The development of ultralight, ultrathin solar cells is on the horizon due to a new semiconductor call phosphorene.

A team of researchers from Australian National University have developed an atom-thick layer of black phosphorus crystals through a process that utilizes sticky tape.

“Because phosphorene is so thin and light, it creates possibilities for making lots of interesting devices, such as LEDs or solar cells,” said lead researcher Dr. Yuerui (Larry) Lu.

The fabrication of this phosphorene is similar to that of graphene, bringing the new material to a thickness of just 0.5 nanometers. With phosphorene’s novel properties, doors are opening for a new generation of solar cells and LEDs.

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A group from Texas A&M University, led by Dr. Choongho Yu, have developed a carbon nanotube sponge that could lower the cost in the effort to commercialize electrochemical cells.

The researchers’ aim was to develop a material to replace the expensive Pt-based catalyst currently used in many electrochemical systems. While other researchers have previously attempted the same feat, the results typically showed low stability levels.

This from Texas A&M University:

[The team has] developed a new low-cost and scalable method to synthesize 3-D sponge-like carbon nanotubes, which are self-standing and highly porous. After post-treatment, striking catalytic activity and stability are found to be comparable to or better than those of Pt-based catalysts in both acidic and basic environments.

Read the full article here.

The researchers believe that these results could allow the commercialization of current lab-based electrochemical cells due and potentially lower the price of commercial fuel cell stacks.

We recently sat down with esteemed battery engineer Esther Takeuchi, the key contributor to the battery system that is still used to power the majority of life-saving implantable cardiac defibrillators.

Takeuchi’s career has made an immense impact on science and has been recognized globally. She currently holds more than 150 U.S. patents, more than any American woman, which earned her a spot in the Inventors Hall of Fame.

Her innovative work in battery research also landed her the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2008, where the president complimented her on her work that is “responsible for saving millions of lives.”

Listen to the podcast and download this episode and others for free through the iTunes Store, SoundCloud, or our RSS Feed. You can also find us on Stitcher.

PS: Check out the video version of this podcast and interviews with other world-leaders in electrochemical and solid state science as part of our Masters Series.

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Lithium-air batteries are—in theory—an extremely attractive alternative for affordable, efficient energy storage for electric vehicles. However, as researchers explore this technology, they are met with many critical challenges. If researchers can overcome these challenges, there is a great likelihood that the lithium-air battery will surpass the energy density of today’s lithium-ion battery.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California, Berkley feel like they may have part of the answer to this critical challenge, which could propel the practicality of the lithium-air battery. The team, which included researchers from Bryan McCloskey and Venkat Viswanathan‘s laboratories, has found a way to both increase the capacity while preserving the recharge ability of the lithium-air battery by blending different types within the battery’s electrolytes.

“The electrolytes used in batteries are just like Gatorade electrolytes,” says Venkat Viswanathan, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon. “Every electrolyte has a solvent and a salt. So if you take Gatorade, the solvent would be water and the salt would be something like sodium chloride, for instance. However, in a lithium air battery, the solvent is dimethoxyethane and the salt is something like lithium hexafluorophosphate.”

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There is currently a strong incentive among the scientific community to research clean, renewable energy sources to address challenges in sustainable global development. Through solar fuels, scientists can convert solar energy to chemical energy stored in chemical fuels such as clean-burning hydrogen.

Solar fuels started to really accelerate in 1972 when Akira Fujishima and Kenichi Honda developed a titanium dioxide-based photoelectrochemical cell to split water to generate hydrogen.

Now, researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology have discovered a new way to improve upon this process through the novel way of processing the material gallium phosphide (GaP).

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A new issue of ECS Transactions has just been published. Get Volume 68, Issues 1 of ECST Glasgow here. The ECS Conference on Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage with SOFC-XIV will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 26-31, 2015.

Additional issues of ECST from this conference will be published in the coming weeks.

Learn more about our conference in Glasgow and find out more about ECST.

Research and improvements in LED technology have impacted everything from television screens to life-changing electronic vision. With the vast potential of LED technology, scientists are looking to improve the efficiency of LEDs as well as simplify the manufacturing process.

A team at the California Nanosystems Institute at UCLA is focusing on the science of electroluminescence to accomplish this by demonstrating this process from multilayer molybdenum disulfide.

In the new study, UCLA’s Xianfeng Duan was able to show that the multilayer molybdenum disulfide—the relatively cheap and easy to produce material—can, contrary to popular belief, show strong luminescence qualities when electrical current passes through.

Prior to focusing his attention on building better LEDs, Duan focused his research efforts on topics such as graphene’s applications in transistors and applying nanoscale materials to solar energy efforts.

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ECS’s job board keeps you up-to-date with the latest career opportunities in electrochemical and solid state science. Check out the latest openings that have been added to the board.

P.S. Employers can post open positions for free!

Staff Scientists/Engineers
Giner, Inc. – Auburndale, MA
The Staff Scientist/Staff Engineer candidates should have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics or chemistry. Laboratory experience from internships, summer positions and/or coursework is necessary. Candidates with additional experience could be considered at the Project Scientist/Project Engineer level.

Project/Senior Scientist
Giner, Inc. – Auburndale, MA
The Project/Senior Scientist will research, develop and scale up nanostructured catalysts and electrodes for fuel cells, electrolyzers, and batteries. The candidate should have a MS or PhD degree in Chemistry, Materials Science or Chemical Engineering. He or she is expected to have strong experience in the areas of catalyst synthesis and structure characterizations, and electrochemical tests

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Buckyballs—or buckminsterfullerenes, named for their structural similarities to the designs of Buckminster Fuller—have just answered the 100-year-old question of odd variations in light coming through interstellar space.

Astronomers once assumed that this cosmic-light was the result of dust or other tiny space detritus, but a team of chemists have now determined that it is actually the result of buckyballs floating around in space.

Though this isn’t the first time that buckyballs were found in far-off locations. In 2010, researchers spotted the first ever buckyballs in space using the Spitzer telescope.

ECS Podcast – “A Word About Nanocarbons”
Listen as some of the world-leading scientists in nanocarbon and fullerene research discuss the monumental role buckyballs have played in science.

However, the spotting in 2010 proved that buckyballs can indeed exist in space, whereas the current buckyball spotting solve a nearly century-long question that has troubled astronomers globally.

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“I took to electrochemistry like a fish to water.” -Allen J. Bard

Regarded by many as the “father of modern electrochemistry,” Bard is best known for his work developing the scanning electrochemical microscope, co-discovering electrochemiluminescence, contributing to photoelectrochemistry of semiconductor electrodes, and co-authoring a seminal textbook in the field of electrochemistry.

Bard is considered one of today’s 50 most influential scientists in the world. He joined the Society in 1965 and became an ECS Honorary member in 2013. ECS established the Allen J. Bard Award in 2013 to recognize distinguished contributions to electrochemistry.

You can also listen to Bard’s interview as an audio podcast.

Find the rest of the ECS Masters series on YouTube.