In the first part of this dissertation, poly(methylsilyne) was produced both in small and large-scales. In the small-scale, the aim was to synthesize the polymer by electrochemical polymerization of methyltrichlorosilane at a constant potential of -6 V supplied by batteries, using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the supporting electrolyte. The polymer was characterized by 1H-NMR, FTIR, UV-Visible Spectroscopy and GPC in addition to its distinctive yellow color. The yellow color and the 1H-NMR, FTIR, UV-Visible and GPC results proved that poly(methylsilyne) was produced successfully in small-scale. In the second part of the synthesis, the objective was to scale-up the electrochemical synthesis of poly(methylsilyne) while investigating the effects of the parameters like the electrode, solvent and supporting electrolyte types, monomer/solvent ratio and reaction time on the synthesis. Although successful results were obtained in large-scale synthesis with acetonitrile and SDS, the problems with the reproducibility of the synthesis were solved using a system containing 1.2-dimethoxyethane (DME) and tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP). In the second part of the dissertation, the aim was to prepare polypropylene/silicon-based preceramic polymer blends and to characterize them in terms of flammability, thermal and mechanical properties and morphologies. In order to investigate the effect of the silicon-based preceramic polymers, two different polymers were used: poly(methylsilyne) (PMSy) and allylhydridopolycarbosilane (SMP-10) where the latter was a commercially available silicon carbide precursor. Triphenylphosphate (TPP) and a metal complex were also used in polypropylene based composites to gain a synergy with the silicon containing polymers. The polymer composites were prepared using a twin-screw extruder and molded in an injection molding machine. As a result of the flammability tests, it was seen that in order to achieve a significant decrease in the flammability of polypropylene, at least 20 wt% additive was needed. Furthermore, it was observed that the most significant improvement in flame retardancy was obtained in PP/10SMP/5TPP/5M sample containing 10 wt% SMP-10, 5 wt% TPP and 5 wt% metal complex with a limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of 23.5%. This was explained by the synergy obtained by SMP-10, TPP and the metal complex. With the addition of these silicon containing polymers, thermal properties of the composites increased to a great extent. For the mechanical properties, it was seen that impact strength of the composites significantly increased with the addition of SMP-10, PMSy and TPP.

The objectives of this study are to synthesize poly(dimethylsilane) (PDMS) preceramic polymer and to investigate its effect on morphology, flame retardant and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) based composites. There are mainly two parts in this thesis. In the first part, PDMS was synthesized by electrochemical polymerization of dichlorodimethylsilane, which was dissolved in 1,2 dimethoxyethane (DME) solvent consisting of tetrabutyl ammonium perchlorate (TBAP), as supporting electrolyte. PDMS was obtained in powder form and characterized with Fourier transform infrared, ultraviolet-visible and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analyses, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Since PDMS has some impurities coming from TBAP and DME, alternatively, the PDMS synthesis was done by electrochemical reduction of dichlorodimethylsilane without using solvent and/or supporting electrolyte for seven days. PDMS was produced as pure and characterized with the same methods used for previous synthesis. In the second part of this thesis, PP based composites with additives were prepared by using a twin-screw extruder and injection molding machine and were characterized with limiting oxygen index (LOI), horizontal burning, TGA, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile and impact tests and SEM analysis. Triphenyl phosphate, boron phosphate, magnesium hydroxide, intumescent flame retardants (IFR) (melamine phosphate (MP) and pentaerythritol (PER)), antimony trioxide and poly(methylsilsesquioxane) were additives used in this study other than PDMS. According to LOI test results, the highest LOI value among the PDMS composites was obtained in 1% PDMS, 14.25% MP and 4.75% PER (w/w) containing composite as 24%, whereas the LOI value of neat PP was measured as 17.5%. It was determined that elastic moduli of all the composites studied were higher than neat PP.

La photo-catalyse est une voie très prisée pour la dépollution de l’eau ou de l’air. Le photo-catalyseur le plus employé est le dioxyde de titane (TiO2) mais l’activité photo-catalytique peut fortement varier d’une poudre à l’autre. De plus, il est très avantageux, voire nécessaire, de le déposer sur un support, pour une manipulation aisée, notamment s’il s’agit d’un monolithe poreux. Le but de cette thèse, menée en collaboration entre le LMCPA et l’IEM, est de produire un photo-catalyseur supporté : une mousse céramique, issue de précurseurs céramiques polymériques (voie PDC), revêtue de TiO2, tout en visant une cristallisation et une intégration du TiO2 dans la mousse, en une seule étape, par voie hydrothermale. Nous avons étudié la synthèse de TiO2 par voie hydrothermale formant ainsi des poudres de diverses natures (anatase, brookite, oxyde hydraté de titane et mélanges de ces phases) ; certaines présentent une activité photo-catalytique supérieure, dans certaines conditions, à celle de la référence commerciale le P25 de Degussa. Cette étude a également permis de produire de la brookite pure à une température relativement basse, bien plus performante que le P25 et l’anatase dans certaines conditions. Parallèlement, divers polymères précéramiques ont été investigués pour la confection de supports macro-poreux via la méthode des charges sacrificielles. Nous avons ainsi réalisé des mousses en céramique amorphe en SiBCN et SiBC, hautement poreuses, ouvertes et robustes. Enfin, les poudres de TiO2 les plus efficaces ont été déposées sur les mousses, par la voie hydrothermale, pour former le photocatalyseur supporté dont l’activité photo-catalytique a été évaluée. / Photocatalysis is a method of choice for water and air depollution. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is the most used photocatalyst but photocatalytic activity can widely differ from one powder to another. Moreover, it is useful, or even necessary, to immobilize it on a support; in particular, a porous monolithic support for an easier handling. The purpose of this PhD thesis, consisting in a collaboration between the LMCPA and the IEM, is to produce a supported photocatalyst: an amorphous ceramic foam produced from polymeric ceramic precursors (PDC route) coated with TiO2. The objective is also to target a one pot process the crystallization and the incorporation of the photocatalyst, in a single stage, through a hydrothermal treatment. We studied the hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2 powders composed of various crystalline phases (anatase, brookite, titanium oxide hydrate and mixtures of thereof); some of them showed higher photocatalytic activity than the commercial reference, Degussa’s P25. This study also lead to the synthesis of pure brookite, at a relatively low temperature, much more efficient than P25 and anatase under certain conditions. At the same time, various preceramic polymers were studied for the production of macroporous supports through the sacrificial filler technique. We were able to produce highly porous, opened and robust amorphous ceramic foams in the Si-B-C-N and Si-B-C systems. Lastly, the foams were coated with the most efficient TiO2 powders in order to produce supported photocatalysts by the hydrothermal route; their photocatalytic activity was then evaluated.