In quantum spins systems, frustration and low-dimensionality generate quantum fluctuations and give rise to exotic quantum phases. This thesis studies a spin ladder model with frustrating couplings along the legs, motivated by experiments on cuprate BiCu2PO6. First, we present an original variational method to describe the low-energy excitations of a single frustrated chain. Then, the phase diagram of two coupled chains is computed with numerical methods. The model exhibits a quantum phase transition between a dimerized phase and resonating valence bound (RVB) phase. The physics of the RVB phase and in particular the onset of incommensurability are studied numerically and by a mean-field treatment. Afterwards, we study the effects of non-magnetic impurities on the magnetization curve and the Curie law at low temperature. These magnetic properties are first discussed at zero temperature with probability arguments. Then a low-energy effective model is derived within the linear response theory and is used to explain the magnetic properties at finite temperature. Eventually, we study the effect of bonds disorder, on a single frustrated chain. The variational method introduced in the non-disordered case gives a low disorder picture of the dimerized phase instability, which consists in the formation of Imry-Ma domains delimited by localized spinons. This result is finally discussed in the light of the strong disorder real space renormalization.
