Advanced Energy Materials.

AuthorDahl, Carol A.

Advanced Energy Materials, edited by Ashutosh Tiwari and Sergiy Valyukh. (Copublishers, John Wiley & Sons and Scrivener Publishing LLC, 2014). 616 pages, Print ISBN:9781118686294, Online ISBN:9781118904923.

Energy and new technologies will be important components of the shift to a low carbon future, as population and income grow, and as we transit the digital world. Developing the materials needed for the transition are being hotly debated and researched. This rather technical fifteen-chapter tome considers materials that are being researched to facilitate the transition. My somewhat depreciated high school Chemistry and a year of undergraduate Physics are not enough to follow all the nuances but are enough for a general understanding of the major themes of the book. (1) The materials researched have numerous energy applications including solar energy, efficient lighting, fuel cells, energy storage, and energy-saving. However, the focus of most chapters is on the theory and experiments relating to the materials and technology, probably of less interest to energy economists, with only passing mention of energy applications in very broad terms. Given the attention paid to information science in numerous chapters in the book, a more revealing title might have been Advanced Materials for Energy and Information Technologies.

After a very brief introduction by the editors, in chapter 1, Kok-Keong Chong considers technology to better focus concentrating solar power (CSP). With better focusing, the collector can be smaller with higher temperatures and lower energy variation, leading to lower cost. Much of the chapter is the mathematical derivation of optimal angle and placement of collection mirrors, followed by the design and testing of some prototypes. This rather specialized topic is perhaps not the best topic to start the book. More expensive CSP has not seem the growth or attention of photovoltaics (PVs). Although a recent large project in Dubai (Noor Energy 1) has been chosen to complement PVs because it can store power for up to 15 hours (Acwa Power).

In chapter 2, Suresh Sagadevan surveys nanostructures in solar energy research. This is the most accessible chapter for an economist beginning with a brief introduction to solar energy including a useful detailed table showing the history of solar energy conversion efficiency by developer from 1975 to 2014. He defines nanomaterials as those "where at least one dimension is less than approximately 100 nm." Where a nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter. He discusses nanoma-terial classifications, synthesis and processing followed by a discussion of their use in solar cells. Their high surface area relative to volume can enhance photovoltaic efficiency by increasing light trapping and photo carrier collection, while reducing material use. He winds up the chapter with a discussion of research on current and prospective nanomaterials. However, since publication of this volume, there has been a research shift towards halide perovskite photovoltaics (Jena et al., 2019).

Sadia Ameen, M. Shaheer Akhtar, Hyung-Kee Seo, and Hyung Shik Shin continue the discussion of nanomaterials in chapter 3. Their extensive survey chapter is quite technical. In it, they consider metal-oxide semiconductor nanomaterials including zinc oxide, titanium oxide, tin oxide, niobium oxide, cerium oxide and their composites to improve efficiencies of solar cells over the ubiquitous silicone-based cells. Where a nanocomposite is a nanomaterial composed of more than one distinct...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT