Etchings on silicon improve light absorption – M.I.T.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised a method to increase silicon’s ability to absorb sunlight, which could lead to reduce the amount of silicon needed in a solar device, and reducing costs in the process.

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Purdue experiments with enhanced biofuel production using hydrogen

A new method of producing fuel from biomass can produce higher yields of energy content compared with other methods, thus making cheaper fuels that can compete with $100-per-barrel crude oil. Researchers from Purdue University created the fuel, called “H2Bioil,” by heating biomass rapidly to about 500 degrees Celsius in the presence of pressurized hydrogen.

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Scientists find absorbent material for more energy efficient carbon-capture technology

A team of American researchers have found that commonly used industrial materials called zeolites could be used to remove carbon dioxide from power plant emissions, with a lower energy cost then current systems. Carbon-capture technology use carbon absorbing materials known as amines to filter the carbon dioxide from the flue gas of fossil fuel and natural gas fired plants. The amines are then boiled to release the captured carbon dioxide which is then compressed for storage.

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Damaging carbon nanotubes found beneficial to fuel cell catalysts

“Damaging” carbon nanotubes can give them catalytic properties at par with the expensive platinum currently used for key fuel cell reactions. Scientists at Stanford University found that multi-walled carbon nanotubes riddled with defects and impurities allow for the formation of catalytic sites while maintaining the material’s good electric conductivity.

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Tin ‘whiskers’ used for better-performing lithium-ion batteries

Researchers from Washington State University have developed a tin electrode for lithium-ion batteries that can increase its storage capacity three-fold, with corresponding improvements in lifespan and charging speed. The researchers, led by Grant Norton, a professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, have filed patents on their technology which is based on growing nanowires of tin. They expect to bring it to the market within a year.

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Solid electrolyte developed for dye-sensitized solar cells

Researchers at the Northwestern University have developed a new electrolyte material for dye-sensitized solar cells that are cheaper to produce and could have a longer life span then current models. While a conventional solar cell uses its semiconductor material to absorb photons and release electrons to produce a current, a Grätzel cell or dye-sensitized solar cell uses organic dyes contained in an electrolyte material.

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Berkeley Lab taps piezoelectric properties of biological material

Researchers at the United States Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are harnessing the piezoelectric ability of harmless viruses to convert mechanical energy into electricity. To demonstrate their findings, the scientists developed a generator that produces enough current to operate a small liquid-crystal display when a finger taps on a postage stamp-sized electrode coated with the specially engineered viruses.

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Fatty-acid building proteins discovered in thale cress plants

A family of plant proteins vital to the production of seed oils – substances needed for animal and human nutrition – and biorenewable chemicals and biofuels has been discovered by scientists from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Iowa State University. The researchers identified three proteins in thale cress plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) that regulate the metabolism of fatty acids, the chemical components of cell membranes and vegetable oils. The fatty-acid binding proteins were dubbed FAP1, FAP2 and FAP3.

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University of Southern California improves liquid solar cells

Scientists at the University of Southern California are working with very small particles of semiconductor materials to make those “liquid solar cells” – that can be painted or printed onto clear surfaces. Richard L. Brutchey, an assistant professor of chemistry at the university’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, with postdoctoral researcher David H. Webber worked with nanocrystals of the semiconductor cadmium selenide.

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Copper and gold turn carbon dioxide into methane deo

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are using nanoparticle mixtures of copper and gold for converting carbon dioxide into methane. Copper, when exposed to carbon dioxide and stimulated with voltage, has the ability to set off an electrochemical reaction that turns carbon dioxide into methane or natural gas.

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