At CINE, we continue to conduct high-quality science to improve the promising technology of perovskite solar cells. In this work, led by researcher Ana Flávia Nogueira (Unicamp), the authors used the strategy of passivating the surface of the material to neutralize its defects and, in this way, reduce the degradation that the perovskite suffers when in contact with the environment. The researchers used perovskite quantum dots to perform this passivation. The results showed that the strategic incorporation of quantum dots improves photovoltaic performance and mitigates the degradation caused by humidity and heat.
In the area of energy storage, today we highlight this work on lithium-sulfur batteries, a technology which is in advanced stage of development and stands out for offering high specific energy. With researcher Hudson Zanin (Unicamp) as one of the main authors, the team proposed a simple and concrete solution to the main problem of this technology – the so-called “shuttle effect”, which reduces the efficiency, useful life and capacity of these devices. Using advanced characterization techniques, the authors studied the impact of using water as an additive (cheap and abundant) for the electrolyte and were able to determine the amount that should be added to reduce the shuttle effect in these batteries.
Water electrolysis is a promising method for generating green hydrogen when performed using energy from renewable sources. In this work, the authors sought to understand in detail two factors that affect the efficiency of this process: the formation of bubbles on the surface of the electrodes and the pH variation at the interface between the electrode and the electrolyte. In the study, which was coordinated by researcher Ernesto Chaves Pereira (UFSCar), the team used advanced image processing techniques to examine more than 8,000 bubbles in each experiment performed, in addition to observing how changes in pH affect the size of the bubbles. The results provide insights for optimizing the water splitting and other electrochemical processes important for the energy transition.
This paper presents a computational approach to the degradation problem that metal halide perovskites suffer when exposed to the environment in solar cells. In these situations, the arrangement of atoms within the material changes, going from the so-called “cubic phase” to the “hexagonal phase”, which does not absorb light as efficiently as the former. Led by researcher Juarez L. F. Da Silva (IQSC-USP), the authors investigated the phase transition through computational simulations. Forty-three different structures were used to explore this transition. The findings confirmed the possibility of preventing the phase transition by employing certain elements in the chemical composition.
In May of this year, our researcher Lucia Helena Mascaro made us proud once again by winning theBrazilian Women in Chemistry Awardsin the category of “leadership in academia” in recognition of her consolidated academic career. The award, granted by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ), recognizes female researchers from Brazil whose contributions have a global and social impact.
Mascaro is a professor at UFSCar and works as a researcher at CINE and CDMF, with an emphasis on electrochemistry and topics such as hydrogen production and photoelectrocatalysis. She has held leadership positions in several entities and has supervised dozens of undergraduate and graduate students.
We congratulate Andrey da Silva Barbosa and his doctoral advisor Elisabete Inacio Santiago, both members of CINE, for the honorable mention in the CAPES Thesis Award 2024, which distinguished the best doctoral theses defended in Brazil last year.
The thesis “Polyethylene-based anion exchange membranes applied as an alkaline polymer electrolyte in electrochemical devices”, defended in the Postgraduate Program in Nuclear Technology at USP, was carried out with a scholarship from Shell within a CINE project aimed at developing materials for electrochemical reactors capable of converting methane (a greenhouse gas) into methanol (an important raw material for several products).
The legal framework for low-carbon hydrogen was approved in August, and CINE is already participating in discussions about the opportunities that lie ahead.
At a workshop held on September 6 at CNPEM in Campinas, attended by companies, research institutions and funding agencies, CINE director Ana Flavia Nogueira presented what our researchers have been doing to develop technologies for the production and storage of low-carbon hydrogen.
The event brought together representatives from the academic, production and government sectors to exchange knowledge about this fuel and raw material that is so important for the energy transition.
If you have a scientific paper that presents an innovative solution to promote sustainability in Latin America, you can submit an article to this special edition of Sustainability Science and Technology, a journal launched this year by the scientific publisher IOP. Articles approved after peer review will be published in open access format, at no cost to the authors. The edition has two researchers from CINE as editors (Ana Flávia Nogueira and Caue Ribeiro). Learn more.
Partnerships and collaborations have been part of our proposal since the beginning so that, together, we can generate and implement the best solutions for the energy transition and the low-carbon economy. Does your company or institution want to collaborate with CINE? Get in touch! Our email is contato@cine.org.br.
