Surface chemistry plays a key role in science and technology because materials interact with their environments through their surfaces. Understanding surface chemistry can help alter/improve the properties of materials. However, surface characterization and modification often require multiple characterization and synthesis techniques. Silicon/silica-based materials are technologically important, so studying their surface properties can enable future advancements. In this dissertation, I explore surface modification and characterization of different types of Si/SiO2 thin films, including silicon wafers, fused silica capillary columns, and oblique angle sputtered Si/SiO2 thin films. In Chapters 2-5, I first present a method to rapidly silanize silica surfaces using a gas-phase synthesis that employs a small aminosilane that passivates/deactivates silicon wafers and the inner surfaces of capillary columns. This deposition takes place in a flow-through, atmospheric pressure, gas-phase reactor. This surface modification results in a significant decrease in the number of free surface silanols, which was confirmed by high-sensitivity low energy ion scattering (HS-LEIS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). I then show that this silanization inhibits atomic layer deposition (ALD) of zinc oxide (ZnO), which is an important optical thin film material. Finally, I performed in-depth characterization of thin films of oblique angle deposited porous Si/SiO2. These films have been used as the active coatings in solid phase microextraction (SPME) devices. The characterization and analysis in this study were mainly by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and various computational microstructural characterization techniques, e.g., two-point statistics. The rest of my dissertation focuses on XPS data analysis and interpretation. I first show box plots as a simple graphical tool for determining overfitting in XPS peak fitting. I next present a series of chemometrics/informatics analyses of an XPS image dataset from a patterned silicon surface with different oxide thicknesses. This dataset was probed via an initial, graphical analysis of the data, summary statistics with a focus on pattern recognition entropy (PRE), principal component analysis (PCA), multivariate curve resolution (MCR), and cluster analysis (CA).

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

The rapid increase in the demand on fresh water due the increase in the world population and scarcity of natural water puts more stress on the desalination industrial sector to install more desalination plants around the world. Among these desalination plants, multistage flash desalination process (MSF) is considered to be the most reliable technique of producing potable water from saline water. In recent years, however, the MSF process is confronting many problems to cut off the cost and increase its performance. Among these problems are the non-condensable gases (NCGs) and the accumulation of fouling which they work as heat insulation materials. As a result, the MSF pumps and the heat transfer equipment are overdesigned and consequently increase the capital cost and decrease the performance of the plants. Moreover, improved process control is a cost effective approach to energy conservation and increased process profitability. Thus, this study is motivated by the real absence of detailed kinetic fouling model and implementation of advance process control (APC). To accomplish the above tasks, commercial modelling tools can be utilized to model and simulate MSF process taking into account the NCGs and fouling effect, and optimum control strategy. In this research, gPROMS (general PROcess Modeling System) model builder has been used to develop the MSF process model. First, a dynamic mathematical model of MSF is developed based on the basic laws of mass balance, energy balance and heat transfer. Physical and thermodynamic properties of brine, distillate and water vapour are included to support the model. The model simulation results are validated against actual plant data published in the literature and good agreement with these data is obtained. Second, the design of venting system in MSF plant and the effect of NCGs on the overall heat transfer coefficient (OHTC) are studied. The release rate of NCGs is studied using Henry’s law and the locations of venting points are optimised. The results reveal that high concentration of NCGs heavily affects the OHTC. Furthermore, advance control strategy namely: generic model control (GMC) is designed and introduced to the MSF process to control and track the set points of the two most important variables in the MSF plant; namely the Top Brine Temperature (TBT) which is the output temperature of the brine heater and the Brine Level (BL) in the last stage. The results are compared to conventional Proportional Integral Derivative Controller (PID) and show that GMC controller provides better performance over conventional PID controller to handle a nonlinear system. In addition, a new control strategy called hybrid Fuzzy-GMC is developed and implemented to control the same aforementioned loops. Its results reveal that the new control outperforms the pure GMC in some areas. Finally, a dynamic fouling model is developed and incorporated into the MSF dynamic process model to predict fouling at high temperature and high velocity. The proposed dynamic model considers the attachment and removal mechanisms of calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide with more relaxation of the assumptions. Since the MSF plant stages work as a series of heat exchangers, there is a continuous change of temperature, heat flux and salinity of the seawater. The proposed model predicts the behaviour of fouling based on the physical and thermal conditions of every single stage of the plant.

Dans un effort pour mettre en valeur la pertinence de l’étude du jeu de cartes japonais Yu-Gi-Oh en tant que facteur non négligeable de la construction identitaire de ses joueurs, ce mémoire s’intéresse à l’analyse du rapport qu’entretiennent lesdits joueurs à leur jeu fétiche. Pour ce faire ce travail s’intéresse à trois des spécificités qui caractérisent le jeu de cartes Yu-Gi-Oh à savoir : l’élaboration transmédiatique de sa narration, le caractère décisif des interactions entre ses joueurs ainsi que l’appropriation personnalisée du jeu par les participants. A la croisée de multiples disciplines telles que la psychologie, la ludologie, la narratologie ou encore la sociologie et soutenues par plus deux mois de terrain, les analyses et propos présentés dans ce travail ont également pour objectif d’offrir une plongée aussi immersive qu’enrichissante au sein du milieu socio-culturel des joueurs de Yu-Gi-Oh rappelant du même coup l’importance que peut avoir la pratique ludique pour l’être humain moderne. Enfin, avec ce devoir j’espère pouvoir démontrer que les joueurs de Yu-Gi-Oh ont tendance à se raconter des histoires à propos d’eux-mêmes à partir de leur médium de choix. Les cartes aussi ont une histoire. / In an effort to highlight the relevance of the study of the Japanese card game Yu-Gi-Oh as a significant factor in the « identity building » of its players, this master thesis focuses on the analysis of the relationship between said players to their favorite game. To do this, this work focuses on three of the specificities that characterize the Yu-Gi-Oh card game, namely: the transmedia development of its narration, the decisive nature of the interactions between its players as well as the personalized appropriation of the game by the participants. At the crossroads of multiple disciplines such as psychology, ludology, narratology or sociology and supported by more than two months of fieldwork, the analyzes and remarks presented in this work also aim to offer a dive as immersive as it is enriching within the socio-cultural environment of Yu-Gi-Oh players recalling at the same time the importance that playful practice can hold for the modern man. Finally, with this work i hope to be able to demonstrate that Yu-Gi-Oh players tend to tell stories about themselves from their medium of choice. Cards also have stories to themself.

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Abstract: Monte Carlo simulations were used here to compare the radiation chemistry of pure water and aqueous bromide solutions after irradiation with two different types of radiation, namely, tritium β-electrons (~7.8 keV) and [superscript 60]Co γ-rays/fast electron (~1 MeV) or high energy protons. Bromide ions (Br-) are known to be selective scavengers of hydroxyl radicals •OH precursors of hydrogen peroxide H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2]. These simulations thus allowed us to determine the yields (or G-values) of H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2] in the radiolysis of dilute aqueous bromide solutions by the two types of radiations studied, the first with low linear energy transfer (LET) (~0.3 keV/μm) and the second with high LET (~6 keV/μm) at 25 °C. This study was carried out under a wide range of Br- concentrations both in the presence and the absence of oxygen. Simulations clearly showed that irradiation by tritium β-electrons favored a clear increase in G(H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2]) compared to [superscript 60]Co γ-rays. We found that these changes could be related to differences in the initial spatial distributions of radiolytic species (i.e., the structure of the electron tracks, the low-energy β-electrons of tritium depositing their energy as cylindrical “short tracks” and the energetic Compton electrons produced by γ-radiolysis forming mainly spherical “spurs”). Moreover, simulations also showed that the presence of oxygen, a very good scavenger of hydrated electrons (e-[subscript aq]) and H• atoms on the 10[superscript-7] s time scale (i.e., before the end of spur expansion), protected H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2] from further reactions with these species in the homogeneous stage of radiolysis. This protection against e-[subscript aq] and H• atoms therefore led to an increase in the H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2] yields at long times, as seen experimentally. Finally, for both deaerated and aerated solutions, the H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2] yield in tritium β-radiolysis was found to be more easily suppressed than in the case of cobalt-60 γ-radiolysis, and interpreted by the quantitatively different chemistry between short tracks and spurs. These differences in the scavengeability of H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2] precursors in passing from low-LET [superscript 60]Co γ-ray to high-LET tritium β-electron irradiation were in good agreement with experimental data, thereby lending strong support to the picture of tritium-β radiolysis in terms of short tracks of high local LET. / Résumé: Les simulations Monte Carlo constituent une approche théorique efficace pour étudier la chimie sous rayonnement de l'eau et des solutions aqueuses. Dans ce travail, nous avons utilisé ces simulations pour comparer l’action de deux types de rayonnement, à savoir, le rayonnement γ de [indice supérieur 60]Co (électrons de Compton ~1 Me V) et les électrons β du tritium (~ 7,8 keV), sur la radiolyse de l’eau et des solutions aqueuses diluées de bromure. Les ions Br- sont connus comme d’excellents capteurs des radicaux hydroxyles •OH, précurseurs du peroxyde d’hydrogène H[indice inférieur 2]O[indice inférieur 2]. Les simulations Monte Carlo nous ont donc permis de déterminer les rendements (ou valeurs G) de H[indice inférieur 2]O[indice inférieur 2] à 25 °C pour les deux types de rayonnements étudiés, le premier à faible transfert d'énergie linéaire (TEL) (~0,3 keV/μm) et le second à haut TEL (~6 keV/μm). L’étude a été menée pour différentes concentrations d’ions Br-, à la fois en présence et en absence d'oxygène. Les simulations ont montré que l’irradiation par les électrons β du tritium favorisait nettement la formation de H[indice inférieur 2]O[indice inférieur 2] comparativement aux rayons γ du cobalt. Ces changements ont pu être reliés aux différences qui existent dans les distributions spatiales initiales des espèces radiolytiques (i.e., la structure des trajectoires d'électrons, les électrons β du tritium déposant leur énergie sous forme de «trajectoires courtes» de nature cylindrique, et les électrons Compton produits par la radiolyse γ formant principalement des «grappes» de géométrie plus ou moins sphérique). Les simulations ont montré également que la présence d'oxygène, capteur d’électrons hydratés et d’atomes H• sur l'échelle de temps de ~10[indice supérieur -7] s (i.e., avant la fin des grappes), protégeait H[indice inférieur 2]O[indice inférieur 2] d’éventuelles réactions subséquentes avec ces espèces. Une telle «protection» conduit ainsi à une augmentation de G(H[indice inférieur 2]O[indice inférieur 2]) à temps longs. Enfin, en milieu tant désaéré qu’aéré, les rendements en H[indice inférieur 2]O[indice inférieur 2] obtenus lors de la radiolyse par les électrons β du tritium ont été trouvés plus facilement supprimés que lors de la radiolyse γ. Ces différences dans l’efficacité de capture des précurseurs de H[indice inférieur 2]O[indice inférieur 2] ont été interprétées par les différences quantitatives dans la chimie intervenant dans les trajectoires courtes et les grappes. Un excellent accord a été obtenu avec les données expérimentales existantes.

Zur Messung pyrelektrischer Koeffzienten wurde ein Messplatz nach einem erweiterten SHARP-GARN-Verfahren entwickelt und zur Untersuchung von Phasenumwandlungen in Pyroelektrika eingesetzt. Einerseits konnten pyroelektrische Messungen im elektrischen Feld die Pyroelektrizität einer neuen durch elektrisch angetriebene Defektmigration erzeugten Phase in Strontiumtitanat nachweisen. Andererseits gelang es, Ferroelektrizität in der Hochtemperaturphase von Poly(Vinylidenfluorid-Trifluorethylen), mittels phasenreiner Präparation der Hochtemperaturphase unterhalb der CURIEtemperatur und anschließender Polarisierung, nachzuweisen. Ferner ließen sich mittels thermisch angeregter Pyroelektrika Redoxprozesse antreiben, was durch Desinfektion von Escherichia coli Bakterien in wässriger Lösung mittels Lithiumniobat und -tantalat gezeigt wurde. Die Hypothese der Desinfektion durch reaktive Sauerstoffspezies konnte durch spektroskopisch nachgewiesene OH-Radikale - erzeugt mittels thermisch angeregter Bariumtitanatnanopartikel - belegt werden.

A primary purpose of the study was to articulate the significance of these compositions to the twentieth century repertoire, with special attention given to Dies Natalis, recognized as an outstanding contribution to English music literature. Overviews and specific analyses, with pertinent performance applications and background data, fulfill this purpose and provide information of merit for the programming and performance of Finzi's songs for high male voice.

The subject of this thesis is "Quality management, occupational safety, health and fire protection in construction company". Its task is to introduce the basic rules and requirements of quality management, occupational safety, health and fire protection in construction industry. The second part of the thesis deals with quality management, occupational safety, health and fire protection in construction companies, which are presented and analyzed in detail. These findings are then applied to create methodology of implementing the occupational safety, health and fire protection management system for construction companies.