The understanding of nucleation and growth of metals on a planar support at the atomic level is critical for both surface science research and heterogeneous catalysis studies. In this dissertation, two planar substrates, including graphene and ultra-thin silica film were employed for supported model catalysts studies. The structure and stability of several catalytically important metals supported on these two substrates were thoroughly investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) coupled with other traditional surface science techniques. In the study of the graphene/Ru(0001) system, the key factors that govern the growth and distribution of metals on the graphene have been studied based on different behaviors of five transition metals, namely Pt, Rh, Pd, Co, and Au supported on the template of a graphene moire pattern formed on Ru(0001). Both metal-carbon (M-C) bond strength and metal cohesive energies play significant roles in the cluster formation process and the M-C bond strength is the most important factor that affects the morphology of clusters at the initial stages of growth. Interestingly, Au exhibits two-dimensional (2-D) structures that span several moire unit cells. Preliminary data obtained by dosing molecular oxygen onto CO pre-covered Au islands suggest that the 2-D Au islands catalyze the oxidation of CO. Moreover, graphene/Ru(0001) system was modified by introducing transition metals, oxygen or carbon at the interface between the graphene and Ru(0001). Our STM results reveal that the geometric and/or electronic structure of graphene can be adjusted correspondingly. In the study of the silica thin film system, the structure of silica was carefully investigated and our STM images favor for the [SiO4] cluster model rather than the network structure. The nucleation and adsorption of three metals, namely Rh, Pt and Pd show that the bond strength between the metal atom and Si is the key factor that determines the nucleation sites at the initial stages of metal deposition. The annealing effect studies reveal that Rh and Pt atoms diffuse beneath the silica film and form the 2-D islands that are covered with a silica thin film. In contrast, the formation of Pd silicide was observed upon annealing to high temperatures.

Micro Hall probe magnetometry has been used to investigate the magnetisation of various electrodeposited microcrystals. Superconducting tin crystals of almost perfect square cuboid shapes exhibit a strong size dependence of the supercooling of the superconducting state and, for the smallest accessible crystals, the crossover to the mesoscopic regime can be readily explored close to their critical temperatures. Experimental results are in good agreement with Ginzburg-Landau simulations using the exact experimental parameters. Electroplating of the tin cores with another material provides unique core-shell structures of either two superconductors (S-S’: tin-lead) or of a superconducting core, covered with a ferromagnetic shell (S-F: tin/lead-nickel). The critical parameters of the tin core in Sn-Pb core-shell crystals are considerably enhanced and superconductivity in the tin core is detected up to 1:16 TSn c . Little-Parks oscillations in the shell can be analysed to reveal the extent of the superconducting sheath and hence can be utilised to measure the range of the proximity effect close to the critical temperature of the shell. In S-F core-shell structures, field cancellation effects govern the overall behaviour. Under certain conditions it was possible to switch the overall magnetic response from para(ferro-)magnetic to diamagnetic and back at finite applied fields. Micromagnetic simulations qualitatively reproduce the experimentally observed effects. Applications for the core-shell structures include magnetic guidance or memory devices.

There is currently a great interest in the field of porous organosilica materials because of the high surface areas (> 1000 m²/g) and narrow pore size distributions which are beneficial for applications such as chromatography, chiral catalysis, sensing or selective adsorption. Periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) represent an interesting class of hybrid silica materials because of the wide variety of bridging organic groups which can be incorporated within the precursors [(OR)3Si-R-Si(OR)3] giving rise to materials with exceptional properties. We have synthesized and characterized various aromatic PMOs composed of supporting structural monomers (phenylene- or biphenylenebridged) and functional stilbene monomers (cis and trans) (1, 2). The effect of the different synthetic procedures and varying amounts of functional stilbene monomer on the properties of the materials was examined. The functional transstilbene component was determined to be well distributed in a phenylene-bridged PMO using P123 as a pore template from TEM techniques with Os staining. The trans-stilbene linkers were completely transformed to aryl aldehydes through ozonolysis with dimethylsulfide workup. Further transformation of the carbonyl functionality to an aryl imine showed a moderate level of success. Enantiomeric forms of a novel, chiral PMO precursor (CM) were synthesized and incorporated into biphenylene-bridged PMOs. Under basic pH conditions templated with C18TMACl, although very low levels of CM are incorporated, enantiomeric forms of chiral, porous materials are obtained as was verified by distinct mirror-image circular dichroism spectra. Powder XRD patterns suggest that a tightly packed asymmetric biphenylene arrangement may be necessary for the optical activity. Preliminary results using these materials as a chiral chromatographic phase are promising. Finally, a thin film morphology of an ethane-bridged PMO incorporating a thiol ligand, (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane, was prepared on a fibre optic cable and used as a component in a heavy-metal sensing application. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2011-03-11 17:24:48.997

Geträgerte Vanadiumoxidkatalysatoren sind wegen ihrer Vielseitigkeit bei Oxidationsreaktionen von großem Interesse. Der Schlüssel zum Verständnis der zugrunde liegenden Mechanismen ist ein weitreichendes Verständnis in die mikroskopische Struktur der Vanadiumoxide unter verschiedenen Bedingungen sowie die Art der Bindung an die Oberfläche des Trägers. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die Systeme Vanadiumoxid/Aluminiumoxid und Vanadiumoxid/Siliziumoxid mittels Dichtefunktionaltheorie in Kombination mit statistischer Thermodynamik untersucht. Als Modelle für Aluminiumoxid werden die stabile alpha-Al2O3 bzw. die metastabile kappa-Al2O3 Phase verwendet und ein ultradünner, epitaxialer SiO2 Film auf Mo(112) wird als Siliziumoxidsupport verwendet. Dessen einzigartige atomare Struktur, genauso wie diejenige eindimensionaler Silizumoxid-Streifen, die mit dem Film auf der Oberfläche koexistieren, wird durch kombinierte experimentelle und theoretische Untersuchungen aufgeklärt. Die Bildung einer neuen, "sauerstoffreichen" Phase des SiO2/Mo(112) Films wird vorhergesagt und deren Existenz anschließend experimentell gezeigt. Die Zielsetzung der Arbeit ist es zu Verstehen, wie Vanadiumoxidaggregate mit der Oberfläche verknüpft sind und den Einfluß des oxidischen Trägers auf die geometrische und elektronische Struktur der geträgerten Spezies zu untersuchen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf der Suche nach einer Korrelation von Struktureigenschaften mit der katalytischen Aktivität von Reaktionen die nach dem Mars-van Krevelen Mechanismus ablaufen. Hierzu wird die Energie für die Bildung eines Sauerstoffdefekts als Indikator für die Leistungsfähigkeit des Katalysators verwendet. Der Einfluß der Trägerstruktur auf die Schwingungsmoden des Interfacebereichs wird untersucht, um den Ursprung von charakteristischen Banden im experimentellen Spektrum von Vanadiumoxid/Siliziumoxid und Vanadiumoxid/Aluminiumoxid zu ergründen. / Supported vanadium oxide catalysts are of high interest because of their potential in a wide variety of oxidation reactions. A key step to fully understand the catalytic mechanism is a profound knowledge of the microscopic structure of the active vanadia species under various conditions and the way they are anchored to the support material. In the present work, density functional theory in combination with statistical thermodynamics is employed to investigate two vanadia-based systems, i.e., vanadia/alumina and vanadia/silica. The alumina support is modeled using the stable alpha-Al2O3 and the metastable kappa-Al2O3 phases, whereas ultrathin SiO2 film epitaxially grown on Mo(112) is employed as a silica support. The unique atomic structure of the latter as well as that of the one-dimensional silica stripes, found to coexist with the film in a perfect registry, are precisely determined based on combined theoretical and experimental studies. Moreover, the formation of a new, "O-rich" phase of the SiO2/Mo(112) film is predicted, whose existence is subsequently experimentally confirmed. The aim of the thesis is to provide an understanding on how vanadia aggregates anchor to the surface and to examine the role of the oxide support on the molecular and electronic structure of the stable VOx species. The efforts have focused on finding correlations between structural properties and catalytic activity in reactions proceeding via the Mars-van Krevelen mechanism. In accord therewith, the formation energy of a lattice oxygen defect is used as an indicator of catalytic performance. The influence of the support structure on the interface vibrational modes is analyzed in an attempt to shed light on the origin of the characteristic bands observed in the experimental spectra of vanadia/alumina and vanadia/silica model catalysts.

The present work provides an insight in the development of silica films prepared by water-based sol-gel process. The weaknesses of the coating technology are identified, also solutions are discussed. The silica film is applied on aluminium alloy 6082-T6 and magnesium alloy AZ31. The development of the coating properties such as cost-efficiency, crack-free, self-healing and long-term corrosion protection is the main topic of this work. Cracking is the major drawback of silica films; the cracks are generated due to shrinkage of the film during the heat treatment, nanoparticles-doped silica film is successfully reduced the shrinkage which leads to crack-free silica films. The self-healing of the coated aluminium and magnesium samples is generated by corrosion inhibitors-doped silica film. When a defect appears in the film, the corrosion inhibitors leach out of the silica film to the defect area to heal the corroded surface. The long-term corrosion protection is realized by means of a mixture of corrosion inhibitors-doped silica film. / Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert einen Einblick in die Entwicklung von Silikafilmen, die mittels Sol-Gel-Prozess auf Wasserbasis hergestellt wurden. Die Schwächen der Beschichtungstechnologie werden dargestellt und Lösungen diskutiert. Der Silikafilm wird auf Aluminiumlegierung 6082-T6 und Magnesium-legierung AZ31 aufgebracht. Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung der Schichteigenschaften, wie Kosteneffizienz, Rissfreiheit, Selbstheilung so wie langfristiger Korrosionsschutz. Rissbildung ist ein wesentlicher Nachteil von Silikafilmen; rissfreie Filme wurden mittels nanopartikeldotierter Silikafilme hergestellt. Die Selbstheilung von Aluminium-und Magnesiumsubstraten mit Silikafilm wird durch den Effekt der wasserlöslichen Korrosionsinhibitoren generiert. Die Experimente haben gezeigt, dass die Proben mit inhibitordotierter Beschichtung selbst gegen Korrosion geschützt sind. Ein langfristiger Korrosionsschutz wird durch eine Mischung aus Korrosionsinhibitor-dotierten Silika-Film realisiert.

The present work provides an insight in the development of silica films prepared by water-based sol-gel process. The weaknesses of the coating technology are identified, also solutions are discussed. The silica film is applied on aluminium alloy 6082-T6 and magnesium alloy AZ31. The development of the coating properties such as cost-efficiency, crack-free, self-healing and long-term corrosion protection is the main topic of this work. Cracking is the major drawback of silica films; the cracks are generated due to shrinkage of the film during the heat treatment, nanoparticles-doped silica film is successfully reduced the shrinkage which leads to crack-free silica films. The self-healing of the coated aluminium and magnesium samples is generated by corrosion inhibitors-doped silica film. When a defect appears in the film, the corrosion inhibitors leach out of the silica film to the defect area to heal the corroded surface. The long-term corrosion protection is realized by means of a mixture of corrosion inhibitors-doped silica film. / Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert einen Einblick in die Entwicklung von Silikafilmen, die mittels Sol-Gel-Prozess auf Wasserbasis hergestellt wurden. Die Schwächen der Beschichtungstechnologie werden dargestellt und Lösungen diskutiert. Der Silikafilm wird auf Aluminiumlegierung 6082-T6 und Magnesium-legierung AZ31 aufgebracht. Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung der Schichteigenschaften, wie Kosteneffizienz, Rissfreiheit, Selbstheilung so wie langfristiger Korrosionsschutz. Rissbildung ist ein wesentlicher Nachteil von Silikafilmen; rissfreie Filme wurden mittels nanopartikeldotierter Silikafilme hergestellt. Die Selbstheilung von Aluminium-und Magnesiumsubstraten mit Silikafilm wird durch den Effekt der wasserlöslichen Korrosionsinhibitoren generiert. Die Experimente haben gezeigt, dass die Proben mit inhibitordotierter Beschichtung selbst gegen Korrosion geschützt sind. Ein langfristiger Korrosionsschutz wird durch eine Mischung aus Korrosionsinhibitor-dotierten Silika-Film realisiert.