solar cells tagged posts

Scientists shave ‘hairs’ off nanocrystals to improve their electronic properties

University of Chicago graduate student Josh Portner collects x-ray scattering data from tiny “supercrystals.” Scientists hope such supernanocrystals could form the basis of new technologies thanks to a new method to help them talk to one another electronically.
Credit: Talapin lab/University of Chicago

Chemists could yield future devices such as next-gen displays and solar cells. A new study introduces a breakthrough in making nanocrystals function together electronically. The research may open the doors to future devices with new abilities.

You can carry an entire computer in your pocket today because the technological building blocks have been getting smaller and smaller since the 1950s...

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New Efficiency Record for Solar Cell Technology

Solar cells made using perovskite and organic materials are flexible, light, low cost and ultra-thin. They are ideal for powering vehicles, boats, and more.

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has set a new record in the power conversion efficiency of solar cells made using perovskite and organic materials. This technological breakthrough paves the way for flexible, light-weight, low cost and ultra-thin photovoltaic cells which are ideal for powering vehicles, boats, blinds and other applications.

“Technologies for clean and renewable energy are extremely important for carbon reduction. Solar cells that directly convert solar energy into electricity are among the most promising clean energy technologies...

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A Safer, Greener way to make Solar Cells: Toxic Solvent Replaced

Researcher Carys Worsley at work in the SPECIFIC labs, identifying a safer, greener way to make solar cells
Researcher Carys Worsley at work in the SPECIFIC labs, identifying a safer, greener way to make solar cells 

Scientists at SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre, Swansea University, have found a way to replace the toxic, unsustainable solvents currently needed to make the next generation of solar technology.

Printed carbon perovskite solar cells have been described as a likely front runner to the market because they are extremely efficient at converting light to electricity, cheap and easy to make.

A major barrier to the large-scale manufacture and commercialisation of these cells is the solvents used to control crystallisation of the perovskite during fabrication: this is because they are made from unsustainable materials and are banned in many countries due to their toxicity...

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Battery-free Game Boy Runs Forever

Ultimate goal of battery-free computing is to reduce society’s reliance on batteries, which are costly, environmentally hazardous and end up in landfills. Credit: Northwestern University

Button pressing and solar energy power the retro gaming device. Researchers develop first-ever battery-free, energy-harvesting, interactive device. And it looks and feels like a retro 8-bit Nintendo Game Boy. It’s a powerful proof-of-concept, developed by researchers at Northwestern University and the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands, that pushes the boundaries of battery-free intermittent computing into the realm of fun and interaction.

Instead of batteries, which are costly, environmentally hazardous and ultimately end up in landfills, this device harvests energy from...

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