Physics Commons^™

Methodologies For Metal Functionalization Of Phosphorus Based Photopolymer Networks, Vanessa Béland

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Photopolymer networks with phosphonium cation, alkyl phosphine and olefin functionality were designed, synthesized and functionalized with metals by metathesis, coordination and hydrometallation reactions, respectively. The materials were strategically designed so that the metal functionalization step could be monitored and quantified. In some cases, this involved characterization by IR, NMR, or X-ray spectroscopic techniques, or by comparison to molecular analogues. It was found that by using a bi-functional photopolymer network, the material could be bi-metallized by orthogonal mechanisms. All metallized polymer networks were tested for their suitability as precursors to metal-containing ceramics. The polymers were pyrolyzed, and on analysis it was …

The Electrochemistry Of Hydrogen Peroxide On Uranium Dioxide And The Modelling Of Used Nuclear Fuel Corrosion Under Permanent Disposal Conditions, Linda Wu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis reports a series of investigations examining the corrosion process of used nuclear fuel under permanent disposal conditions. The motivation of the project is that the safety assessment of deep geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel requires a fundamental understanding of the processes controlling fuel corrosion which could lead to the release of radionuclides to the geosphere from a failed container.

One primary objective of this project was to develop a computational model in order to simulate fuel corrosion under the disposal conditions. A series of simulations based on COMSOL were designed and developed to determine the influence of …

Rational Design And Advanced Fabrication Of Metallic Nanostructures For Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, Betty Cristina Galarreta

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One of the main challenges in analytical science and technology is to develop devices that provide unambiguously the chemical nature of the material of interest with the minimum intrusiveness, the smallest amount of analyte, and the shortest acquisition time. Among the promising methods for such purpose, optical spectroscopy such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering is considered a suitable option. This spectroscopic technique takes advantage of the interaction between an optical field and metallic nanostructures to magnify the electromagnetic field in the vicinity of the nanostructure, resulting in an amplified signal of the vibrational fingerprints of the adsorbed molecules onto the metallic …