Solar Energy

Space weather and solar blobs

Published

4 years ago

May 7, 2021

sarosh

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have received three awards from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) totaling over $2 million to conduct research that could help predict the potentially damaging effects of blasts of subatomic particles from the sun.

The three-year awards will fund research into a process known as magnetic reconnection, the coming together and explosive separation of magnetic field lines in plasma, that occurs throughout the universe. Scientists conjecture that magnetic reconnection helps cause the blasts, which produce vast amounts of electrically charged subatomic particles known as plasma. The onrush of particles, part of what is known as space weather, can interfere with communications satellites and electrical grids on Earth.

The awards will also support research into a type of plasma blob that can periodically bubble up on the solar surface and emit an energetic variety of x-ray light.

Two of the awards will help PPPL scientists investigate whether a type of electromagnetic wave can cause magnetic reconnection. “This research will be an extension of my previous experiments involving these lower hybrid drift waves,” said PPPL research physicist Jongsoo Yoo, referring to previous research on the strong plasma waves who received one of the grants. “”If we can show that these waves lead to fast magnetic reconnection, that would be a big breakthrough. Finding out what causes the onset of fast magnetic reconnection is very important for space weather forecasting.”

Yoo and a researcher from the University of Maryland-College Park will analyze data produced by NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS), a group of four spacecraft flying in formation to study reconnection in the magnetosphere, the magnetic field that surrounds Earth. The team will determine which MMS information could be important to consider for laboratory experiments using PPPL’s Magnetic Reconnection Experiment (MRX), a device resembling an enormous silvery barrel tipped on its side.

Using MRX, the team hopes to recreate conditions in the magnetosphere that occur in conjunction with reconnection and study which phenomena might be responsible. Yoo’s hunch is that lower hybrid drift waves could heat electrons in the plasma and cause the onset of fast magnetic reconnection. “”We would be thrilled if we could eventually say that if you detect these waves in space, you could reasonably predict that reconnection will follow.””

This research follows up experiments from 20 years ago, when scientists came to a different conclusion. “We first observed these waves in MRX in 2001 and in 2010 concluded that they did not contribute much to reconnection,” said principal PPPL physicist Hantao Ji, a professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University and recipient of a grant for related research. “Now, 10 years later, we found that the waves can indeed be important under certain conditions. So, we decided to revisit the same subject after a 20-year hiatus but under new conditions and with new data from both MMS and MRX.”

The third award was given to PPPL principal physicist Masaaki Yamada, distinguished research fellow and principal investigator of the MRX. He will use the grant to run tests using MRX to determine whether a kind of magnetic configuration could help explain the blobs of plasma that bubble up on the sun’s surface and emit x-ray light.

Yamada and his research team will shoot a smoke-ring-shaped puff of plasma with a pattern of magnetic fields known as a spheromak into MRX using a kind of gun. They will then study the plasma to determine whether it emits high-energy particles, like x-rays.

The spheromak was originally designed for fusion reactors. “I worked on the concept almost 30 years ago,” said Yamada. “We confirmed that a device based on the spheromak idea could help lead to fusion. We built a device known as S-1, but it did not confine the plasma well.”

Now, the spheromak concept has reappeared as a possible explanation for solar events. “Dr. Spiro Antiochos from NASA Goddard gave a talk at PPPL a few years ago about giant, dome-shaped flares the size of Earth that appear on the sun and emit x-rays,” Yamada said. “No one has yet discovered a clear mechanism to explain why these emissions happen. Since the spheromak configuration can occur in nature, I thought similar configurations on the sun might spur these blobs to form.”

After the talk, Yamada, PPPL physicist Elena Belova and undergraduate Princeton University student Joshua Latham ran computer simulations investigating whether the spheromak magnetic configuration could lead to x-ray emitting blobs that occur on the sun, and confirmed that they could. The team will use their grant to conduct real-life experiments verifying the simulation results using MRX.

Unlike tokamaks, a popular type of fusion reactor shaped like a doughnut that is used around the world, a spheromak does not have a central hole for a large magnet that creates magnetic fields to help confine the plasma. Instead, a spheromak is more like a unitary fireball and creates necessary magnetic fields from the electrical currents that naturally flow through it.

The three awards will extend PPPL’s extensive history in space and astrophysical research involving reconnection. The Laboratory, which has been collaborating with the MMS mission since it launched in 2015, is now installing the Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiment (FLARE), a new and more powerful version of MRX. The $4.3 million device will probe facets of magnetic reconnection that have never before been accessible to laboratory experiments.

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Solar Energy

Breakthrough new material brings affordable, sustainable future within grasp

Published

10 hours ago

December 22, 2024

sarosh

Breakthrough new material brings affordable, sustainable future within grasp

by Rashda Khan for Canepa News

Houston TX (SPX) Dec 23, 2024

While lithium-ion batteries have been the go-to technology for everything from smartphones and laptops to electric cars, there are growing concerns about the future because lithium is relatively scarce, expensive and difficult to source, and may soon be at risk due to geopolitical considerations. Scientists around the world are working to create viable alternatives.

An international team of interdisciplinary researchers, including the Canepa Research Laboratory at the University of Houston, has developed a new type of material for sodium-ion batteries that could make them more efficient and boost their energy performance – paving the way for a more sustainable and affordable energy future.

The new material, sodium vanadium phosphate with the chemical formula NaxV2(PO4)3, improves sodium-ion battery performance by increasing the energy density – the amount of energy stored per kilogram – by more than 15%. With a higher energy density of 458 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) compared to the 396 Wh/kg in older sodium-ion batteries, this material brings sodium technology closer to competing with lithium-ion batteries.

“Sodium is nearly 50 times cheaper than lithium and can even be harvested from seawater, making it a much more sustainable option for large-scale energy storage,” said Pieremanuele Canepa, Robert Welch assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UH and lead researcher of the Canepa Lab. “Sodium-ion batteries could be cheaper and easier to produce, helping reduce reliance on lithium and making battery technology more accessible worldwide.”

From Theory to Reality

The Canepa Lab, which uses theoretical expertise and computational methods to discover new materials and molecules to help advance clean energy technologies, collaborated with the research groups headed by French researchers Christian Masquelier and Laurence Croguennec from the Laboratoire de Rea’ctivite’ et de Chimie des Solides, which is a CNRS laboratory part of the Universite’ de Picardie Jules Verne, in Amiens France, and the Institut de Chimie de la Matie`re Condense’e de Bordeaux, Universite’ de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France for the experimental work on the project. This allowed theoretical modelling to go through experimental validation.

The researchers created a battery prototype using the new material, NaxV2(PO4)3, demonstrating significant energy storage improvements. NaxV2(PO4)3, part of a group called “Na superionic conductors” or NaSICONs, is designed to let sodium ions move smoothly in and out of the battery during charging and discharging.

Unlike existing materials, it has a unique way of handling sodium, allowing it to work as a single-phase system. This means it remains stable as it releases or takes in sodium ions. This allows the NaSICON to remain stable during charging and discharging while delivering a continuous voltage of 3.7 volts versus sodium metal, higher than the 3.37 volts in existing materials.

While this difference may seem small, it significantly increases the battery’s energy density or how much energy it can store for its weight. The key to its efficiency is vanadium, which can exist in multiple stable states, allowing it to hold and release more energy.

“The continuous voltage change is a key feature,” said Canepa. “It means the battery can perform more efficiently without compromising the electrode stability. That’s a game-changer for sodium-ion technology.”

Possibilities for a Sustainable Future

The implications of this work extend beyond sodium-ion batteries. The synthesis method used to create NaxV2(PO4)3 could be applied to other materials with similar chemistries, opening new possibilities for advanced energy storage technologies. That could in turn, impact everything from more affordable, sustainable batteries to power our devices to help us transition to a cleaner energy economy.

“Our goal is to find clean, sustainable solutions for energy storage,” Canepa said. “This material shows that sodium-ion batteries can meet the high-energy demands of modern technology while being cost-effective and environmentally friendly.”

A paper based on this work was published in the journal Nature Materials. Ziliang Wang, Canepa’s former student and now a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University, and Sunkyu Park, a former student of the French researchers and now a staff engineer at Samsung SDI in South Korea, performed much of the work on this project.

Research Report:Obtaining V2(PO4)3 by sodium extraction from single-phase NaxV2(PO4)3 (1 < x < 3) positive electrode materials

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Solar Energy

Pioneering advancements in solid-state battery technology for energy storage

Published

11 hours ago

December 22, 2024

sarosh

Pioneering advancements in solid-state battery technology for energy storage

by Riko Seibo

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 23, 2024

Recent strides in solid-state battery technology are setting the stage for a transformative era in energy storage. These advancements hold promise for revolutionizing electric vehicles and renewable energy systems through improved performance and safety. A focus on electrolyte innovation has been key to this progress, enabling the development of high-performance all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs).

A new review paper provides a comprehensive summary of advancements in inorganic solid electrolytes (ISEs), materials that are central to ASSBs. Researchers examined the roles of oxides, sulfides, hydroborates, antiperovskites, and halides not only as electrolytes but also as catholytes and interface layers, which collectively enhance battery performance and safety.

“We highlighted the recent breakthroughs in synthesizing these materials, honing our attention on the innovative techniques that enable the precise tuning of their properties to meet the demanding requirements of ASSBs,” said Eric Jianfeng Cheng, associate professor at Tohoku University’s Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR). “Precise tuning is crucial for developing batteries with higher energy densities, longer life cycles, and better safety profiles than conventional liquid-based batteries.”

The review also delves into the electrochemical properties of ISEs, including ionic conductivity, stability, and electrode compatibility. Researchers evaluated current ASSB models and suggested emerging strategies that could drive the next generation of energy storage solutions.

However, challenges persist in the development of ASSBs, notably the limited compatibility between ISEs and electrodes, which can trigger interfacial reactions. Addressing these compatibility issues is vital to improving battery efficiency and longevity. The review outlines these challenges and provides insights into efforts aimed at overcoming them.

“Our comprehensive review underscores the importance of continued research and development in the field of solid-state batteries. By developing new materials, improving synthesis methods, and overcoming compatibility issues, current efforts are driving innovation toward practical ASSBs that could transform how we store and use energy,” Cheng added.

Research Report:Inorganic solid electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium/sodium-ion batteries: recent developments and applications

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Solar Energy

Buried interface engineering drives advances in tin-lead perovskite solar cell efficiency

Published

3 days ago

December 20, 2024

sarosh

Buried interface engineering drives advances in tin-lead perovskite solar cell efficiency

by Simon Mansfield

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 20, 2024

A team led by Prof. Meng Li from Henan University’s School of Nanoscience and Materials Engineering has unveiled an innovative approach to overcoming stability and efficiency challenges in tin-lead (Sn-Pb) perovskite solar cells. The researchers’ work focuses on optimizing the buried hole-selective interface using a specially designed self-assembled material, offering major implications for single-junction and tandem solar cell technologies.

Tin-lead perovskites are valued for their narrow bandgap properties, which position them as key materials for producing high-efficiency solar cells. However, energy level mismatches and degradation at the buried interface have constrained both their performance and long-term stability. Addressing these issues, Prof. Meng’s team designed a boronic acid-anchored hole-selective contact material, 4-(9H-carbazole-9-yl)phenylboronic acid (4PBA).

Compared to conventional materials, 4PBA demonstrated superior stability and compatibility at the substrate surface. Its high adsorption energy of -5.24 eV and significant molecular dipole moment (4.524 D) improved energy level alignment between the substrate and perovskite layer, facilitating efficient charge extraction. Additionally, the interface engineered using 4PBA improved perovskite crystallization and substrate contact, reducing defects and non-radiative recombination.

These advancements enabled Sn-Pb perovskite solar cells incorporating 4PBA to achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.45%. The material’s reduced corrosiveness also mitigated the degradation effects typically caused by PEDOT:PSS, a widely used hole-transport material, enhancing chemical stability and storage durability. The cells retained 93.5% of their initial efficiency after 2,000 hours of shelf storage.

“This approach offers a practical path to enhancing both the efficiency and stability of Sn-Pb perovskite solar cells, addressing energy level mismatches and interfacial stability concerns,” the research team commented.

The findings provide a foundation for advancing efficient and stable Sn-Pb perovskite solar cells and highlight the importance of interface engineering in next-generation photovoltaic technologies.

Research Report:Buried Hole-Selective Interface Engineering for High-Efficiency Tin-Lead Perovskite Solar Cells with Enhanced Interfacial Chemical Stability