Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Structural Lifetime”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13

Structure-Activity Relationships of Hydrothermally Aged Titania-Supported Vanadium-Tungsten Oxide Catalysts for SCR of NOx Emissions with NH3

Supported V2O5-WO3/TiO2 materials employed as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts for NOx emission control from power plants. Fresh SCR catalysts usually receive exposure to harsh treatments in industry to accelerate catalyst activation (calcination in air at 650oC) and catalyst aging (hydrothermal aging at 650oC) in a way that represents various points in the catalyst/product lifetime. The present study investigates the catalyst structural and chemical changes occurring during such harsh treatments. Three series of supported V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts were prepared by incipient-wetness impregnation of aqueous ammonium metavanadate and metatungstate precursors. The catalysts were subsequently dried and calcined at 550oC in O2, 650oC in O2, and hydrothermal conditions (10% O2, 8% H2O, 7% CO2 and 75% N2) at 650oC. The resulting catalysts were physically characterized by numerous techniques (in situ Raman, in situ IR, in situ High Field-High Spinning solid-state 51V MAS NMR, in situ EPR, XRD, BET surface area and ICP) and chemically probed with adsorbed ammonia, SCR-TPSR, and the SCR reaction. The surface WOx sites on the TiO2 support behave as a textural promoter that stabilizes the TiO2 (anatase) phase from sintering and transforming to the undesirable crystalline TiO2 (rutile) phase that can lead to formation of a Ti1-xVxO2 (rutile) solid solution with reduced V4+ cations (~7-15%). The surface VOx sites are mostly oligomerized as surface V+5Ox sites (~50-85% oligomers) and the extent of oligomerization tends to increase with surface WOx coverage and calcination temperature. A major difference between the calcined and hydrothermally treated catalysts was the low concentration of surface NH3* species on Lewis acid sites for the hydrothermally treated catalysts, yet the SCR activity was almost comparable for both catalysts. This finding suggests that surface NH4+*, primarily associated with the surface VOx sites, are able to efficiently perform the SCR reaction. Given that multiple catalyst parameters were simultaneously varying during these treatments, it was difficult to correlate the SCR activity with any single catalyst parameter. A correlation, however, was found between the SCR TOF/activity and the sum of the surface NH3* and NH4+* species, which is dominated by the surface NH4+* species.

SCR, NO, NH3, catalyst, V2O5, WO3, TiO2, promotion↗

Nonresonant coherent amplitude transfer in attosecond four-wave-mixing spectroscopy

Attosecond four-wave mixing (FWM) spectroscopy using an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulse and two noncollinear near-infrared (NIR) pulses is employed to measure Rydberg wave packet dynamics resulting from XUV excitation of a 3s electron in atomic argon into a series of autoionizing 3s –1 np Rydberg states ~29 eV. The emitted signals from individual Rydberg states exhibit oscillatory structure and persist well beyond the expected lifetimes of the emitting Rydberg states. These results reflect substantial contributions of longer-lived Rydberg states to the FWM emission signals of each individually detected state. A wave packet decomposition analysis reveals that coherent amplitude transfer occurs predominantly from photoexcited 3s –1 (n + 1) p states to the observed 3s –1 np Rydberg states. The experimental observations are reproduced by time-dependent Schrödinger equation simulations using electronic structure and transition moment calculations. Finally, the theory highlights that coherent amplitude transfer is driven nonresonantly to the 3s –1 np states by the NIR light through 3s –1 (n + 1)s and 3s –1 (n – 1)d dark states during the FWM process.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

First-principles modeling of plasmons in aluminum under ambient and extreme conditions

The theoretical understanding of plasmon behavior is crucial for an accurate interpretation of inelastic scattering diagnostics in many experiments. In this work, we highlight the utility of linear response time-dependent density functional theory (LR-TDDFT) as a first-principles framework for consistently modeling plasmon properties. We provide a comprehensive analysis of plasmons in aluminum from ambient to warm dense matter conditions and assess typical properties such as the dynamical structure factor, the plasmon dispersion, and the plasmon lifetime. We compare our results with scattering measurements and with other TDDFT results as well as models such as the random phase approximation, the Mermin approach, and the dielectric function obtained using static local field corrections of the uniform electron gas parametrized from path-integral Monte Carlo simulations. We conclude that results for the plasmon dispersion and lifetime are inconsistent between experiment and theories and that the common practice of extracting and studying plasmon dispersion relations is an insufficient procedure to capture the complicated physics contained in the dynamic structure factor in its full breadth.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Fluid Flow Nozzle Energy Harvesters

Power generation schemes that could be used downhole in an oil well to produce about 1 Watt average power with long-life (decades) are actively being developed. A variety of proposed energy harvesting schemes could be used to extract energy from this environment but each of these has their own limitations that limit their practical use. Since vibrating piezoelectric structures are solid state and can be driven below their fatigue limit, harvesters based on these structures are capable of operating for very long lifetimes (decades); thereby, possibly overcoming a principle limitation of existing technology based on rotating turbo-machinery. An initial survey identified that spline nozzle configurations can be used to excite a vibrating piezoelectric structure in such a way as to convert the abundant flow energy into useful amounts of electrical power. This paper presents current flow energy harvesting designs and experimental results of specific spline nozzle/ bimorph design configurations which have generated suitable power per nozzle at or above well production analogous flow rates. Theoretical models for non-dimensional analysis and constitutive electromechanical model are also presented in this paper to optimize the flow harvesting system.

bimorph↗

Binding energies, charge radii, spins, and moments: Odd-odd Ag isotopes and discovery of a new isomer

We report on the masses and hyperfine structure of ground and isomeric states in 114,116,118,120 Ag isotopes, measured with the phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance technique (PI-ICR) with the JYFLTRAP mass spectrometer and the collinear laser spectroscopy beamline at the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line facility, Jyväskylä, Finland. We measured the masses and excitation energies, electromagnetic moments, and charge radii, and firmly established the nuclear spins of the long-lived states. A new isomer was discovered in 118 Ag and the half-lives of 118 Ag long-lived states were reevaluated. We unambiguously pinned down the level ordering of all long-lived states, placing the inversion of the 𝐼 = 0 − and 𝐼 = 4 + states at 𝐴 = 118 (𝑁 = 71). As a result, we compared the electromagnetic moments of each state to empirical single-particle moments to identify the dominant configuration where possible.

90 ≤ A ≤ 149↗

Shock processing of interstellar grains

Shock processing plays an important role in the life of a typical interstellar grain. Shocks of 100 km/s-l or greater can destroy about 50% of the grain material under appropriate preshock conditions of density and magnetic field. The destruction occurs by grain-grain collisions and nonthermal sputtering for steady state radiative shocks and by thermal sputtering for fast adiabatic shocks. The evaluation of the lifetime of grains against shock destruction depends on models of the interstellar medium (ISM) structure and on supernova remnants (SNR) evolution. Results from various authors give lifetimes between 10 to the 8th and 10 to the 9th power years, compared to typical injection times for new grains of a few times 10 to the 9th power years. These numbers require that a major portion of the interstellar silicon bearing grain material must be formed by grain growth in the ISM. At the same time, the presence of isotopic anomalies in some meteorites implies that at least some grains must survive from their formation in SNRs or red giant winds through incorporation into the solar system.

Seab, C. G.↗

Intrinsically Slow Cooling of Hot Electrons in CdSe Nanocrystals Compared to CdS

The utilization of excited charge carriers in semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) for optoelectronic technologies has been a long-standing goal in the field of nanoscience. Experimental efforts to extend the lifetime of excited carriers have therefore been a principal focus. To understand the limits of these lifetimes, in this work, we theoretically study the time scales of pure electron relaxation in negatively charged NCs composed of two prototypical materials: CdSe and CdS. We find that hot electrons in CdSe have lifetimes that are 5 to 6 orders of magnitude longer than in CdS when the relaxation is governed only by the intrinsic properties of the materials. Although these two materials are known to have somewhat different electronic structure, we elucidate how this enormous difference in lifetimes arises from relatively small quantitative differences in electronic energy gaps and phonon frequencies, as well as the crucial role of Fröhlich-type electron–phonon couplings.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

State-dependent motion of a genetically encoded fluorescent biosensor

Genetically encoded biosensors can measure biochemical properties such as small-molecule concentrations with single-cell resolution, even in vivo. Despite their utility, these sensors are “black boxes”: Very little is known about the structures of their low- and high-fluorescence states or what features are required to transition between them. We used LiLac, a lactate biosensor with a quantitative fluorescence-lifetime readout, as a model system to address these questions. X-ray crystal structures and engineered high-affinity metal bridges demonstrate that LiLac exhibits a large interdomain twist motion that pulls the fluorescent protein away from a “sealed,” high-lifetime state in the absence of lactate to a “cracked,” low-lifetime state in its presence. Understanding the structures and dynamics of LiLac will help to think about and engineer other fluorescent biosensors.

Rosen, Paul C. (ORCID:000000017414454X)↗

Silicon Carbide Telescope Investigations for the LISA Mission

Space-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors are conceived to detect GWs in the low frequency range (mili-Hertz) by measuring the distance between free-falling proof masses in spacecraft (SC) separated by 5 Gm. The reference in the last decade has been the joint ESA-NASA mission LISA. One of the key elements of LISA is the telescope since it simultaneously gathers the light coming from the far SC (approximately or equal to 100 pW) and expands, collimates and sends the outgoing beam (2 W) to the far SC. Demanding requirements have been imposed on the telescope structure: the dimensional stability of the telescope must be approximately or equal to 1pm Hz(exp−1/2) at 3 mHz and the distance between the primary and the secondary mirrors must change by less than 2.5 micrometer over the mission lifetime to prevent defocussing. In addition the telescope structure must be light, strong and stiff. For this reason a potential on-axis telescope structure for LISA consisting of a silicon carbide (SiC) quadpod structure has been designed, constructed and tested. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) in the LISA expected temperature range has been measured with a 1% accuracy which allows us to predict the shrinkage/expansion of the telescope due to temperature changes, and pico-meter dimensional stability has been measured at room temperature and at the expected operating temperature for the LISA telescope (around -6[deg]C). This work is supported by NASA Grants NNX10AJ38G and NX11AO26G,

carbide↗

Physical and behavioral adaptations to prevent overheating of the living wings of butterflies

The wings of Lepidoptera contain a matrix of living cells whose function requires appropriate temperatures. However, given their small thermal capacity, wings can overheat rapidly in the sun. Here we analyze butterfly wings across a wide range of simulated environmental conditions, and find that regions containing living cells are maintained at cooler temperatures. Diverse scale nanostructures and non-uniform cuticle thicknesses create a heterogeneous distribution of radiative cooling that selectively reduces the temperature of structures such as wing veins and androconial organs. These tissues are supplied by circulatory, neural and tracheal systems throughout the adult lifetime, indicating that the insect wing is a dynamic, living structure. Behavioral assays show that butterflies use wings to sense visible and infrared radiation, responding with specialized behaviors to prevent overheating of their wings. Our work highlights the physiological importance of wing temperature and how it is exquisitely regulated by structural and behavioral adaptations.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Photophysics and Spin-Physics Studies on Persistent Upconversion Luminescence from Nonlinearly Polarizable Ferroelectric-Like Lattice Prepared by Orderly Packing Donor–Acceptor Structures under Multiphoton Excitation

The ultralong-lived upconversion luminescence with the lifetime of 0.48 s in a broad spectral range (530–650 nm) is observed in CD49 (9-(3-(5-bromopyridin-3-yl)prop-2-yn-1-yl)-9H-carbazole) crystal designed with donor–acceptor (carbazole–pyridine) structures under infrared excitation, simultaneously accompanied with second harmonic generation (SHG). This phenomenon indicates orderly packing donor–acceptor structures form a nonlinearly polarizable ferroelectric-like lattice with ultralong-lived light-emitting states, leading to much prolonged nonlinear optical behaviors. The persistent upconversion luminescence together with SHG is largely reduced when lowering crystallinity. This implies that nonlinearly polarizable ferroelectric-like lattice provides the necessary condition to generate persistent upconversion luminescence. Evidently, persistent upconversion luminescence becomes completely lacking when only using ultralong-lived light-emitting states without nonlinearly polarizable ferroelectric-like lattice, exampled by 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol matrix. Magneto-photoluminescence shows that persistent upconversion luminescence is essentially a super-delayed fluorescence from crystalline intermolecular charge-transfer excitons formed in the nonlinearly polarizable ferroelectric-like lattice. Magnetodielectrics indicate crystalline intermolecular charge-transfer excitons are coupled with nonlinearly polarizable ferroelectric-like lattice, leading to prolonged nonlinear optical behaviors shown as persistent upconversion luminescence through super delayed fluorescence. In conclusion, therefore, crystalline intermolecular charge-transfer excitons formed in nonlinearly polarizable ferroelectric-like lattice provide an interesting platform to generate prolonged nonlinear optical behaviors toward developing persistent upconversion luminescence under multiphoton excitation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Probabilistic Failure Criterion of SiC/SiC Composites Under Multiaxial Loading

Owing to its excellent mechanical properties and stability under high temperature and neutron irradiation conditions, SiC/SiC composites have emerged as a promising material for light water reactors (LWRs) in the development of accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) systems. Structural integrity and retention of hermeticity are two crucial requirements for SiC/SiC claddings during normal operations, and both of them are closely related to the proportional limit stress (PLS) of the material. Understanding the behavior of SiC/SiC composites under multiaxial stress states and developing a probabilistic approach for evaluating the structural vulnerability are of paramount importance for reliability-based analysis and design of SiC/SiC composite claddings. So far, there has been very limited effort towards experimental and analytical investigations of probabilistic failure of SiC/SiC claddings. This critical knowledge gap motivates this research. A probabilistic failure criterion for SiC/SiC composites under multi-axial loading is developed, and this criterion is incorporated into reliability analysis of the structural integrity of SiC/SiC fuel cladding. The research consists of two parts: 1) experimental investigation of multiaxial failure behavior of SiC/SiC composites, and 2) theoretical modeling of time-dependent probabilistic failure of SiC/SiC cladding. In the experimental investigation, the PLS is determined through the examination of stress-strain response, the acoustic emission measurement, as well as the X-ray computed tomography. The theoretical framework is derived by combin- ing the finite weakest-link statistical model and the subcritical damage growth model. This theoretical model captures the time-dependent failure mechanism of the material, which has a major consequence for predicting the lifetime distribution of the cladding. Meanwhile, the model also predicts that the failure statistics of the cladding depends strongly on the cladding length. The results of the multiaxial experiments reveal the level of statistical variation of the PLS of SiC/SiC materials under different stress states. The theoretical model provides a robust analytical tool for extrapolation of small-scale laboratory test results to the behavior of full-scale claddings. These findings establish a scientific foundation for the development of reliability-based design of SiC/SiC fuel claddings, which will play an essential role in improving the structural safety and integrity of LWRs.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Rotaxane rings promote oblique packing and extended lifetimes in DNA-templated molecular dye aggregates

Abstract Molecular excitons play a central role in natural and artificial light harvesting, organic electronics, and nanoscale computing. The structure and dynamics of molecular excitons, critical to each application, are sensitively governed by molecular packing. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) templating is a powerful approach that enables controlled aggregation via sub-nanometer positioning of molecular dyes. However, finer sub-Angstrom control of dye packing is needed to tailor excitonic properties for specific applications. Here, we show that adding rotaxane rings to squaraine dyes templated with DNA promotes an elusive oblique packing arrangement with highly desirable optical properties. Specifically, dimers of these squaraine:rotaxanes exhibit an absorption spectrum with near-equal intensity excitonically split absorption bands. Theoretical analysis indicates that the transitions are mostly electronic in nature and only have similar intensities over a narrow range of packing angles. Compared with squaraine dimers, squaraine:rotaxane dimers also exhibit extended excited-state lifetimes and less structural heterogeneity. The approach proposed here may be generally useful for optimizing excitonic materials for a variety of applications ranging from solar energy conversion to quantum information science.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Iodine Close Packing in Hybrid Halide Bismuth(III) and Antimony(III) Semiconductors: (NH 3 (CH 2 ) 7 NH 3 ) 2 Bi 2 I 10 and (NH 3 (CH 2 ) 7 NH 3 ) 2 Sb 2 I 10

Simple features in complex hybrid inorganic–organic crystalline materials provide opportunities for targeted discovery of materials with desired optoelectronic properties. In this study, we report the structure and optoelectronic properties of isostructural (NH 3 (CH 2 ) 7 NH 3 ) 2 Bi 2 I 10 and (NH 3 (CH 2 ) 7 NH 3 ) 2 Sb 2 I 10 . The crystal structures are characterized by corner-connected metal-iodide octahedral chains that form a cubic close-packed iodine inorganic framework. Variable temperature UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy reveals stark contrasts in the onset of absorption and color changes between the [MX6]3– based structures, due to differences in the interaction of the (NH 3 (CH 2 ) 7 NH 3 ) 2+ organic ammonium cation and the iodine packing of the inorganic framework. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal flat bands reflective of the pseudo-1D crystal structure. Dark microwave conductivity (DMC) and time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) reveal an excitonic character with long carrier lifetimes, consistent with the electronically confined octahedral chains. Comparison of the structural features with those of other diammonium-containing crystals reveals that diammoniumheptane can substitute into structures, displacing inorganic octahedra while retaining a close-packed anion framework. This provides a means for targeting new hybrid materials in which “vacancy-ordering” provides a crystal chemical approach for targeting desirable optoelectronic properties.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

In situ electrochemical recomposition of decomposed redox-active species in aqueous organic flow batteries

Aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs) offer a safe and potentially inexpensive solution to the problem of storing massive amounts of electricity produced from intermittent renewables. However, molecular decomposition is the major barrier preventing AORFBs from being commercialized. Structural modifications can improve molecular stability at the expense of increased synthetic cost and molecular weight. Utilizing 2,6-dihydroxy-anthraquinone (DHAQ), without further structural modification, we demonstrate that electrochemical regeneration could be a viable route to achieve low-cost, long-lifetime AORFBs. In situ (online) NMR and EPR and complementary electrochemical analyses reveal that decomposition compounds i.e., 2,6-dihydroxy-anthrone (DHA) and its tautomer, 2,6-dihydroxy-anthranol (DHAL), can be converted back to DHAQ in two steps: first DHA(L) 2- are oxidized to the dimer (DHA) 2 4- at - 0.32 V vs. SHE by one-electron transfer; subsequently, the (DHA) 2 4- is oxidized to DHAQ 2- at +0.57 V vs. SHE by three-electron transfer. Electrochemical regeneration rejuvenates not only DHAQ 2- , but also the positive electrolyte – rebalancing the states of charge of both electrolytes without introducing extra ions. We demonstrate the repeated capacity recovery with DHAQ | potassium ferro-/ferricyanide flow battery in basic conditions, and show the approach is also effective for anthraquinone-2,7-disulfonate in acid. Electrochemical regeneration strategies may extend the useful lifetime of many water-soluble organic molecules with anthraquinone core structures in electrochemical cells.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Toward Mass-Production of Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Solar Cells: Scalable Growth of Photovoltaic-Grade Multilayer WSe2 by Tungsten Selenization

Semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are promising for high-specific-power photovoltaics due to their desirable band gaps, high absorption coefficients, and ideally dangling-bond-free surfaces. Despite their potential, the majority of TMD solar cells to date are fabricated in a nonscalable fashion, with exfoliated materials, due to the lack of high-quality, large-area, multilayer TMDs. Here, we present the scalable, thickness-tunable synthesis of multilayer WSe2 films by selenizing prepatterned tungsten with either solid-source selenium at 900 degrees C or H2Se precursors at 650 degrees C. Both methods yield photovoltaic-grade, wafer-scale WSe2 films with a layered van der Waals structure and superior characteristics, including charge carrier lifetimes up to 144 ns, over 14x higher than those of any other large-area TMD films previously demonstrated. Simulations show that such carrier lifetimes correspond to ~22% power conversion efficiency and ~64 W g-1 specific power in a packaged solar cell, or ~3 W g-1 in a fully packaged solar module. The results of this study could facilitate the mass production of high-efficiency multilayer WSe2 solar cells at low cost.

carrier lifetime↗

Magnon damping and mode softening in quantum double-exchange ferromagnets

We present a comprehensive analysis of the magnetic excitations and electronic properties of fully quantum double-exchange ferromagnets, i.e. systems where ferromagnetic (FM) ordering emerges from the competition between spin, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom, but without the canonical approximation of using classical localized spins. Specifically, we investigate spin excitations within the Kondo lattice-like model, as well as a two-orbital Hubbard Hamiltonian in proximity to the orbital-selective Mott phase. Computational analysis of the magnon dispersion, damping, and spectral weight within these models reveals unexpected phenomena, such as magnon mode softening and the anomalous decoherence of magnetic excitations as observed in earlier experimental efforts, but explained here without the use of the phononic degrees of freedom. We show that these effects are intrinsically linked to incoherent spectral features near the Fermi level, which arise due to the quantum nature of the local (on-site) triplets. This incoherent spectrum leads to a Stoner-like continuum on which spin excitations scatter, governing magnon lifetime and strongly influencing the dynamical spin structure factor. Our study explores the transition from coherent to incoherent magnon spectra by varying the electron density. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the magnitude of the localized spin mitigates decoherence by suppressing the incoherent spectral contributions near the Fermi level. We also discuss the effective J 1 –J 2 spin Hamiltonian, which can accurately describe the large doping region characterized by the magnon-mode softening. Finally, we show that this behavior is also present in multiorbital models with partially filled orbitals, namely, in systems without localized spin moments, provided that the model is in a strong coupling regime. Our results potentially have far-reaching implications for understanding FM ordering in various multi-band systems. These findings establish a previously unknown direct connection between the electronic correlations of those materials and spin excitations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Dynamical effects from anomalies: Modified electrodynamics in Weyl semimetals

Here, we discuss the modified quantum electrodynamics from a time-reversal-breaking Weyl semimetal coupled with a U⁡(1) gauge (electromagnetic) field. A key role is played by the soft dispersion of the photons in a particular direction, say $\hat{z}$, due to the Hall conductivity of the Weyl semimetal. Due to the soft photon, the fermion velocity in $\hat{z}$ is logarithmically reduced under renormalization group flow, together with the fine-structure constant. Meanwhile, fermions acquire a finite lifetime from spontaneous emission of the soft photon, namely, the Cherenkov radiation. At low-energy E, the inverse of the fermion lifetime scales as τ -1 ~E/PolyLog⁡(E). Therefore, even though fermion quasiparticles are eventually well-defined at very low energy, over a wide intermediate energy window the Weyl semimetal behaves like a marginal Fermi liquid. Phenomenologically, our results are more relevant for emergent Weyl semimetals, where the fermions and photons all emerge from strongly correlated lattice systems. Possible experimental implications are discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗