N2. Les deux phénomènes physiques conduisant à un claquage : la génération d'une décharge et sa propagation, ont été étudiés séparément. L'influence des différents paramètres tels que la pression, distance, distribution de champ, teneur en particules ou humidité relative…a été également mise en évidence. La fonction d'isolation est en fin validée dans un maquette disjoncteur moyenne tension qui représente un cas d'application réelle. / SF6 gaz (sulfur hexafluoride) has been widely used as a very suitable insulation material for HV apparatus. However, it is also known as a remarkable green house gas, which Global Warming Potential is 24000 times greater than CO2. Consequently, its utilisation in the electrical industry should be reduced. The aim of this work is to study two alternatives to SF6: biodegradable liquids and CF3I/N2 gas mixtures. The two physical phenomena leading to a breakdown: the generation of a discharge and its propagation have been studied separately. The influence of various parameters such as pressure, distance, field distribution ,particle content and relative humidity ... was also highlighted. The insulation function is then validated in a MV circuit breaker, which represent a real application case.

Face à une croissance effrénée de la demande en indium et aux enjeux à la fois socio-économiques et politiques potentiels qu'il représente, le recyclage de l'indium contenu dans les équipements en fin de vie reste la seule alternative pour remédier à des risques de pénuries. Au-delà des aspects économique et stratégique, le recyclage de l'indium peut permettre de préserver l'environnement en évitant l'exploitation à grande échelle des gisements de minerais contenant l'indium. Par ailleurs, la toxicité de l'indium justifie à elle seule le développement de procédés de traitement de déchets en contenant. Pourtant, la récupération de l'indium à partir de déchets électroniques est actuellement assez peu développée, mis à part au Japon, où plusieurs procédés existent à l'échelle industrielle. Ces procédés sont toutefois peu respectueux de l'environnement et fortement énergivores. Dans ce travail de doctorat, le recyclage de l'indium par extraction liquide/liquide dans un liquide ionique suivie de son électrodéposition in situ nous est apparu comme un procédé prometteur, permettant de s'affranchir de l'étape souvent difficile de dés-extraction du cation métallique. Parmi les liquides ioniques que nous avons synthétisés et caractérisés, en termes de structure et de propriétés physico-chimiques, le bis(trifluorométhylsulfonyl) amidure de 1-butyl-1-éthylpipéridinium (BEPipNTf2) s'est avéré le plus adapté du fait de sa bonne stabilité cathodique, de sa faible viscosité, de son caractère hydrophobe et peu hygroscopique. Nous avons montré qu'en synergie avec l'oxyde de trioctylphosphine (TOPO) comme extractant, il est possible d'extraire plus de 90% de l'indium contenu dans une phase aqueuse 10-2 M en HCl. Le système électrochimique In(III)/In(0) dans le BEPipNTf2 a alors été étudié en présence de chlorures, d'eau, d'oxygène et de TOPO, espèces présentes à l'issue de l'étape d'extraction liquide/liquide de l'In(III). Une étude détaillée de l'influence des ions chlorures a notamment été réalisée, mettant en évidence la formation de chlorocomplexes d'indium lors de l'application d'un potentiel cathodique de réduction de l'In(III), ce qui modifie considérablement les caractéristiques électrochimiques du système In(III)/In(0). Les résultats obtenus montrent qu'il est possible d'électrodéposer de l'In(III) sous sa forme métallique dans le domaine de stabilité électrochimique du liquide ionique, et ceci de façon non réversible en présence de TOPO, dont l'électroactivité dans le domaine de potentiel correspondant porte néanmoins à croire que la réduction pourrait entraîner la présence d'impuretés organiques dans le dépôt d'indium et limiter la quantité de métal déposée. / Faced with explosive growth in demand for indium and, faced with challenges to both socio-economic and political potential it represents, the recycling of indium content in the equipments of end of life remains the only alternative to address risk of shortages. Beyond the economic and strategic aspects, recycling of indium can help preserving the environment by preventing large-scale exploitation of mineral ores containing indium. In addition, the toxicity of indium alone justifies the development of methods for treating waste containing indium. However, the recovery of indium from electronic waste is currently fairly limited, except in Japan where there are several processes at an industrial scale. However, these processes are not environmentally friendly and are energy-intensive In this PhD work, recycling of indium by liquid / liquid extraction in an ionic liquid followed by its electrodeposition in situ appeared to us as a promising process, to overcome the often difficult step of de-extraction of the metal cation. Among the ionic liquids that we have synthesized and characterized in terms of structure and of physicochemical properties, 1-butyl-1-ethylpiperidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (BEPipNTf2) has been shown most suitable because of its cathodic stability, its low viscosity, its hydrophobic and weakly hygroscopic character. We have shown that in synergy with the trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) as extractant, it is possible to extract more than 90% of the indium contained in a 10-2 M HCl aqueous phase. The electrochemical system In(III)/In(0) in the BEPipNTf2 was then studied in the presence of chlorides, of water, of oxygen and of TOPO, which are the species present after the liquid/liquid extraction step of the In(IIII). A detailed study of the influence of chloride ions has been particularly carried out, highlighting the formation of chlorocomplexes of indium when applying a cathodic potential of reduction of In(III), which significantly changes the electrochemical characteristics of the system In(III)/In(0), The results obtained show that indium (III) can be electrodeposited in its metallic form in the range of electrochemical stability of the ionic liquid and that this is non-reversible in presence of TOPO, whose electroactivity in the corresponding potential range suggests that the reduction could result in the presence of organic impurities in the deposition of indium and could limit the amount of metal deposited.