Nanopartículas de Pd suportadas em compósitos óxido-carbono: influência das interações metal-suporte na oxidação de etanol em meio básico

Fuel cells powered directly with ethanol (Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell-DEFC) are very attractive for the possibility of using a renewable fuel in the generation of clean energy. However, it is still necessary to deepen the understanding of catalytic processes and their dependence on the catalytic properties. This work proposes to study the catalytic activity of ethanol oxidation in an alkaline medium of Pd nanoparticles supported in carbon oxide hybrids using various transition metal oxides (MoO3, TiO2, WO3 and ZrO2). The materials prepared were characterized by techniques such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) to verify the structure, the distribution of particles in the supports and the presence of Pd on particles oxide. Experiments of X-rays absorption spectroscopy were carried out using soft X-rays (SXS) to evaluate the changes in the electronic properties of the Pd particles caused by interactions with different oxides. Measurements of cyclic voltammetry and potential sweeps of adsorbed CO oxidation allowed evaluating general aspects of the catalysts' electrochemical behavior and determining the electrochemically active area thereof. The catalytic performances of ethanol oxidation in alkaline medium were evaluated by electrochemical techniques (potential scan and chronoamperometry), and showed an improvement in activity with the addition of oxides in material containing only carbon, which was most pronounced for the catalyst containing TiO2. This improvement was predominantly associated with the electronic effects caused by the interaction of Pd on the support, causing a vacancy in the 4d band of Pd which, in turn, produces variations in adsorption energies of the species...

Estudo da cinética de degradação da resina benzoxazina e seus compósitos nanoestruturados

The benzoxaxine resin is a new class of thermoset phenolic resin, which is presenting, in the lasts decades, a great application in the aircraft industry due mainly to its excellent mechanical and thermal properties. This resin associates the mechanical properties of epoxy resin with the thermal and flame retardant properties of phenolic resin. In this context, they are considered polymers of high performance and they are excellent candidates to replace the current thermoset matrices used in the processing of high performance composites. Thus, in this study nanostructured composites Benzoxazine/CNT were produced at different concentrations of functionalized and non-functionalized CNT (0,1%; 0,5% and 1,0% w/w). The thermal stability of the benzoxazine resin and its nanostructured composites was studied using thermogravimetry (TGA) and degradation kinetic model Ozawa-Wall-Flynn (O-W-F). The thermal characterization also included differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic-mechanical analysis, infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The introduction of non-functionalized CNT at low concentrations resulted in nanostructured composites with better thermal properties in relation to the neat resin. For all cases, however, the dispersion of CNT in the matrix was ineffective