Search results for dye sensitized – The Green Optimistic

Graphene Solar Cells Produce Electricity from Sun and Rain

Mila Luleva — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 16:03:13 +0000

Adding graphene to solar cells makes them generate power from rain. Solar power has been on a continuous rise over the past decade. Rooftop solar is arguably the most common renewable energy source for home use, and solar power plants are arguably the biggest renewable energy large scale generators. But, regardless of all this, there […]

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Hybrid Solar Cell Converts Both Light and Heat, Hits Record Efficiency

Mila Luleva — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 18:11:24 +0000

Scientists have developed the most efficient hybrid solar cell to date, which produces electricity from both heat and light. The concept of hybrid solar cells have been around for quite some time, with various scientific teams around the world trying to combine different materials in order to boost electricity generation of this already pretty efficient […]

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First Aqueous Solar Flow Battery Does Better Than Li-iodine

Mila Luleva — Tue, 04 Aug 2015 20:49:28 +0000

The world’s first aqueous solar flow battery has reached a major milestone- it outperforms lithium-iodine batteries. Solar cells that can also store energy were revealed last October by the team from Ohio State University (OSU). The design was pretty unique- it had three electrodes instead of four, a lithium plate base, thin sheet of carbon […]

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3D Graphene Replaces Platinum in Solar Cells, Brings Prices Down

Mila Luleva — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 18:15:11 +0000

Scientists from Michigan Technological University (MTU) developed 3D graphene, a material which has a great potential in replacing platinum, bringing down significantly the cost of conventional dye-sensitized solar cells. Graphene is no doubt a miracle material with numerous properties, many of which are not even discovered yet. It almost feels like scientists nowadays are pushing […]

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Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Could Help Hydrogen Fuel Cells Get Cheaper

Mila Luleva — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 06:35:36 +0000

Researchers from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea, developed a method, which provides cheap and environmentally friendly mean to create nitrogen-doped graphene nanoplatelets (NGnPs). The study published in the latest issue of Scientific Reports states that this technology could replace platinum-based catalysts used in dye-sensitized solar and fuel cells. Platinum-based […]

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Record Efficiency for Organic Solar Cells Obtained by Michael Gratzel

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:45:56 +0000

Michael Gratzel, the inventor of organic solar cells and a professor at EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) in Switzerland is hitting headlines again with the latest achievement in the field of organic photovoltaics: an efficiency figure of 15 percent. His new solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are two percent more efficient than the last […]

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New Dye for Organic Solar Cell Hits Record 11.9% Efficiency

Benji Jerew — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:13:44 +0000

Solar cells may be the cleanest energy source available, but they have one thing working against them, which is efficiency. Sure, there are some who have expanses of horizontal and vertical real-estate on which to put hundreds of square feet of solar cells, but they could be better. If a 10%-efficiency solar array on the […]

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Organic Solar Cells With Cobalt Electrolyte Outperforming Silicon PVs

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:44:10 +0000

There’s no way around it. Photovoltaics, while incredibly energy efficient, are expensive. In sharp contrast, dye-based solar cells seem to be a cheaper alternative to traditional solar cells. Looking especially promising are tandem cells made up of a conventional n-type and a p-type dye-sensitive solar cell. P-type cells are different than traditional n-type dye sensitive […]

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Water and Rust as Solar-Powered Hydrogen Storage

Mila Luleva — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:58:28 +0000

The journal Nature Photonics published an article that might hold the solution to storing solar energy regardless of the time of day. The technology that transforms light energy into hydrogen is developed and presented by a team of scientists from EPFL. Kevin Sivula and his team aimed to develop an economically viable method to produce […]

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New Type of Highly Efficient Grätzel-Like Solar Cells Don’t Leak

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:50:01 +0000

A research group from Northwestern University has unveiled a new type of dye-sensitized (organic) solar cell that is a technological leap forward and that will make Michael Grätzel proud of his invention. Their new solar cell is not more efficient, but lasts for longer in real life conditions. Current dye-sensitized solar cells use a liquid electrolyte. […]

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Usable Quantum Dot Solar Cells Finally Produced at NREL

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:33:22 +0000

A new type of solar cell developed by a team of researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, is able to harvest the energy that photovoltaic cells usually lose as heat. Although the efficiency is for now only 5 percent, the process could be improved in the future. The researchers led by […]

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New Organic Solar Cell Efficiency Record Obtained by Heliatek

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:22:18 +0000

A new efficiency record for organic photovoltaic cells has been reached by Heliatek, for the third time in a row. The German company created a cheap solar cell that can convert up to 9.8 percent of the incoming light into electricity. Heliatek’s new solar cell is made from oligomers, and differs from polymer and dye-sensitized […]

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Grätzel's New Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Cheaper and More Efficient

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:34:34 +0000

As our loyal readers already know, Michael Grätzel invented dye-sensitized solar cells 20 years ago, but, despite their low price, these organic cells have proved rather inefficient. However, Grätzel now found a solution for the cells to be cheaper and more efficient. Grätzel’s cells use organic dyes to absorb sunlight, which hits the titanium dioxide […]

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Improved Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Get More Efficient and Durable

Mike Sandru — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:52:04 +0000

Researchers at the University of Picardie Jules Verne in collaboration with those from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have announced a new discovery regarding the production of solar power. They have developed a new type of an electrolyte system for solar cells that makes them much more efficient for long periods. Their study has […]

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Gases Much More Potent Than CO2 Monitored By QUT Master Student’s Project

Mike Sandru — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:20:55 +0000

When you think about air pollution, the first thing popping into your head is probably carbon dioxide, and that is because i’s the most common pollutant. CO2 is actually less powerful than the trio formed by nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and ammonia (NH3). Coming from engines, various combustions, manure and fertilizers, these three […]

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MIT Engineered Virus Could Make Solar Cells More Efficient

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:52:42 +0000

Viruses are mostly seen as the bad side of nature, the fallen creation or just that unwanted flu during those sunny days when you were supposed to go play outside. For Angela Belcher viruses are working tools, since she and her MIT colleagues have just found a way to guide some of them so they make solar cells more efficient, by as much as a third.

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Molybdenum-Based Catalyst Discovered as Cheap Alternative to Platinum for Hydrogen Production

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:40:29 +0000

There have been many researchers seeking the perfect catalyst for dissociating water into hydrogen and oxygen. Xile Hu and his team from the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) in Switzerland have recently tinkered with a cheap catalyst made from molybdenum.

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Toothpaste-Inspired Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Gets Born at Oxford

Mike Sandru — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:52:59 +0000

According to the researchers, the glass can be produced in a range of different transparent colors for use in cladding buildings and windows. "It opens up a lot of versatility and a lot of possibilities for building design," said Dr Snaith.

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Wasps Convert Sunlight Into Electricity, Offering Inspiration For Organic Solar Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 21:12:35 +0000

An interesting observation on the way wasps live and how their body works led some UK and Israeli scientists to the conclusion that they may be harnessing solar power just like a photovoltaic solar cell.

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Tata Using Steel As Substrate For Cheap Solar Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:15:00 +0000

An economically-sound solution to solar power comes from Tata Steel's Corus and Swansea University researchers, who developed a technology that uses steel sheets for more efficient dye-sensitized solar cells.

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New Quantum Dot-Enabled Solar Cells Doubling Output Current With Same Lighting Conditions

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:05:28 +0000

Cost-efficient and energy-efficient solar cells could be right around the corner. These so-called "third-generation" photovoltaics begin to emerge nowadays and dismiss a theory stated in 1961 by William Shockley and Hans Queisser, who showed that there is a theoretical 31 percent limitation in what regards the maximum efficiency for a single solar cell.

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Rohm's 30% Efficient Indoor Organic Solar Cells Exhibited at Ceatec Japan 2010

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:41:34 +0000

Ceatec Japan 2010 hosted Rohm's new dye-sensitized solar cells that we were talking about a few months ago. Now, the Japanese company applied their plans to TV remotes, mice and sensors.

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Jellyfish Protein Serves as Organic Solar Cell; Could Be Used in Health Implants

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:45:56 +0000

Recently, Zackary Chiragwandi at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, and his colleagues have developed a solar cell based on a green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria.

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Stromatolites From Australia Give Clues on Infrared Light Harvesting for Solar Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:39:44 +0000

If we learned to fly from birds, and to swim from fish, then why shouldn't we learn to extract our energy like plants do? The Australian Shark Bay gives us a clue on how we could.

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How Zinc Oxide Nanostructures Improve Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Mircea Sandru — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:50:35 +0000

In the latest generation of dye-senzitised solar cells, a ZnO nanostructure works as a medium for electron transport and as a scaffold for light harvesting dyes.

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Japanese Company Suggests Use of Organic Solar Cells in Low Power Gadgets

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:55:03 +0000

Photovoltaic solar cells are often used in centralized power harvesting installations, generating large amounts of energy for use in the grid. Rohm Co Ltd, on the other hand, proposes the usage of organic photovoltaic solar cells (dye-sensitized cells) in small appliances and healthcare devices.

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Michael Grätzel Receives 800,000 Euros Millennium Technology Prize for Inventing Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:35:19 +0000

Michael Grätzel, one of the world’s most famous scientists and innovators in the field of solar power, has received the best prize any scientist could get in a lifetime, besides the Nobel: The Millennium Technology Prize, weighing 800,000 Euros. The most versatile and promising dye-sensitized solar cells bear his name today, after Grätzel, a respected […]

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Optical Fibers Mounted Upright on Organic Solar Cells Doubling Their Efficiency

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:46:05 +0000

Right now organic solar cells, although cheap, are too inefficient to compete with silicon-based ones. A team of researchers from Wake Forest University in North Carolina have developed a practical method of doubling the efficiency of organic (or dye-sensitized) solar cells by adding a layer of upright optical fibers acting as sunlight traps.

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Among Many Uses Gold Nanoparticles Could Help Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:39:54 +0000

Gold nanoparticles could be used to make better Graetzel solar cells, among others, as a Queensland University of Technology scientist claims to have discovered.

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Graphene Flakes With Attached Brushes Improving Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:38:09 +0000

Until now, graphene could have theoretically been incorporated into the dye used to make the Graetzel cell to improve its efficiency, but what stopped the scientists to do that was that it always clumped together, forming graphite, which is of no use for a solar cell.

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DIY: How to Make a Solar Cell at Home From Readily Available Stuff and… Blackberries

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:56:35 +0000

A very neat experiment that anyone with some skills can do in the garage or kitchen is creating a solar cell out of blackberry juice and titanium dioxide (and several other components).

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Chemistry Professor Innovation Making Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells More Efficient and Durable

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:56:21 +0000

Dye-sensitized (Graetzel) solar cells have been in the spot of many minds since they were first created in early ’90s by Michael Graetzel, from EPFL, Switzerland. Until now, dye-sensitized solar cells only proved to be cheap, but also inefficient. New technologies are expected to improve their performances. Graetzel cells work on the same principle photosynthesis […]

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Coral-Shaped Nanomaterials Making Great Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:12:43 +0000

Coral shaped nanomaterials could help scientists make more efficient solar cells. A team of chinese researchers, led by Jinhuai Liu at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, changed the structure of tin oxide to serve various purposes in solar cells, batteries, gas sensors and other devices.

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Optical Fiber Solar Cells: Cheap, Flexible, Six Times More Efficient

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:51:04 +0000

Georgia Tech researchers have developed a system that uses dye-sensitized (GrÃƒÆ’¤tzel) solar cells wrapped around optical fibers to increase their overall efficiency, since it's known GrÃƒÆ’¤tzel cells are not very efficient. The fiber solar cells they obtained are 6 times more efficient than zinc-oxide solar cells having the same area.

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G24 Innovations Sells Grätzel's Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells for the First Time

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:23:10 +0000

Dye-sensitized solar cells, or Grätzel cells, have been invented by Michael Grätzel in 1991. Grätzel is a chemistry professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, and since now they didn’t have any commercial purpose, being developed just for research. The first company who is about to commercialize Grätzel’s cells is G24 Innovations, […]

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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Got Better by Using Ionic Salts

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:43:51 +0000

A group of researchers from the Universidad Pablo de Olavide, in Seville, Spain, led by Juan Antonio Anta, are working on optimizing Grätzel solar cells by incorporating ionic salts, known as green solvents, with a view to preventing evaporation of the liquid compounds and the consequent reduction in efficiency. Grätzel (dye-sensitized) cells work by using […]

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Thin-Film Panchromatic Solar Cells: Next Generation of Solar Efficiency

Cristi — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:07:05 +0000

A Korean team led by Nam-Gyu Park has recently made a breakthrough discovery in solar cell development. This discovery will not only increase the efficiency of thin-film panchromatic solar cells but as well the use of clean and reusable energy on the entire globe.

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Unexpected Discovery Brings Three Times More Solar Power

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:52:28 +0000

Sometimes, what we get is not what we expect - at all. For example, a team of scientists from Northeastern University and from NIST discovered by mistake how to produce more solar power by using the residue of a process used to build arrays of titania nanotubes. Now, physorg.com interprets this invention through the perspective of better hydrogen production, but improving the solar power capturing ability gives a lot more useful applications than only that of hydrogen production.

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DIY Solar Cell from Tea and Donuts

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:22:59 +0000

The Holy Grail of energy has been, is, and will be the solar power. Numerous solutions of converting solar power have existed along the centuries, and people have always used the Sun to power things up, except for the last hundred years or so - that's the main reason we all got into troubles with mother nature.

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Tiny Dead Marine Cells Helping Us Create Better Solar Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:21:01 +0000

Using microscopic creatures as our friends is not a new idea, not it has been used recently. Nowadays, pushed by our green energy needs, we have to find solutions by using and probably killing some of our little friends to make us energy. This phrase sounded like the madhouse, now let's get to the real subject.

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Japanese Optical Fiber Solar Cell Harvesting Infrared

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 06:01:34 +0000

New types of solar cells emerge every month, but this particular kind has caught my attention, not due to its efficiency (approx 1%), but to the idea that conceived it.

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Butterfly Wings Have Solar Cells Inside: Inspiration for Scientists

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:21:47 +0000

The researchers studied the butterfly wings, using them as molds or templates. They made copies of the butterflies' solar collectors, and transferred the light-harvesting structures to classic GrÃƒÆ’¤tzel (or dye-sensitized) cells.

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New Type of Much More Stable Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Discovered

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:26:42 +0000

There have already been invented dye-based solar cells, and their efficiency is as high as 75%, but the inorganic material that the dye is made of is instable in outside functioning conditions, and possibly harmful to the environment.

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Nanotube Solar Cells Improve Efficiency 10 Times

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:45:59 +0000

Nanotechnology seems to help a lot in solar cells improvement. Recent research in solar cell technology shows that a film of carbon nanotubes could replace two of the layers normally used in a solar cell, with improved performance and reduced costs.

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