The PhD thesis concerns the synthesis of novel zeolite materials, investigation of their properties and their possible use in catalytic application. The work was focused on the two- dimensional zeolites. The thesis was worked out at the Department of Synthesis and Catalysis at J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, AS CR. Germanosilicate UTL (Si/Ge molar ratio 4.0-6.5) was found to undergo unique structural changes in the neutral or acid environment leading to transformation of its three-dimensional framework into two-dimensional layered material denoted IPC-1P. The UTL degradation, so called top-down synthesis, was enabled due to a presence of double-four-units (D4Rs), which can be seen as supporting units/pillars between the rigid layers. The preferential location of Ge in D4Rs makes the units an ideal target for their selective degradation. The interlayer space in lamellar IPC-1P was modified by swelling with long-organic chain surfactant (material IPC-1SW). To keep the interlayer space permanently expanded (up to 3.3 nm) the silica amorphous pillars were subsequently introduced (material IPC-1PI). The integrity of the layers and their preserved UTL character was confirmed in all members of IPC-1 family by HRTEM and electron diffraction measuring. The layers of IPC-1P were condensed back...

Development of sustainable and environmentally friendly chemical processes is of vital importance nowadays. Although there is a palette of different synthetic methods for the formation of epoxides, sulphoxides and sulphones, from both economic and environmental points of view, a direct oxidation with a simple oxidant is highly appreciated. The main goals of the thesis were design and synthesis of novel titanium containing zeolitic materials with the ability to catalyse selective oxidation of sterically demanding organic compounds, particularly epoxidation of cyclic olefins and terpenes and oxidation of bulky thioethers to corresponding sulphoxides and sulphones with hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant. Two novel extra-large pore titanosilicates were prepared by means of hydrothermal synthesis (Ti-CFI, Ti-UTL), three large-pore titanosilicates (Ti-CON, Ti-AFI, Ti-IFR) were prepared using two step deboronation - liquid phase titanium impregnation procedure and two groups of lamellar materials were prepared. One group was based on modified nanosheet TS-1; the other was prepared from Ti-IPC- 1P lamellar precursor, which was prepared by means of top-down transformation of Ti-UTL. Last but not least, the Ti-UTL was transformed into new titanosilicates Ti-IPC-2 (OKO structure) and Ti-IPC-4 (PCR structure) by...

Zeolites with encapsulated metal nanoparticles have attracted a wide attention in heterogeneous catalysis due to their high catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability. The PhD thesis was focused on design and synthesis of metal@zeolite catalysts with small and uniformly distributed metal nanoparticles. The main interests were encapsulation of metal nanoparticles into zeolites by co-crystallization strategy and 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional zeolite transformation approach. The PhD work was performed at the Department of Synthesis and Catalysis at J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry and Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science at Charles University under the supervision of Prof. Jiří Čejka. Zeolites are inorganic crystalline aluminosilicates with microporous framework structures. The micropores of zeolites provide the ideal microenvironment to accommodate metal nanoparticles. During metal nanoparticles formation in zeolite micropores, they can be limited by a rigid framework, preventing the aggregation and leaching of metal during the reaction process. Furthermore, the diameters of zeolite micropores are usually in the range of 0.3-1.5 nm, which can be used to discriminate molecules depending on their size and shape, thus endowing the metal@zeolite...

Dynamic atomistic description of bio-inorganic interfaces represents a challenging problem for contemporary computational chemistry. A detailed analysis of processes occurring on the interface between biomolecule and inorganic material can help our understanding of various processes, ranging from chromatography and protein separation to protein immobilization techniques and their effect on enzyme activity or protein conformational stability. High complexity of bio- inorganic interfaces prevents detailed investigation using accurate, but computationally demanding ab initio methods. Since reliable empirical potentials are not available for these systems, the aim of this work is to develop force fields based on ab initio data as well as a general methodology for parameterization of such force fields. Our potential fitting procedure was carried out in an automated fashion based on molecular dynamics simulation. The resulting potentials were applied for investigation of inorganic material's influence on polypeptide conformations.

This thesis is focused on theoretical study of influence of the silanol nest defects on the hydrolysis of zeolite Chabazite under harsh steaming conditions. The motivation of the thesis was a recent experiment proving that the silanol nest defect enhances the hydrolysis of a zeolite. The harsh steaming conditions have been chosen as some important technological processes involving zeolites require high temperatures and have water vapour present. The study was performed by using density functional theory calculations. To investigate the influence of the defect two models were used a reference pristine model and a defected model containing the silanol nest defect. The two models were pure siliceous Chabazite periodical models with supercell containing 36 and 35 Si tetrahedra respectively. A multi-step hydrolysis leading to detachment of a Si(OH)4 cluster from the zeolite, known as total desilication, was calculated for the two models. Multiple possible paths of the hydrolysis were discovered, compared and discussed on both models. Both the most favourable hydrolysis paths of the two model as well as their arithmetic means were compared. The experimentally set expectations that a silanol nest defect enhances the hydrolysis of the zeolite have been met.

1 Abstract Due to the presence of small structural units (e.g., D4R, D3R), the frameworks of germanosilicate zeolites are generally characterized by high pore volumes and multidimensional/extra-large pore systems, making them especially suitable in processing bulky molecules (in particular, involved in biomass-derived compounds valorization). However, weak acidity, low hydrothermal stability and high cost of Ge significantly limit the practical use of Ge-containing zeolites. This thesis is aimed at design of sustainable germanosilicate zeolite-based catalysts of modifiable chemical composition and tunable porosity for relevant acid-catalyzed reactions, such as ketalization of polyols, epoxidation of olefins, Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of cyclic ketones and Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of aldehydes. Germanosilicate zeolites of different structures, including medium-pore ITH, large pore IWW, extra-large pore UTL and *CTH, were thoroughly characterized using a combination of techniques (i.e., XRD, physisorption, electron microscopy, chemical analysis, among others) and subjected to different post-synthesis modifications to address synthesis-structure-activity relationships in the designed germanosilicate-zeolite based catalysts. In ketalization of glycerol to solketal, weak acid centers of IWW and UTL...

Zeolites have been widely used in many different fields including catalysis, adsorption and separation, ion exchange, or gas storage. Conventional zeolites have three- dimensional (3D) structures with microporous channel system; typical pore sizes are well below 1 nanometer, therefore, diffusion limitation plays important role in many process and bulkier reactants (or products) cannot enter (or leave) the zeolite channel system. Two-dimensional (2D) zeolites prepared in last years can lift all diffusion limitation and they thus offer a very attractive alternative to conventional 3D zeolites. 2D zeolites attracted considerable attention on the experimental side; however, understanding of 2D zeolites based on computational investigation or on a combination of experimental and computational investigation is limited. A motivation for the computational work presented here is to improve our understanding of properties of 2D zeolites based on computational investigation. The originality of the research presented herein is in the strategy: we carried out systematic investigation of properties of corresponding 2D and 3D zeolites and we focus on the identification of similarities and differences. The most important zeolite properties, i.e., presence of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites, are investigated. A number of...

The aim of this master thesis is study of possibilities of processing energy by-products, especially coal fly ash and fluidized bed ash, by hydrothermal treatment. Thanks to hydrothermal conditions and proper alkali activation of ashes we can obtain zeolites. Zeolites are microporous crystalline aluminosilicates which are use in many industrial sectors as catalysts, adsorbents and very good ion exchangers. The results of hydrothermal synthesis are influenced by many variable factors. This thesis mainly focused on influence of chosen alkali activator and the concentration of the activator together with a temperature of hydrothermal process. Other factor that is studied is choice of starting materials and solution/ash ratio. Phase composition of prepared samples was characterized by XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also cation exchange capacity of prepared samples was determined.

Preparation of hierarchical zeolites for fine chemical synthesis Author: Bc. Ondřej Veselý Supervisor: Mgr. Pavla Eliášová, Ph.D. Prague, 2019 Abstract (in english): The thesis is focused on synthesis of hierarchical (micro-mesoporous) zeolites by several different methods and their application in catalytic reactions. Performance of hierarchical materials prepared by different approaches has been investigated, as well as the effect of framework topology and type of acidity on the outcome of the reactions. The work was elaborated in the Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry of Charles University under the supervision of Mgr. Pavla Eliášová, Ph. D. The work is divided into three parts. In the first part several methods of preparation of hierarchical zeolites have been investigated and compared in catalytic reactions. Desilication, selective removal of silicon from the framework, is a post-synthetic method that can be used to introduce additional mesoporosity into a zeolite. The process leads to formation of mesopores by introducing defects into the zeolite structure. The resulting mesopore size is very broad. To partially control the pore size, alkylammonium cations may be added to the solution to protect the crystal surface. The desilication was performed on MTW zeolite which contains...