SEARCH · Search NASA
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
NaIn is Zintl Phase structured and crystallizes in the cubic Fd-3m space group. The structure is three-dimensional and consists of two NaIn frameworks. Na is bonded to four equivalent In atoms to form distorted corner-sharing NaIn4 tetrahedra. All Na–In bond lengths are 3.23 Å. In is bonded to four equivalent Na atoms to form distorted corner-sharing InNa4 tetrahedra.
NaIn(GeO3)2 is Esseneite structured and crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/c space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Na1+ is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to eight O2- atoms. There are a spread of Na–O bond distances ranging from 2.48–2.94 Å. In3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form InO6 octahedra that share corners with six equivalent GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with two equivalent InO6 octahedra. There are a spread of In–O bond distances ranging from 2.12–2.26 Å. Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form GeO4 tetrahedra that share corners with three equivalent InO6 octahedra and corners with two equivalent GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 42–60°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.74–1.80 Å. There are three inequivalent O2- sites. In the first O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted T-shaped geometry to one Na1+, one In3+, and one Ge4+ atom. In the second O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Na1+, two equivalent In3+, and one Ge4+ atom. In the third O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Na1+ and two equivalent Ge4+ atoms.
NaInSi2O6 is Esseneite structured and crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/c space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Na1+ is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to eight O2- atoms. There are a spread of Na–O bond distances ranging from 2.39–2.98 Å. In3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form InO6 octahedra that share corners with six equivalent SiO4 tetrahedra and edges with two equivalent InO6 octahedra. There are a spread of In–O bond distances ranging from 2.11–2.26 Å. Si4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form SiO4 tetrahedra that share corners with three equivalent InO6 octahedra and corners with two equivalent SiO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 36–59°. There are a spread of Si–O bond distances ranging from 1.61–1.67 Å. There are three inequivalent O2- sites. In the first O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted T-shaped geometry to one Na1+, one In3+, and one Si4+ atom. In the second O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 2-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Na1+ and two equivalent Si4+ atoms. In the third O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Na1+, two equivalent In3+, and one Si4+ atom.
The Nd and Sr isotopic compositions presently reported for anorthosites and related rocks from the Grenville and Nain Provinces of the eastern Canadian shield indicate that the massifs were delivered from at least two distinct mantle source regions which were established before 1650 Myr ago. These regions were episodically involved in magmatism over about 500 Myr. One reservoir was isotopically similar to the depleted, modern midocean ridge basalt source. The other reservoir was chondritic-to-moderately-enriched, and is most easily identified in the Nain Province, but may have occurred scattered throughout Superior Province, as well.
The Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic compositions of mid to late Proterozoic (approximately 1.6 to 1.1 Ga) massif-type anorthosites and mafic intrusives in the eastern Canadian shield are correlated with geographic location. Complexes in the Grenville province have positive epsilon sub Nd values and initial Sr-87/Sr-86 (I sub Sr) generally less than 0.703, suggesting derivation from depleted mantle. In Labrador, similar complexes close to or northwest of a line roughly corresponding to the Grenville Front have negative epsilon sub Nd values and I sub Sr 0.703. This contrast was intrepreted as reflecting either enriched mantle under the Nain Province, or contamination of the Nain intrusives with older crustal components. Lead isotopic compositions, however, favor the latter. The possibility of using these Proterozoic intrusives as tracers to characterize the nature and extent of older basement types in Labrador is discussed.
Sm-Nd isotopic studies of anorthosites can be used to provide information on their ages of crystallization and metamorphism, contamination history, and mantle sources. Proterozoic anorthosites in the Grenville and Nain Provinces of eastern North America crystallized between about 1100 and 1600 Ma, and some were metamorphosed at about 1000 Ma. Grenville Province anorthosite massifs were derived from depleted mantle. It is not clear whether massifs and related mafic intrusions throughout the Nain Province of Labrador were derived from enriched mantle, or were contaminated by early Archean (greater than 3500 Ma) silicic crustal materials, heretofore thought to be restricted to coastal Labrador.
Alkali-metal-based materials are promising building blocks for energy conversion and storage technologies. Here, we use a molecular reactivity-based solution-phase approach to selectively synthesize multiple phases and specific polymorphs of lithium- and sodium-containing triel chalcogenide nanocrystals, LiTrCh 2 , NaTrCh 2 , and NaTr 3 Ch 5 , where Tr = Ga and In and Ch = S, Se, and Te. Analogous to the case of binary II–VI and III–V tetrahedral semiconductors, where the two commonly isolated zinc blende and wurtzite polymorphs are separated by only 1–50 meV f.u. −1 , we find that LiTrCh 2 nanocrystals easily adopt tetragonal (chalcopyrite) and orthorhombic polymorphs separated by only 2.7–6.2 meV f.u. −1 Because of this small energy difference, soft colloidal synthesis succeeds in accessing either one of these polymorphs, depending on the specific dichalcogenide precursor used. Highly reactive diethyl diselenide favors the thermodynamically more stable tetragonal I$\bar{4}2$d phase, whereas mildly reactive diphenyl diselenide favors the kinetic, metastable orthorhombic Pna2 1 phase. Density functional theory calculations confirm the relative energies among multiple LiTrCh 2 polymorphs and also model the observed powder X-ray diffraction pattern of a new C2 NaIn 3 Te 5 phase. 7 Li, 69 Ga, and 77 Se solid-state NMR spectra are consistent with phase-pure ternary LiGaSe 2 nanocrystals. A majority of the nanocrystal compositions are visible-light emitters. This work opens the door to new Li/Na-based ternary triel chalcogenide nanostructures for energy storage and conversion applications.
Recent studies of the mangerite-charnockite-alaskite suite exposed in the Adirondack Highlands strongly suggest that these rocks were emplaced under anorogenic, or mildly extensional, conditions. The characteristic signatures of the rocks are high (FeO/FeO+MgO) and (FeO/Fe2O3); mildly alkaline to subalkaline and metaluminous trends; high Ga/Al2O3; and within plate concentrations of Nb vs Y, Ta vs Yb, Rb vs (Y+Nb), and Rb vs (Yb+Ta). Evolved members of the series are low in CaO and MgO and high in alkalies and halogens. All of these properties are consistent with anorogenic magmatism comprising acidic crustal melts and mantle derived mafic additions to the crust. Major and minor element trends, as well as field evidence, strongly suggest that the anorogenic acidic suite is coeval, but not comagmatic, with closely associated anorthositic massifs. Present outcrop configurations are consistent with the evolution of the acidic and anorthositic rocks in zoned, bimodal magma chambers cored by the mafic constituents and overlain by explosive, caldera-type volcanism. Age determinations indicate that the emplacement of the anorthosite-charnockite suite extended over approximately 500 Ma in the Grenville and adjacent Nain, Provinces.
Abstract The selective introduction of amine groups within deconstruction products of lignin could provide an avenue for valorizing waste biomass while achieving a green synthesis of industrially relevant building blocks from sustainable sources. Here, we built and characterized enzyme cascades that create aldehydes and subsequently primary amines from diverse lignin‐derived carboxylic acids using a carboxylic acid reductase (CAR) and an ω‐transaminase (TA). Unlike previous studies that have paired CAR and TA enzymes, here we examine multiple homologs of each of these enzymes and a broader set of candidate substrates. In addition, we compare the performance of these systems in cell‐free and resting whole‐cell biocatalysis formats using the conversion of vanillate to vanillyl amine as model chemistry. We also demonstrate that resting whole cells can be recycled for multiple batch reactions. We used the knowledge gained from this study to produce several amines from carboxylic acid precursors using one‐pot biocatalytic reactions, several of which we report for the first time. These results expand our knowledge of these industrially relevant enzyme families to new substrates and contexts for environmentally friendly and potentially low‐cost synthesis of diverse aryl aldehydes and amines.
Not provided.
Introducing new technologies in one energy-intensive industry can affect how other industries operate and stay resilient, yet these cross-sector interactions are often underappreciated in conventional technology roadmaps. In practice, industrial systems do not evolve in isolation. They are linked through shared upstream and downstream dependencies, such as electricity and fuel supply, critical materials, transportation networks, and enabling infrastructure. As a result, large-scale technology deployment in one sector can reshape resource availability, infrastructure demand, and operational risk in others. These interdependencies mean that technology deployment decisions in one sector can create unintended bottlenecks or cascading benefits in others. Here, this article argues that a cross-sector, system-of-systems perspective is essential for evaluating and scaling emerging technologies in energy-intensive industries. By framing industrial transformation as an interconnected systems challenge rather than a set of isolated sectoral decisions, the study highlights how interdependence shapes technology feasibility, adoption pathways, and resilience outcomes. The article illustrates how cross-sector linkages can amplify both risks and benefits, and it emphasizes the importance of integrated planning approaches that account for shared dependencies, cascading impacts, and co-optimization opportunities. Adopting this broader perspective can support more robust technology roadmaps, improve strategic coordination across industries, and strengthen the long-term resilience of the industrial sector as a whole.
Biomass supply chain (BSC) management is an integral part of renewable energy projects, which include biomass-harvesting, collection, storage, processing and transportation to the bio-energy plants. The sustainability concept identifies economy, environment, and society as the three principal pillars of bioenergy. With an effective BSC implemented, all three dimensions of sustainability can be attained. Although, there’s been extensive research on the environmental sustainability of BSC, the economic aspects are under-represented in existing literature. So, an elaborate analysis on the economic viability of BSCs developed worldwide and those in India is critical, and needs to be studied. This review conducts a detailed accounting of the economic aspects of a BSC which includes the existing challenges in designing an environmental-cum-economically efficient BSC and strategies to address the issues. The Indian context has been studied on the BSC models, highlighting their shortcomings, while encapsulating the essential insights from global BSC models for a cost-effective BSC-to-bioenergy in India. Here, this review also emphasizes the policies supporting the BSC in India and forecasts the future biomass demand and supply. This review will provide stakeholders with critical insights on BSC and related challenges and assist them to investigate and devise strategies for successful implementation of BSCs in India.
Aldehydes are attractive chemical targets both as end products in the flavors and fragrances industry and as synthetic intermediates due to their propensity for C–C bond formation. Here, in this study, we identify and address unexpected oxidation of a model collection of aromatic aldehydes, including many that originate from biomass degradation. When diverse aldehydes are supplemented to E. coli cells grown under aerobic conditions, as expected they are either reduced by the wild-type MG1655 strain or stabilized by a strain engineered for reduced aromatic aldehyde reduction (the E. coli RARE strain). Surprisingly, when these same aldehydes are supplemented to resting cell preparations of either E. coli strain, under many conditions we observe substantial oxidation. By performing combinatorial inactivation of six candidate aldehyde dehydrogenase genes in the E. coli genome using multiplexed automatable genome engineering (MAGE), we demonstrate that this oxidation can be substantially slowed, with greater than 50% retention of 6 out of 8 aldehydes when assayed 4 h after their addition. Given that our newly engineered strain exhibits reduced oxidation and reduction of aromatic aldehydes, we dubbed it the E. coli ROAR strain. We applied the new strain to resting cell biocatalysis for two kinds of reactions – the reduction of 2-furoic acid to furfural and the condensation of 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde and glycine to form a non-standard β-hydroxy-α-amino acid. In each case, we observed substantial improvements in product titer 20 h after reaction initiation (9-fold and 10-fold, respectively). Moving forward, the use of this strain to generate resting cells should allow aldehyde product isolation, further enzymatic conversion, or chemical reactivity under cellular contexts that better accommodate aldehyde toxicity.
Current research on solar photovoltaic (PV) recycling mainly focuses on recovering valuable metals and glass, often neglecting the polymeric components, particularly the backsheets, which are typically landfilled or thermally decomposed. This study explores an innovative approach to upcycle PV backsheets into value-added products, specifically terephthalic acid (TPA), using waste ethanol solvent from the distilled spirits industry. Experimental results show that increasing both exposure time and ethanol concentration significantly enhances backsheet delamination efficiency. Using waste ethanol, a maximum delamination efficiency of 80% was achieved at room temperature after 24 hours. In decomposition trials, both sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) demonstrated comparable efficiencies (96.6–97.5%) over 8 and 24 hour reactions. With virgin ethanol, NaOH yielded 94–97.5% TPA recovery. Notably, using waste ethanol achieved a TPA recovery efficiency of 96.8%, underscoring the process's economic viability and sustainability. Analytical characterization of TPA recovered after 8 hours showed consistent spectral patterns across both alkalis and solvents, indicating a similar chemical environment and functional groups. The recovered TPA can be repolymerized into high-purity PET, suitable for manufacturing new PV backsheets. This work advances polymer-recycling by demonstrating that an industrial waste solvent (distilled-spirits ‘heads’) can replace virgin ethanol without loss in delamination performance or TPA yield. While PV backsheet PET is a modest share of global PET, using waste ethanol to upcycle this currently under-recycled stream demonstrates a transferable solvent-reuse pathway that can extend to higher-volume PET sources.
The U.S. food and beverage (F&B) sector is a major contributor to manufacturing gross domestic product and supports substantial employment and economic activity, while exerting significant pressures on land and water resources. At the same time, the industry faces growing expectations to balance its resource-intensive operations without compromising cost competitiveness. Material inefficiencies across the F&B value chain, particularly in raw material use and product loss/waste, lead to substantial financial losses and resource depletion. Thus, the F&B sector requires adoption of solutions and measures to avoid food wastage, reduce raw material consumption and valorize waste to high-value added products. This work presents a comprehensive understanding of the various technology solutions available for the F&B sector. The following two research questions are addressed: “What are the mid-to-high Technology Readiness Level technologies or measures to reduce material use and enable waste valorization in the F&B sector? What are the barriers to their commercial deployment? Additionally, what targeted research and development efforts are needed to overcome these barriers and accelerate their scale-up?” The findings are intended to support evidence-based decision-making, guide strategic investment, and help stakeholders strengthen resilience and competitiveness across the F&B sector.
Polarized fluorescence microscopy is a valuable tool for measuring molecular orientations in biological samples, but techniques for recovering three-dimensional orientations and positions of fluorescent ensembles are limited. We report a polarized dual-view light-sheet system for determining the diffraction-limited three-dimensional distribution of the orientations and positions of ensembles of fluorescent dipoles that label biological structures. We share a set of visualization, histogram, and profiling tools for interpreting these positions and orientations. We model the distributions based on the polarization-dependent efficiency of excitation and detection of emitted fluorescence, using coarse-grained representations we call orientation distribution functions (ODFs). We apply ODFs to create physics-informed models of image formation with spatio-angular point-spread and transfer functions. We use theory and experiment to conclude that light-sheet tilting is a necessary part of our design for recovering all three-dimensional orientations. We use our system to extend known two-dimensional results to three dimensions in FM1-43-labeled giant unilamellar vesicles, fast-scarlet-labeled cellulose in xylem cells, and phalloidin-labeled actin in U2OS cells. Additionally, we observe phalloidin-labeled actin in mouse fibroblasts grown on grids of labeled nanowires and identify correlations between local actin alignment and global cell-scale orientation, indicating cellular coordination across length scales.
This report provides a snapshot of emerging photovoltaic (PV) technologies. It consists of concise contributions from experts in a wide range of fields including silicon, thin film, III-V, perovskite, organic, and dye-sensitized PVs. Strategies for exceeding the detailed balance limit and for light managing are presented, followed by a section detailing key applications and commercialization pathways. A section on sustainability then discusses the need for minimization of the environmental footprint in PV manufacturing and recycling. The report concludes with a perspective based on broad survey questions presented to the contributing authors regarding the needs and future evolution of PV.
The presence and potential leaching of PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) from solar panels are increasingly mentioned in news articles, raising public concerns. Such concerns may slow the adoption of photovoltaic (PV) technology, despite its central role in the renewable energy sector. The limited transparency from manufacturers about fluorinated materials used in PV modules, along with the scarcity of publicly available testing data, contributes to uncertainty and speculation. This perspective aims to clarify the current state of PFAS presence in solar PV. Although certain fluoropolymers are used in PV manufacturing, the scientific consensus on their toxicity indicates they should not be classified as PFAS. Portraying fluoropolymers as toxic PFAS unnecessarily amplifies concerns and unfairly undermines the perceived environmental sustainability of PV technology.