22 Sep 2017

A simple additive to improve film quality
Thin films for use in solar cells are more effective when simple chemicals called glycol ethers are added to the film-forming mix.
22 Feb 2017

QD Solar secures Series A Financing from an international consortium
QD Solar has announced the closing of Series A funding led by DSM Venturing with participation from existing investors, KAUST Innovation Fund and MaRS Innovation.
27 Sep 2016

A good idea bubbles to the surface
Single thin-film crystals are required to utilize promising hybrid organic/inorganic perovskite materials to develop solar cells. Researchers have now shown how imploding bubbles in a solution can grow single crystals of the preferred orientation for manufacturing thin films.
8 Apr 2016

Catching more of the sun
Combining quantum dots and organic molecules can enable solar cells to capture more of the sun's light.
24 Feb 2016

Paper skin sensors for environmental monitoring
A paper-based sensor that mimics the sensory functions of human skin has been developed for the first time from low-cost and commonly available household materials.
26 Oct 2015

Blackest material ever made sets new record
The perfect black body exists only in textbooks, absorbing as it does, theoretically, all energy hitting its surface and then subsequently emitting that energy without loss.
19 Oct 2015

Stretchable far-field communication antenna for wearables
Due to the complex structuring, asymmetric surface of human body and atypical motion such as stretching in elbow, finger joints, wrist, knee, ankle, etc. electronics integrated to body need to be physically flexible, conforming and stretchable.
4 Feb 2015

New family of light-converting materials
Engineers are shining new light on an emerging family of solar-absorbing materials that could clear the way for cheaper and more efficient solar panels and LEDs.
11 Dec 2014

Remarkable flexibility with silicon-based electronic devices
Use of industry-compatible processes to demonstrate the most advanced transistor architecture on a flexible platform, with transistor obtaining a bending radius of 0.5 mm.
27 Oct 2014

Smart sensors for better and safer living
Researchers claim a new system of mobile, floatable sensing, called Lagrangian sensing, is very promising for large scale sensing, or on-demand sensing, as it requires minimal infrastructure.
Full profile interview
26 Apr 2014

Quantum Materials Corporation (QTMM)
Quantum Materials Corp is using two proprietary disruptive technologies (1) a novel QD synthesis method licensed from Rice University, and (2) industrial scale production of QD using advanced flow chemistry microreactor technology to produce tetrapod quantum dots.
QMC's strategy is to use its strengths in quantum dot synthesis and mass production, along with quantum dot printing abilities in creating new product paradigms in industrial and commercial applications.
7 Apr 2014

Tiny power generator runs on spit
Saliva-powered micro-sized microbial fuel cells can produce minute amounts of energy sufficient to run on-chip applications, according to an international team of engineers.
9 May 2013

Harvesting energy from chaos
Researchers have conducted groundbreaking work on wave propagation in complex systems.
23 Nov 2012

Thermoelectric windows
A team of scientists has explored a novel idea to integrate micro- to nanoscale thermoelectric materials with the window glasses to generate thermoelectricity based on the temperature difference that exists between the hot outside and relatively cold inside.
22 Jun 2012

Researchers develop polymer electronics to trace banknotes
Researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Functional Nanomaterials and Devices Laboratory have developed the first all-polymer non-volatile memory device on a banknote.
2 May 2012

Composite collaboration leads to faster plastic electronics
Prof. Aram Amassian's group collaborates with Imperial College scientists to develop faster organic thin-film transistors.
21 Sep 2011

Most efficient colloidal quantum dot solar cell ever
Researchers from the University of Toronto, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology and Pennsylvania State University have created the most efficient colloidal quantum dot solar cell ever.
8 Aug 2011

Innovative transparent flexible battery
Stanford transparent batteries: seeing straight through to the future?
6 Jul 2011

Development of the first two-layer quantum dot solar cell
University of Toronto engineering researchers report a new solar cell that may pave the way to inexpensive coatings that efficiently convert the sun's rays to electricity.
18 Apr 2011

River water and salty ocean water create electricity
Stanford researchers have developed a battery that takes advantage of the difference in salinity between freshwater and seawater to produce electricity.