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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Size distribution of dust grains: A problem of self-similarity

Distribution functions describing the results of natural processes frequently show the shape of power laws, e.g., mass functions of stars and molecular clouds, velocity spectrum of turbulence, size distributions of asteroids, micrometeorites and also interstellar dust grains. It is an open question whether this behavior is a result simply coming about by the chosen mathematical representation of the observational data or reflects a deep-seated principle of nature. The authors suppose the latter being the case. Using a dust model consisting of silicate and graphite grains Mathis et al. (1977) showed that the interstellar extinction curve can be represented by taking a grain radii distribution of power law type n(a) varies as a(exp -p) with 3.3 less than or equal to p less than or equal to 3.6 (example 1) as a basis. A different approach to understanding power laws like that in example 1 becomes possible by the theory of self-similar processes (scale invariance). The beta model of turbulence (Frisch et al., 1978) leads in an elementary way to the concept of the self-similarity dimension D, a special case of Mandelbrot's (1977) fractal dimension. In the frame of this beta model, it is supposed that on each stage of a cascade the system decays to N clumps and that only the portion beta N remains active further on. An important feature of this model is that the active eddies become less and less space-filling. In the following, the authors assume that grain-grain collisions are such a scale-invarient process and that the remaining grains are the inactive (frozen) clumps of the cascade. In this way, a size distribution n(a) da varies as a(exp -(D+1))da (example 2) results. It seems to be highly probable that the power law character of the size distribution of interstellar dust grains is the result of a self-similarity process. We can, however, not exclude that the process leading to the interstellar grain size distribution is not fragmentation at all. It could be, e.g., diffusion-limited growth discussed by Sander (1986), who applied the theory of fractal geometry to the classification of non-equilibrium growth processes. He received D=2.4 for diffusion-limited aggregation in 3d-space.

Henning, TH.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Materials Data on Ge7H18O23 by Materials Project

Ge7H7O18H5O2(H2O)3 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. The structure is three-dimensional and consists of one molecular hydrogen;dihydrate molecule, three water molecules, and one Ge7H7O18 framework. In the Ge7H7O18 framework, there are seven inequivalent Ge4+ sites. In the first Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.85–2.07 Å. In the second Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.84–2.00 Å. In the third Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.84–2.02 Å. In the fourth Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.82–2.15 Å. In the fifth Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 54–65°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.74–1.84 Å. In the sixth Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 55–60°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.75–1.82 Å. In the seventh Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 54–58°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.74–1.86 Å. There are seven inequivalent H1+ sites. In the first H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a linear geometry to two O2- atoms. There is one shorter (1.04 Å) and one longer (1.58 Å) H–O bond length. In the second H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 0.98 Å. In the third H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 0.98 Å. In the fourth H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 1.00 Å. In the fifth H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 1.01 Å. In the sixth H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a linear geometry to two O2- atoms. There is one shorter (1.20 Å) and one longer (1.22 Å) H–O bond length. In the seventh H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 0.99 Å. There are eighteen inequivalent O2- sites. In the first O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the second O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted T-shaped geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the third O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the fourth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal non-coplanar geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the fifth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the sixth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal planar geometry to two Ge4+ and one H1+ atom. In the seventh O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted single-bond geometry to two Ge4+ and one H1+ atom. In the eighth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal non-coplanar geometry to two Ge4+ and one H1+ atom. In the ninth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the tenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the eleventh O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the twelfth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the thirteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the fourteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the fifteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the sixteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the seventeenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal non-coplanar geometry to three H1+ atoms. In the eighteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a trigonal non-coplanar geometry to three H1+ atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Materials Data on Ge7H18O23 by Materials Project

Ge7H4O17(H5O2)2(H2O)2 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. The structure is three-dimensional and consists of two molecular hydrogen;dihydrate molecules, two water molecules, and one Ge7H4O17 framework. In the Ge7H4O17 framework, there are seven inequivalent Ge4+ sites. In the first Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.85–2.07 Å. In the second Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.84–2.00 Å. In the third Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.85–2.03 Å. In the fourth Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.84–2.10 Å. In the fifth Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 53–64°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.74–1.85 Å. In the sixth Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 57–61°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.75–1.79 Å. In the seventh Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 53–59°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.73–1.86 Å. There are four inequivalent H1+ sites. In the first H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a distorted linear geometry to two O2- atoms. There is one shorter (1.03 Å) and one longer (1.63 Å) H–O bond length. In the second H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 0.98 Å. In the third H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 0.99 Å. In the fourth H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 0.99 Å. There are seventeen inequivalent O2- sites. In the first O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the second O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted T-shaped geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the third O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the fourth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal non-coplanar geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the fifth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the sixth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the seventh O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted single-bond geometry to two Ge4+ and one H1+ atom. In the eighth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal non-coplanar geometry to two Ge4+ and one H1+ atom. In the ninth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the tenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the eleventh O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the twelfth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the thirteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the fourteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the fifteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the sixteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the seventeenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted water-like geometry to three H1+ atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Materials Data on Ge7H18O23 by Materials Project

Ge7H7O18(H2O)3H5O2 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. The structure is three-dimensional and consists of one molecular hydrogen;dihydrate molecule, three water molecules, and one Ge7H7O18 framework. In the Ge7H7O18 framework, there are seven inequivalent Ge4+ sites. In the first Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.85–2.05 Å. In the second Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.87–2.08 Å. In the third Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.83–2.07 Å. In the fourth Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form GeO6 octahedra that share corners with three GeO4 tetrahedra and edges with three GeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.82–2.24 Å. In the fifth Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 49–60°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.73–1.84 Å. In the sixth Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 54–61°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.75–1.78 Å. In the seventh Ge4+ site, Ge4+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 56–59°. There are a spread of Ge–O bond distances ranging from 1.73–1.85 Å. There are seven inequivalent H1+ sites. In the first H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 1.01 Å. In the second H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a distorted linear geometry to two O2- atoms. There is one shorter (1.04 Å) and one longer (1.61 Å) H–O bond length. In the third H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to two O2- atoms. There is one shorter (1.02 Å) and one longer (1.72 Å) H–O bond length. In the fourth H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a distorted single-bond geometry to two O2- atoms. There is one shorter (1.03 Å) and one longer (1.65 Å) H–O bond length. In the fifth H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a distorted single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 1.02 Å. In the sixth H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 0.98 Å. In the seventh H1+ site, H1+ is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one O2- atom. The H–O bond length is 0.98 Å. There are eighteen inequivalent O2- sites. In the first O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal non-coplanar geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the second O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the third O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the fourth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal non-coplanar geometry to three Ge4+ atoms. In the fifth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal planar geometry to two Ge4+ and one H1+ atom. In the sixth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the seventh O2- site, O2- is bonded in a 2-coordinate geometry to two Ge4+ and one H1+ atom. In the eighth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the ninth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the tenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal non-coplanar geometry to two Ge4+ and one H1+ atom. In the eleventh O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the twelfth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a trigonal non-coplanar geometry to two Ge4+ and one H1+ atom. In the thirteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the fourteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the fifteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the sixteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to two Ge4+ atoms. In the seventeenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a trigonal non-coplanar geometry to three H1+ atoms. In the eighteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted water-like geometry to three H1+ atoms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Evaluating the Importance of Conformers for Understanding the Vacuum-Ultraviolet Spectra of Oxiranes: Experiment and Theory

Vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) absorption spectroscopy enables electronic transitions that offer the unambiguous identification of molecules. As target molecules become more complex, multifunctional species present a great challenge to both experimental and computational spectroscopy. This research reports both experimental and theoretical studies of oxiranes. Computationally, the nuclear ensemble approach has been used to accurately predict experimental spectra for a variety of molecules. However, this approach incurs great computational cost, as ensembles generally consist of thousands of geometries. The present study aims to drastically reduce the ensemble by evaluating the significance of the conformers to the predicted spectra. This approach was applied to 11 substituted oxiranes using the Conformer Rotamer Ensemble Sampling Tool (CREST) of Grimme to generate an ensemble of unique conformers determined by their Boltzmann populations. Five TD-DFT functionals (BMK, CAM-B3LYP, M06-2X, MN15, ωB97X-D) and EOM-CCSD were used to simulate the spectrum of each substituted oxirane ensemble. Computed spectra were then compared to the experiment using both qualitative and quantitative metrics. Based on these metrics, it was observed that certain conformers may not be necessary to characterize this set of oxiranes despite the temperature (323 K) of the experiment. A single conformer can then be used with TD-DFT and EOM-CCSD to replicate the experimental spectra of these medium-sized combustion species.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Tracking Radioactive Isotopes in HVAC and Application for Hot Cell Analyses - 20155

In recent years, the surge in the number of isotope production facilities under design has increased the need to analyze isotope migration in facility Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) during normal operations and accident scenarios. These facilities are used to produce isotopes for medical, security, and industrial applications and as such are subject to license and regulatory requirements 10CFR20, 10CFR30, 10CFR50, and 10CFR70. GOTHIC, a general-purpose thermal-hydraulics software package, includes the ability to model isotopic tracers, radioactive decay and isotope migration as well as HEPA and charcoal filters for isotope retention. A GOTHIC model was developed by Zachry Nuclear Engineering (ZNE) to examine the effect of negative room pressure, HEPA filtration, and HVAC fluctuations on radiation areas, hot cells and gloveboxes. Radioactive tracers were used to simulate the concentration of spills within contaminated areas, track the migration of isotopes of interest, and determine the isotopic retention and buildup on facility HEPA filters. A variety of isotopes with concern to dose (e.g., Kr-85, Sr-90, I-131, etc.), including their decay and progeny, are included in the analysis. Negative pressures are maintained in the regions of interest by a representative central HVAC system equipped with a volumetric fan that exhausts to the environment after a series of isolation valves and HEPA filters. GOTHIC is an industry trusted tool for providing engineering solutions for a variety of applications, including fission product tracking, aerosol and particulate transport and ventilation assessments. The software provides an integrated analysis environment that includes a graphical user interface (GUI) for constructing analysis models, a numerical solver that includes parallel processing capabilities and a post-processor for evaluating simulation results. It solves the conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy for multicomponent, multi-phase flow in lumped parameter and multi-dimensional geometries (1, 2, or full 3D), including the effects of turbulence, diffusion and buoyancy. It has been developed and maintained under a Quality Assurance program in compliance with the requirements of 10CFR50 Appendix B and applicable portions of ASME NQA-1 since 1995. GOTHIC has been used for assessing both forced and natural convection conditions for a wide range of applications, including: - Tracking concentration of hazardous gases and chemicals for habitability and safety assessments - Determining ventilation and filtration requirements and optimizing location and arrangement of these systems - Room heat-up, including diverse and Flexible coping strategies for Extended Loss of AC Power (FLEX/ELAP) - Equipment Qualification (EQ) A distinctive feature of GOTHIC is the ability to track many different fields/substances in a simulation, including user defined tracer elements, in the liquid, vapor and droplet fields as well as surfaces and filters. This capability allows GOTHIC to model fission product transport and release or the removal of particulates or harmful toxins from exhaust gases using a spray scrubber or other types of filtration systems. GOTHIC also includes models for engineered equipment, such as fans, filters, charcoal filters, dryers/demisters, dampers, etc. The aerosols and other filtered material are removed or accumulated in these components. The range of aerosol and radiological applications that GOTHIC has been used for includes: - Source Term: Primary Coolant (Equilibrium) Activity; Non-Water Coolant Source/Leakage. - Conditions for Iodine Re-evolution: Sump/Suppression Pool Conditions and pH; - RWST Conditions and pH. - Isotope Removal Mechanisms: Containment Sprayed and Unsprayed Region Mixing; Charcoal Filter Heating due to Iodine decay. - Radionuclide Transport and Decay: Post-LOCA Release in containment; Transport between connected Compartments and vent systems; Groundwater transport of radionuclides. - Non-Newtonian Fluid modeling for sludge, waste tanks, etc. ADAMS ML071581053 (titled 'Best Practice Guidelines for the use of CFD in Nuclear Reactor Safety Applications') poses guidelines for applying single phase CFD codes in nuclear reactor safety problems and GOTHIC is listed as a 'tool for 3D flows' and 'dispersal and deposition of radionuclides.' The Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA) pedigree of GOTHIC is an important aspect for applications in the nuclear industry. The fundamental tracer models (convective transport, molecular and turbulent diffusion, removal mechanisms, etc.) have been verified using analytical solutions and validated against applicable separate effects tests. Also, GOTHIC has been benchmarked to many integrated effects tests, including Phebus FP (Fission Product). GOTHIC gives good agreement for the buildup and decay of fission products in Phebus Test 3. The model developed by ZNE demonstrates GOTHIC's applicability and acceptability for use in analyzing the migration and retention of radioactive isotopes and their progeny in normal operation and accident scenario analyses for isotope production facilities, hot cells, and gloveboxes. The tracer activities calculated by GOTHIC can then be used in downstream radiation transport and shielding codes like RADTRAD-NAI{sup C}, MCNP{sup R}, and MicroShield{sup R} to determine on-site and of-site doses. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electronic Structure of Ru 2 6+ Complexes with Electron-Rich Anilinopyridinate Ligands

Diruthenium paddlewheel complexes supported by electron-rich anilinopyridinate (Xap) ligands were synthesized in the course of the first in-depth structural and spectroscopic interrogation of monocationic [Ru 2 (Xap) 4 Cl] + species in the Ru 2 6+ oxidation state. Despite paramagnetism of the compounds, 1 H NMR spectroscopy proved highly informative for determining the isomerism of the Ru 2 5+ and Ru 2 6+ compounds. While most compounds are found to have the polar (4,0) geometry, with all four Xap ligands in the same orientation, some synthetic procedures resulted in a mixture of (4,0) and (3,1) isomers, most notably in the case of the parent compound Ru 2 (ap) 4 Cl. The isomerism of this compound has been overlooked in previous reports. Electrochemical studies demonstrate that oxidation potentials can be tuned by the installation of electron donating groups to the ligands, increasing accessibility of the Ru 2 6+ oxidation state. The resulting Ru 2 6+ monocations were found to have the expected (π*) 2 ground state, and an in-depth study of the electronic transitions by Vis/NIR absorption and MCD spectroscopies with the aid of TD-DFT allowed for the assignment of the electronic spectra. Here, the empty δ* orbital is the major acceptor orbital for the most prominent electronic transitions. Both Ru 2 5+ and Ru 2 6+ compounds were studied by Ru K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy; however, the rising edge energy is insensitive to redox changes in the compounds due to the broad line shape observed for 4d transition metal K-edges. DFT calculations indicate the presence of ligand orbitals at the frontier level, suggesting that further oxidation beyond Ru 2 6+ will be ligand-centered rather than metal-centered.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Structural Rearrangements of Subnanometer Cu Oxide Clusters Govern Catalytic Oxidation

Sub-nanometer metal oxide clusters are very important materials that are widely used, for example, in catalysis or electronic devices such as sensors. Hence, it is critical to understand the atomic structures and properties of sub-nanometer metal oxide clusters under a reactive gas environment, such as O 2 . We consider here experimentally accessible precise-size Cu clusters (Cu 4 ) supported on partially hydroxylated amorphous alumina and show that such clusters can access, in catalytic conditions at high temperature under a pressure of O 2 , a large ensemble of oxidized structures, representing a large variety of oxygen content, of geometries in link with the support, and of catalytic activities for oxidation reactions, as seen from their reducibilities. A grand canonical basin hopping method based on first-principles energy reveals an ensemble of 24 configurations for the Cu 4 O x cluster of low free energy, less than 0.8 eV above the global minimum. The low free energy ensemble consists of clusters of different stoichiometries, which are mainly Cu 4 O 3 and Cu 4 O 4 in the temperature range of 200–400 °C and under a pressure of 0.5 bar of O 2 . The presence of several competitive isomers at each composition implies that cluster fluxionality impacts the phase diagram, which should be ensemble-averaged. In terms of catalytic oxidation activity, Cu 4 O 3 isomers present highly variable O abstraction energy: the most stable isomers are inactive for alkane oxidative dehydrogenation, but isomerization to metastable isomers, that proceed with low barrier, enable to create active configurations with low O abstraction energy. O atoms with the lowest anionic character, and thus of more electrophilic nature, present the best oxidation capability. In contrast, all Cu 4 O 4 isomers show a low O abstraction energy and a high potential catalytic activity. Here, this manuscript demonstrates the unique structural and electronic properties of sub-nano Cu oxide clusters and illustrates the critical roles of configuration ensembles and rearrangement to highly reactive metastable cluster isomers in nanocatalysis.

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

Probing the Potential Energy Profile of the I + (H 2 O) 3 → HI + (H 2 O) 2 OH Forward and Reverse Reactions: High Level CCSD(T) Studies with Spin-Orbit Coupling Included

Three different pathways for the atomic iodine plus water trimer reaction I + (H 2 O) 3 → HI + (H 2 O) 2 OH were preliminarily examined by the DFT-MPW1K method. Related to previous predictions for the F/Cl/Br + (H 2 O) 3 reactions, three pathways for the I + (H 2 O) 3 reaction are linked in terms of geometry and energetics. To legitimize the results, the “gold standard” CCSD(T) method was employed to investigate the lowest-lying pathway with the correlation-consistent polarized valence basis set up to cc-pVQZ(-PP). According to the CCSD(T)/cc-pVQZ(-PP)//CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ(-PP) results, the I + (H 2 O) 3 → HI + (H 2 O) 2 OH reaction is predicted to be endothermic by 47.0 kcal mol -1 . The submerged transition state is predicted to lie 43.7 kcal mol -1 above the separated reactants. The I···(H 2 O) 3 entrance complex lies below the separated reactants by 4.1 kcal mol -1 , and spin-orbit coupling has a significant impact on this dissociation energy. The HI···(H 2 O) 2 OH exit complex is bound by 4.3 kcal mol -1 in relation to the separated products. Compared with simpler I + (H 2 O) 2 and I + H 2 O reactions, the I + (H 2 O) 3 reaction is energetically between them in general. It is speculated that the reaction between the iodine atom and the larger water clusters may be energetically analogous to the I + (H 2 O) 3 reaction. The iodine reaction I + (H 2 O) 3 is connected with the analogous valence isoelectronic bromine/chlorine reactions Br/Cl + (H 2 O) 3 but much different from the F + (H 2 O) 3 reaction. Significant difference with other halogen systems, especially for barrier heights, are seen for the iodine systems.

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

Accurate calculation of many-body energies in water clusters using a classical geometry-dependent induction model

We incorporate geometry-dependent distributed multipole and polarizability surfaces into an induction model that is used to describe the 3- and 4-body terms of the interaction between water molecules. The expansion is carried out up to hexadecapole with the multipoles distributed on the atom sites. Dipole-dipole, dipole-quadrupole, and quadrupole-quadrupole distributed polarizabilities are used to represent the response of the multipoles to an electric field. We compare the model against two large databases consisting of 43,844 3-body terms and 3,603 4-body terms obtained from high level ab initio calculations previously used to fit the MB-pol and q-AQUA interaction potentials. The classical induction model with no adjustable parameters reproduces the ab-initio 3- and 4-body terms contained in these teo Databases with a Root-Mean-Square-Error (RMSE) of 0.104/0.058 and a Mean-Absolute-Error (MAE) of 0.054/0.026 kcal/mol, respectively, results that are on a par with those obtained 1 by fitting the same data using tens of thousands of Permutationally Invariant Polynomials (PIPs). This demonstrates the accuracy of this physically motivated model in describing the 3- and 4-body terms in the interactions between water molecules with no adjustable parameters. The triple-dipole-dispersion energy was included in the 3-body energy and was found to be small but not quite negligible. The model represents a practical, efficient and transferable approach for obtaining accurate non-additive interactions for multi-component systems without the need of performing tens of thousands of high level electronic structure calculations and fitting them with tens of thousands of PIPs.

molecular analysis water, aqueous↗
DOE OSTI2021

OrbNet Denali: A machine learning potential for biological and organic chemistry with semi-empirical cost and DFT accuracy

We present OrbNet Denali, a machine learning model for an electronic structure that is designed as a drop-in replacement for groundstate density functional theory (DFT) energy calculations. The model is a message-passing graph neural network that uses symmetryadapted atomic orbital features from a low-cost quantum calculation to predict the energy of a molecule. OrbNet Denali is trained on a vast dataset of 2.3 × 10 6 DFT calculations on molecules and geometries. This dataset covers the most common elements in biochemistry and organic chemistry (H, Li, B, C, N, O, F, Na, Mg, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Br, and I) and charged molecules. OrbNet Denali is demonstrated on several well-established benchmark datasets, and we find that it provides accuracy that is on par with modern DFT methods while offering a speedup of up to three orders of magnitude. For the GMTKN55 benchmark set, OrbNet Denali achieves WTMAD-1 and WTMAD-2 scores of 7.19 and 9.84, on par with modern DFT functionals. For several GMTKN55 subsets, which contain chemical problems that are not present in the training set, OrbNet Denali produces a mean absolute error comparable to those of DFT methods. For the Hutchison conformer benchmark set, OrbNet Denali has a median correlation coefficient of R 2 = 0.90 compared to the reference DLPNO-CCSD(T) calculation and R 2 = 0.97 compared to the method used to generate the training data (ωB97X-D3/def2- TZVP), exceeding the performance of any other method with a similar cost. Similarly, the model reaches chemical accuracy for noncovalent interactions in the S66x10 dataset. For torsional profiles, OrbNet Denali reproduces the torsion profiles of ωB97X-D3/def2-TZVP with an average mean absolute error of 0.12 kcal/mol for the potential energy surfaces of the diverse fragments in the TorsionNet500 dataset.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Toward Computation-Guided Design of Tunable Organic-Inorganic CdS Quantum Dot Binary Superlattices

Combining the advantages of structural programmability in sequence-defined biomimetic molecules and the controllable packing geometry in nanoparticle superlattices, we demonstrate a self-assembled organic-inorganic superlattice whose structure can be altered with the slightest change in the sequence of the organic counterpart. Here, oleate-coated CdS quantum dots (QDs) form a square-packed superlattice with a 1:1 molar equivalence of a di-block amphiphilic peptoid (Nbrpe6Dig) in chloroform. In contrast, no apparent structure is observed in the organic solvent alone. Based on theoretical evidence, we show that the assembly is a binary superlattice where both the CdS QDs and the peptoids serve as building blocks and further predict a correlation between the superlattice structure and the peptoid sequence. The computationally guided prediction is validated by experiments where superlattice transformation is observed with modified peptoids. The mechanism identified in our work inspires new ways to control and tune organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterial self-assembly.

Qi, Xin↗
DOE OSTI2020

Laser spectroscopy of indium Rydberg atom bunches by electric field ionization

This work reports on the application of a novel electric field-ionization setup for high-resolution laser spectroscopy measurements on bunched fast atomic beams in a collinear geometry. In combination with multi-step resonant excitation to Rydberg states using pulsed lasers, the field ionization technique demonstrates increased sensitivity for isotope separation and measurement of atomic parameters over previous non-resonant laser ionization methods. The setup was tested at the Collinear Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy experiment at ISOLDE-CERN to perform high-resolution measurements of transitions in the indium atom from the 5s 2 5d 2 D 5/2 and 5s 2 5d 2 D 3/2 states to 5s 2 np 2 P and 5s 2 nf 2 F Rydberg states, up to a principal quantum number of n=72 . The extracted Rydberg level energies were used to re-evaluate the ionization potential of the indium atom to be 46,670.107(4)cm -1 . The nuclear magnetic dipole and nuclear electric quadrupole hyperfine structure constants and level isotope shifts of the 5s 2 5d 2 D 5/2 and 5s 2 5d 2 D 3/2 states were determined for 113,115 In. The results are compared to calculations using relativistic coupled-cluster theory. A good agreement is found with the ionization potential and isotope shifts, while disagreement of hyperfine structure constants indicates an increased importance of electron correlations in these excited atomic states. With the aim of further increasing the detection sensitivity for measurements on exotic isotopes, a systematic study of the field-ionization arrangement implemented in the work was performed at the same time and an improved design was simulated and is presented. The improved design offers increased background suppression independent of the distance from field ionization to ion detection.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Extreme confinement of hydrogen gas within fullerenelike nanoporous carbon

Nanoporous carbons and carbon nanostructures can store hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures but lack the volumetric and gravimetric capacity to be industrially significant. Recent inelastic neutron scattering experiments suggest a highly dense phase of hydrogen at temperatures well above the melting point of solid hydrogen. However, it remains unclear how pore geometry and intermolecular interactions enable these dense phases to exist, with dispersion (van der Waals) or electrostatic/induction suggested to be the key effects in slit and curved pores but their relative contributions have yet to be quantified. In this paper, we perform benchmark electronic structure calculations allowing the interactions between planar and curved aromatic molecules with hydrogen to be accurately determined. Dispersion was found to dominate over electrostatic and inductive effects with some many-body charge transfer (Dobson type-A) effects needed to capture the most highly curved structures. Density functional methods that include type-A many-body effects were found to accurately describe the intermolecular interactions at a fraction of the cost of coupled-cluster simulations and these approaches were used to calculate the energies inside large carbon bowl and slit pores. The interaction energies inside the bowl pores were found to depend on the orientation of the hydrogen molecule. This rotational barrier, modeled as a quantum hindered rotor, could reproduce the peak splitting observed in inelastic neutron scattering experiments, with weak splitting arising from bowl-like fullerene pores and strong splitting from highly confining nanotubelike pores. Increasing the fraction of such curved pores in nanoporous carbons may therefore offer a pathway to enhance their hydrogen-storage capacity. Moreover, the preferential adsorption of ortho hydrogen on nanotubelike pores could enable the storage of high-density hydrogen without the need to remove heat produced during the ortho-para hydrogen conversion.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Reversible Ligand Protonation in Noninnocent Constrained-Geometry-Like Group 4 Complexes

The proligands C 5 H 5 CMe 2 CHPhOx R (R = Me 2 , CHMe 2 , and CMe 3 ) react with M(NMe 2 ) 4 (M = Ti, Zr, and Hf) to give monodeprotonated (Ox R CHPhCMe 2 C 5 H 4 )M(NMe 2 ) 3 , doubly deprotonated (C 5 H 4 CMe 2 CPhOx R )M(NMe 2 ) 2 , or a mixture of both. The observed products depend on reaction conditions, the oxazoline substituent, and the metal center, with 4-t-butyl-oxazoline or Ti giving only the monodeprotonated (Ox R CHPhCMe 2 C 5 H 4 )M(NMe 2 ) 3 . Amine elimination from (Ox R CHPhCMe 2 C 5 H 4 )M(NMe 2 ) 3 to give (C 5 H 4 CMe 2 CPhOx R )M(NMe 2 ) 2 is reversible for 4,4-dimethyl- and 4-isopropyl-oxazoline-based ligands in Zr or Hf complexes. Temperature-dependent kinetic studies of the equilibration of (C 5 H 4 CMe 2 CPhOx Me2 )Zr(NMe 2 ) 2 , HNMe 2 and (Ox Me2 CHPhCMe 2 C 5 H 4 )Zr(NMe 2 ) 3 provide the experimental thermodynamic parameters ΔS° = -17.4 ± 2.6 cal·mol –1 K –1 and ΔH° = -6.8 ± 0.8 kcal·mol –1 . An Eyring plot of the rate constants, determined from the system as it approaches equilibrium, gives the activation entropy and activation enthalpy for the addition of (C 5 H 4 CMe 2 CPhOx Me2 )Zr(NMe 2 ) 2 and HNMe 2 as -36 ± 4 cal·mol –1 K –1 and 8.9 ± 1.3 kcal·mol –1 , respectively; the elimination of HNMe 2 from (Ox Me2 CHPhCMe 2 C 5 H 4 )Zr(NMe 2 ) 3 is characterized by ΔS ‡ = -19 ± 5 cal·mol –1 K –1 and ΔH ‡ = 15.7 ± 1.5 kcal·mol –1 . DFT computational models indicate a single-step, nonlinear transfer of the H between the benzylic position of the noninnocent, oxazoline-coordinated ligand and NMe 2 . Computations also confirm the negative activation entropy and the trends in the barriers support the experimental results. Together, these studies indicate the importance of steric effects from the oxazoline ligand, metal center, ancillary ligands, and leaving group on the shuttling of the proton between HNMe 2 and the noninnocent ligand. Finally, these effects suggest that coordination of oxazoline to the metal center is a key part of the benzylic deprotonation and noninnocent behavior of the cyclopentadienyl-oxazoline ligand.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantifying Properties for a Mechanistic, Predictive Understanding of Aqueous Impact on Aging of Medium and Low Voltage AC and DC Cabling in Nuclear Power Plants

To address the gap in knowledge in understanding degradation in relevant service conditions, this project aimed to develop a mechanistic, predictive model of medium and low voltage cable failure based on the primary environmental degradation parameters of aqueous immersion time, temperature, and the oxidation extent. To do so, we took a two-fold approach toward evaluating degradation as related to the aqueous condition. First, we evaluated the chemical, mechanical, and electrical properties of polymers that comprise the cabling insulation under varied aqueous conditions at different temperatures. Secondly, we evaluated the performance of insulation materials under similar accelerated aging conditions in addition to the dielectric breakdown of the cabling under submersion conditions. Thermal oxidation and immersion of LDPE thin films were done using a Parr vessel and the extent of oxidation was monitored using the carbonyl index from ATR-FTIR spectrum, a ratio quantifying the carbonyl functionality produced on the LDPE film surface. Increasing the temperature, oxidation time, and oxygen pressure increased the water-vapor permeability and the carbonyl content. Thermogravimetric analysis of the films confirmed that there is indeed an initial weight loss of the smaller molecular weight molecules and volatiles. At higher temperatures, there is a secondary mass loss. Up to 70°C, the mass loss curves were similar until 80°C, when the aged films decreased at a much greater rate with respect to increasing temperature. This was seen in the 10, 50, 90% weight loss temperatures. The mechanical properties of sheet PP and HDPE as well as injection molded LDPE, HDPE, HDPP dog bones were plotted with respect to the time spent in the Parr vessel during thermal oxidation. For the sheet PP and HDPE, the UTS and the modulus of elasticity decreased while the elongation increased. The injection-molded LDPE, HDPE, and HDPP dog bones experienced a similar trend where the changes in the properties were within experimental uncertainty. This analysis of LDPE in dry and immersive oxygen-rich environments is an important baseline for future experiments looking at other degradation mechanisms. A predictive aging model for low-density polyethylene insulative cable housings was developed. This model revealed a combination of physical and chemical processes which lead to an increase in permeability and a decrease in strength of the insulator. In creating this predictive model, a gap of knowledge in the literature was revealed in two areas: understanding how the crystallinity of a polymer changes with time and visualizing the predicted pores formed through the insulator which leads to failure. Developing and using an adapted ATR-FTIR method, crystallinity was monitored and compared to bulk crystallinity found via DSC. Inhomogeneity in crystallinity changes were observed but the FTIR method but was found to be less reliable. Pore visualization was found utilizing electrical impedance spectroscopy saturated aged polyethylene films with synthesized citrate-capped gold nanoparticles, and chloroauric acid precursor. results indicate a decreasing impedance of the polyethylene films caused by the transport of ions through the film. SEM imaging was then performed for elemental analysis of the films and counter electrodes for the presence of ions. Chloride and gold ions were detected; however, no nanoparticles were found. This gives an estimated pore size of at least 0.3 nm through the aged film. Cyclic submergence of polyethylene and polypropylene in aqueous solutions of copper sulfate and Harrison’s solution were examined. It was discovered that aging in these mixed conditions and at 90°C did cause a small, yet significant increase to tensile strength for both unaged polyethylene and polypropylene. The PE and PP in cycled and submerged conditions did not have tensile strengths significantly different from dry-aged after 16 weeks. For both solutions, it was determined that capacitance increases with both water tree depth and cable temperature and is relatively independent of changing water tree AR. As for resistance, there is no apparent change between depth percentages of 10 and 80 for both solutions. This is because the water tree has not yet entered the conductor and thus there is no shorting current flowing through the tree yet. Between 80 and 100% water tree depth, it is observed that for both solutions there is a rapid decrease in resistance because the tree is now impacting the conductor shield and allowing shorting current to flow through it. The relationship between resistance and temperature was found to be inversed. As temperature increases, resistance decreases for both water tree solutions with distilled water having the most apparent difference across the range of temperatures simulated. With regards to water tree AR, resistance was found to be relatively independent at depth percentages of 10, 50, and 70, but there was some relationship at 100% depth for both solutions. At this depth, as water tree AR increased, resistance was found to also increase. Through the examination of voltage and electric field distribution plots, it was confirmed for EPR cables that increasing water tree depth leads to increasing distortion. The increase in shorting current at 100% depth for aqueous copper sulfate compared to distilled water was also visualized. Lastly, the relationship between shorting current and temperature for narrow water trees was visualized and validated using the distribution plots. This study has led to a better understanding of the effect of cable temperature, water tree solution, and geometry of the tree region on cable degradation. Furthermore, this study has documented simulation results of water tree degradation in EPR MV cables, which had been previously lacking in information. Future work in this area will add frequency into the mix and examine what effect it has on the rate of cable degradation as a result of water treeing. To compliment the work being carried by UMD on different polymer chemistries, harvested medium voltage (MV) cables were selected for accelerated aging study at ORNL. These medium voltage cables are representative of the vintages and materials that are currently in use at existing nuclear power plants (NPPs). These cables were immersed in water at 90°C and energized for a period of two years at elevated voltage. Partial discharge was measured during this period of time to track potential degradation. Unfortunately, due to the absence of failure, the extent of integration between the UMD techniques and the harvested MV insulation was limited. However, based on the findings and from the UMD research in the previous sections on polyethylene and polypropylene, follow-on characterization for harvested MV cable insulation should focus on sample preparation to take advantage of the UMD techniques to better understand mechanistic degradation in MV cable insulations. This would include: 1.) Utilization of solutions and impedance measurement insulation to track permeability in harvested and accelerated aging insulation samples, 2.) Adaptation of gold nanoparticle synthesis for electrical impedance spectroscopy with supporting SEM characterization to study pore formation in harvested and accelerated aged insulation samples, & 3.) ATR-FTIR crystallinity with multiple temperature dependent harvested MV cable insulation under different air and submerged accelerated aging. In addition, low voltage dielectric spectroscopy and high voltage dissipation factor, tan δ, could be implemented as a condition monitoring tool for harvested MV cable insulation in submerged environments.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

NSTX-U research advancing the physics of spherical tokamaks

Abstract The objectives of NSTX-U research are to reinforce the advantages of STs while addressing the challenges. To extend confinement physics of low- A , high beta plasmas to lower collisionality levels, understanding of the transport mechanisms that set confinement performance and pedestal profiles is being advanced through gyrokinetic simulations, reduced model development, and comparison to NSTX experiment, as well as improved simulation of RF heating. To develop stable non-inductive scenarios needed for steady-state operation, various performance-limiting modes of instability were studied, including MHD, tearing modes, and energetic particle instabilities. Predictive tools were developed, covering disruptions, runaway electrons, equilibrium reconstruction, and control tools. To develop power and particle handling techniques to optimize plasma exhaust in high performance scenarios, innovative lithium-based solutions are being developed to handle the very high heat flux levels that the increased heating power and compact geometry of NSTX-U will produce, and will be seen in future STs. Predictive capabilities accounting for plasma phenomena, like edge harmonic oscillations, ELMs, and blobs, are being tested and improved. In these ways, NSTX-U researchers are advancing the physics understanding of ST plasmas to maximize the benefit that will be gained from further NSTX-U experiments and to increase confidence in projections to future devices.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗