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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 811 records · Page 45

Engineering Pseudomonas putida KT2440 for chain length tailored free fatty acid and oleochemical production

Abstract Despite advances in understanding the metabolism of Pseudomonas putida KT2440, a promising bacterial host for producing valuable chemicals from plant-derived feedstocks, a strain capable of producing free fatty acid-derived chemicals has not been developed. Guided by functional genomics, we engineered P. putida to produce medium- and long-chain free fatty acids (FFAs) to titers of up to 670 mg/L. Additionally, by taking advantage of the varying substrate preferences of paralogous native fatty acyl-CoA ligases, we employed a strategy to control FFA chain length that resulted in a P. putida strain specialized in producing medium-chain FFAs. Finally, we demonstrate the production of oleochemicals in these strains by synthesizing medium-chain fatty acid methyl esters, compounds useful as biodiesel blending agents, in various media including sorghum hydrolysate at titers greater than 300 mg/L. This work paves the road to produce high-value oleochemicals and biofuels from cheap feedstocks, such as plant biomass, using this host.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Low-temperature magnetic crossover in the topological kagome magnet TbMn 6 Sn 6

Magnetic topological phases of quantum matter are an emerging frontier in physics and materials science, of which kagome magnets appear as a highly promising platform. Here, we explore magnetic correlations in the recently identified topological kagome system TbMn6 S n 6 using muon spin rotation, combined with local field analysis and neutron diffraction. Our studies identify an out-of-plane ferrimagnetic structure with slow magnetic fluctuations which exhibit a critical slowing down below $T^{*}_{C1}$ ≃ 120 K and finally freeze into static patches with ideal out-of-plane order below T C1 ≃ 20 K. We further show that hydrostatic pressure of 2.1 GPa stabilises the static out-of-plane topological ferrimagnetic ground state in the whole volume of the sample. Therefore the exciting perspective arises of a magnetically-induced topological system whose magnetism can be controlled through external parameters. The present results will stimulate theoretical investigations to obtain a microscopic understanding of the relation between the low-temperature volume-wise magnetic evolution of the static c-axis ferrimagnetic patches and the topological electronic properties in TbMn 6 Sn 6 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Discovery of charge order above room-temperature in the prototypical kagome superconductor La(Ru1−xFex)3Si2

Abstract The kagome lattice is an intriguing and rich platform for discovering, tuning and understanding the diverse phases of quantum matter, crucial for advancing modern and future electronics. Despite considerable efforts, accessing correlated phases at room temperature has been challenging. Using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, we discovered charge order above room temperature in La(Ru 1−x Fe x ) 3 Si 2 (x= 0, 0.01, 0.05), where charge order related to out-of-plane Ru atom displacements appears belowT CO,I ≃ 400 K. The secondary charge ordered phase emerges belowT CO,II ≃ 80–170 K. Furthermore, first principles calculations reveal both the kagome flat band and the van Hove point near the Fermi energy in LaRu 3 Si 2 , driven by Ru-dz 2 orbitals. Our results identify LaRu 3 Si 2 as the kagome superconductor with the highest known charge ordering temperature, offering a promising avenue for researching room temperature quantum phases and developing related technologies.

Physics↗

Probing topological quantum matter with scanning tunnelling microscopy

The search for topological phases of matter is evolving towards strongly interacting systems, including magnets and superconductors, where exotic effects emerge from the quantum-level interplay between geometry, correlation and topology. Over the past decade or so, scanning tunnelling microscopy has become a powerful tool to probe and discover emergent topological matter, because of its unprecedented spatial resolution, high-precision electronic detection and magnetic tunability. Scanning tunnelling microscopy can be used to probe various topological phenomena, as well as complement results from other techniques. We discuss some of these proof-of-principle methodologies applied to probe topology, with particular attention to studies performed under a tunable vector magnetic field, which is a relatively new direction of recent focus. Finally, we then project the future possibilities for atomic-resolution tunnelling methods in providing new insights into topological matter.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

AtomAI framework for deep learning analysis of image and spectroscopy data in electron and scanning probe microscopy

Over the past several decades, electron and scanning probe microscopes have become critical components of condensed matter physics, materials science and chemistry research. At the same time, the infrastructure for establishing a connection between microscopy observations and materials behaviour over a broader parameter space is lacking. In this work, we introduce AtomAI, an open-source software package bridging instrument-specific Python libraries, deep learning and simulation tools into a single ecosystem. AtomAI allows direct applications of deep neural networks for atomic and mesoscopic image segmentation converting image and spectroscopy data into class-based local descriptors for downstream tasks such as statistical and graph analysis. For atomically resolved imaging data, the output is types and positions of atomic species, with an option for subsequent refinement. AtomAI further allows the implementation of a broad range of image and spectrum analysis functions, including invariant variational autoencoders for disentangling structural factors of variation and im2spec type of encoder–decoder models for mapping structure–property relationships. Finally, our framework allows seamless connection to the first principles modelling with a Python interface on the inferred atomic positions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Imaging real-space flat band localization in kagome magnet FeSn

Kagome lattices host flat bands due to their frustrated lattice geometry, which leads to destructive quantum interference of electron wave functions. Here, we report imaging of the kagome flat band localization in real-space using scanning tunneling microscopy. We identify both the Fe 3 Sn kagome lattice layer and the Sn 2 honeycomb layer with atomic resolution in kagome antiferromagnet FeSn. On the Fe 3 Sn lattice, at the flat band energy determined by the angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, tunneling spectroscopy detects an unusual state localized uniquely at the Fe kagome lattice network. We further show that the vectorial in-plane magnetic field manipulates the spatial anisotropy of the localization state within each kagome unit cell. Our results are consistent with the real-space flat band localization in the magnetic kagome lattice. We further discuss the magnetic tuning of flat band localization under the spin–orbit coupled magnetic kagome lattice model.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Neural network-based order parameter for phase transitions and its applications in high-entropy alloys

Phase transition is one of the most important phenomena in nature and plays a central role in materials design. All phase transitions are characterized by suitable order parameters, including the order–disorder phase transition. However, finding a representative order parameter for complex systems is non-trivial, such as for high-entropy alloys. Given the strength of dimensionality reduction of a variational autoencoder (VAE), we introduce a VAE-based order parameter. Here, we propose that the Manhattan distance in the VAE latent space can serve as a generic order parameter for order–disorder phase transitions. The physical properties of our order parameter are quantitatively interpreted and demonstrated by multiple refractory high-entropy alloys. Using this order parameter, a generally applicable alloy design concept is proposed by mimicking the natural mixing process of elements. Our physically interpretable VAE-based order parameter provides a computational technique for understanding chemical ordering in alloys, which can facilitate the development of rational alloy design strategies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Ultrathin quasi-2D amorphous carbon dielectric prepared from solution precursor for nanoelectronics

Abstract Materials keeping thickness in atomic scale but extending primarily in lateral dimensions offer properties attractive for many emerging applications. However, compared to crystalline counterparts, synthesis of atomically thin films in the highly disordered amorphous form, which avoids nonuniformity and defects associated with grain boundaries, is challenging due to their metastable nature. Here we present a scalable and solution-based strategy to prepare large-area, freestanding quasi-2D amorphous carbon nanomembranes with predominant sp 2 bonding and thickness down to 1–2 atomic layers, from coal-derived carbon dots as precursors. These atomically thin amorphous carbon films are mechanically strong with modulus of 400 ± 100 GPa and demonstrate robust dielectric properties with high dielectric strength above 20 MV cm −1 and low leakage current density below 10 −4 A cm −2 through a scaled thickness of three-atomic layers. They can be implemented as solution-deposited ultrathin gate dielectrics in transistors or ion-transport media in memristors, enabling exceptional device performance and spatiotemporal uniformity.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Light-independent phytoplankton degradation and detoxification of methylmercury in water

Phytoplankton serves as a key entry point for the trophic transfer and bioaccumulation of the neurotoxin methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic food webs. However, it is unclear whether and how phytoplankton itself may degrade and metabolize MeHg in the dark. Here, using several strains of the freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris, the marine diatom Chaetoceros gracilis and two cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae), we report a light-independent pathway of MeHg degradation in water by phytoplankton, rather than its associated bacteria. About 36–85% of MeHg could be degraded intracellularly to inorganic Hg(II) and/or Hg(0) via dark reactions. Furthermore, endogenic reactive oxygen species, particularly singlet oxygen, were identified as the main driver of MeHg demethylation. Given the increasing incidence of algal blooms in lakes and marine systems globally, these findings underscore the potential roles of phytoplankton demethylation and detoxification of MeHg in aquatic ecosystems and call for improved modelling and assessment of MeHg bioaccumulation and environmental risks.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

A mechanistic study of mesoporous TiO 2 nanoparticle negative electrode materials with varying crystallinity for lithium ion batteries

Nanoscale oxide-based negative electrodes are of great interest for lithium ion batteries due to their high energy density, power density and enhanced safety. In this work, we conducted a case study on mesoporous TiO 2 nanoparticle negative electrodes with uniform size and varying crystallinity in order to investigate the trend in the electrochemical properties of oxide-based nanoscale negative electrodes with varying crystallinity. Furthermore, mesoporous solid spherical TiO 2 nanoparticles with a uniform particle size and varying crystallinity, i.e. , amorphous TiO 2 (A-TiO 2 ), partially crystalline TiO 2 (PC-TiO 2 ) and fully crystalline TiO 2 (FC-TiO 2 ) nanoparticles were studied. At low current rate (quasi steady-state), the specific capacity of the samples drops with the decrease of crystallinity. Ex situ synchrotron pair distribution function analysis reveals that the 1D zigzag Li ion diffusion pathway becomes expanded with the increase of crystallinity, which promotes ion mobility and charge storage. At high current rates (away from equilibrium states), however, the A-TiO 2 sample demonstrates slightly larger capacity than the FC-TiO 2 sample, both of which show larger capacities than that of the PC-TiO 2 sample. Both A-TiO 2 and FC-TiO 2 samples exhibit higher capacitive contribution to the charge storage and larger Li + diffusivity than those of the PC-TiO 2 sample, which explains their better rate capability. Moreover, the larger Li + diffusivity of the A-TiO 2 sample leads to the slightly larger specific capacity than the FC-TiO 2 sample at the highest current rate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗