Science Daily April 11, 2022 An international team of researchers (Sweden, China, Spain) has developed a closed energy system called Molecular Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems (MOST). It is based on a specially designed molecule of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, which when hit by sunlight changes shape into an energy-rich isomer which can be stored in liquid form for later use when needed, such as at night or in winter. A specially designed catalyst releases the saved energy as heat while returning the molecule to its original shape, so it can then be reused in the heating system. In combination […]
Category Archives: Renewable energy
‘Freeze-thaw battery’ is adept at preserving its energy
Science Daily April 5, 2022 Grid-level storage of seasonal excess can be an important asset to renewable electricity. As a proof-of-concept researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory applied the freeze-thaw thermal cycling strategy to Al-Ni molten salt batteries and demonstrated effective capacity recovery over 90% after a period of 1–8 weeks. They explored three activation methods of the nickel cathode in a molten-salt battery: (1) heat treating the cathode granules under H2/N2, (2) incorporating a partially charged NiCl2/Ni cathode, and (3) doping the molten salt electrolyte with sulfur. Sulfur doping, a cost-efficient method suitable for large-scale applications, was not only […]
Sunlight could be used to power lasers
Phys.org January 25, 2022 Turning the incoherent energy supply provided by the Sun into a coherent laser beam would overcome several of the practical limitations inherent in using sunlight as a source of clean energy. An international team of researchers (France, USA – University of Notre Dame, Italy, Mexico) proposed and designed a bio-inspired blueprint for a novel type of laser with the aim of upgrading unconcentrated natural sunlight into a coherent laser beam. They proposed a laser medium comprised of molecular aggregates inspired by the architecture of natural photosynthetic complexes which exhibit a very large internal efficiency in harvesting […]
N-type conductive tin sulfide thin films: Towards environmentally friendly solar cells
Science Daily December 13, 2021 An international team of researchers (Japan, USA – National Renewable Energy Laboratory) has fabricated n-type conductive SnS thin films by impurity doping. Conventional SnS thin films are usually p-type conductive. Thus, SnS thin-film solar cells have been fabricated using a pn heterojunction with p-type SnS thin film and other n-type semiconductor thin films, such as CdS. However, the conversion efficiency of such heterojunction devices is approximately 5%. The SnS thin-film solar cells employing a pn homojunction, which uses SnS thin films for both p-type and n-type layers, is expected to exhibit higher conversion efficiency. Utilizing […]
Storing energy in plants with electronic roots
Science Daily November 8, 2021 By watering bean plants with a solution that contains conjugated oligomers an international team of researchers (Sweden, France, Spain, Greece) has shown that the roots of the plant become electrically conducting and can store energy. To circumvent biological barriers encountered in previous attempts, and access the internal tissue, the researchers leveraged the biocatalytic machinery of the plant cell wall to seamlessly integrate conductors with mixed ionic–electronic conductivity along the root system of the plants. They used a trimer, ETE-S, which is polymerized by a natural process in the plant. The roots remained electrically conducting for […]
After 40 Years of Searching, Scientists Identify The Key Flaw in Solar Panel Efficiency
Science Alert June 8, 2019 Silicon solar cells containing boron and oxygen are one of the most rapidly growing forms of electricity generation. However, they suffer from significant degradation during the initial stages of use. Using ab initio modeling, an international team of researchers (UK, Portugal, Belarus, Australia) proposes structures of the BsO2 defect which match the experimental findings. They argue that the dominant recombination process associated with degradation is trap-assisted Auger recombination. This assignment is supported by the observation of above bandgap luminescence due to hot carriers resulting from the Auger process…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Underwater power generation
Science Daily May 13, 2019 Inspired by marine organisms that have switchable energy extraction modes (aerobic respiration for long‐term living or anaerobic respiration to propose instantaneously high output power for fast movement),researchers in China have designed an auto‐switchable dual‐mode seawater energy extraction system to provide high energy density and power density both by initiatively choosing different solutes in seawater as electron acceptors. The key to the discovery is a cathode made of Prussian blue, an open framework structure with cyanide ions as “struts” and iron ions as “nodes,” which can easily accept and release electrons. When combined with a metal […]
Printable nanogenerator creates electricity from snowfall
Nanowerk April 15, 2019 An international team of researchers (Canada, USA – University of Connecticut, UCLA) has developed a snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator, or snow TENG. A triboelectric nanogenerator, which generates charge through static electricity, produces energy from the exchange of electrons. Snow is positively charged and silicone is negatively charged. When falling snow contacts the surface of silicone it produces a charge that the device captures, creating electricity. After testing a large number of materials including aluminum foils and Teflon, they found that silicone produces more charge than any other material. The research could usher in a new generation of […]
Sun-soaking device turns water into superheated steam
MIT News December 11, 2018 Researchers at MIT have built and demonstrated a solar-driven evaporation system. Top layer of the system is a metal ceramic composite and the bottom layer was coated with a material that easily and efficiently emits infrared heat. A layer of reticulated carbon foam is sandwiched between the two layers. It retains the sun’s incoming heat and can further heat up the steam rising back up through the foam. A small outlet tube allows steam to exit. The structure absorbs solar radiation and re-radiates infrared photons, which are directly absorbed by the water within a sub-100 μm penetration […]
Emissions-free energy system saves heat from the summer sun for winter
Science Daily October 3, 2018 Building on their previous discovery of a molecule which could store solar energy, an international team of researchers (Sweden, Spain) has made it possible for a liquid form of the molecule made from carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen to store energy. It could be adapted for use in a solar energy system, MOST (Molecular Solar Thermal Energy Storage). The energy in the isomer can be stored for up to 18 years. The research group has developed a catalyst for controlling the release of the stored energy. MOST works in a circular manner – the liquid captures […]