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Category: solar power

Mechanochemistry simplifies synthesis of challenging conductive organic molecules

Mechanochemistry is a growing field for chemical reactions that proceed in the solid state in the absence, or with minuscule amounts, of solvent added. For decades, solvents have been considered conventional for the progression of modern chemistry; nonetheless, researchers are increasingly demonstrating that mechanochemistry can synthesize complex molecules more effectively. With more progress, mechanochemistry could alleviate solvent-related environmental and financial burdens in chemical industries.

Using mechanochemistry, researchers from Nagoya University, including Koya M. Hori, Yoshifumi Toyama, and Hideto Ito successfully developed a two-step synthetic method for dihydrodinaphthopentalenes (DHDPs), conductive organic molecules that are considerably challenging to synthesize. These findings were recently published in the journal RSC Mechanochemistry on February 5, 2026. The results are expected to advance the synthesis of compounds with applications in organic materials.

Conductive organic molecules are used in increasingly essential technologies such as OLEDs in smartphone screens, solar cells for renewable energy, anti-static polymer coatings, and more. Perhaps due to their complex and expensive synthesis, however, DHDPs have not been integrated into any commercialized products.

Perovskite solar cells skip yellow phase, degrade more slowly with key additives

Halide perovskites are gaining ground on silicon as a critical material for solar cell technologies: A new study published in the journal Science reports a method to make perovskite-based photovoltaics more durable, allowing the films to attain the desirable black phase of crystal configuration quicker and at lower temperatures while also making it harder to degrade into the inactive yellow phase.

Perovskites are solution-processable materials and can be readily processed as a solution or deposited as vapor. By mixing two key ingredients in the precursor solution, Rice University chemical engineer Aditya Mohite and collaborators have developed perovskite crystalline films that retain 98% of their initial efficiency even after 1,200 hours of exposure under open-circuit voltage conditions to accelerate aging at 90 degrees Celsius (194 degrees Fahrenheit).

The two additives used were a two-dimensional perovskite, which served as a template to guide crystal growth, and formamidinium chloride, a salt molecule that regulates crystallization and has the optimal size to sustain the atomic bonds in the crystal in the right configuration. The two additives create compressive strain in the lattice, driving the formation of the black perovskite phase and stabilizing it, while also steering degradation toward a harder-to-form phase, significantly improving durability.

Probabilistic projections of global wind and solar power growth based on historical national experience

PROLONG, a data-driven probabilistic model of technology growth, projects wind and solar expansion consistent with 2 °C pathways and faster than current policy scenarios. The 1.5 °C pathway lies beyond the 95th percentile of projections and meeting this target would require major effort.

Excuse me, is that solar panel pointing in the right direction?

On a bright morning, graduate student Jeremy Klotz and professor Shree Nayar walked through upper Manhattan with a tall tripod and a camera that takes 360-degree images. Their route took them to bike docking stations, which use solar energy to power their kiosks, docking mechanisms, wireless communication, and even E-bike recharging in recent installations. At each docking station, the researchers raised the camera above the panel, snapped a spherical picture, and sent it to Klotz’s laptop.

Seconds later, the team’s computer vision program told them something remarkable: how much energy that panel would generate in a year—and how much it could generate if it were pointed at the optimal angle.

As it turns out, the solar panels powering the bike docking stations—and likely many solar panels across New York City and other urban destinations—may be leaving significant energy untapped simply because they are not at their best orientation.

‘Liquid droplet mops’ clean solar panels with 99.9% efficiency, cutting water use by 80%

With the rapid expansion of the global solar energy industry, the number of solar panels has surged in recent years. However, pollutants accumulating on panel surfaces can significantly reduce energy conversion efficiency while traditional cleaning methods are highly water-intensive.

In response to this challenge, an international research team led by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has successfully developed a breakthrough technology, called “liquid droplet mops,” that uses only a minimal amount of water to effectively remove dust and pollutants from solar panel surfaces, significantly enhancing cleaning efficiency while conserving water.

The study was led by Professor Steven Wang, Associate Vice President (Resources Planning) and Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Energy and Environment. The project was conducted in collaboration with Professor Omar Matar from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Imperial College London. The findings are published in Nature Sustainability.

Tiny crystal defects solve decades-old mystery in organic light emitters

Materials that emit and manipulate light are at the heart of technologies ranging from solar energy to advanced imaging systems. But even in well-studied materials, some fundamental behaviors remain unexplained. Researchers at Rice University have now solved a long-standing mystery in a widely used organic semiconductor, revealing how tiny structural imperfections can actually improve how these materials work.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the team investigated 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene (BPEA), a model system for studying how light energy moves through materials. For years, scientists have observed unusual optical behavior in BPEA, specifically two distinct absorption and emission signals that did not match existing theories.

“This was a long-standing puzzle in the field,” said Colette Sullivan, a doctoral student in Rice’s Department of Chemistry and co-author of the study. “Once we connected the experimental results with theory, it became clear the two signals were coming from completely different processes.”

How nuclear batteries could speed the race to fusion power

Fusion reactions release tremendous amounts of energy by fusing two lighter atoms into a heavier one. But harvesting that energy has proven challenging. The most common approach is to heat water and spin a steam turbine, but that approach isn’t terribly efficient, harnessing at best around 60% of the power.

Avalanche Energy thinks it can capture more of that energy by developing new materials known as radiovoltaics. Radiovoltaics are similar to photovoltaics — traditional solar panels — in that they use semiconductors to transform radiation into electricity. They’ve been around for a while, but they’re not very effective. Existing radiovoltaics are easily damaged by the very radiation they harness and don’t produce that much electricity.

Today, Avalanche was awarded a $5.2 million contract from DARPA to develop new radiovoltaics, the company exclusively told TechCrunch.

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