News — solar cells

Smart glass or switchable glass (also smart windows or switchable windows in those applications) is glass or glazing whose light transmission properties are altered when voltage, light or heat is applied. Generally, the glass changes from translucent to transparent, changing from blocking some (or all) wavelengths of light to letting light pass through. MSE Supplies is a leading supplier of high quality materials and equipment for advanced materials research and manufacturing. Smart glass technologies include electrochromic, photochromic, thermochromic, suspended particle, micro-blind and liquid crystal devices. When installed in the envelope of buildings, smart glass creates climate adaptive building shells, with the ability...

On Nov. 23, 2015, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced $125 million across 41 cutting-edge energy technologies awarded by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).      Among these well-funded projects, the following ones are materials-related, each of them will receive multi-million dollars funding.     MSE Supplies is a leading supplier of high quality materials and equipment for advanced materials research and manufacturing. Ultrahigh Efficiency Photovoltaics at Ultralow CostsNational Renewable Energy Laboratory | Golden, CO | $5,160,000 High Efficiency Alkaline Water Electrolyzers for Grid Scale Energy StorageDioxide Materials, Inc. | Boca Raton, FL | $2,000,000 Hydration-Free Conductive Membranes...

As one of the top ten science breakthroughs of 2013, perovskite solar cells have shown potential both in the rapid efficiency improvement (from 3.8% in 2009 to the latest record 20.1% in 2015) and in cheap material and manufacturing costs. Perovskite solar cells have attracted tremendous attention from the likes of DSSC and OPVs with greater potential. Many companies and research institutes that focused on DSSCs and OPVs now transfer attention to perovskites with few research institutes remaining exclusively committed to OPVs and DSSCs. Image Courtesy: Nature Chemistry 7, 684–685 (2015)Perovskite solar cells are a breath of fresh air in the...