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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Metastable solubility and local structure of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC)

The properties of amorphous calcium carbonate provide the foundation for understanding mineralization of calcified skeletons but inconsistencies between studies suggest the physical picture is incomplete. This study quantifies the metastable solubility and structure of ACC produced under a series of chemical conditions. Using complementary in situ methods that quantify ACC structure (in situ PDF analysis) in parallel with chemical composition (TGA, ICP-OES), we find two short-range structures are produced that also show distinct morphological differences. Conditions with high carbonate ion concentrations stabilize a Ca-rich ACC with short-range order that is independent of Mg content. In contrast, low carbonate solutions favor Mg-rich ACC with mixed Ca- and Mg-short range order. Measurements of solubility product determined from supersaturated and undersaturated conditions find the distinctive structures are related to solution carbonate activity while solubility is primarily determined by the magnesium content of the solid. Bulk solubility is a composite that concurs with established values. The findings demonstrate the type of ACC that forms is tuned by Mg2+ and CO3-2- concentration and suggest ACC structure, not bulk composition, is a reliable indicator of intermediate phase. This chemical framework also provides a basis for interpreting apparent differences between observations of ACC in synthetic and natural systems that reconciles previous structural studies.

Mergelsberg, Sebastian T.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nitroxide Radical Polymer–Solvent Interactions and Solubility Parameter Determination

Redox-active polymers such as macromolecular nitroxide radicals have been studied as electrode materials for organic batteries and electronics. Polymer–solvent interactions are essential to processing and device performance, but macromolecular nitroxide radical–solvent interactions are currently not well described. In this work, the Hildebrand and Hansen solubility parameters of poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy-4-yl methacrylate) (PTMA), oxidized PTMA (PTMA + ), and PTMA’s precursor (PTMPM) are determined using both experimental and group contribution methods for the first time. This work indicates that the hydrogen-bonding Hansen solubility parameter (δ h ) and the solubility sphere radii (R) provide the best prediction of the macromolecular radical’s interaction with solvents. From these solubility parameters, the group contribution values for the nitroxide and oxoammonium cation were then calculated. It is shown that this information allows for the prediction of polymer–solvent interactions for other nitroxide-based macromolecular radicals. Lastly, the discovered solubility parameters are used to predict PTMA electrode formulations for batteries that outperform controls.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electrochemical Stability and Reversibility of Aqueous Polysulfide Electrodes Cycled Beyond the Solubility Limit

Batteries which use dissolved redox-active species, such as redox flow batteries (RFBs), are often considered to be constrained in their operation and energy density by the solubility limit of the redox species. Here, we show that soluble redox active electrolytes can be reversibly cycled deeply into the precipitation regime, permitting higher effective concentrations, energy densities, and lower costs. Using aqueous sodium polysulfide negative electrolytes cycled in the nominal Na 2 S 2 to Na 2 S 4 capacity range as an example, we show that the effective solubility can be increased from 5 M in the fully-dissolved state to as much as 10 M using the precipitation strategy. Stable cycling was observed at 8 M concentration over more than 1600h at room temperature. We also analyze the range of polysulfide electrochemical stability, and characterize the precipitate composition. This enhanced effective concentration approach may be generalized to other redox chemistries that utilize solubilized reactants, and may be especially useful for long-duration storage applications where slow charge-discharge rates allow equilibration of precipitated species with the redox-active solution.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Synthesis of highly water soluble tetrabenzoporphyrins and their application toward photodynamic therapy

Novel tetraaryl-(pyridinium-4-yl)-tetrabenzoporphyrins have been successfully synthesized via a Heck-based sequence reaction. These tetrabenzoporphyrins were substituted with eight pyridyl groups at the fused benzene rings. Methylation of the pyridyl groups with methyl iodide afforded highly water soluble tetrabenzoporphyrins carrying eight ionic groups. The extended π-conjugation broadened and red-shifted the absorption band of these porphyrins to 650–750 nm. Furthermore, these cationic tetrabenzoporphyrins showed non-toxicity in the dark up to 100 uM. High phototoxicity with IC 50 values lower than 18 μM were obtained for these tetrabenzoporphyrins.

DFT calculation photosensitizer↗
DOE OSTI2021

Enhancing the Solubility of Semiconducting Polymers in Eco-Friendly Solvents with Carbohydrate-Containing Side Chains

Semiconducting polymers are at the forefront of next-generation organic electronics due to their robust mechanical and optoelectronic properties. However, their extended π-conjugation often leads to materials with low solubilities in common organic solvents, thus requiring processing in high-boiling-point and toxic halogenated solvents to generate thin-film devices. To address this environmental concern, a natural product-inspired side-chain engineering approach was used to incorporate galactose-containing moieties into semiconducting polymers toward improved processability in greener solvents. Novel isoindigo-based polymers with different ratios of galactose-containing side chains were synthesized to improve the solubilities of the organic semiconductors in alcohol-based solvents. The addition of carbohydrate-containing side chains to π-conjugated polymers was found to considerably impact the intermolecular aggregation of the materials and their microstructures in the solid state as confirmed by atomic force microscopy and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering. The charge transport characteristics of the new semiconductors were evaluated by the fabrication of organic field-effect transistors prepared from both toxic halogenated and greener alcohol-based solvents. Importantly, the incorporation of carbohydrate-containing side chains was shown to have very little detrimental impact on the electronic properties of the polymer when processed from green solvents.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Influence of soluble oligomeric aluminum on precipitation in the Al-KOH-H2O system

The role of oligomeric aluminate (Al(OH)4-) species in the precipitation of aluminum phases such as gibbsite (a-Al(OH)3) from aqueous hydroxide solutions remains unclear and difficult to probe directly, despite its importance to developing accurate predictions of Al solubility in highly alkaline systems. Precipitation in this system entails a transition from predominantly tetrahedrally coordinated Al species in solution to octahedrally coordinated Al in gibbsite. Here we report a quantitative study of dissolved Al in the Al-KOH-H2O system using a combination of molecular spectroscopies. We established a relationship between changes in 27Al NMR chemical shifts and the relative intensity of Raman vibrational bands, indicative of variations in the ensemble speciation of Al in solution, and the formation of unique contact ion pair interactions with the aluminate dimer, Al2O(OH)62 . A strong correlation between the extent of Al oligomerization and the amount of solvated Al was demonstrated by systematically varying the KOH:Al molar ratio. The concentration of dissolved oligomeric Al in solution also directly impacted the particle size and morphology of gibbsite; high concentrations of dimeric Al2O(OH)62-, yielded smaller and more numerous anhedral to subhedral gibbsite particles, while low concentrations yielded fewer and larger euhedral gibbsite platelets. The collective observations suggest a key role of the Al2O(OH)62- dimer in promoting gibbsite precipitation from solution, where the potassium ion-paired dimer possibly catalyzes a more rapid transformation of Al coordination from tetrahedral in solution to octahedral in gibbsite.

Dembowski, Mateusz↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mediated Fuel Cells: Soluble Redox Mediators and their Applications to Electrochemical Reduction of O2 and Oxidation of H2, Alcohols, Biomass, and Complex Fuels

Mediated fuel cells are electrochemical devices that produce power in a manner similar to that of conventional proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). They differ from PEMFCs in their use of redox mediators dissolved in liquid electrolyte to conduct oxidation of the fuel or reduction of the oxidant, typically O2, in bulk solution. The mediators transport electrons (and often protons) between the electrode and the catalysts or chemical reagents in solution. This strategy can help overcome many of the challenges associated with conventional fuel cells, including managing complex multi-phase reactions (as in O2 reduction) or the use of challenging or heterogeneous fuels, such as hydrocarbons, polyols and biomass. Mediators are also commonly used in enzymatic fuel cells, where direct electron transfer from the electrode to the enzymatic active site can be slow. This review provides a comprehensive survey of historical and recent mediated fuel cell efforts, including applications using chemical and enzymatic catalysts. Our research on in this field has been exploring a number of different topics and has been supported different funding sources: the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (molecular mediators for catalytic oxygen reduction); the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, DOE Office of Science DE-SC0018409 (research on biomass-based fuels; U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Catalysis Program, DE-FG02-05ER15690 (copper-catalyzed oxidation reactions); and the NIH NIGMS, R01 GM100143 and R35 GM134929 (use of molecular mediators for organic chemical synthesis).

Anson, Colin W.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantitative Correction of Ohmic Effects on Square Wave Voltammetry for High-Concentration Soluble-Soluble Redox Reactions in Molten Salts

Molten salts are of particular interest for a variety of industrial applications. As such, accurate characterization of species’ concentrations within the molten salt media is critical to ensure a well-controlled unit operation. Although electroanalytical tools are properly suited for precise in situ monitoring in these systems, uncompensated ohmic resistance R Ω can lead to erroneous, technique-dependent results. Using numerical simulations applied to a model system, this work will first illustrate then quantify the extent to which R Ω attenuates square wave voltammograms. This approach allows for post-experiment correction that leads to converging results across voltammetric techniques and facilitates accurate predictions of species’ concentrations.

Shaheen, Nora A. [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL↗
NASA NTRS1987

Soluble minerals in chemical evolution. II - Characterization of the adsorption of 5-prime-AMP and 5-prime-CMP on a variety of soluble mineral salts

The adsorption of 5-prime-AMP and 5-prime-CMP is studied in the saturated solutions of several mineral salts as a function of pH, ionic strength, and surface area of the solid salt. It is suggested that the adsorption which results from the binding between the nucleotide molecule and the salt surface is due to electrostatic forces. The adsorption is reversible in nature and decreases with increasing ionic strength.

Chan, Stephen↗
DOE OSTI2025

NdPO 4 solubility and aqueous Neodymium speciation in supercritical fluids: An experimental study at 500–700 °C and 1.7 kbar

A key aspect in the formation of rare earth elements (REE) deposits is the role of REE transport as aqueous REE complexes in supercritical hydrothermal solutions, where the nature of the aqueous complex is controlled by solution composition, temperature and pressure. Despite chloride being considered as one of the most abundant transporting ligands in magmatic-hydrothermal fluids, experimental investigations on the stability of aqueous REE chloride complexes are scarce above 300 °C. In this study, synthetic NdPO 4 crystals were reacted with non-saline and saline (0, 0.05 and 0.5 mNaCl), acidic (0.01 mHCl) aqueous solutions in a series of solubility experiments conducted at 500–700 °C and 1.7 kbar, where the solubilities were determined using a stable Nd isotope ( 145 Nd isotope spike) dilution technique. NdPO 4 solubility ranges between 28 ppm and 10,858 ppm, where solubility increases with both temperature and salinity. At 500 °C, log mNdPO 4 increases from –3.93 to –1.60 and there is a strong correlation between NdPO 4 solubility and NaCl concentrations (slope of 1.2 ± 0.3), indicating stabilization of the Nd chloride aqueous complexes with a stoichiometry corresponding to NdCl 2+ . At 600 °C, this correlation is weaker (slope of 0.4, log mNdPO 4 increases from –2.63 to –1.88) indicating the stabilization of both Nd chloride and hydroxyl species controlling solubility. At 700 °C, NdPO 4 solubility is largely independent of NaCl concentration indicating that solubility is controlled by Nd hydroxyl complexes, where stoichiometry suggests the neutral Nd(OH) 3 0 species is dominant. The solubility product (Ksp) of NdPO4 is derived from experimental data with the relation: log K sp = -41.81 – 0.057T – 20987/T, with T temperature in Kelvin. Comparison of the measured Nd phosphate solubility to thermodynamic predictions using the available Helgeson-Kirkham-Flowers equation of state parameters for aqueous Nd complexes indicate that predictions are up to three orders of magnitude lower compared to experimental observations. This discrepancy is most pronounced in saline solutions, suggesting that thermodynamic properties of the REE chloride species in supercritical fluids require revision. Numerical simulations of fluid-rock interaction between acidic, saline fluids and a Strange Lake felsic mineral assemblage demonstrates that NdPO 4 solubility predictions from models are four to six orders of magnitude lower than those calculated based on empirical fits from experiments, which suggests that acidic, saline fluids may play an important role in mobilizing large amounts of light REE from 450 to 700 °C.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2016

Influence of Measurement Uncertainties on Fractional Solubility of Iron in Mineral Aerosols over the Oceans

The atmospheric supply of mineral dust iron (Fe) plays a crucial role in the Earths biogeochemical cycle and is of specific importance as a micronutrient in the marine environment. Observations show several orders of magnitude variability in the fractional solubility of Fe in mineral dust aerosols, making it hard to assess the role of mineral dust for the global ocean biogeochemical Fe cycle. In this study we compare the operational solubility of mineral dust aerosol Fe associated with the flow-through leaching protocol to the results of the global 3-D chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. According to the protocol, aerosol Fe is defined as soluble by first deionized water leaching of mineral dust through a 0.45 m pore size membrane followed by acidification and storage of the leachate over a long period of time prior to analysis. To estimate the uncertainty in soluble Fe results introduced by the flow-through leaching protocol, we prescribe an average 50 (range of 30 to 70) fractional solubility to sub-0.45 m sized mineral dust particles that may inadvertently pass the filter and end up in the acidified (at pH1.7) leachate for a couple of month period. In the model, the fractional solubility of Fe is either explicitly calculated using a complex mineral aerosol Fe dissolution module, or prescribed to be 1 and 4. Calculations show that the fractional solubility of Fe derived through the flow-through leaching is higher compared to the model results. The largest differences (40) are predicted to occur farther away from the dust source regions, over the areas where sub-0.45 m sized mineral dust particles contribute a larger fraction of the total mineral dust mass. This study suggests that different methods used in soluble Fe measurements and inconsistences in the operational definition of filterable Fe in marine environment and soluble Fe in atmospheric aerosols are likely to contribute to the wide range of fractional solubility of aerosol Fe reported in the literature.

Soluble Iron↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optimized thermodynamic properties of REE aqueous species (REE 3+ and REEOH 2+ ) and experimental database for modeling the solubility of REE phosphate minerals (monazite, xenotime, and rhabdophane) from 25 to 300 °C

Rare earth elements (REE) are critical elements found in monazite, xenotime, and hydrated REE phosphates which typically form in hydrothermal mineral deposits. Accurate predictions of the solubility of these REE phosphates and the speciation of REE in aqueous fluids are both key to understanding the controls on the transport, fractionation, and deposition of REE in natural systems. Previous monazite and xenotime solubility experiments indicate the presence of large discrepancies between experimentally derived solubility constants versus calculated solubilities by combining different data sources for the thermodynamic properties of minerals and aqueous species at hydrothermal conditions. In this study, these discrepancies were resolved by using the program GEMSFITS to optimize the standard partial molal Gibbs energy of formation (Δ f G° 298 ) of REE aqueous species (REE 3+ and REE hydroxyl complexes) at 298.15 K and 1 bar while keeping the thermodynamic properties fixed for the REE phosphates. A comprehensive experimental database was compiled using solubility data available between 25 and 300 °C. The latter permits conducting thermodynamic parameter optimization of Δ f G° 298 for REE aqueous species. Optimal matching of the rhabdophane solubility data between 25 and 100 °C requires modifying the Δ f G° 298 values of REE 3+ by 1–6 kJ/mol, whereas matching of the monazite solubility data between 100 and 300 °C requires modifying the Δ f G° 298 values of both REE 3+ and REEOH 2+ by ~15–31 kJ/mol and ~2–10 kJ/mol, respectively. For xenotime, adjustments of Δ f G° 298 values by 1–26 kJ/mol are only necessary for the REE 3+ species. The optimizations indicate that the solubility of monazite in acidic solutions is controlled by the light (L)REE 3+ species at <150 °C and the LREEOH 2+ species at >150 °C, whereas the solubility of xenotime is controlled by the heavy (H)REE 3+ species between 25 and 300 °C. Based on the optimization results, we conclude that the revised Helgeson-Kirkham-Flowers equation of state does not reliably predict the thermodynamic properties of REE 3+ , REEOH 2+ , and likely other REE hydroxyl species at hydrothermal conditions. We therefore provide an experimental database (ThermoExp_REE) as a basic framework for future updates, extensions with other ligands, and optimizations as new experimental REE data become available. As a result, the optimized thermodynamic properties of aqueous species and minerals are available open access to accurately predict the solubility of REE phosphates in fluid-rock systems.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗