Green Technology

Boston College researchers work on the nano scale to address the challenges of thin film solar cells and energy conversion efficiency.  The approach taken in this research on nanocoax cell architecture is to avoid the use of crystalline materials, which will result in lower-cost power with ultrathin solar films.  The team has achieved power conversion efficiency of over 8 percent, which is very encouraging.  …

…   “Physicists at Boston College found a way to resolve the thick & thin challenge through a nanoscale solar architecture based on the coaxial cable, a radio technology concept that dates back to the first trans-Atlantic communications lines laid in the mid 1800s. ”   …

Via Boston College: Nanoscale Architecture (Link).

Posted by Green Tech at 09:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Jung-Kun Lee intends to produce advanced versions of the technology used in solar panels and flat-panel displays, aiming for more efficient solar-power cells and optoelectronic devices. His $400,000 project will focus on the next generation of transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) - the essential technology in solar panels and flat panel displays - that would allow for increased control and energy harvesting of light. Lee will look at molding metallic nanoparticles into novel nanocomposites-materials with multiple nanoscale dimensions that would increase the concentration of electron carriers without sacrificing their mobility. This will lead to more efficient transport of electricity. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Using zinc oxide nanostructures grown on optical fibers and coated with dye-sensitized solar cell materials, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new type of three-dimensional photovoltaic system. The approach could allow PV systems to be hidden from view and located away from traditional locations such as rooftops. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Honda researchers discovered they could control whether the carbon nanotubes become metallic or semiconducting by using either argon or helium as carrier gases during the process. Researchers at UofL used the technique to make large quantities of nanotubes and precisely measure whether they were metallic or semiconducting. Purdue researchers took high-resolution images with a transmission electron microscope to help determine why the process worked. Lead UofL researcher Gamini Sumanasekera, an associate professor of physics, said he hoped the findings will renew interest in the field. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 09:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Rather than silicon, the inks developed by Korgel's team are made up of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) — sunlight-absorbing nanoparticles that are 10,000 times thinner than a strand of hair. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Demonstrating patterning over larger areas is a key goal for future work, Bao said. The team also hopes to study whether the technique could allow for more cost-effective fabrication of devices such as solar cell panels that use inorganic and organic micro- or nanowires. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cell phones that can convert the sound of your voice into energy to run the phone may be coming ... Research at Texas A&M by Tahir Cagin is getting closer to self powered devices like cell phones "... converts sound waves ... into the energy it needs to keep running. ...Utilizing ..."piezoelectrics," ...  a certain type of piezoelectric material can covert energy at a 100 percent increase when manufactured at a very small size – in this case, around 21 nanometers in thickness.

" ...  piezoelectrics are materials (usually crystals or ceramics) that generate voltage when a form of mechanical stress is applied. "

Via:  Texas A&M Chemical Engineering  LINK

Posted by Green Dude at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "An untreated silicon solar cell only absorbs 67.4 percent of sunlight shone upon it - meaning that nearly one-third of that sunlight is reflected away and thus unharvestable. From an economic and efficiency perspective, this unharvested light is wasted potential and a major barrier hampering the proliferation and widespread adoption of solar power. After a silicon surface was treated with Lin’s new nanoengineered reflective coating, however, the material absorbed 96.21 percent of sunlight shone upon it - meaning that only 3.79 percent of the sunlight was reflected and unharvested. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 Solar panels are becoming more common; almost mainstream.

  What is now needed is a way to boost the efficiency or redue the manufacturing cost.

"Nanosolar is a global leader in solar power innovation. ...  setting the standard for affordable green power with solar cell technology of distinctly superior cost efficiency, versatility, and availability."

"Leveraging ... nanostructured materials, we have developed a critical mass of engineering advances that profoundly change the cost efficiency and production scalability of solar electricity cells and panels."

Via:  Nanosolar.com   Link

Continue reading "Nanosolar" »

Posted by Green Dude at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)