A solid opportunity for lithium-ion batteries Lithium-ion batteries go cobalt free. Heat, whether from the sun or from engines and furnaces, is often wasted. Thermophotovoltaic devices, which convert heat into electricity, promise a super efficient way to scavenge it.
And they could enable compact, simple systems for grid energy storage that are cheaper than batteries. But devices made so far have yet to catch up to this promise because they are too expensive and not efficient enough.
A new thermophotovoltaic design with a record-high 32 percent efficiency could turn that around Nature , DOI: Thermophotovoltaic systems use an energy source like concentrated sunlight or a stream of hot gas to heat a thermal material, which in turn emits low-energy infrared radiation. A specially engineered photovoltaic cell captures that radiation and converts it to electricity.
To get high efficiencies, thermophotovoltaic systems made so far have had to incorporate expensive materials. Most infrared radiation from thermal emitters is low energy. They did this by adding an air layer between the semiconductor and the metal. Too thick a layer adds electrical resistance, so they had to get it just right: nm.
The team made thermophotovoltaic devices with and without the air layer. This simple scheme improves efficiency. Such devices could lead to compact energy-storage systems that use surplus renewable power to produce heat that is stored in materials such as molten salt. Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages. Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email.
Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties. More information Privacy policy.
This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Home Chemistry Materials Science. Ernst Bauer in the lab. Credit: TU Wien. More information: B. Hinterleitner et al. Thermoelectric performance of a metastable thin-film Heusler alloy, Nature DOI: Provided by Vienna University of Technology.
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission.
The content is provided for information purposes only. Global consensus needed to develop climate risk disclosures for companies 11 hours ago. Methacrylic acid monomers - at what angle they connect with each other in polymer?
In many technical processes, only part of the energy input is used. A varying amount of the remainder leaves the system as residual heat, which in turn could itself be used to provide heat or generate electricity if it did not go unused. The higher the temperature of this waste heat, the easier and more cost-effective it would be to utilize it.
But there is also a way to use low-temperature waste heat, namely through thermoelectric generators that convert the heat directly into electricity. So far, however, this poses a problem: thermoelectric materials are expensive and sometimes toxic. Thermoelectric generators also require large temperature differences to achieve a relatively small effect.
But there is an alternative. As early as the 19th century, researchers introduced the first concepts for thermomagnetic generators.
In the meantime, such generators, which are based on alloys whose magnetic properties are strongly temperature-dependent, represent a promising alternative to thermoelectric generators. In this case, the changing magnetization in an applied coil induces an electric voltage. Twist one end of the copper wire and one end of one of the iron wires together. Do the same with the other end of the copper wire and the other iron wire.
If you heat one of the twisted junctions perhaps with a match and attach the two free ends to a volt meter, you will be able to measure a voltage. Similarly, if you hook the two iron wires to a battery , one junction will get hot and the other will get cold. Interplanetary satellites that fly toward planets such as Jupiter and Saturn are so far away from the sun that they cannot use solar panels to generate electricity.
These satellites use RTGs radioisotope thermoelectric generators to generate their power.
0コメント