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Pinhole defect ﬁller enhances performance of organic dye-sensitized solar cells

02 Sep 2013

Researchers from China have found an effective strategy for filling the pinhole defects of organic dye-grafted titania films, enhancing the performance of organic dye-sensitized solar cells employing non-corrosive cobalt redox electrolytes.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) use organic dyes to enhance the light-harvesting of inorganic solar cells, altering the wavelengths of incoming light to those better absorbed by the cell in a process known as up- or down-conversion. When dyeing a cell, a good solvent must be used to prevent the dye aggregating, the aim being to create only a monolayer of dye on the surface. However, this creates an incomplete coating of the inorganic surface with the dye, the gaps called ‘pinhole defects,’ which act as sites where the charge-hole pairs created by the absorption of photons recombine easily, significantly reducing current generation and thereby the effectiveness of the cell.

Zhang et al. in the paper Judicious selection of a pinhole defect filler to generally enhance the performance of organic dye-sensitized solar cells detail their quest to solve this problem, creating two bulky model dyes for coating a titania support and three very similar but less bulky ‘fillers.’ The dyes were coated onto the titanium with good solvents and the fillers with poor solvents to maintain the integrity of the dye coating. In every case, the filler reduced open-current voltage, a fundamental measure of efficiency. The net result was an impressive solar-to-electricity energy efficiency of 10.5% under non-concentrated light for their best cell.

The exciting results of this study make it a must-read for those involved with organic solar cells. Additionally, though this is a technical paper specific to dye-sensitized organic solar cells, anyone with interest in solar cells would find interest in this article because the general strategy of defect-filling could be used to reduce interfacial charge recombination in other types of solar cells.

Read the article in EES:

Judicious selection of a pinhole defect filler to generally enhance the performance of organic dye-sensitized solar cells
Min Zhang, Jing Zhang, Ye Fan, Lin Yang, Yinglin Wang, Renzhi Li and Peng Wang
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE42431F, Communication

By Benjamin Britton

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A focus on solar photovoltaics

30 Aug 2013

The RSC would like to share with you a collection of recent journal articles and books in the area of solar photovoltaics.

You can read selected articles for free until the 31^st October 2013 by clicking on the links below.

We hope that you enjoy the collection!

Did you know that the RSC has put together a webpage on solar photovoltaics, which brings together information on activities for scientists, policymakers, educators and young people? Take a look today…

We have also put together a collection of articles on solar fuels and artificial photosynthesis, which are also free until the end of October. You can view this collection here…

Reviews and Perspectives

FREE: Photosensitized electron transfer processes of nanocarbons applicable to solar cells
Francis D’Souza and Osamu Ito
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C1CS15201G, Tutorial Review

FREE: Novel nanostructures for next generation dye-sensitized solar cells
Nicolas Tétreault and Michael Grätzel
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03242B, Perspective

FREE: Porphyrin-sensitized solar cells
Lu-Lin Li and Eric Wei-Guang Diau
Chem. Soc. Rev, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35257E, Review Article

FREE: Carbon nanotube-based heterostructures for solar energy applications
Lei Wang, Haiqing Liu, Robert M. Konik, James A. Misewich and Stanislaus S. Wong
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CS60088B, Review Article

FREE: Semiconductor nanowires: a platform for exploring limits and concepts for nano-enabled solar cells
Thomas J. Kempa, Robert W. Day, Sun-Kyung Kim, Hong-Gyu Park and Charles M. Lieber
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24182C, Review Article

FREE: Efficient photon management with nanostructures for photovoltaics
Bo Hua, Qingfeng Lin, Qianpeng Zhang and Zhiyong Fan
Nanoscale, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3NR01152F, Review Article

FREE: Plasmonic photocatalysts: harvesting visible light with noble metal nanoparticles
Peng Wang, Baibiao Huang, Ying Dai and Myung-Hwan Whangbo
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CP40823F, Perspective

FREE: Improvement of dye-sensitized solar cells toward the broader light harvesting of the solar spectrum
Suresh Kannan Balasingam, Minoh Lee, Man Gu Kang and Yongseok Jun
Chem. Commun., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CC37616D, Feature Article

FREE: Nanostructured Titania: the current and future promise of Titania nanotubes
Kevin C. Schwartzenberg and Kimberly A. Gray
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CY00538G, Perspective

That’s not all! Go to the bottom of this post to view more Reviews and Perspectives in this collection…

Original Research Articles

FREE: Low-temperature processed meso-superstructured to thin-film perovskite solar cells
James M. Ball, Michael M. Lee, Andrew Hey and Henry J. Snaith
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40810H, Communication

FREE: Tridentate cobalt complexes as alternative redox couples for high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells
Kais Ben Aribia, Thomas Moehl, Shaik M. Zakeeruddin and Michael Grätzel
Chem. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2SC21401F, Edge Article

FREE: Spirally configured cis-stilbene/fluorene hybrids as bipolar, organic sensitizers for solar cell applications
Wei-Shan Chao, Ken-Hsien Liao, Chien-Tien Chen, Wei-Kai Huang, Chi-Ming Lan and Eric Wei-Guang Diau
Chem. Commun., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CC17079E, Communication

FREE: An ester-functionalized diketopyrrolopyrrole molecule with appropriate energy levels for application in solution-processed organic solar cells
Meirong Chen, Weifei Fu, Minmin Shi, Xiaolian Hu, Junying Pan, Jun Ling, Hangying Li and Hongzheng Chen
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00148A, Paper

FREE: An isoindigo and dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole copolymer for polymer solar cells
Romain Stalder, Caroline Grand, Jegadesan Subbiah, Franky So and John R. ReynoldsPolym. Chem., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C1PY00402F, Communication

FREE: Photoelectrical properties of Ag₂S quantum dot-modified TiO₂ nanorod arrays and their application for photovoltaic devices
Bingkun Liu, Dejun Wang, Yu Zhang, Haimei Fan, Yanhong Lin, Tengfei Jiang and Tengfeng XieDalton Trans., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2DT32031B, Paper

Again, you can see more original research articles in this collection at the bottom of this page.

You might be interested in these e-books from RSC Publishing…
(PDFs of the front matter, table of contents and first chapter are free to view.)

Building Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal Systems
Authors: Basant Agrawal, Gopal Nath Tiwari

Fundamentals of Photovoltaic Modules and Their Applications
Authors: Gopal Nath Tiwari, Swapnil Dubey

Also take a look at these exciting related themed issues, themed collections and Editor’s Choice selections…

Photocatalysis
Themed issue in Catalysis Science & Technology
Guest Editors: Kazunari Domen and Licheng Sun

Inorganic photophysics and photochemistry –Fundamentals and applications –
Themed issue in Dalton Transactions
Guest Editors: Michael D. Ward and Julia Weinstein

Nanomaterials for energy conversion and storage
Themed issue in Journal of Materials Chemistry
Guest Editors: K. Kalyanasundaram and Michael Grätzel

Editor’s Choice: Photovoltaic devices by Henry Snaith

Editor’s choice: Nanostructured polymer and dye-sensitized solar cells by Zhiqun Lin

Editor’s Choice: All-organic and hybrid photovoltaics by Chris McNeill

Click here to view more articles in this collection…

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A Focus on Solar Fuels and Artificial Photosynthesis

29 Aug 2013

The RSC would like to share with you a collection of recent books and articles from our journals in the areas of solar fuels and artificial photosynthesis.

You can read all articles for free until the 31^st October 2013 by clicking on the links below.

We hope that you enjoy the collection!

Did you know that the RSC has put together a webpage on Solar Fuels, which brings together information on activities for scientists, policymakers, educators and young people? Take a look today…

We have also put together a collection of articles on solar photovoltaics. You can view this collection here…

Some books on solar fuels…

Advanced Renewable Energy Sources
Authors: Gopal Nath Tiwari and Rajeev Kumar Mishra

Solar Energy Conversion
Editor: Piotr Piotrowiak

Energy Issues
A set of four books on energy from the Issues in Environmental Science and Technology Series, edited by Roy Harrison and Ron Hester

The PDFs of the front matter, table of contents and first chapter of these e-books are free to view…

Solar Hydrogen: Fuel of the Future
Authors: Mario Pagliaro, Athanasios G Konstandopoulos

Molecular Solar Fuels
Editors: Thomas J Wydrzynski, Warwick Hillier

Related themed issues and web collections

These themed collections might be of interest. Have a look…

Solar Fuels themed issue in Chemical Society Reviews (Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, Issue 5).
Find more information in the excellent Editorial by Siddharth Dasgupta, Bruce S. Brunschwig, Jay R. Winkler and Harry B. Gray.

Recent Advances in Solar Energy Conversion and Utilization
This is a themed issue containing articles from the journals Energy & Environmental Science, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP) and RSC Advances, and guest edited by Ranjit Koodali and Velu Subramani.

A centenary for solar fuels
This is an online collection put together in celebration of 100 years since Ciamician’s landmark paper, ‘The Photochemistry of the Future’.

Opinions and Analysis

Artificial photosynthesis as a frontier technology for energy sustainability
Thomas Faunce, Stenbjorn Styring, Michael R. Wasielewski, Gary W. Brudvig, A. William Rutherford, Johannes Messinger, Adam F. Lee, Craig L. Hill, Huub deGroot, Marc Fontecave, Doug R. MacFarlane, Ben Hankamer, Daniel G. Nocera, David M. Tiede, Holger Dau, Warwick Hillier, Lianzhou Wang and Rose Amal
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40534F, Opinion

Energy and environment policy case for a global project on artificial photosynthesis
Thomas A. Faunce, Wolfgang Lubitz, A. W. (Bill) Rutherford, Douglas MacFarlane, Gary F. Moore, Peidong Yang, Daniel G. Nocera, Tom A. Moore, Duncan H. Gregory, Shunichi Fukuzumi, Kyung Byung Yoon, Fraser A. Armstrong, Michael R. Wasielewski and Stenbjorn Styring
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE00063J, Opinion

Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry
Blaise A. Pinaud, Jesse D. Benck, Linsey C. Seitz, Arnold J. Forman, Zhebo Chen, Todd G. Deutsch, Brian D. James, Kevin N. Baum, George N. Baum, Shane Ardo, Heli Wang, Eric Miller and Thomas F. Jaramillo
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40831K, Analysis

Tutorial Reviews

Comparison of primary oxidants for water-oxidation catalysis
Alexander R. Parent, Robert H. Crabtree and Gary W. Brudvig
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35225G

Organic molecules as mediators and catalysts for photocatalytic and electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction
Yeonji Oh and Xile Hu
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35276A

Reviews, Perspectives, Applications and Frontiers

“In rust we trust”. Hematite – the prospective inorganic backbone for artificial photosynthesis
Debajeet K. Bora, Artur Braun and Edwin C. Constable
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23668K, Perspective

Long-lived charge separated states in nanostructured semiconductor photoelectrodes for the production of solar fuels
Alexander J. Cowan and James R. Durrant
Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35305A, Review

Functional mesoporous materials for energy applications: solar cells, fuel cells, and batteries
Youngjin Ye, Changshin Jo, Inyoung Jeong and Jinwoo Lee
Nanoscale, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3NR00176H, Feature Article

Molecular systems for light driven hydrogen production
William T. Eckenhoff and Richard Eisenberg
Dalton Trans., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2DT30823A, Perspective

Understanding photosynthetic light-harvesting: a bottom up theoretical approach
Thomas Renger and Frank Müh
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CP43439G, Perspective

Applications of metal oxide materials in dye sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cells for making solar fuels: let the molecules do the work
Leila Alibabaei, Hanlin Luo, Ralph L. House, Paul G. Hoertz, Rene Lopez and Thomas J. Meyer
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00935H, Application

Splitting water with rust: hematite photoelectrochemistry
Thomas W. Hamann
Dalton Trans., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2DT30340J, Frontier

Metal sulphide semiconductors for photocatalytic hydrogen production
Kai Zhang and Liejin Guo
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CY00018D, Minireview

Water oxidation catalysed by manganese compounds: from complexes to ‘biomimetic rocks’
Mathias Wiechen, Hans-Martin Berends and Philipp Kurz
Dalton Trans., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C1DT11537E, Perspective

Bio-inspired artificial light-harvesting antennas for enhancement of solar energy capture in dye-sensitized solar cells
Fabrice Odobel, Yann Pellegrin and Julien Warnan
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24229C, Perspective

Original Research Articles

Novel nanographene/porphyrin hybrids – preparation, characterization, and application in solar energy conversion schemes
Daniel Kiessling, Rubén D. Costa, Georgios Katsukis, Jenny Malig, Fabian Lodermeyer, Sebastian Feihl, Alexandra Roth, Leonie Wibmer, Matthias Kehrer, Michel Volland, Pawel Wagner, Gordon G. Wallace, David L. Officer and Dirk M. Guldi
Chem. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3SC51026C, Edge Article

Oxygen-tolerant coenzyme A-acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase facilitates efficient photosynthetic n-butanol biosynthesis in cyanobacteria
Ethan I. Lan, Soo Y. Ro and James C. Liao
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41405A, Paper

3D branched nanowire heterojunction photoelectrodes for high-efficiency solar water splitting and H₂ generation
Ke Sun, Yi Jing, Chun Li, Xiaofeng Zhang, Ryan Aguinaldo, Alireza Kargar, Kristian Madsen, Khaleda Banu, Yuchun Zhou, Yoshio Bando, Zhaowei Liu and Deli Wang
Nanoscale, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2NR11952H, Paper

Photon upconversion facilitated molecular solar energy storage
Karl Börjesson, Damir Dzebo, Bo Albinsson and Kasper Moth-Poulsen
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3TA12002C, Communication

High photo-electrochemical activity of thylakoid–carbon nanotube composites for photosynthetic energy conversion
Jessica O. Calkins, Yogeswaran Umasankar, Hugh O’Neill and Ramaraja P. Ramasamy
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40634B, Paper

A model for efficient, semiconductor-free solar cells via supersensitized electron transfer cascades in photogalvanic devices
Jonathan E. Halls and Jay D. Wadhawan
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CP00072A, Paper

Generation of fuel from CO₂ saturated liquids using a p-Si nanowire ‖ n-TiO₂ nanotube array photoelectrochemical cell
Thomas J. LaTempa, Sanju Rani, Ningzhong Bao and Craig A. Grimes
Nanoscale, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2NR00052K, Communication

Bicrystalline TiO₂ with controllable anatase–brookite phase content for enhanced CO₂ photoreduction to fuels
Huilei Zhao, Lianjun Liu, Jean M. Andino and Ying Li
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3TA11226H, Paper

Diatom frustules as light traps enhance DSSC efficiency
Jeremiah Toster, K. Swaminathan Iyer, Wanchun Xiang, Federico Rosei, Leone Spiccia and Colin L. Raston
Nanoscale, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2NR32716C, Communication

Stabilizing inorganic photoelectrodes for efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversion
Syed Mubeen, Joun Lee, Nirala Singh, Martin Moskovits and Eric W. McFarland
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40258D, Paper

Ternary Ti–Mo–Ni mixed oxide nanotube arrays as photoanode materials for efficient solar hydrogen production
Nageh K. Allam, Nourhan M. Deyab and Nabil Abdel Ghany
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CP52076E, Paper

Transition metal oxide alloys as potential solar energy conversion materials
Maytal Caspary Toroker and Emily A. Carter
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C2TA00816E, Paper

Integrated microfluidic test-bed for energy conversion devices
Miguel A. Modestino, Camilo A. Diaz-Botia, Sophia Haussener, Rafael Gomez-Sjoberg, Joel W. Ager and Rachel A. Segalman
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3CP51302E, Communication

Photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ and H₂O to fuels by nanostructured Ce-TiO₂/SBA-15 composites
Cunyu Zhao, Lianjun Liu, Qianyi Zhang, Jun Wang and Ying Li
Catal. Sci. Technol., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CY20346D, Paper

Composite plasmonic gold/layered double hydroxides and derived mixed oxides as novel photocatalysts for hydrogen generation under solar irradiation
Gabriela Carja, Mihaela Birsanu, Kiyoshi Okada and Hermenegildo Garcia
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1,DOI: 10.1039/C3TA11569K, Paper

Binary ionic porphyrin nanosheets: electronic and light-harvesting properties regulated by crystal structure
Yongming Tian, Christine M. Beavers, Tito Busani, Kathleen E. Martin, John L. Jacobsen, Brandon Q. Mercado, Brian S. Swartzentruber, Frank van Swol, Craig J. Medforth and John A. Shelnutt
Nanoscale, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2NR11826B, Paper

Biomimetic photocatalytic reactor with a hydrogel-embedded microfluidic network
Hyung-Jun Koo and Orlin D. Velev
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013, DOI: 10.1039/C3TA12483E, Communication

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This week’s HOT articles

28 Aug 2013

Take a look at this week’s selection…

Ni3S2 nanorods/Ni foam composite electrode with low overpotential for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution
Weijia Zhou, Xue-Jun Wu, Xiehong Cao, Xiao Huang, Chaoliang Tan, Jian Tian, Hong Liu, Jiyang Wang and Hua Zhang
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41572D, Communication

Electrochemistry for biofuel generation: production of furans by electrocatalytic hydrogenation of furfurals
Peter Nilges and Uwe Schröder
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41857J, Communication

Judicious selection of a pinhole defect filler to generally enhance the performance of organic dye-sensitized solar cells
Min Zhang, Jing Zhang, Ye Fan, Lin Yang, Yinglin Wang, Renzhi Li and Peng Wang
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE42431F, Communication

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Satish Ogale’s Editor’s choice: Nanomaterials and Functional Carbon for Energy Applications

19 Aug 2013

Energy & Environmental Science’s newest Advisory Board member, Dr Satishchandra Ogale

Energy & Environmental Science’s newest Advisory Board member, Dr Satishchandra Ogale, has chosen a selection of excellent articles in the areas of nanomaterials and functional carbon for energy applications, which were recently published in Energy & Environmental Science (EES). You can read these articles for free for a limited period by clicking on the links below.

We are delighted that Dr Ogale has recently joined the Advisory Board of EES. He is a Chief Scientist and Coordinator at the Centre of Excellence in Solar Energy at CSIR-NCL, Pune, India. His research focusses on dye sensitized and hybrid solar cells, solar water splitting for hydrogen generation and functional carbon nanocomposites for energy.

EES

On behalf of Satish Ogale and the Editor-in-Chief Nathan Lewis (Caltech) we invite you to submit your best research to Energy & Environmental Science.

EES publishes outstanding, community-spanning, agenda-setting research covering all aspects of energy and environmental research. With an Impact Factor of 11.65, which is rising fast, it the ideal place to publish your work.

Sign up to receive our free table-of-contents e-alert at www.rsc.org/alerts and be among the first to read our newest articles.

Dr Ogale’s Editor’s Choice:

Energy Conversion

Novel nanostructures for next generation dye-sensitized solar cells
Nicolas Tétreaul t and Michael Graetzel,
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03242B, Perspective

Butterflies: inspiration for solar cells and sunlight water-splitting catalysts
Shuai Lou, Xingmei Guo, Tongxiang Fan and Di Zhang
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03595B, Review Article

Low-temperature processed meso-superstructured to thin-film perovskite solar cells
James M. Ball, Michael M. Lee, Andrew Hey and Henry J. Snaith
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40810H, Communication

Functional carbon / Charge Storage

3D carbon based nanostructures for advanced supercapacitors
Hao Jiang, Pooi See Lee and Chunzhong Li
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23284G, Review Article

Doping carbons beyond nitrogen : As overview of advanced heteroatom doped carbons with boron, sulphur and phosphorous for energy
Jens Peter Paraknowitsch and Arne Thomas
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41444B, Review Article

Progress in flexible energy storage and conversion systems, with a focus on cable-type lithium-ion batteries
Sang-Young Lee, Keun-Ho Choi, Woo-Sung Choi, Yo Han Kwon, Hye-Ran Jung, Heon-Cheol Shin and Je Young Kim
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24260A, Minireview

Second generation ‘nanohybrid supercapacitor’: Evolution of capacitive energy storage devices
Katsuhiko Naoi, Syuichi Ishimoto, Jun-ichi Miyamoto and Wako Naoi
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21675B, Perspective

Water Splitting

Modeling, simulation, and design criteria for photoelectrochemical water-splitting systems
Sophia Haussener, Chengxiang Xiang, Joshua M. Spurgeon, Shane Ardo, Nathan S. Lewis and Adam Z. Weber
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23187E, Paper

Interfaces between water splitting catalysts and buried silicon junctions
Casandra R. Cox, Mark T. Winkler, Joep J. H. Pijpers, Tonio Buonassisi and Daniel G. Nocera
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE23932A, Paper

Facile synthesis of carbon-coated hematite nanostructures for solar water splitting
Jiujun Deng, Xiaoxin Lv, Jing Gao, Aiwu Pu, Ming Li, Xuhui Sun and Jun Zhong
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE00066D, Paper

For more information and news visit our website and blog, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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A promising strategy for the future of self-powered electronics

16 Aug 2013

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences harvest energy from the environment to achieve a self-powered fluorescence switch system.

Self-powered fluorescence controlled switch systems based on biofuel cells

Electronically powered response systems are frequently hindered by their external power sources. These external power sources increase the size of the system and make independent and sustainable operation difficult. Focusing on electrical stimuli-responsive fluorescence systems, Bai et al. addressed the problem of system size and sustainability by exploring a switch system based on biofuel cells.

By using the electroactive prussian blue (PB) to control fluorescence change and biocatalysis, the authors were able to build a fluorescence switch system that operates on one biofuel cell. This kind of enzymatic biofuel cell extracts bio-energy from biochemical reactions to produce electricity, meaning the system is fully integrated and requires no external power source. Essentially self-powered, the fluorescent switch system described in a recent EES paper is reversible, reproducible, and power-dense (up to 87 μW/cm2).

The device functions by controlling the redox states of PB with a membrane-less, mediator-less biofuel cell. The fluorescence of the hybrid film is then switched with the absorbance change of the PB. By combining the electrochromatic PB controlling fluorescence switch with the biocatalytic reaction, a functioning self-powered switch system is achieved.

The idea of electronics that can operate by harvesting energy from the environment is certainly exciting. This kind of technology appeals to the imagination and would undoubtedly have huge applications in consumer goods. As someone without a technical background, it is exciting to learn about research with possible game-changing applications for everyday items.

Feeling electrified? Read the full Energy and Environmental Science article here:

Self-powered fluorescence controlled switch systems based on biofuel cells
Lu Bai, Lihua Jin, Lei Han and Shaojun Dong
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41028E

By Paige Johnson

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EES Issue 9 of 2013 out now!

15 Aug 2013

The latest issue of EES is now online. You can read the full issue here.

The outside front cover features the Communication Carbon nanotube modified carbon composite monoliths as superior adsorbents for carbon dioxide capture by Yonggang Jin, Stephen C. Hawkins, Chi P. Huynh and Shi Su.

High Seebeck coefficient redox ionic liquid electrolytes for thermal energy harvesting is the Paper highlighted on the inside front cover by Theodore J. Abraham, Douglas R. MacFarlane and Jennifer M. Pringle.

Issue 9 contains the following Analysis and Perspective articles:

$ per W metrics for thermoelectric power generation: beyond ZT
Shannon K. Yee, Saniya LeBlanc, Kenneth E. Goodson and Chris Dames
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41504J

The potential sunlight harvesting efficiency of carbon nanotube solar cells
Daniel David Tune and Joseph George Shapter
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41731J

Perspective: hybrid systems combining electrostatic and electrochemical nanostructures for ultrahigh power energy storage
Lauren C. Haspert, Eleanor Gillette, Sang Bok Lee and Gary W. Rubloff
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40898A

Fancy submitting an article to EES? Then why not submit to us today!

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The Energy Problem

09 Aug 2013

Our modern problems with energy sustainability can be rounded down to four separate (but related) issues. Any technology aimed at improving energy sustainability should address one or more of these problems:

Abundance: We need an energy source that’s renewable or at least won’t run out in the foreseeable future
Demand: In order to meet fluctuations in demand for energy, we need to be able to turn our energy supply on and off at will. For energy sources that don’t have this feature, we have to store their energy for later. The other half of this problem is shifting demand e.g. running the dishwasher only while there’s a renewable surplus.
Infrastructure: We need a way of getting renewable energy to work with current infrastructures such as the electric grid and all the vehicles that runs on carbon-based fuel
Pollution: We need to consume energy in a way that won’t increase the amount of greenhouse gases (or other pollutants) in the atmosphere. If we put stuff into the atmosphere, we have to take it out.

Suppose you found yourself with the means to build a household system consisting of a photovoltaic solar panel, a water electrolysis machine to produce hydrogen, a hydrogen storage tank, and a hydrogen-powered generator. If made large enough, such a system could power your entire home day and night. While such a system addresses all the above problems, there’s a catch… Over the lifespan of the system there’s a chance that the amount of energy the system produces will be less than what went into manufacturing it from recycled or raw materials. This brings us to our 5^th issue:

Net Energy: In order to be ‘green’, a technology must make more energy available over its lifetime than the amount of energy that went into making it. For a technology offering anything less, its users would have been better off just using the energy they had to begin with.

Lastly, there’s another category of energy problems that technically have nothing to do with sustainability. In fact, the addressing technologies sometimes count against sustainable energy use. While ‘net energy’ is important to consider for people who have regular grid access, it matters much less to those without energy access to begin with.

Access: Technologies such as pocket solar panels probably aren’t going to produce more energy over their lifespan than what went into making them… but they provide gadget-charging capabilities to professionals who lack regular grid access such as forest-fire fighters, soldiers, wilderness researchers, etc. Is the tech green? No. Is it worth making? Yes. Similarly, the ‘net energy’ problem need not dominate the discussion over renewable-energy access to people who don’t even have a grid infrastructure. Imagine how lives will be improved if people in Sub-Saharan Africa can be helped to harness the sun and wind.

I hope this has clarified why research into energy must continue and answered some of the questions over “Why can’t we just do ____.” Renewable energy is a multi-faceted problem that will require many technologies to become a reality. I hope these insights will help you now and into the future. Thanks for reading!

By Robert Coolman

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Enabling long shelf lifetime by purification of PBDTTPD

08 Aug 2013

Organic solar cells have attracted wide interest in the scientific community as a possible alternative for silicon based photovoltaics in certain areas. While laboratory efficiency of organic devices went beyond 10 % within the last years, lifetime issues such as rapid performance degradation remain to be solved.

Improving the long-term stability of PBDTTPD polymer solar cells through material purification aimed at removing organic impurities

In a recent article, Mateker et al. examined the performance degradation of solar cells made of the commonly used polymers PBDTTPD and PC61BM. Earlier findings indicated that cells made with PBDTTPD of high average molecular weight (M_w) degraded even in inert atmosphere and darkness while those of low M_w did not.

By intentional contamination with the small molecule TPD, the researchers demonstrated the influence of such impurities onto device performance. As a consequence, high weight PBDTTPD was thoroughly purified. Devices utilizing this filtered polymer demonstrated shelf lifetimes beyond 111 days.

The performance reduction of the unfiltered high M_w polymer is attributed by the researchers to small molecules which form a layer at the cathode contact of the cell. This layer was indicated by the widely known S-shaped JV-characteristic. Such features are developed within less a week of storage in darkness. By removing the old and evaporating a new cathode layer, device performance was partially recovered and the standard solar cell JV-curve shape was re-established.

Intentional introduction of TPD (a building block of PBDTTPD and thus a possible residue of the synthesising reactions) into the low M_w polymer created the same behaviour as for the unfiltered high M_w counterpart. In consequence, the authors removed small molecule impurities from the high M_w polymer by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and demonstrated the excellent improvement of device lifetime.

Read more detail in the article:

Improving the long-term stability of PBDTTPD polymer solar cells through material purification aimed at removing organic impurities
William R. Mateker, Jessica D. Douglas, Clément Cabanetos, I. T. Sachs-Quintana, Jonathan A. Bartelt, Eric T. Hoke, Abdulrahman El Labban, Pierre M. Beaujuge, Jean M. J. Fréchet and Michael D. McGehee
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41328D

By Sebastian Axmann

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Meet Chengdu Liang: Energy & Environmental Science’s newest Advisory Board member

02 Aug 2013

Chengdu Liang

Energy & Environmental Science (EES) is delighted to welcome Dr Chengdu Liang as an Advisory Board member.

Chengdu Liang is a scientist at the Center for Nano-phase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. His research focusses on energy conversion and storage, catalytic nanomaterials, mesoporous materials and metal and metal oxide/sulfide nanoparticles. He is well known for his work on developing lithium-sulfur batteries and lithium-ion batteries.

On behalf of Chengdu Liang and the Editor-in-Chief Nathan Lewis (Caltech) we invite you to submit your best research to Energy & Environmental Science.

So you can see for yourself the quality of work in EES, we have collected together some recent articles in Dr Liang’s exciting research fields, with a selection available to read for free for a limited period.

Reviews

FREE: Na-ion batteries, recent advances and present challenges to become low cost energy storage systems
Verónica Palomares, Paula Serras, Irune Villaluenga, Karina B. Hueso, Javier Carretero-González and Teófilo Rojo
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE02781J

FREE: Mg rechargeable batteries: an on-going challenge
Hyun Deog Yoo, Ivgeni Shterenberg, Yosef Gofer, Gregory Gershinsky, Nir Pour and Doron Aurbach
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40871J

FREE: The pursuit of rechargeable solid-state Li–air batteries
Fujun Li, Hirokazu Kitaura and Haoshen Zhou
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40702K

FREE: Update on Na-based battery materials. A growing research path
Verónica Palomares, Montse Casas-Cabanas, Elizabeth Castillo-Martínez, Man H. Han and Teófilo Rojo
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41031E

FREE: Room-temperature stationary sodium-ion batteries for large-scale electric energy storage
Huilin Pan, Yong-Sheng Hu and Liquan Chen
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40847G

FREE: Challenges of non-aqueous Li–O2 batteries: electrolytes, catalysts, and anodes
Fujun Li, Tao Zhang and Haoshen Zhou
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE00053B

FREE: High temperature sodium batteries: status, challenges and future trends
Karina B. Hueso, Michel Armand and Teófilo Rojo
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24086J

FREE: Electrical energy storage for transportation—approaching the limits of, and going beyond, lithium-ion batteries
Michael M. Thackeray, Christopher Wolverton and Eric D. Isaacs
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21892E

FREE: Ti-based compounds as anode materials for Li-ion batteries
Guan-Nan Zhu, Yong-Gang Wang and Yong-Yao Xia
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03410G

FREE: Lithium-ion batteries. A look into the future
Bruno Scrosati, Jusef Hassoun and Yang-Kook Sun
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01388B

FREE: Challenges in the development of advanced Li-ion batteries: a review
Vinodkumar Etacheri, Rotem Marom, Ran Elazari, Gregory Salitra and Doron Aurbach
DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01598B

Original research

Controlled synthesis of hierarchical CoxMn3−xO4 array micro-/nanostructures with tunable morphology and composition as integrated electrodes for lithium-ion batteries
Le Yu, Lei Zhang, Hao Bin Wu, Genqiang Zhang and Xiong Wen (David) Lou
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41181H

CuO/PVDF nanocomposite anode for a piezo-driven self-charging lithium battery
Xinyu Xue, Ping Deng, Shuang Yuan, Yuxin Nie, Bin He, Lili Xing and Yan Zhang
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41648H

Synthesis of Mo2N nanolayer coated MoO2 hollow nanostructures as high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries
Jun Liu, Shasha Tang, Yakun Lu, Gemei Cai, Shuquan Liang, Wenjun Wang and Xiaolong Chen
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41006D

Charge transport in lithium peroxide: relevance for rechargeable metal–air batteries
Maxwell D. Radin and Donald J. Siegel
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41632A

Towards high energy density sodium ion batteries through electrolyte optimization
Alexandre Ponrouch, Rémi Dedryvère, Damien Monti, Atif E. Demet, Jean Marcel Ateba Mba, Laurence Croguennec, Christian Masquelier, Patrik Johansson and M. Rosa Palacín
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE41379A

A membrane-free lithium/polysulfide semi-liquid battery for large-scale energy storage
Yuan Yang, Guangyuan Zheng and Yi Cui
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE00072A

Lithium metal fluorosulfate polymorphs as positive electrodes for Li-ion batteries: synthetic strategies and effect of cation ordering
Rajesh Tripathi, Guerman Popov, Brian L. Ellis, Ashfia Huq and L. F. Nazar
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03222H

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