Chemical catalysts are divided into two traditional categories: homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Although homogeneous (molecular) catalysts tend to have high activity and selectivity, their wide application is hampered by the difficulties in catalyst separation. In contrast, the vast majority of industrial scale catalysts are heterogeneous catalysts based on solid materials. Immobilized catalysts, combining the advantages of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, have developed into an important field in catalysis research. This dissertation presents synthesis, characterization and evaluation of several novel immobilized catalysts. In the first part, MNP supported aluminum isoproxide was developed for ROP of Є-caprolactone to achieve facile magnetic separation of catalysts from polymerization system and reduce toxic metal residues in the poly(caprolactone) product. Chapter 3 presents a silica coated MNP supported DMAP catalyst that was synthesized and displayed good activity and regio-selectivity in epoxide ring opening reactions. In Chapter 4, hybrid sulfonic acid catalysts based on polymer brush materials have been developed. The unique polymer brush architecture permits high catalyst loadings as well as easy accessibility of the active sites to be achieved in this catalytic system. In Chapter 5, aminopolymer-silica composite supported Pd catalysts with good activity and selectivity were developed for the selective hydrogenation of alkynes. In this case, the aminopolymer composite works as a stabilizer for palladium nanoparticles, as well as a modifier to tune the catalyst selectivity. All in all, the general theme of the thesis is developing new immobilized catalysts with improved activity/selectivity as well as easy separation via rational catalyst design.

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Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Le confinement de polymères incompatibles au sein de particules induit une séparation de phase et conduit à la formation de morphologies particulières (cœur-écorce, hémisphérique…). Cette nanostructuration est à l’origine de propriétés de filmification particulières qui justifient l’utilisation des particules polymères composites dans le cadre d’applications comme la formulation de peintures ou de revêtements. Ce travail s’intéresse au développement d’approches permettant de préparer ces particules polymères composites en une seule étape et en milieu aqueux. La stratégie proposée repose sur le couplage « en simultané » de deux polymérisations distinctes: la polymérisation de cyclooléfines par métathèse (ROMP) et la polymérisation radicalaire par transfert d’atome (ATRP). Après avoir mis en évidence les difficultés liées au couplage de la ROMP et de l’ATRP en milieu dispersé aqueux, deux approches originales faisant intervenir respectivement des conditions de miniémulsion et de microémulsion sont proposées. Pour chacune d’elles, la présentation du principe de la synthèse et l’analyse de ses résultats précèdent l’étude morphologique des particules produites. / So as to broaden the scope of their applications in paints, coatings and impact-resistant plastics, many investigations have been dedicated to the preparation of nanostructured colloids over the past decades. Original morphologies including core-shell, hemispherical and complex occluded structures (raspberry-like, golf ball-like, octopus-like) can now be readily prepared. This work proposes a new straightforward one-pot, one-step, one-catalyst strategy to prepare polymer composite particles based on the simultaneous combination of two mechanistically distinct polymerizations in aqueous dispersed media. Norbornene (NB) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) were converted via Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) and Atom-Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP), respectively. Two original routes, designed to ensure simultaneous ROMP and ATRP, respectively under mini- and microemulsion conditions, are proposed. Both are successively reviewed on chemical and colloidal levels. Specific attention is paid to the morphologies of the prepared particles.

De nouveaux glycopolymères amphiphiles en peigne de type dextrane-g-poly(méthacrylate de méthyle) ont été obtenus via une polymérisation radicalaire contrôlée par transfert d’atome (ATRP). Pour contrôler les paramètres macromoléculaires de ces glycopolymères potentiellement biocompatibles et en partie biodégradables, la stratégie de synthèse « grafting from » a été sélectionnée et appliquée selon deux voies de synthèse. La première voie comporte quatre étapes : acétylation partielle des fonctions hydroxyle du dextrane ; introduction des groupements amorceurs d’ATRP ; ATRP contrôlée du méthacrylate de méthyle dans le diméthylsulfoxyde ; hydrolyse des groupements acétate dans des conditions douces. La seconde voie de synthèse permet d’obtenir ces glycopolymères en seulement deux étapes : introduction directe des groupements amorceurs d’ATRP sur le dextrane ; ATRP contrôlée du méthacrylate de méthyle dans le diméthylsulfoxyde. Des études détaillées de chaque étape ont permis à la fois d’estimer la longueur de la chaîne de dextrane et d’assurer le contrôle de l’architecture des glycopolymères (nombre et longueur des greffons). Des études préliminaires par tensiométrie interfaciale ont permit d’évaluer le caractère tensioactif de ces glycopolymères / Synthesis of the new comb-like amphiphilic glycopolymer dextran-g-poly(methyl methacrylate) was obtained thanks to an Atom Transfert Radical Polymerization (ATRP). In order to control the macromolecular parameters of these biocompatible and partly biodegradable glycopolymers, the “grafting from” strategy was applied using two different multi-step pathways. The first one is composed of four steps: partial acetylation of dextran hydroxyl groups; introduction of initiator groups convenient for ATRP; ATRP of methyl methacrylate in dimethylsulfoxide; acetyl group deprotection under mild conditions. The second pathway allows us to obtain such glycopolymers in only two steps: direct introduction of the same initiator groups onto the dextran chain and subsequent ATRP of methyl methacrylate in dimethylsulfoxide. Throughout the synthesis, detailed studies of each step enabled us to estimate the length of the dextran backbone and to assure the control of copolymer architecture in terms of graft number and graft length. Preliminary interfacial tension measurements highlighted the surfactant properties of such glycopolymers

The introduction of a nanoscopic reinforcing phase to a polymer matrix offers great possibilities of obtaining improved properties, enabling applications outside the boundaries of traditional composites. The majority of the work in this thesis has been devoted to polymer/clay nanocomposites in coating applications, using the hydroxyl-functional hyperbranched polyester Boltorn® as matrix and montmorillonite clay as nanofiller. Nanocomposites with a high degree of exfoliation were readily prepared using the straightforward solution-intercalation method with water as solvent. Hard and scratch-resistant coatings with preserved flexibility and transparency were obtained, and acrylate functionalization of Boltorn® rendered a UV-curable system with similar property improvements. In order to elucidate the effect of the dendritic architecture on the exfoliation process, a comparative study on the hyperbranched polyester Boltorn® and a linear analogue of this polymer was performed. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirmed the superior efficiency of the hyperbranched polymer in the preparation of this type of nanocomposites. Additionally, an objective of this thesis was to investigate how cellulose nanofibers can be utilized in high performance polymer nanocomposites. A reactive cellulose “nanopaper” template was combined with a hydrophilic hyperbranched thermoset matrix, resulting in a unique nanocomposite with significantly enhanced properties. Moreover, in order to fully utilize the great potential of cellulose nanofibers as reinforcement in hydrophobic polymer matrices, the hydrophilic surface of cellulose needs to be modified in order to improve the compatibility. For this, a grafting-from approach was explored, using ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone (CL) from microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), resulting in PCL-modified MFC. It was found that the hydrophobicity of the cellulose surfaces increased with longer graft lengths, and that polymer grafting rendered a smoother surface morphology. Subsequently, PCL-grafted MFC film/PCL film bilayer laminates were prepared in order to investigate the interfacial adhesion. Peel tests demonstrated a gradual increase in the interfacial adhesion with increasing graft lengths. / QC20100621

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Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal