Thesis (Ph. D. - Soil, Water and Environmental Science)--University of Arizona, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-157).

Anionic chromate (VI) compounds are inhibitive pigments and have been effectively incorporated into organic coatings to protect metal surfaces from aggressive ions, but their risk as a human carcinogen and being harmful to the environment has led to the search of suitable alternatives. Aluminium alloy, AA2024-T3, is the substrate metal alloy used in the experiments and can be found in aircraft fuselage structures due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. However, the presence of intermetallic particles increases susceptibility to localised corrosion. To investigate the protection mechanisms of primers on light alloys, many different factors must be taken into account; from aluminium alloy corrosion processes, the effects of intermetallic additions to coating chemistry, morphology and inhibitive pigments. The chemical environment in which the samples are tested in will also affect the corrosion mechanisms of the alloy as well as the performance of the coatings and release of pigments. It will be important to consider which factors are operating under particular conditions so that experimental results can then be best interpreted. As part of this project, potentiodynamic polarisation, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrochemical noise analysis have been used to investigate the protective mechanisms in which chromate-based paints protect against corrosion and UV-Visible spectroscopy, scanning acoustic microscopy and optical microscopy have been used to investigate pigment release mechanism to identify what characteristics are important when developing new primers.

This thesis is concerned with the chemical modification of polymers in the preparation of a library of materials which exhibit altered surface properties as a result of the surface chemical functionality, with particular emphasis on the development of materials that control biofouling and are antibacterial. Chemical modification of crosslinked polystyrene, in film and microsphere form, was carried out by carbene insertion followed by diazonium coupling. This provided access to a collection of materials with varying surface chemistry, whilst the bulk properties of the polystyrene substrates were maintained. Synthesis of the diaryldiazo and the diazonium salts used to perform the surface modifications is described, as well as the preparation and characterisation of the materials. Analysis of the ability of the materials to adsorb and bind the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) is presented with data obtained from two methods of observation. Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) and a protein assay based on the change in optical density of a BSA/PBS solution are used to demonstrate how the specific surface chemistry of the materials influences the ability to adsorb and bind protein. The behaviour of the materials was time dependent and was rationalised with respect to the surface water contact angle and the calculated parameters polar surface area and % polar surface area of the functional groups added to the surfaces. Finally, penicillin loaded materials were prepared and their antibacterial activity was tested against E. coli and S. aureus, demonstrating that the antibiotic is still active from within the polystyrene scaffold.

Cette thèse de doctorat a été réalisée en cotutelle entre les Universités de Rennes 1 en France et de Florence en Italie. L’objectif de ce travail est tout d’abord de rationaliser les propriétés inter- et intramoléculaires de molécules-aimants (Single Molecule Magnet – SMM) à base d’ions lanthanides (“partie moléculaire”) et puis leur évolution une fois absorbé sur surface (''partie sur surface''). Ces deux aspects ont été examinés dans un cadre théorique et computationnel, en utilisant différentes techniques multi-niveaux, de periodic Density Functional Theory (pDFT) en utilisant une approche post-Hartree-Fock, en fonction de la variable expérimentale d’intérêt. Les molécules-aimants sont d'un intérêt particulier pour le design de nouveaux matériaux magnétiques dans la science des surfaces (comme la spintronique), mais elles permettent également une connaissance des propriétés électroniques et magnétiques approfondie est également nécessaire. / The Ph.D. project was a joint agreement between two universities: Université de Rennes 1 in France and Università di Firenze in Italy. The project aimed to shed light on the rationalization of the inter- and intramolecular properties of novel lanthanide-based Single Molecule Magnets, SMMs, (“molecular part”) and their evolution once adsorbed on surface (“surface part”). Both aspects are examined within a theoretical and computational framework, with different multi-level techniques ranging from periodic Density Functional Theory (pDFT) to post-Hartree-Focks approaches, depending on the experimental observable of interest. SMMs are, indeed, at the cutting-edge in the design of novel magnetic materials in surface science (as spintronics or memory storage devices), but for their exploitation a deep understanding of their electronic and magnetic properties is needed.

Au-based catalysts present excellent low temperature activity and selectivity for partial oxidation reactions, but the fundamental issue of atomic oxygen availability, the key parameter to obtain such reactivity, remains present. To enable the O2 dissociation reaction, Au nanoparticles must be smaller than 5 nm, which induces structural issues for upscaled applications. Alloying Au creates synergistic catalytic effects, and this option is investigated here: using residual amounts of Ag enables the O2 dissociation, regardless of the size of the Au-Ag catalyst. Questions remain about the precise interplays between the surface structure, the composition and the observed reactivity and selectivity. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the phenomena occurring during oxidation catalysis on Au-Ag surfaces, at a molecular scale, using surface science techniques.Nanoporous (np) Au structures with residual amounts of Ag (1-5 at.%) are increasingly used as catalyst for oxidation reactions. They are made of an interconnected array of three-dimensional ligaments (20-70 nm in diameter) presenting highly crystalline structures and exposing different crystallographic facets with different properties. These structural features allow for a bottom-up surface science investigation using Au-Ag samples with increasing structural complexity. The used experimental approach provides representative data on single crystals (using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) and quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS)), on model nanoparticles (using field ion microscopy (FIM) and field electron microscopy (FEM)) and on np-Au samples (using temporary analysis of products (TAP) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS)) and allows to corroborate results from the different techniques. During experiments with the respective techniques, these samples are exposed to O2, NO2, H2, CO, CH4, CH3OH as well as their analogous reactive gas mixtures to study the corresponding oxidation reactions.PEEM experiments allowed to determine the crucial importance of low coordinated surface atoms to achieve reactivity towards O2 dissociation. This assessment became even clearer when no reactivity towards oxidation of any of the probed reactions was determined on fully Ag covered Au(111) surfaces. Model nanoparticles used in FIM and FEM expose a multitude of crystallographic facets, allowing to simultaneously study facets with varying catalytic properties and understand the influence of connective properties such as surface diffusion of adsorbates or the effects of surface reconstructions on neighbouring facets. On pure Au, the catalytic performances in oxidation reactions are highlighted but an external source of O(ads) was shown to be necessary. Pure Ag samples present a high susceptibility of oxidation which allows for reactivity towards all of the probed reactants, but ultimately leads to the deactivation of the surface by permanent oxidation. Au-8.8 at.%Ag samples present intermediate properties with an intrinsic ability to provide O(ads) from O2, and reactive regimes over prolongated periods of time are possible. Differences in activity are discussed with respect to various parameters such as the underlying crystallographic structures, the chemical composition and repartition of the adsorbates, the temperature, the reconstructions and compositional changes of the surface. Finally, experiments in TAP on np-Au-1.5 at.%.Ag confirmed the selectivity changes in the case of oxidising pre-treatments during methanol oxidation. These changes are corroborated in DRIFTS under ambient pressure conditions during CO oxidation.This work contributes to the clarification of elementary steps during the oxidation processes on Au-Ag surfaces. The possibility to extrapolate results from single crystal surfaces under reduced pressure conditions up to nanoporous structures under ambient pressure is shown. This allows the partial bridging of the materials and pressure gaps between studies undertaken by the surface science and the applied catalysis approaches. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished