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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Unraveling the Highly Plastic Behavior of ALD-Aluminum Oxide Encapsulations by Small-Scale Tensile Testing

We present a study directly measuring the electron-beam-induced plasticity of amorphous Al 2 O 3 coatings. Core–shell nanostructures are employed as small-scale model systems for two-dimensional coatings made by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Copper nanowires (NWs) are used as substrates for ALD deposition, representing a model system for interconnects commonly found in integrated circuits. Experiments are performed in situ in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and further analyzed with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Our in situ TEM tensile experiments reveal the highly plastic behavior of the ALD shell, which withstands a maximum strain of 188%. Comparable samples under beam-off conditions show a brittle fracture, which underlines the effect of electron irradiation. The electron-beam-activated bond switching within the amorphous network enables compensation of the applied tensile strain, leading to viscous flow. By incorporating an intermediate nanocrystalline layer within the Al 2 O 3 shell, the plasticity is suppressed and brittle fracture occurs. This work directly demonstrates the tuning of mechanical properties in amorphous ALD structures through electron irradiation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Stabilizing and understanding the interface between nickel-rich cathode and PEO-based electrolyte by lithium niobium oxide coating for high-performance all-solid-state batteries

The pursuit of high energy density and safe lithium ion batteries (LIBs) is the urgent goal for the development of next-generation electric vehicles (EVs). All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) with the combination of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) and Ni-rich lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) cathode are promising candidates for EVs due to their improved energy density and safety. However, the low electrochemical oxidation window of PEO-based SPE and the instability of NMC811 at the charge/discharge process seriously restrict the battery performance. Herein, a high voltage stable solid-state electrolyte layer lithium niobium oxide (LNO) is coated on the NMC811 electrode surface by atomic layer deposition for stabilizing NMC811-PEO solid polymer batteries. Electrochemical tests show that LNO coating can stabilize the NMC811 active materials and mitigate the decomposition of SPE upon the cycling process, rendering a good performance of NMC811-PEO solid polymer battery. Mechanism studies by SEM, STEM, XAS, and XPS disclose that the uncoated NMC811 suffers from chemomechanical degradations along with oxygen release triggering the decomposition of SPE, which results in unstable cathodic electrolyte interphase. With LNO coating, chemomechanical degradations and oxygen release are inhibited and the decomposition of SPE is mitigated. This paper renders a stable and high-performance high-energy-density SSB for high voltage application, which paves the way toward next-generation solid-state LIBs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Lipid membrane templated misfolding and self-assembly of intrinsically disordered tau protein

The aggregation of the intrinsically disordered tau protein into highly ordered β-sheet-rich fibrils is implicated in the pathogenesis of a range of neurodegenerative disorders. The mechanism of tau fibrillogenesis remains unresolved, particularly early events that trigger the misfolding and assembly of the otherwise soluble and stable tau. We investigated the role the lipid membrane plays in modulating the aggregation of three tau variants, the largest isoform hTau40, the truncated construct K18, and a hyperphosphorylation-mimicking mutant hTau40/3Epi. Despite being charged and soluble, the tau proteins were also highly surface active and favorably interacted with anionic lipid monolayers at the air/water interface. Membrane binding of tau also led to the formation of a macroscopic, gelatinous layer at the air/water interface, possibly related to tau phase separation. At the molecular level, tau assembled into oligomers composed of ~ 40 proteins misfolded in a β-sheet conformation at the membrane surface, as detected by in situ synchrotron grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction. Concomitantly, membrane morphology and lipid packing became disrupted. Our findings support a general tau aggregation mechanism wherein tau’s inherent surface activity and favorable interactions with anionic lipids drive tau-membrane association, inducing misfolding and self-assembly of the disordered tau into β-sheet-rich oligomers that subsequently seed fibrillation and deposition into diseased tissues.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Optimal Hairpin Winding Configuration for EV Traction Motors to Enhance Active CMV Cancellation Capability of NPL.X Inverter

Active common-mode voltage (CMV) cancellation in neutral-point-less (NPL.X) inverter is an effective approach for reducing common-mode electromagnetic interference and alleviating voltage stress associated with high-speed switching in EV traction drives. However, the existing hairpin winding configuration often exhibits impedance imbalance due to slot leakage inductance and manufacturing constraints, limiting the effectiveness of active CMV cancellation. This paper investigates symmetric hairpin winding configurations for a dual-three-phase EV traction machine to improve impedance symmetry. Considering the manufacturing constraints of six-layer hairpin windings, four feasible symmetric winding configurations are analyzed. Two-dimensional finite-element analysis is performed to extract the impedance parameters of each configuration. The extracted impedance parameters are used to quantify the impedance mismatch between complementary phase pairs and evaluate its influence on active CMV cancellation. The results show that the fully interleaved winding configuration achieves perfectly balanced phase impedances with 0 % mismatch, whereas the mismatch in the other configurations ranges from approximately 2.4 % to 0.8 %. Consequently, the resulting total CMV overshoot is significantly suppressed to near zero voltage under high-voltage and high switching frequency operating conditions, demonstrating the importance of winding symmetry for maximizing the active CMV cancellation capability of the NPL.X inverter.

Lee, Kangbeen [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (U↗
DOE OSTI2020

Understanding of A-site deficiency in layered perovskites: promotion of dual reaction kinetics for water oxidation and oxygen reduction in protonic ceramic electrochemical cells

Protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) are promising solid-state energy conversion devices which enable the conversion of energy between electricity and hydrogen at intermediate temperatures. Rapid conversion between chemical and electrical energy via PCEC technology will assist in overcoming grand challenges in energy storage. To achieve highly efficient reversible operation between hydrogen production and electricity generation, boosting water-oxidation and oxygen reduction activities of the oxygen electrode while maintaining the durable operation is one of the early-stage technical opportunities. In this study, an A-site deficient layered perovskite (PrBa 0.8 Ca 0.2 ) 0.95 Co 2 O 6–δ has been developed as an oxygen electrode for a PCEC which presents superior electrochemical performances. The electrolysis current density reached as high as –0.72 A cm –2 at 1.3 V, and a peak power density of 0.540 W cm –2 was obtained at 600 °C in electrolysis and fuel cell mode, respectively. The PCEC with the new electrode shows good durability under practical operating conditions for 160 hours in both operating modes with no observable degradation. Here, the reversibility between the electrolysis and fuel cell mode is also successfully demonstrated.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dynamic Restructuring Induced Oxygen Activation on AgCu Near Surface Alloys

Recent studies have shown that the addition of Cu to Ag catalysts improves their epoxidation performance by increasing the overall selectivity of the bimetallic catalyst. We have prepared AgCu near-surface alloys and used scanning tunneling microscopy to gain an atomistic picture of O 2 dissociation on the bimetallic system. These data reveal a higher dissociative sticking probability for O 2 on AgCu than Ag(111), and density functional theory (DFT) confirms that the O 2 dissociation barrier is 0.17 eV lower on the alloy. Surprisingly, we find that after a slow initial uptake of O 2 , the sticking probability increases exponentially. Further DFT calculations indicate that surface oxygen reverses the segregation energy for AgCu, stabilizing Cu atoms in the Ag layer. These single Cu atoms in the Ag surface are found to significantly lower the O 2 dissociation barrier. Altogether, these results explain nonlinear effects in the activation of O 2 on this catalytically relevant surface alloy.

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

Open cells exhibit weaker entrainment of free-tropospheric biomass burning aerosol into the south-east Atlantic boundary layer

This work presents synergistic satellite, airborne and surface-based observations of a pocket of open cells (POC) in the remote south-east Atlantic. The observations were obtained over and upwind of Ascension Island during the CLouds and Aerosol Radiative Impacts and Forcing (CLARIFY) and the Layered Smoke Interacting with Clouds (LASIC) field experiments. A novel aspect of this case study is that an extensive free-tropospheric biomass burning aerosol plume that had been transported from the African continent was observed to be in contact with the boundary layer inversion over the POC and the surrounding closed cellular cloud regime. The in situ measurements show marked contrasts in the boundary layer thermodynamic structure, cloud properties, precipitation and aerosol conditions between the open cells and surrounding overcast cloud field. The data demonstrate that the overlying biomass burning aerosol was mixing down into the boundary layer in the stratocumulus cloud downwind of the POC, with elevated carbon monoxide, black carbon mass loadings and accumulation-mode aerosol concentrations measured beneath the trade-wind inversion. The stratocumulus cloud in this region was moderately polluted and exhibited very little precipitation falling below cloud base. A rapid transition to actively precipitating cumulus clouds and detrained stratiform remnants in the form of thin quiescent veil clouds was observed across the boundary into and deep within the POC. The subcloud layer in the POC was much cleaner than that in the stratocumulus region. The clouds in the POC formed within an ultra-clean layer (accumulation-mode aerosol concentrations of approximately a few cm -3 ) in the upper region of the boundary layer, which was likely to have been formed via efficient collision–coalescence and sedimentation processes. Enhanced Aitken-mode aerosol concentrations were also observed intermittently in this ultra-clean layer, suggesting that new particle formation was taking place. Across the boundary layer inversion and immediately above the ultra-clean layer, accumulation-mode aerosol concentrations were ~1000 cm -3 . Importantly, the air mass in the POC showed no evidence of elevated carbon monoxide over and above typical background conditions at this location and time of year. As carbon monoxide is a good tracer for biomass burning aerosol that is not readily removed by cloud processing and precipitation, it demonstrates that the open cellular convection in the POC is not able to entrain large quantities of the free-tropospheric aerosol that was sitting directly on top of the boundary layer inversion. This suggests that the structure of the mesoscale cellular convection may play an important role in regulating the transport of aerosol from the free troposphere down into the marine boundary layer. We then develop a climatology of open cellular cloud conditions in the south-east Atlantic from 19 years of September Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra imagery. This shows that the maxima in open cell frequency (> 0.25) occurs far offshore and in a region where subsiding biomass burning aerosol plumes may often come into contact with the underlying boundary layer cloud. If the results from the observational case study applied more broadly, then the apparent low susceptibility of open cells to free-tropospheric intrusions of additional cloud condensation nuclei could have some important consequences for aerosol–cloud interactions in the region.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Alicyclobacillus mali FL18 as a Novel Source of Glycosyl Hydrolases: Characterization of a New Thermophilic β-Xylosidase Tolerant to Monosaccharides

A thermo-acidophilic bacterium, Alicyclobacillus mali FL18, was isolated from a hot spring of Pisciarelli, near Naples, Italy; following genome analysis, a novel putative β-xylosidase, AmβXyl, belonging to the glycosyl hydrolase (GH) family 3 was identified. A synthetic gene was produced, cloned in pET-30a(+), and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) RIL. The purified recombinant protein, which showed a dimeric structure, had optimal catalytic activity at 80 °C and pH 5.6, exhibiting 60% of its activity after 2 h at 50 °C and displaying high stability (more than 80%) at pH 5.0–8.0 after 16 h. AmβXyl is mainly active on both para-nitrophenyl-β-D-xylopyranoside (K M 0.52 mM, k cat 1606 s -1 , and k cat /K M 3088.46 mM -1 ·s -1 ) and para-nitrophenyl-α-L-arabinofuranoside (K M 10.56 mM, k cat 2395.8 s -1 , and k cat /K M 226.87 mM -1 ·s -1 ). Thin-layer chromatography showed its ability to convert xylooligomers (xylobiose and xylotriose) into xylose, confirming that AmβXyl is a true β-xylosidase. Furthermore, no inhibitory effect on enzymatic activity by metal ions, detergents, or EDTA was observed except for 5 mM Cu 2+ . AmβXyl showed an excellent tolerance to organic solvents; in particular, the enzyme increased its activity at high concentrations (30%) of organic solvents such as ethanol, methanol, and DMSO. Lastly, the enzyme showed not only a good tolerance to inhibition by xylose, arabinose, and glucose, but was activated by 0.75 M xylose and up to 1.5 M by both arabinose and glucose. The high tolerance to organic solvents and monosaccharides together with other characteristics reported above suggests that AmβXyl may have several applications in many industrial fields.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

A High-Entropy Oxide as High-Activity Electrocatalyst for Water Oxidation

High-entropy materials are an emerging pathway in the development of high-activity (electro)catalysts because of the inherent tunability and coexistence of multiple potential active sites, which may lead to earth-abundant catalyst materials for energy-efficient electrochemical energy storage. In this report, we identify how the multication composition in high-entropy perovskite oxides (HEO) contributes to high catalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), i.e., the key kinetically limiting half-reaction in several electrochemical energy conversion technologies, including green hydrogen generation. We compare the activity of the (001) facet of LaCr 0.2 Mn 0.2 Fe 0.2 Co 0.2 Ni 0.2 O 3-δ with the parent compounds (single B-site in the ABO 3 perovskite). While the single B-site perovskites roughly follow the expected volcano-type activity trends, the HEO clearly outperforms all of its parent compounds with 17 to 680 times higher currents at a fixed overpotential. As all samples were grown as an epitaxial layer, our results indicate an intrinsic composition–function relationship, avoiding the effects of complex geometries or unknown surface composition. In-depth X-ray photoemission studies reveal a synergistic effect of simultaneous oxidation and reduction of different transition metal cations during the adsorption of reaction intermediates. The surprisingly high OER activity demonstrates that HEOs are a highly attractive, earth-abundant material class for high-activity OER electrocatalysts, possibly allowing the activity to be fine-tuned beyond the scaling limits of mono- or bimetallic oxides.

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

Electrochemical Intercalation and Exfoliation of CrSBr into Ferromagnetic Fibers and Nanoribbons

Abstract Recent studies dedicated to layered van der Waals crystals have attracted significant attention to magnetic atomically thin crystals offering unprecedented opportunities for applications in innovative magnetoelectric, magneto‐optic, and spintronic devices. The active search for original platforms for the low‐dimensional magnetism study has emphasized the entirely new magnetic properties of two dimensional (2D) semiconductor CrSBr. Herein, for the first time, the electrochemical exfoliation of bulk CrSBr in a non‐aqueous environment is demonstrated. Notably, crystal cleavage governed by the structural anisotropy occurred along two directions forming atomically thin and few‐layered nanoribbons. The exfoliated material possesses an orthorhombic crystalline structure and strong optical anisotropy, showing the polarization dependencies of Raman signals. The antiferromagnetism exhibited by multilayered CrSBr gives precedence to ferromagnetic ordering in the revealed CrSBr nanostructures. Furthermore, the potential application of CrSBr nanoribbons is pioneered for electrochemical photodetector fabrication and demonstrates its responsivity up to 30 µA cm −2 in the visible spectrum. Moreover, the CrSBr‐based anode for lithium‐ion batteries exhibited high performance and self‐improving abilities. This anticipates that the results will pave the way toward the future study of CrSBr and practical applications in magneto‐ and optoelectronics.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fluorination‐Enhanced Surface Stability of Disordered Rocksalt Cathodes

Abstract Cation‐disordered rocksalt (DRX) oxides are a promising new class of high‐energy‐density cathode materials for next‐generation Li‐ion batteries. However, their capacity fade presents a major challenge. Partial fluorine (F) substitution into the oxygen (O) lattice appears to be an effective strategy for improving the cycling stability, but the underlying atomistic mechanism remains elusive. Here, using a combination of advanced transmission electron microscopy based imaging and spectroscopy techniques, the structural and chemical evolution upon cycling of Mn‐based DRX cathodes with an increasing F content (Li–Mn–Nb–O–F x , x = 0, 0.05, 0.2) are probed. The atomic origin behind the beneficial effect of high‐level fluorination for enhancing the surface stability of the DRX is revealed. It is discovered that, due to the reduced O redox activity while with increasing F concentration, F in the DRX lattice mitigates the formation of an O‐deficient surface layer upon cycling. For low F‐substituted DRX, the O loss near the surface results in the formation of an amorphous cathode–electrolyte interphase layer and nanoscale voids after extended cycling. Increased F concentration in the DRX lattice minimizes both O loss and the interfacial reactions between DRX and the liquid electrolyte, enhancing the surface stability of DRX. These results provide guidance on the development of next‐generation cathode materials through anion substitution.

Li, Linze↗
DOE OSTI2022

Contact Resistance of Carbon–Li x (Ni,Mn,Co)O 2 Interfaces

Abstract Electronic resistance in lithium‐ion battery positive electrodes is typically attributed to the bulk resistance of the active material and the network resistance of the carbon additive. Expected overpotentials from these bulk components are minimal relative to that from charge‐transfer resistance. However, literature reports show that cell overpotentials are often much more sensitive to conductive additives than the expected level from bulk or percolating‐network transport. This discrepancy motivated a detailed examination of the contact resistance between the active material and conductive additive. The contact and bulk resistances are simultaneously measured using dense bar samples of lithium‐layered oxides (Li x Ni 1 /3 Mn 1/3 Co 1/3 O 2 and Li x Ni 0.5 Mn 0.3 Co 0.2 O 2 ) in contact with carbon black. It is found that the contact resistance dominates the overall electronic resistance when the length scale is smaller than millimeters; after correcting for contact effects, bulk conductivity of layered oxides is determined to be orders‐of‐magnitude higher than previously reported. In porous electrodes, it is found from three‐electrode electrochemical impedance spectroscopy that the carbon content most heavily influences the low‐frequency regime (≈0.01 Hz), as opposed to the high frequency (>10 3 Hz) regime expected from electronic percolating properties. Constriction effects within the layered oxide are identified as the dominant mechanism for contact resistance and its implication is investigated for porous electrodes.

Kuo, Jimmy Jiahong↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dynamics of disordered intermediates during the two-electron alkaline MnO 2 conversion reaction for grid-scale batteries

Battery technologies beyond Li-ion are likely needed for extensive integration of grid-scale storage. The rechargeable Zn-MnO 2 chemistry has the potential for high sustainability, high safety, and low cost, using Earth-abundant basis materials. In an alkaline electrolyte, the MnO 2 cathode can cycle reversibly if modified by including a Bi-containing additive, although the cycling mechanism remains mostly unknown. This work presents an account of the intermediate species involved in the electrochemical transformation from layered δ-MnO 2 to Mn(OH) 2 and back. During charge, a disordered intermediate with a structure resembling layered β-MnOOH exists stably for an extended period, corresponding to a regime known to have unexpected electrochemical activity of Bi. During discharge, β-MnOOH exists only briefly and is never the majority material, revealing that the cycling mechanism is asymmetric. In conclusion, these findings represent a significant advance in mechanistic knowledge and can enable engineering to develop the system for commercial use.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Enhancing CO Oxidation Activity via Tuning a Charge Transfer Between Gold Nanoparticles and Supports

Charge transfer from the supports to nanoparticles at the interface is one of the key factors to determine the catalytic performances of supported nanoparticles. In this work, we revealed that the charge transfer from semiconductor support to Au nanoparticle catalysts enhanced their activity toward CO oxidation. In this work, a novel Au/SiO 2 /Si composite system with precisely controllable SiO 2 layer thickness was fabricated to tune the magnitude of interfacial charge transfer. With the support of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and numerical simulations, it was demonstrated that the Schottoky barrier formed across the Au/SiO 2 /Si heterojunction led to negative charge accumulation at the surface of Au nanoparticles, which may be transferred to the antibonding orbitral of adsorbed O 2 molecules to the O-O bonds. This discovery highlights a new perspective in explaining the role of strong metal-support interactions for catalytic reactions and provides a fresh path for designing the next generation of nanocatalysts.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Adsorption, Orientation, and Speciation of Amino Acids at Air–Aqueous Interfaces for the Direct Air Capture of CO 2

Amino acids make up a promising family of molecules capable of direct air capture (DAC) of CO 2 from the atmosphere. Under alkaline conditions, CO 2 reacts with the anionic form of an amino acid to produce carbamates and deactivated zwitterionic amino acids. The presence of the various species of amino acids and reactive intermediates can have a significant effect on DAC chemistry, the role of which is poorly understood. In this study, all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) based computational simulations and vibrational sum frequency generation (vSFG) spectroscopy studies were conducted to understand the role of competitive interactions at the air–aqueous interface in the context of DAC. We find that the presence of potassium bicarbonate ions, in combination with the anionic and zwitterionic forms of amino acids, induces concentration and charge gradients at the interface, generating a layered molecular arrangement that changes under pre- and post-DAC conditions. In parallel, an enhancement in the surface activity of both anionic and zwitterionic forms of amino acids is observed, which is attributed to enhanced interfacial stability and favorable intermolecular interactions between the adsorbed amino acids in their anionic and zwitterionic forms. The collective influence of these competitive interactions, along with the resulting interfacial heterogeneity, may in turn affect subsequent capture reactions and associated rates. Finally, these effects underscore the need to consider dynamic changes in interfacial chemical makeup to enhance DAC efficiency and to develop successful negative emission and storage technologies.

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

Progressive growth of the solid–electrolyte interphase towards the Si anode interior causes capacity fading

The solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI), a layer formed on the electrode surface, is essential for electrochemical reactions in batteries and critically governs the battery stability. Active materials, especially those with extremely high energy density, such as silicon (Si), often inevitably undergo a large volume swing upon ion insertion and extraction, raising a critical question as to how the SEI interactively responds to and evolves with the material and consequently controls the cycling stability of the battery. Here, by integrating sensitive elemental tomography, an advanced algorithm and cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy, we unveil, in three dimensions, a correlated structural and chemical evolution of Si and SEI. Furthermore, corroborated with a chemomechanical model, we demonstrate progressive electrolyte permeation and SEI growth along the percolation channel of the nanovoids due to vacancy injection and condensation during the delithiation process. Consequently, the Si–SEI spatial configuration evolves from the classic ‘core–shell’ structure in the first few cycles to a ‘plum-pudding’ structure following extended cycling, featuring the engulfing of Si domains by the SEI, which leads to the disruption of electron conduction pathways and formation of dead Si, contributing to capacity loss. The spatially coupled interactive evolution model of SEI and active materials, in principle, applies to a broad class of high-capacity electrode materials, leading to a critical insight for remedying the fading of high-capacity electrodes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

ETROC1: the first full chain precision timing prototype ASIC for CMS MTD endcap timing layer upgrade

We present the design and characterization of the first fullchain precision timing prototype ASIC, named ETL Readout Chipversion 1 (ETROC1) for the CMS MTD endcap timing layer (ETL)upgrade. The ETL utilizes Low Gain Avalanche Diode (LGAD) sensors todetect charged particles, with the goal to achieve a time resolutionof 40–50 ps per hit, and 30–40 ps per track with hits from twodetector layers. The ETROC1 is composed of a 5 × 5 pixelarray and peripheral circuits. The pixel array includes a4 × 4 active pixel array with an H-tree shaped networkdelivering clock and charge injection signals. Each active pixel iscomposed of various components, including a bump pad, a chargeinjection circuit, a pre-amplifier, a discriminator, adigital-to-analog converter, and a time-to-digital converter. Thesecomponents play essential roles as the front-end link in processingLGAD signals and measuring timing-related information. Theperipheral circuits provide clock signals and readoutfunctionalities. The size of the ETROC1 chip is7 mm× 9 mm. ETROC1 has been fabricated in a 65 nmCMOS process, and extensively tested under stimuli of chargeinjection, infrared laser, and proton beam. The time resolution ofbump-bonded ETROC1 + LGAD chipsets reaches 42–46 ps per hit in thebeam test.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Direct synthesis and chemical vapor deposition of 2D carbide and nitride MXenes

Two-dimensional transition-metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) are a large family of materials actively studied for various applications, especially in the field of energy storage. MXenes are commonly synthesized by etching the layered ternary compounds, called MAX phases. We demonstrate a direct synthetic route for scalable and atom-economic synthesis of MXenes, including compounds that have not been synthesized from MAX phases, by the reactions of metals and metal halides with graphite, methane, or nitrogen. The direct synthesis enables chemical vapor deposition growth of MXene carpets and complex spherulite-like morphologies that form through buckling and release of MXene carpet to expose fresh surface for further reaction. The directly synthesized MXenes showed excellent energy storage capacity for lithium-ion intercalation.

Wang, Di↗