<p> The distribution of Mg and Sr in speleothem from Yorkshire, England, Vancouver Island and West Virginia, was investigated. Concentrations of Mg range from 300 to greater than 3000 parts per million. Concentrations of Sr range from less than 100 to a few hundred parts per million. Sr partitioning between seepage water and calcite may be more rate sensitive than Mg partitioning.</p> <p> It is possible that Mg and Sr in speleothem could provide information on kinetics and mechanism of speleothem formation and on seepage water and source rock composition.</p> <p> It may be possible to interpret Mg concentration in speleothem in terms of temperature if equilibrium partitioning of Mg between calcite and seepage waters can be demonstrated.</p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Science (BSc)

This dissertation is focused on synthesis, characterization and formation mechanism of anionic-surfactant-templated mesoporous silica (AMS). Structural control mechanisms of AMS are investigated. First, different ionization degree of anionic surfactant affected by the acidity or alkalinity of the synthesis system gives rise to different charging density of micelles and therefore determines the organic/inorganic interface curvature, producing mesophases from cage-type to cylindrical, bicontinuous and lamellar. Second, mesocage/mesocage electrostatic repulsive interaction affects the formation of cage-type mesostructure, which is derived from a full-scaled synthesis-field diagram of AMS. The mesocage/mesocage interaction changes with charge density of mesocages and gives rise to their different packing manners. Third, the structural properties of AMS materials could be tuned by molecular features of surfactant and co-structure-directing agent (CSDA). The pore size of AMS is found to be controlled by alkyl chain length, ionization degree of surfactant and the CSDA/surfactant ratio. Alkyl chain length of surfactant determines size of micelles and thus mesopores. Larger ionization degrees of anionic surfactant give rise to smaller pore sizes due to thermodynamic coiling of alkyl chains of surfactant. The hydrophobic interactions between the pendant organic groups of CSDA on the silica wall and the hydrophobic core of the micelles drive a contraction of the mesopores. A mesoporous silica with novel bicontinuous cubic Pn-3m structure has been prepared using a diprotic anionic surfactant. 3d-reconstruction of the structure shows that it is bicontinuous composed of an enantiomeric pair of 3d mesoporous networks that are interwoven with each other, divided by a D surface. Inverse replication suggests the possible presence of ordered complimentary micropores in the material.

Supracrystals are highly symmetrical ordered superstructures built up from nanoparticles via self-assembly. While the NP assembly has been intensively investigated, the formation mechanism is still not understood. To shed some light onto the formation mechanism, we are using one of the most common supracrystal morphologies, the trigonal structures, as a model system to investigate the formation process in solution. To explain the formation of the trigonal structures and determining the size of the supracrystal seeds formed in solution, we introduce the concept of substrate-affected growth. Furthermore, we show the influence of the NP concentration on the seed size and extend our investigations from Ag towards Au. 1.

L'oxyde de zinc (ZnO) est un matériau connu et intensivement étudié pour des applications optoélectroniques dans le domaine de l’ultraviolet en raison de son large gap énergétique (3,34 eV). Cependant, les applications UV basées sur des matériaux nanostructurés représentent un véritable défi : la diminution en taille des particules obtenues généralement par des voie de chimie en solution permet d’accroître la surface spécifique mais en stabilisant des défauts à l’origine d’émissions visibles. Au cours des dernières décennies, des progrès concernant la qualité des particules ont été enregistrés au moyen des techniques physiques basées sur les dépôts en phase gazeuse à haute température. Cependant, la taille et le contrôle de la morphologie des particules restent difficiles. En prenant en compte l'état de l'art portant sur les propriétés optiques des particules de ZnO, c’est la voie supercritique qui a été mise en œuvre dans cette étude. Tout d'abord des réacteurs micro/millifluidiques ont été développés de façon à accroître la quantité de matériaux produits (gramme/jour) tout en conservant des propriétés d’émission dans l’ultraviolet. Puis les caractéristiques physico-chimiques des particules ont été étudiées au regard de l'influence de la dimension des réacteurs et de l'hydrodynamique des systèmes. Les propriétés de luminescence sont reportées à température ambiante et basses températures et comparées expérimentalement à la réponse d’un monocristal et des données de la littérature. Les mécanismes de formation (nucléation et croissance) des nanoparticules ont été élucidés et ont permis de comprendre les réponses optiques uniques de ces particules. / Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a well-known and intensively studied material for optoelectronic applications in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum region due to its wide band gap energy - 3.34 eV. However, the UV applications based on nanostructured ZnO present a big challenge due to the small size of the nanostructures i.e. a large surface-to-volume ratio resulting the appearance of the visible emission originated from the surface defects. In the last decades, the progress concerning the fabrication of UV-emitting ZnO nanostructures was carried out through the high temperature gas phase based approach. However, the size and shape control of ZnO nanostructures obtained with this approach is still difficult. Taking into account the state of the art in the optics based on ZnO nanomaterials, this Ph.D. thesis demonstrates the development of new supercritical fluids based approach for the synthesis of ZnO nanostructures with UV-emitting only PL properties. First of all in this thesis, we have developed continuous supercritical set up from micro- up to millifluidic reactor dimension for the synthesis of a larger quantity of UV-emitting ZnO nanocrystals (a gram scale per day). The influence of reactor dimension associated with hydrodynamics on physico-chemical characteristics was investigated. ZnO nanocrystals formation mechanism was studied as a function of the residence time in our continuous supercritical fluids process for the understanding of the nucleation and growth of the nanocrystals. Moreover, ZnO nanocrystals formation mechanism determines UV-emitting properties of this material. The optical properties at room and low temperature were deeply investigated with comparing to the PL emission of several types of ZnO particles and single crystal for the understanding of the nature of UV emission.

A vehicle flying at hypersonic speeds, i.e. at speeds greater than Mach 4, needs to be able to withstand the heat arising from friction and shock waves, which can reach temperatures of up to 3000oC. The current project focuses on producing thermal protection systems based on ultra high temperature ceramic (UHTC) impregnated carbon-carbon composites. The carbon fibres offer low mass and excellent resistance to thermal shock; their vulnerability is to oxidation above 500oC. The aim of introducing HfB2, a UHTC, as a coating on the fibre tows or as particulate reinforcement into the carbon fibre preform, was to improve this property. The objectives of this project were to: i) identify a low temperature synthesis route for group IV diborides, ii) produce a powder fine enough to reduce the difficulties associated with sintering the refractory diborides, iii) develop sol-gel coating of HfB2 onto carbon fibre tows iv) improve the solid loading of the particulate reinforcement into the carbon fibre preform, which should, in turn, increase the oxidation protection. In order to achieve the above set objectives, fine HfB2 powder was synthesized through a low temperature sol gel and boro/carbothermal reduction process, using a range of different carbon sources. Study of the formation mechanism of HfB2 revealed an intermediate boron sub-oxide and/or active boron formation that yielded HfB2 formation at 1300oC. At higher temperatures the formation of HfB2 could be via intermediate HfC formation and/or B4C formation. Growth mechanism analysis showed that the nucleated particles possessed screw dislocations which indicated that the formation of HfB2 was not only through a substitution reaction, but there could have been an element of a precipitation nucleation mechanism that lead to anisotropic growth under certain conditions. The effect of carbon sources during the boro/carbothermal reduction reaction on the size of the final HfB2 powders was analysed and it was found that a direct relation existed between the size and level of agglomeration of the carbon sources and the resulting HfB2 powders. A powder phenolic resin source led to the finest powder, with particle sizes in the range 30 to 150 nm. SPS sintering of the powder revealed that 99% theoretical density could be achieved without the need for sintering aids at 2200oC. Sol-gel coatings and slurry impregnation of HfB2 on carbon fibres tows was performed using dip coating and a 'squeeze-tube' method respectively. Crack free coatings and non-porous matrix infiltration were successfully achieved. The solid loading of the fine HfB2 into the carbon fibre preform was carried out through impregnation of a HfB2 / phenolic resin/acetone slurry using vacuum impregnation. Although the sub-micron Loughborough (LU) powders were expected to improve the solid loading, compared to the commercially available micron sized powders, due to the slurry made from them having a higher viscosity because of the fine particle size, the solids loading achieved was consequently decreased. Optimisation of the rheology of the slurry with LU HfB2 still requires more work. A comparison of the oxidation and ablation resistance of the Cf-HfB2 composites prepared with both commercial micron sized HfB2 powder and Loughborough sub-micron sized HfB2 powder, each with similar level of solid loading, was carried out using oxyacetylene torch testing. It was found that the composite containing the finer, Loughborough powders suffered a larger erosion volume than the composite with the coarser commercial powders indicating that the former offered worse ablation and oxidation resistance than the latter. A full investigation of the effect of solids loading and particle size, including the option of using mixtures of fine and coarse powders, is still required.

No description available.

Porous materials have long been a research interest due to their practical importance in traditional chemical industries such as catalysis and separation processes. The successful synthesis of porous materials requires further understanding of the fundamental physics that govern the formation of these materials. In this thesis, we apply molecular modeling methods and develop novel models to study the formation mechanism of ordered porous materials. The improved understanding provides an opportunity to rational control pore size, pore shape, surface reactivity and may lead to new design of tailor-made materials. To attain detailed structural evolution of silicate materials, an atomistic model with explicitly representation of silicon and oxygen atoms is developed. Our model is based on rigid tetrahedra (representing SiO4) occupying the sites of a body centered cubic (bcc) lattice. The model serves as the base model to study the formation of silica materials. We first carried out Monte Carlo simulations to describe the polymerization process of silica without template molecules starting from a solution of silicic acid in water at pH 2. We predicted Qn evolutions during silica polymerization and good agreement was found compared with experimental data, where Qn is the fraction of Si atoms with n bridging oxygens. The model captures the basic kinetics of silica polymerization and provides structural evolution information. Next we generalize the application of this atomic lattice model to materials with tetrahedral (T) and bridging (B) atoms and apply parallel tempering Monte Carlo methods to search for ground states. We show that the atomic lattice model can be applied to silica and related materials with a rich variety of structures including known chalcogenides, zeolite analogs, and layered materials. We find that whereas canonical Monte Carlo simulations of the model consistently produce the amorphous solids studied in our previous work, parallel tempering Monte Carlo gives rise to ordered nanoporous solids. The utility of parallel tempering highlights the existence of barriers between amorphous and crystalline phases of our model. The role of template molecules during synthesis of ordered mesoporous materials was investigated. Implemented surfactant lattice model of Larson, together with atomic tetrahedral model for silica, we successfully modeled the formation of surfactant-templated mesoporous silica (MCM-41), with explicit representation of silicic acid condensation and surfactant self-assembly. Lamellar and hexagonal mesophases form spontaneously at different synthesis conditions, consistent with published experimental observations. Under conditions where silica polymerization is negligible, reversible transformation between hexagonal and lamellar phases were observed by changing synthesis temperatures. Upon long-time simulation that allows condensation of silanol groups, the inorganic phases of mesoporous structures were found with thicker walls that are amorphous and lack of crystallinity. Compared with bulk amorphous silica, the wall-domain of mesoporous silicas are less ordered withlarger fractions of three- and four-membered rings and wider ring-size distributions. It is the first molecular simulation study of explicit representations of both silicic acid condensation and surfactant self-assembly.

<p> Wireless communication has been thriving in recent years. Developments in the hardware and software industries enable more and more devices to be embedded in wireless communication modules. All kinds of interesting applications based on wireless connections are emerging, demanding simple and efficient ways to inter-connect different devices. Bluetooth is an industry standard initially proposed by Ericsson, IBM, Microsoft and some other leading IT companies to meet this growing demand. Initially, it intended to provide universal low cost, low power, and low complexity wireless interface to various devices. Furthermore, it also proposed to provide the possibility of interconnecting a number of mobile devices to form a network. However, the details of network formation and operation have not yet been regulated. In this work, we will investigate Bluetooth enabled network formation issues (especially when the traffic patterns on the network are well known).</p> <p> In this thesis, we use a small indoor area network model with a wired infrastructure network installed in the wall. A number of mobiles are distributed in the area and require inter-connectivity with each other and/or the outside world through multiple gateways. Unbalanced traffic in the network may result in hotspots leading to poor network throughput. Therefore, a centralized network formation algorithm is needed for Bluetooth networks to solve this problem.</p> <p> This thesis proposes novel Network Formation based on a Traffic Distribution (NFTD) mechanism. This centralized mechanism co-ordinates the behavior of mobiles and is implemented on gateways (also called access points). It forms the network topology according to the traffic distribution so that the path length of hotspot flows can be limited in order to maximize the network capacity. Last but not least, infrastructure networks provide free high-speed links for mobiles to further increase network capacity. The proposed mechanism is a promising mechanism as supported by simulation results.</p> / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Les matériaux nanoporeux (méso- et/ou micro-poreux) visent des applications en relation avec les phénomènes d’adsorption tels que la catalyse, la dépollution, le stockage de gaz ou d’énergie,… Récemment, différents types de synthèses ont donc été développés pour contrôler la porosité et l’adapter aux applications visées : synthèse par voie directe, procédé de nanomoulage, technique de réplication réactive. Pour la très grande majorité d’entre elles, elles servent à l’élaboration des matériaux oxydes méso- et micro-poreuses. L’objectif de ce travail de thèse a donc été d’étendre ces procédés à une gamme de matériaux plus large au niveau des compositions chimiques, tout en gardant un contrôle de la porosité. En effet, les oxydes poreux ont un champ d’application limité du fait, par exemple, de leur température maximale d’utilisation, de leur fragilité sous certaines atmosphères ou encore, dans certains cas, de leurs propriétés d’adsorption mal adaptées. Afin de réduire ces limitations, nous avons cherché à étendre la gamme de composition chimique des matériaux poreux dans le domaine non-oxyde (carbone, céramiques de type nitrure, …) tout en contrôlant leur porosité. Pour cela, différentes approches ont été utilisées. La première approche a consisté à étudier mécanisme de formation des matériaux carbonés mésostructurés obtenus directement par l’auto-assemblage d’un tensioactif et d’un polymère précurseur de carbone. Nous avons alors pu déterminer les paramètres pertinents à contrôler pour la reproductibilité des synthèses ayant lieu, aussi bien, en phase aqueuse que par évaporation de solvant. Des analogies avec les mécanismes de formation des matériaux siliciques ont pu être mises en évidence. [...] / Nanoporous materials (meso-and / or micro-porous) target applications in relation to the adsorption phenomena such as catalysis, waste removal, gas or energy storage.... Recently, various types of syntheses have been developed to control the porosity and adapted to applications: direct route synthesis, nanocasting process, reactive templating. For most of them, they are used for the preparation of meso-and micro-porous oxide materials. The objective of this thesis was therefore to extend these methods to a wider range of materials in chemical composition, while keeping control of the porosity. Indeed, the porous oxides have a limited scope because, for example, their maximum operating temperature, their fragility under certain atmospheres or in some cases, their adsorption properties, are unsuitable. To reduce these limitations, we searched to extend the range of chemical composition of porous materials in the non-oxide field (carbon, nitride ceramics,...) while controlling their porosity. For this, different approaches were used. The first approach consisted to study formation mechanism of mesostructured carbon materials obtained directly by the self-assembly of a surfactant and a polymer carbon precursor. We were then able to determine the relevant parameters to control syntheses reproducibility taking place both in aqueous phase and by solvent evaporation. Analogies with the formation mechanisms of siliceous materials have been identified. With a better understanding of the formation mechanisms, we declined in a second time this method of direct synthesis to other materials by varying the nature of the precursors. Thus, a "green" synthesis of a carbonaceous material with ordered mesoporosity was developed in the absence of all toxic reagents such as formaldehyde and phenol, by using a natural precursor, the mimosa tannin. [...]

Supracrystals are highly symmetrical ordered superstructures built up from nanoparticles via self-assembly. While the NP assembly has been intensively investigated, the formation mechanism is still not understood. To shed some light onto the formation mechanism, we are using one of the most common supracrystal morphologies, the trigonal structures, as a model system to investigate the formation process in solution. To explain the formation of the trigonal structures and determining the size of the supracrystal seeds formed in solution, we introduce the concept of substrate-affected growth. Furthermore, we show the influence of the NP concentration on the seed size and extend our investigations from Ag towards Au. 1.