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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 397 records · Page 22

Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) - Light Emitting Diode (LED)

The Biological Research in Canisters - LED (BRIC-LED) is a biological research system that is being designed to complement the capabilities of the existing BRIC-Petri Dish Fixation Unit (PDFU) for the Space Life and Physical Sciences (SLPS) Program. A diverse range of organisms can be supported, including plant seedlings, callus cultures, Caenorhabditis elegans, microbes, and others. In the event of a launch scrub, the entire assembly can be replaced with an identical back-up unit containing freshly loaded specimens.

Biological↗

Homogeneous Gold Redox Chemistry: Organometallics, Catalysis, and Beyond

Gold redox chemistry holds the promise of unique reactivities and selectivities that are different to other transition metals. Recent studies have utilized strain release, ligand design, and photochemistry to promote the otherwise sluggish oxidative addition to Au(I) complexes. More details on the reductive elimination from Au(III) complexes have also been revealed. These discoveries have facilitated the development of gold redox catalysis and will continue to offer mechanistic insight and inspiration for other transition metals. Furthermore, this review highlights how research in organometallic chemistry has led to gold redox catalysis, as well as applications in materials science, bioconjugation, and radiochemical synthesis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Microscale characterization of dissolved organic matter production and uptake in marine microbial mat communities

Intertidal marine microbial mats exhibited biologically mediated uptake of low molecular weight dissolved organic matter (DOM), including D-glucose, acetate, and an L-amino acid mixture at trace concentrations. Uptake of all compounds occurred in darkness, but was frequently enhanced under natural illumination. The photosystem 2 inhibitor, 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea (DCMU) generally failed to inhibit light-stimulated DOM uptake. Occasionally, light plus DCMU-amended treatments led to uptake rates higher than light-incubated samples, possibly due to phototrophic bacteria present in subsurface anoxic layers. Uptake was similar with either 3H- or 14C-labeled substrates, indicating that recycling of labeled CO2 via photosynthetic fixation was not interfering with measurements of light-stimulated DOM uptake. Microautoradiographs showed a variety of pigmented and nonpigmented bacteria and, to a lesser extent, cyanobacteria and eucaryotic microalgae involved in light-mediated DOM uptake. Light-stimulated DOM uptake was often observed in bacteria associated with sheaths and mucilage surrounding filamentous cyanobacteria, revealing a close association of organisms taking up DOM with photoautotrophic members of the mat community. The capacity for dark- and light-mediated heterotrophy, coupled to efficient retention of fixed carbon in the mat community, may help optimize net production and accretion of mats, even in oligotrophic waters.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

Phonon-engineered extreme thermal conductivity materials

Materials with ultrahigh or low thermal conductivity are desirable for many technological applications, such as thermal management of electronic and photonic devices, heat exchangers, energy converters and thermal insulation. Recent advances in simulation tools (first principles, the atomistic Green’s function and molecular dynamics) and experimental techniques (pump–probe techniques and microfabricated platforms) have led to new insights on phonon transport and scattering in materials and the discovery of new thermal materials, and are enabling the engineering of phonons towards desired thermal properties. Here, we review recent discoveries of both inorganic and organic materials with ultrahigh and low thermal conductivity, highlighting heat-conduction physics, strategies used to change thermal conductivity, and future directions to achieve extreme thermal conductivities in solid-state materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Ocean Deacidification Technologies for Marine Aquaculture

The increase in partial pressure of CO 2 in the oceans directly affects the productivity and survival of coastal industries and ecosystems. For marine aquaculture, the decreased alkalinity of seawater results in reduced availability of carbonates for marine organisms to build their shells, leading to decreased aquaculture quality and productivity. The industry has been implementing recirculating aquaculture systems (RASs) to reduce CO 2 in feedwaters, but recent interest in ocean-based CO 2 capture has led to additional strategies that may be relevant. The new methods in addition to CO 2 removal offer capture options for enhanced aquaculture sustainability. Here, we review and compare early-stage and commercially available technologies for deacidification of seawater and their suitability for aquaculture. Most methods considered rely on a voltage-induced pH swing to shift the carbonate/bicarbonate equilibrium toward the release of CO 2 , with subsequent capture of the released CO 2 as a gas or as solid mineral carbonates. The modular design and distributed deployment potential of these systems offers promise, but current demonstrations are limited to bench scale, highlighting the need for sustained research and development before they can be implemented for marine aquaculture.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Implementation of LANDSAT technology in the Commonwealth of Virginia

A brief history of events which led to the formal implementation of LANDSAT technology in Virginia is outlined. The concept of the Commonwealth Data Base (CDB) is explained as it is perceived by the users and the systems development task force. Furthermore, the CDB organization which was established to implement the CDB concept in Virginia is covered.

Sahaydak, E.↗

Advanced Solid State Lighting for Human Evaluation Project

Lighting intensity and color have a significant impact on human circadian rhythms. Advanced solid state lighting was developed for the Advanced Exploration System (AES) Deep Space Habitat(DSH) concept demonstrator. The latest generation of assemblies using the latest commercially available LED lights were designed for use in the Bigelow Aerospace Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) simulator and the University of Hawaii's Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (Hi-SEAS) habitat. Agreements with both these organizations will allow the government to receive feedback on the lights and lighting algorithms from long term human interaction.

Technology Portfolio System↗

Crystal Prediction and Design of Tunable Light Emission in BTB–Based Metal–Organic Frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently been shown to exhibit unique mechanisms of luminescence based on charge transfer between structural units in the framework. These MOFs have the potential to be structural tuned for targeted emission with little or no metal participation. Here a computationally led, material design and synthesis methodology is presented that elucidates the mechanisms of light emission in interpenetrated structures comprised of metal centers (M = In, Ga, InGa, InEu) and BTB (1,3,5-Tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene) linkers, forming unique luminescent M-BTB MOF frameworks. Gas phase and periodic electronic structure calculations indicate that the intensity of the emission and the wavelength are overwhelmingly controlled by a combination of the number of interacting stacked linkers and their interatomic spacings, respectively. In the MOF, the ionic radii of the metal centers primarily control the expansion or shrinkage of the linker stacking distances. Experimentally, multiple M-BTB-based MOFs are synthesized and their photoluminescence was tested. Experiments validated the modeling by confirming that shifts in the crystal structure result in variations in light emission. Through this material design method, the mechanisms of tuning luminescence properties in interpenetrated M-BTB MOFs have been identified and applied to the design of MOFs with specific wavelength emission based on their structure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Modulating the Mixing Gibbs Free Energy to Enhance Solid–Liquid Phase Separation for High–Performance Organic Solar Cells

Organic solar cells (OSC) feature a hierarchical structure with the electron donor/acceptor layer sandwiched by anode and cathode, which raises the importance of controlling the molecular crystal orientation, domain size, and vertical distribution to facilitate the charge collection at electrodes. However, the similar conjugated backbone of donor/acceptor material and fast film–formation kinetics have led to spinodal–decomposition–orientated phase separation that result in the film presenting an intimately mixed morphology and random molecular orientation. To solve the issue, the mixing Gibbs free energy–triggered solid–liquid phase separation during the film formation process is enhanced by solidifying one component and solvating the other based on a liquid additive. Following the liquid evaporation process, a favorable vertical distribution is obtained. Meanwhile, the prolonged solvation process enlarges the domain size and assists the molecules to diffuse and orient properly, enabling better exciton/charge dynamics during the power conversion processes. As a result, the fabricated devices exhibit a fill factor over 80% and an efficiency of 18.72%, which is one of the top efficiencies for binary OSCs. In conclusion, insights and a methodology is provided here to manipulate the organic donor/acceptor phase separation in terms of mixing Gibbs free energy.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Chemical Passivation of Crystalline Si by Al 2 O 3 Deposited Using Atomic Layer Deposition: Implications for Solar Cells

The atomistic-level mechanism for the chemical passivation of the monocrystalline Si (c-Si) surface with thermally annealed Al 2 O 3 was studied using in situ infrared spectroscopy and photoconductance decay measurements. Al 2 O 3 was deposited on high-lifetime, float-zone c-Si substrates using atomic layer deposition (ALD) from trimethylaluminum (TMA), and H 2 O or O 3 . Surface-sensitive attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to monitor the c-Si/Al 2 O 3 interface, as well as the bulk of the Al 2 O 3 film during the entire process. Our results show that some surface Si–H bonds are preserved after the ALD of Al 2 O 3 on H-terminated Si. During the annealing step at 400 °C, restructuring occurs at the c-Si/Al 2 O 3 interface to form interfacial SiO x . Isotope labeling was used to differentiate interfacial SiD bonds on the c-Si surface from H incorporated in Al 2 O 3 . Within the sensitivity of our infrared setup (~10 13 cm –2 ), we did not observe any net migration of atomic H or D from Al 2 O 3 to the c-Si/Al 2 O 3 interface. To isolate the effects of chemical and field-effect passivation of Al 2 O 3 thin films, we carried out surface passivation studies on c-Si/SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 stacks. We also annealed these stacks in different atmospheres to test the influence of annealing atmospheres on the chemical passivation of c-Si by Al 2 O 3 and observed that O 2 -containing atmosphere led to the best surface chemical passivation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Blocking like it's hot: a synthetic chemists’ path to high-temperature lanthanide single molecule magnets

Progress in the synthesis, design, and characterisation of single-molecule magnets (SMMs) has expanded dramatically from curiosity driven beginnings to molecules that retain magnetization above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. This is in no small part due to the increasingly collaborative nature of this research where synthetic targets are guided by theoretical design criteria. This article aims to summarize these efforts and progress from the perspective of a synthetic chemist with a focus on how chemistry can modulate physical properties. Here, a simple overview is presented of lanthanide electronic structure in order to contextualize the synthetic advances that have led to drastic improvements in the performance of lanthanide-based SMMs from the early 2000s to the late 2010s.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

New observations of interstellar organic molecules

Discussed here are new observations of 3-carbon-containing interstellar molecules which play an important role in the chemistry of dense molecular clouds: protonated carbon dioxide, formic acid, and propynal. In 1984 a new oxide of carbon, C3O, was discovered in the interstellar medium (Matthews et al. 1984; Brown et al. 1985). Theoretical models suggest that C3O is produced by dissociative electron recombination with the ion H3C3O+. Although no laboratory data for the branching ratios of such a recombination exist, it seemed to us likely that additional products would include H2C3O. This molecule has more than one isomeric form, but one stable species is propynal (HC2CHO), which had been suggested as a possible interstellar molecule by Winnewisser (1973). In observations at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory 43 m telescope in Green Bank earlier this year, researchers detected a line in the cold cloud TMC-1 which they assign to the 2(0,2)-1(0,1) transition of propynal. The observed line agrees with the laboratory frequency to well within the experimental uncertainty a few parts in 10 to the 7th power. Researchers sought and failed to detect the corresponding 2(1,1)-1(1,0) line, which is understandable given the presence of both a and b components of the electric dipole moment in propynal. The b type transitions will drain population from energy levels with K(sub p) does not equal 0 into the K(sub p) equal 0 stack. If the researchers' assignment is correct, this is the first interstellar detection of propynal. Assuming typical rotational temperatures for TMC-1 and that the line is optically thin, the column density determined is about 5 times 10 to the 12th power cm to the -2nd power, or about three times that for C3O. Formic acid (HCOOH) was the first organic acid to be observed in the interstellar medium, in the Galactic center source Sgr B2. The only other interstellar detection has been recently made in the giant molecular cloud in Orion. As part of the same project that led to the detection of propynal, researchers sought formic acid in the nearby, cold dark clouds TMC-1 and L134N. It is seen only in L134N. This difference between the two clouds appears to be consistent with a model in which the oxygen/carbon ratio is higher in L134N. This would be consistent with the higher abundances for SO and SO2, observed in that cloud, and the higher abundances of many carbon-rich species in TMC-1 (Irvine et al. 1985).

Irvine, W. M.↗

The Search for Life on Mars

Although the Viking results may indicate that Mars has no life today, the possibility exists that Mars may hold the best record of the events that led to the origin of life. There is direct geomorphological evidence that in the past Mars had large amounts of liquid water on its surface. The Mars meteorites also suggest that early Mars was wet with conditions suitable for organic material. Atmospheric models would suggest that this early period of hydrological activity was due to the presence of a thick atmosphere and the resulting warmer temperatures. From a biological perspective, the existence of liquid water by itself motivates the question of the origin of life on Mars. From studies of the Earth's earliest biosphere we know that by 3.5 Gyr. ago, life had originated on Earth and reached a fair degree of biological sophistication. Surface activity and erosion on Earth make it difficult to trace the history of life before the 3.5 Gyr. time frame. If Mars did maintain a clement environment for longer than it took for life to originate on Earth, then the question of the origin of life on Mars follows naturally.

McKay, Christopher P.↗

A Dominant Arabidopsis Thaliana ACTIN7 Mutant for Studies of Cytoskeletal-Mediated Root Gravity and Spaceflight Stress Responses

A forward genetic screen for Arabidopsis thaliana mutants that exhibited differential sensitivity to the actin-disrupting compound, latrunculin B (LatB), was conducted to uncover new players involved in actin-mediated root gravity responses. This led to the isolation of a mutant that exhibited robust primary root growth at 100 nM LatB, which is a concentration that severely inhibits wild-type root elongation. Phenotypic analysis revealed that hypocotyl elongation in the dark and root hair tip growth in the mutant could tolerate LatB concentrations that impaired these processes in wild type. A cross between the mutant and wild type resulted in progeny resistance to LatB, which indicated that the mutant is dominant (hereafter referred to as LBR1 for LatB Resistant1). Filamentous-actin (F-actin) organization in LBR1 primary roots remained intact at 100 nM LatB, while that of wild type exhibited fragmented F-actin. Next generation sequencing revealed that LBR1 had a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the AT5G09810 gene that changed cytosine to a thiamine at the first exon. AT5G09810 encodes ACTIN7 (ACT7), which is one of three vegetative actin isoforms in A. thaliana. The SNP in the ACT7 gene led to a change in a single amino acid from proline at position 32 to a serine. Transgenic complementation of LBR1 plants with wild-type ACT7 under the control of the ACT7 promoter (pACT7:ACT7) and wild-type plants with LBR1, which contained the proline to serine mutation, also under the ACT7 promoter (pACT7:LBR1) confirmed that LBR1 is ACT7. The pACT7:LBR1 construct was also able to confer LatB resistance to the act7-5 and act2-3 vegetative ACT mutants. Moreover, LBR1 exhibited partial tolerance to salt and low phosphate, and enhanced root skewing on a clinostat, suggesting that site-directed engineering of vegetative ACT presents a strategy for generating stress-tolerant plants for spaceflight applications and studies of actin-mediated gravity responses.

Plant Space Biology↗

Accumulation of Antifreeze Proteins on Ice Is Determined by Adsorption

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) enable the survival of organisms in freezing environments by binding to ice crystals and suppressing their growth. The rate at which AFPs accumulate on ice is determined by an interplay between their diffusion from the aqueous solution and their adsorption to the ice crystal. To interrogate the relative importance of these two processes, we combined fluorescence experiments with reaction–diffusion modeling. We found that as AFPs accumulate on ice, their concentration in the aqueous solution does not develop a gradient but remains equal to its bulk concentration throughout our experiments. Furthermore, these findings led us to conclude that AFP accumulation on ice crystals, which are smaller than 100 μm in radius, is not limited by the diffusion of AFPs, but by the kinetics of AFP adsorption.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A Knowledge Graph Framework for Organizing Heterogeneous Datasets for Utilization in Classical and Quantum Computing: Current Challenges and Future Directions

"The escalating impact of climate change induced extreme weather events in urban, suburban, and rural environments demands a rethink of how we have been using the single event-based or use-case-based knowledge graph models. The lack of representation in interaction within environmental variables found in literature led to the development of a novel framework that reflects the true nature of the interconnectedness in our environment. We propose an Environmental Interaction Knowledge Graph (EIKG) framework. This general EIKG framework works as the basis for interconnected environmental events by knitting interrelated events such as hurricanes leading to storm surges, which lead to flood events that could cause mudslides, landslides, etc., The cascading nature of one event leading to another related event in the environment requires an adequate understanding of each event using contextual information before conducting any data-driven analytics. This vision paper showcases how the EIKG:floods, EIKG:wildfire EIKG:landslides, etc, can be derived from a base case framework of EIKG as those individual events are interconnected with some common denominator variables. As an example, the precipitation variable is used in the flood case study as well as in the wildfire case study, as excessive precipitation levels lead to floods, and lack of precipitation leads to droughts and wildfires. We identify the precipitation variable as a “common-denominator-variable” in extreme weather events that play a key role in modeling the environment leading to different extreme weather events based on the variability of that variable (varying values where low precipitation leads to drought, and high values lead to floods). We use the insights gained from EIKG to conduct classical and Quantum Machine Learning (QML) based data analysis on the research questions developed. Our preliminary study shows how the Variational Quantum Classifier (VQC) and Quantum Support Vector Classifier (QSVC) are used along with the classical machine learning models to compare the model accuracies. Our study elaborates on how a quantitative analysis uses state-of-the-art machine learning techniques that include implementing both classical and quantum machine learning models and developing the knowledge graph. The EIKG is used to organize heterogeneous datasets and integrate the relations to case-specific extreme weather events such as floods. The study uses datasets such as county-to-country residential mobility data, socioeconomic datasets from the US Census Bureau, climate and weather-related Earth Observational data from NASA, and critical infrastructure data from the Homeland Infrastructure datasets."

Knowledge Graphs, Quantum Computing, Heterogenous ↗

Balancing molecular level influences of intermolecular frustrated Lewis pairs (FLP) for successful design of FLP catalysts for hydrogen storage applications

The rise in energy demands and the deleterious environmental issues related to fossil fuels has led to a surge of interest in hydrogen as a "green" alternative. Hydrogen's extraordinary energy density makes it a potential energy and economic "power"-house. Significant research has been dedicated to materials-based hydrogen storage. One area, liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) is of substantial interest for the reversible transportation of hydrogen from production to end-use facilities. There are challenges associated with this technology including the dependency on precious metal-based catalysts. Recent work in frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) catalysis demonstrates promise for addressing these challenges. Here this review is focused on assessing recent literature on the utilization of intermolecular FLP main group catalysts for improved hydrogenation/dehydrogenation of various substrates including potential LOHC complexes. This review will present an overview of FLPs, highlight potential hydrogen storage applications, and propose areas where knowledge gaps exist that require further investigations.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Untargeted Exometabolomics Provides a Powerful Approach to Investigate Biogeochemical Hotspots with Vegetation and Polygon Type in Arctic Tundra Soils

Rising temperatures in the Arctic have led to the thawing of tundra soils, which is rapidly changing terrain, hydrology, and plant and microbial communities, causing hotspots of biogeochemical activity across the landscape. Despite this, little is known about how nutrient-rich low molecular weight dissolved organic matter (LMW DOM) varies within and across tundra ecosystems. Using a high-resolution nano-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) approach, we characterized the composition and availability of LMW DOM from high-centered polygons (HCP) and low-centered polygons (LCP) with Eriophorum angustifolium or Carex aquatilis as the dominant vegetation. Over 3000 unique features (i.e., discrete mass/charge ions) were detected; 521 were identified as differentially abundant between polygonal types and 217 were putatively annotated using high mass accuracy MS data. While polygon type was a strong predictor of LMW DOM composition and availability, vegetation and soil depth were also important drivers. Extensive evidence was found for enhanced microbial processing at the LCP sites, which were dominated by Carex plant species. We detected significant differences between polygon types with varying aboveground landscape features or properties, and hotspots of biogeochemical activity, indicating LMW DOM, as quantified by untargeted exometabolomics, provides a window into the dynamic complex interactions between landscape topography, vegetation, and organic matter cycling in Arctic polygonal tundra soils.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗