EES Blog

The latest issue of Energy & Environmental Science is now online. You can read the full issue here.

The outside front cover features an article on Introducing structural colour in DSCs by using photonic crystals: interplay between conversion efficiency and optical properties by Daniele Colonna, Silvia Colodrero, Henrik Lindström, Aldo Di Carlo and Hernán Míguez.

Modeling geminate pair dissociation in organic solar cells: high power conversion efficiencies achieved with moderate optical bandgaps is the article highlighted on the inside front cover by Jonathan D. Servaites, Brett M. Savoie, Joseph B. Brink, Tobin J. Marks and Mark A. Ratner.

Issue 8 contains the following Review, Perspective and Minireview articles:

Review articles

• Morphology characterization in organic and hybrid solar cells
  Wei Chen, Maxim P. Nikiforov and Seth B. Darling
  Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8045-8074
  DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22056C
• A review on nanomaterials for environmental remediation
  Mya Mya Khin, A. Sreekumaran Nair, V. Jagadeesh Babu, Rajendiran Murugan and Seeram Ramakrishna
  Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8075-8109
  DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21818F

Perspectives

• Prospects for polymer-based thermoelectrics: state of the art and theoretical analysis
  Theodore O. Poehler and Howard E. Katz
  Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8110-8115
  DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22124A
• Future carbon dioxide removal via biomass energy constrained by agricultural efficiency and dietary trends
  Thomas W. R. Powell and Timothy M. Lenton
  Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8116-8133
  DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21592F
• Catalytic water oxidation at single metal sites
  Rui Cao, Wenzhen Lai and Pingwu Du
  Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8134-8157
  DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21494F
• Overcoming efficiency challenges in organic solar cells: rational development of conjugated polymers
  Hae Jung Son, Bridget Carsten, In Hwan Jung and Luping Yu
  Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8158-8170
  DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21608F

Minireviews

• Formic acid as a hydrogen source – recent developments and future trends
  Martin Grasemann and Gábor Laurenczy
  Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8171-8181
  DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21928J
• Graphene as a counter electrode material for dye-sensitized solar cells
  Hui Wang and Yun Hang Hu
  Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 8182-8188
  DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21905K

Fancy submitting an article to Energy & Environmental Science? Then why not submit to us today!

Jeffrey W. Long is a research chemist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, US

What does your role entail?

I do experimental work as part of a group. Our group primarily focuses on materials discovery for power/energy applications, particularly electrochemical systems – batteries, electrochemical capacitors (ECs, also known as supercapacitors) and to a lesser extent, fuel cells.

What are latest developments in your field?

The electrochemical capacitor field is becoming much more popular. These are devices that charge and discharge much more quickly than batteries, typically on the order of a few seconds. They don’t have quite as much energy, but you don’t always need high energy density for particular applications. Sometimes, you need that rapid switching between charge and discharge states. Over the past 10 years, this has become a much more popular technology and we’ve been contributing to that by developing new materials that enable that kind of process.

Visit Chemistry World to read the full interview.

Scientists in China have developed a smart window that not only heats and cools a building, but can also act as an energy storage device to power electrical equipment within the building.

The energy storage smart window can be bent and flexed and still do its job

Smart windows are already in use in some buildings; they are used to reduce energy consumption by keeping the interiors cool and controlling the light levels within. An example of this is in museums, where artifacts could be damaged by too much sunlight.

Read the full article in Chemistry World

Integrated energy storage and electrochromic function in one flexible device: an energy storage smart window
Kai Wang, Haiping Wu, Yuena Meng, Yajie Zhang and Zhixiang Wei
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21643D

The latest issue of Energy & Environmental Science is now online. You can read the full issue here.

The outside front cover features a Perspective on the modeling of biomass processing by Na Guo, Stavros Caratzoulas, Douglas J. Doren, Stanley I. Sandler and Dionisios G. Vlachos.

Issue 5 contains a mix of Analysis, reviews and original research, here are just a few to highlight:

Analysis
The carbon abatement potential of high penetration intermittent renewables
Elaine K. Hart and Mark Z. Jacobson
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 6592-6601
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03490E

Review
Carbon capture with ionic liquids: overview and progress
Xiangping Zhang, Xiaochun Zhang, Haifeng Dong, Zhijun Zhao, Suojiang Zhang and Ying Huang
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 6668-6681
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21152A

Perspective
Mechanical properties of clathrate hydrates: status and perspectives
Fulong Ning, Yibing Yu, Signe Kjelstrup, Thijs J. H. Vlugt and Kirill Glavatskiy
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 6779-6795
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03435B

Fancy submitting an article to EES? Then submit to us today!