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Categories: Energy: Alternative Fuels, Offbeat: General

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Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology
Published

Corralling ions improves viability of next generation solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have discovered that channeling ions into defined pathways in perovskite materials improves the stability and operational performance of perovskite solar cells. The finding paves the way for a new generation of lighter, more flexible, and more efficient solar cell technologies suitable for practical use.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Salt could play key role in energy transition      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A common ingredient -- salt -- could have a big role to play in the energy transition to lower carbon energy sources. A study describes how large underground salt deposits could serve as hydrogen holding tanks, conduct heat to geothermal plants, and influence CO2 storage. It also highlights how industries with existing salt expertise, such as solution mining, salt mining, and oil and gas exploration, could help.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

Nanoparticles self-assemble to harvest solar energy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers design a solar harvester with enhanced energy conversion capabilities. The device employs a quasiperiodic nanoscale pattern, meaning most of it is an alternating and consistent pattern, while the remaining portion contains random defects that do not affect its performance. The fabrication process makes use of self-assembling nanoparticles, which form an organized material structure based on their interactions with nearby particles without any external instructions. Thermal energy harvested by the device can be transformed to electricity using thermoelectric materials.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Physics: Optics
Published

Perovskites, a 'dirt cheap' alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers typically synthesize perovskites in a wet lab, and then apply the material as a film on a glass substrate and explore various applications. A team has instead proposes a novel, physics-based approach, using a substrate of either a layer of metal or alternating layers of metal and dielectric material -- rather than glass.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology
Published

Physicists solve durability issue in next-generation solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Physicists jumped a major hurdle standing in the way of the commercialization of solar cells created with halide perovskites as a lower-cost, higher-efficiency replacement for silicon when generating electricity from the sun.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

How to make hydrogen straight from seawater -- no desalination required      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a cheaper and more energy-efficient way to make hydrogen directly from seawater, in a critical step towards a truly viable green hydrogen industry. The new method splits the seawater directly into hydrogen and oxygen -- skipping the need for desalination and its associated cost, energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Physics: Optics
Published

Research reveals thermal instability of solar cells but offers a bright path forward      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers reveal the thermal instability that happens within the cells' interface layers, but also offers a path forward towards reliability and efficiency for halide perovskite solar technology.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

'Game-changing' findings for sustainable hydrogen production      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hydrogen fuel could be a more viable alternative to traditional fossil fuels, according to University of Surrey researchers who have found that a type of metal-free catalysts could contribute to the development of cost-effective and sustainable hydrogen production technologies.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Geoscience: Environmental Issues Physics: Optics
Published

Passive radiative cooling can now be controlled electrically      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Energy-efficient ways of cooling buildings and vehicles will be required in a changing climate. Researchers have now shown that electrical tuning of passive radiative cooling can be used to control temperatures of a material at ambient temperatures and air pressure.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Seawater split to produce 'green' hydrogen      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have successfully split seawater without pre-treatment to produce green hydrogen.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Thin, lightweight layer provides radiation barrier for perovskites in space, protection from elements on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly published research.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Stability of perovskite solar cells reaches next milestone      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Perovskite semiconductors promise highly efficient and low-cost solar cells. However, the semi-organic material is very sensitive to temperature differences, which can quickly lead to fatigue damage in normal outdoor use. Adding a dipolar polymer compound to the precursor perovskite solution helps to counteract this. The solar cells produced in this way achieve efficiencies of well above 24 %, which hardly drop under rapid temperature fluctuations between -60 and +80 Celsius over one hundred cycles. That corresponds to about one year of outdoor use.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Geology Space: Astronomy Space: The Solar System
Published

Meteorites reveal likely origin of Earth's volatile chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

By analyzing meteorites, researchers have uncovered the likely far-flung origin of Earth's volatile chemicals, some of which form the building blocks of life.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Batteries Energy: Fossil Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

How plants are inspiring new ways to extract value from wastewater      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists are drawing inspiration from plants to develop new techniques to separate and extract valuable minerals, metals and nutrients from resource-rich wastewater.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Harnessing solar energy: New method improves readings of double-sided panels      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A laboratory in photonics and renewable energy has developed a new method for measuring the solar energy produced by bifacial solar panels, the double-sided solar technology which is expected to meet increased global energy demands moving forward.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Hydrogen's place in an increasingly connected energy web shows need for regulatory change      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Capturing the potential profits and jobs offered by a growing hydrogen industry may need as much innovation in regulatory agencies as it does in the research laboratories, according to new research.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology Space: Astrophysics Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

The world in grains of interstellar dust      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Understanding how dust grains form in interstellar gas could offer significant insights to astronomers and help materials scientists develop useful nanoparticles.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Interfacial interactions of the lead-free perovskite for efficient hydrogen production      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The conversion of solar energy into hydrogen energy represents a promising and green technique for addressing the energy shortage and reducing fossil fuel emissions. A research team recently developed a lead-free perovskite photocatalyst that delivers highly efficient solar energy-to-hydrogen conversion.

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Theoretical computations identify a solid-state hydrogen storage material's key bottleneck      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Magnesium hydride has long been touted for its potential to store large amounts of hydrogen, something essential if hydrogen is to play a role in powering a sustainable future. Yet, sluggish dehydrogenation kinetics and the high temperature required to decompose and produce hydrogen from the material have stymied its use. Now, researchers have identified why this is so, paving the way for future design guidelines and widespread commercial use.