Surface Organometallic Chemistry leads to the combination of the high activity and specificity of homogeneous catalysts with the recoverability and practicality of heterogeneous catalysts. Most metal complexes used in this chemistry are grafted on
metal oxide supports such as amorphous silica (SiO2) and γ-alumina (Al2O3). In this thesis, we sought to enable the use of titania (TiO2) as a new support for single-site well-defined grafting of metal complexes. This was achieved by synthesizing a special type of anatase-TiO2, bearing a high density of identical hydroxyl groups, through
hydrothermal synthesis then post-treatment under high vacuum followed by oxygen flow, and characterized by several analytical techniques including X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. Finally, as a proof of concept, the grafting of vanadium oxychloride (VOCl3) was successfully attempted.
| Date of Award | May 2014 |
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| Original language | English (US) |
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| Awarding Institution | - Physical Sciences and Engineering
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| Supervisor | Jean-Marie Basset (Supervisor) |
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