Alternative Energy

Photoelectrochemical Properties of Birnessite-Type MnO2 Thin Films for Solar Water Splitting

Nov 11, 2010

Thomas F. Jaramillo

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting to produce clean hydrogen fuel is an attractive method for harvesting intermittent solar energy and storing it in the form of chemical bonds. A key photoelectrode material requirement is visible light absorption to maximize the number of photogenerated...

Stability and ORR Activity of Nitrogen Functionalized Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Supports

Nov 10, 2010

Sujan Shrestha

The most popular catalyst for low temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is platinum (Pt) nanoparticles supported on carbon [1]. One of the major issues concerning Pt nanoparticles is the very slow kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) which limits overall performance of...

Zeolite – Protic Ionic Liquid Composites: Preparation, Characterization and Evaluation of Ion Conduction Properties

Nov 10, 2010

Vladimiros Nikolakis

Fuel Cells (FCs) have been recognized as one important device for efficient transformation of chemical energy to electricity. Among the different FC types those of Polymer Electrolyte Membranes (PEMs) have received significant attention. In such FCs, a membrane that ideally enables only proton...

A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study of Hydrated Sulfonated Poly (Ether Ether Ketone) for Application to Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Nov 10, 2010

Seung Soon Jang

S-PEEK has been known as one of the promising candidates for fuel cell application since it has high thermo-oxidative stability and extraordinary mechanical properties as well as high cost effectiveness. However, the nanoscale structure and transport properties for S-PEEK have not been thoroughly...

PVA-Calcium Oxide Composite Membrane for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

Nov 10, 2010

Norfamila Che Mat

The large scale utilization of Nafion® in Direct Methanol Fuel Cell( DMFC) is still constrained by high methanol permeability and high temperature dehydration. The methanol crossover in DMFC can be minimized by using pervaporation membrane such as Poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) due to higher water...

Oriented Single-Crystalline Rutile TiO2 Nanorods On Transparent Conducting Substrates for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Nov 9, 2010

Bin Liu

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) made from oriented, one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor nanostructures such as nanorods, nanowires, and nanotubes are receiving wide attention because direct connection of the point of photogeneration with the collection electrode using such 1D structures may...

Performance Enhancement of Hybrid Solar Cells through Chemical Vapor Annealing

Nov 9, 2010

Yue Wu

Semiconductor nanostructure-based solar cells, such as dye-sensitized solar cells, all-inorganic nanostructure solar cells, and hybrid inorganic nanostructure-conductive polymer composite solar cells, are promising candidates for future-generation photovoltaic devices due to their advantages in low...

Hot Electron Transfer From Semiconductor Nanocrystals

Nov 9, 2010

William A. Tisdale

Sub-Picosecond Dynamics of Free Electrons in TiO2 Nanotubes

Nov 9, 2010

Christiaan Richter

The sub-picosecond mobility and lifetime of free electrons injected into TiO2 nanotubes were probed with sub-picosecond temporal resolution using time resolved terahertz spectroscopy (TRTS). The photoconductivity spectra of the nanotubes revealed the free electrons to be very mobile, however most...

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) and CuIn(SeS)2 (CISS) Nanocrystals and Their Use as Printable Photovoltaic Media and Medical Imaging Contrast Agents

Nov 9, 2010

Dariya K. Reid

We have developed the colloidal synthesis of I-III-VI2 semiconductor nanocrystals of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) and CuIn(SeS)2 (CISS). These nanocrystals can be spray-deposited into photovoltaic devices (PVs) with power conversion efficiencies of up to 3% without the use of high temperature annealing...

Exploiting Equilibrium Properties for Assembly of Core/Shell-Like Compound Semiconductor Nanocrystals

Nov 9, 2010

Sumeet C. Pandey

Typical synthesis of core/shell nanostructures involves a rigorous two-step protocol. It is common to synthesize the semiconducting core first, followed by the overgrowth of a thin shell of a different band-gap material. The few attempted single-step and one-pot synthesis approaches have been...

Solution-Grown CuInSe2 Nanowires for Low-Cost Photovoltaics

Nov 9, 2010

Chet Steinhagen

A semiconductor media that could be printed under ambient conditions by a roll-to-roll process on plastic substrates to fabricate photovoltaic devices (PVs) would greatly reduce the cost of solar cell manufacturing. One approach is to create “paints” or “inks” of nanocrystals that can be deposited...

Using Supercritical Fluids for CdS and CdTeS Nanoparticle Decorated TiO2 Nanostructures

Nov 9, 2010

Paul A. Charpentier

Abstract: TiO2 nanowires were sensitized with CdS and CdTeS quantum dots which were grown using an in situ colloidal method using both conventional organic solvents and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). No pretreatment of the TiO2 nanowires was required prior to nanoparticle generation. The...

Evidence for High-Efficiency Exciton Dissociation at Poly(3-hexylthiophene)/Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Interfaces in Planar Nano-Heterojunction Photovoltaics

Nov 9, 2010

Geraldine LC Paulus

There is significant interest in combining carbon nanotubes with semiconducting polymers for photovoltaic applications due to potential advantages from smaller exciton transport lengths and enhanced charge separation. However, to date, bulk heterojunction (BHJ) devices have demonstrated relatively...

Modeling & Optimization of Dye Sensitized Solar Cells with Core/Shell Nanowire Array-Based Photoanodes

Nov 9, 2010

Justin J. Hill

The benefits of utilizing nanowire-based photoanodes for dye sensitized solar cells is quickly becoming apparent. Nanowire structures allow for the presence of an interfacial electric field that is otherwise absent in nanoparticle-based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This electric field...

Understanding and Controlling Organic-Inorganic Interfaces in Mesostructured Titania/Conjugated Polymer Materials for Photovoltaic Applications

Nov 9, 2010

Justin P. Jahnke

The use of surfactant-directed mesostructured inorganic materials allows for the preparation of oxide frameworks as continuous transparent films with high inorganic-organic interfacial contact and the inclusion of diverse functional guest species. For example, mesostructured (10 nm) titania films...

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