Related papers: A thermodynamic cycle for the solar cell
The current state of the art in direct water splitting in photo-electrochemical cells (PECs) is presented together with: (i) a case study of water splitting using a simple solar cell with the most efficient water splitting electrodes and…
Producing useful electrical work in consuming chemical energy, the fuel cell have to reject heat to its surrounding. However, as it occurs for any other type of engine, this thermal energy cannot be exchanged in an isothermal way in finite…
The mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of semiconductor-electrolyte systems play important roles in the design of high-performance semiconductor-liquid junction solar cells. In this work, we propose a macroscopic mathematical…
Despite significant fluctuation under thermal noise, biological machines in cells perform their tasks with exquisite precision. Using molecular simulation of a coarse-grained model and theoretical arguments we envisaged how kinesin, a…
Previous formulations of heating and transport associated with strong magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence are generalized to incorporate separate internal energy equations for electrons and protons. Electron heat conduction is included.…
We propose an embedding of standard active particle models in terms of two-temperature processes. One temperature refers to an ambient thermal bath, and the other temperature effectively describes ``hot spots,'' i.e., systems with few…
The study of thermal heat engines was pivotal to establishing the principles of equilibrium thermodynamics, with implications far wider than only engine optimization. For nonequilibrium systems, which by definition dissipate energy even at…
Self-propulsion allows living systems to display unusual collective behavior. Unlike passive systems in thermal equilibrium, active matter systems are not constrained by conventional thermodynamic laws. A question arises however as to what…
Environmentally-powered computer systems operate on renewable energy harvested from their environment, such as solar or wind, and stored in batteries. While harvesting environmental energy has long been necessary for small-scale embedded…
Photosynthesis is nature's route to convert intermittent solar irradiation into storable energy, while its use for an industrial energy supply is impaired by low efficiency. Artificial photosynthesis provides a promising alternative for…
We study a thermo-mechanical system comprised of an alpha Stirling engine and a flywheel from the perspective of dynamical systems theory. Thermodynamics establish a static relation between the flywheel's angle and the forces exerted by the…
Inspired by dense contractile tissues, where cells are subject to periodic deformation, we formulate and study a generic hydrodynamic theory of pulsating active liquids. Combining mechanical and phenomenological arguments, we postulate that…
The biological cell exhibits a fantastic range of behaviors, but ultimately these are governed by a handful of physical and chemical principles. Here we explore simple theory, known for decades and based on the simple thermodynamics of…
Organic solar cells have the potential to be low-cost and efficient solar energy converters, with a promising energy balance. They are made from carbon-based semiconductors, which exhibit favourable light absorption and charge generation…
The theory describing action of medicines explored in this paper is based on assumption that vital activity of the cell may be described in terms of the model of two states: resting state and excitation. According to available physiological…
There are two paradigms to study nanoscale engines in stochastic and quantum thermodynamics. Autonomous models, which do not rely on any external time-dependence, and models that make use of time-dependent control fields, often combined…
Trying to identify the entropy production within a cell has been part of debates and studies in the last century. First the idea was to make a resemblance of a cell with a Carnot engine, which is the most thermodynamically perfect machine.…
Photovoltaic energy conversion in photovoltaic cells has been analyzed by the detailed balance approach or by thermodynamic arguments. Here we introduce a network representation to analyze the performance of such systems once a suitable…
Polymer based organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology offers a relatively inexpensive option for solar energy conversion provided its efficiency increases beyond the current level (6-7%) along with significant improvements in operational…
The Carnot cycle is a prototype of ideal heat engine to draw mechanical energy from the heat flux between two thermal baths with the maximum efficiency, dubbed as the Carnot efficiency $\eta_{\mathrm{C}}$. Such efficiency can only be…