A new bio-inspired molecule captures solar energy and releases it as heat on demand, outperforming lithium-ion batteries.
A new bio-inspired molecule captures solar energy and releases it as heat on demand, outperforming lithium-ion batteries.
When the sun goes down, solar panels stop working. This is the fundamental hurdle of renewable energy: how to save the sun’s power for a rainy day — or a cold night.
Chemists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a solution that doesn’t require bulky batteries or electrical grids. In a paper published in the journal Science, Associate Professor Grace Han and her team detail a new material that captures sunlight, stores it within chemical bonds and releases it as heat on demand. The material, a modified organic molecule called pyrimidone, is the latest advancement in Molecular Solar Thermal (MOST) energy storage.
“The concept is reusable and recyclable,” said Han Nguyen, a doctoral student in the Han Group and the paper’s lead author.
Read More: University of California - Santa Barbara
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