<p>  </p> <p>Room-temperature sodium-sulfur (RT Na-S) batteries are an emergent new technology that are highly attractive due to their low raw materials cost and large theoretical specific energy. However, many fundamental problems still plague RT Na-S batteries that prevent their progression from the research and development phase to the commercial phase. Sulfur and its final discharge product are insulators, and intermediate polysulfide discharge products are soluble in commonly used liquid electrolytes. As a result, RT Na-S cells exhibit large capacity defects, low coulombic efficiencies, and rapid capacity fading. Additionally, the reactive sodium metal anode can form dendrites during cycling, which reduces capacity and shortens cell life. One way to combat these issues is the judicious selection of electrolyte components. In this study, the effects of monoglyme (G1), diglyme (G2), and tetraglyme (G4) glyme ether electrolyte solvents on RT Na-S cell performance are investigated. Galvanostatic cycling of Na/Na symmetric coin cells reveals that the G2 solvent enable stable cycling at low overpotentials over a wide range of current densities. In contrast, the G1-based cells show evidence of dendritic plating, and G4-based cells are not suitable for use at high current densities. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy during cycling confirms that the G2 solvent facilitates the formation of a strong, stable SEI on the Na electrode surface. Results from galvanostatic cycling of RT Na-S full coin cells demonstrates that G1-based cells deliver the highest initial specific discharge capacities among the three cell types, but G4-based cells are the most reversible. Infinite charging, the indefinite accrual of charge capacity at the high charge voltage plateau, affects all cell types at different cycle numbers and to different extents. This behavior is linked to the strength of the polysulfide shuttle during charge. Optical microscopy experiments show that G2 and G4 facilitate the formation of the S3•- sulfur radical, which reduces capacity. G1 minimizes the radical formation and thus delivers higher initial specific discharge capacity. In order to fully optimize the electrolyte for RT Na-S cells, future work should study glyme solvent blends, additives, and concentrated salts.</p>

No description available.

La catalyse de polycondensation des silicones, et notamment des élastomères vulcanisables à froid bicomposants, constitue un enjeu scientifique, environnemental et économique. Le dilaurate de dibutyl étain (DLDBE), classé CMR2, très largement utilisé dans l'industrie du silicone sera prochainement interdit par la nouvelle réglementation REACH. L'objectif de cette étude est donc d'étudier de nouveaux systèmes catalytiques des réactions de polycondensation. L'effet des différents constituants de la formulation (masse molaire du PDMS réactif, concentration en réticulant, concentration en catalyseur) sur la cinétique de réticulation et sur les propriétés finales a été étudié par combinaison des techniques de rhéologie, RMN et taux de gonflement. Principalement, ce travail consiste en l'étude approfondie de deux catalyseurs : une guanidine et un complexe de zinc et les résultats montrent que la construction des réseaux est plus ou moins différente selon la catalyse. En effet, un dérivé de l'étain conduit à une construction en deux étapes d'hydrolyse et de condensation, dont l'hydrolyse est d'abord favorisée. En comparaison, les complexes de zinc tendent à se comporter d'une façon très similaire, bien que l'hydrolyse des alcoxysilanes soit plus importante. Au contraire, une catalyse basique favorise très largement la condensation par rapport à l'hydrolyse. La guanidine réagit très rapidement avec les fonctions silanols. Ensuite, l'hydrolyse des alcoxysilanes se produisant dans une moindre proportion, le réseau tridimensionnel se construit. Ces travaux ont donc montré que le complexe de zinc étudié est un bon remplaçant du DLDBE / Silicones condensation catalysis, and more especially room temperature vulcanizable compounds, is a very important scientific, environmental and economic issue. The catalysis species, derivated from tin dilaurate, which are now classified as a CMR2 compound (toxic for reproduction), have been widely used in the silicone industry. The new REACH regulation is going to forbid its use very soon. This study aims to work on new catalytic systems. The influence of the components of the formulation on the kinetics and mechanical properties has been study by different methods: rheology, NMR and swelling measurements. More precisely, this work focuses on two catalysts: one guanidine and zinc complexes. Results have shown that the network construction depends on the catalysis. In fact, while using a tin compound, the construction occurs in two steps, in which hydrolysis is the most important. As a comparison, zinc complexes present the same behaviour as tin compounds even though the hydrolysis step is much more important. On the contrary, it’s known that basic catalysis enhances the condensation step. Then, the guanidine quickly reacts with the silanol functions. Then, in a second step, the alkoxysilanes hydrolysis occurs in a smaller proportion. The tridimensional network is getting built. This work mainly showed that zinc complexes can easily replace tin compounds

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The work presented in this thesis examines the electrochemical behaviour of a number of species, both surface-bound and in the solution phase, in various room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), in order to identify systems which show altered reactivities in room-temperature ionic liquids, compared to that in conventional, molecular, aprotic solvents. The fundamentals of electrochemistry are outlined and an introduction to room-temperature ionic liquids is given, after which the results of six original investigations are presented, as follows; The electrochemical response of surface-bound anthraquinonyl films was investigated as a function of RTIL cation size. The reduction of oxygen to superoxide in the [C₂mim][NTf₂] RTIL was studied at different carbon electrodes. The mechanisms of electrodeposition and stripping of Zn(II) onto bulk zinc deposits, on glassy carbon electrodes, in the [C₄mPyrr][NTf₂] RTIL were investigated. A novel and successful method for the fabrication of zinc microdisk electrodes was developed and the electrochemical behaviour of these electrodes was investigated. The mechanisms for the electrochemical reductions of some bromo- and nitrobenzenes at platinum microelectrodes were determined in the [C₄mPyrr][NTf₂] ionic liquid, in order to identify systems which displayed changed reactivities in RTILs compared to those in molecular aprotic solvents. The altered reactivity of 1-bromo-4-nitrobenzene in the [C₄mPyrr][NTf₂] ionic liquid was utilised via electrochemical reduction at zinc microelectrodes in order to form arylzinc compounds. The work presented in this thesis shows that the oft-taken view that the reactivity of a given species in an ionic liquid will mimic that in conventional aprotic solvents is not always the case. Reactivities can be markedly different between RTILs and aprotic solvents and can also be highly dependent on the specific ionic liquid employed.

[pt] Neste trabalho, métodos analíticos baseados na fosforimetria na temperatura ambiente foram desenvolvidos para a determinação de sete compostos policíclicos aromáticos (CPA) sulfurados e nitrogenados presentes do petróleo. Mais especificamente, o objetivo foi o de fornecer ferramentas analíticas que permitissem avaliar e quantificar estes CPA em gasolina e em uma amostra ambiental (sedimento). Adicionalmente, a informação obtida através da fosforimetria mostrou potencial para permitir diferenciar amostras (por exemplo, a identificação de amostras contaminadas) por meio de perfil em três dimensões ou curvas de nível. A aplicação de técnica de varredura sincronizada e o uso do efeito externo seletivo do átomo pesado aumentaram o grau de seletividade e de discriminação entre amostras, pois induziu fosforescência de componentes específicos na amostra e melhorou a resolução espectral dos resultados. Inicialmente, foi feito um estudo das características fosforescentes das substâncias em diferentes condições experimentais, seguido da maximização do sinal fosforescente de cada uma das substâncias nas condições experimentais mais propícias para observação do sinal fosforescente. Para tal, o papel filtro, previamente tratado para redução do sinal de fundo, foi utilizado como substrato sólido para imobilização dos analitos, permitindo a observação de intensa fosforescência na temperatura ambiente. Os parâmetros de mérito das metodologias desenvolvidas para cada um dos analitos em questão foram obtidos. As faixas lineares se estenderam entre 1,0 x 10-7 e 5,0 x 10-4 mol L-1, considerando as concentrações das soluções dos analitos aplicadas no substrato. Os coeficientes de determinação (r2) obtidos ficaram sempre acima de 0,9784. Os limites de detecção absolutos (para 5 µL de amostra) foram todos na ordem do ng, mostrando a capacidade para detecção sensível em termos de massa efetiva de analito. Os testes de repetibilidade mostraram valores variando entre 12 e 18%, o que pode ser considerado satisfatório para a técnica realizada em substrato sólido. Também foram conduzidos estudos de robustez e reprodutibilidade. Alternativamente, sinais fosforescentes foram maximizados em condições experimentais secundárias do ponto de vista da magnitude de sinal, mas potencialmente relevantes do ponto de vista da seletividade. Testes de recuperação indicaram, na maioria dos casos, resultados bastante satisfatórios no caso das misturas sintéticas contendo quantidades eqüimolares de componentes (nesse caso, foram testadas várias combinações de analitos e de interferentes) ou contendo interferentes, em concentrações cinco vezes maior que a do analito de interesse. Nos casos mais críticos em termos de interferências, recursos instrumentais ou quimiométricos foram aplicados para melhorar a seletividade e possibilitar a quantificação. Os métodos desenvolvidos foram testados em amostras simuladas de gasolina, em gasolina comercial e em uma matriz ambiental (sedimento) fortificadas com os analitos de interesse. As recuperações obtidas foram bastante satisfatórias e compreendidas entre 90% e 117%. Estudos envolvendo varreduras de fosforescência total (TPS) também foram realizados, com o intuito de se obter uma impressão digital característica para cada um dos analitos. Testes de TPS em gasolina comercial indicaram a presença de pelo menos seis dos sete analitos estudados, devido à obtenção de perfis espectrais muito semelhantes aos dos padrões. Testes adicionais mostraram a capacidade de identificar contaminações (misturas) na gasolina pela adição de diesel e de querosene. / [en] In this work, analytical methods based on room-temperature phosphorimetry were developed aiming the quantification of seven polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) containing sulfur and nitrogen present in petroleum. More specifically, the goal was to obtain analytical tool to allow the evaluation and the quantification of these PCA in sediment and gasoline. In addition, the phosphorimetric information displayed potential for the discrimination of samples (for instance, the identification of contaminated samples) by means of three dimension plots or level curves. The application of synchronized sweeping technique and the use of the selective external heavy atom effect had increased the degree of selectivity and discrimination between samples, since it induces phosphorescence from specific components of the sample and improved the spectral resolution of the results. Initially, a study of the phosphorescent characteristics of the compounds in different experimental conditions was made, followed of the signal maximization in the most appropriate experimental conditions for the observation of phosphorescence. Filter paper, previously treated for background reduction, was employed as solid substrate for the immobilization of analytes. The analytical figures of merit for each one of the methods had been obtained. The linear range varied between 1,0 x 10-7 mol L-1 and 5,0 x 10-4 mol L-1, taking into consideration the concentration of the solutions spotted on the substrate. The determination coefficient values (r2) were always above of 0.9784. The absolute limits of detection (5 µL sample) were in ng order, showing the sensitivity of the developed methods. The repeatability tests had enabled values varying between 12 and 18%, which can be considered satisfactory for solid substrate technique. Robustness and reproducibility studies were also carried out. Additionally, secondary experimental conditions, in terms of signal magnitude, were optimized since these could be relevant from the selective point of view. Recovery tests indicated, in most of the cases, satisfactory results for synthetic mixtures containing equimolar quantities of components (in these cases, several analyte/interferent combinations were tested) and containing interferents in concentrations five times higher than the one of the analytes. In the most critical cases in terms of interferences, instrumental or quimiometric approaches had been applied to improve selectivity and make the quantification possible. The developed methods had been tested in simulated gasoline samples, commercial gasoline and in a sediment sample fortified with the analytes of interest. The obtained recoveries had been considered satisfactory and within 90 and 117%. Total phosphorescence scanning (TPS) studies had been also carried out in order to get the characteristic fingerprint for each one of the compounds of interest. TPS tests in gasoline had indicated the presence of six out of seven of the studied analytes, since very similar fingerprints were obtained. Additional tests had demonstrated the capability of this procedure to detect gasoline contaminations with diesel or kerosene.

[pt] Neste trabalho foi avaliado o uso da Fosforimetria na Temperatura Ambiente em Substrato Sólido (FTASS) como técnica analítica aplicável na determinação de dois derivados da β-carbolina (harmane e harmine). Como suporte sólido foi utilizado o papel de filtro de baixo sinal de fundo. As características fosforescentes dos analitos foram estudadas em função de diversos parâmetros experimentais, que foram posteriormente otimizados visando a maximização do sinal fosforescente. Estes parâmetros foram: efeito de íons de átomos pesados; uso de surfactante como modificador de superfície; pH e volume de tampão; sistema de solventes e irradiação prévia das β-carbolinas com UV. As melhores situações para ambos os analitos foram obtidas em pH natural com a adição de Tl+ e em pH básico na presença de Ag+. Após a otimização das condições experimentais relevantes, os parâmetros analíticos de mérito foram obtidos. Para o harmane, faixas lineares dinâmicas (a partir do limite de quantificação, LQ) de 0,39 - 456 ng (Ag+/pH=12) e de 8,10 - 911 ng (Tl+/pH=7,7) foram obtidas. Para o harmine, a faixa linear dinâmica, partindo do LQ, foi de 0,59 - 1244 ng (dividido em duas faixas distintas) quando Ag+/pH=9 foi empregado. Com o uso de Tl+/pH=5,1, a faixa obtida foi de 0,53 a 249 ng. A precisão do método para as duas substâncias ficou dentro do esperado para esta técnica. Também foi estudado o potencial interferente de algumas substâncias (AZT, talidomida e outros) e da matriz urina. O desempenho do método foi testado através de testes de recuperação em formulações farmacêuticas simuladas e em urina enriquecida com o(s) analito(s), sendo as recuperações encontradas dentro da faixa recomendada de 90 a 110 %. Estudos envolvendo a determinação seletiva em misturas contendo ambos os derivados da β-carbolina mostraram a viabilidade da determinação seletiva de harmine na presença de harmane usando apenas um ajuste de pH. / [en] In the present work a Solid Surface Room-Temperature Phosphorimetry (SSRTP) based analytical method was developed aiming the determination of two â-carbolines derivatives (harmane and harmine). A low background filter paper was employed as solid support. The phosforimetric characteristics of the analytes were studied as function of several parameter, afterwards optimized aiming the maximization of phosphorescence. Among the studied parameters were the effect of heavy atom ions; the use of surfactants as substrate surface modifier; pH and volume of buffer; solvent system and the previuos UV irradiation of the analytes. The best results for both analytes were achieved using Tl+ in natural pH and using Ag+ in basic pH. After optimization of the relevant experimental conditions, the analytical figures of merit were obtained. For harmane, linear dynamic ranges (starting from the limit of quantification, LQ) from 0.39 to 456 ng (Ag+/pH=12) and from 8.10 to 911 ng (Tl+/pH=7.7) were achieved. For harmine, the linear dynamic ranges, stating from LQ, were from 0.59 to 1244 ng (divided in two linear ranges) when Ag+/pH=9 was used. When Tl+/pH=5.1 was employed, linear ranges were from 0.53 to 249 ng. The precision of the method was in accordance with the values expected for this technique. The potential interferent effect of some substances (AZT, thalidomide and others) as well as the effect of urine matrix were also studied. The performance of the method was evaluated by recovery tests using simulated pharmaceutical formulations and analyte spiked urine samples. In both cases, recoveries within the recomended range (from 90 to 110 %) were achieved. Studies involving the selective determination of â-carbolines derivatives have indicated that the determination of harmine in the presence of harmane is feasable only by a simple sample pH adjustment.