Nanoco Technologies in the ORION project

The main role of Nanoco Technologies in the ORION project is the scale up and supply of light sensitizers [quantum dots].      Nanoco’s CdSe reactor     Electron microscope image of Nanoco’s QDs Nanoco’s standard QDs on offer to ORION partners include CdSe cores, CdS cores and CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs. Recently Nanoco has developed new synthetic methods [...]

Read Full Post »

Impedance Spectroscopy: a useful tool for photovoltaic device characterization and modeling by Antonio Guerrero, and Germà Garcia-Belmonte

Photovoltaic and Optoelectronic Devices Group, Department of Physics, Universitat Jaume I, ES-12071 Castelló, Spain It is commonly accepted that modeling an electrical system mainly consists of establishing a set of structural relations between suitable parameters which represent its electrical response. But in many cases, the role of instrumentation in the process of model construction is [...]

Read Full Post »

Ionic liquids as solvents offer new opportunity to prepare active materials for electrode in Li-ion battery by Thibaut Gutel, CEA Grenoble

Since the introduction of Li-ion batteries on the market in 1990’s by Sony, worldwide researchers have been working to find active materials for electrode with better performances (capacity, cyclability, efficiency, self discharge,…), lower cost and safer (thermal stability,…) than conventional electrode material. The preparation of new inorganic-organic hybrid materials able to insert/deinsert Li ions in [...]

Read Full Post »

Are Ionic Liquids (IL) good electrolytes for Li diffusion in batteries? A Molecular Dynamics study by Carlos Fernandez, Sergiu Clima, David Beljonne, and Roberto Lazzaroni, University of Mons

Ionic Liquids have emerged as the most promising candidates for use as Li battery electrolyte because of their negligible vapor pressure, low flammability and large electrochemical window. The questions that need be addressed are: how fast will the Li+ ions be able to diffuse in IL ? Will the IL represent a “bottleneck” or will [...]

Read Full Post »

Molecular design of the improved structural and optical properties of new DSSC Ru dyes from first principles by Sergiu Clima, David Beljonne, Roberto Lazzaroni, University of Mons

Up to date the well renowned N719, N3 or C101 Ru(II) complexes are the most efficient ( more than 11%) Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) photosensitizers. The aim of this work is to find new complexes with higher light-harvesting ability in tandem with the iodine redox system. For this purpose the First Principles approach is [...]

Read Full Post »

Improvements in ionic liquid templated TiO2 films via modifications of the precursors by Jan Prochazka and Ladislav Kavan, JHIPC

J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the ASCR, v. v. i. Dolejškova 2155/3, 182 23 Prague 8, Czech Republic In the framework of ORION project JHIPC, LCPO-CNRS and SOLVIONIC explored a potential use of ionic liquids as a template in the synthesis of TiO2 films. The work showed an important pathway to better utilizing [...]

Read Full Post »

ZnO electrodeposition in ionic liquid based electrolytes: an innovative route to obtain ZnO with special properties by Eneko Azaceta (CIDETEC), Sébastian Fantini (Solvionic), and Ramón Tena-Zaera (CIDETEC)

New Materials Department, CIDETEC, Centre for Electrochemical Technologies, Parque Tecnológico de San Sebastián, Paseo Miramón 196, Donostia-San Sebastián 20009, Spain Solvionic, Chemin de la Loge, Toulosse 31078, France In the framework of ORION project, CIDETEC and SOLVIONIC put together their wide expertise in electrochemical processes and ionic liquid synthesis to develop an innovative ZnO deposition [...]

Read Full Post »

Colloidal nanocrystals and ionic liquid based hybrid nanostructures by CNR-IPCF

The role of CNR-IPCF in the Orion project regards mainly the fabrication of novel organized hybrid architectures formed of nanoparticles (NPs) in presence of ionic liquids (ILs) as structure directing agents. The activity of CNR IPCF are focused on the study and the characterization of the nanostructured building blocks as well as of the resulting [...]

Read Full Post »

On the use of nanoparticles as insertion materials for lithium ion batteries by Elie Paillard, Universität Münster

Principle of a lithium ion battery. Lithium Ion batteries are composed of two electrodes separated by an electrolyte. During the charge of the battery, Li+ cations are deinserted from the positive electrode and inserted into the negative electrode, circulating through the electrolyte, the driving force being the applied voltage or current which provides the electrons [...]

Read Full Post »