Energy generation - Page 4

A science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, other 2d materials, and hybrid systems was put together in a joint effort by over 60 academics and industrialists. The roadmap covers the next 10 years and beyond, and its objective is to guide the research community and industry toward the development of products based on graphene and related materials.

The roadmap highlights three broad areas of activity. The first task is to identify new layered materials, assess their potential, and develop reliable, reproducible and safe means of producing them on an industrial scale. Identification of new device concepts enabled by 2d materials is also required, along with the development of component technologies. The ultimate goal is to integrate components and structures based on 2d materials into systems capable of providing new functionalities and application areas.

According to a report from a Chinese website, The Spanish Graphenano, along with the University of Cordoba and Grabat Energy, developed a polymeric graphene battery, especially suited for electric cars, that will be cheaper and lighter than conventional batteries and will run 1000km on a 10 minute charge. Graphenano claims that this revolutionary battery will be put into production in 2015.

Polymeric batteries can have a longer lifetime compared to conventional hybrid ones (up to four times!) and due to graphene's light weight, the battery itself will be light enough to improve the electric car's fuel efficiency.

Researchers led by Prof. Andre Geim discovered that graphene, impermeable to gases and liquids, allows protons to pass. This is a breakthrough discovery that could make graphene suitable for use as a proton-conducting membrane, essential in fuel cell technology.

The scientists were surprised to find out that protons manage to pass through graphene with relative ease, especially in high temperatures, because graphene usually demonstrates barrier-like qualities. Fuel cells use oxygen and hydrogen as fuel and convert the input chemical energy unto electricity, with a significant issue of fuel leaks across traditional proton membranes (thus reducing efficiency). The scientists claim graphene membranes may fix that problem and make create much more efficient fuel cells.

Bloomberg posted an interesting article on Applied Graphene Materials, the graphene maker that was established in 2010 as a spin-off from Durham University to develop a new CVD-based graphene synthesis method and produce graphene materials. The company's CEO, Jon MabbitT, details some interesting new applications they are trying to develop.

AGM is currently targeting two types of applications. First up are early-adopters, such as Formula 1 teams. But AGM is also looking to enter into long-term products - mainly in the aerospace industry. Graphene can enable stronger and lighter materials, suitable for aircraft. AGM is also working with Dyson (vacuum cleaner developer), Procter & Gamble, lubricants makers and wind-turbine developers. Finally, they are developing an impermeable rustproof coatings for ships.

Researchers from Austria's Vienna University of Technology (VUT) developed a new solar panel structure that results in an efficient, ultra-thin, flexible, transparent and durable panel. The new structure is made from two three-atomic-layers thick films with a layer of graphene in the middle.

The first film is made from a crystal tungsten diselenide, and the second film is molybdenum disulphide. In this design, the tungsten-diselenide layer is the one responsible to convert light into electrical energy. Normally using this material requires numerous tiny metal electrodes, but adding the molybdenium disulphide layer solves this issue.

Researchers from Canada's University of Saskatchewan are investigating how to use Graphene Oxide in solar-cell electrodes. According to their experiments, GO is indeed less conductive than pure graphene, but it is more transparent and it is a better charge collector.

The researchers modeled graphene oxide, for the first time with real complexity, and showed that previous models were incorrect. Their resreach also showed how heated water touching the GO film can burn it and produce carbon dioxide - which could be risky in solar cells.

Researchers from MIT developed a carbon-based sponge that can be used to make a steam-based energy generation device. They say that such a device can reach an energy efficiency of 85%, better than current solar-powered commercial devices.

The newly developed sponge is made from a combination of graphite flakes and carbon foam. It floats on water, and when sunlight hits it, it creates a hotspot which draws up water through the pores in the material, which evaporates as steam. The process generates very little heat and can produce steam at low solar intensity (the lowest optical concentration reported thus far).

Researchers from China discovered that dragging a droplet of salt water on graphene generates a small voltage difference. The researchers found a linear relationship between the velocity and the generated electricity - the faster you drag the droplet, the higher the voltage.

The researchers explain that the charge distribution on the sides of the droplet is redistributed symmetrically on both sides when the droplet is not moving. But when you move it, the distribution becomes unbalanced and electrons are desorbed from the graphene at one end of the droplet and are adsorbed into the graphene at another end. This results in a large potential on one side of the droplet and generates a measurable voltage across its length.

Researchers from Japan and Korea suggest a new way to make graphene - from rice husk (agricultural "waste"). They say that this method may prove to be an easy, scalable and cheap way to produce graphene. As annual rice husk waste is about 120 million tons a year, it's potential for graphene feed material is large.

Activated carbon has been made for a long time from rice husk ash, but this is the first time that graphene structured have been observed in such rice husk-derived activated carbon. In addition, the researchers found that highly crystalline and atomically clean edges are present in the synthesized materials, even though the graphene sample was prepared at relatively a low temperature of 850°C. These findings suggest that the resulting graphene may find applications in energy storage and conversion devices.

Researchers from the US and Saudi Arabia developed a micron-sized microbial fuel cell (MFC) containing multilayer graphene that works using saliva or other waste liquids. Such an MFC (that can produce almost 1µW in power) may find applications in bioelectronics (lab-on-a-chip and point-of-care diagnostics, for example).

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) rely on bacteria to generate electricity from waste. The bacteria in the device break down organic matter and this process releases electrons that can be collected at an anode. The electrons then travel through an external circuit to the cathode to produce electrical current.