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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

A numerical method for deriving shape functions of nanoparticles for pair distribution function refinements

We report that in the structural refinement of nanoparticles, discrete atomistic modeling can be used for small nanocrystals (< 15 nm), but becomes computationally unfeasible at larger sizes, where instead unit-cell-based small-box modeling is usually employed. However, the effect of the nanocrystal's shape is often ignored or accounted for with a spherical model regardless of the actual shape due to the complexities of solving and implementing accurate shape effects. Recent advancements have provided a way to determine the shape function directly from a pair distribution function calculated from a discrete atomistic model of any given shape, including both regular polyhedra (e.g. cubes, spheres, octahedra) and anisotropic shapes (e.g. rods, discs, ellipsoids) [Olds et al. (2015). J. Appl. Cryst. 48, 1651–1659], although this approach is still limited to small size regimes due to computational demands. In order to accurately account for the effects of nanoparticle size and shape in small-box refinements, a numerical or analytical description is needed. This article presents a methodology to derive numerical approximations of nanoparticle shape functions by fitting to a training set of known shape functions; the numerical approximations can then be employed on larger sizes yielding a more accurate and physically meaningful refined nanoparticle size. Lastly, the method is demonstrated on a series of simulated and real data sets, and a table of pre-calculated shape function expressions for a selection of common shapes is provided.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Density functional theory study of the point defect energetics in y- LiAlO2, Li2ZrO3 and Li2TiO3 materials

The defect energetics in y-LiAlO2, Li2 TiO3, and Li2ZrO3 materials used in tritium-producing burnable absorber rods and fusion solid breeder applications was investigated using density functional theory calculations. A comprehensive analysis of the charged defects was performed for cation and anion vacancies, interstitials, antisite defects, and 3H interstitial and substitutional defects to understand the defect structures at different charge states and their stability as a function of the electron chemical potential across the electronic band gap of crystals at operating temperature and oxygen partial pressure conditions. Through investigation of the local bonding configurations and projected electronic density of states of the 3H related charged defects, including 3H interstitial (3Hint), 3Hint bound with an oxygen interstitial, and substitutional 3H defects on the Li, O, and M (M¼ Al, Ti, and Zr) sites (3HLi, 3HO, and 3HM), the 3H states of these defects were distinguished, i.e. triton (3Hþ), neutral 3H (3H0), and tritide (3H-). The two stable 3H related defects under the Li2O-LiOH rich condition at T ¼ 1000 K, between P(O2) ¼ 10^-5 and 10^-25 atm were found to be 3H interstitial (3Hint) with charge of þ1 and neutral 3HLi (substitutional 3H on the Li site) in g-LiAlO2, Li2ZrO3, and Li2TiO3 materials. For Li2TiO3, the stability of the 3HO with charge of þ1 and 3HM with charge of 3 becomes comparable to that of 3Hint atm at P(O2) ¼ 1025 atm. Overall, our results indicate the energy cost to form the stable 3H defect species (3Hint with charge of þ1 and neutral 3HLi) in g-LiAlO2 material are higher than those of Li2TiO3 and Li2ZrO3 materials at T ¼ 1000 K, between P(O2) ¼ 10^-5 and 10^-25 atm. Interactions between the point defects and the 3H species as a function of the electron chemical potential across the band gap of the materials were also examined. All the three materials exhibit strong interactions between the 3Hint and the O vacancy, Li vacancy, and O interstitial defects with the strongest interactions found in the case of y-LiAlO2 phase, indicating a higher tendency to trap 3H at such point defects in y-LiAlO2.

Charged defect analysis, Tritium-producing burnabl↗
DOE OSTI2015

Density functional theory analysis of the impact of steric interaction on the function of switchable polarity solvents

Here, a density functional theory (DFT) analysis has been performed to explore the impact of steric interactions on the function of switchable polarity solvents (SPS) and their implications on a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model previously proposed for SPS. An x-ray crystal structure of the N,N-dimethylcyclohexylammonium bicarbonate (Hdmcha) salt has been solved as an asymmetric unit containing two cation/anion pairs, with a hydrogen bonding interaction observed between the bicarbonate anions, as well as between the cation and anion in each pair. DFT calculations provide an optimized structure of Hdmcha that closely resembles experimental data and reproduces the cation/anion interaction with the inclusion of a dielectric field. Relaxed potential energy surface (PES) scans have been performed on Hdmcha-based computational model compounds, differing in the size of functional group bonded to the nitrogen center, to assess the steric impact of the group on the relative energy and structural properties of the compound. Results suggest that both the length and amount of branching associated with the substituent impact the energetic limitations on rotation of the group along the N-R bond and NC-R bond, and disrupt the energy minimized position of the hydrogen bonded bicarbonate group. The largest interaction resulted from functional groups that featured five bonds between the ammonium proton and a proton on a functional group with the freedom of rotation to form a pseudo-six membered ring which included both protons.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Solid-State Side-Chain Functionalization of Conjugated Polymers for Expanded Chemical and Functional Versatility

Conjugated polymers that integrate diverse chemical functionalities with high electronic performance are essential for advanced organic electronic, optoelectronic, and biointerfaced technologies. Achieving such multifunctionality typically requires grafting functional units onto polymer side chains. However, conventional solution-phase approaches remain constrained by solubility limitations, side-chain-induced packing disruptions, and challenges in preserving charge transport. Here, we introduce a solid-state side-chain functionalization strategy that exploits a swellable polar side-chain architecture and azide–alkyne click chemistry to enable efficient molecular diffusion and reaction throughout predeposited polymer thin films. This approach substantially broadens the chemical compatibility of graftable units and mitigates the adverse effects on the electrical property. Moreover, the method supports spatially selective functionalization within a continuous film, enabling the patterned incorporation of chemically distinct groups to produce spatially defined optical properties. Here, this solid-state strategy thus provides a versatile platform for constructing conjugated polymers with expanded chemical versatility, preserved electronic performance, and programmable spatial functionality.

Conjugated polymers↗
DOE OSTI2015

Improved methods for Feynman path integral calculations and their application to calculate converged vibrational–rotational partition functions, free energies, enthalpies, entropies, and heat capacities for methane

We present an improved version of our “path-by-path” enhanced same path extrapolation scheme for Feynman path integral (FPI) calculations that permits rapid convergence with discretization errors ranging from O(P{sup −6}) to O(P{sup −12}), where P is the number of path discretization points. We also present two extensions of our importance sampling and stratified sampling schemes for calculating vibrational–rotational partition functions by the FPI method. The first is the use of importance functions for dihedral angles between sets of generalized Jacobi coordinate vectors. The second is an extension of our stratification scheme to allow some strata to be defined based only on coordinate information while other strata are defined based on both the geometry and the energy of the centroid of the Feynman path. These enhanced methods are applied to calculate converged partition functions by FPI methods, and these results are compared to ones obtained earlier by vibrational configuration interaction (VCI) calculations, both calculations being for the Jordan–Gilbert potential energy surface. The earlier VCI calculations are found to agree well (within ∼1.5%) with the new benchmarks. The FPI partition functions presented here are estimated to be converged to within a 2σ statistical uncertainty of between 0.04% and 0.07% for the given potential energy surface for temperatures in the range 300–3000 K and are the most accurately converged partition functions for a given potential energy surface for any molecule with five or more atoms. We also tabulate free energies, enthalpies, entropies, and heat capacities.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

(Spin-)density-functional theory for open-shell systems: Exact magnetization density functional for the half-filled Hubbard trimer

Based on the Hohenberg-Kohn theorem of density-functional theory (DFT), all observable quantities of systems of interacting electrons can be expressed as functionals of the ground-state density. This includes, in principle, the spin polarization (magnetization) of open-shell systems; the explicit form of the magnetization as a functional of the total density is, yet, unknown. In practice, open-shell systems are always treated with spin-DFT, where the basic variables are the spin densities. In this work, the relation between DFT and spin-DFT for open-shell systems is illustrated and the exact magnetization density functional is obtained for the half-filled Hubbard trimer. Errors arising from spin-restricted and -unrestricted exact-exchange Kohn-Sham calculations are analyzed and partially cured via the exact magnetization functional.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Density functional methods for the magnetism of transition metals: SCAN in relation to other functionals

We report tests of various density functionals for ferromagnetic Fe, Co, and Ni with a focus on characterizing the behavior of the so-called strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) functional. It is found that SCAN is closer in behavior to functionals that yield localized behavior, such as hybrid functionals, than other semilocal functionals that are tested. The results are understood in terms of a tendency to differentiate orbitals, favoring integer occupation, which is necessary for a correct description of atomic systems, but inappropriate for the open shell metallic ferromagnetic metals studied here. Not only is the exchange splitting for open shells enhanced with SCAN, but also as seen in Ni, there is much more band dependence with significantly more overestimation for bands corresponding to the partially filled orbitals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Lineage-based functional types: characterising functional diversity to enhance the representation of ecological behaviour in Land Surface Models

Process-based vegetation models attempt to represent the wide range of trait variation in biomes by grouping ecologically similar species into plant functional types (PFTs). This approach has been successful in representing many aspects of plant physiology and biophysics but struggles to capture biogeographic history and ecological dynamics that determine biome boundaries and plant distributions. Grass-dominated ecosystems are broadly distributed across all vegetated continents and harbour large functional diversity, yet most Land Surface Models (LSMs) summarise grasses into two generic PFTs based primarily on differences between temperate C 3 grasses and (sub)tropical C 4 grasses. Incorporation of species-level trait variation is an active area of research to enhance the ecological realism of PFTs, which form the basis for vegetation processes and dynamics in LSMs. Using reported measurements, we developed grass functional trait values (physiological, structural, biochemical, anatomical, phenological, and disturbance-related) of dominant lineages to improve LSM representations. In this work, our method is fundamentally different from previous efforts, as it uses phylogenetic relatedness to create lineage-based functional types (LFTs), situated between species-level trait data and PFT-level abstractions, thus providing a realistic representation of functional diversity and opening the door to the development of new vegetation models.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Warming Alters Expressions of Microbial Functional Genes Important to Ecosystem Functioning

Soil microbial communities play critical roles in ecosystem functioning and are likely altered by climate warming. However, so far, little is known about effects of warming on microbial functional gene expressions. Here, we applied functional gene array (GeoChip 3.0) to analyze cDNA reversely transcribed from total RNA to assess expressed functional genes in active soil microbial communities after nine years of experimental warming in a tallgrass prairie. Our results showed that warming significantly altered the community wide gene expressions. Specifically, expressed genes for degrading more recalcitrant carbon were stimulated by warming, likely linked to the plant community shift toward more C 4 species under warming and to decrease the long-term soil carbon stability. In addition, warming changed expressed genes in labile C degradation and N cycling in different directions (increase and decrease), possibly reflecting the dynamics of labile C and available N pools during sampling. However, the average abundances of expressed genes in phosphorus and sulfur cycling were all increased by warming, implying a stable trend of accelerated P and S processes which might be a mechanism to sustain higher plant growth. Furthermore, the expressed gene composition was closely related to both dynamic (e.g., soil moisture) and stable environmental attributes (e.g., C 4 leaf C or N content), indicating that RNA analyses could also capture certain stable trends in the long-term treatment. Overall, this study revealed the importance of elucidating functional gene expressions of soil microbial community in enhancing our understanding of ecosystem responses to warming.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Predicting a quaternary tungsten oxide for sustainable photovoltaic application by density functional theory

A quaternary oxide, CuSnW{sub 2}O{sub 8} (CTTO), has been predicted by density functional theory (DFT) to be a suitable material for sustainable photovoltaic applications. CTTO possesses band gaps of 1.25 eV (indirect) and 1.37 eV (direct), which were evaluated using the hybrid functional (HSE06) as a post-DFT method. The hole mobility of CTTO was higher than that of silicon. Further, optical absorption calculations demonstrate that CTTO is a better absorber of sunlight than Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} and CuIn{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}Se{sub 2} (x = 0.5). In addition, CTTO exhibits rigorous thermodynamic stability comparable to WO{sub 3}, as investigated by different thermodynamic approaches such as bonding cohesion, fragmentation tendency, and chemical potential analysis. Chemical potential analysis further revealed that CTTO can be synthesized at flexible experimental growth conditions, although the co-existence of at least one secondary phase is likely. Finally, like other Cu-based compounds, the formation of Cu vacancies is highly probable, even at Cu-rich growth condition, which could introduce p-type activity in CTTO.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Construction of meta-GGA functionals through restoration of exact constraint adherence to regularized SCAN functionals

The strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) meta-GGA exchange–correlation functional is constructed as a chemical environment-determined interpolation between two separate energy densities: one describes single-orbital electron densities accurately and another describes slowly varying densities accurately. To conserve constraints known for the exact exchange–correlation functional, the derivatives of this interpolation vanish in the slowly varying limit. While theoretically convenient, this choice introduces numerical challenges that degrade the functional’s efficiency. We have recently reported a modification to the SCAN meta-GGA, termed restored-regularized-SCAN (r 2 SCAN) , that introduces two regularizations into SCAN, which improve its numerical performance at the expense of not recovering the fourth order term of the slowly varying density gradient expansion for exchange. Here, we show the derivation of a progression of density functional approximations [regularized SCAN (rSCAN), r++SCAN, r 2 SCAN, and r 4 SCAN] with increasing adherence to exact conditions while maintaining a smooth interpolation. The greater smoothness of r 2 SCAN seems to lead to better general accuracy than the additional exact constraint of SCAN or r 4 SCAN does.

, correlation energy↗
DOE OSTI2020

Functional equations and separation of variables for exact g -function

The g-function is a measure of degrees of freedom associated to a boundary of two-dimensional quantum field theories. In integrable theories, it can be computed exactly in a form of the Fredholm determinant, but it is often hard to evaluate numerically. In this paper, we derive functional equations — or equivalently integral equations of the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz (TBA) type — which directly compute the g-function in the simplest integrable theory; the sinh-Gordon theory at the self-dual point. The derivation is based on the classic result by Tracy and Widom on the relation between Fredholm determinants and TBA, which was used also in the context of topological string. We demonstrate the efficiency of our formulation through the numerical computation and compare the results in the UV limit with the Liouville CFT. As a side result, we present multiple integrals of Q-functions which we conjecture to describe a universal part of the g-function, and discuss its implication to integrable spin chains.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Coral and Seawater Metagenomes Reveal Key Microbial Functions to Coral Health and Ecosystem Functioning Shaped at Reef Scale

The coral holobiont is comprised of a highly diverse microbial community that provides key services to corals such as protection against pathogens and nutrient cycling. The coral surface mucus layer (SML) microbiome is very sensitive to external changes, as it constitutes the direct interface between the coral host and the environment. Here, we investigate whether the bacterial taxonomic and functional profiles in the coral SML are shaped by the local reef zone and explore their role in coral health and ecosystem functioning. The analysis was conducted using metagenomes and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) associated with the coral Pseudodiploria strigosa and the water column from two naturally distinct reef environments in Bermuda: inner patch reefs exposed to a fluctuating thermal regime and the more stable outer reefs. The microbial community structure in the coral SML varied according to the local environment, both at taxonomic and functional levels. The coral SML microbiome from inner reefs provides more gene functions that are involved in nutrient cycling (e.g., photosynthesis, phosphorus metabolism, sulfur assimilation) and those that are related to higher levels of microbial activity, competition, and stress response. In contrast, the coral SML microbiome from outer reefs contained genes indicative of a carbohydrate-rich mucus composition found in corals exposed to less stressful temperatures and showed high proportions of microbial gene functions that play a potential role in coral disease, such as degradation of lignin-derived compounds and sulfur oxidation. The fluctuating environment in the inner patch reefs of Bermuda could be driving a more beneficial coral SML microbiome, potentially increasing holobiont resilience to environmental changes and disease.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Error correction in multi-fidelity molecular dynamics simulations using functional uncertainty quantification

We use functional, Fréchet, derivatives to quantify how thermodynamic outputs of a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation depend on the potential used to compute atomic interactions. Our approach quantifies the sensitivity of the quantities of interest with respect to the input functions as opposed to its parameters as is done in typical uncertainty quantification methods. We show that the functional sensitivity of the average potential energy and pressure in isothermal, isochoric MD simulations using Lennard–Jones two-body interactions can be used to accurately predict those properties for other interatomic potentials (with different functional forms) without re-running the simulations. This is demonstrated under three different thermodynamic conditions, namely a crystal at room temperature, a liquid at ambient pressure, and a high pressure liquid. The method provides accurate predictions as long as the change in potential can be reasonably described to first order and does not significantly affect the region in phase space explored by the simulation. The functional uncertainty quantification approach can be used to estimate the uncertainties associated with constitutive models used in the simulation and to correct predictions if a more accurate representation becomes available.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Accurate Binding Energies for Lithium Polysulfides and Assessment of Density Functionals for Lithium–Sulfur Battery Research

Lithium–sulfur batteries have high theoretical energy density, but a better knowledge of their intimate structural details will be helpful in improving their conductivity and long-term cycling behavior. In order to identify the stationary configurations of lithium polysulfides (Li 2 S n , 2 ≤ n ≤ 8) formed in the charging and discharging processes of the lithium–sulfur batteries, ab initio molecular dynamics was employed to sample the configuration space of Li 2 S n , followed by optimization of structures by CCSD(T)-F12b/aug-cc-pVDZ. Here, using the optimized stationary points, we have created the LiSAE38 benchmark database of atomization energies (AEs) of 38 lithium polysulfide isomers by using the higher-level WMS and W3X-L methods. In addition, the performances of 39 density functionals have been assessed against the benchmark AEs and the relative stabilities of Li 2 S n isomers. On the basis of the assessments with the def2-QZVP basis set, the PW6B95, B97-1, B3LYP-D3, TPSS, and DSD-PBEP86 density functionals are the most accurate for the AEs, whereas the mPW2-PLYP-D, DSD-PBEP86, PW6B95, HSE06, and PBEQIDH functionals are most accurate for the relative energies. Local functionals are of special interest because of their lower cost (faster timings in terms of computer resources) for large systems; among the tested local functionals, MN15-L and revM06-L are the most accurate for the calculations of relative stabilities.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗