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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 1,639 records · Page 91
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Ferroelastic switching in a layered-perovskite thin film

Here, a controllable ferroelastic switching in ferroelectric/multiferroic oxides is highly desirable due to the non-volatile strain and possible coupling between lattice and other order parameter in heterostructures. However, a substrate clamping usually inhibits their elastic deformation in thin films without micro/nano-patterned structure so that the integration of the non-volatile strain with thin film devices is challenging. Here, we report that reversible in-plane elastic switching with a non-volatile strain of approximately 0.4% can be achieved in layered-perovskite Bi 2 WO 6 thin films, where the ferroelectric polarization rotates by 90° within four in-plane preferred orientations. Phase-field simulation indicates that the energy barrier of ferroelastic switching in orthorhombic Bi 2 WO 6 film is ten times lower than the one in PbTiO 3 films, revealing the origin of the switching with negligible substrate constraint. The reversible control of the in-plane strain in this layered-perovskite thin film demonstrates a new pathway to integrate mechanical deformation with nanoscale electronic and/or magnetoelectronic applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electrochemical preparation of poly(methylene blue)/graphene nanocomposite thin films

Highlights: • Poly(MB)/graphene thin films are prepared by a simple electrochemical approach. • Graphene layers in the film show a broad band in visible region of absorbance spectra. • Morphology of composite films indicates both disordered and ordered regions. • XRD reveals that nanocomposite films include rGO layers after electropolymerization process. • Chemically prepared graphene is better than electrochemically prepared graphene for electrooxidation of nitrite. - Abstract: Poly(methylene blue)/graphene nanocomposite thin films were prepared by electropolymerization of methylene blue in the presence of graphene which have been synthesized by two different methods of a chemical oxidation process and an electrochemical approach. Synthesized nanocomposite thin films were characterized by using cyclic voltammetry, UV–vis. absorption spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and scanning tunneling microscopy techniques. Electrocatalytical properties of prepared poly(methylene blue)/graphene nanocomposite films were compared toward electrochemical oxidation of nitrite. Under optimized conditions, electrocatalytical effect of nanocomposite films of chemically prepared graphene through electrochemical oxidation of nitrite was better than that of electrochemically prepared graphene.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Improving thermostability of CrO{sub 2} thin films by doping with Sn

Chromium dioxide (CrO{sub 2}) is an ideal material for spin electronic devices since it has almost 100% spin polarization near Fermi level. However, it is thermally unstable and easily decomposes to Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} even at room temperature. In this study, we try to improve the thermal stability of CrO{sub 2} thin films by doping with Sn whose oxide has the same structure as CrO{sub 2}. High quality epitaxial CrO{sub 2} and Sn-doped CrO{sub 2} films were grown on single crystalline TiO{sub 2} (100) substrates by chemical vapor deposition. Sn{sup 4+} ions were believed to be doped into CrO{sub 2} lattice and take the lattice positions of Cr{sup 4+}. The magnetic measurements show that Sn-doping leads to a decrease of magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The thermal stabilities of the films were evaluated by annealing the films at different temperatures. Sn-doped films can withstand a temperature up to 510 °C, significantly higher than what undoped films can do (lower than 435 °C), which suggests that Sn-doping indeed enhances the thermal stability of CrO{sub 2} films. Our study also indicates that Sn-doping may not change the essential half metallic properties of CrO{sub 2}. Therefore, Sn-doped CrO{sub 2} is expected to be very promising for applications in spintronic devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Effect of HCl doping on optoelectrical and LPG sensing properties of nanostructured polyaniline thin films

Nanostructure Polyaniline thin films doped with 0.5 M, 0.7 M, and 1 M of HCL were synthesized by simple and inexpensive chemical oxidative polymerization technique at room temperature. All prepared thin films of Polyaniline were characterized by optical absorbance study by UV-visible spectroscopy. The absorbance spectrum of Polyaniline shows three fundamental peaks at 356, 419 and 820 nm with increase in absorption intensity. The electrical study shows magnitude of resistance of HCL doped Polyaniline is dependent on doping level. Furthermore, the thin film of Polyaniline was investigated by Scanning electron microscopy for surface morphology study. The SEM micrograph represents irregular granular morphology. In order to investigate LPG sensing properties, I-V characteristics of the Polyaniline films doped with 0.5 M, 0.7 M, and 1 M of HCL were recorded at room temperature in presence of air and 100 ppm of LPG. The observed values of sensitivity found to be 7.21%, 9.85% and 17.46 % for 0.5 M, 0.75 M, and 1.0 M of HCL doped Polyaniline thin films respectively.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effect of capping layers on the near-surface region of SrVO 3 films

Surfaces of correlated-electron oxides are of significant interest both from fundamental and applied perspectives. Many such oxides feature a near-surface region (NSR) which differs from the bulk’s properties. The NSR can significantly affect the interpretation of the material’s electronic structure, especially for those in thin film form, and have detrimental effects for applications such as field effect devices and catalysts. In this work we study the changes in the composition and electronic structure of the NSR of SrVO 3 (SVO) thin films. We employ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and compare TiOx-capped SVO films to identical uncapped films that were exposed to ambient conditions. The significant over-oxidation of the SVO surface in the bare film, illustrated by a primary V 5+ component, is prevented by the TiO x layer in the capped film. Furthermore, the capped film further exhibits a decrease in Sr surface phases. These results demonstrate the importance and potential of such capping layers in preserving the bulk properties of correlated oxides in their NSR, enabling more accurate probes for their underlying physics and offering a route for their integration into devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

570 mV photovoltage, stabilized n-Si/CoO x heterojunction photoanodes fabricated using atomic layer deposition

Heterojunction photoanodes, consisting of n-type crystalline Si(100) substrates coated with a thin ~50 nm film of cobalt oxide fabricated using atomic-layer deposition (ALD), exhibited photocurrent-onset potentials of -205 ± 20 mV relative to the formal potential for the oxygen-evolution reaction (OER), ideal regenerative solar-to-O 2 (g) conversion efficiencies of 1.42 ± 0.20%, and operated continuously for over 100 days (~2500 h) in 1.0 M KOH(aq) under simulated solar illumination. The ALD CoO x thin film: (i) formed a heterojunction with the n-Si(100) that provided a photovoltage of 575 mV under 1 Sun of simulated solar illumination; (ii) stabilized Si photoanodes that are otherwise unstable when operated in aqueous alkaline electrolytes; and, (iii) catalyzed the oxidation of water, thereby reducing the kinetic overpotential required for the reaction and increasing the overall efficiency relative to electrodes that do not have an inherently electrocatalytic coating. The process provides a simple, effective method for enabling the use of planar n-Si(100) substrates as efficient and durable photoanodes in fully integrated, photovoltaic-biased solar fuels generators.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Suppression effect of silicon (Si) on Er{sup 3+} 1.54μm excitation in ZnO thin films

We have investigated the photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of ZnO:Er thin films on Si (100) single crystal and SiO{sub 2}-on-silicon (SiO{sub 2}) substrates, synthesized by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectrometry (RBS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to analyze the properties of thin films. The diffusion depth profiles of Si were determined by second ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Infrared spectra were obtained from the spectrometer and related instruments. Compared with the results at room temperature (RT), PL (1.54μm) intensity increased when samples were annealed at 250°C and decreased when at 550°C. A new peak at 1.15μm from silicon (Si) appeared in 550°C samples. The Si dopants in ZnO film, either through the diffusion of Si from the substrate or ambient, directly absorbed the energy of pumping light and resulted in the suppression of Er{sup 3+} 1.54μm excitation. Furthermore, the energy transmission efficiency between Si and Er{sup 3+} was very low when compared with silicon nanocrystal (Si-NC). Both made the PL (1.54μm) intensity decrease. All the data in experiments proved the negative effects of Si dopants on PL at 1.54μm. And further research is going on.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Non-equilibrium deposition of phase pure Cu{sub 2}O thin films at reduced growth temperature

Cuprous oxide (Cu{sub 2}O) is actively studied as a prototypical material for energy conversion and electronic applications. Here we reduce the growth temperature of phase pure Cu{sub 2}O thin films to 300 °C by intentionally controlling solely the kinetic parameter (total chamber pressure, P{sub tot}) at fixed thermodynamic condition (0.25 mTorr pO{sub 2}). A strong non-monotonic effect of P{sub tot} on Cu-O phase formation is found using high-throughput combinatorial-pulsed laser deposition. This discovery creates new opportunities for the growth of Cu{sub 2}O devices with low thermal budget and illustrates the importance of kinetic effects for the synthesis of metastable materials with useful properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Decoupling optical and electronic optimization of organic solar cells using high-performance temperature-stable TiO{sub 2}/Ag/TiO{sub 2} electrodes

An electrode structured with a TiO{sub 2}/Ag/TiO{sub 2} (TAT) multilayer as indium tin oxide (ITO) replacement with a superior thermal stability has been successfully fabricated. This electrode allows to directly tune the optical cavity mode towards maximized photocurrent generation by varying the thickness of the layers in the sandwich structure. This enables tailored optimization of the transparent electrode for different organic thin film photovoltaics without alteration of their electro-optical properties. Organic photovoltaic featuring our TAT multilayer shows an improvement of ∼12% over the ITO reference and allows power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) up to 8.7% in PTB7:PC{sub 71}BM devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Simultaneous determination of the residual stress, elastic modulus, density and thickness of ultrathin film utilizing vibrating doubly clamped micro-/nanobeams

Measurement of ultrathin film thickness and its basic properties can be highly challenging and time consuming due to necessity of using several very sophisticated devices. Here, we report an easy accessible resonant based method capable to simultaneously determinate the residual stress, elastic modulus, density and thickness of ultrathin film coated on doubly clamped micro-/nanobeam. We show that a general dependency of the resonant frequencies on the axial load is also valid for in-plane vibrations, and the one depends only on the considered vibrational mode. As a result, we found that the film elastic modulus, density and thickness can be evaluated from two measured in-plane and out-plane fundamental resonant frequencies of micro-/nanobeam with and without film under different prestress forces. Whereas, the residual stress can be determined from two out-plane (in-plane) measured consecutive resonant frequencies of beam with film under different prestress forces without necessity of knowing film and substrate properties and dimensions. Moreover, we also reveal that the common uncertainties in force (and thickness) determination have a negligible (and minor) impact on the determined film properties. The application potential of the present method is illustrated on the beam made of silicon and SiO{sub 2} with deposited 20 nm thick AlN and 40 nm thick Au thin films, respectively.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Tuning electrochemical and transport processes to achieve extreme performance and efficiency in solid oxide cells

Solid oxide cells (SOCs) have important applications as fuel cells and electrolyzers. The application for storage of renewable electricity is also becoming increasingly relevant; however, it is difficult to meet stringent area-specific resistance (ASR) and long-term stability targets needed to achieve required efficiency and cost. Here we show a new SOC that utilizes a very thin Gd-doped ceria (GDC)/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) bi-layer electrolyte, Ni–YSZ cell support with enhanced porosity, and electrode surface modification using PrO x and GDC nanocatalysts to achieve unprecedented low ASR values < 0.1 Ω cm 2 , fuel cell power density ~3 W cm –2 , and electrolysis current density ~4 A cm –2 at 800 °C. Besides this exceptionally high performance, fuel cell and electrolysis life tests suggest very promising stability in fuel cell and steam electrolysis modes. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis done using a novel impedance subtraction method shows how rate-limiting electrode processes are impacted by the new SOC materials and design.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Effect of postdeposition annealing on the electrical properties of β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films grown on p-Si by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition

Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} dielectric thin films were deposited on (111)-oriented p-type silicon wafers by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition using trimethylgallium and oxygen plasma. Structural analysis of the Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films was carried out using grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction. As-deposited films were amorphous. Upon postdeposition annealing at 700, 800, and 900 °C for 30 min under N{sub 2} ambient, films crystallized into β-form monoclinic structure. Electrical properties of the β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films were then investigated by fabricating and characterizing Al/β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}/p-Si metal–oxide-semiconductor capacitors. The effect of postdeposition annealing on the leakage current densities, leakage current conduction mechanisms, dielectric constants, flat-band voltages, reverse breakdown voltages, threshold voltages, and effective oxide charges of the capacitors were presented. The effective oxide charges (Q{sub eff}) were calculated from the capacitance–voltage (C-V) curves using the flat-band voltage shift and were found as 2.6 × 10{sup 12}, 1.9 × 10{sup 12}, and 2.5 × 10{sup 12} cm{sup −2} for samples annealed at 700, 800, and 900 °C, respectively. Effective dielectric constants of the films decreased with increasing annealing temperature. This situation was attributed to the formation of an interfacial SiO{sub 2} layer during annealing process. Leakage mechanisms in the regions where current increases gradually with voltage were well fitted by the Schottky emission model for films annealed at 700 and 900 °C, and by the Frenkel–Poole emission model for film annealed at 800 °C. Leakage current density was found to improve with annealing temperature. β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin film annealed at 800 °C exhibited the highest reverse breakdown field value.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

A robust and active hybrid catalyst for facile oxygen reduction in solid oxide fuel cells

The sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) greatly reduces the energy efficiency of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this work, we present our results in dramatically enhancing the ORR kinetics and durability of the state-of-the-art La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3 (LSCF) cathode using a hybrid catalyst coating composed of a conformal PrNi 0.5 Mn 0.5 O 3 (PNM) thin film with exsoluted PrOx nanoparticles. At 750 °C, the hybrid catalyst-coated LSCF cathode shows a polarization resistance of ~0.022 Ω cm 2 , about 1/6 of that for a bare LSCF cathode (~0.134 Ω cm 2 ). Further, anode-supported cells with the hybrid catalyst-coated LSCF cathode demonstrate remarkable peak power densities (~1.21 W cm –2 ) while maintaining excellent durability (0.7 V for ~500 h). Near Ambient X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Near Edge X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) analyses, together with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, imply that the oxygen-vacancy-rich surfaces of the PrOx nanoparticles greatly accelerate the rate of electron transfer in the ORR whereas the thin PNM film facilitates rapid oxide-ion transport while drastically enhancing the surface stability of the LSCF electrode.

Chen, Yu↗
DOE OSTI2019

ODS Thin-wall Cladding Joining Technique Development

ABSTRACT The oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) materials are typically fabricated by powder mechanical alloying to form uniform distribution of high concentration nanometer size oxide particles for exceptional high temperature mechanical strength and enhanced radiation tolerance. This report summarizes the recent development on the weld techniques of joining the ODS cladding to the endplug as a part of accident tolerant fuels (ATF) program for both advanced light water reactor (LWR) and advanced fuel cycle (AFC) with fast reactor fuel cladding. It is crucial for the weld of ODS material to maintain the uniform distribution and fine size of oxide particles in the matrix. Pressure Resistance Weld (PRW) is a solid state joining technique without melting therefore a preferred joining technique for ODS materials. Samples joined with PRW were pressure burst tested. Detailed microstructural characterization in this work includes non-destructive 3D x-ray ?m-resolution computer-tomography (?-CT), optical microscopy, SEM/EBSD for grain-orientation-mapping, TEM, STEM/ASTAR for high resolution grain orientation and phase mapping, and APT for high-resolution 3D composition analysis.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Study of Interfacial Interactions Using Thing Film Surface Modification: Radiation and Oxidation Effects in Materials

Interfaces play a key role in dictating the long-term stability of materials under the influence of radiation and high temperatures. For example, grain boundaries affect corrosion by way of providing kinetically favorable paths for elemental diffusion, but they can also act as sinks for defects and helium generated during irradiation. Likewise, the retention of high-temperature strength in nanostructured, oxide-dispersion strengthened steels depends strongly on the stoichiometric and physical stability of the (Y, Ti)-oxide particles/matrix interface under radiation and high temperatures. An understanding of these interfacial effects at a fundamental level is important for the development of materials for extreme environments of nuclear reactors. The goal of this project is to develop an understanding stability of interfaces by depositing thin films of materials on substrates followed by ion irradiation of the film-substrate system at elevated temperatures followed by post-irradiation oxidation treatments. Specifically, the research will be performed by depositing thin films of yttrium and titanium (~500 nm) on Fe-12%Cr binary alloy substrate. Y and Ti have been selected as thin-film materials because they form highly stable protective oxides layers. The Fe-12%Cr binary alloy has been selected because it is representative of ferritic steels that are widely used in nuclear systems. The absence of other alloying elements in this binary alloy would allow for a clearer examination of structures and compositions that evolve during high-temperature irradiations and oxidation treatments. The research is divided into four specific tasks: (1) sputter deposition of 500 nm thick films of Y and Ti on Fe-12%Cr alloy substrates, (2) ion irradiation of the film-substrate system with 2MeV protons to a dose of 2 dpa at temperatures of 300°C, 500°C, and 700°C, (3) oxidation of as-deposited and ion-irradiated samples in a controlled oxygen environment at 500°C and 700°C, (4) multi-scale computational modeling involving first- principle molecular dynamics (FPMD) and coarse-grained dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) approaches to develop theories underlying the evolution and stability of structures and phases. Samples from Tasks 1 to 3 (above) will be rigorously characterized and analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, Auger electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Rutherford back scatter spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Expected outcomes of the experimental work include a quantitative understanding film-substrate interface mixing, evolution of defects and other phases at the interface, interaction of interfaces with defects, and the ability of the Y and Ti films to mitigate irradiation-assisted oxidation.The aforementioned experimental work will be closely coupled with multi-scale molecular dynamics (MD) modeling to understand the reactions at the surface, the transport of oxidant through the thin film, and the stabilities of the deposited thin films under radiation and oxidation. Simulations of materials property changes under conditions of radiation and oxidation require multiple size domains and a different simulation scheme for each of these domains. This will be achieved by coupling the FPMD and coarse-grained kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC). This will enable the comparison of the results of each simulation approach with the experimental results.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Kinetics of solid-gas reactions characterized by scanning AC nano-calorimetry with application to Zr oxidation

Scanning AC nano-calorimetry is a recently developed experimental technique capable of measuring the heat capacity of thin-film samples of a material over a wide range of temperatures and heating rates. Here, we describe how this technique can be used to study solid-gas phase reactions by measuring the change in heat capacity of a sample during reaction. We apply this approach to evaluate the oxidation kinetics of thin-film samples of zirconium in air. The results confirm parabolic oxidation kinetics with an activation energy of 0.59 ± 0.03 eV. The nano-calorimetry measurements were performed using a device that contains an array of micromachined nano-calorimeter sensors in an architecture designed for combinatorial studies. We demonstrate that the oxidation kinetics can be quantified using a single sample, thus enabling high-throughput mapping of the composition-dependence of the reaction rate.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Resistive switching in ultra-thin La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3}/SrRuO{sub 3} superlattices

Superlattices may play an important role in next generation electronic and spintronic devices if the key-challenge of the reading and writing data can be solved. This challenge emerges from the coupling of low dimensional individual layers with macroscopic world. Here, we report the study of the resistive switching characteristics of a hybrid structure made out of a superlattice with ultrathin layers of two ferromagnetic metallic oxides, La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} (LSMO) and SrRuO{sub 3} (SRO). Bipolar resistive switching memory effects are measured on these LSMO/SRO superlattices, and the observed switching is explainable by ohmic and space charge-limited conduction laws. It is evident from the endurance characteristics that the on/off memory window of the cell is greater than 14, which indicates that this cell can reliably distinguish the stored information between high and low resistance states. The findings may pave a way to the construction of devices based on nonvolatile resistive memory effects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Semiconductor–Metal Phase Transition and “Tristable” Electrical Switching in Nanocrystalline Vanadium Oxide Films on Silicon

Temperature dependences of the ac conductivity of nanocrystalline mixed vanadium oxide films on silicon revealed a multistep shape of the hysteresis loop observed during the semiconductor–metal phase transition in VO{sub 2}, which was not manifested in the case of dc measurements. These peculiarities are related to the size effect, heterophase character of vanadium oxide films, and different types of charge carriers in the bulk of nanocrystallites and on their surfaces. The appearance of steps is explained by the phase transition taking place in separate groups of crystallites with close dimensions. The phenomenon of “tristable” electrical switching in these vanadium oxide films was observed for the first time.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗