Wallpaper could power homes

[Legion Troll]

A new study carried out by researchers from the Advanced Technology Institute claims that it is possible to manipulate graphene to create the most light-absorbent, nanometer-thin material for its weight, to date.

According to researchers, smart wallpaper made from this material could power homes in the future. Moreover, 'smart wallpaper' would be able to generate electricity from waste heat or light.

To create the paper-like panels, researchers got inspiration from the design of moth eyes. They observed that the moth eyes have microscopic patterns whose main role is to filter light towards the centre. In this way, moth eyes can absorb maximum amount of light and can see in the dark. Researchers copied the design of moth eyes to make the ultra-efficient panels.

Scientists used nanotexturing technique to grow graphene around a textured metallic surface. The ultra-thin graphene sheets created in this way were found to be more effectively in capturing light.

Graphene is just one atom thick, very strong, but traditionally inefficient in absorbing light.

"Nature has evolved simple yet powerful adaptations, from which we have taken inspiration in order to answer challenges of future technologies." explained Professor Ravi Silva, Head of the Advanced Technology Institute.

"Moths' eyes have microscopic patterning that allows them to see in the dimmest conditions. These work by channeling light towards the middle of the eye, with the added benefit of eliminating reflections, which would otherwise alert predators of their location. We have used the same technique to make an amazingly thin, efficient, light-absorbent material by patterning graphene in a similar fashion."

The detailed findings of the study have been published in Science Advances.


http://www.biztekmojo.com/002124/most-light-absorbent-material-made-graphene-could-power-future-smart-technologies

 

[cancel2 2022]

Graphene, another great British discovery! Must fly now off to a great club in Loei with the missus.

 

[Legion Troll]

Graphene, another great British discovery! Must fly now off to a great club in Loei with the missus.

Hopefully you will be fatally injured en route or murdered by a patron whilst you're there.

The Graphene Flagship project was a €1 billion initiative of the European Commission and the leading scientists were Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim.

How veddy British.

Remind me, didn't you say:

We are heartily sick of the EU and wish to throw off its shackles come June. I voted to stay in last time but realise now that that the aim of the EU is to become a federal superstate controlled from Brussels by the Germans.

So you're hardly in any position to claim sole credit for an EU-financed success, are you?

 

[Legion Troll]

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Researchers created solar cells which are as light as the soap bubbles.

Imagine solar cells so thin, flexible, and lightweight that they could be placed on almost any material or surface, including your hat, shirt, or smartphone, or even on a sheet of paper or a helium balloon.

Researchers at MIT have now demonstrated just such a technology: the thinnest, lightest solar cells ever produced. Though it may take years to develop into a commercial product, the laboratory proof-of-concept shows a new approach to making solar cells that could help power the next generation of portable electronic devices.

The new process is described in a paper by MIT professor Vladimir Bulović, research scientist Annie Wang, and doctoral student Joel Jean, in the journal Organic Electronics.

Bulović, MIT’s associate dean for innovation and the Fariborz Maseeh (1990) Professor of Emerging Technology, says the key to the new approach is to make the solar cell, the substrate that supports it, and a protective overcoating to shield it from the environment, all in one process.

The substrate is made in place and never needs to be handled, cleaned, or removed from the vacuum during fabrication, thus minimizing exposure to dust or other contaminants that could degrade the cell’s performance. “The innovative step is the realization that you can grow the substrate at the same time as you grow the device,” Bulović says.

In this initial proof-of-concept experiment, the team used a common flexible polymer called parylene as both the substrate and the overcoating, and an organic material called DBP as the primary light-absorbing layer. Parylene is a commercially available plastic coating used widely to protect implanted biomedical devices and printed circuit boards from environmental damage.

The entire process takes place in a vacuum chamber at room temperature and without the use of any solvents, unlike conventional solar-cell manufacturing, which requires high temperatures and harsh chemicals.

In this case, both the substrate and the solar cell are “grown” using established vapor deposition techniques.

One process, many materials. The team emphasizes that these particular choices of materials were just examples, and that it is the in-line substrate manufacturing process that is the key innovation.

Different materials could be used for the substrate and encapsulation layers, and different types of thin-film solar cell materials, including quantum dots or perovskites, could be substituted for the organic layers.



http://microcapmagazine.com/2016-02-28-researchers-creates-solar-cells-as-thin-as-the-soap-bubbles

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Ok....that's impressive...but can they make solar panels as light as a fluff bubble?