• Title/Summary/Keyword: Energy Materials

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Improving the Cyclic Stability of Electrochromic Mirrors Composed of Gel Electrolyte (겔 전해질로 구성된 전기변색 거울의 내구성 향상)

  • Ji-Hyeong Lee;Kwang-Mo Kang;Sang Bum Lee;Yoon-Chae Nah
    • Korean Journal of Materials Research
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    • v.34 no.8
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    • pp.400-407
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    • 2024
  • The reversible metal electrodeposition (RME) process is used to prepare electrochromic mirrors with reflective-transparent optical states, by depositing metal particles on transparent conductive substrates. These RME based devices can be used in smart windows to regulate indoor temperatures and light levels, serving dual purposes as lighting elements. Commercialization efforts are focused on achieving large-scale production, long-term durability, and a memory effect that maintains coloration without applied voltage. Enhancing durability has received particular attention, leading to the development of electrochromic mirrors that employ gel electrolytes, which are expected to reduce electrolyte leakage and improve mechanical stability compared to traditional liquid electrolyte devices. The gel electrolytes offer the additional advantage of various colors, by controlling the metal particle size and enabling smoother, denser formations. In this study, we investigated improving the durability of RME devices by adding polyvinyl butyral (PVB) to the liquid electrolyte and optimizing the concentration of PVB. Incorporating 10 % PVB resulted in excellent interfacial properties and superior electrochromic stability, with 92.6 % retention after 1,000 cycles.

Reduce on the Cost of Photovoltaic Power Generation for Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells by Double Printing of Ag/Cu Front Contact Layer

  • Peng, Zhuoyin;Liu, Zhou;Chen, Jianlin;Liao, Lida;Chen, Jian;Li, Cong;Li, Wei
    • Electronic Materials Letters
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    • v.14 no.6
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    • pp.718-724
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    • 2018
  • With the development of photovoltaic industry, the cost of photovoltaic power generation has become the significant issue. And the metallization process has decided the cost of original materials and photovoltaic efficiency of the solar cells. Nowadays, double printing process has been introduced instead of one-step printing process for front contact of polycrystalline silicon solar cells, which can effectively improve the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells. Here, the relative cheap Cu paste has replaced the expensive Ag paste to form Ag/Cu composite front contact of silicon solar cells. The photovoltaic performance and the cost of photovoltaic power generation have been investigated. With the optimization on structure and height of Cu finger layer for Ag/Cu composite double-printed front contact, the silicon solar cells have exhibited a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 18.41%, which has reduced 3.42 cent per Watt for the cost of photovoltaic power generation.

Energy Policies and Research/Development Trends in the USA

  • Kirkici, Hulya;Bernstein, Bruce
    • Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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    • v.11 no.5
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    • pp.197-201
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    • 2010
  • As the world population increases and technology advances, the energy consumption and need for more energy increase. Communities and governments regularly address these needs and set policies for future energy generation and uses. This paper reviews current energy policies of the USA and the current trends in research and development efforts, for sustainable and renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the recent topic of IEEE's Smart Grid initiatives is discussed, and its role in the dielectrics and electrical insulation research is presented.