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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 OSTI2025

Dehydroxylation kinetics of kaolinite and montmorillonite examined using isoconversional methods

The use of calcined clays as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in concrete is a promising strategy towards decarbonizing the cement and concrete industry. This is especially relevant considering the ever-increasing demand for concrete. Comprehensive understanding of the kinetics of calcination is essential towards maximizing the potential reactivity of clay minerals while ensuring energy efficiency. In this study, the kinetics of the dehydroxylation of kaolinite and montmorillonite are investigated under non-isothermal conditions at constant heating rate. Activation energies ( E a ) are determined via Friedman differential and advanced Vyazovkin incremental methods over the isoconversional range; these are devoid of computational approximations, thus allowing kinetic analysis without assuming a specific reaction model. Kinetic equations—in the differential form as well as a combination of differential and integral forms are compared against the experimentally determined reaction models to identify the most probable dehydroxylation mechanism for kaolinite and montmorillonite. A reaction order mechanism is established for dehydroxylation of kaolinite, while montmorillonite is noted to undergo dehydroxylation via a single-step reversible diffusion-controlled process. Kinetic triplet—comprising activation energy, reaction model and pre-exponential factor—is used to predict isothermal calcination conditions, which is further verified using analytical techniques. Heat release rates of clay-portlandite blends from isothermal calorimetry are used within a thermodynamic framework to quantify reactivity of the calcined clays. Here, the study demonstrates a general approach based on isoconversional methods to predict calcination conditions for different clays that can be used in efficient and optimized production of blended cements or SCMs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Synthesis pathways to thin films of stable layered nitrides

Controlled synthesis of metastable materials away from equilibrium is of interest in materials chemistry. Thin-film deposition methods with rapid condensation of vapour precursors can readily synthesize metastable phases but often struggle to yield the thermodynamic ground state. Growing thermodynamically stable structures using kinetically limited synthesis methods is important for practical applications in electronics and energy conversion. Here, in this study, we reveal a synthesis pathway to thermodynamically stable, ordered layered ternary nitride materials, and discuss why disordered metastable intermediate phases tend to form. We show that starting from elemental vapour precursors leads to a 3D long-range-disordered MgMoN 2 thin-film metastable intermediate structure, with a layered short-range order that has a low-energy transformation barrier to the layered 2D-like stable structure. This synthesis approach is extended to ScTaN 2 , MgWN 2 and MgTa 2 N 3 , and may lead to the synthesis of other layered nitride thin films with unique semiconducting and quantum properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Constraints on Triple Oxygen Isotope Kinetics

Triple oxygen isotope methods (e.g., using δ 18 O, and Δ′ 17 O) have been used to classify meteorites, to constrain atmospheric chemistry, and to estimate primary productivity, among other uses. Such utility relies on the mass dependency of most chemical reactions: δ 17 O is proportional to δ 18 O by roughly a factor of 0.5. However, in detail, mass-dependency factors vary. While constraints on mass dependency are well established for equilibrium isotope effects, similar constraints for kinetic isotope effects are lacking. Using an ab initio Monte Carlo approach (see envelopes in Figure 1), we find the range of kinetic isotope effects (i.e., resulting from unidirectional chemical reactions) contains and exceeds the range of accessible equilibrium isotope effects for the 16 O 17 O 18 O system (Hayles and Killingsworth, 2022). Accessible kinetic isotope effects can yield Δ′ 17 O variations as large 0.8 ‰ from a single kinetic fractionation step. Reactions that yield the largest deviations from equilibrium are those with the largest molecular mass difference between decomposition fragments, typically the two products such as a gas and solid generated from the thermal decomposition of an initial solid. Comparison of DFT transition state model results against previously published experiments on the thermal decomposition of calcite (CaCO 3 ) (Miller et al., 2002) and dehydroxylation of brucite (Mg(OH) 2 ) (Clayton and Mayeda, 2009) show they are matched with mass-dependent kinetic isotope effects. This approach can be applied to any system with more than two isotopes.

Oxygen isotopes↗
NASA NTRS1972

Biological effects of radiation, metabolic and replication kinetics alterations

The biological effects of radiation upon normal and cancerous tissues were studied. A macromolecular precursor of DNA, 3ETdR, was incorporated into the cell nucleus during synthesis and provided intranuclear beta radiation. Tritium labeled cells were studied with autoradiographic methods; cell cycle kinetics were determined and cell functions modified by radiation dosage or by drugs were also evaluated. The long term program has included; (1) effects of radiation on cell replication and the correlation with incorporated dose levels, (2) radiation induced changes in cell function, viz., the response of beta irradiated spleen lymphocytes to antigenic stimulation by sheep red blood cells (SRBC), (3) kinetics of tumor and normal cell replication; and (4) megakaryocyte formation and modification by radiomimetic drugs.

Post, J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Revisiting a minimally destructive analytic approach for determining electrochemical kinetic parameters: Measuring aluminum corrosion across a wide pH range based on the Butler-Volmer equation

Here, this study revisits the three-point sampling of the simplified Butler-Volmer equation to address the limitations of strong potentiodynamic polarization, which can introduce irreversible damage and uncertainty in corrosion analysis. The method extracts electrochemical kinetic parameters while minimizing polarization effects, evaluates noise sensitivity relative to overpotential, and accounts for errors from signal noise, OCP drift, ohmic resistance, and mass-transfer constraints. Verified against the Tafel extrapolation method for aluminum corrosion across a wide pH range, this low-polarization approach enables accurate evaluations with specific error estimates, offering a robust alternative to linear polarization resistance methods that assume constant Tafel slopes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Novel Glutathione S-Transferase Gtt2 Class (VpGSTT2) Is Found in the Genome of the AHPND/EMS Vibrio parahaemolyticus Shrimp Pathogen

Glutathione S-transferases are a family of detoxifying enzymes that catalyze the conjugation of reduced glutathione (GSH) with different xenobiotic compounds using either Ser, Tyr, or Cys as a primary catalytic residue. We identified a novel GST in the genome of the shrimp pathogen V. parahaemolyticus FIM- S1708+, a bacterial strain associated with Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND)/Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) in cultured shrimp. This new GST class was named Gtt2. It has an atypical catalytic mechanism in which a water molecule instead of Ser, Tyr, or Cys activates the sulfhydryl group of GSH. The biochemical properties of Gtt2 from Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VpGSTT2) were characterized using kinetic and crystallographic methods. Recombinant VpGSTT2 was enzymatically active using GSH and CDNB as substrates, with a specific activity of 5.7 units/mg. Low affinity for substrates was demonstrated using both Michaelis–Menten kinetics and isothermal titration calorimetry. The crystal structure showed a canonical two-domain structure comprising a glutathione binding G-domain and a hydrophobic ligand H domain. A water molecule was hydrogen-bonded to residues Thr9 and Ser 11, as reported for the yeast Gtt2, suggesting a primary role in the reaction. Molecular docking showed that GSH could bind at the G-site in the vicinity of Ser11. G-site mutationsT9A and S11A were analyzed. S11A retained 30% activity, while T9A/S11A showed no detectable activity. VpGSTT2 was the first bacterial Gtt2 characterized, in which residues Ser11 and Thr9 coordinated a water molecule as part of a catalytic mechanism that was characteristic of yeast GTT2. The GTT2 family has been shown to provide protection against metal toxicity; in some cases, excess heavy metals appear in shrimp ponds presenting AHPND/EMS. Further studies may address whether GTT2 in V. parahaemolyticus pathogenic strains may provide a competitive advantage as a novel detoxification mechanism.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1993

Temperature dependence of protein solubility-determination, application to crystallization, and growth kinetics studies

A scintillation method was developed for determinations of the temperature dependence of the solubility, and of nucleation induction times of proteins, in 50-100 mu(l) volumes of solution. Solubility data for lysozyme and horse serum albumin were obtained for various combinations of pH and precipitant concentrations. These data and the nucleation induction information were used for dynamic crystallization control, that is, for the controlled separation of nucleation and growth stages. Individual lysozyme and horse serum albumin crystals were grown in 15-20 mu(l) solution volumes contained in x-ray capillaries. The morphology and kinetics of the growth and dissolution of lysozyme in aqueous solutions with 2.5 percent NaCl and at pH = 4.5 was studied in situ with a depth resolution of 300 A (4 unit cells) by high resolution optical microscopy and digital image processing. The bulk super- or under saturation, sigma, of the solution inside a closed growth cell was controlled by temperature. The growth habit was bound by (110) and (101) faces that grew through layer spreading, although with different growth rate dependencies on supersaturation/temperature. At sigma less than 10 (obtained at higher temperatures) growth was purely kinetic ally controlled, with impurity effects (macrostep formation and kinetic hindrance) becoming significant for sigma less than 2. At sigma greater than 10 (lower temperatures), anisotropies in the interfacial kinetics were more pronounced, with interfacial kinetics and bulk transport becoming equally important to the growth morphology. Growth rates were growth history dependent. The formation of striations (layers of irregularly incorporated solution) was unambiguously correlated with growth temperature variations. Etching exposed dislocations and various high-index faces whose growth morphologies were studied during return to the steady state growth form. Growth steps were observed to originate from two-dimensional nuclei or from outcrops of growth striations, and from dislocations that preferentially formed in growth sector boundaries.

Rosenberger, Franz↗
DOE OSTI2019

IMPROVING INTERMEDIATE TEMPERATURE PERFORMANCE OF NI-YSZ CERMET ANODES FOR SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS BY INFILTRATION OF NICKEL NANOPARTICLES AND MIXED IONIC ELECTRONIC CONDUCTOR

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are one of the most efficient and environment-friendly devices for electricity generation. One critical challenge of SOFC commercialization is high cell operating temperatures (800°C-1000°C), which lead to high material costs, high performance degradation rates, long start-up and shutdown times, and limited portable applications. Intermediate temperature (600°C-800°C) operation of SOFCs is limited by sluggish electrode reaction kinetics. The objective of this research is to improve intermediate temperature performance of commercially available Ni-YSZ cermet anode supported SOFCs by liquid infiltration of the anode. One effective method to improve kinetics of electrochemical reactions at the anode is to increase the density of reaction sites, which are known as the triple phase boundaries (TPBs). The porous Ni-YSZ cermet anodes were liquid infiltrated with Ni nanoparticles, leading to a four-fold increase in TPB density in the anode. The improved electrochemical performance of the infiltrated cells compared to the uninfiltrated cells highlights the effectiveness of anode infiltration in facilitating improved anode electrochemical reaction kinetics. However, the post-electrochemical testing characterization revealed that Ni nanoparticles were not stable due to Ni coarsening and were mostly isolated indicating that not all of the additional TPBs were fully utilized in electrochemical reactions due to the lack of an electronic pathway between the Ni nanoparticles. In order to improve microstructural stability of the infiltrated Ni nanoparticles, and to fully utilize the added TPBs, co-infiltration of Ni with a mixed ionic and electronic conductor (MIEC) was carried out. Two MIEC materials are chosen based on their chemical stability and conductivity in the anode operating environments; Gd 0.1 Ce 0.9 O 2-δ (GDC), a predominantly an ionic conductor, and La 0.6 Sr 0.3 Ni 0.15 Cr 0.85 O 3-δ (LSNC), a predominantly electronic conductor, and cells were successfully co-infiltrated to form Ni-GDC and Ni-LSNC nanostructures with the MIEC phases connecting the Ni nanoparticles. Stability tests demonstrated that both MIECs inhibited Ni nanoparticle coarsening. Electrochemical studies showed that Ni-GDC is the most effective for improved anode kinetics. A long-term (120 hours) electrochemical test indicated that infiltration of Ni-GDC into Ni-YSZ cermet anode effectively improves overall cell performance at intermediate temperatures and maintains the performance gain for a long period of time.

Lu, Yanchen↗
NASA NTRS1991

Combustion kinetics and sensitivity analysis computations

The stiff ordinary differential equation solution methods more commonly used for chemical kinetics problems are examined, and the efficiency and accuracy of several of the methods are compared by applying them to two combustion kinetics problems. The local sensitivity analysis methods developed to date are outlined, and their advantages and difficulties are briefly discussed. Examples are used to make comparisons among the different techniques.

Radhakrishnan, K.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Chemical Kinetic Modeling of Ignition in HRRST

In the high repetition rate miniature shock tube, HRRST, the temperature and pressure change during the test time, complicating interpretation of ignition delay times. In order to evaluate the use of the HRRST as a reliable means of high throughput- high temperature ignition delay testing and make better use of the acquired data for kinetic validation, several methods of modeling were employed in order to account for the changing thermodynamic states in the HRRST. One line of approach was based on direct chemical modeling using the pressure profile and detailed or simplified kinetic mechanism, and the other was based on a Livengood-Wu type approach using modeled constant volume or constant pressure ignition delay times. Additionally, the modeling approaches evaluated the distinction between results based on thermodynamic trajectories either assuming non-reactive adiabatic conditions or measured from actual ignition delay experiments. Several n-heptane/iso-octane primary reference fuel and toluene/n-heptane/iso-octane toluene primary reference fuel blends were experimentally evaluated and compared with both experimental results and chemical kinetic mechanisms.

Tao, Mingyuan↗
DOE OSTI2024

ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE METHODS AND PROTOCOLS WITH APPLICATION TO DYNAMICS, KINETICS AND THERMOCHEMISTRY

Hydrocarbon combustion involves the reaction dynamics of a tremendous number of species beginning with many-component fuel mixtures and proceeding via a complex system of intermediates to form primary and secondary products. Combustion conditions corresponding to new advanced engines and/or alternative fuels rely increasingly on autoignition and low-temperature-combustion chemistry. In these regimes various transient radical species such as HO2, ROO·, ·QOOH, HCO, NO2, HOCO, and Criegee intermediates play important roles in determining the detailed as well as more general dynamics. A clear understanding and accurate representation of these processes is needed for effective modeling. Given the difficulties associated with making reliable experimental measurements of these systems, computation can play an important role in developing these energy technologies. Accurate calculations have their own challenges since even within the simplest dynamical approximations such as transition state theory, the rates depend exponentially on critical barrier heights and these may be sensitive to the level of quantum chemistry. Moreover, it is well-known that in many cases it is necessary to go beyond statistical theories and consider the dynamics. Quantum tunneling, resonances, radiative transitions, and non-adiabatic effects governed by spin-orbit or derivative coupling can be determining factors in those dynamics. Building upon progress made during a period of prior support through the DOE Early Career Program, this project combines developments in the areas of potential energy surface (PES) fitting and multistate multireference quantum chemistry to allow spectroscopically and dynamically/kinetically accurate investigations of key molecular systems (such as those mentioned above), many of which are radicals with strong multireference character and have the possibility of multiple electronic states contributing to the observed dynamics. An ongoing area of investigation is to develop general strategies for robustly convergent electronic structure theory for global multichannel reactive surfaces including diabatization of energy and other relevant surfaces such as dipole transition. Combining advances in ab initio methods with automated interpolative PES fitting allows the construction of high-quality PESs (incorporating thousands of high-level data) to be done rapidly through parallel processing on high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. In addition, new methods and approaches to electronic structure theory will be developed and tested through applications. This project will explore limitations in traditional multireference calculations (e.g., MRCI) such as those imposed by internal contraction, lack of high-order correlation treatment and poor scaling. Methods such as DMRG-based extended active-space CASSCF and various Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) methods will be applied (including VMC/DMC and FCIQMC). Insight into the relative significance of different orbital spaces and the robustness of application of these approaches on leadership class computing architectures will be gained. Synergy with other components of this research program such as automated PES fitting and multireference quantum chemistry will be used to address challenges encountered by the standard approaches to computational thermochemistry (those being single-reference quantum chemistry and perturbative treatments of the anharmonic vibrational energy, which break down for some cases of electronic structure or floppy strongly coupled vibrational modes).

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Transferable Kinetic Monte Carlo Models with Thousands of Reactions Learned from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of complex chemistry typically involves thousands of atoms propagating over millions of time steps, generating a wealth of data. Traditionally these data are used to calculate some aggregate properties of the system and then discarded, but we propose that these data can be reused to study related chemical systems. Using approximate chemical kinetic models and methods from statistical learning, we study hydrocarbon chemistries under extreme thermodynamic conditions. We discover that a single MD simulation can contain sufficient information about reactions and rates to predict the dynamics of related yet different chemical systems using kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulation. Our learned KMC models identify thousands of reactions and run four orders of magnitude faster than MD. In conclusion, the transferability of these models suggests that we can viably reuse data from existing MD simulations to accelerate future simulation studies and reduce the number of new MD simulations required.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Low Temperature Metal Coating Method Final Report CRADA No. TSB-1155-95

A new metal coating method, cidled KEM (kinetic energy metal.lization), demonstrated in the laboratory by lnovati, utilized fast-moving solid particIes entrained in a gas that are caused to fiow through a nozzIe to effect particle deposition on metal surfaces at room temperature conditions. This method (US Patent 5,795,626) was an attractive and viabIe alternative to the currentIy available high-temperature coating methods avaiIabIe. Since it differs significantly from existing metal coating technologies, a brief description of the method is incIuded here. The proposed method, KEM, achieves cohesive and adhesive metallurgical bonding through the high-speed coUision of powder with a substrate and the subsequent discharge of electrical charge at the substrate. Such coating is effected by entraining metal powder in a gas and accelerating this mixture through a supersonic nozzle. The gas/powder is directed towards the substrate to be coated. Collisions occur, initiaIly between the powder and the substrate, and, as the first Iayer of the coating forms, between the powder and the coating. During these collisions the powder is rapidly deformed, causing the exposure of fresh (oxide free) active metal surface. When these’active surfaces contact one another, they agglomerate and form true metaIIurgicaI bonds. The resultant coating has Iow porosity and high adhesive and cohesive strength. The formation of metaIIurgicaI bonds is potentiated by the discharge of electrical energy. This electrical energy is the result of triboeIectric charging of the particIes during acceleration and transit to the nozzIe. An advantage of the method is that it does not raise the temperature of the powder being appLiedor that of the substrate. Consequently, materials sensitive to high temperature may be applied without changing Me properties of the materkd or substrate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Methods of producing metal sulfides, metal selenides, and metal sulfides/selenides having controlled architectures using kinetic control

The present invention is directed to methods of preparing metal sulfide, metal selenide, or metal sulfide/selenide nanoparticles and the products derived therefrom. In various embodiments, the nanoparticles are derived from the reaction between precursor metal salts and certain sulfur- and/or selenium-containing precursors each independently having a structure of Formula (I), (II), or (III), or an isomer, salt, or tautomer thereof, where Q1, Q2, Q3, R1, R2, R3, R5, and X are defined within the specification.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Kinetic Isotope Effects: Interpretation and Prediction Using Degrees of Rate Control

Kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) have been used for decades in catalysis research as a tool for clarifying reaction mechanisms. Significant primary kinetic isotope effects have usually been interpreted as being a result of isotope substitution at a site of bond breaking (or forming) in the rate-determining step in the reaction mechanism. However, quantitative analysis of the magnitude of the KIE in complex multistep reaction mechanisms is seldom reported. We prove here that the logarithm of the rate ratio for two isotopes is the weighted average over all species in the mechanism of their standard-state free energy difference between the two isotopes, divided by RT. The weighting factor is the degree of rate control (DRC) for that species (e.g., transition state, intermediate, reactant) when the rate is measured separately for each isotope. It is instead the degree of selectivity ratio control (DSRC) when the KIE is measured as the product selectivity in a parallel competition between two isotopes within the same reactant molecule. Since only a few species have non-zero DRCs (or DSRCs) for most reactions, only these few contribute to this weighted average and the KIE. We show that this provides a simple way to interpret and quantitatively predict kinetic isotope effects that is powerful in the insights it provides, allowing one to evaluate directly which species contribute most to the KIE. By applying it to H/D KIEs in several example mechanisms, we further show that the traditional way of interpreting KIEs that focuses only on the rate-determining step can easily lead to misunderstanding of KIE and the reaction mechanism. Finally, this highlights the importance to consider the effect of isotope substitution on the energies of all species with large DRCs (i.e, those whose energies are kinetically relevant). This method also offers opportunities for quantitative validation of mechanism-based microkinetic models.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Detailed Chemical Kinetics Based Simulation of Detonation-Containing Flows

Reliable and robust simulations of detonations in inhomogeneous and turbulent environments are of direct importance in the design of rotating detonation engines (RDEs). In particular, computational models will be especially useful in designing and optimizing discrete injectors that introduce fuel and air separately into the detonation chamber, but ensure appropriate level of mixing to sustain detonations but minimize backflow of detonation products and pressure waves into the feed plenums. Since the structure of detonations itself is non-ideal, models have to include a detailed description of this reacting flow in order to be predictive in nature. Here, a highly-scalable open source based solver has been developed for complex detonating flows such that a) the detonation processes are described using detailed chemical kinetics, b) the method is computationally efficient through the introduction of adaptive mesh refinement, and c) the solver can handle complex geometries of relevance to RDE design. Grid convergence of key metrics for detonations is evaluated using canonical flows. Further, the importance of the use of detailed chemical kinetics is illustrated by extracting the composition structure behind a two-dimensional detonation front. Finally, simulations of a practical RDE configuration are used to demonstrate the applicability of this solver to analyzing geometries. The simulation captures the general trends of the experiment well. It is found that the detonation occurs under partially-premixed conditions. Propagation of pressure waves to the injection system is observed which could influence flow behavior in the oxidizer plenum.

03 NATURAL GAS↗