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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 973 records · Page 54
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Spontaneous Separation in Trapped Fermi Gas with p-Wave Interactions: Due to the Mass-Imbalance

Based on density functional theory, the spontaneous separation in the mass-imbalanced Fermi–Fermi mixture is studied. The ground-state energy density functional is constructed with the effective contact interaction, with which the ground-state density profiles of the mixture are calculated under different conditions of mass-imbalance and coupling strength. The influence of mass-imbalance on the separation and the cloud size is analyzed. In addition, the system with both mass- and population-imbalance is also calculated and studied. Despite our rough treatment in the Thomas–Fermi approximation, it is hoped that the results may provide new clues to understand the nature of phase separation of a trapped ultracold gas in both theoretical and experimental researches in the future.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Rapid separation and purification of uranium and plutonium from dilute-matrix samples

This work presents a streamlined separation and purification approach for trace uranium and plutonium from dilute (carrier-free) matrices. The method, effective for nanogram quantities of U and femtogram to picogram quantities of Pu, is ideally suited for environmental swipe samples that contain a small amount of collected bulk material. As such, it may be applicable for processing swipe samples such as those collected in IAEA inspection activities as well as swipes that are loaded with unknown analytes, such as those implemented in interlaboratory round-robin or proficiency tests. Additionally, the simplified actinide separation could find use in internal laboratory monitoring of clean room conditions prior to or following more extensive chemical processing. We describe key modifications to conventional techniques that result in a relatively rapid, cost-effective, and efficient U and Pu separation process. We demonstrate the efficacy of implementing anion exchange chromatography in a single column approach. We also show that hydrobromic acid is an effective substitute in lieu of hydroiodoic acid for eluting Pu. Lastly, we show that nitric acid is an effective digestion agent in lieu of perchloric acid and/or hydrofluoric acid. A step by step procedure of this process is detailed.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2017

Separation of Pb, Bi and Po by cation exchange resin

In this paper, a separation of 209 Po, 207 Bi and 212 Pb using AG 50Wx8 and AG MP 50 cation exchange resins in an HCl medium was developed. A procedure in which Po(IV) elutes first in 0.2 M HCl, followed by Bi(III) in 0.4 M HCl and finally Pb(II) in 2 M HCl was established. The separation using AG 50Wx8 provides a much better elution profile than that of AG MP 50 with no overlap between the elution bands. Finally, this separation has the potential to be used as an isotope generator for producing 210 Po from 210 Pb.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2019

Quantification techniques of mass-separation and ion yield for the detection of radioactive isotopes

This research demonstrates two methods of quantifying isotope separation efficiency using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. One method measured the accumulated charge on a conductive collection substrate in real-time while the second method performed a chemical dissolution of the substrate with subsequent post-processing and analysis. Our previous results demonstrated and compared these methods with a multi-element standard of stable isotopes. This research applies these methods to quantifying radioactive isotopes utilizing measurements of the stable isotope at the same mass-to-charge ratio. The mass-separated radioactive isotope were fission products produced from thermal neutron irradiation of a highly enriched 235U foil. The two methods are explained and the results of this new separation methodology are compared to available cumulative fission yields.

Dion, Michael P.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Chemical separation of 146 Sm for half-life determination

Here, although methods for the chemical separation of samarium from a rock matrix are well established, chemical separation of samarium from non-natural isotopic impurities for the purpose of 146 Sm half-life measurement requires modifications to these procedures, as well as additional checks for effective separation. This work describes the chemical purification procedures associated with the 146 Sm source and the results from gamma spectroscopy. The purification procedure allowed for the quantitative determination of the number of 146Sm atoms using a modified isotope dilution technique. Alpha-decay counting of the sample will be applied in the future to determine the half-life of 146 Sm.

146Sm↗
DOE OSTI2022

Exploring rapid chemical separations of Sc-47 produced from photonuclear reactions on natural vanadium targets

Scandium-47 ( 47 Sc) production via bremsstrahlung irradiation of natural vanadium targets offers significant advantages for producing high purity 47 Sc; this work evaluates several rapid dissolution and chemical separation techniques for recovering high purity 47 Sc from irradiated vanadium. Here, techniques developed are combined into a simple, gram-scale, semi-automated target processing system that enables 47 Sc recovery from irradiated vanadium targets with chemical yields as high as 93 ± 3% and 47 Sc/V separation factors of 6 ± 3 ·10 11 within 90 min total processing times. Future research into H 2 O 2 resistant separation techniques and their applicability for direct process coupling to chelation are recommended.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Simple separation of technetium from molybdenum for tracer isotope production

A procedure for the separation of technetium isotopes from bulk molybdenum was developed in nitric acid media. After irradiation of nat Mo foils, and dissolution in H 2 O 2 , the solution is acidified to 2 M HNO 3 , and anion exchange resin is used to separate technetium from molybdenum. The procedure is simple, requiring only basic laboratory equipment and, with a two-column separation, the technetium yield is high (~ 85%) with extremely high purity (< 0.1 ppm nat Mo). In conclusion, this is ideally suited for laboratory production of technetium tracer isotopes, particularly 95m Tc.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2019

Separation of Phosphorus and Manganese from Steelmaking Slag by Selective Reduction

Steelmaking slag contains considerable amount of manganese (Mn) and phosphorus (P), and recycling them is an important issue. Since Mn is an alloy added to enhance the steel quality, while P is a harmful impurity in the steel product, they need to be separated for recycling. We have already found the possibility of separating Mn and P from steelmaking slag by selectively reducing P{sub 2}O{sub 5} and FeO while suppressing the reduction of MnO. As a fundamental study for the selective reduction of P from steelmaking slag, in this study, we vary the slag basicity, graphite mixing ratio, temperature, and crucible type to find the optimum condition. Artificial steelmaking slag with various compositions is synthesized and mixed with graphite powder in an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} or a MgO crucible. The reduction is conducted at 1673 K, 1773 K, and 1873 K for 20 to 80 minutes. As a result, carbon saturated metal is formed from the slag, and the reduced metal and slag were separated easily. We find that a decrease in slag basicity suppressed the reduction rate of Mn while enhancing that of P. The activation energy for the reduction rate constant of P is found to be close to that of the diffusion of P in slag.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Collision Cross Sections and Ion Mobility Separation of Fragment Ions from Complex N-Glycans

Ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) holds great potential for structural glycobiology, in particular in its ability to resolve glycan isomers. Generally, IM-MS has largely been applied to intact glycoconjugate ions with reports focusing on the separation of different adduct types. Here, we explore IM separation and report the collision cross section (CCS) of complex type N-glycans and their fragments in negative ion mode following collision-induced dissociation (CID). CCSs of isomeric fragment ions were found, in some cases, to reveal structural details that were not present in CID spectra themselves. Many fragment ions were confirmed as possessing multiple structure, details of which could be obtained by comparing their drift time profiles to different glycans. By using fragmentation both before and after mobility separation, information was gathered on the fragmentation pathways producing some of the ions. These results help demonstrate the utility of IM and will contribute to the growing use of IM-MS for glycomics. .

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Application of Group I Metal Adduction to the Separation of Steroids by Traveling Wave Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Steroids represent an interesting class of small biomolecules due to their use as biomarkers and their status as scheduled drugs. Although the analysis of steroids is complicated by the potential for many isomers, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has previously shown promise for the rapid separation of steroid isomers. This work is aimed at the further development of IMS separation for the analysis of steroids. Here, traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry (TWIMS) was applied to the study of group I metal adducted steroids and their corresponding multimers for five sets of isomers. Each set of isomers had a minimum of one dimeric metal ion adduct that exhibited a resolution greater than one (i.e., approaching baseline resolution). Additionally, ion-neutral collision cross sections (CCSs) were measured using polyalanine as a calibrant, which may provide an additional metric contributing to analyte identification. Where possible, measured CCSs were compared to previously reported values. When measuring CCSs of steroid isomers using polyalanine as the calibrant, nitrogen CCS values were within 1.0% error for monomeric sodiated adducts and slightly higher for the dimeric sodiated adducts. Overall, TWIMS was found to successfully separate steroids as dimeric adducts of group I metals. .

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Evaluating Separation Selectivity and Collision Cross Section Measurement Reproducibility in Helium, Nitrogen, Argon, and Carbon Dioxide Drift Gases for Drift Tube Ion Mobility–Mass Spectrometry

Previous ion mobility (IM) studies have demonstrated that varying the drift gas composition can be used to enhance chemical selectivity and resolution, yet there are few drift gas studies aimed at achieving quantitatively reproducible mobility measurements. Here, we critically evaluate the conditions necessary to achieve reproducible collision cross section (CCS) measurements in pure drift gases (helium, nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide) using a commercial uniform field drift tube instrument. Optimal experimental parameters are assessed based on the convergence of CCS measurements to reproducible values which are compared with literature values. A suite of calibration standards with diverse masses, biological classes, and charge states are examined to assess chemical selectivity and resolution achievable in each drift gas. Results indicate nitrogen and argon perform similarly and are sufficient for most applications where high resolving power and high peak capacity are desired. Carbon dioxide exhibits more selectivity for resolving structurally heterogeneous compounds, which may be preferable in specific analyte pair separations. Helium demonstrated modest separation capabilities but has utility for comparison to theoretical values and previously published work. In drift gases other than nitrogen, pressure differentials up to 230 mTorr between the drift tube and upstream chamber were optimal for improving correlation to literature values, while in nitrogen, the recommended pressure differential of 150 mTorr was found appropriate. We present recommended experimental parameters as well as gas-specific CCS measurements for structurally homogeneous sets of analytes which are suitable for use by other laboratories as standards for purposes of instrument calibration and overall assessment of IM separation performance. .

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Chromatographic separation of the theranostic radionuclide 111 Ag from a proton irradiated thorium matrix

Column chromatographic methods have been developed to separate no-carrier-added 111 Ag from proton irradiated thorium targets and associated fission products as an ancillary process to an existing 225 Ac separation design. In this paper, we report the separation of 111 Ag both prior and subsequent to 225 Ac recovery using CL resin, a solvent impregnated resin (SIR) that carries an organic solution of alkyl phosphine sulfides (R 3 P = S) and alkyl phosphine oxides (R 3 P = O). The recovery yield of 111 Ag was 93 ± 9% with a radiochemical purity of 99.9% (prior) and 87 ± 9% with a radiochemical purity of 99.9% (subsequent to) 225 Ac recovery. Both processes were successfully performed with insignificant impacts on 225 Ac yields or quality. Measured equilibrium distribution coefficients for silver and ruthenium (a residual contaminant) on CL resin in hydrochloric and nitric acid media are reported, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time. Finally and additionally, measured cross sections for the production of 111 Ag and 110m Ag for the 232 Th(p,f) 110m,111 Ag reactions are reported within.

111Ag↗
DOE OSTI2013

Stability of binary nanocrystalline alloys against grain growth and phase separation

Grain boundary segregation has been established through both simulation and experiments as a successful approach to stabilize nanocrystalline materials against grain growth. However, relatively few alloy systems have been studied in this context; these vary in their efficacy, and in many cases the stabilization effect is compromised by second phase precipitation. We address the open-ended design problem of how to select alloy systems that may be stable in a nanocrystalline state. We continue the development of a general “regular nanocrystalline solution” model to identify the conditions under which binary nanocrystalline alloy systems with positive heats of mixing are stable with respect to both grain growth (segregation removes the grain boundary energy penalty) and phase separation (the free energy of the nanocrystalline system is lower than the common tangent defining the bulk miscibility gap). We calculate a “nanostructure stability map” in terms of alloy thermodynamic parameters. Three main regions are delineated in these maps: one where grain boundary segregation does not result in a stabilized nanocrystalline structure, one in which macroscopic phase separation would be preferential (despite the presence of a nanocrystalline state stable against grain growth) and one for which the nanocrystalline state is stable against both grain growth and phase separation. Additional details about the stabilized structures are also presented in the map, which can be regarded as a tool for the design of stable nanocrystalline alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Superintegrable systems from block separation of variables and unified derivation of their quadratic algebras

Highlights: • A new method for constructing D-dimensional minimally superintegrable systems. • Superintegrable systems from block coordinate separation of variables. • Unified derivation of quadratic symmetry algebras via gauge transformations. - Abstract: We present a new method for constructing D-dimensional minimally superintegrable systems based on block coordinate separation of variables. We give two new families of superintegrable systems with N (N≤D) singular terms of the partitioned coordinates and involving arbitrary functions. These Hamiltonians generalize the singular oscillator and Coulomb systems. We derive their exact energy spectra via separation of variables. We also obtain the quadratic algebras satisfied by the integrals of motion of these models. We show how the quadratic symmetry algebras can be constructed by novel application of the gauge transformations from those of the non-partitioned cases. We demonstrate that these quadratic algebraic structures display a universal nature to the extent that their forms are independent of the functions in the singular potentials.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mechanical separations of corn stover anatomical fractions in an integrated feedstock preprocessing system: An experimental and data-driven modeling study

High variabilities of material attributes in lignocellulosic biomass present risks for biofuel and biochemical productions and must be mitigated via preprocessing. Since almost no mechanical device is originally designed for processing biomass, how to operate existing apparatuses with efficient performance has not been investigated extensively. This work presents a study on an integrated screening and air classification to separate cobs and stalks from husks and leaves in corn stover. Prototype machine learning models were developed to assess the feasibility of predicting the process outcome based on the measurable parameters. The models trained upon limited experimental data rendered decent predictive accuracy of yield and purity. The experimental data and modeling results collectively suggest decreasing throughput leads to a higher purity. To the contrary, if throughput increases, a lower purity is likely. A possible trade-off between yield and purity of the separated streams indicates the need for optimal combinations of feedstock size, moisture, and throughput to achieve optimized separations. The results of this study also suggest the need to further improve model predictability by developing more accurate formulations for physics governing the integrated unit operations. To accomplish this, additional experimental data needs to be generated for model training.

09 - BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Efficient photocatalytic H2 production via rational design of synergistic spatially-separated dual cocatalysts modified Mn0.5Cd0.5S photocatalyst under visible light irradiation

Noble metal-free highly efficient cocatalysts are very important for cost efficient hydrogen fuel production. While most studies concentrate on single cocatalyst photocatalytic systems. Here, we report on the synthesis of Mn0.5Cd0.5S photocatalyst hetero-architecture with synergistic spatially separated dual cocatalysts Cu2-xS and MoS2 for highly efficient photocatalytic H-2 production. Through tactfully utilizing Cu2-xS/Mn0.5Cd0.5S nanoscale p-n junction to promote efficient transfer of photo-generated holes to Cu2-xS and MoS2 can be located exactly on the different positions where the photo-generated electrons must go through by photo-reduction of (NH4)(2)MoS4. Cu2-xS can be an oxidation active site to assemble photo-generated holes and MoS2 can capture and transport the photon-generated electrons. Therefore the photo-induced carriers can be efficiently separated and transferred to take part in photocatalytic reactions. The prepared Cu2-xS (0.015)/Mn0.5Cd0.5S/MoS2 (3 wt %) photocatalyst shows the highest H-2 production rate of 687.62 mu mol/h, which exceeds the rate of Mn0.5Cd0.5S and Mn0.5Cd0.5S loaded with Cu2-xS or MoS2 alone by 22, 1.7 and 3.48 times, respectively. This work provides a new thought to design efficient spatially separated and synergistic dual cocatalysts modified photocatalysts for H-2 production.

Dual cocatalysts↗
DOE OSTI2023

Precisely modulate interfacial Bi-O bridge bond in Co-TCPP/Bi 3 O 4 Br to trigger long-lasting charge separation for boosting CO 2 photoreduction

Insufficient charge separation and feeble CO 2 activation limit the CO 2 photoreduction efficiency. It is highly desirable to consciously construct organic–inorganic hybrid composites to simultaneously accelerate charge separation and provide favorable active sites. Herein, a defect-induced interfacial Bi-O bridge bond is constructed by grafting terminal O of cobalt porphyrin (Co-TCPP) with Bi 3 O4Br. Systematic investigations reveal that the Bi-O bridge bond as the charge migration bridge accelerates the extraction and transfer of electron from the external [Bi 3 O 4 ] layers to Co-TCPP, and the millisecond separation lifetime of electrons on Co-TCPP can be achieved. Co atoms as the active sites optimized the CO 2 adsorption and activation, thus promoting the formation of COOH*. As a result, the CO 2 photoreduction rate of 0.5% Co-TCPP/Bi 3 O4Br reaches 71.3 μmol g -1 h -1 in pure water, 2.53-fold of that on the pristine Bi 3 O4Br. This work provides atomistic insights and strategies for the construction of new organic–inorganic hybrid materials for artificial photosynthesis and CO 2 photoreduction.

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

Separation of 44 Ti from proton irradiated scandium by using solid-phase extraction chromatography and design of 44 Ti/ 44 Sc generator system

Scandium-44 g (half-life 3.97 h) shows promise for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of longer biological processes than that of the current gold standard, 18 F, due to its favorable decay parameters. One source of 44 gSc is the long-lived parent nuclide 44 Ti (half-life 60.0 a). A 44 Ti/ 44 gSc generator would have the ability to provide radionuclidically pure 44 gSc on a daily basis. The production of 44 Ti via the 45 Sc(p,2n) reaction requires high proton beam currents and long irradiation times. Recovery and purification of no-carrier added (nca) 44 Ti from scandium metal targets involves complex separation chemistry. In this study, separation systems based on solid phase extraction chromatography were investigated, including branched diglycolamide (BDGA) resin and hydroxamate based ZR resin. Lastly, results indicate that ZR resin in HCl media represents an effective 44 Ti/ 44 gSc separation system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗