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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 1,513 records · Page 84
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Temperature-dependent diffuse reflectance measurements of ceramic powders in the near- and mid-infrared spectra

Radiative properties are critical to quantify radiative energy fluxes between surfaces and in participating media. However, there is limited experimental data on temperature-dependent radiative properties of materials. Herein, this work focuses on experimentally measuring temperature-dependent diffuse reflectance in the near- and mid-infrared spectra (1–20 μm) for ceramic particles with applications as heat-transfer and thermal-storage media in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Specifically, a commercially available sintered bauxite proppant, ACCUCAST ID80, and its primary chemical constituents—alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) and silica (SiO 2 )—are measured in powder form using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) coupled with a specialized diffuse reflectance accessory and a heated stage. Room-temperature diffuse reflectance measurements show increased absorption in tests with greater mass fractions of the ceramic samples. There is a strong correlation in the measured reflectance spectra of ACCUCAST with alumina and silica in the spectral range 2000–500 cm –1 (5–20 μm). Whereas, for shorter wavelengths (< 5 μm), the absorptance for ACCUCAST is greater than the absorptance for alumina and silica, indicating contributions from other chemical species present in the composite material. For the first time, temperature-dependent diffuse reflectance measurements are reported for ACCUCAST up to 1000 °C. These results are compared against those of alumina and silica through the calculation of a thermal emittance. All three materials exhibit a calculated emittance of ~0.9 at room temperature. However, this value decreases to ~0.6 for ACCUCAST and drops to less than 0.4 for alumina and silica at 1000 °C. Thermal cycling in air at 1000 °C resulted in a visible color change from dark grey to light orange for ACCUCAST and a subsequent larger increase in reflectance for wavelengths less than 5 μm as compared to ACCUCAST thermally cycled at 1000 °C in vacuum. Alumina and silica spectra proved to be largely unaffected by thermal cycling under atmospheric conditions. Overall, this study establishes a powerful technique for the characterization of radiative properties of particulate materials as a function of temperature and presents a detailed case study of ACCUCAST, a candidate for next-generation particle-based CSP.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

CO 2 Adsorption and Hydrogenation on Inverse InO x /Cu(111) Catalysts: Active Role of the Oxide–Metal Interface

The direct conversion of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into methanol via hydrogenation is essential for industrial applications. Recent studies on catalysts that contain an inverse oxide/metal configuration have shown very good catalytic performance for the CO 2 hydrogenation to methanol process. Here, in this study, we investigated the behavior of indium oxide-Cu(111) interfaces under pure CO 2 and CO 2 /H 2 mixtures using synchrotron-based ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). Initially, a single layer of copper oxide (Cu x O) was grown on the Cu(111) surface by controlled oxidation. On this surface, indium was deposited at room temperature. Oxygen atoms transferred from Cu x O/Cu(111) to the indium metal upon deposition, forming In-O-Cu bonds and active interfaces. Although Cu(111) is not very active for the binding and activation of CO 2 , the formed InO x -Cu(111) interfaces had no problem adsorbing and dissociating the molecule at room temperature. Reaction of CO 2 with H 2 on InO x -Cu(111) yielded surface-bound H 3 CO, CO 2 δ− , CO 3 , and CH x species that are typical intermediates in the production of methanol and other oxygenates. The InO x -Cu(111) interface underwent dynamic chemical changes under reaction conditions, forming In-Cu alloys at low indium coverages (< 0.05 monolayer), while at higher indium coverages a mixture of an In-Cu and InO x was detected in XPS. These findings indicate that InO x /In-Cu interfaces can play a key role in processes aimed at the trapping and valorization of CO 2 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2014

Amino Acids Generated from Hydrated Titan Tholins: Comparison with Miller-Urey Electric Discharge Products

Various analogues of Titan haze particles (termed tholins) have been made in the laboratory. In certain geologic environments on Titan, these haze particles may come into contact with aqueous ammonia (NH3) solutions, hydrolyzing them into molecules of astrobiological interest. A Titan tholin analogue hydrolyzed in aqueous NH3 at room temperature for 2.5 years was analyzed for amino acids using highly sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-FDToF-MS) analysis after derivatization with a fluorescent tag. We compare here the amino acids produced from this reaction sequence with those generated from room temperature Miller-Urey (MU) type electric discharge reactions. We find that most of the amino acids detected in low temperature MU CH4N2H2O electric discharge reactions are generated in Titan simulation reactions, as well as in previous simulations of Triton chemistry. This argues that many processes provide very similar mixtures of amino acids, and possibly other types of organic compounds, in disparate environments, regardless of the order of hydration. Although it is unknown how life began, it is likely that given reducing conditions, similar materials were available throughout the early Solar System and throughout the universe to facilitate chemical evolution.

Astrobiology aEuro" Titan↗
DOE OSTI2022

Demonstration of yellow (568 nm) stimulated emission from optically pumped InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells

We demonstrate room-temperature stimulated emission at 568 nm from low dislocation density InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells. For a 1.4 mm long and a 50 $μ$4m wide ridge bar optically pumped by a high-power pulsed laser, we observed an emission peak at 568 nm with a narrow spectral width of less than 2 nm at room temperature. The measured pumping threshold is less than 1.5 MW/cm 2 , and the polarization ratio of the emission is over 90%. In conclusion, this demonstration paves the way for the future development of electrically injected InGaN semiconductor yellow laser diodes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2008

Impact Resistance of Environmental Barrier Coated SiC/SiC Composites

Impact performance of 2D woven SiC/SiC composites coated with 225 and 525 microns thick environmental barrier coating (EBC) was investigated. The composites were fabricated by melt infiltration and the EBC was deposited by plasma spray. Impact tests were conducted at room temperature and at 1316 C in air using 1.59 mm diameter steel-balls at projectile velocities ranging from 110 to 375 m/s . Both microscopy and non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods were used to determine the extent of damage in the substrate and coating with increasing projectile velocity. The impacted specimens were tensile tested at room temperature to determine their residual mechanical properties. At projectile velocities less than 125 m/s , no detectable internal damage was noticed in the MI SiC/SiC composites coated with 525 microns EBC. With increase in projectile velocity beyond this value, spallation of EBC layers, delamination of fiber plies, and fiber fracture were detected. At a fixed projectile velocity, the composites coated with 525 microns EBC showed less damage than those coated with 225 microns EBC. Both types of coated composites retained a large fraction of the baseline properties of the as-fabricated composites and exhibited non-brittle failure after impact testing. Furnace exposure of impacted specimens in a moisture environment at 1316 C for 500 h indicated that the through-the-thickness cracks in the coating and delamination cracks in the substrate generated after impact testing acted as conduits for internal oxidation.

Bhatt, Ramakrishna T.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Entangled core/shell magnetic structure driven by surface magnetic symmetry-breaking in Cr 2 O 3 nanoparticles

Bulk Cr 2 O 3 is an antiferromagnetic (AFM) oxide that exhibits the magnetoelectric effect at room temperature, with neither spontaneous magnetization nor net electric polarization. These physical properties stem from a subtle competition between exchange and crystal field interactions. In this article, we exploit the symmetry breaking at the surface of Cr 2 O 3 nanoparticles for unbalancing this delicate physical equilibrium. The emerging weak ferromagnetic signal we observe persists up to near room temperature (≈ 270 K) at which the antiferromagnetic order disappears. In addition, an exchange-bias effect, that rapidly decreases on heating from low temperature up to 30 K, is resistant to thermal disorder above 200 K. In conclusion, our findings point to the possible formation of an entangled core/shell magnetic structure, where pinned uncompensated spins at the shell are randomly distributed in a low-temperature spin-glass ordering, with low net magnetic moment and an ordering temperature governed by the AFM Néel temperature.

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

Modular droplet injector for sample conservation providing new structural insight for the conformational heterogeneity in the disease-associated NQO1 enzyme

Droplet injection strategies are a promising tool to reduce the large amount of sample consumed in serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) measurements at X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) with continuous injection approaches. Here, we demonstrate a new modular microfluidic droplet injector (MDI) design that was successfully applied to deliver microcrystals of the human NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and phycocyanin. We investigated droplet generation conditions through electrical stimulation for both protein samples and implemented hardware and software components for optimized crystal injection at the Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography (MFX) instrument at the Stanford Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Under optimized droplet injection conditions, we demonstrate that up to 4-fold sample consumption savings can be achieved with the droplet injector. In addition, we collected a full data set with droplet injection for NQO1 protein crystals with a resolution up to 2.7 Å, leading to the first room-temperature structure of NQO1 at an XFEL. NQO1 is a flavoenzyme associated with cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, making it an attractive target for drug discovery. Further, our results reveal for the first time that residues Tyr128 and Phe232, which play key roles in the function of the protein, show an unexpected conformational heterogeneity at room temperature within the crystals. These results suggest that different substates exist in the conformational ensemble of NQO1 with functional and mechanistic implications for the enzyme's negative cooperativity through a conformational selection mechanism. Our study thus demonstrates that microfluidic droplet injection constitutes a robust sample-conserving injection method for SFX studies on protein crystals that are difficult to obtain in amounts necessary for continuous injection, including the large sample quantities required for time-resolved mix-and-inject studies.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Large Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction induced by chemisorbed oxygen on a ferromagnet surface

The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is an antisymmetric exchange interaction that stabilizes chiral spin textures. It is induced by inversion symmetry breaking in noncentrosymmetric lattices or at interfaces. Recently, interfacial DMI has been found in magnetic layers adjacent to transition metals due to the spin-orbit coupling and at interfaces with graphene due to the Rashba effect. We report direct observation of strong DMI induced by chemisorption of oxygen on a ferromagnetic layer at room temperature. The sign of this DMI and its unexpectedly large magnitude—despite the low atomic number of oxygen—are derived by examining the oxygen coverage–dependent evolution of magnetic chirality. We find that DMI at the oxygen/ferromagnet interface is comparable to those at ferromagnet/transition metal interfaces; it has enabled direct tailoring of skyrmion’s winding number at room temperature via oxygen chemisorption. This result extends the understanding of the DMI, opening up opportunities for the chemisorption-related design of spin-orbitronic devices.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1991

High resolution, low energy avalanche photodiode X-ray detectors

Silicon avalanche photodiodes have been fabricated, and their performance as X-ray detectors has been measured. Photon sensitivity and energy resolution were measured as a function of size and operating parameters. Noise thresholds as low as 212 eV were obtained at room temperature, and backscatter X-ray fluorescence data were obtained for aluminum and other light elements. It is concluded that the results with the X-ray detector are extremely encouraging, and the performance is challenging the best available proportional counters. While not at the performance level of either cryogenic silicon or HgI2, these device operate at room temperature and can be reproduced in large numbers and with much larger areas than typically achieved with HgI2. In addition, they are rugged and appear to be indefinitely stable.

Farrell, R.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Intrinsic topological Weyl phase transition induced by a magnetostructural transformation in a kagome magnet

Topological phase transitions provide a unique window into the interplay between structure, magnetism, and Weyl physics in magnetic Weyl semimetals. However, realizing an intrinsic Weyl phase transition between two distinct Weyl states near room temperature remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate that a magnetostructural transition effectively induces such a transition in the kagome magnet Mn3Ga. High-resolution neutron diffraction, magnetization characterizations and first-principles calculations reveal that Mn3Ga undergoes a chiral antiferromagnetic transition below 485 K, followed by a magnetostructural transition to a monoclinic structure with highly canted antiferromagnetic order near room temperature. These cooperative changes in lattice and magnetic symmetries reorganize Weyl nodes, driving a transition from a primary type-II Weyl state to a distinct Weyl state, accompanied by dramatic variations in the anomalous Hall effect and appearance of topological Hall effect. Our findings open a new pathway for discovering novel topological Weyl states and advancing potential spintronic applications.

Yang, Tsung-Han [ORNL] (ORCID:000000030186302X)↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Rate Constant for the Reaction H + C2H5 at T = 295 - 150K

The reaction between the hydrogen atom and the ethyl (C2H3) radical is predicted by photochemical modeling to be the most important loss process for C2H5 radicals in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. This reaction is also one of the major sources for the methyl radicals in these atmospheres. These two simplest hydrocarbon radicals are the initial species for the synthesis of larger hydrocarbons. Previous measurements of the rate constant for the H + C2H5 reaction varied by a factor of five at room temperature, and some studies showed a dependence upon temperature while others showed no such dependence. In addition, the previous studies were at higher temperatures and generally higher pressures than that needed for use in planetary atmospheric models. The rate constant for the reaction H + C2H5 has been measured directly at T = 150, 202 and 295 K and at P = 1.0 Torr He for all temperatures and additionally at P = 0.5 and 2.0 Torr He at T = 202 K. The measurements were performed in a discharge - fast flow system. The decay of the C2H5 radical in the presence of excess hydrogen was monitored by low-energy electron impact mass spectrometry under pseudo-first order conditions. H atoms and C2H5 radicals were generated rapidly and simultaneously by the reaction of fluorine atoms with H2 and C2H6, respectively. The total rate constant was found to be temperature and pressure independent. The measured total rate constant at each temperature are: k(sub 1)(295K) = (1.02+/-0.24)x10(exp -10), k(sub 1)(202K) = (1.02+/-0.22)x10(exp -10) and k(sub 1)(150K) = (0.93+/-0.21)x10(exp -10), all in units of cu cm/molecule/s. The total rate constant derived from all the combined measurements is k(sub 1) = (l.03+/-0.17)x10(exp -10) cu cm/molecule/s. At room temperature our results are about a factor of two higher than the recommended rate constant and a factor of three lower than the most recently published study.

Pimentel, Andre S.↗
DOE OSTI2024

AP-XPS Study of the Reaction of O 2 and CO 2 with Zn–Au(111) Surface Alloys: Activation of O–O/C–O Bonds and the Formation of ZnO

Synchrotron-based ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) was used to study the dissociation of O 2 and CO 2 on Zn-Au(111) alloys which contained 0.2-0.3 monolayers of zinc. Although Au(111) is inert, the alloys displayed a high activity for the cleavages of O-O and C-O bonds at room temperature with the formation of ZnO x species. Dissociative adsorption of O 2 at 300 K destroyed the alloys and the results of AP-XPS pointed to the co-existence of two types of oxygen species on the surface: ZnO x and chemisorbed O atoms (O chem ) on Au or the Au-ZnO interface. Annealing from room temperature to 600 K induced a O chem → ZnO x transformation that reflected the poor stability of O atoms on Au(111). The Zn-Au(111) systems exhibited a reactivity towards CO 2 that was much larger than that seen for Au(111), Cu(111) or surfaces of late transition metals like, Ni, Pd or Pt. At 300 K, CO 2 underwent partial dissociation depositing large amounts of O chem on the surface with minor formation of ZnO x . In addition, the deposited O chem reacted with CO 2 to form surface carbonate groups. Dosing of CO 2 at 500-600 K mainly led to the formation of ZnO x and the surface carbonate almost disappeared. In the presence of hydrogen, i.e. reaction feeds with a CO 2 to H 2 ratio of 1:3, the surface chemistry at 300 K was very similar to that seen for pure CO 2 with the formation of ZnO x and carbonate groups. In contrast, at 500-600 K, reaction with hydrogen induced the removal of ZnO x and CO 3 /HCOO species. Finally, our AP-XPS results are consistent with the idea that CO 2 hydrogenation on AuZn alloys involves a redox process where there is sequential oxidation by CO 2 and reduction by H 2 to yield methanol.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1988

Improved absorption cross-sections of oxygen in the wavelength region 205-240 nm of the Herzberg continuum

The laboratory values of the Herzberg continuum absorption cross-section of oxygen at room temperature from Cheung et al. (1986) and Jenouvrier et al. (1986) are compared and analyzed. It is found that there is no discrepancy between the absolute values of these two sets of independent measurements. The values are combined in a linear least-squares fit to obtain improved values of the Herzberg continuum cross-section of oxygen at room temperature throughout the wavelength region 205-240 nm. The results are compared with in situ and other laboratory measurements.

Yoshino, K.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Energy migration and scintillation kinetics in compositionally complex (Gd 1/4 Y 1/4 Tb 1/4 Lu 1/4 ) 3 Al 5 O 12 :Ce single crystal scintillator

It is well-established that compositional tuning through binary admixture can improve scintillation performance in several materials systems, including Ce-activated garnets. Although recent work on ternary or quaternary cation admixture shows promise, the impact of this increased compositional complexity on thermal stability and carrier-defect dynamics has not been addressed. Here, we investigate a compositionally complex garnet, (Gd 1/4 Y 1/4 Tb 1/4 Lu 1/4 ) 3 Al 5 O 12 :Ce (GYTLAG), grown by the Czochralski method using temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL), PL decay, and thermoluminescence (TL). PL and PL decay measurements support a thermally activated Tb 3+ -Ce 3+ energy transfer, where Tb 3+ emission dominates below 60 K, but Ce 3+ emission increases from 20-300 K. Thermal quenching of Ce 3+ emission occurs around T 50 = 508 K, with an activation energy of 0.6 eV. TL and wavelength-resolved TL spectra from 20–500 K show that GYTLAG contains similar trap groups to LuAG but with a broader distribution of glow peaks below room temperature, possibly caused by quaternary cation mixing. A combination of dose dependence, partial cleaning and initial rise, and glow curve fitting to a first order continuous Gaussian distribution model are used to understand the contribution of electronic point defects to scintillation decay and afterglow at room temperature. Furthermore, these results inform how increased compositional complexity influences recombination dynamics in garnet scintillators.

Compositionally complex↗
DOE OSTI2024

Critical Role of Framework Flexibility and Disorder in Driving High Ionic Conductivity in LiNbOCl 4

Understanding Li-ion transport is key for the rational design of superionic solid electrolytes with exceptional ionic conductivities. LiNbOCl 4 is reported to be one of the most highly conducting materials in the recently realized new class of soft oxyhalide solid electrolytes, exhibiting an ionic conductivity of ~11 mS·cm -1 . Here, we apply X-ray/neutron diffraction and pair distribution function analysis - coupled with density functional theory/ab-initio molecular dynamics - to determine a structural model that provides a rationale for the high conductivity that we observe experimentally in this nanocrystalline solid. We show that it arises from unusually high framework flexibility at room temperature. This owes to isolated 1-D [NbOCl 4 ] - anionic chains which exhibit energetically favorable orientational disorder that is - in turn - correlated to multiple, disordered and equi-energetic Li + sites in the lattice. As the Li-ions sample the 3-D energy landscape with a fast predicted diffusion coefficient of 5.1 x 10 -7 cm 2 /s at room temperature (σ i calc = 17.4 mS·cm -1 ), the inorganic polymer chains can reorient or vice versa. The activation energy barrier for Li migration through the frustrated energy landscape is especially reduced by the elastic nature of the NbO 2 Cl 4 octahedra evident from very widely dispersed Cl-Nb-Cl bond angles in AIMD snapshots at 300 K. The phonon spectra are predominantly influenced by Cl vibrations in the low energy range, and there is strong overlap between the framework (Cl, Nb) and Li partial pDOS in the region between 1.2 - 4.0 THz. The framework flexibility is also reflected in a relatively low bulk modulus of 22 GPa. In conclusion, our findings pave the way for investigation of future “flex-ion” inorganic solids and open up a new direction for the design of high conductivity, soft solid electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries.

AIMD↗
DOE OSTI2025

Probing polarization-tunable sub-terahertz spin pumping in bimodal α-Fe 2 O 3 /Pt

Hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) is an insulating antiferromagnet possessing a room temperature canted phase induced by the super-exchange Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction (DMI), resulting in enhanced spin pumping and spin transport over uniaxial antiferromagnets. In this work we resonantly excite the quasi-ferromagnetic (acoustic) and purely antiferromagnetic (optical) spin-dynamical modes in bulk and thin-film heterostructures of α-Fe 2 O 3 /Pt at room temperature, inducing inverse-spin-Hall-voltages up to 255 GHz. Following recent measurements of optical-mode spin-pumping in α-Fe 2 O 3 , we observe a novel and exotic microwave polarization mapping along with amplified spin-charge conversion in the optical branch and discuss the implications of layer thickness on acoustic and optical spin-modes. The results provide a deeper understanding of spin-wave selection rules for canted antiferromagnets and their potential use in nanoscale terahertz spintronics.

interfaces↗
NASA NTRS1980

Thermal stability and aging of some new anaerobic adhesives for structural binding

Polyurethane-modified high impact anaerobic adhesives have been chosen for a bonding application where impact cushion is critical. These adhesives meet all the requirements for high rate production and automatic assembly techniques. With aluminum adherends, one selected adhesive cured at room temperature with the recommended activator retained sixty percent of its original impact strength after twenty-six week aging at 100 C. The impact strength aging, the thermogravimetric analysis results, the outgassing data, and other observations made in this work indicate that the adhesives cured by simple heating give a more durable bond than that cured with an activator at room temperature.

Lee, S. Y.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Surface Figure Measurement at 20K: Silicon Carbide and Cesic Mirrors

This report presents the facility, methods, and results of testing cryogenically-cooled spherical mirrors, using standard phase-shifting interferometry, at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Two mirrors were supplied to GSFC by the European Space Technology Center, so that GSFC could render a second, independent cryo-measurement of their surface figures at 20K. These mirrors, produced by Galileo Avionica and its partners, demonstrate the technology of silicon carbide and SiC-composite lightweighted mirrors, designed for high accuracy (10 nm rms surface figure error) at both room temperature and 20K. The two mirrors provided for testing at GSFC include one made of sintered silicon carbide (mirror blank by Bettini), and a second made of the C/Si/SiC composite known as Cesic (supplied by ECM). Both mirrors are f/2 spheres with 150 mm clear aperture, and with integral mounts. At GSFC, the mirrors will be measured first at at room temperature, making use of standard techniques, with a predicted uncertainty of 2 nm. Then each mirror will be tested in the cryostat, down to 20K: first freely supported and, second, mounted to a Cesic plate that models a Cesic optical bench. The uncertainty of the resultant surface figure error is predicted to be about 5 nm rms. Details of the uncertainty budget are discussed in a related poster. GSFC's techniques and results can be usefully compared to the measurements performed on the same two mirrors by and for Galileo Avionica, who used a somewhat different test configuration and alignment approach.

Blake, Peter↗