energy – Page 3 – Lightsources.org

2017’s Top-10 Discoveries and Scientific Achievements

2017/12/272018/01/31

Each year we compile a list of the biggest advances made by scientists, engineers, and those who support their work at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. From unraveling new details of the particle soup that filled the early universe to designing improvements for batteries, x-ray imaging, and even glass, this year’s selections span a spectrum of size scales and fields of science. Read on for a recap of what our passion for discovery has uncovered this year. (…)

4. Low-Temperature Hydrogen Catalyst

Brookhaven chemists conducted essential studies to decipher the details of a new low-temperature catalyst for producing high-purity hydrogen gas. Developed by collaborators at Peking University, the catalyst operates at low temperature and pressure, and could be particularly useful in fuel-cell-powered cars. The Brookhaven team analyzed the catalyst as it was operating under industrial conditions using x-ray diffraction at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). These operando experiments revealed how the configuration of atoms changed under different operating conditions, including at different temperatures. The team then used those structural details to develop models and a theoretical framework to explain why the catalyst works so well, using computational resources at Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN).

>Read more on the NSLS-II website

New Catalyst Gives Artificial Photosynthesis a Big Boost

2017/11/292017/12/07

Inspired by plants: Inorganic catalyst converts electrical energy to chemical energy at 64% efficiency

Researchers have created a new catalyst that brings them one step closer to artificial photosynthesis — a system that would use renewable energy to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) into stored chemical energy.

As in plants, their system consists of two linked chemical reactions: one that splits water (H₂O) into protons and oxygen gas, and another that converts CO₂ into carbon monoxide (CO). The CO can then be converted into hydrocarbon fuels through an established industrial process. The system would allow both the capture of carbon emissions and the storage of energy from solar or wind power.

Yufeng Liang and David Prendergast – scientists at the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscale research facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) – performed theoretical modeling work used to interpret X-ray spectroscopy measurements made in the study, published Nov. 20 in Nature Chemistry. This work was done in support of a project originally proposed by the University of Toronto team to the Molecular Foundry, a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

>Read more on the ALS website

Image: Phil De Luna of University of Toronto is one of the lead authors of a new study that reports a low-cost, highly efficient catalyst for chemical conversion of water into oxygen. The catalyst is part of an artificial photosynthesis system in development at the University of Toronto.
Credit: Tyler Irving/University of Toronto

Antiferromagnetic dysprosium reveals magnetic switching with less energy

2017/11/062017/11/13

HZB scientists have identified a mechanism with which it may be possible to develop a form of magnetic storage that is faster and more energy-efficient.

They compared how different forms of magnetic ordering in the rare-earth metal named dysprosium react to a short laser pulse. They discovered that the magnetic orientation can be altered much faster and with considerably less energy if the magnetic moments of the individual atoms do not all point in the same direction (ferromagnetism), but instead point are rotated against each other (anti-ferromagnetism). The study was published in Physical Review letters on 6. November 2017 and on the cover of the print edition.

Dysprosium is not only the atomic element with the strongest magnetic moments, but it also possesses another interesting property: its magnetic moments point either all the same direction (ferromagnetism) or are tilted against each other, depending on the temperature. This makes it possible to investigate in the very same sample how differently oriented magnetic moments behave when they are excited by an external energy pulse.

Image: A short laser pulse pertubates magnetic order in dysprosium. This happens much faster if the sample had a antiferromagnetic order (left) compared to ferromagnetic order (right). Credit: HZB

Approved! The EU INFINITE-CELL project

2017/11/012017/11/13

A large EU-sponsored research project on tandem solar cells in which HZB is participating begins in November 2017.

The goal is to combine thin-film semiconductors made of silicon and kesterites into especially cost-effective tandem cells having efficiencies of over 20 per cent. Several large research institutions from Europe, Morocco, the Republic of South Africa, and Belarus will be working on the project, as well as two partners from industry.

“We not only have detailed experience with kesterite thin films, but also a wide spectrum of analytical methods at our disposal to characterise absorber materials very thoroughly”, explains Prof. Susan Schorr. The FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE RECERCA DE L’ENERGIA DE CATALUNYA (IREC), Spain – a long-term collaborating partner of the HZB, is coordinating the entire project. The project begins with a kick-off workshop in Brussels in November 2017.

HZB launches the HI-SCORE international research school in collaboration with Israel

2017/10/232017/11/13

The Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin is establishing the Helmholtz International Research School HI-SCORE, which will be oriented towards solar energy research.

To accomplish this, HZB is collaborating with the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, the Israeli Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa, and three Israeli universities as well as universities in Berlin and Potsdam. The project is being funded by the Helmholtz Association.

The name “HI-SCORE” stands for “Hybrid Integrated Systems for Conversion of Solar Energy”. The research themes extend from novel solar cells based on metal-organic perovskites, to tandem solar cells, to complex systems of materials for generating solar fuels. These complex materials systems can convert the energy of sunlight to chemical energy so it can be easily stored in the form of fuel.

Joining forces to advance perovskite solar cells

2017/10/202017/11/16

Great Interest in the HySPRINT Industry Day

No fewer than 70 participants attended the first Industry Day of the Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT devoted to the topic of perovskite solar cells at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) on 13 October 2017. This far exceeded the expectations of the event hosts. The knowledge shared on Industry Day will serve as the basis for deepening the collaboration even further with strategically important companies in the scope of HySPRINT.

“Seeing the industry partners’ active participation was very gratifying. We could feel in the lively discussions how there is great interest on both sides to collaborate even more closely on technology transfer,” says Dr. Stefan Gall, project manager of the Helmholtz Innovation Lab HySPRINT (“Hybrid Silicon Perovskite Research, Integration & Novel Technologies”). On the Industry Day, eight companies presented those topics that especially interest them. “From this, certain problems emerged that we are now going to work on targetedly with our industrial partners.”