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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 1,729 records · Page 96
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Low-Cost Transformation of Biomass-Derived Carbon to High-Performing Nano-graphite via Low-Temperature Electrochemical Graphitization

Graphite, an essential component of energy storage devices, is traditionally synthesized via an energy-intensive thermal process (Acheson process) at ~3300 K. However, the battery performance of such graphite is abysmal under fast-charging conditions, which is deemed essential for the propulsion of electric vehicles to the next level. Herein, a low-temperature electrochemical transformation approach has been demonstrated to afford a highly crystalline nano-graphite with the capability of tuning interlayer spacing to enhance the lithium diffusion kinetics in molten salts at 850 °C. The essence of our strategy lies in the effective electrocatalytic transformation of carbon to graphite at a lower temperature that could significantly increase the energy savings, reduce the cost, shorten the synthesis time, and replace the traditional graphite synthesis. The resulting graphite exhibits high purity, crystallinity, a high degree of graphitization, and a nanoflake architecture that all ensure fast lithium diffusion kinetics (~2.0 × 10 –8 cm2 s –1 ) through its nanosheet. Such unique features enable outstanding electrochemical performance (~200 mA h g –1 at 5C for 1000 cycles, 1C = 372 mA g –1 ) as a fast-charging anode for lithium-ion batteries. Overall, this finding paves the way to make high energy-density fast-charging batteries that could boost electromobility.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Pressure-Induced Transformations of Three-Component Heterostructural Nanocrystals with CdS–Au 2 S Janus Nanoparticles as Hosts and Small Au Nanoparticles as Satellites

Heterostructural nanocrystals (HNCs) have drawn enormous attention because of the combined and synergistic properties inherited from their individual components and interactions. In this paper, we design a three-component CdS-Au 2 S-Au Janus-satellite HNC to study the pressure process of HNC superlattices (HNC-SLs). In situ small/wide-angle X-ray scattering shows that the HNC-SLs can undergo structural transformations at both atomic and meso scales. At the same time, CdS-Au 2 S-Au Janus-satellite HNCs can morphologically transform into CdS-Au 2 S-Au heterotrimer HNCs through intraparticle migration and coalescence of Au satellites. Our results demonstrate that pressure can be employed as a clean and efficient way to fabricate complex heterostructural nanomaterials suitable for potential applications in photocatalysis and theranostics.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Molecular Transformation of Dissolved Organic Matter during the Processes of Wildfire, Alum Coagulation, and Disinfection Using ESI(-) and ESI(+) FT-ICR MS

Forest fires alter the quality of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) flushed into source water, which could be further changed during alum coagulation and serve as potential disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors in water facilities. To unveil this molecular transformation, we applied 12T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry on a controlled study which used the leachates of black and white ashes (collected immediately after the 2013 Rim Fire, CA) along with unburned white fir (Abies concolor) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). Here, results showed that the assigned features in DOM from burned ashes had a smaller molecular weight (MW), contained more unsaturated, aromatic, and oxidized and less fraction of labile compounds, and were enriched with nitrogen, relative to unburned litters. After alum coagulation, we observed the disappeared features with higher MW and S/C and N/C atom ratios than the resistant features. During the following disinfections, the disappeared features serving as the potential DBP precursors had higher MW and unsaturation degree, contained more S- and N-containing functionalities, and were more aromatic, compared to the resistant features. Our study suggested organic compounds with small MW and high aromaticity as the targets for water facilities to improve post-fire drinking water quality.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Tracking Transformative Transitions: From CsPbBr 3 Nanocrystals to Bulk Perovskite Films

The control of grain size and surface properties is an important parameter in controlling the optoelectronic and photovoltaic properties of metal halide perovskites. When CsPbBr 3 nanocrystal (~10 nm in diameter) films were annealed at 100–125 °C, they grow in size to produce ~400 nm diameter crystallites while transforming into bulk perovskite films. Characteristic changes in the optical properties were noted when such transformation occurred from nanocrystals into bulk. By tracking absorbance and emission spectra and morphological changes of CsPbBr 3 films at different annealing times and temperature, we were able to establish the mechanism of particle growth. The presence of nanocrystals and larger crystals during the intermediate annealing steps and narrowing size distribution confirmed the Ostwald ripening mechanism for the crystal growth. The energy of activation of crystal growth as determined from the temperature dependent optical properties was estimated to be 75 kcal/mol.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Production and Transformation of Mixed-Valent Nanoparticles Generated by Fe(0) Electrocoagulation

Mixed-valent iron nanoparticles (NP) generated electrochemically by Fe(0) electrocoagulation (EC) show promise for on-demand industrial and drinking water treatment in engineered systems. This work applies multiple characterization techniques (in situ Raman spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, and cryo-TEM) to investigate the formation and persistence of magnetite and green rust (GR) NP phases produced via the Fe(0) EC process. Current density and background electrolyte composition were examined in a controlled anaerobic system to determine the initial Fe phases generated as well as transformation products with aging. Fe phases were characterized in an aerobic EC system with both simple model electrolytes and real groundwater to investigate the formation and aging of Fe phases produced in a system representing treatment of arsenic-contaminated ground waters in South Asia. Two central pathways for magnetite production via Fe(0) EC were identified: (i) as a primary product (formation within seconds when DO absent, no intermediates detected) and (ii) as a transformation product of GR (from minutes to days depending on pH, electrolyte composition, and aging conditions). Furthermore, this study provides a better understanding of the formation conditions of magnetite, GR, and ferric (oxyhydr)oxides in Fe EC, which is essential for process optimization for varying source waters.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Stepwise Transformation of the Molecular Building Blocks in a Porphyrin-Encapsulating Metal-Organic Material

When immersed in solutions containing Cu(II) cations, the microporous metal–organic material P11 ([Cd 4 (BPT) 4 ]·[Cd(C 44 H 36 N 8 )(S)]·[S], BPT = biphenyl-3,4',5-tricarboxylate) undergoes a transformation of its [Cd 2 (COO) 6 ] 2– molecular building blocks (MBBs) into novel tetranuclear [Cu 4 X 2 (COO) 6 (S) 2 ] MBBs to form P11-Cu. The transformation occurs in single-crystal to single-crystal fashion, and its stepwise mechanism was studied by varying the Cd 2+ /Cu 2+ ratio of the solution in which crystals of P11 were immersed. P11-16/1 (Cd in framework retained, Cd in encapsulated porphyrins exchanged) and other intermediate phases were thereby isolated and structurally characterized. P11-16/1 and P11-Cu retain the microporosity of P11, and the relatively larger MBBs in P11-Cu permit a 20% unit cell expansion and afford a higher surface area and a larger pore size.

Zhang, Zhenjie↗
DOE OSTI2025

Structural Transformation and Degradation of Cu Oxide Nanocatalysts during Electrochemical CO 2 Reduction

The electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) holds enormous potential as a carbon-neutral route to the sustainable production of fuels and platform chemicals. The durability for long-term operation is currently inadequate for commercialization, however, and the underlying deactivation process remains elusive. A fundamental understanding of the degradation mechanism of electrocatalysts, which can dictate the overall device performance, is needed. In this work, we report the structural dynamics and degradation pathway of Cu oxide nanoparticles (CuO x NPs) during the CO 2 RR by using in situ small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The in situ SAXS reveals a reduction in the size of NPs when subjected to a potential at which no reaction products are detected. At potentials where the CO 2 RR starts to occur, CuO x NPs are agglomerated through a particle migration and coalescence process in the early stage of the reaction, followed by Ostwald ripening (OR) as the dominant degradation mechanism for the remainder of the reaction. As the applied potential becomes more negative, the OR process becomes more dominant, and for the most negative applied potential, OR dominates for the entire reaction time. The morphological changes are linked to a gradual decrease in the formation rate for multicarbon products (C 2 H 4 and ethanol). Other reaction parameters, including reaction intermediates and local high pH, induce changes in the agglomeration process and final morphology of the CuO x NPs electrode, supported by post-mortem ex situ microscopic analysis. The in situ XAS analysis suggests that the CuO x NPs reduced into the metallic state before the structural transformation was observed. The introduction of high surface area carbon supports with ionomer coating mitigates the degree of structural transformation and detachment of the CuO x NPs electrode. These findings show the dynamic nature of Cu nanocatalysts during the CO 2 RR and can serve as a rational guideline toward a stable catalyst system under electrochemical conditions.

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

Revisiting Conversion Reaction Mechanisms in Lithium Batteries: Lithiation-Driven Topotactic Transformation in FeF 2

Intercalation-type electrodes have now been commonly employed in today’s batteries as such materials are capable of storing and releasing lithium reversibly via topotactic transformation, conducive to small structural change, but they have limited interstitial sites to hold Li. In contrast, conversion electrodes feature high Li-storage capacity, but often undergo large structural change during (de)lithiation, resulting in cycling instability. One exception is iron fluoride (FeF 2 ), a conversion-type cathode that exhibits both high capacity and high cycling stability. Herein, we report a lithiation-driven topotactic transformation in a single crystal of FeF2, unveiled by in situ visualization of the spatial and crystallographic correlation between the parent and converted phases. Specifically, conversion in FeF 2 resembles the intercalation process but involves transport of both Li + and Fe 2+ ions within the F-anion array, leading to formation of Fe preferentially along specific crystallographic orientations of FeF 2 . Throughout the process, the F-anion framework is retained, creating a checkerboard-like structure, within which the volume change is largely compensated, thereby enabling the high cyclability in FeF 2 . Lastly, findings from this study, with unique insights into conversion reaction mechanisms, may help to pave the way for designing conversion-type electrodes for the next-generation high energy lithium batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Defect-Mediated Phase Transformation in Anisotropic Two-Dimensional PdSe 2 Crystals for Seamless Electrical Contacts

The failure to achieve stable Ohmic contacts in two-dimensional material devices currently limits their promised performance and integration. Here we demonstrate that a phase transformation in a region of a layered semiconductor, PdSe 2 , can form a contiguous metallic Pd 17 Se 15 phase, leading to the formation of seamless Ohmic contacts for field-effect transistors. This phase transition is driven by defects created by exposure to an argon plasma. Cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy is combined with theoretical calculations to elucidate how plasma-induced Se vacancies mediate the phase transformation. The resulting Pd 17 Se 15 phase is stable and shares the same native chemical bonds with the original PdSe2 phase, thereby forming an atomically sharp Pd 17 Se 15 /PdSe 2 interface. Furthermore, these Pd 17 Se 15 contacts exhibit a low contact resistance of ~0.75 kΩ μm and Schottky barrier height of ~3.3 meV, enabling nearly a 20-fold increase of carrier mobility in PdSe 2 transistors compared to that of traditional Ti/Au contacts. This finding opens new possibilities in the development of better electrical contacts for practical applications of 2D materials.

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

Pressure-Induced Structural Transformations of ZnO Nanowires Probed by X-ray Diffraction

ZnO nanowires were investigated at high pressures of up to 27 GPa in situ in a diamond anvil cell using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Upon compression, a wurtzite-to-rocksalt phase transformation was observed, but both the onset and the completion pressures of this transformation were enhanced compared with all previously studied morphologies of ZnO, including nanocrystals and their bulk counterparts. Upon decompression, the rocksalt phase was found to sustain at near ambient pressure and could be recovered in a significant amount. Moreover, the pressure-volume equations of state for both the wurtzite and the rocksalt phases indicate that their bulk moduli are significantly higher than those of bulk ZnO and nanocrystals. The SEM images of the ZnO nanowires both before and after the compression suggest the pressure-induced morphology modifications, corroborating the understanding of other structure and property evolutions with pressure. Finally, possible pressure-induced phase transition mechanisms were explored by examining the cell parameters and the internal structural parameter with pressures.

Dong, Zhaohui↗
DOE OSTI2025

Deep Learning for Subsurface Flow: A Comparative Study of U‐Net, Fourier Neural Operators, and Transformers in Underground Hydrogen Storage

Subsurface flow research is essential for the sustainable management of natural resources and the environment. Deep learning (DL) has significantly advanced this field by developing efficient and accurate surrogate models to replace computationally expensive physics‐based simulations. These surrogate models are commonly used to predict the spatiotemporal evolution of state variables, such as gas saturation and reservoir pressure, in heterogeneous geological formations. Despite the various DL models applied to this task, there is a lack of studies systematically comparing their performance. This absence of comparative analysis leads to somewhat arbitrary DL model selection in subsurface flow research, resulting in suboptimal performance and potentially inaccurate predictions. To bridge this gap, we conduct a systematic comparison study of three popular DL architectures—U‐Net, Fourier Neural Operators (FNO), and Segmentation Transformer (SETR)—in surrogate modeling of underground hydrogen storage (UHS). We focus on UHS due to its promise of enhancing clean energy resilience and its cyclic operational conditions that represent common scenarios in various subsurface applications. We evaluate the models based on accuracy, training cost, and inference speed. The comparison shows that U‐Net achieves the highest accuracy, followed by SETR and FNO. Despite its lower accuracy, FNO has the highest inference speed. SETR offers competitive accuracy with the least training memory usage, demonstrating the potential of transformers in learning subsurface flow. Our results provide guidance for selecting DL models for surrogate modeling in a wide range of subsurface flow problems.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Metal-induced rapid transformation of diamond into single and multilayer graphene on wafer scale

The degradation of intrinsic properties of graphene during the transfer process constitutes a major challenge in graphene device fabrication, stimulating the need for direct growth of graphene on dielectric substrates. Previous attempts of metal-induced transformation of diamond and silicon carbide into graphene suffers from metal contamination and inability to scale graphene growth over large area. Here in this article, we introduce a direct approach to transform polycrystalline diamond into high-quality graphene layers on wafer scale (4 inch in diameter) using a rapid thermal annealing process facilitated by a nickel, Ni thin film catalyst on top. We show that the process can be tuned to grow single or multilayer graphene with good electronic properties. Molecular dynamics simulations elucidate the mechanism of graphene growth on polycrystalline diamond. Additionally, we demonstrate the lateral growth of free-standing graphene over micron-sized pre-fabricated holes, opening exciting opportunities for future graphene/diamond-based electronics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

High-quality EuO thin films the easy way via topotactic transformation

Epitaxy is widely employed to create highly oriented crystalline films. A less appreciated, but nonetheless powerful means of creating such films is via topotactic transformation, in which a chemical reaction transforms a single crystal of one phase into a single crystal of a different phase, which inherits its orientation from the original crystal. Topotactic reactions may be applied to epitactic films to substitute, add or remove ions to yield epitactic films of different phases. Here we exploit a topotactic reduction reaction to provide a non-ultra-high vacuum (UHV) means of growing highly oriented single crystalline thin films of the easily over-oxidized half-metallic semiconductor europium monoxide (EuO) with a perfection rivalling that of the best films of the same material grown by molecular-beam epitaxy or UHV pulsed-laser deposition. Lastly, as the technique only requires high-vacuum deposition equipment, it has the potential to drastically improve the accessibility of high-quality single crystalline films of EuO as well as other difficult-to-synthesize compounds.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Efficient direct solar-to-hydrogen conversion by in situ interface transformation of a tandem structure

Photosynthesis is nature's route to convert intermittent solar irradiation into storable energy, while its use for an industrial energy supply is impaired by low efficiency. Artificial photosynthesis provides a promising alternative for efficient robust carbon-neutral renewable energy generation. The approach of direct hydrogen generation by photoelectrochemical water splitting utilizes customized tandem absorber structures to mimic the Z-scheme of natural photosynthesis. Here a combined chemical surface transformation of a tandem structure and catalyst deposition at ambient temperature yields photocurrents approaching the theoretical limit of the absorber and results in a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 14%. The potentiostatically assisted photoelectrode efficiency is 17%. Present benchmarks for integrated systems are clearly exceeded. Details of the in situ interface transformation, the electronic improvement and chemical passivation are presented. The surface functionalization procedure is widely applicable and can be precisely controlled, allowing further developments of high-efficiency robust hydrogen generators.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

CRL4A DTL degrades DNA-PKcs to modulate NHEJ repair and induce genomic instability and subsequent malignant transformation

Genomic instability induced by DNA damage and improper DNA damage repair is one of the main causes of malignant transformation and tumorigenesis. DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are the most detrimental form of DNA damage, and nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) mechanisms play dominant and priority roles in initiating DSB repair. A well-studied oncogene, the ubiquitin ligase Cullin 4A (CUL4A), is reported to be recruited to DSB sites in genomic DNA, but whether it regulates NHEJ mechanisms of DSB repair is unclear. Here, we discovered that the CUL4A-DTL ligase complex targeted the DNA-PKcs protein in the NHEJ repair pathway for nuclear degradation. Overexpression of either CUL4A or DTL reduced NHEJ repair efficiency and subsequently increased the accumulation of DSBs. Moreover, we demonstrated that overexpression of either CUL4A or DTL in normal cells led to genomic instability and malignant proliferation. Consistent with the in vitro findings, in human precancerous lesions, CUL4A expression gradually increased with increasing malignant tendency and was negatively correlated with DNA-PKcs and positively correlated with γ-H2AX expression. Collectively, this study provided strong evidence that the CUL4A-DTL axis increases genomic instability and enhances the subsequent malignant transformation of normal cells by inhibiting NHEJ repair. These results also suggested that CUL4A may be a prognostic marker of precancerous lesions and a potential therapeutic target in cancer.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

In situ transformation of ethoxylate and glycol surfactants by shale-colonizing microorganisms during hydraulic fracturing

In the last decade, extensive application of hydraulic fracturing technologies to unconventional low-permeability hydrocarbon-rich formations has significantly increased natural gas production in the United States and abroad. The injection of surface-sourced fluids to generate fractures in the deep subsurface introduces microbial cells and substrates to low-permeability rock. A subset of injected organic additives has been investigated for their ability to support biological growth in shale microbial community members; however, to date, little is known on how complex xenobiotic organic compounds undergo biotransformations in this deep rock ecosystem. Here, high-resolution chemical, metagenomic, and proteomic analyses reveal that widely-used surfactants are degraded by the shale-associated taxa Halanaerobium, both in situ and under laboratory conditions. These halotolerant bacteria exhibit surfactant substrate specificities, preferring polymeric propoxylated glycols (PPGs) and longer alkyl polyethoxylates (AEOs) over polyethylene glycols (PEGs) and shorter AEOs. Enzymatic transformation occurs through repeated terminal-end polyglycol chain shortening during co-metabolic growth through the methylglyoxal bypass. Furthermore, this work provides the first evidence that shale microorganisms can transform xenobiotic surfactants in fracture fluid formulations, likely affecting the efficiency of hydrocarbon recovery, and demonstrating an important association between injected substrates and microbial growth in an engineered subsurface ecosystem.

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

In situ atomic-scale imaging of the metal/oxide interfacial transformation

Directly probing structure dynamics at metal/oxide interfaces has been a major challenge due to their buried nature.Using environmental transmission electron microscopy,here we report observations of the in-place formation of Cu 2 O/Cu interfaces via the oxidation of Cu, and subsequently probe the atomic mechanisms by which interfacial transformation and grain rotation occur at the interfaces during reduction in an H 2 gas environment. The Cu 2 O→Cu transformation is observed to occur initially along the Cu 2 O/Cu interface in a layer-by-layer manner.The accumulation of oxygen vacancies at the Cu 2 O/Cu interface drives the collapse of the Cu 2 O lattice near the interface region, which results in a tilted Cu 2 O/Cu interface with concomitant Cu 2 O island rotation. Lastly, these results provide unprecedented microscopic detail regarding the redox reactions of supported oxides,which differs fundamentally from the reduction of bulk or isolated oxides that requires the formation of new interfaces between the parent oxide and the reduced phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Single rhodium atoms anchored in micropores for efficient transformation of methane under mild conditions

Catalytic transformation of CH 4 under a mild condition is significant for efficient utilization of shale gas under the circumstance of switching raw materials of chemical industries to shale gas. Here, we report the transformation of CH 4 to acetic acid and methanol through coupling of CH 4 , CO and O 2 on single-site Rh 1 O 5 anchored in microporous aluminosilicates in solution at ≤150 °C. The activity of these singly dispersed precious metal sites for production of organic oxygenates can reach about 0.10 acetic acid molecules on a Rh 1 O 5 site per second at 150 °C with a selectivity of ~70% for production of acetic acid. It is higher than the activity of free Rh cations by >1000 times. Computational studies suggest that the first C–H bond of CH 4 is activated by Rh 1 O 5 anchored on the wall of micropores of ZSM-5; the formed CH 3 then couples with CO and OH, to produce acetic acid over a low activation barrier.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗