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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 901 records · Page 50
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2015

Toward Edge-Defined Holey Boron Nitride Nanosheets

"Holey" two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets with well-defined holy morphology and edge chemistry are highly desirable for applications such as energy storage, catalysis, sensing, transistors, and molecular transport/separation. For example, holey grapheme is currently under extensive investigation for energy storage applications because of the improvement in ion transport due to through the thickness pathways provided by the holes. Without the holes, the 2D materials have significant limitations for such applications in which efficient ion transport is important. As part of an effort to apply this approach to other 2D nanomaterials, a method to etch geometrically defined pits or holes on the basal plane surface of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets has been developed. The etching, conducted via heating in ambient air using metal nanoparticles as catalysts, was facile, controllable, and scalable. Starting h-BN layered crystals were etched and subsequently exfoliated into boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs). The as-etched and exfoliated h-BN nanosheets possessed defined pit and hole shapes that were comprised of regulated nanostructures at the edges. The current finding are the first step toward the bulk preparation of holey BNNSs with defined holes and edges.

Lin, Yi↗
NASA NTRS2019

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Silicon Carbide, Boron Nitride and Silicon for Ceramic Matrix Composite Applications

A comprehensive computational molecular dynamics study is presented for crystalline α-SiC (6H, 4H, and 2H SiC), β-SiC (3C SiC), layered boron nitride, amorphous boron nitride and silicon, the constituent materials for high-temperature SiC/SiC compositions. Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Parallel Simulator software package was used. The Tersoff Potential force field was utilized to evaluate their mechanical characteristics of most of the materials, and the Reax force field was used to model silicon when the Tersoff Potential did not provide accurate results. Their mechanical behaviors were evaluated at a strain rate of 10(exp 7)/s and the results agree with the experimental data in the literature. The results are foundational for linking constituent behavior to composite performance, particularly when test data is unavailable or suspect.

Aluko, Olanrewaju↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

High Temperature Pressure (HTP) Boron Nitride Nanotube (BNNT): Discovery and Commercialization

Future NASA missions for space exploration require key technological elements that must provide sustainability, survivability and operational envelope in extreme environments, such as the high and low extremes in pressures and temperatures, ionizing radiations, chemical and/or physical corrosion, and hypervelocity particles. Advanced multifunctional materials enable revolutionary design schemes for future aerospace vehicles and structures for the extreme environments of NASA missions. Recent studies of nanocomposite materials have shown the potential for both structural integrity and multifunctional capabilities, such as sensing, actuating, health monitoring, radiation shielding, energy harvesting, thermal management, and thermal protection in extreme environments. After the advent of carbon nanotube (CNT) in 1991, scientists predicted that boron and nitrogen, carbons immediate neighbors on the periodic chart, might also form perfect nanotubes, namely boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). The discovery and progress of a new catalyst-free method for synthesizing highly crystalline, very long, and small diameter BNNTs under a high temperature and pressure (HTP) environment have enabled new applications for multifunctional materials. The white color BNNTs offer extraordinary properties including neutron radiation shielding, piezoelectricity, electrostriction, high thermal oxidative stability (>800C in air), not present in CNTs, as well as excellent mechanical strength and toughness, equivalent to CNTs. The characteristics of the BNNTs and their composites along with CNT composites are discussed in this presentation along with their potential aerospace applications in extreme environments.

Cheol Park↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Fabrication of Extruded Polyphenylsulfone – Boron Nitride Composite Tapes

Polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) is a high-temperature, chemically resistant thermoplastic with high impact resistance that is often used in interior aircraft cabin components, medical devices, and membranes. The aforementioned properties have led to interest investigating PPSU’s compatibility with hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) platelets as a thermally conductive, electrical composite insulator for high power-density electric machines. Preliminary trials extruding PPSU-hBN composite tapes showed promising dielectric properties and higher thermal conductivity as a function of hBN concentration compared to their neat analog. On the other hand, only few studies have reported on the extrusion process and resulting thermo-mechanical properties for PPSU and its composites made with chopped fiber reinforcement or fillers, none of which contained boron nitride filler. Prospects may exist for this type of material to be incorporated into extrusion-based additive manufacturing techniques to print other composites bearing unique properties useful for aerospace. Loading levels with up to approximately 23 wt% were achieved using micro-size BN platelets without observing any significant affects to PPSU’s glass-transition temperature. This work includes a description of the rheological properties of PPSU, the extrusion parameters for mixing and compounding the PPSU-hBN composite tapes, and the thermal and thermo-mechanical properties of PPSU-hBN composites.

Tiffany Williams↗
NASA NTRS2023

Mitigating Space Radiation Using Magnesium(-Lithium) and Boron Carbide Composites

The health effects of galactic cosmic radiation are a serious impediment to crewed exploration of the solar system. OLTARIS, an interface for the 3DHZETRN deterministic radiation transport code, was used to assess the response of aerospace materials to this constant radiation exposure. Traditional aerospace structural materials like aluminum can, after a certain mass, increase the health effects of such radiation. However, materials with lower atomic mass may mitigate this build-up in secondary radiation with increasing areal density. As such, lower atomic mass structural alloys of magnesium and magnesium–lithium are promising candidates. These alloys may reduce the mass of structures when substituted for aluminum alloys. Reinforcement with boron carbide could further reduce atomic mass while also improving the mechanical properties of such lightweight alloys. This study found that the lower atomic mass of these materials increased nuclear fragmentation upon cosmic radiation interactions, leading to a softening of the secondary (neutron) radiation spectra. This softened spectra reduced the effective dose equivalent, a measure of health effects, for magnesium(-lithium) alloys and their boron carbide-reinforced composites when compared to aluminum.

Galactic cosmic radiation↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Aligned Boron Nitride Nanotube Reinforced Polyethylene Nanocomposite for Space Radiation Shielding

With NASA’s Artemis program aiming to establish a human presence on the Moon and eventually on Mars, protecting astronauts from radiation is necessary. Flight-heritage materials, like those with high hydrogen content, such as polyethylene (PE), have proven to be effective radiation shields. This is due to hydrogen’s high charge-to-mass ratio, low secondary radiation production, efficient energy absorption, and high cross-section, which increases the probability of particle interactions to slow or stop ionized particles. Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and other boron-rich materials offer more effective thermal neutron radiation-stopping capabilities due to their high cross-section and neutron absorption properties. BNNTs also enhance the mechanical properties of radiation shielding material due to their high strength-to-weight ratios. However, integrating high volumes of nanotubes in a matrix without defects presents significant manufacturing challenges. To address this, a bulk nanocomposite laminate fabricating technique, involving synthesizing millimeter-long vertically aligned BNNTs, densifying the nanotubes to high-volume fractions, and infusing the nanotubes with PE while applying heat and pressure was utilized to fabricate the BNNT-PE nanocomposite that was tested for its radiation shielding properties at NASA Langley Research Center’s neutron radiation exposure lab. Results from these experiments will be discussed in the presentation.

Palak B Patel↗
DOE OSTI2012

Plasticization and Reinforcement in a Boron Cage Compound Polyurethane Nanocomposite: A Dielectric Study

In order to control and modify the physical properties of nanocomposite systems, it is essential to understand the nano-filler/polymer structure-property relationships. Boron cage compounds (BCCs) are a class of icosahedral, closed cage molecules that are of interest due to their high boron content and inherent neutron absorbing/shielding properties, and because of their ability to act as molecular nano-particles. When the BCC n-hexylcarborane is blended with a polybutadiene (PBD)/polyurethane (PU) segmented copolymer (EN8) an increase in the glass transition (Tg) temperature of the PBD phase (reinforcement) and a decrease in the Tg temperatures of the PU phases (plasticization) are observed. These observations were investigated by examining the dielectric relaxation properties of copolymer samples with and without added n-hexylcarborane (0wt% and 5wt% n-hexylcarborane) using broadband dielectric spectroscopy in the frequency range from 0.01 to 1 MHz and temperature range from -140 to 130 °C. Parametric fitting techniques aided in the identification of two α relaxation processes associated with the glass transitions of the soft PBD phase and the hard urethane phases, and a secondary β relaxation process due to the localized motions of side groups. The conductivities at low frequencies were also identified and modeled. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) did not indicate the presence of a crystalline component within the copolymer samples, so interfacial polarization (Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars) relaxation is not possible. A relaxation map (Arrhenius diagram) associated with these processes has been developed from the experimental data to elucidate the role of n-hexylcarborane in the molecular dynamics of the system. Values of fitting parameters, calculated Tg values, and a fragility index are also given for comparison. Reduced localized motion of the soft PBD phase, as well as reinforcement of the hard urethane phases is observed upon the introduction of n-hexylcarborane. The hypothesis that the n-hexylcarborane content preferentially locates within the hard urethane phases is supported by the observed decrease of the fragility index and Tg of the urethane phases.

Bowen, Dan↗
DOE OSTI2015

Ultratough single crystal boron-doped diamond

The invention relates to a single crystal boron doped CVD diamond that has a toughness of at least about 22 MPa m.sup.1/2. The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing single crystal boron doped CVD diamond. The growth rate of the diamond can be from about 20-100 .mu.m/h.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Double helix boron-10 powder thermal neutron detector

A double-helix Boron-10 powder detector having intrinsic thermal neutron detection efficiency comparable to 36'' long, 2-in diameter, 2-bar Helium-3 detectors, and which can be used to replace such detectors for use in portal monitoring, is described. An embodiment of the detector includes a metallic plate coated with Boron-10 powder for generating alpha and Lithium-7 particles responsive to neutrons impinging thereon supported by insulators affixed to at least two opposing edges; a grounded first wire wound in a helical manner around two opposing insulators; and a second wire having a smaller diameter than that of the first wire, wound in a helical manner around the same insulators and spaced apart from the first wire, the second wire being positively biased. A gas, disposed within a gas-tight container enclosing the plate, insulators and wires, and capable of stopping alpha and Lithium-7 particles and generating electrons produces a signal on the second wire which is detected and subsequently related to the number of neutrons impinging on the plate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Boron nitride composites

According to one embodiment, a composite product includes hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), and a plurality of cubic boron nitride (cBN) particles, wherein the plurality of cBN particles are dispersed in a matrix of the hBN. According to another embodiment, a composite product includes a plurality of cBN particles, and one or more borate-containing binders.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Method and device to synthesize boron nitride nanotubes and related nanoparticles

Methods and apparatus for producing chemical nanostructures having multiple elements, such as boron and nitride, e.g. boron nitride nanotubes, are disclosed. The method comprises creating a plasma jet, or plume, such as by an arc discharge. The plasma plume is elongated and has a temperature gradient along its length. It extends along its length into a port connector area having ports for introduction of feed materials. The feed materials include the multiple elements, which are introduced separately as fluids or powders at multiple ports along the length of the plasma plume, said ports entering the plasma plume at different temperatures. The method further comprises modifying a temperature at a distal portion of or immediately downstream of said plasma plume; and collecting said chemical nanostructures after said modifying.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Boron carbide fiber reinforced articles

Methods of producing continuous (or discontinuous) boron carbide fibers. The method comprises reacting a continuous or discontinuous carbon fiber material and a boron oxide gas within a temperature range of from approximately 1400.degree. C. to approximately 2200.degree. C. Articles including such partially or fully converted fibers may be provided, including such reinforcing fibers in a matrix of ceramic (a CMC), in metal (a MMC), or other matrix (e.g., polymer, etc.).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

A boron-coated CCD camera for direct detection of Ultracold Neutrons (UCN)

A new boron-coated CCD camera is described for direct detection of ultracold neutrons (UCN) through the capture reactions $^{10}$B (n,$\alpha$0$\gamma$)$^7$Li (6%) and $^{10}$B(n,$\alpha$1$\gamma$)$^7$Li (94%). The experiments, which extend earlier works using a boron-coated ZnS:Ag scintillator, are based on direct detections of the neutron-capture byproducts in silicon. The high position resolution, energy resolution and particle ID performance of a scientific CCD allows for observation and identification of all the byproducts $\alpha$, $^7$Li and $\gamma$ (electron recoils). A signal-to-noise improvement on the order of 10$^4$ over the indirect method has been achieved. Sub-pixel position resolution of a few microns is demonstrated. The technology can also be used to build UCN detectors with an area on the order of 1 m$^2$. The combination of micrometer scale spatial resolution, few electrons ionization thresholds and large area paves the way to new research avenues including quantum physics of UCN and high-resolution neutron imaging and spectroscopy.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Methods of generation of pores in sheets of hexagonal boron nitride and applications thereof

This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus related to few-layer and monolayer hexagonal boron nitride having a pore therein. In one aspect, a method comprises providing a sheet of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). A defect is created in the sheet of h-BN. The sheet of h-BN is heated to a temperature above about 500° C. The defect in the sheet of h-BN is irradiated with charged particles to enlarge the defect to a hexagonal-shaped pore or a parallelogram-shaped pore in the sheet of h-BN.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Method and device to synthesize boron nitride nanotubes and related nanoparticles

Methods and apparatus for producing chemical nanostructures having multiple elements, such as boron and nitride, e.g. boron nitride nanotubes, are disclosed. The method comprises creating a plasma jet, or plume, such as by an arc discharge. The plasma plume is elongated and has a temperature gradient along its length. It extends along its length into a port connector area having ports for introduction of feed materials. The feed materials include the multiple elements, which are introduced separately as fluids or powders at multiple ports along the length of the plasma plume, said ports entering the plasma plume at different temperatures. The method further comprises modifying a temperature at a distal portion of or immediately downstream of said plasma plume; and collecting said chemical nanostructures after said modifying.

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

Electron affinity of cubic boron nitride terminated with vanadium oxide

A thermally stable negative electron affinity (NEA) for a cubic boron nitride (c-BN) surface with vanadium-oxide-termination is achieved, and its electronic structure was analyzed with in-situ photoelectron spectroscopy. The c-BN films were prepared by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition employing BF{sub 3} and N{sub 2} as precursors. Vanadium layers of ∼0.1 and 0.5 nm thickness were deposited on the c-BN surface in an electron beam deposition system. Oxidation of the metal layer was achieved by an oxygen plasma treatment. After 650 °C thermal annealing, the vanadium oxide on the c-BN surface was determined to be VO{sub 2}, and the surfaces were found to be thermally stable, exhibiting an NEA. In comparison, the oxygen-terminated c-BN surface, where B{sub 2}O{sub 3} was detected, showed a positive electron affinity of ∼1.2 eV. The B{sub 2}O{sub 3} evidently acts as a negatively charged layer introducing a surface dipole directed into the c-BN. Through the interaction of VO{sub 2} with the B{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer, a B-O-V layer structure would contribute a dipole between the O and V layers with the positive side facing vacuum. The lower enthalpy of formation for B{sub 2}O{sub 3} is favorable for the formation of the B-O-V layer structure, which provides a thermally stable surface dipole and an NEA surface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optical-optical double resonance, laser induced fluorescence, and revision of the signs of the spin-spin constants of the boron carbide (BC) free radical

The cold boron carbide free radical (BC X {sup 4}Σ{sup −}) has been produced in a pulsed discharge free jet expansion using a precursor mixture of trimethylborane in high pressure argon. High resolution laser induced fluorescence spectra have been obtained for the B {sup 4}Σ{sup −}–X {sup 4}Σ{sup −} and E {sup 4}Π–X {sup 4}Σ{sup −} band systems of both {sup 11}BC and {sup 10}BC. An optical-optical double resonance (OODR) scheme was implemented to study the finer details of both band systems. This involved pumping a single rotational level of the B state with one laser and then recording the various allowed transitions from the intermediate B state to the final E state with a second laser by monitoring the subsequent E–X ultraviolet fluorescence. In this fashion, we were able to prove unambiguously that, contrary to previous studies, the spin-spin constant λ is negative in the ground state and positive in the B {sup 4}Σ{sup −} excited state. It has been shown that λ″ < 0 is in fact expected based on a semiempirical second order perturbation theory calculation of the magnitude of the spin-spin constant. The OODR spectra have also been used to validate our assignments of the complex and badly overlapped E {sup 4}Π–X {sup 4}Σ{sup −} 0-0 and 1-0 bands of {sup 11}BC. The E–X 0-0 band of {sup 10}BC was found to be severely perturbed. The ground state main electron configuration is …3σ{sup 2}4σ{sup 2}5σ{sup 1}1π{sup 2}2π{sup 0} and the derived bond lengths show that there is a 0.03 Å contraction in the B state, due to the promotion of an electron from the 4σ antibonding orbital to the 5σ bonding orbital. In contrast, the bond length elongates by 0.15 Å in the E state, a result of promoting an electron from the 5σ bonding orbital to the 2π antibonding orbitals.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗