Energy news, May 2020

Making fuel from CO2 using sunlight

Tandem solar cells show thermal stability

Tandem structure improves efficiency of solar cells

Polymer gel lets solar cells cool by sweating

By soaking up water from the air at night and then releasing it during the day, a novel polymer gel can reduce solar panel temperatures by 10°C.

New technique helps solve puzzle of battery decline

By combining machine learning with X-ray tomography, scientists have produced a detailed picture of how battery cathodes degrade with use.

Improving wafers as a semiconductor material

Improving our understanding of the surface of a semiconductor compound

Manganese oxide makes promising supercapacitor material

A new supercapacitor based on manganese oxide could combine the storage capacity of batteries with the fast charging of conventional supercapacitors.

Perovskite solar cells tweaked to withstand heat

By tweaking their chemical makeup and fabrication, researchers have produced perovskite solar cells that are better at withstanding high temperatures.

Single crystals reveal insights into workings of polycrystalline electrodes

Scientists have used single-crystal electrodes to reveal information about the workings of polycrystalline electrodes in advanced silicon-ion batteries.

New battery electrode knitted together from silicon microspheres

By combining silicon nanoparticles with carbon nanotubes, researchers have created yarn-like microspheres for use as battery electrodes.

Perovskites bulk up to become more stable

Researchers have found a way to make halide perovskites more stable by adding a bulky molecule to their surface to inhibit ion movement.

Acta Journals’ Outstanding Reviewers in 2019

Lead-free perovskite proves stable and safe in solar cells

Researchers have developed a lead-free perovskite for use in solar cells that could be a safer and more stable than lead-based perovskites.

Applied Energy - Special Issue on "COVID-19 impacts on Energy and Environment"

Call for Applications: The 2020 Microelectronic Engineering and Micro and Nano Engineering Journals (Elsevier), Young Investigator Award and Lectureship

The award is to honor a young researcher active in the fields of Nanofabrication and Nanotechnology for Electronics, MEMS and Life Sciences.

Shedding ultraviolet light on coronavirus

Shedding ultraviolet light to kill coronavirus

Tin-based perovskites improve on solar cells

Tin-based perovskites show promise for photovoltaic devices

New electrolyte forms protective ceramic layer over battery anode

A novel electrolyte that forms a protective layer over the silicon nanoparticles that make up a battery anode gives the silicon room to swell.

A metal harvest to power the world

A metal harvest to power the world's micro robots