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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 1,495 records · Page 83
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

SIESTA-SIPs: Massively parallel spectrum-slicing eigensolver for an ab initio molecular dynamics package

Integration of Shift-and-Invert Parallel spectral transformation (SIPs) eigensolver (as implemented in the SLEPc library) into an ab initio molecular dynamics package, SIESTA, is described. The effectiveness of the code is demonstrated on applications to polyethylene chains, boron nitride sheets, and bulk water clusters. For problems with the same number of orbitals, the performance of the SLEPc eigensolver depends on the sparsity of the matrices involved, favoring reduced dimensional systems such as polyethylene or boron nitride sheets in comparison to bulk systems like water clusters. For all problems investigated, performance of SIESTA-SIPs exceeds the performance of SIESTA with default solver (ScaLAPACK) at the larger number of cores and the larger number of orbitals. A method that improves the load-balance with each iteration in the self-consistency cycle by exploiting the emerging knowledge of the eigenvalue spectrum is demonstrated

ab initio↗
DOE OSTI2014

Nuclear quadrupole moment-induced Cotton-Mouton effect in molecules

Nuclear magneto-optic effects could make important contributions to novel, high-sensitivity, and high-resolution spectroscopic and imaging methods that provide nuclear site-specific structural and dynamic information on molecular and materials systems. Here we present a first-principles electronic structure formulation of nuclear quadrupole moment-induced Cotton-Mouton effect in terms of response theory, as well as ab initio and density-functional theory calculations of this phenomenon for a series of molecular liquids: H{sub 2}O, CH{sub 3}NO{sub 2}, CH{sub 3}CH{sub 2}OH, C{sub 6}H{sub 6}, C{sub 6}H{sub 12} (cyclohexane), HI, XeF{sub 2}, WF{sub 5}Cl, and Pt(C{sub 2}dtp){sub 2}. The roles of basis-set convergence, electron correlation, and relativistic effects are discussed. The estimated order of magnitude of the overall ellipticities induced to linearly polarized light is 10{sup −3}–10{sup −7} rad/(M cm) for fully spin polarized nuclei. The cases with the largest presently obtained ellipticities should be detectable with modern instrumentation in the Voigt magneto-optic setup, particularly for the heavy nuclei.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Morse-Smale Analysis of Ion Diffusion in Ab Initio Battery Materials Simulations

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations are increasingly useful in modeling, optimizing and synthesizing materials in energy sciences. In solving Schrödinger’s equation, they generate the electronic structure of the simulated atoms as a scalar field. However, methods for analyzing these volume data are not yet common in molecular visualization. The Morse-Smale complex is a proven, versatile tool for topological analysis of scalar fields. In this paper, we apply the discrete Morse-Smale complex to analysis of first-principles battery materials simulations. We consider a carbon nanosphere structure used in battery materials research, and employ Morse-Smale decomposition to determine the possible lithium ion diffusion paths within that structure. Our approach is novel in that it uses the wavefunction itself as opposed distance fields, and that we analyze the 1-skeleton of the Morse-Smale complex to reconstruct our diffusion paths. Furthermore, it is the first application where specific motifs in the graph structure of the complete 1-skeleton define features, namely carbon rings with specific valence. We compare our analysis of DFT data with that of a distance field approximation, and discuss implications on larger classical molecular dynamics simulations.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Spectral Analysis of 3-(Adamantan-1-yl)-4-Ethyl-1-[(4-Phenylpiperazin-1-yl) Methyl]-1H-1,2,4-Triazole-5(4H)-Thione

Vibrational IR (3200–650 cm{sup –1}) and Raman spectra (3200–150 cm{sup –1}) of adamantane-containing 3-(adamantan-1-yl)-4-ethyl-1-[(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)methyl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole-5(4H)-thione, which is promising for drug design, were examined. The UV/Vis spectrum (450–200 nm) of the compound in EtOH was measured. Full geometry optimization using density functional theory (DFT) in the B3LYP/cc-pVDZ approximation allowed the equilibrium configuration of the molecule to be determined and IR and Raman spectra to be calculated. Based on these, the experimental vibrational IR and Raman spectra were interpreted and the biological activity indices were predicted. The UV/Vis spectrum of the title compound was simulated at the time-dependent DFT/CAM-B3LYP/cc-pVDZ level with and without solvent effects and at the ab initio multi-reference perturbation theory XMCQDPT2 level. The UV/Vis spectrum that was simulated using the multi-reference XMCQDPT2 approximation agreed very successfully with the experimental data, in contrast to the single-reference DFT method. This was probably a consequence of intramolecular charge transfer.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Ab Initio Investigation of Structural Stability and Electronic and Magnetic Properties of the Half-Heusler Alloys: MTiSb (M = Fe, Co, and Ni)

The structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the half-Heusler MTiSb (M = Fe, Co, Ni) compounds have been examined using the first-principles calculations with the full-potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within the density functional theory. The electronic structures and magnetic properties of MTiSb (M = Fe, Co, Ni) are studied. It is found that the calculated lattice parameter is in good agreement with the theoretical values. Using the general gradient approximation (GGA), we observe that for the three compounds, the α phase is more stable than β and γ phases. CoTiSb is a semiconductor, NiTiSb is a metal, while the FeTiSb compound is a half-metallic, and the total magnetic moments are 0.00085, − 0.26074, and 0.99353 μ B, respectively, which is in agreement with the Slater–Pauling rule, Furthermore, the origin for the appearance of the half-metallic band gap in the FeTiSb compound was also discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Impact of Short-Range Forces on Defect Production from High-Energy Collisions

Primary radiation damage formation in solid materials typically involves collisions between atoms that have up to a few hundred keV of kinetic energy. The distance between two colliding atoms can approach 0.05 nm during these collisions. At such small atomic separations, force fields fitted to equilibrium properties tend to significantly underestimate the potential energy of the colliding dimer. To enable molecular dynamics simulations of high-energy collisions, it is common practice to use a screened Coulomb force field to describe the interactions and to smoothly join this to the equilibrium force field at a suitable interatomic spacing. But, there is no accepted standard method for choosing the parameters used in the joining process, and our results prove that defect production is sensitive to how the force fields are linked. A new procedure is presented that involves the use of ab initio calculations to determine the magnitude and spatial dependence of the pair interactions at intermediate distances, along with systematic criteria for choosing the joining parameters. Results are presented for the case of nickel, which demonstrate the use and validity of the procedure.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Communication: Determining the structure of the N{sub 2}Ar van der Waals complex with laser-based channel-selected Coulomb explosion

We experimentally reconstructed the structure of the N{sub 2}Ar van der Waals complex with the technique of laser-based channel-selected Coulomb explosion imaging. The internuclear distance between the N{sub 2} center of mass and the Ar atom, i.e., the length of the van der Waals bond, was determined to be 3.88 Å from the two-body explosion channels. The angle between the van der Waals bond and the N{sub 2} principal axis was determined to be 90° from the three-body explosion channels. The reconstructed structure was contrasted with our high level ab initio calculations. The agreement demonstrated the potential application of laser-based Coulomb explosion in imaging transient molecular structure, particularly for floppy van der Waals complexes, whose structures remain difficult to be determined by conventional spectroscopic methods.

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

Structural studies on choline-carboxylate bio-ionic liquids by x-ray scattering and molecular dynamics

We report a X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics study on three choline-based bio-ionic liquids, choline formate, [Ch] [For], choline propanoate, [Ch][Pro], and choline butanoate, [Ch][But]. For the first time, this class of ionic liquids has been investigated by X-ray diffraction. Experimental and theoretical structure factors have been compared for each term of the series. Local structural organization has been obtained from ab initio calculations through static models of isolated ion pairs and dynamic simulations of small portions of liquids through twelve, ten, and nine ion pairs for [Ch][For], [Ch][Pro], and [Ch][But], respectively. All the theoretical models indicate that cations and anions are connected by strong hydrogen bonding and form stable ion pairs in the liquid that are reminiscent of the static ab initio ion pairs. Different structural aspects may affect the radial distribution function, like the local structure of ion pairs and the conformation of choline. When small portions of liquids have been simulated by dynamic quantum chemical methods, some key structural features of the X-ray radial distribution function were well reproduced whereas the classical force fields here applied did not entirely reproduce all the observed structural features.

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

Ab initio electron mobility and polar phonon scattering in GaAs

In polar semiconductors and oxides, the long-range nature of the electron-phonon (e- ph) interaction is a bottleneck to compute charge transport from first principles. In this work, we develop an efficient ab initio scheme to compute and converge the e- ph relaxation times (RTs) and electron mobility in polar materials. We apply our approach to GaAs, where by using the Boltzmann equation with state-dependent RTs, we compute mobilities in excellent agreement with experiment at 250 – 500 K . The e- ph RTs and the phonon contributions to intravalley and intervalley e- ph scattering are also analyzed. Our work enables efficient ab initio computations of transport and carrier dynamics in polar materials.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nuclear Schiff Moments and CP Violation

This article reviews the calculation of nuclear Schiff moments, which one must know in order to interpret experiments that search for time-reversal-violating electric dipole moments in certain atoms and molecules. After briefly reviewing the connection between dipole moments and CP violation in and beyond the Standard Model of particle physics; Schiff's theorem, which concerns the screening of nuclear electric dipole moments by electrons; Schiff moments; and experiments to measure dipole moments in atoms and molecules, this review examines attempts to compute Schiff moments in nuclei such as 199 Hg and octupole-deformed isotopes such as 225 Ra, which are particularly useful in experiments. It then turns to ab initio nuclear-structure theory, describing ways in which both the in-medium similarity renormalization group and coupled-cluster theory can be used to compute important Schiff moments more accurately than the less controlled methods that have been applied so far.

CP violation↗
NASA NTRS2006

Quenching of Excited Na due to He Collisions

The quenching and elastic scattering of excited Sodium by collisions with Helium have been investigated for energies between 10(exp -13) eV and 10 eV. With the ab initio adiabatic potentials and nonadiabatic radial and rotational couplings obtained from multireference single- and double-excitation configuration interaction approach, we carried out scattering calculations by the quantum-mechanical molecular-orbital close-coupling method. Cross sections for quenching reactions and elastic collisions are presented. Quenching and elastic collisional rate coefficients as a function of temperature between 1 micro-K and 10,000 K are also obtained. The results are relevant to modeling non-LTE effects on Na D absorption lines in extrasolar planets and brown dwarfs.

Lin, C. Y.↗
DOE OSTI2011

O K-energy loss near-edge structure change induced by tantalum impurity in monoclinic hafnium oxide

The present paper reports the energy loss near-edge structure (ELNES) study of monoclinic HfO{sub 2} (m-HfO{sub 2}) and tantalum doped m-HfO{sub 2} (Ta{sub 0.1}Hf{sub 0.9}O{sub 2}) thin films prepared by radio frequency magnetron co-sputtering method. A change in the O K-ELNES spectra was observed as the amount of dopant increases. In order to precise the common features and the differences as a function of Ta defect nature (substitutional or interstitial) in HfO{sub 2}, the O K-ELNES were commented with respect to density functional theory calculations implemented in Vienna ab initio simulation package code. The calculated Ta doped HfO{sub 2} band structure showed that substitutional tantalum is the dominant defect and the spectral differences between doped and non-doped HfO{sub 2} are mainly originated from the change in the local cation distribution around the oxygen atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Modeling of molecular nitrogen collisions and dissociation processes for direct simulation Monte Carlo

The Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method typically used for simulating hypersonic Earth re-entry flows requires accurate total collision cross sections and reaction probabilities. However, total cross sections are often determined from extrapolations of relatively low-temperature viscosity data, so their reliability is unknown for the high temperatures observed in hypersonic flows. Existing DSMC reaction models accurately reproduce experimental equilibrium reaction rates, but the applicability of these rates to the strong thermal nonequilibrium observed in hypersonic shocks is unknown. For hypersonic flows, these modeling issues are particularly relevant for nitrogen, the dominant species of air. To rectify this deficiency, the Molecular Dynamics/Quasi-Classical Trajectories (MD/QCT) method is used to accurately compute collision and reaction cross sections for the N{sub 2}({sup 1}Σ{sub g}{sup +})-N{sub 2}({sup 1}Σ{sub g}{sup +}) collision pair for conditions expected in hypersonic shocks using a new potential energy surface developed using a ReaxFF fit to recent advanced ab initio calculations. The MD/QCT-computed reaction probabilities were found to exhibit better physical behavior and predict less dissociation than the baseline total collision energy reaction model for strong nonequilibrium conditions expected in a shock. The MD/QCT reaction model compared well with computed equilibrium reaction rates and shock-tube data. In addition, the MD/QCT-computed total cross sections were found to agree well with established variable hard sphere total cross sections.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

Ab initio modeling of transport and thermodynamic stability for hafnia memristive devices

HfO 2 -based memristive switching devices are currently under intensive investigation due to their high performance and mature fabrication techniques. However, several critical issues have to be addressed to bring them from lab to market. We have recently looked into two important issues with the use of density functional theory methods. One is the wide distribution of device resistance in off-states. We have modeled the switching process of a Pt-HfO 2 -Pt structure for which quantized conductance was observed. Oxygen atoms moving inside a conductive oxygen vacancy filament divide the filament into several quantum wells. Device conductance changes exponentially when one oxygen atom moves away from interface into filament. We propose that the high sensitivity of device conductance to the position of oxygen atoms results in the large variation of device off-state resistance. Another issue that we have recently addressed is the poor switching performance of devices based on a TiN-HfO 2 -TiN structure. While recent experiments have shown that by inserting an "oxygen scavenger" metal between positive electrode and oxide significantly improves device performance, the fundamental understanding of the improvement is lacking.We provide detailed understanding how scavenger layers improve device performance. First, we show that Ta insertion facilitates formation of on-states by reducing the formation energy. Second, the inserted Ta layer reduces the Schottky barrier height in the off-states by changing interface electric dipole at the oxide electrode interface. Nevertheless, the device maintains a high on/off resistance ratio. Finally, with Ta insertion the on-state conductance becomes much less sensitive to the specific location from which the oxygen was removed from the oxide. In conclusion, our studies provide fundamental understanding needed for enabling realization of a non-volatile memory technology with reduced energy consumption.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Simulation tools for atom probe tomography: A path for diagnosis and treatment of image degradation

The ideal picture of a near-perfect 3D microscope often presented regarding Atom Probe Tomography faces several issues. These issues degrade the metrological performance of the instrument and find their roots in the phenomena acting at the atomic to the mesoscopic level in the vicinity of the surface of a field emitter. From the field evaporation process at the atomic scale, to the macroscopic scale of the instrument, the path to model the imaging process and to develop more accurate and reliable reconstruction algorithms is not a single lane road. This paper focused on the numerical methods used to understand, treat, and potentially heal imaging issues commonly affecting the data in atom probe experiments. A lot of room for improvement exists in solving accuracy problems observed in complex materials by means of purely electrostatic models describing the image formation in a classical approach. Looking at the sample at the atomic scale, the phenomena perturbing the imaging process are subtle. An examination of atomic scale modifications of the sample surface in the presence of a high surface electric field is therefore mandatory. Atomic scale molecular dynamic models integrating the influence of the high surface electric are being developed with this aim. It is also demonstrated that the complex behavior of atoms and molecules in high fields, and consequences on collected data, can be understood through the use of accurate ab-initio models modified to include the impact of the extreme surface electric field.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

FP-LAPW study of the fundamental properties of the cubic spinel CdAl{sub 2}O{sub 4}

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Fundamental properties of CdAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} are investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Results obtained for energy band gaps using EV-GGA are larger than that within PBE-GGA. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The decomposition of the dielectric function into individual band-to-band contributions is calculated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The effective charge-carrier masses are estimated from the band structure. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Pressure and temperature dependences of some macroscopic parameters are obtained. -- Abstract: We have investigated the structural, elastic, electronic, optical and thermodynamic properties of the cubic spinel CdAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} using accurate ab initio calculations. Computed equilibrium structural parameters are in good agreement with the available experimental data. Single-crystals elastic parameters are calculated for pressure up to 30 GPa using a conserving-volume total energy-strain method. Isotropic elastic parameters for ideal polycrystalline CdAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} aggregates are computed in the framework of the Voigt-Reuss-Hill approximation. Result for band structure using the Engel-Vosko scheme of the GGA shows a significant improvement over the common GGA functionals. Optical spectra have been calculated for the energy range 0-30 eV. The peaks and structures in the optical spectra are assigned to interband transitions. Pressure dependence of the band gaps, static dielectric constant and static refractive index are also investigated. Pressure and thermal effects on some macroscopic properties are predicted using the quasi-harmonic Debye model.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Low-temperature thermal properties of Fe-doped Co 3 Sn 2 S 2

Recent studies on Co 3 Sn 2 S 2 usually focus on its electrical and magnetic behaviors as it is a Weyl semimetal, half metal, and anisotropic ferromagnet at the same time. Only a few works looked into its low-temperature thermal characteristics. Here, in this study, we report the low-temperature heat capacity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity of Fe-doped Co 3 Sn 2 S 2 , as well as the formation energies, band structures, and spin-polarized density of states calculated by using the spin-polarized relativistic Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker – Green’s function method (sprKKR). The heat capacity data reveal that the sample with a heavier Fe-doping level has a lower Debye temperature and a larger density of states at the Fermi level, the latter confirmed by our ab initio computational results. The Fe-doping increases the absolute value of the Seebeck coefficient at temperatures above 120 K and dramatically suppresses the thermal conductivity. Furthermore, we discuss how the external applied magnetic field affects the Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity of pristine Co 3 Sn 2 S 2 . Our findings provide a detailed reference and may stimulate future investigations into the low-temperature thermal transport properties of Co 3 Sn 2 S 2 and other compounds in the shandite family.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Theoretical prediction of rare gas inserted hydronium ions: HRgOH{sub 2}{sup +}

A possibility of existence of new species through insertion of a rare gas atom in hydronium ion resulting into HRgOH{sub 2}{sup +} cation (Rg = He, Ar, Kr, and Xe) has been explored by using various ab initio quantum chemical techniques. Structure, harmonic vibrational frequencies, stability, and charge distribution of HRgOH{sub 2}{sup +} species as obtained using density functional theory, second order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory, and coupled-cluster theory based methods are reported in this work. All the calculated results suggest that the HRgOH{sub 2}{sup +} species are stable enough with respect to all the dissociation channels, except the 2-body dissociation path (H{sub 3}O{sup +}+ Rg). Nevertheless, this 2-body dissociation channel connected through the relevant transition state is associated with a finite barrier, which in turn would prevent the metastable species in transforming to global minimum products. The calculated values of topological properties within the framework of quantum theory of atoms-in-molecules are found to be consistent with the bond length values. Structural and energetic parameters clearly suggest that it might be possible to prepare and characterize the HRgOH{sub 2}{sup +} species (except HHeOH{sub 2}{sup +}) using electron bombardment matrix isolation technique in a way similar to that of the preparation of (Rg{sub 2}H){sup +} or mixed (RgHRg{sup Prime }){sup +} cations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗