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At least 1,207 records · Page 67
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Reduced Water Density in a Poly(ethylene oxide) Brush

A model poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) brush system, prepared by spreading a poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PEO-PnBA) amphiphilic diblock copolymer onto an air-water interface, was investigated under various grafting density conditions by using the X-ray reflectivity (XR) technique. The overall electron density profiles of the PEO-PnBA monolayer in the direction normal to the air-water interface were determined from the XR data. From this analysis, it was found that inside of the PEO brush, the water density is significantly lower than that of bulk water, in particular, in the region close to the PnBA-water interface. Separate XR measurements with a PnBA homopolymer monolayer confirm that the reduced water density within the PEO-PnBA monolayer is not due to unfavorable contacts between the PnBA surface and water. The above result, therefore, lends support to the notion that PEO chains provide a hydrophobic environment for the surrounding water molecules when they exist as polymer brush chains.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electronic transport properties of a lithium-decorated ZrTe 5 thin film

Through a combination of single crystal growth, experiments involving in situ deposition of surface adatoms, and complimentary modeling, we examine the electronic transport properties of lithiumdecorated ZrTe 5 thin films. We observe that the surface states in ZrTe 5 are robust against Li adsorption. Both the surface electron density and the associated Berry phase are remarkably robust to adsorption of Li atoms. Fitting to the Hall conductivity data reveals that there exist two types of bulk carriers: those for which the carrier density is insensitive to Li adsorption, and those whose density decreases during initial Li depositions and then saturates with further Li adsorption. We propose this dependence is due to the gating effect of a Li-adsorption-generated dipole layer at the ZrTe 5 surface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Properties of a finite fully spin-polarized free homogeneous one-dimensional electron gas

The homogeneous electron gas model has been quite successful to predict the bulk properties of systems of electrons at various densities. In many occasions, a simplified free homogeneous electron gas model represents a powerful first approximation to a real system. Despite our considerable knowledge on the bulk properties of a homogeneous electron gas, advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology call for a greater effort to understand the opposite limit of small finite systems of electrons with size-dependent properties. In this work, we provide a detailed description of the properties of a finite fully spin-polarized (spinless) free homogeneous one-dimensional electron gas, the simplest of the free homogeneous electron gases. We derive exact analytical results for various quantities such as the one-particle density function, two-particle density function, one-particle density matrix, pair correlation function and energy of finite systems with an arbitrary number of electrons. The results obtained provide a detailed view on how various quantities corresponding to a finite system approach their bulk (thermodynamic limit) value.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Characterization of an electrothermal plasma source for fusion transient simulations

The realization of fusion energy requires materials that can withstand high heat and particle fluxes at the plasma material interface. Here in this work, an electrothermal (ET) plasma source has been designed as a transient heat flux source for a linear plasma material interaction device. An ET plasma source operates in the ablative arc regime driven by a DC capacitive discharge. The current channel width is defined by the 4 mm bore of a boron nitride liner. At large plasma currents, the arc impacts the liner wall, leading to high particle and heat fluxes to the liner material, which subsequently ablates and ionizes. This results in a high density plasma with a large unidirectional bulk flow out of the source exit. The pulse length for the ET source has been optimized using a pulse forming network to have durations of 1 and 2 ms. The peak currents and maximum source energies seen in this system are 1.9 kA and 1.2 kJ for the 2 ms pulse and 3.2 kA and 2.1 kJ for the 1 ms pulse, respectively. This work is a proof of the principal project to show that an ET source produces electron densities and heat fluxes comparable to those anticipated in transient events in large future magnetic confinement fusion devices. Heat flux, plasma temperature, and plasma density were determined for each shot using infrared imaging and optical spectroscopy techniques. This paper will discuss the assumptions, methods, and results of the experiments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2017

The Chemistry of Pluto and its Satellites

Pluto's bulk composition and the composition of the surface layers hold clues to the origin and evolution of a number of other Solar System bodies of comparable size in the region beyond Neptune. The July 14, 2015 flyby of the Pluto system with the New Horizons spacecraft afforded the opportunity to corroborate and greatly improve discoveries about the planet and its satellites derived Earth-based studies. It also revealed extraordinary details of the surface and atmosphere of Pluto, as well as the geology and composition of Charon and two smaller satellites. With a mean density of 1.86 g/sq cm, the bulk composition of Pluto is about two-thirds anhydrous solar composition rocky material and one-third volatiles (primarily H2O in liquid and solid states) by mass, the surface is a veneer of ices dominated by N2, with smaller amounts of CH4 and CO, as well as limited exposures of H2O ice (considered to be "bedrock"). N2, CH4, and CO occur as solid solutions at temperature-dependent mutual concentrations, each component being soluble in the others. Frozen C2H6 as a minor component has also been identified. Sublimation and recondensation of N2, CH4, and CO over seasonal (248 y) and Milankovich-type megaseasons (approx. 3 My) result in the redistribution of these ices over time and with latitude control. Solid N2 is found in glaciers originating in higher elevations and flowing at the present time into a basin structure larger than the State of Texas, forming a convecting lens of N2 that overturns on a timescale of order 10 My. The varied colors of Pluto's landscape arise from the energetic processing of the surface ices in processes that break the simple molecules and reassemble complex organic structures consisting of groups of aromatic rings connected by aliphatic chains. When synthesized in the laboratory by UV or electron irradiation of a Pluto mix of ice, this material, called tholin, has colors closely similar to Pluto. The Pluto ice tholin analog contains carboxylic acids, urea, ketones, aldehydes, amines, and some nitriles. The largest satellite, Charon has density 1.70 g/sq cm and it is about 3/5 anhydrous solar composition rock, with the remainder in H2O ice. The surface H2O ice is infused in some way with NH3, probably as a hydrate, distributed nonuniformly, but to some degree related to geological structures. Pluto's atmosphere is N2, CH4, with CO, C2-hydrocarbons, HCN, and other molecules in trace but detectable amounts. The atmosphere supports a complex haze structure with about 20 discrete layers, and suspected clouds. The haze is presumed to be made of aggregates of complex hydrocarbons (tholins) produced by photolysis of the atmospheric gases, and with similar composition to the ice tholins made on the planet's surface. Urea and a suite of carboxylic acids are of interest for prebiotic and biological chemistries.

SOLAR SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Polyethylene density uncertainty in the simulation of neutron detectors

Simulations with the Monte Carlo N-Particle® (MCNP®) code are frequently used to study neutron coincidence counters for international safeguards. Reducing sources of uncertainty enables more accurate simulations, which reduces the need for expensive or impossible measurements. Accurately specifying the density of polyethylene is crucial for accurate simulations. The density of polyethylene ranges from 0.88 to 0.97 g/cm 3 and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) ranges from about 0.944 to 0.965 g/cm 3 . The density of a specific detector should be measured exactly for the best simulations. Here, the density of the blue/white Active Well Coincidence Counter (AWCC) bulk polyethylene was measured to be 0.9594 +- 0.0013 g/cm 3 at 1-sigma confidence. The density was calculated from repeated measurements of the various polyethylene dimensions for volume, and weighing the polyethylene for the mass. The AWCC neutron detection efficiency was simulated for each polyethylene density. The relative range of efficiencies (3σ) was 3.4% for unspecified polyethylene, 0.9% for HDPE, and 0.3% for the measured density. The impact of modeling small features such as screws was also studied and was found to be a negligible 0.2%. Measuring polyethylene density can reduce its role in uncertainty from one of the largest to one of the smallest contributors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

A Two-Step Absorber Deposition Approach To Overcome Shunt Losses in Thin-Film Solar Cells: Using Tin Sulfide as a Proof-of-Concept Material System

As novel absorber materials are developed and screened for their photovoltaic (PV) properties, the challenge remains to reproducibly test promising candidates for high-performing PV devices. Many early-stage devices are prone to device shunting due to pinholes in the absorber layer, producing “false-negative” results. We demonstrate a device engineering solution toward a robust device architecture, using a two-step absorber deposition approach. We use tin sulfide (SnS) as a test absorber material. The SnS bulk is processed at high temperature (400 °C) to stimulate grain growth, followed by a much thinner, low-temperature (200 °C) absorber deposition. At a lower process temperature, the thin absorber overlayer contains significantly smaller, densely packed grains, which are likely to provide a continuous coating and fill pinholes in the underlying absorber bulk. We compare this two-step approach to the more standard approach of using a semi-insulating buffer layer directly on top of the annealed absorber bulk, and we demonstrate a more than 3.5× superior shunt resistance R sh with smaller standard error σ Rsh . Electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) measurements indicate a lower density of pinholes in the SnS absorber bulk when using the two-step absorber deposition approach. We correlate those findings to improvements in the device performance and device performance reproducibility.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Ab initio study of point defects in PbSe and PbTe: Bulk and nanowire

First principles investigations, within the spin-polarized density functional theory, are performed to study energetic stability and electronic properties of point defects (vacancies and antisites) in PbSe and PbTe: bulk and nanowire (NW). Our results show that the energetic stability of these defects is ruled by relaxation process. These defects have lower formation energies in the nanowire structures as compared to the bulk, being more stable in the surface of the NWs. We also show that in the bulk system only one charge state is stable, otherwise, due to the larger band gaps, more than one charge state may be stable in the NWs. In addition, we have investigated how the presence of intrinsic defects affects the electronic properties of bulk and NW systems. Vacancies give rise to new electronic states near to the edges of the valence and conduction bands while the energetic position of the electronic states from antisites depends on the charge state, being localized inside the band gap or near the edges of the valence or conduction bands. We discuss how these changes in the electronic properties due to intrinsic defects may affect the thermoelectric properties of PbSe and PbTe NWs.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Evolution of the nanoporous microstructure of sintered Ag at high temperature using in-situ X-ray nanotomography

Silver pastes sintering is a potential candidate for die bonding in power electronic modules. The joints, obtained by sintering, exhibit a significant pore fraction, thus reducing the density of the material compared to bulk silver. The mechanical properties (Young's modulus, yield strength and ultimate tensile stress) are then drastically altered. However, while careful analysis of the nanoporous structure has been reported in 2D, little is known about its quantitative spatial evolution during thermal aging and more specifically during temperature jumps endured by the assembly during operation. High temperature evolutions of the 3D nanoporous structure have been observed in-situ using a heater fitted into the beamline 6-2c at SLAC-SSRL. Segmentation of the porosity and subsequent statistical analysis of the tomographic dataset reveal a complex evolution of the porous nanostructure including growth, separation and coalescence at a constant density. Such an analysis provides insight into the microstructural evolution of sintered nanoporous Ag joints in-service.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Experimental and theoretical electronic structure and symmetry effects in ultrathin NbSe2 films

Layered quasi-two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), which can be readily made in ultrathin films, offer excellent opportunities for studying how dimensionality affects electronic structure and physical properties. Among all TMDCs, NbSe2 is of special interest; bulk NbSe2 hosts a charge-density-wave phase at low temperatures and has the highest known superconducting transition temperature, and these properties can be substantially modified in the ultrathin film limit. Motivated by these effects, we report herein a study of few-layer NbSe2 films, with a well-defined single-domain orientation, epitaxially grown on GaAs. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy was used to determine the electronic band structure and the Fermi surface as a function of layer thickness; first-principles band-structure calculations were performed for comparison. The results show interesting changes as the film thickness increases from a monolayer (ML) to several layers. The most notable changes occur between a ML and a bilayer, where the inversion symmetry in bulk NbSe2 is preserved in the bilayer but not in the ML. Finally, the results illustrate some basic dimensional effects and provide a basis for further exploring and understanding the properties of NbSe2.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1962

Measurement of Local Heat Transfer Coefficients for Flow of Hydrogen and Helium in a Smooth Tube at High Surface to Fluid Bulk Temperature Ratios

Local values of heat transfer coefficients have been measured experimentally for helium and hydrogen gas flowing through an electrically heated inconel tube. The experiment was conducted pri­marily to determine the effect on the heat transfer coefficient of a large density change, radially, in the heat transfer fluid. This large density change was accomplished with relatively high surface temperatures as compared to fluid bulk temperatures or more commonly referred to as high surface to fluid bulk tempera­ture ratio. The large temperature ratio was achieved by precooling the gas with liquid nitrogen. Data were measured for local values of surface to fluid bulk temperature ratios up to 4.5, Reynolds numbers in the turbulent flow region, surface temperatures up to 2300° R, heat flux up to 1,600,000 Btu/(hr)(sq ft) and length to diameter ratio of 250. A comparison of this data with the conventional heat transfer· correlation equation (Dittus-Boelter eq.) is shown on a curve of Nusselt number divided by Prandtl number versus the Reynolds number. The gas properties were evaluated at the film temperature and the Reynolds number was modified by evaluating the velocity term at the fluid bulk temperature and the density at the film temperature.

Weiland, Walter F.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Experiments on the Capillary Condensation/Evaporation Hysteresis of Pure Fluids and Binary Mixtures in Cylindrical Nanopores

Here, a new experimental method, i.e., isochoric cooling/heating cycle measurement using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), is applied to investigate the hysteretic phenomenon of pure components and mixtures confined in two different types of cylindrical nanopores (SBA-15 and KIT-6). The capillary condensation/evaporation hysteresis end point (T he ) for a specific system is determined by performing a series of measurements with different densities by increasing initial temperature and pressure. We confirm that for a pure component, T he is lower when confined in smaller nanopores, whereas T he for CH 4 /CO 2 and CH 4 /C 2 H 6 mixtures at the specific composition investigated are higher than that of pure CO 2 and C 2 H 6 , respectively, when confined in the same nanopores. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that T he of fluid mixture is experimentally studied, which further demonstrates that binary mixtures behave similarly to pure fluids when confined in nanoporous media. At low temperatures where hysteresis is observed, the shape as well as the duration of the exothermic peak (due to capillary condensation) and endothermic peak (due to capillary evaporation) indicate that capillary condensation, rather than capillary evaporation, takes place at/near a thermodynamic equilibrium. Within the accuracy of the measurements, we find that the total heat of capillary condensation is identical to that of capillary evaporation for all systems examined, regardless of the presence of hysteresis. By comparing the heat per unit volume among different systems, we also find that the heat per unit volume of the phase transition of confined pure fluid is lower than that of bulk, which further demonstrates that the molar density of confined pure liquid is less than that of bulk pure liquid at saturation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Viscous Dissipation and Heat Conduction in Binary Neutron-Star Mergers

Inferring the properties of dense matter is one of the most exciting prospects from the measurement of gravitational waves from neutron star mergers. However, it requires reliable numerical simulations that incorporate viscous dissipation and energy transport as these can play a significant role in the survival time of the post-merger object. We calculate time scales for typical forms of dissipation and find that thermal transport and shear viscosity will not be important unless neutrino trapping occurs, which requires temperatures above 10 MeV and gradients over length scales of 0.1 km or less. On the other hand, if direct-Urca processes remain suppressed, leaving modified-Urca processes to establish flavor equilibrium, then bulk viscous dissipation could provide significant damping to density oscillations right after merger. When comparing with data from state-of-the-art merger simulations, we find that the bulk viscosity takes values close to its resonant maximum in a typical merger, motivating a more careful assessment of the role of bulk viscous dissipation in the gravitational-wave signal from merging neutron stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Topographic and electronic structure of cleaved SrTiO{sub 3}(001) surfaces

The topographic and electronic structure of cleaved SrTiO{sub 3}(001) surfaces were studied, employing samples that either had or had not been coated with Ti on their outer surfaces prior to fracture. In both cases, SrO- and TiO{sub 2}-terminated terraces were present on the cleavage surface, enabling in situ studies on either termination. However, the samples coated with Ti prior to fracture were found to yield a rougher morphology on TiO{sub 2}-terminated terraces as well as a higher density of oxygen vacancies during an annealing (outgassing) step following the coating. The higher density of oxygen vacancies in the bulk of the Ti-coated samples also provides higher conductivity, which, in turn, improves a sensitivity of the spectroscopy and reduces the effect of tip-induced band bending. Nonetheless, similar spectral features, unique to each termination, were observed for samples both with and without the Ti coating. Notably, with moderate-temperature annealing following fracture, a strong discrete peak in the conductance spectra, arising from oxygen vacancies, was observed on the SrO-terminated terraces. This peak appears at slightly different voltages for coated and uncoated samples, signifying a possible effect of tip-induced band bending.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Observation of multiple types of topological fermions in PdBiSe

Topological semimetals with different types of band crossings provide a rich platform to realize novel fermionic excitations, known as topological fermions. In particular, some fermionic excitations can be direct analogs of elementary particles in quantum field theory when both obey the same laws of physics in the low-energy limit. Examples include Dirac and Weyl fermions, whose solid-state realizations have provided new insights into long-sought phenomena in high-energy physics. Recently, theorists predicted new types of fermionic excitations in condensed-matter systems without any high-energy counterpart, and their existence is protected by crystalline symmetries. By studying the topology of the electronic structure in PdBiSe using density functional theory calculations and bulk-sensitive soft x-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we demonstrate a coexistence of four different types of topological fermions: Weyl, Rarita-Schwinger-Weyl, double class-II three-component, and charge-2 fourfold fermions. Furthermore, our discovery provides a remarkable platform to realize multiple fermions in a single solid, charting the way forward to studies of their potentially exotic properties as well as their interplay.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

ENERGY CONTENT AND PROPAGATION IN TRANSVERSE SOLAR ATMOSPHERIC WAVES

Recently, a significant amount of transverse wave energy has been estimated propagating along solar atmospheric magnetic fields. However, these estimates have been made with the classic bulk Alfven wave model which assumes a homogeneous plasma. In this paper, the kinetic, magnetic, and total energy densities and the flux of energy are computed for transverse MHD waves in one-dimensional cylindrical flux tube models with a piecewise constant or continuous radial density profile. There are fundamental deviations from the properties for classic bulk Alfven waves. (1) There is no local equipartition between kinetic and magnetic energy. (2) The flux of energy and the velocity of energy transfer have, in addition to a component parallel to the magnetic field, components in the planes normal to the magnetic field. (3) The energy densities and the flux of energy vary spatially, contrary to the case of classic bulk Alfven waves. This last property has the important consequence that the energy flux computed with the well known expression for bulk Alfven waves could overestimate the real flux by a factor in the range 10-50, depending on the flux tube equilibrium properties.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Multiband nodeless superconductivity near the charge-density-wave quantum critical point in ZrTe 3– x Se x

It was found that selenium doping can suppress the charge-density-wave (CDW) order and induce bulk superconductivity in ZrTe 3 . The observed superconducting dome suggests the existence of a CDW quantum critical point (QCP) in ZrTe 3–x Se x near x ≈ 0.04. To elucidate the superconducting state near the CDW QCP, we measure the thermal conductivity of two ZrTe 3–x Se x single crystals (x = 0.044 and 0.051) down to 80 mK. For both samples, the residual linear term κ 0 /T at zero field is negligible, which is a clear evidence for nodeless superconducting gap. Furthermore, the field dependence of κ 0 /T manifests a multigap behavior. Lastly, these results demonstrate multiple nodeless superconducting gaps in ZrTe 3–x Se x , which indicates conventional superconductivity despite of the existence of a CDW QCP.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗