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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 OSTI2020

Unraveling the Dissolution-Mediated Reaction Mechanism of α-MnO 2 Cathodes for Aqueous Zn-Ion Batteries

Aqueous Zn/α-MnO 2 batteries have attracted immense interest owing to their high energy density, low cost, and safety, making them desirable for future large-scale energy application. Despite these merits, the comprehensive understanding of their reaction mechanism has been elusive due to the limitations of standard bulk characterization. Here, via transmission electron microscopy, the dissolution-mediated reaction mechanism of a Zn/α-MnO 2 system is discovered and explored in full scope to involve reversible formation of Zn 4 SO 4 (OH) 6 · x H 2 O and “birnessite-like” Zn-MnO x phase upon cycling. Overall, α-MnO 2 acts primarily as a source for cell activation through dissolution and thus is not directly involved in the Zn redox chemistry. Overall, this microscopic study offers a unique knowledge on the unconventional reaction chemistry of Zn/α-MnO 2 batteries.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Robust hierarchical three dimensional nickel cobalt tungstate-MXene nanocomposite for high performance symmetric coin cell supercapacitors

Design of rational electrode materials with hierarchically structured pseudocapacitive materials has been identified as a successful strategy for revamping the electrochemical characteristics of supercapacitors. However, the simultaneous assurance of strong electrical conductivity and higher specific capacitance via a simple and cost-effective synthesis protocol is of concern today. In this work, Ni-CoWO 4 incorporated MXene nanocomposite has been successfully prepared by a facile hydrothermal process. The structure, morphology, stoichiometry, and chemical characterization of the prepared Ni-CoWO 4 , Ti 3 C 2 T x , and Ni-CoWO4@MXene nanocomposite were explored extensively. MXene demonstrated a layered 2D nanoscale structure whereas pure Ni-CoWO 4 was composed of spherical nanoparticles. The composite Ni-CoWO 4 @MXene revealed the morphology of spherical Ni-CoWO 4 nanoparticles decorated on MXene sheets. Furthermore, a series of electrochemical characterizations illustrated the contribution of the delightful morphology of Ni-CoWO 4 @MXene composite to excellent electrochemistry. The resultant Ni-CoWO 4 @MXene electrode exhibited high specific capacitance of 582 Fg -1 at 1 A g -1 and 93.5 % capacitance retention over the 10,000 cycles., which is higher than that of the individual counterparts Ni-CoWO 4 and MXene. The excellent electrochemical performance of Ni-CoWO 4 @MXene is attributed to the synergistic interaction between Ni-CoWO4 nanoparticles and nanolayered MXene that may create new active sites that enhanced the charge transfer, charge/discharge kinetics and the electrical conductivity. Significantly, the unique Ni-CoWO 4 @MXene supercapacitor prototype delivered a higher energy density of 85.7 Wh kg -1 and power density of 0.85 kW kg -1 establishing its superiority over other Cosingle bondW based supercapacitors. A theoretical study was also performed to correlate the improved charge storage capacity of the prepared Ni-CoWO 4 @MXene composite.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Technoeconomic analysis of hydrogen storage using 1,4-butanediol (BDO)/γ-butyrolactone (GBL) as a stationary backup power system

Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) are compounds that store and release hydrogen in stable forms at high density. While one-way carriers such as methanol and ammonia have gained attention, their economic advantages are often realized from their use as an export product and direct use as a fuel. Liquid carrier materials that can instead be cycled for energy storage have promise for stationary power applications. In particular, the reversible LOHC system 1,4-butanediol (BDO, H 2 -rich) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL, H 2 -lean) has a lower enthalpy of dehydrogenation compared to conventional cyclic hydrocarbons and can utilize non-precious metal copper-based catalysts. Here, in this study, BDO/GBL system capital and operating expenses are characterized for vapor phase versus liquid phase hydrogenation and dehydrogenation in a 10 MW backup power application corresponding to sizing of Tier 2 datacenters as well as other critical infrastructure such as hospitals. Costs are benchmarked against two incumbent technologies: a well-established methylcyclohexane/toluene carrier system and compressed gas storage. BDO/GBL storage costs are found to differ substantially between operating modes, with liquid phase hydrogenation coupled with liquid phase dehydrogenation leading to the lowest LCOS of $\$$4.58/kg H 2 in the absence of byproduct formation. In this bounding case, LCOS for the BDO/GBL system is lower than for MCH/TOL ($\$$6.97/kg H 2 ) and compressed gas ($\$$8.48/kg H 2 at 170 bara and $\$$12.05/kg H 2 at 350 bara). However, escalating costs of carrier replacement due to byproduct formation (ranging from an added $\$$6–11/kg H 2 ) illustrate the need for highly selective catalysts to ensure BDO/GBL carrier viability.

BDO/GBL↗
DOE OSTI2020

Manufacturing Process Design of a Micro-Scale Liquid-Liquid Extractor and Multi-phase Separator

Advances in process innovation within the chemical process industry are impeded by the cost of producing new innovative components. In this paper, various manufacturing process routes were evaluated for scaling up a micro-scale liquid-liquid extractor and multi-phase separator capable of separating immiscible phases that are used for the extraction of a chemical product into a lower boiling point solvent to make downstream distillation easier. A manufacturing process design methodology was used to evaluate both photochemical machining and binder jetting as a means for producing the micropost arrays within the separator. Cost curves show that for a 0.3 mm deep micropost array, photochemical machining was found to be much cheaper than binder jetting. However, because binder jetting processes enable microposts with over 13 times higher depth-to-width aspect ratios, binder jetting was found to decrease the overall costs of the extractor/separator by more than half for a 500 barrel per day plant, with breakeven as low as 15 barrels per day. These economics were confirmed by building extractor/separator plates and characterizing them dimensionally and functionally. The binder jet plates were found to perform better than photochemical plates leading to the complete separation of the organic phase from water. The utilization of slower sintering cycles combined with surface grinding provided acceptable dimensional tolerances for the binder jet plates. Using pressurized air during depowdering improved the economics for the binder jetting process.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Toward More Actionable Flood‐Risk Information

Abstract The increasingly urgent need to develop knowledge and practices to manage flood risks drives innovative information design. However, experts often disagree about design practices. As a result, flood‐risk estimates can diverge, leading to different conclusions for decision‐making. Using examples of household‐scale fluvial (riverine) flood‐risk information in the United States, we assess design features and risk communication approaches that may lead to more actionable information for decision‐making. We argue that increased attention to uncertainty characterization and model diagnostics is a critical intermediate step for developing simpler approaches for designing flood‐risk information. Simpler frameworks are desirable because flood risks change over time, and simpler frameworks are less costly to update. Developing frameworks for large spatial domains require collaboration grounded in principles of open science. Finally, systematically evaluating how decision‐makers access and use information can provide new insights to guide risk communication and information design.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Roadmap on advanced and / real-time characterisation of solid state materials and devices for energy applications

A strong societal and political drive is motivating the development and optimization of novel energy conversion and storage systems for decarbonization. The successful implementation of solid state devices such as fuel cells and secondary batteries depends, however, on achieving ambitious targets in terms of performance, reliability and cost competitiveness. Research and technology are addressing these needs through a holistic approach including exploration of new materials and nanoarchitectures, as well as system engineering. These significant efforts require the support of appropriate characterization tools capable of assessing nanometer-scale phenomena such as concentration profiles of ionic and electronic charges, local chemical compositions and their evolution over time across interfaces. This roadmap provides an overview of selected advanced characterization techniques for energy materials and devices. Specific focus is put on in situ/operando methods for probing electrochemical phenomena in real-time under realistic working conditions. Experts in the field provide an extensive review of the current state of the art in 2025 and the current and future challenges for the characterization of local chemistry and kinetics in the bulk of the material, in nanoarchitectures (e.g. thin films) and at the interfaces (e.g. grain boundaries, phase contacts, solid/liquid and solid/gas interfaces) . The aim is to provide a detailed guide to the techniques, describing opportunities and bottlenecks for their practical deployment and examples of successful applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

2024 Milestone Report: Site 300 mPDV Optical Fiducials

In the early 2000s Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) replaced the Fabry-Perot many beam system1 and has since become ubiquitous across dynamic experimental platforms to measure velocity and event times such as shock breakout, key variables for high pressure physics research. The advent of optically multiplexed oscilloscope channels to create multiplexed PDV (mPDV) increased portability and reduced price per data point. However, these advantages came with the cost of additional fielding complexity and thermally induced timing drift, which directly affects the ability to use PDV for high precision time measurement. Controlling the temperature or incorporating optical fiducials allows researchers to characterize, reduce, and correct this thermal drift in analysis. Our implemented optical fiducial or “timing marker” allows us to reduce thermal drift uncertainty from the 10s of nanoseconds down to the 100s of picoseconds with minimal added complexity to existing systems. The implementation of this timing marker normalizes uncertainty across optical delays, brings our facility cross timing into the sub nanosecond regime and lets us identify/study anomalies in our data. This improvement increases experiment reliability and quality enabling a new class of high precision experiments at S300.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Singlet–Triplet Gap of Cyclobutadiene: The CIPSI-Driven CC( P ; Q ) Study

An accurate determination of singlet−triplet gaps in biradicals, including cyclobutadiene in the automerization barrier region where one has to balance the substantial nondynamical many-electron correlation effects characterizing the singlet ground state with the predominantly dynamical correlations of the lowest-energy triplet, remains a challenge for many quantum chemistry methods. High-level coupled-cluster (CC) approaches, such as the CC method with a full treatment of singly, doubly, and triply excited clusters (CCSDT), are often capable of providing reliable results, but routine application of such methods is hindered by their high computational costs. We have recently proposed a practical alternative to converging the CCSDT energetics at small fractions of the computational effort, even when electron correlations become stronger and connected triply excited clusters are larger and nonperturbative, by merging the CC(P;Q) moment expansions with the selected configuration interaction methodology abbreviated as CIPSI. We demonstrate that one can accurately approximate the highly accurate CCSDT potential surfaces characterizing the lowest singlet and triplet states of cyclobutadiene along the automerization coordinate and the gap between them using tiny fractions of triply excited cluster amplitudes identified with the help of relatively inexpensive CIPSI Hamiltonian diagonalizations.

Basis sets↗
DOE OSTI2020

Analysis of RF losses and material characterization of samples removed from a Nb 3 Sn-coated superconducting RF cavity

Nb 3 Sn (T c ≈18 K and H sh ≈400 mT) is a prospective material to replace Nb (T c ≈9 K and H sh ≈200 mT) in SRF accelerator cavities for significant cost reduction and performance enhancement. Because of its material properties, Nb3Sn is best employed as a thin film (coating) inside an already built RF cavity structure. A particular test cavity noted as C3C4 was a 1.5 GHz single-cell Nb cavity, coated with Nb3Sn using Sn vapor diffusion process at Jefferson Lab. Cold measurements of the coated cavity indicated the superconducting transition temperature of about 18 K. Subsequent RF measurements indicated field-dependent surface resistance both at 4.3 K and 2.0 K. After initial cold measurements, the cavity RF loss distribution was studied with a thermometry mapping system. Loss regions were identified with thermometry and were cut out for material analysis. The presence of significantly thin patchy regions and other carbon-rich defects is associated with strong local field-dependent surface resistance. This paper summarizes RF and thermometry results correlated with material science findings.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

MR13A-3183: Microbial and Geochemical Characterization of Groundwater: Implications for Underground Hydrogen Storage Leakage

Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in geological formations is a key element of the clean energy transition as it enables the decarbonization of the transportation and industrial sectors by decoupling hydrogen production and storage. UHS has many benefits, including low cost, much wider availability, large storage capacity, well-established infrastructure, and increased safety because of geological sealing capabilities. However, the impact of hydrogen (H2) biogeochemical interactions in the presence of subsurface microorganisms is largely neglected from UHS perspectives. These interactions might affect the effectiveness of storage and can even cause H2 to leak into the shallow aquifers. Leakage of H2 into groundwater can change the geochemistry and induce several microbial-driven processes. Microorganisms, such as sulfate-reducers, are naturally abundant in groundwater and consume H2 to produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which can contaminate the freshwater drinking groundwater and cause damage to infrastructure. Hydrogen leakage can also trigger microbial reactions responsible for metal mobility, which can impact the water quality. However, the kinetics of these reactions and the temporal impact of hydrogen leakage in groundwater are still unknown. Therefore, a time series hydrogen-groundwater interaction experiment was conducted, and the changes in fluid chemistry and headspace gas composition will be analyzed along with DNA sequencing results to understand the extent and kinetics of biogeochemical reactions that occur if hydrogen leaks into groundwater. In the experiments, Ultra High Purity (UHP) hydrogen gas will be injected into glass vials with groundwater samples, for a designated time period. For each glass-sealed vial, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, IC, ICP-MS, and GC-TCD will be performed. The experiments provide insights into plausible impacts of hydrogen leakage into shallow drinking water aquifers.

Clark, Allison [West Virginia University (WVU)]↗
DOE OSTI2025

NSUF FY 2024 Annual Report: Microscopy and Characterization Suite (MaCS) and National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II)

The Microscopy and Characterization Suite (MaCS) laboratory at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) and the National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) partner with the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF). This partnership provides funding that allows researchers to access these facilities at no cost for studying irradiation effects on nuclear fuels and materials. Through NSUF, both MaCS and NSLS-II support post-irradiation examination (PIE) and irradiation activities for NSUF Rapid Turnaround Experiments (RTE) and NSUF Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research (CINR) awards. This report details the work completed at these facilities for NSUF competitively selected awards during fiscal year 2024.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Computer-aided design of stability enhanced nicotinamide cofactor biomimetics for cell-free biocatalysis

Cell-free biocatalysis (CFB) is an efficient and environmentally friendly method to synthesize molecules such as pharmaceuticals, biochemicals, and biofuels through the in vitro use of enzyme cascades. These enzymes often require redox cofactors to drive chemical reactions. Natural redox cofactors (NAD(P)H) are expensive to isolate, motivating synthetic nicotinamide cofactor biomimetics (NCBs) as a cost-effective solution. A select handful of NCBs have been identified as potential NAD(P)H alternatives with comparable or improved redox capabilities, however, they display a tendency to degrade in common buffers. In this study, a library of 132 NCB candidates is systematically generated, over 85% of which have not been characterized in the literature, to expand the diversity of currently explored NCBs. The decomposition mechanism of NCBs in phosphate is evaluated using density functional theory (DFT), revealing protonation at the nicotinamide C5 position as a reporter of cofactor stability. Based on this result, we trained a linear regression model on DFT calculated descriptors to predict NCB stability in phosphate buffer, achieving mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) values within computational accuracy. Analysis of key atomic descriptors and qualitative trends in our dataset informed the design of novel NCB candidates we propose with optimized stability. This work enables researchers to predict the relative stability of NCBs before synthesis, thereby streamlining the process to make CFB more affordable and viable at industry scales.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Fabrication of surrogate oxide spent fuel with various cracking patterns and design of an axial gas transport apparatus

In this article, understanding gas transport behavior in nuclear fuel rods is important for the design, performance, and safety of nuclear fuels. Surrogate materials help enable efficient research by reducing both the costs and the amount of time required. A parametric study using Darcy’s law is completed that demonstrates the feasibility of observing pressure decay over short 13-to-15-cm specimens to enable full characterization of the fabricated specimens using x-ray computed tomography. This paper demonstrates that thermally shocked and mechanically compressed alumina pellets produce surrogate samples whose various cracking patterns are representative of the severity of cracking observed as a function of burnup in irradiated nuclear fuels. Furthermore, image analyses of the cracking patterns—in conjunction with gas transport testing using surrogate samples—affords a valuable accelerated basis for developing gas transport simulations.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Elucidating the Role of Single-Atom Pd for Electrocatalytic Hydrodechlorination

In this study, we loaded Pd catalysts onto a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) support in an atomically dispersed fashion [i.e., Pd single-atom catalysts (SACs) on rGO or Pd 1 /rGO] via a facile and scalable synthesis based on anchor-site and photoreduction techniques. The as-synthesized Pd 1 /rGO significantly outperformed the Pd nanoparticle (Pdnano) counterparts in the electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination of chlorinated phenols. Downsizing Pd nano to Pd 1 leads to a substantially higher Pd atomic efficiency (14 times that of Pdnano), remarkably reducing the cost for practical applications. The unique single-atom architecture of Pd 1 additionally affects the desorption energy of the intermediate, suppressing the catalyst poisoning by Cl – , which is a prevalent challenge with Pdnano. Characterization and experimental results demonstrate that the superior performance of Pd 1 /rGO originates from (1) enhanced interfacial electron transfer through Pd–O bonds due to the electronic metal–support interaction and (2) increased atomic H (H*) utilization efficiency by inhibiting H 2 evolution on Pd 1 . Furthermore, this work presents an important example of how the unique geometric and electronic structure of SACs can tune their catalytic performance toward beneficial use in environmental remediation applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

A multi-ancestry genetic study of pain intensity in 598,339 veterans

Chronic pain is a common problem, with more than one-fifth of adult Americans reporting pain daily or on most days. It adversely affects the quality of life and imposes substantial personal and economic costs. Efforts to treat chronic pain using opioids had a central role in precipitating the opioid crisis. Despite an estimated heritability of 25–50%, the genetic architecture of chronic pain is not well-characterized, in part because studies have largely been limited to samples of European ancestry. To help address this knowledge gap, we conducted a cross-ancestry meta-analysis of pain intensity in 598,339 participants in the Million Veteran Program, which identified 126 independent genetic loci, 69 of which are new. Pain intensity was genetically correlated with other pain phenotypes, level of substance use and substance use disorders, other psychiatric traits, education level and cognitive traits. Integration of the genome-wide association studies findings with functional genomics data shows enrichment for putatively causal genes (n = 142) and proteins (n = 14) expressed in brain tissues, specifically in GABAergic neurons. Drug repurposing analysis identified anticonvulsants, β-blockers and calcium-channel blockers, among other drug groups, as having potential analgesic effects. Our results provide insights into key molecular contributors to the experience of pain and highlight attractive drug targets.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Distant Observer™ [SWR-12-09]

Distant Observer™ (DO) is an optical measurement tool, designed for parabolic trough solar collectors, that determines reflector slope error, absorber position error, and the combined errors based on images of the receiver-tube reflection taken from different angles. We have demonstrated that DO can provide a measurement accuracy of 0.25 mrad for the slope and receiver position errors. DO has two implementation versions: ground-based and drone-driven. As we pursue efforts to lower the capital and installation costs of parabolic trough solar collectors, it is essential to maintain high optical performance. The Distant Observer™ (DO) tool, developed by engineers at NREL, is a fast and highly accurate tool that provides complete characterization of the performance of the optical components which include the mirror panels and thermal receiver. This tool is very useful for testing both prototype and operational modules. The Distant Observer™ is an optical measurement tool for parabolic solar collectors that measures reflector slope error, absorber position error and the combined errors. Reflector slope errors occur for many reasons including imperfection in structural frame design, manufacturing and assembly. Absorber position error can be caused by poor structural design, poor installation, sag from the absorber weight, or change in the structure over time.

Ihas, Benjamin↗
DOE OSTI2020

Characterization of 244 Cm Neutron Sources

There is a need to find a replacement for the 252 Cf sources currently used in Standards-based performance testing of neutron instrumentation. This is a result of its relatively short half-life, concerns about future availability and recent increases in cost. A potential replacement source, 244 Cm is evaluated in this study where two commercially available sources have been acquired and their neutron emission spectra measured using a pair of spectrometers. Both instruments showed the 244 Cm spontaneous neutron spectrum to be fully consistent with a MCNP6®-calculated spectrum using published Watt fission parameters for 244 Cm. In addition, the emission rate of the weaker 244 Cm source was established through a direct count rate comparison against a calibrated and similarly encapsulated 252 Cf source. The 244 Cm source emission rate was found to be in excellent agreement with value stated on the manufacturer's source certificate. It is concluded that 244 Cm would be an ideal replacement for 252 Cf based on its longer half-life (18.1 y) and its essentially identical neutron emission spectrum. In addition, 244 Cm sources are commercially available at reasonable cost.

244Cm↗