Summary: Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are two-dimensionally confined quantum wires that have the potential to impact a variety of renewable energy applications. SWCNTs have several fundamental properties that make them attractive for sustainable energy conversion technologies, including high electron and hole mobilities, size-tunable ionization potentials and electron affinities in an energy range relevant to many photovoltaic devices, and optical transitions in the visible and...

Lu Lu gives a talk about the effects of composition on performance of electro-optical films (EOFs) using polymer encapsulated liquid crystals and CNTs.

The emerging field of “organic” or “plastic” electronics has brought low-voltage, ultrathin, and energy-efficient lighting and displays to market as organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions and displays in cameras and mobile phones. Despite using carbon-based materials as the light-emitting layer, previous efficient organic electronic light-emitting devices have required at least one metal electrode. Here, we utilize chemically derived graphene for the transparent cathode in...

Direct deposition of graphene on various dielectric substrates is demonstrated using a single-step chemical vapor deposition process. Single-layer graphene is formed through surface catalytic decomposition of hydrocarbon precursors on thin copper films predeposited on dielectric substrates. The copper films dewet and evaporate during or immediately after graphene growth, resulting in graphene deposition directly on the bare dielectric substrates. Scanning Raman mapping and spectroscopy,...

Graphenes have very attractive properties for photovoltaics. Their tunable bandgap and large optical absorptivity are desirable for efficient light harvesting. Their electronic levels and interfacing with other materials for charge transfer processes can both be tuned with well-developed carbon chemistry. Graphenes have also been shown to have very large charge mobilities, which could be useful for charge collection in solar cells. In addition, they consist of elements abundant on Earth and...

An improved method for the preparation of graphene oxide (GO) is described. Currently, Hummers’ method (KMnO4, NaNO3, H2SO4) is the most common method used for preparing graphene oxide. We have found that excluding the NaNO3, increasing the amount of KMnO4, and performing the reaction in a 9:1 mixture of H2SO4/H3PO4 improves the efficiency of the oxidation process. This improved method provides a greater amount of hydrophilic oxidized graphene material as compared to Hummers’ method or...

Science Experience, watch our kids experience with carbonation

Adrian Tsang from Concordia University on "Fungal Decomposition of Lignocellulosic Substrates" on March 26, 2010 at the 5th Annual DOE JGI User Meeting.

Steve Knapp from Monsanto on "Wood-Producing Sunflower? Mining Genetic Diversity in Desert-Dwelling Wild Species" on March 25, 2010 at the 5th Annual DOE JGI User Meeting.

Francis Martin from the French agricultural research institute INRA talks on how "The Laccaria and Tuber genomes reveal unique signatures of mycorrhizal symbiosis evolution" on March 24, 2010 at the 5th Annual DOE JGI User Meeting.