Development of a Neutral Color Photovoltaic Window Based on Luminescent Solar Concentrators

This work describes a prototype of a neutral color solar window based on LSC technology that was developed by University of Ferrara and Eni and installed on a building in the Eni Donegani research center for renewable energy and the environment in Novara (Italy). The main purpose of these devices is to generate energy from the transparent surfaces of buildings and, at the same time, to obtain both an aesthetically appealing façade and provide a good quality illumination in the rooms of the building. Five of these prototypes with an active area of 0.61m2 were assembled and installed as the windows of a test building at the Eni Donegani site. The optical, colorimetric and electrical performances of the windows were measured both on-site and off-site at the end of the assembly process. The prototypes showed an average transmittance of 42.2% in the standard visible range (400-700nm) and when lit by sunlight behave as a light source with a CRI of 94.4, which is comparable to halogen lamps. The power production was 2.8W when installed on a diffusive background that drops to 1.2W when installed on the test building which has a non diffusive background

Friction Reduction Benefits in Valve-Train System Using IF-MoS 2 Added Engine Oil

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Nanostructured Germanium anode for lithium-ion batteries for aerospace technologies

Lithium-ion batteries are the major power source for spacecraft such as probes, low Earth orbit satellites and rovers. Their operational lifetime constitutes the main limit to the operability of these devices. Our group focuses on the research and development of thin nano-structured Germanium films to be used as anode for lithium-ion batteries exploiting the Ge high theoretical specific capacity. The thin Germanium film is realized by means of a Low Energy Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition and then it is nano-structured using hydrofluoric acid electrochemical etching. In the present work, the nano-structurization process is introduced since it leads to promising results

A Modular Stand-Alone Photocatalytic Reactor for Waste Water Purification: The HPSolar Project

In this work we present the construction and performances of a photocatalytic reactor developed for the HPSolar project, the purpose of this reactor is the treatment of water in order to remove pollutants like drugs or pesticides that are not removed effectively by present water treatments. The reactor is modular and composed by multiple elementary cells where the photocatalyst is a thin layer of tungsten trioxide biased positively with respect to a metallic cathode; this polarization is switched periodically in order to restore the functionality of the anode. The cells are completely self-reliant because are powered by four solar cells laying behind the semi-transparent anode while a microcontroller integrated into each cell applies the biasing cycles. The abatement measurements on atenolol and carbamazepine show that this device can remove 70% of the drugs from a sample of water within 5 and 7 hours respectively

Comparison of Porous Germanium Thin Films on SS and Mo as Anode for High-Performance LIBs

The increasing demand for high performance lithium ion batteries is pushing the research toward the development of new materials for electrodes. Our study focuses on the usage of Germanium as the active material for the negative electrode since it has a higher theoretical specific capacity than standard graphite-based electrodes. This research article provides insight into the electrochemical performance of thin films of Germanium deposited on metallic substrates and then nanostructured via electrochemical etching. Molybdenum and stainless steel are investigated as substrates and compared with regard to the performance of the resulting electrodes. The nanostructured Germanium electrodes show promising results, demonstrating a stable and high specific capacity for hundreds of cycles. The long-term stability of the cell together with a high rate capability proves the reliability of the cell engineered

Improved Healthy Growth of Basil Seedlings under LSC Filtered Illumination

Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSCs) have the potential for use in greenhouse roof panels to produce electricity while increasing agricultural productivity. Given that LSCs do not exhibit a perfect light trapping, part of the fluorescence light exits through the escape cone enriching the transmitted spectrum in the fluorescence band. This work concerns the evaluation of LSCs as modular devices for greenhouse building hence both the performances of LSC modules as well as the influence of this devices on basil seedlings growth was assessed. The LSC prototypes evaluated showed efficiencies ranging from 1.23 to 0.85% which, given the large surfaces involved by greenhouses, are sufficient to provide ventilation or provide water pumping. Basil seedlings were grown for three weeks under different LSC covers which in the case of red dyed LSC resulted in improved growth and health comparing to the seedlings grown under transparent PMMA

Binder-free nanostructured germanium anode for high resilience lithium-ion battery

The development and the characterization of a nanostructured binder-free anode for lithium-ion batteries exploiting the germanium high theoretical specific capacity (1624 mAh g(-1) for Li22Ge5 alloy) is herein presented. This anode secures remarkable performances in different working conditions attaining a 95% capacity retention at 1C (i.e., 1624 mA g(-1)) after 1600 cycles at room temperature and a specific capacity of 1060 mAh g(-1) at 10C and 450 mAh g(-1) at 60C. The nanostructured binder-free germanium-based anode shows also strong resilience in terms of temperature tests, being it tested from-30C to +60C. Indeed, the specific capacity remains unaltered from room temperature up to +60C, while at 0C the cell is still retaining 85% of its room temperature capacity. In a full-cell configuration with LiFePO4 as cathode, the Ge anode showed a stable specific capacity above 1300 mAh g(-1) for 35 cycles at C/10. Concerning the fabrication procedure, a two-step realization process is applied, where a Plasma Enhanced Chemical vapor Deposition (PECVD) is employed to grow a germanium film on a molybdenum substrate followed by hydrofluoric acid (HF) electrochemical etching, the latter having the scope of nanostructuring the Ge film. Finally, compositional, morphological, and electrochemical characterizations are reported to fully investigate the properties of the binder-free nanostructured germanium anode here disclosed

Binder-free nanostructured germanium anode for high resilience lithium-ion battery

reserved21The development and the characterization of a nanostructured binder-free anode for lithium-ion batteries exploiting the germanium high theoretical specific capacity (1624 mAh g−1 for Li22Ge5 alloy) is herein presented. This anode secures remarkable performances in different working conditions attaining a 95% capacity retention at 1C (i.e., 1624 mA g−1) after 1600 cycles at room temperature and a specific capacity of 1060 mAh g−1 at 10C and 450 mAh g−1 at 60C. The nanostructured binder-free germanium-based anode shows also strong resilience in terms of temperature tests, being it tested from -30 °C to +60 °C. Indeed, the specific capacity remains unaltered from room temperature up to +60 °C, while at 0 °C the cell is still retaining 85% of its room temperature capacity. In a full-cell configuration with LiFePO4 as cathode, the Ge anode showed a stable specific capacity above 1300 mAh g−1 for 35 cycles at C/10. Concerning the fabrication procedure, a two-step realization process is applied, where a Plasma Enhanced Chemical vapor Deposition (PECVD) is employed to grow a germanium film on a molybdenum substrate followed by hydrofluoric acid (HF) electrochemical etching, the latter having the scope of nanostructuring the Ge film. Finally, compositional, morphological, and electrochemical characterizations are reported to fully investigate the properties of the binder-free nanostructured germanium anode here disclosed.restrictedFugattini, S.; Gulzar, U.; Andreoli, A.; Carbone, L.; Boschetti, M.; Bernardoni, P.; Gjestila, M.; Mangherini, G.; Camattari, R.; Li, T.; Monaco, S.; Ricci, M.; Liang, S.; Giubertoni, D.; Pepponi, G.; Bellutti, P.; Ferroni, M.; Ortolani, L.; Morandi, V.; Vincenzi, D.; Zaccaria, R. ProiettiFugattini, S.; Gulzar, U.; Andreoli, A.; Carbone, L.; Boschetti, M.; Bernardoni, P.; Gjestila, M.; Mangherini, G.; Camattari, R.; Li, T.; Monaco, S.; Ricci, M.; Liang, S.; Giubertoni, D.; Pepponi, G.; Bellutti, P.; Ferroni, M.; Ortolani, L.; Morandi, V.; Vincenzi, D.; Zaccaria, R. Proiett