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Navrotsky, Alexandra

Publications and source records attributed to Navrotsky, Alexandra.

At least 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

The Structure of Liquid and Amorphous Hafnia

Understanding the atomic structure of amorphous solids is important in predicting and tuning their macroscopic behavior. Here, we use a combination of high-energy X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, and molecular dynamics simulations to benchmark the atomic interactions in the high temperature stable liquid and low-density amorphous solid states of hafnia. The diffraction results reveal an average Hf–O coordination number of ~7 exists in both the liquid and amorphous nanoparticle forms studied. The measured pair distribution functions are compared to those generated from several simulation models in the literature. We have also performed ab initio and classical molecular dynamics simulations that show density has a strong effect on the polyhedral connectivity. The liquid shows a broad distribution of Hf–Hf interactions, while the formation of low-density amorphous nanoclusters can reproduce the sharp split peak in the Hf–Hf partial pair distribution function observed in experiment. The agglomeration of amorphous nanoparticles condensed from the gas phase is associated with the formation of both edge-sharing and corner-sharing HfO6,7 polyhedra resembling that observed in the monoclinic phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Structure and thermal expansion of Lu 2 O 3 and Yb 2 O 3 up to the melting points

Knowledge of thermal expansion and high temperature phase transformations is essential for prediction and interpretation of materials behavior under the extreme conditions of high temperature and intense radiation encountered in nuclear reactors. We studied the structure and thermal expansion of Lu 2 O 3 and Yb 2 O 3 were studied in oxygen and argon atmospheres up to their melting temperatures using synchrotron X-ray diffraction on laser heated levitated samples. Both oxides retained the cubic bixbyite C-type structure in oxygen and argon to melting. In contrast to fluorite-type structures, the increase in the unit cell parameter of Yb 2 O 3 and Lu 2 O 3 3 with temperature is linear within experimental error from room temperature to the melting point, with mean thermal expansion coefficients (8.5 ± 0.6) · 10 -6 K - 1 and (7.7 ± 0.6) · 10 -6 K -1 , respectively. There is no indication of a superionic (Bredig) transition in the C-type structure or of a previously suggested Yb 2 O 3 phase transformation to hexagonal phase prior to melting.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Basic Research Needs for Future Nuclear Energy: Report of the Basic Energy Sciences Workshop for Future Nuclear Energy, August 9-11, 2017

Nuclear power today accounts for approximately 20% of the electrical supply for the US. It provides reliable energy that helps to stabilize the national grid. In contrast to current nuclear power facilities, future concepts operate at higher temperatures, are operationally more efficient, more fully utilize the energy stored within the fuel, and reduce the amount of waste produced. Recent advances in chemistry and materials sciences provide an unprecedented opportunity to develop the critical systems—the fuel, coolant, and structural materials—needed for deployment of advanced nuclear reactor designs. To address the challenge of stringent demands on material systems as their properties and performance continuously evolve over the operational lifetime, the frameworks to uncover the underlying processes that cause reduced performance have been developed over the last decade. There is now the prospect of designing materials that report upon their own damage, are self-healing, and leverage what would be considered deleterious chemical processes to increase their performance within advanced reactor designs. Success will provide an energy source needed to secure a stable and safe energy supply for the nation. To identify the key research directions required to discover the chemical processes and material degradation mechanisms that result in loss of performance of the fuel, coolant, and structural materials, nearly 150 theoreticians, computational experts, and experimentalists from industry, national laboratories, academia, and federal agencies participated in a workshop held in August 2017. Based on the discussions held at the workshop, five Priority Research Directions (PRDs) were identified. These PRDs defined the key scientific challenges that must be met as well as the opportunities that can be exploited to achieve a multi-scale spatial and temporal understanding of fundamental processes that govern the properties and performance of the different material systems required for advanced reactors.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Calorimetric Study of Alkali Metal Ion (K + , Na + , Li + ) Exchange in a Clay-Like MXene

Intercalation of ions in layered materials has been explored to improve the rate capability in Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors. This work investigates the energetics of alkali ion exchange in a clay-like MXene, Ti 3 C 2 T x , where T x stands for anionic surface moieties, by immersion calorimetry in aqueous solutions. The measured immersion enthalpies of clay-like Ti 3 C 2 T x , ΔH imm , at 25 °C in 1 M KCl, 1 M NaCl, 1 M LiCl, and nanopure water are -9.19 (±0.56), -5.90 (±0.31), -1.31 (±0.20), and -1.29 (±0.13) kJ/mol of MXene, respectively. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is used to obtain the concentrations of alkali ions in the solid and aqueous phases. Using these concentrations, the enthalpies of exchange of alkali metal ions (Li+, Na+, and K+) are calculated; ΔHex in 1 M KCl, 1 M NaCl, 1 M LiCl, and nanopure water are -9.3 (±2.2), 21.0 (±0.9), -1.3 (±0.2), and 302.4 (±0.6) kJ/mol of MXene, respectively. Both immersion and exchange enthalpies are most exothermic for potassium. This suggests that K+ ions interact more strongly with anions present in the interlayers of this MXene than Na + and Li + ions. Water vapor adsorption calorimetry indicates very weak interaction of water with the MXene, while immersion calorimetry suggests a weakly hydrophilic nature of the MXene surface.

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

Low temperature heat capacity and thermodynamic functions of anion bearing sodalites Na 8 Al 6 Si 6 O 24 X 2 (X = SO 4 , ReO 4 , Cl, I)

Heat capacities of sulfate, perrhenate, chloride, and iodide sodalites with the ideal formula Na 8 Al 6 Si 6 O 24 X 2 (X = SO 4 , ReO 4 , Cl, I) were measured from 2 K to 300 K using a Quantum Design Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS). From the heat capacity data, the standard thermodynamic functions were determined. All four sodalites undergo a phase transition below room temperature for which thermodynamic parameters were determined. Additionally, the heat capacity of one of the constituent compounds (NaReO 4 ) was measured.

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

Solid-liquid phase equilibria of Fe-Cr-Al alloys and spinels

Ferritic FeCrAl alloys are candidate accident tolerant cladding materials. There is a paucity of data concerning the melting behavior for FeCrAl and its oxides. Analysis tools have therefore had to utilize assumptions for simulations using FeCrAl cladding. The focus of this study is to examine in some detail the solid-liquid phase equilibria of FeCrAl alloys and spinels with the aim of improving the accuracy of severe accident scenario computational studies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Thermodynamics of copper‐manganese and copper‐iron spinel solid solutions

Abstract High‐temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry has been performed to investigate the energetics of spinel solid solutions in the Mn 3 O 4 ‐CuMn 2 O 4 and Fe 3 O 4 ‐CuFe 2 O 4 systems. The spinel solid solutions were synthesized by a ceramic route and calcined at appropriate temperatures to obtain single phase samples. The drop solution enthalpies of the solid solutions in the Mn 3 O 4 ‐CuMn 2 O 4 system are the same within experimental error as the enthalpies of drop solution of mechanical mixtures of the end‐members, indicating a zero heat of mixing, i.e., ideal mixing in terms of enthalpy. In Fe 3 O 4 ‐CuFe 2 O 4 , the drop solution enthalpy of the solid solutions shows a positive deviation from those of the mechanical mixture of the end‐members, suggesting negative mixing enthalpy. The formation enthalpies of the spinel solid solutions from their constituent oxides plus oxygen and from the elements were also determined.

Sahu, Sulata K.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Structure and energetics of SiOC and SiOC ‐modified carbon‐bonded carbon fiber composites

Abstract The incorporation of SiOC polymer‐derived ceramics into porous carbon materials could provide tailored shapeable, mechanical, electrical, and oxidation‐resistant properties for high‐temperature applications. Understanding the thermodynamic and kinetic stability of such materials is crucial for their practical application. We report here the dependence of structures and energetics of SiOC and SiOC ‐modified carbon‐bonded carbon fiber composites ( CBCFs ) on the pyrolysis temperature using spectroscopic methods and high‐temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry. The results indicate that a SiOC ceramic pyrolyzed at 1200°C and 1600°C is energetically stable with respect to an isocompositional mixture of cristobalite, silicon carbide, and graphite by 4.9 and 10.3 kJ/mol, respectively, and more energetically stable than that pyrolyzed at 1450°C. Their thermodynamic stability is related to their structural evolution. SiOC ‐modified CBCF s become energetically less stable with increasing preparation temperature and concomitant increase in excess carbon content.

Niu, Min↗
DOE OSTI2017

The role of ceramic and glass science research in meeting societal challenges: Report from an NSF-sponsored workshop

Under the sponsorship of the U.S. National Science Foundation, a workshop on emerging research opportunities in ceramic and glass science was held in September 2016. Reported here are proceedings of the workshop. The report details eight challenges identified through workshop discussions: Ceramic processing: Programmable design and assembly; The defect genome: Understanding, characterizing, and predicting defects across time and length scales; Functionalizing defects for unprecedented properties; Ceramic flatlands: Defining structure-property relations in free-standing, supported, and confined two-dimensional ceramics; Ceramics in the extreme: Discovery and design strategies; Ceramics in the extreme: Behavior of multimaterial systems; Understanding and exploiting glasses and melts under extreme conditions; and Rational design of functional glasses guided by predictive modeling. It is anticipated that these challenges, once met, will promote basic understanding and ultimately enable advancements within multiple sectors, including energy, environment, manufacturing, security, and health care.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

A comparative study of surface energies and water adsorption on Ce-bastnäsite, La-bastnäsite, and calcite via density functional theory and water adsorption calorimetry

Bastnäsite, a fluoro-carbonate mineral, is the single largest mineral source of light rare earth elements (REE), La, Ce and Nd. Enhancing the efficiency of separation of the mineral from gangue through froth flotation is the first step towards meeting an ever increasing demand for REE. To design and evaluate collector molecules that selectively bind to bastnäsite, a fundamental understanding of the structure and surface properties of bastnäsite is essential. In our earlier work (J Phys Chem C, 2016, 120, 16767), we carried out an extensive study of the structure, surface stability and water adsorption energies of La-bastnäsite. Here in this work, we make a comparative study of the surface properties of Ce-bastnäsite, La-bastnäsite, and calcite using a combination of density functional theory (DFT) and water adsorption calorimetry. Spin polarized DFT+U calculations show that the exchange interaction between the electrons in Ce 4f orbitals is negligible and that these orbitals do not participate in bonding with the oxygen atom of the adsorbed water molecule. In agreement with calorimetry, DFT calculations predict larger surface energies and stronger water adsorption energies on Ce-bastnäsite than on La-bastnäsite. The order of stabilities for stoichiometric surfaces is as follows: [100] > [101] > [102] > [0001] > [112] > [104] and the most favorable adsorption sites for water molecules are the same as for La-bastnäsite. In agreement with water adsorption calorimetry, at low coverage water molecules are strongly stabilized via coordination to the surface Ce3+ ions, whereas at higher coverage they are adsorbed less strongly via hydrogen bonding interaction with the surface anions. Lastly, due to similar water adsorption energies on bastnäsite [101] and calcite [104] surfaces, the design of collector molecules that selectively bind to bastnäsite over calcite must exploit the structural differences in the predominantly exposed facets of these minerals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Thermodynamics of manganese oxides: Sodium, potassium, and calcium birnessite and cryptomelane

Significance Manganese oxides with layer and tunnel structures occur widely in the natural environment and inspire technological applications. In addition to having variable compositions, these structures often are found as small particles (nanophases). This study explores, using experimental thermochemistry, the role of composition, oxidation state, structure, and surface energy in the thermodynamic stability of synthetic birnessites and cryptomelane. These quantitative thermodynamic findings help explain and support qualitative observations of phase-transformation patterns gathered over the past five decades.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗