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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 631 records · Page 35
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of structural disorder on quantum oscillations in graphite

We have studied the effect of structural disorder on the de Haas van Alphen and Shubnikov de Haas quantum oscillations measured in natural, Kish, and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite samples at temperatures down to 30 mK and at magnetic fields up to 14 T. The measurements were performed on different samples characterized by means of x-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic-force microscopy techniques. Our results reveal a correlation between the amplitude of quantum oscillations and the sample surface roughness.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Preparation and characterization of Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films by RF magnetron sputtering

Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} films were deposited on to glass substrates held at room temperature using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, at a RF power of 63 W and argon pressure maintained at 1 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -2}mbar. The morphology was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The band gaps obtained from optical absorption studies are in the range of 3.4 and 4.02 eV, after annealing in air at 380 Degree-Sign C for 1 hour.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Synthesis of coaxial CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} - K{sub 0.5}Na{sub 0.5}NbO{sub 3} nanotubes by sol-gel technique using inexpensive templates

A modified sol-gel method was introduced by employing a cost effective novel template to synthesize coaxial one dimensional (1-D) composite nanostructures based on CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (CFO) - K{sub 0.5}Na{sub 0.5}NbO{sub 3} (KNN) and magnetic nanostructures based on CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (CFO). The studies with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that the composite material is characterized by the 1-D tubular structure. The absorption edge is blue shifted for both KNN and CFO nanotubes due to the lattice strain effect.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Influence of leaching on surface composition, microstructure, and valence band of single grain icosahedral Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystal

The use of quasicrystals as precursors to catalysts for the steam reforming of methanol is potentially one of the most important applications of these new materials. To develop application as a technology requires a detailed understanding of the microscopic behavior of the catalyst. Here, we report the effect of leaching treatments on the surface microstructure, chemical composition, and valence band of the icosahedral (i-) Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystal in an attempt to prepare a model catalyst. The high symmetry fivefold surface of a single grain i-Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystal was leached with NaOH solution for varying times, and the resulting surface was characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The leaching treatments preferentially remove Al producing a capping layer consisting of Fe and Cu oxides. The subsurface layer contains elemental Fe and Cu in addition to the oxides. The quasicrystalline bulk structure beneath remains unchanged. The subsurface gradually becomes Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} rich with increasing leaching time. The surface after leaching exhibits micron sized dodecahedral cavities due to preferential leaching along the fivefold axis. Nanoparticles of the transition metals and their oxides are precipitated on the surface after leaching. The size of the nanoparticles is estimated by high resolution transmission microscopy to be 5-20 nm, which is in agreement with the AFM results. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) confirms the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles. SAED further reveals the formation of an interface between the high atomic density lattice planes of nanoparticles and the quasicrystal. These results provide an important insight into the preparation of model catalysts of nanoparticles for steam reforming of methanol.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2012

Superhard behaviour, low residual stress, and unique structure in diamond-like carbon films by simple bilayer approach

Simple bilayer approach is proposed for synthesizing hard and superhard diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings with reduced residual stress. For this, M/DLC bilayer (M = Ti and Cu) structures are grown using hybrid system involving radio frequency (RF)-sputtering and RF-plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition techniques. Ti/DLC bilayer deposited at negative self bias of 100 V shows superhard behaviour with hardness (H) as 49 GPa. Cu/DLC bilayer grown at self bias of 100 V exhibits hard behaviour with H as 22.8 GPa. The hardness of Ti/DLC (Cu/DLC) bilayer gets changed from superhard (hard) to hard (moderate hard) regime, when the self bias is raised to 300 V. Residual stress in Ti/DLC (Cu/DLC) bilayer is found to be significantly low that varies in the range of 1 GPa-1.65 GPa (0.8 GPa-1.6 GPa). The microstructure and morphology are studied by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). SEM and AFM pictures reveal the creation of nanostructured features in the deposited bilayers. Raman, SEM, and AFM analyses are correlated with the nano-mechanical properties. Owing to excellent nano-mechanical properties, these bilayers can find their direct industrial applications as hard and protective coatings.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

X-ray small-angle scattering from sputtered CeO{sub 2}/C bilayers

Surface and interface morphology of cerium oxide/carbon bilayers used as thin-film catalysts is studied by grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic-force microscopy, and the dependence of the structural parameters on the thicknesses of the constituting layers is investigated. The applicability of x-ray scattering and its advantages over standard analytical methods are discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2012

Structural and optical properties of zinc oxide film using RF-sputtering technique

This paper reports the fabrication of zinc oxide (ZnO) film using RF-sputtering technique. Determination of the structural properties using High Resolution X-ray Diffraction (HRXRD) confirmed that ZnO film deposited on silicon (Si) substrate has a high quality. This result is in line with the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) which were used to image the morphology of the film, in which a rough surface was demonstrated. Photoluminescence (PL) emission is included to study the optical properties of ZnO film that shows two PL peak in the UV region at 371 nm and in visible region at 530 nm respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optical and electrical properties of silicon nanopillars

The electrical and optical properties of silicon nanopillars (Si NPs) are studied. Electron-beam lithography and reactive ion etching are used for the formation of ordered Si-NP arrays. The Si NPs with a diameter from 60 to 340 nm and a height from 218 to 685 nm are formed. The Si NPs are coated with a TiON{sup x} layer with a thickness of 8 nm for chemical and electrical passivation of the surface. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic-force microscopy are used to characterize the obtained structures. The Si-NP arrays acquire various colors when exposed to “bright-field” illumination. The spectra of reflection from the Si-NP arrays in the wavelength range 500–1150 nm are obtained.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Fabrication and characterization of extended arrays of Ag{sub 2}S/Ag nanodot resistive switches

Well-ordered Ag{sub 2}S/Ag nanodot arrays with a density of >60 Gbit/in.{sup 2} have been fabricated by sputtering Ag on a silicon substrate using ultrathin porous anodic aluminum oxide membranes as shadow masks, followed by sulfurization treatment at room temperature. The morphology, microstructure, and electrical properties of the as-prepared nanodots were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, and conductive atomic force microscopy, respectively. Well-defined resistive switching behavior was observed in these nanodots, and the ON/OFF ratio was found to be higher than 10{sup 2}. The Ag{sub 2}S/Ag nanodot arrays hold substantial promise for use as ultrahigh density nonvolatile memory devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Rectifying behaviour of spin coated pn hetero-junction

Rectifying pn hetero- junction is fabricated with an acceptor p-type organic semiconductor namely tetra- chloro dihydroxy tetra-iodo fluorescein (Rose Bengal (RB)) followed by an inorganic n-type ZnO semiconductor on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. The n-type ZnO films are formed by unintentional doping and doping with aluminium (Al) and yttrium (Y) donors. The surface morphology and the distribution of grains are observed from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of the rectifying diode is measured to characterize the junction properties. The I-V plots obtained from the hetero- junction with electric contact shows a diode characteristic different from that of an ideal behavior. The overall efficiency of the diode exhibits a greater dependency on the film crystallinity, carrier concentration, and reverse saturation current.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Tuning of the spin pumping in yttrium iron garnet/Au bilayer system by fast thermal treatment

In this Letter, we investigated the influence of the fast thermal treatment on the spin pumping in ferromagnetic insulator yttrium iron garnet (YIG)/normal metal Au bilayer system. The YIG/Au bilayer thin films were treated by fast annealing process with different temperatures from 0 to 800 °C. The spin pumping was studied using ferromagnetic resonance. The surface evolution was investigated using a high resolution scanning microscopy and an atomic force microscopy. A strong thermal related spin pumping in YIG/Au bilayer system has been revealed. It was found that the spin pumping process can be enhanced by using fast thermal treatment due to the thermal modifications of the Au surface. The effective spin-mixing conductance of the fast thermal treated YIG/Au bilayer has been obtained.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Pulse electrodeposited nickel using sulphamate electrolyte for hardness and corrosion resistance

Highlights: • Nickel deposits from sulphamate solutions using pulse method are prepared. • Effect of duty cycle and frequency are studied. • XRD, SEM and AFM of the nickel deposits are characterized. • Corrosion characteristics of the nickel deposit are reported. - Abstract: Nickel deposits have been obtained on mild steel substrate by pulse current (PC) electrodeposition method using nickel sulphamate electrolyte. Micro hardness values increased with decreasing duty cycle and pulse frequency. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that (2 0 0) plane was predominant and the nickel deposit obtained at low duty cycle and low frequency has the smallest grain size. The surface morphology of the coatings was explored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy. These studies showed that the microstructure of the nickel coatings changed from pyramidal structure to homogeneous structure with increasing duty cycle and pulse frequencies. The corrosion resistance of coatings was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance studies in 3.5 wt% sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions. An enhancement of the corrosion resistance, charge-transfer resistance and wear resistance has been obtained at low duty cycle and low frequencies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Influence of surface pattern on the biological properties of Ti grade 2

Highlights: • Laser modification causes changes in chemical composition of the surface. • Laser treatment creates roughness in a range from nano- to micrometers. • The surface modification presented results in a multimodal topography. • A hierarchical topography promotes protein adsorption. - Abstract: This paper presents a detailed characterization of Ti surface geometries as produced by non-contact laser functionalization and its impact on the process of protein adsorption. The proposed surface modification is designed for the local treatment of implantable devices with original roughness. In this work, titanium plates were initially modified by the two most common mechano-chemical treatments, shot peening and acid etching. The material under study was next functionalized DLIL (Direct Laser Interference Lithography) in order to obtained two different surface patterns: grooves and islands. The modified surfaces were characterized in terms of their shape, roughness, wettability, surface energy and chemical composition. For this purpose, the following methods were used: scanning electron microscopy, optical profilometry, atomic force microscopy, contact angle measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Protein adsorption tests were conducted to consider the potential of the proposed methodology in biomedical applications and to compare the influence of the two different surface patterns on the initial state of ossointegration. To this end, XPS and FTIR studies were conducted. The systematic analysis presented will be useful when selecting an appropriate surface geometry for the local surface functionalization of implantable devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nanodiamonds with SiV colour centres for quantum technologies

Properties of silicon-vacancy (SiV) colour centres in ultra-nanosize diamonds are studied. Nanodiamonds are obtained at a high temperature and pressure, which induced transformations in mixtures of organic and hetero-organic compounds without metal-catalysts. The size distribution of grown nanodiamonds is determined by the methods of transmission electron microscopy and atomic-force microscopy, as well as by using the model of phonon spatial localisation. In addition, Raman spectra of various nanodiamonds and luminescence properties of SiV-centres are investigated. (laser applications and other topics in quantum electronics)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Cadmium-catalyzed surface growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes with high efficiency

Graphical abstract: The Cd nanocatalysts, prepared using a diblock copolymer templating method, were uniformly spaced over a large deposition area with an average diameter of 1.9 nm and narrow size distribution. By using the normal-heating method, high density SWNTs can be generated. Research highlights: {yields} We demonstrate that cadmium (Cd) can catalyze the growth of SWNTs with high efficiency. {yields} The PVP capped-Cd nanocatalysts were uniformly spaced over a large deposition area with an average diameter of 1.9 nm. {yields} By using the normal-heating and fast-heating method, random and horizontally aligned arrays of SWNTs can be generated. {yields} The high percentage of SWNTs with Ag deposition from Cd indicates that the SWNTs have better conductivity and structural uniformity. -- Abstract: We demonstrate that cadmium (Cd) can catalyze the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with high efficiency. The Cd nanocatalysts, prepared using a diblock copolymer templating method, were uniformly spaced over a large deposition area with an average diameter of 1.9 nm and narrow size distribution. By using the normal-heating and fast-heating method, random and horizontally aligned arrays of SWNTs can be generated. The density of the SWNTs can be altered by the chemical vapor deposition conditions. The morphology and microstructure of the SWNTs characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that the grown nanotubes do not have carbonaceous particles and have good crystallinity. In addition, after careful check with superlong nanotubes 735 out of 790 nanotubes were found to be deposited with Ag (93%) and only 7% SWNTs without Ag deposition. While for superlong SWNT arrays from Fe, 32% long SWNTs without Ag deposition was found, the high percentage of SWNTs with Ag deposition from Cd indicates that the SWNTs have better conductivity and better structural uniformity with less defects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Microstructure Optimization of Austenitic Alloy 800H (Fe-21Cr-32Ni)

The microstructural evolution, specifically of grain boundaries, precipitates, and dislocations in thermomechanically processed (TMP) Alloy 800H samples was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The TMP not only significantly increased the fraction of low-{Sigma} coincidence site lattice boundaries, but also introduced nanoscale precipitates in the matrix and altered the distribution of dislocations. Statistical analysis indicates that the morphology and distribution of grain boundary precipitates were dependent on grain boundary types. The microstructure optimization played a synergistic effect on the significantly increased strength with comparable ductility and enhanced intergranular corrosion resistance and creep-fatigue life compared to the as-received samples.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

The use of Functionalized Nanoparticles as Non-specific Compatibilizers for Polymer Blends

The ability to form blends of polymers offers the opportunity of creating a new class of materials with enhanced properties. In addition to the polymer components, recent advances in nanoengineering have resulted in the development of nanosized inorganic particles that can be used to improve the properties of the blend, such as the flammability and the mechanical properties. While traditional methods using copolymer compatibilizers have been used to strengthen polymer blends, here, we show that the inorganic nanosized filler additive can also serve as a compatibilizer as it can localize to the interface between the polymers. We use experimental and theoretical studies to show the fundamental mechanisms by which inorganic fillers with large aspect ratio and at least one-dimension in the nanometer range, can act as non-specific compatibilizers for polymer blends. We examine a series of nanosized fillers, ranging from nanotubes to nanoclays (with varying aspect ratios) in a model polystyrene (PS)/poly(methylmethacyralate) (PMMA) blend. Using a number of experimental techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning tunneling X-ray microscopy (STXM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) we postulate that the mechanism of compatibilization occurs as a result of the fillers forming in situ grafts with the immiscible polymers. We also use theoretical studies to show that the aspect ratio and the bending energy of the fillers play a key role in the compatibilization process. Our results indicate that the compatibilization is a general phenomenon, which should occur with all large aspect ratio nanofiller additives to polymer blends.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

TSOM Method for Nanoelectronics Dimensional Metrology

Through-focus scanning optical microscopy (TSOM) is a relatively new method that transforms conventional optical microscopes into truly three-dimensional metrology tools for nanoscale to microscale dimensional analysis. TSOM achieves this by acquiring and analyzing a set of optical images collected at various focus positions going through focus (from above-focus to under-focus). The measurement resolution is comparable to what is possible with typical light scatterometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). TSOM method is able to identify nanometer scale difference, type of the difference and magnitude of the difference between two nano/micro scale targets using a conventional optical microscope with visible wavelength illumination. Numerous industries could benefit from the TSOM method--such as the semiconductor industry, MEMS, NEMS, biotechnology, nanomanufacturing, data storage, and photonics. The method is relatively simple and inexpensive, has a high throughput, provides nanoscale sensitivity for 3D measurements and could enable significant savings and yield improvements in nanometrology and nanomanufacturing. Potential applications are demonstrated using experiments and simulations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗