Introduction to the organic materials for energy conversion and storage themed collection
Guest Editors Juan Luis Delgado and Emilio Palomares introduce the Sustainable Energy & Fuels themed collection on organic materials for energy conversion and storage.
Mechanisms of photoredox catalysts: the role of optical spectroscopy
Photoinduced organic transformations have stimulated the organic chemistry community to develop light-driven renewed reaction methodologies, which in many cases are complementary to standard thermal catalysis.
Sustainable materials for off-grid battery applications: advances, challenges and prospects
Sustainable and accessible energy? Green materials and batteries. We review the latest ecological materials and technologies for off-grid battery applications.
Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane as a recyclable soft template to synthesize mesoporous polymeric carbon nitride with enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution
A novel recyclable template was used to prepare mesoporous polymeric carbon nitride with prominently increased specific surface area and photoactivity.
Electrophoretic deposition of supramolecular complexes for the formation of carbon nitride films
The large-scale fabrication of polymeric carbon nitride (CN) films with tunable thickness, composition and photoelectrochemical properties is reported.
Paper
D–A–π–A organic dyes with tailored green light absorption for potential application in greenhouse-integrated dye-sensitized solar cells
In this paper, we present the design and synthesis of three organic dyes specially developed for the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells with potential application in greenhouses cladding.
CoOx electro-catalysts anchored on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes for the oxygen evolution reaction
The development of high-performance, low-cost transition metal oxide nanoparticle-supported carbon catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is one of the biggest challenges faced in the process of commercializing water electrolyzers and rechargeable metal–air batteries.
An anthraquinone-decorated graphene hydrogel based on carbonized cotton fibers for flexible and high performance supercapacitors
Schematic illustration of the preparation procedure of DAQ–CGH.
Improving the overall performance of photochemical H2 evolution catalyzed by the Co-NHC complex via the redox tuning of electron relays
The catalytic performance of photochemical H2 evolution from water by Co-NHC-1 is dramatically improved by rational redox tuning of an electron relay.
Synchronous nesting of hollow FeP nanospheres into a three-dimensional porous carbon scaffold via a salt-template method for performance-enhanced potassium-ion storage
The synchronous nesting of hollow FeP nanospheres into a 3D-PC scaffold is designed for boosting the electrochemical performance of KIBs.
Improving the electrocatalytic performance of sustainable Co/carbon materials for the oxygen evolution reaction by ultrasound and microwave assisted synthesis
Microwave and ultrasound preparation of highly active OER electrodes derived from pinecones and having a low cobalt content is reported.
Paper
Using high-throughput virtual screening to explore the optoelectronic property space of organic dyes; finding diketopyrrolopyrrole dyes for dye-sensitized water splitting and solar cells
A high-throughput virtual screening of 45 000 diketopyrrolopyrrole dyes is performed to map their optoelectronic property space and screen for dyes suitable for dye-sensitized proton reduction and dye-sensitized solar-cells.
Surface treatment of ZnO films with carbon nanotubes for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells
Carbon nanotubes were used to deactivate hydroxyl groups, which are the main reason for ion migration in ambient-air processed perovskite solar cells.
The effect of bulky electron-donating thioether substituents on the performances of phthalocyanine based dye sensitized solar cells
A series of novel phthalocyanine derivatives with bulky electron-donating thioether substituents were synthesized in order to investigate the effect of sulfur atoms on the solar-cell performances of Zn–phthalocyanine based dye-sensitized solar cells.
Paper
Benzothiadiazole-based photosensitizers for efficient and stable dye-sensitized solar cells and 8.7% efficiency semi-transparent mini-modules
New benzothiadiazole-based dyes are synthesized, characterized and used for the fabrication of robust and efficient solar cells and mini-modules.
A low temperature aqueous formate fuel cell using cobalt hexacyanoferrate as a non-noble metal oxidation catalyst
Prussian blue is applied as the anode in the first reported metal-free fuel cell for formic acid oxidation.
Molecularly engineered thienyl-triphenylamine substituted zinc phthalocyanine as dopant free hole transporting materials in perovskite solar cells
The synthesis and semiconducting properties of thienyl-triphenylamine tetrasubstituted zinc(II) phthalocyanine and its integration as a dopant-free hole transporting material in perovskite solar cells. Competitive performance and excellent chemical stability were obtained.
Proton trap effect on catechol–pyridine redox polymer nanoparticles as organic electrodes for lithium batteries
New redox-active polymer nanoparticles present that the redox potential of the catechol group is affected by the presence of the pyridine. This positive potential gain is associated to the proton trap effect, which benefits the performance of lithium-ion–polymer batteries.
About this collection
This themed collection, Guest Edited by Emilio Palomares (ICIQ and ICREA) and Juan Luis Delgado (Ikerbasque and Polymat), showcases studies published in Sustainable Energy & Fuels on the recent progress and challenges in the field of organic, inorganic and hybrid materials for energy conversion. This includes, but is not limited to: advances in photovoltaics (organic and hybrid devices), solar to fuels conversion, and catalysis for sustainable energy applications.