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Nafion® is the most used polymer in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) that work in the temperature range of 80-130 ºC. The PEMFC efficiency is controlled by a Nafion’s thermal transition, labeled α (Tα ~ 110 ºC). Above the α-transition, irreversible modifications of the Nafion chemical interactions is responsible for a dramatic degradation of Nafion proton conductivity that can lead to the fuel cell collapse. Such transition has been rarely studied by infrared spectroscopy (IR). The IR would allow understanding the specific interactions among Nafion’s functional groups underlying α-transition. Thus, this investigation would help boosting PEMFC technology as well as advancing the development high-performance polymerRead More →

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    Figure 1 :  The mini solar module after scribing.   The laser scribing, which means digging lines within the layers of the solar cells, is a significant process within the fabrication scheme for solar cells modules. Scribing is done in order to contact the cells within the module, upscale the area of ​​these manufactured modules for industrial applications and save the efficiency in the meantime. My project is concerned with the scribing of the absorber material layer of CIGS thin film solar cells. This involves optimization of the parameters of the lasers beams, pico and nanosecond ones , and comparing, qualitatively and quantitatively,Read More →

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Theoretical Characterization of Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots Materials capable of catalyzing water splitting reactions when irradiated by sunlight show considerable promise as a hydrogen fuel source. These photocatalysts are suitable for large scale hydrogen production, since the process requires only water,  solar energy and the catalyst itself. One such material is graphene oxide (GO) which is particularly interesting because its properties can be easily tuned to enhance its efficiency. In this project, we investigate how different functionalization patterns affect the photocatalytic activity of nitrogen-doped GO by calculating theoretical IR, UV and X-ray spectra for a number of suitable model systems (shown above). As theRead More →

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My project is to relate the heat treatment conditions of Al8Co17Cr17Cu8Fe17Ni33 alloy (which is called a “High Entropy Alloy”) with the hardness of it. It is even interesting for me too because these alloys present a new class of materials that present novel phase structures and properties, and it has not much usage area at the moment. So there is a huge world waiting to be discovered. So, what is this HEA thing? There is no universally agreed-upon definition of a HEA but the most agreed one is alloys containing at least 5 elements with concentrations between 5 and 35 atomic percent. In addition, laterRead More →

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The improvement of a synthesis perovskite materials with using long thermal annealing Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are widely used in optoelectronic applications such as flat panel displays, solar cells and thin-film photovoltaics. Therefore, the rapid increase in the use of TCO materials will continue. Perovskite oxides of the general formula ABO3, such as CaSnO3, have shown their potential as sustainable alternative to conventionally used TCOs. The main purpose of my project is to synthesise different ABO3 (A=Ba, Ca, Sn; B=Mn, Sn, Ti) materials with an emphasis on the thorough structural characterization of these materials (using X-Ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectrometry) for samples prepared with different timeRead More →

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Influence of a thermal annealing procedure on kesterites Kesterite is a mineral with a formular Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4. It is a very promising material for future photovoltaics (PV), since the composition is non-toxic and the source materials are very cheap in relevance to other PV-materials.Read More →

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In: Neutrons

An international team has examined pristine and slightly doped bismuth ferrite using experimental data obtained at HZB. The research shows the sequence of serial and trigger-type phase transitions, the temperature-dependent behavior of the order parameters, and the corresponding susceptibilities to external stimuli.  The material: Multiferroics are materials that exhibit multiple types of ferroic ordering, such as ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity, simultaneously. BiFeO3 (BFO) is the one of the rare multiferroics with a strong ferroelectric polarization, antiferromagnetism at room temperature as well as conduction and magnetotransport at domain walls. This makes it a candidate for a range of applications. The question: What are the underlying physical mechanismsRead More →