Reactor uses sunlight to make hydrocarbon fuel

January 12, 2011

Researchers have developed a reactor that can rapidly produce fuel from sunlight, using carbon dioxide and water, plus a compound called ceric oxide.

This process is akin to the way plants grow, using energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide into sugar-based polymers and aromatics.

Plants grow by using energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide into sugar-based polymers and aromatics.

These compounds in turn can be stripped of their oxygen, either through thousands of years of underground degradation to yield fossil fuels, or through a rather more rapid process of dissolution, fermentation and hydrogenation to yield biofuels.

Yet right now, converting sunlight into a chemical fuel isn’t the most effective process, and practical generation of solar fuels remains a long way off.

Researchers have recently been exploring alternative possibilities of using sunlight to turn carbon dioxide into hydrocarbon fuel without relying on the intervening steps of plant growth and breakdown.

William Chueh and colleagues now demonstrate one possible reactor design, in which concentrated sunlight heats ceric oxide—an oxide of the rare earth metal cerium—to a high enough temperature to shake loose some oxygen from its lattice.

The material then readily strips oxygen atoms from either water or carbon dioxide to replace what’s missing, yielding hydrogen or carbon monoxide (which in turn can be combined to form fuels using additional catalysts).

With a windowed aperture through which concentrated sunlight enters, the solar-cavity reactor is designed to internally reflect light multiple times, ensuring efficient capture of incoming solar energy.

Cylindrical pieces of ceric oxide sit inside the cavity and are subjected to hundreds of several heat-cool cycles to induce fuel production.

The study was published last week in the journal Science.

More information: "High-Flux Solar-Driven Thermochemical Dissociation of CO2 and H₂O Using Nonstoichiometric Ceria," by W.C. Chueh; M. Abbott; D. Scipio; S.M. Haile at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA; C. Falter; P. Furler; A. Steinfeld at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland; A. Steinfeld at Solar Technology Laboratory, Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen, Switzerland. Science, January 2011.

Source: AAAS

Source

IP

WIPO

(WO/2009/055037) THERMOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS OF FUELS FOR STORING THERMAL ENERGY

ABSTRACT: The present invention provides a method for storing thermal energy, such as solar energy, as a fuel, by heating a reactive oxide substrate to a first temperature, such that the reactive oxide substrate is reduced, wherein the reactive oxide substrate includes a cerium oxide. The method also includes contacting the reduced reactive oxide substrate at a second temperature with a gas mixture including carbon dioxide, wherein the first temperature is greater than the second temperature, thereby preparing the fuel. The present invention also provides a method for preparing the reactive oxide substrates by heating a mixture including a doped cerium oxide and a pore-forming agent, such that pores are formed in the doped cerium oxide, thereby forming the reactive oxide substrate. Source

US

United States Patent Application	20090107044
Kind Code	A1
Haile; Sossina M. ; et al.	April 30, 2009

---

THERMOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS OF FUELS FOR STORING THERMAL ENERGY

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for storing thermal energy, such as solar energy, as a fuel, by heating a reactive oxide substrate to a first temperature, such that the reactive oxide substrate is reduced, wherein the reactive oxide substrate includes a cerium oxide. The method also includes contacting the reduced reactive oxide substrate at a second temperature with a gas mixture including carbon dioxide, wherein the first temperature is greater than the second temperature, thereby preparing the fuel. The present invention also provides a method for preparing the reactive oxide substrates by heating a mixture including a doped cerium oxide and a pore-forming agent, such that pores are formed in the doped cerium oxide, thereby forming the reactive oxide substrate.

---

Inventors:

Haile; Sossina M.; (Pasadena, CA) ; Chueh; William C.; (Pasadena, CA)

Source

US PAIR [Insert 20090107044 in "Publication Number" and hit "Search"]

Patent Application Information Retrieval
	Order Certified Application As Filed Order Certified File Wrapper View Order List 12/257,840 THERMOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS OF FUELS FOR STORING THERMAL ENERGY

INL, ISU team on nanoparticle production breakthrough

INL chemist Bob Fox and his colleagues at Idaho State University have invented a way to make extremely precise, uniform nanoparticles to order. The breakthrough could help make solar cells more efficient and speed the development of nanotechnology.

INL, ISU team on nanoparticle production breakthrough

by Mike Wall, Research Communications Fellow

Every hour, the sun floods Earth with more energy than the entire world consumes in a year. Yet solar power accounts for less than 0.002 percent of all electricity generated in the United States, primarily because photovoltaic cells remain expensive and relatively inefficient.

View the precision nanoparticles video.

But solar may not be such a marginal power source for long. Chemists at Idaho National Laboratory and Idaho State University have invented a way to manufacture highly precise, uniform nanoparticles to order. The technology, Precision Nanoparticles, has the potential to vastly improve the solar cell and further spur the growing nanotech revolution.

A scientific gold rush
Nanoparticles are motes of matter tens of thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair. Because they're so small, a large percentage of nanoparticles' atoms reside on their surfaces rather than in their interiors. This means surface interactions dominate nanoparticle behavior. And, for this reason, they often have different characteristics and properties than larger chunks of the same material.

While scientists have just begun to exploit nanoparticles, they already show great promise in a number of fields, from medicine to manufacturing to energy. For example, embedding certain nanoparticle types in building materials makes structures stronger and more corrosion-resistant. And nano-engineered transistors are smaller, faster and more efficient than traditional ones.

"Nanoparticles are the scientific gold rush of the next generation," says INL chemist Bob Fox, who helped develop the Precision Nanoparticles technology. "They'll change our lives the way personal computers have."

Because the properties of nanoparticles are so size-dependent, any little dimensional tweak can make a big difference. Thus a key to harnessing the potential of nanoparticles lies in the ability to produce them at certain prescribed sizes, with tiny margins of error. This capability has proven elusive, but it is just what Precision Nanoparticles delivers.

Precision Nanoparticles could enable photovoltaic cells to harness a much bigger chunk of the sun’s radiation spectrum. View a larger version of the solar spectrum.

A new way to make nanoparticles
A few years ago, Fox and ISU chemists Joshua Pak and Rene Rodriguez began looking for a better way to make semiconducting components for solar cells. Specifically, they wanted to improve how raw materials are transformed into semiconducting nanoparticles. The industry's established method of doing this is relatively imprecise and energy-intensive, requiring temperatures around 300 degrees Celsius.

The team hit upon the idea of using "supercritical" carbon dioxide to streamline the reaction. Supercritical fluids are a bit like a mix between a gas and a liquid. They can diffuse through solids, for example, but also dissolve substances like a liquid does. Supercritical carbon dioxide has been used for years to decaffeinate coffee.

But when Fox, Pak and Rodriguez introduced supercritical carbon dioxide into their reaction vessel, the only immediately noticeable result was a thick yellow goop.

"We thought it was a failed experiment," Fox says.

But when the chemists looked more closely, they discovered the goop was full of very small, incredibly uniform semiconducting nanoparticles. The same reaction, roughly, that industry uses to transform raw materials into semiconducting nanoparticles had taken place — but it generated a better, less variable product.

"We didn't expect that doing this would give us such homogeneity," Fox says. "That was really exciting." And because the new reaction could proceed at a much lower temperature — 65 degrees Celsius rather than 300 — it also promised to save a great deal of money and energy.

After tinkering with the reaction, Fox, Pak and Rodriguez figured out how to control nanoparticle size with unprecedented precision. They can now produce prescribed particles between 1 and 100 nanometers, hitting the mark every time with great accuracy. In July, R&D magazine recognized the breakthrough technology as one of its top 100 innovations of 2009 — a prestigious award commonly referred to as an "Oscar of invention". And in September, the work won the Early-Stage Innovation of the Year prize in the Stoel Rives Idaho Innovation Awards.

Fox, Pak and Rodriguez have licensed the technology to Precision Nanoparticles, Inc. The relatively new Seattle company is poised to begin production of tailor-made nanoparticles for the photovoltaic industry.

The chemists have manufactured nanoparticles of the semiconductor copper indium sulfide (identified here as “quantum dots”), a key component of advanced solar cells.

A better solar cell
The aims of the INL and ISU chemists — and of Precision Nanoparticles, Inc. — are to make solar cells more efficient and, ultimately, solar energy more practical.

In a solar cell, photons strike atoms of a semiconducting material — historically, silicon — knocking loose some electrons. These liberated electrons then flow in a single direction, generating direct-current electricity. The amount of energy needed to jar electrons loose is specific to each material and corresponds to only a tiny sliver of the sun's radiation spectrum. This fact explains why the efficiency of most current cells maxes out at around 20 percent.

To knock an electron free from silicon, for example, an incoming photon must have an energy of about 1.3 electron volts. This energy is known as silicon's band gap, and it corresponds to a photon wavelength of 950 nanometers or so. Photons with lower energies — and thus longer wavelengths — won't do the job. Shorter-wavelength photons will, but their energy above 1.3 electron volts is wasted, dissipated as heat. This is a big deal, because the most abundant photons from sunlight occur between 500 and 600 nanometers (which our eyes register as greens and yellows) — meaning that most current photocells waste a lot of energy.

Engineers have been working hard to harness more of the solar spectrum, to design cells that put low-energy photons to work and use high-energy photons more efficiently. One way to do this is to build composite cells with layers of different semiconductors. Slapping a film of copper indium sulfide atop a band of silicon, say, increases a cell's photon-catching power. But building such devices is expensive and technologically tricky.

"The different layers don't play well together," Fox says.

That's where the Precision Nanoparticles technology comes in. One of the many properties that changes with a nanoparticle's size is its band gap. Because Fox and his team learned how to control nanoparticle dimensions so precisely, it may soon be possible to manufacture — from a single material — semiconductor building blocks tuned to specific wavelengths of light. A photovoltaic cell made of such building blocks could capture huge swathes of the solar energy spectrum. And since the cells would contain only a single semiconducting material, they would be much cheaper, more efficient and easier to construct than current multi-layer designs.

Some cells' semiconductor nanoparticles, Fox believes, could even be tuned to pick up infrared wavelengths — heat, which radiates off rocks, buildings, roads and parking lots deep into the night.

"So your solar panel could be working long after you've gone to bed," he says.

The production process is environmentally friendly: it generates little waste and can proceed at relatively low, energy-saving temperatures.

Beyond solar power
While Precision Nanoparticles' most immediate applications come in the field of its birth, photovoltaics, potential uses don't stop there. For example, the technology could also greatly advance ultracapacitor research. Ultracapacitors store electrical energy quickly and effectively, and they may someday replace batteries in electric cars and plug-in hybrids. At least one material, vanadium nitride, has much higher ultracapacitance in nano-form — but only if the nanoparticles are of strictly uniform size, Fox says.

To fully blossom, the nanotech revolution will require the control needed to produce such uniformity. Technologies like that developed by Fox, Pak and Rodriguez may be able to provide this control, delivering particles of predictable size with predictable properties. As a result, nanoparticles could find their way into more designs, and more products.

"The only thing limiting us at this point is our imagination," Fox says.

Amazing solar-powered fridge invented by British student in a potting shed helps poverty-stricken Africans

By Chris Brooke

Last updated at 2:41 AM on 08th January 2009

It's the kind of simple yet brilliant invention that would have the tycoons of Dragons' Den salivating with excitement.

Not only is the fridge solar powered, it can also be built from household materials - making it ideal for the Third World.

Emily Cummins, 21, came up with the idea while working on a school project in her grandfather's potting shed. The fridge is now improving the lives of thousands of poverty-stricken Africans.

Enlarge

Emily Cummins holds the portable eco-fridge. It can keep perishable goods, such as milk or meat, cool for days at a temperature of around 6C

And Miss Cummins hopes to patent a more sophisticated portable model for use in transporting medical supplies around hot countries.

From the age of four, when she was given a hammer as a gift, Miss Cummins has spent much of her spare time making things out of ordinary materials.

She has won awards for a toothpaste squeezer for arthritis sufferers and for a water-carrying device, again for Third World use.

Emily with her grandfather Peter Harrison, 78, in his potting shed where she created the fridge

Her 'sustainable' fridge works through evaporation and can be used to keep perishable goods such as milk and meat cool for days.

Without using any power, temperatures stay at around 6c.

The fridge comprises two cylinders - one inside the other. The inner cylinder is made from metal but the outer cylinder can be made from anything to hand, including wood and plastic.

Miss Cummins, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, said: 'A fridge is something that people can't seem to live without.

'I wanted to keep it really simple and so I set about researching how we cooled things years ago. The simplest method of cooling something could be seen when you look at how we cool biologically - through sweating or evaporation.

'That idea led me to the design and the fridge was born.'

After her A-levels she spent five months of her gap year in Africa, perfecting and demonstrating her product. In Namibia she became known as 'The Fridge Lady'. Miss Cummins returned to the UK to start a business management course at Leeds University.

She had been refused a place on an engineering course because, to her dismay, she didn't have the correct qualifications.

Last year she met the Queen at Buckingham Palace after being invited to a prestigious women in business event.

Source

A metal-free polymeric photocatalyst for hydrogen production from water under visible light

Article abstract

Nature Materials

Published online: 9 November 2008 | doi:10.1038/nmat2317

A metal-free polymeric photocatalyst for hydrogen production from water under visible light

Xinchen Wang^1,2, Kazuhiko Maeda³, Arne Thomas¹, Kazuhiro Takanabe³, Gang Xin³, Johan M. Carlsson⁴, Kazunari Domen³ & Markus Antonietti¹

---

Abstract

The production of hydrogen from water using a catalyst and solar energy is an ideal future energy source, independent of fossil reserves. For an economical use of water and solar energy, catalysts that are sufficiently efficient, stable, inexpensive and capable of harvesting light are required. Here, we show that an abundant material, polymeric carbon nitride, can produce hydrogen from water under visible-light irradiation in the presence of a sacrificial donor. Contrary to other conducting polymer semiconductors, carbon nitride is chemically and thermally stable and does not rely on complicated device manufacturing. The results represent an important first step towards photosynthesis in general where artificial conjugated polymer semiconductors can be used as energy transducers.

Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Department of Colloid Chemistry, Research Campus Golm, 14424 Postdam, Germany

1. Research Institute of Photocatalysis, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Photocatalysis, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002, China
2. Department of Chemical System Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
3. Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max-Planck-Society, Theory Department, Faradayweg 4-6, D-14195 Berlin, Germany

Correspondence to: Xinchen Wang^1,2 e-mail: xcwang@fzu.edu.cn

Correspondence to: Kazunari Domen³ e-mail: domen@chemsys.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Source

Flexible nanoantenna arrays capture abundant solar energy

Posted: August 10, 2008

(Nanowerk News) Researchers have devised an inexpensive way to produce plastic sheets containing billions of nanoantennas that collect heat energy generated by the sun and other sources. The technology, developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, is the first step toward a solar energy collector that could be mass-produced on flexible materials.

While methods to convert the energy into usable electricity still need to be developed, the sheets could one day be manufactured as lightweight "skins" that power everything from hybrid cars to iPods with higher efficiency than traditional solar cells, say the researchers, who report their findings Aug. 13 at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 2008 2nd International Conference on Energy Sustainability in Jacksonville, Fla. The nanoantennas also have the potential to act as cooling devices that draw waste heat from buildings or electronics without using electricity.

The nanoantennas target mid-infrared rays, which the Earth continuously radiates as heat after absorbing energy from the sun during the day. In contrast, traditional solar cells can only use visible light, rendering them idle after dark. Infrared radiation is an especially rich energy source because it also is generated by industrial processes such as coal-fired plants.

"Every process in our industrial world creates waste heat," says INL physicist Steven Novack. "It's energy that we just throw away." Novack led the research team, which included INL engineer Dale Kotter, W. Dennis Slafer of MicroContinuum, Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) and Patrick Pinhero, now at the University of Missouri.

The nanoantennas are tiny gold squares or spirals set in a specially treated form of polyethylene, a material used in plastic bags. While others have successfully invented antennas that collect energy from lower-frequency regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as microwaves, infrared rays have proven more elusive. Part of the reason is that materials' properties change drastically at high-frequency wavelengths, Kotter says.

The researchers studied the behavior of various materials -- including gold, manganese and copper -- under infrared rays and used the resulting data to build computer models of nanoantennas. They found that with the right materials, shape and size, the simulated nanoantennas could harvest up to 92 percent of the energy at infrared wavelengths.

The team then created real-life prototypes to test their computer models. First, they used conventional production methods to etch a silicon wafer with the nanoantenna pattern. The silicon-based nanoantennas matched the computer simulations, absorbing more than 80 percent of the energy over the intended wavelength range. Next, they used a stamp-and-repeat process to emboss the nanoantennas on thin sheets of plastic. While the plastic prototype is still being tested, initial experiments suggest that it also captures energy at the expected infrared wavelengths.

The nanoantennas' ability to absorb infrared radiation makes them promising cooling devices. Since objects give off heat as infrared rays, the nanoantennas could collect those rays and re-emit the energy at harmless wavelengths. Such a system could cool down buildings and computers without the external power source required by air-conditioners and fans.

But more technological advances are needed before the nanoantennas can funnel their energy into usable electricity. The infrared rays create alternating currents in the nanoantennas that oscillate trillions of times per second, requiring a component called a rectifier to convert the alternating current to direct current. Today's rectifiers can't handle such high frequencies. "We need to design nanorectifiers that go with our nanoantennas," says Kotter, noting that a nanoscale rectifier would need to be about 1,000 times smaller than current commercial devices and will require new manufacturing methods. Another possibility is to develop electrical circuitry that might slow down the current to usable frequencies.

If these technical hurdles can be overcome, nanoantennas have the potential to be a cheaper, more efficient alternative to solar cells. Traditional solar cells rely on a chemical reaction that only works for up to 20 percent of the visible light they collect. Scientists have developed more complex solar cells with higher efficiency, but these models are too expensive for widespread use.

Nanoantennas, on the other hand, can be tweaked to pick up specific wavelengths depending on their shape and size. This flexibility would make it possible to create double-sided nanoantenna sheets that harvest energy from different parts of the sun's spectrum, Novack says. The team's stamp-and-repeat process could also be extended to large-scale roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques that could print the arrays at a rate of several yards per minute. The sheets could potentially cover building roofs or form the "skin" of consumer gadgets like cell phones and iPods, providing a continuous and inexpensive source of renewable energy.

Source: Idaho National Laboratory

Source

Solar-Power Breakthrough

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Researchers have found a cheap and easy way to store the energy made by solar power.

By Kevin Bullis

Splitting water: Daniel Nocera poses with a device for breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen. The device uses an inexpensive catalyst that he has developed.
Credit: Donna Coveney, MIT

Multimedia video
Watch Daniel Nocera explain how his catalyst can be used to store sunlight.

Researchers have made a major advance in inorganic chemistry that could lead to a cheap way to store energy from the sun. In so doing, they have solved one of the key problems in making solar energy a dominant source of electricity.

Daniel Nocera, a professor of chemistry at MIT, has developed a catalyst that can generate oxygen from a glass of water by splitting water molecules. The reaction frees hydrogen ions to make hydrogen gas. The catalyst, which is easy and cheap to make, could be used to generate vast amounts of hydrogen using sunlight to power the reactions. The hydrogen can then be burned or run through a fuel cell to generate electricity whenever it's needed, including when the sun isn't shining.

Solar power is ultimately limited by the fact that the solar cells only produce their peak output for a few hours each day. The proposed solution of using sunlight to split water, storing solar energy in the form of hydrogen, hasn't been practical because the reaction required too much energy, and suitable catalysts were too expensive or used extremely rare materials. Nocera's catalyst clears the way for cheap and abundant water-splitting technologies.

Nocera's advance represents a key discovery in an effort by many chemical research groups to create artificial photosynthesis--mimicking how plants use sunlight to split water to make usable energy. "This discovery is simply groundbreaking," says Karsten Meyer, a professor of chemistry at Friedrich Alexander University, in Germany. "Nocera has probably put a lot of researchers out of business." For solar power, Meyer says, "this is probably the most important single discovery of the century."

The new catalyst marks a radical departure from earlier attempts. Researchers, including Nocera, have tried to design molecular catalysts in which the location of each atom is precisely known and the catalyst is made to last as long as possible. The new catalyst, however, is amorphous--it doesn't have a regular structure--and it's relatively unstable, breaking down as it does its work. But the catalyst is able to constantly repair itself, so it can continue working.

In his experimental system, Nocera immerses an indium tin oxide electrode in water mixed with cobalt and potassium phosphate. He applies a voltage to the electrode, and cobalt, potassium, and phosphate accumulate on the electrode, forming the catalyst. The catalyst oxidizes the water to form oxygen gas and free hydrogen ions. At another electrode, this one coated with a platinum catalyst, hydrogen ions form hydrogen gas. As it works, the cobalt-based catalyst breaks down, but cobalt and potassium phosphate in the solution soon re-form on the electrode, repairing the catalyst.

Source

2nd Article

By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek

August 1, 2008 03:40 PM

Storing solar energy in batteries remains costly and inefficient. But that may not be true for much longer.

MIT researchers have discovered a way to store solar energy that could make solar power in homes a mainstream energy option and might even make power companies obsolete, at least for residential needs.

Daniel Nocera, a professor of chemistry and energy at MIT, and postdoctoral fellow Matthew Kanan have figured out how to split water into hydrogen and oxygen cheaply and efficiently at room temperature. The process can later be reversed, allowing the recombination of hydrogen and oxygen in a fuel cell to create carbon-free electricity.

"This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," Nocera told the MIT News Service. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."

Nocera's breakthrough could enable the "hydrogen economy," a possibility that many have dismissed as impractical.

Nocera told the MIT News Service that within 10 years, he expects that homeowners will be able to use solar power to provide electricity during the day and to store unused solar energy to power a household fuel cell for evening use. This would eliminate the need for electricity delivered over power lines.

According to the MIT News Service, James Barber, a professor of biochemistry at Imperial College in London, characterized the research by Nocera and Kanan as "a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind."

Nocera and Kanan's research is described in an academic paper, "In Situ Formation of an Oxygen-Evolving Catalyst in Neutral Water Containing Phosphate and Co2+," that has just been published in Science magazine. [See below]

Source

Published Online July 31, 2008 Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1162018

Science Express Index

Reports

Submitted on June 19, 2008
Accepted on July 18, 2008

In Situ Formation of an Oxygen-Evolving Catalyst in Neutral Water Containing Phosphate and Co²⁺

Matthew W. Kanan ¹ and Daniel G. Nocera ^1*

¹ Department of Chemistry, 6-335, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139–4307, USA.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Daniel G. Nocera , E-mail: nocera@mit.edu

The utilization of solar energy on a large scale requires its storage. In natural photosynthesis, energy from sunlight is used to rearrange the bonds of water to O₂ and H₂-equivalents. The realization of artificial systems that perform similar "water splitting" requires catalysts that produce O₂ from water without the need for excessive driving potentials. Here, we report such a catalyst that forms upon the oxidative polarization of an inert indium tin oxide electrode in phosphate-buffered water containing Co²⁺. A variety of analytical techniques indicates the presence of phosphate in an approximate 1:2 ratio with cobalt in this material. The pH dependence of the catalytic activity also implicates HPO₄^2– as the proton acceptor in the O₂-producing reaction. This catalyst not only forms in situ from earth-abundant materials but also operates in neutral water under ambient conditions.

Source

Nocera Podcast
(Next paper in a few months detailing a full system design with an alternative to Pt catalyst)

A Better Solar Collector

Thursday, July 10, 2008

A more efficient way to concentrate sunlight could reduce the cost of producing solar power.

By Kevin Bullis

Colorful concentrators: The colored plastic sheets illustrate a way to concentrate sunlight. Combinations of advanced organic dyes made into similar sheets could make solar concentrators more practical. Credit: Kevin Bullis Multimedia See a prototype solar concentrator in action.

Looking to make solar panels cheaper, MIT researchers have created sheets of glass coated with advanced organic dyes that more efficiently concentrate sunlight. The researchers, whose results appear in this week's issue of Science, say that the coated glass sheets could eventually make solar power as cheap as electricity from fossil fuels.

The researchers show that the glass sheets can reduce the amount of expensive semiconducting material needed in solar panels and provide a cheap way to extract more energy from high-energy photons, such as those at the blue end of the spectrum. "This could be the cheapest solar technology," says Marc Baldo, a professor of electrical engineering at MIT. "And I think one day, it could be competitive with coal."

The simple, flat sheets of glass have a number of advantages over previous solar concentrators, devices that gather sunlight over a large area and focus it onto a small solar cell that converts the light into electricity. Solar concentrators in use now employ mirrors or lenses to focus the light. Because the new glass sheets are lighter and flat, they can easily be incorporated into solar panels on roofs or building facades. They could also be used as windows, which, connected to solar cells, could generate electricity. What's more, mirrors and lenses require mechanical systems for tracking the sun to keep the light focused on a small solar cell. These tracking systems add cost and can break down over the decades that solar panels are made to be in service. The flat glass concentrators don't require a tracking system.

Instead of using optics, the glass sheets concentrate light using combinations of organic dyes specially designed by Baldo and his coworkers. Light is absorbed by the organic dyes coating one side of the glass sheet. The dyes then emit the light into the glass. The glass channels the light emitted by the dye to the edges of the glass, in the same way that fiber-optic cables channel light over long distances. Narrow solar cells laminated to the edges of the glass collect the light and convert it into electricity. The amount of light concentration depends on the size of the sheet--specifically, the ratio between the size of the surface of the glass and the edges. To a point, the greater the concentration, the less semiconductor material is needed, and the cheaper the solar power.

The challenge of using organic dyes as solar concentrators has been that the dyes tend to reabsorb much of the light before it can reach the edges of the glass. Baldo overcame that problem by using dyes that don't absorb the light that they emit. For example, a dye might absorb a range of colors in the light spectrum, such as ultraviolet through green, but emit light in another color, such as orange, which the dye cannot absorb.

The researchers tested how much of the light emitted by the dye makes it to the edges of 10-centimeter squares of coated glass, the largest allowed by their laboratory equipment. Based on their measurements, they project that they can make solar concentrators large enough to bring down the costs of solar power to near that of conventional electricity, given expected reductions in the cost of solar cells. "We showed much bigger concentration factors than people had shown before," Baldo says.

The researchers also tested an inexpensive way to improve the efficiency of solar cells by capturing more of the energy in sunlight. Each wavelength of light, or color, has a different amount of energy. Infrared photons have the least energy, and ultraviolet photons have the most. Different types of semiconductor materials are best for different wavelengths. It's possible to build more than one type of solar cell into a single module, but this can be more expensive than it's worth.

The dye-coated glass sheets provide a cheap way to use more than one type of solar cell in a single solar module--one solar cell tuned to work with low-energy light, and the other to work with high-energy light. Two glass sheets are stacked. The top one absorbs high-energy light and channels it to a small solar cell matched to that light. The other captures lower-energy photons and channels those to another solar cell. Based on the researchers' initial results, Baldo says, "you can almost double the efficiency of your overall system if you do this."

The researchers still need to make bigger concentrators to test their predictions. They are also working to improve the quality of the dyes, including the range of colors that they can absorb. Baldo and his colleagues have founded a company--Covalent Solar, based in Cambridge, MA--to bring the technology to market within three years. Jerry Olson, an expert in solar concentrators at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, CO, says that the work represents some "good steps forward." But, adds Olson, "time will tell if the projections come true."

Source

Nanotubes bring artificial photosynthesis a step nearer

• 10:20 11 July 2008
• NewScientist.com news service
• Colin Barras

10:20 11 July 2008

Carbon nanotubes are the crucial chemical ingredient that could make artificial photosynthesis possible, say a team of Chinese researchers. The team has found that nanotubes mimic an important step in photosynthesis that chemists have been unable to copy until now.

Artificial photosynthesis has the potential to efficiently produce hydrogen that could be used as a clean fuel for vehicles. It could also be used to mop up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Photosynthetic organisms use the energy from light to break down water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen then reacts with carbon dioxide to help synthesise carbohydrates, the molecules organisms use to store energy.

Chemists have long tried in vain to reproduce the process, but one key step in particular has proven impossible to copy.

Visible photons can only contribute a limited amount of energy towards a chemical reaction. This energy is absorbed by electrons involved in the reaction.

Elusive goal

Reactions that require more energy, such as the synthesis of carbohydrates, can only proceed when several energised electrons are available to contribute. For that reason, chemists say the photosynthesis falls into a class of reactions known as multiple electron systems.

But nobody has succeeded in making artificial multiple electron systems that could provide the necessary energy for artificial photosynthesis.

Such a system would comprise of a donor molecule that can absorb visible light and release many electrons, and a receiver molecule capable of accepting and storing those electrons. Existing systems can donate and receive only one electron at a time.

Nanotube key

Now, a team led by Xian-Fu Zhang at the Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology in Qinhuangdao, China, has found that single-walled carbon nanotubes could act as the chemical heart of a multiple electron system.

A carbon nanotube can accept one electron for every 32 carbon atoms it contains, and so even a short nanotube accepts many electrons, says Zhang. That means a carbon nanotube could act as the receiver molecule in artificial photosynthesis.

Although there are no known small molecules capable of releasing a large number of electrons after absorbing visible light, a class of molecule called the phthalocyanines (PCs) does release a single electron when it absorbs light.

Zhang's team realised that by covalently bonding a large number of PC molecules to a carbon nanotube, they could create a multiple electron system activated by visible light.

'Basic requirement'

They found that they could bond 120 PC molecules to a nanotube just 1 micrometer long, and that about 25% of the electrons donated from those PCs end up being stored in the nanotube.

"We decided to create this system initially simply to efficiently convert solar energy into electricity," says Zhang.

But he thinks the nanosystem could form a key component of an artificial photosynthesis model. The extra electrons stored in the nanotubes could be used to convert a chloroplast chemical called NADP into NADPH, which could then reduce carbon dioxide to carbohydrates.

James Barber at Imperial College London, UK, is an expert in photosynthesis. "A lot of people working in this area don't address a basic requirement – that you need to have multiple electrons in photosynthesis," he says. "I think these researchers are right to make this an issue."

Journal Reference: ChemPhysChem (DOI: 10.1002/cphc.200800191)

Source

Quantum Solar Power Corp., Inc.

I am talking my head off here and elsewhere trying to get NNPP or anybody else to get interested in this rectenna development by NNPP's grandpa, a guy named Howard K. Schmidt.

Look here for the rectenna stuff so far:
http://donpatent.blogspot.com/2008/05/inventor-schmidt-howard-k.html

I think rectenna empowered solar could bury oil but what company will develop it is unknown - that's why I would like to see NNPP participate and use either Ren (Boston College) or Schmidt's developments or both to cover all the bases.

Re QVQV:
From : http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?capId=11817017

QV, Quantum Ventures Enters into Agreement with Canadian Integrated Optics International to Manufacture & Market CIOI's Patent Pending Solar Technology
04/16/2008

QV Quantum Ventures Inc. announced that the company has entered into a License agreement with Canadian Integrated Optics International Ltd. of Douglas, Isle of Man (CIOI), to manufacture and market CIOI's patent pending solar technology based on an optical rectenna. Closing of this agreement will occur on or about May 16, 2008 and is subject to certain terms and conditions. The Purchase Price for the license shall be paid in shares of the Company's common stock and a royalty.

I got this out of the 8K: http://sec.edgar-online.com/2008/04/16/0001096350-08-000061/Section6.asp

"Patent Rights" means issued patents and pending patent applications in any country in respect of an invention owned by the Licensor relating to the Technology, including provisionals, continuations-in-part, continuations, divisionals, re-issues and extensions of those issued patents and pending patent applications, including inventions described in the specifications of United States Patent Application Numbers 60/911,847, 60/911,815, 60/911,823 and 60/911,837 filed on April 13, 2007.

I searched and found nothing - they are not yet published. '60' signifies an early incomplete informal filing to get an early filing date - they have a year to get a proper application filed and to maintain that early filing date.

Rectenna. Remember it - it will change the world.

Goodbye oil and coal, hello rectenna solar.

What is a rectenna? It is an antenna which receives electromagnetic waves from the sun, for example, and converts them into rectified direct electric current.

Quantm Ventures - shortly (June 16, 2008) to be renamed - Quantum Solar Power Corp., Inc.
http://knobias.10kwizard.com/filing.php?param=&ipage=5683950&DSEQ=1&SEQ=&SQDESC=SECTION_BODY&exp=

'Avalanche Effect' In Solar Cells Demonstrated

ScienceDaily (May 27, 2008) — Researchers at TU Delft and the FOM Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter have found irrefutable proof that the so-called avalanche effect by electrons occurs in specific, very small semiconducting crystals. This physical effect could pave the way for cheap, high-output solar cells. The findings are to be published in scientific journal Nano Letters.

Solar cells provide great opportunities for future large-scale electricity generation. However, there are currently significant limitations, such as the relatively low output of most solar cells (typically fifteen percent) and high manufacturing costs.

One possible improvement could derive from a new type of solar cell made of semiconducting nanocrystals (crystals with dimensions in the nanometre size range). In conventional solar cells, one photon (light particle) can release precisely one electron. The creation of these free electrons ensures that the solar cell works and can provide power. The more electrons released, the higher the output of the solar cell.

In some semiconducting nanocrystals, however, one photon can release two or three electrons, hence the term avalanche effect. This could theoretically lead to a maximum output of 44 percent in a solar cell comprising the correct semiconducting nanocrystals. Moreover, these solar cells can be manufactured relatively cheaply.

The avalanche effect was first measured by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratories in 2004. Since then, the scientific world has raised doubts about the value of these measurements. Does the avalanche effect really exist or not?

Within the Joint Solar Programme TU Delft's Prof. Laurens Siebbeles has now demonstrated that the avalanche effect does indeed occur in lead selenide (PbSe) nanocrystals. It has been established, however, that the effect in this material is smaller than previously assumed. Siebbeles' results are more reliable than those of other scientists thanks to more careful and more detailed measurement using ultra-fast laser methods.

Siebbeles believes that this research paves the way for further unravelling the secrets of the avalanche effect.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527091942.htm

Inventor: SCHMIDT, Howard K.

Hello!! Isn't this NNPP(Nano-Proprietary, now Applied Nanotech - APNT)'s grandpa?

Inventor: SCHMIDT, Howard K.

(WO/2008/060640) NANOPARTICLE / NANOTUBE-BASED NANOELECTRONIC DEVICES AND CHEMICALLY-DIRECTED ASSEMBLY THEREOF

Pub. No.: WO/2008/060640 International Application No.: PCT/US2007/061563
Publication Date: 22.05.2008 International Filing Date: 02.02.2007
IPC: G02B 6/12 (2006.01)

Applicants: WILLIAM MARSH RICE UNIVERSITY [US/US]; 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005 (US) (All Except US).
SCHMIDT, Howard K. [US/US]; 20702 Bradford Creek Ct, Cypress, TX 77433 (US) (US Only).

Inventor: SCHMIDT, Howard K. [US/US]; 20702 Bradford Creek Ct, Cypress, TX 77433 (US).

Agent: SHADDOX, Robert C.; Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.c., P.O. Box 50784, Dallas, TX 75201 (US).
Priority Data:
60/764,636 02.02.2006 US

Title: NANOPARTICLE / NANOTUBE-BASED NANOELECTRONIC DEVICES AND CHEMICALLY-DIRECTED ASSEMBLY THEREOF

Abstract:
According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a nanoelectronic device based on a nanostructure that may include a nanotube with first and second ends, a metallic nanoparticle attached to the first end, and an insulating nanoparticle attached to the second end. The nanoelectronic device may include additional nanostructures so a to form a plurality of nanostructures comprising the first nanostructure and the additional nanostructures. The plurality of nanostructures may arranged in a network comprising a plurality of edges and a plurality of vertices, wherein each edge comprises a nanotube and each vertex comprises at least one insulating nanoparticle and at least one metallic nanoparticle adjacent the insulating nanoparticle. The combination of at least one edge and at least one vertex comprises a diode. The device may be an optical rectenna.

[0005] An attraction for rectenna technology is its high theoretical conversion efficiency - roughly 95%. The greatest conversion efficiency ever recorded by a rectenna element occurred in 1977 by Brown, Raytheon Company. Using a GaAs-Pt Schottky barrier diode, a 90.6% conversion efficiency was recorded with an input microwave-power level of 8W. Conversion efficiencies in the range of 80% are typical, with representative circuits shown below.

[0006] The concept is arbitrarily scaleable, and the optical rectenna is a direct extension to shorter wavelengths. Some of recent work in the area was performed by ITN energy systems [[For background see below!]] under DOE and DARPA sponsorship "BROADBAND OPTICAL RECTENNA FOR ENERGY HARVESTING", CECOM ENERGY HARVESTING PROGRAM Slides, April 14, 2000 ). Such micro- and nano-scale rectenna devices can convert ambient electromagnetic radiation (i.e. solar spectrum, blackbody radiators, active emitters) to DC electric power. The potential is to convert over 85% of the sun's energy to useable power compared to ~30% now achievable with conventional semiconductor based photovoltaics. Such devices may also be applicable to uncooled infrared detectors.

[0007] While the concept has been proven in principal, useful power conversion in the optical frequency range is prevented by the low frequency response of the planar diodes employed.

[0008] Thus there remains a need for optical rectennas having desirable frequency response and power conversion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] These and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of various embodiments, taken together with the accompanying figures and claims, in which:

[0010] According to some embodiments, the present invention provides a nanoelectronic device based on a nanostructure that may include a nanotube with first and second ends, a metallic nanoparticle attached to the first end, and an insulating nanoparticle attached to the second end.

[0011] The nanotube may be conducting. Thus, it may be any one of conducting, semiconducting, and semi-metallic. Further, the nanotube may be a single walled nanotube or a multi-walled nanotube. The nanotube may be primarily carbon.

[0012] The nanotube may absorb light. Yet further, the nanotube may be an antenna.

The length between the first and second ends is about half a wavelength of the light. The light may include at least one of visible and infrared radiation.

[0013] The insulating nanoparticle may be formed of a metal oxide. The metallic nanoparticle may be formed of elemental metal.

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A nanoelectronic device, comprising: a first nanostructure, comprising: a nanotube having first and second opposing ends; a metallic nanoparticle attached to the first end; and an insulating nanoparticle attached to the second end.

2. The nanoelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the nanotube is conducting.

3. The nanoelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the nanotube absorbs light.

4. The nanoelectronic device according to claim 3, wherein the nanotube comprises an antenna.

5. The nanolectronic device according to claim 4, wherein the length between the first and second ends is about half a wavelength of the light.

6. The nanolectronic device according to claim 5, wherein the light comprises at least one of visible and infrared radiation.

7. The nanolectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the insulating nanoparticle comprises a metal oxide.

8. The nanolectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the metallic nanoparticle comprises elemental metal.

9. The nanolectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the nanoelectronic device further comprises additional nanostructures so a to form a plurality of nanostructures comprising the first nanostructure and the additional nanostructures.

10. The nanoelectronic device according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of nanostructures is arranged in a network comprising a plurality of edges and a plurality of vertices, wherein each edge comprises a nanotube and each vertex comprises at least one insulating nanoparticle and at least one metallic nanoparticle adjacent the insulating nanoparticle.

11. The nanolectronic device according to claim 10, wherein the combination of at least one edge and at least one vertex comprises a diode.

12. The nanolectronic device according to claim 9, wherein the device is an optical rectenna.

13. A nanoelectronic device comprising an optical rectenna comprising a plurality of nanostructures arranged so as to form a plurality of nanoscale diodes with integrated antennas, wherein each nanostructure comprises: a conducting nanotube having first and second opposing ends; a metallic nanoparticle attached to the first end, wherein the first nanoparticle comprises elemental metal; and an insulating nanoparticle attached to the second end, wherein the insulating nanoparticle comprises a metal oxide.

14. The nanoelectronic device according to claim 13, wherein the conducting nanotube is metallic.

15. The nanoelectronic device according to claim 13, wherein the conducting nanotube is semi-metallic.

16. The nanoelectronic device according to claim 13, wherein the conducting nanotube is semi-conducting.

17. The nanoelectronic device according to claim 13, wherein the conducting nanotube is a single-walled nanotube.

18. The nanoelectronic device according to claim 13, wherein the conducting nanotube is a multi-walled nanotube.

19. A method of making a nanoelectronic device, comprising: making a plurality of asymmetric nanostructures, wherein making the plurality of nanostructures comprises: providing a plurality of nanotubes, each having a first end functionalized with at least one functionalizing moiety and a second end having a linker molecule attached thereto; attaching a metallic nanoparticle to the linker molecule; and attaching an insulating nanoparticle to the functionalizing moiety.

20. The method according to claim 17, comprising: aligning the plurality of nanostructures so as to form an oriented network.

Source:
http://tinyurl.com/68f82h

*************************************************************
BACKGROUND - ITN Energy Systems:

http://www.itnes.com/about_itn/itn_team.html

Photovoltaic Technologies Beyond the Horizon
Optical Rectenna Solar Cell

1. Background on ITN Energy Systems’ Optical Rectenna Technology
1.1. Motivation for Next-Generation, High-Efficiency Solar Cells

Worldwide energy demands have increased by 40% over the last 20 years.1 Although the deleterious effects of hydrocarbon-based power are becoming increasingly apparent, more than 85% of the world’s power is still generated by combustion of fossil fuels.1 Clean renewable alternative energy sources are required to meet the demands, with direct solar-conversion devices as leading candidates. The worldwide market for conventional photovoltaics (PV) has increased at an annual rate of 20% over the last five years, and industry estimates suggest as much as 18 billion watts per year could ship by 2020.1 To meet the increased demands for solar-conversion technologies, dramatic improvements are required in state-of-the-art PV technologies. Efficiency improvements and cost/complexity reduction are the main issues that need to be addressed to meet these goals.

Traditional p-n junction solar cells are the most mature of the solar-energy-harvesting technologies. Although great improvements have been made in the last 20 years, energy absorption, carrier generation, and collection are all a function of the materials chemistry and corresponding electronic properties (i.e., bandgap). As a quantum device, the efficiency of PV is a function of, and therefore, ultimately fundamentally limited by, the bandgap and the match of the bandgap to the solar spectrum. For single-junction cells, this sets an upper efficiency limit of ~30%.2 Even with complex multi-junction designs, the theoretical efficiency plateaus around 55% without excessive concentration of the incident radiation.3 Current state-of-the-art solar cells are ~20% efficient for single cells and ~30% efficient for multijunction systems.4 In the long term, the PV industry will require newer, higher efficiency technologies to improve performance and to meet the increasing demands of the solar power market.

As an alternative, ITN Energy Systems is developing next-generation solar cells based on the concepts of an optical rectenna (see Figure 1). ITN’s optical rectenna consists of two key elements: 1) an optical antenna to efficiently absorb the incident solar radiation, and 2) a highfrequency metal-insulator-metal (MIM) tunneling diode that rectifies the AC field across the antenna, providing DC power to an external load. The combination of a rectifying diode at the feedpoints of a receiving antenna is often referred to as a rectenna. Rectennas were originally proposed in the 1960s for power transmission by radio waves for remote powering of aircraft for surveillance or communications platforms.5 Conversion efficiencies greater than 85% have been demonstrated at radio frequencies (efficiency defined as DC power generated divided by RF power incident on the device). Later, concepts were proposed to extend the rectennas into the infrared (IR) and optical region of the electromagnetic spectrum for use as energy collection devices (optical rectennas).6
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy03osti/33263.pdf

**************************************************************

BACKGROUND: Boston College - Ren; Zhifeng

United States Patent Application	20070240757
Kind Code	A1
Ren; Zhifeng ; et al.	October 18, 2007

---

Solar cells using arrays of optical rectennas

Abstract

The present invention discloses a solar cell comprising a nanostructure array capable of accepting energy and producing electricity. In an embodiment, the solar cell comprises an at least one optical antenna having a geometric morphology capable of accepting energy. In addition, the cell comprises a rectifier having the optical antenna at a first end and engaging a substrate at a second end wherein the rectifier comprises the optical antenna engaged to a rectifying material (such as, a semiconductor). In addition, an embodiment of the solar cell comprises a metal layer wherein the metal layer surrounds a length of the rectifier, wherein the optical antenna accepts energy and converts the energy from AC to DC along the rectifier. Further, the invention provides various methods of efficiently and reliably producing such solar cells.

---

Inventors:

Ren; Zhifeng; (Newton, MA) ; Kempa; Krzysztof; (Billerica, MA) ; Wang; Yang; (Allston, MA)

Assignee Name and Adress: The Trustees of Boston College

Link

See also:

(WO/2007/086903) APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION USING NANOCOAX STRUCTURES

[SNIP]

The presently disclosed embodiments generally relate to the use of nano-coaxial transmission lines (NCTL) to fabricate a nano-optics apparatus. The nano-optics apparatus is a multifunctional nano-composite material made of a metallic film having a top surface and a bottom surface and a plurality of cylindrical channels filled with a dielectric material. An array of nanorods penetrate the metallic film through the plurality of cylindrical channels. The array of nanorods has a protruding portion that extends beyond a surface of the metallic film and an embedded portion that is within the metallic film. The protruding portion acts as a nano-antenna and is capable of receiving and transmitting an electromagnetic radiation at a visible frequency. The embedded portion acts as a nano-coaxial transmission line (CTL) and allows for propagation of external radiation with a wavelength exceeding the perpendicular dimensions of the nanorod.

The nano-optics apparatus can concentrate light, and therefore enhance a field up to about 10³ times. The array of optical nano-antennas, with nano-CTL embedded in a metallic film, effectively compresses light into nanoscopic dimensions. The nano-antennas are capable of receiving and transmitting an electromagnetic radiation at the visible frequencies. The extreme compression of light in the nano-CTL leads to an asymmetric tunneling of electrons between the electrodes of the nano-CTL, and thus provides a rectifying action at the light frequencies, and thus conversion of the light into a direct current (DC) voltage. This property leads to a new class of efficient, and low cost rectenna solar cells. The extreme compression of light in the nano-CTL is quick, and is not limited by the usual parasitic capacitances that make the conventional diode rectification inefficient, if not impossible, at the light frequencies.

And these, as well:

Physics Team Sees Potential for 'Perfect' Solar Cell

Solasta Inc.

Abstract

Submitted for the MAR08 Meeting of The American Physical Society

Sorting Category: 16.12.6 (E)
Nanocoax Solar Cells1 M.J. NAUGHTON, K. KEMPA, Z.F. REN, J. RYBCZYNSKI2, T. PAUDEL, Y. GAO, Y. XU, Boston College
A novel architecture for high effciency solar energy conversion, employing separated photo- and -voltaic pathways and antenna-based light collection, is described.

**************************************************************

Dr. Howard K. Schmidt Bio:

Dr. Howard K. Schmidt, Executive Director of the Carbon Nanotechnologies Laboratory

Howard Schmidt is the Executive Director of the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory (CNL) at Rice University. He is an expert in the field of carbon nanotechnology and single-wall carbon nanotubes, one of the most versatile materials on the nanotechnology horizon. At the CNL, Dr. Schmidt is responsible for developing and managing key federal and industrial relationships to drive emerging applications for carbon nanotubes. He serves on the Board of Directors of Axion Power Corporation (member of Audit and Technology Committees), and the Advisory Board of Texas Nanotech Ventures (Chairman). He also serves occasionally as an Expert Witness or Technology Advisor in patent litigation.

Schmidt's current research and development projects focus on nanostructured carbon and metallic materials for structural composites, energy storage and solar cells.

Prior to joining the CNL, Schmidt founded or co-launched four technology companies over seventeen years: Ionwerks, SI Diamond Technology (SIDT), EQUEX and Road-Show.Com. Schmidt took SIDT public in 1993; the firm (now called NanoProprietary) is a long-time leader in developing nanotechnology applications.

Schmidt holds a Bachelors' in Electrical Engineering (1980) and a Doctorate in Physical Chemistry (1986), both from Rice University.

http://www.tntventures.com/schmidt.html

Re TNT:
http://www.tntventures.com/board.html
(Note 'Zvi Yaniv')

*****************************************************************
Power Review:

http://cohesion.rice.edu/CentersAndInst/CNST/emplibrary/HTC%20Panel%20040615%20Final.ppt

******************************************************************

You know - when I see this kinda statement --The potential is to convert over 85% of the sun's energy to useable power compared to ~30% now achievable-- I get all tingly with excitement, sell oil short and believe in sugarplum fairies!!

And go talk to grandpa just to say hello....and maybe see what's up, too.

The wallet needs filling!

Did you notice Schmidt and Ren are both using CNTs!!!

;-)

Hello grandpa!!!! Come back to NNPP. Bring Boston College and Ren et al with you!!