NewsPosted by Kasper Moth-Poulsen Fri, November 08, 2013 19:39:04The Swedish Strategic Research Foundation (SSF) has decided to support our molecular solar thermal work through a 10 M SEK "future research leader" grant.
Utilization of solar energy in either photovoltaic or solar
thermal power generation is limited by the inherent challenge of intermittency
and load leveling. In these power generation systems, development of large
scale electrical and thermal energy storage technologies that would mitigate
these constraints has been challenging. In conventional oil- and coal-based
power generation, energy that has been stored over geological time scales in
the form of chemical bonds is released by combustion ‘‘on demand’’. A great
deal of current scientific research effort is devoted to mimicking these
processes on a shorter time scale by the creation of solar fuels via the
splitting of water to form H2 and O2, or similar schemes
to produce alcohols and other fuels from CO2. In this context, a
closed cycle that reversibly stores energy upon exposure to sunlight (a
photochemical reaction), followed by a second, on demand reaction, that
generates heat and regenerates the original reactant, is very attractive as a
renewable storage media for solar energy.
The aim of this project is to explore such molecular systems
that allow for direct conversion of solar energy into storable chemical energy
in a molecular based material, so-called molecular solar thermal (MOST).
The MOST energy storage process is reversible with full
reuse of the materials in a closed cycle, meaning that it is 100% emission free
and pollution free, once the materials has been manufactured and the devices
installed.
the news about the funding has be featured in the local Swedish newspapers:
http://www.gp.se/nyheter/goteborg/1.2168507-10-miljoner-till-chalmersforskare
http://www.goteborgdaily.se/chalmers-researcher-receives-sek-10-million
Kasper
NewsPosted by Kasper Moth-Poulsen Tue, November 05, 2013 14:22:12
Victors, Anders, Phasin's and Karls work on
donor-acceptor substituted Norbornadienes has been accepted for publication in
the upcoming emerging investigator issue of ChemComm
Reported in the paper is a study on five
diaryl-substituted norbornadienes with unprecedented characteristics in regard
to performance towards molecular solar thermal applications. The introduced
aryl-groups induce a significant red-shift in the UV/Vis absorption spectrum of
the norbornadienes, while keeping the molecular weight low. Device experiments
with a solar-simulator set-up demonstrates the potential use of these compounds
in MOST energy storage. An interesting feature of this class of donor-acceptor
norbonadienes is that they retain good quantum yield and thermal stability of
their quadricyclane isomers and at the same time posses red-shift of absorption
(appr. 195 nm compared to unsubstituted norbornadiene). This makes
donor-acceptor norbornadienes a very exciting class of compounds to be
considered for molecular solar thermal applications.
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC47517D
http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/cc/c3cc47517d#!divAbstract
