This dissertation summarizes my research in the Nuckolls group on two projects, with a central theme of achieving control of electronic coupling in various nanoscale systems. The two studies of interest aim at the study of emerging properties from alkali-doping of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and the synthesis of novel metal chalcogen molecular clusters. Chapter 1 is divided into two parts. Part one provides a brief history of the forces we associate with bond formation. We will learn that although defining a “chemical bond” is helpful, it is limited to our incomplete understanding of what forces contribute to its existence. The behavior of an electron in externally applied magnetic fields will be discussed, where the collective behavior of electrons in a material can be measured, showing a myriad of emerging properties. The known superconducting alkali-doped PAHs are introduced, followed by the unresolved problems of reproducibility and lack of structural data to accompany superconducting samples. Finally, the proximity of AFM to superconductivity is discussed, which could give us insights on further exploration of hight temperature organic superconductors. Part two introduces atomically precise clusters of atoms, also knows as superatoms. Various synthetic approaches to create metal chalcogenide superatoms are introduced. Next, a closer look into the cobalt selenide core, [Co6Se8], is presented. The ability to selectively substitute the ligands on this superatom, achieves dimensional control. The subunit can be seen as a 0-dimensional subunit, where it readily gives away its electrons. Furthermore, assembly of the clusters into 1-, 2-, and 3-dimensional structures is described. Chapter 2 introduces a novel approach to acquire phase pure alkali-doped PAHs, p-terphenyl specifically. Previous reports of solution-processed doping of PAH have inspired highly reliable synthesis of these salts, by employing a chelating agent to stabilize the alkali metal. The first half of chapter 2 analyzes one such crystal in detail, describing emerging AFM fluctuations. The AFM coupling between nearest neighboring p-terphenyls occurs in all three crystallographic directions. Interestingly, this coupling can be seen as an unconventional bond between two terphenyl units along the hard axis, and resembles resonance structures seen in polyacetylene. The second half of the chapter further investigates the novel method, obtaining a library of alkali-doped p-terphenyls. This approach allows for selective variation of either the alkali-metal, the chelating agent, or the electronic structure of p-terphenyl. Obtaining nearly a dozen structures allows for a study of trends of doping level and accompanied magnetic properties. Lastly, Chapter 3 proves a new mechanism for ligand substitution of cobalt selenide superatomic clusters, using an easily removable carbene as the ligand. This approach grants access to new surface ligands and core shapes to expand the properties of these superatoms. Through this approach, larger atomically precise materials can be targeted, giving rise to new types of electronic properties.

To release energy from chemically stored energy in the biomass was the new investigation in recent years. Utilizing of biomass for this purpose occur in two different ways, directly by burning (combustion) the biomass and indirectly by pyrolysis process which will convert the biomass to three main products, bio- tar, bio- char and synthetic gas. Biomass contains different amount of inorganic compound, especially alkali metals which causes some diverse impacts on combustion, pyrolysis and gasification process such as corrosion, agglomeration and fouling problems. This project aims to investigate the effect of K2CO3 on the pyrolysis and gasification processes of three different types of fuel; wood pellets, forest residue pellets and synthetic waste pellets at three different temperatures, 750 °C, 850 °C and 900 °C respectively. The purpose of this work to study and clarify the influence of K2CO3 on char yield, tar yield and tar compositions and the gasification rate and the reactivity of different fuels char. The pyrolysis process was carried out in a fluidized bed reactor during 2 minutes and the products were tar, char and synthetic gas. In this project interested in char and tar only. Char yield calculated and the results shows the char yield increase with increasing of [K2CO3]. While the tar analysis carried on GC- MS instrument at HB to study the tar yield and compositions. The results showed that potassium carbonate has not so much effect on tar yield and its composition. The last part was gasified the char in TGA with steam and CO2 as oxidizing media to study the influence of [K2CO3] on gasification rate and the reactivity of char samples at different temperatures. The result showed the [K2CO3] has inhibitory effect on gasification rate and the reactivity.

No description available.

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O presente trabalho se insere no Programa de Biomassa - Energia - Materiais - PROBEM?, cuja Refinaria de Biomassa desenvolve tecnologias para o aproveitamento integral de biomassas lignocelulósicas e oleosas, objetivando sua exploração autossustentada. Os principais produtos obtidos são combustíveis para geração de energia termoelétrica, produtos químicos, materiais inorgânicos e reciclagem de fertilizantes. Neste trabalho explorou-se a celulignina, que é um combustível obtido pela pré-hidrólise ácida da biomassa, visando à obtenção de gás de síntese (singás) da celulignina para geração de energia termoelétrica com turbinas a gás, como substituto do gás natural. Para essa aplicação, e também para aplicações em síntese de produtos químicos e combustíveis pelo processo Fischer Tropsch, teores de metais alcalinos, enxofre e cloretos são críticos. A biomassa considerada foi a madeira de Eucalyptus grandis. O trabalho propõe a lixiviação aquosa daqueles contaminantes por pré-hidrólise ácida da biomassa, seguida da moagem a úmido da celulignina para razões líquido/sólido (L/S) otimizadas em relação ao consumo de água e aos teores finais dos contaminantes na biomassa tratada. A eficiência da sequência de tratamentos foi verificada medindo os teores de potássio, sódio, cloreto e enxofre total após cada etapa de lixiviação da celulignina. A pré-hidrólise ácida do E. grandis foi realizada na presença de ácido sulfúrico como catalisador, com produção de cerca de 67% de celulignina e 34% de solução de açúcares, em relação à quantidade de biomassa seca inicial. Os resultados desta etapa do processamento mostraram uma redução no teor de potássio de 3,3 vezes e no teor de sódio de 1,9 vez na celulignina em relação ao E. grandis in natura. A celulignina assim obtida foi submetida a uma sequência de moagem a úmido em moinho de martelos. Resultados apontaram a razão L/S = 12 como mais eficiente. O singás obtido da celulignina apresentou teores estimados de K+ + Na+= 600 ppb, Cl-=1,4 mg/Nm³ e enxofre total = 4 mg/Nm³. Isso significa uma redução de 1000 vezes em K+ + Na+ em relação à biomassa bruta. Nessas condições, o gás de síntese obtido já seria similar ao singás do gás natural, podendo ser usado em turbinas a gás. As aplicações com o gás de síntese no processo Fischer Tropsch não estão descartadas já que as especificações do gás natural para essa mesma aplicação permitem um máximo de enxofre de 70 mg/Nm³. Melhoramentos nos procedimentos de análise química em todas as etapas do processo são necessários para levar a resultados mais acurados. Melhoramentos nos equipamentos de controle das emissões gasosas na geração do singás tendem a diminuir os teores de enxofre para os níveis previstos em norma (< 1mg/Nm³). / This work is part of the Program Biomass - Energy - Materials - PROBEM?, whose Biomass Refinery develops technologies for a self-sustaining exploration of lignocellulosic and oily biomass. The main products are fuels for thermal and electricity energy generation, chemicals, materials and recycled inorganic fertilizers. This work explores the cellulignin, which is a fuel obtained by acidic prehydrolysis of biomass aiming to produce synthesis gas (syngas) as a substitute for natural gas for themoelectrical energy generation with gas turbines. This application, and also for the Fischer Tropsch process, of alkali metals, sulfur and chlorine concentrations in the syngas must be very low. The selected biomass is Eucalyptus grandis. The main objectives are to promote the aqueous leaching of those contaminants from cellulignin by a sequence of treatments, and to obtain the syngas by gasification of the cleaned cellulignin. The aqueous leaching of contaminants is carried out by acidic prehydrolysis of the wood, followed by the wet grinding of cellulignin at different liquid / solid (L/S) rations optimized with respect to water consumption and the final concentration of contaminants in the treated biomass. The efficiency of the sequence of treatments was checked by measuring potassium, sodium, chloride and sulfur contents in the cellulignin after each leaching step. Prehydrolysis of E. grandis was carried out using sulfuric acid as a catalyst, producing 67% of cellulignin and 34% of hydrolysate in relation to the initial dry biomass mass. Results after prehydrolysis showed a reduction of 3.3 times in the potassium content and of 1.6 times for sodium in the unwashed cellulignin in relation to the E. grandis \'in natura\'. The cellulignin so obtained was wet-ground in hammer mill. Results showed the L/S = 12 as the more efficient ratio in the grinding step. After gasification of the cellulignin the estimated values of the contaminants in the syngas were K++Na+ = 600 ppb, Cl- =1,4 mg/Nm³, and total S = 4 mg/Nm³, similar to the syngas from natural gas specifications for those elements. This means that the syngas from the cellulignin can be used as a fuel in gas turbines, replacing the syngas obtained from natural gas. Yet, its application in the Fischer Tropsch process is not discarded because maximum sulfur content allowed in the natural gas for that application is 70 mg/Nm³. Improvements have to made on the analytical procedures to ensure more accurate results, and is also necessary to improve the efficiency of the equipments for gas emission control in the syngas generation process. The last improvement should lower the S content to the specification values for the syngas (< 1mg/Nm³).

Die Arbeit befasst sich mit der thermodynamischen Modellierung des British Gas-Lurgi-Vergasungsprozesses (BGL). Es werden auftretende Schwachstellen des Prozesses analysiert und auf das Verhalten der Mineralstoffkomponenten zurückgeführt. Auf Grundlage einer Stoffbilanz sowie zahlreicher Prozessdaten (BGL-Vergaser der SVZ Schwarze Pumpe GmbH) wurde das in SimuSage erstellte Stufenmodell an Nichtgleichgewichtszustände und Transportvorgänge angepasst. Das Modell erlaubt die qualitative und quantitative Beschreibung eines Alkalikreislaufes, welcher durch KCl geprägt ist. Mit dem Modell werden wirksame Maßnahmen abgebildet, um die Anreicherung von KCl und die damit verbundenen technischen Störungen zu vermeiden.

O presente trabalho se insere no Programa de Biomassa - Energia - Materiais - PROBEM?, cuja Refinaria de Biomassa desenvolve tecnologias para o aproveitamento integral de biomassas lignocelulósicas e oleosas, objetivando sua exploração autossustentada. Os principais produtos obtidos são combustíveis para geração de energia termoelétrica, produtos químicos, materiais inorgânicos e reciclagem de fertilizantes. Neste trabalho explorou-se a celulignina, que é um combustível obtido pela pré-hidrólise ácida da biomassa, visando à obtenção de gás de síntese (singás) da celulignina para geração de energia termoelétrica com turbinas a gás, como substituto do gás natural. Para essa aplicação, e também para aplicações em síntese de produtos químicos e combustíveis pelo processo Fischer Tropsch, teores de metais alcalinos, enxofre e cloretos são críticos. A biomassa considerada foi a madeira de Eucalyptus grandis. O trabalho propõe a lixiviação aquosa daqueles contaminantes por pré-hidrólise ácida da biomassa, seguida da moagem a úmido da celulignina para razões líquido/sólido (L/S) otimizadas em relação ao consumo de água e aos teores finais dos contaminantes na biomassa tratada. A eficiência da sequência de tratamentos foi verificada medindo os teores de potássio, sódio, cloreto e enxofre total após cada etapa de lixiviação da celulignina. A pré-hidrólise ácida do E. grandis foi realizada na presença de ácido sulfúrico como catalisador, com produção de cerca de 67% de celulignina e 34% de solução de açúcares, em relação à quantidade de biomassa seca inicial. Os resultados desta etapa do processamento mostraram uma redução no teor de potássio de 3,3 vezes e no teor de sódio de 1,9 vez na celulignina em relação ao E. grandis in natura. A celulignina assim obtida foi submetida a uma sequência de moagem a úmido em moinho de martelos. Resultados apontaram a razão L/S = 12 como mais eficiente. O singás obtido da celulignina apresentou teores estimados de K+ + Na+= 600 ppb, Cl-=1,4 mg/Nm³ e enxofre total = 4 mg/Nm³. Isso significa uma redução de 1000 vezes em K+ + Na+ em relação à biomassa bruta. Nessas condições, o gás de síntese obtido já seria similar ao singás do gás natural, podendo ser usado em turbinas a gás. As aplicações com o gás de síntese no processo Fischer Tropsch não estão descartadas já que as especificações do gás natural para essa mesma aplicação permitem um máximo de enxofre de 70 mg/Nm³. Melhoramentos nos procedimentos de análise química em todas as etapas do processo são necessários para levar a resultados mais acurados. Melhoramentos nos equipamentos de controle das emissões gasosas na geração do singás tendem a diminuir os teores de enxofre para os níveis previstos em norma (< 1mg/Nm³). / This work is part of the Program Biomass - Energy - Materials - PROBEM?, whose Biomass Refinery develops technologies for a self-sustaining exploration of lignocellulosic and oily biomass. The main products are fuels for thermal and electricity energy generation, chemicals, materials and recycled inorganic fertilizers. This work explores the cellulignin, which is a fuel obtained by acidic prehydrolysis of biomass aiming to produce synthesis gas (syngas) as a substitute for natural gas for themoelectrical energy generation with gas turbines. This application, and also for the Fischer Tropsch process, of alkali metals, sulfur and chlorine concentrations in the syngas must be very low. The selected biomass is Eucalyptus grandis. The main objectives are to promote the aqueous leaching of those contaminants from cellulignin by a sequence of treatments, and to obtain the syngas by gasification of the cleaned cellulignin. The aqueous leaching of contaminants is carried out by acidic prehydrolysis of the wood, followed by the wet grinding of cellulignin at different liquid / solid (L/S) rations optimized with respect to water consumption and the final concentration of contaminants in the treated biomass. The efficiency of the sequence of treatments was checked by measuring potassium, sodium, chloride and sulfur contents in the cellulignin after each leaching step. Prehydrolysis of E. grandis was carried out using sulfuric acid as a catalyst, producing 67% of cellulignin and 34% of hydrolysate in relation to the initial dry biomass mass. Results after prehydrolysis showed a reduction of 3.3 times in the potassium content and of 1.6 times for sodium in the unwashed cellulignin in relation to the E. grandis \'in natura\'. The cellulignin so obtained was wet-ground in hammer mill. Results showed the L/S = 12 as the more efficient ratio in the grinding step. After gasification of the cellulignin the estimated values of the contaminants in the syngas were K++Na+ = 600 ppb, Cl- =1,4 mg/Nm³, and total S = 4 mg/Nm³, similar to the syngas from natural gas specifications for those elements. This means that the syngas from the cellulignin can be used as a fuel in gas turbines, replacing the syngas obtained from natural gas. Yet, its application in the Fischer Tropsch process is not discarded because maximum sulfur content allowed in the natural gas for that application is 70 mg/Nm³. Improvements have to made on the analytical procedures to ensure more accurate results, and is also necessary to improve the efficiency of the equipments for gas emission control in the syngas generation process. The last improvement should lower the S content to the specification values for the syngas (< 1mg/Nm³).

No description available.

Metal/semiconductor interfaces, particularly those involving Si, are of great technological and scientific interest. In atomically abrupt interfaces, many properties are determined by interatomic interactions over a few layers, i.e., over ~1 nanometer. The initial stages of growth of an atomic layer related to structural and electronic properties are thus important to thin film behavior. Surface science studies on metal-semiconductor systems often lead to contradictory conclusions regarding bonding sites and even whether the first layer is metallic or not. A key piece of information that must be consistent with any study is the number of atoms per unit area in the first layer, which is difficult to assess directly. Alkali-metal-semiconductor systems have been studied as model abrupt interfaces for several years. Novel effects, such as electron localization, were observed. Still, determinations of absolute coverage have been lacking. This dissertation describes results of absolute coverage measurements for Cs on Si(100)(2X1), Si(111)(7X7), and Si (111)(v3 X v3)R30°-B reconstructed surfaces using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry in ultrahigh vacuum. The results bracket possible structural models for these systems. For the Cs/Si(111)(v3 X v3)R30°-B interface, this work confirms conclusions regarding electron localization effects and introduces considerations of ion-beam-induced desorption for the weakly-bound Cs