Science Daily January 2, 2018 Researchers in Japan have developed a flow-type polymer electrolyte cell for power storage. The cell reduces oxalic acid (OX) to glycolic acid, which has a higher volumetric energy-storage capacity than hydrogen gas. Newly fabricated TiO2 cathode enhanced the speed and efficiency of OX reduction. By using a solid polymer electrolyte in direct contact with the electrodes, the reaction can be as a continuous flow without addition of impurities. The maximum volumetric energy capacity of the GC solution is around 50 times that of hydrogen gas. The energy efficiency, as opposed to capacity, lags behind other […]
Category Archives: Energy
Researchers make solid ground toward better lithium-ion battery interfaces
Source: Science Daily, December 12, 2017 There are two important interfaces in solid state batteries, at the cathode-electrolyte junction and electrolyte-anode junction. Either could be dictating the performance limits of a full battery. The interfaces that we are only a few atomic layers thick. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratory engineered the interface down to the nanometer or even subnanometer level to study and improve the interfaces between different materials. The underlying goal of the work is to make solid-state batteries more efficient and to improve the interfaces between different materials … read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Fully screen-printed monoPoly silicon solar cell technology
Source: Phys.org, December 14, 2017 The technology developed by researchers in Singapore is applicable on both p-type and n-type silicon wafers, features homogenous junctions and standard fire-thorough screen-printed metal contacts with grids on both sides, resulting in a high-efficiency bifacial solar cell. It uses an advanced tunnel oxide and doped silicon layers, enabling excellent surface passivation in the non-contact cell regions along with very low-resistance and low-recombination screen-printed contacts. Using commercially available large-area Cz-Si wafers they recorded an average cell efficiency of 21.5%… read more.