Related papers: Thermodynamic limits to energy conversion in solar…
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting to generate hydrogen is one of the most studied methods for converting solar energy into clean fuel because of its simplicity and potentially low cost. Despite over 40 years of intensive research,…
Since the photoconversion efficiency $\eta$ of the silicon-based solar cells (SCs) under laboratory conditions is approaching the theoretical fundamental limit, further improvement of their performance requires theoretical modeling and/or…
The bottleneck in modern thermoelectric power generation and cooling is the low energy conversion efficiency of thermoelectric materials. The detrimental effects of lattice phonons on performance can be mitigated, but achieving a high…
Recently, individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) functionalized with azo-benzene chromophores were shown to form a new class of hybrid nanomaterials for optoelectronics applications. Here we use a number of experimental…
Fuel cells, batteries, thermochemical and other energy conversion devices involve the transport of a number of (electro-)chemical species through distinct materials so that they can meet and react at specified multi-material interfaces.…
It has gradually been recognized that incoming sunlight can be trapped within a high refractive index semiconductor, n~3.5, owing to the narrow 16degree escape cone. The solar light inside a semiconductor is 4n^2 times brighter than…
Drift-diffusion model is an indispensable modeling tool to understand the carrier dynamics (transport, recombination, and collection) and simulate practical-efficiency of solar cells (SCs) through taking into account various carrier…
Small, out-of-equilibrium, and quantum systems defy simple thermodynamic expressions. Such systems are exemplified by molecular switches, which exchange heat with a bath. These molecules can photoisomerize, or change conformation, or…
The challenge in solar energy today is not the cost of photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation, already competing with fossil fuel prices, but rather utility-scale energy storage and flexibility in supply. Low-cost thermal energy storage…
Thin-film solar cells that are considered as the second generation of solar cells are known for their low cost and acceptable efficiency. In this technology, semiconductor layers with a thickness of micrometer are deposited on thick enough…
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising materials for carbon capture applications due to their high CO2 capacities and tunable properties. Amongst the many possible MOFs, metal-substituted compounds based on M-DOBDC and…
Plasmonic materials have got wide attention as a potential candidate for light driven catalysis of chemical conversions by harnessing solar energy to reduce the environmental issues generated by fossil fuels-based bulk chemical industries.…
We propose a charge pump which converts solar energy into DC electricity. It is based on cyclic changes in the spontaneous electric polarization of a photoferroelectric material, which allows a transfer of charge from a low to a high…
Photon impingement is capable of liberating electrons in semiconductors. When the electron transport is primarily governed by temperature gradients, high irreversibilities will result, thus lowering converters' efficiencies. A fundamental…
Photon recycling is required for a solar cell to achieve an open-circuit voltage ($V_{OC}$) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) approaching the Shockley-Queisser theoretical limit. In metal halide perovskite solar cells, the achievable…
Recent success in synthesizing thermally stable nanofluids at low costs is a significant breakthrough in the evolution of volumetric absorption based solar thermal systems. However, we have yet not been able to clearly identify the range of…
The integration of a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) with a photovoltaic (PV) system presents a viable method for storing variable solar energy through the production of green hydrogen. To ensure the SOEC's safety and longevity amidst…
Solar energy is a renewable resource of energy that is broadly utilized and has the least emissions among renewable energies. In this study, machine learning methods of artificial neural networks (ANNs), least squares support vector…
A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) can do more than atomic imaging and manipulation. Its tunneling current can also be used for the excitation of light, converting electron energy to photon energy. STM based single-molecule…
We formulate the energy conversion efficiency from a high-order soliton to fundamental solitons by including the influence of interpulse Raman scattering in the fission process. The proposed analytical formula agrees closely with numerical…