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Component design and testing for a miniaturised autonomous sensor based on a nanowire materials platform

From Springer description: "We present the design considerations of an autonomous wireless sensor and discuss the fabrication and testing of the various components including the energy harvester, the active sensing devices and the power management and sensor interface circuits. A common materials platform, namely, nanowires, enables us to fabricate state-of-the-art components at reduced volume and show chemical sensing within the available energy budget. We demonstrate a photovoltaic mini-module made of silicon nanowire solar cells, each of 0.5 mm2 area, which delivers a power of 260 μW and an open circuit voltage of 2 V at one sun illumination. Using nanowire platforms two sensing applications are presented. Combining functionalised suspended Si nanowires with a novel microfluidic fluid delivery system, fully integrated microfluidic–sensor devices are examined as sensors for streptavidin and pH, whereas, using a microchip modified with Pd nanowires provides a power efficient and fast early hydrogen gas detection method. Finally, an ultra-low power, efficient solar energy harvesting and sensing microsystem augmented with a 6 mAh rechargeable battery allows for less than 20 μW power consumption and 425 h sensor operation even without energy harvesting."

Anthocyanin's power

Anthocyanins do not have a toxic effect, they are safe for humans, and they are of interest as natural dyes. They are used in the food industry, cosmetics, perfumery and medicine. Nowadays, the question of the use of anthocyanins in solar cells is being widely considered. Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has attracted much attention as a new promising solar to electric convertor because of its low production cost, easy fabrication, more environmental friendliness compared to silicon or perovskite solar cell.

Outdoor performance of Infra integrated PV

The Netherlands is aiming for the roll-out of more solar PV. However like many densely populated countries, the country is running into issues of lack of space. Opportunities around infrastructural works like highways provide space without compromising the landscape. Examples of this double use are already developed and demonstrated, like for instance sound barriers and solar roads. New is the combination of solar PV with traffic barriers. This has a big potential since the Dutch main road network had 7.500 km of guiderail and the construction to put PV on is already there. In the MESH (Modular E cover for Solar Highways) project a consortium of knowledge institutes, a province and companies developed a prototype and tested it in a pilot. The consortium consists of TNO, Solliance (in which TNO is a partner, a high-end research institute for flexible thin film solar cells such as CIGS and Perovskite), Heijmans Infra (focusing mainly on the construction, improvement and maintenance of road infrastructure, including guiderails), DC Current (applying innovations with regard to power optimizers for the linear PV application), the Province of Noord-Holland (which acts as a leading customer) and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) as a knowledge institution that links education and research. In this project the theme Sustainable Energy Systems of AUAS is involved with both lecturers and student groups. In the project, Solliance investigated and developed the flexible thin film PV technology to be applied with a focus on shape and reliability. TNO and Heijmans developed a modular casing concept and a fastening system that allows quick installation on site. DC Current worked on the DC management with regard to voltage, electrical safety and minimizing failure in case of collision. At the end of the project, the partners in the consortium have validated knowledge about how to integrate PV into the guiderail and can start with the scaling up of the technology for commercial applications. In order to meet the various requirements for traffic safety on the one hand and generating electricity on the other hand, the Systems Engineering methodology was leading during the project. In the project we first built a small, but full scale prototype and invited safety experts to evaluate the design. With this feedback we made a redesign for the pilot. This pilot is placed on the highway as safety barrier and tested for a year. In a presentation at EU PVSEC18 [1] K.Sewalt reported on the design phase. This time we want to present the results of our test phase and give answers on our research questions.

The “Electric Mondrian” as a Luminescent Solar Concentrator Demonstrator Case Study

toegang via de HU Bibliotheek op het HU netwerk https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.201600015 From the article: "Abstract Inspired by the works of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian an Electric Mondrian has been developed built up from luminescent solar concentrator elements. It is based on differently colored square and rectangular elements of standard sizes based on multiples of 15 cm, as this the standard size of the c‐Si cells that are used at the sides of the elements. This paper describes the design requirements and choices that have been made in detail. The design is based on commercially available luminescent concentrator Perspex plates and solar cells. Performance testing showed that at total size of 1 m2 a light‐to‐electric power device efficiency is measured of 0.2%: the Electric Mondrian thus provides ∼2 W in full sun, and two mobile devices can be charged directly or via a built‐in battery. The Electric Mondrian functions as a decorative energy‐harvesting element indoors in the urban environment, and can be marketed as such. " https://www.narcis.nl/publication/RecordID/oai%3Adspace.library.uu.nl%3A1874%2F358617

Photovoltaic efficiency of anthocyanins in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs)

Diels-Alders adducts of C60 and esters of 3-(1-indenyl)-propionic acid

A series of new, easily synthesized C60-fullerene derivatives is introduced that allow for optimization of the interactions between rr-P3HT and the fullerene by systematic variation of the size of the ester group. Two compounds gave overall cell efficiencies of 4.8%, clearly outperforming [60]PCBM which gives 4.3% under identical conditions.