Yesterday was the last day of class for Transport Phenomena II, ending another year of momentum, heat, and mass transport at NYU.
Monthly Archives: May 2016
New paper: operando methods to pinpoint a phase change
We have a paper in the newest volume of the Journal of Power Sources. Like much of my recent work, this is about collecting localized diffraction data inside a battery while it cycles. This let us see the sudden phase change from MnO2 to α-MnOOH, and also see that this precipitates a sudden conversion to spinel. (Which is bad.) I’ll have a full write up soon.
For now check out my new publications list for this and more.
Every day my mind grows keener
The beauty of dye-sensitized solar cells
Check out these photos of EPFL’s SwissTech Convention Center, which has a facade covered in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The archetypal dye for a DSSC is a ruthenium complex called “black dye.” Dyes like actually have an enchanting purple-brown-black color, which isn’t totally black. But you can theoretically use any molecule that will inject an electron into a semiconductor when hit by light, and I just did a bit of hunting around and found a company called Dyenamo that specializes in different colors. The bottom picture is from C&EN, which has an article on non-silicon solar cells this week.
