EES Blog

Crystallinity is essential for organic photovoltaic devices

12 Jul 2012

Scientists in the US have investigated the influence of a polymer’s crystallinity [P(VDF-TrFE)] on its function in ferroelectric photovoltaic devices by comparing crystalline and amorphous phases.

The team’s results showed that the highly crystalline polymer film is needed for enhanced power conversion efficiency, because only crystalline P(VDF-TrFE) is ferroelectric.

The method, they say, could be applied to many other devices, such as organic solar cells with low bandgap polymers, tandem solar cells, organic light emitting diodes, organic field effect transistors and organic bistable memories.

Read the ‘HOT’ EES article today:

Understanding the effect of ferroelectric polarization on power conversion efficiency of organic photovoltaic devices
Y Yuan et al, Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/c2ee22098a

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EES Poster Prizes: IGEC-DCCE

12 Jul 2012

By Aliya Anwar.

EES are delighted to announce Tao Liu, (Insitute of Chemical Physics, China) and Abdelaziz Emad Atabani, (University of Malaya, Malaya) as Poster Prize winners at the 7th International Green Energy & 1st DNL Conference on Clean Energy (IGEC-DCCE) which took place at Dalian, China in May 2012.

Attendees of the The 7th International Green Energy Conference & The 1st DNL Conference on Clean Energy (IGEC-DCCE)

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Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer themed issue 7 now online!

12 Jul 2012

By Aliya Anwar.

Energy & Environmental Science’s issue 7 is now online and includes a collection of articles on the theme of Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer, Guest Edited by Marc Robert and Dr Elodie Anxolabéhère-Mallart (Université Paris Diderot). You can read the full themed issue here.

PCET

Issue 7’s themed collection contains articles of interest such as the Editorial by Marc Robert Proton-coupled electron transfer and the following feature Perspectives:

Perspectives

Proton-coupled electron transfer: classification scheme and guide to theoretical methods
Sharon Hammes-Schiffer
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03361E
The role of proton coupled electron transfer in water oxidation
Christopher J. Gagliardi, Aaron K. Vannucci, Javier J. Concepcion, Zuofeng Chen and Thomas J. Meyer
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03311A
Electrochemical approach to proton-coupled electron transfers: recent advances
Jean-Michel Savéant
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03241D

The outside front cover features a Communication on the Pyrolytic conversion of cellulose to fuels: levoglucosan deoxygenation via elimination and cyclization within molten biomass by Matthew S. Mettler, Alex D. Paulsen, Dionisios G. Vlachos and Paul J. Dauenhauer.

Towards solution processed all-carbon solar cells: a perspective is the Perspective highlighted on the inside front cover by Vincent C. Tung, Jen-Hsien Huang, Jaemyung Kim, Alexander J. Smith, Chih-Wei Chu and Jiaxing Huang.

Issue 7 also includes other articles of from the journal’s broad scope including these Review and Perspective articles:

Air as the renewable carbon source of the future: an overview of CO₂ capture from the atmosphere
Alain Goeppert, Miklos Czaun, G. K. Surya Prakash and George A. Olah
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21586A
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
Post-processing pathways in carbon capture and storage by mineral carbonation (CCSM) towards the introduction of carbon neutral materials
Aimaro Sanna, Matthew R. Hall and Mercedes Maroto-Valer
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03455G
Top ten fundamental challenges of biomass pyrolysis for biofuels
Matthew S. Mettler, Dionisios G. Vlachos and Paul J. Dauenhauer
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21679E
Conjugated porous polymers for energy applications
Filipe Vilela , Kai Zhang and Markus Antonietti
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22002D

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Sorption enhanced steam reforming of ethanol on multifunctional catalysts

09 Jul 2012

By Jane Hordern, Deputy Editor.

Scientists in China describe the synthesis of Ni–CaO–Al₂O₃ multifunctional catalysts from hydrotalcite-like precursors for sorption enhanced steam reforming of ethanol to produce hydrogen.

Read the EES ‘HOT’ paper hot off the press:

Sorption enhanced steam reforming of ethanol on Ni–CaO–Al₂O₃ multifunctional catalysts derived from hydrotalcite-like compounds
Gaowei Wu, Chengxi Zhang, Shuirong Li, Zhiqi Huang, Suli Yan, Shengping Wang, Xinbin Ma and Jinlong Gong
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21995F

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Top 10 most-read EES articles in May

03 Jul 2012

By Aliya Anwar.

This month sees the following articles in EES that are in the top ten most accessed in May:

Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security
Mark Z. Jacobson
Energy Environ. Sci., 2009, 2, 148-173
DOI: 10.1039/B809990C

A polymer electrolyte-skinned active material strategy toward high-voltage lithium ion batteries: a polyimide-coated LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄spinel cathode material case
Ju-Hyun Cho, Jang-Hoon Park, Myeong-Hee Lee, Hyun-Kon Song and Sang-Young Lee
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 7124-7131
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03389E

Growth of ultrathin mesoporous Co₃O₄ nanosheet arrays on Ni foam for high-performance electrochemical capacitors
Changzhou Yuan, Long Yang, Linrui Hou, Laifa Shen, Xiaogang Zhang and Xiong Wen (David) Lou
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 7883-7887
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21745G

Seed-assisted synthesis of highly ordered TiO₂@α-Fe₂O₃ core/shell arrays on carbon textiles for lithium-ion battery applications
Yongsong Luo, Jingshan Luo, Jian Jiang, Weiwei Zhou, Huanping Yang, Xiaoying Qi, Hua Zhang, Hong Jin Fan, Denis Y. W. Yu, Chang Ming Li and Ting Yu
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 6559-6566
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03396H

Carbon dioxide—a themed issue
Frederik C. Krebs
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 7238-7239
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE90018A

Trends in patent applications for dye-sensitized solar cells
Henrik Pettersson, Kazuteru Nonomura, Lars Kloo and Anders Hagfeldt
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 7376-7380
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03323B

Butterflies: inspiration for solar cells and sunlight water-splitting catalysts
Shuai Lou, Xingmei Guo, Tongxiang Fan and Di Zhang
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE03595B

Rechargeable Li–O₂ batteries with a covalently coupled MnCo₂O₄–graphene hybrid as an oxygen cathode catalyst
Hailiang Wang, Yuan Yang, Yongye Liang, Guangyuan Zheng, Yanguang Li, Yi Cui and Hongjie Dai
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 7931-7935
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21746E

High efficiency polymer solar cells based on poly(3-hexylthiophene)/indene-C₇₀ bisadduct with solvent additive
Xia Guo, Chaohua Cui, Maojie Zhang, Lijun Huo, Ye Huang, Jianhui Hou and Yongfang Li
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, 5, 7943-7949
DOI: 10.1039/C2EE21481D

Graphene based new energy materials
Yiqing Sun, Qiong Wu and Gaoquan Shi
Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 1113-1132
DOI: 10.1039/C0EE00683A

Why not take a look at the articles today and blog your thoughts and comments below

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

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Conjugated polyelectrolyte solar cell: efficiency 8.4%

02 Jul 2012

By Jane Hordern, Deputy Editor.

HOT Communication – Inverted polymer solar cells with high efficiency

Inverted polymer solar cells with 8.4% efficiency was demonstrated by using conjugated polyelectrolyte to re-engineer the electron extraction layer.

Read the full Communication in EES:

Inverted polymer solar cells with 8.4% efficiency by conjugated polyelectrolyte
Tingbin Yang, Ming Wang, Chunhui Duan, Xiaowen Hu, Lin Huang, Junbiao Peng, Fei Huang and Xiong Gong
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22296E

solar cell

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EES remains #1 with new Impact Factor of 9.6

29 Jun 2012

By Jane Hordern, Deputy Editor.

New citation data released by Thomson ISI shows the latest (2011) Impact Factor of Energy & Environmental Science to be 9.610.

This increase means Energy & Environmental Science remains the #1 ranking journal (of all 205 journals) in its ISI subject category.

This great news demonstrates that the journal continues to attract and publish outstanding research, which appeals to its community-spanning international readership.

We wish to thank all our Board members, authors and referees for their continuing support – Energy & Environmental Science is your journal.

Please do continue to submit your best work to Energy & Environmental Science. We look forward to further success in the months and years ahead.

With our best wishes,

Energy & Environmental Science Editorial Office

Find out how RSC journals are ranked in the latest Impact Factor release.

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Smart windows store sun’s energy

22 Jun 2012

By Aliya Anwar.

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

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Using beer to get high value fuel precursors from ethanol

20 Jun 2012

By Jane Hordern, Deputy Editor.

US scientists have used beer fermentation broth to upgrade ethanol to higher value products for the fuel industry, rather than distilling the ethanol itself.

Distilling ethanol in the biofuel industry is energetically expensive because ethanol is completely miscible in water. So, the team decided to upgrade it into a hydrophobic chemical that’s easier to separate, and of higher value.

They did it by shaping a reactor microbiome to sequentially elongate carboxylic acids with 2-carbon units from dilute ethanol in yeast fermentation beer. The continuous bioprocess produced n-caproic acid, a 6-carbon chain carboxylic acid that’s more valuable than ethanol.

In-line product extraction achieved an n-caproic acid production rate exceeding two grams per litre of reactor volume per day, which is comparable to established bioenergy systems with microbiomes, they say. Incorporation of other organics found in beer increased the mass of carbon in n-caproic acid by 10% compared to ethanol, they add.

Read this ‘HOT’ EES Communication:

Chain elongation with reactor microbiomes: upgrading dilute ethanol to medium-chain carboxylates
Matthew T Agler, Catherine M Spirito, Joseph G Usack, Jeffrey J Werner and Lars Angenent
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22101B

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Optimised electrolyte for Na-ion batteries

20 Jun 2012

By Jane Hordern, Deputy Editor.

Scientists in Spain have carried out a comparative survey of different electrolytes prepared using several different solvents and in combination with different Na salts, namely NaClO₄, NaPF₆ and NaTFSI.

They found that NaPF₆in ethylene carbonate:propylene carbonate is the best electrolyte for performance and it fulfils all present safety considerations.

With this electrolyte, the team achieved capacities of ca. 200mAh/g and over 180 cycles.

Read the EES ‘HOT’ article today:

In search of an optimized electrolyte for Na-ion batteries
Alexandre Ponrouch, Elena Marchante, Matthieu Courty, Jean-Marie Tarascon and M. Rosa Palacín
Energy Environ. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2EE22258B,

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Crystallinity is essential for organic photovoltaic devices

EES Poster Prizes: IGEC-DCCE

Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer themed issue 7 now online!

Sorption enhanced steam reforming of ethanol on multifunctional catalysts

Top 10 most-read EES articles in May

Conjugated polyelectrolyte solar cell: efficiency 8.4%

EES remains #1 with new Impact Factor of 9.6

Smart windows store sun’s energy

Using beer to get high value fuel precursors from ethanol

Optimised electrolyte for Na-ion batteries

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