Guanidinium stabilizes Perovskite Solar Cells at 19% Efficienc

Stability test of the novel MA(1-x)GuaxPbI3 perovskite material under continuous light illumination compared with the state-of-the-art MAPbI3. A schematic of the device architecture and the simulated crystalline structure is also provided. Credit: M.K. Nazeeruddin/EPFL

Stability test of the novel MA(1-x)GuaxPbI3 perovskite material under continuous light illumination compared with the state-of-the-art MAPbI3. A schematic of the device architecture and the simulated crystalline structure is also provided.
Credit: M.K. Nazeeruddin/EPFL

Incorporating guanidinium into perovskite solar cells stabilizes their efficiency at 19% for 1,000 hours under full-sunlight testing conditions. With the power-conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells plateauing around 25%, perovskites are now ideally placed to become the market’s next generation of photovoltaics...

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Black holes’ Magnetism surprisingly Wimpy

An outburst from V404 Cygni. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

An outburst from V404 Cygni. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Black holes are famous for their muscle: an intense gravitational pull known to gobble up entire stars and launch streams of matter into space at almost the speed of light. It turns out the reality may not live up to the hype. In a paper published today in the journal Science, University of Florida scientists have discovered these tears in the fabric of the universe have significantly weaker magnetic fields than previously thought.j

A 40-mile-wide black hole 8,000 light years from Earth named V404 Cygni yielded the first precise measurements of the magnetic field that surrounds the deepest wells of gravity in the universe...

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How a Seahorse-shaped Brain Structure may help us Recognize Others

Research suggests social memory formation is regulated by an oxytocin-sensitive brain circuit in a seahorse-shaped area of the brain. Photo: iStock/Bim

Research suggests social memory formation is regulated by an oxytocin-sensitive brain circuit in a seahorse-shaped area of the brain. Photo: iStock/Bim

Study in mice reveals an oxytocin-fueled brain circuit that regulates social recognition. The results shed light on brain’s ability to sort out confusion by reconciling conflicting social stimuli. How do we recognize others? How do we know friend from foe, threat from reward? How does the brain compute the multitude of cues telling us that Susan is not Erica even though they look alike? The complexity of social interactions – human as well as mammalian – has mystified brain researchers for decades.

Now a new study conducted in mice by regenerative neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Massachusetts G...

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Chemists Synthesize Narrow Ribbons of Graphene using only Light and Heat

Illustration of the molecular structure of the graphene nanoribbons prepared by UCLA chemistry professor Yves Rubin and colleagues. Credit: Courtesy of Yves Rubin

Illustration of the molecular structure of the graphene nanoribbons prepared by UCLA chemistry professor Yves Rubin and colleagues. Credit: Courtesy of Yves Rubin

Tiny structures could be next-generation solution for smaller electronic devices. As electronic devices have become smaller and smaller, creating tiny silicon components that fit inside them has become more challenging and more expensive. Now, UCLA chemists have developed a new method to produce nanoribbons of graphene, next-generation structures that many scientists believe will one day power electronic devices.

The nanoribbons are extremely narrow strips of graphene, the width of just a few carbon atoms...

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