Depuis 2012, les gaz d’échappement diesel sont considérés comme cancérigènes, ce qui représente un risque pour les travailleurs quotidiennement exposés à ces fumées. Cette étude s’intéresse plus particulièrement aux oxydes d’azotes (NOx) et au monoxyde de carbone (CO) présents dans l’échappement diesel. Actuellement, des solutions catalytiques permettent de réduire la concentration de sortie de ces composés mais elles ne sont pas viables pour les véhicules non routiers fonctionnant de façon discontinue et pour solutionner la problématique du « cold start ». La thèse s’est alors orientée vers l’adsorption sur des zéolithes. Dans un premier temps, sept zéolithes ont été choisies et l’étude de l’adsorption des corps purs en dynamique a montré qu’elles étaient peu efficaces dans la capture de NO et de CO mais qu’elles avaient de bonnes capacités d’adsorption vis à vis de NO2. L’étude plus poussée sur trois d’entre elles, Na Y, NH4 Y et H Y, a montré qu’en présence d’O2 et/ou de vapeur d’eau dans le flux gazeux, des réactions chimiques se produisent, conduisant notamment à la formation de NO2 et/ou de NO qui doivent alors être également adsorbé. Le rôle de la température d’adsorption a également été étudié sur la zéolithe Na Y. Son influence est importante à la fois sur la capacité d’adsorption et sur les cinétiques des réactions chimiques. Les capacités de rétention maximales des NOx sur la zéolithe Na Y sont obtenues à 30°C en présence d’O2 dans le flux gazeux et en absence totale d’eau. Afin d’améliorer la capture de NO et CO, il est possible d’estimer les capacités d’adsorption d’autres zéolithes en utilisant la modélisation moléculaire par Density Functional Theory (DFT) afin de calculer les chaleurs isostériques d’adsorption / Since 2012, diesel exhaust gases are considered to be carcinogenic, which is a risk to workers who are exposed to these fumes on a daily basis. This study focuses on nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) present in the diesel exhaust. Currently, catalytic solutions can reduce the outlet concentration of these compounds, but they are not viable for non road vehicles operating intermittently and to solve the problem of “cold start”. The thesis was then focuses on adsorption on zeolites. As a first step, seven zeolites were selected and the study of the adsorption of pure components in dynamics showed that they were ineffective in the uptake of NO and CO but they had good adsorption capacities for NO2. The further study on three of them, Na Y, NH4 Y and H Y, showed that in the presence of O2 and/or water vapor in the gaseous stream, chemical reactions occur, leading in particular to the formation of NO2 and/or NO which must then also be adsorbed. The role of adsorption temperature has also been studied on zeolite Na Y. Its influence is important on the adsorption capacity and on the kinetics of the chemical reactions. The maximum retention capacities of NOx on zeolite Na Y are obtained in presence of O2 in the gaseous mixture and in absence of water. In order to improve the uptake of NO and CO, it is possible to estimate the adsorption capacities of other zeolites by using molecular modeling by Density Functional Theory (DFT) to calculate the isosteric heats of adsorption

Les biocarburants présentent une alternative prometteuse à l’utilisation de carburants fossiles. Cependant, l’augmentation de la quantité de biocarburants introduite dans les carburants nécessite de connaître leur impact sur les émissions de polluants. Le travail réalisé lors de cette thèse peut être décrit en deux parties : La première traite de l’évaluation des émissions de polluants réglementés et non réglementés émis par la combustion de biocarburants dans un moteur diesel. Différents biocarburants ont été testés : des esters méthyliques d’huile de soja et de colza, des esters éthyliques d’huile usagée et un carburant de référence exempt de tout biocarburant. Les résultats montrent que la nature des biocarburants ainsi que leur teneur ont un impact sur les polluants émis. Par exemple, une diminution de la taille des particules émises a été observée avec l’utilisation des esters méthyliques d’huile de soja. Le deuxième objectif de cette thèse concerne le piégeage des polluants Diesel, notamment des composés organiques volatils par des zéolithes. Plusieurs zéolithes ont été synthétisées puis caractérisées. Des tests d’adsorption par thermogravimétrie ont ensuite été réalisés au laboratoire avec différentes molécules sondes représentatives des polluants émis par les moteurs Diesel (le n-hexane, le p-xylène et l’acétone). Certaines zéolithes comme les zéolithes faujasite présentent des capacités d’adsorption intéressantes. Toutefois, la plupart des résultats montrent une diminution de la capacité d’adsorption avec l’augmentation de la température. Ces zéolithes ont ensuite été placées en sortie d’échappement d’un moteur diesel afin d’étudier leur capacité d’adsorption. / Nowadays, biofuels are a promising alternative to the use of fossil fuels. However, increasing the amount of biofuels introduced in fuels requires to know their impact on emissions pollutants.The work done in this thesis can be described in two parts: The first one deals with the evaluation of emissions of regulated pollutants (NOx, CO, CO2, O2, THC) and unregulated pollutants (volatile organic compounds, carbonyl compounds and fine particles (between 30 nm and 10 microns)) emitted by the combustion of biofuels in a diesel engine. Different biofuels have been tested: methyl esters of soybean oil and rapeseed oil, ethyl esters of used oil and a reference fuel free of biofuel. The results show that the nature of biofuels and their content have an impact on the pollutants emitted. For example, a decrease in the size of the particles emitted was observed with the use of methyl esters of soybean oil. The second objective of this thesis was to trap pollutants, like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with zeolites. Several hydrophilic and hydrophobic zeolites have been synthesized and characterized. Adsorption tests were then carried by thermogravimetry with different probe molecules representative of pollutants from diesel engines (n-hexane, p-xylene and acetone). Some zeolites such as faujasite zeolites have interesting adsorption capacities. However, most of the results show a decrease in the adsorption capacity with the increase of the temperature. Then, these zeolites have been placed in the exhaust outlet of a diesel engine in order to study their adsorption capacity.

Dans le domaine spatial, la contamination moléculaire est un problème important pouvant affecter considérablement la performance des instruments embarqués. Selon l’environnement thermique, certaines molécules polluantes provenant du dégazage sous vide des matériaux constitutifs des satellites viennent en effet se déposer sur les surfaces sensibles telles que les optiques et les différents détecteurs. Grâce à leur structure microporeuse organisée qui leurs confère de remarquables capacités d’adsorption, les zéolithes sont des solides de choix pour minimiser les risques de pollution. Les pastilles, billes et peintures zéolithiques offrent plus précisément l’avantage d’être directement intégrées dans la structure interne des satellites, sont légères et non pulvérulentes. C’est pourquoi l’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier la mise en forme de poudre zéolithique. Les propriétés mécaniques et les propriétés d’adsorption des objets obtenus seront étudiées pour confirmer leur utilisation dans le domaine du spatial.Au cours de ce travail, trois mises en forme ont été développées : les pastilles, les billes et les peintures zéolithiques. Les pastilles zéolithiques ont présenté des propriétés mécaniques très intéressantes, contrairement aux billes zéolithiques qui peuvent engendrer une contamination particulaire lors de la mise en orbite du satellite (vibrations). Les capacités d’adsorption de ces deux mises en forme sont satisfaisantes : des molécules telles que le n-hexane, le cyclohexane et le 3-méthylpentane y ont été adsorbées. Enfin, la première formulation de peinture zéolithique a conduit à des capacités d’adsorption correctes (diminution de 20 % due à la présence de liant) avec une adhésion (test ISO 2409) acceptable. Cette dernière mise en forme est une des nombreuses perspectives des travaux réalisés au cours de cette thèse. / In low earth orbit, global performances of satellites can be affected by the contamination of critical surfaces as optical devices and detectors. On-orbit molecular contamination is due to outgassed organic pollutants emanating from spacecraft materials. One way to reduce and to eliminate this phenomenon is the use of molecular adsorbents. Among them, zeolites appear to be relevant materials for contaminants retaining. Unlike common powder materials, zeolites films can also avoid the secondary dust contamination due to particles breeding and can be easily inserted in the satellite structure. As a consequence, this work deals with the shaping of zeolitic powder.Three shapes were developed during this work: pellets, beads and paints. Zeolitic pellets showed very interesting mechanical properties, on the contrary to zeolitic beads which can beget a particulate contamination (vibrations). The adsorption capacities of these two shapes are good: molecules such as n-hexane, cyclohexane and 3-methylpentane were adsorbed. Finally, the first formulation of a zeolitic paint was developed: a loss of 20 % of the adsorption capacities was observed (presence of binder). The adhesion (ISO 2409 test) was acceptable. This last shape is one of the many perspectives of this work.

De nombreux problèmes d'optimisation propres à différents secteurs industriels et académiques (énergie, chimie, transport, etc.) nécessitent de concevoir des méthodes de plus en plus efficaces pour les résoudre. Afin de répondre à ces besoins, l'objectif de cette thèse est de développer une bibliothèque composée de plusieurs métaheuristiques hybrides distribuées et massivement parallèles. Dans un premier temps, nous avons étudié le problème du voyageur de commerce et sa résolution par la méthode colonie de fourmis afin de mettre en place les techniques d'hybridation et de parallélisation. Ensuite, deux autres problèmes d'optimisation ont été traités, à savoir, le problème d'affectation quadratique (QAP) et le problème de la résolution structurale des zéolithes (ZSP). Pour le QAP, plusieurs variantes basées sur une recherche taboue itérative avec des diversifications adaptatives ont été proposées. Le but de ces propositions est d'étudier l'impact de : l'échange des données, des stratégies de diversification et des méthodes de coopération. Notre meilleure variante est comparée à six des meilleurs travaux de la littérature. En ce qui concerne le ZSP, deux nouvelles formulations de la fonction objective sont proposées pour évaluer le potentiel des structures zéolitiques trouvées. Ces formulations sont basées sur le principe de pénalisation et de récompense. Deux algorithmes génétiques hybrides et parallèles sont proposés pour générer des structures zéolitiques stables. Nos algorithmes ont généré actuellement six topologies stables, parmi lesquelles trois ne sont pas répertoriées sur le site Web du SC-IZA ou dans l'Atlas of Prospective Zeolite Structures. / Many optimization problems specific to different industrial and academic sectors (energy, chemicals, transportation, etc.) require the development of more effective methods in resolving. To meet these needs, the aim of this thesis is to develop a library of several hybrid metaheuristics distributed and massively parallel. First, we studied the traveling salesman problem and its resolution by the ant colony method to establish hybridization and parallelization techniques. Two other optimization problems have been dealt, which are, the quadratic assignment problem (QAP) and the zeolite structure problem (ZSP). For the QAP, several variants based on an iterative tabu search with adaptive diversification have been proposed. The aim of these proposals is to study the impact of: the data exchange, the diversification strategies and the methods of cooperation. Our best variant is compared with six from the leading works of the literature. For the ZSP two new formulations of the objective function are proposed to evaluate the potential of the zeolites structures founded. These formulations are based on reward and penalty evaluation. Two hybrid and parallel genetic algorithms are proposed to generate stable zeolites structures. Our algorithms have now generated six stable topologies, three of them are not listed in the SC-JZA website or in the Atlas of Prospective Zeolite Structures.

Les composés organiques volatiles (COVs) sont les polluants organiques atmosphériques les plus abondants. Parmi les différentes solutions pour combattre cette pollution, l'utilisation d'adsorbants moléculaires tels que les zéolithes semble être efficace. Cependant les synthèses classiques de zéolithes aboutissent généralement à des tailles de cristaux de l'ordre de plusieurs dizaines de micromètres. Les capacités et les cinétiques de piégeage, sensibles aux phénomènes de diffusion et de surface pourraient potentiellement être améliorées par l'utilisation de nanocristaux ou de produits zéolithiques hiérarchisés (micro/mésoporeux). Dans ce travail de thèse, nous avons synthétisé des zéolithes aluminosiliciques ou purement siliciques de type structural FAU, MFI et *BEA. Ces dernières sont synthétisées avec différentes morphologies et tailles de particules telles que les nanocristaux et les zéolithes hiérarchisées (nanofeuillets et/ou nanoéponges en utilisant des agents structurants bifonctionnels). Ces matériaux sont comparés aux zéolithes conventionnelles, afin d'étudier l'influence de la morphologie sur la cinétique et la capacité de piégeage de COVs. Les caractéristiques structurales et texturales des zéolithes synthétisées ont été étudiées par ORX, MEB, manométrie d'adsorption/désorption de diazote, ATG-ATD, RMN du solide. Enfin, la capacité d'adsorption d'une molécule modèle, le n-hexane, au sein de ces zéolithes a été étudiée par thermogravimétrie. Dans le cas des zéolithes de type MFI et *BEA, les zéolithes hiérarchisées ont montré une augmentation de la capacité de piégeage en n-hexane par rapport aux zéolithes conventionnelles. La capacité de piégeage en n-hexane a été multipliée par 7 dans le cas des nanoéponges de type *BEA et par 6 dans le cas des nanocristaux de type *BEA comparés aux microcristaux de type *BEA (693 mg/g vs 103 mg/g et 591 mg/g vs 103 mg/g, respectivement). / Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the most abundant organic pollutants. Among the various solutions to fight against this pollution, the use of molecular adsorbents appears as a potential alternative for the control of contamination. The porous materials have many advantages due to their low cost, their physical characteristics and their useful properties related to their structure and their large surface area. However, conventional synthesis of zeolites generally lead to micrometer size crystals. The capacity and the kinetics of adsorption that are sensitive to the diffusion and the surface phenomena could be potentially improved by the use of zeolite nanocrystals or hierarchical products (micro / mesoporous). These nanomaterials have high potential due to their small size and their exalted outer surface that promote access of pollutants and improve the adsorption capacity. ln the thesis work, we synthesized zeolites with different structural types such as FAU, MFI and *BEA. Each structure type was synthesized in different morphologies such as nanosponges and /or nanosheets using a bifunctional structuring agent, as well as nanocrystals by the clear solution method. These materials were compared with conventional micrometer-sized zeolites. The purity and the porous texture have been characterized by using XRD, SEM, nitrogen adsorption/desorption techniques, TGA-DTA and solid state NMR. Finally, the adsorption capacity of a model molecule, the n-hexane, in these zeolites have been studied by thermogravimetry. In the case of *BEA and MFI-type zeol ites, the hierarchical zeolites showed an increase of the adsorption capacity of n-hexane compared to conventional zeolites. The adsorption capacity of n-hexane was multiplied by 7 in the case of *BEA-type nanosponges and by 6 in the case of the *BEA-type nanocrystals compared to *BEA_type microcrystals (693 mg / g vs 103 mg / g and 591 mg / g vs 103 mg / g, respectively).

L’obtention de nouvelles structures zéolithiques a été permise grâce à la diversification des conditions de synthèse, comme l’utilisation d’ions fluorures, la substitution partielle du silicium par du germanium ou l’ajout d’un agent structurant organique. Les travaux développés au cours de cette thèse se concentrent sur la synthèse de nouveaux solides microporeux zéolithiques possédants de larges à extra-larges pores (>10 unités TO4) à l’aide de nouvelles molécules organiques structurantes. Le travail de thèse se divise donc en deux étapes avec, dans un premier temps, la synthèse de molécules organiques originales (dérivées de la pyrrolidine) qui sont ensuite engagées en synthèse hydrothermale. Huit nouveaux structurants non commerciaux ont été élaborés qui ont permis d'obtenir divers matériaux déjà connus, parmi lesquels les zéolithes octadécasil (AST), ITQ-7 (ISV), ITQ-17 (BEC) et ITQ-21. L'utilisation des cations N,N-diméthylperhydro-dicyclopenta[b,d]pyrrolium et N,N-diméthyldicyclopentylammon-ium, ont permis la découverte de deux nouveaux silicogermanates dont l’un de topologie connue nommé clovérite (-CLO) et l’autre nommé Mu-43 présentant une topologie de charpente inédite. Chacun de ces deux matériaux possède un système tridimensionnel de canaux avec des ouvertures à 12 atomes T (Mu-43) ou à 20 atomes T (clovérite). / Several synthetic strategies have emerged such as the use of fluoride, the introduction of germanium and the development of new organic structure directing agents (SDAs) to obtain zeolites, which have led to significant structural diversity. Previous works at the laboratory enable us to develop a new range of non-commercial SDAs that have been designed to produce novel extra-large pores zeolites (>10 TO4 units). Elaborated organic structure directing agents (pyrrolidine derivatives) were first synthesized by a concise route and then engaged in hydrothermal synthesis. Eight non-commercial and original SDAs were produced which led to the synthesis of several known zeolites such as octadecasil (AST), ITQ-7 (ISV), ITQ-17 (BEC) and ITQ-21. The use of the cations N,N-dimethylperhydro-dicyclopenta[b,d]pyrrolium and N,N-dimethyldicyclopentyl-ammonium, allowed us to discover two new silicogermanates named cloverite of known topology -CLO and the novel one Mu 43. Each of these two materials possesses a three-dimensional channel system with 12-membered ring pores (Mu-43) or 20-membered ring pores (cloverite).

Ce travail de thèse inclut deux parties : i) l'étude fondamentale de la formation de cristaux zéolithiques ; et ii) la préparation de massifs zéolithiques de taille centimétriques à porosité interparticulaire contrôlée. La première partie de ce travail est donc consacrée à l'étude de l'effet de la microstructure (propriétés physiques et texturales) et de la composition chimique du gel sur la vitesse de nucléation et la taille des cristaux formés. Les résultats de cette étude se résument par le rôle important que joue la composition du gel (plus particulièrement sa concentration en hydroxyde de cation alcalin) sur le degré de polymérisation des particules du gel, la détermination de sa microstructure et par conséquent sur la vitesse de nucléation des zéolithes et la taille des cristaux. Les connaissances acquises dans la première partie ont été utilisées dans le développement du deuxième objective. Notamment, la préparation de massifs zéolithiques de taille centimétrique de types structuraux *BEA et MFI. Le contrôle post-synthèse de la porosité interparticulaire de ces massifs était essentiel pour leur utilisation dans des applications bien précises. A cette fin, une méthode en deux étapes, comportant un assemblage de nanocristaux de zéolithes préformés (en présence ou en absence d'un liant) puis un traitement de croissance secondaire pour l'élimination de la porosité interparticulaire, a été mise en œuvre. Plusieurs traitements de croissance secondaire furent évalués selon le type de zéolithe étudié. Une attention particulière fut accordée à l'étude de l'évolution du liant au cours des processus de préparation et de calcination des massifs zéolithiques. / The present study includes two parts: i) fundamental study of zeolite nucleation-crystal growth mechanism; and ii) preparation of zeolite bodies with controlled interparticle porosity.Thus the first part of the present work deals with the study of the effect of physico-chemical characteristics of initial hydrogel on the nucleation and crystal growth kinetics of zeolite crystals. The obtained data revealed that the concentration of alkali metal hydroxide in the initial system controls the rate of polymerization of the aluminosilicate species, the size of initial gel particles, and the textural properties of the gel. Consequently, the following reaction was to great extent predetermined by the events taking place during mixing the initial reactants.The second part of this work was targeted at the preparation of centimeter-sized zeolite bodies of *BEA- and MFI-type with reduced to minimum inter-particle porosity. A preparation method consisting in assembling of zeolite nanocrystals (with or without a binder) was developed and further optimized. The preformed bodies were subjected to a hydrothermal treatrnent in a fresh zeolite synthesis solution in order to till up the inter-particle porosity. Depending onthe zeolite type, different methods of secondary growth treatrnents were employed. A particular attention has been paid on the study of the binder evolution during the calcination and secondary growth processes.

Mixed matrix hollow fiber membranes maintain the ease of processing polymers while enhancing the separation performance of the pure polymer due to inclusion of molecular sieve filler particles. This work shows the development process of high loading mixed matrix hollow fiber membranes for butane isomer separation, from material selection and engineering of polymer-sieve interfacial adhesion to mixed matrix hollow fiber spinning. The matching of gas transport properties in polymer and zeolite is critical for forming successful mixed matrix membranes. The nC4 permeability in glassy commercial polymers such as Ultem® and Matrimid® is too low (< 0.1 Barrer) for commercial application. A group of fluorinated (6FDA) polyimides, with high nC4 permeability and nC4/iC4 selectivity, are selected as the polymer matrix. No glassy polymers can possibly match the high permeable MFI to make mixed matrix membranes with selectivity enhancement for C4s separation. Zeolite 5A, which has a nC4 permeability (~3 Barrer) and nC4/iC4 selectivity (essentially ∞), matches well with the 6FDA polymers. A 24% nC4/iC4 selectivity enhancement was achieved in mixed matrix membranes containing 6FDA-DAM and 25 wt% treated 5A particles. A more promising mixed matrix membrane contains 6FDA-DAM-DABA matrix and 5A, because of a better match of gas transport properties in polymer and zeolite. Dual layer hollow fibers, with cellulose acetate core layer and sheath layers of 6FDA polyimides, were successfully fabricated. Successive engineering of the 6FDA sheath layer and the dense skin is needed for the challenging C4s separation, which is extremely sensitive to the integrity of the dense skin layer. The delamination-free, macrovoid-free dual layer hollow fiber membranes provide the solution for the expensive 6FDA polyimides spinning. Mixed matrix hollow fiber membranes are spun base on the platform of 6FDA/Cellulose acetate dual layer hollow fibers. Preliminary results suggest that high loading mixed matrix hollow fiber membranes for C4s is feasible. Following research is needed on the fiber spinning with well treated zeolite 5A nanoparticles. The key aspect of this research is elucidating the three-step (sol-gel-precipitation) mechanism of sol-gel-Grignard treatment, based on which further controlling of Mg(OH)2 whisker morphologies is possible. A Mg(OH)2 nucleation process promoted by acid species is proposed to explain the heterogeneous Mg(OH)2 growing process. Different acid species were tried: 1) HCl solution, 2) AlClx species generated by dealumination process and 3) AlCl3 supported on zeolite surfaces. Acids introduced through HCl solution and dealumination are effective on commercial 5A particles to generate Mg(OH)2 whiskers in the sol-gel-Grignard treatment. Supported AlCl3 is effective on both commercial and synthesized 5A particles (150 nm-1 µm) during the sol-gel-Grignard treatment, in terms of promoting heterogeneous Mg(OH)2 whiskers formation. But the byproduct of Al(OH)3 layer separates the Mg(OH)2 whiskers from zeolite surface, and leads to undesirable morphologies for polymer-zeolite interfacial adhesion. The elucidation of sol-gel-Grignard mechanism and importance of zeolite surface acidity on Mg(OH)2 formation, builds a solid foundation for future development towards ''universal'' method of growing Mg(OH)2 whiskers on zeolite surfaces.

Open-framework inorganic and inorganic-organic hybrid materials constitute an important area of study in materials chemistry, because of their potential applications in areas such as sorption and catalysis. Besides aluminosilicate zeolites, the metal phosphates and carboxylates constitute large families of open-framework structures. The possibility of building open architectures with the sulfate and selenate anions as the basic building units has been explored in this thesis. Investigations of a variety of open-framework metal sulfates and selenates, as well as a family of jarosites of different transition metals are presented. More importantly, studies directed towards the synthesis and understanding of the magnetic properties of various Kagome compounds formed by the transition metal ions is discussed at length. After providing an introduction to inorganic open-framework compounds (Part 1), the thesis presents the results of the investigations of various transition and rare earth metal sulfates with diverse structures and dimensionalities in Part 2. Some of these compounds show interesting properties. For example, a two-dimensional Ni(II) sulfate exhibits ferrimagnetism whereas a three-dimensional Ni(II) sulfate with 10-membered channels is paramagnetic. A family of three-dimensional co-ordination polymers of Co(II) sulfate wherein the Co(II) sulfate layers are linked by diaminoalkanes of varying chain length has been synthesized and characterized. Organically-templated neodymium and thorium sulfates with layered and three-dimensional structure have also been prepared. The jarosite family of compounds with the Kagome structure is considered as an ideal model for studying frustrated magnetism. This type of materials, however, is difficult to prepare in a pure and highly crystalline form. We have synthesized analogues of the jarosite containing magnetic ions other than Fe3+ by solvothermal techniques and discussed them in Part 3. In particular, we have prepared and explored the magnetic properties of Mn2+(S = 5/2), Fe2+ (S = 2), Co2+(S = 3/2) and Ni2+ (S = 1) jarosites. Based on the results presented, it becomes clear that the magnetic properties vary with the spin of the transition metal ion. It appears that those Kagome compounds with transition metalions with non-integer spins show antiferromagnetic interactions and magnetic frustration while those with integer spins exhibit ferro/ferrimagnetic properties. A theoretical study has also supports this observation. We have been able to isolate for the first time 1,4-diazacubane as the part of the structure of the nickel Kagome compound. The possibility of building open architectures with the selenate anion as the basic building unit has been explored in Part 4. The results have been rewarding and an organically-templated three-dimensional lanthanum selenate with 12-membered channels has thus been obtained for the first time.

Open-framework materials constitute an important area of study in materials chemistry, because of their potential applications in areas such as sorption and catalysis. Furthermore, these materials exhibit fascinating architectures with unusual bonding and coordination patterns. Besides aluminosilicate zeolites and metal phosphates, metal carboxylates constitute an important family of open-framework structures. In this thesis, results of investigations of a variety of open-framework metal carboxylates, as well as a new family of rare-earth sulfates are presented. More importantly, studies directed towards an understanding of the mechanism of formation of open-framework phosphates and carboxylates and the importance of synthesis parameters like temperature in determining the dimensionality of the products are discussed at length. After providing an introduction to open-framework compounds (Part 1), the thesis (Part 2) presents the results of the investigations of metal carboxylates employing both transition metal and rare-earth metal ions with various organic linkers, ranging from aromatic squarate dianion, aliphatic dicarboxylates like oxalate, adipate, succinate, aminocarboxylates (which contain both the amine and the carboxylate group in the same moiety) and dihydroxybenzoates. Some of these compounds have large channels, for example, both the lanthanum mixed aliphatic dicarboxylates, strontium dihydroxybenzoate etc. Some even show unusual properties, example, a mixed valent iron (II, III) glycinate has a perfect kagome structure and shows unusual magnetic properties, entirely different from those of ordinary Fe(III) kagome structures, copper derivative of 6-amincaproic acid has large channels and remains crystalline porous even after dehydration, a cobalt oxalato-squarate has both oxalate and squarate moiety in the same structure, where the oxalate is produced in situ by the oxidation of squarate under hydrothermal conditions in the basic medium. While the phosphate and the silicate anions are the most common basic building units in open-framework inorganic structures, the possibility of building open architectures with the sulfate anion as the basic building unit has been explored in Part 3. The results have been rewarding and both layered and three-dimensional rare-earth sulfates with large channels and possessing a α-Po structure or (6, 3) nets with continuous M-O-M connectivity in two dimensions have been obtained. The most intriguing question in the area of open-framework structures relates to the mode of formation. In Part 4, the mechanism of formation of both metal phosphates and metal carboxylates have been discussed. This part includes a study of the transformations of four-membered ring phosphates to higher dimensional structures (like 3D sodalite-related structure), through lower-dimensional structures, involving a progressive building-up mechanism. Similar progressive building-up mechanism has also been studied for metal carboxylates. The importance of synthesis parameters like temperature in governing the dimensionality of the products has been studied.