Energy harvesting articles within Communications Materials

Featured

• Article
  13 October 2023 | Open Access

  Enhanced thermoelectric performance via quantum confinement in a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor for thermal management

  Cooling computer chips remains a key requirement for improving their performance. Here, a CMOS-compatible MOSFET is used to electrically, rather than physically, induce quantum confinement in a thermoelectric device, improving its thermoelectric performance and making it a viable microchip thermal management solution.

  • Samuel W. Oxandale
  • , Charles Reinke
  •  & Ihab El-Kady

• Review Article
  05 January 2023 | Open Access

  Next-generation applications for integrated perovskite solar cells

  Integrating perovskite photovoltaics with other systems can substantially improve their performance. This Review discusses various integrated perovskite devices for applications including tandem solar cells, buildings, space applications, energy storage, and cell-driven catalysis.

  • Abdulaziz S. R. Bati
  • , Yu Lin Zhong
  •  & Munkhbayar Batmunkh

• Article
  25 October 2022 | Open Access

  Liquid-solid contact electrification when water droplets hit living plant leaves

  Contact electrification can generate useable charge on a variety of surfaces. Here, surface charge creation when a single water droplet hits various plant leaves is investigated, including the effect of droplet characteristics and whether the plant leaf is hydrophilic or hydrophobic.

  • Serena Armiento
  • , Carlo Filippeschi
  •  & Barbara Mazzolai

• Article
  19 October 2022 | Open Access

  Spherical hydroxyapatite nanoparticle scaffolds for reduced lead release from damaged perovskite solar cells

  The contamination of water with lead from damaged perovskite solar cells is a key concern. Here, a spherical hydroxyapatite nanoparticle scaffold absorbs lead from a damaged device, keeping lead concentration in water below safe drinking limits.

  • Muhamad Z. Mokhtar
  • , Amal Altujjar
  •  & Brian R. Saunders

• Article
  07 July 2022 | Open Access

  Flexible thermoelectric generator with high Seebeck coefficients made from polymer composites and heat-sink fabrics

  Light and flexible thermoelectric generators operating at room temperature are highly desirable for wearable microelectronics. Here, flexible thermoelectric composites comprising semiconducting Bi₂Te₃ particles and conductive polymers exhibit a high output power within a small temperature window around room temperature.

  • Shuping Lin
  • , Lisha Zhang
  •  & Xiaoming Tao

• Review Article
  17 November 2021 | Open Access

  Plasmon-induced hot-hole generation and extraction at nano-heterointerfaces for photocatalysis

  Plasmon-enhanced photocatalysis allows for enhanced reaction kinetics and selectivity. Here, the importance of hot holes in plasmonic catalysis is discussed, with a focus on their efficient extraction via different nano-heterointerfaces.

  • Monika Ahlawat
  • , Diksha Mittal
  •  & Vishal Govind Rao

• Article
  21 June 2021 | Open Access

  Manipulation of parity and polarization through structural distortion in light-emitting halide double perovskites

  Halide perovskites recently attracted wide attention for light emitting applications. Here, octahedral distortion in halide double perovskites Cs₂AgMCl₆, induced by the mixture of trivalent M-cations Bi³⁺, In³⁺, and Sb³⁺, gives rise to enhanced white light emissivity and longer photoluminescence lifetimes.

  • Tamilselvan Appadurai
  • , Ravi Kashikar
  •  & Aravind Kumar Chandiran

• Article
  18 June 2021 | Open Access

  Origin and control of ionic hydration patterns in nanopores

  The redistribution of water molecules when an ion passes through a nanopore is known to create complex patterns. Here, an analytical model accurately predicts the patterns when an ion passes through a graphene nanopore, and reveals the physical origins of the patterns.

  • Miraslau L. Barabash
  • , William A. T. Gibby
  •  & Peter V. E. McClintock

• Article
  03 March 2021 | Open Access

  Enhanced flexible optoelectronic devices by controlling the wettability of an organic bifacial interlayer

  A challenge for optoelectronic devices is the differing wettability of the organic active layer and transparent electrodes. Here, an organic interlayer which is hydrophilic or hydrophobic on each side enhances the performance of organic photovoltaic devices, and organic light emitting diodes.

  • Soyeon Kim
  • , Adi Prasetio
  •  & Dong Chan Lim

• Article
  27 August 2020 | Open Access

  Two-photon photocurrent in InGaN/GaN nanowire intermediate band solar cells

  Intermediate band solar cells have the ability to reach efficiencies similar to multijunction cells using a single semiconductor junction. Here, enhanced two-photon carrier generation is demonstrated on a silicon substrate in an InGaN/GaN quantum dot-in-nanowire heterostructure intermediate band solar cell.

  • Ross Cheriton
  • , Sharif M. Sadaf
  •  & Karin Hinzer

• Review Article
  07 May 2020 | Open Access

  Spintronic devices for energy-efficient data storage and energy harvesting

  The current surge in data generation necessitates devices that can store and analyze data in an energy efficient way. This Review summarizes and discusses developments on the use of spintronic devices for energy-efficient data storage and logic applications, and energy harvesting based on spin.

  • Jorge Puebla
  • , Junyeon Kim
  •  & Yoshichika Otani

• Article
  14 April 2020 | Open Access

  Design principles for efficient photoelectrodes in solar rechargeable redox flow cell applications

  Rational design of photoelectrodes is a key requirement to boost conversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical redox flow cells. Here, band alignment design and surface coverage control are used to design single-photon photoelectrodes that achieve 9.4% solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency.

  • Dowon Bae
  • , Gerasimos Kanellos
  •  & Wilson A. Smith