Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “acidity constant”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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

At least 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

Electrocatalysis of fuel cell reactions: Investigation of alternate electrolytes

Oxygen reduction and transport properties of the electrolyte in the phosphoric acid fuel cell are studied. A theoretical expression for the rotating ring-disk electrode technique; the intermediate reaction rate constants for oxygen reduction on platinum in phosphoric acid electrolyte; oxygen reduction mechanism in trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFMSA), considered as an alternate electrolyte for the acid fuel cells; and transport properties of the phosphoric acid electrolyte at high concentrations and temperatures are covered.

Chin, D. T.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Additives Lower Dielectric Constants Of Polyimides

Dielectric constants as low as 2.43 make polyimides more attractive for electronic applications. Process makes aromatic condensation polyimide films and coatings with dielectric constants lowered by incorporation of diamic acid additives. Materials provide better electrical insulation without sacrificing temperature stability of polyimide binders. Applicable whenever high temperature, low absorption of moisture, and high electrical-insulation properties needed. Applications include semiconductors and printed-circuit boards for computer industry and possibly automotive industry.

Stoakely, Diane M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Electrocatalysis of fuel cell reactions: Investigation of alternate electrolytes

Oxygen reduction and transport properties of the electrolyte in the phosphoric acid fuel cell are studied. The areas covered were: (1) development of a theoretical expression for the rotating ring disk electrode technique; (2) determination of the intermediate reaction rate constants for oxygen reduction on platinum in phosphoric acid electrolyte; (3) determination of oxygen reduction mechanism in trifluoreomethanesulfonic acid (TFMSA) which was considered as an alternate electrolyte for the acid fuel cells; and (4) the measurement of transport properties of the phosphoric acid electrolyte at high concentrations and temperatures.

Chin, D. T.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Topological reaction rate measurements related to scoffing

A ball-on-plate (both consisting of hardened M-50 steel) sliding elastohydrodynamic contact was run with trimethylolpropane triheptanoate (TMPTH) with and without tricresyl phosphate (TCP). The contact area of the plate was optically profiled with a phase-locked interference microscope (PLIM) both before and after exposure to alcoholic hydrochloric acid. As scuffing was approached, the profile within the contact region changed more rapidly after the acid treatment; after scuffing, it assumed a constant high value. A metallurgical phase found in the scuff mark was apparently responsible for the high reactivity. The microscopic profile changes (sensitivity, + or - 3 nm (+ or - A) in depth) involved primarily the small asperities (radius, 3 microns); the larger ones were unaffected. Soaking the steel in TCP smoothed the fine structure of the surface profile but increased its reactivity toward alcoholic hydrochloric acid before sliding was started. Thus it would appear that PLIM examination could be used for screening potentially scuff-resistant materials.

Lauer, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Topological reaction rate measurements related to scuffing

A ball-on-plate (both consisting of hardened M-50 steel) sliding elastohydrodynamic contact was run with trimethylolpropane triheptanoate (TMPTH) with and without tricresyl phosphate (TCP). The contact area of the plate was optically profiled with a phase-locked interference microscope (PLIM) both before and after exposure to alcoholic hydrochloric acid. As scuffing was approached, the profile within the contact region changed more rapidly after the acid treatment; after scuffing, it assumed a constant high value. A metallurgical phase found in the scuff mark was apparently responsible for the high reactivity. The microscopic profile changes (sensitivity, + or - 3 nm (+ or - A) in depth) involved primarily the small asperities (radius, 3 microns); the larger ones were unaffected. Soaking the steel in TCP smoothed the fine structure of the surface profile but increased its reactivity toward alcoholic hydrochloric acid before sliding was started. Thus it would appear that PLIM examination could be used for screening potentially scuff-resistant materials.

Lauer, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Friction and wear of nickel in sulfuric acid

Experiments were conducted with elemental nickel sliding on aluminum oxide in aerated sulfuric acid in concentrations ranging from very dilute (10 -4 N, i.e., 5 ppm) to very concentrated (96 percent) acid. Load and reciprocating sliding speeds were kept constant. With the most dilute concentration (10 -4 N) no observable corrosion occurred in or outside the wear area. This was used as the base condition to determine the high contribution of corrosion to total wear loss at acid concentrations between 0.5 percent (0.1 N) and 75 percent. Corrosion reached a maximum rate of 100 millimeters per year at 30 percent acid. At the same time, general corrosion outside the wear area was very low, in agreement with published information. It is clear that friction and wear greatly accelerated corrosion in the wear area. At dilute concentrations of 0.001 and 0.01 N, corrosion in the wear area was low, and general corrosion outside was also low, but local outside regions in the direction of the wear motion experienced some enhanced corrosion, apparently due to fluid motion of the acid.

Rengstorff, G. W. P.↗
NASA NTRS1995

FTIR studies of low temperature sulfuric acid aerosols

Sub-micrometer sized sulfuric acid H2SO4 particles were generated using a constant output atomizer source. The particles were then exposed to water vapor before being injected into a low temperature cell. Multipass transmission Fourier Transformation Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to determine the phase and composition of the aerosols as a function of time for periods of up to five hours. Binary H2SO4H2O aerosols with compositions from 35 to 95 wt % H2SO4 remained liquid for over 3 hours at room temperatures ranging from 189-240 K. These results suggest that it is very difficut to freeze SSAs via homogeneous nucleation. Attempts to form aerosols more dilute than 35 wt % H2SO4 resulted in ice formation.

Anthony, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Hydrolysis of Dihydrouridine and Related Compounds

Dihydrouridine is absent from the tRNA of almost all hyperthermophiles and most Archaea but is ubiquitous in the tRNA of Eubacteria and Eukaryotes. In order to investigate whether this could be due to instability, the rate of ring opening of dihydrouridine was measured between 25 and 120 C. The dihydrouridine ring is stable at 25 C, but the half-life at 100 C and pH 7 is 9.1 h, which is comparable to the doubling time of hyperthermophiles. This suggests an explanation for the absence of dihydrouridine from the tRNA of hyperthermophiles. The rates of ring opening of dihydrouracil, dihydrothymine, and 1-N-methyldihydrouracil were measured at 100 C and pH 6-9, as were the equilibrium constants for ring closure of the ureido acids to the dihydrouracils. The pH rate profiles for ring opening and ring closing were calculated from the data. Possible roles for dihydrouracils in the pre-RNA world are discussed.

House, Christopher H.↗
NASA NTRS1980

JPL's electric and hybrid vehicles project: Project activities and preliminary test results

Efforts to achieve a 100 mile urban range, to reduce petroleum usage 40% to 70%, and to commercialize battery technology are discussed with emphasis on an all plastic body, four passenger car that is flywheel assisted and battery powered, and on an all metal body, four passenger car with front wheel drive and front motor. For the near term case, a parallel hybrid in which the electric motor and the internal combustion engine may directly power the drive wheels, is preferred to a series design. A five passenger car in which the electric motor and the gasoline engine both feed into the same transmission is discussed. Upgraded demonstration vehicles were tested using advanced lead acid, nickel zinc, nickel iron, and zinc chloride batteries to determine maximum acceleration, constant speed, and battery behavior. The near term batteries demonstrated significant improvement relative to current lead acid batteries. The increase in range was due to improved energy density, and ampere hour capacity, with relatively 1 small weight and volume differences.

Barber, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Rationalization of some genetic anticodonic assignments

The hydrophobicity of most amino acids correlates well with that of their anticodon nucleotides, with Trp, Tyr, Ile, and Ser being the exceptions to this rule. Using previous data on hydrophobicity and binding constants, and new data on rates of esterification of polyadenylic acid with several N-acetylaminoacyl imidazolides, several of the anticodon assignments are rationalized. Chemical reasons are shown supporting the idea of the inclusion of the Ile in the catalog of biological amino acids late in the evolution, through a mutation of the existing tRNA and its aminoacyl-tRNA-synthetase. It was found that an addition of hexane increases the incorporation of hydrophobic Ac-Phe into poly-A, in support of the Fox (1965) and Oparin (1965) emphasis on the biogenetic importance of phase-separated systems.

Lacey, J. C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2024

Organic Products of Fatty Acid and Magnesium Sulfate Mixtures after Gamma Radiolysis: Implications for Missions to Europa

If ocean-derived materials are present at Europa’s surface, they would represent accessible records of ocean chemistry and habitability, but such materials would be further processed by the moon’s harsh radiation environment. In this study, saturated fatty acids were precipitated onto a Europa-relevant hydrated magnesium sulfate and exposed to gamma radiation doses up to 2 MGy at -196° C. Alkane chains, with carbon numbers one less than those of the starting fatty acids, were the most abundant radiolysis products in solvent and thermal extracts analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Detections of monounsaturated fatty acids and combined radiolysis products were attributed to the experiment’s Europa-like parameters. Additionally, elevated concentrations of shorter-chain saturated fatty acids suggest that gamma radiation induced charge remote fragmentation of the alkyl chains of some starting fatty acids under these experimental conditions. Quantitation of fatty acid concentrations in the irradiated samples enabled the calculation of a radiolysis constant that indicated exposure to a 5 MGy dose of gamma radiation would have resulted in a ~90% loss of the initial fatty acid population. The samples were further studied by Raman spectroscopy and laser desorption and ionization mass spectrometry, which characterized the distribution of fatty acids and their radiolysis products on sulfate surfaces. The substantial loss of starting fatty acids typically seen with increasing radiation dose, along with the remarkable diversity of radiolysis products identified, suggest that the detection of fatty acids in irradiated sulfate deposits on Europa will be challenged by rapid destruction of any initial fatty acid populations and scrambling of their residual signals by a myriad of organic radiolysis products. If missions to Europa encounter sulfate deposits, targeting minimally irradiated units may still enable the detection of surviving fatty acid signatures that could inform about Europa’s subsurface chemistry and habitability.

James M T Lewis↗
NASA NTRS2002

Study of Lightweight Ni-Co Alloy Mirrors Obtained by Electroforming Techniques

One contribution in reducing the costs of optics in space can be provided by production of ultralight mirrors. The decrease in the weight of the primary mirror of a telescope is anticipated to lead to the possibility of increasing the size of the telescopes, therefore increasing the amount and distance from which information is received. An electroplating process of ultralight replica mirrors from nickel sulfamate solution will be described. Based on an experimental setup with cylindrical symmetry, flat mirrors with a diameter of 7 inches and thickness of 1.5 mm are made from a Ni-Co alloy. The composition of the resulting deposit is analyzed using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and Proton Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE). In order to resolve Ni and Co, 10 MeV nitrogen ions are used as projectiles in the RBS measurements. Solution parameters monitored during the deposition process using optical absorption and polarography will be correlated with the final concentration of Ni and Co in the deposit. Bath parameters like temperature, current density, agitation level and acidity are chosen at certain values and maintained constant from one sample to another throughout the deposition process. The purpose of the experiment is to obtain mirrors with near zero stress, and predetermined composition and hardness. This study is an intermediate step in obtaining through the same process, but with a larger scale setup, ultralight large aperture replica mirrors.

Jones, Ruth↗
NASA NTRS1987

Proton gradients in intact cyanobacteria

The internal pH values of two unicellular cyanobacterial strains were determined with electron spin resonance probes, over an external pH range of 6 to 9, in the light and in the dark. The slow growing, thylakoid-lacking Gloeobacter violaceus was found to have a low capacity for maintaining a constant internal pH. The distribution pattern of weak acid and amine nitroxide spin probes across the cell membranes of this organism, in the light and in the dark, was consistent with the assumption that it contains a single intracellular compartment. At an external pH of 7.0, intracellular pH was 6.8 in the dark and 7.2 in the light. The cells of Agmenellum quadruplicatum, a marine species, were found to contain two separate compartments; in the dark, the pH of the cytoplasmic and the intrathylakoid spaces were calculated to be 7.2 and 5.5, respectively. Upon illumination, the former increased and the latter decreased by about 0.5 pH units.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1973

Stratospheric aerosol properties and their effects on infrared radiation.

This paper presents a stratospheric aerosol model and infers its effects on terrestrial radiation. Composition of the aerosol is assumed to be concentrated sulfuric acid. An appropriate size distribution has been determined from available size distribution measurements of other investigators. Aerosols composed of concentrated sulfuric acid emit energy in the atmospheric window region of the infrared spectrum, 8-13 microns. Laboratory measurements of optical constant data obtained at room temperature are presented for 75 and 90% aqueous sulfuric acid. Calculations of an aerosol extinction coefficient are then performed by using the above data. Effects of changes in aerosol phase and temperature are discussed but not resolved.

Remsberg, E. E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Metabolism of Nonessential N15-Labeled Amino Acids and the Measurement of Human Whole-Body Protein Synthesis Rates

Eight N-15 labeled nonessential amino acids plus (15)NH4Cl were administered over a 10 h period to four healthy adult males using a primed-constant dosage regimen. The amount of N-15 excreted in the urine and the urinary ammonia, hippuric acid, and plasma alanine N-15 enrichments were measured. There was a high degree of consistency across subjects in the ordering of the nine compounds based on the fraction of N-15 excreted (Kendall coefficient of concordance W = 0.83, P is less than 0.01). Protein synthesis rates were calculated from the urinary ammonia plateau enrichment and the cumulative excretion of N-15. Glycine was one of the few amino acids that gave similar values by both methods.

Stein, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Metabolism of nonessential N-15-labeled amino acids and the measurement of human whole-body protein synthesis rates

Eight N-15-labeled nonessential amino acids plus (N-15)H4Cl were administered over a 10-h period to four healthy adult males using a primed-constant dosage regimen. The amount of N-15 excreted in the urine and the urinary ammonia, hippuric acid, and plasma alanine N-15 enrichments were measured. There was a high degree of consistency across subjects in the ordering of the nine compounds based on the fraction of N-15 excreted.

Stein, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Characterization of root agravitropism induced by genetic, chemical, and developmental constraints

The patterns and rates of organelle redistribution in columella (i.e., putative statocyte) cells of agravitropic agt mutants of Zea mays are not significantly different from those of columella cells in graviresponsive roots. Graviresponsive roots of Z. mays are characterized by a strongly polar movement of 45Ca2+ across the root tip from the upper to the lower side. Horizontally-oriented roots of agt mutants exhibit only a minimal polar transport of 45Ca2+. Exogenously-induced asymmetries of Ca result in curvature of agt roots toward the Ca source. A similar curvature can be induced by a Ca asymmetry in normally nongraviresponsive (i.e., lateral) roots of Phaseolus vulgaris. Similarly, root curvature can be induced by placing the roots perpendicular to an electric field. This electrotropism increased with 1) currents between 8-35 mA, and 2) time between 1-9 hr when the current is constant. Electrotropism is reduced significantly by treating roots with triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA), an inhibitor of auxin transport. These results suggest that 1) if graviperception occurs via the sedimentation of amyloplasts in columella cells, then nongraviresponsive roots apparently sense gravity as do graviresponsive roots, 2) exogenously-induced asymmetries of a gravitropic effector (i.e., Ca) can induce curvature of normally nongraviresponsive roots, 3) the gravity-induced downward movement of exogenously-applied 45Ca2+ across tips of graviresponsive roots does not occur in nongraviresponsive roots, 4) placing roots in an electrical field (i.e., one favoring the movement of ions such as Ca2+) induces root curvature, and 5) electrically-induced curvature is apparently dependent on auxin transport. These results are discussed relative to a model to account for the lack of graviresponsiveness by these roots.

NASA Discipline Number 40-10↗
NASA NTRS2005

Optimization of Aluminum Anodization Conditions for the Fabrication of Nanowires by Electrodeposition

Anodized alumina nanotemplates have a variety of potential applications in the development of nanotechnology. Alumina nanotemplates are formed by oxidizing aluminum film in an electrolyte solution.During anodization, aluminum oxidizes, and, under the proper conditions, nanometer-sized pores develop. A series of experiments was conducted to determine the optimal conditions for anodization. Three-micrometer thick aluminum films on silicon and silicon oxide substrates were anodized using constant voltages of 13-25 V. 0.1-0.3M oxalic acid was used as the electrolyte. The anodization time was found to increase and the overshooting current decreased as both the voltage and the electrolyte concentrations were decreased. The samples were observed under a scanning electron microscope. Anodizing with 25V in 0.3M oxalic acid appears to be the best process conditions. The alumina nanotemplates are being used to fabricate nanowires by electrodeposition. The current-voltage characteristics of copper nanowires have also been studied.

Fucsko, Viola↗