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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 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Intermittent Criticality Multi‐Scale Processes Leading to Large Slip Events on Rough Laboratory Faults

Abstract We discuss data of three laboratory stick‐slip experiments on Westerly Granite samples performed at elevated confining pressure and constant displacement rate on rough fracture surfaces. The experiments produced complex slip patterns including fast and slow ruptures with large and small fault slips, as well as failure events on the fault surface producing acoustic emission bursts without externally‐detectable stress drop. Preparatory processes leading to large slips were tracked with an ensemble of ten seismo‐mechanical and statistical parameters characterizing local and global damage and stress evolution, localization and clustering processes, as well as event interactions. We decompose complex spatio‐temporal trends in the lab‐quake characteristics and identify persistent effects of evolving fault roughness and damage at different length scales, and local stress evolution approaching large events. The observed trends highlight labquake localization processes on different spatial and temporal scales. The preparatory process of large slip events includes smaller events marked by confined bursts of acoustic emission activity that collectively prepare the fault surface for a system‐wide failure by conditioning the large‐scale stress field. Our results are consistent overall with an evolving process of intermittent criticality leading to large failure events, and may contribute to improved forecasting of large natural earthquakes.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗
DOE OSTI2020

Catalytic Oxidation of CO on a Curved Pt(111) Surface: Simultaneous Ignition at All Facets through a Transient CO-O Complex

The light-off of the CO oxidation is simultaneous on all Pt crystal surfaces vicinal to the (111) plane, regardless of the reaction conditions, and in contrast with the structural dependence of Pd. In this work, using ambient-pressure XPS we find that, immediately prior to ignition, atomic oxygen incorporates to the subsurface plane, leading to buckling of the topmost CO-Pt layer, and effectively equaling the CO desorption temperature at terraces and steps.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

A nanobody suite for yeast scaffold nucleoporins provides details of the nuclear pore complex structure

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are the main conduits for molecular exchange across the nuclear envelope. The NPC is a modular assembly of ~500 individual proteins, called nucleoporins or nups. Most scaffolding nups are organized in two multimeric subcomplexes, the Nup84 or Y complex and the Nic96 or inner ring complex. Working in S. cerevisiae, and to study the assembly of these two essential subcomplexes, we here develop a set of twelve nanobodies that recognize seven constituent nucleoporins of the Y and Nic96 complexes. These nanobodies all bind specifically and with high affinity. We present structures of several nup-nanobody complexes, revealing their binding sites. Additionally, constitutive expression of the nanobody suite in S. cerevisiae detect accessible and obstructed surfaces of the Y complex and Nic96 within the NPC. Overall, this suite of nanobodies provides a unique and versatile toolkit for the study of the NPC.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Depth‐ and Time‐Resolved Distributions of Snowmelt‐Driven Hillslope Subsurface Flow and Transport and Their Contributions to Surface Waters

Abstract Major components of hydrologic and elemental cycles reside underground, where their complex dynamics and linkages to surface waters are obscure. We delineated seasonal subsurface flow and transport dynamics along a hillslope in the Rocky Mountains (USA), where precipitation occurs primarily as winter snow and drainage discharges into the East River, a tributary of the Gunnison River. Hydraulic and geochemical measurements down to 10 m below ground surface supported application of transmissivity feedback of snowmelt to describe subsurface flow and transport through three zones: soil, weathering shale, and saturated fractured shale. Groundwater flow is predicted to depths of at least 176 m, although a shallower limit exists if hillslope‐scale hydraulic conductivities are higher than our local measurements. Snowmelt during the high snowpack water year 2017 sustained flow along the weathering zone and downslope within the soil, while negligible downslope flow occurred along the soil during the low snowpack water year 2018. We introduce subsurface concentration‐discharge ( C‐Q ) relations for explaining hillslope contributions to C‐Q observed in rivers and demonstrate their calculations based on transmissivity fluxes and measured pore water specific conductance and dissolved organic carbon. The specific conductance data show that major ions in the hillslope pore waters, primarily from the weathering and fractured shale, are about six times more concentrated than in the river, indicating hillslope solute loads are disproportionately high, while flow from this site and similar regions are relatively smaller. This methodology is applicable in different representative environments within snow‐dominated watersheds for linking their subsurface exports to surface waters.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Synthesis and Surface Attachment of Molecular Re(I) Hydride Species with Silatrane Functionalized Bipyridyl Ligands

Three molecular Re hydrides of the form ( R bpy)Re(CO) 3 H with 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) ligands containing silatrane functional groups for surface attachment on metal oxide surfaces were synthesized. IR spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry (CV) demonstrated that the complexes containing the silatrane functional groups have electronic properties similar to those of a control compound, which did not contain functional groups for attachment. Additionally, in a similar fashion to the control compound, the silatrane containing Re hydrides are electrocatalysts for the reduction of CO 2 to CO in solution. The silatrane containing complexes were immobilized on a thin layer of TiO 2 on Si, and the resulting composites were characterized using X-ray photoelectron and IR spectroscopy as well as cyclic voltammetry in the dark and under illumination. Control experiments indicated that the hydride complexes are not stable on the surface and degrade to species which contain a bpy ligand, three CO ligands, and an unknown ligand in the sixth site. Similarly, when one of the silatrane containing Re hydride complexes was immobilized on Si nanoparticles with a thin layer of SiO 2 or silica nanoparticles, the hydride ligand was lost. Density functional theory calculations were used to corroborate the observed behavior of hydride species on a surface. Altogether, this work demonstrates the difficulties associated with attaching well-defined molecular hydride complexes to metal oxide surfaces.

Anions↗
DOE OSTI2023

In Situ Ion‐Exchange Metathesis Induced Conformal LiF Surface Films on Cathode (NMC811) as a Cathode Electrolyte Interphase

High-capacity cathodes (LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 , NMC811) are promising for vehicle electrification because of their high gravimetric energy density. However, their electrochemical performance still relies upon the stability of the cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI). A highly reactive cathode interface leads to parasitic side reactions with electrolytes, resulting in accelerated capacity fading. Well-developed LiF and LiF-like inorganic compounds are believed to be good CEI components for stabilizing such reactive electrode interfaces. However, it is challenging to form an optimal surface sub-nanolayer of LiF on the cathode surfaces because of the complexity of the electrochemical reaction during battery cycling. Herein, the formation of a conformal LiF layer on the NMC811 electrode surface via an in situ ion-exchange metathesis process is reported, demonstrating a promising electrochemical performance because of a LiF-stabilized CEI. In situ generated LiF-coated NMC811 electrodes exhibit ≈97% capacity retention up to 100 cycles at a 0.3 C rate with average coulombic efficiency of ≈99.9% and ≈80% capacity retention up to 200 cycles at a 1 C rate with average coulombic efficiency of >99.6%. This finding may pave the way for reengineering the CEI to enhance the electrochemical performances and cycling stability of the high-capacity cathodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Vidyut3d: A Non-Equilibrium Plasma Modeling Tool [SWR-24-101]

Vidyut3d is a massively-parallel plasma-fluid solver for low-temperature plasmas (LTPs) that supports both local field (LFA) and local mean energy (LMEA) approximations, as well as complex gas and surface-phase chemistry. The solver supports 2D and 3D domains, and uses AMReX's adaptive mesh refinement capabilities to increase the grid resolution around complex structures (e.g. streamer heads and sheaths) while maintaining a tractable problem size. Vidyut specializes in simulating various types of gas-phase discharges, as well as plasma/surface interactions and surface chemistry (e.g. for plasma-mediated catalysis applications). The solver also supports hybrid CPU/GPU parallelization strategies, and has demonstrated excellent scaling on various HPC architectures for problem sizes consisting of O(100 M) control volumes.

Sitaraman, Hariswaran↗
DOE OSTI2022

GEOMWRITER - A Workflow for Automatically Generating MCNP Geometry for Neutron Guide Simulations

This report describes the functionality of the geomwriter.py script, which is a python script for producing complex MCNP CSG geometries from the IGES CAD format. It is specifically written to handle neutron supermirror guides, but can handle more complex objects through utilizing a convex hull algorithm. This work flow reduces the amount of time spent on generating the surface definitions for a complex neutron guide system with hundreds of segments such that changes to the neutron guide system design in McStas can be rapidly incorporated into an MCNP model and integrated with the shielding geometry present in that model.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

INTERDUNE DEPOSITS AND STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK OF THE NAVAJO SANDSTONE IN THE LAKE POWELL AREA, UTAH, USA

The Western Interior of the USA was dominated by desert environments for much of the Jurassic. Of these desert environments, the most extensive by far was the Navajo Sandstone erg, which, in conjunction with its correlative Nugget and Aztec Sandstones, is thought to have covered well over 500,000 km2, and is one of the largest ergs preserved in the rock record. The Navajo Sandstone is also one of a few geologic units which show promise as a potential CO2 sequestration reservoir in Utah. It outcrops along the eastern and southern margin of the state, and subcrops throughout most of the central area. The Navajo Sandstone consists of stacked eolian deposits, composed of well sorted, clean sandstone, deposited in commonly tabular, high angle cross bedded paleodunes, which are on average 15 m thick. Interspersed between these paleodunes are interdune deposits. Interdune deposits consist of sandy to calcareous, predominantly planar bedded, lensoid units, ranging from <1 m up to 7 m thick. In some cases, these interdune deposits occur along more extensive stratigraphic bounding surfaces. Dating within the Navajo Sandstone has historically been very difficult, as a result of its predominantly clean, aeolian sandstone composition. In addition, complexity of internal stratigraphic surfaces coupled with a low structural dip and generally flat topography has resulted in a poor understanding of the internal stratigraphy of the Navajo Sandstone. Exceptional three-dimensional exposures of the Navajo Sandstone in the upper portions of Lake Powell permit us to relate interdune carbonates to a hierarchical bounding surfaces model. Here we use this combined approach to interpret the internal stratigraphy of the Navajo Sandstone in this region. This work forms part of a larger study of the Navajo Sandstone across Utah and its potential as a CO2 reservoir, by developing a more comprehensive stratigraphic framework, and increasing understanding of stratigraphic complexity within one of the most significant eolian systems in the world.

Mahon, Elizabeth↗
DOE OSTI2024

The black hole interior from non-isometric codes and complexity

Quantum error correction has given us a natural language for the emergence of spacetime, but the black hole interior poses a challenge for this framework: at late times the apparent number of interior degrees of freedom in effective field theory can vastly exceed the true number of fundamental degrees of freedom, so there can be no isometric (i.e. inner-product preserving) encoding of the former into the latter. In this paper we explain how quantum error correction nonetheless can be used to explain the emergence of the black hole interior, via the idea of “non-isometric codes protected by computational complexity”. We show that many previous ideas, such as the existence of a large number of “null states”, a breakdown of effective field theory for operations of exponential complexity, the quantum extremal surface calculation of the Page curve, post-selection, “state-dependent/state-specific” operator reconstruction, and the “simple entropy” approach to complexity coarse-graining, all fit naturally into this framework, and we illustrate all of these phenomena simultaneously in a soluble model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Self-organizing layers from complex molecular anions

Ions are promising building blocks for tunable self-organizing materials with advanced technological applications. However, because of strong Coulomb attraction with counterions, the intrinsic properties of ions are difficult to exploit for preparation of bulk materials. Here, we report the precisely-controlled preparation of macroscopic surface layers by soft landing of mass selected complex anions which determine the self organization of the layers with their molecular properties. The family of halogenated dodecaborates [B12X12]2- (X = F, Cl, Br, I), in which the internal charge distribution between core and shell regions of the molecular ions systematically vary, was deposited on different self assembled monolayer surfaces (SAMs) on gold at high coverage. Layers of anions were found to be stabilized by accumulation of neutral molecules. Different phases, self-organization mechanisms and optical properties were observed to depend upon the internal charge distribution of the deposited anions, the underlying surface and the coadsorbed molecules. This demonstrates rational control of the properties of anion based layers.

Warneke, Jonas (ORCID:0000000232337412)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Inverse design of pore wall chemistry and topology through active learning of surface group interactions

Design of next-generation membranes requires a nanoscopic understanding of the effect of biologically inspired heterogeneous surface chemistries and topologies (roughness) on local water and solute behavior. In particular, the rejection of small, neutral solutes, such as boric acid, poses a heretofore unsolved challenge. In prior work, a computational inverse design technique using an evolutionary optimization successfully uncovered new surface design strategies for optimized transport of water over solutes in smooth, model pores consisting of two surface chemistries. However, extending such an approach to more complex (and realistic) scenarios involving many surface chemistries as well as surface roughness is challenging due to the expanded design space. In this work, we develop a new approach that uses active learning to optimize in a reduced feature space of surface group interactions, finding parameters that lead to their assembly into ordered, optimal patterns. This approach rapidly identifies novel surface functionalizations that maximize the difference in water and boric acid transport through the nanopore. Moreover, we find that the roughness of the nanopore wall, independent of its chemistry, can be leveraged to enhance transport selectivity: oscillations in the pore wall diameter optimally inhibit boric acid transport by creating energetic wells from which the solute must escape to transport down the pore. Furthermore, this proof-of-concept demonstrates the potential for active learning strategies, in concert with molecular simulations, to rapidly navigate complex design spaces of aqueous interfaces and is promising as a tool for engineering water-mediated surface interactions for a broad range of applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Catalytic, Spectroscopic, and Theoretical Studies of Fe 4 S 4 -Based Coordination Polymers as Heterogenous Coupled Proton–Electron Transfer Mediators for Electrocatalysis

Iron–sulfur clusters play essential roles in biological systems, and thus synthetic [Fe 4 S 4 ] clusters have been an area of active research. Recent studies have demonstrated that soluble [Fe 4 S 4 ] clusters can serve as net H atom transfer mediators, improving the activity and selectivity of a homogeneous Mn CO 2 reduction catalyst. Here, in this work, we demonstrate that incorporating these [Fe 4 S 4 ] clusters into a coordination polymer enables heterogeneous H atom transfer from an electrode surface to a Mn complex dissolved in solution. A previously reported solution-processable Fe 4 S 4 -based coordination polymer was successfully deposited on the surfaces of different electrodes. The coated electrodes serve as H atom transfer mediators to a soluble Mn CO 2 reduction catalyst displaying good product selectivity for formic acid. Furthermore, these electrodes are recyclable with a minimal decrease in activity after multiple catalytic cycles. The heterogenization of the mediator also enables the characterization of solution-phase and electrode surface species separately. Surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) reveals spectroscopic signatures for an in situ generated active Mn–H species, providing a more complete mechanistic picture for this system. The active species, reaction mechanism, and the protonation sites on the [Fe 4 S 4 ] clusters were further confirmed by density functional theory calculations. The observed H atom transfer reactivity of these coordination polymer-coated electrodes motivates additional applications of this composite material in reductive H atom transfer electrocatalysis.

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

Performance Evaluation of Decontamination Foam Containing Mesoporous silica NPs - 18453

It is necessary to secure decontamination technology that is easy to apply and minimizes the generation of secondary waste for large-scale equipment and large-area decontamination, which are difficult to be applied structurally when massive repairs or the decommissioning of a nuclear facility are required. In this respect, decontamination foam has a potentially wide application in the removal of contaminants from metallic walls, overhead surfaces, and elements of complex components and facilities. The decontamination efficiency can be enhanced by improving the contact time between the chemical decontamination agents and the contaminated surface through the introduction of stabilizers into the decontamination foam. In this study, the stability of a decontamination foam containing mesoporous silica NPs as a stabilizer and the decontamination performance of radioactive isotope contaminated specimens were evaluated. A process for waste liquid treatment after foam decontamination was also proposed. Decontamination performance tests using RI contaminated specimens were carried out in a decontamination foam prepared only with a solution containing only 1 wt% EM100 surfactant, and in a decontamination foam prepared with a solution containing 1 wt% EM100 surfactant and 1 wt% of various silica NPs. The stability of the decontamination foam was increased owing to the addition of various types of silica NPs. In particular, the liquid film thickness of the decontamination foam containing mesoporous silica NPs was the largest. As a result, the decontamination coefficient for RI contaminated specimens increased as the thickness of the foam liquid film increased owing to the longer contact time between the RI contaminated specimen and the chemical decontamination agent as the thickness of the foam liquid film increased. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Hysteretic order-disorder transitions of ionic liquid double layer structure on graphite

Understanding the electrical double layer (EDL) structure at the solid/liquid interface is critical towards realizing the full potential of electrochemical applications using ionic liquids. Here, the out-of-plane and in-plane EDL structures of PYR14-TFSI on graphite (HOPG) have been studied by in-situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy (AFM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. AFM results revealed that the first adsorbed ion layer on HOPG consists of both disordered and ordered lateral domains. It has been found that the neighboring molecules in the x-y plane form intricate ordered lateral structures on length scale of hundreds of nanometers, and the out-of-plane EDL structure is independent of the in-plane structure. MD simulations under zero polarization showed that in the first adsorbed layer, cations have one preferred orientation while anions have two preferred orientations in relation to the HOPG surface, which might be the origin of the complex lateral ordering. When polarizing the surface, a hysteretic order-disorder transition of the lateral ordering in the first adsorbed layer can be observed by in-situ AFM, and the ordered domains disappear for high positive or negative voltages. Finally, comparison with bias-dependent MD reveals that the existence of a bimodal anion distribution in the first absorbed layer can be linked to the observed transitions giving new insights into the origin of the structural domains, which can help understand unusual charge and discharge kinetics observed in similar systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effect of high temperature preoxidation treatment on the oxidation behavior of MoSi 2 - and WSi 2 –Al 2 O 3 composites

Composites of 30 vol% MoSi 2 -70 vol% Al 2 O 3 and 30 vol% WSi 2 -70 vol% Al 2 O 3 were prepared via sintering at 1600 °C in argon. The high-temperature preoxidation treatments were applied at 1000°-1200 °C for 10–120 min in air. The non-isothermal oxidation tests were conducted in air at temperatures ranging between 50° and 870 °C to study and understand the influence of the alumina phase and preoxidation process on the low-temperature oxidation behavior. The optical and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the surface layers formed. The oxidation-induced mass gains were substantially reduced by 82.1–99.8%, implying their enhanced oxidation resistance. This was due to the formation of highly dense, protective surface layers with a sufficient thickness (3.1–14.2 μm). The structural and surface analyses revealed their complex chemistries, since the ternary (Mo–Si–Al, W–Si–Al) intermetallic, mullite, alumina and silica phases with high oxidation resistances were identified within these surface features. In addition, the high-temperature electrical properties of the composites were highly preserved after the preoxidation treatment, and their electrical conductivities were measured as 45.1–78.6 S/cm at 800 °C and 40.1–69.1 S/cm at 900 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Enhanced Ion Adsorption on Mineral Nanoparticles

Classical molecular dynamics simulation was used to study the adsorption of Na + , Ca 2+ , Ba 2+ and Cl-ions on gibbsite edge (1 0 0), basal (0 0 1), and nanoparticle surfaces. The gibbsite nanoparticle consists of both basal and edge surfaces. Simulation results indicate that Na + and Cl - ions adsorb on both (1 0 0) and (0 0 1) surfaces as inner-sphere species (i.e., no water molecules between an ion and the surface). Outer-sphere Cl - ions (i.e., one water molecule between an ion and the surface) were also found on these surfaces. On the (1 0 0) edge, Ca 2+ ions adsorb as inner-sphere and outer-sphere complexes, while on the (0 0 1) surface outer-sphere Ca 2+ ions are the dominant species. Ba 2+ ions were found as inner-sphere and outer-sphere complexes on both surfaces. Calculated ion surface coverages indicate that, for all ions, surface coverages are always higher on the basal surface compared to the edge surface. More importantly, surface coverages for cations on the gibbsite nanoparticle are always higher than those calculated for (1 0 0) and (0 0 1) surfaces. This enhanced ion adsorption behavior for the nanoparticle is due to the significant number of inner-sphere cations found at nanoparticle corners. Outer-sphere cations do not contribute to the enhanced surface coverage. In addition, there is no ion adsorption enhancement observed for the Cl - ion. Our work provides a molecular-scale understanding of the relative significance of ion adsorption onto gibbsite basal versus edge surfaces and demonstrates the corner effect on ion adsorption on nanoparticles.

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

Surface Plasmon Resonance and Aggregate Stability of Silver Nanoparticle Complexes with Chemotripsin

Extinction spectra, effective sizes, and aggregate stability of silver nanoparticles and nanocomplexes of silver nanoparticles with chymotrypsin obtained by the reactions of chemical reduction of silver nitrate using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent are studied. It is shown that silver nanoparticles obtained in the absence of chymotrypsin are aggregatively stable only at pH values immediately after synthesis. The placement of the synthesized silver nanoparticles in buffer solutions with pH values from 3.0 to 12.0 resulted in the appearance of a wide absorption band in the visible region of the spectrum, which is due to the agglomeration of silver nanoparticles, which appears to be the result of the destruction of the double electric layer formed by the ions making up sodium borohydride. The presence of chymotrypsin in the reaction medium resulted in significant spectral changes. Unlike silver nanoparticles synthesized in the absence of chymotrypsin, for nanocomplexes of silver nanoparticles with chymotrypsin with a change in pH, the shape of the extinction spectra and the position of the surface plasmon resonance band were preserved, while nanocomplexes of silver nanoparticles with chymotrypsin retained the aggregative stability in solutions in the pH range from 3.0 to 12.0 within a month. The observed stabilization effect of silver nanoparticles over a wide pH range induced by the presence of chymotrypsin in the reaction medium can be used further to develop methods for immobilizing enzymes on nanoparticles of biogenic elements and for creating polyfunctional pharmaceuticals, in which the components of nanocomplexes have different biological activity.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗