RuO2/carbon composites have attracted a lot of attention for use as supercapacitor electrodes due to their high power and energy capabilities. Methods for loading the RuO2 into the carbon include impregnation and electrochemical deposition. The first project involves impregnation of RuO2 nanoparticles into a mesoporous carbon powder. Structural changes of the RuO2 nanoparticles in the composite were induced by annealing at high temperatures, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption (XAS) were used to study the changes. In situ electrochemical-XAS experiments were also developed and performed to study the structural stability of the RuO2 nanoparticles in the composite as well as bulk RuO2•xH2O, with respect to changing potential. Preliminary work on the electrodeposition of RuO2•xH2O onto Au foil and carbon cloth was performed. An electrode with a high specific capacitance of the RuO2•xH2O component was achieved. However, further studies need to be performed to optimize the deposition solution.

Gas sensor control is potentially one of the most important techniques of tomorrow for the environment. All over the world cars are preferred for transportation, and accordingly the number of cars increases, unfortunately, together with pollutants. Boilers and powerplants are other sources of pollutants to the environment. Metal-Insulator-Silicon Carbide (MISiC) Field-effect sensors in car applications and boilers have the potential to reduce the amount of pollutants. These devices are sensitive to several gases in exhaust and flues gases, such as hydrogen, hydrocarbons, and ammonia (for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) application). These applications require specific and long term stable sensors. The car industry for instance wants sensors that will stand at least 240 000 km. This thesis presents studies of the active layers in MIS Fieldeffect gas sensors. Fundamental studies of the sensor mechanism has been performed in ultra high vacuum, UHV, to understand the gas response mechanism in more detail, and to find out how the sensing mechanism is affected by the catalytic active gate material. The influence of four different insulating layers was studied at atmospheric pressure. The catalytic layer has also been altered to metal oxide nanoparticles with or without impregnation of catalytic metals. Nanoparticles are potential candidates to be used as the gate material for high temperature, long-term stable FET sensor devices. The combination of catalytic metals and metal oxides may prevent reconstruction of the metal. The use of nanoparticles will increase the number of triple points (catalytic material and insulator in contact with gas), which are crucial e.g. for the ammonia sensitivity. Another challenging aspect of nanoparticles is the possibility to get selectivity to different gases based on the particle size. The goal is to find new sensitive, selective and more long term stable materials, which meet the requirements above. From the UHV studies we learned that the two catalytic active metals Pt and Pd, do behave in a similar way, although there are some quantitative differences. Values for the heat of adsorption on both the Pd and Pt surfaces are estimated as well as the dipole moments for the adsorbates on the insulator surface. The insulators play an important role in the sensing mechanism, since the adsorption of hydrogen atoms (or protons) that are detected by the sensor occur on the insulator surface. By changing the insulator material the saturation response of the sensors is affected. It was shown that Al2O3 gave a higher saturated response to hydrogen in Pt-MIS capacitors at 140°C as compared to Ta2O5, SiO2, and Si3N4. We have tested wet synthesized ruthenium dioxide and ruthenium nanoparticles, which are electrically conducting and catalytically active sensing material. RuO2 is especially interesting as a high temperature material since it is already oxidized. Both materials show a sensitivity pattern comparable to porous platinum. The temperature dependence of the gas response indicates a higher catalytic activity of the RuO2 as compared to Ru nanoparticles. Nanoparticles synthesized by aerosol technology provide several advantages like a good adhesion of the particles to the substrate, many possible material combinations and efficient methods for particle separation according to size. The methods to use this technology for sensing materials in MISiC sensors are now under development and some preliminary results are obtained. / On the day of the public defence of the doctoral thesis, the status of articles I and II was: accepted for publication.

A film which is optically transparent and electrically conductive is difficult to come by but can be realized in ways such as doping an oxidized film or by oxidizing a metallic film resulting in what is known as a transparent conducting oxide (TCO). TCO's have many important uses in electronics, especially as the top contact in to solar cells where efficient transmission of light and low electrical resistivity allow for higher efficiency solar cells and as the gate contact in AlGaN/GaN HFET's allowing for optical characterization of the subsurface transistor properties. Because these devices rely heavily on the characteristics of its material interfaces, a detailed analysis should be done to investigate the electrical effects of implementing a TCO. In this work, the electrical characterization of ruthenium dioxide (RuO₂) Schottky contacts to gallium nitride (GaN) formed by evaporating ruthenium with a subsequent open-air annealing is presented. The results gathered from the current-voltage-temperature and the capacitance-voltage relationships were compared to ruthenium (Ru) on GaN and platinum (Pt) on GaN. Additionally, the measurement and analysis procedure was qualified on a similar structure of nickel on GaAs due to its well-behave nature and presence in the literature. The results indicate that an inhomogeneous Gaussian distribution of barrier heights exists at the RuO₂/GaN interface with an increase of 83meV in the mean barrier height when compared to Ru/GaN. / Master of Science

Diverses nanostructures de dioxyde de ruthénium ont été synthétisées par oxydation locale du ruthénium massif et de films minces de ruthénium au moyen de plasmas micro-ondes Ar-O2 en post-décharge à la pression atmosphérique. Ces revêtements ont été déposés préalablement par pulvérisation magnétron. Une étude approfondie a été réalisée pour déterminer l’évolution radiale de la température de surface qui évolue typiquement entre 530 K et 900 K. L’utilisation d’un plasma permet un abaissement de la température d’oxydation par rapport à des conditions thermiques dans la mesure où l’oxygène moléculaire est excité ou dissocié, ce qui fournit des espèces plus réactives comme l’oxygène singulet ou l’oxygène atomique. Suivant le substrat utilisé et les conditions opératoires, des structures en lamelles distantes de 20-50 nm, des micro-oursins localisés, des nanofils longs et denses et des microcristaux peuvent être formés. Les nanostructures obtenues ont été caractérisées par différentes techniques (microscopies électroniques, diffraction des rayons X ou spectrométrie de masse des ions secondaires). Les analyses MET ne révèlent pas d’orientation privilégiée des nanofils qui sont généralement monocristallins. Des mécanismes de croissance des nanostructures très différents ont été observés et identifiés. S’il apparaît qu’il est impossible sur substrat massif de ruthénium d’obtenir des nanostructures uniformément réparties, il en va autrement avec des substrats recouverts d’une couche mince de ruthénium qui permettent de former de véritables tapis de nanofils. La possibilité de localiser la croissance des nanofils par ajout de sels alcalins a été étudiée / Various ruthenium dioxide nanostructures were locally grown by the oxidation with an atmospheric pressure Ar-O2 microwave micro-afterglow of bulk ruthenium samples or thin films previously deposited by magnetron sputtering on silicon and silica. A special attention was paid to the distribution of the surface temperature of the sample which evolves typically between 530 K and 900 K. The use of plasma discharges allows a lowering of the temperature compared with the thermal oxidation conditions, given that molecular oxygen is excited or dissociated, which provides more reactive species such as singlet oxygen or atomic oxygen. According to the substrate used and the operating conditions, different nanostructures can be formed: lamellae separated by 20–50 nm, localized nano-sea urchins, high density of long nanowires and microcrystals. Nanostructures obtained were characterized by various techniques (electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction or secondary ion mass spectrometry). The grown RuO2 nanowires were determined to be generally single-crystalline with random crystallographic orientations. Very different growth mechanisms were observed and identified. Although it seems impossible to obtain uniformly distributed nanostructures on bulk ruthenium substrates, it is possible from substrates coated by a thin layer of ruthenium, which allows the formation of nanowire carpet. The possibility to localize the growth of nanowires by adding alkali salts has been studied. However, if the use of NaCl or KCl crystals locally enhances the nanowire density, they do not ensure systematically the growth of nanowires

<p>An essential ingredient in the generation of environmentally compatible pulp bleaching chemicals is sodium chlorate. Chlorate is produced in electrochemical cells, where the electrodes are the key components. In Sweden the so-called DSA !R electrodes with catalytic coatings have been produced for more than 35 years. The production of chlorate uses a large amount of electric energy, and a decrease of just five percent of this consumption would, globally, decrease the consumption of electrical energy corresponding to half a nuclear power reactor. The aim of this project is to improve the electrode design on the nanoscale to decrease the energy consumption. The success of the DSA!R depends on the large catalytic area of the coating, however, little is known about the actual structure at the nanometer level. To increase the understanding of the nanostructure of these coatings, we used a number of methods, including atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, porosimetry, and voltammetric charge. We found that the entire coating is built up of loosely packed rutile mono-crystalline 20 − 30 nm sized grains. The small grain sizes give a the large area, and consequently, lower cell-voltage and reduced energy consumption. A method to control the grain size would thus be a way to control the electrode efficiency. To alter the catalytically active area, we made changes in the coating process parameters. We found a dependency of the crystal-grain sizes on the choice of ruthenium precursor and processing temperature. The use of ruthenium nitrosyl nitrate resulted in smaller grains than ruthenium chloride and lowering the temperature tended to favour smaller grains. A more radical way would be to create a totally different type of electrode, manufactured in another way than using the 1965 DSA !R recipe. Such new types of electrodes based on, for example, nanowires or nanoimprint lithography, are discussed as future directions.</p>

An essential ingredient in the generation of environmentally compatible pulp bleaching chemicals is sodium chlorate. Chlorate is produced in electrochemical cells, where the electrodes are the key components. In Sweden the so-called DSA !R electrodes with catalytic coatings have been produced for more than 35 years. The production of chlorate uses a large amount of electric energy, and a decrease of just five percent of this consumption would, globally, decrease the consumption of electrical energy corresponding to half a nuclear power reactor. The aim of this project is to improve the electrode design on the nanoscale to decrease the energy consumption. The success of the DSA!R depends on the large catalytic area of the coating, however, little is known about the actual structure at the nanometer level. To increase the understanding of the nanostructure of these coatings, we used a number of methods, including atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, porosimetry, and voltammetric charge. We found that the entire coating is built up of loosely packed rutile mono-crystalline 20 − 30 nm sized grains. The small grain sizes give a the large area, and consequently, lower cell-voltage and reduced energy consumption. A method to control the grain size would thus be a way to control the electrode efficiency. To alter the catalytically active area, we made changes in the coating process parameters. We found a dependency of the crystal-grain sizes on the choice of ruthenium precursor and processing temperature. The use of ruthenium nitrosyl nitrate resulted in smaller grains than ruthenium chloride and lowering the temperature tended to favour smaller grains. A more radical way would be to create a totally different type of electrode, manufactured in another way than using the 1965 DSA !R recipe. Such new types of electrodes based on, for example, nanowires or nanoimprint lithography, are discussed as future directions.

Heterogeneous electrocatalysis is the usage of solid materials to decrease the amount of energy needed to produce chemicals using electricity. It is of core importance for modern life, as it enables production of chemicals, such as chlorine gas and sodium chlorate, needed for e.g. materials and pharmaceuticals production. Furthermore, as the need to make a transition to usage of renewable energy sources is growing, the importance for electrocatalysis used for electrolytic production of clean fuels, such as hydrogen, is rising. In this thesis, work aimed at understanding and improving electrocatalysts used for these purposes is presented. A main part of the work has been focused on the selectivity between chlorine gas, or sodium chlorate formation, and parasitic oxygen evolution. An activation of anode surface Ti cations by nearby Ru cations is suggested as a reason for the high chlorine selectivity of the “dimensionally stable anode” (DSA), the standard anode used in industrial chlorine and sodium chlorate production. Furthermore, theoretical methods have been used to screen for dopants that can be used to improve the activity and selectivity of DSA, and several promising candidates have been found. Moreover, the connection between the rate of chlorate formation and the rate of parasitic oxygen evolution, as well as the possible catalytic effects of electrolyte contaminants on parasitic oxygen evolution in the chlorate process, have been studied experimentally. Additionally, the properties of a Co-doped DSA have been studied, and it is found that the doping makes the electrode more active for hydrogen evolution. Finally, the hydrogen evolution reaction on both RuO2 and the noble-metal-free electrocatalyst material MoS2 has been studied using a combination of experimental and theoretically calculated X-ray photoelectron chemical shifts. In this way, insight into structural changes accompanying hydrogen evolution on these materials is obtained. / Heterogen elektrokatalys innebär användningen av fasta material för att minska energimängden som krävs för produktion av kemikalier med hjälp av elektricitet. Heterogen elektrokatalys har en central roll i det moderna samhället, eftersom det möjliggör produktionen av kemikalier såsom klorgas och natriumklorat, som i sin tur används för produktion av t ex konstruktionsmaterial och läkemedel. Vikten av användning av elektrokatalys för produktion av förnybara bränslen, såsom vätgas, växer dessutom i takt med att en övergång till användning av förnybar energi blir allt nödvändigare. I denna avhandling presenteras arbete som utförts för att förstå och förbättra sådana elektrokatalysatorer. En stor del av arbetet har varit fokuserat på selektiviteten mellan klorgas och biprodukten syrgas i klor-alkali och kloratprocesserna. Inom ramen för detta arbete har teoretisk modellering av det dominerande anodmaterialet i dessa industriella processer, den så kallade “dimensionsstabila anoden” (DSA), använts för att föreslå en fundamental anledning till att detta material är speciellt klorselektivt. Vi föreslår att klorselektiviteten kan förklaras av en laddningsöverföring från ruteniumkatjoner i materialet till titankatjonerna i anodytan, vilket aktiverar titankatjonerna. Baserat på en bred studie av ett stort antal andra dopämnen föreslår vi dessutom vilka dopämnen som är bäst lämpade för produktion av aktiva och klorselektiva anoder. Med hjälp av experimentella studier föreslår vi dessutom en koppling mellan kloratbildning och oönskad syrgasbildning i kloratprocessen, och vidare har en bred studie av tänkbara elektrolytföroreningar utförts för att öka förståelsen för syrgasbildningen i denna process. Två studier relaterade till elektrokemisk vätgasproduktion har också gjorts. En experimentell studie av Co-dopad DSA har utförts, och detta elektrodmaterial visade sig vara mer aktivt för vätgasutveckling än en standard-DSA. Vidare har en kombination av experimentell och teoretisk röntgenfotoelektronspektroskopi använts för att öka förståelsen för strukturella förändringar som sker i RuO2 och i det ädelmetallfria elektrodmaterialet MoS2 under vätgasutveckling. / <p>QC 20151119</p>

Ce mémoire portant sur le développement de liquides ioniques protiques à l'état liquide à température ambiante en tant qu'électrolytes pour des supercapacités faradiques à base de dioxyde de ruthénium est divisé en trois études distinctes. La première permet d'évaluer quelles propriétés de ces sels fondus doivent être optimisées pour cette application en utilisant les données recueillies avec une série de nouveaux liquides ioniques protiques constitués de l'acide trifluoroacétique et différentes bases hétérocycliques azotées. La seconde discute de l'effet d'impuretés colorées sur les propriétés des liquides ioniques ainsi que sur des aspects pratiques devant être pris en considération lors des synthèses. La troisième traite d'importantes relations structure–propriétés pour une série de liquides ioniques protiques ayant des cations du type pyridinium et différents anions. Dans leur ensemble, les travaux présentés devraient permettre une recherche plus efficace de liquides ioniques avec des propriétés désirables en vue d'application comme électrolyte dans le futur. / This thesis on the development of room temperature protic ionic liquids as electrolytes in ruthenium-dioxide based faradaic superpacitors consists of three separate studies. The first one establishes which properties of molten salts need to be optimized for this application by using the data obtained from the analysis of a series of protic ionic liquids composed of trifluoroacetic acid and N-heterocyclic bases. The second study elaborates on the effect of colored impurities on the properties of ionic liquids and also reports practical aspects which need to be accounted for during their synthesis. The third study focuses on important structure–property relationships for a series of protic ionic liquids with pyridinium cations and various anions. Altogether, the results presented in here should allow a more efficient design of ionic liquids with desirable properties for application as electrolytes in the future.

Ziel dieser Arbeit war, die Rastertunnelmikroskopie, die bereits zur Aufklärung von einfachen Reaktionsmechanismen eingesetzt wurde, für em kompliziertere Reaktionen anzuwenden. Die Oxidation von CO auf Pd(111) und auf einem RuO2-Film auf Ru(0001) wurde untersucht. Strukturelle Analysen ergeben mikroskopische Verteilungen der Adsorbate in den Überstrukturen von O und CO auf Pd(111) und RuO2. Dynamische und quantitative Analysen der Reaktionen liefern die Kinetik und die Mechanismen der Reaktionen direkt auf der mikroskopischen Ebene. O-Atome auf Pd(111) sind bei mittleren Bedeckungsgraden (0.10< theta mathrm O 135 K beweglich. Die Aktivierungsenergie der Diffusion (E * mathrm diff ) beträgt 0.54 pm 0.08 eV, der präexponentielle Faktor der Sprünge Gamma mathrm o beträgt 10 16 pm 3 s -1. Bei niedrigen Bedeckungen (theta mathrm CO sim 0) sind die CO-Moleküle auf Pd(111) schon bei T mathrm sample = 60 K sehr beweglich. Wenn man einen präexponentiellen Faktor von Gamma mathrm o = 10 13 s -1 annimmt, ergibt sich für E * mathrm diff von CO ein Wert von 0.15 eV. Adsorbiert CO auf der (2 times2) -O-Überstruktur bei T mathrm sample > 130 K, kommt es mit steigendem Bedeckungsgrad von CO zu Phasenübergängen, zunächst in eine ( sqrt 3 times Sqrt 3 ) R30 circ -O-Struktur, dann in eine (2 times1)-Struktur. Während der Phasenübergänge nimmt die Mobilität der O-Atome zu, was sich in einer Abnahme der E* mathrm diff um 10 bis 20 % (unter der Annahme von Gamma mathrm o = 10 16 s -1) im Vergleich zu einer CO-freien Oberfläche niederschlägt. Am Ende der Phasenübergänge entstehen aus einer fast völlig ungeordneten (O+CO)-Phase viele kleine (2 times1)-Inseln, die sich zu grösseren Inseln zusammenlegen. Die (2 times1)-Inseln sind bereits bei T mathrm sample = 136 K sehr reaktiv. Die quantitative Analyse der Abreaktion der (2 times1)-Inseln ergibt, dass die Reaktionsrate proportional zur Inselfläche und nicht zur Randlänge ist. Die Reaktionsordnung bezüglich theta mathrm(2 times1) ist sim 1. Unter der Annahme eines Vorfaktors k mathrm o von 10 13 s -1 wurde für diese Reaktion ein E* mathrm reac von 0.41 eV abgeschätzt. Für eine CO-Adsorption auf der (2 times2)-O-Überstruktur bei T mathrm sample < 130 K kommt es nicht zu einem Phasenübergang, sondern CO adsorbiert auf der (2 times2)-O-Struktur. Der RuO2-Film wurde bei Temperaturen zwischen 650 und 900 K auf der Ru(0001)-Probe aufgewachsen. Die Morphologie des Oxidfilms hängt stark von der Temperatur der Probe während des Wachstums Tprep ab. Bei Tprep sim 650 K ist die Morphologie überwiegend kinetisch bestimmt. Mit steigendener Temperatur bis Tprep = 900 K werden thermodynamische Effekte immer wichtiger. Die Dicke der Oxidschicht hängt nicht von Tprep ab und beträgt 7 AA bis 15 AA, was 2 bis 5 (Ru-O)-Monolagen entspricht. Die thermodynamische Stabilität der Morphologie ergibt sich aus Experimenten, in denen die Oxidschicht durch Heizen auf verschiedene Temperaturen partiell verdampft wurde. Der Film dampft nicht lageweise ab, sondern es entstehen Löcher in der ansonsten unverdampften Oxidschicht. Die Löcher haben eine charakteristische Form. Sie bilden Parallelogramme oder Rechtecke mit einer langen Achse in [001]-Richtung. Die Oberflächenenergie gamma 001 der einen Flanke der Löcher ist 2 bis 5 mal grösser als gamma bar110 der anderen Flanke. Beim Verdampfen des Films verbleiben die freigesetzten Ru-Atome des Oxids auf dem Substrat. Sie bilden dort eine komplizierte Morphologie von hexagonalen und runden Inseln. Die mikroskopischen Beobachtungen der chemischen Prozesse auf dem Film bestätigen die auf den makroskopischen Untersuchungen basierenden Modelle. Ein neuer Befund ist, dass die CO-Moleküle bei Raumtemperatur auf den Rulf -Reihen stabil adsorbieren, sobald die Ruzf -Reihen vollständig mit CO bedeckt sind. Der maximale Bedeckungsgrad theta mathrm CO1f ist 0.5, die COlf-Moleküle bilden lokal geordnete (2times1)-, c(2times2)- und (1times1)-Überstrukturen. Allerdings kommt es bei theta mathrm CO1f sim 0.5 zu einer langsamen Desorption. Wenn man ein k mathrm o von 10 16 s -1 annimmt, lässt sich ein E * mathrm des von 1.00 eV abschätzen. Unter der Annahme von Gamma mathrm o und k mathrm o von 10 13 s -1 lassen sich E* mathrm diff -Werte für O und CO zwischen 0.89 und 0.93 eV abschätzen, und für die Reaktion zwischen COlf und Olf ein Wert von E* mathrm reac sim 0.87 eV. Die Reaktionen zwischen Ozf und COlf, zwischen Olf und COzf sowie zwischen Olf und COlf verlaufen überwiegend statistisch. Manchmal wird eine leicht bevorzugte Reaktion quer zu den Rulf - und Ruzf -Reihen beobachtet. Unter steady-state-Bedingungen kann CO bei genügend grossem Partialdruck auf der Oberfläche adsorbieren. Unter steady-state-Bedingungen werden die gleichen COlf-Überstrukturen beobachtet wie in einer CO-Atmosphäre oder bei der Titration mit CO. Bei massiver Dosierung der Oxidoberfläche mit Oz und CO (sim 100 L) werden weisse Flecken beobachtet, die COlf ähnlich sind. Allerdings reagieren diese weder mit Oz noch mit CO, was auf einen anderen chemischen Zustand der RuO2-Oberfläche als den sauberen Zustand hinweist. / Scanning Tunneling Microscopy has already been established as a tool for the investigation of simple reaction mechanisms. The aim of this thesis was to apply this technique to study emmore complicated reactions. The oxidation of CO on Pd(111) and on a RuO2 film grown on Ru(0001) was investigated. Structural analyses of the O, CO and (CO+O) adlayers on Pd(111) and on RuO2 reveal the microscopic distributions of the adsorbates on the surfaces. Dynamic and quantitative analyses of the reactions yield the reaction kinetics and the reaction mechanisms in a direct way at the microscopic level. O atoms on Pd(111) at intermediate coverages (0.10

Ce mémoire portant sur le développement de liquides ioniques protiques à l'état liquide à température ambiante en tant qu'électrolytes pour des supercapacités faradiques à base de dioxyde de ruthénium est divisé en trois études distinctes. La première permet d'évaluer quelles propriétés de ces sels fondus doivent être optimisées pour cette application en utilisant les données recueillies avec une série de nouveaux liquides ioniques protiques constitués de l'acide trifluoroacétique et différentes bases hétérocycliques azotées. La seconde discute de l'effet d'impuretés colorées sur les propriétés des liquides ioniques ainsi que sur des aspects pratiques devant être pris en considération lors des synthèses. La troisième traite d'importantes relations structure–propriétés pour une série de liquides ioniques protiques ayant des cations du type pyridinium et différents anions. Dans leur ensemble, les travaux présentés devraient permettre une recherche plus efficace de liquides ioniques avec des propriétés désirables en vue d'application comme électrolyte dans le futur. / This thesis on the development of room temperature protic ionic liquids as electrolytes in ruthenium-dioxide based faradaic superpacitors consists of three separate studies. The first one establishes which properties of molten salts need to be optimized for this application by using the data obtained from the analysis of a series of protic ionic liquids composed of trifluoroacetic acid and N-heterocyclic bases. The second study elaborates on the effect of colored impurities on the properties of ionic liquids and also reports practical aspects which need to be accounted for during their synthesis. The third study focuses on important structure–property relationships for a series of protic ionic liquids with pyridinium cations and various anions. Altogether, the results presented in here should allow a more efficient design of ionic liquids with desirable properties for application as electrolytes in the future.