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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Mixed-Polarity Copolymers Based on Ethylene Oxide and Cyclic Carbonate: Insights into Li-Ion Solvation and Conductivity

Here, this study investigates the relationship between polarity and ionic conductivity in random and block copolymer electrolytes comprising highly flexible oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate (OEM) and highly polar but glassy glycerol carbonate methacrylate (GCMA) monomers, blended with either lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) or lithium triflate. Interestingly, the high polarity of GCMA did not significantly enhance ionic dissociation, and the random copolymers (POEM-r-PGCMA) showed similar or lower ionic conductivities than the POEM homopolymer. Further analysis revealed that Li + only interacts with OEM and its counterion, not with GCMA. The less-intermixed and weakly phase-separated block copolymer (POEM-b-PGCMA) exhibited even lower conductivities than the random copolymer. Our results suggest that Li + solvation occurs only in the POEM-rich phase and that the larger PGCMA regions, depleted of Li + , disrupt long-range ion transport. These findings provide valuable insights into the design of polymer electrolytes and how segmental mobility and functional groups with contrasting polarities affect ion transport.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hierarchical Epoxy Structures via Tunable Polymerization-Induced Phase Separation Combined with Additive Manufacturing

Polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) allows for the control of thermoset morphologies and properties, enabling the tuning of domain sizes and thermomechanical response. However, its use in generating substructural features in additively manufactured materials has been limited. In this work, we combine epoxy PIPS with UV curable acrylate and rheological modifiers to print nano- to macro-phase separating materials via a two-step, dual-cure approach. This method enables direct ink write printing of hierarchical structures with both controlled morphologies through phase separation and macroscale architecture through print design. We find that formulations for phase-separating materials require judicious incorporation of additives to enable printability and to provide sufficient green strength. Atomic force microscopy-nano infrared mapping reveals tunable, reticulated nano- to micron-scale domains of the resultant multiphase materials and their morphology changes due to additives, resulting in alterations to thermomechanical and tensile properties. Shape memory behavior is also demonstrated through multimaterial additive manufacturing of epoxies with functionally graded internal morphology using active mixing techniques, highlighting this method’s ability to fabricate complex architectures with controlled morphologies and thermomechanical response.

Van Meter, Kylie E [Organic Materials Science, San↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exploring Microphase Separation in Semi-Fluorinated Diblock Copolymers: A Combined Experimental and Modeling Investigation

We report the combined experimental and theoretical study of the bulk self-assembly behavior of polystyrene-blockpoly( 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene) diblock copolymers. These block copolymers were designed to create highly antagonistic blocks (with a high Flory−Huggins interaction parameter, χ) with minimum disruption to the molecular construct (i.e., only replacing five hydrogen atoms with five fluorine atoms). A large library of diblock copolymers (41 samples) was synthesized by reversible addition− fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to map out a major portion of the phase space. All block copolymers exhibited narrow molecular weight distributions with dispersity (D) values between 1.07 and 1.32, and subsequent thermal annealing revealed phase separation into well-defined nanoscale morphologies depending on their molecular composition, as determined from small-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy analyses, with an experimental phase diagram being constructed. The χ value at 25 °C for this block copolymer was estimated to be 0.2 using strong segregation theory, based on trends in phase-separated domain spacing and interfacial width. When applying theoretical approaches, the majority of the domain spacing data trends were captured by a coil−coil diblock copolymer model; however, a better fit to the data for samples with shorter fluorinated blocks was obtained with a rod−coil model, indicating that the chains in these fluorinated blocks likely have a higher inherent stiffness and were thus rod-like. This observation demonstrates that, due to the very high value of χ, a transition from coil−coil to rod−coil behavior can be obtained purely by reducing the length of the stiffer of the two blocks and without varying temperature or the chemical composition of the polymers. Here, this work showcases the presence of strong microphase separation within AB diblock copolymers despite the relatively similar chemical composition of the constituent “A” and “B” units, with a clear transition from rod−coil to coil−coil segregation behavior.

RAFT polymerization↗
DOE OSTI2024

Solution-Processable Polymer Donor-Small Molecule Acceptor Bulk Heterojunction Organocatalysts for Enhancing CO 2 -to-CO Photoconversion

Metal-free organic semiconductors have emerged as a kind of promising star material in photocatalysis. However, their photocatalytic efficacy is impeded by the great recombination rate of the photogenerated charge carriers. Herein, we demonstrate the devising of solution-processable organic semiconductor bulk heterojunction (BHJ) systems with varying ratios by using BP3DT and PC 61 BM as the donor (D) and acceptor (A) candidates, respectively, for enhanced selective CO production from CO 2 photoreduction. The prepared BP3DT/PC 61 BM BHJs are solution-processed on both glass substrates (GS) and molecular sieves (MS) via a drop-casting technique to form an active thin film and porous photocatalysts to catalyze CO production. All BP3DT/PC 61 BM BHJs efficiently produce CO as the primary product in the existence of trace-level TEA/H 2 O (0.5 mL). Our results show that the photocatalytic efficiency depended on the D/A w% ratios and its nanoscale phase separation morphology within the BHJ, contributing to the promotion of exciton dissociation. Additionally, the BHJ undergoes an ostensible morphological transition from large-scale phase-separation to a fine mixed homogeneous nanoscale by varying the BP3DT/PC 61 BM blend ratio from 30/70 w% to 70/30 w%, which increases the interfacial area and shortens the distance of the exciton to the D/A surface, and promotes charge carrier separation, corroborated by photo-optical and photoelectrochemical experimental results. Accordingly, the resulting BP3DT/PC 61 BM BHJ@MS with a D/A ratio of 70/30 w% achieves a CO yield of 819 μmol·g cat -1 h -1 , surpassing those of pure PC 61 BM (126 μmol·g cat -1 h -1 ) and BP3DT (72 μmol·g cat -1 h -1 ) by 6.5- to 11.3-fold and also exceeding that of metal-free linear conjugated polymer-based organocatalysts reported to date. Specifically, this is the first work to develop an organic-semiconductor-based BHJ photocatalyst, which may offer a nascent way to design more efficient organocatalysts for CO 2 reduction.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

C–H Functionalization of Polyolefins to Access Reprocessable Polyolefin Thermosets

Upcycling plastic waste into reprocessable materials with performance-advantaged properties would contribute to the development of a circular plastics economy. Here, we modify branched polyolefins and postconsumer polyethylene through a versatile C–H functionalization approach using thiosulfonates as a privileged radical group transfer functionality. Cross-linking the functionalized polyolefins with polytopic amines provided dynamically cross-linked polyolefin networks enabled by associative bond exchange of diketoenamine functionality. A combination of resonant soft X-ray scattering and grazing incidence X-ray scattering revealed hierarchical phase morphology in which diketoenamine-rich microdomains phase-separate within amorphous regions between polyolefin crystallites. The combination of dynamic covalent cross-links and microphase separation results in useful and improved mechanical properties, including a ~4.5-fold increase in toughness, a reduction in creep deformation at temperatures relevant to use, and high-temperature structural stability compared to the parent polyolefin. The dynamic nature of diketoenamine cross-links provides stress relaxation at elevated temperatures, which enabled iterative reprocessing of the dynamic covalent polymer network with little cycle-to-cycle property fade. Finally, the ability to convert polyolefin waste into a reprocessable thermoformable material with attractive thermomechanical properties provides additional optionality for upcycling to enable future circularity.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Automated and High-Throughput Phase Separation Control for Supramolecular Polymer Blends Enabled by Machine Learning

Supramolecular polymer blends (SPBs) offer tunable morphologies that dictate their macroscopic properties, yet their rational design is limited by the absence of predictive structure−morphology models. Here, we introduce a data-driven highthroughput workflow that integrates modular polymer synthesis, robotic formulation, automated morphology characterization, and machine learning (ML) for accelerated SPB discovery. Using a plug-and-play synthetic strategy, 33 hydrogen-bonding endfunctional homopolymers were prepared and orthogonally combined to generate 260 SPBs in 1 day. A fully automated atomic force microscopy (AFM) pipeline enabled systematic imaging, producing 2340 morphology data sets with minimal human intervention. Domain spacings were extracted through complementary imageprocessing methods and used to train ML models. A support vector regression (SVR) model accurately predicted target phase-separation sizes (50, 100, and 150 nm), which were experimentally validated. This work demonstrates the power of coupling high-throughput experimentation with ML to accelerate morphology discovery and provides one of the first large-scale experimental data sets for supramolecular polymer systems.

ML-guided polymer design↗
DOE OSTI2024

Epitaxial (Al x Ga 1-x-y In y ) 2 O 3 Alloys Lattice Matched to Monoclinic Ga 2 O 3 Substrates

We have epitaxially stabilized a series of monoclinic (Al x Ga 1-x-y In y ) 2 O 3 alloys by careful choice of molecular beam epitaxy growth conditions, which balance alloy growth with suboxide desorption. The films are pseudomorphic to (010) β-Ga 2 O 3 substrates at thicknesses up to 150 nm with compositions ranging from (Al 0.01 Ga 0.83 In 0.16 ) 2 O 3 to (Al 0.24 Ga 0.75 In 0.03 ) 2 O 3 . The absorption edge shifts from approximately 4.62-5.14 eV with coincidently increasing Al and decreasing In mole fractions. J-V measurements reveal an increase in resistivity over four orders of magnitude with a maximum value of 4.2 x 10 5 Ω-cm for (Al 0.17 Ga 0.76 In 0.07 ) 2 O 3 , which has nearly identical lattice parameters (both in-plane and out-of-plane) to the underlying β-Ga 2 O 3 . Scanning transmission electron microscopy of this sample reveals a mostly uniform and single crystalline film, though we identify areas of non-uniform In incorporation and some γ-phase inclusions. This work demonstrates the feasibility of thick layers lattice-matched to β-Ga 2 O 3 with increased bandgap compared to phase-separation limited (Al,Ga) 2 O 3 . These alloys can enable higher bandgap epitaxial dielectrics and high sheet charge density transistors by increasing the conduction band offset with respect to β-Ga 2 O 3 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Spherical and sessile droplet dynamics by fluctuating hydrodynamics

We simulate the mesoscopic dynamics of droplets formed by phase-separated fluids at nanometer scales where thermal fluctuations are significant. Both spherical droplets fully immersed in a second fluid and sessile droplets which are also in contact with a solid surface are studied. Our model combines a Cahn–Hilliard formulation with incompressible fluctuating hydrodynamics; for sessile droplets, the fluid–solid contact angle is specified as a boundary condition. Deterministic simulations with an applied body force are used to measure the droplets' mobility from which a diffusion coefficient is obtained using the Einstein relation. Stochastic simulations are independently used to obtain a diffusion coefficient from a linear fit of the variance of a droplet's position with time. In some scenarios, these two measurements give the same value but not in the case of a spherical droplet initialized near a slip wall or in the case of sessile droplets with large contact angles (≥90°) on both slip and no-slip surfaces.

Bell, John B↗
DOE OSTI2026

Machine-learning force-field models for dynamical simulations of metallic magnets

We review recent advances in machine-learning (ML) force-field methods for Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert simulations of itinerant electron magnets, focusing on their scalability and transferability. Built on the principle of locality, a deep neural-network model is developed to efficiently and accurately predict electron-mediated forces governing spin dynamics. Symmetry-aware descriptors constructed through a group-theoretical approach ensure rigorous incorporation of both lattice and spin-rotation symmetries. The framework is demonstrated using the prototypical s-d exchange model widely employed in spintronics. ML-enabled large-scale simulations reveal novel nonequilibrium phenomena, including anomalous coarsening of tetrahedral spin order on the triangular lattice and the freezing of phase-separation dynamics in lightly hole-doped, strong-coupling square-lattice systems. These results establish ML force-field frameworks as scalable, accurate, and versatile tools for modeling nonequilibrium spin dynamics in itinerant magnets.

Artificial neural networks↗
DOE OSTI2024

A phage nucleus-associated RNA-binding protein is required for jumbo phage infection

Abstract Large-genome bacteriophages (jumbo phages) of the proposed family Chimalliviridae assemble a nucleus-like compartment bounded by a protein shell that protects the replicating phage genome from host-encoded restriction enzymes and DNA-targeting CRISPR-Cas nucleases. While the nuclear shell provides broad protection against host nucleases, it necessitates transport of mRNA out of the nucleus-like compartment for translation by host ribosomes, and transport of specific proteins into the nucleus-like compartment to support DNA replication and mRNA transcription. Here, we identify a conserved phage nuclear shell-associated protein that we term Chimallin C (ChmC), which adopts a nucleic acid-binding fold, binds RNA with high affinity in vitro, and binds phage mRNAs in infected cells. ChmC also forms phase-separated condensates with RNA in vitro. Targeted knockdown of ChmC using mRNA-targeting dCas13d results in accumulation of phage-encoded mRNAs in the phage nucleus, reduces phage protein production, and compromises virion assembly. Taken together, our data show that the conserved ChmC protein plays crucial roles in the viral life cycle, potentially by facilitating phage mRNA translocation through the nuclear shell to promote protein production and virion development.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Active Fluids Form System-Spanning Filamentary Networks

Recent experimental realizations of liquid-liquid phase separation of active liquid crystals have offered an insight into the interaction between phase separation, ubiquitous in soft matter and biology, and chaotic active flows. Here, in this Letter, we use continuum theory to examine phase separation of an active liquid crystal and a passive fluid and report two new results. First, we provide an analytical derivation of the activity-induced suppression of the phase boundary of the coexistence region—a result first reported in simulations and experiments. We show that the shift in the critical point is a result of the balance between self-stirring active flows and phase-separating diffusive fluxes. Second, we show that this same balance is responsible for dramatically changing the morphology of the phase separated state, resulting in the emergence of a new mixed active phase consisting of a dynamical filamentous active network that invades the entire system area, trapping droplets of passive material. This structure exists even for very low volume fractions of active material. Our work provides an important step towards the goal of understanding how to use activity as a new handle for sculpting interfaces.

active nematics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Skyrmion-skyrmionium phase separation and laning transitions via spin-orbit torque currents

Many driven binary systems can exhibit laning transitions when the two species have different mobilities, such as colloidal particles with opposite charges in electric fields. Another example is pedestrian or active-matter systems, where particles moving in opposite directions form a phase-separated state that enhances the overall mobility. In this work, we use atomistic simulations to demonstrate that mixtures of skyrmions and skyrmioniums also exhibit pattern formation and laning transitions. Skyrmions move more slowly and at a finite skyrmion Hall angle compared to skyrmioniums, which move faster and without a skyrmion Hall effect. At low drives, the system forms a partially jammed phase where the skyrmioniums are dragged by the surrounding skyrmions, resulting in a finite angle of motion for the skyrmioniums. At higher drives, the system transitions into a laned state, but unlike colloidal systems, the lanes in the skyrmion-skyrmionium mixture are tilted relative to the driving direction due to the intrinsic skyrmion Hall angle. In the laned state, the skyrmionium angle of motion is reversed when it aligns with the tilted lane structure. At even higher drives, the skyrmioniums collapse into skyrmions. Below a critical skyrmion density, both textures can move independently with few collisions, but above this density, the laning state disappears entirely, and the system transitions to a skyrmion-only state. We map out the velocity and Hall responses of the different textures and identify three distinct phases: partially jammed, laned, and skyrmion-only moving crystal states. In conclusion, we compare our results to recent observations of tilted laning phases in pedestrian flows, where chiral symmetry breaking in the particle interactions leads to similar behavior.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Thin film design of amorphous hafnium oxide nanocomposites enabling strong interfacial resistive switching uniformity

A design concept of phase-separated amorphous nanocomposite thin films is presented that realizes interfacial resistive switching (RS) in hafnium-oxide-based devices. The films are formed by incorporating an average of 7% Ba into hafnium oxide during pulsed laser deposition at temperatures ≤400°C. The added Ba prevents the films from crystallizing and leads to ~20-nm-thin films consisting of an amorphous HfO x host matrix interspersed with ~2-nm-wide, ~5-to-10-nm-pitch Ba-rich amorphous nanocolumns penetrating approximately two-thirds through the films. This restricts the RS to an interfacial Schottky-like energy barrier whose magnitude is tuned by ionic migration under an applied electric field. Resulting devices achieve stable cycle-to-cycle, device-to-device, and sample-to-sample reproducibility with a measured switching endurance of ≥10 4 cycles for a memory window ≥10 at switching voltages of ±2 V. Each device can be set to multiple intermediate resistance states, which enables synaptic spike-timing–dependent plasticity. The presented concept unlocks additional design variables for RS devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Multifunctional electrochemical memory stabilized by phase coexistence

Our growing computing needs, especially in applications that heavily rely on artificial intelligence (AI), motivate a search for new components that could substantially augment the performance of general-purpose digital computers. Beyond ON/OFF switching, new components with linear multistate analog resistive tuning, nonlinear volatile switching, spiking, oscillatory, stochastic and other complex functionalities could enable highly efficient neuromorphic computing schemes for AI information processing. Compared to the extreme multifunctionality of biological neurons, realizing all the above characteristics in a single, scalable analog component remains a grand challenge. Here we investigate electrochemical gating combined with localized thermal activation to program and switch a single, vertically integrated and dimensionally scaled electrothermal chemical random access memory (ETCRAM) with a channel and reservoir composed of phase-separated vanadium oxide. Closely related to electrochemical RAM (ECRAM), ETCRAM uses an integrated gate-heater electrode to overcome kinetic barriers that help retain states at ambient temperatures. In addition to synapse-like stable and programmable analog resistance states arising from redox-tunable phase coexistence, a single component exhibits neuron-like nonlinear conductance switching with a tunable threshold and self-driven dynamics owing to the thermally driven metal-insulator phase transition in vanadium dioxide. More broadly, we demonstrate that electrochemically stabilized phase coexistence could unlock analog electronics with novel functionality, stability, reconfigurability, and scalability.

Oh, Sangheon [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Liver↗
DOE OSTI2024

Phase separation, edge currents, and Hall effect for active matter with Magnus dynamics

Here we examine run-and-tumble disks in two-dimensional systems where the particles also have a Magnus component to their dynamics. For increased activity, we find that the system forms a motility-induced phase-separated (MIPS) state with chiral edge flow around the clusters, where the direction of the current is correlated with the sign of the Magnus term. The stability of the MIPS state is non-monotonic as a function of increasing Magnus term amplitude, with the MIPS region first extending down to lower activities followed by a break up of MIPS at large Magnus amplitudes into a gel-like state. We examine the dynamics in the presence of quenched disorder and a uniform drive and find that the bulk flow exhibits a drive-dependent Hall angle. This is a result of the side jump effect produced by scattering from the pinning sites and is similar to the behavior found for skyrmions in chiral magnets with quenched disorder.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Reports From The Frontier: Overcoming Limitations for Pure-water Anion-exchange-membrane Electrolysis

Anion-exchange-membrane electrolysis is positioned to play a key role in the predicted exponential growth of green hydrogen technology with essential R&D advances. We reveal key design parameters essential to commercialization. First, stable alkaline oxygen-evolution reaction catalysts with high electronic conductivity and minimal surface reconstruction during operation must be designed. Alkaline catalyst layers must also be applied to the membrane electrode assembly with scalable, industrially relevant techniques. Second, ionomer oxidation mitigation strategies must be developed. Furthermore, this approach could also target other creative catalyst layer design, such as phase-separation control to protect oxidation-prone organic components or catalyst engineering to direct selectivity for hydroxide over polymer oxidation. If competitive efficiency and durability can be achieved in pure water, AEM electrolysis has the potential to become a dominant electrolyzer technology.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Microchannel-based Membrane-less Extraction of Li from Unconventional Lithium Sources & the Separation of REE

This final report provides an overview of the Project's entire duration, covering July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023. It primarily focuses on the achievements, technological developments, and unique challenges the team faced while working on separating and extracting Lithium from produced waters. The project's primary aim was to create an integrated, high-throughput, membrane-less, and modular microfluidic platform that could extract Lithium from unconventional sources. We have successfully met all goals and milestones envisioned in the SOPO document. The most critical primary milestones, including the Go-No-Go milestone (refer to the Gantt chart in the Appendices), were successfully accomplished. We demonstrated phase separation (>90%) and extraction (>85%) performance in the MPSE using synthetic, and representative produced water composition feed at 50 ml/min total flow through MPSE 36. We have also performed a parametric study of the MPSE operations, beyond the scope of SOPO, exploring operating conditions of current and broader interest. The extended investigation of operational parameters is concurrent with our efforts to seek further development of the MPSE technology beyond the scope of the Project. Along these lines of development, we have made efforts to be responsive to DOE calls for technological developments of other types of resources (beyond PW) for the recovery of Critical Materials and higher TRL development (beyond TRL 4). During the work on this Project, we developed and implemented three innovative technical approaches that emerged from our efforts to successfully meet the Project milestones. The innovative & original technical approaches developed and implemented in this Project are now the contributions to process engineering that could be clearly credited to the Project. First, Convergent Design Approach is a comprehensive feedforward & feedback loop of four design phases: i) design for functionality, ii) design for manufacturing, iii) design for sustainability, and iv) design for market. Next was Process Intensification. A major aim of this Project was to create an innovative phase separation & extraction microscale-based technology for Li separation – thus the words microchannel-based in the Project title. A microscale-based technology is intrinsically in the center of the Process Intensification domain as defined by its unique principles. Therefore, Process Intensification was implicitly envisioned in the Project’s SOPO. Lastly, Time Scale Analysis is a novel tool for discovering the needs and directions of Process Intensification implementations in any process technology. This Project is fully credited for developing and implementing the three novel technical approaches mentioned above. These are general contributions to process engineering that emerged from this Project. Beyond the original SOPO scope, the OSU-U.Pitt research group utilized a Convergent Design methodology, integrating first-principles mathematical modeling with experimental validation on the Minimum Development Vehicle. By creating these Digital Twins, the team rapidly assessed manufacturing iterations to support TEA analysis. This framework further enabled the development of advanced Surface Modification Techniques, where hydrophobic and oleophobic coating strategies were optimized via Digital Twin tools and validated through rigorous 100-hour longevity testing. TEA Analysis: The closing efforts of this Project were focused on the TEA analysis. TEA analysis had two primary functions: i) enabling critical assessments of design variations withing 10 the Concurrent Design Approach, thus enabling evolution of the MPSE design to reach faster- better-cheaper alternatives; and ii) to create a bridge between the accomplishments of this Project and future projects of higher TRL, beyond TRL 6 level. It is important to note that the TEA model created in the Project stirred the technological solutions for the recovery of critical materials toward a vision of a very profitable modular plant that has unique zero-waste water discharge signature. More importantly, thanks to our experimental performance data and conservative assumptions, the TEA model predicts minimal technological and investment risks. Low cost of a modular unit of a nominal capacity of [1000 tons of Li 2 CO 3 /year] positions the MPSE based technology within the reach of community investors, thus offering a paradigm shift in the development of critical technologies. The project successfully navigated two primary challenges: solvent selection and manufacturing adaptation. Restricted by the SOPO to existing literature for lithium recovery, the team identified a critical need for a "material excellence program" to develop next-generation solvents, eventually concluding with a preliminary investigation into promising Ionic Liquids (ILs). Simultaneously, COVID-19 supply chain disruptions forced a pivot from traditional manufacturing to advanced additive methods at ATAMI-OSU. By transitioning from stainless steel to 3D-printed polymer substrates, the team achieved a transformative three-order-of- magnitude reduction in manufacturing costs and compressed prototyping timelines from several months to just two days. The MPSE technology offers significant energy, environmental, and economic advantages by overcoming the traditional bottlenecks of phase-separation hardware and contactor size. Unlike conventional mixer-settlers or membrane-based systems, MPSE operates without moving parts or fouling-prone membranes, achieving robust performance even with challenging, viscous, or particulate-heavy feeds. Key performance metrics include an energy intensity reduction of 5–50x (3–40 kJ/m 3 ) compared to incumbent technologies and a dramatic reduction of processing time to under 60 seconds, which drastically reduces the physical plant footprint. These technical efficiencies translate into superior economic outcomes; for a 100 t/year Li 2 CO 3 facility, implementing MPSE is projected to nearly halve contactor CAPEX (from $\$$6.08M to $\$$3.01M) and significantly increase the project's Net Present Value (NPV), derisking new investment and enabling distributed critical-mineral processing configurations. The commercialization of MPSE technology is being spearheaded by Vigsur Dynamics Inc., which has adopted a structured, parallel approach to technical and business development since its formation in January 2026. Following extensive customer discovery and engagement with the Oregon State University accelerator, Vigsur Dynamics is working to establish a business model that transitions from pilot demonstrations to modular hardware sales, ultimately aiming for a "build-own-operate" service strategy. Current technical milestones—including 100 hours of continuous operation, superior energy efficiency, and successful 6-unit modular scale-up— provide a foundation for this transition. Backed by ongoing IP licensing and a growing network of industrial and venture advisors, the company is actively de-risking the platform to replace conventional mixer-settler systems in the critical minerals market.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Method of tuning physical properties of thermosets

Polymerization-induced phase separation enables fine control over thermoset network morphologies, yielding heterogeneous structures with domain sizes tunable over 1-100 nm. However, the controlled chain-growth polymerization techniques exclusively employed to regulate morphology at these length scales are unsuitable for most thermoset materials typically formed through step-growth mechanisms. By employing binary mixtures in place of the classic constituents of phase-separating thermosets—resin, curing agent, and secondary polymer—facile tunability over morphology can be achieved through a single compositional parameter. Indeed, this method yields morphologies spanning nano-scale to macro-scale, controlled by the relative reactivities and thermodynamic compatibility of the network components. Due to the connection between chain dynamics and microstructure in these materials, the tunable morphology enables exquisite control over glass transition and other physical and mechanical properties.

Jones, Brad Howard↗