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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 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Frequency and Time Domain Nuclear-Electronic Orbital Equation-of-Motion Coupled Cluster Methods: Combination Bands and Electronic-Protonic Double Excitations

The accurate description of excited vibronic states is important for modeling a wide range of photoinduced processes. The nuclear-electronic orbital (NEO) approach, which treats specified protons on the same level as the electrons, can describe excited electronic-protonic states. Herein the multicomponent equation-of-motion coupled cluster with singles and doubles (NEO-EOM-CCSD) method and its time-domain counterpart, TD-NEO-EOM-CCSD, are developed and implemented. The application of these methods to the HCN molecule highlights their capabilities. These methods predict qualitatively reasonable energies and intensities for a combination band corresponding to simultaneous excitation of two vibrational modes, as well as an overtone. These methods also describe states with double excitation character, such as excited electronic-protonic states corresponding to the simultaneous excitation of an electron and a proton. The ability of the NEO-EOM-CCSD method and its time-dependent counterpart to describe combination bands, overtones, and double excitations will enable a wide range of photochemical applications.

Pavosevic, Fabijan↗
DOE OSTI2019

Energetics at the Surface: Direct Optical Mapping of Core and Surface Electronic Structure in CdSe Quantum Dots Using Broadband Electronic Sum Frequency Generation Microspectroscopy

Understanding and controlling the electronic structure of nanomaterials is the key to tailoring their use in a wide range of practical applications. Despite this need, many important electronic states are invisible to conventional optical measurements and are typically identified indirectly based on their inferred impact on luminescence properties. This is especially common and important in the study of nanomaterial surfaces and their associated defects. Surface trap states play a crucial role in photophysical processes yet remain remarkably poorly understood. In this work we demonstrate for the first time that broadband electronic sum frequency generation (eSFG) microspectroscopy can directly map the optically bright and dark states of nanoparticles, including the elusive below gap states. This new approach is applied to model cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs), where the energies of surface trap states have eluded direct optical characterization for decades. Our eSFG measurements show clear signatures of electronic transitions both above the band gap, which we assign to previously reported one- and two-photon transitions associated with the CdSe core, as well as broad spectral signatures below the band gap that are attributed to surface states. In addition to the core states, this analysis reveals two distinct distributions of below gap states, providing the first direct optical measurement of both shallow and deep surface states on this system. Lastly, chemical modification of the surfaces via oxidation results in the relative increase in the signals originating from the surface states. Overall, our eSFG experiments provide an avenue to directly map the entirety of the QD core and surface electronic structure, which is expected to open up opportunities to study how these materials are grown in situ and how surface states can be controlled to tune functionality.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Mechanisms of Two-Electron and Four-Electron Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Reactions at Nitrogen-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide

Doped carbon-based systems have been extensively studied over the past decade as active electrocatalysts for both the two-electron (2e – ) and four-electron (4e – ) oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs). However, the mechanisms for ORR are generally poorly understood. Here, we report an extensive experimental and first-principles theoretical study of the ORR at nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NrGO). We synthesize three distinct NrGO catalysts and investigate their chemical and structural properties in detail via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared and Raman spectroscopies, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and thin-film electrical conductivity. ORR experiments include the pH dependences of 2e – versus 4e – ORR selectivity, ORR onset potentials, Tafel slopes, and H/D kinetic isotope effects. These experiments show very different ORR behavior for the three catalysts, in terms of both selectivity and the underlying mechanism, which proceeds either via coupled proton–electron transfers (CPETs) or non-CPETs. Reasonable structural models developed from density functional theory rationalize this behavior. The key determinant between CPET vs non-CPET mechanisms is the electron density at the Fermi level under operating ORR conditions. Regardless of the reaction mechanism or electrolyte pH, however, we identify the ORR active sites as sp 2 carbons that are located next to oxide regions. This assignment highlights the importance of oxygen functional groups, while details of (modest) N-doping may still affect the overall catalytic activity, and likely also the selectivity, by modifying the general chemical environment around the active site.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Radicals as Exceptional Electron-Withdrawing Groups: Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution of Halophenols Via Homolysis-Enabled Electronic Activation

While heteroatom-centered radicals are understood to be highly electrophilic, their ability to serve as transient electron-withdrawing groups and facilitate polar reactions at distal sites has not been extensively developed. Here, we report a new strategy for the electronic activation of halophenols, wherein generation of a phenoxyl radical via formal homolysis of the aryl O-H bond enables direct nucleophilic aromatic substitution of the halide with carboxylate nucleophiles under mild conditions. Pulse radiolysis and transient absorption studies reveal that the neutral oxygen radical (O • ) is indeed an extraor-dinarily strong electron-withdrawing group [σ p - (O • ) = 2.79 vs. σ p - (NO 2 ) = 1.27]. Additional mechanistic and computational studies indicate that the key phenoxyl intermediate serves as an open-shell electron-withdrawing group in these reactions, lowering the barrier for nucleophilic substitution by more than 20 kcal/mol relative to the closed-shell phenol form of the substrate. Finally, by using radicals as transient activating groups, this homolysis-enabled electronic activation strategy provides a powerful platform to expand the scope of nucleophile-electrophile couplings and enable previously challenging transformations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Probing the Structural Evolution of the Hydrated Electron in Water Cluster Anions (H 2 O) n – , n ≤ 200, by Electronic Absorption Spectroscopy

Electronic absorption spectra of water cluster anions (H 2 O) n - , n ≤ 200, at T = 80 K are obtained by photodissociation spectroscopy and compared with simulations from literature and experimental data for bulk hydrated electrons. Two almost isoenergetic electron binding motifs are seen for cluster sizes 20 ≤ n ≤ 40, which are assigned to surface and partially embedded isomers. With increasing cluster size, the surface isomer becomes less populated, and for n ≥ 50, the partially embedded isomer prevails. The absorption shifts to the blue, reaching a plateau at n ≈ 100. In this size range, the absorption spectrum is similar to that of the bulk hydrated electron but is slightly red-shifted; spectral moment analysis indicates that these clusters are reasonable model systems for hydrated electrons near the liquid-vacuum interface.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

Comparison of the One-electron Oxidations of CO-Bridged vs Unbridged Bimetallic Complexes: Electron-transfer Chemistry of Os2Cp2(CO)4 and Os2Cp*2(μ-CO)2(CO)2 (Cp = η5-C5H5, Cp* = η5-C5Me5)

The one-electron oxidations of two dimers of half-sandwich osmium carbonyl complexes have been examined by electrochemistry, spectro-electrochemistry, and computational methods. The all-terminal carbonyl complex Os2Cp2(CO)4 (1, Cp = η5-C5H5) undergoes a reversible one-electron anodic reaction at E1/2 = 0.41 V vs ferrocene in CH2Cl2/0.05 M [NBu4][B(C6F5)4], giving a rare example of a metal-metal bonded radical cation unsupported by bridging ligands. The IR spectrum of 1+ is consistent with an approximately 1:1 mixture of anti and gauche structures for the 33 e- radical cation in which it has retained all-terminal bonding of the CO ligands. DFT calculations, including orbital-occupancy-perturbed Mayer bond-order analyses, show that the HOMOs of anti-1 and gauche-1 are metal-ligand delocalized. Removal of an electron from 1 has very little effect on the Os-Os bond order, accounting for the resistance of 1+ to heterolytic cleavage. The Os-Os bond distance is calculated to decrease by 0.10 Å and 0.06 Å as a consequence of one-electron oxidation of anti-1 and gauche-1, respectively. The CO-bridged complex Os2Cp*2(μ-CO)2(CO)2 (Cp* = η5-C5Me5), trans-2, undergoes a more facile oxidation, E1/2 = - 0.11 V, giving a persistent radical cation shown by solution IR analysis to preserve its bridged-carbonyl structure. However, ESR analysis of frozen solutions of 2+ is interpreted in terms of the presence of two isomers, most likely anti-2+ and trans-2+, at low temperature. Calculations show that the HOMO of trans-2 is highly delocalized over the metal-ligand framework, with the bridging carbonyls accounting for about half of the orbital makeup. The Os-Os bond order again changes very little with removal of an electron, and the Os-Os bond length actually undergoes minor shortening. Calculations suggest that the second isomer of 2+ has both the trans CO-bridged and the anti all-terminal CO structures. DRL and WEG acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation under grant CHE-0808909. K-WH acknowledges financial support from KAUST. RMB thanks the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Biosciences and Geosciences for support. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a multiprogram national laboratory operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy. We thank Dr. S. I. Gorelsky for the discussion on the OOP analysis.

bonding↗
DOE OSTI2023

Direct imaging of electron density with a scanning transmission electron microscope

Abstract Recent studies of secondary electron (SE) emission in scanning transmission electron microscopes suggest that material’s properties such as electrical conductivity, connectivity, and work function can be probed with atomic scale resolution using a technique known as secondary electron e-beam-induced current (SEEBIC). Here, we apply the SEEBIC imaging technique to a stacked 2D heterostructure device to reveal the spatially resolved electron density of an encapsulated WSe 2 layer. We find that the double Se lattice site shows higher emission than the W site, which is at odds with first-principles modelling of valence ionization of an isolated WSe 2 cluster. These results illustrate that atomic level SEEBIC contrast within a single material is possible and that an enhanced understanding of atomic scale SE emission is required to account for the observed contrast. In turn, this suggests that, in the future, subtle information about interlayer bonding and the effect on electron orbitals could be directly revealed with this technique.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Exploring electron-beam induced modifications of materials with machine-learning assisted high temporal resolution electron microscopy

Directed atomic fabrication using an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) opens new pathways for atomic engineering of functional materials. In this approach, the electron beam is used to actively alter the atomic structure through electron beam induced irradiation processes. One of the impediments that has limited widespread use thus far has been the ability to understand the fundamental mechanisms of atomic transformation pathways at high spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we develop a workflow for obtaining and analyzing high-speed spiral scan STEM data, up to 100 fps, to track the atomic fabrication process during nanopore milling in monolayer MoS 2 . An automated feedback-controlled electron beam positioning system combined with deep convolution neural network (DCNN) was used to decipher fast but low signal-to-noise datasets and classify time-resolved atom positions and nature of their evolving atomic defect configurations. Through this automated decoding, the initial atomic disordering and reordering processes leading to nanopore formation was able to be studied across various timescales. Using these experimental workflows a greater degree of speed and information can be extracted from small datasets without compromising spatial resolution. This approach can be adapted to other 2D materials systems to gain further insights into the defect formation necessary to inform future automated fabrication techniques utilizing the STEM electron beam.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electronic nature of the pseudogap in electron-doped Sr 2 IrO 4

In high-temperature ($T_c$) cuprate superconductors, many exotic phenomena are rooted in the enigmatic pseudogap state, which has been interpreted as consisting of preformed Cooper pairs or competing orders or a combination thereof. Observation of pseudogap phenomenologically in electron-doped Sr 2 IrO 4 —the 5d electron counterpart of the cuprates, has spurred intense interest in the strontium iridates as a testbed for exploring the exotic physics of the cuprates. Here, we examine the pseudogap state of electron-doped Sr 2 IrO 4 by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and parallel theoretical modeling. Our analysis demonstrates that the pseudogap state of Sr 2 IrO 4 appears without breaking the particle–hole symmetry or inducing spectral broadening which are telltale signatures of competing orders in the cuprates. We find quasiparticle dispersion and its temperature dependence in the pseudogap state of Sr 2 IrO 4 to point to an electronic order with a zero scattering wave vector and limited correlation length. Particle–hole symmetric preformed Cooper pairs are discussed as a viable mechanism for such an electronic order. The potential roles of incommensurate density waves are also discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Computational simulation and interpretation of the low-lying excited electronic states and electronic spectrum of thioanisole

Three singlet states, namely a closed-shell ground state and two excited states with 1 ππ* and 1 nσ* character, have been suggested to be responsible for the radiationless decay or photochemical reaction of photoexcited thioanisole. The correct interpretation of the electronic spectrum is critical for understanding the character of these low-lying excited states, but the experimental spectrum is yet to be fully interpreted. In the work reported here, we investigated the nature of those three states and a fourth singlet state of thioanisole using electronic structure calculations by multireference perturbation theory, by completely-renormalized equation-of-motion coupled cluster theory with single and double excitations and noniterative inclusion of connected triples (CR-EOM-CCSD(T)), and by linear-response time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). We clarified the assignment of the electronic spectrum by simulating it using a normal-mode sampling approach combined with TDDFT in the Tamm–Dancoff approximation (TDA). The understanding of the electronic states and of the accuracy of the electronic structure methods lays the foundation of our future work of constructing potential energy surfaces.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Watching the dynamics of electrons and atoms at work in solar energy conversion

The photochemical reactions performed by transition metal complexes have been proposed as viable routes towards solar energy conversion and storage into other forms that can be conveniently used in our everyday applications. In order to develop efficient materials, it is necessary to identify, characterize and optimize the elementary steps of the entire process on the atomic scale. To this end, we have studied the photoinduced electronic and structural dynamics in two heterobimetallic ruthenium–cobalt dyads, which belong to the large family of donor–bridge–acceptor systems. Using a combination of ultrafast optical and X-ray absorption spectroscopies, we can clock the light-driven electron transfer processes with element and spin sensitivity. In addition, the changes in local structure around the two metal centers are monitored. These experiments show that the nature of the connecting bridge is decisive for controlling the forward and the backward electron transfer rates, a result supported by quantum chemistry calculations. More generally, this work illustrates how ultrafast optical and X-ray techniques can disentangle the influence of spin, electronic and nuclear factors on the intramolecular electron transfer process. Finally, some implications for further improving the design of bridged sensitizer-catalysts utilizing the presented methodology are outlined.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

A valence balanced rule for discovery of 18-electron half-Heuslers with defects

Using first-principles DFT we systematically investigate the thermodynamic stability and off-stoichiometry in 108 nominal 19-electron half-Heusler (hH) compounds. We demonstrate unambiguously that considering a cation deficiency towards the off-stoichiometric valence balanced, VEC = 18 composition is necessary for explaining the stability of all previously reported nominal VEC = 19 compounds. This is understandable in terms of an energy benefit from valence balance considering the valence of each atom using Zintl chemistry that offsets the energy penalty of forming defects in nearly all cases. Thus, we propose a valence balanced rule to understand the ground state stability of half-Heuslers irrespective of stoichiometry and nominal electron count (8, 18 or 19). Using this generalized rule we (a) predict 16 previously unreported nominal 19-electron XYZ half-Heuslers and (b) rationalize the reports of giant off-stoichiometries in compounds such as Ti (1–x) NiSb which has been known for over 50 years. Of the 16 new compounds predicted here, Ti (1–x) PtSb was synthesized and the half-Heusler phase confirmed through X-ray studies. Here, the flexibility in stoichiometry of the half-Heusler systems to attain a stable valence balanced composition by accommodating large defect concentrations opens up multiple dimensions for discovery of multi-component defective half-Heuslers based on intrinsic and extrinsic defects which compensate for the nominally non-18-electron count of the structure.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Resolving Electron Injection from Singlet Fission-Borne Triplets into Mesoporous Transparent Conducting Oxides

Photoinduced electron transfer from a molecular chromophore into mesoporous metal oxide substrates occurs efficiently from both singlet and triplet excited states for traditional metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) dyes. All organic molecules that undergo singlet fission (SF), the process of generating two triplet excitons with photoexcitation of one singlet exciton, offers a promising method of generating two charges per one absorbed photon. However, the singlet-triplet energy balance required to drive SF often places the driving force for triplet electron injection into metal oxides too low. As such, the dynamics of singlet vs. triplet electron transfer for SF in dye-sensitized solar cell configurations has not been elucidated. Here, we use applied bias transient absorption spectroscopy to modulate the driving force for triplet electron transfer from an anthradithiophene-based SF chromophore (ADT-COOH) adsorbed to mesoporous indium tin oxide (nanoITO).

CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SU↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electronic and optical properties of Fe, Pd, and Ti studied by reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy

We have studied the electronic and optical properties of Fe, Pd, and Ti by reflection electron energy-loss spectroscopy (REELS). REELS spectra recorded for primary energies in the range from 300 eV to 10 keV were corrected for multiple inelastically scattered electrons to determine the effective inelastic-scattering cross section. The dielectric functions and optical properties were determined by comparing the experimental inelastic-electron scattering cross section with a simulated cross section calculated within the semi-classical dielectric response model in which the only input is Im(−1/ε) by using the QUEELS-ε(k,ω)-REELS software package. The complex dielectric functions ε(k,ω), in the 0–100 eV energy range, for Fe, Pd, and Ti were determined from the derived Im(−1/ε) by Kramers-Kronig transformation and then the refractive index n and extinction coefficient k. The validity of the applied model was previously tested and found to give consistent results when applied to REELS spectra at energies between 300 and 1000 eV taken at widely different experimental geometries. In the present paper, we provide, for the first time, a further test on its validity and find that the model also gives consistent results when applied to REELS spectra in the full range of primary electron energies from 300 eV to 10000 eV. This gives confidence in the validity of the applied method.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Integral elastic, electronic-state, ionization, and total cross sections for electron scattering with furfural

We report absolute experimental integral cross sections (ICSs) for electron impact excitation of bands of electronic-states in furfural, for incident electron energies in the range 20–250 eV. Wherever possible, those results are compared to corresponding excitation cross sections in the structurally similar species furan, as previously reported by da Costa et al. [Phys. Rev. A 85, 062706 (2012)] and Regeta and Allan [Phys. Rev. A 91, 012707 (2015)]. Generally, very good agreement is found. In addition, ICSs calculated with our independent atom model (IAM) with screening corrected additivity rule (SCAR) formalism, extended to account for interference (I) terms that arise due to the multi-centre nature of the scattering problem, are also reported. The sum of those ICSs gives the IAM-SCAR+I total cross section for electron–furfural scattering. Where possible, those calculated IAM-SCAR+I ICS results are compared against corresponding results from the present measurements with an acceptable level of accord being obtained. Similarly, but only for the band I and band II excited electronic states, we also present results from our Schwinger multichannel method with pseudopotentials calculations. Those results are found to be in good qualitative accord with the present experimental ICSs. Finally, with a view to assembling a complete cross section data base for furfural, some binary-encounter-Bethe-level total ionization cross sections for this collision system are presented.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

The build-up of energetic electrons triggering electron cyclotron emission bursts due to a magnetohydrodynamic mode at the edge of tokamaks

Intense bursts of electron cyclotron emission (ECE) triggered by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities such as edge localized modes (ELMs) have been observed on many tokamaks. On the DIII-D tokamak, it is found that an MHD mode is observed to trigger the ECE bursts in the low collisionality regime at the plasma edge. ORBIT-code simulations have shown that energetic electrons build up due to an interaction between barely trapped electrons with an MHD mode (f = 50 kHz for current case). The energetic tail of the electron distribution function develops a bump within several microseconds for this collisionless case. This behavior depends on the competition between the perturbing MHD mode and slowing down and pitch angle scattering due to collisions. As a result, for typical DIII-D parameters, the calculated ECE radiation transport predicted by ORBIT is in excellent agreement with ECE measurements, clarifying the electron dynamics of the ECE bursts for the first time.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗