PT Symmetry-Enabled Physically Unclonable Functions for Anti-Counterfeiting RF Tags
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Engineering↗
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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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Updated Rice Kinase Database RKD 2.0: enabling transcriptome and functional analysis of rice kinase genes
Protein kinases catalyze the transfer of a phosphate moiety from a phosphate donor to the substrate molecule, thus playing critical roles in cell signaling and metabolism. Although plant genomes contain more than 1000 genes that encode kinases, knowledge is limited about the function of each of these kinases. A major obstacle that hinders progress towards kinase characterization is functional redundancy. To address this challenge, we previously developed the rice kinase database (RKD) that integrated omics-scale data within a phylogenetics context.
Agriculture↗
Enabling URR Self Shielding Functionality in SAMMY [Slides]
This lecture is on enabling Unresolved Resonance Energy Range (URR) self-shielding functionality in SAMMY. This presentation covers Fiscal Year 2022 milestones, and motivations driving this endeavor. This presentation includes slides depicting the current self-shielding correction workflow. Additionally, this presentation includes a look into the doppler broadening issue and the verification of capture. This lecture concludes with envisioned future work.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NDVI derived from near-infrared-enabled digital cameras: Applicability across different plant functional types
Not Available
Filippa, Gianluca↗
Sensory stimulation for upper limb amputations modulates adaptability of cortical large-scale systems and combination of somatosensory and visual inputs
Abstract Touch-like phantom limb sensations can be elicited through targeted transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (tTENS) in individuals with upper limb amputation. The corresponding impact of sensory stimulation on cortical activity remains an open question. Brain network research shows that sensorimotor cortical activity is supported by dynamic changes in functional connections between relevant brain regions. These groups of interconnected regions are functional modules whose architecture enables specialized function and related neural processing supporting individual task needs. Using electroencephalographic (EEG) signals to analyze modular functional connectivity, we investigated changes in the modular architecture of cortical large-scale systems when participants with upper limb amputations performed phantom hand movements before, during, and after they received tTENS. We discovered that tTENS substantially decreased the flexibility of the default mode network (DMN). Furthermore, we found increased interconnectivity (measured by a graph theoretic integration metric) between the DMN, the somatomotor network (SMN) and the visual network (VN) in the individual with extensive tTENS experience. While for individuals with less tTENS experience, we found increased integration between DMN and the attention network. Our results provide insights into how sensory stimulation promotes cortical processing of combined somatosensory and visual inputs and help develop future tools to evaluate sensory combination for individuals with amputations.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
New Density Functional Theory Approaches for Enabling Prediction of Chemical and Physical Properties of Plutonium and Other Actinides
Density Functional Theory (DFT) based Equation of State (EOS) construction is a prominent part of Sandia's capabilities to support engineering sciences. This capability is based on amending experimental data with information gained from computational investigations, in parts of the phase space where experimental data is hard, dangerous, or expensive to obtain. A prominent materials area where such computational investigations are hard to perform today because of limited accuracy is actinide and lanthanide materials. The Science of Extreme Environment Lab Directed Research and Development project described in this Report has had the aim to cure this accuracy problem. We have focused on the two major factors which would allow for accurate computational investigations of actinide and lanthanide materials: (1) The fully relativistic treatment needed for materials containing heavy atoms, and (2) the needed improved performance of DFT exchange-correlation functionals. We have implemented a fully relativistic treatment based on the Dirac Equation into the LANL code RSPt and we have shown that such a treatment is imperative when calculating properties of materials containing actinides and/or lanthanides. The present standard treatment that only includes some of the relativistic terms is not accurate enough and can even give misleading results. Compared to calculations previously considered state of the art, the Dirac treatment gives a substantial change in equilibrium volume predictions for materials with large spin-orbit coupling. For actinide and lanthanide materials, a Dirac treatment is thus a fundamental requirement in any computational investigation, including those for DFT-based EOS construction. For a full capability, a DFT functional capable of describing strongly correlated systems such as actinide materials need to be developed. Using the previously successful subsystem functional scheme developed by Mattsson et.al., we have created such a functional. In this functional the Harmonic Oscillator Gas is providing the necessary reference system for the strong correlation and localization occurring in actinides. Preliminary testing shows that the new Hao-Armiento-Mattsson (HAM) functional gives a trend towards improved results for the crystalline copper oxide test system we have chosen. This test system exhibits the same exchange-correlation physics as the actinide systems do, but without the relativistic effects, giving access to a pure testing ground for functionals. During the work important insights have been gained. An example is that currently available functionals, contrary to common belief, make large errors in so called hybridization regions where electrons from different ions interact and form new states. Together with the new understanding of functional issues, the Dirac implementation into the RSPt code will permit us to gain more fundamental understanding, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of materials of importance for Sandia and the rest of the Nuclear Weapons complex.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Functionalized Graphene via a One-Pot Reaction Enabling Exact Pore Sizes, Modifiable Pore Functionalization, and Precision Doping
Functionalizing graphene with exact pore size, specific functional groups, and precision doping poses many significant challenges. Current methods lack precision and produce random pore sizes, sites of attachment, and amounts of dopant, leading to compromised structural integrity and affecting graphene’s applications. In this work, we report a strategy for the synthesis of functionalized graphitic materials with modifiable nanometer-sized pores via a Pictet–Spengler polymerization reaction. This one-pot, four-step synthesis uses concepts based on covalent organic frameworks (COFs) synthesis to produce crystalline two-dimensional materials that were confirmed by PXRD, TEM measurements, and DFT studies. These new materials are structurally analogous to doped graphene and graphene oxide (GO) but, unlike GO, maintain their semiconductive properties when fully functionalized.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Structural coherence model for predicting molten salt thermal conductivity informed by the pair distribution function
To enable thermal behavior prediction and design optimization of molten salt reactors, thermal conductivity of molten salts must be characterized in terms of salt composition and temperature. Current theoretical models fail to provide consistent approximations for all halide mixtures, particularly actinide-bearing melts. This study aims to link the short-range order structure of molten salts to the mean free path of energy carriers through a simple structural coherence model informed by the partial pair distribution function. The proposed method is used to predict the thermal conductivity of 33 alkali and alkaline earth halide salts. Predictions approximate experimental measurements with a mean absolute error of 15.7% for dissociating, complexing, and actinide salts, including unary LiCl, NaCl, and MgCl 2 as well as mixtures LiF–NaF–KF (FLiNaK), LiF–BeF 2 (FLiBe), and NaCl–UCl 3 . The work provides evidence for the validity of energy carrier descriptions of molecular-level heat transfer in molten salts, with implications for improved theories of liquid energy transport in general.
Actinide mixtures↗
Single-Molecule Electron Transport in Peptoids
Peptoids are structural analogs of peptides in which side chains are appended to the backbone nitrogen rather than the α-carbon. The sequence-defined modularity of peptoids enables precise control over structure−function relationships, enabling applications in energy storage and biomedical materials. Despite recent progress, the role of sequence and conformation on electron transport in peptoid molecules is not fully understood. Here, we synthesize a library of peptoid oligomers and characterize their molecular electronic properties using the scanning tunneling microscope-break junction (STM-BJ) technique. Our results show well-defined electron transport behavior for peptoid sequences containing aromatic side groups lacking hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) and without chemical substitutions at the N−C α position. This behavior fundamentally differs from electron transport in peptides, where H-bond interactions give rise to higher conductance states. All-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to understand the conformational heterogeneity of peptoids, and molecular conformations obtained from MD simulations are used in quantum mechanical calculations based on the nonequilibrium Green’s function−density functional theory (NEGF-DFT) formalism. In all cases, computational results are in reasonable qualitative agreement with experiments. Our work demonstrates that the conductance behavior of peptoids depends on monomer identity, including side-chain aromaticity and substitution at the N−C α position. Overall, this work provides new insights into the structure−function relationships governing electron transport in peptoid-based materials and establishes design rules for peptoid-based molecular junctions.
Charge transport↗
Multiparameter optical fiber sensing for energy infrastructure through nanoscale light–matter interactions: From hardware to software, science to commercial opportunities
Monitoring of energy infrastructure through robust yet economical sensing platforms is becoming an area of increased importance, with ubiquitous applications including the electrical grid, natural gas and oil transportation pipelines, H2 infrastructure (storage and transportation), carbon storage, power generation, and subsurface environments. Plasmonic and functional nanomaterial enabled fiber optic sensors show excellent promise for a wide range of sensing applications due to their versatility to be engineered for specific analytes of interest while retaining inherent advantages of the optical fiber sensor platform. Through the design of novel sensing layers, the optical transduction mechanism and wavelength dependence can also be tailored for ease of integration with low-cost interrogation systems enabling an inexpensive yet highly functional optical fiber sensing platform. In addition, recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning theoretical methods have been leveraged to simultaneously extract multiple parameters through multi-wavelength interrogation such that unique wavelengths can also serve as unique sensing elements, analogous to electronic nose sensor technologies. The concept of an optical fiber based “photonic nose” via multiple interrogation wavelengths and/or sensor nodes offers a compelling platform technology to realize multiparameter speciation of chemical analytes within complex gas mixtures. In this Perspective, we further generalize the notion of multiparameter sensing through the novel “photonic nervous system” concept based upon low-cost, functionalized optical fiber sensor probes monitoring a variety of distinct analyte classes (physical, chemical, electromagnetic, etc.) simultaneously to provide broad situational awareness via integrated sensors.
Su, Yang-Duan (ORCID:0000000214820902)↗
Benchmarking density functional perturbation theory to enable high-throughput screening of materials for dielectric constant and refractive index
We demonstrate a high-throughput density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) methodology capable of screening compounds for their dielectric properties. The electronic and ionic dielectric tensors are calculated for 88 compounds, where the eigenvalues of the total dielectric tensors are compared with single crystal and polycrystalline experimental values reported in the literature. We find that GGA/PBE has a smaller mean average deviation from experiments (MARD=16.2%) when compared to LDA. The prediction accuracy of DFPT is lowest for compounds that exhibit complex structural relaxation effects (e.g., octahedra rotation in perovskites) and/or strong anharmonicity. Despite some discrepancies between DFPT results and reported experimental values, the high-throughput methodology is found to be useful in identifying interesting compounds by ranking. This is demonstrated by the high Spearman correlation factor (ρ=0.92). Finally, we demonstrate that DFPT provides a good estimate for the refractive index of a compound without calculating the frequency dependence of the dielectric matrix (MARD=5.7%).
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Scalable Graphene Oxide Hollow Fiber Membranes for Dye Desalination Enabled by Multi‐Purpose Polyamine Functionalization
2D nanosheets such as graphene oxide (GO) can be stacked to construct membranes with fine-tuned nanochannels to achieve molecular sieving ability. These membranes are often thin to achieve high water permeance, but their fabrication with consistent nanostructures on a large scale presents an enormous challenge. Herein, GO-based hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) are developed for dye desalination by synergistically combining chemical etching to form in-plane nanopores (10–30 nm) to increase water permeance and polyamine functionalization to improve underwater stability and enable facile large-scale production using existing membrane manufacturing processes. HFM modules with areas of 88 cm 2 and GO layer thicknesses of ≈500 nm are fabricated, and they exhibited a stable dye water permeance of 75 L m −2 h −1 bar −1 , rejection of >99.5% for Direct red and Congo red, and Na 2 SO 4 /dye separation factor of 300–500, superior to state-of-the-art commercial membranes. Furthermore, the versatility of this approach is also demonstrated using different short polyamines and porous substrates. This study reveals a scalable way of designing 2D materials into high-performance robust membranes for practical applications.
amine functionalization↗
Density Functional Tight-Binding Enables Tractable Studies of Quantum Plasmonics
Routine investigations of plasmonic phenomena at the quantum level present a formidable computational challenge due to the large system sizes and ultrafast time scales involved. This Feature Article highlights the use of density functional tight-binding (DFTB), particularly its real-time time-dependent formulation (RT-TDDFTB), as a tractable approach to study plasmonic nanostructures from a quantum mechanical purview. We begin by outlining the theoretical framework and limitations of DFTB, emphasizing its efficiency in modeling systems with thousands of atoms over picosecond time scales. Applications of RT-TDDFTB are then explored in the context of optical absorption, nonlinear harmonic generation, and plasmon-mediated photocatalysis. We demonstrate how DFTB can reconcile classical and quantum descriptions of plasmonic behavior, capturing key phenomena such as size-dependent plasmon shifts and plasmon coupling in nanoparticle assemblies. Lastly, we showcase DFTB’s ability to model hot carrier generation and reaction dynamics in plasmon-driven H2 dissociation, underscoring its potential to model photocatalytic processes. Collectively, these studies establish DFTB as a powerful, yet computationally efficient tool to probe the emergent physics of materials at the limits of space and time.
Electrical energy↗
Atomic Gradient Structure Alters Electronic Structure in 3D across the Bulk and Enhances Photoactivity
Abstract Understanding structure–function relationships enables the design of materials with tailored functionalities. The long‐standing challenge is to design materials with high active volume to improve efficiency. Tailored grain boundaries and lattice defects are traditionally used to tune the electronic structure near interfaces or defects to promote electron and hole separation. However, the active volume of point defect sites or interfaces in these traditional photocatalysts is extremely low. This study reports a structure with continuous atomic positional deformation across the bulk, altering the electronic structure in 3D and creating a significantly higher active volume. Such a structure in anatase is obtained and tuned by phase transformation during the heating process. Transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory results reveal that atomic deformations result in continuous band bending across the particles, facilitating electron–hole separation, inhibiting their recombination, and inducing dramatically enhanced photoactivity. These findings enable a different materials design paradigm that can potentially be harnessed for a broad range of applications.
Ren, Peng↗
Atomic Gradient Structures: Atomic Gradient Structure Alters Electronic Structure in 3D across the Bulk and Enhances Photoactivity
Understanding structure–function relationships enables the design of materials with tailored functionalities. The long-standing challenge is to design materials with high active volume to improve the efficiency. Tailored grain boundaries and lattice defects are traditionally used to tune the electronic structure near interfaces or defects to promote electron and hole separation. However, the active volume of point defect sites or interfaces in these traditional photocatalysts is extremely low. In this work, we report a structure with continuous atomic positional deformation across the bulk, altering the electronic structure in three-dimension and creating a significantly high active volume. Such a structure in anatase is obtained and tuned by phase transformation during heating process. Transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory results reveal that atomic deformations result in continuous band bending across the particles, facilitating electron–hole separation, inhibiting their recombination, and inducing dramatically enhanced photoactivity. These findings enable a different materials design paradigm that can potentially be harnessed for a broad range of applications.
TiO2↗
Solid state synthesis of water-dispersible silicon nanoparticles from silica nanoparticles
A solid state synthesis for obtaining nanocrystalline silicon was performed by high temperature reduction of commercial amorphous nanosilica with magnesium powder. The obtained silicon powder contains crystalline silicon phase with lattice spacings characteristic of diamond cubic structure (according to high resolution TEM), and an amorphous phase. In {sup 29}Si CP MAS NMR a broad multicomponent peak corresponding to silicon is located at -61.28 to -69.45 ppm, i.e. between the peaks characteristic of amorphous and crystalline Si. The powder has displayed red luminescence while excited under UV illumination, due to quantum confinement within the nanocrystals. The silicon nanopowder was successfully dispersed in water containing poly(vinyl alcohol) as a stabilizing agent. The obtained dispersion was also characterized by red photoluminescence with a band maximum at 710 nm, thus enabling future functional coating applications. - Graphical abstract: High temperature reduction of amorphous nanosilica with magnesium powder results in the formation of powder containing crystalline silicon phase The powder displays red luminescence while excited under UV illumination, due to quantum confinement within the Si nanocrystals, and can be successfully dispersed in water containing poly(vinyl alcohol) as a stabilizing agent. The obtained dispersion was also characterized by red photoluminescence, thus enabling future functional coating applications.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Atomic Scale Characterization of Compound Semiconductors using Atom Probe Tomography: Preprint
Internal interfaces are critical in determining the performance of III-V multijunction solar cells. Studying these interfaces with atomic resolution using a combination of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atom probe tomography (APT), and density functional calculations enables a more fundamental understanding of carrier dynamics in photovoltaic (PV) device structures. To achieve fullatomic scale spatial and chemical resolution, data acquisition parameters in laser pulsed APT must be carefully studied to eliminate surface diffusion. Atom probe data with minimized group V ion clustering and expected stoichiometry can be achieved by adjusting laser pulse power, pulse repetition rate, and specimen preparation parameters such that heat flow away from the evaporating surface ismaximized. Applying these improved analysis conditions to III-V based PV gives an atomic scale understanding of compositional and dopant profiles across interfaces and tunnel junctions and the initial stages of alloy clustering and dopant accumulation. Details on APT experimental methods and future in-situ instrumentation developments are illustrated.
14 SOLAR ENERGY↗