Li-ion batteries have enabled the widespread adoption of portable electronics and are becoming the technology of choice for electric vehicles and grid storage. One of the most promising ways to accommodate this demand is to increase the energy density and cycle life of battery electrode materials. Key strategies promoted in the literature include the use of nickel-rich cathodes as well as high-capacity anodes like silicon and lithium metal. While these materials enable a high energy density, this advantage is often counterbalanced with deficits such as poor stability and high cost. Multicomponent electrodes refer to strategies that try to leverage the relative advantages of different materials to offer an attractive compromise of energy density, cost, and cycle life. This thesis has investigated various aspects of multicomponent electrodes with a special emphasis on silicon-based anodes and high-entropy materials. Silicon (Si) is the second-most abundant element on earth and has one of the highest gravimetric capacities. However, silicon anodes are notorious for their poor cycle stability. Herein, improvements in the stability of silicon-based electrodes are achieved with multicomponent composite strategies involving the use of nanostructured spherical silicon. The nanosilicon is studied in high-fraction (80 wt% Si) and low-fraction (≤20 wt% Si) formulations to investigate both failure mechanisms and practical capacity retention, respectively. Composite strategies in which nanosilicon is encapsulated within a Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ ceramic or MOF-derived carbon matrix are shown to deliver superior capacity retention compared to simple composites of silicon and graphite. Considerable attention is given to the selection of a water-soluble binder and its role in electrochemical stability and electrode cohesion in high-loading silicon electrodes. It is found that unmodified high-molecular-weight sodium carboxymethyl cellulose offers better capacity retention compared to xanthan gum or low-molecular-weight binders. The high-entropy design strategy has created a diverse and largely unexplored set of multicomponent oxides and alloys with great potential as electrode materials. This strategy is applied to the family of layered cathodes, where the synthesis and electrochemical properties of the best-performing Li(NiCoMnTiFe)₁O₂ are reported. Despite the low Ni content, the cathode delivers a high initial capacity with unique overlithiation stability despite being charged to 4.4 V. Throughout the thesis, Operando XRD is used to reveal important insight into the lithiation mechanisms of the multicomponent electrodes including intercalation-based graphite, alloying-based silicon, and a novel organic azaacene.

In many catalytic systems, the activity and selectivity of supported metal catalysts or extended metal surface catalysts would be affected by the metal surface structure, and this phenomenon is called structure sensitivity. Generally, structure sensitivity is led by the change of geometric and electronic properties of the metal on the surface. The variation of metal nuclearity and metal-support interactions are effective ways to change the geometric and electronic properties of the supported metal catalyst, leading to different types of the active sites exposing on the support that would take effect on catalyzing the reaction. In this work, a series of supported Ir catalysts (on MgAl2O4 and SiO2) with different particle sizes less than 3 nm were utilized for hydrogenolysis of n-butane and ethane to study the structure sensitivity as well as the potential reaction pathways. The results indicate that the activity of n-butane hydrogenolysis increases as Ir particle size increases in the small particle size range (0.7–1.4 nm) and then drops when the Ir particle size further increases and the Ir single atoms might be inactive for hydrogenolysis after the post-reaction analysis. The selectivity of n-butane hydrogenolysis is dominated by central and one terminal C–C bond cleavage on the n-butane molecules at low temperature range. The selectivity to central C–C bond cleavage is highly dependent on the size of Ir and increases with a decrease in particle size down to ~1.4 nm but remains constant with further decrease in size. The hydrogenolysis of ethane shows a similar trend in the small size range but the activity is much lower than n-butane, which supports the low level of series reaction pathway in the case of n-butane hydrogenolysis. In addition to Ir nuclearity, the effect of electronic properties was also studied on another series of Ir catalysts supported on ZnAl2O4, in which zinc replace the magnesium within the same spinel structure. The characterization results including HAADF-STEM and volumetric CO chemisorption show the difference of Ir nuclearity in the subnanometer regime and nanoparticles (~1.4 nm), while XPS and DRIFTS indicate the difference of electronic properties from metal-support interaction on the two Ir catalysts with the same nuclearity but reduced at different temperatures. Acetylene hydrogenation is structure sensitive on Ir/ZnAl2O4 catalysts and the activity and selectivity are mainly determined by Ir nuclearity instead of the difference in electronic properties. The Ir single atoms and subnanometer clusters are more selective to the target product of C2H4 but less active than large Ir nanoparticles as there might be more π-bonded adsorption than di-σ bonded adsorption for C2H2 on the Ir single atoms and subnanometer clusters. / Doctor of Philosophy / The supported metal catalyst is a kind of effective substance that could help increase the reaction rate when being properly utilized in the reaction. From the industry point of view, the best thing is to maximize the catalyst productivity and minimize the expense so that the economic benefit could be magnified. The catalyst effectiveness in a certain reaction might be different when the surface structure of the catalyst varies. Usually, only the fraction of the surface metals could take effect. As the particle size of the catalyst decreases, the fraction of the surface atoms that contain active sites drastically changes, leading to a different catalytic performance and probably lower cost with improved efficiency for metal utilization. Therefore, it is very significant for the researchers to study the reaction structure sensitivity on the same series of catalysts with different particle sizes. Also, by understanding the reaction mechanism and fundamentals of the catalytic system, it would be possible for the researchers to rationally design the catalysts aiming at higher efficiency and lower cost. In this work, the reaction of hydrogenolysis that cleaves the C–C bonds within the alkanes molecules was studied on the supported Ir catalysts (Ir/MgAl2O4 and Ir/SiO2) with different particle sizes ranging from mostly single atoms, subnanometer clusters to nanoparticles. For n-butane hydrogenolysis, it is found that the selectivity to the target product of ethane is weakly dependent on particle size when smaller than 1.4 nm but decreases as the size further increases. Meantime, the activity is highest on the catalyst with surface-average particle size of 1.4 nm. Therefore, Ir size of ~1.4 nm is optimum for activity and selectivity to ethane. The series of Ir/ZnAl2O4 catalysts was tested for structure sensitivity by another probe reaction, semi-hydrogenation of acetylene. The adsorbed acetylene molecules could be hydrogenated by adding two hydrogen to form the adsorbed ethylene before desorption or further hydrogenation to form ethane. Our results show the Ir single atoms and subnanometer clusters are more selective to the target product of ethylene but less active than the large nanoparticles. With the understanding of structure sensitivity, researchers are able to rationally design the catalysts based on their necessity for certain reactions.

Ce travail de thèse a consisté en l’étude de catalyseurs ultradispersés, composés de clusters nanométriques ou d’atomes isolés (single-atom catalysts, SACs) de métal, une nouvelle classe de catalyseurs faisant actuellement l’objet d’un engouement mondial. Les systèmes Pt/?-Al2O3 et Pt/TiO2 ont été préparés, caractérisés et testés en oxydation de CO et photogénération d’hydrogène, respectivement. Plusieurs méthodes d’imprégnation et de traitement thermique ont été comparées, notamment grâce à l’analyse de la dispersion du platine par microscopie électronique en transmission à balayage (STEM). Pour la préparation de SACs, notre choix s’est finalement porté sur l’imprégnation à humidité naissante d’une faible charge de précurseur Pt(NH3)4(NO3)2, suivie d’une calcination à l’air. L’étude des performances catalytiques et de l’évolution structurale des catalyseurs au cours des réactions a permis de montrer que les atomes isolés (cations) de platine étaient moins actifs que les clusters (réduits) pour les deux systèmes catalytiques étudiés. Dans le cas de Pt/?-Al2O3, des suivis par spectroscopie d’absorption X (XAS) operando en rayonnement synchrotron, spectroscopie infrarouge par réflexion diffuse (DRIFTS) operando et microscopie environnementale (E-STEM) ont montré la formation et la déstabilisation des SACs, cette dernière étant toutefois moindre en conditions oxydantes. En effet, l’oxygène stabilise le platine isolé via la formation de plusieurs liaisons Pt-O-Al comme montré par modélisation DFT, alors que la présence d’un composé réducteur (CO, H2) conduit à la formation de clusters, mobiles sur leur support. Ce travail met en évidence les limites possibles concernant la stabilisation et la mise en œuvre des SACs dans des réactions catalytiques impliquant des conditions réductrices / This PhD work is focused on the study of ultradispersed catalysts, composed of nanometer-sized clusters or isolated atoms (single-atom catalysts, SACs) of metal, a new class of catalysts which are currently the object of worldwide interest. The Pt/?-Al2O3 and Pt/TiO2 systems were prepared, characterized and evaluated for CO oxidation and hydrogen photogeneration, respectively.Several methods of impregnation and thermal treatment were compared, in particular through platinum dispersion analysis using scanning electron microscopy (STEM). For the preparation of SACs, our choice finally turned to the incipient wetness impregnation of Pt(NH3)4(NO3)2 precursor at low loading, followed by calcination in air.For the two catalytic systems of interest, the study of the performances and the structural evolution of the catalysts during the reactions shows that isolated Pt atoms (cations) are less active than their (reduced) cluster counterparts.In the case of Pt/?-Al2O3, operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) using synchrotron radiation, operando diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS), and environmental microscopy (E-STEM) allowed us to monitor the SAC formation and destabilization, the latter being however limited in oxidizing conditions. Indeed, the presence of oxygen stabilizes single Pt atoms via the formation of several Pt-O-Al bonds as shown by DFT modeling, whereas the presence of a reducing compound (CO, H2) leads to the formation of Pt clusters, mobile on their support.This work highlights the possible limitations in the stabilization and implementation of SACs for catalytic reactions involving reducing conditions

L’utilisation de sulfure de lithium (Li2S), homologue lithié du soufre, en tant que matériau actif d’électrode positive permet le développement de systèmes à haute densité d’énergie plus sûrs, sans lithium métallique en tant qu’électrode négative. Appelés accumulateurs Lithium-ion/Soufre, leur mécanisme de fonctionnement, complexe et mal compris, reste semblable à celui des accumulateurs Li/S à l’exception de la 1ère charge. Cette 1ère charge présente une forte polarisation et très peu reproductible. L’objectif principal de ces travaux de thèse a donc été dédié à la compréhension des mécanismes mis en jeu lors de la charge initiale d’un accumulateur Li-ion/Soufre et en particulier l’étude de l’influence de la taille des cristallites du matériau pristine Li2S sur le mécanisme électrochimique. Il a été mis en évidence, dans un premier temps, la forte réactivité du Li2S nanométrique avec le liant polymère conventionnel PVdF (Polyfluorure de Vinylidène) conduisant au développement d’une nouvelle formulation d’électrode à base de PEO (Polyoxyde d’éthylène). Les résultats électrochimiques ont montré que la diminution de la taille des cristallites couplée à l’augmentation de la surface BET permet d’abaisser drastiquement la polarisation de la 1ère charge. Des caractérisations operando, de Diffraction des Rayons X (DRX) et Diffusion Inélastique Résonante des rayons X (RIXS), ont permis d’interpréter le rôle de la taille des cristallites et de la surface BET. Les résultats DRX ont montré une coexistence du Li2S et du β-S8 tout au long de la charge du Li2S micrométrique, tandis qu’aucun intermédiaire polysulfure soluble n’a été détecté par RIXS. Ces résultats sous-entendent donc une possible conversion solide/solide directe (Li2S micrométrique-->S8). A l’inverse, un comportement classique (Li2S-->Polysulfure solubles-->S8) a été observé à partir d’un matériau Li2S nanométrique avec l’existence successive des deux phases solides et la présence de polysulfures en solution. / Using Li2S instead of S8 as active material allows metallic lithium free batteries, also called Lithium-ion/Sulfur batteries, to be developed and safer systems with high energy density to be designed. The main difference between S8 and Li2S-based systems lies in the first charge. Indeed, during this first charge, a high polarization occurs with lack of reproducibility. Then, the main goal of this work is to focus on the analysis and understanding of the Li2S particle size impact on the electrochemical mechanism during the first charge of a Li-ion/Sulfur battery. Three Li2S types have been studied in this work: two nanometric Li2S and a micrometric one. Firstly, classical PVdF (polyvinylidenefluoride) binder was demonstrated to be highly reactive with nanometric Li2S leading to a new formulation based on PEO (polyethylene oxide) to be developed. Electrochemical investigations confirmed that starting with Li2S nanoparticles can effectively suppress the overall charge polarization. To go deeper, operando characterizations such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS) have been carried out in order to correlate the particle size and the BET surface area effects. XRD results show that Li2S and β-sulfur phases coexist almost all along the first charge when starting with micrometric Li2S, while no polysulfides are detected by RIXS analysis. Therefore, a solid/solid (micrometric Li2S-->S8) reaction is suggested when using micrometric Li2S. On the opposite, when starting with nanometric Li2S particles, a very classical behavior (Li2S-->Polysulfides in solution-->S8) is obtained with the successive existence of the two solid phases with polysulfides in solution.

Deux types de catalyseurs à base d'oxyde de molybdène ou de vanadium supporté sur silice, actuellement les plus performants en oxydation sélective du méthane en formaldéhyde, ont été étudiés et développés dans l'optique d'une application industrielle. Une évaluation économique a permis de déterminer les performances catalytiques à atteindre pour que ce procédé de conversion directe devienne économiquement attractif par rapport au procédé industriel actuel de production du formaldéhyde en trois étapes. <br />Les catalyseurs ont été préparés et testés. Plusieurs voies d'amélioration de leurs performances catalytiques ont été étudiées. Différentes techniques (TRP, RPE, spectroscopies Raman, IR, XANES ...) et une étude spectroscopique en conditions operando ont été mises en œuvre pour caractériser la structure du catalyseur et la nature des sites catalytiques. Un mécanisme réactionnel a été proposé pour le catalyseur VOx/SiO2, faisant intervenir des espèces vanadium avec une activation du méthane sur des ions O- résultant d'un transfert électronique avec le vanadium.

Dans ce travail, l'oxydation totale du toluène et de la butanone sur des catalyseurs à base d'or et de palladium supportés sur un oxyde de titane macro-mésoporeux a été étudiée. Nous avons tout d'abord discuté l'effet bénéfique du dopage (V, Nb, Fe, Ce, Ni) du support TiO₂ macro-mésoporeux sur l'activité catalytique de ce matériau. Une interaction existant entre le dopant et le support a joué un rôle important dans l'augmentation de l'activité des matériaux dopés par rapport à celle du titane pure. Une phase active constituée d'or et/ou de palladium a été ensuite déposée sur les solides dopés et la performance des catalyseurs préparés a été suivie dans l'oxydation du toluène et de la butanone. La présence de la phase active a assuré une sélectivité totale pour le CO₂ avec la formation de sous-produits en particulier dans l'oxydation de la butanone. Par ailleurs, l'oxydation du mélange des deux COVs a montré l'existence d'une compétition entre les molécules en terme d'adsorption sur le support, ce qui a favorisé leur éliminationà de basses températures. Une étude operando DRIFT réalisée dans l'oxydation du mélange toluène/butanone a vérifié la présence de cette compétition.

Non-aqueous metal-air (Li-O2 and Na-O2) batteries have been emerging as one of the most promising high-energy storage systems to meet the requirements for demanding applications due to their high theoretical specific energy. In the present thesis work, advanced characterization techniques are demonstrated for the exploration of metal-O2 batteries. Prominently, the electrochemical reactions occurring within the Li-O2 and Na-O2 batteries upon cycling are studied by in operando powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). In the first part, a new in operando cell with a combined form of coin cell and pouch cell is designed. In operando synchrotron radiation powder X-ray diffraction (SR-PXD) is applied to investigate the evolution of Li2O2 inside the Li-O2 cells with carbon and Ru-TiC cathodes. By quantitatively tracking the Li2O2 evolution, a two-step process during growth and oxidation is observed. This newly developed analysis technique is further applied to the Na-O2 battery system. The formation of NaO2 and the influence of the electrolyte salt are followed quantitatively by in operando SR-PXD. The results indicate that the discharge capacity of Na-O2 cells containing a weak solvating ether solvent depends heavily on the choice of the conducting salt anion, which also has impact on the growth of NaO2 particles. In addition, the stability of the discharge product in Na-O2 cells is studied. Using both ex situ and in operando XRD, the influence of sodium anode, solvent, salt and oxygen on the stability of NaO2 are quantitatively identified. These findings bring new insights into the understanding of conflicting observations of different discharge products in previous studies. In the last part, a binder-free graphene based cathode concept is developed for Li-O2 cells. The formation of discharge products and their decomposition upon charge, as well as different morphologies of the discharge products on the electrode, are demonstrated. Moreover, considering the instability of carbon based cathode materials, a new type of titanium carbide on carbon cloth cathode is designed and fabricated. With a surface modification by loading Ru nanoparticles, the titanium carbide shows enhanced oxygen reduction/evolution activity and stability. Compared with the carbon based cathode materials, titanium carbide demonstrated a higher discharge and charge efficiency.

Prussian blue (PB) and Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are compounds with potential applications in a large variety of fields such as gas storage, poison antidotes, electrochromism, electrochemistry and molecular magnets. The compounds are easy to synthesize, cheap, environmentally friendly and have been pursued for both fundamental research and industrial purposes. Despite the multifunctionality of PB and PBAs, they have complicated compositions, which are largely dependent on the synthesis methods and storage conditions. Thus, performing investigations on such compounds with defined composition, stoichiometry and crystal structure is essential. This thesis has focused on synthesis and detailed structure characterization of copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) via X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), neutron powder diffraction (NPD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Mössbauer spectroscopy, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), infrared (IR) and Raman techniques. In addition, kinetics of thermal dehydration process, CO2 adsorption and CO2 adsorption kinetics were investigated. Moreover, in operando synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments were performed to gain insight into the structure-electrochemistry relationships in an aqueous CuHCF/Zn battery during operation. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

Rechargeable batteries have already conquered the market of portable electronics (i.e., mobile phones and laptops) and are set to further enable the large-scale deployment of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles in a not too distant future. In this context, a deeper understanding of the fundamental processes governing the electrochemical behavior of electrode materials for batteries is required for further development of these applications. The aims of the work described in this thesis have been to investigate how electrochemical properties and structural properties of novel electrode materials relate to each other. In this sense, electrochemical characterization, structural analysis using XRD and their combined simultaneous use via in operando XRD experiments have played a crucial part. The investigations showed that: Two oxohalides, Ni3Sb4O6F6 and Mn2Sb3O6Cl, react with Li-ions in a complex manner involving different types of reaction mechanisms at low voltages in Li half cells. In operando XRD show that both of these materials are reduced in a conversion reaction via an in situ formation of nanocomposites, which proceed to react reversibly with Li-ions in a combination of alloying and conversion reactions. Carbon-coated Na2Mn2Si2O7 was synthesized and characterized as a possible positive electrode material for non-aqueous Na-ion batteries. DFT calculations point to a structural origin of the modest electrochemical behavior of this material. It is suggested that structural rearrangements upon desodiation are associated with large overpotentials. It is demonstrated via an in operando synchrotron XRD study that Fe(CN)6 vacancies in copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) play an important role in the electrochemical behavior toward Zn2+ in an aqueous CuHCF/Zn cell. Furthermore, manganese hexacyanomanganate (MnHCM) is shown to react reversibly with Li+, Na+ and K+ in non-aqueous alkali metal half cells. In contrast to CuHCF, which is a zero-strain material, MnHCM undergoes a series of structural transitions (from monoclinic to cubic) during electrochemical cycling.

No description available.