Electrodes routinely are used in electrochemical sensing, fuel cells, batteries and numerous other applications. Critically, the surface of an electrode must be clean before sensing elements can be at...
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In 2008, coal-fired power plants generated 49 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S., more than twice that of any other energy resource. Coal is an important fossil fuel because world coal reser...
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The desire to store renewable energy such as solar or wind energy in the form of hydrogen gas, which could substitute for non-renewable fossil fuels, is driving the development of effective water oxid...
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Significant research is conducted to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of energy generated by renewable resources. Existing photovoltaic cells and conventional photoelectrochemical cells conv...
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Thermodynamically, a specific voltage is required to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. In practice, the actual potential required to oxidize water is greater than the thermodynamic potential. The ...
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Lignin is a complex, heterogeneous polymer found in all vascular plants. It rigidifies plants and plays a crucial role in water transport. However, lignins are effectively indigestible and interfere w...
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Solar power is a renewable energy resource that has generated a lot of interest as an alternative to fossil fuels. Unfortunately, solar photovoltaic panels historically have been proven inefficient in...
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Developing batteries with improved performance and safety requires considering a variety of factors. Optimal batteries should provide high voltage, storage of substantial amounts of energy, reliable a...
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Processes that store renewable energy such as wind or solar energy as chemical fuels have the potential to provide a substitute for fossil fuels and ease civilization’s reliance on non-renewable res...
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Levulinic acid is a biomass-derived compound that can be obtained inexpensively in high yields from a variety of waste cellulose-containing materials. It has been identified as a top biomass-derived c...
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Increasing demand of petrochemical resources to produce the energy and chemical materials required by industrialized societies with growing populations combined with a diminishing supply has resulted ...
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Although a battery can store significant amounts of energy, it cannot deliver it quickly. But a battery can be used to charge a capacitor, which then can provide much power all at once. Supercapacitor...
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To remove the substantial heat generated by today’s most powerful microprocessors, many high-performance and personal computers use liquid cooling, rather than air cooling, technology. Research indi...
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Distributed energy resources (DER), the combination of distributed power generators, energy storage devices and renewable sources of energy, are frequently located at customer sites where the energy r...
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Metal oxides presently are used in the manufacture of electrochemical capacitors, which are found in almost every electrical device. However, these materials are expensive and tend to undergo redox re...
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Although electrochemically active materials with high density and surface area have many potential uses in electrocatalysts, batteries, fuel cells and sensors, creating these materials can be challeng...
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