Until recently, chalcopyrite-based solar cells have achieved a maximum energy conversion efficiency of 23.35%, as reported in 2019 by Solar Frontier, a former Solar Energy company based in Japan. Further boosting this efficiency, ...
Under certain conditions—usually exceedingly cold ones—some materials shift their structure to unlock new, superconducting behavior. This structural shift is known as a "nematic transition," and physicists suspect that ...
Superconductivity
Jun 22, 2023
1
728
Semiconductor nanocrystals of different sizes and shapes can govern the optical and electrical properties of materials. Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM) is an emerging method to observe nanoscale chemical ...
Perseverance, NASA's 2020 Mars rover, is powered by something very desirable here on Earth: a thermoelectric device, which converts heat to useful electricity.
Materials Science
Aug 2, 2021
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1735
Materials scientists at Duke University have uncovered an atomic mechanism that makes certain thermoelectric materials incredibly efficient near high-temperature phase transitions. The information will help fill critical ...
General Physics
Sep 4, 2020
0
177
Using a clever technique that causes unruly crystals of iron selenide to snap into alignment, Rice University physicists have drawn a detailed map that reveals the "rules of the road" for electrons both in normal conditions ...
Superconductivity
Dec 6, 2019
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608
Rutgers and other physicists have discovered an exotic form of electrons that spin like planets and could lead to advances in lighting, solar cells, lasers and electronic displays.
Quantum Physics
Feb 18, 2019
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4742
An international team of researchers have created a new structure that allows the tuning of topological properties in such a way as to turn on or off these unique behaviors. The structure could open up possibilities for new ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 5, 2017
0
279
Engines, laptops and power plants generate waste heat. Thermoelectric materials, which convert temperature gradients to electricity and vice versa, can recover some of that heat and improve energy efficiency. A team of scientists ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 19, 2015
0
46
Chemists have found a new, more efficient method to perform light-driven reactions, opening up another possible pathway to harness sunlight for energy. The journal Science is publishing the new method, which is based on plasmon ...
Nanophysics
Aug 6, 2015
2
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