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DOE OSTI · 3028384

Rotation of Crystal Seed During Early Stages of Growth Reveals the Anisotropy of Glass Matrix

Thapa, Rajendra [Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)]·Musterman, Evan [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)]·Jain, Himanshu [Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000343829460)·Dierolf, Volkmar [Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA (United States)]·McKenzie, Matthew E. [Corning Incorporated]
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Abstract

Glass-ceramics are a highly valuable class of materials that are needed for realizing many high-tech as well as consumer products. They are made by controlling crystallization of glass. Theoretical atomistic insights obtained using molecular dynamics simulations in this work reveal that crystal seeds can spontaneously rotate within glass at high temperatures due to anisotropic forces at the glass-crystal interface. This rotation challenges the long‐held view of glass as isotropic solid, and highlights how atomic‐scale inhomogeneities influence crystal growth and microstructure, hence the physical properties glass‐ceramics.

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGYCrystal growthglass structure anisotropyglass‐ceramicsmolecular dynamic simulations

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Thapa, Rajendra [Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)], Musterman, Evan [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)], Jain, Himanshu [Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000343829460), Dierolf, Volkmar [Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA (United States)], McKenzie, Matthew E. [Corning Incorporated]. 2026-01-29. Rotation of Crystal Seed During Early Stages of Growth Reveals the Anisotropy of Glass Matrix. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202516671

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DOE OSTI2026

Cyclic moisture reactivation of calcium sorbents for long duration thermochemical energy storage

The transition to a flexible and reliable energy infrastructure, using electro-thermal energy generation technologies such as geothermal, concentrated solar power, and nuclear, usually demands simultaneous advancement of thermal energy storage (TES) to support on-demand electricity generation and industrial applications while mitigating the inherent intermittency of renewable energy sources and power outages from direct energy generation. Among TES technologies, thermochemical energy storage (TCES) based on calcium looping emerges as a compelling high-power energy storage candidate due to its high reaction enthalpy, compatibility with elevated operating temperatures, and abundance of low-cost materials. However, the long-term durability of calcium-based sorbents for TCES is hindered by surface sintering and particle aggregation, leading to performance degradation over repeated thermal cycles. This study explores a moisture hydration-based strategy to regenerate a degraded calcium sorbent and mitigate performance degradation for long duration TCES. The addition of moisture transforms calcium oxide into calcium hydroxide and produces intercalation water layers, associated with a regenerated surface area and reduced calcium oxide crystallite size. Both these effects are beneficial in restoring the sorbents' reactivity for carbonization. Additionally, an optimized hydration-assisted reactivation protocol balances the recovered energy storage capacity with heating penalty required for moisture removal from hydrated samples, resulting in an enhanced energy storage capacity up to 176% compared to benchmark sorbents that undergo cycling without reactivation after 60 cycles. In conclusion, these results highlight the potential of hydration-assisted reactivation to enhance the long-term performance of TCES, providing an effective pathway to advancing electro-thermal storage technologies.

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