Energy Research Group Posters

Block Copolymer Nano-Structured Materials

Mychael Fryd et al. — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:36:31 PDT

From Fundamental Understanding to Predicting New Nanomaterials for High-Capacity Hydrogen Storage

Jason Simmons et al. — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:27:17 PDT

• H2-Storage Materials: Current Impasse • Promising Hybrid Materials • Direct Adsorption Measurements • Neutron Scattering Capabilities • First Principles Calculations • Use a combination of experimental and theoretical studies to understand the detailed guest-host interactions in novel storage materials • Armed with this, develop advanced guest-host materials that can meet the DOE hydrogen storage challenge

Fabrication of Photonic Crystals with high refractive index

Yongan Xu et al. — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:03:54 PDT

• Complete photonic bandgap • High contrast of refractive index (RI) • Polymer material with a low RI • Inorganic material with a higher RI, such as silicon, titania. • Fabrication of diamond-like PCs by MBIL, • Fabrication of high RI inorganic PCs via double templating, • Core-shell morphology of replica • Pinch-off problem • Development of combined level-surface to address pinch-off problem • Electrodeposition of titania 3D structure • Electrophoretic deposition of surface charged nanoparticles

Controlling Interface Properties for Advanced Energy Applications

Rui Shao et al. — Mon, 14 May 2007 11:49:57 PDT

Internal interfaces in materials play an important role in the performance of many devices used in energy applications including solar cells, LEDs, passive electronics, and fuel cells. Efficiencies in energy and power consumption may be realized by optimizing and often miniaturizing these devices. Our studies show that internal boundaries and biomaterial interfaces cause local property variations. These effects will dominate device performance as the systems become smaller. A fundamental understanding of the effect of atomic structure on local properties is a prerequisite to device optimization. Developing this understanding requires new probes that access local properties, controlled interface structure, atomic resolution electron microscopy and first principles calculations of geometric and electronic structure.

Use of High Strength Steel for Hydrogen Containment

X. Y. Liu et al. — Mon, 14 May 2007 11:42:51 PDT

The research involves experiments on model lab heats of an ultra-high-strength steel (high C, low Ni ) and a high-toughness, high-strength steel (high Ni, low C) to determine the limits of toughness as a function of yield strength, grain-boundary purity, and hydrogen fugacity. In addition, the existence and mechanism of brittle intergranular cracking in ideally pure steels is being investigated.

Carbide-derived carbons designed for efficient hydrogen storage

Ranjan Dash et al. — Mon, 14 May 2007 11:33:35 PDT

Carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) with specific surface area (SSA) ~ 2000 m2/g and open pore volume up to 80% are produced by chlorine etching of metal carbides. Tuning the pore size distribution by carbide precursor selection and etching temperature yields enhanced hydrogen storage capacity at both ambient and elevated pressure. Our goal is to establish the fundamental relation between capacity and SSA, pore size and pore volume.

Atomistic Studies of Deformation and Fracture in Materials with Mixed Metallic and Covalent Bonding

Vaclav Vitek et al. — Mon, 14 May 2007 08:53:05 PDT

Materials with high melting temperatures (over 2000°C) tend to be brittle at ambient and even relatively high temperatures. High melting temperatures originate in strong interatomic bonding arising from formation of dd or dp bonds that also affect and/or control crystal structures and properties of extended defects, such as dislocations, grain boundaries. These, in turn, govern plastic deformation and fracture.
General goal: Establish relationship between electronic structure and mechanical behavior