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Author Archive

The future of fashion: EES article in Chemistry World

16 Oct 2012

Researchers from the Republic of Korea have developed an energy harvesting device that can be incorporated into clothing to allow the wearer to generate electricity as they move and from static build-up in their clothing. The electricity could then be used to power mobile devices.

The team, led by Hyunjin Kim from the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), Gyeonggi-do, found that their energy harvester was able to power a 9cm x 3cm liquid-crystal display (LCD) panel and a green light emitting diode (LED).

Charging mobile phones could be done on the go using electricity generated by your clothes as you move

Interested to know more? Read the full article in Chemistry World here…

Read the article from EES:

Enhancement of piezoelectricity via electrostatic effects on a textile platform
Hyunjin Kim , Seong Min Kim , Hyungbin Son , Hyeok Kim , BoongIk Park , JiYeon Ku , Jung Inn Sohn , Kyuhyun Im , Jae Eun Jang , Jong-Jin Park , Ohyun Kim , SeungNam Cha and Young Jun Park
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012,5, 8932-8936
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22744D

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Batteries not included: EES article featured in Chemistry World

11 Oct 2012

Enzyme-based biofuel cells have been plugged into lobsters and they generated enough power to run a digital watch. In a separate experiment, the same US scientists placed the biofuel cells in a fluidic system that mimicked human blood circulation and used them to power a heart pacemaker.

Biofuel cells coupled with enzymes can harvest electrical energy from biological fuels like glucose. This has led researchers to hope that they could one day power medical devices in people by burning fuel derived from the patient’s diet. Implanting these cells inside living organisms is still a challenge; however, researchers have managed to implant them in rats, rabbits, insects, snails and clams. Despite this work, no attempts have been made to use these enzymatic fuel cells to power real electronic devices as the voltages reached were not high enough (below 0.5V).

Two lobsters generate enough power to operate a watch. The biofuel cells filled with human serum power a pacemaker

Now, Evgeny Katz at Clarkson University, Potsdam, and colleagues, who did the work on the snails and clams, have implanted biofuel cells – connected in series – in two live lobsters. The enzyme-modified electrodes in the cells catalysed glucose oxidation and oxygen reduction in the fluid inside the lobster’s body, generating a current. The team found that the system could generate enough power to operate a watch (1.2V).

Interested to know more? Read the full article in Chemistry World here…

Read the article from EES:

From “Cyborg” Lobsters to a Pacemaker Powered by Implantable Biofuel Cells
Kevin MacVittie , Jan Halamek , Lenka Halámková , Mark Southcott , William D Jemison , Robert Lobel and Evgeny Katz
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23209J

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Piezoelectricity improves solar cell efficiency: EES article featured in Chemistry World

14 Mar 2012

US researchers have come up with an explanation for their recent results that show that introducing piezoelectric semiconductor nanowires into solar cells improves their efficiency.

Piezoelectricity is the charge created when certain materials are placed under stress, where compressing or stretching the substance generates electricity. Piezoelectric materials have been used as sensors in cars, as energy scavengers and also as ignition sources in electric lighters. Researchers across the world are working on improving the efficiency of photovoltaic devices, but until recently hadn’t thought of harnessing piezo-potential to do so.

Solar cell improvement with the piezophotronic effect

Schematic and energy band diagram of (a) a general nanowire piezoelectric solar cell fabricated using a p-n junction structure. Schematics and energy band diagram of the piezoelectric solar cells under (b) compressive strain and (c) tensile strain, where the polarity and magnitude of the piezopotential can effectively control the carrier generation, separation and transport characteristics. The colour code represents the distribution of the piezopotential at the n-type semiconductor

Interested to know more? Read the full article in Chemistry World here…

Read the Communication from EES:

Piezo-phototronics effect on nano/microwire solar cells
Yan Zhang , Ya Yang and Zhong Lin Wang
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE00057A

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EES Issue 3 out now!

27 Feb 2012

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

The outside front cover features a Perspective review article on Carbon nanotubes and organic solar cells by Sebastiano Cataldo, Patrizio Salice, Enzo Menna and Bruno Pignataro.

Issue 3 contains a mix of Analysis, reviews and original research, here are just a few to highlight:

Analysis
Crystalline silicon photovoltaics: a cost analysis framework for determining technology pathways to reach baseload electricity costs
D. M. Powell , M. T. Winkler , H. J. Choi , C. B. Simmons , D. Berney Needleman and T. Buonassisi

Review
Recent advances in hybrid photocatalysts for solar fuel production
Phong D. Tran , Lydia H. Wong , James Barber and Joachim S. C. Loo

Perspectives
Emerging concepts in solid-state hydrogen storage: the role of nanomaterials design
Hazel Reardon , James M. Hanlon , Robert W. Hughes , Agata Godula-Jopek , Tapas K. Mandal and Duncan H. Gregory

Recent advances in solution-processed interfacial materials for efficient and stable polymer solar cells
Hin-Lap Yip and Alex K.-Y. Jen

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

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How to measure solar cell efficiency correctly: EES article featured in Chemistry World

24 Feb 2012

The significance of new solar cell technologies tends to rest heavily on their measured efficiency. But compounding small mistakes in measuring that efficiency can lead to values up to five times higher than the true reading, says Henry Snaith from the University of Oxford, UK.

Snaith has therefore set out a guide that illustrates the factors that should be taken into consideration when measuring efficiency, and outlines the potential sources of error. It is an attempt to restore confidence in literature claims and make them more easily comparable – both within fields and across different types of cells including dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs), organic photovoltaics and hybrid solar cells. The guidance includes how to mask cells to get an accurate measure of the test area; the type of lamps to use and how to calibrate them; and the importance of positioning the cell in exactly the same place as the calibration reference.

Photographs of liquid electrolyte-based dye-sensitised solar cells with different masking configurations, including no mask and set on its side. The active area of None is taken to be the area of the screen printed dye-sensitised TiO2 dot, Mask and Mask + Edge are taken to be the area of the square mask aperture and Side-on is the same as None

‘There’s an ongoing stream of papers in which it’s not entirely clear exactly how the measurements have been made,’ says Snaith. And worse than that, some papers claim values that appear to be grossly overinflated. That has an impact on genuine claims, Snaith explains. ‘If, for example, someone claims their hybrid solar cell has an efficiency of 4% when it’s really more like 1%, that makes it problematic for someone else to write an exciting paper when they’ve genuinely improved something to 1.5%.’

Interested to know more? Read the full article in Chemistry World here…

Read the paper from Energy & Environmental Science:

How should you measure your excitonic solar cells?
Henry Snaith
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03429H

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Reviews in Green Chemistry – a cross journal collection

08 Feb 2012

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

The development of green and sustainable chemistry is one of the most topical issues of today and is relevant across all areas of chemistry in academia and industry.

Chemical Society Reviews (Chem Soc Rev), Green Chemistry and Energy & Environmental Science (EES) are delighted to present a combined collection of high quality reviews covering a broad range of topics from this field. The collection includes reviews currently featured in Chem Soc Rev’s Green Chemistry themed issue (online now), as well as a selection of cutting edge reviews published in Green Chemistry and EES last year.

All these articles are free to access for a limited time only, so make the most of this opportunity and take a look…

Fundamentals of green chemistry: efficiency in reaction design, Roger Sheldon, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1437.

Evaluating the “Greenness” of chemical processes and products in the pharmaceutical industry—a green metrics primer, Concepción Jiménez-González et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1485.

Searching for green solvents, Philip, G. Jessop, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1391.

Derivation and synthesis of renewable surfactants, Evan S. Beach et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1499.

Industrial biotechnology―the future of green chemistry?, Udo Kragl et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 3007.

Expanding the organic toolbox: a guide to integrating biocatalysis in synthesis, Christopher M. Clouthier and Joelle Pelletier, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1585.

Enzyme immobilization on/in polymeric membranes: status, challenges and perspectives in biocatalytic membrane reactors (BMRs), Yamini Satyawali et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1609.

Immobilization technology: a sustainable solution for biofuel cell design, Xiao-Yu Yang et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 5540-5563

Green chemistry oriented organic synthesis in water, Marc-Olivier Simon and Chao-Jun Li, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1415.

Fischer–Tropsch fuels refinery design, Arno de Klerk, Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 1177.

The importance of green chemistry in process research and development, Peter J. Dunn, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1452.

Alternative energy input: mechanochemical, microwave and ultrasound-assisted organic synthesis, R. B. Nasir Baig and Rajender S. Varma, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1559.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Ionic liquid processing of cellulose, Robin D. Rogers et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1519.

Processing of metals and metal oxides using ionic liquids, Andrew P. Abbott et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 471.

Continuous reactions in supercritical carbon dioxide: problems, solutions and possible ways forward, Xue Han and Martyn Poliakoff, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1428.

Green materials synthesis with supercritical water, Tadafumi Adschiri et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1380.

Multiple objectives in biofuels sustainability policy, Jon C. Lovett et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 261.

Conversion of biomass to selected chemical products, Pierre Gallezot, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1538.

Toward a rational control of solid acid catalysis for green synthesis and biomass conversion, Ken-ichi Shimizu and Atsushi Satsuma, Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 3140-3153

Waste materials―catalytic opportunities: an overview of the application of large scale waste materials as resources for catalytic applications, J. S. J. Hargreaves et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 16.

Recent advances in the recycling of homogeneous catalysts using membrane separation, Dieter Vogt et al., Green Chem., 2011, 13, 2247.

Cobalt catalysts for the coupling of CO₂ and epoxides to provide polycarbonates and cyclic carbonates, Xiao-Bing Lu and Donald J. Darensbourg, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 1462.

Keep up-to-date with the latest reviews and primary research in this field by registering for our e-alerts today!

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EES Issue 2 out now!

26 Jan 2012

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 Optimizing luminescent solar concentrator design by Hermilo Hernandez-Noyola, David H. Potterveld, Roy J. Holt and Seth B. Darling.

Shaping the beating heart of artificial photosynthesis: oxygenic metal oxide nano-clusters is the Perspective article highlighted on the inside front cover by Andrea Sartorel, Mauro Carraro, Francesca Maria Toma, Maurizio Prato and Marcella Bonchio.

Issue 2 contains lots of exciting Opinion, Analysis, Review and Perspectives – here are just a few:

Practical limitations and recognizing hype
William F. Banholzer
Microwave-assisted pyrolysis of biomass feedstocks: the way forward?
Rafael Luque, J. Angel Menéndez, Ana Arenillas and Jaume Cot
Immobilization technology: a sustainable solution for biofuel cell design
Xiao-Yu Yang, Ge Tian, Nan Jiang and Bao-Lian Su
Morphology of all-polymer solar cells
Christopher R. McNeill

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

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EES Blog

Author Archive

Top 10 most-read EES articles in September

The future of fashion: EES article in Chemistry World

Batteries not included: EES article featured in Chemistry World

Piezoelectricity improves solar cell efficiency: EES article featured in Chemistry World

Top 10 most-read EES articles in January

EES Issue 3 out now!

How to measure solar cell efficiency correctly: EES article featured in Chemistry World

Reviews in Green Chemistry – a cross journal collection

Top 10 most-read EES articles in December

EES Issue 2 out now!

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