Hydrogen processing is becoming increasingly important not only in the production of electricity but also during its accumulation. One of the energy storage options are liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC). The main drawback of LOHC is the need for a large amount of thermal energy to release molecular hydrogen. We can bypass this issue using heterogeneous catalysis by transferring hydrogen from LOHC to acetone and using the produced 2-propanol (IPA) in the fuel cell. This innovative strategy of getting electri- cal energy from LOHC can be potentially energetically neutral. In this work, we studied highly ordered Co3O4(111) model catalysts for IPA oxidation in the as-prepared state and enhanced with platinum (Pt) nanoparticles. Catalysts were prepared by Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) and further investigated by means of Low Energy Electron Diffrac- tion (LEED), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) and Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD). The nucleation process of Pt on the as-prepared Co3O4(111) surface was studied by depositing low amounts 0.04 and 0.13 monolayer (ML) of Pt, that create clusters as small as 2 or 3 atoms with no need for a special nucleation site. We have identified the formation of Pt-induced defects in the atomically flat cobalt oxide...

Title: Development of novel photoactive cationic zirconocene complexes Author: Bc. David Dunlop Department: Department of inorganic chemistry Supervisor: RNDr. Martin Lamač Ph.D. Advisor: prof. RNDr. Petr Štěpnička, Ph.D., DSc. Abstract: Environmental concerns have brought about an unprecedented demand for sustainable energy sources among which electromagnetic radiation, light, currently dominates. Development of novel light- harvesting compounds and materials is at the forefront of current science, as it is essential to further our technological progress. This thesis contributes to the field by development of novel photoactive cationic group 4 metallocene complexes stabilized by pendant imine and pyridinyl donor groups, or N,O-donor aromatic ligands, as crystalline [B(C6F5)4]− salts. The complexes are prepared either by protonation of the intramolecularly bound imine moiety by PhNMe2H[B(C6F5)4] or by chloride ligand abstraction, by Li[B(C6F5)4]·2.5Et2O or in situ generated Et3Si[B(C6F5)4]. Prepared compounds were characterized by NMR spectroscopy. Solid state structures of the compounds were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The cationic complexes of Zr and Hf exhibited significantly enhanced luminescence which originates from triplet ligand-to-metal (3 LMCT) excited states with lifetimes of up to...

6 Title: Sythesis and catalytic properties of ferrocenophane phosphines Author: Karel Škoch Institution: Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Department of Inorganic Chemistry Supervisor: prof. RNDr. Petr Štěpnička, Ph.D. Keywords: ferrocene, ferrocenophane, phosphine ligands, palladium, asymetric catalysis, aza- Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction, asymetric allylic alkylation Abstract: This Thesis describes the preparation of five sterically and electronically different ferrocene phosphines, (R)-1,1'-[1-(diarylphosphino)propan-1,3-diyl]ferrocenes (R)-1a-e, and a study into their coordination and catalytic properties. The key precursor of the phosphine synthesis, chiral alcohol (R)-2, was prepared according to the procedure described in the literature. Alcohol (R)-2 was converted with retention of configuration to diarylphosphines (R)-1a-e in one-step reaction with trimethylsilylchloride and sodium iodide and then with the corresponding diarylphosphine. Phosphines 1a-e were characterized by NMR and MS methods. For the basic representative 1a the following palladium(II) complexes were prepared: [PdCl(LNC )(1a)] (10, LNC = 2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]phenyl-C1 ,N) and trans- [PdCl2(1a)2] (9a). In addition, the isomeric complex cis-[PdCl2(1a)2] (9b) was isolated from the reaction mixture after catalytic...

A series of chiral phosphinoferrocene amides was prepared by the condensation either of 1'- (diphenylphosphino)ferrocene-1-carboxylic acid (Hdpf) or its planar-chiral 1,2-isomers and amino acid methyl esters in the presence of peptide coupling agents. The resulting phosphinoamides were tested as ligands in Cu-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate additions of diethylzinc to chalcones and in Pd-mediated asymmetric allylic substitution reactions of 1,3- diphenylallyl acetate with the respective nucleophile (alkylation, amination and etherification). The catalytic tests were focused on an optimization of the reaction parameters (solvent, temperature, base, metal/ligand ratio) and on survey of various substrates. Compounds based on Hdpf proved to be better ligands in both catalytic reactions than their planar chiral analogues. In order to rationalize the influence of the ligand structure on the reaction course and also to interpret the catalytic results, several model complexes were prepared and structurally characterized. Other three series of non-chiral complexes were prepared from the corresponding (η6 - arene)ruthenium(II) precursor and Hdpf-glycine conjugates; the neutral complexes of the type [(arene)RuCl2(Hdpf-Gly(R)-κP)] (arene = benzene, p-cymene, hexamethyl-benzene; R = OMe, NH2, OH) as well as two...

This thesis deals with the combined ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and electrochemical (EC) studies of selected iron oxide surfaces, namely Fe3O4(001) and -Fe2O3(012). The state-of- the-art knowledge regarding these surfaces is briefly reviewed, and importance of understanding these materials in the electrochemical environment is discussed. The design of the transfer system between UHV and EC environment is presented; individual features of the system are thoroughly discussed and the system is used for testing the stability of the Fe3O4(001) (2×2)R45° surface reconstruction in ambient conditions. The experimental results presented in this thesis show that the Fe3O4(001) (2×2)R45° reconstruction, utilized as an adatom array for single atom catalysis studies, survives both exposure to air and to liquid water, if the exposure is achieved in well-controlled fashion. Further, this thesis presents the first-ever atomic scale scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study of the -Fe2O3(012) surface, which is important for photoelectrochemical water splitting. STM images of two surface reconstructions of the -Fe2O3(012) surface known to date are presented. A bulk terminated model of the (1×1) reconstruction is confirmed and a novel surface structure model for the (2×1) reconstructed surface is proposed. Adsorption studies of H2O and O2 on the (2×1) reconstructed surface are documented by timelapse STM.

Low-dimensional (D) materials, such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides and chalcogenide nanowires, are attractive for spintronics and valleytronics due to their unique physical and chemical properties resulting from low dimensionality. Emerging concepts of spintronics devices will greatly benefit from using 1D and 2D materials, which opens up new ways to manipulate spin. A majority of 1D and 2D materials is non-magnetic, thus their applications in spintronics are limited. The exploration, design and synthesis of new 1D and 2D materials with intrinsic magnetism and high spin-polarization remains a challenge. In addition, the valley polarization and spin-valley coupling properties of 2D materials have attracted great attention for valleytronics, which not only manipulates the extra degree of freedom of electrons in the momentum space of crystals but also proposes a new way to store the information. The computational investigation of magnetic and electronic properties of low-dimensional materials is the subject of this thesis. We have systematically investigated geometric, electronic, magnetic and valleytronic properties of several 2D and 1D materials by using the density functional theory. These investigations not only theoretically show rich and adjustable magnetic properties of...

Hmotnostná spektrometria sekundárnych iónov s analýzou doby letu (TOF-SIMS) patrí vďaka vysokej citlivosti na prvkové zloženie medzi významné metódy analýzy pevných povrchov. Táto práca demonštruje možnosti TOF-SIMS v troch odlišných oblastiach výskumu. Prvá časť práce sa zaoberá lokalizáciou defektov vysokonapäťových polovodičových súčiastok, ktorá je nevyhnutná k ich ďalšiemu skúmaniu metódou TOF-SIMS. Bola navrhnutá experimentálna zostava s riadiacim softvérom umožňujúca automatizované meranie záverného prúdu v rôznych miestach polovodičový súčiastok. Druhá časť práce sa zaoberá kvantifikáciou koncentrácie Mg dopantov v rôznych hĺbkach vzoriek AlGaN. Kvantifikácia je založená na metóde RSF a umožňuje charakterizáciu AlGaN heteroštruktúr určených na výrobu tranzistorov s vysokou elektrónovou mobilitou (HEMT) alebo na výrobu rôznych optoelektronických zariadení. Sada 12 AlGaN kalibračných vzoriek dopovaných Mg, určených na kvantifikáciu hĺbkových profilov, bola pripravená metódou iónovej implantácie. Posledná časť práce demonštruje možnosti metódy TOF-SIMS vo výskume heterogénnej katalýzy. Hlavným objektom nášho výskumu je dynamika oxidácie CO na oxid uhličitý na polykryštalickom povrchu platiny za tlakov vysokého vákua. V tejto práci prezentujem prvé TOF-SIMS pozorovanie časopriestorových vzorov v reálnom čase, ktoré vznikajú v dôsledku rôzneho pokrytia povrchu Pt reaktantmi. Výsledky TOF-SIMS experimentu boli porovnané s výsledkami podobného experiment v rastrovacom elektrónovom mikroskope (SEM).