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    Category Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    New Catalyst for Hydrogen Production

    July 27, 2016, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Structural comparison of penlandite with hydrogenases.

    Structural comparison of penlandite with hydrogenases. (a) Crystal structure of Ni4.5Fe4.5S8. The nickel and iron sites (brown) share the same positions within the crystal and are bridged by sulfur (yellow). (b) Active site of the [FeNi]-hydrogenase (PDB: 4U9H) as well as (c) [FeFe]-hydrogenase (X=NH, PDB: 1HFE).

    Mineral pentlandite works just as efficient as expensive platinum electrodes commonly used today. In contrast to platinum, pentlandite is affordable and found frequently on Earth. In addition to platinum, there are numerous other substances that can catalyse the reaction of water to hydrogen and oxygen and do not contain any precious metals. Among such compounds are the so-called metal chalcogenides...

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    Watering Solar Cells makes them Grow in Power

    July 27, 2016, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Mr. Zafer Hawash setting up the hanging mercury drop electrode system for conductivity measurement. Credit: Image courtesy of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University - OIST

    Mr. Zafer Hawash setting up the hanging mercury drop electrode system for conductivity measurement. Credit: Image courtesy of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University – OIST

    Researchers have clarified the relationship between air exposure and enhanced electric proprieties in perovskite solar cells. Perovskite solar cells are the rising star in the photovoltaic landscape. Since their invention, <10 years ago, their efficiency has doubled twice and it is now over 22% – an astonishing result in the renewable energy sector. Taking the name ‘perovskite’ from the light-harvesting layer that characterizes them, these solar cells are lighter, cheaper, and more flexible than the traditional crystalline silicon-based cells.

    Perovskite solar cells are usually exposed to ambient...

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    Any Picture or Text could be Inkjet-Printed as a Solar Cell

    July 26, 2016, Categories  Physics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    A semi-transparent dye-sensitized solar cell with inkjet-printed photovoltaic portraits of the Aalto researchers (Ghufran Hashmi, Merve Özkan, Janne Halme) and a QR code that links to the original research paper. Credit: Image courtesy of Aalto University

    A semi-transparent dye-sensitized solar cell with inkjet-printed photovoltaic portraits of the Aalto researchers (Ghufran Hashmi, Merve Özkan, Janne Halme) and a QR code that links to the original research paper. Credit: Image courtesy of Aalto University

    Solar cells have been manufactured already for a long from inexpensive materials with different printing techniques. Especially organic solar cells and dye-sensitized solar cells are suitable for printing. “We wanted to take the idea of printed solar cells even further, and see if their materials could be inkjet-printed as pictures and text like traditional printing inks,” says University Lecturer Janne Halme.

    When light is absorbed in an ordinary ink, it generates heat...

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    New Lithium-Oxygen Battery greatly Improves Energy Efficiency, Longevity

    July 25, 2016, Categories  Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    In a new concept for battery cathodes, nanometer-scale particles made of lithium and oxygen compounds (depicted in red and white) are embedded in a sponge-like lattice (yellow) of cobalt oxide, which keeps them stable. The researchers propose that the material could be packaged in batteries that are very similar to conventional sealed batteries yet provide much more energy for their weight. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers

    In a new concept for battery cathodes, nanometer-scale particles made of lithium and oxygen compounds (depicted in red and white) are embedded in a sponge-like lattice (yellow) of cobalt oxide, which keeps them stable. The researchers propose that the material could be packaged in batteries that are very similar to conventional sealed batteries yet provide much more energy for their weight. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers

    New chemistry could overcome key drawbacks of lithium-air batteries. Lithium-air batteries are considered highly promising technologies for electric cars and portable electronic devices because of their potential for delivering a high energy output in proportion to their weight...

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