News tagged with energy conversion
Researchers model potential of toxic algae photoreceptors
Blue-green algae is causing havoc in Midwestern lakes saturated with agricultural run-off, but researchers in a northwest Ohio lab are using supercomputers to study a closely related strain of the toxic cyanobacteria ...
Jan 26, 2012 |
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Comparing energy conversion of plants and solar cells
Scientists now have a way to more accurately compare how efficiently plants and photovoltaic, or solar, cells convert sunlight into energy, thanks to findings by a research consortium that included a U.S. ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Jan 16, 2012 |
2.3 / 5 (3) |
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Discovery of a 'dark state' could increase maximum theoretical efficiency of solar cells from 31 to 44 percent
The efficiency of conventional solar cells could be significantly increased, according to new research on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion led by chemist Xiaoyang Zhu at The University of Texas at Austin.
Dec 15, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (23) |
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Imec, Polyera, Solvay set 8.3% efficiency record for organic solar cell with inverted device
Imec, Polyera and international chemical group Solvay have achieved a new world-record efficiency of 8.3% for polymer-based single junction organic solar cells in an inverted device stack. These excellent performance results ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Dec 15, 2011 |
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Post-doctoral researcher makes strides in fuel cell technology
Liang Wang, a post-doctoral researcher in the University of Delaware's Center for Fuel Cell Research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is developing new materials and structures that can improve ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Dec 01, 2011 |
2.8 / 5 (4) |
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Award-winning energy harvester brings practical applications closer
(PhysOrg.com) -- Although the idea of harvesting ambient energy from the environment and using it to generate electricity is alluring, most of the technology so far is capable of generating only very small ...
Dec 01, 2011 |
5 / 5 (5) |
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Enzymatic synthesis of pyrrolysine, the mysterious 22nd amino acid
With few exceptions, all known proteins are built up from only twenty amino acids. 25 years ago scientists discovered a 21st amino acid, selenocysteine and ten years ago a 22nd, the pyrrolysine. However, how the cell produces ...
Nov 18, 2011 |
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A single polymer can be used to fabricate both thin-film transistors and solar cells
Polymers are the material of choice for making thin-film transistors and solar cells. They are also potentially suitable for manufacture using economical, high-throughput techniques, such as roll-to-roll and inkjet printing ...
Nov 17, 2011 |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
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Small defects mean big problems for industrial solar cells
Nanoscale clustering of metal impurities at intragranular dislocations within industrial mc-Si solar cells have been observed by users from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology working with the Center ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 13, 2011 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Hydrogen released to fuel cell more quickly when stored in metal nanoparticles
Researchers from TU Delft and VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands have demonstrated that the size of a metal alloy nanoparticle influences the speed with which hydrogen gas is released when stored in a metal hydride. ...
Sep 29, 2011 |
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Optofluidics could improve energy applications
(PhysOrg.com) -- The ability to manipulate light and fluids on a single chip, broadly called "optofluidics," has led to such technologies as liquid-crystal displays and liquid-filled optical fibers for fast ...
Sep 13, 2011 |
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Design optimization could help maximize the power conversion efficiency of thin-film silicon solar cells
Silicon is readily available, easy to process, highly stable and non-toxic. It is also one of the best materials for making solar cells. The high quality and purity of silicon needed for fabricating the most ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Sep 05, 2011 |
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SNS, HFIR experiments help refine thin-film solar cells
(PhysOrg.com) -- Solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity could be a widely used renewable energy source. Getting to that point, though, requires breakthroughs in their cost and their efficiency at turning sunbeams ...
Sep 02, 2011 |
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Down to the wire: Inexpensive technique for making high quality nanowire solar cells developed
(PhysOrg.com) -- Solar or photovoltaic cells represent one of the best possible technologies for providing an absolutely clean and virtually inexhaustible source of energy to power our civilization. However, ...
Aug 31, 2011 |
5 / 5 (9) |
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One-pot synthesis provides simpler, faster route to highly efficient solar cells
Preventing the recombination of free charges produced when light strikes a solar cell is one of the main goal of engineers attempting to extract the maximum energy conversion efficiency from their devices. One way to achieve ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Aug 19, 2011 |
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