Search results for "NEWA"
showing 10 items of 2491 documents
Synchrotron Radiation and Chemistry: Studies of Materials for Renewable Energy Sources
2014
We present an overview of selected applications of synchrotron radiation methods to topical chemical research. The analysis is limited to the studies on materials for renewable energy sources, focussing on topics peculiar to chemical research, such as reactivity and synthesis routes; in particular, the paper takes into account subjects having some relevance for the production and storage of energy based on hydrogen. Hydrogen production and storage are taken into account in the sections concerning: (i) Dye-sensitized solar cells, (ii) Metal-organic frameworks and (iii) Hydrides for hydrogen storage; production of energy by fuel cell devices is treated in (iv) Oxide ion and proton conductors …
Characterization of Non-linear Inductors Including Thermal Effects for Power Applications
2018
This paper is focused on the behaviour of non-linear inductors employed in DC/DC switching converters considering the effects due to variations of both current and temperature. The characterization of the inductors is performed by a buck converter operated to stimulate the inductor under test by a constant current with superimposed a large signal. The measurements are carried out at several inductor’s temperature values. Data are automatically collected by a novel virtual instrument developed by the authors in LabVIEW® environment aiming to obtain a polynomial based analytical model. The deep knowledge of the inductor model allows its design to be optimized improving the power density of th…
Facile hydrothermal synthesis of crystalline Ta2O5 nanorods, MTaO3 (M = H, Na, K, Rb) nanoparticles, and their photocatalytic behaviour
2014
Alkali metal tantalates are of interest for applications in photocatalysis as well as in high temperature resistance or capacitor dielectric materials. We have synthesized nanosized Ta2O5 rods and MTaO3 cubes (M = Na, K, Rb) hydrothermally and demonstrate the pH dependence of the synthesis of tantalum oxide and tantalate nanoparticles. The morphologies of the nanoparticles range from particle agglomerates in acidic reaction media over rods at neutral pH to tantalate cubes in basic reaction media. Whereas there is no apparent influence of the base cation on the particle morphology, there is a pronounced effect on the particle composition. At high base concentrations cubic tantalate particles…
How the formation of interfacial charge causes hysteresis in perovskite solar cells
2018
In this study, we discuss the underlying mechanism of the current-voltage hysteresis in a hybrid lead-halide perovskite solar cell. We have developed a method based on Kelvin probe force microscopy that enables mapping charge redistribution in an operating device upon a voltage- or light pulse with sub-millisecond resolution. We observed the formation of a localized interfacial charge at the anode interface, which screened most of the electric field in the cell. The formation of this charge happened within 10 ms after applying a forward voltage to the device. After switching off the forward voltage, however, these interfacial charges were stable for over 500 ms and created a reverse electri…
Recombination in Perovskite Solar Cells
2017
Trap-assisted recombination, despite being lower as compared with traditional inorganic solar cells, is still the dominant recombination mechanism in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and limits their efficiency. We investigate the attributes of the primary trap assisted recombination channels (grain boundaries and interfaces) and their correlation to defect ions in PSCs. We achieve this by using a validated device model to fit the simulations to the experimental data of efficient vacuum-deposited p-i-n and n-i-p CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells, including the light intensity dependence of the open circuit voltage and fill factor. We find that, despite the presence of traps at interfaces and grain bounda…
Comparison of Cu-B Alloy and Stainless Steel as Electrode Material for Microbial Fuel Cell
2019
The microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a technical devices that electricity produces during wastewater treatment. One of the problems of MFCs is a low current density. Thus, it is necessary to search for new electrodes for MFC. The comparison of Cu-B alloy and stainless steel as catalyst for MFCs cathode is presented in this paper. The research included measurements of the concentration of COD, NH4+ and NO3− in three types of reactors: without aeration, with aeration and with using a MFC (with Cu-B and stainless steel cathode). It has been shown that effectiveness of MFC with Cu-B electrode is higher than effectiveness of MFC with stainless steel electrode.
Moisture ingress in photovoltaic modules: A review
2021
Abstract Moisture ingress in photovoltaic (PV) modules is the core of most degradation mechanisms that lead to PV module power degradation. Moisture in EVA encapsulant can lead to metal grids corrosion, delamination and discolouration of encapsulants, potential induced degradation, optical and adhesion losses. The present work is a review of literature on the causes, effects, detection, and mitigation techniques of moisture ingress in PV modules. Literature highlights on determining the diffusivity, solubility, and permeability of polymeric components of PV modules via water vapour transmission rate tests, gravimetric, and immersion methods, have been presented. Electroluminescence, photolu…
Autohydrolysis pretreatment of Arundo donax: a comparison between microwave-assisted batch and fast heating rate flow-through reaction systems
2015
Background: Autohydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass in liquid hot water has been widely studied owing to its high efficiency and relatively low cost. In the perspective of industrial applications, continuous or semi-continuous processes are more interesting than batch systems. Moreover, microwave heating of pretreatment systems has been proposed to intensify the kinetics of the process. In this study, the autohydrolysis of Arundo donax was performed in pure liquid hot water using a microwave-heated batch reactor and a semi-continuous flow-through reaction system with fast heating rate at the same operating conditions with the aim of performing a systematic comparison between the two diffe…
Influence of electrolyte temperature on the synthesis of iron oxide nanostructures by electrochemical anodization for water splitting
2018
[EN] Iron oxide nanostructures are an attractive option for being used as photocatalyst in photoelectrochemical applications such as water splitting for hydrogen production. Nanostructures can be obtained by different techniques, and electrochemical anodization is one of the simplest methods which allows high control of the obtained morphology by controlling its different operational parameters. In the present study, the influence of the electrolyte temperature during electrochemical anodization under stagnant and hydrodynamic conditions was evaluated. Temperature considerably affected the morphology of the obtained nanostructures and their photoelectrochemical behavior. Several techniques …
Temperature measurements along a vertical borehole heat exchanger: A method comparison
2019
Abstract The standard thermal response tests (TRT) provide integral and effective thermal parameters of the ground in the vicinity of borehole heat exchangers (BHE). However, typical ground properties are heterogeneously distributed. As a result, advanced TRT such as distributed and enhanced TRT are growing in popularity as they provide more spatial information of the thermal properties. Thus, the objective of this study is to compare various instruments to measure the depth-dependent temperatures using standard Pt100-sensors, fiber optical thermometers and novel instruments such as Geowire, Geoball and GEOsniff®. The investigations are carried out in a 30 m length test borehole. The result…