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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 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Isotope Enrichment Using Microchannel Distillation Technology (Final Report)

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has successfully demonstrated isotopic enrichment with microchannel distillation (MCD) technology, a capability for process intensification of chemical boiling point separations (CBPS). Sixty separation stages were achieved in a single device, a new record for process intensification technologies. The minimum length of a separation stage was 0.41 cm, a factor of 5 smaller than the best commercial advanced structured packing. The reduced separation stage length dramatically shortens the column length, which is particularly important for isotopic enrichment that typically requires thousands of stages. A key advantage of MCD technology is scalability, which was demonstrated by increasing the length of the test device by a factor of 2.5 and doubling the number of channels while improving performance. Results were obtained for two separations, propane from propylene and isotopic enrichment of methane, which along with previous results with other separations, demonstrates the versatility and utility of MCD for difficult separations. By employing capillary forces, MCD devices can operated in a horizontal configuration that facilitates a lower equipment profile and compact systems. Compact systems are easier and cheaper to insulate and operate at cryogenic temperatures that are typical for isotopic enrichment. MCD devices have been operated as low as the normal boiling point of methane, -162°C, and as high as the boiling point of diesel fuel, ~300°C.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

NREL's Water Power Software Makes a Splash; NREL Highlights, Research & Development, NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

WEC-Sim is a DOE-funded software tool being jointly developed by NREL and SNL. WEC-Sim computationally models wave energy converters (WEC), devices that generate electricity using movement of water systems such as oceans, rivers, etc. There is great potential for WECs to generate electricity, but as of yet, the industry has yet to establish a commercially viable concept. Modeling, design, and simulations tools are essential to the successful development of WECs. Commercial WEC modeling software tools can't be modified by the user. In contrast, WEC-Sim is a free, open-source, and flexible enough to be modified to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the WEC industry. By modeling the power generation performance and dynamic loads of WEC designs, WEC-Sim can help support the development of new WEC devices by optimizing designs for cost of energy and competitiveness. By being easily accessible, WEC-Sim promises to help level the playing field in the WEC industry. Importantly, WEC-Sim is also excellent at its job! In 2014, WEC-Sim was used in conjunction with NREL’s FAST modeling software to win a hydrodynamic modeling competition. WEC-Sim and FAST performed very well at predicting the motion of a test device in comparison to other modeling tools. The most recent version of WEC-Sim (v1.1) was released in April 2015.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
NASA NTRS2021

Computing Risk of Pyrotechnic Devices Using Lot Acceptance Testing

This paper presents an application of statistical engineering to solve the problem of determining the effects of reducing test sample sizes and environment levels in lot acceptance testing (LAT) of ordnance devices used by NASA and DoD space systems. Unlike environmental testing of dedicated qualification hardware, ordnance devices have a test-like-you-fly exception and use lot acceptance sampling or LAT. LAT is performed by randomly selecting a predefined number of devices from an individual lot and exposing them to a more severe dynamic shock and vibration testing environments than flight (sometimes as high as 6 decibels over flight environments) and then performing a destructive test on the device. Recent trends have been suggested to reduce LAT costs by reducing environment test levels or the number of devices per LAT, or both. A method is given here to compute flight risk, so the proposed methods can be compared by subject matter experts to the baseline LAT methods. In addition, this method can be used to determine the best methods to include in future LAT standards for pyrotechnic devices.

Computing Risk↗
DOE OSTI2023

The wave energy converter control competition (WECCCOMP): Wave energy control algorithms compared in both simulation and tank testing

The wave energy control competition established a benchmark problem which was offered as an open challenge to the wave energy system control community. The competition had two stages: In the first stage, competitors used a standard wave energy simulation platform (WEC-Sim) to evaluate their controllers while, in the second stage, competitors were invited to test their controllers in a real-time implementation on a prototype system in a wave tank. The performance function used was based on converted energy across a range of standard sea states, but also included aspects related to economic performance, such as peak/average power, peak force, etc. This paper compares simulated and experimental results and, in particular, examines if the results obtained in a linear system simulation are borne out in reality. Overall, within the scope of the device tested, the range of sea states employed, and the performance metric used, the conclusion is that high-performance WEC controllers work well in practice, with good carry-over from simulation to experimentation. However, the availability of a good WEC mathematical model is deemed to be crucial.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2016

Luminescence properties of Ce{sup 3+} and Tb{sup 3+} co-doped SiO{sub x}N{sub y} thin films: Prospects for color tunability in silicon-based hosts

In this work, the role of the nitrogen content, the annealing temperature, and the sample morphology on the luminescence properties of Ce{sup 3+} and Tb{sup 3+} co-doped SiO{sub x}N{sub y} thin films has been investigated. An increasing nitrogen atomic percentage has been incorporated in the host matrix by gradually replacing oxygen with nitrogen during fabrication while maintaining the Si content unaltered, obtaining a sequential variation in the film composition from nearly stoichiometric SiO{sub 2} to SiO{sub x}N{sub y}. The study of rare earth doped single layers has allowed us to identify the parameters that yield an optimum optical performance from Ce{sup 3+} and Tb{sup 3+} ions. Ce{sup 3+} ions proved to be highly sensitive to the annealing temperature and the nitrogen content, showing strong PL emission for relatively low nitrogen contents (from 0 to 20%) and moderate annealing temperatures (800–1000 °C) or under high temperature annealing (1180 °C). Tb{sup 3+} ions, on the other hand, displayed a mild dependence on those film parameters. Rare earth co-doping has also been investigated by comparing the luminescence properties of three different approaches: (i) a Ce{sup 3+} and Tb{sup 3+} co-doped SiO{sub x}N{sub y} single layer, (ii) a bilayer composed of two SiO{sub x}N{sub y} single layers doped with either Ce{sup 3+} or Tb{sup 3+} ions, and (iii) a multilayer composed of a series of either Tb{sup 3+} or Ce{sup 3+}-doped SiO{sub x}N{sub y} thin films with interleaved SiO{sub 2} spacers. Bright green emission and efficient energy transfer from either Ce{sup 3+} ions or Ce silicates to Tb{sup 3+} ions has been observed in the co-doped single layer as a consequence of the strong ion-ion interaction. On the other hand, independent luminescence from Ce{sup 3+} and Tb{sup 3+} ions has been observed in the Ce{sup 3+} and Tb{sup 3+} co-doped bilayer and multilayer, providing a good scenario to develop light emitting devices with wide color tunability by varying the number of deposited films that contain each rare earth dopant. Moreover, the optoelectronic properties of Ce{sup 3+}- and/or Tb{sup 3+}-doped thin films have been studied by depositing transparent conductive electrodes over selected samples. An electroluminescence signal according to the rare earth transitions is obtained in all cases, validating the excitation of Ce{sup 3+} and Tb{sup 3+} ions upon electron injection. Also, the main charge transport of injected electrons has been evaluated and correlated with the layer stoichiometry. Finally, a simple reliability test has allowed disclosing the origin of the early breakdown of test devices, attributed to the excessive joule heating at filament currents that occur around a region close to the polarization point.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Creation of a U.S. Phosphorescent OLED Lighting Panel Manufacturing Facility

Universal Display Corporation (UDC) has pioneered high efficacy phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED™) technology to enable the realization of an exciting new form of high quality, energy saving solid-date lighting. In laboratory test devices, we have demonstrated greater than 100 lm/W conversion efficacy. In this program, Universal Display will demonstrate the scalability of its proprietary UniversalPHOLED technology and materials for the manufacture of white OLED lighting panels that meet commercial lighting targets. Moser Baer Technologies will design and build a U.S.- based pilot facility. The objective of this project is to establish a pilot phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) manufacturing line in the U.S. Our goal is that at the end of the project, prototype lighting panels could be provided to U.S. luminaire manufacturers for incorporation into products to facilitate the testing of design concepts and to gauge customer acceptance, so as to facilitate the growth of the embryonic U.S. OLED lighting industry. In addition, the team will provide a cost of ownership analysis to quantify production costs including OLED performance metrics which relate to OLED cost such as yield, materials usage, cycle time, substrate area, and capital depreciation. This project was part of a new DOE initiative designed to help establish and maintain U.S. leadership in this program will support key DOE objectives by showing a path to meet Department of Energy Solid-State Lighting Manufacturing Roadmap cost targets, as well as meeting its efficiency targets by demonstrating the energy saving potential of our technology through the realization of greater than 76 lm/W OLED lighting panels by 2012.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS2012

Prognostics of Power Electronics, Methods and Validation Experiments

Abstract Failure of electronic devices is a concern for future electric aircrafts that will see an increase of electronics to drive and control safety-critical equipment throughout the aircraft. As a result, investigation of precursors to failure in electronics and prediction of remaining life of electronic components is of key importance. DC-DC power converters are power electronics systems employed typically as sourcing elements for avionics equipment. Current research efforts in prognostics for these power systems focuses on the identification of failure mechanisms and the development of accelerated aging methodologies and systems to accelerate the aging process of test devices, while continuously measuring key electrical and thermal parameters. Preliminary model-based prognostics algorithms have been developed making use of empirical degradation models and physics-inspired degradation model with focus on key components like electrolytic capacitors and power MOSFETs (metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistor). This paper presents current results on the development of validation methods for prognostics algorithms of power electrolytic capacitors. Particularly, in the use of accelerated aging systems for algorithm validation. Validation of prognostics algorithms present difficulties in practice due to the lack of run-to-failure experiments in deployed systems. By using accelerated experiments, we circumvent this problem in order to define initial validation activities.

Kulkarni, Chetan S.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Lunar Transient Accelerations White Paper

Recently, the United States announced a plan to return astronauts to the moon by 2024 [8]. Lunar landing (and subsequent Mars landing) architecture was not considered when the current NASA standards and vehicle design requirements for crew injury risk were developed. Therefore a gap exists in protecting the crew in planetary landing scenarios. One of the interesting aspects of this design reference mission (DRM)is the consideration of having the crew stand during dynamic phases of flight. Although this approach was contemplated for the Apollo Lunar Module, current NASA standards do not address design solutions that allow the crew to stand. Currently, NASA uses several tools and associated limits to mitigate crew injury because of dynamic loads. Some of these tools are the Brinkley Dynamic Response Criterion (BDRC) model and Hybrid III Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) [10]; and these have several limitations for assessing spaceflight loading environments, as well as specific underlying assumptions that may not be applicable in planetary landing vehicles. The BDRC is a simple lumped mass parameter model developed by the U.S. military, and has been used primarily to evaluate injury risk associated with aircraft ejection systems. The model evaluates seat accelerations in each axis to determine injury risk. Because the model treats the human-seat-restraint system as a single system, it is contingent on a restraint system and seat with similar characteristics of the original test data underlying the model. In particular, the model requires a rigid seat with a minimum natural frequency of 15Hz, minimal seat pan padding, side supports, and multipoint harness. The BDRC model uses undamped natural frequency and damping coefficients based on these requirements and any deviations may render the model injury predictions void. In lunar landing, one expects that a minimal or even no seat with minimal restraints will be employed. In this case, the original model parameters are likely to not be applicable. For capsule-based spacecraft returning crew to Earth, the Hybrid III ATD in various sizes also is used to supplement the BDRC. This analytical tool was added to address limitations in the BDRC related to spacecraft landings while wearing a pressure garment and helmet. Although the Hybrid III ATD has additional measurement capability; head, neck,and lumbar spine responses were the only metrics included because of the limitations imposed by the model.Lunar landing acceleration limits must assume the crew is standing during landing, an orientation for which we have limited data.Although the Apollo missions did employ a standing orientation for the crew, much of the data is lost. Therefore data from othersources havebeen examined to inform lunar landing acceleration limits.

Jeffrey T Somers↗
DOE OSTI2025

Novel application of neutrinos to evaluate U.S. nuclear weapons performance

There is a growing realization that neutrinos can be used as a diagnostic tool to better understand the inner workings of a nuclear weapon. Robust estimates demonstrate that an Inverse Beta Decay (IBD) neutrino scintillation detector built at the Nevada Test Site with a 1000-ton active target mass at a standoff distance of 500 m would detect thousands of antineutrino events per nuclear test. This would provide less than 4% statistical error on the measured antineutrino rate and 5% error on antineutrino energy. Extrapolating this to an error on the test device explosive yield requires knowledge from evaluated nuclear databases, non-equilibrium fission rates, and assumptions on internal neutron fluxes. Initial calculations demonstrate that the total number of neutrinos emitted per fission in the first 10 3 s after a short pulse of 239 Pu fission is about a factor of two less than that from Pu fissioning under steady state conditions. Furthermore, there are significant energy spectral differences as a function of time after the pulse that must be considered. These and other model dependencies will be discussed in the paper. In the absence of nuclear weapons testing, many of the technical and theoretical challenges of a full nuclear test could be mitigated with a low cost smaller scale 20 ton fiducial mass IBD demonstration detector placed near a pulsed reactor. Potential reactors include the Texas A&M University TRIGA 1 GW–10 ms pulsed facility or the Sandia Annular Core Research Reactor. The short duty cycle and repeatability of pulses would provide critical real environment testing and measurements, which would be valuable for planning a possible real test shot in the future. Furthermore, the antineutrino rate as a function of time data would provide unique constraints on fission databases and model assumptions. Finally, there are impactful science drivers such as sensitive searches for ∼1 eV 2 sterile neutrinos and ∼MeV scale axions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of Fuel Wobbe Number on Pollutant Emissions from Advanced Technology Residential Water Heaters: Results of Controlled Experiments

The research summarized in this report is part of a larger effort to evaluate the potential air quality impacts of using liquefied natural gas in California. A difference of potential importance between many liquefied natural gas blends and the natural gas blends that have been distributed in California in recent years is the higher Wobbe number of liquefied natural gas. Wobbe number is a measure of the energy delivery rate for appliances that use orifice- or pressure-based fuel metering. The effect of Wobbe number on pollutant emissions from residential water heaters was evaluated in controlled experiments. Experiments were conducted on eight storage water heaters, including five with “ultra low-NO X ” burners, and four on-demand (tankless) water heaters, all of which featured ultra low-NO X burners. Pollutant emissions were quantified as air-free concentrations in the appliance flue and fuel-based emission factors in units of nanogram of pollutant emitter per joule of fuel energy consumed. Emissions were measured for carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO X ), nitrogen oxide (NO), formaldehyde and acetaldehyde as the water heaters were operated through defined operating cycles using fuels with varying Wobbe number. The reference fuel was Northern California line gas with Wobbe number ranging from 1344 to 1365. Test fuels had Wobbe numbers of 1360, 1390 and 1420. The most prominent finding was an increase in NO X emissions with increasing Wobbe number: all five of the ultra low-NO X storage water heaters and two of the four ultra low-NO X on-demand water heaters had statistically discernible (p<0.10) increases in NO X with fuel Wobbe number. The largest percentage increases occurred for the ultra low-NO X water heaters. There was a discernible change in CO emissions with Wobbe number for all four of the on-demand devices tested. The on-demand water heater with the highest CO emissions also had the largest CO increase with increasing fuel Wobbe number.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Externally-Modulated Electro-Optically Coupled Detector Architecture for Nuclear Physics Instrumentation

A new laser-based externally-modulated electro-optically coupled detector (EOCD) architecture is being developed to enable high-density readout for radiation detectors with accurate analog radiation pulse shape and timing preservation. Unlike digital conversion before electro-optical modulation, the EOCD implements complete analog optical signal modulation and multiplexing in its detector front-end. The result is a compact, high performance detector readout that can be both radiation tolerant and immune to magnetic fields. In this work, the feasibility of EOCD was explored by constructing a two-wavelength laser-based externally-modulated EOCD, and testing analog pulse shape preservation and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) crosstalk. Comparisons were first made between the corresponding initial pulses and the electro-optically coupled analog pulses. This confirmed an excellent analog pulse preservation over $ sim {hbox {29}}% $ of the modulator’s switching voltage range. Optical spectrum analysis revealed less than $-{hbox {14}}~hbox{dB}$ crosstalk with 1.2 nm WDM wavelength bandgap, and provided insight on experimental conditions that could lead to increased inter-wavelength crosstalk. Further discussions and previous research on the radiation tolerance and magnetic field immunity of the candidate materials were also given, and quantitative device testing is proposed in the future.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

A study of transient FGR by integral LOCA tests

A study of transient fission gas release (FGR) was performed by means of two out-of-pile LOCA tests in a hot cell facility. Irradiated fuel rod segments with lengths of roughly 80 mm and burnups of 64 MWd/kgU were subjected to simulated water-cooled reactor LOCA transients in an integral LOCA test device. The segments were heated to a maximum temperature of 1000 Celsius degrees and the increase in rod inner pressure resulting from fission gas release and increased gas temperature during the transient was measured. The first release of gas occurred at temperatures close to 450 Celsius degrees, which suggests a burst release mechanism that may be linked to the onset of grain boundary fracturing. At the end of the simulated transients, gas samples were taken from the fuel rod segments for study by gas mass spectroscopy. The transient fission gas release was measured and amount to roughly 13 % of the calculated pre-test rod inventory of Kr and Xe. Isotopic ratios of the released gas indicated that transient FGR originated from the whole pellet and not only the pellet periphery. The tested segments were also studied by light-optical microscopy to determine pellet porosity, pellet crack pattern and fuel fragmentation. The extent of fine fuel fragmentation was found to be small and limited to the periphery of the fuel. The determined amount of transient fission gas release can be added to the database of fuel rod design codes to more accurately describe the LOCA cladding strains and burst temperatures in the future.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS2000

Progress in the Development of Mo-Au Transition-Edge Sensors for X-Ray Spectroscopy

X-ray microcalorimeters using transition-edge sensors (TES) show great promise for use in astronomical x-ray spectroscopy. We have obtained very high energy resolution (2.8 electronvolts at 1.5 kiloelectronvolts and 3.7 electronvolts at 3.3 kiloelectronvolts) in a large, isolated TES pixel using a Mo/Au proximity-effect bilayer on a silicon nitride membrane. We will discuss the performance and our characterization of that device. In order to be truly suitable for use behind an x-ray telescope, however, such devices need to be arrayed with a pixel size and focal-plane coverage commensurate with the telescope focal length and spatial resolution. Since this requires fitting the TES and its thermal link, a critical component of each calorimeter pixel, into a far more compact geometry than has previously been investigated, we must study the fundamental scaling laws in pixel optimization. We have designed a photolithography mask that will allow us to probe the range in thermal conductance that can be obtained by perforating the nitride membrane in a narrow perimeter around the sensor. This mask will also show the effects of reducing the TES area. Though we have not yet tested devices of the compact designs, we will present our progress in several of the key processing steps and discuss the parameter space of our intended investigations.

of Magnetic Calorimeters for Applications in X-ray↗
DOE OSTI2020

Who Invented the Christy Gadget

The Christy Gadget, named after its principal inventor, is the informal name for the device tested at Trinity on July 16th, 1945. In late 1944, Robert Christy proposed a novel invention that altered the design of the plutonium pit in Fat Man. While scientists originally intended to use a hollow sphere of plutonium, there was a substantial risk given a number of asymmetries that resulted from implosion. Christy proposed changing the design of the plutonium core to a solid sphere of plutonium with a modulated neutron source. The new model was adopted and used in the early implosion bombs. While there is little debate about the important role that Christy played in demonstrating its feasibility as a safe design, there is a debate as to who initially proposed the idea of the Christy Device. My project this summer outlines and resolves this dispute. While Christ does deserve the majority of the credit for the invention and design, I also acknowledge the important role Rudolf Peierls and John von Neumann played in its development.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Initial experimental demonstration of the principles of a xenon gas shield designed to protect optical components from soft x-ray induced opacity (blanking) in high energy density experiments

The design principles of a xenon gas shield device that is intended to protect optical components from x-ray induced opacity (“x-ray blanking”) have been experimentally demonstrated at the OMEGA-60 Laser Facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester. A volume of xenon gas placed in front of an optical component absorbs the incoming soft x-ray radiation but transmits optical and ultra-violet radiation. The time-resolved optical (532 nm) transmission of samples was recorded as they were exposed to soft x-rays produced by a gold sphere source (1.5 kJ sr $-$1 , 250–300 eV). Blanking of fused silica (SiO 2 ) was measured to occur over a range of time-integrated soft x-ray (<3 keV) fluence from ~0.2–2.5 J cm $-$2 . A shield test device consisting of a 30 nm silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) and a 10 cm long volume of 0.04 bar xenon gas succeeded in delaying loss of transmission through a magnesium fluoride sample; optical transmission was observed over a longer period than for the unprotected sample. It is hoped that the design of this x-ray shield can be scaled in order to produce a shield device for the National Ignition Facility optical Thomson scattering collection telescope, in order to allow measurements of hohlraum plasma conditions produced in inertial confinement fusion experiments. Finally, if successful, it will also have applications in many other high energy density experiments where optical and ultra-violet measurements are desirable.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2002

Electromagnetic Interference Assessment of CDMA and GSM Wireless Phones to Aircraft Navigation Radios

To address the concern for cellular phone electromagnetic interference (EMI) to aircraft radios, a radiated emission measurement process for CDMA (IS-95) and GSM (ETSI GSM 11.22) wireless handsets was developed. Spurious radiated emissions were efficiently characterized from devices tested in either a semi-anechoic or reverberation chamber, in terms of effective isotropic radiated power. Eight representative handsets (4 GSM, 4 CDMA) were commanded to operate while varying their radio transmitter parameters (power, modulation, etc.). This report provides a detailed description of the measurement process and resulting data, which may subsequently be used by others as a basis of consistent evaluation for cellular/PCS phones, Bluetooth, IEEE802.11b, IEEE802.11a, FRS/GMRS radios, and other portable transmitters. Aircraft interference path loss (IPL) and navigation radio interference threshold data from numerous reference documents, standards, and NASA partnerships were compiled. Using this data, a preliminary risk assessment is provided for CDMA and GSM wireless phone interference to aircraft localizer, Glideslope, VOR, and GPS radio receivers on typical transport airplanes. The report identifies where existing data for device emissions, IPL, and navigation radio interference thresholds needs to be extended for an accurate risk assessment for wireless transmitters in aircraft.

Ely, Jay J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Wireless Phone Threat Assessment and New Wireless Technology Concerns for Aircraft Navigation Radios

To address the concern for cellular phone electromagnetic interference to aircraft radios, a radiated emission measurement process was developed for two dominant digital standards of wireless handsets. Spurious radiated emissions were efficiently characterized from devices tested in either a semi-anechoic or reverberation chamber, in terms of effective radiated power. Eight representative handsets (four from each digital standard) were commanded to operate while varying their radio transmitter parameters (power, modulation, etc.). This report provides a detailed description of the measurement process and resulting data, which may subsequently be used by others as a basis of consistent evaluation of other portable transmitters using a variety of wireless transmission protocols. Aircraft interference path loss and navigation radio interference threshold data from numerous reference documents, standards, and NASA partnerships were compiled. Using these data, a preliminary risk assessment is provided for wireless phone interference to aircraft Localizer, Glideslope, Very High Frequency Omni directional Range, and Global Positioning Satellite radio receivers on typical transport airplanes. The report identifies where existing data for device emissions, interference path loss, and navigation radio interference thresholds need to be extended for an accurate risk assessment for wireless transmitters in aircraft.

Ely, Jay J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electrolyte Immersion Increases Photoconductivity in a Model Polymer Photocathode

Immersing polymer solar cells in aqueous electrolyte for photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production is likely to cause photophysical changes that could present both challenges and opportunities for engineering functional and durable devices. Herein we study the bulk heterojunction blend poly(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl)-alt-(2-(((2-ethylhexyl)oxy)carbonyl)-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-4,6-diyl):poly(N,N'-di(2-octyldodecyl)naphthalene-1,8:4,5-bis(dicarboximide)-2,6-diyl)-alt-(2,2-bithiophene-5,5'-diyl) (PTB7-Th:N2200) excited-state dynamics in electrolyte from femtosecond to millisecond time scales using pump-probe microwave conductivity and absorption spectroscopy. While the blend swells very little, electrolyte exposure increases the microwave-frequency mobility and possibly the yield of photogenerated charges while also decreasing crystallinity. These results indicate an enhancement in key performance metrics, implying that any limitations on the performance of PEC test devices do not arise from active layer-electrolyte interactions. For the PTB7-Th:N2200 blend or similar photocathode systems, our results indicate that improving the interfacial kinetics and/or the carrier lifetime should be prioritized, not protecting the active layer from the electrolyte. Since this observation may not be universal to all polymer systems, future research should focus on identifying their limiting photophysical processes. electrolyte.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗