Solar Cell Made Cheaply From Shrimp Shells

The materials chitin and chitosan found in the shells are abundant and significantly cheaper to produce than the expensive metals such as ruthenium, which is similar to platinum, that are currently used in making nanostructured solar-cells.

Currently the efficiency of solar cells made with these biomass-derived materials is low but if it can be improved they could be placed in everything from wearable chargers for tablets, phones and smartwatches, to semi-transparent films over window.

Researchers, from QMUL's School of Engineering and Materials Science, used a process known as hydrothermal carbonization to create the carbon quantum dots (CQDs) from the widely and cheaply available chemicals found in crustacean shells. They then coat standard zinc oxide nanorods with the CQDs to make the solar cells.

Dr Joe Briscoe, one of the researchers on the project, said: "This could be a great new way to make these versatile, quick and easy to produce solar cells from readily available, sustainable materials. Once we've improved their efficiency they could be used anywhere that solar cells are used now, particularly to charge the kinds of devices people carry with them every day.

Professor Magdalena Titirici, Professor of Sustainable Materials Technology at QMUL, said: "New techniques mean that we can produce exciting new materials from organic by-products that are already easily available. Sustainable materials can be both high-tech and low-cost."

"We've also used biomass, in that case algae, to make the kinds of supercapacitors that can be used to store power in consumer electronics, in defibrillators and for energy recovery in vehicles.

source: phys.org

Comments

AI in Soap Manufacturing Industry

Machine learning (ML) has numerous potential applications in the soap manufacturing industry, contributing to process optimization, quality control, resource management, and more. Here are some examples: 1. Quality Control : ML algorithms can be trained to analyze images of soap bars to detect defects such as cracks, air bubbles, or inconsistent coloring. By automating the inspection process, manufacturers can ensure that only high-quality products reach the market, reducing waste and enhancing customer satisfaction. 2. Predictive Maintenance : ML models can analyze sensor data from manufacturing equipment to predict when maintenance is needed. By detecting potential issues before they cause equipment failure, manufacturers can minimize downtime and reduce repair costs. 3. Supply Chain Optimization : ML algorithms can analyze historical data on raw material prices, demand forecasts, and production schedules to optimize inventory management and procurement decisions. This helps minimize...

SkyCruiser : Flying Car Without Runway , A Car, Helicopter and Aeroplane

Flying Car has been a dream of many people for lot of years and many company are working on making it possible. Think about a flying Car which can take off without runaway. Now a Arizona based start-up called Krossblade Aerospace Systems is thinking of making it possible. Krossblade has come out a concept of a SkyCruiser that will act as a car, airplane and helicopter. Skycruiser is a 5-seat hybrid VTOL transformer plane with an ability to drive on road also. While the concept has been in developing mode, therefore company is coming out with a miniature unctioning prototype called 'SkyProwler'. VTOL, vertical take off and landing give it a power to take off from anywhere and land it anywhere. To fly it fast it has to be aerodynamically clean therefore it is made narrow, somewhat drop-shaped with only few things sticking out. Working: SkyCruiser in normal mode is pushed along by two 150 bhp electric motors in the tail, which is then switched to set of four rotors arm fro...

Startup builds AI to automate accounting

Smacc , which uses AI to automate accounting, has secured a 3.5 million Series A round from Cherry Ventures, Rocket Internet, Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures, Grazia Equity and business angels. Smacc offers small and medium-sized enterprises a platform to digitize and automate accounting and financial processes. The founding trio Uli Erxleben, Janosch Novak and Stefan Korsch came up with the idea after find accounting to be the most painful part of their own startup. Erxleben managed Rocket Internet’s US ventures in New York and San Francisco, and is also the founder of Berliner Berg , a craft beer startup. Customers submit their receipts to Smacc, which are turned into a machine-readable format, encrypted, then allocated to an account. The platform gradually also self-learns, tracking invoices, sales and costs, as well as their liquidity. The system checks against some 64 data points, verifies the invoice, checking, for example, that the math adds up, and even if the VAT...

CuriouTech

Search This Blog