In UCLA-led study, perovskite-based devices benefit from the strong bond between lead and the same chemical found in coffee and tea
Scientists at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA have found that caffeine improves the stability of materials under heat – a property known as thermal stability — of perovskite solar cells, which could someday replace traditional silicon-based solar cells. (more…)
Scientists demonstrate how organic dyes work as antennas to help harness, convert light
An international team of scientists has demonstrated a breakthrough in the design and function of nanoparticles that could make solar panels more efficient by converting light usually missed by solar cells into usable energy. (more…)
Smart windows equipped with controllable glazing can augment lighting, cooling and heating systems by varying their tint, saving up to 40 percent in an average building’s energy costs. (more…)
If you had told me ten years ago that I’d be a Ph.D. student studying solar energy technologies, I would have laughed in your face.
No, really. (more…)
Berkeley Lab method could help scientists learn new ways to boost photovoltaic efficiency
Next-generation solar cells made of super-thin films of semiconducting material hold promise because they’re relatively inexpensive and flexible enough to be applied just about anywhere. (more…)
Electrical energy fuels our modern lives, from the computer screen that keeps us up after sunset to the coffee maker that greets us at sunrise. But the electricity underlying our 21st century world, by and large, is generated at a cost — through the unsustainable expenditure of fossil fuels. For decades this demand for cheap, fast and non-renewable electricity has promoted pollution and global warming. (more…)
Berkeley Lab team shows metal-alloy catalysts give more control in nanowire fabrication.
A novel approach to growing nanowires promises a new means of control over their light-emitting and electronic properties. In a recent issue of Nano Letters, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) demonstrated a new growth technique that uses specially engineered catalysts. These catalysts, which are precursors to growing the nanowires, have given scientists more options than ever in turning the color of light-emitting nanowires. (more…)
New technique holds promise for commercial production of perovskite photovoltaics
Working on the cutting edge of a newly emerging area of solar-cell research, UCLA engineers have invented a new process for manufacturing highly efficient photovoltaic materials that shows promise for low-cost industrial production.
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