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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 883 records · Page 49

Nanopinhole-Enabled, Hole-Selective Poly-Si/SioxNy Passivating Contacts on Textured c-Si for Si Solar Cells

The next-generation silicon photovoltaics will be based on passivating electron- and hole-selective contacts with both very low interface recombination and contact resistivities. While the emerging mainstream TOPCon technology has developed excellent electron-selective poly-Si/tunneling SiOx contacts, hole-selective contacts, especially on textured surfaces, have remained a significant challenge. This contribution introduces novel high-performance hole selective poly-Si contacts on pyramid-textured Si, enabled by electrochemically produced hole transport nanopinholes in a 10 nm oxynitride passivating dielectric stack capped by p+ poly-Si. The highly passivating oxynitride layer is produced via atomic intermixing of O and N atoms in the initial SiOx/SiNy layer stack upon thermal annealing. Carrier transport is governed by nanopinhole density and size are tuned by Ag nanoparticle electrodeposition and surface attachment chemistries. This results in passivating hole contact resistivities in the m..omega..-cm2 range, while preserving interface recombination current prefactor around 5 fA/cm2.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Nanoscale Design of Pd-Based Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Enhancement in Alkaline Media

Palladium (Pd)-based electrocatalysts have recently emerged as one class of the foremost promising candidates for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media due to their excellent ORR activity and durability and lower costs compared with platinum. Insightful design of Pd-based nano-architectures with optimized active surface sites and maximal intrinsic performance is central to promoting the ORR applications. To further accelerate the sluggish ORR kinetics at the cathode of fuel cells and substantially decrease the overall cost of the electrocatalysts, various strategies, including controlled sizes and shapes with selected crystallographic facets, crystal-phase engineering, heteroatom doping, tailored surface strains, and surface engineering by de-alloying, have been extensively developed in the past decade. Here in this review, a brief introduction to the fundamental ORR mechanisms of Pd-based electrocatalysts in alkaline media is presented, followed by a thorough discussion on various strategies for delicately designing high-performance Pd-based catalysts with corresponding examples. Thereafter, the perspectives and new insights into the challenges are outlined, and some emerging research directions related to the rational design and controlled synthesis of Pd-based ORR electrocatalysts are also proposed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Underlying Substrate Effect on Electrochemical Activity for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction with Low‐Platinum‐Loaded Catalysts

Platinum is known as the best catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) but the scarcity and high cost of Pt limit its widespread applicability. Herein, the role of the underlying substrate on the HER activity of dispersed Pt atoms is uncovered. A direct current magnetron sputtering technique is utilized to deposit transition metal (TM) thin films of W, Ti, and Ta as underlying substrates for extremely low loading of Pt (<1.5 at%). The electrocatalytic performance of as‐synthesized samples for the HER is examined in both alkali and acidic media. The results show that despite the low loading of Pt, the Pt/TM catalysts produce hydrogen at a rate comparable to that of pristine bulk Pt. Pt/TM catalysts also display good stability with less than 5% decay in performance after 10 h of continuous HER operation. Based on the computational study, the excellent performance is attributed to the modified electronic properties of the Pt atoms, offering ideal binding energy for HER due to interaction with the underlying substrates. This work provides a robust and industry‐friendly route toward designing efficient catalytic systems for important electrochemical reactions such as HER and others.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Synthesis of Red, Green, and Blue Carbon Quantum Dots and Construction of Multicolor Cellulose-Based Light-Emitting Diodes

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used in lighting and display applications. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs), which have high biocompatibility, high resistance to photobleaching, and full-spectrum luminescence, have inherent advantages as fluorescent materials for LED devices. Herein, multicolor CQDs are prepared by a new reagent engineering strategy due to the difference of effective conjugate length and the surface electron-withdrawing groups of CQDs. White CQDs are realized by mixing blue, green, and red CQDs proportionally. Then, the aggregation-caused quenching phenomenon of CQDs is suppressed through the hydrogen-bonding network of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs). Multicolor fluorescent films are prepared from CQDs and CNFs by simple mixing and casting methods. Finally, thin-film encapsulation based on the photosensitive resin ABPE-10 coating can be realized and rapidly assembles into fluorescent films with different light-emitting colors into LED devices, leading to have superior thermal performance compared with conventional LEDs. White LEDs have excellent white-light illumination performance, with Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage color coordinates of (0.33, 0.37), a correlated color temperature of 5688 K, and a color rendering index of 86. This strategy provides a convenient and scalable pathway for low-cost, environmentally friendly, and high-performance CQDs-based LEDs.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Effects of a composite flame retardant system on the flame retardancy and mechanical performance of epoxy resin adhesive

Abstract A flame‐retarded epoxy resin (ER) adhesive with strong flame retardancy and adhesion performance was prepared. The coated ammonium polyphosphate (MFAPP), melamine (MEL), and organic montmorillonite (OMMT) were mixed to prepare a composite flame retardant. It was subsequently blended with a toughened ER thoroughly and then the mixture was cured with polyamide. The resultant ER adhesive thermosets achieved UL‐94 V‐0 rating during vertical burning test, and the limiting oxygen index value was as high as 31.6%. The shear strength of the ER adhesive was 27.9 MPa when 25 wt% MFAPP/MEL/OMMT was introduced. Compared with the pure adhesive, the flame retardant epoxy adhesive maintained outstanding adhesion performance because of the good compatibility between the composite flame retardant additives and the toughened ER adhesive. Cone calorimetry tests indicated that the release of heat and smoke were obviously declined with the incorporation of the composite flame retardant system in comparison to pure ER adhesive thermoset. The investigation of flame retardant mechanism revealed that the composite MFAPP/MEL/OMMT flame retardant system stimulated the generation of highly expanded, integral, and strong char layer and the formed char layer exerted superior insulation effect during combusiton. The present work provided an alternative approach to prepare flame retardant ER adhesive with the similar excellent adhesive performance.

Li, Sheng↗

Compressional wave velocity and effective stress in unsaturated soil: Potential application for monitoring moisture conditions in vadose zone sediments

Compressional seismic (P-wave) velocities were measured experimentally at different water potentials and confining pressure states using a variety of sediments collected from the US Department of Energy Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. P-wave velocity was measured in variably saturated sediments using ultrasonic piezoelectric transducers and water potential was measured with a heat dissipation sensor. We propose a model to relate changes in P-wave velocity to soil stress conditions using an effective stress formulation that includes capillary stress as well as adsorptive stress. We show that compressional wave velocities can be related to water potential and confining stress using a model with five fitted parameters. A single set of parameters provides an excellent fit to data acquired from all of the sediment samples. Under very dry conditions, corresponding to low water potentials, water flow occurs in adsorptive thin films associated with very low unsaturated hydraulic conductivities. The results presented here suggest the utility of seismic methods for establishing low water potential and flow conditions within variably saturated Hanford formation sediments and providing feedback on the performance of mitigation efforts such as soil desiccation and surface infiltration barriers. Seismic methods can provide minimally invasive, three-dimensional information on relevant flow conditions in vadose zone sediments as well as changes that occur over time.

Linneman, Dorothy C.↗

Chapter 6: An Improved Leaf Protoplast System for Highly Efficient Transient Expression in Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)

As a robust perennial C4-type monocot plant and a native species to North America, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has been evaluated and designated as a strong candidate bioenergy crop by the U.S. DOE. Although genetic modifications of switchgrass have been used to successfully reduce the recalcitrance of switchgrass biomass for biofuel production, the generation of transgenic switchgrass is still a slow and laborious process. A transient protoplast system can provide an excellent platform to accelerate the selection of genes-of-interest for tailoring switchgrass biomass. However, partially due to the lack of the complete genomic information, the attempts to optimize the transient protoplast system for switchgrass remain scarce. In this chapter, we provide an improved protocol for switchgrass protoplast isolation, increased transformation efficiency using CsCl gradient ultracentrifugation-derived plasmid DNA and extended application of the transient switchgrass protoplast system to analyze protein expression using western blot.

BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES,BIOMASS FUELS↗

CRISPR-Cas Genome Editing in the Cellulolytic Bacterium Clostridium thermocellum (C. thermocellum)

Clostridium thermocellum is an anaerobic thermophile that can efficiently degrade lignocellulosic biomass and directly convert it into value-added products such as ethanol. The cellulolytic and ethanologenic capabilities of C. thermocellum make it an excellent candidate for consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) for industrial production, where biomass degradation and fermentation occur simultaneously. In this organism, strain development for effective CBP has traditionally been hindered by the lack of genetic tools. Here, we detail our efficient two-step CRISPR-Cas genome editing protocol for C. thermocellum, using both the native Type I-B CRISPR-Cas system and an exogenous Type-II CRISPR system from Geobacillus stearothermophilus. As recombination is limiting in C. thermocellum genome engineering, we highlight effective thermophilic recombinases necessary to improve genome editing in these systems. We additionally provide design rules for the repair template and synthetic guide RNA (gRNA) for each system. Using these newly developed CRISPR and recombineering tools, targeted C. thermocellum engineering will substantiate efforts toward CBP strain development in industrial applications.

anaerobe↗

Avoiding Excess Computation in Asynchronous Evolutionary Algorithms

Asynchronous evolutionary algorithms are becoming increasingly popular as a means of making full use of many processors while solving computationally expensive search and optimization problems. These algorithms excel at keeping large clusters fully utilized, but may sometimes inefficiently sample an excess of fast-evaluating solutions at the expense of higher-quality, slow-evaluating ones. We introduce a steady-state parent selection strategy, SWEET (“Selection whilE EvaluaTing”), that sometimes selects individuals that are still being evaluated and allows them to reproduce early. This gives slow-evaluating individuals that have higher fitnesses an increased ability to multiply in the population. We find that SWEET appears effective in simulated take-over time analysis, but that its benefit is confined mostly to early in the run, and our preliminary study on an autonomous vehicle controller problem that involves tuning a spiking neural network proves inconclusive.

Scott, Eric↗

Optimizing Data Movement for GPU-Based In-Situ Workflow Using GPUDirect RDMA

The extreme-scale computing landscape is increasingly dominated by GPU-accelerated systems. At the same time, in-situ workflows that employ memory-to-memory inter-application data exchanges have emerged as an effective approach for leveraging these extreme-scale systems. In the case of GPUs, GPUDirect RDMA enables third-party devices, such as network interface cards, to access GPU memory directly and has been adopted for intra-application communications across GPUs. In this paper, we present an interoperable framework for GPU-based in-situ workflows that optimizes data movement using GPUDirect RDMA. Specifically, we analyze the characteristics of the possible data movement pathways between GPUs from an in-situ workflow perspective, and design a strategy that maximizes throughput. Furthermore, we implement this approach as an extension of the DataSpaces data staging service, and experimentally evaluate its performance and scalability on a current leadership GPU cluster. The performance results show that the proposed design reduces data-movement time by up to 53% and 40% for the sender and receiver, respectively, and maintains excellent scalability for up to 256 GPUs.

Zhang, Bo↗

Scaling Optimal Allocation of Cloud Resources Using Lagrange Relaxation

The rapid growth of Cloud Computing (CC) has increased the variety of computing resources, storage, and communication services that pose significant new challenges for the efficient use of cloud resources. The cost-efficient allocation of cloud resources has become a decisive premise for the adoption of CC services. The cost-efficient selection and scheduling of these resources to meet the demands of a scientific workflow is a challenging problem that is exacerbated by the inclusion of multiple CC providers. In this paper, we present a novel strategy for the cost-efficient selection of CC resources using Lagrange relaxation. Our approach is based on preselection of resources and demand decomposition to create a series of smaller sub-problems, which allow the estimation of the best cost-structures and selection of CC service providers for a subset of the time period of the planning horizon. Decomposition of the demand is achieved through the boundary analysis of a continuous relaxation of the problem. Using the metrics defined in terms of the cost and time of completion, we demonstrate excellent performance in relation to optimal solutions. Our method reduced the computational time from hours to seconds for a representative 36-month problem and provided high-quality solutions (< 0.05% relative error). Given the importance of selecting resources and scheduling complex scientific workflows, we believe that this novel strategy will be beneficial for many researchers and users of cloud computing resources.

De La Torre, Luis↗

How to identify different new neutrino oscillation physics scenarios at DUNE

Next generation neutrino oscillation experiments are expected to measure the remaining oscillation parameters with very good precision. They will have unprecedented capabilities to search for new physics that modify oscillations. DUNE, with its broad band beam, good particle identification, and relatively high energies will provide an excellent environment to search for new physics. If deviations from the standard three-flavor oscillation picture are seen however, it is crucial to know which new physics scenario is found so that it can be verified elsewhere and theoretically understood. We investigate several benchmark new physics scenarios by looking at existing long-baseline accelerator neutrino data from NOvA and T2K and determine at what sensitivity DUNE can differentiate among them. We consider sterile neutrinos and both vector and scalar non-standard neutrino interactions, all with new complex phases, the latter of which could conceivably provide absolute neutrino mass scale information. We find that, in many interesting cases, DUNE will have good model discrimination. We also perform a new fit to NOvA and T2K data with scalar NSI.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Light quark Yukawas in triboson final states

Triple heavy vector boson production, pp → VVV (V = W, Z), has recently been observed for the first time. We propose that precision measurements of this process provide an excellent probe of the first generation light quark Yukawa couplings. Modified quark interactions with the off-shell Higgs in this process lead to a rapid growth of the partonic cross sections with energy, which manifests in an enhanced p T distribution of the final state leptons and quarks. We quantify this effect and estimate the present and future 2σ sensitivity to the up, down, and strange Yukawas. In particular, we find that HL-LHC can reach $\mathscr{O}$(400) sensitivity to the down Yukawa relative to the Standard Model value, improving the current sensitivity in this process by a factor of 10, and which can be further improved to $\mathscr{O}$(30) at FCC-hh. This is competitive with and complementary to constraints from global fits and other on-shell probes of the first generation Yukawas. The triboson sensitivity at HL-LHC corresponds to probing dimension-6 SMEFT operators suppressed by an $\mathscr{O}$(1) TeV scale, similarly to other LHC Higgs probes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Drell-Yan q T resummation of fiducial power corrections at N 3 LL

We consider Drell-Yan production pp → V*X → LX at small q T << Q, where q T and Q are the total transverse momentum and invariant mass of the leptonic final state L. Experimental measurements require fiducial cuts on L, which in general introduce enhanced, linear power corrections in q T /Q. We show that they can be unambiguously predicted from factorization, and resummed to the same order as the leading-power contribution. For the fiducial q T spectrum, they constitute the complete linear power corrections. We thus obtain predictions for the fiducial q T spectrum to N 3 LL and next-to-leading-power in q T /Q. Matching to full NNLO ($α$$^{2}_{s}$), we find that the linear power corrections are indeed the dominant ones, and once included by factorization, the remaining fixed-order corrections become almost negligible below q T ≲ 40 GeV. We also discuss the implications for more complicated observables, and provide predictions for the fiducial Φ* spectrum at N 3 LL+NNLO. We find excellent agreement with ATLAS and CMS measurements of q T and Φ*. We also consider the $p$$^{ℓ}_{T}$ spectrum. We show that it develops leptonic power corrections in q T /(Q – 2$p$$^{ℓ}_{T}$), which diverge near the Jacobian peak $p$$^{ℓ}_{T}$ ~ Q/2 and must be kept to all powers to obtain a meaningful result there. Doing so, we obtain for the first time an analytically resummed result for the $p$$^{ℓ}_{T}$ spectrum around the Jacobian peak at N 3 LL+NNLO. Our method is based on performing a complete tensor decomposition for hadronic and leptonic tensors. We show that in practice this is equivalent to often-used recoil prescriptions, for which our results now provide rigorous, formal justification. Our tensor decomposition yields nine Lorentz-scalar hadronic structure functions, which for Z/γ* → ℓℓ or W → ℓν directly map onto the commonly used angular coefficients, but also holds for arbitrary leptonic final states. In particular, for suitably defined Born-projected leptons it still yields a LO-like angular decomposition even when including QED final-state radiation. Finally, we also discuss the application to q T subtractions. Including the unambiguously predicted fiducial power corrections significantly improves their performance, and in particular makes them applicable near kinematic edges where they otherwise break down due to large leptonic power corrections.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Heavy neutral leptons at beam dump experiments of future lepton colliders

A new beam dump experiment that utilizes the beam of future high energy electron-positron colliders could be an excellent avenue to search for dark sector particles due to its unprecedented high energy and intensity. We consider heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) as a specific example to demonstrate the sensitivity of searches for dark sector particles at future electron-positron collider beam dump experiments. This includes the study of the reach at the International Linear Collider (ILC), the Cool Copper Collider (C 3 ), and the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC). We comprehensively examine the HNL production and detector acceptance at these electron beam dump experiments. We show that these experiments will probe regions of HNL parameter space, not yet probed by past experiments, as well as by future approved experiments. Our study also motivates a more detailed analysis of heavy meson productions in high-energy electron-nucleon collisions in thick targets.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Solar parameters in long-baseline accelerator neutrino oscillations

Long-baseline (LBL) accelerator neutrino oscillation experiments, such as NOvA and T2K in the current generation, and DUNE-LBL and HK-LBL in the coming years, will measure the remaining unknown oscillation parameters with excellent precision. These analyses assume external input on the so-called “solar parameters,” θ 12 and $Δm^{2}_{21}$, from solar experiments such as SNO, SK, and Borexino, as well as reactor experiments like KamLAND. Here we investigate their role in long-baseline experiments. We show that, without external input on $Δm^{2}_{21}$ and θ 12 , the sensitivity to detecting and quantifying CP violation is significantly, but not entirely, reduced. Thus long-baseline accelerator experiments can actually determine $Δm^{2}_{21}$ and θ 12 , and thus all six oscillation parameters, without input from any other oscillation experiment. In particular, $Δm^{2}_{21}$ can be determined; thus DUNE-LBL and HK-LBL can measure both the solar and atmospheric mass splittings in their long-baseline analyses alone. While their sensitivities are not competitive with existing constraints, they are very orthogonal probes of solar parameters and provide a key consistency check of a less probed sector of the three-flavor oscillation picture. Furthermore, we also show that the true values of $Δm^{2}_{21}$ and θ 12 play an important role in the sensitivity of other oscillation parameters such as the CP violating phase δ.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Optimizing energetic light dark matter searches in dark matter and neutrino experiments

Neutrino and dark matter experiments with large-volume ($ \underset{\sim }{>} $,2 1 ton) detectors can provide excellent sensitivity to signals induced by energetic light dark matter coming from the present universe. Taking boosted dark matter as a concrete example of energetic light dark matter, we scrutinize two representative search channels, electron scattering and proton scattering including deep inelastic scattering processes, in the context of elastic and inelastic boosted dark matter, in a completely detector-independent manner. In this work, a dark gauge boson is adopted as the particle to mediate the interactions between the Standard Model particles and boosted dark matter. We find that the signal sensitivity of the two channels highly depends on the (mass-)parameter region to probe, so search strategies and channels should be designed sensibly especially at the earlier stage of experiments. In particular, the contribution from the boosted-dark-matter-initiated deep inelastic scattering can be subleading (important) compared to the quasi-elastic proton scattering, if the mass of the mediator is below (above) $ \mathcal{O} $(GeV). We demonstrate how to practically perform searches and relevant analyses, employing example detectors such as DarkSide-20k, DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande, and DeepCore, with their respective detector specifications taken into consideration. For other potential detectors we provide a summary table, collecting relevant information, from which similar studies can be fulfilled readily.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

On the decaying-sterile-neutrino solution to the electron (anti)neutrino appearance anomalies

We explore the hypothesis that the unexplained data from LSND and MiniBooNE are evidence for a new, heavy neutrino mass-eigenstate that mixes with the muon-type neutrino and decays into an electron-type neutrino and a new, very light scalar particle. We consider two different decay scenarios, one with Majorana neutrinos, one with Dirac neutrinos; both fit the data equally well. We find a reasonable, albeit not excellent, fit to the data of MiniBooNE and LSND. The decaying-sterile-neutrino hypothesis, however, cleanly evades constraints from disappearance searches and precision measurements of leptonic meson decays, as long as $1~{\rm MeV}\gtrsim m_4\gtrsim 10$~keV. The SBN program at Fermilab should be able to definitively test the decaying-sterile-neutrino hypothesis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗