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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 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Collaborative Research Proposal: Time Resolved Optical Emissions Spectroscopy and Laser Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Nanosecond Pulsed Discharges in a Gas-Liquid Water Film Reactor

Electrical discharge plasma formed in contact with liquid water is of interest for a wide range of applications in chemical, biomedical, agricultural, electrical, and materials science and engineering. Such plasma reactors are of very timely importance since they also have significant disinfection capability by inactivating bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Many types of plasma sources including those driven by AC, DC, RF, microwave, and pulsed electrical power supplies coupled to a wide range of different electrode configurations and reactor designs have been developed and explored which contact the plasma with liquid water. Recent roadmaps have recommended that further work is needed to develop our understanding of the fundamental chemical and physical process which occur at the interface of non-thermal plasma with liquid water solutions in order to advance this large diversity of applications which ultimately depend upon efficient production of key reactive chemical species. There is a wide range of interacting factors that affect the chemical reactions that occur in the plasma, in the liquid phase, and at the interface. These factors ultimately govern the key reactive chemical species formed and used in the various applications and they include a) the reactor design and input parameters, b) the discharge and transport processes, c) the plasma properties, and d) the resulting chemical reactions. For pulsed discharges, the power supply design and output parameters control the applied voltage, frequency, rise time, and width (duration) of the applied pulses. The reactor design involves specification of the gas-liquid contacting methods, electrode gap distance, reactor volume and shape, and gas and liquid flow rates achievable. The gas and liquid compositions as well as the liquid properties such as pH and conductivity are also of key importance in determination of the resulting chemical reactions. In addition, the important plasma properties include plasma gas temperature, electron density, electron energy (distribution), and size of the plasma channels which are all affected by the discharge and transport properties. Many studies have focused on specific aspects of these various processes. Of particular important and relevance to the proposed work is the utilization of nanosecond pulses to generate plasma in gas-liquid systems, liquid bubbles, underwater, and in gases. Recent advances in nanosecond pulses provide significant advantages in utilization with liquid water. For example, fast rise time and short pulses are less sensitive to water conductivity, such short pulses may provide advantages in fast temporal quenching of the plasma, and fundamental analysis of pulse properties, including pulse shape and width, may be facilitated by investigation of single filamentary fast pulses. Many studies have also dealt with the role of the gas composition on formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (i.e., hydroxyl radicals – ·OH, hydrogen peroxide – H 2 O 2 , various atomic oxygen species, ozone-O 3 , hydroperoxyl radicals HO 2 ·) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) (i.e., nitrogen oxides – NO, NO 2 , N 2 O - collectively termed NO X , nitrite-NO 2 - , nitrate-NO 3 - , peroxynitrite-ONOO - ). The hydroxyl radical is the critical species in many chemical oxidation reactions for chemical degradation of toxic compounds in water and gases and for synthesis of some compounds. The mixture of various nitrogen oxide species is important for many biochemical and biological processes involved in biomedical and agricultural applications including disinfection and fertilizer production. The present proposal focuses on determination of the effects of time resolved electron density and hydroxyl radicals on plasma chemical reactions through collaboration with the Princeton Collaborative Low Temperature Plasma Research Facility (PCRF) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). In order to further investigate the role of the plasma generated electrons and hydroxyl radicals on the overall formation of the key species including hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radicals, and nitrogen oxides, the proposed work, thus seeks to determine high resolution time resolved electron density by optical emissions spectroscopy and time resolved hydroxyl radicals using laser induced fluorescence in the nanosecond discharge reactor. The combination of data on electron density and hydroxyl radical concentration will be utilized in the present work to more fully characterize the chemical reaction processes in this system and to advance the design, development, and operation of such chemical reactors for a wide range of applications.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

In-situ Synthesis of PuCl 3 and Corresponding Raman and Density Functional Theory Vibrational Modes

The experimental and calculated Raman spectrum of PuCl 3 has been reported for the first time. PuCl 3 is a primary species found in plutonium metal refinement, specifically in pyrochemical salt processes including multicycle direct oxide reduction, metal chlorination, and electrorefining. As such, Raman signatures of PuCl 3 could serve as potential forensic indicators of material process history. A novel technique for synthesizing PuCl 3 from the in-situ chlorination of plutonium metal with HCl was developed to establish these signatures. Cerium metal surrogates were utilized to ensure optimization of the plutonium experiments and to minimize personnel exposure, and all experiments were carried out in a Raman reaction chamber designed for air-tight, high vacuum environments. In-situ Raman spectroscopy was employed in conjunction with Density Functional Theory (DFT) to investigate the vibrational modes of PuCl 3 . Associated mixed oxy and hydroxyl phases are also reported. The combined Raman and DFT results have eliminated inconsistencies in Raman mode assignments for the MX 3 family of metal chlorides having P6 3 /m symmetry, and IR modes derived from the DFT calculations are additionally presented. The data observed in this study is of potential interest to nuclear forensic analyses, nuclear sample aging, nuclear energy, plutonium processing, and stockpile stewardship.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

FORCE Integration with DRAFT and IDAES

Integrated energy systems (IES) combine, in mutually beneficial ways, power from variable renewable energy sources and nuclear power plants (NPP) to produce multiple commodities and improve economic viability under uncertain market conditions. Technical and economic analysis of IES requires modeling of complex processes with software models having enough fidelity to capture real-world dynamics while still being capable of running using reasonable computing resources. The open-source Framework for Optimization of Resources and Economics (FORCE) tool suite, developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), has enabled comprehensive modeling and simulation of IES. The capabilities within FORCE include grid portfolio optimization through the Holistic Energy Resource Optimization Network (HERON) and the transient process model analysis library HYBRID, among others. Recent developments for the FORCE toolset have centered on strengthening the flexibility and modularity to link with external models and other available software to enhance IES simulations. Adding versatility to the FORCE toolset improves capability resulting in better techno-economic simulation of nuclear and IES components (both in potential higher fidelity and accuracy to expected performance after deployment). It also helps leverage existing work in the IES field and improve efficiency in national code development. This report focuses on two such endeavors: integration of the Dynamic Reliability Analysis Framework Tool (DRAFT) and the Design Integration and Synthesis Platform to Advance Tightly Coupled Hybrid Energy Systems (DISPATCHES) software packages into FORCE.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Computational synthesis of 2D materials: A high-throughput approach to materials design

2D materials find promising applications in next-generation devices, however, large-scale, low-defect, and reproducible synthesis of 2D materials remains a challenging task. Here, to assist in the selection of suitable substrates for the synthesis of as-yet hypothetical 2D materials, we have developed an open-source high-throughput workflow package, Hetero2d, that searches for low-lattice mismatched substrate surfaces for any 2D material and determines the stability of these 2D-substrate heterostructures using density functional theory (DFT) simulations. Hetero2d automates the generation of 2D-substrate heterostructures, the creation of DFT input files, the submission and monitoring of computational jobs on supercomputing facilities, and the storage of relevant parameters alongside the post-processed results in a MongoDB database. We demonstrate the capability of Hetero2d in identifying stable 2D-substrate heterostructures for four 2D materials, namely 2H-MoS 2 , 1T- and 2H-NbO 2 , and hexagonal-ZnTe, considering 50 cubic elemental substrates. We find Cu, Hf, Mn, Nd, Ni, Pd, Re, Rh, Sc, Ta, Ti, V, W, Y, and Zr substrates sufficiently stabilize the formation energies of these 2D materials, with binding energies in the range of ~0.1–0.6 eV/atom. Upon examining the z-separation, the charge transfer, and the electronic density of states at the 2D-substrate interface, we find a covalent type bonding at the interface which suggests that these substrates can be used as contact materials for the 2D materials. Hetero2d is available on GitHub as an open-source package under the GNU license.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ion diffusion coefficients in poly(3-alkylthiophenes) for energy conversion and biosensing: role of side-chain length and microstructure

Conductive polymers are promising materials as active elements for energy storage and conversion devices due to mixed ion–electron conduction. The ion diffusion coefficient is a relative measure of the efficacy of ion transport, allowing for comparison between materials and electrochemical conditions. In this work, diffusion coefficients of hexafluorophosphate (PF6–) counterions in poly(3-alkylthiophene) (P3AT) materials are measured as a function of both side-chain length and microstructure using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). For semi-crystalline films, the diffusion coefficient is found to be anomalous and nearly independent of applied electrochemical potential. Here, the anomalous behavior of diffusion indicates that spin casting yields compact films with an enthalpic barrier to ion transport, attributed to ionic trapping. Diffusion coefficient values ~10 –11 cm 2 s –1 were measured for all films, indicating interchain spacing, in the absence of strong intermolecular interactions with the electrolyte, is not a viable design strategy to control ion transport. For the prototypical system of poly(3-hexylthiophene), we observe almost no potential dependence in ion transport for regioregular and regiorandom films of comparable molecular weight, with both exhibiting anomalous diffusion. Alternatively, changing the microstructure of poly(3-hexylthiophene) to a mostly amorphous, ion-imprinted structure yields ~500× increase in the diffusion coefficient to ~2 × 10 –8 cm 2 s –1 at 0.8 V vs. Ag/Ag + with behavior closer to ordinary diffusion. Collectively, these results indicate new insight into ion transport in conductive polymers, where ionic trapping effects can be mitigated through electrodeposition protocols over post-synthesis processing (i.e. spin coating).

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Improved cycle stability and high-rate capability of LiNbO 3 -coated Li 3 VO 4 as anode material for lithium-ion battery

Lithium vanadate (Li 3 VO 4 ) has garnered considerable attention as an alternative negative electrode material for non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries due to its high capacity, energy efficiency, and stable discharge voltage. Nonetheless, the Li 3 VO 4 material displays a low rate capability, attributed mainly to its poor intrinsic electronic conductivity. Here, in this study, we report the synthesis of lithium niobate LiNbO 3 -coated Li 3 VO 4 (LVO@LNO) using a one-pot sol-gel method. The resulting LVO@LNO demonstrates a high reversible capacity of approximately 530 mAh/g, which is more than double that of free Li 3 VO 4 . To explore the effect of the LNO coating process on the morphological and structural properties, Raman, XRD, operando XRD, XPS, SEM and HTEM analyses were conducted. To explain the enhancement of electronic conductivity in our modified material after a LiNbO 3 coating, we conducted an Ex-Situ electrochemical impedance (EIS) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) computational study. Additionally, we designed a full cell utilizing a 1 wt% LNO-coated LVO anode and NMC-811 cathode. The cell yielded an output voltage of approximately 2.8 V with a high initial specific capacity of 350 mAh/g versus to the anode, at 1C with a capacity retention of 85 % after 100 cycles.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Substituent Effects on Exchange Coupling and Magnetic Relaxation in 2,2'-Bipyrimidine Radical-Bridged Dilanthanide Complexes

Systematic analysis of related compounds is crucial to the design of single-molecule magnets with improved properties, yet such studies on multinuclear lanthanide complexes with strong magnetic coupling remain rare. In this work, we present the synthesis and magnetic characterization of the series of radical-bridged dilanthanide complex salts [(Cp* 2 Ln) 2 (μ-5,5'-R 2 bpym)](BPh 4 ) (Ln = Gd, Dy; R = NMe 2 (1), OEt (2), Me (3), F (4); bpym = 2,2'-bipyrimidine). Modification of the substituent on the bridging 5,5'-R 2 bpym radical anion allows the magnetic exchange coupling constant, J Gd-rad , for the gadolinium compounds in this series to be tuned over a range from -2.7 cm -1 (1) to -11.1 cm -1 (4), with electron-withdrawing or -donating substituents increasing or decreasing the strength of exchange coupling, respectively. Modulation of the exchange coupling interaction has a significant impact on the magnetic relaxation dynamics of the single-molecule magnets 1-Dy through 4-Dy, where stronger J Gd-rad for the corresponding Gd 3+ compounds is associated with larger thermal barriers to magnetic relaxation ( U eff ), open magnetic hysteresis at higher temperatures, and slower magnetic relaxation rates for through-barrier processes. Further, we derive an empirical linear correlation between the experimental U eff values for 1-Dy through 4-Dy and the magnitude of J Gd-rad for the corresponding gadolinium derivatives that provides insight into the electronic structure of these complexes. This simple model applies to other organic radical-bridged dysprosium complexes in the literature, and it establishes clear design criteria for increasing magnetic operating temperatures in radical-bridged molecules.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

On-demand fabrication of piezoelectric sensors for in-space structural health monitoring

Abstract Inflatable structures, promising for future deep space exploration missions, are vulnerable to damage from micrometeoroid and orbital debris impacts. Polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (PVDF-trFE) is a flexible, biocompatible, and chemical-resistant material capable of detecting impact forces due to its piezoelectric properties. This study used a state-of-the-art material extrusion system that has been validated for in-space manufacturing, to facilitate fast-prototyping of consistent and uniform PVDF-trFE films. By systematically investigating ink synthesis, printer settings, and post-processing conditions, this research established a comprehensive understanding of the process-structure-property relationship of printed PVDF-trFE. Consequently, this study consistently achieved the printing of PVDF-trFE films with a thickness of around 40 µ m, accompanied by an impressive piezoelectric coefficient of up to 25 pC N −1 . Additionally, an all-printed dynamic force sensor, featuring a sensitivity of 1.18 V N −1 , was produced by mix printing commercial electrically-conductive silver inks with the customized PVDF-trFE inks. This pioneering on-demand fabrication technique for PVDF-trFE films empowers future astronauts to design and manufacture piezoelectric sensors while in space, thereby significantly enhancing the affordability and sustainability of deep space exploration missions.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗
DOE OSTI2026

Photocatalytic Ammonia Synthesis using Fe-Based MOFs: The Role of Ligand Functionalization

Photocatalytic ammonia (NH 3 ) synthesis offers a carbon-neutral alternative to the Haber−Bosch process, which generates 42 million metric tons of CO 2 equivalent emissions annually. However, solar-to-ammonia conversion with contemporary photocatalysts remains far from practical requirements, and understanding the limiting factors in systems with well-defined active sites is crucial. Here, we show how the μ 3 -oxo-centered trinuclear Fe cluster in MIL-101(Fe) functions as the catalytic motif for N 2 -to-NH 3 conversion through combined experimental and computational investigations. Comparative studies with a molecular analogue demonstrate that the cluster is stabilized within the MOF framework, sustaining redox cycling and maintaining high catalytic activity. We systematically functionalized the dicarboxylate ligands of MIL-101(Fe) with −NH 2 , −Br, −NO 2 , −F, and −CF 3 to probe how ligand chemistry modulates Fe electron density, N 2 adsorption capacity, and proton availability, correlating these properties with catalytic performance using spectroscopic and surface characterization techniques alongside timeresolved infrared to assess excited-state lifetimes. F-functionalization optimally balances N 2 activation, proton availability at Fe active sites, and excited-state lifetimes, boosting NH 3 production by ∼ 60% relative to unmodified MIL-101(Fe). This study of ligandfunctionalized MIL-101(Fe) MOFs uncovers the underlying structure-activity relationships and advances design principles for solardriven NH 3 synthesis.

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

Exploring the binding properties and activities of ancestral expansins

Bacterial expansins are non-lytic proteins capable of loosening cellulose networks, offering promising applications in agriculture, biotechnology, and material science. Their ability to disrupt noncovalent interactions in biopolymer matrices such as cellulose and chitin positions them as valuable tools for upgrading abundant natural materials. However, their industrial use remains limited due to their relatively low wall-loosening activity compared to plant expansins. To address this limitation, we applied Ancestral Sequence Resurrection (ASR) to reconstruct and characterize ancient variants of the Bacillus subtilis expansin BsEXLX1. ASR is a powerful evolutionary tool that enables the inference and synthesis of ancestral proteins, allowing researchers to explore functional traits that may have been lost over time. This approach not only provides insights into protein evolution but also facilitates the design of proteins with enhanced properties, such as improved substrate affinity or structural stability. In this study, we combined biochemical and biophysical assays to evaluate the activity and binding behavior of ancestral expansins. Our results reveal that ancestral variants exhibit increased cellulose affinity, reduced binding to acidic polysaccharides, and greater salt resistance. Furthermore, these traits enhance their wall-loosening activity and demonstrate the utility of ASR in engineering surface-active proteins for industrial applications, particularly in biomass processing and cellulose modification.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Biomolecular complex viewed by dynamic nuclear polarization solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) is an indispensable tool for elucidating the structure and dynamics of insoluble and non-crystalline biomolecules. The recent advances in the sensitivity-enhancing technique magic-angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization (MAS-DNP) have substantially expanded the territory of ssNMR investigations and enabled the detection of polymer interfaces in a cellular environment. This article highlights the emerging MAS-DNP approaches and their applications to the analysis of biomolecular composites and intact cells to determine the folding pathway and ligand binding of proteins, the structural polymorphism of low-populated biopolymers, as well as the physical interactions between carbohydrates, proteins, and lignin. Furthermore, these structural features provide an atomic-level understanding of many cellular processes, promoting the development of better biomaterials and inhibitors. It is anticipated that the capabilities of MAS-DNP in biomolecular and biomaterial research will be further enlarged by the rapid development of instrumentation and methodology.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Surrogate Neural Architecture Codesign Package (SNAC-Pack)

Neural architecture search (NAS) is a powerful approach for automating model design, but existing methods often optimize for accuracy alone or rely on proxy metrics such as bit operations (BOPs) that correlate poorly with hardware cost. This gap is particularly large for FPGA deployment, where cost is dominated by a multi-dimensional budget of lookup tables, DSPs, flip-flops, BRAM, and latency. We present the Surrogate Neural Architecture Codesign Package (SNAC-Pack), an open-source AutoML framework for hardware-aware neural architecture codesign and end-to-end FPGA deployment. SNAC-Pack runs a multi-objective global search with Optuna and NSGA-II, loading trials to a shared SQLite store that enables parallel workers across compute nodes. A hardware surrogate model outputs per-trial resource and latency estimates, avoiding the synthesis cost that would otherwise dominate the search loop. A local search stage then applies quantization-aware training (QAT) together with iterative magnitude pruning in a combined compression loop, after which the final model is synthesized to FPGA firmware via the hls4ml Python library. A YAML configuration and an optional agentic frontend let users run the pipeline on new datasets without modifying the framework. We demonstrate SNAC-Pack on jet classification at the Large Hadron Collider and superconducting qubit readout, discovering compact architectures that match or exceed strong baselines on the task metric while reducing FPGA resource utilization and, in the qubit readout case, reducing the design space exploration process from months of manual fine-tuning to hours of automated search.

Weitz, Jason [UC, San Diego]↗
DOE OSTI2022

Dynamically preferred state with strong electronic fluctuations from electrochemical synthesis of sodium manganate

Electrochemical (de)intercalation is a delicate method to precisely control the alkaline ion composition in alkaline transition metal oxides. Because of complicated interactions, metal charge ordering patterns can form spontaneously at special fractional alkaline compositions and orderings. In this study, we show that this elegant electrochemical process can create dynamically preferred structures in an anharmonic energy landscape that conventional syntheses and computations can rarely visit. Specifically, electrochemically prepared Na 1/2 MnO 2 ordering exhibits abnormal structure distortions, charge orderings, and dynamical activities. Strong magnetic fluctuations and lattice dynamics are observed in an unusually wide temperature range in Na 1/2 MnO 2 , which distinguishes it from all other Na x MnO 2 at higher or lower Na compositions. The results emphasize the unique opportunity of using electrochemical processes to design and create novel quantum states with strongly coupled and mutually enhanced electronic and lattice fluctuations, likely through a special dynamic charge flux functional, as suggested by our computational investigations.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

High Temperature, Isothermal Growth Promotes Close Packing and Thermal Stability in DNA-Engineered Colloidal Crystals

Here, we report a strategy to accelerate the synthesis and increase the crystallinity of colloidal crystals engineered with DNA. Specifically, by holding the DNA-modified Au particle building blocks above the T m of the individual nanoparticle building blocks, but slightly below the T m of the anticipated colloidal crystal during the assembly process, crystallinity is increased, and enthalpically-favored phases with high degrees of facet registration are observed. We studied the utility of this approach with systems for which the commonly adopted slow-cooling approach yielded primarily amorphous aggregates. In particular, we used it to synthesize high-volume fraction colloidal crystals from large (80 nm) anisotropic nanoparticles (cubes and rhombic dodecahedra) with short (<14 nm) DNA designed to restrict the degrees of freedom for the DNA bonds and maintain the anisotropy of the particle building block. Small-angle X-ray scattering and electron microscopy studies show that the crystalline phases synthesized via this method are more thermally stable than their corresponding aggregate phases, likely due to an increased number of DNA-DNA bonds between particles. Crystal size tunability (between 0.5 and 15 µm edge lengths) and epitaxial growth were demonstrated using this strategy by modulating the NaCl concentration in tandem with previously synthesized colloidal crystal nuclei. Taken together, this isothermal strategy provides a route to deliberately crystallize a wide variety of anisotropic colloidal materials and expands the phase space accessible to nanoparticles modified with DNA.

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

Electrolyzer Integrated Modular Nano-Array Monolithic Catalytic Reactors

The project objective is to design and develop a new class of electrolyzer-integrated, modular, nanostructure array (nano-array) monolithic catalytic reactors for high-flux, robust and selective methanol synthesis. The modular reactor features metal oxide nano-array grown on an additively-manufactured channeled honeycomb monolith made of ceramic or metals; this low-pressure carbon dioxide hydrogenation reactor is fueled with hydrogen from a low-temperature water electrolyzer having reduced platinum group metal (PGM) content. Through these nanostructured monolithic reactors, methanol synthesis is enabled with cost-effective hydrogenation reactions under low-temperature (<200°C) and low-pressure (<10 atm) conditions, thus significantly reducing the energy demand of the entire process.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA): an Apollo Participating Scientist Program to Prepare the Lunar Sample Community for Artemis

As a first step in preparing for the return of samples from the Moon by the Artemis Program, NASA initiated the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (ANGSA). ANGSA was designed to function as a low-cost sample return mission and involved the curation and analysis of samples previously returned by the Apollo 17 mission that remained unopened or stored under unique conditions for 50 years. These samples include the lower portion of a double drive tube previously sealed on the lunar surface, the upper portion of that drive tube that had remained unopened, and a variety of Apollo 17 samples that had remained stored at -27 °C for approximately 50 years. ANGSA constitutes the first preliminary examination phase of a lunar “sample return mission” in over 50 years. It also mimics that same phase of an Artemis surface exploration mission, its design included placing samples within the context of local and regional geology through new orbital observations collected since Apollo and additional new “boots-on-the-ground” observations, data synthesis, and interpretations provided by Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt. ANGSA used new curation techniques to prepare, document, and allocate these new lunar samples, developed new tools to open and extract gases from their containers, and applied new analytical instrumentation previously unavailable during the Apollo Program to reveal new information about these samples. Most of the 90 scientists, engineers, and curators involved in this mission were not alive during the Apollo Program, and it had been 30 years since the last Apollo core sample was processed in the Apollo curation facility at NASA JSC. There are many firsts associated with ANGSA that have direct relevance to Artemis. ANGSA is the first to open a core sample previously sealed on the surface of the Moon, the first to extract and analyze lunar gases collected in situ, the first to examine a core that penetrated a lunar landslide deposit, and the first to process pristine Apollo samples in a glovebox at -20 °C. All the ANGSA activities have helped to prepare the Artemis generation for what is to come. The timing of this program, the composition of the team, and the preservation of unopened Apollo samples facilitated this generational handoff from Apollo to Artemis that sets up Artemis and the lunar sample science community for additional successes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Piezo-electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol with UV-ozone treated wurtzite zinc oxide nanostructures

Leveraging mechanically-induced piezoelectric polarization, piezocatalysis emerges as a viable mechanism for enhancing the efficiency of catalytic processes. Nanostructured, catalytically active, rationally designed piezoelectric semiconductors can achieve high-performance catalysts for various applications using cost-effective electrocatalytic pathways, such as mechanical stimuli. We design and demonstrate for the first time a cost-effective, high-performance piezo-electrocatalyst for anodic methanol oxidation, which is crucial for the practical application and deployment of direct methanol fuel cells in a variety of emerging clean energy technologies. We synthesized wurtzite ZnO nanorods and nanosheets treated with UV-O 3 to characterize and compare their efficacy for piezo-electrocatalytic methanol oxidation. The generation of piezoelectric polarization charges in nanostructured semiconducting ZnO catalysts significantly increased their electrocatalytic performance. By elucidating the charge transfer between mechanically-deformed ZnO nanostructures and methanol molecules, we identified the underlying mechanism for the piezo-electrocatalytic process for methanol oxidation. The facile synthesis of high-quality ZnO nanostructures enables low-cost, scalable manufacture and direct integration into electrocatalysts whose performance could be enhanced by harvesting mechanical energy that would otherwise be wasted in the working environment.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗