A versatile in situ photochemical reduction approach was used to generate a composite of gold nanoparticles and SBA-15 silica support with regular mesopores. The mesoporous silica support was first synthesized and, after calcination, was suspended in a solution of gold bromide (EtOH or H2O) containing a free radical generator activated by UV irradiation and used for the photochemical reduction of gold precursor. The influence of gold precursor concentration, light intensity and nature of the solvents on the formation and properties of gold nanoparticles (size, dispersion, stability) on the mesoporous SBA-15 support have been studied with the aim of 2 optimizing the dispersion of the gold nanoparticles in the mesoporous network and their chemical stability. The catalytic activity of the resulting AuNPs@SBA-15 nanocomposite was successfully evaluated for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol reaction in liquid-phase.

Micro/macroporous and meso/macroporous amorphous silica monoliths have been prepared and transformed into ZSM-5 nanosheets zeolitic macroporous monoliths. The hierarchized zeolite monoliths have been optimized in term of crystallinity rate by varying durations and temperatures of hydrothermal treatments. Fully crystallized ZSM-5 nanosheets monoliths were obtained after a combination of two consecutive hydrothermal treatments at 150 °C for 5 days with stirring and at 120 °C for 1 day under static conditions. A ZSM-5 nanosheets 2 monolith similar in shape and dimensions to the original amorphous micro/macroporous silica monolith was obtained, but a partial reduction in size has been observed for the ZSM-5 nanosheets monolith obtained from the amorphous meso/macroporous silica monolith due to a partial dissolution. Results showed that the macropores of the parent silica monoliths were preserved after the transformation with similar diameter sizes but with a wider pores size distributions and additional mesopores systems thanks to the nanosheets morphology.

The impact of surface chemistry on the morphogenesis of maleic anhydride plasma polymer is investigated on silicon wafers with very well‐controlled surface chemistries (i.e., native oxide, hydroxyl‐rich, and alkyl‐rich). A particular attention is paid to characterize the early stages of growth. Two different morphologies of polymer films are obtained, depending on the hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature of the substrate surface, even though the chemical composition is very similar. Homogeneous and dense polymer films are formed on hydrophilic substrates due to the strong affinity of plasma species toward the surface. Elongated nanostructures resulting in a less dense polymer film grow on the hydrophobic surface, which are assumed to be the result of the low affinity of plasma species.