Image credit | University Of Iowa
Harnessing the natural power of sunlight to make energy and the air to produce water.
Lab: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
What: Near-invisible ultrathin perovskite solar cells
Stage: TRL-3 
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have created perovskite solar cells that are about 10,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair and around 50 times thinner than conventional perovskite solar cells.
Perovskite solar cells are made up of several layers, including a semiconductor layer that absorbs sunlight and converts it into electricity.
To make their ultrathin cells, the NTU team used a vacuum-based process, also known as thermal evaporation, in which source materials are heated in a vacuum chamber until they evaporate. The vapour then settles on a surface, where it forms a thin film.
Using this technique, the researchers were able to produce perovskite absorber layers down to 10 nanometers while retaining useful solar-cell performance.
“Our perovskite solar cells offer distinct advantages as they can be manufactured using simple processes at relatively low temperatures. They can also be tuned to absorb specific wavelengths while remaining transparent,” said associate professor Annalisa Bruno, from NTU’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and School of Materials Science and Engineering.
A patent for their development has been filed and the researchers are in talks with companies to validate and standardise the process.
Lab: University of Iowa, US
What: 3D lattice that captures water from the air and stores it
Stage: TRL-2
Water stress or scarcity will affect nearly 5 billion people by 2050, according to the United Nations. Researchers at the University of Iowa have developed a millimetre-scale lattice structure that can pull water molecules from the air and store it inside tiny cavities.
The material is built from metal-organic frameworks, which are porous structures formed by combining metal atoms and organic molecules. The team discovered that when they exposed the structure to ultraviolet light its internal architecture reshaped, creating tiny cavities capable of trapping water molecules from the air.
Each cavity is capable of capturing and storing two water molecules, equating to 5% of the filled structure’s mass. Although each cavity stores a small amount of water, when scaled up they could produce a substantial amount of water using only sunlight.
“You can transport the crystal lattice and eventually release the water on demand. That’s why it’s such an advance,” said Leonard MacGillivray, adjunct professor in the Department of Chemistry and former professor and department chair.
For a fuller report on other developments in this technology, see p22
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