Quantum Dot Solar Cells

Technology could really use some more sustainable sources, and now researchers at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have turned to an unusual one. The team has shown that human hair from barber shops can be used to create OLED displays.

Quantum dots have shown promise in solar cells. Now, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have developed a new type of quantum dot solar cell that isn’t made with the toxic elements found in most, while maintaining efficiency.

Scientists working on quantum dot solar cells have made a major breakthrough in the area, smashing the previous world record for conversion efficiency by close to 25 percent and bringing the idea of flexible, see-through solar cells one step closer.

MIT researchers have designed a microneedle patch that can administer both a vaccine and quantum dots that sit under the skin for years at a time, essentially storing a person's vaccine history on their own body.

Samsung is beefing up its Galaxy Book lineup with two new laptops: The Galaxy Book Flex, with a touchscreen and reversible hinge that lets it flip into a tablet, and the Galaxy Book Ion, a lightweight workhorse for more professional pursuits.

In the near future, fluorescent graphene quantum dots could crop up in clothes, cosmetics, consumer electronics and even cancer treatments. New Atlas spoke to Moti Gross, the CEO of Dotz Nano, a company that's developing new ways for these tiny, glowing, one-atom-thick dots to be made and used.​

Engineers at the University of Toronto have combined perovskite and quantum dots to create an ultra-efficient, super-luminescent hybrid crystal that they say will create new records in power-to-light conversion efficiencies.

The SprayLD system developed by University of Toronto researchers is capable of blasting colloidal quantum dots onto films and plastic, a new method for spraying solar cells onto flexible surfaces. This could one day see them coat anything from bicycle helmets to outdoor furniture.

Researchers at the University of Toronto have manufactured and tested a new type of colloidal quantum dots (CQD), that could lead to much cheaper, spray-on solar cells, as well as better LEDs, lasers and weather satellites.

Scientists are developing hybrid materials that are a cross between living bacterial cells and non-living components such as gold nanoparticles. The resulting "living materials" are able to respond to their environment like regular living cells, while also doing things like conducting electricity.

Researchers at the University of Toronto have set a new efficiency record of 6 percent for colloidal quantum dot solar cells.

Stanford researchers have found that adding a single layer of organic molecules can increase three-fold the efficiency of quantum dot solar cells, which are cheaper to produce than traditional solar cells.