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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 541 records · Page 30
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Surface‐Confined Fabrication of Ultrathin Nickel Cobalt‐Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets for High‐Performance Supercapacitors

Abstract The design and fabrication of 2D nanostructure electrodes with desired electrochemical activities is highly demanded for electrocatalysis and supercapacitors. Herein, the tuned fabrication of ultrathin and tortuous nickel/cobalt‐layered double hydroxide (NiCo‐LDH) nanosheets via a graphene oxide (GO) surface‐confined strategy is reported, yielding nanosheets with a thickness of 1.7–1.8 nm that is duplicated from the graphene oxides in terms of both the lateral size and the shape. It has been found that the C/O functional groups on the GO surface have functioned to promote the oxidation of Co 2+ to Co 3+ , and to transform the β‐phase NiCo‐hydroxide (NiCo‐OH) into the LDH‐phase with tuned homogenous composition and geometry. The ultrathin NiCo‐LDH nanosheets mimic the morphology and size of the graphene due to the surface‐confined and/or surface‐guided growth. The as‐obtained NiCo‐LDH‐graphene (NiCo‐LDH‐G) nanosheets exhibit a superior electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction, evidenced by a small overpotential of 0.337 V (@10 mA cm −2 in 0.1 m KOH electrolyte), and a high charge storage capability of 1489 F g −1 as electrodes for supercapacitors. This 2D surface‐confined growth strategy may pave a way for the fabrication of ultrathin 2D materials including but not limited to transition metal hydroxides for high‐performance electrochemical applications.

Yang, Juan↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Fabrication Strategy for Reconfigurable Millimeter–Scale Metamaterials

Rather than depending on material composition to primarily dictate performance metrics, metamaterials can leverage geometry to achieve specific properties of interest. For example, reconfigurable metamaterials have enabled programmable shape transformations, tunable mechanical properties, and energy absorption. While several methods exist to fabricate such structures, they often place severe restrictions on manufacturing materials, or require significant manual assembly. Moreover, these arrays are typically composed of unit cells that are either macro–scale or micro–scale in dimension. Here, the fabrication gap is bridged, and laminate manufacturing is used to develop a method for designing reconfigurable metamaterials at the millimeter–scale, that is compatible with a wide range of materials, and that requires minimal manual assembly. In addition to showing the versatility of this fabrication method, how the use of laminate manufacturing affects the behavior of these multi–component arrays is also characterized. To this end, a numerical model that captures the deformations exhibited by the structures is developed, and an analytic model that predicts the strain of the structure under compressive stress is built. Overall, this approach can be leveraged to develop millimeter–scale metamaterials for applications that require reconfigurable materials, such as in the design of tunable acoustics, photonic waveguides, and electromagnetic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Photo-Curing 3D Printing of Thermosetting Sacrificial Tooling for Fabricating Fiber-Reinforced Hollow Composites

Carbon fiber-reinforced hollow composites play a vital role in lightweighting modern cars and aircrafts. Fabrication of such hollow composites with seamless internal finish requires sacrificial tooling that can be used under pressure and high temperature. For the very first time, high performance sacrificial tooling that can be used to fabricate fiber-reinforced hollow composites is produced using photocuring 3D printing technology. This is achieved by developing UV-curable resins containing highly soluble yet hydrolysable acetal acrylate cross-linker and hydrophilic 4-acryloylmorpholine monomer. It is found that the cross-linker content greatly affects the printing speed. Further, the widely adopted UV post-curing method is found to have negligible impact on improving the thermal-mechanical properties of printed structures. Additionally, after thermal post-treatment, printed sacrificial tooling exhibits a heat deflection temperature of 112 °C at 0.455 MPa and an average coefficient of linear thermal expansion of 59 ppm °C -1 between 30 and 100 °C. As a result, printed tooling enables fabrication of carbon fiber-reinforced hollow composites with complex geometry, which shows a tensile strength of 802 MPa and an elastic modulus of 50.2 GPa.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Fabrication of Millimeter-Scale, Single-Crystal One-Third-Hydrogenated Graphene with Anisotropic Electronic Properties

Periodically hydrogenated graphene is predicted to form new kinds of crystalline 2D materials such as graphane, graphone, and 2D CxHy, which exhibit unique electronic properties. Controlled synthesis of periodically hydrogenated graphene is needed for fundamental research and possible electronic applications. Only small patches of such materials have been grown so far, while the experimental fabrication of large-scale, periodically hydrogenated graphene has remained challenging. In the present work, large-scale, periodically hydrogenated graphene is fabricated on Ru(0001). The as-fabricated hydrogenated graphene is highly ordered, with a √3 × √3/R30° period relative to the pristine graphene. As the ratio of hydrogen and carbon is 1:3, the periodically hydrogenated graphene is named “one-third-hydrogenated graphene” (OTHG). The area of OTHG is up to 16 mm2. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the OTHG has two deformed Dirac cones along one high-symmetry direction and a finite energy gap along the other directions at the Fermi energy, indicating strong anisotropic electrical properties. An efficient method is thus provided to produce large-scale crystalline functionalized graphene with specially desired properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Wafer-Scale Fabrication of High-Performance n-Type Polymer Monolayer Transistors Using a Multi-Level Self-Assembly Strategy

Wafer–scale fabrication of high–performance uniform organic electronic materials is of great challenge and has rarely been realized before. Previous large–scale fabrication methods always lead to different layer thickness and thereby poor film and device uniformity. Herein, the first demonstration of 4 in. wafer–scale, uniform, and high–performance n–type polymer monolayer films is reported, enabled by controlling the multi–level self–assembly process of conjugated polymers in solution. Since the self–assembly process happened in solution, the uniform 2D polymer monolayers can be facilely deposited on various substrates, and theoretically without size limitations. Polymer monolayer transistors exhibit high electron mobilities of up to 1.88 cm 2 V –1 s –1 , which is among the highest in n–type monolayer organic transistors. This method allows to easily fabricate n–type conjugated polymers with wafer–scale, high uniformity, low contact resistance, and excellent transistor performance (better than the traditional spin–coating method). Furthermore this work provides an effective strategy to prepare large–scale and uniform 2D polymer monolayers, which could enable the application of conjugated polymers for wafer–scale sophisticated electronics.

2D organic materials↗
DOE OSTI2017

Controlled Selective CVD Growth of ZnO Nanowires Enabled by Mask‐Free Fabrication Approach using Aqueous Fe Catalytic Inks

Abstract Fabrication process that enables selective growth of vertically oriented zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) via chemical vapor deposition method and mask‐free patterning approach is reported. It is shown that synthesis of high‐quality ZnO nanowires in various architectures is achievable by optimizing the growth conditions and by precise patterning of catalytic ink precursors. Parallel direct‐write patterning method is utilized to fabricate arrays of different architectures on Si/SiO 2 substrates and directly on devices at preselected locations. The production of high‐quality, crystalline ZnO NWs is demonstrated using aqueous iron catalytic inks. The composition of the ink and the lateral size of the patterns deposited on substrates are shown to affect the resulting nanowires and thus, allowing to control the geometry (length and diameter) of the individual ZnO NWs in the patterned assemblies. The results indicate that our protocols are tailored to the fabrication of ZnO NWs with specific surface geometries and interface functionalities for variety of targeted device applications.

Alameri, Dheyaa↗
DOE OSTI2017

Merging of Thin- and Thick-Film Fabrication Technologies: Toward Soft Stretchable “Island-Bridge” Devices

Soft stretchable thick–thin-film devices are prepared by merging different fabrication technologies with different functional materials. The new “island–bridge” devices rely on screen-printed thick-film island electrodes, connected by thin-film serpentine interconnects. Furthermore, such a hybrid fabrication process enables to realize high-performance stretchable materials toward a new class of soft electronics with new capabilities that cannot be achieved via individual fabrication routes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Enhanced Light Extraction from OLEDs Fabricated on Patterned Plastic Substrates

A key scientific and technological challenge in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is enhancing the light outcoupling factor η out , which is typically <20%. This paper reports experimental and modeling results of a promising approach to strongly increase η out by fabricating OLEDs on novel flexible nanopatterned substrates that result in a >2× enhancement in green phosphorescent OLEDs (PhOLEDs) fabricated on corrugated polycarbonate (PC). The external quantum efficiency (EQE) reaches 50% (meaning ηout ≥50%); it increases 2.6x relative to a glass/ITO device and 2× relative to devices on glass/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) or flat PC/PEDOT:PSS. A significant enhancement is also observed for blue PhOLEDs with EQE 1.7× relative to flat PC. The corrugated PC substrates are fabricated efficiently and cost-effectively by direct room-temperature molding. These substrates successfully reduce photon losses due to trapping/waveguiding in the organic+anode layers and possibly substrate, and losses to plasmons at the metal cathode. Focused ion beam gauged the conformality of the OLEDs. Dome-shaped convex nanopatterns with height of ~280–400 nm and pitch ~750–800 nm were found to be optimal. Lastly, substrate design and layer thickness simulations, reported first for patterned devices, agree with the experimental results that present a promising method to mitigate photon loss paths in OLEDs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Electrospray-Assisted Fabrication of Moisture-Resistant and Highly Stable Perovskite Solar Cells at Ambient Conditions

An electrospray deposition technique to fabricate a perovskite (CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 ) layer for highly stable and efficient perovskite solar cells at ambient humidity (30%–50% relative humidity) conditions is demonstrated. A detailed study is conducted to determine the effect of different electrospray parameters on the device performance and to provide a mechanistic explanation of the superior stability of the films. Due to the controlled reactivity that results in the formation of a smooth perovskite film, these cells exhibit stability exceeding 4000 h, in contrast to much lower stability of those fabricated by conventional spin coating methods. Furthermore, the perovskite film deposited by electrospray methods exhibits a self-healing behavior when exposed to moisture. The authors hypothesize the formation of an intermediate metastable phase and smooth morphology of the film as the reason for this enhanced stability. Electrospray is a scalable technique that provides precise control over the amount of material required for deposition, reducing significant material loss that occurs in conventional solution-based methods. Overall, this work shows that stability of perovskite solar cells can be improved by fabrication using a well controlled and optimized electrospray technique, without the use of any additives or cell encapsulants.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Design and Fabrication of a Precious Metal‐Free Tandem Core–Shell p + n Si/W‐Doped BiVO 4 Photoanode for Unassisted Water Splitting

Abstract Tandem photoelectrochemical water splitting cells utilizing crystalline Si and metal oxide photoabsorbers are promising for low‐cost solar hydrogen production. This study presents a device design and a scalable fabrication scheme for a tandem heterostructure photoanode: p + n black silicon (Si)/SnO 2 interface/W‐doped bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 )/cobalt phosphate (CoPi) catalyst. The black‐Si not only provides a substantial photovoltage of 550 mV, but it also serves as a conductive scaffold to decrease charge transport pathlengths within the W‐doped BiVO 4 shell. When coupled with cobalt phosphide (CoP) nanoparticles as hydrogen evolution catalysts, the device demonstrates spontaneous water splitting without employing any precious metals, achieving an average solar‐to‐hydrogen efficiency of 0.45% over the course of an hour at pH 7. This fabrication scheme offers the modularity to optimize individual cell components, e.g., Si nanowire dimensions and metal oxide film thickness, involving steps that are compatible with fabricating monolithic devices. This design is general in nature and can be readily adapted to novel, higher performance semiconducting materials beyond BiVO 4 as they become available, which will accelerate the process of device realization.

Chakthranont, Pongkarn↗
DOE OSTI2015

High-Speed Fabrication of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrodes by UV-Curing

In this study, UV-curing was investigated as an alternative method to provide fast production of composite cathodes and significantly reduce the time and energy required for solvent removal in lithium-ion battery fabrication. To serve our purpose, low-molecular-weight polysiloxane acrylate (PSA) was designed and synthesized from a polysiloxane epoxide precursor. In the presence of the acrylic acid additive LiNi1/ 3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC), electrode laminates containing 10 wt% PSA binder were successfully fabricated by UVcuring. The cured electrode exhibited good mechanical and electrochemical properties. At current rates up to C/3, the cell performance of the UV-cured NMC electrode was comparable to that of conventional polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-bound NMC electrode. Our initial success in applying high-speed UV-curing in composite electrode fabrication has proved that it is a promising route to substantially reducing the capital and operation costs of lithium-ion battery electrode manufacturing and additionally bringing about important environmental benefits.

binder↗
DOE OSTI2020

Photonic devices fabricated from (111)‐oriented single crystal diamond

Abstract Diamond is a material of choice in the pursuit of integrated quantum photonic technologies. So far, the majority of photonic devices fabricated from diamond are made from (100)‐oriented crystals. In this work, we demonstrate a methodology for the fabrication of optically active membranes from (111)‐oriented diamond. We use a liftoff technique to generate membranes, followed by chemical vapor deposition of diamond in the presence of silicon to generate homogenous silicon vacancy color centers with emission properties that are superior to those in (100)‐oriented diamond. We further use the diamond membranes to fabricate microring resonators with quality factors exceeding ~ 3000. Supported by finite‐difference time‐domain calculations, we discuss the advantages of (111)‐oriented structures as building blocks for quantum nanophotonic devices. image

Regan, Blake↗
DOE OSTI2020

Fracture toughness of zirconia with a nanometer size notch fabricated using focused ion beam milling

Zirconia with 3 mol% yttria (3Y-TZP) has been used for dental crowns and bridges due to its excellent mechanical behavior. Performing fracture toughness testing on this nanograin material, however, can be a challenge. For reliable results, fracture toughness testing requires an extremely sharp notch in the test specimen that closely approximates a very sharp crack. This study was to investigate an alternative method to produce nanometer-sized notches, which are less than the average grain size of 3Y-TZP, during the preparation of single-edge V-notched beam specimens and report the resulting fracture toughness value. We present a method using focused ion beam (FIB) milling to fabricate nanometer-sized notches in 3Y-TZP. The notch tip is <100 nm wide, which is smaller than the grain size, and is consistent throughout the thickness of the specimen. The FIB-notched specimens show a much reduced average fracture toughness of 5.64 ± 1.14 MPa√m compared to 8.90 ± 0.23 MPa√m for the specimens without FIB-notches. The FIB-milling did not appear to create any monoclinic phase prior to fracture toughness testing. Fractures originated at the FIB-notches, and the notch size can be readily identified post-mortem using a microscope. A considerable amount of tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation was observed throughout the fracture surfaces. FIB milling provides an alternative method to fabricate nanometer-sized notches that are smaller than the grain size of tetragonal zirconia polycrystal. The fracture toughness determined using FIB-notches was ~5.64 MPa√m, smaller than the specimens with V-notches fabricated using saw blades.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Influences of buffer material and fabrication atmosphere on the electrical properties of CdTe solar cells

Abstract The electrical properties such as interface energy barriers, defect energy levels, and densities dictate the performance of thin film solar cells. Here, we show that these properties can be quantified in cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin‐film solar cells using admittance spectroscopy‐based techniques. Our results reveal that the electrical properties in CdTe thin‐film solar cells depend on both buffer material and the fabrication atmosphere. We find that only a negligible front contact barrier exists at the CdS/CdTe front junction regardless of the fabrication atmospheres, while an obvious front barriers are observed at the ZnMgO (ZMO)/CdTe junctions. Both CdS/CdTe and ZMO/CdTe solar cells exhibit back contact barrier. The energy level of defects is shallower in CdS/CdTe cells than in ZMO/CdTe cells. The fabrication atmosphere influences the electrical properties, i.e., an oxygen‐free atmosphere reduces the front and back barrier heights and lowers the energy level of defects. The results provide critical insights for understanding and optimizing the performance of CdTe thin‐film solar cells.

Awni, Rasha A.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Direct Fabrication of Atomically Defined Pores in MXenes Using Feedback-Driven STEM

Controlled fabrication of nanopores in 2D materials offer the means to create robust membranes needed for ion transport and nanofiltration. Techniques for creating nanopores have relied upon either plasma etching or direct irradiation; however, aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) offers the advantage of combining a sub-Å sized electron beam for atomic manipulation along with atomic resolution imaging. Here, for this work, a method for automated nanopore fabrication is utilized with real-time atomic visualization to enhance the mechanistic understanding of beam-induced transformations. Additionally, an electron beam simulation technique, Electron-Beam Simulator (E-BeamSim) is developed to observe the atomic movements and interactions resulting from electron beam irradiation. Using the MXene Ti 3 C 2 T x , the influence of temperature on nanopore fabrication is explored by tracking atomic transformations and find that at room temperature the electron beam irradiation induces random displacement and results in titanium pileups at the nanopore edge, which is confirmed by E-BeamSim. At elevated temperatures, after removal of the surface functional groups and with the increased mobility of atoms results in atomic transformations that lead to the selective removal of atoms layer by layer. This work can lead to the development of defect engineering techniques within functionalized MXene layers and other 2D materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

A multi-material platform for imaging of single cell-cell junctions under tensile load fabricated with two-photon polymerization

We previously reported a single-cell adhesion micro tensile tester (SCAμTT) fabricated from IP-S photoresin with two-photon polymerization (TPP) for investigating the mechanics of a single cell-cell junction under defined tensile loading. A major limitation of the platform is the autofluorescence of IP-S, the photoresin for TPP fabrication, which significantly increases background signal and makes fluorescent imaging of stretched cells difficult. In this study, we report the design and fabrication of a new SCAμTT platform that mitigates autofluorescence and demonstrate its capability in imaging a single cell pair as its mutual junction is stretched. By employing a two-material design using IP-S and IP-Visio, a photoresin with reduced autofluorescence, we show a significant reduction in autofluorescence of the platform. Further, by integrating apertures onto the substrate with a gold coating, the influence of autofluorescence on imaging is almost completely mitigated. With this new platform, we demonstrate the ability to image a pair of epithelial cells as they are stretched up to 250% strain, allowing us to observe junction rupture and F-actin retraction while simultaneously recording the accumulation of over 800 kPa of stress in the junction. In conclusion, the platform and methodology presented here can potentially enable detailed investigation of the mechanics of and mechanotransduction in cell-cell junctions and improve the design of other TPP platforms in mechanobiology applications.

Autofluorescence↗
DOE OSTI2018

Chemical Element Profiles in Commercial Woven Fabric Combining Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and Chemometrics

High-heterogeneity solid woven fabric samples were investigated using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and chemometrics. Many emission lines were relevant to characterize this material at the surface and in deeper layers of fibers. Differences among dyes and fibers were clearly observed. The scores maps showed the possibility of comparing the chemical compositions of the dye and fiber independent of the print of fabric. Variations in the composition were verified by carrying out a pattern for mapping using a sophisticated LIBS system. This screening can provide a fast evaluation of samples and may associate this information with classification, authenticity or even for forensic analysis of fabric materials.

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

Rapid Discoloration of Methyl Orange in Water by Conductive Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/rGO Modified Polyester Fabric

A new rapid dye removal method is introduced by using a conductive polyester fabric prepared through in-situ synthesis of Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/rGO nanocomposites. Cu{sub 2}O and Cu nanoparticles were deposited on the polyester fabric with triangular, spherical and rod-like shapes due to introducing GO nanosheets and EDTA into the synthesis media. The cauliflower-like Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/rGO nanocomposites coated polyester fabric exhibited remarkable removal of methyl orange (MO) in a short time (more than 92% within 30 min). This can be attributed to the shape, presence of GO or EDTA that was subsequently created nanoparticles with smaller size, higher electrical conductivity and more specific surface area for removal of MO.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗