Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

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2014

NCNR neutrons highlight possible battery candidate

Analysis of a manganese-based crystal by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has produced the first clear picture of its molecular structure.

Scientists find new way to harness waste heat

Researchers have developed a new battery technology that captures waste heat and converts it into electricity.

Getting more electricity out of solar cells

When sunlight shines on today's solar cells, much of the incoming energy is given off as waste heat rather than electrical current. In a few materials, however, extra energy produces extra electrons — behavior that could significantly increase solar-cell efficiency.

Discovery creates a better chance for clean energy research

Physicists have discovered a new thermoelectric material offering high performance at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to 300 degrees Celsius, or about 573 degrees Fahrenheit.

New two-dimensional self assembling material

Researchers have found a two-dimensional material whose properties are very similar to graphene, but with some distinct advantages.

New two-dimensional material could produce solar cells, supercapacitor

Researchers around the world have been working to harness the unusual properties of graphene, a two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms.

Sinautec Automobile Technologies

Sinautec is a Chinese company developing electric buses. Interestingly they have developed a bus technology that uses only supercapacitors as energy storage device. This is possible only because they charge quickly the SC at each bus stop. This principle is known as opportunity charging which has been adopted by ABB as well in their TOSA charging system in Geneva.

Solving a mystery of thermoelectrics

Researchers say they have finally found a theoretical explanation for the differences, which could lead to the discovery of new, improved thermoelectric materials.

Excitons observed in action for the first time

A quasiparticle called an exciton — responsible for the transfer of energy within devices such as solar cells, LEDs, and semiconductor circuits — has been understood theoretically for decades. But exciton movement within materials has never been directly observed.

Financing for invisible energy harvesting coatings

The financing will enable Ubiquitous Energy to expand its technology development team, establish a full-scale prototyping facility, and execute on joint development with its first commercial partners.

Research could help engineers design better electrodes for batteries

The electrochemical reactions inside the porous electrodes of batteries and fuel cells have been described by theorists, but never measured directly. Now, a team at MIT has figured out a way to measure the fundamental charge transfer rate — finding some significant surprises.

Living materials can conduct electricity

Inspired by natural materials such as bone — a matrix of minerals and other substances, including living cells — engineers have coaxed bacterial cells to produce biofilms that can incorporate nonliving materials, such as gold nanoparticles and quantum dots.

Atomically thin solar cells

Ultrathin layers made of Tungsten and Selenium have been created at the Vienna University of Technology; experiments show that they may be used as flexible, semi-transparent solar cells.

Driving down fuel usage

Despite their potential to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel consumption, electric and hybrid cars and trucks struggled for years to find a solid customer base.

Exceeding solar cells efficiency limit by 'heating up' 'cold' photons

Recently, MIT researchers from the DOE-funded Solid State Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion Center have proposed a new way to break the fundamental S-Q limit by using a mechanism of thermal up-conversion.

Battery with liquid electrodes can be recharged or refilled

A new kind of battery stores energy in what researchers are calling "rechargeable fuel"—electrodes in liquid form. The result can be either recharged like a conventional battery or replaced by pumping in new fuel like gasoline.

3D Printing: A look ahead through 2014

2013 was an outstanding year for 3D printing, with share prices of the listed companies doubling or more, conferences on the subject proliferating, and media attention exploding. So what does the year ahead hold for the industry?

Transparent display system could provide heads-up data

Transparent displays have a variety of potential applications — such as the ability to see navigation or dashboard information while looking through the windshield of a car or plane, or to project video onto a window or a pair of eyeglasses.

How to tap the sun's energy through heat as well as light

A new approach to harvesting solar energy could improve efficiency by using sunlight to heat a high-temperature material whose infrared radiation would then be collected by a conventional photovoltaic cell.

Phonon map offers direction for engineering new thermoelectric devices

Researchers are using neutron scattering to study how a compound known as AgSbTe2, or silver antimony telluride, is able to effectively prevent heat from propagating through it on the microscopic level.

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