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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Hierarchical Assembly of Plasmonic Nanostructures using Virus Capsid Scaffolds and DNA Origami Tiles

Building plasmonic nanostructures using biomolecules as scaffolds has shown great potential for attaining tunable light absorption and emission via precise spatial organization of optical species and antennae. Here we report bottom-up assembly of hierarchical plasmonic nanostructures using DNA origami tiles and MS2 virus capsids. These serve as programmable scaffolds that provide molecular level control over the distribution of fluorophores and nm-scale control over their distance from a gold nanoparticle antenna. While previous studies on DNA origami assembly of plasmonic nanostructures focused on the distance-dependent response of single fluorophores, these hybrid nanostructures enable us to investigate the plasmonic response of the entire ensemble of fluorescent molecules organized on the virus scaffold. By combining finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) numerical simulations with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and correlated scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy, we show that the dye molecule ensemble can effectively suppress the fluorescence quenching in the single molecule quenching regime. This bio-inspired approach to assembling plasmonic nanostructures paves the way for exploring new designs to achieve controlled light harvesting and energy transfer for optical and optoelectronic applications.

plasmonics, assembly, DNA origami, virus capsid↗
DOE OSTI2018

High thermoelectric performance in Bi 0.46 Sb 1.54 Te 3 nanostructured with ZnTe

Defect engineering and nano-structuring are the core stratagems for improving thermoelectric properties. In bismuth telluride alloys nanosizing individual crystallites has been extensively studied in efforts to reduce the thermal conductivity, but nanostructuring with second phases has been more challenging. In this study, we demonstrate a thermoelectric figure of merit ZT of 1.4 at 400 K, realized in Zn-containing BiSbTe alloys (specifically Bi 0.46 Sb 1.54 Te 3 ) by integrating defect complexity with nanostructuring. We have succeeded in creating nanostructured BiSbTe alloys containing ZnTe nanoprecipitates. We present a melt-spinning-based synthesis that forms in situ ZnTe nanoprecipitates to produce an extremely low lattice thermal conductivity of ~0.35 W m –1 K –1 at 400 K, approaching the amorphous limit in the Bi 2–x Sb x Te 3 system, while preserving the high power factor of Bi 0.46 Sb 1.54 Te 3 . These samples show excellent repeatability and thermal stability at temperatures up to 523 K. DFT calculations and experimental results show that Zn is inclined to form dual site defects, including two substitutional defects ZnBi/Sb' and a Te vacancy, to achieve full charge compensation, which was further explicitly corroborated by Positron annihilation measurement. The strong enhancement of thermoelectric properties was validated in a thermoelectric module fabricated with the melt-spun p-legs (ZnTe-nanostructured BiSbTe) and zone-melt n-legs (conventional BiTeSe) which achieved a thermoelectric conversion efficiency of 5.0% when subjected to a temperature gradient of 250 K, representing about 40% improvement compared with a commercial zone-melt-based module. Furthermore, the results presented here represent a significant step forward for applications in thermoelectric power generation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Broadband antireflection and absorption enhancement of ultrathin silicon solar microcells enabled with density-graded surface nanostructures

Density-graded surface nanostructures are implemented on ultrathin silicon solar microcells by silver-nanoparticle-catalyzed wet chemical etching to enable near-zero surface reflection over a broad wavelength range of incident solar spectrum as well as non-zeroth order diffraction and light trapping for longer wavelength photons, thereby achieving augmented photon absorption for ultrathin silicon microcells in a simple, cost-effective manner. The increase of absorbed photon flux through the “black silicon (b-Si)” surface translates directly into the corresponding enhancement of photovoltaic performance, where 5.7-μm b-Si microcells with the rational design of device configuration exhibit improved energy conversion efficiency by 148% and 50% with and without a diffuse backside reflector, respectively, compared to devices from the bare silicon without b-Si implementation. Systematic studies on nanostructured morphology, optical and electrical properties of b-Si microcells, together with semi-empirical numerical modeling of photon absorption, provide key aspects of underlying materials science and physics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Mechanism of Zn Insertion into Nanostructured δ-MnO 2 : A Nonaqueous Rechargeable Zn Metal Battery

Unlike the more established lithium-ion based energy storage chemistries, the complex intercalation chemistry of multivalent cations in a host lattice is not well understood, especially the relationship between the intercalating species solution chemistry and the prevalence and type of side reactions. Among multivalent metals, a promising model system can be based on nonaqueous Zn2+ ion chemistry. Several examples of these systems support the use of a Zn metal anode, and reversible intercalation cathodes have been reported. This study utilizes a combination of analytical tools to probe the chemistry of a nanostructured delta-MnO2 cathode in association with a nonaqueous acetonitrile-Zn(TFSI)(2) electrolyte and a Zn metal anode. As many of the issues related to understanding a multivalent battery relate to the electrolyte electrode interface, the high surface area of a nanostructured cathode provides a significant interface between the electrolyte and cathode host that maximizes the spectroscopic signal of any side reactions or minor mechanistic pathways. Numerous factors affecting capacity fade and issues associated with the second phase formation including Mn dissolution in heavily cycled Zn/delta-MnO2 cells are presented including dramatic mechanistic differences in the storage mechanism of this couple when compared to similar aqueous electrolytes are noted.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Core–Shell Nanostructured Cobalt–Platinum Electrocatalysts with Enhanced Durability

Pt-bimetallic alloys involving 3d transition metals (Co, Ni, etc.) are promising electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Despite the enhanced catalytic activity versus Pt, the electrocatalytic performance of Pt-bimetallic catalysts is however limited by the lack of long-term durability, primarily due to the leaching of the non-noble element under harsh electrochemical conditions. In this work, our study shows that the core–shell nanostructure comprising a Pt shell and a cobalt core (denoted as Co@Pt) could overcome this limitation, demonstrating ~10 times improvement in catalytic activity versus commercial Pt catalysts and no more than 13% of loss after 30000 potential cycles. The evolutions of nanoscale and surface structures over the course of extensive potential cycling were followed by combining electron microscopic elemental mapping and electrochemical studies of CO stripping. Atomistic simulations and density functional theory calculations suggest that the core–shell nanostructure could protect the non-noble cobalt from leaching under the “electrochemical annealing” conditions while maintaining the beneficial mechanisms of bimetallic systems for catalytic activity enhancement.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Stress-Induced Orientation of Cocontinuous Nanostructures within Randomly End-Linked Copolymer Networks

Randomly end-linked copolymer networks (RECNs) provide a robust route to self-assembled cocontinuous nanostructures. Here, we study the orientation of cocontinuous polystyrene/poly(D,L-lactide) (PS/PLA) RECNs induced by uniaxial stretching above the glass transition temperatures of the components. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) reveals that the domains initially undergo nonaffine stretching at low strain (ε < 0.4), followed by domain rotation at larger strains, yielding a “soft elastic” response and providing a high degree of orientation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) tomography confirms that stretching leads to topological changes in the nanostructure, corresponding to reorganization of domain interfaces. The combination of orientation at the molecular and nanostructural levels provides substantial improvements in yield strength, toughness, and stiffness. In addition to possibilities for improving mechanical properties, cocontinuous nanostructures with controlled levels of orientation have potential in a variety of contexts including directional ion transport and energy absorption.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Segmented metallic nanostructures, homogeneous metallic nanostructures and methods for producing same

The present invention includes a method of producing a segmented 1D nanostructure. The method includes providing a vessel containing a template wherein on one side of the template is a first metal reagent solution and on the other side of the template is a reducing agent solution, wherein the template comprises at least one pore; allowing a first segment of a 1D nanostructure to grow within a pore of the template until a desired length is reached; replacing the first metal reagent solution with a second metal reagent solution; allowing a second segment of a 1D nanostructure to grow from the first segment until a desired length is reached, wherein a segmented 1D nanostructure is produced.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Enhanced Density-of-States Effective Mass and Strained Endotaxial Nanostructures in Sb-Doped Pb 0.97 Cd 0.03 Te Thermoelectric Alloys

Here we report that CdTe alloying and Sb doping increase the density-of-states effective mass and introduce endotaxial nanostructuring in n-type PbTe, resulting in enhanced thermoelectric performance. A prior theoretical prediction for the presence of resonance states in the conduction band of this system, however, could not be confirmed. An amount of 3 mol % CdTe alloying widens the band gap of PbTe by 50%, leading to enhanced carrier effective mass and Seebeck coefficient. This effect is even more pronounced at high temperatures where the solubility of CdTe increases. At 800 K, when the carrier concentration is the same (4 × 10 19 cm -3 ), the Seebeck coefficient of CdTe-alloyed PbTe is -195 μV K -1 , 16% higher than that of the Cd-free control sample (-168 μV K -1 ). Sb doping considerably increases the electron concentration of Pb 0.97 Cd 0.03 Te, giving rise to optimized power factors of ~17 μW cm -1 K -2 at 800 K. More importantly, Sb induces strained endotaxial nanostructures evenly distributed in the matrix. Furthermore, these Sb-rich nanostructures account for the ~40% reduction in the lattice thermal conductivity over the whole measured temperature range. As a result, a maximum ZT of 1.2 is attained at 750 K in 0.5 mol % Sb-doped Pb 0.97 Cd 0.03 Te alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗