By: Joshua M. Pearce, Michigan Technological University Falling costs for solar power have led to an explosive growth in residential, commercial and utility-scale solar use over the past decade. The levelized cost of solar electricity using imported solar panels – that is, the solar electricity cost measured over the life of the panels – has dropped in cost so much that it is lower than electricity from competing sources like coal in most of America. However, the Trump administration on…
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New graphene printing technology can produce electronic circuits that are low-cost, flexible, highly conductive and water repellent, researchers report. The nanotechnology “would lend enormous value to self-cleaning wearable/washable electronics that are resistant to stains, or ice and biofilm formation,” according to the new paper. “We’re taking low-cost, inkjet-printed graphene and tuning it with a laser to make functional materials,” says Jonathan Claussen, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Iowa State University, an associate of the US Department of Energy’s…
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By: Joshua D. Rhodes, University of Texas at Austin Editor’s note: On Jan. 22, 2018, the Trump administration announced plans to impose punitive duties on solar panels imported from abroad. This decision came in response to a complaint filed by two solar companies, but much of the industry opposes the action, which trade groups say will increase the cost of solar projects and depress demand. To illustrate what’s at stake, energy scholar Joshua Rhodes provides some context on the U.S….
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Researchers have found a way to get electrons to travel much farther than was previously thought possible in materials for organic solar cells. This advance could make these solar cells much more useful than inorganic alternatives. “For years, people had treated the poor conductivity of organics as an unavoidable fact, and this shows that that’s not always the case,” says research leader Stephen Forrest, professor of engineering at University of Michigan.

Peter Mascher is a professor in the Department of Engineering Physics and holds the William Sinclair Chair in Optoelectronics at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. There, he leads a research group specializing in the fabrication and characterization of nanostructures. Mascher was recently named technical editor of the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology (JSS) in the area of dielectric science and materials. The Electrochemical Society: What made you want to take on an ECS editorial role? Peter Mascher: I’ve…
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Gather with your colleagues The plenary session is one of the highlighted events of the meeting, allowing participants from every symposia to come together and recognize some of the greatest minds in the field. ECS President Johna Leddy will wrap up the first full day of the 233rd ECS Meeting by welcoming the ECS meeting attendees and introducing the highly anticipated lecturer, Miguel Nicolelis and his talk “Linking Brains to Machines: From Basic Science to Neurological Neurorehabilitation.” The agenda also includes: Vittorio de...
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A new water-based air-conditioning system cools air to as low as 18 degrees Celsius (about 64 degrees Fahrenheit) without using energy-intensive compressors and environmentally harmful chemical refrigerants. This technology could potentially replace the century-old air-cooling principle that is still used in modern-day air-conditioners. Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, the new system is portable and can be customized for all types of weather conditions. The team’s novel air-conditioning system is cost-effective to produce, and it is also more eco-friendly…
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A new method to quickly produce fibers from carbon nanotubes is both handmade and high tech. The method allows researchers to make short lengths of strong, conductive fibers from small samples of bulk nanotubes in about an hour. In 2013, Rice University chemist Matteo Pasquali found a way to spin full spools of thread-like nanotube fibers for aerospace, automotive, medical, and smart-clothing applications. The fibers look like cotton thread but perform like metal wires and carbon fibers.

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes or modified graphene nanoribbons could be effective, less costly replacements for expensive platinum in fuel cells, according to a new study. In fuel cells, platinum is used for fast oxygen reduction, the key reaction that transforms chemical energy into electricity. The findings come from computer simulations scientists created to see how carbon nanomaterials could be improved for fuel-cell cathodes. Their study reveals the atom-level mechanisms by which doped nanomaterials catalyze oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). Doping with nitrogen…
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Sensors on tape that attach to plants yield new kinds of data about water use for researchers and farmers. “With a tool like this, we can begin to breed plants that are more efficient in using water,” says Patrick Schnable, plant scientist at Iowa State University. “That’s exciting. We couldn’t do this before. But, once we can measure something, we can begin to understand it.” The tool making these water measurements possible is a tiny graphene sensor that can be…
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