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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 1,675 records · Page 93
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Nonthermal and geometric effects on the symmetric and anti-symmetric surface waves in a Lorentzian dusty plasma slab

The nonthermal and geometric effects on the propagation of the surface dust acoustic waves are investigated in a Lorentzian dusty plasma slab. The symmetric and anti-symmetric dispersion modes of the dust acoustic waves are obtained by the plasma dielectric function with the spectral reflection conditions the slab geometry. The variation of the nonthermal and geometric effects on the symmetric and the anti-symmetric modes of the surface plasma waves is also discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Discovery of a visual T-dwarf triple system and binarity at the L/T transition

We present new high contrast imaging of eight L/T transition brown dwarfs (BDs) using the NIRC2 camera on the Keck II telescope. One of our targets, the T3.5 dwarf 2MASS J08381155+1511155, was resolved into a hierarchal triple with projected separations of 2.5 ± 0.5 AU and 27 ± 5 AU for the BC and A(BC) components, respectively. Resolved OSIRIS spectroscopy of the A(BC) components confirms that all system members are T dwarfs. The system therefore constitutes the first triple T-dwarf system ever reported. Using resolved photometry to model the integrated-light spectrum, we infer spectral types of T3 ± 1, T3 ± 1, and T4.5 ± 1 for the A, B, and C components, respectively. The uniformly brighter primary has a bluer J – K{sub s} color than the next faintest component, which may reflect a sensitive dependence of the L/T transition temperature on gravity, or alternatively divergent cloud properties among components. Relying on empirical trends and evolutionary models we infer a total system mass of 0.034-0.104 M {sub ☉} for the BC components at ages of 0.3-3 Gyr, which would imply a period of 12-21 yr assuming the system semimajor axis to be similar to its projection. We also infer differences in effective temperatures and surface gravities between components of no more than ∼150 K and ∼0.1 dex. Given the similar physical properties of the components, the 2M0838+15 system provides a controlled sample for constraining the relative roles of effective temperature, surface gravity, and dust clouds in the poorly understood L/T transition regime. For an age of 3 Gyr we estimate a binding energy of ∼20 × 10{sup 41} erg for the wide A(BC) pair, which falls above the empirical minimum found for typical BD binaries, and suggests that the system may have been able to survive a dynamical ejection during formation. Combining our imaging survey results with previous work we find an observed binary fraction of 4/18 or 22{sub −8}{sup +10}% for unresolved spectral types of L9-T4 at separations ≳ 0.''1. This translates into a volume-corrected frequency of 13{sub −6}{sup +7}%, which is similar to values of ∼9%-12% reported outside the transition. Our reported L/T transition binary fraction is roughly twice as large as the binary fraction of an equivalent L9-T4 sample selected from primary rather than unresolved spectral types (6{sub −4}{sup +6}%); however, this increase is not yet statistically significant and a larger sample is required to settle the issue.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Surface Charge Predicts the Presence of Cation Effects in Electrocatalysis

The identity of electrolyte cations has an important influence on the rates of many electrocatalytic reactions, but these effects are not always observed. Recently, we found that the surface charge of the catalyst, quantified by the potential of zero total charge (PZTC), is a useful heuristic for predicting when cation effects will be observed for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Here, we demonstrate that this descriptor allows us to rationalize the observation or absence of cation effects across a range of conditions, reactions (the hydrogen evolution reaction, the ORR, methanol oxidation, ethylene glycol oxidation, glycerol oxidation, and glucose reduction) and metal surfaces (Pt, Pd, Ag, and Au). These results suggest that when the reaction’s operating potential is negative of the metal’s PZTC, electrolyte cations accumulate at the catalyst surface and influence reaction rates. As a result, when reactions occur positive of the PZTC, cation effects are not observed.

Cations↗
DOE OSTI2010

CORROSION TESTING IN SIMULATED TANK SOLUTIONS

Three simulated waste solutions representing wastes from tanks SY-102 (high nitrate, modified to exceed guidance limits), AN-107, and AY-102 were supplied by PNNL. Out of the three solutions tested, both optical and electrochemical results show that carbon steel samples corroded much faster in SY-102 (high nitrate) than in the other two solutions with lower ratios of nitrate to nitrite. The effect of the surface preparation was not as strong as the effect of solution chemistry. In areas with pristine mill-scale surface, no corrosion occurred even in the SY-102 (high nitrate) solution, however, corrosion occurred in the areas where the mill-scale was damaged or flaked off due to machining. Localized corrosion in the form of pitting in the vapor space of tank walls is an ongoing challenge to overcome in maintaining the structural integrity of the liquid waste tanks at the Savannah River and Hanford Sites. It has been shown that the liquid waste condensate chemistry influences the amount of corrosion that occurs along the walls of the storage tanks. To minimize pitting corrosion, an effort is underway to gain an understanding of the pitting response in various simulated waste solutions. Electrochemical testing has been used as an accelerated tool in the investigation of pitting corrosion. While significant effort has been undertaken to evaluate the pitting susceptibility of carbon steel in various simulated waste solutions, additional effort is needed to evaluate the effect of liquid waste supernates from six Hanford Site tanks (AY-101, AY-102, AN-102, AN-107, SY-102 (high Cl{sup -}), and SY-102 (high nitrate)) on carbon steel. Solutions were formulated at PNNL to replicate tank conditions, and in the case of SY-102, exceed Cl{sup -} and NO{sub 3}{sup -} conditions, respectively, to provide a contrast between in and out of specification limits. The majority of previous testing has been performed on pristine polished samples. To evaluate the actual tank carbon steel surface, efforts are needed to compare the polished surfaces to corroded and mill-scale surfaces, which are more likely to occur in application. Additionally, due to the change in liquid waste levels within the tanks, salt deposits are highly likely to be present along the tank wall. When the level of the tank decreases, a salt deposit will form as the solution evaporates. The effects of this pre-existing salt, or supernate deposit, are unknown at this time on the corrosion effect and thus require investigation. Additionally, in the presence of radiation, moist air undergoes radiolysis, forming a corrosive nitric acid condensate. This condensate could accelerate the corrosion process in the vapor space. To investigate this process, an experimental apparatus simulating the effects of radiation was designed and constructed to provide gamma irradiation while coupons are exposed to a simulate tank solution. Additionally, ammonia vapors will also be introduced to further represent the tank environment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Exposure History and its Effect Towards Stabilizing Li Exchange Across Disordered Rock Salt Interfaces

Abstract The application of lithium rich disordered rock salts (DRX) as cathode materials has greatly expanded the materials space for high energy density cathodes. These materials are able to consistently achieve capacities higher than via a complex percolation based intercalation mechanism. Most current DRX materials face significant capacity fade when cycled over an extended period. One of the factors responsible for this could be deleterious side effect of interface reactions between the electrode and electrolyte at high voltage. We aim to focus on one aspect of this interaction, i.e the effect of exposure to electrolyte on the surface and its effect on the electrochemical properties of (LMNOF) powder. LMNOF was systematically treated in an electrolyte solution for varying periods of time at an elevated temperature. Treated samples exhibit surface layer modification (removal of F rich surface layer), leading to a 10 % improvement in the capacity retention behavior of LMNOF. Surface and bulk based measurements indicate an increase in disorder and gradual removal of F and Li. All of these processes mimic an aging process similar to cycling. This a priori formed interface allows for increased stability with respect to retention of capacity and oxygen loss.

Satish, Rohit↗
DOE OSTI2016

DABAM: An open-source database of X-ray mirrors metrology

An open-source database containing metrology data for X-ray mirrors is presented. It makes available metrology data (mirror heights and slopes profiles) that can be used with simulation tools for calculating the effects of optical surface errors in the performances of an optical instrument, such as a synchrotron beamline. A typical case is the degradation of the intensity profile at the focal position in a beamline due to mirror surface errors. This database for metrology (DABAM) aims to provide to the users of simulation tools the data of real mirrors. The data included in the database are described in this paper, with details of how the mirror parameters are stored. An accompanying software is provided to allow simple access and processing of these data, calculate the most usual statistical parameters, and also include the option of creating input files for most used simulation codes. In conclusion, some optics simulations are presented and discussed to illustrate the real use of the profiles from the database.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effect of Halogen Passivation of a Surface on Radiative and Nonradiative Transitions in Silicon Nanocrystals

Within the framework of the density functional theory, the electron structure and the rates of radiative electron–hole transitions and Auger recombination were calculated for silicon nanocrystals, up to 2.5 nm in size, on the surface of which dangling bonds were saturated with chlorine or bromine atoms. Both the radiative and Auger processes were found to be very slow compared with the case of hydrogen cover, which is evidence in favor of the effectiveness of the influence of the “surface chemistry” factor on the electronic and optical properties of nanocrystals.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Electromigration Effect on Vacancy Islands Nucleation on Si(100) Surface during Sublimation

By means of in situ ultrahigh vacuum reflection electron microscopy, the nucleation of vacancy islands on wide terraces of the Si(100) surface is investigated. The temperature dependence of the displacement of a vacancy island nucleation center is determined in the process of heating a sample with a dc electric current. On the basis of a theoretical model, the effective electric charge of addimers is estimated in the direction across dimer rows of the surface. The effective charge has a positive sign and does not exceed 15 units of the elementary charge in the temperature range of 1020–1120°C.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Surface sensitivity of the spin Seebeck effect

We have investigated the influence of the interface quality on the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) of the bilayer system yttrium iron garnet (YIG)–platinum (Pt). The magnitude and shape of the SSE is strongly influenced by mechanical treatment of the YIG single crystal surface. We observe that the saturation magnetic field (H{sub sat}{sup SSE}) for the SSE signal increases from 55.3 mT to 72.8 mT with mechanical treatment. The change in the magnitude of H{sub sat}{sup SSE} can be attributed to the presence of a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy due to the treatment induced surface strain or shape anisotropy in the Pt/YIG system. Our results show that the SSE is a powerful tool to investigate magnetic anisotropy at the interface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Lubricant-Infused Nanoparticulate Coatings Assembled by Layer-by-Layer Deposition

Omniphobic coatings are designed to repel a wide range of liquids without leaving stains on the surface. A practical coating should exhibit stable repellency, show no interference with color or transparency of the underlying substrate and, ideally, be deposited in a simple process on arbitrarily shaped surfaces. We use layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition of negatively charged silica nanoparticles and positively charged polyelectrolytes to create nanoscale surface structures that are further surface-functionalized with fluorinated silanes and infiltrated with fluorinated oil, forming a smooth, highly repellent coating on surfaces of different materials and shapes. We show that four or more LbL cycles introduce sufficient surface roughness to effectively immobilize the lubricant into the nanoporous coating and provide a stable liquid interface that repels water, low-surface-tension liquids and complex fluids. The absence of hierarchical structures and the small size of the silica nanoparticles enables complete transparency of the coating, with light transmittance exceeding that of normal glass. The coating is mechanically robust, maintains its repellency after exposure to continuous flow for several days and prevents adsorption of streptavidin as a model protein. The LbL process is conceptually simple, of low cost, environmentally benign, scalable, automatable and therefore may present an efficient synthetic route to non-fouling materials.

Sunny, S↗
DOE OSTI2012

Systematic studies of the nucleation and growth of ultrananocrystalline diamond films on silicon substrates coated with a tungsten layer

We report on effects of a tungsten layer deposited on silicon surface on the effectiveness for diamond nanoparticles to be seeded for the deposition of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD). Rough tungsten surface and electrostatic forces between nanodiamond seeds and the tungsten surface layer help to improve the adhesion of nanodiamond seeds on the tungsten surface. The seeding density on tungsten coated silicon thus increases. Tungsten carbide is formed by reactions of the tungsten layer with carbon containing plasma species. It provides favorable (001) crystal planes for the nucleation of (111) crystal planes by Microwave Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (MPECVD) in argon diluted methane plasma and further improves the density of diamond seeds/nuclei. UNCD films grown at different gas pressures on tungsten coated silicon which is pre-seeded by nanodiamond along with heteroepitaxially nucleated diamond nuclei were characterized by Raman scattering, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, and high resolution-transmission electron microscopy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effect of applied potential on metal surfaces: Surface energy, Wulff shape and charge distribution

Here we use grand canonical density functional theory to predict the surface energies, Wulff shapes, charge distributions and catalytically active sites of different metal surfaces under electrochemical conditions. We propose a method for computing surface energies from grand canonical density functional theory (GC-DFT) calculations of periodic slab models and use it to compute the surface energies of the facets of Pt, Cu, and Ag crystals to predict their Wulff shapes under electrochemical conditions. GC-DFT predicts that, for the pure metals studied, solvation only slightly affects the Wulff shape while applied potentials considerably affect the surface energies and corresponding Wulff shapes. We used Bader charge analysis of GC-DFT computed electron densities to investigate the effect of applied potential on the distribution of electron density over the atoms of the surfaces of Pt, Cu, Ag, and the 75–25 Ag-Pt and Au-Ni alloys. This analysis shows that, under an applied potential, the electron density is unevenly distributed over the surface atoms and that the charges of atoms more exposed to solvent are more sensitive to bias. Our results show that the most sensitive atom to bias can be used to identify the most favorable adsorption site and thus, the active sites of electrochemical reactions, which is computationally less demanding than calculating the adsorption energies on all possible adsorption sites.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Estimating evapotranspiration from deciduous broadleaf forests by considering the effect of foliar litter

Forest litter cover significantly alters the ground surface resistance, which influences the water and energy transfer processes between the land surface and atmosphere. Penman-Monteith (PM) model is widely used to estimate land surface evapotranspiration (ET). However, it was shown to overestimate ET during the period when foliar litter covers the ground surface. Therefore, incorporating the effect of foliar litter on ground surface resistance can potentially improve ET estimates. Here, in this study, we proposed a foliar litter surface resistance model to describe the effect of litter cover on water vapor transport, then incorporated the litter surface resistance into the PM model (noted as PM-EL model). The performance of the PM-EL model was evaluated using observations from 18 deciduous broadleaf forest (DBF) flux sites across global FLUXNET2015 datasets. Results showed that: (1) both the PM model and the PM-EL model are most sensitive to ground surface resistance among resistance parameters; (2) the proposed litter resistance model is capable of describing the seasonal dynamic of litter in DBF ; (3) the PM-EL model, has been shown to improve ET estimates with the coefficient of determination increased by 8.5 %, the mean absolute error and relative root mean square error decreased by 22.1 % and 20.9 %, respectively. The study contributes to our understanding of the effect of litter cover on ET estimation and provides insights into forest ecohydrology and land surface mass and energy transfer processes.

Deciduous Broadleaf Forest↗
DOE OSTI2025

Detector Performance on Surface Passivation and its Long-Term Stability

Surface passivation is an ideal technique to prepare the surfaces of fabrication Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) and related semiconductor devices such as Cadmium Zinc Tellurium Selenide (CZTS). Surface passivation techniques reduce the effects of aging in the detector [1]. Surface performance effects on material performance can result in fluctuations in energy resolution over time (such as periods of a year or more). The long-term stability of surface passivation with Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) was observed with measurement of 1) current (nano Amp) vs voltage (V) and 2) spectral response and energy resolution throughout the years. Three CZTS detector samples of M2, M3, and M4 were examined using a photomultiplier tube and voltage amplifier. The Bridgman technique is used to grow the CZTS used in this study.

Johnson, Kirsten [Morgan State Univ., Baltimore, M↗
DOE OSTI2013

Specific Effects of Fiber Size and Fiber Swelling on Biomass Substrate Surface Area and Enzymatic Digestibility

To clarify the specific effect of biomass substrate surface area on its enzymatic digestibility, factors of fiber size reduction and swelling changes were investigated by using poplar substrates with controlled morphological and chemical properties after modified chemical pulping. Results showed that fiber size changes had insignificant influence on enzymatic hydrolysis, although the external surface area increased up to 41% with the reduction of fiber size. Swelling changes caused by increased biomass fiber porosities after PFI refining showed a significant influence on the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis. It is also found that chemical properties such as xylan and lignin content can influence the swelling effect. Xylan is confirmed to facilitate substrate hydrolysability by swelling, while lignin restricts swelling effect and thus minimizes the enzyme accessibility to substrates.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2015

High performance dye-sensitized solar cells using graphene modified fluorine-doped tin oxide glass by Langmuir–Blodgett technique

Since the introduction of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with low fabrication cost and high power conversion efficiency, extensive studies have been carried out to improve the charge transfer rate and performance of DSSCs. In this paper, we present DSSCs that use surface modified fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates with reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) sheets prepared using the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique to decrease the charge recombination at the TiO{sub 2}/FTO interface. R-GO sheets were excellently attached on FTO surface without physical deformations such as wrinkles; effects of the surface coverage of r-GO on the DSSC performance were also investigated. By using graphene modified FTO substrates, the resistance at the interface of TiO{sub 2}/FTO was reduced and the power conversion efficiency was increased to 8.44%. - Graphical abstract: DSSCs with graphene modified FTO glass were fabricated with the Langmuir Blodgett technique. GO sheets were transferred to FTO at various surface pressures in order to change the surface density of graphene and the highest power conversion efficiency of the DSSC was 8.44%. - Highlights: • By LB technique, r-GO sheets were coated on FTO without physical deformation. • DSSCs were fabricated with, r-GO modified FTO substrates. • With surface modification by r-GO, the interface resistance of DSSC decreased. • Maximum PCE of the DSSC was increased up to 8.44%.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Corrosion protection of mild steel by superhydrophobic magnetite coating

Corrosion-resistant hydrophobic magnetite coatings on mild steel surfaces were developed by immersion method. The effect of steel surface roughness (R a ) on its hydrophobicity was systematically studied using contact angle measurement (CAM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The corrosion resistance of hydrophobic magnetite coatings was evaluated using a potentiodynamic polarization test. The durability of the coatings was assessed in air, tap water, and 3.5 wt% NaCl environments. Hydrophobic magnetite coating with a water contact angle of 146-152° showed excellent resistance to corrosion, longevity in atmospheric air, and significant self-cleaning properties. The primary focus of this study was to develop a quick and simple immersion technique to create hydrophobic surfaces on mild steel. Finally, results suggest that surface roughness plays a significant role in surface hydrophobicity, and enhancing the hydrophobicity of mild steel improves its corrosion resistance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Sensitive singular-phase optical detection without phase measurements with Tamm plasmons

Spectrally-tailored interactions of light with material interfaces have offered many exciting applications in sensing, photo-detection, and optical energy conversion. In particular, complete suppression of light reflectance at select frequencies accompanied by sharp phase variations in the reflected signal forms the basis for the development of ultra-sensitive singular-phase optical detection schemes such as Brewster and surface plasmon interferometry. However, both the Brewster effect and surface-plasmon-mediated absorption on planar interfaces are limited to one polarization of the incident light and oblique excitation angles, and may have limited bandwidth dictated by the material dielectric index and plasma frequency. To alleviate these limitations, we design narrow-band super-absorbers composed of plasmonic materials embedded into dielectric photonic nanostructures with topologically-protected interfacial Tamm plasmon states. These structures have planar geometry and do not require nanopatterning to achieve perfect absorption of both polarizations of the incident light in a wide range of incident angles, including the normal incidence. Their absorption lines are tunable across a very broad spectral range via engineering of the photon bandstructure of the dielectric photonic nanostructures to achieve reversal of the geometrical phase across the interface with the plasmonic absorber. We outline the design strategy to achieve perfect absorptance in Tamm structures with dissipative losses via conjugate impedance matching. We further demonstrate via modeling how these structures can be engineered to support sharp asymmetric amplitude resonances, which can be used to improve the sensitivity of optical sensors in the amplitude-only detection scheme that does not require use of bulky and expensive ellipsometry equipment

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗