Issue 27 – May 31, 2023

CINE DEBATE

Three researchers, specialists in technologies for energy transition and decarbonization, discussed the advantages and disadvantages of different technologies that can help reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector in Brazil, which is one of the largest vehicle producers in the world. The debate, organized by CINE, showed that the country will need to be prepared to produce and use a set of devices, fuels and energy sources, and that it will be necessary to choose the most appropriate options for each application, from urban cars to ships.

• Read the news on the CINE website.

• Access the debate on CINE’s YouTube. (in Portuguese)

RESEARCH

A team of researchers from the Advanced Energy Storage division has developed a mathematical model that should help minimize unwanted energy losses that occur inside supercapacitors. The model, which considers the presence of different structural defects in the electrodes of supercapacitors, will help to design the most suitable material for each application.

• Read the news on the CINE website.
• Go to the paper in Electrochimica Acta.

Prof. Ana Flávia Nogueira (Unicamp), director and researcher at CINE, received the diploma of Permanent Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) in the field of Chemical Sciences in a ceremony held on the night of May 10 at the Naval Academy in Rio de Janeiro. The scientist and the other diplomates were elected at the ABC General Assembly in December last year.

RESEARCH

Researchers from the Dense Energy Carriers division and collaborators studied the role of ligands in the stability of perovskite nanocrystals under continuous illumination. The results suggest which types of ligands can be used to improve the photostability of these materials that are promising for application in solar cells and other devices.

• Access the article in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C, in the themed collection “Celebrating ten years of Journal of Materials Chemistry C”.

RESEARCH

Members of the Advanced Energy Storage division investigated the effect of different water concentrations on lithium-oxygen batteries. In these promising devices, oxygen can be obtained directly from air, which is humid. The authors found that water causes a “double-edged effect” on the battery: it increases its ability to deliver energy on each discharge, but decreases its cyclability.

• Go to the paper in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society.

CINE researchers Prof. Claudia Longo (Unicamp) and Jessica Alvim (PhD student at Unicamp) visited the Shell Technology Center Houston in April in the context of a collaboration with Shell scientists whose objective is to develop a new (photo)electrochemical reactor for conversion of CO2 into value-added products.

Prof. Juarez L. F. Da Silva (IQSC-USP) and Prof. Marcos Quiles (Unifesp), researchers at CINE’s Computational Science division, delivered a masterclass with Shell scientists at the Web Summit Rio 2023, event on technology and innovation that brought together more than 20,000 people in Rio de Janeiro. The scientists spoke about the role of artificial intelligence and computer simulations in the development of technologies for the energy transition.

Two CINE researchers presented their works in poster sessions at the traditional Spring Meeting & Exhibit of the Materials Research Society (MRS). Prof. Claudia Longo (Unicamp) discussed a series of semiconductor materials prepared using arc melting – a relatively cheap and fast method for complex oxides. Doctoral student Jéssica Costa Alvim showed her work on the photoelectrochemical properties of Cu2WO4 for converting carbon dioxide into ethanol.