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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 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Insights into Supported Subnanometer Catalysts Exposed to CO via Machine-Learning-Enabled Multiscale Modeling

Subnanometer catalysts offer high noble metal utilization and superior performance for several reactions. However, understanding their structures and properties on an atomic scale under working conditions is challenging due to the large configurational space. Here, we introduce an efficient multiscale framework to predict their stability exposed to an adsorbate. The framework integrates a comprehensive toolset including density functional theory (DFT) calculations, cluster expansion, machine learning, and structure optimization. The end-to-end machine-learning workflow guides DFT data generation and enables significant computational acceleration. We demonstrate the approach for CO-adsorbed Pdn (n = 1–55) clusters on CeO 2 (111). Simulation results reveal that CO can facilitate restructuring by stabilizing smaller planar structures and bilayer structures of specific intermediate sizes, consistent with experimental reports. Metal–support interactions, preferential CO adsorption, and metal nuclearity and structure control catalyst stability. As a result, the framework allows automatic discovery of stable catalyst structures and a systematic strategy to exploit properties in the subnanometer scale.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Self-Patterning Tetrathiafulvalene Crystalline Films

Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) crystals grown from the melt are organized as spherulites in which helicoidal fibrils growing radially from the nucleation center twist in concert with one another. Alternating bright and dark concentric bands are apparent when films are viewed between crossed polarizers, indicating an alternating pattern of crystallographic faces exposed at the film surface. Band-dependent reorganization of the TTF crystals was observed during exposure to methanol vapor. Crystalline growth appears on bright bands at the expense of the dark bands. After a 24 h period of exposure to methanol vapor, the original spherulites were completely restructured, and the films comprise isolated, concentric circles of crystallites whose orientations are determined by the initial TTF crystal fibril orientation. While the surface of these outgrowths appears faceted and smooth, cross-sectional SEM images revealed a semiporous inner structure, suggesting solvent-vapor-induced recrystallization. Collectively, these results show that crystal twisting can be used to rhythmically redistribute material. Crystal twisting is a common and often controllable phenomenon independent of molecular or crystal structure and therefore offers a generalizable path to spontaneous pattern formation in a wide range of materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Incorporating Rich Mesoporosity into a Ceria-Based Catalyst via Mechanochemistry

Ceria-based materials possessing mesoporous structures afford higher activity than the corresponding bulk materials in CO oxidation and other catalytic applications, because of the wide pore channel and high surface area. The development of a direct, template-free, and scalable technology for directing porosity inside ceriabased materials is highly welcome. Here in this paper, a family of mesoporous transition-metaldoped ceria catalysts with specific surface areas up to 122 m 2 g -1 is constructed by mechanochemical grinding. No templates, additives, or solvents are needed in this process, while the mechanochemistry-mediated restructuring and the decomposing of the organic group led to plentiful mesopores. Interestingly, the copper species are evenly dispersed in the ceria matrix at the atomic scale, as observed in high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy in high angle annular dark field. The copper-doped ceria materials show good activity in the CO oxidation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Serendipita indica Drives Sulfur-Related Microbiota in Enhancing Growth of Hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii and Facilitating Soil Cadmium Remediation

Endophytic fungus Serendipita indica can bolster plant growth and confer protection against various biotic and abiotic stresses. However, S. indica -reshaped rhizosphere microecology interactions and root-soil interface processes in situ at the submicrometer scale remain poorly understood. Here, we combined amplicon sequencing and high-resolution nano X-ray fluorescence (nano-XRF) imaging of the root-soil interface to reveal cadmium (Cd) rhizosphere processes. S. indica can successfully colonize the roots of Sedum alfredii Hance, which induces a remarkable increase in shoot biomass by 211.32% and Cd accumulation by 235.72%. Nano-XRF images showed that S. indica colonization altered the Cd distribution in the rhizosphere and facilitated the proximity of more Cd and sulfur (S) to enter the roots and transport to the shoot. Furthermore, the rhizosphere-enriched microbiota demonstrated a more stable network structure after the S. indica inoculation. Keystone species were strongly associated with growth promotion and Cd absorption. For example, Comamonadaceae are closely related to the organic acid cycle and S bioavailability, which could facilitate Cd and S accumulation in plants. Meanwhile, Sphingomonadaceae could release auxin and boost plant biomass. In summary, we construct a mutualism system for beneficial fungi and hyperaccumulation plants, which facilitates high-efficient remediation of Cd-contaminated soils by restructuring the rhizosphere microbiota.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Tracking Molecular Transport Across Oil/Aqueous Interfaces: Insight into “Antagonistic” Binding in Solvent Extraction

Liquid/liquid (L/L) interfaces play a key, yet poorly understood, role in a range of complex chemical phenomena where time-evolving interfacial structures and transient supramolecular assemblies act as gatekeepers to function. Here, for this study, we employ surface-specific vibrational sum frequency generation combined with neutron and X-ray scattering methods to track the transport of dioctyl phosphoric acid (DOP) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (DEHPA) ligands used in solvent extraction at buried oil/aqueous interfaces away from equilibrium. Our results show evidence for a dynamic interfacial restructuring at low ligand concentrations in contrast to expectation. These time-varying interfaces arise from the transport of sparingly soluble interfacial ligands into the neighboring aqueous phase. These results support a proposed “antagonistic” role of ligand complexation in the aqueous phase that could serve as a holdback mechanism in kinetic liquid extractions. These findings provide new insights into interfacially controlled chemical transport at L/L interfaces and how these interfaces vary chemically, structurally, and temporally in a concentration-dependent manner and present potential avenues to design selective kinetic separations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

The Influence of Water on the Alkyl Region Structure in Variable Chain Length Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid/Water Mixtures

In this work, solutions of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and water were studied by observing the reorientational dynamics of the fluorescent probe perylene. Perylene is solvated in the alkyl regions of the RTILs. Its D 2h symmetry made it possible to extract dynamical information on both in-plane and out-of-plane reorientation from time resolved fluorescence anisotropy measurements. Perylene reorientation reports on its interactions with the alkyl chains. The RTILs were a series of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborates (C n mimBF 4 , where n is the number of carbons in the alkyl chain), and the effects on perylene’s dynamics were observed when varying the alkyl chain length of the cation (n = 4, 6, 8, and 10; butyl, hexyl, octyl, decyl) and varying the water content from pure RTIL to roughly three water molecules per RTIL ion pair. Time correlated single photon counting was used to measure the fluorescence anisotropy decays to determine the orientational dynamics. The friction coefficients for both the in-plane and out-of-plane reorientation were determined to eliminate the influence of changes in viscosity caused by both the addition of water and the different alkyl chain lengths. The friction coefficients provided information on the interactions of the perylene with it alkyl environment and how these interactions changed with chain length and water content. As chain length increased, the addition of water had less of an effect on the local alkyl environment surrounding the perylene. The friction coefficients generally increased with higher water contents; the inplane orientational motion was hindered significantly more than the out-of-plane motion. The restructuring of the alkyl regions is likely a consequence of a rearrangement of the ionic imidazolium head groups to accommodate partial solvation by water, which results in a change in the arrangement of the alkyl chains. At very high water content, BmimBF4 broke this general trend, with both in-plane and out-of-plane rotational friction decreasing above a water content of one water per ion pair. This decrease indicates a major reorganization of the overall liquid structure in high water content mixtures. In contrast to BmimBF 4 , the longer chain length RTILs are not infinitely miscible with water, and do not show evidence of a major reorganization before reaching saturation and phase-separating. The results suggest that phase separation in longer chain length BF 4 RTILs is a consequence of their inability to undergo the reorganization of the alkyl regions necessary to accommodate high water concentrations.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Structure of the Clean and Oxygen-Covered Cu(100) Surface at Room Temperature in the Presence of Methanol Vapor in the 10–200 mTorr Pressure Range

Using ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) and high pressure scanning tunneling microscopy (HPSTM), we show that in equilibrium with 0.01–0.2 Torr of methanol vapor, at room temperature, the Cu(100) surface is covered with methoxy species forming a c(2 × 2) overlayer structure. In contrast, no methoxy is formed if the surface is saturated with an ordered oxygen layer, even when the methanol pressure is 0.2 Torr. At oxygen coverages below saturation, methanol dissociates and reacts with the atomic oxygen, producing methoxy and formate on the surface, and formaldehyde that desorbs to the gas phase. Unlike the case of pure carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, methanol does not induce the restructuring of the Cu(100) surface. These results provide insight into catalytic anhydrous production of aldehydes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Structure–Capacitance Relationships of Graphene/Ionic Liquid Electrolyte Double Layers

The differential capacitance profile of electrochemical interfaces reflects the physical properties of the double layer. For carbon electrodes and ionic liquid based electrolytes, these capacitance profiles are not fully understood. In this work, we utilize constant voltage molecular dynamics simulations to compute differential capacitance profiles of ionic liquids [BMIm + ][BF 4 - ] and [BMIm + ][TFSI - ] mixed with acetonitrile and 1,2-dichloroethane, at model graphene electrodes. We find that both pure and 10% mole fraction ionic liquid electrolytes exhibit camel shaped capacitance profiles with two peaks on either side of a minimum centered at the potential of zero charge. This profile shape results from electric field induced rearrangement of ion structure within the inner layer closest to the electrode interface. At low potential, the ionic liquid inner layer is concentrated with non-polar tri-fluoromethyl and butyl functional groups of the anions and cations, corresponding to the minimum of the capacitance profiles. With increasing voltage, electrostatic interactions of polar/charged functional groups with the electrode surface compete with these non-polar interactions, leading to ion rearrangement that increases the inner layer charge density and results in higher capacitance. After the ion restructuring is complete, the response saturates and capacitance diminishes. The presence of organic solvent significantly changes the composition of the inner layer. For example, strong non-polar interactions between dichloroethane molecules and the graphene surface substantially block ion/electrode contact at moderate potentials. Overall, our simulations highlight the dynamic nature of the inner region of organic electrolyte double layers, and the sensitive dependence on electrolyte composition and applied voltage.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dynamical Change of Valence States and Structure in NiCu 3 Nanoparticles during Redox Cycling

Alloyed materials are promising candidates to improve catalytic processes. Ni–Cu nanoparticles are used for various reactions, including processes with biomass-derived components. However, dynamical restructuring effects alter the catalytic properties and can deactivate the sample. To understand these structural modifications, a multimodal investigation of NiCu 3 /C was performed to determine compositional and morphological changes during a redox cycle to simulate reduction and oxidation of the catalyst during reaction. We exploit a novel correlative, multimodal approach that combines in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (STEM-EELS) to describe changes that occur in the sample in realistic conditions. In the fresh sample, there are two morphologies present: core–shell and hollow. Segregation of Cu was observed in both types of particles after synthesis, with Cu being more oxidized in the hollow structures. Upon reduction for 2 h under H 2 at 400 °C, the Cu was reduced, although segregation of Cu and Ni was still observed. Subsequent exposure to O 2 at 400 °C led to a strong reoxidation of Cu with the formation of hollow particles with compositional heterogeneities. The oxidation of metals and segregation phenomena can be related to known catalytic properties of NiCu 3 /C particles, especially regarding the hydrodeoxygenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-dimethylfuran.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Atomic-Scale STEM Analysis Shows Structural Changes of Au–Pd Nanoparticles in Various Gaseous Environments

We report dynamical restructuring effects in free-standing Au 0.75 Pd 0.25 nanoparticles occurring in gaseous environments at elevated temperatures. The freshly prepared sample was found to have a core–shell structure with a Pd-rich phase on the surface. The evolution of sample composition and morphology under exposure to 1 bar of pure gases, namely O 2 , H 2 , air, CO, and CO 2 , at different temperatures was studied using in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). We observed sharper facets on the surface of the particles under O 2 or air at 400 °C. Small islands of Pd were present on the surface, although some Pd was redistributed inside the bulk when the temperature was increased under O 2 . Subtle changes in surface roughness were noted when O 2 was substituted with H 2 at 400 °C, an observation correlated to density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The particles lost clean surface facets when CO was introduced at room temperature and at 200 °C. No substantial changes could be observed after exposure to CO 2 at 250 °C. The adsorption of CO molecules on the surface modifies the surface of the particles and decreases the facet prevalence. Furthermore, these in situ observations show how gases can induce subtle modification of the surface of nanocatalysts, potentially impacting their chemical properties.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Composition-Dependent Reconstructions of Titanium Oxide Clusters and Cu(111) Support via Cluster-Adatom Interactions

Mass-selected cluster deposition and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) were used to investigate the surface structure and thermal stability of Ti 3 O y (y = 5, 6) clusters on a Cu(111) surface. STM imaging shows that the substoichiometric Ti 3 O 5 clusters aggregate into large dendritic assemblies at step edges, while the stoichiometric Ti 3 O 6 clusters are highly dispersed as single or small groupings of clusters. Cluster deposition also results in extensive reconstruction of the Cu(111) surface. The Ti 3 O 5 /Cu(111) surface exhibits one Cu-layer deep pits that are ringed by cluster assemblies that nucleate and grow at the perimeter step edges. By comparison, the Ti 3 O 6 /Cu(111) surface consists of irregular step edges and small one Cu-layer islands that are decorated with clusters. The restructuring of the Cu(111) surface is attributed to strong Cu-cluster interactions that release Cu adatoms from the step edges. This mechanism is supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which predict that the Cu adatom attachment to the clusters is energetically favorable. Annealing the surfaces at elevated temperatures (400-700 K) results in higher densities of irregular steps, pits and isolated Cu islands as well as increased cluster aggregation. In conclusion, this work highlights adatom-cluster interactions as another manifestation of strong cluster-support interactions that can significantly alter the nature of the oxide-metal interface.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Deactivation of Ceria Supported Palladium through C–C Scission during Transfer Hydrogenation of Phenol with Alcohols

The stability of palladium supported on ceria (Pd/CeO 2 ) was studied during liquid flow transfer hydrogenation using primary and secondary alcohols as hydrogen donors. For primary alcohols, the ceria support was reduced to cerium hydroxy carbonate within 14 h and was a contributing factor toward catalyst deactivation. For secondary alcohols, cerium hydroxy carbonate was not observed during the same time period and the catalyst was stable upon prolonged reaction. Regeneration through oxidation/reduction does not restore initial activity likely due to irreversible catalyst restructuring. Lastly, a deactivation mechanism involving C–C scission of acyl and carboxylate intermediates is proposed.

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

Enhanced Stability of Pt-Cu Single-Atom Alloy Catalysts: In Situ Characterization of the Pt/Cu(111) Surface in an Ambient Pressure of CO

The interaction between a catalyst and reactants often induce changes in the surface structure and composition of the catalyst, which, in turn, affect its reactivity. Therefore, it is important to study such changes using in situ techniques under well-controlled conditions. We have used ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) to study the surface stability of a Pt/Cu(111) single atom alloy (SAA) in an ambient pressure of CO. By directly probing the Pt atoms, we found that CO causes a slight surface segregation of Pt atoms at room temperature. In addition, while the Pt/Cu(111) surface demonstrates poor thermal stability in UHV, where surface Pt starts to diffuse to the subsurface layer above 400 K, the presence of adsorbed CO enhances the thermal stability of surface Pt atoms. Furthermore, we also found that temperatures above 450 K cause a restructuring of the subsurface layer, which consequently strengthens the CO binding to the surface Pt sites, likely due to the presence of neighboring subsurface Pt atoms.

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

Predicting Surface Clustering at Ambient Conditions from Thermodynamic Data

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has proved to be a prime tool to characterize the atomic structure of crystal surfaces under UHV conditions. With the development of high-pressure scanning tunneling microscopy (HP-STM), the scope of this technique has been largely extended, as new structures were found to occur under gas phase chemical potentials achieved under ambient conditions. Particularly interesting is the substantial restructuring of initially flat and stable surfaces into new orientations by formation of nanoclusters. Here we discuss the possible generality of this phenomenon by analyzing cases where atomically flat surfaces of certain transition metals undergo such changes in the presence of CO at room temperature (RT) while some remain unchanged. From our analysis we argue that such changes can be predicted from thermodynamic data published in the literature, particularly from the difference in adsorption energy on low-and high-coordination sites, like terrace and step sites, which can be obtained from thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) measurements, and possibly also from theoretical calculations. Finally, for the vicinal surfaces with high Miller indices, changes in the repulsive elastic interactions between the ordered steps due to adsorbates may also play an important role.

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

Visualizing Reversible Two-Dimensional Phase Transitions in Oxygen Chemisorbed Layers

Here, the interactions of a metallic surface with gaseous oxygen typically result in the formation of an oxygen chemisorbed layer that represents a true two-dimensional system in the limit of one atomic layer supported on a solid substrate. Using low-energy electron microscopy that temporally and spatially resolves phase transformations in such an oxygen chemisorbed layer on Cu(110), we demonstrate that the phase transformations are nucleation-limited on each terrace, and the resulting heterophase boundaries propagate exclusively on the same terrace with coordinated migration of surface steps. Using ab initio calculations based on density functional theory and thermodynamics considerations, we show the necessity of incorporating the effect of heterophase boundaries due to the co-existence of different phases as a criterion for predicting two-phase equilibria. It is also shown that the observed surface phase transformations are limited by the mass transport of Cu and O atoms on the parent phases instead of the two-phase boundary reactions. These results demonstrate that the oxygen chemisorbed layer serves as a model system to advance the fundamental understanding of phase behavior and dynamics in systems with reduced dimensionality, which may find broader applicability because such progressive stages of oxygen chemisorption-induced surface phase transformations and restructuring are generally involved in many metal–oxygen systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Monovalent and Divalent Cations at the a-Al2O3(0001)/Water Interface: How Cation Identity Affects Interfacial Ordering and Vibrational Dynamics

Mineral oxide-water interfaces are important for a wide range of industrial, geochemical, and biological processes. The reactivity of these interfaces is strongly impacted by the presence of ions. Thus, it is critical to understand how ions alter the interfacial environment. This can be achieved by measuring the changes in the structure and vibrational dynamics of interfacial water induced by the presence of ions in close vicinity to the mineral surface. The a-Al2O3(0001) surface represents a flexible platform to study the effect of ions on interfacial aqueous environments at positive, neutral and negative surface charge. Using vibrational sum frequency generation (vSFG) in the frequency and time domain, we investigate how monovalent and divalent cations affect the hydrogen bonding environment of the first few layers of interfacial water next to a-Al2O3(0001). Our results indicate that monovalent cations, such as Li+, Na+, K+, and Cs+, appear to have lower binding affinities for the interface compared to Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+. This leads to an interfacial region that is structured in a cation valence dependent manner. Addition of divalent cations at the negatively charged interface (pH 10) increases the spectral intensity in the 3400 cm-1 region compared to neat pH 10 H2O, in contrast to monovalent cations that only attenuate the vSFG signal. Time resolved vSFG measurements reveal that the O-H vibrational lifetime (T1) of interfacial species at pH 10 in the presence of NaCl and BaCl2 remains similar, but restructuring of the surface seen in steady state vSFG is manifested in the degree to which strongly hydrogen bonded species recover to their original populations post excitation. By tracking the accumulation of ions at the interface via the vSFG response, we can characterize the unique surface arrangements of interfacial water molecules induced by a range of monovalent and divalent cations at the a-Al2O3(0001)/water interface.

Piontek, Stefan↗
DOE OSTI2021

Tuning Electronic Properties of 2D Materials Using Metal Adsorbates: Cu at WTe 2 Edges

Two-dimensional materials exhibit properties promising for novel applications. Topologically protected states at their edges can be harnessed for use in quantum devices. We use ab initio simulations to examine properties of edges in 1T'-WTe 2 monolayers, known to exhibit topological order, and their interactions with Cu atoms. Comparison of (010)-oriented edges that have the same composition but different terminations shows that, as the number of Cu atoms increases, their thermodynamically-preferred arrangement depends on the details of the edge structure. Cu atoms aggregate into a cluster at the most stable edge; while the cluster is non-magnetic, it spin-polarizes the W atoms along the edge, which removes the topological protection. At the metastable edge, Cu atoms form a chain incorporated into the WTe 2 lattice; the topological state is preserved in spite of the dramatic edge restructuring. This suggests that exploiting interactions of metal species with metastable edge terminations can provide a path towards non-invasive interfaces.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Corrosion and Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution in Electrochemical Reduction of Ammonium Carbamate on Transition Metal Surfaces

Experiments and theory are combined to search for catalyst activity and stability descriptors for the direct reactive capture and conversion (RCC) of CO 2 in ammonia capture solutions using Cu, Ag, Au, Sn, and Ti electrodes. Two major phenomena emerge in RCC that are not predominant in the electrochemical CO 2 reduction (CO 2 R) reaction, namely, the rapid corrosion and restructuring of the catalyst in the presence of the CO 2 -ammonia adducts and the promotion of the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The prevalence of HER in RCC is correlated to the electrostatic attraction of the protonated amine to the electrode and the repulsion of the captured CO 2 , using the potential of zero charge (PZC). The stability of catalysts under RCC conditions is a function of the applied potential and cannot be readily predicted using binding energy descriptors commonly used in the prediction of CO 2 R activity. Finally, a direct correlation between calculated binding energies of CO 2 R intermediates, atomic oxygen, hydrogen, and ammonia and the activity and stability of transition metals for RCC cannot be found, highlighting the need for descriptors beyond those known for CO 2 R.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗