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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Metallene-related materials for electrocatalysis and energy conversion

As a member of graphene analogs, metallenes are a class of two-dimensional materials with atomic thickness and well-controlled surface atomic arrangement made of metals or alloys. When utilized as catalysts, metallenes exhibit distinctive physicochemical properties endowed from the under-coordinated metal atoms on the surface, making them highly competitive candidates for energy-related electrocatalysis and energy conversion systems. Significantly, their catalytic activity can be precisely tuned through the chemical modification of their surface and subsurface atoms for efficient catalyst engineering. Here, this minireview summarizes the recent progress in the synthesis and characterization of metallenes, together with their use as electrocatalysts toward reactions for energy conversion. In the Synthesis section, we pay particular attention to the strategies designed to tune their exposed facets, composition, and surface strain, as well as the porosity/cavity, defects, and crystallinity on the surface. We then discuss the electrocatalytic properties of metallenes in terms of oxygen reduction, hydrogen evolution, alcohol and acid oxidation, carbon dioxide reduction, and nitrogen reduction reaction, with a small extension regarding photocatalysis. At the end, we offer perspectives on the challenges and opportunities with respect to the synthesis, characterization, modeling, and application of metallenes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Surface deformation coupled with self-organized pattern on a liquid anode of 1 atm DC glow discharge

Intricate, self-organized plasma structures observed above the surface of a liquid anode of atmospheric DC glow discharge were found to give rise to coherent, organized surface deformation and mechanical wave formation at the plasma–liquid interface. This new phenomenon indicates that the liquid is closely coupled to the plasma by the anode sheath’s electrohydrodynamic (EHD) force. A scientific question then arises: Do surface perturbations, coupled with the nonuniform surface charge distribution, enhance the electric field and induce self-organization? Using the reflective background-oriented schlieren technique, the liquid surface profile under the plasma pattern was measured for the first time. The results show that surface distortions are driven by the repulsive Coulomb force of nonuniform net-negative surface charge acted by the anode sheath field. The impacts of various operating parameters on the patterns and surface waves were examined, revealing the significance of gas heating and liquid charge relaxation time in the pattern formation mechanism. Time-resolved dynamics of a pulsed DC discharge indicated that the surface deformation only appeared after the establishment of plasma patterns. Statistically, the surface wave under the plasma has high wave numbers (8000–16000 m −1 ) and small amplitudes ($<$ 10 µm), generally found in the capillary wave regime. Yet the motion of surface deformations is in tandem with the plasma pattern and exhibits a nondispersive nature of constant phase velocity (0.1–0.4 m s −1 ), suggesting the dominant role of EHD force over the surface tension in the observed surface wave. These results indicate that the deformed liquid surface is driven by the EHD force of the plasma sheath. Although they share a similar geometry, the deformation and wave dynamics of the liquid surface do not stimulate a plasma pattern. Importantly, the complex EHD coupling in the plasma–liquid system raises awareness and new challenges for plasma control engineering, and the quantitative characteristics of the nondispersive surface wave are informative for advancing relevant theory and modeling.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2016

Experimental Evaluation of Inlet Distortion on an Ejector Powered Hybrid Wing Body at Take-off and Landing Conditions

As part of the NASA Environmentally Responsible Aircraft project, an ultra high bypass ratio engine integration on a hybrid wing body demonstration was planned. The goal was to include engine and airframe integration concepts that reduced fuel consumption by at least 50% while still reducing noise 42 db cumulative on the ground. Since the engines would be mounted on the upper surface of the aft body of the aircraft, the inlets may be susceptible to vortex ingestion from the wing leading edge at high angles of attack and sideslip, and separated wing/body flow. Consequently, experimental and computational studies were conducted to collect flow surveys useful for characterizing engine operability. The wind tunnel tests were conducted at two NASA facilities, the 14- by 22-foot at NASA Langley and the 40- by 80-foot at NASA Ames Research Center. The test results included in this paper show that the distortion and pressure recovery levels were acceptable for engine operability. The CFD studies conducted to compare to experimental data showed excellent agreement for the angle of attacks examined, although failed to match the low speed experimental data at high sideslip angles.

Carter, Melissa B.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Atomic-scale vacancy engineering unlocks basal-plane catalytic activity in metallic WSe 2 for reversible oxygen electrocatalysis

Two-dimensional metallic transition metal dichalcogenides offer high electrical conductivity and large surface areas for electrocatalysis, yet their inherent basal planes are catalytically inert. Here, we present an atomic-scale vacancy engineering strategy to activate the basal surfaces of metallic WSe 2 for reversible oxygen electrocatalysis. This approach, based on intentionally designed substitutional metal doping, promotes the spontaneous formation of selenium vacancies while preserving the metallic 1 T′ phase, thereby creating highly reactive and oxygen-affinitive sites. Density functional theory calculations reveal that these vacancy-mediated metal complexes dramatically lower the energy barriers for initial oxygen adsorption, enabling dissociative oxygen adsorption. Operando and ex-situ spectroscopic analyses confirm that vacancy-mediated metal complexes transform into dynamic Se/W-oxide intermediates under operating conditions. Se/W-oxides on the surface experimentally and theoretically prove electrocatalytic activity and reversibility. Applying this strategy in lithium–oxygen batteries, the basal-plane activated WSe 2 shows high discharge capacities (9868 mA h g −1 , corresponding to 3947 mA h g$^{-1}_{cathode}$), impressive cycle retention over 550 cycles at 1000 mA h g −1 , and outstanding rate–capability over a wide current–density range (100–3000 mA g −1 ) during 256 cycles.

2D materials↗
DOE OSTI2018

In Vitro Assembly of Diverse Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Architectures

Bacterial Microcompartments (BMCs) are organelles composed of a selectively permeable protein shell that encapsulates enzymes involved in CO2 fixation (carboxysomes) or carbon catabolism (metabolosomes). Confinement of sequential reactions by the BMC shell presumably increases the efficiency of the pathway by reducing the crosstalk of metabolites, release of toxic intermediates, and accumulation of inhibitory products. Because BMCs are composed entirely of protein and self-assemble, they are an emerging platform for engineering nanoreactors and molecular scaffolds. However, testing designs for assembly and function through in vivo expression is labor-intensive and has limited the potential of BMCs in bioengineering. Here, we developed a new method for in vitro assembly of defined nanoscale BMC architectures: shells and nanotubes. By inserting a “protecting group”, a short ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) domain, self-assembly ofshell proteins in vivo was thwarted, enabling preparation of concentrates of shell building blocks. Addition of the cognate protease removes the SUMO domain and subsequent mixing of the constituent shell proteins in vitro results in the self-assembly of three types of supramolecular architectures: a metabolosome shell, a carboxysome shell, and a BMC protein-based nanotube. We next applied our method to generate a metabolosome shell engineered with a hyper-basic luminal surface, allowing for the encapsulation of biotic or abiotic cargos functionalized with an acidic accessory group. This is the first demonstration of using charge complementarity to encapsulate diverse cargos in BMC shells. Finally, our work provides a generally applicable method for in vitro assembly of natural and engineered BMC-based architectures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Method of honing high-porosity cylinder liners

Methods of honing a surface are disclosed. The method may include spraying a coating having an initial average bulk porosity onto an engine bore wall and honing the coating to create an intermediate honed surface. The method may then include cleaning the intermediate honed surface and honing the intermediate honed surface with a cutting force of, for example, 110-130 kgf after the cleaning step. This may create a honed surface having an average porosity greater than the initial average bulk porosity. The methods may create a honed surface having a porosity that is more porous than the initially sprayed coating. The increased porosity of the honed surface may allow for increased oil retention in, for example, engine bores.

Maki, Clifford E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Electrodynamic Dust Shield Demonstrator

The objective of the project was to design and manufacture a device to demonstrate a new technology developed by NASA's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory. The technology itself is a system which uses magnetic principles to remove regolith dust from its surface. This project was to create an enclosure that will be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the invention to The Office of the Chief Technologist. ONE of the most important challenges of space exploration is actually caused by something very small and seemingly insignificant. Dust in space, most notably on the moon and Mars, has caused many unforeseen issues. Dirt and dust on Earth, while a nuisance, can be easily cleaned and kept at bay. However, there is considerably less weathering and erosion in space. As a result, the microscopic particles are extremely rough and abrasive. They are also electrostatically charged, so they cling to everything they make contact with. This was first noted to be a major problem during the Apollo missions. Dust would stick to the spacesuits, and could not be wiped off as predicted. Dust was brought back into the spacecraft, and was even inhaled by astronauts. This is a major health hazard. Atmospheric storms and other events can also cause dust to coat surfaces of spacecraft. This can cause abrasive damage to the craft. The coating can also reduce the effectiveness of thermal insulation and solar panels.' A group of engineers at Kennedy Space Center's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory have developed a new technology, called the Electrodynamic Dust Shield, to help alleviate these problems. It is based off of the electric curtain concept developed at NASA in 1967. "The EDS is an active dust mitigation technology that uses traveling electric fields to transport electrostatically charged dust particles along surfaces. To generate the traveling electric fields, the EDS consists of a multilayer dielectric coating with an embedded thin electrode grid running a multiphase low frequency AC signal. Electrostatically charged particles, such as those encountered on the moon, Mars, or an asteroid, are carried along by the traveling field due to the action of Coulomb and dielectrophoretic forces."2 The technical details have been described in a separate article. This document details the design and construction process of a small demonstration unit. Once finished, this device will go to the Office of the ChiefTechnologist at NASA headquarters, where it will be used to familiarize the public with the technology. 1 NASA KSC FO Intern, Prototype Development Laboratory, Kennedy Space Center, University of Central Florida Kennedy Space

Stankie, Charles G.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Providing a Turn for the Better

Engineers are tasked with designing new systems every day to meet changing or unexpected technical requirements. After the tragic explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, NASA engineers embarked on a complete overhaul of many of their long-standing quality systems and procedures. When the official cause of the accident was determined to be an O-ring failure in the right Solid Rocket Booster, NASA's Shuttle Program initiated a thorough redesign of the rocket boosters' clevis ends, which are the O-ring's mating surfaces. One of the unique systems that NASA engineers developed as a result of this effort included a heating assembly that is coupled to the outside of the rocket boosters. When the assembly is affixed to the external surface of the boosters, the very nature of its design allows for the warming of the O-rings prior to launch. After the engineers completed the assembly's design, however, they found that it was nearly impossible to tighten the spanner nuts required for attaching the system, given the minimum amount of clearance they had in the limited and confined space. Under these circumstances, the standard wrenches typically used for tightening these types of nuts did not work, and there were no other existing devices to solve the problem. NASA engineers embraced the challenge, developing a torque wrench tool adapter that allowed for a full rotation of spanner nuts in confined spaces. The tool, which is similar to an open-ended crowfoot wrench and a fixed-face spanner wrench, contains two dowel pins that center and lock the wrench onto the nut.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1993

(abstract) Electronic Packaging for Microspacecraft Applications

The intent of this presentation is to give a brief look into the future of electronic packaging for microspacecraft applications. Advancements in electronic packaging technology areas have developed to the point where a system engineer's visions, concepts, and requirements for a microspacecraft can now be a reality. These new developments are ideal candidates for microspacecraft applications. These technologies are capable of bringing about major changes in how we design future spacecraft while taking advantage of the benefits due to size, weight, power, performance, reliability , and cost. This presentation will also cover some advantages and limitations of surface mount technology (SMT), multichip modules (MCM), and wafer scale integration (WSI), and what is needed to implement these technologies into microspacecraft.

technology multichip modules wafer scale integrati↗
NASA NTRS2003

Topography Experiment (TOPEX) Software Document Series Volume 7: TOPEX Mission Radar Altimeter Engineering Assessment Report, February 1994

This document describes the GSFC/WFF analysis of the on-orbit engineering data from the TOPEX radar altimeter, to establish altimeter performance. In accordance with Project guidelines, neither surface truth nor precision orbital data are used for the engineering assessment of the altimeter. The use of such data would imply not only a more intensive and complete performance evaluation, but also a calibration. Such evaluations and.calibrations are outside the scope of this document and will be presented in a separate Verification Report.

Hancock, David W., III↗
DOE OSTI2019

Atomic-scale interface engineering of Majorana edge modes in a 2D magnet-superconductor hybrid system

Topological superconductors are predicted to harbor exotic boundary states—Majorana zero-energy modes—whose non-Abelian braiding statistics present a new paradigm for the realization of topological quantum computing. Using low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy, here, we report on the direct real-space visualization of chiral Majorana edge states in a monolayer topological superconductor, a prototypical magnet-superconductor hybrid system composed of nanoscale Fe islands of monoatomic height on a Re(0001)-O(2 × 1) surface. In particular, we demonstrate that interface engineering by an atomically thin oxide layer is crucial for driving the hybrid system into a topologically nontrivial state as confirmed by theoretical calculations of the topological invariant, the Chern number.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS2016

User's Manual: Routines for Radiative Heat Transfer and Thermometry

Determining the intensity and spectral distribution of radiation emanating from a heated surface has applications in many areas of science and engineering. Areas of research in which the quantification of spectral radiation is used routinely include thermal radiation heat transfer, infrared signature analysis, and radiation thermometry. In the analysis of radiation, it is helpful to be able to predict the radiative intensity and the spectral distribution of the emitted energy. Presented in this report is a set of routines written in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington) and incorporating functions specific to Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington) that are useful for predicting the radiative behavior of heated surfaces. These routines include functions for calculating quantities of primary importance to engineers and scientists. In addition, the routines also provide the capability to use such information to determine surface temperatures from spectral intensities and for calculating the sensitivity of the surface temperature measurements to unknowns in the input parameters.

opticoelectronic devices↗
NASA NTRS2014

Asteroid, Lunar and Planetary Regolith Management A Layered Engineering Defense

During missions on asteroid and lunar and planetary surfaces, space systems and crew health may be degraded by exposure to dust and dirt. Furthermore, for missions outside the Earth‐Moon system, planetary protection must be considered in efforts to minimize forward and backward contamination. This paper presents an end‐to‐end approach to ensure system reliability, crew health, and planetary protection in regolith environments. It also recommends technology investments that would be required to implement this layered engineering defense.

Wagner, Sandra↗
NASA NTRS2022

Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) Thermal Infrared (TIR) Free -Flyer Concept

Scientists and engineers from the United States and Italy are developing a thermal infrared (TIR) free-flyer concept that forms an essential element of the NASA Surface Biology & Geology (SBG) designated observable and the greater NASA Earth System Observatory (ESO), which also includes observations of aerosols, clouds, convection, and precipitation; mass change; and surface deformation & change.In response to the recommendations from the 2017 National Academies decadal survey for Earth science, NASA initiated the SBG designated observable with five key research and applications focus areas: ecosystems and natural resources, hydrology, weather, climate, and solid Earth. SBG includes spaceborne measurements of hyperspectral imagery in the visible to shortwave infrared (0.4-2.5 um) and multispectral imagery in the mid and thermal infrared (3-12 um) that provide the remote sensing data needed to inform each research and applications area. High-level TIR data products include Earth surface temperature & emissivity, evapotranspiration, substrate composition, volcanic plumes, and high-temperature features. While the science, applications, and technology build on prior mission studies conducted for more than a decade, it has only been recently that a joint team of scientists and engineers from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Istituto Nazionale Geofisica e Volcanologia (INGV), and the Istituto Nazionale Astrofisica (INAF) have developed a compelling concept for a TIR free-flyer. In this concept, the TIR instrument is an eight-band radiometer. Seven of the bands are between 3 and 12 um with an additional band at 1.65 um. The instrument’s 68.8 deg total viewing angle and the free-flyer’s 665 km operational altitude results in a ground sampling distance (GSD) of <60 m at nadir, produces a swath width of 935 km, and allows for a 2-3-day revisit time. A two-band visible and near infrared (VNIR) camera, with <30 m GSD at nadir and 935 km swath width, will complement the TIR instrument. VNIR high-level data products include top & bottom of atmosphere reflectance and normalized difference vegetation indices (NDVI). The TIR instrument and VNIR camera will be mounted on a PLATiNO+ spacecraft, a multi-application, reconfigurable, and scalable platform. The launcher selected for the TIR free-flyer is the VEGA-C. To maximize the science and applications benefits the SBG-TIR free-flyer team are collaborating with personnel from the ESA Land Surface Temperature Monitoring mission (LSTM) as well individuals from the Thermal Infrared Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural resource Assessment (TRISHNA), a joint mission by CNES and ISRO. Pre-Phase A concept studies for the SBG-TIR free-flyer commenced in the spring 2021. This allows for the concept to be refined; for technical risks to be identified and mitigated, as necessary; and strategies for reducing the development schedule to be defined and assessed before conducting a NASA-ASI Mission Concept Review (MCR) in the spring of 2022 and a NASA Key Decision Point-A (KDP-A) as early as the summer of 2022. These are key milestones in being able to launch and begin operating the SBG-TIR free-flyer in the second half of the decade, so that many of the questions posed by the National Academies in the 2017 decadal survey can be answered.

Fabrizia-Buongiorno, Maria↗
DOE OSTI2024

Sustainable production of 2,3,5,6-Tetramethylpyrazine at high titer in engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum

The industrial amino acid production workhorse, Corynebacterium glutamicum naturally produces low levels of 2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), a valuable flavor, fragrance, and commodity chemical. Here, we demonstrate TMP production (~0.8 g L –1 ) in C. glutamicum type strain ATCC13032 via overexpression of acetolactate synthase and/or α-acetolactate decarboxylase from Lactococcus lactis in CGXII minimal medium supplemented with 40 g L –1 glucose. This engineered strain also demonstrated growth and TMP production when the minimal medium was supplemented with up to 40% (v v –1 ) hydrolysates derived from ionic liquid-pretreated sorghum biomass. Further, a key objective was to take the fully engineered strain developed in this study and interrogate medium parameters that influence the production of TMP, a critical post-strain engineering optimization. Design of experiments in a high-throughput plate format identified glucose, urea, and their ratio as significant components affecting TMP production. These two components were further optimized using response surface methodology. In the optimized CGXII medium, the engineered strain could produce up to 3.56 g L –1 TMP (4-fold enhancement in titers and 2-fold enhancement in yield, mol mol –1 ) from 80 g L –1 glucose and 11.9 g L –1 urea in shake flask batch cultivation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2020

Charged Particle Dynamics in the Lunar Environment

As the Artemis Program streams forward, organizations of scientists and engineers across the country have been coming together to solve the complex network of problems to once again achieve the milestone of successfully touching down on the moon. This project is no exception, and it has been an honor to work with the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL), a lab within the Exploration Research and Technology Programs’ Spaceport Technologies Office (UB-G) located at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Kennedy Space Center (NASA KSC). The authors and their mentor James R. Phillips III3, in tandem with researchers from the Astrodynamics and Space Robotics Laboratory (ASRL) at the University of Central Florida (UCF), have been working on creating a state-of-the-art (SOA) granular gas dynamics model for particulate contamination prevention and mitigation purposes. In essence, the underlying objective for this project is to more accurately model the resulting electrodynamic interactions between lunar regolith grains with applications to dust mitigation and rocket engine plume surface interactions. To achieve this goal, the team has been expanding upon existing open source classical molecular dynamics code developed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The following reports on the details of the problem at hand as well as the contributions that the authors have made towards resolution, including but not limited to the encoding of physical attributes and interactions for non-spherical polydisperse particle distributions within various bed geometries and preemptive data analysis implementations. Significant data analysis processes were utilized, and several original algorithms were created to perform critical evaluations, resulting in only a 0.006% error in discrepancy.

Annelisa B Esparza↗