Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

About: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a facility organization based out in Richland, Washington, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Aerosol. The organization has 11581 authors who have published 27934 publications receiving 1120489 citations. The organization is also known as: PNL & PNNL.

Charge Transport in Metal Oxides: A Theoretical Study of Hematite α-Fe2O3

Abstract: Transport of conduction electrons and holes through the lattice of α-Fe2O3 (hematite) is modeled as a valence alternation of iron cations using ab initio electronic structure calculations and electron transfer theory. Experimental studies have shown that the conductivity along the (001) basal plane is four orders of magnitude larger than the conductivity along the [001] direction. In the context of the small polaron model, a cluster approach was used to compute quantities controlling the mobility of localized electrons and holes, i.e., the reorganization energy and the electronic coupling matrix element that enter Marcus’ theory. The calculation of the electronic coupling followed the generalized Mulliken–Hush approach using the complete active space self-consistent field method. Our findings demonstrate an approximately three orders of magnitude anisotropy in both electron and hole mobility between directions perpendicular and parallel to the c axis, in good accord with experimental data. The anisotropy ...

Regulation of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling by endocytic trafficking.

Abstract: Activated receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) receptors are rapidly internalized and eventually delivered to the lysosomes. Although ligand-induced endocytosis was originally thought to be a mechanism of receptor inactivation, many studies suggest that receptors remain active within endosomes. This review discusses the role that internalized signaling complexes may play in different RTK systems including recent data on how ubiquitination may regulate this process. In general, it appears that some receptor systems have evolved to enhance endosomal signaling, as is the case for TrkA and NGF. In contrast, the insulin receptor system appears to limit the extent of endosomal signaling. The EGFR system is the intermediate example. In this case, some signals are specifically generated from the cell surface while others appear to be generated from within endosomes. This may act as a mechanism to produce ligand-specific signals. Thus, trafficking could play diverse roles in receptor signaling, depending on the specific cell and tissue type.

PtRu/carbon nanotube nanocomposite synthesized in supercritical fluid: a novel electrocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.

Abstract: Platinum/ruthenium nanoparticles were decorated on carbon nanotubes (CNT) in supercritical carbon dioxide, and the nanocomposites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). TEM images show that the particles size is in the range of 5-10 nm, and XRD patterns show a face-centered cubic crystal structure. Methanol electrooxidation in 1 M sulfuric acid electrolyte containing 2 M methanol were studied onPtRu/CNT (Pt, 4.1 wt%; Ru, 2.3 wt%; molar ratio approximately Pt/Ru = 45:55) catalysts using cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. All the electrochemical results show that PtRu/CNT catalysts exhibit high activity for methanol oxidation which resulted from the high surface area of carbon nanotubes and the nanostructure of platinum/ruthenium particles. Compared with Pt/CNT, the onset potential is much lower and the ratio of forward anodic peak current to reverse anodic peak current is much higher for methanol oxidation, which indicates the higher catalytic activity of PtRu/CNT. The presence of Ru with Pt accelerates the rate of methanol oxidation. The results demonstrated the feasibility of processing bimetallic catalysts in supercritical carbon dioxide for fuel cell applications.

A biomimetic high-capacity phenazine-based anolyte for aqueous organic redox flow batteries

Abstract: Aqueous soluble organic (ASO) redox-active materials have recently attracted significant attention as alternatives to traditional transition metal ions in redox flow batteries (RFB). However, reported reversible capacities of ASO are often substantially lower than their theoretical values based on the reported maximum solubilities. Here, we describe a phenazine-based ASO compound with an exceptionally high reversible capacity that exceeds 90% of its theoretical value. By strategically modifying the phenazine molecular structure, we demonstrate an increased solubility from near-zero with pristine phenazine to as much as 1.8 M while also shifting its redox potential by more than 400 mV. An RFB based on a phenazine derivative (7,8-dihydroxyphenazine-2-sulfonic acid) at its near-saturation concentration exhibits an operating voltage of 1.4 V with a reversible anolyte capacity of 67 Ah l−1 and a capacity retention of 99.98% per cycle over 500 cycles. Redox flow batteries (RFBs) based on organic redox-active molecules are attractive, but the solubility of those molecules, and consequently the capacity, is generally low. Here, the authors develop a phenazine derivative with high solubility as an energy-dense anolyte for RFBs.