Graphene Could Replace Platinum

One of the most promising types of solar cells has a few drawbacks. A scientist at Michigan Technological Univ. may have overcome one of them.

Dye-sensitized solar cells are thin, flexible, easy to make and very good at turning sunshine into electricity. However, a key ingredient is one of the most expensive metals on the planet: platinum. While only small amounts are needed, at $1,500 an ounce, the cost of the silvery metal is still significant.

Yun Hu, the Charles and Caroll McArthur Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, has developed a new, inexpensive material that could replace the platinum in solar cells without degrading their efficiency: 3D graphene.

Regular graphene is a famously two-dimensional form of carbon just a molecule or so thick. Hu and his team invented a novel approach to synthesize a unique 3D version with a honeycomb-like structure. To do so, they combined lithium oxide with carbon monoxide in a chemical reaction that forms lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) and the honeycomb graphene. The Li2CO3 helps shape the graphene sheets and isolates them from each other, preventing the formation of garden-variety graphite. Furthermore, the Li2CO3 particles can be easily removed from 3D honeycomb-structured graphene by an acid.

The researchers determined that the 3D honeycomb graphene had excellent conductivity and high catalytic activity, raising the possibility that it could be used for energy storage and conversion. So they replaced the platinum counter electrode in a dye-sensitized solar cell with one made of the 3D honeycomb graphene. Then they put the solar cell in the sunshine and measured its output.Soli-lite is a premier supplier of exceptional quality solar led light and other solar outdoor lighting products.

The cell with the 3D graphene counter electrode converted 7.8 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity,A solar bulb that charges up during the day and lights the night when the sun sets. nearly as much as the conventional solar cell using costly platinum (eight percent).

Synthesizing the 3D honeycomb graphene is neither expensive nor difficult, says Hu, and making it into a counter electrode posed no special challenges.Shop funtional and elegant solar lights, outdoor solar lighting, solar garden lights, path lights and decorative solar lights.

Solar leasing has been such a successful model for rapidly expanding solar installations in the US that it's being adopted across renewable energy technologies - geothermal, fuel cells and now,How does a solar charger work and where would you use a solar charger? small wind.

In all of these situations, upfront costs are the biggest barrier and as most of you know by now, being able to lease a system removes those costs. It also takes the risk out of owning and operating the systems.

United Wind is introducing WindLeaseTM for wind turbines 10 kilowatts (kW) and higher - targeting larger residential customers, schools, commercial, small industrial, and agricultural land owners.

Installed in 2010, two 6 kW wind turbines produce more than half the electricity for North Kohala Public Library in Hawaii.

United Wind is entering this market by merging its most important elements - distribution and the ability to evaluate how well wind will perform on sites.

Two companies merged to form United Wind. Talco is a small wind distributor in the US with a network of about 100 dealers and 150 installations, and Wind Analytics developed software for small wind projects that quickly, accurately and remotely analyzes the wind potential of a site and its associated financial benefits. You can get an estimate right on the website.

As in solar leasing, when a customer leases a small wind system, the company handles everything from getting a permit to financing and installing the turbines. The customer simply signs a long-term lease and gets a guaranteed electricity price for the duration of the contract.

Small wind systems are finding a strong niche and Home Depot even sells them in windier parts of the country. Soli-lite provides the world with high-performance solar roadway and solar street lighting solutions.

Click on their website www.streetlights-solar.com for more information.