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At least 1,405 records · Page 78
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Modified Slow Tuner Design for Cavity 1 Inside LCLS II Cryomodules

Initial LCLS-II cryomodule testing at Fermilab showed microphonics on the furthest upstream cavity (number 1) at least factor 2 larger than on the rest of the cavities. Testing indicated that this was a difference in the mechanical support of cavity 1, not a local acoustic source. Further investigation pointed to the upstream beam-pipe of the cavity 1. The upstream cavity flange has a solid spool piece connection to the beamline gate valve unlike the other cavities, which all connect through bellows. The gate valve's weight is supported by sliding system (free in z-axis) connected to large diameter Helium gas return pipe. The tuner design was modified to transform interface between cavity#1 and gate valve. Arms of the tuner for cavity 1 were extended and became the support structure for gate valve, eliminating the connection to the helium return pipe. Modification of the tuner design and results in microphonics mitigations will be presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Fundamental Studies of Irradiation-Induced Modifications in Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Advanced Alloys

This final technical report summarizes the research performed during October 2014 and December 2017, with a focus on investigating the radiation-induced microstructural and mechanical property modifications in optimized advanced alloys for sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) structural applications. To accomplish these objectives, the radiation responses of several different advanced alloys, including austenitic steel Alloy 709 (A709) and 316H, and ferritic/ martensitic Fe–9Cr steels T91 and G92, were investigated using a combination of microstructure characterizations and nanoindentation measurements. Different types of irradiation, including ex situ bulk ion irradiation and in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) ion irradiation, were employed in this study. Radiation-induced dislocations, precipitates, and voids were characterized by TEM. Scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) and/or atom probe tomography (APT) were used to study radiation-induced segregation and precipitation. Nanoindentation was used for hardness measurements to study irradiation hardening. Austenitic A709 and 316H was bulk-irradiated by 3.5 MeV Fe ++ ions to up to 150 peak dpa at 400, 500, and 600°. Compared to neutron-irradiated stainless steel (SS) 316, the Frank loop density of ion-irradiated A709 shows similar dose dependence at 400°, but very different temperature dependence. Due to the noticeable difference in the initial microstructure of A709 and 316H, no systematic comparison on the Frank loops in A709 vs 316H was made. It would be helpful that future ion irradiation study on 316 stainless steel could be conducted to directly compare the temperature dependence of Frank loop density in ion-irradiated 316 SS with that in neutron-irradiated 316 SS. In addition, future neutron irradiation on A709 at 400–600° at relative high dose (≥10 dpa) can be carried out to compare with ion-irradiated A709. The radiation-induced segregation (RIS) of Ni and Si was observed in both A709 and 316H in all irradiated conditions and was found at various sinks: line dislocations, dislocation loops, void surfaces, carbide-matrix interfaces, etc. Radiation also induced the formation of Ni,Si-rich precipitates. As suggested in a previous study on neutron-irradiated 316 stainless steel, one possible consequence of the significant RIS of Si is that the enrichment at defect sinks depletes the silicon in the matrix, which can lead to enhanced void nucleation rate. The enrichment of Ni and Si is accompanied by the depletion of Cr at defect sinks, which could also affect the corrosion resistance. Radiation-induced change in the orientation relationship of pre-existing MX precipitates was observed at 600°. It is believed that this change is associated with the network dislocations formed under irradiation. The underlying mechanism is still not well understood. This change could be a positive indication that the MX precipitates can survive high density network dislocations. It would be helpful if neutron irradiation at similar dose conditions could be carried out to verify that this effect is not unique for ion irradiation. Intragranular Cr-rich carbides with a core-shell structure, i.e. Cr-rich carbide core and Ni,Si-rich shell was found at 500° and 600° in the highest dose (150 peak dpa) specimens. Coarse voids (30 nm in diameter) were only commonly found at 500° in the 50 and 150 peak dpa specimens in regions less than 750 nm in depth. The highest swelling for A709 irradiated to 50 and 150 peak dpa at 500° is about 0.44% and 0.37%, respectively. Due to the choice of 100 degree temperature intervals, this study did not attempt to precisely identify peak void swelling conditions, merely the range of irradiation temperatures where this could be a concern. It is known high-dose ion irradiation can significantly suppress void nucleation. Future neutron irradiation in the 500–600° range (without considering the temperature shift) is needed to determine the onset of accelerated void swelling (possibly at lower dose).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Simultaneously Dual Modification of Ni-Rich Layered Oxide Cathode for High-Energy Lithium-Ion Batteries

A critical challenge in the commercialization of layer-structured Ni-rich materials is the fast capacity drop and voltage fading due to the interfacial instability and bulk structural degradation of the cathodes during battery operation. Herein, with the guidance of theoretical calculations of migration energy difference between La and Ti from the surface to the inside of LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 , for the first time, Ti-doped and La 4 NiLiO 8 -coated LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 cathodes are rationally designed and prepared, via a simple and convenient dual-modification strategy of synchronous synthesis and in situ modification. Impressively, the dual modified materials show remarkably improved electrochemical performance and largely suppressed voltage fading, even under exertive operational conditions at elevated temperature and under extended cutoff voltage. Further studies reveal that the nanoscale structural degradation on material surfaces and the appearance of intergranular cracks associated with the inconsistent evolution of structural degradation at the particle level can be effectively suppressed by the synergetic effect of the conductive La 4 NiLiO 8 coating layer and the strong Ti—O bond. The present work demonstrates that our strategy can simultaneously address the two issues with respect to interfacial instability and bulk structural degradation, and it represents a significant progress in the development of advanced cathode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Crystal structure of (Al,V){sub 4}(P{sub 4}O{sub 12}){sub 3}, archetype of double cubic ring tetraphosphate

The crystal structure of the (Al,V){sub 4}(P{sub 4}O{sub 12}){sub 3} solid solution, obtained in the single-crystal form by hydrothermal synthesis in the Al(OH){sub 3}-VO{sub 2}-NaCl-H{sub 3}PO{sub 4}-H{sub 2}O system, has been solved by X-ray diffraction analysis (Xcalibur-S-CCD diffractometer, R = 0.0257): a = 13.7477(2) Angstrom-Sign , sp. gr. I 4 bar 3d, Z = 4, and {rho}{sub calcd} = 2.736 g/cm{sup 3}. It is shown that the crystal structure of the parent cubic Al{sub 4}(P{sub 4}O{sub 12}){sub 3} modification can formally be considered an archetype for the formation of double isosymmetric tetraphosphates on its basis.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Etching mechanism of niobium in coaxial Ar/Cl{sub 2} radio frequency plasma

The understanding of the Ar/Cl{sub 2} plasma etching mechanism is crucial for the desired modification of inner surface of the three dimensional niobium (Nb) superconductive radio frequency cavities. Uniform mass removal in cylindrical shaped structures is a challenging task because the etch rate varies along the direction of gas flow. The study is performed in the asymmetric coaxial radio-frequency (rf) discharge with two identical Nb rings acting as a part of the outer electrode. The dependence of etch rate uniformity on pressure, rf power, dc bias, Cl{sub 2} concentration, diameter of the inner electrode, temperature of the outer cylinder, and position of the samples in the structure is determined. To understand the plasma etching mechanisms, we have studied several factors that have important influence on the etch rate and uniformity, which include the plasma sheath potential, Nb surface temperature, and the gas flow rate.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Cdc73 subunit of the Paf1 complex contains a C-terminal Ras-like domain that promotes association of Paf1 complex with chromatin

The conserved Paf1 complex localizes to the coding regions of genes and facilitates multiple processes during transcription elongation, including the regulation of histone modifications. However, the mechanisms that govern Paf1 complex recruitment to active genes are undefined. Here we describe a previously unrecognized domain within the Cdc73 subunit of the Paf1 complex, the Cdc73 C-domain, and demonstrate its importance for Paf1 complex occupancy on transcribed chromatin. Deletion of the C-domain causes phenotypes associated with elongation defects without an apparent loss of complex integrity. Simultaneous mutation of the C-domain and another subunit of the Paf1 complex, Rtf1, causes enhanced mutant phenotypes and loss of histone H3 lysine 36 trimethylation. The crystal structure of the C-domain reveals unexpected similarity to the Ras family of small GTPases. Instead of a deep nucleotide-binding pocket, the C-domain contains a large but comparatively flat surface of highly conserved residues, devoid of ligand. Deletion of the C-domain results in reduced chromatin association for multiple Paf1 complex subunits. We conclude that the Cdc73 C-domain probably constitutes a protein interaction surface that functions with Rtf1 in coupling the Paf1 complex to the RNA polymerase II elongation machinery.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

The impact of crystal symmetry on the electronic structure and functional properties of complex lanthanum chromium oxides

Complex oxides exhibit a wide range of crystal structures, chemical compositions and physical properties. The underlying drivers determining the complicated structure-composition-property phase diagrams are the relative positions and orbital overlaps between the metal cations and the oxygen anions. Here we report a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the structure and bonding in a series of lanthanum chromium oxides prepared by reactive molecular beam epitaxy. Of particular interest is the charge state and local coordination of the Cr. We have stabilized LaCrO 3 , LaCrO 4 and La 2 CrO 6 films by controlling the three elemental fluxes during deposition, and have carried out x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoemission, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy, as well as first-principles calculations, to determine structure, charge state, chemical bonding, and electronic structure. Significant changes in bonding character and orbital interaction are revealed with decreasing ligand symmetry from octahedral to tetrahedral Cr coordination. Both LaCrO 4 and LaCrO 6 with tetrahedrally coordinated Cr show strong pre-edge features in the Cr K-edge near-edge structure whereas LaCrO 3 with octahedrally coordinated Cr exhibits very weak pre-edge features. The origin of these pre-edge features is discussed based on various selection rules and ligand symmetry. We also demonstrate an increase in cation-anion orbital hybridization and a decrease in long-range ligand coupling induced by this symmetry reduction. These in turn result in dramatic modifications of the macroscopic optical and magnetic properties.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

A Structured Quasi-Newton Algorithm for Optimizing with Incomplete Hessian Information

We present a structured quasi-Newton algorithm for unconstrained optimization problems that have unavailable second-order derivatives or Hessian terms. We provide a formal derivation of the well-known Broyden--Fletcher--Goldfarb--Shanno (BFGS) secant update formula that approximates only the missing Hessian terms, and we propose a linesearch quasi-Newton algorithm based on a modification of Wolfe conditions that converges to first-order optimality conditions. We also analyze the local convergence properties of the structured BFGS algorithm and show that it achieves superlinear convergence under the standard assumptions used by quasi-Newton methods using secant updates. In conclusion, we provide a thorough study of the practical performance of the algorithm on the CUTEr suite of test problems and show that our structured BFGS-based quasi-Newton algorithm outperforms the unstructured counterpart(s).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Shining light on cysteine modification: connecting protein conformational dynamics to catalysis and regulation

We report that cysteine is a rare but functionally important amino acid that is often subject to covalent modification. Cysteine oxidation plays an important role in many human disease processes, and basal levels of cysteine oxidation are required for proper cellular function. Because reactive cysteine residues are typically ionized to the thiolate anion (Cys-S - ), their formation of a covalent bond alters the electrostatic and steric environment of the active site. X-ray-induced photo-oxidation to sulfenic acids (Cys-SOH) can recapitulate some aspects of the changes that occur under physiological conditions. Here we propose how site-specific cysteine photo-oxidation can be used to interrogate ensuing changes in protein structure and dynamics at atomic resolution. Although this powerful approach can connect cysteine covalent modification to global protein conformational changes and function, careful biochemical validation must accompany all such studies to exclude misleading artifacts. Lastly, new types of X-ray crystallography experiments and powerful computational methods are creating new opportunities to connect conformational dynamics to catalysis for the large class of systems that use covalently modified cysteine residues for catalysis or regulation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Surface modification of Ti alloy by electro-explosive alloying and electron-beam treatment

By methods of modern physical metallurgy the analysis of structure phase states of titanium alloy VT6 is carried out after electric explosion alloying with boron carbide and subsequent irradiation by pulsed electron beam. The formation of an electro-explosive alloying zone of a thickness up to 50 µm, having a gradient structure, characterized by decrease in the concentration of carbon and boron with increasing distance to the treatable surface has been revealed. Subsequent electron-beam treatment of alloying zone leads to smoothing of the alloying area surface and is accompanied by the multilayer structure formation at the depth of 30 µm with alternating layers with different alloying degrees having the structure of submicro - and nanoscale level.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Measurement of Physicochemical Properties of Lignin

Lignin is an essential cell wall component of lignocellulose. Unlike other major components such as cellulose and hemicellulose, lignin is a noncarbohydrate biopolymer and contributes to cell wall rigidity and hydrophobicity. Lignin’s unique properties contribute to the transportation of water and minerals in plants and protect against microbial attacks, while the latter property hinders the conversion of carbohydrates in lignocellulose. Also, its heterogeneity and structural complexity are major recalcitrance factors in biomass conversion. Various approaches (including genetically engineered plants, pulping, pretreatments, and fractionation processes) have been proposed to reduce and/or remove lignin for effective conversion of lignocellulose. Recently, interest in the biorefinery concept considers lignin as a potential feedstock in many applications; however, the technologies necessary to facilitate the economic production of many lignin-based products is still in its infancy. For the effective utilization of lignocellulose, understanding the physicochemical properties of lignin is the first and last step. It not only provides the key information about lignin structures in the original plant cell wall, conversion products, or residues, but also explains how the modification and/or conversion process affects lignin and biomass in general. Many different lignin characteristics, including physicochemical, morphological, and thermal properties, can be measured by diverse analytical techniques. This chapter introduces analytical methods that measure several essential physicochemical properties of lignin, such as molecular weights by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), quantitative and qualitative information of structural properties (interunit linkages and aromatic subunits) by one-dimensional and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and hydroxyl group content by 31P NMR.

Yoo, Chang Geun↗
DOE OSTI2016

Structural Analysis and Optimization of Context-Independent Anti-Hypusine Antibodies

Context-independent anti-hypusine antibodies that bind to the post-translational modification (PTM), hypusine, with minimal dependence on flanking amino acid sequences, were identified. The antibodies bind to both hypusine and deoxyhypusine or selectively to hypusine but not to deoxyhypusine. Phage display was used to further enhance the affinity of the antibodies. Affinity maturation of these anti-hypusine antibodies improved their performance in affinity capture of the only currently known hypusinated protein, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A. These anti-hypusine antibodies may have utility in the identification of novel hypusinated proteins. Crystal structures of the corresponding Fab fragments were determined in complex with hypusine- or deoxyhypusine-containing peptides. The hypusine or deoxyhypusine moiety was found to reside in a deep pocket formed between V H and V L domains of the Fab fragments. Interaction between the antibodies and hypusine includes an extensive hydrogen bond network. These are, to our knowledge, the first reported structures of context-independent anti-PTM antibodies in complex with the corresponding PTM.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

Photoelectronic Characterization of Heterointerfaces

In many devices such as solar cells, light emitting diodes, transistors, etc., the performance relies on the electronic structure at interfaces between materials within the device. The objective of this work was to perform robust characterization of hybrid (organic/inorganic) interfaces by tailoring the interfacial region for photoelectron spectroscopy. Self-assembled monolayers (SAM) were utilized to induce dipoles of various magnitudes at the interface. Additionally, SAMs of molecules with varying dipolar characteristics were mixed into spatially organized structures to systematically vary the apparent work function. Polymer thin films were characterized by depositing films of varying thicknesses on numerous substrates with and without interfacial modifications. Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) was performed to evaluate a buried interface between indium tin oxide (ITO), treated under various conditions, and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). Conducting polymer films were found to be sufficiently conducting such that no significant charge redistribution in the polymer films was observed. Consequently, a further departure from uniform substrates was taken whereby electrically disconnected regions of the substrate presented ideally insulating interfacial contacts. In order to accomplish this novel strategy, interdigitated electrodes were used as the substrate. Conducting fingers of one half of the electrodes were electrically grounded while the other set of electrodes were electronically floating. This allowed for the evaluation of substrate charging on photoelectron spectra (SCOPES) in the presence of overlying semiconducting thin films. Such an experiment has never before been reported. This concept was developed out of the previous experiments on interfacial modification and thin film depositions and presents new opportunities for understanding chemical and electronic changes in a multitude of materials and interfaces.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Journal Pre-proof3D printed polylactic acid and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene fluidicstructures for biological applications: tailoring bio-material interfaceviasurface modification

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a rapidly growing technology that best fits for cell culture and other biological applications due to its potential to build immensely complex structures from customized designs. However, use of 3D printed structures for cell adhesion, proliferation, and activation requires tailoring of surface characteristics. In this context, this work investigates the use of two biocompatible 3D printable polymer materials, Poly-L-lactic Acid (PLA) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) for bio applications, and the effect of their post-printing surface modification processes to achieve desired bio functionality. Three post-printing surface modification techniques, alkaline hydrolysis, ultraviolet ozone plasma irradiation and gold thin film deposition are performed with the objective of introducing useful levels of surface functionalities. Poly-L-lysine (PLL) labelled with FITC chromophore is immobilized on the surface modified samples following standard protocols. The effect of surface roughness and porosity of the 3D printed structures on the polypeptide immobilization is compared on as-printed versus mechanically polished surfaces. Different characterization methods, viz., Fluorescence microscopy, Raman Spectroscopy and UV–vis spectroscopy, are used to study the efficacy of the surface modification and PLL immobilization techniques. Our results demonstrated denser PLL attachment on polished hydrolyzed PLA and ABS surfaces which enables the use of these printable polymers for a range of applications such as tissue scaffolds and microfluidics.

3D Printing, PLA, ABS, Biodegradable Polymer, Surf↗
DOE OSTI2011

Mutagenesis of tryptophan199 suggests that hopping is required for MauG-dependent tryptophan tryptophylquinone biosynthesis

The diheme enzyme MauG catalyzes the posttranslational modification of the precursor protein of methylamine dehydrogenase (preMADH) to complete biosynthesis of its protein-derived tryptophan tryptophylquinone (TTQ) cofactor. Catalysis proceeds through a high valent bis-Fe(IV) redox state and requires long-range electron transfer (ET), as the distance between the modified residues of preMADH and the nearest heme iron of MauG is 19.4 {angstrom}. Trp199 of MauG resides at the MauG-preMADH interface, positioned midway between the residues that are modified and the nearest heme. W199F and W199K mutations did not affect the spectroscopic and redox properties of MauG, or its ability to stabilize the bis-Fe(IV) state. Crystal structures of complexes of W199F/K MauG with preMADH showed no significant perturbation of the MauG-preMADH structure or protein interface. However, neither MauG variant was able to synthesize TTQ from preMADH. In contrast, an ET reaction from diferrous MauG to quinone MADH, which does not require the bis-Fe(IV) intermediate, was minimally affected by the W199F/K mutations. W199F/K MauGs were able to oxidize quinol MADH to form TTQ, the putative final two-electron oxidation of the biosynthetic process, but with k{sub cat}/K{sub m} values approximately 10% that of wild-type MauG. The differential effects of the W199F/K mutations on these three different reactions are explained by a critical role for Trp199 in mediating multistep hopping from preMADH to bis-Fe(IV) MauG during the long-range ET that is required for TTQ biosynthesis.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Influence of the plasma environment on atomic structure using an ion-sphere model

Plasma environment effects on atomic structure are analyzed using various atomic structure codes. To monitor the effect of high free-electron density or low temperatures, Fermi-Dirac and Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics are compared. After a discussion of the implementation of the Fermi-Dirac approach within the ion-sphere model, several applications are considered. In order to check the consistency of the modifications brought here to extant codes, calculations have been performed using the Los Alamos Cowan Atomic Structure (cats) code in its Hartree-Fock or Hartree-Fock-Slater form and the parametric potential Flexible Atomic Code (fac). The ground-state energy shifts due to the plasma effects for the six most ionized aluminum ions have been calculated using the fac and cats codes and fairly agree. For the intercombination resonance line in Fe 22+ , the plasma effect within the uniform electron gas model results in a positive shift that agrees with the MCDF value of B. Saha et al .

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dynamic compression effects of H 2 ⁡O in a dynamic diamond anvil cell: Origin of metastable ice VII and its crystal growth kinetics

We report on the structural verification of metastable ice VII solidifying in the phase space of ice VI at 1.80 GPa at room temperature. Using time-resolved (TR) x-ray diffraction and TR ruby luminescence paired with high-speed microphotography utilizing a dynamic diamond anvil cell, an initial compression rate range from 0.12 to 95.84 GPa/s was explored. The solidification pressure of metastable ice VII has a potential sigmoidal dependence upon compression rate with a turnover compression rate of ∼80 GPa/s. The preferred crystallization of ice VII in the stability field of ice VI is due to the increased nucleation rate of ice VII over ice VI at 1.77 GPa that is driven by the surface energy difference between the liquid and solid phases along with the change in Gibbs free energy of solidification. The dynamic pressure-volume–compression behaviors of ice phases (VI and VII) show a lattice stiffening in both phases, especially during the compression loading. It is also found that the compression rate greatly affects the solid-solid phase transition between ice VI and VII but does not affect the liquid-solid transition between water and ice VI as much. Lastly, a third phase transition was found to occur after metastable ice VII transforms into high-density amorphous (HDA) ice, which could be a disordered hydrogen-bonded network configuration of ice VII forming out of HDA ice facilitated by the decoupling of the oxygen movement and reorientation of the H 2⁡ O molecule. These results demonstrate the complexity of a seemingly simple molecule H 2⁡ O, how it can readily change its static properties with the modification of (de)compression rate, and highlight the need to use multiple TR structural and spectroscopic probes at higher time resolutions to realize the most comprehensive understanding.

Chemical bonding↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tuning the Molecular Structure and Reaction Mechanism of Olefin Metathesis by Model Bilayered Supported MoO x /AlO x /SiO 2 Catalysts

The molecular structure and activity of supported MoO x olefin metathesis catalysts are heavily impacted by the choice of catalyst support. In this study, surface modification of the SiO 2 support with AlO x and selective anchoring of the MoO x on the surface AlO x sites were used to tune the structure, activation, and reactivity of the resulting surface MoO x sites. Extensive in situ molecular characterization, chemical probe studies, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the enhanced activity of the supported MoO x /AlO x /SiO 2 catalyst over the MoO x / SiO 2 catalyst is associated with more favorable activation and kinetics of surface MoO x anchored at AlO x sites.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗