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At least 181 records · Page 10

The Critical Influence of Spin–Dry Technique on the Surface Passivation Quality of Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Structures

This study examines the effects of spin-dry (SD) and N 2 blow-dry (ND) techniques on the quality and surface passivation performance of silicon oxide grown in ozone-dissolved deionized water. The SD method achieves greater oxide thickness uniformity, averaging 1.39 nm ± 4.17% across 49 points, compared to 1.68 nm ± 21.67% for the ND wafers. However, persistently poor passivation of ozonated oxide-grown wafers following the SD process is exhibited, with carrier lifetime, τ eff < 0.3 ms and saturation current density, J 0 (per side) ranging from 26 to 45 fA cm 2 . These findings are analyzed in the context of the fundamental phenomena involved in the drying processes of both techniques. Following this, an optimized spin-drying process is developed, resulting in improved τ eff and J 0 values of 1.4 ms and 5.6 fA cm –2 , respectively. Scanning electron microscopy further confirms that the oxide films dried with the enhanced SD technique are free of pinholes.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Conformal high-entropy oxide coatings enable fast and durable surface oxygen reactions

Developing active and durable air electrodes for efficient oxygen reactions is challenging for protonic ceramic cells (PCCs), especially at temperatures below 550°C. Here, in this study, we report a rationally designed conformal coating with a high-entropy PrNi 0.2 Mn 0.2 Co 0.2 Fe 0.2 Cu 0.2 O 3−δ (PNMCFC) perovskite structure on the surface of a state-of-the-art PrBaCo 2 O 5+δ (PBC) air electrode. The formed hybrid air electrode (PNMCFC-PBC) shows faster surface oxygen kinetics and a more stable phase structure in high-humidity air than the bare PBC electrode. Further density functional theory calculations suggest that the conformal coating mitigates Ba segregation at the interface and improves oxygen-related reactions, enhancing overall stability and electrocatalytic performance. The cells with the developed hybrid electrodes show encouraging electrochemical performance at 550°C: a polarization resistance of 0.72 Ω cm 2 , a peak power density of 1.30 W cm −2 , an electrolysis current density of −1.36 A cm −2 at 1.3 V, and reasonable operating stabilities (∼200 h at 550°C).

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Wastepaper-derived porous carbon supported cobalt nanocomposites for all solid-state flexible supercapacitor

The conversion of wastepaper into high-value carbon materials has gained significant attention as a sustainable strategy for energy storage applications. Owing to its low cost, abundance, and intrinsic fibrous structure, wastepaper serves as an attractive precursor for carbon-based electrode materials. In this work, a novel electrode comprising cobalt nanoparticles and Co 3 O 4 embedded in wastepaper-derived porous carbon has been developed for use in a flexible all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor. The integration of cobalt nanoparticles and Co 3 O 4 introduces redox-active centres, which enhance the electrochemical activity of the carbon framework. Mean while, the interconnected porous and conductive carbon network enables rapid ion diffusion and efficient electron transport, synergistically improving the overall electrochemical performance. It delivers a high specific capacitance of 61.5 Fg -1 , a power density of 5143 W kg -1 , and an energy density of 9 Wh kg -1 at a current density of 2.5 A/ g. Furthermore, the device maintains outstanding cycling stability, retaining 82.86 % of its capacitance after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles. Practical applicability is confirmed through its ability to power

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Stabilizing alkaline fuel cells with a niobium-doped brookite titanium dioxide catalyst support

Anion-exchange membrane fuel cells represent a promising and scalable approach for hydrogen energy utilization. However, their development is hindered by the weak bonding between metal catalysts and carbon supports, along with challenges in fabricating electronically/ionically conductive electrodes. Here, we report a composite cathode of Nb-doped brookite TiO 2 nanorods that have robust stability when combined with Pt nanoscale catalysts in an alkaline fuel cell. The composite cathode, fabricated without the addition of an ionomer, delivers a power density of 419 mW cm −2 at a current density of 650 mA cm −2 and a voltage retention of 81% at 100 mA cm −2 after 25 h, substantially outperforming a cathode fabricated from commercial Pt/C. Further investigations of the chemical structure, anion exchange capacity, and mass transfer resistance reveal that a solvent residue derived from N-methylpyrrolidone plays an important role in charge transfer and mass transport in the alkaline fuel cell.

alkaline fuel cell↗

Electronic Structural Optimization of the Air Electrodes for Reversible Protonic Ceramic Electrochemical Cells via IIIA Cation Doping

Reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (R-PCECs) have emerged as a novel technology for clean and efficient energy generation and storage. Improving the oxygen and proton conduction characteristics and stability of air electrodes at intermediate temperatures is crucial for achieving a high performance. Herein, we optimize the electronic structure of a state-of-the-art PrBa 0.8 Ca 0.2 Co 2 O 5+δ (PBCC) air electrode via doping IIIA cations (Al 3+ , Ga 3+ , and In 3+ ). Also, it is shown that PrBa 0.8 Ca 0.2 Co 1.9 Ga 0.10 O 5+δ (PBCCGa 0.10 ) exhibits improved oxygen reaction activity and hydration capability. Density functional theory calculations confirm that Ga doping provides the most favorable electronic structure. An R-PCEC with PBCCGa 0.10 achieves a peak power density of 2.21 W cm -2 and a current density of −4.64 A cm -2 at 1.3 V at 650 °C. Additionally, the PBCCGa 0.10 electrode performs good operational stability in FC mode (for about 100 h), EC mode (for about 100 h), and reversible cyclic testing (over 200 h) at 600 °C.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Engineering Thermally Resilient and Kinetically Active Reversible Protonic Ceramic Cells via Interfacial Design

Achieving concurrent fast electrode kinetics and long-term thermo-mechanical durability remains a critical challenge for reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (R-PCECs). Herein, we report an interfacial engineering strategy that integrates a perovs.kite-type PrBaRu0.1Co1.9O5+δ (PBRC) nanoparticle layer onto a PrBa0.5Sr0.5Co1.5Fe0.5O5+δ (PBSCF) substrate (PBRC-PBSCF), together with a modified pellet-assisted sintering approach to fabricate dense BaZr0.4Ce0.4Y0.1Yb0.1O3-δ (BZCYYb4411) electrolytes. The in situ reconstructed heterointerface enhances oxygen reduction/evolution reaction (ORR/OER) kinetics, promotes H2O adsorption/dissociation, and improves steam tolerance, as verified by electrochemical measurements and interfacial microstructural analyses. Density functional theory reveals that Ru-induced electronic modulation at the PBRC-PBSCF interface lowers the energy of oxygen vacancy formation and optimizes the position of the O 2p band center, thereby accelerating oxygen redox kinetics and stabilizing the interface. The resulting R-PCECs deliver an excellent peak power density of 1.112 W cm−2 and an electrolysis current density of −1.257 A cm−2 at 1.3 V in 3% H2O wet air at 600°C, with a reasonable faradaic efficiency. Furthermore, the cells demonstrate excellent stability, sustaining 100 h of thermal cycling (400–600°C, 200°C h−1) in both fuel cell and electrolysis modes, with 600 h of stability in electrolysis mode (600°C, −0.5 to −2 A cm−2).

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Enhanced power density in zero-vacuum-gap thermophotovoltaic devices

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices, which convert infrared thermal radiation from a hot emitter into electricity, hold great promise for applications in energy storage and waste heat recovery. While recent advancements have developed TPV devices with high efficiency, much less attention has been focused on improving the power density. Current TPV methods face challenges in significantly boosting the power density using emitters at very high temperatures (>2000 °C) or using complex, costly architectures such as near-field TPV. Here, we present the first experimental demonstration of a novel far-field TPV concept called “zero-vacuum-gap TPV” that eliminates the vacuum or gas-filled gap in conventional designs. By incorporating a high-index, infrared-transparent, and thermally insulating fused quartz spacer, we achieved a two-fold increase in power density compared to the far-field counterpart under identical conditions. Notably, in our experiment, the zero-vacuum-gap far-field design transforms a less-optimized, low-power-density far-field device into one with one of the highest power densities reported at moderate temperatures (700–1100 °C). Moreover, our measurements using a graphite emitter surpass the blackbody limit for gap-integrated far-field devices and match the performance of near-field TPV devices with an ultrathin 200-nm gap. Our findings suggest that zero-vacuum-gap TPV offers potential for cost-effective, scalable manufacturing using current technologies. Additionally, our modelling predicts that further power enhancements over one order of magnitude are possible with other spacer materials.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Ferroelectricity of wurtzite Al 1−x Hf x N heterovalent alloys

Thin films of aluminum hafnium nitride (Al1−xHfxN) were synthesized via reactive magnetron sputtering for Hf contents up to x = 0.13. X-ray diffraction showed a single c-axis oriented wurtzite phase for all films. Hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated homogeneous Al:Hf distribution through the thin films and confirmed their insulating character. A collection of complementary tests showed unambiguous polarization inversion, and thus ferroelectricity in multiple samples. Current density vs electric field hysteresis measurements showed distinct ferroelectric switching current peaks, the piezoelectric coefficient d 33,f,meas measured using a double beam laser interferometer (DBLI) showed a reversal in sign with similar magnitude, and anisotropic wet etching confirmed field-induced polarization inversion. This demonstrates the possibility of using tetravalent–and not just trivalent–alloying elements to enable ferroelectricity in AlN-based thin films, highlighting the compositional flexibility of ferroelectricity in wurtzites and greatly expanding the chemistries that can be considered for future devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

On the trapped magnetic moment in type-II superconductors

In this article, measurements of the trapped (remanent) magnetic moment, M trap (H) , when a small magnetic field H is turned off after cooling below the superconducting transition temperature, T c , or ramping a magnetic field up and down after cooling in a zero magnetic field, offer substantial advantages in difficult cases of small samples and large field-dependent backgrounds, which is relevant for hydrogen-based ultra-high-T c superconductors (UHTS). Until recently, there was no need for a separate paper on the trapped magnetic flux for well-known critical-state models due to the simplicity of the physics involved. However, recent publications showed the need for such an analysis. This note summarizes the expectations for the Bean model with constant critical current density and the Kim model with field-dependent critical currents. It is shown that if the trapped moment is fitted to the power law, M trap $\propto$ H a , the fixed exponent α = 2 is exact for the Bean model, while Kim models show a wide interval of possible values, 2$\leqslant$a$\leqslant$4. Furthermore, accounting for reversible magnetization expands the range of possible exponents to 1$\leqslant$a$\leqslant$4. In addition, demagnetizing factors are essential and make the trapped moment orientation dependent even in isotropic materials. As a concrete application, it is shown that flux trapping experiments performed on H 3 S UHTS compounds can be well described using this generalized approach, lending further support to the type-II superconducting nature of H 3 S under ultra-high pressure.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Phase segregation of a composite air electrode unlocks the high performance of reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells

One breakthrough in developing highly efficient air electrodes for reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (R-PCECs) is optimizing the sluggish oxygen reduction and water oxidation reactions. Here, we present a novel composite material with a nominal formula of high-entropy Ce 0.2 Ba 0.2 Sr 0.2 La 0.2 Ca 0.2 CoO 3–δ (CBSLCC) that spontaneously self-assembles to three-phase electrocatalysts composed of deficient Ce 0.2–y Ba 0.2 Sr 0.2–x La 0.2–x Ca 0.2 CoO 3–δ (CD-CBSLCC), CeO 2 , and La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3–δ (LSC). Mechanistic studies corroborate that oxygen reduction may occur on entire air electrode surfaces, followed by water formation preferentially at or near CD-CBSLCC. The CeO 2 phase could provide or consume protons to facilitate the oxygen evolution/reduction kinetics in R-PCECs. The developed electrodes demonstrate a record-high electrochemical performance in dual modes of fuel cells and electrolysis cells, delivering a peak power density of 1.66 W cm –2 at 600 °C and a current density of –1.76 A cm –2 at 1.3 V and 600 °C. Finally, excellent operational stabilities of the fuel cell (200 h at 600 °C), electrolysis cell (200 h at 600 °C), and reversible cycling (548 h at 550 °C) provide a promising and reliable step towards realizing the commercialization of R-PCECs.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Stable cycling of high-mass loaded MnO 2 electrodes for sodium-ion batteries

Achieving cost-effective, sustainable solutions for large-scale energy storage are critical for advancing the global clean energy transition. In view of the challenges posed by limited lithium reserves, low-cost sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have emerged as a promising direction, especially for grid-level energy storage. Among the various battery electrode materials, manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) stands out as a favorable choice for such large-scale applications due to its earth abundance, cost-effectiveness, and non-toxic nature. Although MnO 2 is known as a pseudocapacitive material with superior cycling stability in aqueous electrolytes, its dissolution in non-aqueous electrolytes has restricted its use in long-lifetime batteries. In this study, we address two issues which have limited the use of MnO 2 electrodes in non-aqueous electrolytes. First, using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance measurements in combination with other electrochemical methods, we demonstrate that diglyme (bis(2-methoxyethyl) ether) electrolyte can achieve stable cycling of electrodeposited ε-MnO 2 . These results enable us to tackle a second objective, that is increasing the mass loading of the MnO 2 electrode, since achieving high areal energy density is a significant factor in reducing manufacturing costs. Using 3D printed graphene aerogel (GA) as a scaffold, our studies show that the electrodeposited MnO 2 /GA electrodes possess scalable properties with mass loadings from 20 to 80 mg cm −2 . The resulting electrodes exhibit areal energy densities as high as 4.4 mA h cm −2 at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 . The high mass loaded MnO 2 electrodes were incorporated as a cathode in a SIB which used TiO 2 as the anode. The SIB device exhibited excellent performance with power densities in excess of 70 mW cm −2 . These studies highlight the promise of MnO 2 electrodes for use in a low-cost technology for large-scale energy storage.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Design and Engineering of LUPIN: A Test-Bed Radio-Frequency Ion Source for Enhanced Neutral Beam Injection on DIII-D

The Large, Uniform Plasma for Ionizing Neutrals (LUPIN) is a radio-frequency (RF) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) chamber for demonstrating plasma performance of an RF ICP positive ion source upgrade for the DIII-D neutral beam injection (NBI) system. LUPIN will be used to investigate ion source physics, including neutral gas dynamics, plasma density uniformity, interactions with Faraday shields, and power coupling to novel RF antenna designs. LUPIN has an RF generator capable of delivering 20 kW of power at 2 MHz, which is coupled into a cylindrical quartz vessel measuring 20 cm in length and 10 cm in radius. This configuration matches the power density requirements for a full-scale ion source. Target hydrogen and deuterium plasma densities exceeding 10 18 m -3 would relate to extracted ion current densities of 2100 A/m 2 for 10s. Vacuum conductance and gas flow calculations predict a maximum achievable neutral gas flow rate of 1675 Pa ⋅ L/s at 5 Pa of He, which mimics the gas flow of the DIII-D NBI system. Designs have been developed for an internal Faraday shield to mitigate heat flux and ion sputtering on the dielectric vessel. Thermomechanical finite element simulations demonstrated the Faraday shield design to be capable of withstanding anticipated heat loads from worst-case operation scenarios. Finally, results of upcoming experimental investigations on LUPIN will guide the design of a full-scale prototype for DIII-D integration.

Faraday shield↗

Studies of the outer-off-midplane lower hybrid wave launch scenario for plasma start-up on the TST-2 spherical tokamak

Abstract Establishment of an efficient central solenoid (CS) free tokamak plasma start-up method may lead to an economical fusion reactor. CS-free start-up using lower hybrid (LH) waves has been studied on the TST-2 spherical tokamak. Plasma current of about a quarter of CS-driven discharges has been obtained fully non-inductively using the outer-midplane and top LH launchers. Recently, an outer-off-midplane LH launcher was developed to achieve higher plasma current by optimizing for core absorption and minimal fast electron losses. Using the (outer-)off-midplane launcher, fully non-inductive plasma current start-up up to about 8 kA was achieved. Coupled ray-tracing and Fokker–Planck simulation was performed on equilibria reconstructed with an extended MHD model. It was found that the experimentally observed plasma current was in reasonable agreement with the numerical simulation. The simulation predicted appreciable orbit losses for the off-midplane launcher driven discharge at the present parameters, which was consistent with the experimentally observed x-ray radiation characteristics. The simulation showed that the current density was saturated for the present off-midplane launcher discharges and higher density and higher LH power was necessary to achieve higher plasma current.

Physics↗

Design and Engineering of LUPIN: A Test-Bed Radiofrequency Ion Source for Enhanced Neutral Beam Injection on DIII-D

The Large, Uniform Plasma for Ionizing Neutrals (LUPIN) is an RF inductively coupled plasma (ICP) chamber for demonstrating plasma performance of an RF ICP positive ion source upgrade for the DIII-D Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) system. LUPIN will be used to investigate ion source physics, including neutral gas dynamics, plasma density uniformity, interactions with Faraday shields, and power coupling to novel RF antenna designs. LUPIN has an RF generator capable of delivering 20 kW of power at 2 MHz, which is coupled into a cylindrical quartz vessel measuring 20 cm in length and 10 cm in radius. This configuration matches the power density requirements for a full-scale ion source. Target hydrogen and deuterium plasma densities exceeding 10 18 m -3 would relate to extracted ion current densities of 2100 A/m 2 for 10 s. Vacuum conductance and gas flow calculations predict a maximum achievable neutral gas flow rate of 1675 Pa·L/s at 5 Pa of He, which mimics the gas flow of the DIII-D NBI system. Designs have been developed for an internal Faraday shield to mitigate heat flux and ion sputtering on the dielectric vessel. Thermomechanical finite element simulations demonstrated the Faraday shield design to be capable of withstanding anticipated heat loads from worst-case operation scenarios. Results of upcoming experimental investigations on LUPIN will guide the design of a full-scale prototype for DIII-D integration.

Faraday shield↗

Transformer coupled toroidal wave-heated remote plasma sources operating in Ar/NF 3 mixtures

Remote plasmas are used in semiconductor device manufacturing as sources of radicals for chamber cleaning and isotropic etching. In these applications, large fluxes of neutral radicals (e.g. F, O, Cl, H) are desired with there being negligible fluxes of potentially damaging ions and photons. One remote plasma source (RPS) design employs toroidal, transformer coupling using ferrite cores to dissociate high flows of moderately high pressure (up to several Torr) electronegative gases. In this paper, results are discussed from a computational investigation of moderate pressure, toroidal transformer coupled RPS sustained in Ar and Ar/NF 3 mixtures. Operation of the RPS in 1 Torr (133 Pa) of argon with a power of 1.0 kW at 0.5 MHz and a single core produces a continuous toroidal plasma loop with current continuity being maintained dominantly by conduction current. Operation with dual cores introduces azimuthal asymmetries with local maxima in plasma density. Current continuity is maintained by a mix of conduction and displacement current. Operation in NF 3 for the same conditions produces essentially complete NF 3 dissociation. Electron depletion as a result of dissociative attachment of NF 3 and NF x fragments significantly alters the discharge topology, confining the electron density to the downstream portion of the source where the NFx density has been lowered by this dissociation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

An octahedral Mach B-dot probe for 3D flows and magnetic fields in the edge of reversed field pinches

Measurements and simulations show that plasma relaxation processes in the reversed field pinch drive and redistribute both magnetic flux and momentum. To examine this relaxation process, a new 3D Mach B-dot probe has been constructed. This probe collects ion saturation currents through six molybdenum electrodes arranged on the flattened vertices of an octahedron made of boron nitride (BN). The ion saturation current flows through configurable voltage dividers for measurement and returns through one of six selectable return electrodes equally spaced along the 12 cm BN probe arm. In addition, the probe arm houses three B-dot magnetic pickup coils in the BN stalk immediately below to the octahedron, to measure the local magnetic field. Inserted in the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) during deuterium discharges with 220 kA plasma current, density of 0.8 × 10 13 cm –3 , the probe collects ion saturation currents with sawtooth-like peaks correlated with relaxation events. This compact octahedral design fitting six Mach electrode surfaces within a 1 cm3 cube will enable future multi-point, multi-field probes compatible with the 1.5 in. ports of MST. Such probes will allow for flow circulation, current, and canonical vorticity to be calculated in the center of the finite difference stencil formed by the measurement locations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Development of a neural network model for peeling–ballooning stability analysis in the KSTAR tokamak pedestals

The neural network model, MISHKA-NN is developed to mitigate the computational burden associated with the linear ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability analysis of the pedestal based on the peeling–ballooning (P–B) model. By utilizing both 1D plasma profiles (current density, pressure gradient, and safety factor) and 0D parameters (plasma geometry, total current, and toroidal mode number), the model predicts linear growth rate of edge-localized ideal MHD instability in a given equilibrium state. By enabling the prediction of each instability within a second, the model reduces the time required for plotting a pedestal P–B stability diagram (j - α diagram) from approximately 100 CPU hours to a few CPU minutes. Notably, even with the utilization of parametric pressure and current profiles and plasma boundary shapes for the training dataset, the model shows a satisfactory level of performance in benchmarking the j - α diagram for the reconstructed equilibrium from a KSTAR tokamak experiment. We anticipate the model to serve as a versatile alternative to 2D linear MHD stability codes, alleviating numerical costs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Kinetics Measurements in Resistive Electrolytes Using Ring-Disk Electrode: Ring as Current “Shield” Enables Uniform Disk Current Distribution

Rotating disk electrodes are commonly used for electrochemical kinetics measurements. A major disadvantage of these types of electrodes is their nonuniform secondary current distribution, especially when performing electroanalytical measurements in resistive electrolytes. Such nonuniform current distribution can render the values of kinetics constants extracted from the disk electrode to be highly inaccurate. Furthermore, one emerging class of electrolytes that suffer from low ionic conductivities is deep eutectic solvents (DES). DES are a promising class of electrolytes for various emerging applications; however, due to their resistive nature, the secondary current distribution when using them is typically highly nonuniform. For example, the Wagner number when measuring Cu²⁺/Cu⁺ kinetics in choline chloride–ethylene glycol DES (1:4 molar ratio of ChCl:EG) is very low (<0.1), indicating highly nonuniform current distribution over the disk electrode. We show here that the Cu²⁺/Cu⁺ exchange current density measured using disk electrodes is very inaccurate due to the aforementioned nonuniform current distribution. To obtain uniform disk current distribution, we employ here a coplanar concentric rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE), where the ring serves the function of a current “shield.” Specifically, we show using modeling that the ring minimizes the current distribution nonuniformity at the disk by effectively shielding the disk against current spikes near the disk edge. This enables improved precision in electrode kinetics measurements for the Cu²⁺/Cu⁺ couple in resistive DES. To enable broad applicability of this technique, an analytical expression based on the Wagner number is integrated into an iterative algorithm to help users identify ring conditions to achieve uniform current distribution and thus improved electroanalytics at the disk.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗