EES Blog

Period heat source gives thermoelectric power a boost: EES article in Chemistry World

21 Mar 2013

Scientists in the US have found a way to improve the efficiency of thermoelectric power generators (TPGs) – devices designed to convert heat directly into electricity.

TPGs require a heat source, a thermoelectric material that converts heat to electricity, and a power generator. Such devices could be used to recycle heat from power plants or motor vehicles, and could even find use in solar energy conversion. Current research is focused on improving the conversion efficiency of thermoelectric materials but, to date, all proposed designs are either difficult to scale up or uneconomical to produce commercially. Yan Yan and Jonathan Malen at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are aiming to solve these problems and have instead focused on changing the type of heat source used.

© Shutterstock

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

Periodic heating amplifies the efficiency of thermoelectric energy conversion
Yan Yan and Jonathan A. Malen
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013,6, 1267-1273
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24158K

Comments Off on Period heat source gives thermoelectric power a boost: EES article in Chemistry World

New EES Advisory Board Member: Dr Chris McNeill

20 Mar 2013

By Heather Montgomery, Deputy Editor.

We are pleased to announce that Dr Chris McNeill of Monash University in Australia has joined the Advisory Board of Energy & Environmental Science.

Chris obtained his Bachelor of Mathematics, Bachelor Science with Honours and PhD from the University of Newcastle, UK. He spent six years at the University of Cambridge, UK, as a Research Associate and an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow, before taking up his position as Senior Lecturer and Future Fellow with the Department of Materials Engineering at Monash in 2011.

His research interests include organic semiconductor device physics, polymer solar cells, organic field-effect transistors, structural properties of organic semiconductor films and synchrotron-based soft x-ray techniques.

Chris’ recent EES Perspective on all-polymer solar cells has been well received by the community – do take a look at this fascinating overview of the field:

Morphology of all-polymer solar cells
Christopher R. McNeill
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 5653-5667
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03071C

Comments Off on New EES Advisory Board Member: Dr Chris McNeill

11th International Conference on Materials Chemistry (MC11): registration now open

20 Mar 2013

By Rowan Frame, Commissioning Editor.

MC11

We are delighted to announce that registration for the 11^th International Conference on Materials Chemistry (MC11) is now open.

Why take part in this conference?

In the 20th year of this international Materials Chemistry conference series, this meeting will bring together researchers from across this exciting field to discuss four key areas of application of materials chemistry:

Energy Materials – including all aspects of Materials Chemistry related to energy generation, conversion and storage.
Environmental Materials – the design, synthesis and applications of materials that facilitate processes to provide a sustainable environment.
Biomaterials – materials for tissue engineering and healthcare, green biomaterials and advanced synthesis methods of biomaterials.
Electronic, Magnetic and Optical Materials – encompassing inorganic, organic, hybrid and nano materials, soft matter and interfaces.

Registering early guarantees you an early bird discount of £50 – so register now. . And you can showcase your own work by presenting a poster.

MC11 will appeal to academic and industrial scientists working on the chemistry, physics and materials science of functional materials. Come and hear the best in the field and take advantage of many opportunities for discussion with other researchers in materials chemistry.

For more information visit: http://rsc.li/mc11

Comments Off on 11th International Conference on Materials Chemistry (MC11): registration now open

Nitrogen’s role in electrocatalysts

18 Mar 2013

By Heather Montgomery, Deputy Editor.

Nitrogen doping of carbon-supported electrocatalysts is known to lead to a performance boost, although the reason why has not been clearly understood. This fascinating Energy and Environmental Science article contributes to a greater understanding of the effect.

Using principal component analysis (PCA) of electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) data, scientists from the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO in the USA, have made a direct observation between spatial relationship between a carbon-supported metal catalyst nanoparticle and surface-adsorbed nitrogen.

The study correlates improved catalyst-support interactions with high substrate nitrogen content in the immediate proximity of stabilised nanoparticles. The insights are applied to a prototype methanol fuel cell, which benefits in terms of performance and long-term stability.

Read the full details of this exciting work today:

Nitrogen: Unraveling the secret to stable carbon-supported Pt-alloy electrocatalysts
Svitlana Pylypenko, Albina Borisevich, Karren L More, April Corpuz, Timothy Holme, Arrelaine Dameron, Timothy Olson, Huyen Dinh, Thomas Gennett and Ryan O’Hayre
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40189H

Comments Off on Nitrogen’s role in electrocatalysts

Pulsed heat sources make thermoelectric devices more efficient

18 Mar 2013

By Heather Montgomery, Deputy Editor.

Scientists studying how thermoelectric power generators can be used to ‘scavenge’ electricity from waste industrial heat have discovered that the devices work more efficiently when they are pulsed with periodic waves of heat, rather than subjected to a constant heat source.

Thermoelectric generators convert heat into electricity directly, and do not feature any moving parts. They show great promise for electricity generation in factories, power plants, cars and even with solar conversion reactions.

A great deal of research effort has gone into enhancing the efficiency of the devices, but this approach represents a cost-effective route towards even better performance.

Read the full details of this exciting development:

Periodic heating amplifies the efficiency of thermoelectric energy conversion
Yan Yan and Jonathan A. Malen
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24158K

Table of contents image

Comments Off on Pulsed heat sources make thermoelectric devices more efficient

High-capacity MOF shows clean fuel promise: EES article in Chemistry World

12 Mar 2013

By Hannah Porter, Publishing Assistant.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) could be the answer to the problem. These materials – which comprise metal ions connected by organic linkers – are able to store high quantities of gas at lower pressures than are required by traditional gas cylinders, for example. But their low capacity and the scale on which they can be synthesised have prevented their practical use so far.

Vehicles powered by natural gas are cleaner than those running on petrol, and are of increasing interest to those living in countries that have to import oil. But the high pressures at which gas must be stored require expensive materials and distribution infrastructures, as well as radically different vehicle designs.

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

Read the article from EES:

Gram-scale, high-yield synthesis of a robust metal–organic framework for storing methane and other gases
Christopher E. Wilmer , Omar K. Farha , Taner Yildirim , Ibrahim Eryazici , Vaiva Krungleviciute , Amy A. Sarjeant , Randall Q. Snurr and Joseph T. Hupp
Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, Advance Article
DOI:10.1039/C3EE24506C

Comments Off on High-capacity MOF shows clean fuel promise: EES article in Chemistry World

Themed issue on solar fuels in Chemical Society Reviews

07 Mar 2013

By Rowan Frame, Commissioning Editor.

solar fuels

Take a look at Issue 6 of Chemical Society Reviews, which is themed and online.

This exciting collection on solar fuels was guest edited by Siddharth Dasgupta, Bruce S. Brunschwig, Jay R. Winkler and Energy & Environmental Science Advisory Board member Harry B. Gray. The themed issue also includes a contribution from Energy & Environmental Science Advisory Board member Jeffrey Long.

Some highlights of this issue include:

Solar fuels editorial
Siddharth Dasgupta, Bruce S. Brunschwig, Jay R. Winkler and Harry B. Gray
DOI: 10.1039/C3CS90016A

Comparison of primary oxidants for water-oxidation catalysis
Yeonji Oh and Xile Hu
DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35276A

Organic molecules as mediators and catalysts for photocatalytic and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction oxidants for water-oxidation catalysis
Alexander R. Parent, Robert H. Crabtree and Gary W. Brudvig
DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35225G

Complexes of earth-abundant metals for catalytic electrochemical hydrogen generation under aqueous conditions
V. Sara Thoi, Yujie Sun, Jeffrey R. Long and Christopher J. Chang
DOI: 10.1039/C2CS35272A

If you enjoyed this themed issue, you might also enjoy Energy & Environmental Science‘s themed collections on recent advances in solar energy conversion and utilization, and on solar energy.

Comments Off on Themed issue on solar fuels in Chemical Society Reviews

World Energy Council launches “Tomorrow’s Energy Prize” for 2013 World Energy Congress

07 Mar 2013

By Heather Montgomery, Deputy Editor.

Leading experts invited to submit on future of energy to win one of 6 US$10,000 prizes

The World Energy Council has officially launched the “Tomorrow’s Energy Prize”, a US$60,000 competition to recognise the most outstanding papers submitted to the World Energy Congress, which takes place in Daegu, Korea, from 13 to 17 October 2013.

Submissions are invited from global experts in their respective fields. The prize covers six categories under the World Energy Congress’ 2013 theme: “Securing Tomorrow’s Energy Today”. The Daegu 2013 Organizing Committee encourages authors to provide their insights on a topic relating to any one of the World Energy Council’s six main activity areas:

Exploring World Energy Scenarios
Surveying World Energy Resources and Technologies
Assessing the Energy Trilemma: The trade-offs between energy security, social equity and environmental impact
Improving Energy Access: the food, energy and water connection
Promoting Energy and Urban Innovation
Shaping Global Energy Frameworks and Governance

The winning paper in each category will receive US$10,000.

The deadline for submissions is 31 March.

Further information for potential authors can be found at the official Congress website www.daegu2013.kr. Direct enquiries can be made to Ms Charlotte Connick at connick@worldenergy.org or to Mr Yonghyuk Choi at yong@daegu2013.kr.

Comments Off on World Energy Council launches “Tomorrow’s Energy Prize” for 2013 World Energy Congress

Bio-inspired artificial light-harvesting antennas in dye-sensitized solar cells

07 Mar 2013

By Rowan Frame, Commissioning Editor.

In their recent EES Perspective, Odobel, Pellegrin and Warnan provide an extensive and balanced overview of various bio-inspired systems that utilize the antenna effect to improve light absorption in both liquid and solid state dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs).

Antenna effect to enhance solar energy capture in dye-sensitised solar cells

In Nature, the optimization of light capture occurs via special molecular units, called light harvesting antennas. These light harvesting antenna collect the incident photons with several different pigments and funnel them by efficient energy transfer to a single molecular unit, which triggers a photo-induced electron transfer chain.

Molecular dyes display discrete absorption bands making it difficult to achieve panchromatic absorption with a single dye. By using a combination of different dyes with complementary absorption spectra in absorbing units, mimicking the light harvesting antenna of natural photosynthetic systems, it is possible to extend the absorbance of DSCs.

As light absorption is the primary step in any photovoltaic device, panchromatic light collection is fundamental to maximize the efficiency of a solar cell. A lot of work has been performed in the last few years on the possibility of improving the light collecting efficiency of DSCs by exploiting the antenna effect. This excellent perspective highlights how new and innovative multi-chromophoric sensitizers can effectively broaden and enhance the absorption cross-section enabling higher photocurrent density in solar cells.

For an up-do-date picture of this exciting field, read this perspective article today:

Bio-inspired artificial light-harvesting antennas to enhance solar energy capture in dye-sensitized solar cells
Fabrice Odobel, Yann Pellegrin and Julien Warnan
DOI: 10.1039/C3EE24229C

Comments Off on Bio-inspired artificial light-harvesting antennas in dye-sensitized solar cells

Period heat source gives thermoelectric power a boost: EES article in Chemistry World

New EES Advisory Board Member: Dr Chris McNeill

11th International Conference on Materials Chemistry (MC11): registration now open

Top 10 most-read EES articles in January

Nitrogen’s role in electrocatalysts

Pulsed heat sources make thermoelectric devices more efficient

High-capacity MOF shows clean fuel promise: EES article in Chemistry World

Themed issue on solar fuels in Chemical Society Reviews

World Energy Council launches “Tomorrow’s Energy Prize” for 2013 World Energy Congress

Bio-inspired artificial light-harvesting antennas in dye-sensitized solar cells

Links

Categories

Archives

Meta