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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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76 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Impact of Advances in Anion Exchange Membranes and Ionomers on Alkaline Fuel Cells

Abstract The operation of low‐temperature electrochemical energy conversion systems (fuel cells, electrolyzers) at high pH values is of perennial interest due to the possibility of moving away from expensive platinum group metal catalysts and reducing cost. Historically, the anion exchange membranes (AEMs) and ionomers have been hampered by performance (ionic conductivity, mechanical strength) and chemical stability issues. In this context, select developments over the past decade in alternate AEM chemistries, water management methods, and production of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) that have enabled a significant leap in performance of alkaline fuel cells are examined. These developments are linked to performance improvements in alkaline H 2 /O 2 fuel cells and also consider developments in alkaline fuel cells using nitrogen‐containing fuels (ammonia, hydrazine), carbon‐containing fuels (alcohols, glycols), and boron‐containing fuels (sodium borohydride, ammonia borane). Finally, current challenges and bottlenecks are identified, and potential solutions are proposed.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2025

Intensified atomic utilization efficiency of single-atom catalysts for nitrate conversion via electrified nanoporous membrane

Conventional electrochemical reactors for nitrate reduction typically suffer from limited reaction efficiency when applied for real-world water treatment due to poor utilization of electrocatalytic active sites. Here, we applied nanoporous electrofiltration to intensify atomic utilization by incorporating single-atom catalysts into an electrified membrane for reducing low-concentration nitrate to ammonia under realistic water conditions. We enhance the exposure of single atoms in nanopores by coating the catalysts on a carbon nanotube–interwoven membrane framework. Electrofiltration intensifies the transport and adsorption of nitrate in confined nanopores with highly exposed single-atom active sites to enhance reduction. The membrane enables a superior ammonia turnover frequency of 15.1 grams of nitrogen per gram of metal per hour, up to four orders of magnitude higher than that reported in the literature, under both high removal efficiency and Faradaic efficiency of over 86% when treating influents with a low nitrate concentration of 100 milligrams of nitrogen per liter in a residence time on the order of seconds.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Selective ion transport through hydrated micropores in polymer membranes

Abstract Ion-conducting polymer membranes are essential in many separation processes and electrochemical devices, including electrodialysis 1 , redox flow batteries 2 , fuel cells 3 and electrolysers 4,5 . Controlling ion transport and selectivity in these membranes largely hinges on the manipulation of pore size. Although membrane pore structures can be designed in the dry state 6 , they are redefined upon hydration owing to swelling in electrolyte solutions. Strategies to control pore hydration and a deeper understanding of pore structure evolution are vital for accurate pore size tuning. Here we report polymer membranes containing pendant groups of varying hydrophobicity, strategically positioned near charged groups to regulate their hydration capacity and pore swelling. Modulation of the hydrated micropore size (less than two nanometres) enables direct control over water and ion transport across broad length scales, as quantified by spectroscopic and computational methods. Ion selectivity improves in hydration-restrained pores created by more hydrophobic pendant groups. These highly interconnected ion transport channels, with tuned pore gate sizes, show higher ionic conductivity and orders-of-magnitude lower permeation rates of redox-active species compared with conventional membranes, enabling stable cycling of energy-dense aqueous organic redox flow batteries. This pore size tailoring approach provides a promising avenue to membranes with precisely controlled ionic and molecular transport functions.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Optimizing Porous Transport Layer Porosity for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

An empirical model is presented that describes anode-side losses related to porous transport layer (PTL) morphology in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE). The model is based on an advanced voltage breakdown analysis that links various overpotentials to PTL morphology. Custom Ti PTLs, spanning uncommonly low porosities (22 - 31%), were fabricated and analyzed with X-ray CT to obtain pore and particle size distributions. Particle size distributions were consistent across samples with an average particle diameter of 12.0?..mu..m, whereas average pore diameters ranged from 6.0 to 7.0?..mu..m. The PTLs were tested in standard PEMWE cell assemblies with anode catalyst loadings of 0.1 mgIr cm-2 to obtain polarization curves, electrochemical impedance spectra, and augmented Tafel analysis. The PTL-dependent anode side losses were deconvoluted and assigned to excess utilization, concentration, ion transport resistance, and electrical contact resistance overpotentials. The data and model reveal an optimal 20 - 28% PTL porosity region where utilization and contact resistance overpotentials are minimized without triggering concentration and ion transport losses related to water deprivation. The optimal PTL porosity depends on the operating current density and is demonstrated at realistic PEMWE water flow rates to establish PTL design guidance for operation at scale.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2026

Gas permeation properties of amorphous zeolitic imidazolate framework membranes made by atomic/molecular layer deposition

Amorphous metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes are desirable because they may retain some of the molecular sieving properties of their crystalline counterparts while being free of grain boundary defects, which often hinder the consistent achievement of high membrane performance. However, current methods, like melting and compression, for fabricating amorphous MOF membranes involve multi-step processes that require the formation of a crystalline membrane first, that is then amorphized, and therefore, could be challenging to scale. Here, we utilize atomic/molecular layer deposition (ALD/MLD) of diethylzinc (DEZ) and 2-methylimidazole (2mIm) to directly synthesize ultrathin amorphous zeolitic imidazolate framework (aZIF) deposits on γ-alumina-coated α-alumina supports. As the number of ALD/MLD cycles increased from 10 to 300, gas permeances decreased while ideal selectivities increased. Mixture separation factors for C3H6/C3H8, CO2/N2, and H2/C3H8 as high as 4, 37, and 194, respectively, were obtained. At 200 °C and 2.5 bar equimolar feed of H2 and C3H8, a H2/C3H8 mixture separation factor of 185 is obtained with an H2 permeance of ca. 4.15x10-8 mol/m2-s-Pa (124 GPU). Additionally, the membrane achieves a CO2/N2 mixture separation factor of 37 at 25 °C and 1 bar with a CO2 permeance of ca. 3.96x10-8 mol/m2-s-Pa (118 GPU). Considering the vast array of compositionally distinct aZIFs that can be potentially deposited by this approach, an enormously large parameter space for membrane design is emerging to be explored.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Mitigating Hydrogen-Induced Degradation of Iridium Anodes in Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

One promising method for reducing precious metal usage in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis is lowering iridium (Ir) loading at the anode. However, low-loading Ir catalysts often suffer from poor stability under high current densities. In this study, hydrogen (H2) crossover from the cathode to the anode is identified as a key degradation pathway. Temperature-programmed reduction confirms the reduction of IrO2 at 80 °C in a hydrogen environment, highlighting the vulnerability of IrO2-based catalysts to H2 exposure. To mitigate this effect, palladium (Pd) is introduced as an anode additive, acting as an H2 oxidation catalyst and mitigating IrO2 reduction. This protective role is verified by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy and in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy, showing significantly suppressed Ir dissolution at 80 °C under H2 flow when an O-covered Pd surface is present at oxygen evolution reaction potentials. Results from the current study identify a new strategy in improving activity and durability of catalysts in electrolyzers.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Design Trade-Offs in Composite Fuel Cell Membranes: Effects of Reinforcement and Chemical Additives

Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes are critical components in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, where performance depends on balancing ionic conductivity, mechanical durability, and chemical stability. This study characterizes a composite membrane (NC700) featuring PFSA-impregnated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) reinforcement and cerium-based radical scavengers, benchmarked against unreinforced NR211. Complementary techniques, including electron microscopy, X-ray scattering, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis, identify the structural and compositional strategies employed in NC700. Water sorption isotherms reveal lower water uptake for NC700 across all conditions, attributed to reinforcement and cerium incorporation. Reinforcement reduces in-plane swelling from 11% to 2.1% at 90% RH, confirming strong swelling anisotropy, while maintaining mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. While the ionic conductivity of NC700 is approximately 10% lower than that of NR211, the reduced thickness yields a 40% decrease in calculated area-specific resistance, suggesting the composite architecture can favorably shift the conductivity-stability trade-off. The composite structure also reduces gas permeability, indicating potential for improved separator function alongside favorable transport properties. Systematic deconvolution of reinforcement and additive contributions shows that conductivity losses from cerium incorporation are largely offset by gains from the lower equivalent-weight polymer, providing quantitative relationships that may guide composite membrane design for fuel cells and other electrochemical applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS2010

High-Precision Shape Control of In-Space Deployable Large Membrane/Thin-Shell Reflectors

This innovation has been developed to improve the resolutions of future spacebased active and passive microwave antennas for earth-science remote sensing missions by maintaining surface figure precisions of large membrane/thin-shell reflectors during orbiting. The intention is for these sensing instruments to be deployable at orbit altitudes one or two orders of magnitude higher than Low Earth Orbit (LEO), but still being able to acquire measurements at spatial resolution and sensitivity similar to those of LEO. Because active and passive microwave remote sensors are able to penetrate through clouds to acquire vertical profile measurements of geophysical parameters, it is desirable to elevate them to the higher orbits to obtain orbital geometries that offer large spatial coverage and more frequent observations. This capability is essential for monitoring and for detailed understanding of the life cycles of natural hazards, such as hurricanes, tropical storms, flash floods, and tsunamis. Major components of this high-precision antenna-surface-control system include a membrane/thin shell reflector, a metrology sensor, a controller, actuators, and corresponding power amplifier and signal conditioning electronics (see figure). Actuators are attached to the back of the reflector to produce contraction/ expansion forces to adjust the shape of the thin-material reflector. The wavefront-sensing metrology system continuously measures the surface figure of the reflector, converts the surface figure to digital data and feeds the data to the controller. The controller determines the control parameters and generates commands to the actuator system. The flexible, piezoelectric polymer actuators are thus activated, providing the control forces needed to correct any distortions that exist in the reflector surface. Piezoelectric polymer actuators are very thin and flexible. They can be implemented on the back of the membrane/thin-shell reflector without introducing significant amounts of mass or stiffness to the reflector. They can be rolled up or folded to accommodate the packaging needed for launch. An analytical model of the system, which includes the membrane reflector, actuator, and controller has been developed to investigate the functionality of this control system on a 35-meter-diameter membrane reflector. The performance of this system under external disturbances such as in space thermal loads and W-error due to inflation has been investigated. A subscale breadboard has been developed, and the functionality of this control concept has been demonstrated by this breadboard.

Houfei Fang↗
DOE OSTI2026

Optical nanofiber testbeds for benchmarking membrane-waveguide photonic integrated circuit platforms toward on-chip quantum inertial sensing

Recent advances in cold atom interferometry with optical and magnetic atom guides have set the stage for quantum inertial sensors capable of operating in dynamic environments. In this work, we present three key innovations—evanescent-field (EF) atom guides, optical nanofiber testbeds, and membrane-waveguide photonic integrated circuit (PIC) platforms—to advance EF-guided atom interferometry. First, we demonstrate EF atom guides on optical nanofiber testbeds, which serve as performance benchmarks for our membrane-waveguide PIC platforms. Second, we achieve low-power (⁠ ~ 5 mW) guiding of freely moving, laser-cooled 133 Cs atoms in two-color, traveling-wave EF optical dipole traps at the novel, heat-efficient magic wavelengths of 793 and 937 nm (i.e., “793/937-nm EF atom guides”). Concurrently, we design and fabricate membrane-waveguide PIC platforms for these EF atom guides; in our prior work, we showed that these structures safely accommodate 4–6 times the required optical trap power under vacuum and enable dense cold atom generation via magneto-optical trapping in the vicinity of the optical wavguide for efficient loading. Third, we verify preserved atomic coherence via microwave fields and EF-coupled Doppler-free Raman beams; to our knowledge, this is the first report of coherence fringes driven by co-propagating EF-coupled Raman beams with only 150 nW of total optical power. By providing a direct comparison between optical nanofiber testbeds and membrane-waveguide PIC platforms, our results lay critical groundwork for the on-chip realization of EF-guided atom interferometry and the development of fully integrated, compact, lightweight, and low-power quantum accelerometers and gyroscopes.

Orozco, Adrian [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-↗
DOE OSTI2026

Domestically Manufactured Fuel Cells for Heavy Duty Applications

This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy under Award DE-EE0009248, advances the domestic development of fuel-cell stack technologies for heavy-duty transportation applications. The work directly supports the Million-Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M2FCT) initiative by improving performance, durability, and manufacturability—key requirements for next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell systems.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2026

Robust optimization of flexible diafiltration systems for critical mineral separations

This paper provides major contributions in expanding the literature for membrane process design with critical mineral recovery applications and showcasing the importance of robust design techniques for reducing risks of underperformance in such systems. Here, a membrane process flowsheet featuring PrOMMiS membrane models for recovering lithium/cobalt from spent batteries is showcased, uncertainty in membrane sieving and localized fouling are considered, and robust designs are obtained using the PyROS toolset. This paper is intended for a general audience of researchers working in critical minerals, membranes, and optimization related areas.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Impact of anion-exchange membrane degradation on long-term CO 2 electrolysis to ethylene

Electrochemical CO 2 reduction (eCO2R) to ethylene offers a unique opportunity to diversify domestic supply chains for chemical manufacturing. Large-scale deployment of eCO2R to ethylene reactors is currently limited by low energy efficiencies and poor durability. Herein, we demonstrate >100 h of continuous electrolysis at an industrially relevant current density of 200 mA cm −2 in a 25 cm 2 geometric area zero-gap reactor with a full-cell voltage <3.1 V and ethylene Faradaic efficiency >30%. Incorporating expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-supported electrodes into zero-gap reactors allows for durable electrode catalysts that are resistant to flooding, and this enables wider ranges of operating parameters not typically accessible in CO 2 electrolysis. Finally, we identify membrane degradation, evidenced by a loss of membrane ion-exchange capacity, as the leading cause of performance loss over 144 h of electrolysis.

Energy - Conversion↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Effect of Composition Variation on Isothermal Rapid Curing Resins for Aerospace Applications

To meet the projected demand for single-aisle composite aircraft in 2040, the production rate of these aircraft will need to increase by four to six times what is currently achievable. A composite manufacturing process with the potential to enable the targeted rates is isothermal resin infusion where infusion and cure occur at the same temperature. However, presently there is not an accepted aerospace-grade resin that can support this isothermal infusion process and maintain acceptable resin properties. Therefore, resin development initiatives have designed anionic catalyzed epoxy systems capable of isothermal infusion and rapid cure at a temperature below 100 ˚C in one hour. High-performance aerospace properties are achieved after undergoing a freestanding post-cure. The resins facilitate faster, energy efficient production cycles by reducing the time and temperature required for cure and eliminating temperature ramps typically required of materials used in the aerospace industry. This work discusses several of the developed resin systems and the impact of varying composition on rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties. Carbon fiber composites were fabricated for one composition by resin transfer molding to demonstrate the potential of these isothermal, rapid cure systems for meeting industry needs.

resin transfer molding↗
DOE OSTI2026

High-Throughput Uniformity and Defect Monitoring in Low-Temperature Electrolysis Porous Transport Layers Using X-Ray Radiography

Effective quality control (QC) for manufacturing proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) components is critical to enabling widespread adoption of the technology for hydrogen generation. This study investigates X-ray radiography as a novel, high-throughput, potentially in-line QC technique for detecting defects and assessing material property distributions in titanium-based porous transport layers (PTLs) which constitute a crucial component of low temperature PEMWE stacks. We obtain radiographs of a set of fifteen PTLs and model their absorbance of the broadband radiation as a second-order polynomial to account for the non-monoenergetic radiation source used in this study. The resulting model serves as a basis for predicting the areal density and porosity distributions of the PTLs. We find radiography successful in detecting multiple instances of defects, including holes/depressions, cracks, and excess material on the surface or in the pores of the material, demonstrating its potential as a robust in-line QC tool for PTL manufacturing.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

In Situ Tracking of Nonthermal Plasma Etching of ZIF-8 Films

Surface characterization is critical for understanding the processes used for preparing catalysts, sorbents, and membranes. Nonthermal plasma (NTP) is a process that achieves high reactivity at low temperatures and is used to tailor the surface properties of materials. In this work, we combine the capabilities of infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) with NTP for the in situ interrogation of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) thin films to probe modifications in the material induced by oxygen and nitrogen plasmas. The IRRAS measurements in oxygen plasma reveal etching of organic ligands with sequential removal of the methyl group and imidazole ring and with the formation of carbonyl moieties (C═O). In contrast, nitrogen plasma induces mild etching and grafting of nitrile groups (−C≡N). Scanning electron microscopy imaging shows that oxygen plasma, at prolonged times, significantly degrades the ZIF-8 film at the grain boundaries. Treatment of ZIF-8 membranes using mild plasma conditions yields a fivefold enhancement for H 2 /N 2 and CO 2 /CH 4 ideal selectivities and an eightfold enhancement for CO 2 /N 2 ideal selectivity. Additionally, the new tools described here can be used for spectroscopic in situ tracking of plasma-induced chemistry on thin films in general.

IRRAS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Comprehensive structural characterization of charged polymers involved in moisture-driven direct air capture

This study provides a comprehensive structural characterization of commercially available alkaline anion-exchange polymers (Fumasep FAA-3 and IRA 900) used in moisture-driven direct air capture (DAC) of carbon dioxide. Using X-ray diffraction, SAXS/WAXS, atomic force microscopy, FIB-SEM, and transmission electron microscopy, the authors identify nanoscale clustering, porosity, swelling behavior, and humidity-dependent structural changes that influence CO₂ adsorption and release. These findings establish structure–function relationships critical for designing more durable and energy-efficient DAC polymer materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1989

Advanced Space Power PEM Fuel Cell Systems

A model showing mass and heat transfer in proton exchange membrane (PEM) single cells is presented. For space applications, stack operation requiring combined water and thermal management is needed. Advanced hardware designs able to combine these two techniques are available. Test results are shown for membrane materials which can operate with sufficiently fast diffusive water transport to sustain current densities of 300 ma per square centimeter. Higher power density levels are predicted to require active water removal.

PEM↗