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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11

Specific Features of the Electrochemical Capacitance–Voltage Profiling of GaAs LED and pHEMT Structures with Quantum-Confined Regions

GaAs light-emitting (LED) and HEMT structures with δ-doped regions, InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells, and surface layers of InAs/GaAs quantum dots were studied by means of the electrochemical capacitance- voltage profiling technique. The concentration depth profiles of free charge carriers were obtained. Charges accumulated in quantum wells and quantum dots, as well as the doping levels of the emitter and δ layers were determined. The band structure and free carrier density distribution over the depth of the samples with different quantum well geometry were simulated. The specific features of electrochemical capacitance- voltage profiling in different heterostructure types are analyzed. A method of integration of capacitance- voltage curves at each etching stage was suggested. This method provides the efficient separation of responses from closely located layers, particularly the quantum well and δ layer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Plasma Treated Active Carbon for Capacitive Deionization of Saline Water

The plasma treatment on commercial active carbon (AC) was carried out in a capacitively coupled plasma system using Ar + 10% O 2 at pressure of 4.0 Torr. The RF plasma power ranged from 50 W to 100 W and the processing time was 10 min. The carbon film electrode was fabricated by electrophoretic deposition. Micro-Raman spectroscopy revealed the highly increased disorder of sp 2 C lattice for the AC treated at 75 W. An electrosorption capacity of 6.15 mg/g was recorded for the carbon treated at 75 W in a 0.1 mM NaCl solution when 1.5 V was applied for 5 hours, while the capacity of the untreated AC was 1.0 mg/g. The plasma treatment led to 5.09 times increase in the absorption capacity. The jump of electrosorption capacity by plasma treatment was consistent with the Raman spectra and electrochemical double layer capacitance. This work demonstrated that plasma treatment was a potentially efficient approach to activating biochar to serve as electrode material for capacitive deionization (CDI).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A Review: Flow Electrode Capacitive Deionization for Improved Electrochemical Water Desalination

In many places of the world people have continued to suffer from major droughts and water shortages. With climate change climbing in intensity, these dry conditions will only worsen. With much of the world’s water in the ocean, both saltwater and brackish water have been identified as key water sources. Currently, there are several technologies available for water desalination and treatment such as reverse osmosis, capacitive deionization, electrodialysis, and flow electrode capacitive deionization. This paper will briefly review each of these technologies and propose a new design to improve the current flow electrode capacitive deionization architecture. The new design uses a current collector flow-electrode architecture that has the potential to achieve record thermodynamic energy efficiencies. This formulation is proprietary to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Dynamic Capacitive Wireless Power Transfer System for Electric Vehicles (CRADA Final Report)

Road transportation accounts for 23% of our nation's total energy consumption, 59% of our petroleum consumption and 22% of our total emissions. Electric vehicles (EVs) have much higher well-to-wheel efficiency compared to gasoline vehicles and can reduce our dependence on oil, minimize emissions, improve local air quality and provide a platform for technological innovation and economic growth. While major progress has been made in the development of electric vehicles, their penetration remains under 1 The main hurdles in their widespread adoption are high cost, limited range and long charging times, due to limitations in battery technology. An approach to overcome these hurdles is to substantially reduce the on-board energy storage and instead deliver power wirelessly to the vehicle while it is in motion dynamic wireless power transfer (WPT). For EV charging applications, researchers have traditionally focused on inductive WPT. An issue with inductive WPT systems is that for magnetic flux guidance and shielding, they require ferrite cores, making them expensive, bulky and difficult to embed in the roadway. Under an ARPA-E IDEAS grant, the CU Boulder team has recently developed an alternative approach to WPT based on capacitive coupling that is much smaller, lighter, less expensive, and easier to embed in the roadway than inductive WPT; and have demonstrated a 1.2-kW 6.78-MHz version of this capacitive WPT system on a stationary platform. Under this seed grant program, preliminary work will be carried out on a dynamic capacitive WPT system to prepare a strong proposal for the ARPA-E OPEN 2018 FOA.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

The Dopamine Assisted Synthesis of MoO3/Carbon Electrodes With Enhanced Capacitance in Aqueous Electrolyte

A capacitance increase phenomenon is observed for MoO 3 electrodes synthesized via a sol-gel process in the presence of dopamine hydrochloride (Dopa HCl) as compared to α-MoO 3 electrodes in 5M ZnCl 2 aqueous electrolyte. The synthesis approach is based on a hydrogen peroxide-initiated sol-gel reaction to which the Dopa HCl is added. The powder precursor (Dopa) x MoO y , is isolated from the metastable gel using freeze-drying. Hydrothermal treatment (HT) of the precursor results in the formation of MoO 3 accompanied by carbonization of the organic molecules; designated as HT-MoO 3 /C. HT of the precipitate formed in the absence of dopamine in the reaction produced α-MoO 3 , which was used as a reference material in this study (α-MoO 3 -ref). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show a nanobelt morphology for both HT-MoO 3 /C and α-MoO 3 -ref powders, but with distinct differences in the shape of the nanobelts. The presence of carbonaceous content in the structure of HT-MoO 3 /C is confirmed by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy measurements. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld refinement analysis demonstrate the presence of α-MoO 3 and h-MoO 3 phases in the structure of HT-MoO 3 /C. The increased specific capacitance delivered by the HT-MoO 3 /C electrode as compared to the α-MoO 3 -ref electrode in 5M ZnCl 2 electrolyte in a −0.25–0.70 V vs. Ag/AgCl potential window triggered a more detailed study in an expanded potential window. In the 5M ZnCl 2 electrolyte at a scan rate of 2 mV s −1 , the HT-MoO 3 /C electrode shows a second cycle capacitance of 347.6 F g −1 . The higher electrochemical performance of the HT-MoO 3 /C electrode can be attributed to the presence of carbon in its structure, which can facilitate electron transport. Our study provides a new route for further development of metal oxides for energy storage applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Developing capacitated p-median location-allocation model in the spopt library to allow UCL student teacher placements using public transport

Location-allocation is a key tool within the GIS and network analysis toolbox. In this paper we discuss the real world application of a location-allocation case study (approx 800 students, 500 schools) from UCL using public transport. The use of public transportation is key for this case study, as many location-allocation approaches only make use of drive-time or walking-time distances, but the location of UCL in Greater London, UK makes the inclusion of public transport vital for this case study. The location-allocation is implemented as a capacitated p-median location-allocation model, using the spopt library, part of the Python Spatial Analysis Library (PySAL). The capacitated variation of the p-median location-allocation problem is a new addition to the spopt library, which this work will present. The results from the initial version of the capacitated p-median location-allocation problem has shown a marked improvement on public transport travel time, with public transport travel time reduced by 891 minutes overall for an initial sample of 93 students (9.58 minutes per student). Results will be presented below and plans for further improvement shared.

Bearman, Nick↗

Actuatable capacitive transducer for quantitative nanoindentation combined with transmission electron microscopy

An actuatable capacitive transducer including a transducer body, a first capacitor including a displaceable electrode and electrically configured as an electrostatic actuator, and a second capacitor including a displaceable electrode and electrically configured as a capacitive displacement sensor, wherein the second capacitor comprises a multi-plate capacitor. The actuatable capacitive transducer further includes a coupling shaft configured to mechanically couple the displaceable electrode of the first capacitor to the displaceable electrode of the second capacitor to form a displaceable electrode unit which is displaceable relative to the transducer body, and an electrically-conductive indenter mechanically coupled to the coupling shaft so as to be displaceable in unison with the displaceable electrode unit.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Moisture Modeling: Effective Moisture Penetration Depth Versus Effective Capacitance

This paper compares two moisture models in the context of residential whole-building simulations - the effective moisture penetration depth (EMPD) model and the effective capacitance (EC) model. Previous research has shown that the EMPD model provides a more physically realistic response to humidity-load fluctuations than the EC model. But it is unclear how the choice of moisture model affects overall conclusions informing building design and equipment selection. In this study, the models are evaluated based on their ability to predict relative humidity, predict energy use, and to select HVAC equipment. Whole building simulations indicate that the EC and EMPD models are not equivalent, and that combining the capacitance of the building materials with the indoor air capacitance in the EC model is the root cause of this discrepancy. It means that the EC model cannot dampen humidity loads of different frequencies. This study also showed that a simulation using a certain value of EC in one city can agree with the EMPD results, but that the same EC value in a different city may not agree with the EMPD results. However, the results showed that some conclusions drawn from simulations using the EMPD model and the EC model may often be the same, even if the results differ.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Carbon electrodes based capacitive deionization for the desalination of water

A capacitive deionization system includes first and second electrodes comprising tire derived carbon particles obtained from a carbonaceous waste-tire source material containing carbon black. A conductive polymer coating on the carbon particles forms coated carbon particles. The first electrode and the second electrode define a flow channel there between, having a first opening for conducting saline solution into the flow channel and a second opening for conducting treated saline solution from the flow channel. A first current collector is provided for the first electrode and a second current collector is provided for the second electrode. An electrical connection between the first and second electrodes. A method of making a system for the capacitive deionization of a salt from a liquid, and a method for the capacitive desalination of a saline solution are also disclosed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Readout of Large Capacitance SiPMs by Weak Coupling to Charge Sensitive Amplifier

Large area and large capacitance silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays are employed to collect scintillation light in noble liquid time projection chambers (TPC) such as DarkSide, nEXO, MEGII, protoDUNE and DUNE. Light readout using ASICs designed for operation in noble liquids is a solution for large meter-scale photon detectors. However, conventional readout requires a high voltage decoupling capacitor larger than SiPM capacitance (in the range of tens of nF) to achieve full charge transfer to the preamplifier. Here, we demonstrate a readout concept by weakly coupling (via a capacitor lower by an order of magnitude than SiPM capacitance) to a charge sensitive amplifier, LArASIC in this case, without any loss in the signal to noise ratio (S/N). The single-photoelectron detection, signal-to-noise ratio, timing resolution, and coincidence detection are experimentally characterized.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Distinguishing interfacial double layer and oxide-based capacitance on gold and pre-oxidized Fe-Cr in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate room temperature ionic liquid aqueous mixture

The frequency-dependent impedance of a metal/oxide/room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) interface was separated into oxide layer (C ox ) and double layer (C dl ) capacitances using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). A pre-formed oxide of known initial thickness on Fe-20 at.% Cr was investigated in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate ([Emim][MeSO 3 ]) RTIL + aqueous mixtures. The oxide thickness was calculated from C ox using the complex capacitance representation and the power-law model. The result was additionally verified by cross-sectional analysis using transmission electron microscopy. The C dl calculated from the constant-phase element (CPE) was distinguishable from C ox for Fe-20Cr, which enables monitoring of the interfaces of structural metals with oxide layers in RTILs containing water.

Constant-phase element↗

Investigation of super-capacitive nature of reduced graphene oxide nano mesh grown over 18 k gold foil using wings of Parides iphidamas as biological template

Highlights: • Novel rGO nano mesh (rGONM) like assembly was fabricated using bio-template method. • rGONM pattern exhibit nano-ridges (40 nm) and ribs (25 nm) resembling fishing net. • Super-capacitor performances of rGO and rGONM coated Au substrates were evaluated. • rGO-Au and rGONM-Au revealed specific capacitances of 291 and 418 F/g respectively. - Abstract: This paper deals with the fabrication of novel, reduced graphene oxide nano mesh (rGONM) patterns with longitudinal nano-ridges and transverse nano-ribs using nano tubular structures found on the scales of Parides iphidamas, a butterfly species as biological template. Raman spectra, EDAX and FTIR results confirm the obtained mesh-like morphology that comprises only reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Further, super-capacitor performances of rGO and rGONM-coated gold substrates have been evaluated using cyclic-voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge cycle (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) analysis. A characteristic rectangular curve obtained from the CV of rGO and rGONM-coated gold electrodes display specific capacitances of 291 F/g and 418 F/g respectively at a scan rate of 5 mV/s. The results obtained from EIS support the superior nature of rGONM-coated electrode against rGO system, suggesting the use of rGONM-Au as a potential candidate for electrochemical super capacitor applications.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Negative capacitance regime in ferroelectrics demystified from nonequilibrium molecular dynamics

Negative capacitance regime in ferroelectrics is associated with the negative slope in the dependence of the polarization on electric field and is prohibited by the laws of equilibrium thermodynamics. Very recently, it developed into a controversial but very productive area with a promise for next generation low-power transistors. At least, in part, the controversies arise from the lack of direct experimental insight into the mechanism for such phenomena. Although the experimental insight is, indeed, challenging at present, we probe the effect in ferroelectric PbTiO 3 bulk and a thin film with realistic first-principles-based nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations which model most closely experimental conditions. Here, the following insights emerge from the simulations: (i) the ferroelectric never enters the thermodynamically forbidden region even under extreme rates of electric-field application; (ii) the negative slope naturally arises when the compensating charge is either scarce or slowed down by the external circuitry; (iii) the negative slope is well controlled by the interplay between the applied step pulse field and the amount of the screening charge. The latter can be used to design the negative capacitance regime.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Comparative Analysis of Capacitive Sensors with Different Geometrical layouts for Cable Insulation Degradation Detection

This paper presents a comparative analysis between an Interdigital Capacitor (IDC) sensor and a Serpentine Capacitive (SRC) sensor. The effects of electrode layouts on sensor performance are studied by means of finite element simulation where the geometrical dimensions (except electrode length) and material characteristics of both sensors are identical. Conformal IDC and SRC sensors with equal sensor area are modeled on a cable surface. The simulation results show a tradeoff between IDC and SRC sensors in terms of sensitivity and penetration depth. The SRC sensor shows 13.3% increase in sensitivity and 16.8% increase in capacitance compared to the IDC sensor, though the electric field penetration depth of the SRC sensor is 18.8% lower than the IDC sensor. In addition, the effects of change in electrode width, inter-electrode gap, and number of electrodes on SRC and IDC sensor comparative performance are evaluated.

Interdigital Capacitance, Serpentive Capacitive Se↗

Velocity Profiling of Multiphase Flows Using Capacitive Sensor Sensitivity Gradient

Velocity profiling of a flow involves the task of determining the velocity vector at every point in a given flow volume. A new method is proposed for velocity profiling of multiphase flows based on electrical capacitance volume tomography (ECVT) sensors. The proposed method utilizes a mapping between the change in measured capacitances and the displacement of flow that is effected by the spatial gradient of the sensitivity distribution. Here, this novel mapping not only avoids the need for costly image cross-correlations but also is fully compatible with existing ECVT sensor and image reconstruction algorithms. Simulation and measurement results are provided to demonstrate the proposed method.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

The capacitive properties of structures based on mesoporous silicon irradiated by low-dose γ rays

The influence of low doses of γ rays on the capacitive properties of structures based on mesoporous silicon has been investigated. The concentration distribution of dangling charged bonds over the layer depth, which changes under irradiation, has been found using the capacitance–voltage characteristics at different frequencies of the test signal. It is shown that the concentration and relaxation time of surface charged states in a structure with a mesoporous silicon layer decrease under γ irradiation, which makes the material promising for devices with controlled reactance (varactors) that are resistant to γ irradiation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Capacitive Epidermal Electronics for Electrically Safe, Long–Term Electrophysiological Measurements

Integration of capacitive sensing capabilities to epidermal electronic systems (EES) can enhance the robustness in operation for electrophysiological signal measurement. Capacitive EES designs are reusable, electrically safe, and minimally sensitive to motion artifacts. Here, experiments on human subjects illustrate levels of fidelity in ECG, EMG, and EOG recordings comparable to those of standard gel electrodes and of direct contact EES electrodes.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Electrical capacitance tomography to monitor unsaturated moisture ingress in cement-based materials

This paper reports the investigation of the feasibility of electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) for monitoring unsaturated moisture flow in cement-based materials. ECT is an imaging modality in which the electrical permittivity distribution within an object is reconstructed based on measured capacitances between electrodes attached on the object's surface. In a series of experiments, mortar specimens with different water-cement mass ratios (w/c) (0.25, 0.45 & 0.60) were monitored with ECT during the moisture ingress. The results demonstrate that ECT is able to image the moisture ingress within the specimens, and further, to distinguish between different moisture flow rates in mortars with different porosities resulting from differing w/c ratios. These findings suggest that ECT could provide a tool for monitoring, visualizing and quantifying the rate of moisture ingress in cement-based materials non-destructively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗