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					</table>Material scientists at the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Columbia University</a>, combined potassium (K) and sodium (Na) with Sulfur (S) to create a high-energy, low-cost solution for storing energy for longer durations.
The report, &#8216;Designing electrolytes with high solubility of sulfides/disulfides for high-energy-density and low-cost K-Na/S batteries,&#8217; was published in Nature Communications.
Storing energy from renewable sources like solar and wind has always been a significant challenge due to production fluctuations based on sunlight and wind conditions.
Columbia University&#8217;s research focuses on finding low-cost and high-energy battery storage solutions to address the issue of long-duration energy storage.
The Na/S batteries utilize advanced electrolytes that dissolve polysulfides and sulfides, significantly enhancing reaction kinetics, specific capacity, and energy density.
The report said these batteries operate at nearly the theoretical capacity (1655 mAh g⁻¹ sulfur) at 75 °C with a 1 M sulfur concentration. When the sulfur concentration is increased to 4 M, they provide 830 mAh g⁻¹ at a current density of 2 mA cm⁻², maintaining 71% of their capacity after 1000 charge-discharge cycles.
The K-Na/S battery, with an energy density of 150-250 Wh kg⁻¹, uses only earth-abundant materials, making it a promising solution for long-duration energy storage.
Headed by Yuan Yang, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the Department of Applied Physics and Mathematics at Columbia University, the scientists have developed a new acetamide or CPL-based eutectic solvent electrolyte. This electrolyte can dissolve K2S2 and K2S to enhance the energy density and power density of K/S batteries. It also enables the batteries to operate at much lower temperatures of about 75°C.
The report said that experimentally, a nearly theoretical discharge capacity of 1655 mAh g−1 is achieved with 1 M sulfur in the catholyte at 75°C, 2.6 times that with conventional TEGDME electrolytes.
The researchers are now focused on small, coin-sized batteries, but they eventually plan to scale up the technology to store large amounts of energy.
Universities worldwide have been researching potential breakthrough battery solutions and energy storage. Recently, <a href="https://www.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MIT</a> scientists <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/can-mits-breakthrough-material-be-the-future-of-battery-solutions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> a potential cathode material that can disrupt the future of battery technology. The study reveals a new class of partially disordered rock salt cathode, integrated with polyanions —disordered rock salt-polyanionic spinel that delivers high energy density at high voltages with significantly improved cycling stability.
Another study by Stanford University <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/stanford-scientists-liquid-battery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that they have made progress on an emerging technology that uses liquid organic hydrogen carriers to essentially create a &#8216;liquid battery&#8217; for storing renewable energy from wind and solar power.

Researchers Develop Low-Cost Battery Energy Storage Solution

Researchers at <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Purdue University</a> have come up with a sensing module that involves machine learning in a range of applications ranging from electric cars to manufacturing and home design.
The technology is a small and non-invasive sensor that monitors electric currents. Currently, electric vehicles use a resistor as a current sensor or a non-invasive hall sensor that cannot measure small currents. The team at the university used the machine learning algorithm with the sensor to help gather and interpret the data such as energy usage, problems with the current, and best approaches to manufacturing.
Speaking about the latest innovation, Kaushik Roy, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, said, “We have created the first-of-its-kind current sensor that is non-invasive, safe and much more precise than other options.”
Another member of the research team, Byunghoo Jung, said, “This sensor could be used with machine learning to train manufacturing robots, provide precise tips for homeowners on cutting down their energy usage or help diagnose issues with electric vehicles and scooters.”
According to Roy, the main advantage of the current sensor is that it is really small and can be wrapped around a central wire to monitor the current. The sensor then transmits the measured current information to a computing system through Bluetooth, USB, or any other method. The sensor can then be trained through machine learning to detect something as precise as the brand of the microwave being used at a certain time, and if that time of day is optimal for energy consumption.
The team behind this latest innovation has worked with the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization to patent the technology, and now they are looking for partners to license the technology.
Researchers all across the globe are trying to innovate to foster the growth of energy-efficient technologies and lead to a greener and cleaner environment.
Earlier this year, a research team at Columbia University had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/singlet-fission-solar-efficiency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">developed</a> a methodology to harness more energy from light, thereby increasing the efficiency of solar cells. The study elaborated on a process called singlet fission wherein organic molecules generate two excitons per photon of light.
Previously, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/australian-research-team-achieves-efficiency-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that a team of research scientists from the Australian National University had a breakthrough in the efficiency of solar cells, an outcome multiple entities around the world are incessantly attempting to achieve. The efficiency of a solar cell refers to the part of the energy from sunlight (photons) that can be converted into electricity by the solar cell.
Image credit: Purdue Foundry University

New Sensing Technology Could Enhance Machine Learning Precision for Manufacturing EVs

A research team at Columbia University has developed a methodology to harness more energy from light, thereby increasing the efficiency of solar cells, as reported in a study published in Nature Chemistry.
“We have developed a new design rule for singlet fission materials. This has led us to develop the most efficient and technologically useful intramolecular singlet fission materials to date. These improvements will open the door for more efficient solar cells,” said Luis Campos, an associate professor of chemistry and one of three principal investigators on the study.
The study has elaborated on a process called singlet fission wherein organic molecules generate two excitons per photon of light. An exciton is an electrically neutral particle formed when electrostatic force brings together an electron and an electron-hole. It is formed when materials absorb photons of higher energy than its energy gap. Photons are quanta of energy present in light and electromagnetic radiation that is, in the instance of solar power systems, converted into electricity. Photons in light waves are denoted as packets of energy equal to hν, where h is the Plank’s constant and ν is the frequency of radiation.
In this instance, excitons are generated at a fast rate and exist for longer durations. This extension in time enables more electricity to be generated per photon of light that is incident and absorbed by a solar cell.
This study is funded partly by the Office of Naval Research. The team involved in this study has designed organic molecules that produce excitons that exist for longer durations than those produced by the most cutting-edge systems. This innovation can be used even in photocatalytic processes in chemistry, sensors, and imaging. The process can be used to make drugs, plastics, and consumer chemicals.
“Intramolecular singlet fission has been demonstrated by our group and others, but the resulting excitons were either generated very slowly, or they wouldn’t last very long. This work is the first to show that singlet fission can rapidly generate two excitons that can live for a very long time. This opens the door to fundamentally study how these excitons behave as they sit on individual molecules, and also to understand how they can be efficiently put to work in devices that benefit from light-amplified signals,” Campos said.
Existing solar panels function based on a mechanism where one photon of light generates a single exciton which is converted into electric current. Through singlet fission, two excitons are generated from one organic molecule which creates a potential for generating more electricity per unit.
The co-authors of the study are Samuel Sanders and Andrew Pun, of Columbia University, Matthew Y. Sfeir, of the City University of New York, and Amir Asadpoordarvish, of the University of New South Wales.
Recently, researchers at the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/electrolyte-boost-efficiency-supercapacitors-energy-storage/">Massachusetts</a> Institute of Technology and other institutions came out with a new class of liquids that will enhance the efficiency and stability of supercapacitors. They have also developed a method to reduce the flammability of these devices.
Earlier, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/isa-birmingham-university-solar-hybrid/">Mercom</a> reported that the University of Birmingham and the International Solar Alliance would collaborate to help farmers capitalize on chilled food distribution systems powered by solar and solar-hybrid technologies. Birmingham University is the research partner of the ISA in its Solar Cooling Initiative (I-SCI).
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Image credit: Columbia Edu

Harnessing Singlet Fission to Increase Solar Cell Efficiency

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