http://www.che.com Chemical Engineering en-us 2013 Sat, 25 May 2013 14:49:08 EDT A process developed by researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington (www.uta.edu) uses copper-based semiconductor nanoscale-rod arrays and solar radiation to carry out a photoelectroreduction of carbon dioxide to methanol. The process offers a pathway to utilize the greenhouse gas CO2 as a feedstock... http://www.che.com/chementator/solar/10364.html Mon, 1 Apr 2013 0:00:00 EDT A research team is using clusters of gold atoms at sub-nanometer sizes to enhance the photocatalytic production of hydrogen from water. Sustainable H2 production from a non-fossil-fuel source could have significant environmental and energy-efficiency benefits. The... http://www.che.com/chementator/solar/10060.html Tue, 1 Jan 2013 0:00:00 EST The research group of Masahiro Murakami at Kyoto University (Kyoto, Japan; www.sbchem.kyoto-u.ac.jp/murakami-lab) have synthesized a promising pharmaceutical precursor using only sunlight (as energy source) and CO2 (as co-reagent). The solar-driven process involves two consecutive reactions (diagram): first... http://www.che.com/chementator/solar/10068.html Tue, 1 Jan 2013 0:00:00 EST A research group at Rice University (Houston; www.rice.edu) has developed a method for vaporizing water into steam using sunlight-illuminated nanoparticles, with only a small fraction of the energy heating the fluid. Sub-wavelength metal or carbon particles are intense absorbers of optical... http://www.che.com/chementator/solar/10077.html Tue, 1 Jan 2013 0:00:00 EST Using an array of lamps inside a highly reflective chamber, the optical cavity furnace (OCF) takes advantage of photonics effects to help manufacture solar photovoltaic cells with higher efficiency than those made by conventional rapid-thermal-processing (RTP) methods. In addition, the OCF can reduce cost... http://www.che.com/chementator/solar/8749.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST The use of solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen is an appealing idea, given that sunlight is abundant in many parts of the world, but one of the challenges to its development is to find a suitable electrode material. Silicon, the popular photovoltaic material, seems like a logical choice, but... http://www.che.com/chementator/solar/8280.html Mon, 1 Aug 2011 0:00:00 EDT A solar cell made of carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber has been demonstrated by researchers from Fudan University (Shanghai; www.fudan.edu.cn). University professor Huisheng Peng says, “For the fibers we use, the carbon nanotubes exhibit a high degree of alignment with much improved mechanical and electrical... http://www.che.com/chementator/solar/7935.html Sun, 1 May 2011 0:00:00 EDT