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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Complex collective dynamics of active torque-driven colloids at interfaces

Modern self-assembly techniques aiming to produce complex structural order or functional diversity often rely on non-equilibrium conditions in the system. Light, electric, or magnetic fields are predominantly used to modify interaction profiles of colloidal particles during self-assembly or induce complex out-of-equilibrium dynamic ordering. The energy injection rate, properties of the environment are important control parameters that influence the outcome of active (dynamic) self-assembly. The current review is focused on a case of collective dynamics and self-assembly of particles with externally driven torques coupled to a liquid or solid interface. The complexity of interactions in such systems is further enriched by strong hydrodynamic coupling between particles. Unconventionally ordered dynamic self-assembled patterns, spontaneous symmetry breaking phenomena, self-propulsion, and collective transport have been reported in torque-driven colloids. Some of the features of the complex collective behavior and dynamic pattern formation in those active systems have been successfully captured in simulations.

Snezhko, Alexey↗
DOE OSTI2021

Crystal Structure of Colloidally Prepared Metastable Ag 2 Se Nanocrystals

Structural polymorphism is known for many bulk materials; however, on the nanoscale metastable polymorphs tend to form more readily than in the bulk, and with more structural variety. One such metastable polymorph observed for colloidal Ag 2 Se nanocrystals has traditionally been referred to as the “tetragonal” phase. While there are reports on the chemistry and properties of this metastable polymorph, its crystal structure, and therefore electronic structure, has yet to be determined. We report that an anti-PbCl 2 -like structure type (space group P2 1 /n) more accurately describes the powder X-ray diffraction and X-ray total scattering patterns of colloidal Ag 2 Se nanocrystals prepared by several different methods. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that this anti-PbCl 2 -like Ag 2 Se polymorph is a dynamically stable, narrow-band-gap semiconductor. Here, the anti-PbCl 2 -like structure of Ag 2 Se is a low-lying metastable polymorph at 5–25 meV/atom above the ground state, depending on the exchange-correlation functional used.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Porous Colloidal Nanoparticles as Injectable Multimodal Contrast Agents for Enhanced Geophysical Sensing

Injecting fluids into underground geologic structures is crucial for the development of long-term strategies for managing captured carbon and facilitating sustainable energy extraction operations. Here, we have previously reported that the injection of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) into the subsurface can enhance seismic monitoring tools to track fluids and map complex structures, reduce risk, and verify containment in carbon storage reservoirs because of their absorption capacity of low-frequency seismic waves. Here, we demonstrate that water-based Cr/Zn/Zr MOF colloidal suspensions (nanofluids) are multimodal geophysical contrast agents that enhance near-wellbore logging tools. Based on experimental fluid-only measurements, MIL-101(Cr), ZIF-8, and UiO-66 nanofluids have distinct complex conductivity and/or low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signatures that are relevant to field-deployed technologies, implying the potential to enhance near-wellbore monitoring of CO 2 injection and associated processes with downhole logging tools. Small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering characterization of ~0.5 wt % MIL-101(Cr) suspensions confirmed phase stability and provided insight into the fractal nature of colloidal nanoparticles. Finally, low-field (2 MHz) NMR measurements of MIL-101(Cr) nanofluid injection into a prototypical Berea sandstone demonstrate how paramagnetic high-surface area MOFs may dominate the relaxation times of hydrogen-bearing fluids in porous geologic matrices, enhancing the mapping of near-surface and near-wellbore transport pathways and advancing sustainable subsurface energy technologies.

NMR↗
DOE OSTI2013

Transparency and damage tolerance of patternable omniphobic lubricated surfaces based on inverse colloidal monolayers

A transparent coating that repels a wide variety of liquids, prevents staining, is capable of self-repair and is robust towards mechanical damage can have a broad technological impact, from solar cell coatings to self-cleaning optical devices. Here we employ colloidal templating to design transparent, nanoporous surface structures. A lubricant can be firmly locked into the structures and, owing to its fluidic nature, forms a defect-free, self-healing interface that eliminates the pinning of a second liquid applied to its surface, leading to efficient liquid repellency, prevention of adsorption of liquid-borne contaminants, and reduction of ice adhesion strength. We further show how this method can be applied to locally pattern the repellent character of the substrate, thus opening opportunities to spatially confine any simple or complex fluids. The coating is highly defect-tolerant due to its interconnected, honeycomb wall structure, and repellency prevails after the application of strong shear forces and mechanical damage. The regularity of the coating allows us to understand and predict the stability or failure of repellency as a function of lubricant layer thickness and defect distribution based on a simple geometric model.

Vogel, N↗
NASA NTRS1998

Crystallization of Hard Sphere Colloids in Microgravity: Results of the Colloidal Disorder-Order Transition, CDOT on USML-2

Classical hard spheres have long served as a paradigm for our understanding of the structure of liquids, crystals, and glasses and the transitions between these phases. Ground-based experiments have demonstrated that suspensions of uniform polymer colloids are near-ideal physical realizations of hard spheres. However, gravity appears to play a significant and unexpected role in the formation and structure of these colloidal crystals. In the microgravity environment of the Space Shuttle, crystals grow purely via random stacking of hexagonal close-packed planes, lacking any of the face-centered cubic (FCC) component evident in crystals grown in 1 g beyond melting and allowed some time to settle. Gravity also masks 33-539 the natural growth instabilities of the hard sphere crystals which exhibit striking dendritic arms when grown in microgravity. Finally, high volume fraction "glass" samples which fail to crystallize after more than a year in 1 g begin nucleation after several days and fully crystallize in less than 2 weeks on the Space Shuttle.

Zhu, Ji-Xiang↗
DOE OSTI2018

Reversible Morphology Switching of Colloidal Particles

A facile method has been discovered that enables switching of non-cross-linked poly(styrene) (Nx-PS) colloidal particle morphologies, including spherical and anisotropic convex- convex, plano-convex, and concave-convex. The anisotropic morphologies can be achieved readily from spherical Nx-PS particles through control of annealing time at elevated temperatures or surfactant concentration. These anisotropic morphologies can be reversed to spherical at lower temperatures, and reversible morphology switching between any pair of anisotropic morphologies also can be attained. This approach to particle morphology switching establishes a straightforward method for the synthesis of designer anisotropic particles using commercially available spherical particles as starting materials.

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

Stoichiometric control of DNA-grafted colloid self-assembly

Significance Recently, there has been an increased interest in understanding the self-assembly of DNA-grafted colloids into different morphologies. Conventional approaches assume that the critical design parameters are the size and number of DNA grafts on each particle. Stoichiometry is viewed as a secondary variable and its exact role in this context is unresolved. In contrast with these expectations, our experiments show that the equilibrium lattice structure can be tuned through variations in the imposed stoichiometry. These findings are captured through simple extensions of the complementary contact model. Stoichiometry is thus shown to be a powerful handle to control these self-assembled structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Colloidal plasmonic DNA-origami with photo-switchable chirality in liquid crystals

Photo-responsive nanomaterials hold great promise for realizing information processing devices, micro-machines and biosensors. Scalable assembly of such materials using mesostructured liquids such as liquid crystals remains a challenge due to the poor compatibility of nanostructures and the host medium. Here we demonstrate a new type of colloidal dispersion of plasmonic DNA-origami with photo-switchable chirality in cellulose nanofiber-based liquid crystals. The composite material inherits properties of DNA-origami plasmonic nanostructures, so that the composite’s chirality can be erased by ultraviolet light and recovered by visible light. Here, the cellulose nanofibers provide a liquid crystalline host with weak optical birefringence, which barely affects the polarization of the incident light, so that the response is dominated by circular dichroism of uniformly dispersed plasmonic nanostructures. Our approach may serve as a new platform for scalable assembling DNA origami-templated nanomaterials.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

On the Limited Role of Electronic Support Effects in Selective Alkyne Hydrogenation: A Kinetic Study of Au/MO x Catalysts Prepared from Oleylamine‐Capped Colloidal Nanoparticles

Abstract We report a quantitative kinetic evaluation and study of support effects for partial alkyne hydrogenation using oleylamine‐capped Au colloids as catalyst precursors. The amine capping agents can be removed under reducing conditions, generating supported Au nanoparticles of ∼2.5 nm in diameter. The catalysts showed high alkene selectivity (>90 %) at all conversions during alkyne partial hydrogenation. Catalytic activity, observed rate constants, and apparent activation energies (25–40 kJ/mol) were similar for all Au catalysts, indicating support effects are relatively small. Alkyne adsorption, probed with FTIR and DFT, showed adsorption on the support was associated with hydrogen‐bonding interactions. DFT calculations indicate strong alkyne adsorption on Au sites, with the strongest adsorption sites at the metal‐support interface (MSI). The catalysts had similar hydrogen reaction orders (0.7–0.9), and 1‐octyne reaction orders (∼−0.2), suggesting a common mechanism. The reaction kinetics are most consistent with a mechanism involving the non‐competitive activated adsorption of H 2 on an alkyne‐covered Au surface.

Bruno, James E.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Multivalent Cation-Induced Actuation of DNA-Mediated Colloidal Superlattices

Nanoparticles functionalized with DNA can assemble into ordered superlattices with defined crystal habits through programmable DNA “bonds”. Here, we examine the interactions of multivalent cations with these DNA bonds as a chemical approach for actuating colloidal superlattices. Multivalent cations alter DNA structure on the molecular scale, enabling the DNA “bond length” to be reversibly altered between 17 and 3 nm, ultimately leading to changes in the overall dimensions of the micrometer-sized superlattice. The identity, charge, and concentration of the cations each control the extent of actuation, with Ni2+ capable of inducing a remarkable >65% reversible change in crystal volume. In addition, these cations can increase “bond strength”, as evidenced by superlattice thermal stability enhancements of >60 °C relative to systems without multivalent cations. Molecular dynamics simulations provide insight into the conformational changes in DNA structure as the bond length approaches 3 nm and show that cations that screen the negative charge on the DNA backbone more effectively cause greater crystal contraction. Finally, taken together, the use of multivalent cations represents a powerful strategy to alter superlattice structure and stability, which can impact diverse applications through dynamic control of material properties, including the optical, magnetic, and mechanical properties.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Colloid-based multiplexed method for screening plant biomass-degrading glycoside hydrolase activities in microbial communities

The enzymatic hydrolysis of long-chain polysaccharides is a crucial step in the conversion of biomass to lignocellulosic biofuels. The identification and characterization of optimal glycoside hydrolases is dependent on enzyme activity assays, however existing methods are limited in terms of compatibility with a broad range of reaction conditions, sample complexity, and especially multiplexity. The method we present is a multiplexed approach based on Nanostructure-Initiator Mass Spectrometry (NIMS) that allowed studying several glycolytic activities in parallel under diverse assay conditions. Although the substrate analogs carried a highly hydrophobic perfluorinated tag, assays could be performed in aqueous solutions due colloid formation of the substrate molecules. We first validated our method by analyzing known {beta}-glucosidase and {beta}-xylosidase activities in single and parallel assay setups, followed by the identification and characterization of yet unknown glycoside hydrolase activities in microbial communities.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗