Hyundai Goes Green With Their New Hybrid Blue-Will

    Hyundai debuted their latest creation, Blue-Will, at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this week. This new hybrid sports a sleek body with unbelievable performance capabilities. It is stocked with features such as roof mounted Dye Sensitized Solar Cells, drive-by-wire steering and LED displays with touch screen control. It is also has the ability to be powered by either a Lithium Ion Polymer battery pack or a  four cylinder, 1.6 liter engine.
    In addition to its fuel saving techniques, it is also green friendly in the materials it uses. The cars makers used recycled PET soft drink bottles to make the headlamp bezels and bio-plastics for the interior and engine cover.
    Hyundai still has to decide on a few different options for Blue-Will. One interesting option that remains open is whether the car will be a plug-in hybrid or a regular hybrid. The plug in version is believed to be able to go as far as 40 miles on a single charge without using any gas. The down side is that this option would be more expensive than the regular hybrid.
    This new creation brings us one step closer to creating a transportation system that is fuel free by utilizing the beauty of DSSC's and solar energy.


(Information provided by iAfrica.com, Jalopnik, and USAToday)

DSSC Technology Has Reached New Depths- Within the Body

    A new type of technology that is being developed today revolves around creating various biological nanodevices that can be used for attaining a diagnosis and for varying therapeutic interventions. One huge problem that occurs when designing these types of biotechnologies is that they need to be wireless to ensure unrestricted access to parts of the body. In order to accomplish this, there needs to be a continual source of electrical energy that can be utilized in unusual environments such as the human body.
    Previous efforts to accomplish this includes the development of a direct current nano generator that uses ultrasonic waves. This breakthrough was made by Dr. Zhong Lin Wang, who is a COE distinguished professor and director of the Center for Nanostructure Characterization at Georgia Tech. Dr. Wang's research resulted in the creating of a nanogenerator that was able to take hydraulic energy from within the human body, such as a heart beat or blood flow, and convert it into electrical energy. Although this was an amazing find, improvements needed to be made in order to make it more practical for real life applications.
    Recent developments from researchers from the State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials at Donghua University located in in Shanghai, China and the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany include building a 980 nm laser driven Dye Sensitized Solar Cell that can function even when it is covered by a thick layer of biological tissue. This is possible because these tissues have a high transparency to this specific frequency of light. This  photovoltaic cell is created by utilizing rare nanophosphors that absorb light and then send out a glow that, in turn, excites solar cells to make electricity. It is capable of providing a maximum output of  0.28 to 0.02 mW of energy, even after being covered with 1 to 6 layers of pig intestine that averaged about 1 mm thick each. This amount of energy is enough to power a large variety of biotechnology.
    This development is in its primary stages of research and scientists are still looking for ways to improve. Some of these desired improvements include making all of the components more biologically compatible, improving conversion efficiency, and making the cell even smaller in order to increase it application.


(Information was Provided by Nanowerk-Nanoscale Power Plants and Nanowerk- Photovoltaic Cells to Power Biological Nanorobots Inside the Body)

What is a Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC)?

    The Dye Sensitized Solar Cells, also known as Grätzel cells,  are a type of third generation solar cell that is low in cost, easy to manufacture and simpler to adjust in order to suit a large variety of applications. This was accomplished by using lower costing materials than the previous silicon based product as well as a simpler production process. Recent studies have shown that the Dye Sensitized Solar Cells can  produce up to 11% efficiency and continued researched shows a possibility for it to become even more  effective.  


 What is a DSSC? 


    Essentially, DSSC's are based on a wide bandgap semiconductor such as TiO2, that has been made highly receptive to light through the use of a layer of dye. The cell consists of four main parts including a photoelectrode composed of a transparent conducting oxide with a layer of TiO2 film,  a counter electrode encompassing another transparent conducting oxide with a platinum catalyst deposited on it, a layer of dye that can be excited by light, and an electrolyte to fill in the voids of the inner cell.

How are they made?
    The first step to manufacture a DSSC on glass it to prepare the photoelectrode. This is accomplished by taking a glass substrate coated with a transparent conducting oxide, such as SnO2:F, and depositing a layer of  TiO2 through the process of screen printing using a firing furnace at about 500° C. This process will remove excess organic residue and create electrical contact. The photoelectrode is then submerged in a light sensitive dye. Simultaneously, a counterelectrode is prepared where another glass substrate coated in a transparent conducting oxide gets infused with a platinum catalyst.   Next, the dyed photoelectrode is sealed to the counterelectrode using a thermoplastic thin film that is placed in between. These three components are then heated at about 150° C and placed under pressure. Once sealed, the voids in the device are filled with an electrolyte through holes in the counterelectrode. To ensure longevity, the cell's holes are filled and the whole cell is covered with glass.


(Information Provided by The Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, Wikipeida and Dyesol)

Autonomy from the Outlet- Living a Chord-Free Life

     After years and years of being imprisoned indoors to charge all of the electronics we really so heavily on, break free from the confines of the chords and the order of the outlet! A light shines on an opportunity to get out and to not be constrained by limited battery life- a solar light. Recently, a new line of backpacks and bags have been released that have Dye Sensitized Solar Cells, or DSSC's,  built right into them that can be used to charge electronics. These cells are not only cheap to make but are also flexible and can be utilized in a wide variety of products including clothing, tents, awnings and even windows in the future.
     This product has shown over a 12% efficiency rate and can store up to 0.5W of power. What is even more appealing about the DSSC 's in this product is that they can also absorb other forms of artificial light in order to charge itself.
     As of right now, further studies are being done to increase the efficiency of these cells by attempting to incorporate nonvolatile electrolytes and organic dyes. These alterations could further reduce costs and increase efficiency.
     Even though this is a huge breakthrough, since product like these have not been made available before, many people are skeptical of the actual efficiency and effectiveness that these products will be able to provide for the general public.
     The first shipment of these bags has already been sent to Hong Kong. It is expected that these bags will be available for commercial sale by December 2009.
     With these new innovations in mind, we can strive to live in a world where there will be no carbon foot print and runs purely off renewable solar energy. Now it is easy to see what a huge impact these developments can make in our lives. It is safe to say that these Dye Sensitized Solar Cells are here to stay!

(Information provided by Gizmag)

Helpful Housing- Fixing Global Warming, One House at a Time

     Everyone has heard of the huge and clunky solar cell that can rest on top of houses to create energy but a new and more stylish technology is making its way out into the housing market. SRS Energy has created a product called the Solé Power Tile in which each clay shingle can act like a powerhouse for energy. Each single has the ability to continually create energy that can be stored for the building to use at its convenience.
     Due to SRS Energy's creativity and innovation, it was awarded the “Best of What's New” award in the Home Technology category in 2009 from Popular Science Magazine for its Solé Power Tile because they not only created a roofing product that can harvest energy, but also incorporated a stylish design that can be blended into any Mission-Style roofing system without lowering the building's aesthetic value.
     Clay solar tile technology is categorized under Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) which are usually based off of either Thick Film cells (silicon based wafers) or Thin Film cells ( such as DSSC's). BIPV systems have been integrated into different aspects of the architecture of the buildings themselves in order to create a more environmentally friendly property. Photovoltaic technology has been incorporated into different parts of buildings such as walls, awnings, windows, roofs and more.
     Each BIPV system comes equipped with a photovoltaic module, a charge controller to regulate power, an energy storage system, power conversion equipment, backup power supplies and all of its respecting mounting and wiring hardware.
     It is hoped that in the long run, different forms of BIPV such as the Solé Power Tiles will be used increasingly amongst all house holds and will significantly decrease, if not eliminate the use of other more harmful methods of obtaining energy.
     Now just because a house can create its own energy, it does not mean that we should be stuck inside it. Coming soon is a look at how we can live a better life outdoors.


(Information provided by CleanTechnica)

Return of the Rainbow- Who Said Solar Cells Had to Look Boring?

     The Korean Institute of Technology has introduced a new method that allows a solar cell to absorb more light, making it more efficient than its previous amount of 11%. This development was lead by researcher Park Nam-Gyu who claims that this new discovery will improve power consumption by at least 50% making it more efficient and even more cost effective than it was before.
     Typically, a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a semiconductor that has been created from a photosensitized anode and an electrolyte. The cell is made of porous TiO2 particles that are covered with a specific dye that interacts with its respective electrolyte.
     Nam-Gyu's team was able to improve this design by finding a way to have the TiO2 particles take in different colors of dyes that allow the cell to absorb a wider spectrum of light, which will, in turn, increase efficiency.
     This was achieved by copying a scientific method of chromatography that involves separating chemical compound from mixtures. This process works in two phases, including the stationary phase and the mobile phase. In order to form the different layers, the team was able to control the release and settling of the dyes. As a result they were able to vertically align yellow, red and green dyes within the TiO2 film. This alignment was validated by an electron probe micro-analyzer.
     It is expected that when the DSSC reaches a higher efficiency, they will become commercialized. This will cause a huge shift in the solar market from silicon based thick film solar cells into lighter dye sensitized solar cells that are expected to reach equivalent efficiencies at a significantly lower cost of production.
     Next up is a more homely approach to solar cell usage.


(Information provided by  PV-Tech)