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New 'Electronic Glue' Promises Cheaper Semiconductors
Chicago IL (SPX) Jun 15, 2009 Researchers at the University of Chicago and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed an "electronic glue" that could accelerate advances in semiconductor-based technologies, including solar cells and thermoelectric devices that convert sun light and waste heat, respectively, into useful electrical energy. Semiconductors have served as choice materials for many electronic and optical devices because of their physical properties. Commercial solar cells, computer chips and other semiconductor technologies typically use large semiconductor crystals. But that is expensive and can make large-scale applications such as rooftop solar-energy collectors prohibitive. For those uses, engineers see great potential in semiconductor nanocrystals, sometimes just a few hundred atoms each. Nanocrystals can be readily mass-produced and used for device manufacturing via inkjet printing and other solution-based processes. But a problem remains: The crystals are unable to efficiently transfer their electric charges to one another due to surface ligand--bulky, insulating organic molecules that cap nanocrystals. The "electronic glue" developed in Dmitri Talapin's laboratory at the University of Chicago solves the ligand problem. The team describes in the journal Science how substituting the insulating organic molecules with novel inorganic molecules dramatically increases the electronic coupling between nanocrystals. The University of Chicago licensed the underlying technology for thermoelectric applications to Evident Technologies in February. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links University of Chicago Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Mitsubishi in talks for low-emission coal plant in AustraliaTokyo (AFP) June 12, 2009 Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is close to signing a deal with Australia's Queenlsand state to build the world's first large low-emission coal power plant, a company official said Friday. The firm will likely sign a deal with an entity affiliated with the state government and make an announcement as early as this month, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the talks ... read more |
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