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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Enhanced Out-of-Plane Conductivity and Photovoltaic Performance in n = 1 Layered Perovskites through Organic Cation Design

Layered perovskites with the formula (R–NH 3 ) 2 PbI 4 have excellent environmental stability but poor photovoltaic function due to the preferential orientation of the semiconducting layer parallel to the substrate and the typically insulating nature of the R–NH 3 + cation. Here, we report a series of these n = 1 layered perovskites with the form (aromatic-O-linker-NH 3 ) 2 PbI 4 where the aromatic moiety is naphthalene, pyrene, or perylene and the linker is ethyl, propyl, or butyl. These materials achieve enhanced conductivity perpendicular to the inorganic layers due to better energy level matching between the inorganic layers and organic galleries. The enhanced conductivity and visible absorption of these materials led to a champion power conversion efficiency of 1.38%, which is the highest value reported for any n = 1 layered perovskite, and it is an order of magnitude higher efficiency than any other n = 1 layered perovskite oriented with layers parallel to the substrate. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate the importance of leveraging the electronic character of the organic cation to improve optoelectronic properties and thus the photovoltaic performance of these chemically stable low n layered perovskites.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Atomic Ordering Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity of Nanoalloys for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

For oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) over alloy electrocatalysts, the understanding of how the atomic arrangement of the metal species in the nanocatalysts is responsible for the catalytic enhancement is challenging for achieving better design and tailoring of nanoalloy catalysts. This paper reports results of an investigation of the atomic structures and the electrocatalytic activities of ternary and binary nanoalloys, aiming at revealing a fundamental insight into the unique atomic-scale structure-electrocatalytic activity relationship. PtIrCo catalyst and its binary counterparts (PtCo and PtIr) are chosen as a model system for this study. The effect of thermochemical treatment temperature on the atomic-scale structure of the catalysts was examined as a useful probe to the structure-activity correlation. The structural characterization of the binary and ternary nanoalloy catalysts was performed by combining surface sensitive techniques such as XPS and 3D atomic ordering sensitive techniques such as high-energy X-ray diffraction (HE-XRD) coupled to atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis (HE-XRD/PDFs) and computer simulations. The results show that the thermal treatment temperature tunes the nanoalloy’s atomic and chemical ordering in a different way depending on the chemical composition, leading to differences in the nanoalloy’s mass and specific activities. A unique structural tunability of the atomic ordering in a platinum-iridium-cobalt nanoalloy has been revealed for enhancing greatly the electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction, which has significant implication for rational design and nanoengineering of advanced catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion and storage.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2013

Jumping-Droplet-Enhanced Condensation on Scalable Superhydrophobic Nanostructured Surfaces

When droplets coalesce on a superhydrophobic nanostructured surface, the resulting droplet can jump from the surface due to the release of excess surface energy. If designed properly, these superhydrophobic nanostructured surfaces can not only allow for easy droplet removal at micrometric length scales during condensation but also promise to enhance heat transfer performance. However, the rationale for the design of an ideal nanostructured surface as well as heat transfer experiments demonstrating the advantage of this jumping behavior are lacking. Here, we show that silanized copper oxide surfaces created via a simple fabrication method can achieve highly efficient jumping-droplet condensation heat transfer. We experimentally demonstrated a 25% higher overall heat flux and 30% higher condensation heat transfer coefficient compared to state-of-the-art hydrophobic condensing surfaces at low supersaturations (<1.12). This work not only shows significant condensation heat transfer enhancement but also promises a low cost and scalable approach to increase efficiency for applications such as atmospheric water harvesting and dehumidification. Furthermore, the results offer insights and an avenue to achieve high flux superhydrophobic condensation.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enhanced predictability of Eastern North Pacific Tropical cyclone activity using the ENSO Longitude Index

Past studies have indicated that El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) plays a major role in the interannual variability of Eastern Pacific hurricane activity. The primary mechanism being the eastward displacement of the warm pool during an El Nino, which carries warm water into that basin thereby creating favorable oceanic conditions. Despite this, the question of whether an accurate knowledge of ENSO enhances seasonal predictabiity of Eastern Pacific hurricanes has not been addressed specifically. In this study, we show that unlike traditional indices of ENSO, the ENSO Longitude Index (ELI) is able to predict Eastern Pacific hurricane activity at significant lead times. By capturing changes in the location of deep convection and associated thermocline processes more accurately, ELI explains the most variability in the upper-ocean heat content in the main development region of the Eastern Pacific basin compared to other ENSO indices. These results have substantial implications for operational seasonal forecasts of Eastern Pacific hurricanes.

Balaguru, Karthik↗
DOE OSTI2017

Enhanced sub-bandgap efficiency of a solid-state organic intermediate band solar cell using triplet–triplet annihilation

Conventional solar cells absorb photons with energy above the bandgap of the active layer while sub-bandgap photons are unharvested. One way to overcome this loss is to capture the low energy light in the triplet state of a molecule capable of undergoing triplet–triplet annihilation (TTA), which pools the energy of two triplet states into one high energy singlet state that can then be utilized. This mechanism underlies the function of an organic intermediate band solar cell (IBSC). Here, we report a solid-state organic IBSC that shows enhanced photocurrent derived from TTA that converts sub-bandgap light into charge carriers. Femtosecond resolution transient absorption spectroscopy and delayed fluorescence spectroscopy provide evidence for the triplet sensitization and upconversion mechanisms, while external quantum efficiency measurements in the presence of a broadband background light demonstrate that sub-bandgap performance enhancements are achievable in this device. In conclusion, the solid-state architecture introduced in this work serves as an alternative to previously demonstrated solution-based IBSCs, and is a compelling model for future research efforts in this area.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Core–shell PdPb@Pd aerogels with multiply-twinned intermetallic nanostructures: facile synthesis with accelerated gelation kinetics and their enhanced electrocatalytic properties

Delicately engineering well-defined noble metal aerogels with favorable structural and compositional features is of vital importance for wide applications. Here, we reported a one-pot and facile method for synthesizing core–shell PdPb@Pd hydrogels/aerogels with multiply-twinned grains and an ordered intermetallic phase using sodium hypophosphite as a multifunctional reducing agent. Due to the accelerated gelation kinetics induced by increased reaction temperature and the specific function of sodium hypophosphite, the formation of hydrogels can be completed within 4 h. As a result, owing to their unique porous structure and favorable geometric and electronic effects, the optimized PdPb@Pd aerogels exhibit enhanced electrochemical performance towards ethylene glycol oxidation with a mass activity of 5.8 times higher than Pd black.

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

Thermochemical wastewater valorization via enhanced microbial toxicity tolerance

Thermochemical (TC) biomass conversion processes such as pyrolysis and liquefaction generate considerable amounts of wastewater, which often contains highly toxic compounds that are incredibly challenging to convert via standard wastewater treatment approaches such as anaerobic digestion. These streams represent a cost for TC biorefineries, and a potential valorization opportunity, if effective conversion methods are developed. The primary challenge hindering microbial conversion of TC wastewater is toxicity. In this study, we employ a robust bacterium, Pseudomonas putida , with TC wastewater streams to demonstrate that aldehydes are the most inhibitory compounds in these streams. Proteomics, transcriptomics, and fluorescence-based immunoassays of P. putida grown in a representative wastewater stream indicate that stress results from protein damage, which we hypothesize is a primary toxicity mechanism. Constitutive overexpression of the chaperone genes, groEL, groES, and clpB, in a genome-reduced P. putida strain improves the tolerance towards multiple TC wastewater samples up to 200-fold. Moreover, the concentration ranges of TC wastewater are industrially relevant for further bioprocess development for all wastewater streams examined here, representing different TC process configurations. Furthermore, we demonstrate proof-of-concept polyhydroxyalkanoate production from the usable carbon in an exemplary TC wastewater stream. Altogether, this study demonstrates that protein quality control machinery and repair mechanisms can enable substantial gains in microbial tolerance to highly toxic substrates, including heterogeneous waste streams. When coupled to other metabolic engineering advances such as expanded substrate utilization and enhanced product accumulation, this study generally enables new strategies for biological conversion of highly-toxic, organic-rich wastewater via engineered aerobic monocultures or designer consortia.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Amino-fulleropyrrolidines as electrotropic additives to enhance organic photovoltaics

The synthesis, device fabrication, and electric poling of novel amino-functionalized fulleropyrrolidines in polymer solar cells is reported. Systematically varying the tether lengths between the fullerene cage and tertiary amines provides insight into enhanced device efficiency and stability after poling. DFT calculations in an external electric field result in alignment of molecular dipole moments, which corroborates our hypothesis that electrotropic polarization causes an increased built-in electrostatic potential difference across the device, and results in enhance performance.

solar (photovoltaic), charge transport, materials ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Enhanced Néel temperature in EuSnP under pressure

The high-pressure single crystal X-ray diffraction results for EuSnP are reported with no structural phase transition below ∼6.2 GPa. Temperature-dependent resistivity measurements up to 2.15 GPa indicate that the antiferromagnetic transition temperature ( T N ) is significantly enhanced under pressure.

Gui, Xin↗
DOE OSTI2019

Coherent magnetic nanoinclusions induce charge localization in half-Heusler alloys leading to high- T c ferromagnetism and enhanced thermoelectric performance

Performance improvement traditionally realized through a combination of power factor optimization via electronic doping and lattice thermal conductivity reduction using nanostructuring have reached their optimal limits in many leading thermoelectric materials, making further enhancement in the thermoelectric figure of merit extremely challenging. Here, a novel approach to electronic transport engineering using coherent magnetic nanoinclusions is demonstrated. It was found that the incorporation of coherent magnetic full-Heusler (FH) nanoinclusions (Ti(Ni 4/3 Fe 2/3 )Sn) into a half-Heusler (HH) matrix (Ti 0.25 Zr 0.25 Hf 0.5 NiSn 0.975 Sb 0.025 ) with optimal doping level and lattice thermal conductivity leads to high Curie temperature ferromagnetism (T c ~ 650 K) along with a large reduction in the effective carrier density within the HH matrix. It is believed that the embedded magnetic FH nanoinclusions interact with the spin of itinerant carriers, leading to charge localization and the formation of overlapping bound magnetic polarons (BMPs). This gives rise to significant enhancements of both carrier mobility and thermopower, which minimizes the reduction in the overall power factor, simultaneously with a large drop in the total thermal conductivity owing to the reduction of the electronic contribution to the thermal conductivity. Here, whe implementation of the magnetic nanoinclusions strategy in a variety of state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials could pave the way towards even larger figures of merit.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Phosphorous transient enhanced diffusion suppression and activation enhancement with cluster carbon co-implantation

Carbon co-implantation is well known as an effective method for suppressing boron/phosphorous transient enhanced diffusion (TED). Germanium pre-amorphization implantation (PAI) is usually applied prior to carbon co-implantation for suppressing channeling tail of dopants. In this study, cluster carbon was applied instead of the combination of germanium PAI and monomer carbon co-implantation prior to phosphorous implantation. Dependence of phosphorous activation and TED on amorphous layer thickness, carbon dose, carbon distribution and substrate temperature have been investigated. Cluster carbon implantation enables thick amorphous layer formation and TED suppression at the same time and low temperature implantation enhances the ability of amorphous layer formation so that shallow junction and low Rs can be achieved without Ge implantation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Broadband antireflection and absorption enhancement of ultrathin silicon solar microcells enabled with density-graded surface nanostructures

Density-graded surface nanostructures are implemented on ultrathin silicon solar microcells by silver-nanoparticle-catalyzed wet chemical etching to enable near-zero surface reflection over a broad wavelength range of incident solar spectrum as well as non-zeroth order diffraction and light trapping for longer wavelength photons, thereby achieving augmented photon absorption for ultrathin silicon microcells in a simple, cost-effective manner. The increase of absorbed photon flux through the “black silicon (b-Si)” surface translates directly into the corresponding enhancement of photovoltaic performance, where 5.7-μm b-Si microcells with the rational design of device configuration exhibit improved energy conversion efficiency by 148% and 50% with and without a diffuse backside reflector, respectively, compared to devices from the bare silicon without b-Si implementation. Systematic studies on nanostructured morphology, optical and electrical properties of b-Si microcells, together with semi-empirical numerical modeling of photon absorption, provide key aspects of underlying materials science and physics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Enhanced photoluminescence due to two-photon enhanced three-photon absorption in Mn{sup 2+}-doped ZnS quantum dots

In this work, we have investigated the multi-photon absorption induced photoluminescence in Mn{sup 2+}-doped ZnS quantum dots in the wavelength range 860 – 1050 nm (Near-Infrared Window I). The observed three-photon action cross-section has been compared with the theoretical prediction under four band approximation. An enhancement of four to five orders has been observed in the range from 970 to 1050 nm compared to the theoretical value, which is attributed to two-photon enhanced three-photon absorption. Transient lifetime measurements reveal a lifetime of 0.35 ± 0.3 ms, which is four to five orders higher than other conventional fluorescent probes.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗