Phys.org January 21, 2020 Researchers at the Ohio State University have shown that it is possible to collect energy from the entire visible spectrum of sunlight, including low-energy infrared, and transform it quickly and efficiently, into hydrogen. What makes it work is that the system is able to put the molecule into an excited state, where it absorbs the photon and is able to store two electrons to make hydrogen. They figured out a way make a catalyst out of one molecule of the element rhodium which means less energy is lost. The system is nearly 25 times more efficient […]
Tag Archives: Energy
Will the future’s super batteries be made of seawater?
Science Daily January 23, 2020 For the Na-ion batteries to become an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, better electrode materials must be developed. An international team of researchers (Denmark, USA – MIT) investigated a new electrode material based on iron, manganese and phosphorus. They found that their charge–discharge transformation strains are significantly reduced by stabilization of a NazMnyFe1–yPO4 solid solution over a wide Na compositional range. This effect even leads to a complete continuous solid solution transformation covering the entire charge process, which shows that the effect of Mn substitution is a highly effective route for reducing intercalation strains even during […]
Tweaks behind the rebirth of nearly discarded organic solar technologies
Science Daily December 19, 2019 Unlike silicon solar technology, non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) can be shaped, made semi-transparent or colored and fine-tuned to free up and move electrons to generate electricity. Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have modeled tiny tweaks to molecular shapes and calculated corresponding energy conversion in a common NFA electron donor/acceptor pairing. Improved performance came from tweaks to a tiny component, a methoxy group, on the acceptor, and two positions out of four possible positions it took boosted the conversion of light into electricity from 6% to 12%…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
How a new class of startups are working to solve the grid storage puzzle
MIT Technology Review October 10, 2019 To be as cheap, reliable, and flexible as natural gas, such a battery system would have to cost less than $10 per kilowatt-hour. Today’s best grid batteries, large lithium-ion systems, cost hundreds of dollars per kilowatt-hour (precise estimates vary). A US based company is working to hit that target by what seems to be using a sulfur-based solution as the anolyte. Sulfur is extremely cheap and can store a lot of energy. They are exploring the possibility of bidirectional power plants. Long duration storage is another approach taken by some companies. Thermal methods are […]
New electrolyte stops rapid performance decline of next-generation lithium battery
Science Daily October 10, 2019 Lithium-ion battery electrolytes currently contain a solvent mixture, with a dissolved lithium salt and often more than three organic additives. Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have developed a unique electrolyte with a small amount of a second salt containing any one of several doubly or triply charged metal cations (Mg2+, Ca2+, Zn2+, or Al3+) they call MESA (mixed-salt electrolytes for silicon anodes). MESA gives silicon anodes increased surface and bulk stabilities, improving long-term cycling and calendar life. During charging, the metal cation additions in electrolyte solution migrate into the silicon-based anode along with the lithium […]
Novel electrodes enhance battery capacity
Nanowerk June 27, 2019 A team of researchers in the US (SUNY Binghamton, Clarkson University) has developed a new synthesis technique to produce electrode sheets made from nanostructured selenium. The new positive electrodes have the electrical and mechanical properties needed for use in rechargeable batteries. The sheet is mechanically self-supporting, potentially eliminating the need for a cathode current collector entirely, further reducing battery volume…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Engineered bacteria could be missing link in energy storage
Science Daily May 23, 2019 At present, no existing technology provides large-scale storage and energy retrieval for sustainable energy at a low financial and environmental cost. According to a team of researchers in the US (Cornell University, industry) engineered electroactive microbes could address many of the limitations of current energy storage technologies by enabling rewired carbon fixation, a process that spatially separates reactions that are normally carried out together in a photosynthetic cell and replaces the least efficient with non-biological equivalents. If successful, this could allow storage of renewable electricity through electrochemical or enzymatic fixation of carbon dioxide and subsequent […]
In 2025 the USA Could Produce More Oil Than Saudi Arabia and Russia Combined
Next Big Future May 2, 2019 The US Energy Information Agency Annual Energy Outlook high projection for oil and natural gas liquids would be 24 million barrels per day by 2025. If the technology goes right, the US could produce 28 million barrels per day by 2035-2045. Russia and Saudi Arabia have had flat oil and gas production at about 10-12 million barrels per day each. Russia and Saudi Arabia should have combined production of about 20-24 million barrels per day…read more.
China Stumbles on Path to Solar Thermal Supremacy
IEEE Spectrum February 14, 2019 Solar thermal plants are a potentially crucial power source for global grids as they add more wind and PV. However, the technology is comparatively costly and thus growing slowly relative to PV and wind. China’s program has been viewed as an opportunity to put solar thermal technology back on track, slash the cost of solar thermal power and catapult Chinese firms to the head of the global pack. In the final days of 2018 a 100-megawatt solar thermal generating station capable of running around-the-clock, 365-days-a-year was to be connected to the Northwest China regional power […]
Current generation via quantum proton transfer
Nanowerk January 23, 2019 Researchers in Japan have observed quantum tunneling effect in proton-transfer (PT) during potential-induced transformation of dioxygen on a platinum electrode in a low overpotential region at 298 K. This process is converted to the classical PT scheme in the high overpotential region. This observation indicates that the quantum tunneling governs the multistep electron-proton-driven transformation of dioxygen in the low overpotential condition. It shows the involvement of QTE in proton transfer during the basic energy conversion processes. The discovery may facilitate investigations of microscopic mechanisms of electrochemical reactions and stimulate the development of highly efficient electrochemical energy conversion […]