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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Understanding ion-selective Li/Na metal plating behavior in hybrid Li-Na battery

This study investigates ion-selective Li/Na metal plating behavior in hybrid Li-Na battery systems, revealing the critical role of electrolyte solvents in these processes. Using a hybrid battery design with a LiFePO 4 cathode, Na metal anode, and NaPF 6 -based electrolytes, we observed contrasting effects of carbonate- and ether-based electrolyte solvents. While ether-based electrolytes showed expected Na plating/stripping, carbonate-based electrolytes surprisingly favored a Li-dominant plating/stripping reaction despite the Na-rich environment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that this selectivity is linked to the composition of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, with carbonate electrolytes forming Li-based inorganic-rich SEI layers that facilitate Li-ion diffusion while screening Na ions. In conclusion, these findings challenge the conventional understanding of metal plating in multi-ion environments and offer insights for designing future hybrid battery systems.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Optimized Electrolyte with High Electrochemical Stability and Oxygen Solubility for Lithium–Oxygen and Lithium–Air Batteries

Lithium-oxygen (Li-O2) batteries with high reversibility require a stable electrolyte against the side reactions with Li metal anode and reactive oxygen species. Moreover, an electrolyte which can effectively utilize the low partial pressure of oxygen in atmosphere has significance effect on the practical application lithium-air batteries. In this study, we developed a localized high concentration electrolyte (LHCE) using 1H,1H,5H-Octafluoropentyl 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl ether (OTE) as a diluent, which satisfies all these conditions at the same time. The OTE-based LHCE exhibits much improved electrochemical performances in Li-O2 batteries and Li-air batteries compared to the conventional electrolyte and high concentration electrolyte. The design principle of this novel electrolyte also provides an important guideline and reference for future researches of electrolytes in Li-O2 and Li-air batteries.

lithium air batteries, Localized high concentratio↗
NASA NTRS1993

Effect of cycling on the lithium/electrolyte interface in organic electrolytes

Nondestructive methods such as ac impedance spectroscopy and microcalorimetry are used to study the effect of cell cycling on the lithium/electrolyte interface. The reactivity of both uncycled and cycled lithium towards various electrolytes is examined by measuring the heat evolved from the cells under open-circuit conditions at 25 C by microcalorimetry. Cycled cells at the end of charge/discharge exhibited considerably higher heat output compared with the uncycled cells. After 30 d of storage, the heat output of the cycled cells is similar to that of the uncycled cells. The cell internal resistance increases with cycling, and this is attributed to the degradation of the electrolyte with cycling.

Surampudi, S.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Carbon catalysis of reactions in the lithium SOCl2 and SO2 systems

Certain hazards associated with lithium batteries have delayed widespread acceptance of these power sources. The reactivity of ground lithium carbon mixtures was examined. The effect of carbon types on this reactivity was determined. The basic reaction involved mixtures of lithium and carbon with battery electrolyte. The various parameters that influenced this reactivity included: the nature and freshness of the carbon; the freshness, the purity, and the conductive salt of the electrolyte; and the effect of Teflon or moisture.

Kilroy, W. P.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Evaluation of Elements used for Manufacturing of NanoLam Metallized Polymer Film Capacitors

Metallized polymer film capacitors (MPFC) manufactured by NanoLam technology have a better volumetric efficiency and performance that may exceed the reliability of conventional MPFCs typically used in power and high voltage systems that require high insulation resistance and low power losses. These capacitors can be also an effective replacement for electrolytic and stacked ceramic capacitors currently used in space applications looking to save significant volume and mass. This report evaluates the effects of environmental conditions including radiation and storage at room and high temperatures on the characteristics of NanoLam elements used in the production of MPFCs. Assessments of the reliability acceleration factors and predictions for the useful life are made based on highly accelerated life tests (HALT) using distributions of times to parametric failures at different stress conditions. It has been shown that even a relatively small amount of moisture absorbed at room environments in the dielectric layers may substantially change the probability of failure. In the presence of moisture, degradation processes that started after voltage application continue with time during storage.

Metallized polymer film capacitors (MPFC)↗
NASA NTRS1985

Effects of exercise-heat acclimation on fluid, electrolyte, and endocrine responses during tilt and +Gz acceleration in women and men

Two aspects of prolonged endurance training were investigated: (1) the effects of exercise-heat acclimation (on a cycle ergometer at 40 C, 42 rh) on orthostatic tolerance (70 deg head-up tilt) and on a +Gz (head-to-foot) acceleration tolerance of male and female subjects; and (2) comparison of their fluid-electrolyte shifts and hormonal (plasma epinephdrine, norepinephrine, renin, and vasopressin) responses during tilting and centrifugation. The adaptive responses during the 12 d, 2-h acclimation did not alter acceleration tolerance of either men or women, or the women's tilt tolerance, but did increase men's tilt tolerance from 30.4 min before to 58.3 min after acclimation. The patterns of fluid, electrolyte, and protein shifts at tolerance in acceleration and tilting tests were virtually the same in men and women. On the other hand, the hormonal plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, renin, and vasopressin resonses displayed different shift patterns during acceleration and tilting. It is concluded that the responses to tilting cannot be used to predict responses to acceleration. Future experiments for relating the orthostatic and the acceleration tolerances, and the practical questions of the training regimens for future astronauts are discussed.

Greenleaf, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Fluid and electrolyte control in simulated and actual spaceflight

Effects of microgravity on body fluid distribution and electrolyte and hormonal levels of astronauts have been studied since the early manned space missions. Bedrested subjects have been used as controls to separate effects of microgravity from those of hypokinesia. These investigations have led to documentation of the physiological effects of spaceflight and to a unified theory of response to microgravity. During flight, crewmembers have decreased thirst and a net loss of body water, sodium, and potassium. These changes seem to be initiated by passive transfer of extracellular fluid resulting in increased central venous pressure (CVP), to which the homeostatic mechanisms respond. A new equilibrium state is maintained during flight; it does not change in response to negative calcium and nitrogen balances during flight. On reexposure to gravity, profound water and salt retention occurs to replete extracellular fluid. Attempts to avoid cardiac deconditioning by repleting water and salt before leaving microgravity have somewhat ameliorated postural hypotension but have had little effect on CVP, cardiac chamber size or electrolyte dynamics.

Leach, C. S.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Redox Gating for Colossal Carrier Modulation and Unique Phase Control

Redox gating, a novel approach distinct from conventional electrolyte gating, combines reversible redox functionalities with common ionic electrolyte moieties to engineer charge transport, enabling power-efficient electronic phase control. This study achieves a colossal sheet carrier density modulation beyond 10 16 cm -2 , sustainable over thousands of cycles, all within the sub-volt regime for functional oxide thin films. The key advantage of this method lies in the controlled injection of a large quantity of carriers from the electrolyte into the channel material without the deleterious effects associated with traditional electrolyte gating processes such as the production of ionic defects or intercalated species. The redox gating approach offers a simple and practical means of decoupling electrical and structural phase transitions, enabling the isostructural metal-insulator transition and improved device endurance. The versatility of redox gating extends across multiple materials, irrespective of their crystallinity, crystallographic orientation, or carrier type (n- or p-type). This inclusivity encompasses functional heterostructures and low-dimensional quantum materials composed of sustainable elements, highlighting the broad applicability and potential of the technique in electronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1983

Semiconductor photoelectrochemistry

Semiconductor photoelectrochemical reactions are investigated. A model of the charge transport processes in the semiconductor, based on semiconductor device theory, is presented. It incorporates the nonlinear processes characterizing the diffusion and reaction of charge carriers in the semiconductor. The model is used to study conditions limiting useful energy conversion, specifically the saturation of current flow due to high light intensity. Numerical results describing charge distributions in the semiconductor and its effects on the electrolyte are obtained. Experimental results include: an estimate rate at which a semiconductor photoelectrode is capable of converting electromagnetic energy into chemical energy; the effect of cell temperature on the efficiency; a method for determining the point of zero zeta potential for macroscopic semiconductor samples; a technique using platinized titanium dioxide powders and ultraviolet radiation to produce chlorine, bromine, and iodine from solutions containing their respective ions; the photoelectrochemical properties of a class of layered compounds called transition metal thiophosphates; and a technique used to produce high conversion efficiency from laser radiation to chemical energy.

Buoncristiani, A. M.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effect of Tethering Anions in Block Copolymer Electrolytes via Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Ion-containing block copolymers (BCPs) are promising solid-state electrolytes as they can combine ion conduction and mechanical robustness via multiple microphases. However, salt-doped BCPs can have low ion conduction and transference number. One strategy to increase transference number is to tether anions to the polymer backbone (creating a single-ion conductor), though this may impact cation mobility. Leveraging coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, we compare the effects of ion concentration and polymer dielectric constant on BCPs with and without bonding anions to the chain (without changing any other chemical properties). We find that single-ion BCPs have higher cation conductivity than analogous salt-doped BCPs, especially at moderate ion concentrations. Furthermore, we also compare several structural features of these systems; notably, tethering anions causes the ions to spread more evenly throughout the conducting phase, which is related to improved cation conduction.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cobalt-Free Cathodes for Next Generation Li-Ion Batteries

In this U.S. Department of Energy sponsored project Nexceris, in collaboration with project partners; The Ohio State University and Navitas Advanced Systems have advanced the technical maturity of a non-cobalt containing cathode for next-generation Li-ion batteries. The cathode is based on the lithium manganese nickel-titanium oxide, LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 TiO 4 (LNMTO) high voltage spinel. To address limitations with poor cycle and calendar life an microstucturally hierarchical LNMO/LNMTO core-shell cathode powder has been developed that enables the formation of a solid-electrolyte interface that effectively passivates the cathode surface. The microstructural enhancements of the cathode material focus on preferentially enriching the surface with titanium. In parallel, new, optimized binder and electrolyte chemistries have been incorporated to address degradation mechanisms associated with high-voltage systems. Single-layer pouch cell and large-format 2-Ah cell testing have shown that an optimized LNMO/LNMTO core-shell powder significantly improves initial cell capacity and cycle life compared to homogeneous LNMO powder. To support development and the fabrication of 2-Ah cells a novel Hybrid Alternative Wet-Chemical Synthesis (HAWCS) process have been developed. This low-cost, synthesis approach enables the excellent compositional and particle morphology control achieved with co-precipitation without the strict process controls and associated expensive process equipment.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effect of Added Salt on Disordered Poly(ethylene oxide)-Block-Poly(methyl methacrylate) Copolymer Electrolytes

In this report we studied the effect of salt addition on a diblock copolymer system with a negative Flory-Huggins interaction parameter, χ, indicative of attractive interactions between the two blocks. The system studied is poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PEO-PMMA) with added lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) salt. We studied two asymmetric block copolymers, PEO-PMMA(10-33) and PEO-PMMA(10-64), where the numbers refer to the molar masses of the blocks in kg mol -1 . The small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) profiles for PEO-PMMA(10-33) were featureless at all salt concentrations. In contrast, PEO-PMMA(10-64) exhibited SAXS peaks when the salt concentration was between 0.22 ≤ m (mol Li/kg polymer) ≤ 0.44. The appearance of SAXS peaks only in PEO-PMMA(10-64) is consistent with the predictions of ionic self-consistent field theory developed by de la Cruz and co-workers, which predicts that in systems with negative χ, ordered phases are only found when the volume fraction of the ionic block is about 10%.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-entropy electrolytes for practical lithium metal batteries

Electrolyte engineering is crucial for improving battery performance, particularly for lithium metal batteries. Recent advances in electrolytes have greatly improved cyclability by enhancing electrochemical stability at the electrode interfaces, but concurrently achieving high ionic conductivity has remained challenging. Here we report an electrolyte design strategy for enhanced lithium metal batteries by increasing the molecular diversity in electrolytes, which essentially leads to high entropy electrolytes (HEEs). We find that in weakly solvating electrolytes, the entropy effect reduces ion clustering while preserving the characteristic anion-rich solvation structures, which is characterized by synchrotron-based X-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations. Electrolytes with smaller- sized clusters exhibit a 2-fold improvement in ionic conductivity compared to conventional weakly- solvating electrolytes, enabling stable cycling at high current densities up to 2C (6.2 mA cm -2 ) in anode- free LiNi 0.6 Mn 0.2 Co 0.2 (NMC622)||Cu pouch cells. In conclusion, the efficacy of the design strategy is verified by performance improvements in three disparate weakly solvating electrolyte systems.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1991

Effects of Weightlessness on Human Fluid and Electrolyte Physiology

The changes that occur in human fluid and electrolyte physiology during the acute and adaptive phases of adaptation to spaceflight are summarized. A number of questions remain to be answered. At a time when plasma volume and extracellular fluid volume are contracted and salt and water intake is unrestricted. ADH does not correct the volume deficit and serum sodium decreases. Change in secretion or activity of a natriuretic factor during spaceflight is one possible explanation. Recent identification of a polypeptide hormone produced in cardiac muscle cells which is natiuretic, is hypotensive, and has an inhibitory effect on renin and aldosterone secretion has renewed interest in the role of a natriuretic factor. The role of this atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) in both long- and short-term variation in extracellular volumes and in the inability of the kidney to bring about an escape from the sodium-retaining state accompanying chronic cardiac dysfunction makes it reasonable to look for a role of ANF in the regulation of sodium during exposure to microgravity. Prostaglandin-E is another hormone that may antagonize the action of ADH. Assays of these hormones will be performed on samples from crew members in the future.

Leach, Carolyn S.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Boosting solid oxide fuel cell performance via electrolyte thickness reduction and cathode infiltration

Increasing the power density and reducing the operating temperature of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is important for improving commercial viability. Here we discuss two strategies for achieving such improvements in Ni–YSZ supported SOFCs – electrolyte thickness reduction and cathode infiltration. Microstructural and electrochemical results are presented showing the effect of reducing YSZ/GDC electrolyte thickness from 8 to 2.5 μm, and the effect of PrO x infiltration into the LSCF–GDC cathode. Both of these measures are effective, particularly at lower temperatures, leading to an increase in the maximum power density at 650 °C from 0.4 to 0.95 W cm –2 , for example. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy utilizing subtractive analysis shows that PrO x enhances the cathode charge transfer process. Reducing the electrolyte thickness reduces not only the cell ohmic resistance but also the electrode polarization resistance. Furthermore, the latter effect appears to be an artifact associated with a slight increase in the steam partial pressure at the anode due to minor gas leakage across the thinner electrolyte.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Degradation Effects at the Porous Transport Layer/Catalyst Layer Interface in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolyzer

The porous transport layer (PTL)/catalyst layer (CL) interface plays a crucial role in the achievement of high performance and efficiency in polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs). This study investigated the effects of the PTL/CL interface on the degradation of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) during a 4000 h test, comparing the MEAs assembled with uncoated and Ir-coated Ti PTLs. Our results show that compared to an uncoated PTL/CL interface, an optimized interface formed when using a platinum group metal (PGM) coating, i.e., an iridium layer at the PTL/CL interface, and reduced the degradation of the MEA. The agglomeration and formation of voids and cracks could be found for both MEAs after the long-term test, but the incorporation of an Ir coating on the PTL did not affect the morphology change or oxidation of IrO x in the catalyst layer. In addition, our studies suggest that the ionomer loss and restructuring of the anodic MEA can also be reduced by Ir coating of the PTL/CL interface. Optimization of the PTL/CL interface improves the performance and durability of a PEMWE.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗