Orientador: Luís Vicente de Andrade Scalvi / Banca: Dayse Iara dos Santos / Banca: Anrea Simone Stucchi de Camargo / O Programa em Pós Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Materiais, PosMat, tem caráter institucional e integra as atividades de pesquisa em materiais de diversos campi / Resumo: Este trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento e algumas conclusões do estudo de heterojunção de filmes finos de SnO2 e GaAs. Os filmes de SnO2 dopados com Ce3+, foram depositados a partir do método sol-gel usando as técnicas de dip e spin coating; os filmes de GaAs foram depositadas por evaporação resistiva e por sputtering. As heterojunções foram constituídas de filmes de SnO2 sobre filmes de GaAs, e filmes de GaAs sobre filmes de SnO2. Foram investigadas as propriedades ópticas, estruturais, morfológicas e elétricas de filmes finos constituintes das heterojunções e também a influência do dopante Ce3+. Entre os experimentos realizados estão: transmitância óptica, difração de raios X, microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), microscopia óptica, microscopia de força atômica (AFM), fotoluminescência e medidas elétricas na presença de excitações com diferentes fontes de luz monocromáticas (quarto harmônico do laser Nd:Y AG (266nm), laser He-Ne (628nm), LED InGaN (450nm)). Entre as principais conclusões, verificou-se: 1) em algumas situações, condutividade independente da temperatura, sugerindo a participação de um gás de elétrons bidimensional (2DEG) na interface SnO2/GaAs; 2) o tamanho dos cristalitos, calculado a partir das análises de difração de raios X, fornece valores da ordem de 10 nm tanto para filmes de SnO2 como para filmes de GaAs; 3) a energia de bandgap, avaliada com base em dados de medidas de absorbância, fornece um valor máximo de 3,6 eV para filmes de dióxido de estanho e 1,6eV para filmes de GaAs; 4) MEV e microscopia óptica de para filmes de GaAs (depositado por evaporação resistiva e sputtering) apresentam sua superfície heterogênea, com partículas de variados tamanhos. Além disso, a aderência de filmes de SnO2 sobre filmes de GaAs está relacionada com a técnica utilizada para depositar os filmes da camada de base, o melhor resultado foi obtido quando a camada é a GaAs... / Abstract: The aims of this work is to present the development and the main conclusion, related the investigation of thin film SnO2/GaAs. Os filmes de SnO2/GaAs heterojunction. Ce3+ - doped SnO2 thin films were deposited by the sol-gel-dip -spin coating techniques, whereas GaAs films were deposited by resistive evaporation and sputerring. Heterojunctions were deposited by SnO2 layer growth on the oppositive order: GaAs on top of SnO2 Optical, structural, morphologic and electrical properties of heterojunction films were investigated, as well as the influence of Ce-doping in these measurements. Experiments carried out include: optical transmission, X-ray diffraction, scanning eletron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence and electrical measurement under optical excitation. In this last case the excitation sources are monochromatic light from the fouth harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (266nm), a He-Ne laser (628nm) and a InGaN LED (450nm). Among the main conclusions, it was verified that: 1) in some situations, a temperature independent electrical resistivity was observed and attributed to the possible formation of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at SnO2/GaAs interface; 2) crystalline size was calculated from X-ray diffraction data, being about 10 nm either for SnO2 films as GaAs films; 3) bandgap energy, evaluated from absorbance data yield a maximum value of about 3.6eV for tin dioxide and 1.6eV for GaAs films; 4) SEM images, obtained for GaAs thin films deposited by resistive evaporation and for the heterojuntion SnO2/GaAs, and optical microscopy, for sputtering deposited GaAs films and heterojunction samples, show that GaAs films present an heterogeneous surface, with particles of several distinct sizes. Besides, the adherence of SnO2 films on the GaAs layer is related to the used technique for deposition the base layer, being better in the case of resistive evaporation deposited GaAs. This was... / Mestre

The potential for biodegradation of contaminants in soil was assessed using an array of molecular methods, including terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and traditional culturing techniques combined with sequencing of the 16S or ITS regions of the cultured bacteria and fungi. Soil was collected from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), which was the site of numerous liquid-propulsion rocket engine tests as well as nuclear energy research and development, which led to contamination of the soil with a wide variety of constituents. The contaminants of interest (COIs) at this site include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and non-PAH petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs). Various metals, most notably mercury and silver, are also present on the site. The purpose of this study was to determine if biodegradation is contributing to natural attenuation of contaminants in the soil, what organisms are likely causing biodegradation, and what rate(s) can be expected in the future. A literature review was conducted to investigate the chemical properties of theses COIs, their toxicity, and abiotic and biotic degradation. This research concluded that these COIs can be biodegraded if the right bacteria and/or fungi are present and active in the soil in sufficient numbers under the right conditions. Many known biodegraders of the COIs were identified in the literature review along with the most common pathways of biodegradation and degradation rates observed in field and laboratory studies. Soil was collected from 30 sample locations, with 3 sets of 10 samples containing high concentrations of one COI but low concentration of the others. PHCs and PAHs were found to be largely co-located, so 10 samples were selected for both of them. The remaining 20 samples were split evenly between PCBs and dioxins. DNA was extracted directly from all 30 soil samples and amplified using PCR for TRFLP analyses. Two soil samples were sent to Microbial Insights® for qPCR analysis. This analysis included 18 gene targets for the degradation of PHCs and PAHs, as well as the target gene for Dehalococcoides (an anaerobic dechlorinating bacteria). For each culturing a model chemical was selected to represent each COI and added to Bushnell-Haas agar plates containing no added carbon source other than the model compounds. The model chemicals were No. 2 diesel fuel for PHCs, naphthalene for PAHs, PCB #1 (monochloro) for PCBs, and dibenzofuran for dioxin. These plates were used to screen for biodegrading bacteria and fungi for each COI. Once cultured, 16S and ITS sequencing were used to identify these potential COI degraders and determine what TRFLP peak they would produce. The identity of isolated organisms was compared to information from the literature to assess the likelihood of COI biodegradation at SSFL. From the culturing experiments, 45 organisms were isolated, sequenced, and identified. The 45 included 14 unique bacteria and seven unique fungi. Of these, 10 different bacterial species and 5 different fungal species have been reported as COI biodegraders or belong to genera that contain reported COI biodegraders. TRFLP analysis revealed that the soil type has more effect on the microbial population than the presence of any of the COIs. There were no specific peaks that were significantly correlated to any specific COI. The peak distributions were fairly even, indicating a large amount of biodiversity in the microbial populations of the soil samples. The qPCR analysis revealed that SSFL soils contain significant populations of microbes that can degrade PHCs aerobically. Anaerobic PHC, anaerobic PAH, and aerobic PAH targets were not detected. A small amount of Dehalococcoides was detected in one of the samples. Collectively this study suggests that microbes present in SSFL soils are capable of biodegrading PHCs, and the genes for such biodegradation are actively being expressed. With the exception of a small population of Dehalococcoides, bacteria associated with the biodegradation of PAHs, PCBs, and/or dioxins were not detected. However, several strains of fungi were identified which have been reported to mediate cometabolic biodegradation of these compounds. Since these fungi do not require anaerobic conditions, they are more likely to contribute to natural attenuation than bacterial reductive dechlorination. Laboratory microcosm experiments are suggested for estimating rates of biodegradation at SSFL under natural attenuation conditions. Bioaugmentation and/or biostimulation methods should also be investigated in addition of natural attenuation. These microcosm experiments are currently underway in a companion study at Cal Poly by graduate student Mackenzie Billings.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

The aim of this study was to determine if and how especially dioxins but also metals (arsenic, copper and chromium) has spread and deposited in the sediments of Lövselefjärden in northern Sweden. The study was also meant to determine if these pollutions could be related to the previous sawmill that was located near the bay. A gravity sampler was used to extract sediment cores from the bottom of Lövselefjärden. Five sample locations were used, and in one of the locations three different depths were sampled. The results show a similar distribution of the dioxin congeners between the samples taken in the sediment and the chemical preparation used at the sawmill. There was also a similarity between the proportions of metals in the sediment and the solution with metals used at the sawmill. It was there for concluded that the pollution mainly originates from the sawmill. The amount of dioxins was above the guidelines from both USA and Canada for most samples. For the metals, the guideline for arsenic in both USA and Canada was exceeded in all the samples, for copper the guideline from Canada was exceeded in all the samples and two of the samples exceeded the guideline from USA. The chromium amount did not exceed any guidelines in this study. The pollutions appear to be transported outwards towards the ocean and superimposed by sediment deposited later. Further studies to determine the bioavailability of the pollution and to determine further how the pollutions have spread and superimposed in the sediment are necessary.

M.Tech. (Chemistry) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Biomass-fed cogeneration units and waste incinerators have the advantages of producing efficiently heat and power and of reducing the amount of CO2 emitted per produced energy. However, they produce toxic polychlorinated VOCs (dioxins), CO and NOx. This thesis aims at developing a catalytic system for the total oxidation of chlorinated VOCs that: i) convert efficiently chlorinated VOCs below 250 °C and ii) resist to the exhaust co-pollutants (H2O, CO, NOx). Moreover, this thesis aims at having a complete understanding of the catalytic mechanism. Part I demonstrated that VOx/TiO2 based catalysts are very efficient in the total oxidation of chlorobenzene (taken as a model molecule). In particular, they proved to be highly resistant against deactivation. Moreover, Part I established that the addition of secondary phases producing VOx-WOx/TiO2 or VOx-MoOx/TiO2 induces a synergetic effect that improves the performances. Furthermore, the replacement of a classical TiO2 by a sulfated one improves the catalytic activity. In Part II, the investigation of the co-pollutants influence on the catalysts performances demonstrated their quite good resistance. Indeed, the presence of CO does not induce any deactivation of the catalysts while NOx induces a huge improvement of the catalysts ability to destroy chlorinated VOCs. This beneficial effect is explained by the in situ production of a strong oxidant (NO2) that speeds up the reoxidation of the reduced VOx sites. Nevertheless, H2O vapor can affect negatively the catalyst activity when present in a high concentration. Part III, by revisiting catalytic and characterization results exposed in Part I and II, demonstrated that the catalytic mechanism proceeds in four steps: i) adsorption of chlorinated VOCs on Brønsted sites, ii) VOx redox sites give some of their lattice oxygen atoms to oxidize the aromatic ring producing H2O and COx, iii) reoxidation of the VOx reduced sites thanks to the gas stream oxidant (O2) and iv) retrieving of the chlorine from the surface. The second and third steps compose a Mars and van Krevelen mechanism and the third one is the mechanism rate limiting step. Our work shows that the performances can be improved by tuning the redox properties of the VOx phases: i) improvement of the reducibility and ii) stabilization of the vanadium oxidation level above a limit value, estimated around 4.87.

Urban centers are major sources of contaminants to the surrounding air, water and soils. Above all, combustion-derived carbonaceous aerosols, especially black carbon (BC) and associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), make significant contributions to the pollution in these systems. Here sedimentary records are used to produce a series of historical reconstructions of such contaminants to the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) system and compare these to point source inputs of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOC). Analytical data on total organic carbon (TOC), BC, PAHs, dioxins and lignin (likely discarded from a pulp and paper mill along the Channel) were determined. This multi-proxy approach revealed that over the last several decades, HOC inputs to the system have been derived from a complex mixture of combustion processes, industrial point-sources, and oil spills. In particular, widespread dioxin contamination was observed throughout the study region with a particular site of the HSC showing total concentrations over 20,000 pg/g and 5000 pg toxic equivalent (TEQ)/g dry weight of sediment. Using two models based on sorption constants of total OC and BC, porewater concentrations were estimated to be lower than expected, at 20 pg/L and 5 pg TEQ/L. These values, however, are recognized as being extremely high for freely dissolved concentrations in porous media. The pulp and paper waste pit has recently been declared a Superfund site based on dioxin concentrations alone. The relationship between lignin biomarkers and dioxins observed in these sediments confirms that discharges of pulp and paper effluents were responsible for such high dioxin levels. Concentrations of BC, amorphous OC, and TOC were then used to calculate sediment binding of dioxins in sediments of the HSC. Our study found BC to be extremely low in HSC sediments (0.04 to 0.20%) indicating minimal dioxin sorption capacity. This suggests strong potential for fluxes of dioxins from sediments to the water column both through passive diffusion and physical mixing during natural and anthropogenic sediment remobilization events in this shallow system (hurricanes, storms, and dredging). The purposeful addition of BC to these sediments might be promising as a remediation strategy.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2010. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol inst., 2003. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.