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At least 793 records · Page 44
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Nitrogenated Graphene Quantum Dot-Derived Copper Single-Atom Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Despite the promise of fuel cells as sustainable energy conversion technologies, their widespread adoption is hindered by the high cost of platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts, particularly for catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode. Here, we report copper-based single-atom catalysts (Cu-SACs) as cost-effective non-PGM alternatives for ORR. The catalysts were synthesized via simple pyrolysis of pyrene-derived amine-terminated graphene quantum dots (GQDs) in the presence of nitrogen and metal precursors. The abundant nitrogen functionality in GQDs effectively stabilized isolated Cu atoms during their conversion to porous carbon. A subsequent acid-washing step yielded a high density of atomically dispersed Cu active sites. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HR-STEM) confirmed the effective incorporation of isolated Cu atoms into the carbon matrix through copper–nitrogen (Cu-N) coordination. Electrochemical measurements revealed excellent ORR activity with a dominant four-electron pathway. This synthetic strategy provides a practical route to developing economically viable, non-precious metal catalysts.

catalysts↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Role of Cu 3+ in the Oxygen Evolution Activity of Copper Oxides

Cu-based oxides and hydroxides represent an important class of materials from a catalytic and corrosion perspective. In this study, we investigate the formation of bulk and surface Cu 3+ species that are stable under water oxidation catalysis in alkaline media. So far, no direct evidence existed for the presence of hydroxides (CuOOH) or oxides, which were primarily proposed by theory. Here, this work directly places CuOOH in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) Pourbaix stability region with a calculated free energy of −208.68 kJ/mol, necessitating a revision of known Cu–H 2 O phase diagrams. We also predict that the active sites of CuOOH for the OER are consistent with a bridge O* site between the two Cu 3+ atoms with onset at ≥1.6 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), aligning with experimentally observed Cu 2+/3+ oxidation waves in cyclic voltammetry of Fe-free and Fe-spiked copper in alkaline media. Trace amounts of Fe (2 μg/mL (ppm) to 5 μg/mL) in the solution measurably enhance the catalytic activity of the OER, likely due to the adsorption of Fe species that serve as the active sites . Importantly, modulation excitation X-ray absorption spectroscopy (ME-XAS) of a Cu thin-film electrode shows a distinct Cu 3+ fingerprint under OER conditions at 1.8 V vs RHE. Additionally, in situ Raman spectroscopy of polycrystalline Cu in 0.1 mol/L (M) KOH revealed features consistent with those calculated for CuOOH in addition to CuO. Overall, this work provides direct evidence of bulk electrochemical Cu 3+ species under OER conditions and expands our longstanding understanding of the oxidation mechanism and catalytic activity of copper.

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

Electron Injection from Copper Diimine Sensitizers into TiO 2 : Structural Effects and Their Implications for Solar Energy Conversion Devices

Copper(I) diimine complexes have emerged as low cost replacements for ruthenium complexes as light sensitizers and electron donors, but their shorter metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer (MLCT) states lifetimes and lability of transient Cu(II) species impede their intended functions. Two carboxylated Cu(I) bis-2,9-diphenylphenanthroline (dpp) complexes [Cu(I)(dpp-O(CH2CH2O)(5))(dpp-(COOH)(2))](+) and [Cu(I)(dpp-O(CH2CH2O)(5))(dpp-(F-COOH)(2))](+) (F = tolyl) with different linker lengths were synthesized in which the MLCT-state solvent quenching pathways are effectively blocked, the lifetime of the singlet MLCT state is prolonged, and the transient Cu(II) ligands are stabilized. Aiming at understanding the mechanisms of structural influence to the interfacial charge transfer in the dye-sensitized solar cell mimics, electronic and geometric structures as well as dynamics for the MLCT state of these complexes and their hybrid with TiO2 nanoparticles were investigated using optical transient spectroscopy, X-ray transient absorption spectroscopy, time-dependent density functional theory, and quantum dynamics simulations. The combined results show that these complexes exhibit strong absorption throughout the visible spectrum due to the severely flattened ground state, and a long-lived charge-separated Cu(II) has been achieved via ultrafast electron injection (<300 fs) from the 1MLCT state into TiO2 nanoparticles. The results also indicate that the TiO2-phen distance in these systems does not have significant effect on the efficiency of the interfacial electron-transfer process. The mechanisms for electron transfer in these systems are discussed and used to develop new strategies in optimizing copper(I) diimine complexes in solar energy conversion devices.

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

Triphosphine-Ligated Copper Hydrides for CO 2 Hydrogenation: Structure, Reactivity, and Thermodynamic Studies

The copper(I) triphosphine complex LCu(MeCN)PF 6 (L = 1,1,1-tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)ethane), which we recently demonstrated is an active catalyst precursor for hydrogenation of CO 2 to formate, reacts with H 2 in the presence of a base to form a cationic dicopper hydride, [(LCu) 2 H]PF 6 . [(LCu) 2 H] + is also an active precursor for catalytic CO 2 hydrogenation, with equivalent activity to that of LCu(MeCN) + , and therefore may be a relevant catalytic intermediate. In this study, the thermodynamic hydricity of [(LCu) 2 H] + was determined to be 41.0 kcal/mol by measuring the equilibrium constant for this reaction using three different bases. [(LCu) 2 H] + and the previously reported dimer (LCuH) 2 can be synthesized by the reaction of LCu(MeCN) + with 0.5 and 1 equiv of KB(O i Pr) 3 H, respectively. The solid-state structure of [(LCu) 2 H] + shows threefold symmetry about a linear Cu–H–Cu axis and significant steric strain imposed by bringing two LCu + units together around the small hydride ligand. [(LCu) 2 H] + reacts stoichiometrically with CO 2 to generate the formate complex LCuO 2 CH and the solvento complex LCu(MeCN) + . The rate of the stoichiometric reaction between [(LCu) 2 H] + and CO 2 is dramatically increased in the presence of bases that coordinate strongly to the copper center, e.g. DBU and TMG. In the absence of CO 2 , the addition of a large excess of DBU to [(LCu) 2 H] + results in an equilibrium that forms LCu(DBU) + and also presumably the mononuclear hydride LCuH, which is not directly observed. Due to the significantly enhanced CO 2 reactivity of [(LCu) 2 H] + under these catalytically relevant conditions, LCuH is proposed to be the catalytically active metal hydride.ted by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a multiprogram national laboratory operated for DOE by Battelle.

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

Carbon nanotubes reinforced copper composite with uniform CNT distribution and high yield of fabrication

Dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in metal matrix composites has been an unsolved issue since the discovery of CNTs. This paper presents a newly developed fabrication process of bulk Cu/CNT composite with uniformly distributed CNTs. That is, copper encapsulated CNTs powders were firstly fabricated by an electrochemical deposition where CNTs can be completely dispersed in the copper electrolyte assisted by sonication, and then the fabricated composite powders were used to make bulk Cu/CNT composite by a powder metallurgy process. The increment in microhardness of Cu/CNT composite after compaction and sintering was observed to be ~47.6% per 1% CNTs. The developed fabrication process of Cu/CNT composite powders by electrochemical co-deposition can be scaled up to meet specific application needs, and a similar process is expected to be applicable for other metals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Microwave assisted growth of copper germanide thin films at very low temperatures

Herein the synthesis of Cu{sub 3}Ge films by exposing Cu-Ge alloy films to microwave radiation is reported. It is shown that microwave radiation led to the formation of copper germanide at temperatures ca. 80 °C. The electrical properties of the Cu{sub 3}Ge films are presented and compared for various annealing times. X-ray diffraction shows that the Cu{sub 3}Ge films formed after microwave annealing is crystalline in the orthorhombic phase. Rutherford backscattering and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the formation of copper oxide encapsulation layer. Despite the slight oxidation of Cu during the microwave anneal the lowest resistivity of Cu{sub 3}Ge films obtained is 14 μΩ-cm.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Carbon mediated reduction of silicon dioxide and growth of copper silicide particles in uniform width channels

We show that surface arc-discharge deposited carbon plays a critical intermediary role in the breakdown of thermally grown oxide diffusion barriers of 90 nm on a silicon wafer at 1035 °C in an Ar/H{sub 2} atmosphere, resulting in the formation of epitaxial copper silicide particles in ≈ 10 μm wide channels, which are aligned with the intersections of the (100) surface of the wafer and the (110) planes on an oxidized silicon wafer, as well as endotaxial copper silicide nanoparticles within the wafer bulk. We apply energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, in combination with scanning and transmission electron microscopy of focused ion beam fabricated lammelas and trenches in the structure to elucidate the process of their formation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Molecular dynamics simulation of self-rotation effects on ultra-precision polishing of single-crystal copper

Understanding the behaviors of the material removal mechanism of ultra-precision polishing process has been a critical issue of generating well-formed surface. In order to make clear the abrasive self-rotation effects on material removal at the atomic level, a three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) model is conducted to study the mechanics of ultra-precision polishing on single-crystal copper with a diamond abrasive and the effects of abrasive self-rotation velocity and direction. Morse potential energy function and EAM potential energy function are applied to model the copper/diamond and copper/copper interactions, respectively. The simulation results show that the deformation mechanism of single-crystal copper is due to the formation and movement of dislocations in the specimen. In addition, with the increasing of abrasive self-rotation velocity, the deformation mechanism falls from cutting to plowing regimes. The abrasive self-rotation velocity and direction have effects on the morphology and quality of the specimen surface, distribution and evolution of defects under the surface of the specimen. Also, the interatomic force between abrasive and specimen is studied to account for the effects of different polishing conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

High pressure melting curves of silver, gold and copper

In this work, based on the Lindemann's formula of melting and the pressure-dependent Grüneisen parameter, we have investigated the pressure effect on melting temperature of silver, gold and copper metals. The analytical expression of melting temperature as a function of volume compression has been derived. Our results are compared with available experimental data as well as with previous theoretical studies and the good and reasonable agreements are found. We also proposed the potential of this approach on predicting melting of copper at very high pressure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Direct production of nanostructured copper-nickel (Cu-Ni) alloy particles

Copper-Nickel (CuNi) nanostructured alloy particles were produced by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis and Hydrogen Reduction Method (USP-HR) from high purity copper and nickel nitrate aqueous solutions. The effect of the precursor solution in the range of 0.1 and 0.5 mol/L on the morphology and crystallite size of CuNi nanoparticles were investigated under 2 h running time, 700 °C operating temperature and 0.5 L/min H{sub 2} flow rate. Particle size, morphology, composition and crystallite structure were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Particle characterization studies show that nanostructured alloy particles have cubic crystal structure and they are in submicron size range with spherical morphology. The crystallite sizes of the particles calculated with Scherrer formula are 40 and 34 nm and average particles sizes observed from the SEM images are 300 and 510 nm for each experiment respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Investigation of relativistic intensity laser generated hot electron dynamics via copper K{sub α} imaging and proton acceleration

Simultaneous experimental measurements of copper K{sub α} imaging and the maximum target normal sheath acceleration proton energies from the rear target surface are compared for various target thicknesses. For the T-cubed laser (≈4 J, 400 fs) at an intensity of ≈2 × 10{sup 19} W cm{sup −2}, the hot electron divergence is determined to be θ{sub HWHM}≈22{sup °} using a K{sub α} imaging diagnostic. The maximum proton energies are measured to follow the expected reduction with increasing target thickness. Numerical modeling produces copper K{sub α} trends for both signal level and electron beam divergence that are in good agreement with the experiment. A geometric model describing the electron beam divergence reproduces the maximum proton energy trends observed from the experiment and the fast electron density and the peak electric field observed in the numerical modeling.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Photoconductivity in reactively evaporated copper indium selenide thin films

Copper indium selenide thin films of composition CuInSe{sub 2} with thickness of the order of 130 nm are deposited on glass substrate at a temperature of 423 ±5 K and pressure of 10{sup −5} mbar using reactive evaporation, a variant of Gunther's three temperature method with high purity Copper (99.999%), Indium (99.999%) and Selenium (99.99%) as the elemental starting materials. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies shows that the films are polycrystalline in nature having preferred orientation of grains along the (112) plane. The structural type of the film is found to be tetragonal with particle size of the order of 32 nm. The structural parameters such as lattice constant, particle size, dislocation density, number of crystallites per unit area and strain in the film are also evaluated. The surface morphology of CuInSe{sub 2} films are studied using 2D and 3D atomic force microscopy to estimate the grain size and surface roughness respectively. Analysis of the absorption spectrum of the film recorded using UV-Vis-NIR Spectrophotometer in the wavelength range from 2500 nm to cutoff revealed that the film possess a direct allowed transition with a band gap of 1.05 eV and a high value of absorption coefficient (α) of 10{sup 6} cm{sup −1} at 570 nm. Photoconductivity at room temperature is measured after illuminating the film with an FSH lamp (82 V, 300 W). Optical absorption studies in conjunction with the good photoconductivity of the prepared p-type CuInSe{sub 2} thin films indicate its suitability in photovoltaic applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Laser induced plasma on copper target, a non-equilibrium model

The aim of this work is to present a comprehensive numerical model for the UV laser ablation of metal targets, it focuses mainly on the prediction of laser induced plasma thresholds, the effect of the laser-plasma interaction, and the importance of the electronic non-equilibrium in the laser induced plume and its expansion in the background gas. This paper describes a set of numerical models for laser-matter interaction between 193-248 and 355 nm lasers and a copper target. Along with the thermal effects inside the material resulting from the irradiation of the latter with the pulsed laser, the laser-evaporated matter interaction and the plasma formation are thoroughly modelled. In the laser induced plume, the electronic nonequilibrium and the laser beam absorption have been investigated. Our calculations of the plasmas ignition thresholds on copper targets have been validated and compared to experimental as well as theoretical results. Comparison with experiment data indicates that our results are in good agreement with those reported in the literature. Furthermore, the inclusion of electronic non-equilibrium in our work indicated that this important process must be included in models of laser ablation and plasma plume formation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Enhancing electrical conductivity and electron field emission properties of ultrananocrystalline diamond films by copper ion implantation and annealing

Copper ion implantation and subsequent annealing at 600 °C achieved high electrical conductivity of 95.0 (Ωcm){sup −1} for ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films with carrier concentration of 2.8 × 10{sup 18} cm{sup −2} and mobility of 6.8 × 10{sup 2} cm{sup 2}/V s. Transmission electron microscopy examinations reveal that the implanted Cu ions first formed Cu nanoclusters in UNCD films, which induced the formation of nanographitic grain boundary phases during annealing process. From current imaging tunneling spectroscopy and local current-voltage curves of scanning tunneling spectroscopic measurements, it is observed that the electrons are dominantly emitted from the grain boundaries. Consequently, the nanographitic phases presence in the grain boundaries formed conduction channels for efficient electron transport, ensuing in excellent electron field emission (EFE) properties for copper ion implanted/annealed UNCD films with low turn-on field of 4.80 V/μm and high EFE current density of 3.60 mA/cm{sup 2} at an applied field of 8.0 V/μm.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Optical and electrical stability of viral-templated copper sulfide (Cu{sub 1.8}S) films

The optical and electrical stabilities of viral-templated non-stoichiometric copper sulfide, digenite (Cu{sub 1.8}S) films were investigated. The films were composed of large agglomerates of randomly aligned Cu{sub 1.8}S-coated M13 filamentous phage. Free carrier optical absorption associated with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) was observed in the near infrared spectral region, and the films were electrically active, displaying a linear current-voltage relationship. Under ambient conditions, the magnitude of the LSPR absorption increased, following a power law relationship with time, and the electrical resistance of viral-templated films decreased significantly. In contrast, the resistance of films stored under low oxygen, low humidity conditions experienced a smaller reduction in electrical resistance. Changes in optical and electrical film properties under ambient conditions were associated with an increase in free carrier concentration within the copper chalcogenide material due to oxygen exposure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to relate this increase in free carrier concentration to compositional changes on the viral-templated material surface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Rapid and eco-friendly synthesis of copper nanoparticles

Copper nanoparticles were synthesized successfully through chemical reduction method stabilized by PVA along with different stabilizers namely, Kondagogu (Cochlospermum gossypium), Maida Flour and Starch. The resulting copper nanoparticles were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) experiments to study the size and shape of the particles and functional group of the stabilizing agent. The particle sizes were confirmed by Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) experiment and are found to be around 6.5 nm.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Design of 95 GHz gyrotron based on continuous operation copper solenoid with water cooling

The design work for 2nd harmonic 95 GHz, 50 kW gyrotron based on continuous operation copper solenoid is presented. Thermionic magnetron injection gun specifications were calculated according to the linear trade off equation, and simulated with CST program. Numerical code is used for cavity design using the non-uniform string equation as well as particle motion in the “cold” cavity field. The mode TE02 with low Ohmic losses in the cavity walls was chosen as the operating mode. The Solenoid is designed to induce magnetic field of 1.8 T over a length of 40 mm in the interaction region with homogeneity of ±0.34%. The solenoid has six concentric cylindrical segments (and two correction segments) of copper foil windings separated by water channels for cooling. The predicted temperature in continuous operation is below 93 °C. The parameters of the design together with simulation results of the electromagnetic cavity field, magnetic field, electron trajectories, and thermal analyses are presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗