Researchers from the University of Illinois in the U.S. are developing thin, lightweight panels of microcavity plasma lamps made from aluminum foil, sapphire, and small quantities of gas that could one day be used for residential and commercial lighting, as well as for some biomedical applications. Researcher Gary Eden said that the panels are less than 1 millimeter thick and “can hang on a wall like picture frames.” The article says that the panels are “lighter, brighter and more efficient than incandescent lights and are expected, with further engineering, to approach or surpass the efficiency of fluorescent lighting”. By varying the type of gas and phosphor used in the panels, the researchers can produce any color light emission. The researchers have also demonstrated “flexible plasma arrays sealed in polymeric packaging,” which could be mounted on curved surfaces or within materials such as glass or bandages. The article can be viewed online at the link below.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/uoia-afl060407.php

Ethylene Suggested for Hydrogen Storage
Source:Nanowerks
Author:n/a

Researchers from Bilkent University in Turkey and the U.S. National Insitute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report predictions that a commonly occurring material called ethylene can be important for “developing frameworks for efficient and safe hydrogen-storage media”. The researchers’ calculations indicate that attaching titanium atoms to opposite ends of an ethylene molecule forms a capsule-shaped complex that is able to absorb 10 hydrogen molecules, which, at about 14 percent of the complex’s weight, is double the U.S. Department of Energy’s minimum target for economically practical storage of hydrogen in a solid state material. Equally important, according to the article, the capsule is predicted to release the hydrogen with small amounts of heat. Researcher Taner Yildirim said, “The success of future hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies is critically dependent upon the discovery of new materials that can store large amounts of hydrogen at ambient conditions.” The article can be viewed online at the link below.

http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=1117.php

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