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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

Novel candidate taxa contribute to key metabolic processes in Fennoscandian Shield deep groundwaters

The continental deep biosphere contains a vast reservoir of microorganisms, although a large proportion of its diversity remains both uncultured and undescribed. In this study, the metabolic potential (metagenomes) and activity (metatranscriptomes) of the microbial communities in Fennoscandian Shield deep subsurface groundwaters were characterized with a focus on novel taxa. DNA sequencing generated 1270 de-replicated metagenome-assembled genomes and single-amplified genomes, containing 7 novel classes, 34 orders, and 72 families. The majority of novel taxa were affiliated with Patescibacteria, whereas among novel archaea taxa, Thermoproteota and Nanoarchaeota representatives dominated. Metatranscriptomes revealed that 30 of the 112 novel taxa at the class, order, and family levels were active in at least one investigated groundwater sample, implying that novel taxa represent a partially active but hitherto uncharacterized deep biosphere component. The novel taxa genomes coded for carbon fixation predominantly via the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway, nitrogen fixation, sulfur plus hydrogen oxidation, and fermentative pathways, including acetogenesis. These metabolic processes contributed significantly to the total community’s capacity, with up to 9.9% of fermentation, 6.4% of the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway, 6.8% of sulfur plus 8.6% of hydrogen oxidation, and energy conservation via nitrate (4.4%) and sulfate (6.0%) reduction. Key novel taxa included the UBA9089 phylum, with representatives having a prominent role in carbon fixation, nitrate and sulfate reduction, and organic and inorganic electron donor oxidation. These data provided insights into deep biosphere microbial diversity and their contribution to nutrient and energy cycling in this ecosystem.

Candidatus↗

Zeolite-promoted platinum catalyst for efficient reduction of nitrogen oxides with hydrogen

Internal combustion engine fueled by carbon-free hydrogen (H 2 -ICE) offers a promising alternative for sustainable transportation. Herein, we report a facile and universal strategy through the physical mixing of Pt catalyst with zeolites to significantly improve the catalytic performance in the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (NO x ) with H 2 (H 2 -SCR), a process aiming at NO x removal from H 2 -ICE. Via the physical mixing of Pt/TiO 2 with Y zeolite (Pt/TiO 2 + Y), a remarkable enhancement of NO x reduction activity and N 2 selectivity was simultaneously achieved. The incorporation of Y zeolite effectively captured the in-situ generated water, fostering a water-rich environment surrounding the Pt active sites. This environment weakened the NO adsorption while concurrently promoting the H 2 activation, leading to the strikingly elevated H 2 -SCR activity and N 2 selectivity on Pt/TiO 2 + Y catalyst. This study provides a unique, easy and sustainable physical mixing approach to achieve proficient heterogeneous catalysis for environmental applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Impact of Proton Activity on Fuel-Cell Performance (CRADA Final Report)

The key attribute that is being investigated is the dependence of the oxygen-reduction and hydrogen-oxidation reaction kinetics on proton activity. The influence of proton activity on the kinetics is also important in the determination of limiting factors that impact overall fuel-cell performance. At lower humidities, which are required to simplify fuel-cell water and thermal management (especially for higher-temperature operation) and enable next generation fuel cells, the ionomer water content will be different than that in today’s fuel cells. Such changes in water content directly impact the activity and concentration of protons. Thus, it is necessary to quantify this impact of proton activity on the reaction kinetics, and to determine means to mitigate any detrimental impacts to enable high performance. To realize the above goals of understanding the intrinsic interactions of proton activity on hydrogen-oxidation and oxygen-reduction kinetics, systematic investigations were carried out and a novel technique, a rapid microelectrode with environmental control, was realized. The experimental campaign at LBNL worked alongside that of TokyoTech and both were complemented by mathematical modeling of the key phenomena. The results demonstrated a robust method to analyze the kinetic behavior and an impact of proton activity, although greater delineation in terms of ion concentration versus activity was not obtained fully due in part to limited lab access during the COVID pandemic.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Techno-Economic Analysis of Hydrogen-Fueled Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems

This technical report presents findings from a techno-economic analysis that assessed the cost and performance implications of fueling solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology with hydrogen fuel. The exothermic hydrogen oxidation reaction results in various impacts when compared to a natural gas SOFC system, which benefits from an endothermic methane reforming reaction. The excess heat generated from the system requires management, thereby increasing system costs. An application where the excess heat can be used in a combined heat and power application seems to be the most economical use of a hydrogen fueled SOFC system.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Periodic trends in gas–phase oxidation and hydrogenation reactions of lanthanides and 5d transition metal cations

Of the many publications coming from the laboratory of Diethard K. Bohme, among the most valuable were the surveys of reactivity throughout the periodic table as studied using selected ion flow tube (SIFT) mass spectrometry. In all cases, quantitative rate constants at 295 K and 0.35 Torr of He were obtained for metal cations generated by an inductively coupled plasma (ICP). This source creates ions at a temperature characterized as 5500 K. Here, it was believed that radiative relaxation and interactions with the flow gases would rapidly deplete most excited electronic states of the metal cations, although this is unknown

transition metals↗

Silica modulated palladium catalyst with superior activity for the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides with hydrogen

A significant promotion effect of colloidal SiO 2 on Pd/TiO 2 catalyst for improving the activity and N 2 selectivity in the selective catalytic reduction of NO with H 2 (H 2 -SCR) was reported, both before and after hydrothermal aging. The SiO 2 addition not only benefited the formation of more oxygen vacancies but also increased Pd dispersion and created rich Pd-SiO 2 interfaces on Pd-SiO 2 /TiO 2 catalyst. The H 2 -SCR of NO on both Pd/TiO 2 and Pd-SiO 2 /TiO 2 followed a Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, in which the adsorbed bridging bidentate nitrates on TiO 2 could react with dissociated H 2 species on Pd sites at Pd-TiO 2 interface. Particularly, on the promoted Pd-SiO 2 /TiO 2 , the Pd-TiO 2 interface could facilitate NO adsorption and activation, and the created Pd-SiO 2 interface could benefit H 2 adsorption and dissociation, thus contributing to its significantly improved H 2 -SCR activity. Additionally, the active Pd species (which should be Pd0 under reaction condition with higher surface concentration) within Pd-SiO 2 /TiO 2 could be well stabilized during long-term hydrothermal aging process through the formation of rich Pd-SiO 2 interfaces.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Development of an Electrochemical Hydrogen Contaminant Detector

Hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) that dispense hydrogen to fuel cell vehicles need to ensure the quality of hydrogen to avoid contamination of the vehicle’s expensive fuel cell stacks. Currently, stations verify their fuel quality only periodically to ensure that they meet the strict fuel quality standards specified by either International Organization for Standards (ISO) or Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE). The development of hydrogen contaminant detectors (HCDs) that can provide low cost continuous monitoring at the HRS can be an invaluable asset in protecting fuel cell vehicles from any fuel contamination in-between infrequent expensive analysis of hydrogen fuel quality. An HCD capable of detecting < 200 ppb of CO in hydrogen is presented in this paper. The HCD is based on an electrochemical hydrogen pumping cell whose ultra-low loaded working electrode is poisoned by the contaminant, thus reducing its hydrogen oxidation reaction rate. The hydrogen pumping cell consists of a Nafion® membrane, a sputtered Pt working electrode, a Pt/Ru counter/pseudo-reference electrode and an internal water wicking system that provides humidification to the membrane and electrodes. When this HCD is operated in a pulsed voltammetry mode, it can provide stable CO response for thousands of hours in a HRS.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Investigating Combinations of Alkali Metal Oxides and Hydrogenation Catalysts for Reactive Capture of CO2 to Useful C1 Products

As the world endures environmental crises associated with climate change and the rise of atmospheric CO2 concentrations from anthropogenic CO2 emission, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies are increasingly necessary. Reactive carbon capture (RCC) technologies, in which capture and conversion of CO2 occur in a single reactor, are more energetically and economically attractive by avoiding the need to purify, compress, and transport the captured CO2. To this end, dual function materials (DFMs) - composed of sorbents and catalysts co-dispersed on the same high surface area carrier - have been developed. The sorbent component allows for selective capture of CO2 from a gas stream and the catalyst component subsequently performs the in-situ conversion of the adsorbed CO2 upon introduction of a reactive gas (typically H2). The end product of the most established DFM, comprised of Ru and/or Ni with an alkaline sorbent, is methane via the CO2 methanation reaction. While renewable methane would be an excellent transition fuel, fossil methane is inexpensive (averaging $2.57/MMBTU in pre-pandemic 2019) and the economics of renewable methane utilization are noncompetitive. This requires the design and investigation of DFMs that enable CO2 capture and conversion to more valuable and more useful C1 products like CO or methanol (average price of methanol was $20.61/MMBTU in pre-pandemic 2019). These products can then be further upgraded to high energy density synthetic fuels, and related carbonaceous products, for more sustainable alternatives in industries that are difficult to decarbonize, specifically heavy duty vehicles and aviation. Herein, we report various sorbent + catalyst combinations to achieve the production of useful C1 products through reactive capture of CO2.

carbon capture↗

Ni(OH) 2 -free NiCu as a hydrogen evolution and oxidation electrocatalyst

In this work, we investigate the role of the nickel surface oxidation and the use of additional reducing agent in the synthesis process in the electrochemical activity of NiCu electrocatalysts for hydrogen oxidation reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction. In addition, the role of the carbon support morphology is also investigated: two different supports, DENKA black and Ketjenblack with widely different properties (specific surface, proportion of low strain carbons, etc.) are studied, and no difference are observed in their electrochemical activity. However, the use 4-aminoantipyrine as a reducing agent resulted in a dramatic increase in non-oxidized Ni at the electrocatalyst’ surface, concomitant to a large increase in its activity for both the hydrogen evolution and oxidation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Quantifying the Relationship Between Microstructure and Performance in Gadolinium-Doped Ceria Infiltrated Ni/YSZ Symmetric Cells

Infiltration of mixed ionic/electronic conducting (MIEC) nanocatalysts into the anodes of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) allow the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) to occur at double-phase boundaries (DPBs), rather than being confined only to the triple phase boundaries (TPBs). In this research, we use a combination of cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM), three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction, and electrochemical methods to characterize both baseline and gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC)-infiltrated symmetric cells, with the goal of establishing a comparison between the density of electrochemically active sites in uninfiltrated and GDC-infiltrated cells. Here, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and distribution of relaxation times (DRT) analysis showed GDC infiltration decreased the overall polarization of the anode by a factor of 8.78 X, and decreased the resistance associated with the reactions at the TPBs/DPBs by a factor of over 21 X. By quantifying expected GDC deposition morphology in the Ni/YSZ anode it is estimated that reactions occur in the baseline cell up to 84 nm from the active TPB lines.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Solution-Phase Synthesis of Platinum-Decorated Hydrogen Tungsten Bronzes for Hydrogen Atom Transfer from Oxides to Molecules

Hydrogen bronzes can be used as hydrogen donors for the broad class of reactions involving proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET). Here, in this work, we describe a method to prepare platinum-decorated hydrogen tungsten bronzes, Pt@H x WO 3 · n H 2 O with n = 0, 1, and 2, by reacting the pristine oxides at modest temperatures with a mild reducing agent, H 3 PO 2 , and H 2 PtCl 6 in an aqueous solution. We explored the tunability and kinetics of this reaction and compared it with that of archetypal gas–solid hydrogen spillover. We demonstrate that the identity of the noble metal affects the extent of bronze reduction. This suggests that the mechanism proceeds via the adsorption of a hydrogen-atom species on the noble metal. Finally, we explored the ability of the Pt-decorated hydrogen tungsten bronzes to hydrogenate a model H + /e – acceptor, 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl (TEMPO). The bronze phases return to their fully oxidized states along with the subsequent reduction of TEMPO to TEMPOH. Overall, this work demonstrates a solution-phase method to obtain hydrogen bronzes, which can then be used to perform hydrogen transfer reactions, providing a pathway for the use of extended transition metal oxides as stoichiometric reagents for broad classes of hydrogenation reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗