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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 775 records · Page 43
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Optically induced transport through semiconductor-based molecular electronics

A tight binding model is used to investigate photoinduced tunneling current through a molecular bridge coupled to two semiconductor electrodes. A quantum master equation is developed within a non-Markovian theory based on second-order perturbation theory with respect to the molecule-semiconductor electrode coupling. The spectral functions are generated using a one dimensional alternating bond model, and the coupling between the molecule and the electrodes is expressed through a corresponding correlation function. Since the molecular bridge orbitals are inside the bandgap between the conduction and valence bands, charge carrier tunneling is inhibited in the dark. Subject to the dipole interaction with the laser field, virtual molecular states are generated via the absorption and emission of photons, and new tunneling channels open. Interesting phenomena arising from memory are noted. Such a phenomenon could serve as a switch.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Solvation structure and transport properties of alkali cations in dimethyl sulfoxide under exogenous static electric fields

A combination of molecular dynamics simulations and pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is used to investigate the role of exogenous electric fields on the solvation structure and dynamics of alkali ions in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and as a function of temperature. Good agreement was obtained, for select alkali ions in the absence of an electric field, between calculated and experimentally determined diffusion coefficients normalized to that of pure DMSO. Our results indicate that temperatures of up to 400 K and external electric fields of up to 1 V nm{sup −1} have minimal effects on the solvation structure of the smaller alkali cations (Li{sup +} and Na{sup +}) due to their relatively strong ion-solvent interactions, whereas the solvation structures of the larger alkali cations (K{sup +}, Rb{sup +}, and Cs{sup +}) are significantly affected. In addition, although the DMSO exchange dynamics in the first solvation shell differ markedly for the two groups, the drift velocities and mobilities are not significantly affected by the nature of the alkali ion. Overall, although exogenous electric fields induce a drift displacement, their presence does not significantly affect the random diffusive displacement of the alkali ions in DMSO. System temperature is found to have generally a stronger influence on dynamical properties, such as the DMSO exchange dynamics and the ion mobilities, than the presence of electric fields.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

The effects of oxygen pressure on disordering and magneto-transport properties of Ba{sub 2}FeMoO{sub 6} thin films grown via pulsed laser deposition

Epitaxial Ba{sub 2}FeMoO{sub 6} thin films were grown via pulsed laser deposition under low oxygen pressure and their structural, chemical, and magnetic properties were examined, focusing on the effects of oxygen pressure. The chemical disorder, off-stoichiometry in B site cations (Fe and Mo) increased with increasing oxygen pressure and thus magnetic properties were degraded. Interestingly, in contrast, negative magneto-resistance, which is the characteristics of this double perovskite material, was enhanced with increasing oxygen pressure. It is believed that phase segregation of highly disordered thin films is responsible for the increased magneto-resistance of thin films grown at high oxygen pressure. The anomalous Hall effect, which behaves hole-like, was also observed due to spin-polarized itinerant electrons under low magnetic field below 1 T and the ordinary electron-like Hall effect was dominant at higher magnetic fields.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Platinum/yttrium iron garnet inverted structures for spin current transport

30-80 nm thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films are grown by pulsed laser deposition on a 5 nm thick sputtered Pt atop gadolinium gallium garnet substrate (GGG) (110). Upon post-growth rapid thermal annealing, single crystal YIG(110) emerges as if it were epitaxially grown on GGG(110) despite the presence of the intermediate Pt film. The YIG surface shows atomic steps with the root-mean-square roughness of 0.12 nm on flat terraces. Both Pt/YIG and GGG/Pt interfaces are atomically sharp. The resulting YIG(110) films show clear in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy with a well-defined easy axis along 〈001〉 and a peak-to-peak ferromagnetic resonance linewidth of 7.5 Oe at 9.32 GHz, similar to YIG epitaxially grown on GGG. Both spin Hall magnetoresistance and longitudinal spin Seebeck effects in the inverted bilayers indicate excellent Pt/YIG interface quality.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

A quantum trajectory picture of single photon absorption and energy transport in photosystem II

Here, we use quantum trajectory theory to study the dynamics of the first step in photosynthesis for a single photon interacting with photosystem II (PSII). By considering individual trajectories we are able to look beyond the ensemble average dynamics to compute the PSII system evolution conditioned upon individual photon counting measurements. Measurements of the transmitted photon beam strongly affects the system state, since detection of an outgoing photon confirms that the PSII must be in the electronic ground state, while a null measurement implies it is in an excited electronic state. We show that under ideal conditions, observing the null result transforms a state with a low excited state population to a state with nearly all population contained in the excited states. We study the PSII dynamics conditioned on such photon counting for both a pure excitonic model of PSII and a more realistic model with exciton-phonon coupling to a dissipative phononic environment. In the absence of such coupling, we show that the measured fluorescence rates show oscillations constituting a photon-counting witness of excitonic coherence. Excitonic coupling to the phonon environment has a strong effect on the observed rates of fluorescence, damping the oscillations. Addition of non-radiative decay and incoherent transitions to radical pair states in the reaction center to the phononic model allows extraction of a quantum efficiency of 92.5% from the long-time evolution, consistent with bulk experimental measurements.

Coherent states↗
DOE OSTI2015

Thermodynamic and achievable efficiencies for solar-driven electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to transportation fuels

Thermodynamic, achievable, and realistic efficiency limits of solar-driven electrochemical conversion of water and carbon dioxide to fuels are investigated as functions of light-absorber composition and configuration, and catalyst composition. The maximum thermodynamic efficiency at 1-sun illumination for adiabatic electrochemical synthesis of various solar fuels is in the range of 32–42%. Single-, double-, and triple-junction light absorbers are found to be optimal for electrochemical load ranges of 0–0.9 V, 0.9–1.95 V, and 1.95–3.5 V, respectively. Achievable solar-to-fuel (STF) efficiencies are determined using ideal double- and triple-junction light absorbers and the electrochemical load curves for CO 2 reduction on silver and copper cathodes, and water oxidation kinetics over iridium oxide. The maximum achievable STF efficiencies for synthesis gas (H 2 and CO) and Hythane (H 2 and CH 4 ) are 18.4% and 20.3%, respectively. Whereas the realistic STF efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) can be as low as 0.8%, tandem PECs and photovoltaic (PV)-electrolyzers can operate at 7.2% under identical operating conditions. Finally, we show that the composition and energy content of solar fuels can also be adjusted by tuning the band-gaps of triple-junction light absorbers and/or the ratio of catalyst-to-PV area, and that the synthesis of liquid products and C 2 H 4 have high profitability indices.

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

Bayesian Parameter Estimation of the k-ω Shear Stress Transport Model for Accurate Simulations of Impinging-Jet Heat Transfer

Given the lack of fusion-relevant component test facilities, current estimates of the thermo-fluid performance of plasma-facing components are based for the most part on numerical simulations. A major source of uncertainty in these simulations is the semiempirical turbulence (closure) models for the Reynolds stresses appearing in the governing Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, which involve a set of constants that depend upon the flow. The objective of this study is to evaluate Bayesian parameter estimation of turbulence closure constants in ANSYS Fluent to model heat transfer in impinging jets. The Bayesian statistical calibration produces a probability distribution for these constants from experimental data; the maximum a posteriori estimates are then taken to be the calibrated constants, or parameters. The turbulence model constants are calibrated using an experimental study of a submerged jet of air impinging on a flat heated surface at Reynolds numbers Re = O(10 4 ) and impingement distance in jet diameters H/d = 2. Numerical predictions using the calibrated model parameters are then compared with those generated using the default constants. Predictions obtained with model parameters calibrated on datasets of two different sizes are compared to evaluate the effect of the number of calibration samples. Lastly, the extrapolative ability of the calibrated model is examined by predictions at a Re beyond the calibration values.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗