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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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By co-doping CaMnO 3 with La and Fe (La x Ca 1− x Mn 1− y Fe y O 3 ), it is possible to tailor the material thermodynamics, reduction extent, together with operating temperature range for thermochemical heat storage application.
A versatile, robust, and stable tetrabutylammonium difluorotriphenylsilicate (TBAT) catalyst has been deployed for efficient depolymerization of silicones.
Flame-spray pyrolysis offers a scalable approach to the synthesis of tailored nanostructured catalysts for biomass conversion.
Prompted by limited available data, we explore data-aggregation strategies for material datasets, aiming to boost machine learning performance. Our findings suggest that intuitive aggregation schemes are ineffective in enhancing predictive accuracy.
High quality Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} topological insulators films were epitaxially grown on GaAs (111) substrate using solid source molecular beam epitaxy. Their growth and behavior on both vicinal and non-vicinal GaAs (111) substrates were investigated by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. It is found that non-vicinal GaAs (111) substrate is better than a vicinal substrate to provide high quality Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} films. Hall and magnetoresistance measurements indicate that p type Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and n type Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} topological insulator films can be directly grown on a GaAs (111) substrate, which may pave a way to fabricate topological insulator p-n junction on the same substrate, compatible with the fabrication process of present semiconductor optoelectronic devices.
Epitaxial germanene on a semiconducting GaAs(0001) substrate is studied by ab initio calculations. The germanene-substrate interaction is found to be strong for direct contact but can be substantially reduced by H intercalation at the interface. Our results indicate that it is energetically possible to take the germanene off the GaAs(0001) substrate. While mounted on the substrate, the electronic structure shows a distinct Dirac cone shift above the Fermi energy with a splitting of 175 meV. On the other hand, we find for a free standing sheet a band gap of 24 meV, which is due to the intrinsic spin orbit coupling.
In this work, CuCrO{sub 2} was synthesized by sol-gel method using citric acid as a gelling agent. The different parameters like ratio of citric acid to metal ions, calcination temperature, and duration were studied. A green colored powder with particle size around 300 nm was formed at the calcination temperature of 800 °C for four hours duration. The increase in temperature has a profound impact on crystallite size and in turn effected the optical properties. Band gap of the obtained CuCrO{sub 2} has varied from 2.3 to 1.7 eV by increasing the temperature from 800 °C to 900 °C. Doping studies were performed by introducing Mg{sup 2+} ion to substitute Cr{sup 3+} in CuCrO{sub 2}. X-ray powder diffraction and SEM studies on 2% Mg doped samples indicated a clear formation of side phases. According to the X-ray powder patterns, the reflections from side phases were increasing with the increase in doping concentrations of Mg from 2 to 5%. The side phases were found to be MgCr{sub 2}O{sub 4} spinel and CuO. The band gap has decreased for doped samples in comparison to undoped one. In this paper, sol-gel synthesis and characterization by Xray powder diffraction, SEM studies and UV-Vis-Diffuse Reflectance spectra are presented.
Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) thin films offer applications in various fields, but the existing synthetic approaches are cumbersome and destructive. A major breakthrough has been achieved by our group in the direction of a non-destructive, scalable, and economic process of NCD thin-film fabrication. Here, we report a cheap precursor for the growth of nanocrystalline diamond in the form of paraffin wax. We show that NCD thin films can be fabricated on a copper support by using simple, commonplace paraffin wax under reaction conditions of Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition (HFCVD). Surprisingly, even the presence of any catalyst or seeding that has been conventionally used in the state-of-the-art is not required. The structure of the obtained films was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Raman spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy recorded at the carbon K-edge region confirm the presence of nanocrystalline diamond. The process is a significant step towards cost-effective and non-cumbersome fabrication of nanocrystalline diamond thin films for commercial production.
The inherent uncertainty in quantum mechanics offers a source of true randomness which can be used to produce unbreakable cryptographic keys. We discuss the development of a high-speed random number generator based on the quantum phase fluctuations in spontaneously initiated stimulated Raman scattering (SISRS). We utilize the tight confinement and long interaction length available in a Potassium Titanyl Phosphate waveguide to generate highly efficient SISRS using nanojoule pulse energies, reducing the high pump power requirements of the previous approaches. We measure the random phase of the Stokes output using a simple interferometric setup to yield quantum random numbers at 145 Mbps.
Solid oxides fuel cells (SOFCs) is one technology that could contribute toward future sustainable energy. One of the most important components of an SOFC is the electrolyte, which must have high ionic conductivity. Cation substitution of vanadium in Bi{sub 4}V{sub 2}O{sub 11} yields a family of fast oxide ion conducting solids known collectively as the BIMEVOXes (bismuth metal vanadium oxide), which have the potential to be applied as electrolytes in SOFCs. The purpose of this work is to study the effect of Ni concentration, when used as a dopant, on the ionic conductivity of Bi{sub 2}Ni{sub x}V{sub 1−x}O{sub 5.5−3x/2} (BINIVOX) oxides (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) when prepared by a sol gel method. The gels were calcined at 600 °C for 24 h to produce pure BINIVOX. These oxides were found to exhibit the γ-phase structure with tetragonal symmetry in space group I4/mmm. Ionic conductivity of BINIVOX at 300 °C were 6.9 × 10{sup −3} S cm{sup −1}, 1.2 × 10{sup −3} S cm{sup −1}, and 8.2 × 10{sup −4} S cm{sup −1}, for x = 0.1; 0.15; and 0.2; respectively; and at 600 °C were 1.1 × 10{sup −1} S cm{sup −1}, 5.3 × 10{sup −2} S cm{sup −1}, and 2.8 ×10{sup −2} S cm{sup −1}, for x = 0.1; 0.15; and 0.2; respectively.
In this report, we synthesize vertically aligned molybdenum trioxide (α−MoO{sub 3}) nanoflakes (NFs) with high aspect ratio (height/thickness >15) on the cobalt coated glass substrates by the plasma assisted sublimation process, employing Mo metal strip as a sublimation source. The effect of substrate temperature, nature of substrate as well as the geometry of the sublimation source (Mo-strip) have been investigated on the morphological, structural and optical properties of the grown NFs, keeping plasma parameters as fixed. The surface morphology, crystalline structure and optical properties of MoO{sub 3} NFs have been studied systematically by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) with selected area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray diffractometer, and IR- spectroscopy. The experimental observations endorse that the characteristics of MoO{sub 3} NFs are strongly depend on substrate temperature, substrate nature as well as geometry of Mo-strip. All the observed results are well in consonance with each other.
Bismuth sulfide (Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3}) is a binary chalcogenide compound material belonging to V-VI group of semiconductors. Because of its direct band gap of 1.3 eV and high figure of merit (ZT) value, it is widely used as a thermo electronic-cooling material based on the Peltier effect. The electrical and optical property of Bi{sub 2}S{sub 3} material is strongly dependent on stoichiometric composition, defect chemistry and structure. In this study, we have synthesized Bi{sub 2}S{sub x} (x = 3.15, 3.30, 3.45) compound material with different sulfur content by conventional high temperature solid state solvothermal reaction of bismuth and sulfur. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) analysis of synthesized compound materials were carried out to observe crystallinity, surface morphology and composition of elements in the compound. The optical analysis revealed that energy band gap decreases with increase of sulfur content.
Self-cleaning properties inspired by the structures and functions of some creatures are of great interest since the late 20th century. In this paper, TiO{sub 2} coatings with hierarchical rutile TiO{sub 2} flowers on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate are fabricated through a simple one-step hydrothermal method. The flower-like coatings exhibit superhydrophilicity in air and superoleophobicity underwater with a contact angle as high as 157°, presenting good underwater self-cleaning performance. In addition, when contaminated by oleic acid, the as-prepared TiO{sub 2} coatings also exhibit excellent photocatalytic capability under ultraviolet irradiation, which demonstrated self-cleaning properties in a different way. This self-cleaning film provides a good strategy for some industrial and ocean applications.
We prepare and characterize multiphase systems in which small amounts of recycled polymer, namely polyethylene terephtalate (PET) ground from waste bottles, are dispersed in a co-continuous blend of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP). Some of such ternary systems are also filled with plate-like clay nanoparticles with different polarities, in order to assess their influence on the morphology and mechanical behaviour of the blends. On the basis of preliminary wettability considerations and inspections by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the PET is found to preferentially locate within the PP phase. Such a positioning is desirable in order to minimize the presence of multiple interfaces, which is one of the major issues in the recycling process of co-mingles plastics. By means of SEM, dynamic-mechanical analysis and tensile tests we show that the addition of a filler with low polarity, which locates at the PET-matrix interface, has relevant implications on the structure and properties of the ternary systems, refining their morphology at the micro-scale and enhancing their high-temperature mechanical behaviour.
We present a new formulation of the time-dependent theory of Resonance-Raman spectroscopy (TD-RR). Particular attention has been devoted to the generality of the framework and to the possibility of including different effects (Duschinsky mixing, Herzberg-Teller contributions). Furthermore, the effects of different harmonic models for the intermediate electronic state are also investigated. Thanks to the implementation of the TD-RR procedure within a general-purpose quantum-chemistry program, both solvation and leading anharmonicity effects have been included in an effective way. The reliability and stability of our TD-RR implementation are validated against our previously proposed and well-tested time-independent procedure. Practical applications are illustrated with some closed- and open-shell medium-size molecules (anthracene, phenoxyl radical, benzyl radical) and the simulated spectra are compared to the experimental results. More complex and larger systems, not limited to organic compounds, can be also studied, as shown for the case of Tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chloride.
We report a comparative study based on the fabrication of polymer:fullerene photovoltaic (PV) devices incorporating carbazole, fluorene, and a PTB based co-polymer. We have explored the efficiency and performance of such devices when the active polymer:fullerene layer is deposited by spin-casting either under nitrogen or ambient conditions. We show that PV devices based on carbazole and fluorene based materials have very similar power conversion efficiencies when processed under both air and nitrogen, with other photobleaching measurements suggesting that such materials have comparatively enhanced photostability. Devices based on the PTB co-polymer, however, have reduced efficiency when processed in air.
Large-area graphene film doped with nitrogen is of great interest for a wide spectrum of nanoelectronics applications, such as field effect devices, super capacitors, and fuel cells among many others. Here, we report on the structural and electronic properties of nitrogen doped trilayer graphene on 4H-SiC (0001) grown under atmospheric pressure. The trilayer nature of the growth is evidenced by scanning transmission electron microscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows the incorporation of 1.2% of nitrogen distributed in pyrrolic-N, and pyridinic-N configurations as well as a graphitic-N contribution. This incorporation causes an increase in the D band on the Raman signature indicating that the nitrogen is creating defects. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy shows a decrease of the work function of 0.3 eV due to the N-type doping of the nitrogen atoms in the carbon lattice and the edge defects. A top gate field effect transistor device has been fabricated and exhibits carrier mobilities up to 1300 cm{sup 2}/V s for holes and 850 cm{sup 2}/V s for electrons at room temperature.
A simple two-step method was used to produce efficient planar organolead halide perovskite solar cells. Films produced using solely iodine containing precursors resulted in poor morphology and failed devices, whereas addition of chlorine to the process greatly improved morphology and resulted in dense, uniform perovskite films. This process was used to produce perovskite solar cells with a fullerene-based passivation layer. The hysteresis effect, to which planar perovskite devices are otherwise prone, was greatly suppressed through the use of this interface modifier. The combined techniques resulted in perovskite solar cells having a stable efficiency exceeding 11%. This straightforward fabrication procedure holds promise in development of various optoelectronic applications of planar perovskite films.