Solar / en New photoreactor technology could pave the way to a carbon-neutral future, researchers say /news/new-photoreactor-technology-could-pave-way-carbon-neutral-future-researchers-say <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">New photoreactor technology could pave the way to a carbon-neutral future, researchers say</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-07/2023_044_Energiewende%20mit%20Wasserstoff%20vom%20Dach_1_72dpi%20Cropped.jpg?h=43163834&amp;itok=wN7UbP3H 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-07/2023_044_Energiewende%20mit%20Wasserstoff%20vom%20Dach_1_72dpi%20Cropped.jpg?h=43163834&amp;itok=9qwbPgK2 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-07/2023_044_Energiewende%20mit%20Wasserstoff%20vom%20Dach_1_72dpi%20Cropped.jpg?h=43163834&amp;itok=HHNrFXdf 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-07/2023_044_Energiewende%20mit%20Wasserstoff%20vom%20Dach_1_72dpi%20Cropped.jpg?h=43163834&amp;itok=wN7UbP3H" alt="photoreactors"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>siddiq22</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-08-09T13:00:32-04:00" title="Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - 13:00" class="datetime">Wed, 08/09/2023 - 13:00</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>(Photo courtesy of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/chemistry" hreflang="en">Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/climate-change" hreflang="en">Climate Change</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/environment" hreflang="en">Environment</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">An international team that includes researchers from U of T has designed and implemented an innovative prototype photoreactor for making green chemicals and fuels</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>An international team that includes researchers from the Ƶ has designed and implemented a new model for photoreactors, a solar-powered technology for converting water, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen into greener chemicals and fuels.</p> <p>The innovative design allows the photoreactor to capture photons at high efficiency under varying sun directions, eliminating the need for sun-tracking. The panels are also manufacturable via extrusion of polymers, making them inexpensive and easily manufacturable at scale – all of which could help make a sustainable future more affordable and practical.&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_250_width_/public/2023-07/UofT13809_20170309_GeoffreyOzin_5609-scr.png?itok=ApHon4D7" width="250" height="293" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-250-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption>Geoffrey Ozin (supplied photo)</figcaption> </figure> <p><a href="https://www.chemistry.utoronto.ca/people/directories/all-faculty/geoffrey-ozin"><strong>Geoffrey Ozin</strong></a>, <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a> in U of T's department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, and <a href="http://www.solarfuels.utoronto.ca/investigators.html">his team</a> collaborated with researchers from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kit.edu/english/">Karlsruhe Institute of Technology</a> (KIT) in Germany on the project.</p> <p>“Solar cells are renowned for efficiently and economically converting sunlight to green electricity, circumventing the use of greenhouse-gas-emitting fossil fuels,” Ozin says.</p> <p>Unlike thermoreactors, photoreactors combine the photons in sunlight and reactants to generate green chemicals and fuels. By using sunlight and water, photoreactors could effectively reduce carbon emissions.</p> <p>Despite their potential, many photoreactors have been plagued by several challenges, including the high cost of construction materials. They can also be inefficient in converting photons to products. To create these photochemical conversions, photoreactors rely on a photocatalyst, a material that absorbs light and converts a reactant into a product.</p> <p>However, non-productive processes due to the reflection, scattering, transmission and absorption of light by the photocatalyst and the photoreactor materials can result in energy loss. Photoreactors would benefit from sun-tracking, a device that adjusts the angle of the photoreactor with respect to the position of the sun for optimal harvesting of light.&nbsp;</p> <p>To be technologically and economically viable, the photon-to-product conversion efficiency of the photoreactors must be at least 10 per cent. While the science of integrating photocatalysts into photoreactors over the past decade for making green chemicals and fuels has yielded significant advances, the efficiencies have remained low&nbsp;– often one per cent or less.</p> <p>Ozin's team and the group from KIT&nbsp;– which included postdoctoral researcher&nbsp;Paul Kant, PhD student Shengzhi Liang, research scientist Michael Rubin and Professor Roland Dittmeyer&nbsp;– developed a panel-like photoreactor that contains hundreds of parallel microscale reaction channels. They recently published a paper on the promising results of their proposed model <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435123001964?via%3Dihub">in the journal <em>Joule</em></a>.</p> <p>A key feature of their design is that each reaction channel is connected to a V-shaped light-capture unit that guides the light into the channel where the photocatalyst is located. All surfaces are highly reflective to optimize the transport of photons from the external light source to the photocatalyst housed in the microchannels with minimal light losses.</p> <p>The innovative design allows the photoreactor to capture photons at high efficiency under varying sun directions, eliminating the need for sun-tracking. The panels are also manufacturable via extrusion of polymers, making them inexpensive and easily manufacturable at scale.&nbsp;</p> <p>Future design adaptations can address the issue of intermittent sunlight by using light-emitting diodes integrated into the photoreactor as the photon source, powered by renewable electricity from photovoltaics and backed up by lithium-ion battery storage to provide 24-7 operations.</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2023-07/photoreactors%20illustration.png?itok=57CMXrzQ" width="750" height="483" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Illustration of the photoreactor model, which can be placed on rooftops; upper left shows the photoreactor panels; upper right shows the photoreactors' V-shaped concentrators and tube-like cavity (supplied image)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>The new photoreactors model can outperform existing state-of-art photoreactors and can be used on rooftops of houses and solar farms, as well as be integrated with&nbsp;photovoltaics to produce both renewable electricity and green chemicals and fuels.</p> <p>“This technology has inspired the development of a new generation of solar-powered devices that instead make green fuels such as hydrogen from sunlight and water,” Ozin says.</p> <p>The advancement comes at a time when the need to combat climate change is more pressing than ever, with record-breaking temperatures marked around the world this summer.</p> <p>“These solar products will substitute their fossil-based analogues&nbsp;– and will help to reduce our carbon footprint,” says KIT researcher Kant.</p> <p>“This directly increases chances that we will be able to reach the dream of a sustainably living humanity. Hopefully, we will even make it in time&nbsp;– without drastic temperature overshoot and related disasters.”</p> <h3><a href="https://www.advancedsciencenews.com/one-step-closer-to-sustainable-fuels-with-a-low-cost-solar-driven-photoreactor/">Read more about the research at <em>Advanced Science News</em></a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-add-new-author-reporter field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Add new author/reporter</div> <div class="field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/mayuri-punithan" hreflang="en">Mayuri Punithan</a></div> </div> </div> Wed, 09 Aug 2023 17:00:32 +0000 siddiq22 302380 at U of T researchers create more efficient perovskite solar cell /news/u-t-researchers-create-more-efficient-perovskite-solar-cell <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T researchers create more efficient perovskite solar cell</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/160A0261-crop_0.jpeg?h=0027a32e&amp;itok=pX8tImih 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-04/160A0261-crop_0.jpeg?h=0027a32e&amp;itok=FZ2Ogxyh 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-04/160A0261-crop_0.jpeg?h=0027a32e&amp;itok=8t4TLwNU 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/160A0261-crop_0.jpeg?h=0027a32e&amp;itok=pX8tImih" alt="Leiwei Zeng, Zaiwei Wang and Hao Chen show off samples of triple-junction perovskite solar cells"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-04-12T11:22:11-04:00" title="Wednesday, April 12, 2023 - 11:22" class="datetime">Wed, 04/12/2023 - 11:22</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>From left Leiwei Zeng, Zaiwei Wang and Hao Chen show off samples of triple-junction perovskite solar cells that boast record gains in efficiency (photo by Tyler Irving)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/tyler-irving" hreflang="en">Tyler Irving</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/resarch-innovation" hreflang="en">Resarch &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/electrical-computer-engineering" hreflang="en">Electrical &amp; Computer Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar-cells" hreflang="en">Solar Cells</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A team of researchers from the Ƶ has created a triple-junction perovskite solar cell with record efficiency by overcoming a key limitation of previous designs.</p> <p>The prototype represents a significant advance in the development of low-cost alternatives to silicon-based solar cells, which are the current industry standard.</p> <p>“In addition to lower manufacturing cost, perovskites offer us the ability to stack multiple layers of light-absorbing materials on top of each other, and even on top of traditional silicon cells,” says Professor&nbsp;<strong>Ted Sargent</strong>, who recently joined the department of chemistry and the department of electrical and computer engineering at Northwestern University but maintains his lab at U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering.</p> <p>“In this work, we used rational design to address a critical challenge that can arise in this multi-layered paradigm, improving both efficiency and durability.”</p> <p>Today’s solar cells are made from a single wafer of ultra-pure silicon, which is energy-intensive to produce. By contrast, perovskite solar cells are made using perovskite polycrystalline films that are coated onto surfaces with low-cost, solution-processing techniques similar to those used in the printing industry.</p> <p>By varying the composition of the perovskite crystals within these films, each layer can be “tuned” to absorb different wavelengths of light, making efficient use of the entire solar spectrum. This is not possible with silicon, which always absorbs the same wavelengths.</p> <p><a href="https://light.utoronto.ca/">Sargent’s group</a>&nbsp;is among those developing new ways to unlock the potential of perovskite solar cells. Their previous work has included&nbsp;<a href="https://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/international-research-collaboration-produces-all-perovskite-tandem-solar-cell-with-high-efficiency-record-voltage/">two-layered tandem cells</a>, but their latest study,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06006-7">published in&nbsp;<em>Nature</em></a>, focuses on a three-layer design.</p> <p>“Multi-layered cells are typically designed so that the top layer with wide-bandgap perovskites absorbs the most energetic photons, meaning high-frequency light with short wavelengths, toward the violet end of the spectrum,” says post-doctoral researcher&nbsp;<strong>Zaiwei Wang</strong>, one of four co-lead authors on the new paper.</p> <p>“The next layer will absorb medium wavelengths and the bottom one will absorb longer wavelengths. But it’s in the top layer that we get the challenge of light-induced phase separation.”</p> <p>The team used a type of perovskite material known as ABX3, which is made from a mix of different substances&nbsp;– including cesium, lead, tin, iodine, bromine and some small organic molecules. The top layer, in particular, is composed of mixed halide perovskites, which have a high proportion of bromine and iodine.</p> <p>“What happens in light-induced phase separation of these mixed perovskites is that the bombardment of high-frequency photons causes the phases that are richer in bromine to get separated from those that are rich in iodine,” says&nbsp;<strong>Hao Chen</strong>, a post-doctoral researcher and co-lead author of the study.</p> <p>“This leads to an increase in defects&nbsp;and a decrease in overall performance.”</p> <p>To overcome this problem, the research team used detailed computer models to simulate the effect of altering the composition of the crystals. This work suggested two changes: removing the organic molecules for an all-inorganic perovskite structure and introducing the element rubidium.</p> <p>“The introduction of rubidium suppresses the light-induced phase separation issue,” says&nbsp;<strong>Tong Zhu</strong>, another post-doctoral researcher and co-lead author.</p> <p>“Our rubidium/cesium mixed inorganic perovskites show better light stability than [other] perovskite materials, including cesium-based inorganic perovskites and widely used organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites with similar band gaps.”</p> <p>Using this knowledge, the team then designed and built a triple-junction cell with this composition. They measured its efficiency at 24.3 per cent with an open-circuit voltage of 3.21 volts. They also sent it to be independently certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which measured a quasi-steady-state efficiency of 23.3 per cent.</p> <p>“In the past, triple-junction perovskite solar cells have demonstrated a maximum efficiency of around 20 per cent, so this is a big improvement. To our knowledge, this is also the first reported certification efficiency of triple-junction perovskite solar cells,” says PhD candidate&nbsp;<strong>Lewei Zeng</strong>, another co-lead author.</p> <p>“Previous designs also tended to lose a lot of their performance in a matter of hours. By contrast, ours maintained 80 per cent of its initial efficiency even after 420 hours of operation&nbsp;– so that’s a big step in terms of durability as well.”</p> <p>The team says that although further improvements to the performance will be needed before perovskite solar cells can compete with silicon in commercial applications, the latest study demonstrates a path forward.</p> <p>“Theory tells us that perovskites have the ability to overcome a lot of the inherent limitations of silicon as a material,” Zeng says.</p> <p>“But it’s not simply a matter of one displacing the other. There might be some applications better suited to perovskites, and some where silicon is better – or we could combine them both. There are a lot of exciting possibilities ahead.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 12 Apr 2023 15:22:11 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 301060 at Researcher’s startup receives federal support to make solar-energy-control windows /news/researcher-s-startup-receives-federal-support-make-solar-energy-control-windows <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Researcher’s startup receives federal support to make solar-energy-control windows</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/3E-Nano-106-PhotoRoom-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=ZVj2aA9l 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/3E-Nano-106-PhotoRoom-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=KAGbXYjP 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/3E-Nano-106-PhotoRoom-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=501YzazD 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/3E-Nano-106-PhotoRoom-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=ZVj2aA9l" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>siddiq22</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-03-16T17:15:00-04:00" title="Thursday, March 16, 2023 - 17:15" class="datetime">Thu, 03/16/2023 - 17:15</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Right to left: U of T researcher Nazir Kherani co-founder of 3E Nano Inc., with chairman and cofounder Dan Shea, CEO Steve Ferrero and MP Yvan Baker after the presentation of $5 million in federal funding for the startup (photo by Shaun Mitchell)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/matthew-tierney" hreflang="en">Matthew Tierney</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/advanced-manufacturing" hreflang="en">Advanced Manufacturing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-and-innovation" hreflang="en">Research and Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startups" hreflang="en">Startups</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>U of T researcher&nbsp;<a href="https://mse.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/professors/kherani/"><strong>Nazir Kherani</strong></a>&nbsp;and his collaborators at the startup&nbsp;<a href="https://3enano.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">3E Nano Inc</a>&nbsp;have one goal: to design the perfect window.</p> <p>That includes a nano-thin window coating that can more than double the thermal protection for residential and commercial windows. That technology is now on its way to commercialization, thanks in part to $5 million in new federal funding from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sdtc.ca/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Technology Canada</a>.</p> <p>“Windows are the weakest energy link in any building,” says Kherani,&nbsp;a professor in the department of material science and engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering&nbsp;who is&nbsp;jointly appointed&nbsp;to the Edward&nbsp;S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering.</p> <p>“Think of heat escaping in the winter months and heat entering the cool, ventilated space during the summer months," says Kherani, who&nbsp;co-founded 3E Nano in 2015.&nbsp;</p> <p>Kherani explains that a&nbsp;window’s resistance to heat flow is measured by the R-value, which increases based on its ability to prevent heat from flowing into or escaping from a building. Currently, 3E Nano windows –&nbsp;in prototype as well as in pre-alpha deployment –&nbsp;rate R8 and higher.</p> <p>"This compares remarkably to an average window&nbsp;whose R-value lies in a range from R1 of a single pane, to R3, a dual pane.”</p> <p>How was 3E Nano able to achieve this breakthrough? In its simplest configuration, the 3E Nano coating comprises a nano-thin metallic film sandwiched between two sapphire-like nano-thin films. This three-layered&nbsp;stack is opaque to certain wavelengths of light, but not others. As a result, the coating can control the flow of light entering and leaving the building over three parts of the solar spectrum: the visible, the near-frequency infrared and the mid-frequency infrared.</p> <p>Both near-infrared light&nbsp;–&nbsp;which accounts for almost half of the sun’s total energy&nbsp;–&nbsp;and mid-infrared light can be reflected away. This keeps the sun’s heat from penetrating indoors, but it also keeps room heat inside the building from escaping through the windows,&nbsp;achieving low emissivity. At the same time, natural visible light is allowed through the window to the interior, reducing the need for artificial interior lighting.</p> <p>Kherani believes 3E Nano’s coating&nbsp;is poised to become a mainstream product.&nbsp;He credits the industry experience of 3E Nano’s team with&nbsp;a critical pivot in the research.</p> <p>“Combining earth-abundant aluminum and nitrogen results in a coating material similar to sapphire in its optical and structural properties,” he says. “The stability and multi-functional character of the sapphire-like structure is suited to low-cost, high-volume manufacturing.”</p> <p>The coating is applied by sputter deposition&nbsp;–&nbsp;a process which hurls argon atoms into an aluminum target in a vacuum system, knocking the aluminum atoms like billiard balls into a lightweight polymer substrate.</p> <p>After adding nitrogen gas, the resulting chemical reaction forms a colourless film only tens of nanometres thick (approximately one-thousandth of the thickness of a hair strand). This&nbsp; combined with a nano-thin silver layer results in a robust coating that can be tuned for optical and electrical properties.</p> <p>Kherani and his team envision other aspects of the perfect window as integrated functionalities ranging from metamaterial structuring to dynamic systems that maintain ideal temperatures and daylighting (the practice of placing windows so that sunlight can provide effective internal lighting) within buildings.</p> <p>“In the lab, we’ve created a metamaterial that retains low emissive and solar-control properties but has high transparency in the gigahertz range critical for communication –&nbsp;nature-inspired with near-invisible hexagonal honeycomb patterns,” Kherani says.</p> <p>“Professor Kherani has his eye on sustainability solutions that remain scalable,” says&nbsp;Professor&nbsp;<strong>Deepa Kundur</strong>, chair of the department of electrical and computer engineering. “His startup 3E Nano is a shining example of how industry can shape and direct research, and he’s given 3E Nano every chance at a positive impact in the green marketplace.”</p> <p>Kundur also points out that it's because of researchers like Kherani that&nbsp;<a href="/news/u-t-among-top-10-research-organizations-cited-global-innovators" rel="noopener" target="_blank">U of T was recently named a top-10 research institution for global innovation</a>.</p> <p>Kherani is encouraged by 3ENano's&nbsp;progress and optimistic about the company’s ability to help transform the building sector, which ranks a close second to transportation in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.</p> <p>“Although the shortest distance from point A to point B is a straight line, finding that straight line is not a simple matter," he notes.&nbsp;"On the other hand, we are in a promising place today, and we can clearly see where we need to be.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 16 Mar 2023 21:15:00 +0000 siddiq22 180809 at U of T, international researchers develop more efficient two-sided solar cells /news/u-t-international-researchers-develop-two-sided-solar-cells-collect-scattered-light <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T, international researchers develop more efficient two-sided solar cells </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/IMG_0394.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=_Q_q_IUj 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/IMG_0394.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=fRBibqll 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/IMG_0394.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=J36Edw2L 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/IMG_0394.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=_Q_q_IUj" alt="A bifacial perovskite/silicon tandem prototype"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>geoff.vendeville</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-01-12T11:42:41-05:00" title="Tuesday, January 12, 2021 - 11:42" class="datetime">Tue, 01/12/2021 - 11:42</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">A bifacial perovskite/silicon solar cell prototype is field-tested at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia (photo courtesy of Michele De Bastiani)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/nicholas-g-demille" hreflang="en">Nicholas G. Demille</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ted-sargent" hreflang="en">Ted Sargent</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>To increase the performance of solar panels, a team of researchers based in Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany and Canada has created a bifacial, or two-sided, tandem solar cell. The prototypes bring together the best of two separate technologies: silicon and perovskites.</p> <p>Out in the field, light primarily comes directly from the sun. Conventional tandem solar cells already convert this light into electricity more efficiently compared to traditional silicon-only solar cells by absorbing additional wavelengths of light.</p> <p>Now, researchers at the Ƶ's Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering – with colleagues at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the University of Bologna and the&nbsp;Karlsruhe Institute of Technology – have realized that even more energy can be gathered using a two-sided tandem configuration. Light reflected and scattered from the ground –&nbsp;known as “albedo” – can also be collected to significantly increase the current of a tandem solar cell.</p> <p>The research, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-00756-8">published this week&nbsp;in the journal <em>Nature Energy</em></a>, outlines how the team engineered the perovskite/silicon device to exceed the currently accepted performance limits for the tandem configuration. The study’s authors include <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a> <strong>Ted Sargent</strong>, in the&nbsp;Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering, and post-doctoral researcher&nbsp;<strong>Yi Hou</strong>.</p> <p>“By exploiting the albedo, we can now generate currents higher than in conventional tandems, without increasing the manufacturing costs at all,” said Michele De Bastiani of KAUST, co-lead author of this study.</p> <p>The potential for capturing indirect sunlight has been studied in the past, but without experimental verification. The researchers collaborated&nbsp;to solve the scientific and engineering challenges required to include indirect sunlight in the energy gathering capacity of their modules.</p> <p>With this knowledge, they tested the bifacial tandem solar cell in outdoor conditions, achieving efficiencies beyond any commercial silicon solar panel.</p> <p>“Bifacial silicon-only solar cells have rapidly taken an increasing share in the photovoltaics market, as they can lead to a performance gain of 20 per cent&nbsp;relative,”&nbsp;said Stefaan De Wolf, an associate professor of material science and engineering at KAUST.&nbsp;“Exploiting this concept in perovskite/silicon tandems now opens opportunities for ultra-high power generation at affordable cost.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 12 Jan 2021 16:42:41 +0000 geoff.vendeville 168036 at U of T student creates renewable energy information hub for Canadians /news/u-t-student-creates-renewable-energy-information-hub-canadians <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T student creates renewable energy information hub for Canadians</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UTM-Rylan-Urban.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=sszODkyB 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/UTM-Rylan-Urban.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=AivBQSbw 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/UTM-Rylan-Urban.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=zANxLKP9 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UTM-Rylan-Urban.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=sszODkyB" alt="Photo of Rylan Urban"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2020-01-16T13:02:05-05:00" title="Thursday, January 16, 2020 - 13:02" class="datetime">Thu, 01/16/2020 - 13:02</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Rylan Urban, who is doing a master's degree in sustainability management at U of T Mississauga, launched Energyhub.org a year ago (photo by Drew Lesiuczok)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/patricia-lonergan" hreflang="en">Patricia Lonergan</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/climate-change" hreflang="en">Climate Change</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A Ƶ student is bringing&nbsp;together&nbsp;homeowners and solar panel installers in an attempt to increase the use of sustainable energy systems in residential homes across Canada.</p> <p><strong>Rylan Urban</strong>, a second-year student in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program, launched&nbsp;<a href="https://energyhub.org/">Energyhub.org</a>&nbsp;a year ago and has since helped broker over $1 million in residential solar sales across five provinces.</p> <p>Urban got the idea for the website after noting a lack of accessible information for Canadian homeowners interested in sustainable energy systems. He decided to bridge that knowledge gap with the creation of a comprehensive, information source that homeowners would find useful.</p> <p>Urban began by answering questions he would have as a homeowner interested in installing a solar power system. That included information on the cost of solar systems, where to get them installed, what the installation process looks like, how effective they are when there’s snow, timelines and rebate programs.</p> <p>“I went through the very long and laborious process of answering those questions, specific to every single province and territory in Canada,” Urban says, explaining a lot of the information was scattered across utility, government, regulatory and individual company websites.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“There was no real central place that brought it all together. I’ve tried to make it really easy for someone who is interested in sustainable energy systems to find everything they need in one place.”</p> <p>The site now gets more than 15,000 visitors a month who are looking for information on how to tap into the sustainable energy market.</p> <p>Urban also acts as a facilitator, connecting customers with installation companies and&nbsp;earning a small fee in the process. The project also helped land him an internship, which has already led to a full-time position as an energy consultant after he graduates.</p> <p>The big motivation behind the project, though, is promoting sustainability.</p> <p>“Climate change and, more generally, systemic sustainability issues are important to me,” Urban says. “I think that these are very important issues that humanity is going to have to solve in the next 10 to 50 years if we want the planet to continue operating the same way it does today.”</p> <p>Urban plans to expand the focus of Energyhub.org to include other products and services, including wind and geothermal systems. He says he would&nbsp;also like to add information about general efficiency and smart home technologies.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 16 Jan 2020 18:02:05 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 161760 at U of T study finds success in combining two emerging technologies for next-generation solar power /news/u-t-study-finds-success-combining-two-emerging-technologies-next-generation-solar-power <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T study finds success in combining two emerging technologies for next-generation solar power </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2019-08-12-sargent-study-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=mw9uqZYz 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2019-08-12-sargent-study-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=OdYdwk4D 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2019-08-12-sargent-study-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=WGN7v73l 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2019-08-12-sargent-study-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=mw9uqZYz" alt="Photo of"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>noreen.rasbach</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-08-12T00:00:00-04:00" title="Monday, August 12, 2019 - 00:00" class="datetime">Mon, 08/12/2019 - 00:00</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Mengxia Liu is the lead author of a recent paper in Nature that describes a way to combine two promising solar technologies in order to enhance their stability (photo by Sanyang Han)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/tyler-irving" hreflang="en">Tyler Irving</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ted-sargent" hreflang="en">Ted Sargent</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p style="margin-left:auto;">Researchers at the Ƶ's Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering have combined two emerging technologies for next-generation solar power – and discovered that each one helps stabilize the other. The resulting hybrid material is a major step toward reducing the cost of solar power while multiplying the ways it can be used.</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">Today virtually all solar cells are made of high-purity silicon. It’s a well-established technology, and in recent years the manufacturing cost has dropped significantly due to economies of scale. Nevertheless, silicon has an upper limit to its efficiency. A team led by&nbsp;<strong>Ted Sargent</strong>, a professor&nbsp;in the department of electrical and computer engineering, is pursuing complementary materials that can enhance the solar-harvesting potential of silicon by absorbing wavelengths of light that silicon does not.</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">“Two of the technologies we pursue in our lab are perovskite crystals and quantum dots,” says Sargent. “Both of these are amenable to solution processing. Imagine a ‘solar ink’ that could be printed onto flexible plastic to create low-cost, bendable solar cells. We can also combine them in front of, or behind, silicon solar cells to further enhance their efficiency.”</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">One of the key challenges facing both perovskites and quantum dots is stability. At room temperature, some types of perovskites experience an adjustment in their 3D crystal structure that renders them transparent – they no longer fully absorb solar radiation.</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">For their part, quantum dots must be covered in a thin layer known as a passivation layer. This layer – only a single molecule thick – prevents the quantum dots from sticking to each other. But temperatures above 100 C can destroy the passivation layer, causing the quantum dots to aggregate or clump together, wrecking their ability to harvest light.</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1239-7">paper published recently in&nbsp;<em>Nature</em></a>, a team of researchers from Sargent’s lab report a way to combine perovskites and quantum dots that stabilizes both.</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">“Before we did this, people usually tried to address the two challenges separately,” says&nbsp;<strong>Mengxia Liu, </strong>the paper’s lead author who received her PhD at U of T in 2018.</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">“Research has shown the successful growth of hybrid structures that incorporated both perovskites and quantum dots,” says Liu, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge University. “This inspired us to consider the possibility that the two materials could stabilize each other if they share the same crystal structure.”</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">Liu and the team built two types of hybrid materials. One was primarily quantum dots with about 15 per cent perovskites by volume, and is designed to turn light into electricity. The other was primarily perovskites with less than 15 per cent quantum dots by volume, and is better suited to turning electricity into light, for example, as part of a light emitting diode (LED).</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">The team was able to show that the perovskite-rich material remained stable under ambient conditions (25 C and 30 per cent humidity) for six months, about ten times longer than materials composed of the same perovskite alone. As for the quantum dot material, when heated to 100 C, the aggregation of the nanoparticles was five times lower than if they hadn’t been stabilized with perovskites.</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">“It provedour hypothesis remarkably well,” says Liu. “It was an impressive outcome beyond our expectations.”</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">The new paper provides proof-of-concept for the idea that these kinds of hybrid materials can enhance stability. In the future, Liu hopes that solar cell manufacturers will take her ideas and build on them to create solution-processed solar cells that meet all the same criteria as traditional silicon.</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">“Industrial researchers could experiment by using different chemical elements to form the perovskites or quantum dots,” says Liu. “What we have shown is that this is a promising strategy for improving stability in these kinds of structures.”</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">“Perovskites have shown tremendous potential as solar materials; but fundamental solutions are needed to turn them into stable and robust materials that can meet the demanding requirements of the renewable energy sector.” says Jeffrey C. Grossman, the Morton and Claire Goulder and Family Professor in Environmental Systems and a professor in the department of materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the study. “The Toronto study shows one exciting new avenue to advancing the understanding, and the achievement, of stable perovskite crystal phases.”</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">Liu credits the discovery in part to the collaborative environment in the team, which included researchers from many disciplines, including chemistry, physics and her own field of materials science.</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">“Perovskite and quantum dots have distinct physical structures, and the similarities between these materials have been usually overlooked,” she says. “This discovery shows what can happen when we combine ideas from different fields.”</p> <p style="margin-left:auto;">&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 12 Aug 2019 04:00:00 +0000 noreen.rasbach 157496 at U of T startup QD Solar secures international financing /news/u-t-startup-qd-solar-secures-international-financing <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T startup QD Solar secures international financing</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-02-14-sargent-sized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=fe1Uh_3a 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-02-14-sargent-sized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=R3atVtFQ 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-02-14-sargent-sized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=o2BHOKbY 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-02-14-sargent-sized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=fe1Uh_3a" alt="photo of Ted Sargent in lab"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-02-14T08:17:43-05:00" title="Tuesday, February 14, 2017 - 08:17" class="datetime">Tue, 02/14/2017 - 08:17</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Ted Sargent (photo by Roberta Baker, courtesy Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-and-innovation" hreflang="en">Research and Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startup" hreflang="en">Startup</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ted-sargent" hreflang="en">Ted Sargent</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sargent-group" hreflang="en">Sargent Group</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar-cells" hreflang="en">Solar Cells</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/quantum-dots" hreflang="en">Quantum Dots</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/nanotechnology" hreflang="en">Nanotechnology</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>QD Solar, a Canadian startup co-founded by U of T researchers <strong>Ted Sargent</strong> and <strong>Sjoerd Hoogland</strong>, has received a big boost in funding and an important international nod to help bring its solar technology to market.</p> <p>On Monday, the company announced it had closed its first significant round of venture capital financing led by DSM Venturing, based in the Netherlands, with participation from existing investors, KAUST Innovation Fund and MaRS Innovation.</p> <p>Coupled with the $2.55 million the company received from Sustainable Development Technology Canada last March, QD Solar “has the resources to advance, develop, test and de-risk our solar technology, while concurrently developing the manufacturing processes needed to bring this technology to market,” said Dan Shea, CEO of QD Solar and a former senior executive with Celestica and BlackBerry, in <a href="http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/-2195507.htm">a news release</a>.</p> <p>QD Solar’s quantum dot-based solar cells use nano-engineered, low-cost materials that can absorb otherwise wasted infrared light. Solar panels with this technology can boost their overall power generation by 20 per cent, the company says.</p> <p>In the future, QD Solar says, it intends to develop quantum dot-based solar material that can be applied to any flexible surface to generate energy.</p> <p>The technology was developed in labs at U of T by Sargent, a <a href="http://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards/uprofessors.htm">University Professor</a> in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at U of T and Canada Research Chair in Nanotechnology, and Hoogland, director of research, technology and innovation at the Sargent Group.</p> <p>“We’re delighted to see QD Solar and this novel technology created at the Ƶ receive this substantial investment from Canadian and international sources to advance their bold vision for a new clean energy product,” said <strong>Derek Newton</strong>, U of T’s assistant vice–president of innovation, partnerships and entrepreneurship.</p> <p>The startup was supported by MaRS Innovation and U of T’s Innovations &amp; Partnership Office, which provided seed funding, patent protection and helped the company meet international industry partners and investors.</p> <p>Since 2011, U of T researchers have created more than 830 inventions, founded more than 90 research-based startups and generated $49 million from licensing revenues.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 14 Feb 2017 13:17:43 +0000 lanthierj 104960 at The next generation of solar pioneers: U of T alumni are electrifying the Democratic Republic of Congo /news/next-generation-solar-pioneers-u-t-alumni-are-electrifying-democratic-republic-congo <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The next generation of solar pioneers: U of T alumni are electrifying the Democratic Republic of Congo</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-12-09-Virunga%20landscape.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=2ChmYE79 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-12-09-Virunga%20landscape.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=-tGL-RkG 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-12-09-Virunga%20landscape.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=ktaPl98B 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-12-09-Virunga%20landscape.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=2ChmYE79" alt="Photo of Congo"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-12-09T17:12:17-05:00" title="Friday, December 9, 2016 - 17:12" class="datetime">Fri, 12/09/2016 - 17:12</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The Virunga landscape in the Democratic Republic of Congo (photo by flöschen via Flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/kevin-soobrian" hreflang="en">Kevin Soobrian</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Kevin Soobrian</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/congo" hreflang="en">Congo</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>John Paul Morgan</strong>&nbsp;found himself in the middle of a civil war. It was 2006, and after completing his graduate studies in electrical engineering at U of T, the 27-year-old&nbsp;had a one-year contract position with Doctors Without Borders (DWB) in Shabunda, a small town in the South Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).</p> <p>“The town was strategically important to various warring factions and kept getting taken and retaken by different sides,” says Morgan. “As a result, it had a very acute medical crisis that needed addressing. DWB had established a fairly large network of hospitals and clinics, and I was in charge of logistics.”</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2872 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-09-morgan.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>U of T Engineering alumnus John Paul Morgan was inspired to found his company, <a href="http://morgansolar.com/">Morgan Solar</a>, by his experiences with Doctors Without Borders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (photo courtesy of John Paul Morgan)</em></p> <p>Over the next 12 months, Morgan handled everything from construction and personnel management to making sure the organization had medical supplies and food. One thing that struck him during this time was the negative impact a lack of electricity was having on the local population.</p> <p>“At the hospital, water was being supplied by a train of 20 labourers going up and down a hill all day to fetch water from a spring in jerry cans,” Morgan explains. “That simple necessity of fetching water could be addressed with pennies worth of electricity.”</p> <p>Under Morgan’s direction, DWB installed a pipeline that provided some 90,000 gallons of water a day to the hospital for drinking, surgeries, showers and cleaning.</p> <p>“It was a massive project, but at the end of the day there was a pole with two standard solar panels and a little electrical pump running the whole thing,” says Morgan. &nbsp;“That gives you a sense of how much potential there is in solar.”</p> <p>According to a 2014 publication by the International Energy Agency, some 60 million people in the DRC –&nbsp;over 75 per cent of its population –&nbsp;do not have access to electricity. Solar power represents the most abundant form of renewable energy on Earth, and two pioneering U of T Engineering alumni are developing and delivering the technology that may help to electrify the nation.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2874 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-09-John%20Paul%20Morgan%20%28at%20right%29%20w%20Kathleen%20Wynne_courtesy%20John%20Paul%20Morgan.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>John Paul Morgan (right) demonstrates his pioneering solar optic technology to Ontario Premier <strong>Kathleen Wynne</strong>&nbsp;(photo courtesy of&nbsp;John Paul Morgan)</em></p> <p><strong>A Bright Idea</strong></p> <p>Before leaving Shabunda, Morgan learned from the DWB doctors that there was a very strong correlation between access to electricity and a reduction in disease. &nbsp;</p> <p>“It just seemed wrong that in 2006 so many millions of people should have to live without light because it wasn’t affordable. &nbsp;So I wanted to figure out a way to fix those problems.”</p> <p>When he returned to Canada, Morgan leveraged his education to found his own solar energy startup, Morgan Solar. The company’s flagship product is a solar module developed by Morgan called the<a href="http://morgansolar.com/about-sun-simba/"> Sun Simba</a>.</p> <p>“We invented a way to make a super low-profile optic that traps light in the solar panel and guides it to a solar cell,” he explains. “This lets you reduce how much solar cell material you need to use, which also reduces the cost.” &nbsp;</p> <p>After developing the Sun Simba, Morgan noticed a need for an inexpensive and easy-to-assemble tracking system to make this technology scalable. His answer is the <a href="http://morgansolar.com/savannapvtracker/">Savanna Tracker</a>, which can be assembled in minutes using only hand tools. &nbsp;</p> <p>Morgan noted that inexpensive solar solutions like his company’s have the potential to address energy poverty in a way unlike other energy sources because it can be decentralized. He expects that solar mini-grid solutions will become increasingly common in Africa.</p> <p>“It will be just like with cell phones,” says Morgan. “They leapfrogged past the need to build landlines, and jumped straight to cellular. With energy, they’re going to bypass the need to make expensive and difficult to maintain electrical grids, and go straight to solar.”</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2873 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="399" src="/sites/default/files/2016-12-09-Virunga%20Solar%20Array_Photo%20by%20Joe%20OConnor%20%281%29.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>Solar photovoltaic array at Rwindi Ranger Station (photo courtesy of Joe O’Connor)</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Here Comes the Sun</strong></p> <p>U of T Engineering alumnus <strong>Shawn Qu</strong> is an indisputable leader in the solar field. In 2001 he founded <a href="http://www.canadiansolar.com/na/">Canadian Solar</a>, which has grown to become one of the world’s largest solar power companies. Canadian Solar has successfully delivered solar modules to over 90 countries –&nbsp;one of which is the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p> <p>This August, Qu donated a number of 30-kilowatt solar panels to Virunga National Park in the DRC to establish the park’s first mini-grid system. Poaching and the Congolese Civil War have significantly reduced plant and animal wildlife in Virunga. Electrification in the park has potential to prevent further destruction by powering security lights and radios that will enhance the park rangers’ ability to protect wildlife in remote areas at night.</p> <p>“Protecting endangered species and environment is every corporate citizen’s responsibility,” said Qu in a press release issued by Canadian Solar. “As a founder and CEO of a world leading PV solution provider, I am happy to be able to empower rangers in their endeavour.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Qu is also helping to support the next generation of solar researchers at U of T Engineering. In 2015, Canadian Solar <a href="http://www.ece.utoronto.ca/news/engineering-alumnus-gives-back-to-support-solar-cell-research/">committed </a><a href="https://www.ece.utoronto.ca/news/engineering-alumnus-gives-back-to-support-solar-cell-research/">$400,000</a> to support solar research at the faculty through the Talent<em>Edge</em> program.</p> <p>Morgan, who has been giving back to his alma mater by serving on U of T Governing Council since 2013, sees solar as the only practical option for electrifying not only parts of Africa&nbsp;but the world.</p> <p>“We can’t power the world off of wind, unless we’re willing to reduce our consumption by a factor of 10, and that doesn’t seem possible,” he says. &nbsp;“Solar is the only real technology that can meet humanity’s needs and do it in a way that will last for more than 40 years and won’t wreck the planet in the process.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 09 Dec 2016 22:12:17 +0000 ullahnor 102735 at Fiat lux: what do you get when you combine perovskite and colloidal dots? /news/fiat-lux-what-do-you-get-when-you-combine-perovskite-and-colloidal-dots <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Fiat lux: what do you get when you combine perovskite and colloidal dots? </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-07-17T06:07:14-04:00" title="Friday, July 17, 2015 - 06:07" class="datetime">Fri, 07/17/2015 - 06:07</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"> Riccardo Comin (left) and Xiwen Gong combined two different materials to create new hyper-efficient light-emitting crystal (photo by Marit Mitchell)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/marit-mitchell" hreflang="en">Marit Mitchell</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Marit Mitchell</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/lighting" hreflang="en">Lighting</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/solar" hreflang="en">Solar</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/light" hreflang="en">Light</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/led" hreflang="en">LED</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/engineering" hreflang="en">Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/collaboration" hreflang="en">Collaboration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">U of T researchers engineer hybrid solar-power crystal that opens new frontiers in high-efficiency lighting</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>It’s snack time: you have a plain oatmeal cookie, and a pile of chocolate chips. Both are delicious on their own&nbsp;but if you can find a way to combine them smoothly, you get the best of both worlds.</p> <p>Researchers in the Ƶ's&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ece.utoronto.ca/">Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical &amp; Computer Engineering </a>used this insight to invent something totally new: they’ve combined two promising solar cell materials together for the first time, creating a new platform for LED technology.&nbsp;</p> <p>The team designed a way to embed strongly luminescent nanoparticles called colloidal quantum dots (the chocolate chips) into perovskite (the oatmeal cookie). Perovskites are a family of materials that can be easily manufactured from solution, and that allow electrons to move swiftly through them with minimal loss or capture by defects.&nbsp;</p> <div style="float: left; margin: 5px 15px 10px 0; width: 300px"><img alt src="/sites/default/files/2015-07-17_DotsinPerovskite_Glowing1_square-300.gif" style="width: 300px; height: 300px;"> <p style="margin-top:0">A glowing quantum dot seamlessly integrated into a perovskite crystal matrix (Image: Ella Marushchenko).</p> </div> <p>The work was&nbsp;published July 15&nbsp;in <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v523/n7560/full/nature14563.html">the international journal <em>Nature</em></a>.</p> <p>“It’s a pretty novel idea to blend together these two optoelectronic materials, both of which are gaining a lot of traction,” said&nbsp;<strong>Xiwen Gong</strong>, one of the study’s lead authors and a PhD candidate working with Professor <strong>Ted Sargent</strong>. “We wanted to take advantage of the benefits of both by combining them seamlessly in a solid-state matrix.”</p> <p>The result is a black crystal that relies on the perovskite matrix to ‘funnel’ electrons into the quantum dots, which are extremely efficient at converting electricity to light. Hyper-efficient LED technologies could enable applications from the visible-light LED bulbs in every home, to new displays, to gesture recognition using near-infrared wavelengths.</p> <p>“When you try to jam two different crystals together, they often form separate phases without blending smoothly into each other,” said&nbsp;<strong>Riccardo Comin</strong>, a post-doctoral fellow in the Sargent Group.</p> <p>“We had to design a new strategy to&nbsp;convince these two components to forget about their differences and to rather intermix into forming a unique crystalline entity.”&nbsp;</p> <p>The main challenge was making the orientation of the two crystal structures line up, called heteroexpitaxy. To achieve heteroepitaxy, Gong, Comin and their team engineered a way to connect the atomic ‘ends’ of the two crystalline structures so that they aligned smoothly, without defects forming at the seams.</p> <p>“We started by building a nano-scale scaffolding ‘shell’ around the quantum dots in solution, then grew the perovskite crystal around that shell so the two faces aligned,” explained coauthor <strong>Zhijun Ning</strong>, who contributed to the work while a post-doctoral fellow at UofT and is now a faculty member at ShanghaiTech.</p> <p>The resulting heterogeneous material is the basis for a new family of highly energy-efficient near-infrared LEDs. Infrared LEDs can be harnessed for improved night-vision technology, to better biomedical imaging, to high-speed telecommunications.</p> <p>Combining the two materials in this way also solves the problem of self-absorption, which occurs when a substance partly re-absorbs the same spectrum of energy that it emits, with a net efficiency loss.</p> <p>“These dots in perovskite don’t suffer reabsorption, because the emission of the dots doesn’t overlap with the absorption spectrum of the perovskite,” Comin said.</p> <p>Gong, Comin and the team deliberately designed their material to be compatible with solution-processing, so it could be readily integrated with the most inexpensive and commercially practical ways of manufacturing solar film and devices.</p> <p>Their next step is to build and test the hardware to capitalize on the concept they have proven with this work.</p> <p>“We’re going to build the LED device and try to beat the record power efficiency reported in the literature,” Gong said.</p> <p>This work was supported by the Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence Program, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the King Abdullah University of Science &amp; Technology (KAUST).</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-07-16-LED-researchers.jpg</div> </div> Fri, 17 Jul 2015 10:07:14 +0000 sgupta 7153 at