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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 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Synthesis and characterization of photo-cross-linkable quince seed-based hydrogels for soft tissue engineering applications

The convenience, versatility, and biocompatibility of photocrosslinkable hydrogel precursors make them promising candidates for developing tissue engineering scaffolds. However, the current library of photosensitive materials is limited. This study reports, for the first time, the modification of quince seed mucilage (QS) with glycidyl methacrylate (GM), resulting in the synthesis of methacrylated QS (QSGM). The chemical composition and structure of QS were analyzed. The effects of reaction time, temperature, QS concentration, and GM/QS ratio on the degree of methacrylation, as well as the physicochemical, rheological, mechanical, and biological properties of the synthesized materials were explored. Chemical characterization using 1H NMR and FTIR confirmed the successful methacrylation of QS. Hydrogels fabricated from QSGMs at a 0.5 wt% concentration exhibited high swelling ratios of 320 to 580 g/g, and compressive strengths between 0.6 ± 0.1 and 1.2 ± 0.3 kPa. No significant changes in the rheological properties of hydrogel precursors were observed. Moreover, QSGM-based hydrogels supported cell encapsulation for 14 days with minimal cytotoxicity and immune cell activation. Finally, as a proof of concept, the potential use of QSGM for 3D printing was demonstrated. Overall, the results highlight the significant potential of QSGMs as a biomaterial of choice for soft tissue engineering applications.

3D printing↗
DOE OSTI2022

CENTAUR - The small- and wide-angle neutron scattering diffractometer/spectrometer for the Second Target Station of the Spallation Neutron Source

CENTAUR has been selected as one of the eight initial instruments to be built at the Second Target Station (STS) of the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It is a small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and wide-angle neutron scattering (WANS) instrument with diffraction and spectroscopic capabilities. This instrument will maximally leverage the high brightness of the STS source, the state-of-the-art neutron optics, and a suite of detectors to deliver unprecedented capabilities that enable measurements over a wide range of length scales with excellent resolution, measurements on smaller samples, and time-resolved investigations of evolving structures. Notably, the simultaneous WANS and diffraction capability will be unique among neutron scattering instruments in the United States. This instrument will provide much needed capabilities for soft matter and polymer sciences, geology, biology, quantum condensed matter, and other materials sciences that need in situ and operando experiments for kinetic and/or out-of-equilibrium studies. Beam polarization and a high-resolution chopper will enable detailed structural and dynamical investigations of magnetic and quantum materials. CENTAUR’s excellent resolution makes it ideal for low-angle diffraction studies of highly ordered large-scale structures, such as skyrmions, shear-induced ordering in colloids, and biomembranes. Additionally, the spectroscopic mode of this instrument extends to lower momentum transfers than are currently possible with existing spectrometers, thereby providing a unique capability for inelastic SANS studies.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interactive Materials for Bidirectional Redox-Based Communication

Emerging research indicates that biology routinely uses diffusible redox-active molecules to mediate communication that can span biological systems (e.g., nervous and immune) and even kingdoms (e.g., a microbiome and its plant/animal host). This redox modality also provides new opportunities to create interactive materials that can communicate with living systems. Here in this paper, it is reported that the fabrication of a redox-active hydrogel film can autonomously synthesize a H 2 O 2 signaling molecule for communication with a bacterial population. Specifically, a catechol-conjugated/crosslinked 4-armed thiolated poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel film is electrochemically fabricated in which the added catechol moieties confer redox activity: the film can accept electrons from biological reductants (e.g., ascorbate) and donate electrons to O 2 to generate H 2 O 2 . Electron-transfer from an Escherichia coli culture poises this film to generate the H 2 O 2 signaling molecule that can induce bacterial gene expression from a redox-responsive operon. Overall, this work demonstrates that catecholic materials can participate in redox-based interactions that elicit specific biological responses, and also suggests the possibility that natural phenolics may be a ubiquitous biological example of interactive materials.

electrobiofabrication↗
DOE OSTI2020

Autonomous Strategies for Improved Performance and Reliability of Li‐Ion Batteries

Abstract The battery community has devoted significant effort to improve the performance and reliability of Li‐ion batteries through the development of new materials. The integration of autonomous function provides an alternative strategy to further extend performance. Autonomous material systems mimic the ability of biological systems to self‐protect, sense, regulate, and heal in response to damage and other environmental changes. When incorporated in batteries, these materials enable autonomic restoration of battery performance upon degradation, as well as autonomic shutdown or extinguishment in response to thermal runaway. Successful strategies for improving Li‐ion battery performance include controlled release of microencapsulated functional additives and the integration of self‐healing or adaptive interlayers and binders. These methods have been effective for stabilizing the solid electrolyte interface, preventing battery fires, restoring electrode conductivity, and suppressing Li dendrite growth. Challenges and opportunities exist in the further application of autonomous strategies in the battery environment. A greater variety of encapsulated additives with precise triggered‐release are needed to address specific battery degradation mechanisms. Incorporation of self‐healing polymers in solid‐state batteries facilitates improvement in interfacial and mechanical stability. The integration of autonomous strategies with battery management systems potentially enables enhanced control over multiple battery cycling parameters.

Zhao, Lihong↗
DOE OSTI2020

Energetic Control of Redox-Active Polymers toward Safe Organic Bioelectronic Materials

Avoiding faradaic side reactions during the operation of electrochemical devices is important to enhance the device stability, to achieve low power consumption, and to prevent the formation of reactive side-products. This is particularly important for bioelectronic devices, which are designed to operate in biological systems. While redox-active materials based on conducting and semiconducting polymers represent an exciting class of materials for bioelectronic devices, they are susceptible to electrochemical side-reactions with molecular oxygen during device operation. In this work, electrochemical side reactions with molecular oxygen are shown to occur during organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) operation using high-performance, state-of-the-art OECT materials. Depending on the choice of the active material, such reactions yield hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), a reactive side-product, which may be harmful to the local biological environment and may also accelerate device degradation. A design strategy is reported for the development of redox-active organic semiconductors based on donor–acceptor copolymers that prevents the formation of H 2 O 2 during device operation. This study elucidates the previously overlooked side-reactions between redox-active conjugated polymers and molecular oxygen in electrochemical devices for bioelectronics, which is critical for the operation of electrolyte-gated devices in application-relevant environments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Chitin- and cellulose-based sustainable barrier materials: a review

Abstract The accumulation of synthetic plastics used in packaging applications in landfills and the environment is a serious problem. This challenge is driving research efforts to develop biodegradable, compostable, or recyclable barrier materials derived from renewable sources. Cellulose, chitin/chitosan, and their combinations are versatile biobased packaging materials because of their diverse biological properties (biocompatibility, biodegradability, antimicrobial properties, antioxidant activity, non-toxicity, and less immunogenic compared to protein), superior physical properties (high surface area, good barrier properties, and mechanical properties), and they can be assembled into different forms and shapes (powders, fibers, films, beads, sponges, gels, and solutions). They can be either assembled into packaging films or used as fillers to improve the properties of other biobased polymers. Methods such as preparation of composites, multilayer coating, and alignment control are used to further improve their barrier, mechanical properties, and ameliorate their moisture sensitivity. With the growing application of cellulose and chitin-based packaging materials, their biodegradability and recyclability are also discussed in this review paper. The future trends of these biobased materials in packaging applications and the possibility of gradually replacing petroleum-based plastics are analyzed in the “Conclusions” section.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science (CBES) (Final Report)

The goal of the EFRC on Bio-Inspired Energy Science (CBES) has been to create and understand materials and systems inspired by biology, seeking to innovate on energy utilization and its environmental implications. In the most recent two-year funding cycle (2022–2024), we extended strategic projects from each of the five tasks from the previous cycle. This work offers important advances in how soft matter can be used to convert and store energy. We briefly summarize selected key accomplishments from each task below.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Design of functional materials based on new principles of disorder. Final Report

Disorder is present to some extent in every material. The disorder can be sparse and localized – individual defects – or globally such as in a glass. Normally disorder is considered to be detrimental to function. However, this is not necessarily always the case. This project addressed the question: How does disorder provide new potentialities for the behavior of a material that would be absent in a crystalline material of the same composition? We have discovered a new principle for disordered matter: Independence of bond-level response. This work has introduced the possibility of creating new classes of mechanical meta-materials with applications everywhere from microscopic biological molecules (allostery) to large scale architectural disordered networks. During the course of this grant, we have subsequently elaborated on these novel ideas about bond-level independence of properties in disordered materials. In particular, this study has required that we understand the limits of disorder. That is, if crystals are perfect order, is there another diametrically opposed pole which is the most disordered state? We have shown that, in a well-defined way, jamming is one extreme disordered pole of rigid matter. Jamming is a far-from-equilibrium way of creating a rigid solid by rapidly quenching a random distribution of particles to a mechanically stable system at zero temperature. To understand the jammed state of matter, we have elucidated the low-frequency excitation of these systems. This has allowed a new way of understanding materials that cannot be easily classified as crystals or glasses. These ideas can be extended to address the mechanical properties of polycrystalline matter. Memory formation in matter can take inspiration from memory that occurs in a biological context. The issue of memory formation raises another set of questions at the heart of how the energy landscape is organized and how it can be manipulated to store information in a solid. This project has explored how to understand the degree to which multiple memories can be stored in a single system and has created a holistic understanding of how inputs can be used to create a desired response.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Review: Recent advances of ToF-SIMS for environmental analysis and imaging

Background: Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a powerful surface analysis technique, initially developed and applied in inorganic materials and semiconductors. In past decades, ToF-SIMS has attracted more attention in its analysis capabilities of organic materials, with increased applications in biology, medical, and health development. It has also become a versatile and effective tool in environmental analysis due to its high mass resolution, mass accuracy, and depth profiling. Results: In this review, we first give an overview of the principle of ToF-SIMS and follow with recent ToF-SIMS applications in exemplary environmental study cases, including atmospheric aerosol, soil, water, plant, and organic solvent analysis. Moreover, sample preparation techniques are summarized in relation to corresponding environmental applications. Specifically, we call attention to ToF-SIMS investigations showcasing studies in surface chemical compositions, images, and depth profile analysis. These findings emphasize the important role of interfacial chemistry in environmental processes and provide valuable insights into dynamic processes, such as chemical transformation, particle formation, plant biology, and microbial inspired biotechnology development. The mass spectral imaging results acquired by ToF-SIMS offer a deeper understanding of intermediate stages and transient phases for environmental specimens. Significance: In situ and operando imaging offer new possibilities in studying phenomena in real time with high spatial resolution. Furthermore, it is anticipated that more research groups will use ToF-SIMS in environmental research given recent advances in measurement capabilities and surging needs in chemical mapping of complex analytes and systems.

Aerosol↗
DOE OSTI2023

Swelling characteristics of DNA polymerization gels

The development of biomolecular stimuli-responsive hydrogels is important for biomimetic structures, soft robots, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. DNA polymerization gels are a new class of soft materials composed of polymer gel backbones with DNA duplex crosslinks that can be swollen by sequential strand displacement using hairpin-shaped DNA strands. The extensive swelling can be tuned using physical parameters such as salt concentration and biomolecule design. Previously, DNA polymerization gels have been used to create shape-changing gel automata with a large design space and high programmability. Here we systematically investigate how the swelling response of DNA polymerization gels can be tuned by adjusting the design and concentration of DNA crosslinks in the hydrogels or DNA hairpin triggers, and the ionic strength of the solution in which swelling takes place. Finally, we also explore the effect hydrogel size and shape have on the swelling response. Tuning these variables can alter the swelling rate and extent across a broad range and provide a quantitative connection between biochemical reactions and macroscopic material behaviour.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Functionalization of nitrogen vacancy-containing nanodiamonds with a metal-organic framework for quantum sensing applications

Nitrogen vacancy (NV)-containing nanodiamonds (NDs) are an important material in applications such as biological imaging, catalysis, and, in particular, quantum sensing. Careful manipulation of the surface coating on NV NDs is essential for both enhancing quantum sensor performance and for tuning selectivity towards specific sensing targets. Here, we demonstrate a simple synthetic approach for functionalizing NV NDs with the zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) metal–organic framework (MOF), providing a well-ordered, porous scaffold for immobilizing target analytes near the NV ND surface. The composites were structurally characterized by x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and these results were all consistent with NV NDs fully encapsulated by ZIF-8. Critically, the luminescent properties of the NV NDs, which are vital for quantum sensing experiments such as optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR), are unchanged by the MOF coating. Moreover, spin relaxometry experiments indicate that the ZIF-8 coating significantly enhances the NV ND spin longitudinal relaxation time T1, a critical quantum parameter for sensing applications. Given the tremendous structural diversity of MOFs, the NV ND@MOF composites are an exciting material class with exciting implications for the development of high-performance quantum sensors.

Crawford, Scott↗
DOE OSTI2023

A state-of-the-art review of experimental and computational studies of granular materials: Properties, advances, challenges, and future directions

Modeling of heterogeneous materials and media is a problem of fundamental importance to a wide class of phenomena and systems, ranging from condensed matter physics, soft materials, and composite media to porous media, biological systems, geosystems, ceramic engineering, pharmaceutical science and even in space discoveries. Among the most important materials are granular systems, which have received intense interest from the engineering, physics, and mathematics communities. In this review paper, the recent developments and new advances in experimental, and computational methods on a variety of scales and physics that extend understanding to a wide range of materials and phenomena are reviewed. Experimental advances include computed neutron and nanometer-scale tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, refractive index matching, digital image correlation, acoustic emission analysis, and the most recent 4D techniques. Furthermore, a tremendous shift has occurred from the continuum scale to micro-scale and developing multiscale approaches. As such, various computational methods, including, constitutive modeling, discrete modeling, and multiscale approaches, have been developed. In conclusion, aside from all these evolutions, more complicated modeling called coupled, or multiphysics, systems representing a simultaneous presence of heat, fluid, chemical variation, and mechanical effect are also explored.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) Wastewater Treatment Using Polybenzimidazole (PBI) Hollow Fiber (HF) Membranes

Polybenzimidazole (PBI) hollow fiber membranes were used to treat flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater (WW) from a coal fired power plant. Membranes were tested using both single salt solutions and real FGD WW. The PBI membranes showed >99% rejection for single salt solutions of NaCl, MgCl2, CaSO4, and CaCl2 at approximately 2000 PPM (parts per million). The membranes also showed >97% rejection for FGD WW concentrations ranging from 6900 to 14,400 PPM total dissolved solids (TDS). The pH of the FGD WW was adjusted between 3.97–8.20, and there was an optimal pH between 5.31 and 7.80 where %rejection reached a maximum of >99%. The membranes were able to operate stably up to 50 °C, nearly doubling the water flux as compared to room temperature, and while maintaining >98% salt rejection.

activation energy↗
DOE OSTI2026

Molecular concentration field design using closed-form steady-state solutions

Control over spatial concentration fields represents a fundamental challenge in designing synthetic biological systems and programmable soft materials. While nature creates morphogen gradients that orchestrate complex developmental processes, synthetic approaches have largely relied on empirical optimization and computationally intensive simulations. Here, we present an analytical framework for steady-state concentration fields generated by finite-sized localized sources in diffusion–degradation systems and derive closed-form solutions for one-, two-, and three-dimensional geometries. By expressing these solutions in dimensionless form, we show that gradient steepness and spatial structure are organized by the Thiele modulus, which captures the competition between diffusion and degradation length scales. The analysis reveals distinct design regimes: in degradation-dominated systems, gradient shape is governed by exponential decay and becomes dimension-independent, whereas in diffusion-dominated systems, gradient magnitude and extent follow dimension-dependent power-law scaling. Building on these results, we introduce a quantitative design strategy that uses threshold-based criteria to program concentration ranges by tuning physically accessible parameters, most directly the production rate, while holding transport and degradation properties fixed. Comparisons with numerical solutions and reported experimental systems demonstrate consistency with the predicted scaling behavior. Together, this work provides a generalizable and physically transparent framework for designing steady-state concentration fields in synthetic biological and soft matter systems, enabling predictive control of gradient-mediated organization without reliance on extensive numerical optimization.

Kim, Dong Woo [Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore↗
DOE OSTI2023

Saddle point search with dynamic active volume

Sampling potential energy surface (PES) is critical for many problems in materials science, chemistry, physics, and biology and requires highly efficient saddle point searches (SPS). In the study, we introduce the concept of dynamic active volume (DAV) in addition to the active volume in self-evolving atomistic kinetic Monte Carlo (SEAKMC). The DAV method has further reduced the dimensionality of the PES at the elevation stage of a SPS. At the subsequent converging stage, the dynamic boundary in DAV is lifted to allow the system to converge to the right location of a saddle point. Coupled with the dimer method, the DAV method not only significantly reduces the time cost for a given search attempt, but also dramatically increases the probability of finding relevant saddle points for PES sampling. Further, a Python software package within the framework SEAKMC (SEAKMC_py) with the DAV method has been developed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

APS Science 2020 (Vol. 2)

The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Photn Source (APS) is one of the world’s most productive x-ray light source facilities. Each year, the APS provides high-brightness x-ray beams to a diverse community of more than 5,000 researchers in materials science, chemistry, condensed matter physics, the life and environmental sciences, and applied research. Researchers using the APS produce over 2,000 publications each year detailing impactful discoveries, and solve more vital biological protein structures than users of any other x-ray light source research facility. APS x-rays are ideally suited for explorations of materials and biological structures; elemental distribution; chemical, magnetic, electronic states; and a wide range of technologically important engineering systems from batteries to fuel injector sprays, all of which are the foundations of our nation’s economic, technological, and physical well-being. The APS occupies an 80-acre site on the Argonne campus, about 25 miles from downtown Chicago, Illinois. It shares a site with the Center for Nanoscale Materials and the Advanced Protein Characterization Facility.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2022

A method and tool to determine the colorimetric and photobiological properties of light transmitted through glass and other optical materials

Here we describe a framework and provides a computational tool to characterize the color quality and biological potential of light that is transmitted through glass and other optical materials. The IES TM-30 framework and Excel computation tool were adapted to evaluate color quality, with measures from CIE S 026, UL 24480, and the WELL Building Standard v2 added to evaluate biological potential. The user selects a pre-transmittance spectral power distribution (SPD), such as for a CIE D-Series Illuminant, Planckian radiation, electric lamp, or measurement of daylight at a building site. The tool allows a user to populate a database with spectral data for glazing or other optical materials, comprising spectral transmission and the spectral reflectance of both sides. The user creates a unit with one, two, or three panes of glazing or other optical materials, and the tool calculates the composite spectral transmittance accounting for reflections between materials. The tool computes the transmitted SPD, then determines colorimetric and photobiological outputs using the transmitted SPD as the test source. Glass, window, and skylight manufacturers can employ the tool to optimize glazing spectral transmission to achieve intentional colorimetric and photobiological performance with transmitted light. Electric lighting manufacturers, designers, and researchers can use the tool to evaluate the impact of glazing units and other optical materials on the color quality and biological potential of transmitted light.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗