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Fabrication of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) depends on creating inks or pastes of catalyst and binder, and applying this suspension to either the membrane (catalyst coated membrane) or gas diffusion media (gas diffusion electrode) and respectively laminating either gas diffusion media or gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) to the membrane. One barrier to cost effective fabrication for either of these approaches is the development of stable and consistent suspensions. This program investigated the fundamental forces that destabilize the suspensions and developed innovative approaches to create new, highly stable formulations. These more concentrated formulations needed fewer application passes, could be coated over longer and wider substrates, and resulted in significantly lower coating defects. In March of 2012 BASF Fuel Cell released a new high temperature product based on these advances, whereby our customers received higher performing, more uniform MEAs resulting in higher stack build yields. Furthermore, these new materials resulted in an “instant” increase in capacity due to higher product yields and material throughput. Although not part of the original scope of this program, these new formulations have also led us to materials that demonstrate equivalent performance with 30% less precious metal in the anode. This program has achieved two key milestones …

As far as heterogeneous catalysts are a composite material, physicochemical properties of the interfaces between individual components should be extensively studied for rational design of catalysts with desired properties. Here, I will present recent computational achievements in following three heterogeneous catalysts where the interface between composing materials plays a critical role

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This project examined the potential large-scale influence of marine aerosol cycling on atmospheric chemistry, physics and radiative transfer. Measurements indicate that the size-dependent generation of marine aerosols by wind waves at the ocean surface and the subsequent production and cycling of halogen-radicals are important but poorly constrained processes that influence climate regionally and globally. A reliable capacity to examine the role of marine aerosol in the global-scale atmospheric system requires that the important size-resolved chemical processes be treated explicitly. But the treatment of multiphase chemistry across the breadth of chemical scenarios encountered throughout the atmosphere is sensitive to the initial conditions and the precision of the solution method. This study examined this sensitivity, constrained it using high-resolution laboratory and field measurements, and deployed it in a coupled chemical-microphysical 3-D atmosphere model. First, laboratory measurements of fresh, unreacted marine aerosol were used to formulate a sea-state based marine aerosol source parameterization that captured the initial organic, inorganic, and physical conditions of the aerosol population. Second, a multiphase chemical mechanism, solved using the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry’s MECCA (Module Efficiently Calculating the Chemistry of the Atmosphere) system, was benchmarked across a broad set of observed chemical and physical conditions in the …

Progress is reported on 20 different projects in a wide variety of areas ranging from nuclear chemistry and radiation detection to energy storage and renewable energy.

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Implementation of the proposed seismometers turned out to be much more challenging than anticipated. The noise levels achieved are indeed well below those ever featured by any electrochemical sensor and just very nearly miss reaching the original objectives. However, while noise-wise the instruments could still prove their usefulness, especially considering their robustness and no-maintenance operation, the implementation of the proposed noise-reduction concept resulted in much larger and heavier devices than originally expected. Moreover, these large dimensions relate only to single-component vertical sensors. While building similar horizontal component is possible, the resulting three-component instrument would be way too large and heavy to be of any practical use. The prototype instruments developed and built retained the inherent advantages of the electrochemical seismometers: no maintenance operation; ability to perform with large installation tilts; and, unfortunately, to a much lesser extent in terms of robustness.

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Muon accelerators hold great promise for the future of high energy physics and their construction can be staged to support a broad physics program. Great progress was made over the past decade toward developing the technology for muon beam cooling which is one of the main challenges for building such facilities.

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This document describes a systematic method to develop flow rate recommendations for Pump-and-Treat (P&T) extraction and injection wells in 100-KR-4 and 100-HR-3 Groundwater Operable Units (OU) of the Hanford Site. Flow rate recommendations are developed as part of ongoing performance monitoring and remedy optimization of the P&T interim actions to develop hydraulic contairnnent of the dissolved chromium plume in groundwater and protect the Columbia River from further discharges of groundwater from inland. This document details the methodology and data required to infer the influence of individual wells near the shoreline on hydraulic containment and river protection and develop flow rate recommendations to improve system performance and mitigate potential shortcomings of the system configuration in place.

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In the last years of this eighteen-year grant project, the research efforts have focused mostly on the study of off-shell representations of supersymmetry, both on the worldline and on the world- sheet, i.e., both in supersymmetric quantum mechanics and in supersymmetric field theory in 1+1-dimensional spacetime.

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The 2012 Gordon Conference on Plant Molecular Biology will present cutting-edge research on molecular aspects of plant growth and development, with particular emphasis on recent discoveries in molecular mechanisms involved with plant signaling systems. The Conference will feature a wide range of topics in plant molecular biology including hormone receptors and early events in hormone signaling, plant perception of and response to plant pathogen and symbionts, as well as technological and biological aspects of epigenomics particularly as it relates to signaling systems that regulate plant growth and development. Genomic approaches to plant signaling will be emphasized, including genomic profiling technologies for quantifying various biological subsystems, such as the epigenome, transcriptome, phosphorylome, and metabolome. The meeting will include an important session devoted to answering the question, "What are the biological and technological limits of plant breeding/genetics, and how can they be solved"?

Steamside Oxidation: A first high pressure test was completed, 293 hr at 267 bar and 670�C; A parallel 1 bar test was done for comparison; Mass gains were higher for all alloys at 267 bar than at 1 bar. A comparison was made with longer-term literature data: Ferritic steels--no consistent pressure effect; Austenitic steels--fine grain alloys less able to maintain protective chromia scale as pressure increases; Ni-base alloys--more mass gains above 105 bar than below. Not based on many data points. Fireside Corrosion: 1. Conditions for most severe corrosion: Temperature: 700{degrees}C Deposit: Standard Corrosion Mix Duration: 160 hours Gas Atmosphere: O{sub 2} + 1000ppm SO{sub 2} Pt-catalyst placed in the hot zone next to the specimens 2. Possible SO{sub 2} threshold in gas atmosphere for corrosion; 3. Corrosion greater in steel alloys than Ni-based alloys; 4. Corrosion mechanism proposed for steel alloys and Ni-based alloys.