Transcript Physics 490N

More Real-World Applications
of Nanotechnology: Energy
FUEL CELL CARS
SOLAR CELLS
www.honda.com
www.citizenre.com
ELECTRIC CARS
www.teslamotors.com
Mark Tuominen, Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing, UMass, December 1, 2007
Prior application examples:
Nanoelectronics
Example: Advancement of the iPod
10 GB
2001
20 GB
2002
40 GB
2004
80 GB
2006
160 GB
2007
Hard drive
Magnetic data storage
Uses nanotechnology!
Shrinking Magnets to the Nanoscale
Increases the amount of data stored
on a fixed amount of “real estate” !
Now ~ 100 billion bits/in2, future target more than 1 trillion bits/in2
25 DVDs on a disk the size of a quarter, or
all Library of Congress books on a 1 sq ft tile!
Computer
Microprocessor
"Heart of the computer"
Does the "thinking"
Shrinking Transistors to the Nanoscale
Moore's "Law": Number of Transistors per Microprocessor Chip
intel.com
Can similar advancements be
made in energy technology?
History of Energy
Consumption in the U.S.
quads
year
www.eia.doe.gov
U.S. Total Energy Flow, 2003
in quadrillion Btu (QBtu)
1 BTU ~ 1055 Joule
The U.S. consumes about 100 QBtu annually.
www.eia.doe.gov
Total US Energy Production and Consumption,
1980-2030
140
quadrillion Btu
History
Projections
120
Net imports
100
Consumption
80
Production
60
40
20
0
1980
1990
2000
2005
2010
2020
2030
The Earth’s Power System
The
Sun
Solar Cells
Benefit: Sun is an unlimited source of electronic energy.
Konarka
Electric Solar Cells
Made from single-crystal silicon wafers (conventionally)
Sunlight
wires
-
cross-sectional view
n-type silicon
Voltage
p-type silicon
+
-
Current
“load”
+
The load can be a lamp, an electric
motor, a CD player, a toaster, etc
Inside a Solar Cell
• The separated charge has
higher potential energy than
the neutral
atom.
light
• The electron (and hole) are
now free to move independent
of one another.
neutral
Si +
atomhole
electron
Electric Solar Cells
p-n junction interface
Sunlight
-
cross-sectional view
0.5 Volt
n-type silicon
p-type silicon
- - - -- -
+ + + ++ +
The electric power produced is
proportional to the area of the
solar cell
--
++
Voltage
Current
“load”
+
Nanostructured Solar Cells
Sunlight
Voltage
More interface area - More power!
Current
“load”
+
ONE ROUTE: SELF ASSEMBLY
Diblock Copolymers
Block “B”
PS
Block “A”
PMMA
~10 nm
Scale set by molecular size
Ordered Phases
10% A
30% A
50% A
70% A
90% A
Hydrogen Fuel Cell
• Lightest fuel
• Can make H2 from water
Goals
• Improve proton membrane
• Use less catalyst
• CHEAPER!
Nano-Battery
Nanotechnology R&D is
interdisciplinary and impacts many application
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Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Materials Science
Polymer Science
Electrical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Medicine
And others
• Electronics
• Materials
• Health/Biotech
• Chemical
• Environmental
• Energy
• Aerospace
• Automotive
• Security
• Forest products
• And others
Re: Your future
My Advice to
Students:
• Pursue your interests
• Ask questions
• Be clever
• Do!
Thanks for visiting UMass and
learning about nanotechnology!