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DOE OSTI2014

Effect of internal electric field on InAs/GaAs quantum dot solar cells

We studied time-resolved carrier recombination in InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) solar cells. The electric field in a p-i-n diode structure spatially separates photoexcited carriers in QDs, strongly affecting the conversion efficiency of intermediate-band solar cells. The radiative decay lifetime is dramatically reduced in a strong electric field (193 kV/cm) by efficient recombination due to strong carrier localization in each QD and significant tunneling-assisted electron escape. Conversely, an electric field of the order of 10 kV/cm maintains electronic coupling in the stacked QDs and diminishes tunneling-assisted electron escape.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

Light Material Interactions in Energy Conversion (Final Report)

The scientific vision of the “Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion” Energy Frontier Research Center (LMI-EFRC) is embodied in our mission statement: ‘to tailor the morphology, complex dielectric structure, and electronic properties of matter so as to sculpt the flow of sunlight and heat, enabling light conversion to electrical energy with unprecedented efficiency’. Founded in 2009, the LMI-EFRC has become a national resource for fundamental optical principles and phenomena relevant to solar energy conversion, addressing new scientific opportunities that enable efficient utilization of the entire visible and infrared solar resource. The LMI-EFRC is directed by Prof. Ralph Nuzzo and centered at its lead institution, the California Institute of Technology. The Center is an integrated and collaborative partnership of research leaders in photonics and photonic materials, comprising 14 faculty investigators that span six academic departments at five institutions, including Profs. Harry Atwater, Andrei Faraon, Nathan Lewis, and Austin Minnich at Caltech; Profs. Ralph Nuzzo, Paul Braun and John Rogers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Prof. Jennifer Lewis at Harvard University; Profs. Mark Brongersma, Jennifer Dionne, and Shanhui Fan at Stanford University; and Profs. Paul Alivisatos, Eli Yablonovitch, and Xiang Zhang at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The Center is organized into four research groups (RGs) that address scientific themes related to light-matter interactions, with each team spanning multiple institutional partners and designed to meet our scientific objectives. Notable project outcomes that address the LMI Mission and 2014-2018 goals include: (1) RG1 “New Light Management Mechanisms” demonstrated tunable and active nanostructured patterned surfaces (‘metasurfaces’) for control of light absorption, reflection, and propagation. (2) RG2 “Solar Spectrum Control and Conversion” developed colloidal nanocrystals with designer optical properties for fundamental studies of solar spectrum control and conversion. (3) RG3 “Thermal Photon Harvesting” established photonic design principles to harness and control thermal photons in novel conversion systems. (4) RG4 “Programmable Assembly of Photonic and Electronic Architectures” developed powerful new methods for light- and matter-based additive fabrication of electronic and photonic architectures.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2016

Back-gated graphene anode for more efficient thermionic energy converters

Thermionic energy converters (TECs) are a direct heat-to-electricity conversion technology with great potential for high efficiency and scalability. However, space charge barrier in the inter-electrode gap and high anode work function are major obstacles toward realizing high efficiency. Here, we demonstrate for the first time a prototype TEC using a back-gated graphene anode, a barium dispenser cathode, and a controllable inter-electrode gap as small as 17 µm, which simultaneously addresses these two obstacles. This leads to an electronic conversion efficiency of 9.8% at cathode temperature of 1000 °C, the highest reported by far. We first demonstrate that electrostatic gating of graphene by a 20 nm HfO 2 dielectric layer changes the graphene anode work function by 0.63 eV, as observed from the current-voltage characteristics of the TEC. Next, we show that the efficiency increases by a factor of 30.6 by reducing the gap from 1 mm down to 17 µm, after a mono-layer of Ba is deposited on graphene by the dispenser cathode. Lastlu, we show that electrostatic gating of graphene further reduces the graphene work function from 1.85 to 1.69 eV, leading to an additional 67% enhancement in TEC efficiency. Note that the overall efficiency using the back-gated graphene anode is 6.7 times higher compared with that of a TEC with a tungsten anode and the same inter-electrode gap.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2012

Cornell Fuel Cell Institute: Materials Discovery to Enable Fuel Cell Technologies (Final Report)

The discovery and understanding of new, improved materials to advance fuel cell technology are the objectives of the Cornell Fuel Cell Institute (CFCI) research program. CFCI was initially formed in 2003. This report highlights the accomplishments from 2006-2009. Many of the grand challenges in energy science and technology are based on the need for materials with greatly improved or even revolutionary properties and performance. This is certainly true for fuel cells, which have the promise of being highly efficient in the conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy. Fuel cells offer the possibility of efficiencies perhaps up to 90 % based on the free energy of reaction. Here, the challenges are clearly in the materials used to construct the heart of the fuel cell: the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The MEA consists of two electrodes separated by an ionically conducting membrane. Each electrode is a nanocomposite of electronically conducting catalyst support, ionic conductor and open porosity, that together form three percolation networks that must connect to each catalyst nanoparticle; otherwise the catalyst is inactive. This report highlights the findings of the three years completing the CFCI funding, and incudes developments in materials for electrocatalyts, catalyst supports, materials with structured and functional porosity for electrodes, and novel electrolyte membranes. The report also discusses developments at understanding electrocatalytic mechanisms, especially on novel catalyst surfaces, plus in situ characterization techniques and contributions from theory. Much of the research of the CFCI continues within the Energy Materials Center at Cornell (emc 2 ), a DOE funded, Office of Science Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC).

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2020

Dual 3D Ceramic Textile Electrodes: Fast Kinetics for Carbon Oxidation Reaction and Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Direct Carbon Fuel Cells at Reduced Temperatures

Abstract Direct carbon fuel cells (DCFCs) are an efficient energy‐conversion technology capable of generating electricity with carbon‐dioxide‐capture chemistry with solid carbon as fuels. The efficiency and performance of DCFCs depend on the kinetics of the carbon oxidation reactions (COR) and the oxygen reduction reactions (ORR), each occurring at anode and cathode, respectively. The limited active sites paired with reduced temperatures greatly decrease the efficiency of the electrochemical reactions. Ultraporous dual‐3D ceramic textiles (dual‐3DCT) are integrated into electrolyte‐supported DCFCs to enhance charge and mass transfer at the electrodes. Improved COR at the anode is achieved by the synergy between the 3DCT NiO–Ce 0.8 Gd 0.2 O 1.95 (GDC) structure and optimal carbon fuel choice. In a comparative study, DCFCs using graphitic carbon (GC) as fuel show the best COR performance when compared to DCFCs utilizing alternative fuels such as carbon black (CB) and activated carbon (AC). The 3DCT Sm 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3‐δ –GDC (SSC–GDC) composite cathode shows electrochemical performance superior to that of the conventional screen‐printed SSC–GDC. A peak power density of 392 mW cm −2 at 600 °C is obtained in a DCFC using the 3DCT‐anode/electrolyte/3DCT‐cathode configuration, an unprecedented value for any reported DCFC as of yet. This points toward promising applications of dual‐3DCT electrodes for reduced‐temperature DCFCs.

Bian, Wenjuan↗

DOE OSTI2021

World Record Demonstration of > 30% Thermophotovoltaic Conversion Efficiency

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices are solid-state heat engines that convert thermal radiation into electricity using semiconductor diodes, and have applications in energy storage, primary power conversion, and waste heat recovery. Higher temperature emitters and wider band gap photovoltaics (PVs) generally afford higher TPV efficiencies. High temperature emitters are accessible in thermal energy storage applications. We have demonstrated a world record 31% +/- 2% TPV conversion efficiency with a 0.9 cm2 GaAs-based PV device under a 2430 °C thermal emitter, producing an electrical output power of 2.23 W. Critical to the result was the cell’s high reflectance of photon energies below the device band gap. Unlike solar PV, for which sub-band gap (SBG) light is lost, a TPV cell can reflect and recycle SBG light to the thermal emitter. The demonstration was made on a custom-built measurement platform in which a ~100 cm2 graphite thermal emitter was heated under vacuum up to 2430 °C. The TPV efficiency was evaluated by comparing the measured electrical output power of the TPV with the calorimetrically measured total net power incident on the cell. The measured TPV efficiency as a function of thermal emitter temperature was corroborated by our full system modeling predictions. As far as the authors are aware, this is the highest TPV conversion efficiency ever measured, and device improvements should yield > 40% efficiency in the near future.

27 ARPA - Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy↗

DOE OSTI2018

Discovery of ZrCoBi based half Heuslers with high thermoelectric conversion efficiency

Abstract Thermoelectric materials are capable of converting waste heat into electricity. The dimensionless figure-of-merit (ZT), as the critical measure for the material’s thermoelectric performance, plays a decisive role in the energy conversion efficiency. Half-Heusler materials, as one of the most promising candidates for thermoelectric power generation, have relatively low ZTs compared to other material systems. Here we report the discovery of p -type ZrCoBi-based half-Heuslers with a record-high ZT of ∼1.42 at 973 K and a high thermoelectric conversion efficiency of ∼9% at the temperature difference of ∼500 K. Such an outstanding thermoelectric performance originates from its unique band structure offering a high band degeneracy ( N v ) of 10 in conjunction with a low thermal conductivity benefiting from the low mean sound velocity ( v m ∼2800 m s −1 ). Our work demonstrates that ZrCoBi-based half-Heuslers are promising candidates for high-temperature thermoelectric power generation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2016

Concerted Rattling in CsAg 5 Te 3 Leading to Ultralow Thermal Conductivity and High Thermoelectric Performance

Abstract Thermoelectric (TE) materials convert heat energy directly into electricity, and introducing new materials with high conversion efficiency is a great challenge because of the rare combination of interdependent electrical and thermal transport properties required to be present in a single material. The TE efficiency is defined by the figure of merit ZT =( S 2 σ ) T / κ , where S is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, κ is the total thermal conductivity, and T is the absolute temperature. A new p‐type thermoelectric material, CsAg 5 Te 3 , is presented that exhibits ultralow lattice thermal conductivity (ca. 0.18 Wm −1 K −1 ) and a high figure of merit of about 1.5 at 727 K. The lattice thermal conductivity is the lowest among state‐of‐the‐art thermoelectrics; it is attributed to a previously unrecognized phonon scattering mechanism that involves the concerted rattling of a group of Ag ions that strongly raises the Grüneisen parameters of the material.

Lin, Hua↗

DOE OSTI2016

Concerted Rattling in CsAg 5 Te 3 Leading to Ultralow Thermal Conductivity and High Thermoelectric Performance

Lin, Hua↗

DOE OSTI2014

Charge carrier transport and collection enhancement of copper indium diselenide photoactive nanoparticle-ink by laser crystallization

There has been increasing needs for cost-effective and high performance thin film deposition techniques for photovoltaics. Among all deposition techniques, roll-to-roll printing of nanomaterials has been a promising method. However, the printed thin film contains many internal imperfections, which reduce the charge-collection performance. Here, direct pulse laser crystallization (DPLC) of photoactive nanoparticles-inks is studied to meet this challenge. In this study, copper indium selenite (CIS) nanoparticle-inks is applied as an example. Enhanced crystallinity, densified structure in the thin film is resulted after DLPC under optimal conditions. It is found that the decreased film internal imperfections after DPLC results in reducing scattering and multi-trapping effects. Both of them contribute to better charge-collection performance of CIS absorber material by increasing extended state mobility and carrier lifetime, when carrier transport and kinetics are coupled. Charge carrier transport was characterized after DPLC, showing mobility increased by 2 orders of magnitude. Photocurrent under AM1.5 illumination was measured and shown 10 times enhancement of integrated power density after DPLC, which may lead to higher efficiency in photo-electric energy conversion.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Fluidized Bed Production of Surface Functionalized Powders for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathodes

Fuel cells offer tremendous potential for highly efficient conversion of fossil fuels to useable electrical power. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are particularly attractive, due to their high efficiency and capability to utilize either hydrogen or hydrocarbon fuels. Presently, there is considerable incentive to develop medium temperature (600 C to 800 C) SOFC's, in order to reduce the material compatibility issues and the engineering challenges associated with higher operating temperatures. Developing cathode materials with viable performance at intermediate temperatures is presently one of the key challenges in commercialization of solid oxide fuel cells. Recent works have shown the advantages of using surface functionalized cathode materials to improve SOFC performance at intermediate temperatures. However, present techniques for surface functionalization are expensive and difficult to implement in commercial SOFC production. In this SBIR Program, Structured Materials Industries, Inc. (SMI), along with partners FuelCell Energy, Inc. (FCE) and the University of Connecticut (UConn), demonstrated a simple and economical process to produce surface functionalized cathode materials, based on fluidized bed technology. SMI has developed a variation on this technology, known as Fluidized Bed Chemical Vapor Deposition (FBCVD), and is presently implementing and commercializing FBCVD as an economical and scalable process to deposit coatings on powder materials. In Phase I of this Project, the SBIR team demonstrated technical feasibility of this approach for producing high performance SOFC cathode materials. In this Phase II Project, the SBIR team refined and optimized the FBCVD process and the surface functionalized cathode materials. Surface functionalized powders of various composition and morphology were produced at SMI using the FBCVD process. Electrochemical characterization of the powders was done at FCE under actual SOFC operating conditions. The results demonstrated the potential for significant improvement in SOFC performance. Long term testing at FCE showed the performance enhancement to be stable with time. Advanced materials characterization at UConn identified the composition and morphology of the materials. SMI's FBCVD processed materials represent a "drop in" replacement for present cathode materials, and should have minimal impact on SOFC production costs. SMI has designed a scaled up FBCVD system for high volume production of SOFC cathode materials, and is well positioned for future implementation and commercialization of the technology developed in this SBIR.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2015

A review of technologies and performances of thermal treatment systems for energy recovery from waste

Highlights: • The topic of energy recovery from waste by thermal treatment is reviewed. • Combustion, gasification and pyrolysis were considered. • Data about energy recovery performances were collected and compared. • Main limitations to high values of energy performances were illustrated. • Diffusion of energy recovery from waste in EU, USA and other countries was discussed. - Abstract: The aim of this work is to identify the current level of energy recovery through waste thermal treatment. The state of the art in energy recovery from waste was investigated, highlighting the differences for different types of thermal treatment, considering combustion/incineration, gasification and pyrolysis. Also different types of wastes – Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) or Solid Refuse Fuels (SRF) and some typologies of Industrial Waste (IW) (sludge, plastic scraps, etc.) – were included in the analysis. The investigation was carried out mainly reviewing papers, published in scientific journals and conferences, but also considering technical reports, to gather more information. In particular the goal of this review work was to synthesize studies in order to compare the values of energy conversion efficiencies measured or calculated for different types of thermal processes and different types of waste. It emerged that the dominant type of thermal treatment is incineration associated to energy recovery in a steam cycle. When waste gasification is applied, the produced syngas is generally combusted in a boiler to generate steam for energy recovery in a steam cycle. For both the possibilities – incineration or gasification – cogeneration is the mean to improve energy recovery, especially for small scale plants. In the case of only electricity production, the achievable values are strongly dependent on the plant size: for large plant size, where advanced technical solutions can be applied and sustained from an economic point of view, net electric efficiency may reach values up to 30–31%. In small-medium plants, net electric efficiency is constrained by scale effect and remains at values around 20–24%. Other types of technical solutions – gasification with syngas use in internally fired devices, pyrolysis and plasma gasification – are less common or studied at pilot or demonstrative scale and, in any case, offer at present similar or lower levels of energy efficiency.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2021

H2@Scale 2.0: Realizing the Benefits of a Hydrogen-Based Energy System

Throughout the world, hydrogen is increasingly recognized as the critical, central component for a clean, sustainable, efficient, and economic energy system. Hydrogen is remarkable for its ability to carry, store, and interconvert energy - its chemical energy can be used for clean and efficient chemical conversions to products and fuels; electricity generation; and heat generation. Hydrogen can be used as a storage medium, even for seasonal storage, to enable larger-scale deployment and use of renewable electricity. As an energy carrier, hydrogen is central to cross-sector coupling and clean, efficient transportation fuels and industrial processes, enabling decarbonization of products and services while meeting customer expectations.

chemical conversions↗

DOE OSTI2016

Catalytic and electrochemical behaviour of solid oxide fuel cell operated with simulated-biogas mixtures

Being produced from organic matters of wastes (bio-wastes) through a fermentation process, biogas mainly composed of CH{sub 4} and CO{sub 2} and can be considered as a secondary energy carrier derived from solar energy. To generate electricity from biogas through the electrochemical process in fuel cells is a state-of-the-art technology possessing higher energy conversion efficiency without harmful emissions compared to combustion process in heat engines. Getting benefits from high operating temperature such as direct internal reforming ability and activation of electrochemical reactions to increase overall system efficiency, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system operated with biogas becomes a promising candidate for distributed power generator for rural applications leading to reductions of environmental issues caused by greenhouse effects and bio-wastes. CO{sub 2} reforming of CH{sub 4} and electrochemical oxidation of the produced syngas (H{sub 2}–CO mixture) are two main reaction processes within porous anode material of SOFC. Here catalytic and electrochemical behavior of Ni-ScSZ (scandia stabilized-zirconia) anode in the feed of CH{sub 4}–CO{sub 2} mixtures as simulated-biogas at 800 °C were evaluated. The results showed that CO{sub 2} had strong influences on both reaction processes. The increase in CO{sub 2} partial pressure resulted in the decrease in anode overvoltage, although open-circuit voltage was dropped. Besides that, the simulation result based on a power-law model for equimolar CH{sub 4}−CO{sub 2} mixture revealed that coking hazard could be suppressed along the fuel flow channel in both open-circuit and closed-circuit conditions.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2014

Conformal piezoelectric energy harvesting and storage from motions of the heart, lung, and diaphragm

Here, we report advanced materials and devices that enable high-efficiency mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion from the natural contractile and relaxation motions of the heart, lung, and diaphragm, demonstrated in several different animal models, each of which has organs with sizes that approach human scales. Here, a cointegrated collection of such energy-harvesting elements with rectifiers and microbatteries provides an entire flexible system, capable of viable integration with the beating heart via medical sutures and operation with efficiencies of ~2%. Additional experiments, computational models, and results in multilayer configurations capture the key behaviors, illuminate essential design aspects, and offer sufficient power outputs for operation of pacemakers, with or without battery assist.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2012

Highly efficient photochemical HCOOH production from CO{sub 2} and water using an inorganic system

We have constructed a system that uses solar energy to react CO{sub 2} with water to generate formic acid (HCOOH) at an energy conversion efficiency of 0.15%. It consists of an AlGaN/GaN anode photoelectrode and indium (In) cathode that are electrically connected outside of the reactor cell. High energy conversion efficiency is realized due to a high quantum efficiency of 28% at 300 nm, attributable to efficient electron-hole separation in the semiconductor's heterostructure. The efficiency is close to that of natural photosynthesis in plants, and what is more, the reaction product (HCOOH) can be used as a renewable energy source.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Electrical power generation from moderate-temperature radiative thermal sources

Moderate-temperature thermal sources (100° to 400°C) which radiate waste heat are often the by-product of mechanical work, chemical or nuclear reactions, or information processing. We demonstrate conversion of thermal radiation into electrical power using a bipolar grating-coupled complementary metal-oxide-silicon (CMOS) tunnel diode. A two-step photon-assisted tunneling charge pumping mechanism results in separation of charge carriers in pn-junction wells leading to a large open-circuit voltage developed across a load. Electrical power generation from a broadband blackbody thermal source has been experimentally demonstrated with converted power densities of 27 to 61 microwatts per square centimeter for thermal sources between 250° and 400°C. Scalable, efficient conversion of radiated waste heat into electrical power can be used to reduce energy consumption or to power electronics and sensors.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2015

Improvement of force factor of magnetostrictive vibration power generator for high efficiency

We develop high power magnetostrictive vibration power generator for battery-free wireless electronics. The generator is based on a cantilever of parallel beam structure consisting of coil-wound Galfenol and stainless plates with permanent magnet for bias. Oscillating force exerted on the tip bends the cantilever in vibration yields stress variation of Galfenol plate, which causes flux variation and generates voltage on coil due to the law of induction. This generator has advantages over conventional, such as piezoelectric or moving magnet types, in the point of high efficiency, highly robust, and low electrical impedance. Our concern is the improvement of energy conversion efficiency dependent on the dimension. Especially, force factor, the conversion ratio of the electromotive force (voltage) on the tip velocity in vibration, has an important role in energy conversion process. First, the theoretical value of the force factor is formulated and then the validity was verified by experiments, where we compare four types of prototype with parameters of the dimension using 7.0 × 1.5 × 50 mm beams of Galfenol with 1606-turn wound coil. In addition, the energy conversion efficiency of the prototypes depending on load resistance was measured. The most efficient prototype exhibits the maximum instantaneous power of 0.73 W and energy of 4.7 mJ at a free vibration of frequency of 202 Hz in the case of applied force is 25 N. Further, it was found that energy conversion efficiency depends not only on the force factor but also on the damping (mechanical loss) of the vibration.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗