Submitted by Maria Aparecida (cidazen@gmail.com) on 2017-11-16T13:16:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JOSÉ RIBAMAR NASCIMENTO DOS SANTOS.pdf: 1283725 bytes, checksum: 4c5d6eba4cec82d8cb883aa89b0a81f6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-16T13:16:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JOSÉ RIBAMAR NASCIMENTO DOS SANTOS.pdf: 1283725 bytes, checksum: 4c5d6eba4cec82d8cb883aa89b0a81f6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-19 / CAPES / The electro-oxidation of ethanol was evaluated on a pyrolytic graphite electrode (PGE) chemically modified with the nickel(II)-bis(1,10-phenanthroline) complex (Ni(II)(Phen)2) supported on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) (rGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2/PGE). The Ni(II)(Phen)2 complex, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and the rGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2 composite were prepared and characterized by the techniques of Spectroscopy in the UV-Vis, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Diffraction of X-rays. The electrocatalytic activity of the material was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. In alkaline solution, the voltamograms obtained for rGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2/PGE showed the formation of well defined redox peaks associated with the Ni(II)/Ni(III) redox couple. The results showed that the RGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2 composite significantly increases the electrocatalytic activity for ethanol oxidation compared to the electrode modified only with the Ni(II)(Phen)2 complex. Using the Laviron theory, the charge transfer rate constant (ks) and the electron transfer coefficient (α) of the electrode reaction were calculated to be 0.56 s-1 and 0.61, respectively. A investigation of the electro-oxidation of ethanol was performed by evaluating the effect of different parameters such as potential scan rate, OH- concentration and alcohol concentration. The chronoamperometric experiments were used to determine the diffusion coefficient of ethanol (D = 4.7 Χ 10-6 cm2 s-1) and the catalytic rate constant (kcat = 1.26 Χ 107 cm3 mol-1 s-1). The results obtained in this study clearly indicate the viability of rGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2/PGE as an electrocatalyst for ethanol oxidation. / A eletro-oxidação do etanol foi avaliada em um eletrodo de grafite pirolítico (PGE) quimicamente modificado com o complexo de níquel(II)-bis(1,10-fenantrolina) (Ni(II)(Phen)2) suportado em óxido de grafeno reduzido (rGO) (rGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2/PGE). O complexo Ni(II)(Phen)2, o óxido de grafeno reduzido (rGO), e o compósito rGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2 foram preparados e caracterizados pelas técnicas de Espectroscopia na região do UV-Vis, Espectroscopia de Infravermelho com Transformada de Fourier e Difração de Raios X. A atividade eletrocatalítica do material foi avaliada por voltametria cíclica e cronoamperometria. Em solução alcalina, os voltamogramas obtidos para rGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2/PGE mostraram processos redox bem definidos associados ao par redox Ni(II)/Ni(III). Os resultados mostraram que o compósito rGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2 aumenta significativamente a atividade eletrocatalítica para a oxidação do etanol em comparação com o eletrodo modificado apenas com o complexo Ni(II)(Phen)2 adsorvido na superfície do eletrodo. Usando a teoria de Laviron, a constante de velocidade de transferência de carga (ks) e o coeficiente de transferência de elétrons (α) da reação do eletrodo foram calculados sendo 0,56 s-1 e 0,61, respectivamente. Uma investigação da eletro-oxidação do etanol foi realizada avaliando o efeito de diferentes parâmetros, como a velocidade de varredura do potencial, a concentração de OH- e a concentração de álcool. Os experimentos cronoamperométricos foram utilizados para determinar o coeficiente de difusão do etanol (D = 4,7 Χ 10-6 cm2 s-1) e a constante de velocidade catalítica (kcat = 1,26 Χ 107 cm3 mol-1 s-1). Os resultados obtidos neste estudo indicam, claramente, a viabilidade do rGO/Ni(II)(Phen)2/PGE como eletrocatalisador da oxidação de etanol.

When materials approach the size of few nanometers, they show properties which are significantly different from their bulk counterpart. Such unique/improved properties make them potential candidate for several emerging applications. At the reduced dimension, controlling the shape of nanocrystals provides an effective way to tune several material properties. In this regard, wet chemical synthesis has been established as the ultimate route to synthesize nanocrystals at ultra-small dimensions with excellent control over the morphology. However, the use of surfactant poses a barrier into efficient realization of its application as it requires a clean interface for better performance. Exercise of available cleaning protocols to clean the surface often leads to coarsening of the nanoparticles due to their inherent high surface curvature. For anisotropic nanomaterials, rounding of the shape is an additional problem. Anchoring nanomaterials onto substrates provides an easy way to impart stability. In this thesis, ultrathin Au nanowires, that are inherently unstable, have been shown to grow over a wide variety of substrates by in-situ functionalization. Use of nanomaterials as device component holds promise into miniaturization of electronics. But device fabrication in such cases require manipulation of nanomaterials with enhanced control. Dielectrophoresis offers an easy way to assemble nanomaterials in between contact pads and hence evolved as a promising tool to fabricate device with a good level of precision. Herein, directed assembly of ultrathin Au nanowires by dielectrophoresis, has been shown as an efficient strategy to fabricate devices based on the wires. Combining more than one nanocrystal, to form a heterostructure, often has the advantage of synergism and/or multifunctionality. Therefore, synthesis of heterostructure is highly useful in enhancing and/or adding functionalities to nanomaterials. There are several routes available in literature for synthesis of heterostructures. Newer strategies are being evolved to further improve performance in an application specific way. In that regard, a good understanding of mechanism of formation is crucial to form the desired product with the required functionality. For example, Au due to high electron affinity has been known to undergo reduction rather than cation exchange with chalcogenides. In this thesis, it has been shown that the final product depends on the delicate balance of reaction conditions and the system under study using CdS-Au as the model system. In yet another case, PdO nanotubes have been shown to form, on reaction of PdCl2 with ZnO at higher starting ratio of the precursors. In-situ generation of HCl provides an effective handle for tuning of the product from the commonly expected hybrid to hollow. Graphene has evolved as a wonder material due to its wide range of practical applications. Its superior conductivity with high flexibility has made it an important material in the field of nanoelectronics. In this thesis, an interesting case of packed crumpled graphene has been shown to sense a wide variety of strain/pressure which has applications in day to day life. The study reported in the thesis is organized as follows: Chapter 1 presents a general introduction to nanomaterials followed by the review of the available strategies to synthesize various 1D nanomaterials. Subsequently, a section on the classification of hybrid followed by the different synthetic protocols adopted in literature to synthesize them, have been provided. A review on the available methodologies for directed assembly of nanomaterials has been presented. Chapter 2 provides a summary of the materials synthesized and the techniques used for characterization of the materials. A brief description of all the synthetic strategy adopted has been provided. The basic principle of all the characterization techniques used, has been explained. A section explaining the principle of dielectrophoresis has also been presented. Chapter 3 presents a general method to grow ultrathin Au nanowires over a variety of substrates with different nature, topography and rigidity/flexibility. Ultrathin nanowires of Au (~2 nm in diameter) are potentially useful for various catalytic, plasmonic and device applications. Extreme fragility on polar solvent cleaning was a limitation in realizing the applications. Direct growth onto substrate was an alternative but poor interfacial energy of Au with most commercial substrates lead to poor coverage. In this chapter, in-situ functionalization of the substrates have been shown to improve Au nucleation dramatically which lead to growth of dense, networked nanowires over large area. Catalysis and lithography-free device fabrication has been demonstrated. Using the same concept of functionalization, SiO2 coating of the nanowires have been shown. A comparative study of thermal stability of these ultrafine Au nanowires in the uncoated and coated form, has been presented. Chapter 4 demonstrates an ultrafast device fabrication strategy with Au nanowires using dielectrophoresis. While dense growth of Au nanowires is beneficial for some applications, it is not so for some others. For example, miniaturization of electronics require large number of devices in a small area. Therefore, there is a need for methods to manipulate nanowires so as to place them in the desired location for successful fabrication of device with them. In this chapter, dielectrophoresis has been used for assembling nanowires in between and at the sides of the contact pads. Alignment under different conditions lead to an understanding of the forces. Fabrication of a large number of devices in a single experiment has been demonstrated. Chapter 5 presents a simple route to synthesize CdS-Au2Sx hybrid as a result of cation-exchange predominantly. Au due to high electron affinity has been shown in literature to undergo reduction rather than cation exchange with CdS. In this chapter, it has been shown that cation exchange may be a dominant product. The competition between cation exchange and reduction in the case of CdS-Au system has been studied using EDS, XRD, XPS and TEM. Thermodynamic calculation along with kinetic analysis show that the process may depend on a delicate balance of reaction conditions and the system under study. The methodology adopted, is general and may be applied to other systems. Chapter 6 presents an one pot, ultrafast microwave route to synthesize PdO hollow/hybrid nanomaterials. The common strategy to synthesize hollow nanomaterials had been by nucleation of the shell material on the core and subsequent dissolution of the core. In this chapter, a one step method to synthesize hollow PdO nanotubes, using ZnO nanorods as sacrificial template, has been shown. By tuning the ratio of the PdCl2 (PdO precursor) to ZnO, ZnO-PdO hybrid could be obtained using the same method. The PdO nanotubes synthesized could be converted to Pd nanotubes by NaBH4 treatment. Study of thermal stability of the PdO nanotubes has been carried out. Chapter 7 demonstrates a simple strategy to sense a variety of strain/pressure with taped crumpled graphene. Detection of ultralow strain (10-3) with high gauge factor is challenging and poorly addressed in literature. Taped crumpled graphene has been shown to detect such low strain with high gauge factor (> 4000). An ultra-fast switching time of 20.4 ms has been documented in detection of dynamic strain of frequency 49 Hz. An excellent cyclic stability for >7000 cycles has been demonstrated. The same device could be used to detect gentle pressure pulses with consistency. Slight modification of the device configuration enabled detection of high pressure. Simplicity of the device fabrication allowed fabrication of the device onto stick labels which could be pasted on any surface, for instance, floor. Hard pressing, stamping with feet and hammering shocks do not alter the base resistance of the device, indicating that it is extremely robust. Sealed arrangement of the graphene allowed operation of the device under water in detection of water pressure. Presence of trapped air underneath the tape enabled detection of air pressure both below and above atmospheric pressure.

Increasing interest in industrial and medical applications of carbon nanomaterial leads to the need to examine its interactions with living systems. Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films possess high mechanical and chemical stability which, together with its biocompatibility with human cells, enables applications in human body. Some of carbon nanoparticles possess strong antibacterial activity. In this work the effects of NCD with hydrogen, oxygen and fluorine termination deposited on glass and silicone on adhesion of gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli K-12 in mineral medium is described and the impact of cultivation medium on effects of NCD films is compared. Prior the growth of the E. coli biofilm on NCD films, the method for quantification of biofilm using crystal violet staining and the method for biofilm cultivation in mineral medium were optimised. The properties of NCD film are independent on the base substrate. Hydrogen and fluorine terminated NCD films show antiadhesive properties only in mineral medium but not in complex medium. This is explained by formation of a conditioning film on the surface of the NCD film during cultivation in complex medium. On the other hand, O-NCD film supports bacterial adhesion in both cultivation media. Second part of this thesis is dedicated to carbon...

CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um nanocompósito polimérico de óxido de grafeno reduzido e poli(ácido 3 hidroxibenzóico) para a modificação de eletrodos de grafite, visando o desenvolvimento de um genossensor para a detecção do DNA genômico de Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris. Esta é uma bactéria associada à deterioração de sucos ácidos, como o suco de laranja, do qual o Brasil é o maior produtor mundial. Neste contexto, os biossensores aparecem como dispositivos de detecção rápidos e fáceis de manusear, com grande potencial para serem utilizados em toda a cadeia produtiva do suco. Para a construção do genossensor, óxido de grafeno foi produzido pelo método de Hummers modificado, gotejado sobre a superfície do eletrodo de grafite e reduzido eletroquimicamente. O ácido 3-hidroxibenzóico foi eletropolimerizado sobre esta superfície contendo o nanomaterial. Análises por espectroscopia no infravermelho e voltametria cíclica comprovaram a redução do óxido de grafeno. Além disso, as análises eletroquímicas evidenciaram que o nanocompósito produzido apresenta propriedades eletrônicas superiores às do filme polimérico. Sobre este nanocompósito foi imobilizado um oligonucleotídeo sonda ALIC1, específico para A. acidoterrestris, o qual foi utilizado para detecção de um oligonucleotídeo alvo complementar ALIC2 pela técnica de voltametria de pulso diferencial (VPD), tanto direta quanto indiretamente, esta última utilizando-se o intercalante da dupla fita de DNA Hoechst 33258. Um lisado celular obtido a partir de uma cultura de A. acidoterrestris também foi detectado de maneira indireta pela técnica de VPD, e uma curva de calibração foi construída. O genossensor proposto apresentou um limite de detecção de 174 ng mL-1 e limite de quantificação de 581 ng mL-1, sendo capaz de detectar o DNA genômico em uma amostra real de suco de laranja e de discernir entre amostras de A. acidoterrestris e Escherichia coli. Deste modo, este bioeletrodo apresenta-se como a primeira plataforma de detecção eletroquímica do DNA genômico de A. acidoterrestris na literatura científica. / In this work a polymeric nanocomposite of reduced graphene oxide and poly (3- hydroxybenzoic acid) was developed for the modification of graphite electrodes, aiming the development of a genossensor for the detection of the Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris genomic DNA. This bacterium is associated with the spoilage of acidic juices, such as orange juice, of which Brazil is the largest producer in the world. In this context, biosensors appear as fast and easy to handle detection devices, with great potential for use throughout the juice production chain. For the construction of the genosensor, graphene oxide was produced by the modified Hummers method, dripped onto the surface of the graphite electrode and reduced electrochemically. The 3-hydroxybenzoic acid was electropolymerized on this surface containing the nanomaterial. Analyzes by infrared spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry proved the reduction of graphene oxide. In addition, the electrochemical analysis showed that the nanocomposite produced has higher electronic properties than the polymeric film. On this nanocomposite, an oligonucleotide probe ALIC1, specific for A. acidoterrestris, was immobilized, and was used to detect a complementary target oligonucleotide ALIC2, both directly and indirectly, the latter using the Hoechst 33258 double strand DNA intercalator, by the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) technique. A cell lysate obtained from an A. acidoterrestris culture was also indirectly detected by DPV, and a calibration curve was constructed. The proposed genosensor presented a limit of detection of 174 ng mL-1 and limit of quantification of 581 ng mL-1, being able to detect the genomic DNA in a real sample of orange juice and to distinguish between the samples of A acidoterrestris and Escherichia coli. Thus, this bioelectrode presents as the first platform of electrochemical detection of the genomic DNA of A. acidoterrestris in the scientific literature. / Dissertação (Mestrado)

Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-01-10T13:05:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 eduilybenvindovazfreire.pdf: 26345792 bytes, checksum: f56583c0c3a78800d1e94a7d0a63726f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-01-23T11:45:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 eduilybenvindovazfreire.pdf: 26345792 bytes, checksum: f56583c0c3a78800d1e94a7d0a63726f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-23T11:45:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 eduilybenvindovazfreire.pdf: 26345792 bytes, checksum: f56583c0c3a78800d1e94a7d0a63726f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-18 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Recentemente, o óxido de grafeno (GO) tornou-se um material de grande interesse físico e tecnológico e não só um material intermediário na síntese de grafeno, mas também como um produto para aplicações diretas. Na tentativa de tornar o GO mais próximo do grafeno, estruturalmente e tecnologicamente falando, o material passa por um processo de redução dos grupos funcionais oxigenados aderidos. Entretanto esse processo de redução não consegue retirar totalmente os grupos funcionais, e a esse material não completamente livre de grupos baseados no oxigênio damos o nome de óxido de grafeno reduzido (rGO). O rGO ao longo dos últimos anos se tornou alvo de pesquisas e muitas aplicações científicas e tec-nológicas como, por exemplo, em dispositivos eletrônicos orgânicos, como diodos emissores de luz (OLEDs), células solares, entre muitos outros. Para tornar este material ainda mais interessante para a área de eletrônica orgânica, propomos a dopagem das nossas moléculas de óxido de grafeno reduzido (rGOm) com átomos de boro, nitrogênio, alumínio silício, fósforo, gálio, germânio e arsênio, um de cada vez e de forma substitutiva. Nosso objetivo e´ fazer com que nosso material se torne um melhor condutor, mantendo ou melhorando sua transparência, pensando no uso deste material como eletrodos em dispositivos orgânicos. Neste trabalho, objetivamos estudar nossas moléculas de óxido de grafeno reduzido (rGOm) nos seus aspectos estruturais e eletrônicos, utilizando métodos semi-empíricos e ab initio a nível DFT, implementados nos programas GAMESS e MOPAC. Usamos como modelos de rGO estruturas contendo 42, 84 e 154 átomos, derivados da molécula de coroneno com adição de três grupos funcionais oxigenados: hidroxil, carboxil e epoxi. Começamos o trabalho fazendo uma busca conformacional da estrutura das nossas rGOm incluindo cada grupo funcional oxigenado ligado aos carbonos dos coronenos. Estudamos as rGOm juntamente com a dopagem, substituindo carbonos na estrutura pelos seguintes átomos: nitrogênio (N), boro (B), fósforo (P), silício (Si), alumínio (Al), arsênio (As), germânio (Ge) e gálio (Ga). Substituímos um átomo da folha de carbono de cada vez. Analisamos o gap de energia entre os estados eletrônicos de fronteira do material, a fim de encontrar tanto o sítio com menor energia total como o sítio com menor valor de gap. Realizamos os cálculos de energia e valor de gap das dopagens mencionadas acima em diferentes níveis de métodos, utilizamos tanto métodos semiempírico (PM3, PM6), quanto DFT (B3LYP, com base 6-31G), fizemos também comparação entre diferentes tipos de aproximação (UHF e RHF) com o objetivo de saber se essas aproximações eram compatíveis entre sícomparando energia total, gap e geometria. Por fim, um dos principais resultados foi a dopagem da rGOm com alumínio. O alumínio quando colocado em alguns sítios específicos promove a aproximação dos orbitais de fronteira, diminuindo o gap, tornando a rGOm do-pado com alumínio um material com propensão a melhor condução elétrica que a rGOm sem dopagem, o que aumenta o interesse na utilização deste material para eletrônica orgânica. / Recently, graphene oxide (GO) has become a material of great physical and technological interest and not only an intermediate material in the synthesis of graphene, but also as a product for direct applications. In an attempt to make GO closer to graphene, structurally and technologically speaking, the material undergoes a process of reduction of adhered oxygenated functional groups. Howe-ver, this reduction process does not completely remove the functional groups, and this material which is not completely free of oxygen-based groups, is called redu-ced graphene oxide (rGO). Over the past few years, RGO has become the target of research and many scientific and technological applications, such as organic electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), solar cells, and many others. To make this material even more interesting to the area of organic elec-tronics, we propose the doping of our reduced graphene oxide molecules (rGO m) with boron, nitrogen, silicon aluminium, phosphorus, gallium, germanium and arsenic, one at a time and in a substitute way. Our goal is to make our material become a better conductor, maintaining or improving its transparency, thinking of using this material as electrodes in organic devices. In this work, we aim to study our reduced graphene oxide molecules (rGOm) in their structural and electronic aspects, using semi-empirical and ab initio methods at the DFT level, implemented in the GAMESS and MOPAC programs. We used as RGO models structures containing 42, 84 and 154 atoms derived from the coronon molecule with addition of three oxygenated functional groups: hidroxyl, carboxyl and epoxy. We begin the work by making a conformational search of the structure of our rGOm including each oxygenated functional group attached to the carbon atoms of the coronenes. We study the rGOm along with doping, replacing carbons in the structure with the following atoms: nitrogen (N), boron (B), phosphorus (P), silicon (Si), aluminium (Al), arsenic, germanium (Ge) and gallium (Ga). We replace one atom of the carbon sheet each time. We analyzed the energy gap between the border electronic states of the material in order to find both the site with the lowest total energy and the site with the least gap value. We performed the energy calculations and gap value of the above-mentioned dops at different levels of methods, we used both semi-empirical methods (PM3, PM6) and DFT (B3LYP, based on 6-31G), we also compared different types of approximations (UHF and RHF) in order to know if these were compatible with each other comparing total energy, gap and geometry. Finally, one of the main results was the doping of rGOm with aluminium. Aluminium when placed at some specific sites promotes the approach of border orbitals by reducing the gap, making aluminium-doped rGOm a material with a propensity for better electrical conduction than rGOm without doping, which increases the interest in using this material for organic electronics.

In the last three decades carbon nanomaterials such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene have attracted significant attention from the scientific community due to their unique electronic, optical, thermal, mechanical and chemical properties. Among them carbon nanotubes and graphene have been used in numerous applications for future nanoelectronics, biochemical sensors and energy harvesting technologies due to their unique properties including exceptionally high electronic conductivity and mechanical strength. Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical structures and considered to be large mesoscopic molecules with high aspect ratios. Graphene is a single atomic layer of crystalline graphite and prepared by stripping layers off the graphite using Scotch tape. Apart from this scotch tape method, chemical ex-foliation and reduction of graphite oxide produces large amounts of reduced graphene oxide which has similar properties as graphene. This thesis reports on the biosensors made of reduced graphene oxide and single walled carbon nanotubes based on their electronic properties. We also demonstrate the changes in electronic properties of single walled carbon nanotubes due to interactions with dendrimer molecules. Finally, the yielding and flow behaviour of graphene oxide nematic gel are discussed. Chapter 1 gives a general introduction about the preparation and characterization along with the electronic properties of the systems studied in this thesis, namely graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide and single walled carbon nanotubes. We have also discussed about the experimental techniques such as Raman, UV-visibe and infrared spectroscopy, atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopy and different types of rheometers used in this thesis work. In Chapter 2, we discuss top-gated field effect transistor characteristics of the devices made of reduced graphene oxide monolayer by dielectrophoresis. Raman spectrum of RGO flakes shows a single 2D band at 2687 cm 1, characteristic of a single layer graphene. The two probe current - voltage measurements of RGO flakes, deposited in between the patterned electrodes using a.c. dielectrophoresis show ohmic behavior with a resistance of 37kΩ. The temperature dependence of the resistance (R) of RGO measured between temperatures 305K to 393K yields the temperature coefficient of resistance of -9.5 10 4/K. Ambipolar nature of graphene flakes is observed upto a doping level of 6 1012/cm2 and carrier mobility of 50cm2/V-sec. The source - drain current characteristics shows a tendency of current saturation at high source - drain voltage which is analyzed quantitatively by a diffusive transport model. In Chapter 3, We demonstrate the detection of glucose molecules by using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and aminophenylboronic acid (APBA) complex with detection limit of 5 nM. APBA functionalized RGO (APBA-RGO) flakes, prepared by stirring the aqueous GO suspension in the presence of APBA molecules at 100◦C, were used as conducting channel in our field effect transistor (FET) devices. The APBA-RGO complex formation was confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), x - ray photoelectron, Raman and UV-visible spectroscopic studies. Detection of glucose molecules was carried out by monitoring the changes in electrical conductance of the APBA-RGO flake in the FET device. FET devices made of non-covelently functionalized APBA-RGO complex (nc-APBA-RGO) exhibited enhanced sensitivity over the devices made of covalently functionalized APBA-RGO complex (c-APBA-RGO). Change in normalized conductance in the FET devices made of nc-APBA-RGO flakes ( 85%) is 4 times more than that of in the devices made of c-APBA-RGO flakes in response to aqueous glucose solution with different concentrations. Specificity of APBA-RGO complex to glucose was proved from the observation of negligible change in electrical conductance of the FET devices made of nc-APBA-RGO complex after exposure to 10 mM lactose solution. Chapter 4 reports unipolar resistive switching in ultrathin films of chemically produced graphene (reduced graphene oxide) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The two - terminal devices with yield > 99% are made at room temperature by forming continuous films of graphene of thickness 20 nm on indium tin oxide coated glass electrode, followed by metal (Au or Al) deposition on the lm. These memory devices are non - volatile, rewritable with ON/OFF ratios up to 105 and switching times up to 10 s. The devices made of MWNT films are rewritable with ON/OFF ratios up to 400. The resistive switching mechanism is proposed to be nanogap formation. In the first part of Chapter 5, we study the interactions between SWNT and PETIM dendrimer by measuring the quenching of inherent fluorescence of the dendrimer. Also, the dendrimer - nanotube binding results in the increased electrical resistance of the hole-doped SWNT due to charge transfer interaction between the dendrimer and the nanotube. This charge transfer interaction was further corroborated by observing a shift in frequency of the tangential Raman modes of SWNT. Experimental studies were supplemented by all atom molecular dynamics simulations to provide a microscopic picture of the dendrimer - nanotube complex. The complexation was achieved through charge - transfer and hydrophobic interactions, aided by multitude of oxygen, nitrogen and n-propyl moieties of the dendrimer. We also studied the effect of acidic and neutral pH conditions on the binding affinities. In the second part, we show that SWNT decorated with sugar functionalized PETIM dendrimer is a very sensitive platform to quantitatively detect carbohydrate recognizing proteins, namely, lectins. The changes in electrical conductivity of SWNT in field effect transistor device due to carbohydrate - protein interactions forms the basis of this study. The mannose sugar attached PETIM dendrimers undergo charge - transfer interactions with the SWNT. The changes in the conductance of the dendritic sugar functionalized SWNT after addition of lectins in varying concentrations were found to follow the Langmuir type isotherm, giving the concanavalin A (Con A) - mannose affinity constant to be 8.5 106 M-1. The increase in the device conductance observed after adding 10 nM of Con A is same as after adding 20 µM of a non - specific lectin peanut agglutinin, showing the high specificity of the Con A - mannose interactions. The specificity of sugar-lectin interactions was characterized further by observing significant shifts in Raman modes of the SWNT. Chapter 6 reports the metal to semiconductor transition in metallic single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) due to the wrapping of mannose attached poly (propyl ether imine) dendrimer (DM) molecule. Scanning tunneling spectroscopic (STS) measurements and ionic liquid top gated field effect transistor (FET) characteristics of the nanotube-dendrimer complex gives a band gap of 0.42eV, close to the E11 energy gap between the first van Hove singularities of 1.7nm diameter semiconducting nanotubes. The absence of Breit-Wigner-Fano (BWF) component in G band in the Raman spectrum of the nanotube-dendrimer complex corroborates the semiconductor nature of the tubes after wrapping with the dendrimer molecules. Dendrimer molecule breaks the symmetry in metallic SWNT by wrapping around it through the charge transfer interactions. In the first part of Chapter 7, we demonstrate a rigidity percolation transition and the onset of yield stress in a dilute aqueous dispersion of graphene oxide platelets (aspect ratio 5000) above a critical volume fraction of 3.75x10-4 with a percolation exponent of 2.4 ± 0.1.The viscoelastic moduli of the gel at rest measured as a function of time indicates the absence of structural evolution of the 3D percolated network of disks. However, a shear-induced aging giving rise to a compact jammed state and shear rejuvenation indicating a homogenous flow is observed when a steady shear stress (σ ) is imposed in creep experiments. We construct a shear diagram (σ vs volume fraction ϕ) and the critical stress above which shear rejuvenation occurs is identified as the yield stress σ y of the gel. The minimum steady state shear rate ƴm obtained from creep experiments agrees well with the end of the plateau region in a controlled shear rate flow curve, indicating a shear localization below ƴm. A steady state shear banding in the plateau region of the flow curve observed in particle velocimetry measurements in a couette geometry confirms that the dilute suspensions of GO platelets form a thixotropic yield stress fluid (TYSF). In the second part, we report that the creep experiments on a nematic liquid crystalline suspension of Graphene Oxide platelets which was established recently as a TYSF exhibit two characteristic timescales Tc and Tf marking the onset of yielding, and a final steady state of flow respectively. We show that both Tc and Tf exhibit a power law dependence on the applied stress σ which can be linked to the steady state flow behaviour of a TYSF. The smooth transition from Andrade creep to the onset of flow with ƴ~ t 0.7 at a critical strain ƴc for different applied stresses, is well captured by the master curve for the creep compliance, obtained through a simple scaling of the creep times with either Tc or Tf . We propose that the absence of diverging timescales for onset of flow as σ→ yield stress σy from above, is a characteristic feature of TYSF. The thesis concludes with a summary of the main results and a brief account of the scope of future work described in Chapter 8.

Différents systèmes polyoxométallates@M-colorants ont été réalisés dans cette thèse pour électrochimique dégagement d'hydrogène catalytique et génération photocourant.• Des films hybrides, basés sur des interactions électrostatiques entre une porphyrine tetracationique et des nanoparticules stabilisées par des POMs du type POM@Pt sur ITO, ont été formés par la méthode dite couche par couche et ont été utilisés pour la génération de H2 ou de photocourant. • Pour améliorer le transfert de charge entre les nanoparticules POM@M et le substrat, la réduction de l'oxyde de graphène a été réalisée pour former des systèmes hybrides rGO/POM@Pt. Le dégagement d'hydrogène a été mesuré.• Les copolymères polycationiques bis-porphyrine ont également été obtenus par électropolymérisation avec des espaceurs bis-pyridinium. Par réaction de métathèse, l’incorporation avec divers POM de type Keggin ou des nanoparticules du type POM@Ag ont ensuite été realise. Leurs performances photovoltaïques ont ensuite été étudiées.• Enfin des films hybrides PEDOT dopés avec des nanoparticules du type POM@M ont également été fabriqués. Les performances photovoltaïques ont été examinés montrant une forte amélioration sous illumination dans le domaine du visible. L’ensemble de ces matériaux hybrides ont montré des propriétés intéressantes pour des applications photovoltaïques et la conversion d'énergie. / Polyoxometalates@M NPs-dyes molecular hybrid systems were realized in this thesis for electrochemical catalytic hydrogen evolution and photocurrent generation. • First, hybrid films, based on electrostatic interactions between the tetracationic porphyrin and POMs@Pt NPs composites on ITO slides, were formed by the so called Layer-by-Layer method for HER and photocurrent generation.• To improve the charge transfer between POMs@M NPs and the substrate, reduced graphene oxide was introduced to form rGO/POMs@Pt NPs hybrid systems. Hydrogen evolution was measured after dropping this composites onto the surface of glassy carbon electrodes.• Polycationic bis-porphyrin copolymers have been also obtained by an electropolymerization leading to the formation of new bis-porphyrin copolymers with pyridinium as spacers. Incorporation with various Keggin type POMs or POMs@Ag was then achieved, their photovoltaic performances were also studied.• POMs@M NPs doped PEDOT hybrids films have been also fabricated. The photovoltaic performances has been examined showing particularly strong enhancement under visible light. In conclusion, these polyoxometalates based hybrids materials have shown interesting properties for photovoltaic application and energy conversion.

Master thesis “Properties of graphenoid layers” deals with materials of graphenoid nature such as graphene, graphene oxide and its reduced state. The paper effectively summarize basic theoretical knowledge in the first half of its range. In the second half the project deals with practical part consisted of experiments with application of graphene oxide solvents, its analysis and especially comparing properties of non-reduced graphene oxide with its chemically reduced form. Material is examined in a form of applied thin layers on different substrates.

The diploma thesis deals with the possibility of using the addition of nanoparticles to improve the properties of cement composites. The theoretical part summarizes the findings of research in this area with a focus on methods of dispersion of nanoparticles and their treatment for use in cement composites. The experimental part focuses on the comparison of methods of dispersion and plasma treatment of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoparticle solutions from the point of view of the agglomeration process. During this work, a method of systematic optical/visual monitoring of sedimentation/agglomeration was developed to complement sophisticated methods such as spectrophotometry (UV/Vis) and electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the effect of the addition of rGO on the properties of cement mortar, in the form of aqueous solutions prepared by the dispersion methods determined in the previous section, was investigated.

This diploma thesis deals with the influence of addition of carbon nanoparticles on cement composites. The theoretical part of the diploma thesis is focused on the research of information about carbon nanoparticles, more precisely about carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide. There are summarized methods of dispersing carbon nanotubes and their effects on cement composites. The practical part follows the theoretical part of the research. In the first phase, the correct technique of graphene oxide dispersion was verified. Subsequently, the effects of graphene oxide on the mechanical properties of cement mortars were verified. In the final phase of the diploma thesis, the knowledge gained from the previous part was verified on concrete samples.