This research emphasizes on the use of seeded growth in synthesis of noble metal nanocrystals with precise control over the size, shape, and composition. In the first part of this work, I have produced Au nanocrystals with single-crystal structure and truly spherical profiles and investigated their optical properties and self-assembly as induced by dilution with water. These Au nanospheres were generated in high yield and purity, together with controllable sizes continually increased from 5 to 150 nm. I also found these Au nanospheres self-assembled into dimers, larger aggregates, and wavy nanowires, respectively, as diluted with water. In the second part of this work, I demonstrate the kinetic control can be implemented to control the shape of mono- and bi-metallic nanocrystals in seeded growth. The as-prepared single-crystal nanospheres of Au were employed as seeds to synthesize of tetrahedral Au nanocrystals and Au@Pd core-shell nanocrystals with six distinct shapes. The success of the two demonstrations relies on manipulation of reaction kinetics to achieve different product shapes. The reaction kinetics was controlled by varying a set of reaction parameters, including the type and concentration of capping agent, the amount of reductant, and the injection rate of metal precursor solution. In the final part of this work, I will discuss an unusual change in crystallinity observed in seeded growth of Au nanocrystals on Au seeds. In particular, single-crystal Au seeds treated with a chemical species could develop twin defects during the seed-mediated growth process to yield multiply twinned products.

Described herein are two projects focusing on developing and investigating two types of nanoparticles (NPs) grown by the seeded growth method from a conducting metallopolymer for photovoltaic (PV) applications. Core/shell CdS/ZnS NPs are proven to resist the photo-oxidation of PV devices, while CuInxGa(1-x)Se2 (CIGS) NPs are expected to optimize the efficiency of PV devices. / text

The main theme of this dissertation is the fabrication and analysis of modified mesoporous silica membranes for separation applications. Synthesis methods for mesoporous silica membranes have been developed to enhance the transport performance and quality of the membranes, such as permeability, pore volume, and surface area. Then, synthesized membranes were modified with different organic groups to tailor selectivity in separations. The collected studies of modified mesoporous silica membranes showed that appropriate functionalization on newly synthesized novel membranes leads to promising structural and permeation properties. First, a seeded growth method was developed for synthesis of MCM-48 membranes on alumina supports, thereby extending the seeded growth technique used for zeolite membranes to mesoporous silica membrane synthesis. The surface properties of the MCM-48 membranes were then modified by silylation with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS). In comparison to MCM-48 membranes previously synthesized by the in situ growth technique, much less silica infiltration into the alumina support was observed. The pore structure of the MCM-48 membranes demonstrated that a large accessible pore volume was available for molecular permeation and pore modification to tailor selectivity. The gas permeation properties of the calcined and silylated MCM-48 membranes were consistent with a Knudsen-like mechanism, albeit with a substantial influence of gas-solid interactions in the mesopores. The silylated MCM-48 membranes were evaluated for pervaporative separation of ethanol (EtOH), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and ethyl acetate (EA) from their dilute aqueous solutions. The synthesized membranes exhibited high pervaporative separation factors and organic fluxes. The selective separation of organic/water mixtures with MCM-48 membranes were attributed to both the organophilic nature of the surface and the effective pore size of the silylated mesopores. Next, the synthesis and organic/water separation properties of mesoporous silica membranes supported on low-cost and scalable polymeric (polyamide-imide) hollow fibers and modified by trimethylsilylation with HMDS was studied. Thin, defect-free membranes that exhibited high gas permeances consistent with Knudsen-like diffusion through the mesopores were prepared. Silylation of these membranes did not affect the integrity of the mesoporous silica structure and the underlying polymeric hollow fiber, but led to capping of the surface silanol groups in the mesopores with trimethylsilyl groups. The silylated mesoporous membranes were evaluated for pervaporative separation of EtOH, MEK, EA, iso-butanol, and n-butanol from their dilute aqueous solutions. The membranes showed higher separation factors than those of flat membranes, along with high organic fluxes. The large increase in hydrophobicity of the membranes upon silylation allowed upgrading of the feed mixtures to permeate streams with considerably higher organic content. The selective separation of organic/water mixtures with the fiber-supported mesoporous silica membranes was attributed to both the organophilic nature of the surface (yielding good adsorption selectivity) and the effective pore size of the silylated mesopores (giving good fluxes). Comparison with other types of organic/water separation membranes revealed that the present silylated membrane platform shows good promise for use in organic/water separation applications due to its high flux, scalable and low-cost fabrication methodology, and good separation factors that can be further enhanced by tailoring the mesopore modification chemistry. Further, the gas transport properties of aziridine-functionalized mesoporous silica membranes on polymeric hollow fibers have also investigated. The mesoporous membranes were amine-functionalized with aziridine and their transport properties were studied to understand the effects of surface functionalization on gas separations. This new hybrid aminosilica membrane showed interesting and counter-intuitive N₂ selective permeation properties in dry CO₂/N₂ separations. Detailed characterization of the membrane structure and its permeation behavior showed that such behavior was due to the strong adsorption of CO₂, leading to reduced gas flux because of CO₂-induced amine crosslinking in the mesopores. This hyper-branched aminosilica membrane showed CO₂ selective properties when applied to humid gas permeation. Water molecules in the humid gas affected the adsorption of CO₂ molecules by causing a lower degree of crosslinking, allowing facilitated transport of CO₂.

La synthèse par voie chimique en solution permet d’obtenir des nanoparticules de caractéristiques structurales bien contrôlées. Elle offre ainsi la possibilité d’exploiter les propriétés spécifiques qui sont associées aux caractéristiques de ces nano-objets (taille, forme, structure cristalline …), dans des domaines applicatifs très diverses. Parmi eux, la catalyse, a un rôle important à jouer au cœur de la transition écologique/énergétique. En effet, pour de nombreuses réactions, l’utilisation de nanoparticules permet de réduire les quantités de métaux employés. De plus, certains métaux révèlent de nouvelles propriétés à cette échelle. Phénomène de surface, la catalyse implique ainsi de plus en plus l’utilisation de nanocristaux de tailles et formes contrôlées. La littérature démontre qu’il est possible de moduler la sélectivité et l’activité des catalyseurs en fonction de l’orientation cristallographique présentée par les facettes des nanocristaux. Dans la première partie de cette thèse, des nanoparticules de platine ont été synthétisées en utilisant comme précurseur principal un simple sel de Pt(II). En fonction des paramètres de la réaction, des formes très variées ont été obtenues. Nous avons essayé de comprendre le mécanisme de formation des différentes morphologies de nanoparticules de platine auxquelles nous avons pu accéder : cubes concaves exposant des facettes (110), multipodes exposant un mélange de facettes (111) et (001), ainsi que des cubes exposant des facettes (001). La deuxième partie vise à étudier l’impact de la forme de nano-objets de platine dans une réaction catalytique modèle. Des cubes concaves et des multipodes ont été testés dans l’hydrogénation d’un aldéhyde α,β-insaturé, le cinnamaldéhyde, réaction modèle permettant de sonder la chimiosélectivité. Des nano-objets libres en solution ainsi que des nano-objets immobilisés sur deux types de supports différents, la silice et le graphène ont été utilisés. Enfin, l’extension d’une méthode de synthèse de nanocristaux épitaxiés sur films minces, nous a permis de produire, par croissance directe en solution, des nano-objets de platine, cristallographiquement orientés, de morphologies originales (cubes concaves, fils) sur différents types de couches minces, de nature et d’orientations cristallographique spécifiques. / Solution chemistry allows obtaining nanoparticles with well-controlled structural characteristics. It offers therefore the possibility to exploit the specific properties associated to the nano-objects characteristics (size, shape, crystal phase …), in diverse applications. Among them, catalysis plays an important role for the ecologic/energetic transition. Indeed, for numerous reactions, the use of nanoparticles allows to reduce the amount of metals employed. Moreover, some metals present new properties at this scale. As a surface phenomenon, catalysis thus implies more and more the use of size and shape controlled nanocrystals. Indeed, literature has shown that it is possible to modulate catalyst activity and selectivity depending on the crystallographic orientation of the nanocrystal facets.In the first part of this thesis, platinum nanoparticles have been produced using a simple Pt(II) salt as a principal precursor. Depending on the parameters employed, various shapes have been obtained. We have tried to understand the formation mechanism of the different platinum nanoparticle morphologies obtained: concave cubes enclosed by (110) facets, multipods enclosed by a mix of (111) and (100) and cubes enclosed by (100) facets. The second chapter aims at studying the impact of the nano-object shape in a model catalytic reaction. Concaves cubes and multipods have been tested in the hydrogenation of an α,β-unsaturated aldehyde, the cinnamaldéhyde, as a model reaction to probe chemoselectivity. Free nanoparticles in solution and nanoparticles supported on silica and graphène have been used. Finally, the extension of a method for the epitaxial growth of nanocrystals on thin films, allowed the elaboration of, crystallographically oriented, shape controlled platinum nano-objects (concave cubes, wires) by a direct solution-growth, over different thin films of specific nature and crystalline orientation.

Cette thèse concerne une nouvelle méthode chimique de croissance par germes qui peut produire des assemblés de nanostructures métalliques epitaxiées sur des surfaces macroscopiques cristallines qui agissent comme germes. Cette approche permet d’obtenir des assemblés bien organisées en échelle centimétrique de nanofils métalliques de Co, qui sontmonocristallins, monodisperses de diamètres inferieurs à 10nm et qui ont une orientation perpendiculaire. Ils ont une anisotropie magnétique perpendiculaire et sont intéressantes pour des applications d’enregistrement magnétique à très haute densité. L’extension de cette méthode au fer donne des films nanostructurés de fer. L’orientation des nanostructures sur le support solide dépend de l’orientation cristallographique du substrat, alors que leur morphologie est dictée par la composition de la solution. Cet objectif a été atteint grâce à des études parallèles sur le mécanisme de croissance de nano-cristaux de cobalt en solution qui ont révélées une influence inattendue de la procédure de préparation de la solution mère sur la morphologie des nanocristaux. En plus,l’utilisation des germes nanoscopiques pour la croissance de Co et de Fe a rendu des nanofils longs de Co et des altères de Co-Fe et elle a contribué à la définition et l’amélioration des conditions expérimentales pour la croissance par germes de Co et de Fe sur les substrats solides. / This thesis concerns a new wet chemical seeded growth method that can produce arrays of metal nanostructures epitaxially grown on crystalline macroscopic surfaces which act as seeds. This approach produces wafer-scale organized 2D hexagonal arrays of perpendicularly oriented, monodisperse and monocrystalline metallic Co nanowires with diameters below 10 nm which exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and are interesting for applications in ultra high density magnetic recording. Extension of this approach to iron gives rise to nanostructured iron films. The orientation of the nanostructures on the solid substrate depends on the substrate crystallographic orientation, whereas their morphology is dictated by the solution composition. This objective was attained through parallel studies on the growth mechanism of cobalt nano-crystals in solution which revealed an unexpected influence of the stock solution preparation procedure on the nanocrystal morphology. In addition, the use of nanoscopicseeds for the overgrowth of cobalt and iron gave rise to long Co nanowires and Co-Fe dumbbells and contributed to the definition and the improvement of the experimental conditions for the seeded growth of Co and Fe on the solid substrates

Les méta-matériaux sont une nouvelle classe de matériaux composites artificiels quiprésentent des propriétés inédites. Ils sont typiquement sous divisés en unité appelées méta-atomes.Un design approprié de ces méta-atomes, architecturés à l’échelle nanométrique, permet d’induire despropriétés aussi extraordinaires qu’un indice de réfraction négatif. Dans ce contexte, nous avonsdéveloppé des particules à patchs, capable de développer des interactions selon des directionsprédéterminées. Des clusters multipodiques fait de ces particules (diélectrique) entourées d’un nombrecontrôlé de satellites plasmoniques (or) ont été développés. Nous nous sommes focalisés sur desclusters isotropes, dérivant de géométries tétraédriques, octaédriques et icosaédriques (trois des cinqsolides de Platon). Pour cela, nous avons utilisé des clusters silice/polystyrène, obtenus parpolymérisation ensemencée en émulsion, qui ont servi de préformes. Ils ont ainsi permis d’obtenir desparticules dont les patchs sont en fait des fossettes au fond desquelles subsiste un résidu de chaînespolystyrène greffées. En modifiant chimiquement ces chaînes, nous avons permis soit l’accrochage aufond de ces fossettes de colloïdes d’or puis leur croissance, soit l’accostage de satellites de silice surlesquels nous avons ensuite fait croître une coquille d’or. La seconde voie à offert un meilleur contrôlede la morphologie des clusters et notamment de la distance entre les satellites d’or (quelquesnanomètres) qui est primordiale pour assurer un couplage plasmonique optimal. Les propriétés desclusters obtenus ont été modélisées et mesurées. / Metamaterials are a novel class of artificial composite materials, typically made of subunit called meta-atoms and exhibiting unusual properties. Such meta-atoms, have to be architecturedat the nanometric level, to induce as extraordinary properties as a negative refractive index. In thiscontext, we developed patchy particles, capable to create interactions along predetermined directions.Multipodic clusters made of those (dielectric) particles surrounded by a controlled number ofplasmonic satellites (gold) were developed. We focused on isotropic clusters deriving fromtetrahedral, octahedral and icosahedral geometry (three of the fifth Platonic solids). For that purpose,we used silica/polystyrene clusters, obtained from seeded emulsion polymerization, as template. Byderiving those clusters, patchy particles bearing dimples containing grafted residual polystyrene chainswere obtained. By chemically deriving those chains, we explored two synthetic pathways, thedecoration of the dimples with gold colloids subsequently grown or the anchoring of silica satellitesonto which gold shells were subsequently grown. The second one was prove to offer a better controlover the cluster morphology as well as the inter-satellites gap (few nanometer) which is pivotal toensure an optimal plasmonic coupling. Then, the optical properties of the as obtained clusters weresimulated and measured.