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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Battery anode design: From 1D nanostructure to 3D nanoarchitecture – Enabling next-generation energy storage technology

Recently, many studies have reported the efficacy of 1D silicon nanostructures as anode materials (mostly nanowires) due to their large surface to volume ratio which could be an advantage in terms of charging kinetics. Anode design is a crucial factor for the further development of lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology, especially in terms of achieving the high charging rate performance, as typically needed in electric vehicles (EV). 3D nanostructures have been identified as the key to dramatically enhanced charging rate of LIB, in addition to the change of materials (from carbon-based anode to silicon-based). However, existing fabrication methodologies for 3D nanostructures are inherently expensive – using advanced lithography techniques or other nanopatterning methodologies, as well as using additive manufacturing approaches. Electrospinning (as an integrated additive manufacturing methodology) may be used to produce low-cost 3D-printed fiber structures. Here, in the present study, we demonstrate the groundwork in this field of research in the past 3–4 years, which would allow the extension of this special additive manufacturing approach to reach nanoscale 3D-printed fiber structures more economically and with scalability for manufacturing. This would pave the way to achieve the order of magnitude increase in battery charging rate as needed to realize the vision of the electrification of mobility/transportation.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Multimode jetting unlocks a trade-off between nanostructure morphology and composition in focused electron beam induced deposition

An ability to accelerate the growth rate while simultaneously controlling shape and composition of deposits is fundamental to expanding the utility of electron beam assisted deposition for “direct write” nanostructure fabrication from gas phase precursors. Here, we report on novel tunable mode of Focused Electron Beam Induced Deposition (FEBID) as enabled by the switchable use of reactive (O2) and inert (Ar) “assist” gases directed at high impingement energy and momentum to a deposition site concurrently with a supply of a precursor in a dual-nozzle FEBID arrangement. Organometallic molecules introduced into a deposition chamber in a free-molecular flow regime through a conventional gas injection nozzle, yielding a broad uniform substrate coverage by the precursor in a quasi-equilibrium adsorbed state. Simultaneously, a supersonic micro-jet from a micron-scale capillary placed in close proximity to a deposition site produces a low Knudsen number continuous flow impingement of energized “assist” gas, which perturbs the precursor state to facilitate different chemical reaction pathways. This process offers modulation of deposition outcomes, e.g., enhanced vertical growth rate (aspect ratio) of nanostructures when using argon micro-jet while locally removing parasitic carbonaceous by-products of organometallic precursor decomposition reaction by e-beam through interactions with oxygen micro-jet. Such in-situ/in operando (during growth and on-demand switchable) modulation of FEBID allows for rapid and precisely controllable deposition for a desired outcome, such as tuning metal-to-carbon composition and maintaining shape fidelity in fabricating high-aspect ratio composite nanostructures, which extends the capabilities of FEBID as a robust multi-dimensional, multi-purpose nanoscale 3D printing tool.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Self-Assembled Periodic Nanostructures Using Martensitic Phase Transformations

We describe a novel approach for the rational design and synthesis of self-assembled periodic nanostructures using martensitic phase transformations. We demonstrate this approach in a thin film of perovskite SrSnO 3 with reconfigurable periodic nanostructures consisting of regularly spaced regions of sharply contrasted dielectric properties. The films can be designed to have different periodicities and relative phase fractions via chemical doping or strain engineering. The dielectric contrast within a single film can be tuned using temperature and laser wavelength, effectively creating a variable photonic crystal. Our results show the realistic possibility of designing large-area self-assembled periodic structures using martensitic phase transformations with the potential of implementing "built-to-order" nanostructures for tailored optoelectronic functionalities.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-Quality Surface Plasmon Polaritons in Large-Area Sodium Nanostructures

Sodium (Na) is predicted to be an ideal plasmonic material with ultralow optical loss across visible to near-infrared (NIR). However, there has been limited research on Na plasmonics. We develop a scalable fabrication method for Na nanostructures by combining phase-shift photolithography and a thermo-assisted spin-coating process. Using this method, we fabricated Na nanopit arrays with varying periodicities (300-600 nm) and with tunable surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes spanning visible to NIR. We achieved SPP resonances as narrow as 9.3 nm. In addition, Na nanostructures showed line width narrowing from visible toward NIR, showing their prospect operating in the NIR. To address the challenges associated with the high reactivity of Na, we designed a simple encapsulation strategy and stabilized the Na nanostructures in ambient conditions for more than two months. As a low-cost and low-loss plasmonic material, Na offers a competitive option for nanophotonic devices and plasmon-enhanced applications.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Improving Light Harvesting in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Hybrid Bimetallic Nanostructures

In this paper, we demonstrate improved light trapping in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with hybrid bimetallic gold core/silver shell nanostructures. Silica-coated bimetallic nanostructures (Au/Ag/SiO 2 NSs) integrated in the active layer of DSSCs resulted in 7.51% power conversion efficiency relative to 5.97% for reference DSSCs, giving rise to 26% enhancement in device performance. DSSC efficiencies were governed by the particle density of Au/Ag/SiO 2 NSs with best performing devices utilizing only 0.44 wt % of nanostructures. We performed transient absorption spectroscopy of DSSCs with variable concentrations of Au/Ag/SiO 2 NSs and observed an increase in amplitude and decrease in lifetime with increasing particle density relative to reference. Finally, we attributed this trend to plasmon resonant energy transfer and population of the singlet excited states of the sensitizer molecules at the optimum concentration of NSs promoting enhanced exciton generation and rapid charge transfer into TiO 2 .

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Nanofaceted C/Re(11$\bar{21}$): Fabrication, structure, and template for synthesizing nanostructured model Pt electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Here, we report the first observation of carbon-induced nanofaceting of a Re single crystal and its application in synthesizing a nanostructured. model Pt electrocatalyst investigated using multiple surface science techniques, including low:energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, low-energy ion scattering, and scanning tunneling microscopy, combined with electrochemical reaction measurements. Upon annealing In acetylene at 700 K followed by annealing in vacuum at 1100 K, an Initially planar Re(11$\overline{2}$1) surface becomes completely faceted and covered with three-sided nanopyramids exposing ($1\overline{1}1$), ($10\overline{1}1$), and ($11\overline{2}0$) faces. Using the faceted C/Re($11\overline{2}1$) surface as a template, we have successfully fabricated a nanostructured Pt monolayer (ML) electrocatalyst. The Pt ML supported on the C/Re nanotemplate exhibits higher activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction than Pt(111). This is the first application of faceted metal surfaces as templates for synthesis of nanoscale model electrocatalyst with well-defined (facet) surface structure and controlled (facet) size on the nanometer scale, illustrating the potential for future studies of nanostructured bimetallic systems relevant to electrocatalytic reactions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

A low-cost hierarchical nanostructured beta-titanium alloy with high strength

Lightweighting of automobiles by use of novel low-cost, high strength-to-weight ratio structural materials can reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and in turn CO 2 emission. Working towards this goal we achieved high strength in a low cost β-titanium alloy, Ti-1Al-8V-5Fe (Ti185), by hierarchical nanostructure consisting of homogenous distribution of micron-scale and nanoscale α-phase precipitates within the β-phase matrix. The sequence of phase transformation leading to this hierarchical nanostructure is explored using electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. Our results suggest that the high number density of nanoscale α-phase precipitates in the β-phase matrix is due to ω assisted nucleation of α resulting in high tensile strength, greater than any current commercial titanium alloy. Furthermore hierarchical nanostructured Ti185 serves as an excellent candidate for replacing costlier titanium alloys and other structural alloys for cost-effective lightweighting applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Nanodiamond-based nanostructures for coupling nitrogen-vacancy centres to metal nanoparticles and semiconductor quantum dots

The ability to control the interaction between nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond and photonic and/or broadband plasmonic nanostructures is crucial for the development of solid-state quantum devices with optimum performance. However, existing methods typically employ top-down fabrication, which restrict scalable and feasible manipulation of nitrogen-vacancy centres. Here, we develop a general bottom-up approach to fabricate an emerging class of freestanding nanodiamond-based hybrid nanostructures with external functional units of either plasmonic nanoparticles or excitonic quantum dots. Precise control of the structural parameters ( including size, composition, coverage and spacing of the external functional units) is achieved, representing a pre-requisite for exploring the underlying physics. Fine tuning of the emission characteristics through structural regulation is demonstrated by performing single-particle optical studies. Lastly, this study opens a rich toolbox to tailor properties of quantum emitters, which can facilitate design guidelines for devices based on nitrogen vacancy centres that use these freestanding hybrid nanostructures as building blocks.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

Metamorphic quantum dots: Quite different nanostructures

In this work, we present a study of InAs quantum dots deposited on InGaAs metamorphic buffers by molecular beam epitaxy. By comparing morphological, structural, and optical properties of such nanostructures with those of InAs/GaAs quantum dot ones, we were able to evidence characteristics that are typical of metamorphic InAs/InGaAs structures. The more relevant are: the cross-hatched InGaAs surface overgrown by dots, the change in critical coverages for island nucleation and ripening, the nucleation of new defects in the capping layers, and the redshift in the emission energy. The discussion on experimental results allowed us to conclude that metamorphic InAs/InGaAs quantum dots are rather different nanostructures, where attention must be put to some issues not present in InAs/GaAs structures, namely, buffer-related defects, surface morphology, different dislocation mobility, and stacking fault energies. On the other hand, we show that metamorphic quantum dot nanostructures can provide new possibilities of tailoring various properties, such as dot positioning and emission energy, that could be very useful for innovative dot-based devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Low Temperature, Self-nucleated Growth of Indium Tin Oxide Nanostructures by Pulsed Laser Deposition in Argon

Indium tin oxide (ITO) nanostructures were successfully deposited on glass substrate by pulsed laser ablation in argon gas at 250 deg. C. Microstructural changes were observed in the argon gas pressure between 30 to 50 mTorr. The as-grown, nanostructured ITO exhibit In{sub 2}O{sub 3} bixbyite structure orientated at <111> direction. At the initial stage of growth, there was a large number of nucleation sites detected which eventually evolved into needle-like branches. The presence of spheres at the tip of these branches indicates that these nanostructured ITO were likely governed by vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

High-temperature thermoelectric properties of nanostructured Ca{sub 3}Co{sub 4}O{sub 9} thin films

We prepared nanostructured Ca{sub 3}Co{sub 4}O{sub 9} (CCO) thin films by promoting localized epitaxial growth on polycrystalline Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrates. The thermoelectric properties of the CCO films were studied in the temperature range 300 to 1023 K. We confirmed that localized epitaxial growth occurred on the seed grains that dominate the (006) plane. The nanostructured CCO thin films were found to have a maximum Seebeck coefficient of 206 {mu}V/K and a power factor (at 920 K) of 0.514 mW/mK{sup 2}. Moreover, the presence of nanostructure was found to reduce the thermal conductivity, and thus, should enhance the overall performance of CCO films in thermoelectric devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2012

Nanostructured ion beam-modified Ge films for high capacity Li ion battery anodes

Nanostructured ion beam-modified Ge electrodes fabricated directly on Ni current collector substrates were found to exhibit excellent specific capacities during electrochemical cycling in half-cell configuration with Li metal for a wide range of cycling rates. Structural characterization revealed that the nanostructured electrodes lose porosity during cycling but maintain excellent electrical contact with the metallic current collector substrate. These results suggest that nanostructured Ge electrodes have great promise for use as high performance Li ion battery anodes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

A facile approach for shape selective synthesis of rhodium nanostructures and conductivity studies

Shape selective synthesis of Rh nanostructures has been demonstrated with the help of a single step chemical vapor deposition, where different shapes like cubes at 500 Degree-Sign C, pyramids and hexagons at 500 Degree-Sign C, 700 Degree-Sign C and 900 Degree-Sign C respectively have been obtained as a function of temperature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and four probe conductivity measurements were used to study the morphology, crystallinity and phase purity of the structures. The conductivity values for as synthesised nanostructures have been obtained in the range of 2-7 kS/cm{sup 2}. On the basis of the experimental results, from TGA and XPS studies possible mechanistic pathway for the evolution of Rh nanostructures was discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Nanostructured light-absorbing crystalline CuIn{sub (1–x)}Ga{sub x}Se{sub 2} thin films grown through high flux, low energy ion irradiation

A hybrid effusion/sputtering vacuum system was modified with an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) coil enabling ion assisted physical vapor deposition of CuIn{sub 1−x}Ga{sub x}Se{sub 2} thin films on GaAs single crystals and stainless steel foils. With <80 W rf power to the ICP coil at 620–740 °C, film morphologies were unchanged compared to those grown without the ICP. At low temperature (600–670 °C) and high rf power (80–400 W), a light absorbing nanostructured highly anisotropic platelet morphology was produced with surface planes dominated by (112){sub T} facets. At 80–400 W rf power and 640–740 °C, both interconnected void and small platelet morphologies were observed while at >270 W and above >715 °C nanostructured pillars with large inter-pillar voids were produced. The latter appeared black and exhibited a strong (112){sub T} texture with interpillar twist angles of ±8°. Application of a negative dc bias of 0–50 V to the film during growth was not found to alter the film morphology or stoichiometry. The results are interpreted as resulting from the plasma causing strong etching favoring formation of (112){sub T} planes and preferential nucleation of new grains, balanced against conventional thermal diffusion and normal growth mechanisms at higher temperatures. The absence of effects due to applied substrate bias suggests that physical sputtering or ion bombardment effects were minimal. The nanostructured platelet and pillar films were found to exhibit less than one percent reflectivity at angles up to 75° from the surface normal.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Effect of nanostructuring on the band structure and the galvanomagnetic properties in Bi{sub 1−x}Sb{sub x} alloys

Magnetotransport measurements were performed on a series of nanostructured Bi{sub 1−x}Sb{sub x} alloy samples with an Sb content in the range between 0% and 60%. The samples were prepared by cold pressing and annealing of crystalline Bi{sub 1−x}Sb{sub x} nanoparticles, which were synthesized by mechanical alloying. The incorporation of Sb changes the band structure of these nanotextured alloys as well as their transport behavior. With increasing Sb content the band gap increases and reaches a maximum band gap of 42 meV at an Sb concentration of about 14% determined from temperature dependent resistivity measurements. For even higher Sb content, the band gap decreases again. The bands and thus the band gaps are shifted with respect to bulk material due to quantum confinement effects in the nanostructures. The change of the band structure with varying Sb content strongly affects the magnetoresistance behavior as well as the magnetic field dependence of the Hall-coefficient. Using a three band model in order to describe both properties, it was possible to determine the main band parameters of the nanostructured material as a function of the Sb content.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As nanostructures for spintronic applications

Magneto-resistive, cross-like nanostructures have been designed and fabricated by electron-beam lithography patterning and chemical etching from thin epitaxial layers of the ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As. The nanostructures, composed of two perpendicular nanostripes crossing in the middle of their length, represent four-terminal devices, in which an electric current can be driven through any of the two nanostripes. In these devices, a novel magneto-resistive memory effect, related to a rearrangement of magnetic domain walls in the central part of the device, has been demonstrated. It consists in that the zero-field resistance of a nanostripe depends on the direction of previously applied magnetic field. The nanostructures can thus work as two-state devices providing basic elements of nonvolatile memory cells.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

GaP ring-like nanostructures on GaAs (100) with In{sub 0.15}Ga{sub 0.85}As compensation layers

We present the fabrication of GaP ring-like nanostructures on GaAs (100) substrates with inserted In{sub 0.15}Ga{sub 0.85}As compensation layers. The samples are grown by droplet epitaxy using solid-source molecular beam epitaxy. The dependency of nanostructural and optical properties of GaP nanostructures on In{sub 0.15}Ga{sub 0.85}As layer thickness is investigated by ex-situ atomic force microscope (AFM) and photoluminescence (PL). It is found that the characteristics of GaP ring-like structures on GaAs strongly depend on the In{sub 0.15}Ga{sub 0.85}As layer thickness.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Interface and nanostructure evolution of cobalt germanides on Ge(001)

Cobalt germanide (Co{sub x}Ge{sub y}) is a candidate system for low resistance contact modules in future Ge devices in Si-based micro and nanoelectronics. In this paper, we present a detailed structural, morphological, and compositional study on Co{sub x}Ge{sub y} formation on Ge(001) at room temperature metal deposition and subsequent annealing. Scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction clearly demonstrate that room temperature deposition of approximately four monolayers of Co on Ge(001) results in the Volmer Weber growth mode, while subsequent thermal annealing leads to the formation of a Co-germanide continuous wetting layer which evolves gradually towards the growth of elongated Co{sub x}Ge{sub y} nanostructures. Two types of Co{sub x}Ge{sub y} nanostructures, namely, flattop- and ridge-type, were observed and a systematic study on their evolution as a function of temperature is presented. Additional transmission electron microscopy and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements allowed us to monitor the reaction between Co and Ge in the formation process of the Co{sub x}Ge{sub y} continuous wetting layer as well as the Co{sub x}Ge{sub y} nanostructures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗