Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-180). Also available in electronic version.

Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on June 28, 2010). A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta. Includes bibliographical references.

Submitted in fulfillment of the academic requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2018. / Overdependence on fossil-based fuels and their effect on environment is a global concern by energy stake holders. Bulk of present day hydrogen comes from gasification of coal, steam reforming and partial oxidation of hydrocarbons. Steam reforming accounts for over 50% of world hydrogen production despite producing carbonaceous gases which are harmful to the environment and poisonous to both; proton exchange fuel cells and alkaline fuel cells. Natural gas is a preferred feed for hydrogen production, because it is abundantly available on earth. Catalytic decomposition of ammonia can produce clean hydrogen but ammonia itself is an air pollutant. Catalytic decomposition of methane into carbon and hydrogen is an attractive option to producing clean hydrogen because its products are carbon and hydrogen. In this work, five different catalysts comprising of varying quantities of nickel and lithium, supported on calcium oxide were synthesized by incipient wetness impregnation method and designated according to weight % as; 30%Ni/CaO, 37.5%Ni-12.5%Li/CaO, 25.0%Ni- 25.0%Li/CaO, 12.5%Ni-37.5%Li/CaO and 50%Li/CaO. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by (XRD, SEM, BET and TEM) and tested for methane decomposition. From the XRD patterns of the synthesized catalysts, distinct crystalline phases of CaO and NiO were positively identified in 50%Ni/CaO according to their reference JCPDS files. Introduction of Lithium hydroxides improved the crystalline structure of the Ni/CaO catalyst. SEM analyses of the catalyst material using Image-J software confirmed that all catalyst materials were nanoparticles ranging from 3.09-6.56nm. BET results confirmed that, all the catalysts are mesoporous with pore sizes ranging from 20.1nm to 45.3nm. Introduction of LiOH to Ni/CaO generates mesoporous structures by destructing the lattices of the CaO structure during the formation of Ni-Li/CaO species. Particle size distribution in TEM analyses revealed that, a higher nickel loading in the catalyst favours the formation of carbon nanotubes while higher lithium hydroxide loading favours the formation of carbon fibres (CF). Low yield of carbon fibres from methane decomposition on unsupported Ni catalyst in 50%Ni/CaO was attributed to the presence of large Ni particles with low index planes which were incapable of dissociating the unreactive methane molecule. The aim of this work was to synthesize a catalyst for use in decomposition of methane into carbon and hydrogen, that addresses drawbacks of traditional solid metal catalysts such as sintering and coking. From the experimental results, 37.5%Ni-12.5%Li/CaO catalyst recorded 65.7% methane conversion and 38.3%hydrogen yield while 50%Ni/CaO recorded the lowest methane conversion of 60.2% and a hydrogen yield of 35.7% at 650℃. Outstanding performance of the 37.5%Ni-12.5%Li/CaO catalyst is attributed to the incorporation of lithium hydroxide which provided more catalyst active sites and a molten environment for proper dispersion of the nickel metal. The solid 50%Ni/CaO catalyst readily deactivated due to coking unlike the supported molten 37.5%Ni-12.5%Li/CaO catalyst in which methane decomposition reaction took place by both surface reaction and chemisorption. / M

xx, 204 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Efforts toward developing improved methods of synthesizing acrylamides are ongoing. Several homogeneous organometallic and coordination complexes have proven useful in catalytic acrylonitrile hydration; however, none of these complexes have been tested in the hydration of cyanohydrins used to synthesize substituted acrylamides. This dissertation describes the reactivity of molybdocene and Pt phosphinito nitrile hydration catalysts toward cyanohydrin substrates and the effect of Cp ring substituents on aqueous molybdocene chemistry. Chapter I identifies the motivation for developing a transition metal-catalyzed process for cyanohydrin hydration and the strategy used to improve on the reactivity of molybdocene catalysts. Chapter II reports the effect of cyclopentadienyl ring substituents on the electronic and geometric structure, solution behavior, and hydrolytic activity of molybdocenes. To examine the effect of Cp ring substituents, ansa -molybdocenes containing the fragment {C 2 Me 4 (C 5 H 4 ) 2 }Mo 2+ were compared to non-bridged molybdocenes containing (C 5 H 5 ) 2 Mo 2+ and (C 5 H 4 Me) 2 Mo 2+ . Addition of a tetramethylethylene-bridge decreases the electron density on the Mo center and exerts a small effect on the structure of the metallocene. However, the catalytic activity of the molybdocene catalysts is unchanged or slowed because of counteractive effects on the bound nucleophile and electrophile. Although adding substituents to the Cp rings did not change the catalytic activity of the molybdocene, the substituents led to significant changes in the equilibrium behavior. The equilibria have practical consequences that warrant investigation. Chapters III and IV chronicle the effect of Cp ring substituents on the monomer-dimer equilibria and the acidity of the molybdocene complexes, respectively. Interestingly, the monomer-dimer equilibrium established by ansa -{C 2 Me 4 (C 5 H 4 ) 2 }Mo(OH)(OH 2 ) + exhibits a strong solvent dependence. New equilibrium schemes are reported for the ansa and non- ansa complexes. Chapter V describes the reactivity of the molybdocene and Pt phosphinito catalysts toward cyanohydrins. Both catalysts gave unsatisfactory results; however, the à à à à à ±-hydroxy substituent of cyanohydrins facilitates nitrile hydration. The low reactivity exhibited by these systems was due to liberation of hydrogen cyanide from the cyanohydrin leading to acute poisoning of either catalyst. As discussed in Chapter VI, this study will expedite the innovation of new catalysts that are better suited to overcome the challenges associated with cyanohydrin hydration. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished co-authored material. / Adviser: David R. Tyler

Gold has emerged as valuable tool for chemists. The physico-chemical properties of the metal centre make it exceptionally prone to activate multiple bonds, such as alkynes and alkenes. Thus, its utility in catalysis has been exploited together with the synthesis of suitable catalysts to allow new, efficient transformations, and the understanding of their intrinsic mechanisms. Reported in this thesis are efforts to this goal, such as the design and study of new Au(I) and Au(III) complexes towards functionalisation of alkynes. The development of new catalytic systems is tackled in Chapter 2. An efficient method for the intermolecular hydrocarboxylation of alkynes catalysed by dinuclear Au-NHC species to access diverse vinyl esters in excellent yield and stereoselectivity is described. The successful methodology is followed by the straightforward intramolecular hydrocarboxylation of alkynoic acids to allow the stereoselective and regioselective synthesis of γ-, δ- and ε-lactones in high yield. Initial mechanistic studies into the hydrocarboxylation of alkynes are shown in Chapter 3. The discovery and characterisation of novel dinuclear gold carboxylates species is described, and their role in the catalytic inter- and intramolecular process is investigated. Chapter 4 highlights the synthesis of novel Au complexes bearing chiral isothiourea ligands. Neutral and heteroleptic Au(I) and Au(III) species are obtained in excellent yield, and their solution and solid-state behaviour studied, together with their electronic and steric properties. Further testing towards activation and functionalisation of alkynes and propargylic derivatives are shown. Dual catalytic processes involving Au and isothiourea catalysts are presented in Chapter 5. Attempts towards Lewis acid/Lewis base activation of multiple bond derivatives and activated esters towards the formation of new C-C bonds is described. The synthesis of organogold compounds, bearing NHC ligands, is described in Chapter 6. Through deprotonation of C(sp3 )-H bonds, a series of stable gold(I) complexes was synthesised and found to be suitable synthons to different gold species. Finally, the redox chemistry of organogold species is explored.

Orientador: Elizabete Jordão, Wagner Alves Carvalho / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T00:25:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MartinezJorrin_Michael_M.pdf: 2708172 bytes, checksum: faa00379224d0c77aa738becd7bd1615 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Foram avaliados os catalisadores de Ru suportados em Nióbia, Sílica e Alumina na Hidrogenólise seletiva de Glicerol para a obtenção de propanodióis (1,2 e 1,3 - Propanodiol). O método de preparação utilizado para os três catalisadores foi o de impregnação úmida partindo-se de uma solução aquosa do sal precursor RuCl3.1,37H2O cuja porcentagem em peso do metal ativo foi de 2%. Os catalisadores foram caracterizados pelo método da Área Superficial Específica (método de B.E.T) e Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (M.E. V) com EDX. O maior valor de área superficial específica foi alcançado pelo catalisador de Ru/SiO2 seguido pelo catalisador de Ru/Al2O3, mas isto não foi o fator determinante para escolha do melhor sistema catalítico em termos de seletividade para o 1,2-propanodiol e conversão de substrato. A reação de hidrogenólise foi conduzida em um reator Parr, em atmosfera de H2 a qual foi avaliada ás temperaturas de 120°C, 140°C e 200°C, pressão de 50 bar, 0,75 g do catalisador e uma solução aquosa de glicerol de 0,2 g/mL, durante 6 h. Foram ainda realizados testes exploratórios variando a pressão (30 bar) e a quantidade de catalisador( 1,5 g), para avaliar a sua influência. Os resultados dos testes cinéticos mostraram que com os catalisadores utilizados ocorrem reações de degradação envolvendo a ruptura de ligações C-C e conseqüente formação de produtos tais como etilenoglicol, propanol, e outros em menores quantidades tais como metanol, etanol, e metanos que não puderam ser identificados pelas técnicas analíticas utilizadas neste trabalho. O melhor desempenho foi alcançado pelo sistema catalítico Ru/Al2O3(1,5 g) com 97% de seletividade para 1,2-propanodiol e conversão de substrato de 52% à temperatura de 120ºC e pressão de 50 bar de H2 em presença de uma resina de troca iônica (Amberlyst15). Isto pode estar associado à acidez do meio proporcionada pela combinação do suporte (Al2O3) e o aditivo utilizado / Abstract: Ru/SiO2, Ru/Nb2O5 and Ru/Al2O3 catalysts were applied to the hydrogenolysis of glycerol to propanediols( 1,2 and 1,3PD). They were prepared by wet impregnation with an aqueous solution containing RuCl3.1,37H2O. The Ruthenium catalysts were loading in the range of 0,2% wt supported on silica, niobium and alumin oxide and characterized by transmission electronic microscopy(TEM-EDX) and the BET method (N2 adsorption). The Ru/SiO2 catalyst showed the higher specific surface area. Moreover, the test activity revealed that it wasn't the main factor to chose the best catalyst performance. Hydrogenolysis of glycerol was carried out in a high pressure Parr reactor. The standard procedure was as follows, the substrate, 100 mL 20wt% glycerol aqueous solution, and 0,75 g supported catalyst were used in every run. The reaction conditions were 120ºC, 140ºC and 200ºC, 50 bar hydrogen pressure and 6 h reaction time. The effect of hydrogen pressure and the catalyst weight were studied at constant reaction temperature of 120ºC, and were varied to 30 bar and 1,5 g of catalyst respectively. The reaction results indicated that Ru/Al2O3 showed higher performance (with a 97% selectivity of 1,2 PD at 52% conversion ) at reaction temperature of 120ºC, 50 bar hydrogen pressure with the use of ion-exchange resin (Amberlyst15). This may be due to the acidity produced by combination of the support (Al2O3) and the additive used. The kinetic test results showed that catalysts used promoted degradation reactions involving C-C bonds cleavage, which led to degradative products such as ethylene glycol, propanol, and others in smaller quantities such as methanol, ethanol, and methane which were impossible to indentify by the analytical techniques used in this work / Mestrado / Sistemas de Processos Quimicos e Informatica / Mestre em Engenharia Química