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At least 667 records · Page 37
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Understanding Multilevel Selection May Facilitate Management of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae in Sustainable Agroecosystems

Studies in natural ecosystems show that adaptation of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and other microbial plant symbionts to local environmental conditions can help ameliorate stress and optimize plant fitness. This local adaptation arises from the process of multilevel selection, which is the simultaneous selection of a hierarchy of groups. Studies of multilevel selection in natural ecosystems may inform the creation of sustainable agroecosystems through developing strategies to effectively manage crop microbiomes including AM symbioses. Field experiments show that the species composition of AM fungal communities varies across environmental gradients, and that the biomass of AM fungi and their benefits for plants generally diminish when fertilization and irrigation eliminate nutrient and water limitations. Furthermore, pathogen protection by mycorrhizas is only important in environments prone to plant damage due to pathogens. Consequently, certain agricultural practices may inadvertently select for less beneficial root symbioses because the conventional agricultural practices of fertilization, irrigation, and use of pesticides can make these symbioses superfluous for optimizing crop performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine how multilevel selection influences the flow of matter, energy, and genetic information through mycorrhizal microbiomes in natural and agricultural ecosystems, and propose testable hypotheses about how mycorrhizae may be actively managed to increase agricultural sustainability.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Direct writing of PVBVA/Ti 3 C 2 T x (MXene) triboelectric nanogenerators for energy harvesting and sensing applications

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have gained recognition for their potential to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, making them attractive for applications in healthcare, robotics, and human-device interfaces. However, many TENG devices rely on fluorinated polymers for high charge generation and involve complex fabrication processes, which limit their practicality and environmental sustainability. Here, we developed an eco-friendly composite of poly (vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) (PVBVA) and Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene for extrusion printing onto aluminum foil substrates, enabling the additive manufacturing of TENGs. Experimental results indicate that integrating 5.5 mg mL -1 of MXene (P-MX 5.5) into PVBVA resulted in a power density of 760 mW·m -2 , with simultaneous improvements in open-circuit voltage (129 %) and short-circuit current (250 %), demonstrating enhanced charge transfer efficiency. Beyond aluminum foil-based devices, we further explored the fully printed P-MX 5.5 TENG by utilizing silver ink electrodes, eliminating the need for aluminum foil. This fully printed, flexible TENG was successfully used for real-time human motion sensing, demonstrating its ability to detect activities such as walking, running, knee bending, and jumping. Collectively, our additively manufactured and sustainable PVBVA-MXene TENG composites, including both aluminum-based and fully printed versions, show promise for future energy harvesters, sensors, wearable electronics, healthcare, and robotic applications.

Additive manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tailoring MoS 2 for Small-Molecule Electroreduction: The Role of Metal Doping and Heterostructures

The electrification of chemical transformations central to sustainable fuel production and waste valorization, such as overall water splitting (OWS), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and electrochemical reduction of CO 2 (CO 2 R), presents a powerful opportunity to advance carbon-neutral energy technologies. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), particularly MoS 2 , have emerged as promising electrocatalyst candidates, owing to their abundance, tunable active sites, and defect-rich structures. This review highlights recent progress in leveraging metal doping and heterostructure engineering of MoS 2 to enhance the electrocatalytic activity and selectivity. By compiling insights from experimental studies and density functional theory (DFT) predictions, we examine how defect creation, electronic structure modification, and interface design contribute to improved charge transport and catalytic efficiency. Particular emphasis is placed on rational design principles, synthetic strategies, and operando characterization methods that provide a pathway to understanding and optimizing MoS 2 -based materials. We also discuss the challenges of stability, mechanistic ambiguity, and scaling while outlining opportunities to bridge theory and experiment. Collectively, this review underscores how defect and heterostructure engineering of MoS 2 can accelerate the development of efficient, sustainable electrocatalysts for both fuel generation and waste-to-value generation.

CO2 reduction↗
DOE OSTI2023

Observed impacts of large wind farms on grassland carbon cycling

Deployment of wind energy is an essential renewable energy source that mitigates climate change and reduces air pollution. Over the last several decades, wind energy development has increased worldwide, expanding from ~20 to ~900 GW (gigawatt) during 2001-2022. Nonetheless, researchers have identified unintended consequences of wind energy on microclimate via turbine-altered surface-atmosphere exchanges of energy, momentum, mass, and trace gases. Based on multi-source observations and models, researchers also have drawn some conclusions that wind farms could warm the land surface, especially at night, at regional and continental scales. Consequently, altered microclimates at wind farms may affect vegetation productivity and carbon sequestration, two critically important ecosystem services related to carbon dynamics; however, such potential impacts and driving mechanisms remain poorly understood. Wind energy deployment is increasing globally to meet carbon neutrality goals, with upscaling of onshore wind power capacity projected to grow from 542 GW in 2018 to 1787 and 5044 GW by 2030 and 2050, respectively. Furthermore, increased demand for wind energy deployment may lead to much larger wind farms in open, expansive landscapes. In turn, a large array of geographically clustered wind turbines could collectively modify local microclimate and amplify turbine-atmosphere interactions, which, if large enough, may produce detectable impacts on ecosystem dynamics. Thus, identifying and quantifying the potential impacts of wind farms on carbon-related ecosystem services may facilitate sustainable wind energy development globally.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Regulations for Bat Protection in Mexico's Wind Farms

Wind energy development has expanded the fastest globally among all renewable sources during the last 20 years. However, wind farms have documented adverse impacts on bats, including mortality from collisions with turbine blades and disruptions to habitat and behavior. As the world's sixth most attractive economy for renewables, with 70 operating wind farms, Mexico and its bats now face escalating threats from the country's burgeoning wind industry. Despite this rapid growth, few studies have analyzed Mexico's regulatory framework to prevent, evaluate, and mitigate wind farm effects on bats. In this study, we reviewed Mexican laws and treaties that facilitate wind farm permitting, construction, operation, and decommissioning, and searched for guidelines that specifically address bat conservation. We found eight international pacts that promote wind power adoption along with three relevant articles in Mexico's Constitution. The General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection proved most pertinent for impact management. Supplementary guidelines from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources offer general strategies for evaluating wind farm impacts on bats, but adherence remains voluntary. Given expanding wind power investments across Mexico, we highlight the need for more stringent national standards that require preventative and corrective measures to protect bat populations. Tighter legislation and enforcement offer pathways toward environmentally sustainable wind energy development in Mexico.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Near-Critical CO 2 -Assisted Liquefaction-Extraction of Biomass and Wastes to Fuels and Value-Added Products

With the growing need for sustainable carbon-neutral liquid fuels, low-grade feedstocks, such as lignocellulosic biomass, and municipal solid wastes offer sufficient potential via thermochemical conversion. But the existing thermochemical means are limited in feed flexibility and scalability and require significant processing (energy and costs) of the intermediates. Bio-oil/biocrude intermediate from fast pyrolysis and hydrothermal techniques is impeded by issues of stability and oxygen content, along with hydrotreating viability. To address these issues, we investigated a novel pathway of near-critical CO 2 -assisted integrated liquefaction-extraction (NILE) technology in conceptual aspects for conversion of various biomass and municipal solid wastes into high-quality biocrude with high compatibility for co-hydrotreating with traditional fossil crude for liquid fuel needs in power and transportation sectors. Using supercritical CO 2 for dewatering wet feedstocks, for liquefaction, and extraction for lighter biocrude has produced biocrude with lower oxygen content by 50%, lowered metal content by 90%, stable viscosity, low acidity, and good aging stability compared to that produced from hydrothermal liquefaction along with higher hydrotreating and co-hydrotreating compatibility. Hydrotreating of the biocrude extract from supercritical CO 2 extraction also was feasible with no detected coke deposition, an oxygen content of 1%, and catalyst deactivation. Here, the validation and capabilities of the NILE concept urge for its further development to obtain sustainable liquid fuels with lower greenhouse gas emissions and costs.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS2008

Sustainable Human Presence on the Moon using In Situ Resources

New capabilities, technologies and infrastructure must be developed to enable a sustained human presence on the moon and beyond. The key to having this permanent presence is the utilization of in situ resources. To this end, NASA is investigating how in situ resources can be utilized to improve mission success by reducing up-mass, improving safety, reducing risk, and bringing down costs for the overall mission. To ensure that this capability is available when needed, technology development is required now. NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is supporting this endeavor, along with other NASA centers, by exploring how lunar regolith can be mined for uses such as construction, life support, propulsion, power, and fabrication. Efforts at MSFC include development of lunar regolith simulant for hardware testing and development, extraction of oxygen and other materials from the lunar regolith, production of parts and tools on the moon from local materials or from provisioned feedstocks, and capabilities to show that produced parts are "ready for use". This paper discusses the lunar regolith, how the regolith is being replicated in the development of simulants and possible uses of the regolith.

McLemore, Carol A.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Impact of Sugarcane Cultivation on C Cycling in Southeastern United States Following Conversion From Grazed Pastures

ABSTRACT The expansion of sugarcane, a tropical high‐yielding feedstock, will likely reshape the Southeastern United States (SE US) bioenergy landscape. However, the sustainability of sugarcane, particularly as it displaces grazed pastures, is highly uncertain. Here, we investigated how pasture conversion to sugarcane in subtropical Florida impacts net ecosystem CO 2 exchange (NEE) and net ecosystem carbon (C) balance (NECB). Measurements were made over three full growth cycles (> 3 years) in sugarcane—plant cane, PC; first ratoon cane, FRC; second ratoon cane, SRC—and in improved (IM) and semi‐native (SN) pastures, which make up ca. 37% of agricultural land in the region. Immediately following conversion, PC was a stronger net source of CO 2 than pastures, indicating the importance of CO 2 losses related to land disturbance. Sugarcane, however, shifted to a strong net sink of CO 2 after first regrowth, and overall sugarcane was a stronger net CO 2 sink than pastures. Both stand age and low water availability during cane emergence and tillering substantially decreased its potential gross CO 2 uptake. Accounting for all C gains and removals (i.e., NECB), greater frequency of burn events and repeated harvest increased removals and overall made sugarcane a stronger C source relative to pastures despite substantial C inputs from the previous land use and a stronger CO 2 sink strength. Time since conversion substantially reduced C losses from sugarcane, and the NECB of SRC was similar to that of IM pasture but lower than that of SN pasture, indicating a rapid shift in the NECB of cane. We conclude that the C‐balance implications following conversion will depend on the proportion of IM versus SN pastures converted to sugarcane. Furthermore, our findings suggest that no‐burn harvest management strategies will be critical to the development of a sustainable bioenergy landscape in SE US.

Gomez‐Casanovas, Nuria↗
DOE OSTI2024

Copper-Doped Tin Oxides Supported on Mesoporous Carbon Xerogel for Boosting the Electrochemical Reduction of CO 2 to Formate in Bicarbonate Solution Coupled with CO 2

The electrochemical reduction of CO 2 into valuable products at mild reaction conditions and using cheap renewable electrical energy are goals to sustain a low-carbon economy. Among the various CO 2 reduction reaction products, formic acid (FA) has received significant attention because of its low Gibbs free energy input requirement and the simple reduction reaction involving the transfer of 2 electrons and 2 protons. In this work, a copper-doped tin oxide catalyst supported on a mesoporous carbon xerogel was shown to enhance the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to formate in a bicarbonate solution coupled with CO 2 . We observed that the synergistic SnCu oxides enhance the selectivity toward formate from 58.6% for Sn oxide and 28.7% for Cu oxide to over 71.2% for the SnCu oxides. The observed rate of formate production with SnCu oxide was 2.8 times higher compared to the rate of Cu oxide and about 1.5 times higher than with the Sn oxide catalyst. Our results reveal that selectivity for formate comes partly from the electrolysis of the bicarbonate solution and partly from continuous CO 2 gas purged into the solution. The contribution from the electrolysis of bicarbonate solution ranges from 15% to 40% when the concentration of bicarbonate solution ranges from 100 mM to 1 M. Chronoamperometric measurements for stability revealed that Cu oxide and Sn oxide showed stable current density for less than 30 h while under the same conditions, the stable current density was observed for more than 50 h with SnCu oxide catalyst. Additionally, the selectivity toward formate increased by 6% when the reactor pressure was increased from near ambient pressure to 4 psig. Our lab-scale electrochemical cell with SnCu oxide supported on the mesoporous carbon xerogel enhances the CO 2 solubility, minimizes the precipitation of salts that can degrade the catalytic performance, and suppresses the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction, demonstrating the feasibility of using our catalyst and system for the electrochemical conversion of CO 2 into formate with high selectivity, productivity, and stability. Furthermore, this could have significant implications for the mitigation of CO 2 emissions and the development of a sustainable chemical industry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Comparative Life Cycle Analysis of Scalable Single-Junction and Tandem Perovskite Solar Cell (PSC) Systems

Efficient, low-cost solar cells based upon perovskites have the potential to transform the US and global energy portfolio and improve energy security if they can be manufactured in an environmentally sustainable manner. However, previous life cycle analyses (LCA) of perovskite solar cells (PSC) used lab recipes to project the environmental impact of industrial PSC production – using materials and processes that may not be representative of industrial productions due to high material waste and complex synthesis – and such studies were limited to a few single-junction technologies. Thus, the goal of this project was threefold: a) to review the most promising for industrial production single-junction and tandem PSC technologies, b) to build life-cycle materials inventories that reflect scalable production of these technologies, and c) to conduct comprehensive life-cycle analysis of these technologies and compare their environmental impact with those of established commercial technologies. In response, this project identified challenges for fabrication transitioning from laboratory to sustainable industrial production, developed life-cycle inventory (LCI) data for scaling to industrial production four promising single-junction and three tandem PSC systems and produced life-cycle-investigations using, as metrics, a complete spectrum of energy, environmental and ecological impact indicators. Special focus was given to the use of lead, silver and indium in PSC. The project used the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology as standardized by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), ISO standards 14040 and 14044, and the International Energy Agency PVPS Task 12 LCA guidelines. LCA allows the calculation of a number of energy and environmental and impact categories, including energy cumulative energy demand (CED), global warming potential (GWP), human toxicity potential (HTP), eco-toxicity potential (ETP), abiotic resource depletion potential (ADP), acidification potential (AP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), photochemical oxidation potential (POP), eutrophication potential (EP). In addition to those, we calculated the Energy Pay-Back Time (EPBT) and the Energy Return On Investment (EROI). We provide LCA impacts for complete perovskite PV systems – including balance of system components – installed at three irradiation levels and considering reference and future potential module efficiencies. Finally, a sensitivity analysis on perovskite lifetime has been performed, considering 10, 20 and 30 years. Contribution analysis of the impacts of each material and layer of PSC shows, that the use of Pb in metalorganic PSC does not result in significant environmental impacts as the major contributions to environmental indicators arise from the use of Ag and encapsulation materials. Solution-based PSC manufacturing was found to be less impactful to the environment than vapor-based fabrication, and roll-to-roll (RtR) printing uses less energy and generates the lowest emissions. PSC produced with RtR manufacturing could reach the same Energy Return on Energy Investment (EROI) as that of crystalline-Si PV within 12 years of life, whereas the most energy demanding spray coating on rigid substrates, would require a 20-yr life to match the EROI of 30-yr lasting silicon PV. This work lays the foundation for sustainability investigations in a comparative context of large-scale production and deployment of PSC. The results of this project have the potential to have a significant impact on the future of PV manufacturing, by providing industry, policy-makers, and academia with insights necessary to choose which, if any, lead-based solar cell life cycles are environmentally sustainable.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Chapter 3: New Developments on Ionic Liquid-Tolerant Microorganisms Leading Toward a More Sustainable Biorefinery

The growing concerns about climate change and energy security are driving the development of bio-based technologies to produce renewable liquid fuels and chemicals. Ionic liquids (ILs) have demonstrated to be promising solvents to pretreat lignocellulosic residues, promoting efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic carbohydrates into sugars, which can be further used by microorganisms to produce biofuels and other value-added chemicals. Despite their unique properties to effectively deconstruct plant cell walls, ILs show strong interactions with the pretreated biomass, and their presence is often inhibitory to cellulolytic enzymes and microorganisms. The most advanced biorefinery concepts based on IL pretreatments focus on the development of more biocompatible ILs and more robust microbial strains with higher tolerance to ILs. This chapter provides an overview and a discussion over the main efforts performed on the screening and development of IL-tolerant microbial strains, as well as in more biocompatible IL pretreatment methods. These early research advancements in this field offer a baseline and a platform for future research with the goal of improving the sustainability and economic viability of IL pretreatment-based biorefineries.

bioconversion↗
DOE OSTI2026

Colloidal Synthesis of Palladium Nanocluster‐Decorated Cs 3 Sb 2 Cl 9 Perovskite Heterostructural Nanorods for Enhanced CO 2 Photoreduction

Developing efficient and sustainable photocatalysts for CO 2 reduction remains a significant challenge, particularly with environmentally benign materials. Here, in this study, we report the first one-step synthesis of metal–lead-free perovskite heterostructural nanocrystals by decorating Cs 3 Sb 2 Cl 9 perovskite nanorods with size-controlled Pd nanoclusters via a one-step hot-injection method. The resulting Pd-Cs 3 Sb 2 Cl 9 heteronanorods (HNRs) exhibit strong interfacial electronic coupling, enhanced charge separation, and excellent colloidal stability. Transient absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations reveal a built-in electric field that drives directional electron transfer from the perovskite host to the Pd domains. Under UV irradiation, the Pd-Cs 3 Sb 2 Cl 9 HNRs demonstrate excellent CO 2 photoreduction activity with high CH 4 selectivity, achieving a record apparent quantum yield (AQY) of 2.62% among halide perovskite nanocrystal-based systems with a large electronic yield of 689.3 ± 12.2 µmol·g cat −1 . In situ spectroscopic monitoring and Gibbs free energy analysis further unveil a Pd-facilitated reaction pathway involving stabilization of key intermediates. This work introduces a new class of lead-free perovskite-based heterostructures through a facile one-step synthesis strategy and offers a new design principle for next-generation photocatalysts for solar fuel production.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Unlocking Electrostrain in Plastically Deformed Barium Titanate

Achieving substantial electrostrain alongside a large effective piezoelectric strain coefficient (d 33 *) in piezoelectric materials remains a formidable challenge for advanced actuator applications. Here, in this work, a straightforward approach to enhance these properties by strategically designing the domain structure and controlling the domain switching through the introduction of arrays of ordered {100}<100> dislocations is proposed. This dislocation engineering yields an intrinsic lock-in steady–state electrostrain of 0.69% at a low field of 10 kV cm -1 without external stress and an output strain energy density of 5.24 J cm -3 in single-crystal BaTiO 3 , outperforming the benchmark piezoceramics and relaxor ferroelectric single-crystals. Additionally, applying a compression stress of 6 MPa fully unlocks electrostrains exceeding 1%, yielding a remarkable d 33 * value over 10 000 pm V -1 and achieving a record-high strain energy density of 11.67 J cm -3 . Optical and transmission electron microscopy, paired with laboratory and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, is employed to rationalize the observed electrostrain. Phase-field simulations further elucidate the impact of charged dislocations on domain nucleation and domain switching. These findings present an effective and sustainable strategy for developing high-performance, lead-free piezoelectric materials without the need for additional chemical elements, offering immense potential for actuator technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Beneficial Effect of Iron in Aluminum-Cerium-Based Cast Alloys

Iron (Fe) has been considered a major impurity since it is detrimental to the mechanical properties of many cast aluminum alloys due to the formation of Fe-containing brittle intermetallic phases. Fe is found naturally as an impurity in bauxite ore, resulting in Fe contamination of aluminum alloys with increasing contamination from current recycling practices. The Al–Ce–Fe system was investigated using CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) modeling and experimental casting techniques. It was found that additions of Fe to the Al–Ce system are beneficial to the strength (slightly) and ductility (significantly) of the ternary alloys, which is attributed to the formation of fine metastable Al 8 CeFe 2 phase with aggregate morphology and equilibrium Al 10 CeFe 2 phase, suppressing coarse proeutectic Al 11 Ce 3 phase in near-eutectic Al–Ce alloys. Heat treatment study showed that the metastable Al 8 CeFe 2 phase transforms to predicted equilibrium Al 10 CeFe 2 phase at 500 °C, with essentially no intermetallic or grain coarsening; thus, the alloy displayed excellent property retention. The Al–Ce–Fe alloy system offers opportunities for sustainable, recyclable alloy development using low-cost Fe and low-cost cerium (a byproduct of rare-earth extraction).

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Microwave-assisted depolymerization of PET over heterogeneous catalysts

The accumulation of plastic waste in the environment is rising and poses a significant environmental and health threat. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), used mainly in single-use plastic bottles, accounts for a substantial fraction of this waste. The currently employed recycling strategies are inadequate to deal with the global plastic waste problem. PET glycolysis is a promising depolymerization method but has mainly been conducted using homogeneous catalysts; developing active and sustainable catalysts, and more energy-efficient processes remain challenges. Here, in this work, we implement microwave heating in PET glycolysis and identify ZnO as an excellent heterogeneous catalyst. We demonstrate the influence of ZnO's particle size and facet and hydrogen bonding on its activity. Finally, we demonstrate excellent performance for real-world post-consumer PET waste deconstruction with rapid depolymerization into bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET), achieving > 95% yields in less than 10 min. Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment also indicates that BHET produced by ZnO-catalyzed glycolysis has lower global warming potential than the petrochemical-based production and homogeneously-catalyzed glycolysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mechanical and self-healing behavior of low carbon engineered cementitious composites reinforced with PP-fibers

While the ultrahigh tensile ductility and superior durability of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) have been demonstrated, the relatively high energy and carbon intensity, as well as high material cost present potential impediments to broader ECC applications. The objective of this research is to develop a more sustainable and cost-effective ECC. The ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and the commonly used PVA fiber in conventional ECC were replaced by limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) and polypropylene (PP) fiber, respectively. The ECC compressive strength, tensile stress-strain relationship, and microcrack self-healing behavior were studied at three water to binder ratios (0.3, 0.2, 0.16). The novel LC3-PP-ECC showed a tensile strain capacity of greater than 6% and an intrinsically tight crack width below 82 μm when loaded to 1% tensile strain. Further, the LC3-PP-ECC demonstrated efficient recovery of the composite tensile ductility and ultimate tensile strength through self-healing. Compared to typical ECC made with OPC and PVA fiber, the material cost, embodied energy and carbon footprint of LC3-PP-ECC are reduced by 61%, 45%, and 48%, respectively. Here, the superior mechanical properties and durability combined with the low environmental impact and cost for material production promote LC3-PP-ECC as a sustainable material for structural and non-structural applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Intramolecular redox-site interplay effect on organic electrode for fast-charging and wide-temperature-range sodium-ion batteries

Organic electrode materials (OEMs) hold great promise for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their exceptional structural tunability and sustainability. However, the development of OEMs with fast redox kinetics and robust structural integrity remains challenging, especially over a wide temperature range. Herein, we propose an effective strategy to address both sluggish redox kinetics and insufficient structural stability in OEMs by constructing an intramolecular redox-site interplay effect. This effect is demonstrated by two hexaazatrinaphthylene-carboxylate isomers, namely HATN-m-COONa and HATN-o-COONa. Systematic experimental and computational results jointly reveal the intramolecular redox-site interplay effect in HATN-o-COONa decreases the rigid π-π stacking interactions and minimizes the skeleton structural distortion, offering faster redox kinetics and enhanced structural integrity in HATN-o-COONa compared to HATN-m-COONa (without intramolecular redox-site interplay effect). Consequently, HATN-o-COONa exhibits superior rate performance (258 mA h g−1 at 10 A g−1) and enhanced cycle stability (93% after 1000 cycles at 5 A g−1) compared to HATN-m-COONa. More importantly, HATN-o-COONa demonstrates exceptional wide-temperature adaptability, ranging from -40 °C (315 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1) to 60 oC (343 mAh g-1 at 5 A g-1). This work establishes a promising design rationale for developing fast-charging and wide-temperature adaptable OEMs for energy storage systems.

Gao, Yawei [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000225672853)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Decarbonization of the Chemical Industry Through Electrification: Barriers and Opportunities

The chemical industry is a major source of economic productivity and employment globally and among the top 3 industrial sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, along with steel and cement. As global demand for chemical products continues to grow, there is an urgency to develop and deploy sustainable chemical production pathways and to reconsider continued investment in current emission-intensive production technologies. This perspective describes the challenges and opportunities to decarbonize the chemical industry via electrification powered by low-carbon electricity supply, both in the near term and long term, and it discusses four technological pathways ranging from the more mature direct substitution of heat with electricity and use of hydrogen to technologically less mature, yet potentially more selective, approaches based on electrochemistry and plasma. Finally, we highlight the key elements of integrating an electrified industrial process with the power sector to leverage process flexibility to reduce energy costs of chemical production and provide valuable power grid support services. Unlocking such plant-to-grid coordination and the four electrification pathways has significant potential to facilitate rapid and deep decarbonization of the chemical industry sector.

chemical synthesis↗