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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Distinguishing the importance of fullerene phase separation from polymer ordering in the performance of low band gap polymer: Bis-fullerene heterojunctions

It is known, one way to improve power conversion efficiency (PCE) of polymer based bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic cells is to increase the open circuit voltage (V oc ). Replacing PCBM with bis-adduct fullerenes significantly improves V oc and the PCE in devices based on the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT). However, for the most promising low band-gap polymer (LBP) system, replacing PCBM with ICBA results in poor short-circuit current (J sc ) and PCE although V oc is significantly improved. The optimization of the morphology of as-cast LBP/bis-fullerene BHJ photovoltaics is attempted by adding a co-solvent to the polymer/fullerene solution prior to film deposition. Varying the solubility of polymer and fullerene in the co-solvent, bulk heterojunctions are fabricated with no change of polymer ordering, but with changes in fullerene phase separation. The morphologies of the as-cast samples are characterized by small angle neutron scattering and neutron reflectometry. A homogenous dispersion of ICBA in LBP is found in the samples where the co-solvent is selective to the polymer, giving poor device performance. Aggregates of ICBA are formed in samples where the co-solvent is selective to ICBA. Furthermore, the resultant morphology improves PCE by up to 246%. Finally, a quantitative analysis of the neutron data shows that the interfacial area between ICBA aggregates and its surrounding matrix is improved, facilitating charge transport and improving the PCE.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Printing 2D Conjugated Polymer Monolayers and Their Distinct Electronic Properties

Abstract Recently, 2D monolayer films of conjugated polymers have gained increasing attention owing to the preeminence of 2D inorganic films that exhibit unique optoelectronic and mechanical properties compared to their bulk analogs. Despite numerous efforts, crystallization of semiconducting polymers into highly ordered 2D monolayer films still remains challenging. Herein, a dynamic‐template‐assisted meniscus‐guided coating is utilized to fabricate continuous, highly ordered 2D monolayer films of conjugated polymers over a centimeter scale with enhanced backbone π–π stacking. In contrast, monolayer films printed on solid substrates confer upon the 1D fiber networks strong alkyl side‐chain stacking at the expense of backbone packing. From single‐layers to multilayers, the polymer π‐stacks change from edge‐on to bimodal orientation as the film thickness reaches ≈20 nm. Spectroscopic and cyclic voltammetry analysis reveals an abrupt increase in J‐aggregation and absorption coefficient and a decrease in bandgap and highest occupied molecular orbital level until critical thickness, possibly arising from the straightened polymer backbone. This is corroborated by an abrupt increase in hole mobility with film thickness, reaching a maximum of 0.7 cm 2 V −1 s −1 near the critical thickness. Finally, fabrication of chemical sensors incorporating polymer films of various thicknesses is demonstrated, and an ultrahigh sensitivity of the ≈7 nm thick ultrathin film (bilayers) to 1 ppb ammonia is shown.

Kafle, Prapti↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Difluoro‐Monobromo End Group Enables High‐Performance Polymer Acceptor and Efficient All‐Polymer Solar Cells Processable with Green Solvent under Ambient Condition

Abstract In this paper, a difluoro‐monobromo end group is designed and synthesized, which is then used to construct a novel polymer acceptor (named PY2F‐T) yielding high‐performance all‐polymer solar cells with 15.22% efficiency. The fluorination strategy can increase the intramolecular charge transfer and interchain packing of the previous PY‐T based acceptor, and significantly improve photon harvesting and charge mobility of the resulting polymer acceptor. In addition, detailed morphology investigations reveal that the PY2F‐T‐based blend shows smaller domain spacing and higher domain purity, which significantly suppress charge recombination as supported by time‐resolved techniques. These polymer properties enable simultaneously enhanced J SC and FF of the PY2F‐T‐based devices, eventually delivering device efficiencies of over 15%, significantly outperforming that of the devices based on the non‐fluorinated PY‐T polymer (13%). More importantly, the PY2F‐T‐based active layers can be processed under ambient conditions and still achieve a 14.37% efficiency. They can also be processed using non‐halogenated solvent o ‐xylene (no additive) and yield a decent performance of 13.05%. This work demonstrates the success of the fluorination strategy in the design of high‐performance polymer acceptors, which provide guidelines for developing new all‐PSCs with better efficiencies and stabilities for commercial applications.

Yu, Han↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Chlorinated Donor Polymer Achieving High‐Performance Organic Solar Cells with a Wide Range of Polymer Molecular Weight

Abstract In the field of non‐fullerene organic solar cells (OSCs), compared to the rapid development of non‐fullerene acceptors, the progress of high‐performance donor polymers is relatively slow. The property and performance of donor polymers in OSCs are often sensitive to the molecular weight of the polymers. In this study, a chlorinated donor polymer named D18‐Cl is reported, which can achieve high performance with a wide range of polymer molecular weight. The devices based on D18‐Cl show a higher open‐circuit voltage ( V OC ) due to the slightly deeper energy levels and an outstanding short‐circuit current density ( J SC ) owing to the appropriate long periods of blend films and less ([6,6]‐phenyl‐C71‐butyric acid methyl ester) (PC 71 BM) in mixed domains, leading to the higher efficiency of 17.97% than those of the D18‐based devices (17.21%). Meanwhile, D18‐Cl can achieve high efficiencies (17.30–17.97%) when its number‐averaged molecular weight ( M n ) is ranged from 45 to 72 kDa. In contrast, the D18‐based devices only exhibit relatively high efficiencies in a narrow M n range of ≈70 kDa. Such property and performance make D18‐Cl a promising donor polymer for scale‐up and low‐cost production.

Zeng, Anping↗
DOE OSTI2019

Analysis and utilization of cryogenic sorption isotherms for high free volume glassy polymers [Analysis and utilization of cryogenic sorption isotherms for high free volume polymers]

The sorption of N 2 , Ar, and CO 2 in the glassy polymer with intrinsic microporosity PIM-1 has been investigated across a broad temperature range, from cryogenic (77 K) to near room temperature (275 K). The data obtained have been interpreted by the non-equilibrium thermodynamic model for glassy polymers (NET-GP), which accurately describes the experimental behaviors, and is used to predict the solubility of the same gases above room temperature. The analysis reveals that the same mechanism drives the sorption process over the broad temperature range inspected, with physical dissolution of the gas in the glassy matrix accompanied by significant swelling of the polymer occurring largely in the central portion of the isotherm at cryogenic temperatures. These findings clearly support the idea that calculation of the BET surface area for amorphous high free-volume glassy polymers does not represent an actual real physical property and suggest that its value is an unsuitable metric of polymer material properties. The gas uptake obtained in the cryogenic sorption isotherm is clearly related to the excess free volume and may instead serve as a more appropriate metric for comparison between different polymers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Uranium recovery from seawater using amidoxime-based braided polymers synthesized from acrylic fibers

Global demand for nuclear energy is expected to rise in the coming decades. To meet these growing needs, new uranium resources must be explored. One of the potential alternatives to traditional uranium mining is oceanic uranium. The capture and recovery of uranium from the ocean has been under investigation for some time, with many recent studies focused on amidoxime based adsorbents. These adsorbents while able to achieve high uranium recovery capacities are, nevertheless, expensive to produce and adsorb a significant amount of hard to remove vanadium. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the adsorption performance of amidoxime based polymer braids synthesized from acrylic fibers which are designed to significantly cut polymer synthesis and conditioning costs. Adsorption experiments were performed in a recirculating raceway flume system at environmental conditions, approximately 10.8 oC, with 40-micron prefiltered seawater over 28 days for small and large sized LCW polymer braids. For both braid sizes, the adsorption of vanadium was far lower on the LCW materials than on Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s amidoxime based AF1 and AI8 small braids, with the LCW small braids outperforming both materials with respect to uranium adsorption under similar conditions. Adsorption modeling was used to simulate the performance at higher temperatures based on 20oC experiments previously performed with similar materials. Simulation results indicated that the small LCW braids would have a less significant advantage with respect to uranium adsorption over both AF1 and AI8 at 20oC and adsorb slightly less uranium than AF1 at 31oC. Vanadium adsorption by LCW small braids was less than one third of vanadium adsorption by either AF1 or AI8 for all temperatures. This behavior indicates that the LCW materials are able to achieve comparable uranium adsorption to other amidoxime adsorbents previously developed, while being cheaper to produce and adsorbing significantly less vanadium.

Wiechert, Alexander I.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Confined dynamics of grafted polymer chains in solutions of linear polymer

Here, we measure the dynamics of high molecular weight polystyrene grafted to silica nanoparticles dispersed in semidilute solutions of linear polymer. Structurally, the linear free chains do not penetrate the grafted corona but increase the osmotic pressure of the solution, collapsing the grafted polymer and leading to eventual aggregation of the grafted particles at high matrix concentrations. Dynamically, the relaxations of the grafted polymer are controlled by the solvent viscosity according to the Zimm model on short time scales. On longer time scales, the grafted chains are confined by neighboring grafted chains, preventing full relaxation over the experimental time scale. Adding free linear polymer to the solution does not affect the initial Zimm relaxations of the grafted polymer but does increase the confinement of the grafted chains. Finally, our results elucidate the physics underlying the slow relaxations of grafted polymer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Effects of configurational changes on molecular dynamics in polyvinylidene fluoride and poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) ferroelectric polymers

Here, we present a comparative study of proton dynamics in unpoled non-ferroelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and in its trifluoroethylene containing ferroelectric copolymer (with 70/30 molar proportion), using quasi-elastic neutron scattering. The neutron data reveal the existence of two distinct types of molecular motions in the temperature range investigated. Moreover, the slower motion, which is characterized in details here, is ascribed to protons jump diffusion along the polymeric carbon chains, while the faster motion could be attributed to localized rotational motion of methylene groups. At temperatures below the Curie point (T-c similar to 385 K) of the composite polymer, the slower diffusive mode experiences longer relaxation times in the ferroelectric blend than in the bare PVDF, although the net corresponding diffusion coefficient remains comparatively the same in both polymers with characteristic activation energy of E-A approximate to 27-33 kJ/mol. This arises because of a temperature dependent jump length r(0), which we observe to be effectively longer in the copolymer, possibly due to the formation of ordered ferroelectric domains below Tc. Above Tc, there is no appreciable difference in r(0) between the two systems. Our observation directly relates the known dependence of Tc on molar ratio to changes in r(0), providing fundamental insight into the ferroelectric properties of PVDF-based copolymers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

A multichain polymer slip-spring model with fluctuating number of entanglements for linear and nonlinear rheology

A theoretically informed entangled polymer simulation approach is presented for description of the linear and non-linear rheology of entangled polymer melts. The approach relies on a many-chain representation and introduces the topological effects that arise from the non-crossability of molecules through effective fluctuating interactions, mediated by slip-springs, between neighboring pairs of macromolecules. The total number of slip-springs is not preserved but, instead, it is controlled through a chemical potential that determines the average molecular weight between entanglements. The behavior of the model is discussed in the context of a recent theory for description of homogeneous materials, and its relevance is established by comparing its predictions to experimental linear and non-linear rheology data for a series of well-characterized linear polyisoprene melts. The results are shown to be in quantitative agreement with experiment and suggest that the proposed formalism may also be used to describe the dynamics of inhomogeneous systems, such as composites and copolymers. Importantly, the fundamental connection made here between our many-chain model and the well-established, thermodynamically consistent single-chain mean-field models provides a path to systematic coarse-graining for prediction of polymer rheology in structurally homogeneous and heterogeneous materials.

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

Influence of nanoparticle-ion and nanoparticle-polymer interactions on ion transport and viscoelastic properties of polymer electrolytes

We use atomistic simulations to probe the ion conductivities and mechanical properties of polyethylene oxide electrolytes containing Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles. We specifically study the influence of repulsive polymer-nanoparticle and ion-nanoparticle interactions and compare the results with those reported for electrolytes containing the polymorph β-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles. We observe that incorporating repulsive nanoparticle interactions generally results in increased ionic mobilities and decreased elastic moduli for the electrolyte. Our results indicate that both ion transport and mechanical properties are influenced by the polymer segmental dynamics in the interfacial zones of the nanoparticle in the ion-doped systems. Such effects were seen to be determined by an interplay between the nanoparticle-polymer, nanoparticle-ion, and ion-polymer interactions. In addition, such interactions were also observed to influence the number of dissociated ions and the resulting conductivities. Within the perspective of the influence of nanoparticles on the polymer relaxation times in ion-doped systems, our results in the context of viscoelastic properties were consistent with the ionic mobilities. Overall, our results serve to highlight some issues that confront the efforts to use nanoparticle dispersions to simultaneously enhance the conductivity and the mechanical strength of polymer electrolyte.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1990

Self-lubricating polymer composites and polymer transfer film lubrication for space applications

The use of self-lubricating polymers and polymer composites in space is somewhat limited today. In general, they are only used when other methods are inadequate. There is potential, however, for these materials to make a significant impact on future space missions if properly utilized. Some of the different polymers and fillers used to make self-lubricating composites are surveyed. The mechanisms of composite lubrication and wear, the theory behind transfer film lubricating mechanisms, and some factors which affect polymer composite wear and transfer are examined. In addition, some of the current space tribology application areas for self-lubricating polymer composites and polymer transfer are mentioned.

Fusaro, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Ground-Laboratory to In-Space Atomic Oxygen Correlation for the Polymer Erosion and Contamination Experiment (PEACE) Polymers

The Materials International Space Station Experiment 2 (MISSE 2) Polymer Erosion and Contamination Experiment (PEACE) polymers were exposed to the environment of low Earth orbit (LEO) for 3.95 years from 2001 to 2005. There were 41 different PEACE polymers, which were flown on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) in order to determine their atomic oxygen erosion yields. In LEO, atomic oxygen is an environmental durability threat, particularly for long duration mission exposures. Although spaceflight experiments, such as the MISSE 2 PEACE experiment, are ideal for determining LEO environmental durability of spacecraft materials, ground-laboratory testing is often relied upon for durability evaluation and prediction. Unfortunately, significant differences exist between LEO atomic oxygen exposure and atomic oxygen exposure in ground-laboratory facilities. These differences include variations in species, energies, thermal exposures and radiation exposures, all of which may result in different reactions and erosion rates. In an effort to improve the accuracy of ground-based durability testing, ground-laboratory to in-space atomic oxygen correlation experiments have been conducted. In these tests, the atomic oxygen erosion yields of the PEACE polymers were determined relative to Kapton H using a radio-frequency (RF) plasma asher (operated on air). The asher erosion yields were compared to the MISSE 2 PEACE erosion yields to determine the correlation between erosion rates in the two environments. This paper provides a summary of the MISSE 2 PEACE experiment; it reviews the specific polymers tested as well as the techniques used to determine erosion yield in the asher, and it provides a correlation between the space and ground laboratory erosion yield values. Using the PEACE polymers asher to in-space erosion yield ratios will allow more accurate in-space materials performance predictions to be made based on plasma asher durability evaluation.

Stambler, Arielle H.↗