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Energy Quarterly
Energy Focus Details of CO2-capture in amine-bearing MOFs revealed
Multiple electron generation yields high-efficiency PVs
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1198066
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1191462
Carbon capture and sequestration is important to mitigate the effects of CO2 release into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. Amine groups are well known to be excellent absorbers of CO2. Amine functionalized metalorganic frameworks (MOFs) are considered to be some of the best candidates for capturing CO2. A study has now revealed crystallographic details of the chemical interaction of carbon dioxide with amine functional groups in MOFs. Computations were in good agreement with experimental results. ©2010, AAAS/Science. The results show that an appropriate combination of pore size, strongly interacting amine functional groups, and cooperative binding of CO2 guest molecules results in large uptake of CO2 in this material.
Metallacarboranes with Sc and Ti show effective hydrogen storage Journal of the American Chemical Society DOI: 10.1021/ja104544s
Metallacarboranes could store hydrogen at or better than benchmarks set by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Program for 2015, according to a new theoretical study. The transition metals scandium and titanium present in these metallacarboranes can contain an appreciable amount of hydrogen molecules. CalcuAbhishek Singh and Boris Yakobson, Rice University. lations show that a matrix of metallacarboranes would theoretically hold up to 8.8% of its weight in hydrogen atoms. Scandium and titanium show the highest rate of adsorption and also demonstrate an affinity for “Kubas” interaction, a trading of electrons that can bind atoms to one another in certain circumstances, allowing for reversible hydrogen storage under ambient conditions. The carbon atoms in the metallacarboranes form metalorganic frameworks, allowing for hydrogen storage via Kubas interaction as well as van der Waals physisorption.
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MRS BULLETIN
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VOLUME 35 • DECEMBER 2010
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www.mrs.org/bulletin • Energy Quarterly
Gopal R. Rao
A new approach to super-efficient solar cells involves multiple exciton generation, freeing two electrons rather than one for each solar photon, potentially doubling the current generated. A research team has used a thin layer of lead sulphide quantum dots coated on a smooth titanium dioxide electrode to demonstrate collection of photocurrents with quantum yields greater than one electron per photon. This was demonstrated for photons in the blue end range of the spectrum. Researchers suggest that such a third-generation solar cell concept could potentially circumvent the so-called Shockley-Queisser limit of 31% efficiency.
Horizontal ZnO nanowires form nano-LEDs ACS Nano DOI: 10.1021/nn1019972
ZnO nanowires grown horizontally on a gallium nitride substrate were found to form nanoscale light-emitting interfaces or “nano-LEDs” as dubbed by the researchers. The fabrication technique used gold as the catalyst for nanowire growth. The gold wa
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