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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 325 records · Page 18

Water-Fed Hydroxide Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer Enabled by a Fluoride-Incorporated Nickel–Iron Oxyhydroxide Oxygen Evolution Electrode

Here, we have developed a dissolved oxygen and galvanic corrosion method to synthesize vertically aligned fluoride-incorporated nickel–iron oxyhydroxide nanosheet arrays on a compressed Ni foam as an efficient self-supported oxygen evolution electrode. It is integrated with poly(aryl piperidinium) hydroxide exchange membrane and ionomers with high ion exchange capacity into a hydroxide exchange membrane electrolyzer fed with pure water, which achieves a performance of 1020 mA cm –2 at 1.8 V and prevents the detachment of catalysts during continuous operation (>160 h at 200 mA cm –2 ). Furthermore, this work provides a potential pathway for massively producing low-cost hydrogen using intermittent renewable energy sources.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Optimizing Catalysis by Combining Molecular Scaling Relationships: Iron Porphyrin-Catalyzed Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction as a Case Study

Here, the present work demonstrates the generality of molecular scaling relationships toward achieving faster catalysis at lower overpotentials. In iron porphyrin-catalyzed oxygen reduction, independent tuning of the catalyst E 1/2 and buffer pK a resulted in improvement of both the maximum turnover frequency (TOF max ) and the effective overpotential (η eff ). Interestingly, the most optimal system is achieved with the most reducing catalyst and a weak buffered acid—a perhaps counterintuitive conclusion. More generally, this study illustrates a path to optimization of catalytic systems through their differing responses to changes in the intrinsic features of the system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Liquid Structure of Iron and Iron–Nitrogen–Carbon Alloys Within the Cores of Small Terrestrial Bodies

Abstract Nitrogen has been proposed to be stored within planetary cores, but its effects on the structure and density of molten Fe–alloys have not been explored experimentally. Using energy‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction, we determined the structure of Fe–N(–C) liquids at core conditions (1–7 GPa and 1700–1900°C) within a Paris‐Edinburgh press. Variation of N up to 7 wt.% and C up to 1.5 wt.% results in near‐linear changes in Fe–Fe atom distances and structure factor with increasing light element content. We did not observe a significant pressure‐driven structural transition in Fe–N(–C) liquids. We model the expansion of the Fe–Fe bonds using a modified Birch‐Murnaghan equation of state. With this model, we demonstrate that N or C contamination could lead to an overestimation of the Fe–Fe distances of pure Fe. We observe that the incorporation of 1 wt.% N or C into Fe results in a change in Fe–Fe distances that is twice as significant as the effect of 1 GPa. By approximating the change in volume, we infer that N and C incorporated in liquid iron could contribute to the density deficit observed in the cores of terrestrial bodies.

Pease, Allison [Department of Earth and Environmen↗

Bioavailable iron titrations reveal oceanic Synechococcus ecotypes optimized for different iron availabilities

Abstract The trace metal iron (Fe) controls the diversity and activity of phytoplankton across the surface oceans, a paradigm established through decades of in situ and mesocosm experimental studies. Despite widespread Fe-limitation within high-nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) waters, significant contributions of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus to the phytoplankton stock can be found. Correlations among differing strains of Synechococcus across different Fe-regimes have suggested the existence of Fe-adapted ecotypes. However, experimental evidence of high- versus low-Fe adapted strains of Synechococcus is lacking, and so we investigated the transcriptional responses of microbial communities inhabiting the HNLC, sub-Antarctic region of the Southern Ocean during the Spring of 2018. Analysis of metatranscriptomes generated from on-deck incubation experiments reflecting a gradient of Fe-availabilities reveal transcriptomic signatures indicative of co-occurring Synechococcus ecotypes adapted to differing Fe-regimes. Functional analyses comparing low-Fe and high-Fe conditions point to various Fe-acquisition mechanisms that may allow persistence of low-Fe adapted Synechococcus under Fe-limitation. Comparison of in situ surface conditions to the Fe-titrations indicate ecological relevance of these mechanisms as well as persistence of both putative ecotypes within this region. This Fe-titration approach, combined with transcriptomics, highlights the short-term responses of the in situ phytoplankton community to Fe-availability that are often overlooked by examining genomic content or bulk physiological responses alone. These findings expand our knowledge about how phytoplankton in HNLC Southern Ocean waters adapt and respond to changing Fe supply.

Gilbert, Naomi E. (ORCID:0000000256915547)↗

Facile incorporation of technetium into magnetite, magnesioferrite, and hematite by formation of ferrous nitrate in situ : precursors to iron oxide nuclear waste forms

The fission product, 99 Tc, presents significant challenges to the long-term disposal of nuclear waste due to its long half-life, high fission yield, and to the environmental mobility of pertechnetate (TcO 4 – ), the stable Tc species in aerobic environments. Here, the migration of 99 Tc from disposal sites can potentially be prevented by incorporating it into durable waste forms based on environmentally stable minerals.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Evaluation of Attractive Interactions in the Second Coordination Sphere of Iron Complexes Containing Pendant Amines

The interactions between pendant amines in the second coordination sphere and ligands in the first coordination sphere are important for understanding the structures and reactivity of complexes containing PR2NR'2 ligands, which have been shown to be highly active H2 oxidation/production catalysts. A series of [Fe(PPh2NBn2)2(X)(Y)]n+ complexes have been prepared and structurally characterized. These complexes have two different ligands with which the pendant amines of the diphosphine ligand can interact. The solid state structure of cis-Fe(PPh2NBn2)2Cl2 reveals that the six-membered rings adjacent to the P atoms are in a boat confirmation, resulting in close N•••P distances that suggests the P atoms have a greater affinity for the lone pair of electrons on the N atom than chloride ligands. Similarly, boat conformations are observed for both rings adjacent to the hydride ligands of trans-[HFe(PPh2NBn2)2(CH3CN)]+ and trans-HFe(PPh2NBn2)2Cl, resulting in short N•••H distances. Spectroscopic and computational studies of trans-[HFe(PPh2NBn2)2(CO)]+, trans-[HFe(PPh2NBn2)(PPh2NBn2H)(CO)]2+, and trans-[HFe(PPh2NBn2)2(H2)]+ indicate the complexes are more stable when the pendant amines in boat conformations are adjacent to the hydride ligand. These data suggest an attractor ordering of H- > CO > H2 > PR3 > Cl- ~ CH3CN. This work was supported by 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. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is operated by Battelle for the U.S. DOE. Computations were performed using the Cascade supercomputer at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a National Scientific User Facility sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at PNNL.

Liao, Qian↗

Time-dependence of the alpha to epsilon phase transformation in iron

Here, iron was ramp-compressed over timescales of 3 ≤ t(ns) ≤ 300 to study the time-dependence of the α→ε (bcc→hcp) phase transformation. Onset stresses (σ α→ε ) for the transformation ~14.8-38.4 GPa were determined through laser and magnetic ramp-compression techniques where the transition strain-rate was varied between 10 6 ≤ $\dot{μ}$ α→ε (s ₋1 ) ≤ 5×10 8 . We find σ α→ε = 10.8 + 0.55 ln($\dot{μ}$ α→ε ) for $\dot{μ}$ α→ε < 10 6 /s and σ α→ε = 1.15($\dot{μ}$ α→ε ) 0.18 for $\dot{μ}$ α→ε > 10 6 /s. This $\dot{μ}$ response is quite similar to recent results on incipient plasticity in Fe suggesting that under high rate ramp compression the α→ε phase transition and plastic deformation occur through similar mechanisms, e.g., the rate limiting step for $\dot{μ}$ > 10 6 /s is due to phonon scattering from defects moving to relieve strain. We show that over-pressurization of equilibrium phase boundaries is a common feature exhibited under high strain-rate compression of many materials encompassing many orders of magnitude of strain-rate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Quantum chemical replica-exchange umbrella sampling molecular dynamics simulations reveal the formation mechanism of iron phthalocyanine from iron and phthalonitrile

Phthalocyanine (Pc) and its metal complexes (MPcs) have been used industrially since their discovery in the early 20th century. The phthalonitrile (PN) method is a well-known synthesis method in which Pc or MPc can be afforded by heating a mixture of PN and metal powders over 280 °C with only moderate yield. However, the formation mechanism of the phthalocyanines and the intermediate stages of this seemingly simple reaction have yet to be fully understood. To study this mechanism computationally, we carried out quantum chemical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on the density-functional tight-binding (DFTB) method, applying the replica-exchange umbrella sampling (REUS) method, starting from four PN molecules and one iron atom. The DFTB-REUS-MD simulations successfully yielded FePc, and a metastable structure very similar to FePc but with a reactive nitrene unit was also identified that might explain the incomplete conversion of the reactants into FePc. Furthermore, analysis of the MD trajectories reveals a three-step FePc formation mechanism for the PN method.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Iron Availability within the Leaf Vasculature Determines the Magnitude of Iron Deficiency Responses in Source and Sink Tissues in Arabidopsis

Abstract Iron (Fe) uptake and translocation in plants are fine-tuned by complex mechanisms that are not yet fully understood. In Arabidopsis thaliana, local regulation of Fe homeostasis at the root level has been extensively studied and is better understood than the systemic shoot-to-root regulation. While the root system is solely a sink tissue that depends on photosynthates translocated from source tissues, the shoot system is a more complex tissue, where sink and source tissues occur synchronously. In this study, and to gain better insight into the Fe deficiency responses in leaves, we overexpressed Zinc/Iron-regulated transporter-like Protein (ZIP5), an Fe/Zn transporter, in phloem-loading cells (proSUC2::AtZIP5) and determined the timing of Fe deficiency responses in sink (young leaves and roots) and source tissues (leaves). Transgenic lines overexpressing ZIP5 in companion cells displayed increased sensitivity to Fe deficiency in root growth assays. Moreover, young leaves and roots (sink tissues) displayed either delayed or dampened transcriptional responses to Fe deficiency compared to wild-type (WT) plants. We also took advantage of the Arabidopsis mutant nas4x-1 to explore Fe transcriptional responses in the opposite scenario, where Fe is retained in the vasculature but in an unavailable and precipitated form. In contrast to proSUC2::AtZIP5 plants, nas4x-1 young leaves and roots displayed a robust and constitutive Fe deficiency response, while mature leaves showed a delayed and dampened Fe deficiency response compared to WT plants. Altogether, our data provide evidence suggesting that Fe sensing within leaves can also occur locally in a leaf-specific manner.

Cell Biology↗