An economical nanotech procedure—ball milling followed by hot pressing—recasts a commercially available material as a composite of random nanostructures that efficiently converts waste heat into electricity.
An economical nanotech procedure—ball milling followed by hot pressing—recasts a commercially available material as a composite of random nanostructures that efficiently converts waste heat into electricity.
Nanotech provides a way to tailor the optical and electronic properties of materials through engineering their nanostructures. Nanotechnology researchers have demonstrated that quantum dots of different sizes will absorb light of different wavelengths, and that an architecture using nanotubes transports electrons better than one using nanospheres, thus making more efficient solar cells possible. In “Catching… Continue reading More efficient solar cells through quantum dot nanotechnology
Proponents of replacing gasoline with hydrogen for fueling cars have to find a practical way to store hydrogen. One potential nanotech-based solution is presented by the recent demonstration that hydrogen can form chemical bonds with most of the carbon atoms in single-walled carbon nanotubes of the appropriate diameter (2.0 nm). From “The March of the… Continue reading Nanotechnology may provide a practical way to store hydrogen
Nanotechnology catalysts may enable more efficient fuel cells to power consumer electronics via the oxidation of methanol.
Fibers made from zinc oxide nanowires can generate electrical current from low frequency mechanical motion, like body movements.
Chemistry World over at RSC.org tells of a happy new research result in the area of nanotechnology for energy: Two teams of US scientists have demonstrated silicon-based ‘thermoelectric’ materials that could convert waste heat back into electricity – potentially giving a boost to the efficiency of everything from power stations to refrigerators… The thermoelectric effect… Continue reading Surprise: silicon nanotechnology turns heat into electricity
