Energy conversion devices require the parallel functionality of a variety of components for efficient operation. We present a versatile microfluidic test-bed for facile testing of integrated catalysis and mass transport components for energy conversion via water electrolysis. This system can be readily extended to solar-fuels generators and fuel-cell devices.

We analyze the latest published solar neutrino data assuming an arbitrary neutrino oscillation/conversion mechanism suppresses the electron neutrino flux from the Sun independent of energy. For oscillations/transitions into active (sterile) neutrinos such mechanisms are ruled out at 99.96 (99.9997) % C.L. assuming the standard solar model by Bahcall and Pinnsoneault ’95 correctly predicts all s...

Hydrogen from Biomass as an energy carrier has generated increasing interest in recent years. There are several different technologies to convert solid or liquid Biomass into a gas mix consisting of mainly hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Up to 30% of the energy stored in the product gas would originate from the sun by using solar thermal applications to source the conversion while the equivalent o...

A silver nanoparticle-decorated N,S-co-doped TiO2 nanocomposite was successfully prepared and used as an efficient photoanode in high-performance dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with N719 dye. The DSSCs assembled with the N,S-TiO2@Ag-modified photoanode demonstrated an enhanced solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency of 8.22%, which was better than that of a DSSC photoanode composed...

A complex of more than ten laboratory tasks was developed complementary to lectures and seminars for teaching of principles of solar cells and their applications. The laboratory covers topics of basic characteristics, materials and types of solar cells as well as of characterization methods and applications in solar energy conversion and can be extended to research aspects. Students with differ...

Solar energy conversion into electricity by photovoltaic modules is now a mature technology. We discuss the need for materials and device developments using conventional silicon and other materials, pointing to the need to use scalable materials and to reduce the energy payback time. Storage of solar energy can be achieved using the energy of light to produce a fuel. We discuss how this can be ...

Silicon nanowire possesses great potential as the material for renewable energy harvesting and conversion. The significantly reduced spectral reflectivity of silicon nanowire to visible light makes it even more attractive in solar energy applications. However, the benefit of its use for solar thermal energy harvesting remains to be investigated and has so far not been clearly reported. The purp...

Photo-self-charging cells (PSCs) are compact devices with dual functions of photoelectric conversion and energy storage. By introducing a scattering layer in polymer-based quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells, two-electrode PSCs with highly compact structure were obtained. The charge storage function stems from the formed ion channel network in the scattering layer/polymer electrolyte s...

the shape of a solar collector is an important factor in solar-to-thermal energy conversion. conical shape is one of the stationary and symmetric shapes that can be employed as a solar water heater. flow rate of working fluid on the solar collector has an important effect on the efficiency of the collector. the present study is an experimentally investigated of the performance of the solar coni...

Biofuels are liquid sunlight. In effect, we use plants to convert raw solar energy into a liquid (ethanol or biodiesel) that can be used as an energy source for our transportation systems. The question this chapter asks is whether this conversion process is the best way to make use of solar energy. Photovoltaics clearly dominate plants in terms of technical conversion efficiency, with conversio...