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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 739 records · Page 41
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Direct Observation of Sink-Dependent Defect Evolution in Nanocrystalline Iron under Irradiation

Crystal defects generated during irradiation can result in severe changes in morphology and an overall degradation of mechanical properties in a given material. Nanomaterials have been proposed as radiation damage tolerant materials, due to the hypothesis that defect density decreases with grain size refinement due to the increase in grain boundary surface area. The lower defect density should arise from grain boundary-point defect absorption and enhancement of interstitial-vacancy annihilation. In this study, low energy helium ion irradiation on free-standing iron thin films were performed at 573 K. Interstitial loops of a 0 /2 [111] Burgers vector were directly observed as a result of the displacement damage. Loop density trends with grain size demonstrated an increase in the nanocrystalline (<100 nm) regime, but scattered behavior in the transition from the nanocrystalline to the ultra-fine regime (100–500 nm). To examine the validity of such trends, loop density and area for different grains at various irradiation doses were compared and revealed efficient defect absorption in the nanocrystalline grain size regime, but loop coalescence in the ultra-fine grain size regime. Lastly, a relationship between the denuded zone formation, a measure of grain boundary absorption efficiency, grain size, grain boundary type and misorientation angle is determined.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Designing functionality in perovskite thin films using ion implantation techniques: Assessment and insights from first-principles calculations

Ion implantation has been widely used in the semiconductor industry for decades to selectively control electron/hole doping for device applications. Recently, experimental studies on ion implantation into more structurally and electronically complex materials have been undertaken in which defect generation has been used to control a variety of functional phenomena. Of particular interest, are recent findings demonstrating that low doses of low energy helium ions into single crystal films can be used to tailor the structural properties. These initial experimental studies have shown that crystal symmetry can be continuously controlled by applying increasingly large doses of He ions into a crystal. The observed changes in lattice structure were then observed to correlate with functional changes, such as metal-insulator transition temperature2 and optical bandgap3. In these preliminary experimental studies, changes to lattice expansion was proposed to be the direct result of chemical pressure originating predominantly from the implanted He applying chemical pressure at interstitial sites. However, the influence of possible secondary knock-on damage arising from the He atoms transferring energy to the lattice through nuclear-nuclear collision with the crystal lattice remains largely unaddressed. In this work, we focus on a SrRuO3 model system to provide a comprehensive examination of the impact of common defects on structural and electronic properties, obtain calculated defect formation energies, and define defect migration barriers. Our model indicates that, while interstitial He can modify the crystal properties, a dose significantly larger than those reported in experimental studies would be required. The true origin of the observed structural changes is likely the result of a combination of secondary defects created during He implantation. Of particular importance, we observe that different defect types can generate greatly varied local electronic structures and that the formation energies and migration energy barriers vary by defect type. Thus, we may have identified a new method of selectively inducing controlled defect complexes into single crystal materials. Development of this approach would have a broad impact on both our ability to probe specific defect contributions in fundamental studies and allow a new level of control over functional properties driven by specific defect complexes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

The nano- and meso-scale structure of amorphous calcium carbonate

Abstract Understanding the underlying processes of biomineralization is crucial to a range of disciplines allowing us to quantify the effects of climate change on marine organisms, decipher the details of paleoclimate records and advance the development of biomimetic materials. Many biological minerals form via intermediate amorphous phases, which are hard to characterize due to their transient nature and a lack of long-range order. Here, using Monte Carlo simulations constrained by X-ray and neutron scattering data together with model building, we demonstrate a method for determining the structure of these intermediates with a study of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) which is a precursor in the bio-formation of crystalline calcium carbonates. We find that ACC consists of highly ordered anhydrous nano-domains of approx. 2 nm that can be described as nanocrystalline. These nano-domains are held together by an interstitial net-like matrix of water molecules which generate, on the mesoscale, a heterogeneous and gel-like structure of ACC. We probed the structural stability and dynamics of our model on the nanosecond timescale by molecular dynamics simulations. These simulations revealed a gel-like and glassy nature of ACC due to the water molecules and carbonate ions in the interstitial matrix featuring pronounced orientational and translational flexibility. This allows for viscous mobility with diffusion constants four to five orders of magnitude lower than those observed in solutions. Small and ultra-small angle neutron scattering indicates a hierarchically-ordered organization of ACC across length scales that allow us, based on our nano-domain model, to build a comprehensive picture of ACC formation by cluster assembly from solution. This contribution provides a new atomic-scale understanding of ACC and provides a framework for the general exploration of biomineralization and biomimetic processes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

The role of Frenkel defect diffusion in dynamic annealing in ion-irradiated Si

The formation of stable radiation damage in crystalline solids often proceeds via complex dynamic annealing processes, involving migration and interaction of ballistically-generated point defects. The dominant dynamic annealing processes, however, remain unknown even for crystalline Si. Here, we use a pulsed ion beam method to study defect dynamics in Si bombarded in the temperature range from -20 to 140 °C with 500 keV Ar ions. Results reveal a defect relaxation time constant of ~10–0.2 ms, which decreases monotonically with increasing temperature. The dynamic annealing rate shows an Arrhenius dependence with two well-defined activation energies of 73 ± 5 meV and 420 ± 10 meV, below and above 60 °C, respectively. Rate theory modeling, bench-marked against this data, suggests a crucial role of both vacancy and interstitial diffusion, with the dynamic annealing rate limited by the migration and interaction of vacancies.

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

Cr incorporated phase transformation in Y 2 O 3 under ion irradiation

Under irradiation, chemical species can redistribute in ways not expected from equilibrium behavior. In oxide-dispersed ferritic alloys, the phenomenon of irradiation-induced Cr redistribution at the metal/oxide interfaces has drawn recent attention. Here, the thermal and irradiation stability of the FeCr/Y 2 O 3 interface has been systematically studied. Trilayer thin films of 90 nm Fe - 20 at.% Cr (1 st layer)/100 nm Y 2 O 3 (2 nd layer)/135 nm Fe - 20 at.% Cr (3 rd layer) were deposited on MgO substrates at 500 °C. After irradiation, Cr diffuses towards and enriches the FeCr/Y 2 O 3 interface. Further, correlated with Cr redistributed into the oxide, an amorphous layer is generated at the interface. In the Y 2 O 3 layer, the original cubic phase is observed to transform to the monoclinic phase after irradiation. Meanwhile, nanosized voids, with relatively larger size at interfaces, are also observed in the oxide layer. First-principles calculations reveal that Cr substitution of Y interstitials in Y 2 O 3 containing excess Y interstitials is favored and the irradiation-induced monoclinic phase enhances this process. Lastly, our findings provide new insights that may aid in the development of irradiation resistant oxide-dispersed ferritic alloys.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2014

Efficient carrier transport in halide perovskites: theoretical perspectives

Recently, halide perovskites have been shown to exhibit excellent carrier transport properties. Density functional calculations are performed to study the electronic structure, dielectric properties, and defect properties of β-CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 . Our results show that Pb chemistry plays an important role in a wide range of material properties, i.e., small effective masses, enhanced Born effective charges and lattice polarization, and the suppression of the formation of deep defect levels, all of which contribute to the exceptionally good carrier transport properties observed in CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 . Defect calculations show that, among native point defects (including vacancies, interstitials, and antisites), only iodine vacancy is a low-energy deep trap and non-radiative recombination centre. Finaly, alloying iodide with chloride reduces the lattice constant of the iodide and significantly increases the formation energy of interstitial defects, which explains the observed substantial increase in carrier diffusion length in mixed halide CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 Cl compared to that in CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Defect energetics of concentrated solid-solution alloys from ab initio calculations: Ni 0.5 Co 0.5 , Ni 0.5 Fe 0.5 , Ni 0.8 Fe 0.2 and Ni 0.8 Cr 0.2

It has been shown that concentrated solid solution alloys possess unusual electronic, magnetic, transport, mechanical and radiation-resistant properties that are directly related to underlying chemical complexity. Because every atom experiences a different local atomic environment, the formation and migration energies of vacancies and interstitials in these alloys exhibit a distribution, rather than a single value as in a pure metal or dilute alloy. In this study, using ab initio calculations based on density functional theory and special quasirandom structure, we have characterized the distribution of defect formation energy and migration barrier in four Ni-based solid-solution alloys: Ni 0.5 Co 0.5 , Ni 0.5 Fe 0.5 , Ni 0.8 Fe 0.2 and Ni 0.8 Cr 0.2 . As defect formation energies in finite-size models depend sensitively on the elemental chemical potential, we have developed a computationally efficient method for determining it which takes into account the global composition and the local short-range order. In addition we have compared the results of our ab initio calculations to those obtained from available embedded atom method (EAM) potentials. Our results indicate that the defect formation and migration energies are closely related to the specific atomic size in the structure, which further determines the elemental diffusion properties. In conclusion, different EAM potentials yield different features of defect energetics in concentrated alloys, pointing to the need for additional potential development efforts in order to allow spatial and temporal scale-up of defect and simulations, beyond those accessible to ab initio methods.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Li intercalation mechanisms in CaTi 5 O 11 , a bronze-B derived compound

A first-principles study was performed to elucidate the electrochemical properties of CaTi5O11, a recently discovered compound that is a crystallographic variant of TiO2(B) and that shows promise as an anode material for Li-ion batteries. The crystal structure of CaTi5O11 was further refined and two symmetrically distinct interstitial sites that can accommodate Li at positive voltage were identified. A statistical mechanics study relying on density functional theory (DFT) calculations predicted that interstitial Li in CaTi5O11 forms a solid solution with Li insertion resulting in a sloping voltage profile. Li diffusion within CaTi5O11 was found to be highly anisotropic with low barrier diffusion pathways forming one-dimensional channels parallel to the c axis.

Chang, Donghee↗
DOE OSTI2017

Influence of defects and dopants on the photovoltaic performance of Bi 2 S 3 : First-principles insights

Bi 2 S 3 has attracted extensive attention recently as a light-absorber, sensitizer or electron acceptor material in various solar cells. Using first-principles calculations, we find that the photovoltaic efficiency of Bi 2 S 3 solar cells is limited by its intrinsic point defects, i.e., both S vacancy and S interstitial can have high concentration and produce deep defect levels in the bandgap, leading to non-radiative recombination of electron–hole carriers and reduced minority carrier lifetime. Unexpectedly most of the intrinsic defects in Bi 2 S 3 , including even the S interstitial, act as donor defects, explaining the observed n-type conductivity and also causing the high p-type conductivity impossible thermodynamically. Doping in Bi 2 S 3 by a series of extrinsic elements is studied, showing that most of the dopant elements such as Cu, Br and Cl make the material even more n-type and only Pb doping makes it weakly p-type. Based on this, we propose that the surface region of n-type Bi 2 S 3 nanocrystals in p-PbS/n-Bi 2 S 3 nano-heterojunction solar cells may be type-inverted into p-type due to Pb doping, with a buried p–n junction formed in the Bi 2 S 3 nanocrystals, which provides a new explanation to the longer carrier lifetime and higher efficiency. Lastly, considering the relatively low conduction band and high n-type conductivity, we predict that Cu, Br and Cl doped Bi 2 S 3 may be an ideal n-type electron acceptor or counter electrode material, while the performance of Bi 2 S 3 as a light-absorber or sensitizer material is intrinsically limited.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Hydrogen weakens interlayer bonding in layered transition metal sulfide Fe 1+x S

The presence of interlaminar interstitial defects like hydrogen affects the mechanical properties of van der Waals-bonded layered materials such as transition metal chalcogenides. While the embrittling effect of hydrogen is well understood in metals, the impact of hydrogen defects on the mechanical behavior of layered chalcogenides remained unexplored. In this article, we use density functional calculations to reveal the influence of different hydrogen point defects on important mechanical metrics, including binding energies, elastic moduli and tensile and shear strengths of a prototypical ionic layered material, mackinawite, Fe1+xS. We find that one of the low-energy hydrogen defect structures, interlaminar molecular H2 interstitials, severely degrades the strength of inter-layer van der Waals interactions in the mackinawite crystal. This leads to a significant (over 80%) degradation in the mechanical properties of the mackinawite crystal and enables facile interlayer sliding and exfoliation. This finding suggests the mechanisms for cathodic exfoliation of transition metal chalcogenides like Fe1+xS, and presents a plausible mechanism for the poor protectiveness of layered passive films like mackinawite that undergo failure by spalling or delamination.

Krishnamoorthy, Aravind↗
DOE OSTI2023

Determination of the vacancy distribution over Al cation sites in γ-Al 2 O 3

Although gamma-alumina (γ-Al 2 O 3 ) is an extensively used material with wide-ranging applications due to its inherently high surface area and acidity, its atomic structure is still not fully understood. γ-Al 2 O 3 is described as having a spinel-like structure, where the O sublattice has a face-centered cubic (FCC) arrangement and Al cations are placed in the spinel tetrahedral and octahedral interstitial sites. Achieving the correct stoichiometry of Al 2 O 3 , however, requires the introduction of Al vacancies into some of the interstitial sites. Despite the importance of accurately describing the structure of γ-Al 2 O 3 , the distribution of vacancies between tetrahedral and octahedral sites remains unclear, in part because of the usually poor crystalline quality of γ-Al 2 O 3 that has often been used in previous studies. To determine the actual cation distribution in γ-Al 2 O 3 , single-crystalline γ-Al 2 O 3 was investigated using a correlative approach of experimental and simulated selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) and high-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). Comparison of the reflection intensities in single-crystal SAED to simulated SAED from models with varied vacancy distributions revealed that vacancies exist primarily on tetrahedral sites, contrary to the placement of vacancies on octahedral sites proposed in several common models. Comparison of EELS spectra—acquired with the highest energy resolution reported so far for γ-Al 2 O 3 —with ab initio multiple scattering EELS simulations confirmed the distribution of vacancies on tetrahedral sites. These results enable more accurate modeling of γ-Al 2 O 3 to better predict its properties in existing and future applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Metal ion dopant-induced famatinite to chalcostibite phase transformation of copper antimony sulphide colloidal nanostructures: effect on photophysical and pseudocapacitance properties

Here, the strategic doping of transition metal ions into copper antimony sulphide (CAS) semiconducting nanostructures can significantly influence their photophysical and pseudocapacitive properties, for which there are few reports and therefore is the focus of this study. Accordingly, highly crystalline metal ion (Mn 2+ , Fe 2+ , Co 2+ , Ni 2+ and Zn 2+ ) doped off-stoichiometric copper rich/poor, antimony-rich/poor, and sulphur-poor CAS nanostructures (10–23 nm) were grown via colloidal (hot-injection) synthesis using metal diethyldithiocarbamate precursors. Importantly, metal ion doping significantly influences the structure and composition of the off-stoichiometric CAS nanostructures. Data from powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, high-resolution scanning/transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirm that the heavier metal ion dopants induce a novel phase transformation from famatinite (fCAS) to chalcostibite (cCAS) nanostructures. The influence of the metal ion dopants is also observed in the optical properties of as-synthesized nanostructures. This involves blue-shifted ultraviolet-visible absorption, reduced Urbach tailing, and tunable bandgaps between 2.17 and 2.38 eV. Also, the doped nanostructures display broad visible-near infrared photoluminescence via a triple radiative pathway with relatively short decay lifetimes between 0.2 and 6.1 ns. This is mediated by electronic transitions involving intrinsic (copper/antimony/sulphur interstitial) and extrinsic (metal ion interstitial) defect states. Additionally, electrodes prepared from Mn 2+ -doped fCAS nanostructures show enhanced pseudocapacitance via Na+ surface adsorption and intercalation relative to undoped fCAS electrodes, while Zn 2+ -doped cCAS electrodes exhibit pseudocapacitance via a combination of Na+ surface adsorption, intercalation, and redox reactions. These electrodes exhibit reduced charge transfer resistance, improved electronic conductivity and notably enhanced specific capacitance (∼222 F g −1 ), and charge transport, as measured in 1 M Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte via cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. To this end, the discovery of the metal ion-induced phase transformation presents a new avenue for optimizing the functional properties of fCAS and cCAS nanostructures, highlighting the critical role of metal ion-related defects in controlling the optical and electrochemical properties, towards potential solar absorption and energy storage applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2011

A unique vibrational signature of rotated water monolayers on Pt(111): predicted and observed

Six H-bonds in the periodic di-interstitial structure that accounts for STM images of "37"and "39" wetting layers on Pt(111) are some 0.2 Å shorter than H-bonds are in ice Ih. According to a broadly obeyed correlation, this Density Functional Theory (DFT) result implies a stringent test of the di-interstitial motif, namely the presence of an OH- stretch band red-shifted from that of ice Ih by more than 1000 cm-1. Infrared absorption spectra showing a feature centered at about 1965 cm-1 satisfy the test. The DFT prediction is some 100 - 200 cm-1 higher, because it corresponds to a theoretical metal lattice expanded 1.0 linear percent relative to experiment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Distribution of radiative crystal imperfections through a silicon ingot

Crystal imperfections limit the efficiency of multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Recombination through traps is more prominent in areas with high density of crystal imperfections. A method to visualize the distribution of radiative emission from Shockley Read Hall recombination in silicon is demonstrated. We use hyperspectral photoluminescence, a fast non-destructive method, to image radiatively active recombination processes on a set of 50 wafers through a silicon block. The defect related emission lines D1 and D2 may be detected together or alone. The D3 and D4 seem to be correlated if we assume that an emission at the similar energy as D3 (VID3) is caused by a separate mechanism. The content of interstitial iron (Fe{sub i}) correlates with D4. This method yields a spectral map of the inter band gap transitions, which opens up for a new way to characterize mechanisms related to loss of efficiency for solar cells processed from the block.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Tungsten diffusion in silicon

Two doses (10{sup 13} and 10{sup 15} cm{sup −2}) of tungsten (W) atoms were implanted in different Si(001) wafers in order to study W diffusion in Si. The samples were annealed or oxidized at temperatures between 776 and 960 °C. The diffusion profiles were measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry, and defect formation was studied by transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. W is shown to reduce Si recrystallization after implantation and to exhibit, in the temperature range investigated, a solubility limit close to 0.15%–0.2%, which is higher than the solubility limit of usual metallic impurities in Si. W diffusion exhibits unusual linear diffusion profiles with a maximum concentration always located at the Si surface, slower kinetics than other metals in Si, and promotes vacancy accumulation close to the Si surface, with the formation of hollow cavities in the case of the higher W dose. In addition, Si self-interstitial injection during oxidation is shown to promote W-Si clustering. Taking into account these observations, a diffusion model based on the simultaneous diffusion of interstitial W atoms and W-Si atomic pairs is proposed since usual models used to model diffusion of metallic impurities and dopants in Si cannot reproduce experimental observations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Transition-metal and metalloid substitutions in L1{sub 0}-ordered FeNi

The effect of atomic substitutions on the magnetization, exchange, and magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy of L1{sub 0}-ordered FeNi (tetrataenite) is computationally investigated. The compound naturally occurs in meteorites but has attracted renewed attention as a potential material for permanent magnets, and elemental additives will likely be necessary to facilitate the phase formation. Our density functional theory calculations use the Vienna ab-initio simulation package, applied to 4-atom unit cells of Fe{sub 2}XNi and 32-atom supercells (X = Al, P, S, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co). While it is found that most additives deteriorate the magnetic properties, there are exceptions: excess substitutional Fe and Co additions improve the magnetization, whereas Cr, S, and interstitial B additions improve the magnetocrystalline anisotropy.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗