Applications In Energy Systems Research Articles

Mutual Reinforcement of Evaporation and Catalysis for Efficient Freshwater–Salt–Chemical Production

AbstractThe development of mutually reinforcing solar‐driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) and integrated functional materials/systems to achieve efficient production of freshwater and energy/matters simultaneously under extremely high solar utilization is in high demand. Herein, an integrated SDIE reaction system (reduced graphene oxide (rGO)‐palladium (Pd) catalytic evaporator, rGO‐Pd) is first reported, where SDIE and the integrated catalytic reaction are mutually reinforced. The apparent utilization of solar to thermal energy by the integrated SDIE reaction system is a combination of evaporative utilization and catalytic utilization. The reaction heat released by the rGO‐Pd catalytic evaporator enhances its anti‐salt water production performance to a record of 12.7 L m−2 h−1, surpassing the reported performance of other integrated SDIE reaction systems. In the rGO‐Pd catalytic evaporator, the synergetic effect of photothermal and rapid mass transfer significantly increases the catalytic activity (turnover frequency) of Pd catalysts up to a record 125.07 min−1, which is about 3.75 times of the condition without light. This integrated SDIE reaction system can effectively and simultaneously produce freshwater, salt, and catalyzed chemicals after evaporating water to dryness. This study paves the way for SDIE's high‐performance applications in future integrated water, energy, and environmental systems.

Pedagogical Perspectives of Interdisciplinary Teaching and Research: An Energy System Modelling Outlook in Relation to Energy Informatics

The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss pedagogical frameworks and approaches to developing, delivering, and evaluating a new interdisciplinary course within the domain of energy informatics at both Master’s and PhD levels. This study is needed because many papers on sustainable energy engineering education concentrate on course content but provide very little information on the pedagogical methods employed to deliver that content. The proposed new course is called “smart energy and power systems modelling” and is aimed at discussing how mathematical optimization, in the context of computer science, can contribute to more effectively managing smart energy and power systems. Different pedagogical frameworks are discussed and adapted for the specific domain of energy informatics. An ASSURE model coupled with Bloom’s taxonomy is presented for the design of the course and identification of learning objectives; self-regulated learning strategies are discussed to enhance the learning process; a novel model called GPD (Gaussian Progression of Difficulty) for lecture planning was proposed; a teaching-research nexus is discussed for the course planning and enhancement. Adopting qualitative analyses and an inductive approach, this paper offers a thorough reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of the new course, together with improvement possibilities based on fieldwork and direct experience with the students and colleagues. Opportunities and challenges of interdisciplinary teaching are presented in light of real-world experience, with a particular focus on the interaction between mathematics and computer science to study the specific application of energy and power systems.

Preface

This Proceedings contains the selected papers of the 2023 3rd International Conference on Energy Engineering, New Energy Materials and Devices (NEMD 2023), which was held via virtual form in Guangzhou, China from March 24th to 26th, 2023.NEMD 2023 is aimed at the academic and scientific community and the productive sectors of the region, with the aim of disseminating academic and research work; moreover, promotes the exchange of experiences between researchers as well as the participation of the productive sectors in research, extension, technological development, and innovation activities, contributing to the strengthening the relationship between universities, enterprises and institutions.This Conference was articulated with different topics around the themes of Energy Engineering, New Energy Materials and Devices to discuss on the research findings, their possibilities and challenges. The relevance of the NEMD 2023 conference theme to a wide range of disciplines is reflected in the papers that have been submitted for publication. The topics covered in the Proceedings includes: Solar Photovoltaic Power Generation System, Principle and Technology of Solar Cell, Distributed Energy System Technology, Energy Conversion and Application, Green Energy Materials, etc.. All the papers, being reviewed through a double-blind review process, are original contributions to the topics and shown the research works that are doing in the field of the described theme.We had about 60 participants all around the world. The scientific program of the Conference was composed of keynote speech, oral presentation, and academic investigation. Assoc. Prof. Jing Guo from Xi’an Jiaotong University, China, who has published more than 80 academic publications, over 4600 SCI citations, with an H-factor of 40 (Google Academic), made a keynote speech on Ceramic-Polymer Composites Prepared via Cold Sintering Process. Ceramicpolymer composites have attracted much attention due to the excellent combined physical and chemical properties. However, most of the ceramics are sintered at high temperatures, typically higher than 1000 °C, which are not compatible with the processing temperatures of polymers. Thus, it is challenging to integrate ceramics with polymers in a onestep sintering process. Cold sintering process proposed in 2016 provides a route for the densification of ceramics at temperatures lower than 350 °C. He discussed the recent development of cold sintered electronic materials based on ceramic-polymer composites. The brilliant speeches of each speaker provided a feast of knowledge for all the participants, allowing them to communicate with each other and get some academic advice or suggestion.Our sincere thanks and gratitude to all the participants for making such a comprehensive NEMD Conference and Proceedings, which contribute to the enhancement and development in related fields. We are grateful to the Technical Program Committee for their valuable time and advice. Special thanks to the members of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series for making this Proceedings published. We appreciate the effort from those involved and look forward to a more successful conference next year.The Committee of NEMD 2023Committee Member are available in the pdf

A Novel Switched Hybrid-Voltage Doubler High Gain DC-DC Converter for Renewable Energy Applications

Background: In renewable energy system applications, the power converter is essential for transferring energy into the load centre. The AC network voltage is much higher than the renewable energy source voltage; therefore, a transformer is commonly used to step up the voltage. However, the size and cost of the system are larger due to the presence of a bulky transformer, and also the efficiency is deteriorated due to PWM voltage being applied to the transformer. Objective: To eliminate the requirement of the transformer, DC link voltage is boosted up to a higher level using a high-gain converter. Various DC-DC converters have been proposed in recent studies; however, the involvement of the active switches is high to produce higher voltage gain, which reduces efficiency. In order to overcome this limitation, this particular paper proposes a novel switched hybrid-voltage doubler high gain DC-DC converter, which helps to achieve higher gain with a minimum number of components count compared to other reported converters. It also reduces the device's stress, thereby increasing its efficiency. Method: This paper describes the detailed operational studies along with CCM and DCM modes. The mathematical analysis under each operating state is reported in this paper. A detailed comparative study on the performance merits of the proposed converter, along with other recently reported converters, is presented. Results: Finally, the simulation results are presented to validate the operation of the proposed converter. Furthermore, a 500 W laboratory setup is developed to verify the operation details and practical feasibility of the converter through experimental results and presented in this paper. Conclusion: From the measured results, it is concluded that the proposed converter can play the most promising role in the transmission phase in renewable energy system implementations since it boosts the voltage to the adequate point as required by the system.

Potential of applying the thermochemical recuperation in combined cooling, heating and power generation: Off-design operation performance

Combined cooling, heating and power system (CCHP) as a typical distributed energy utilization technology, is usually installed close to the end-user to satisfy the diverse energy demands, which also has multiple advantages of energy-efficient and environment-friendly. While the simultaneously changing user energy loads brings about a huge challenge for the system energy conversion and regulation process, and then significantly affects the system operation flexibility. Therefore, the new method of thermochemical recuperation (TCR) is employed to enhance the system dynamic energy utilization performances, and also efficiently converts the high-temperature exhaust gas heat into hydrogen-enrich syngas for further application. In this work, by considering the practical system operation, the off-design TCR operation adjustment capacity for the system diverse energy outputs is important, which is extensively investigated. Based on the developed mathematic model, different-size (small, middle and large) gas turbine scenarios are considered, the results indicate that the TCR process effectively optimize the system energy conversion process, and the corresponding power efficiencies are improved by 10.53%–13.87%, 8.56%–14.46% and 14.23%–14.42%, respectively. In addition, with the merits of adaptively coordinating the multi-energy production, the off-design energy outputs boundary of the CCHP system can be extended and then readily match the fluctuant user loads. Specifically, as for the small scale GT-based system application in a hotel building case, the system annual recuperated fuel ratio reaches to 0.54 with the annual coordinated recuperation operation time ratio of 0.70, and then the system operation flexibility is thus enhanced with the annual fuel saving ratio of 6.03%, which also contributes to the CO2 emission reduction. With the favorable potential to optimize the CCHP system operation regulation, the thermochemical recuperation technology provides a feasible pathway to enhance the distributed energy system application feasibility.

A Review on Modular Converter Topologies Based on WBG Semiconductor Devices in Wind Energy Conversion Systems

This paper presents a comprehensive review on the employment of wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor power devices in wind energy conversion systems (WECSs). Silicon-carbide- (SiC) and gallium-nitride (GaN)-based power devices are highlighted and studied in this review, focusing on their application in the wind energy system. This is due to their premium characteristics such as the operation at high switching frequency, which can reduce the switching losses, and the capability to operate at high temperatures compared with silicon (Si)-based devices. These advantages promote the replacement of the conventional Si-based devices with the WBG semiconductor devices in the new modular converter topologies due to the persistent demand for a more-efficient power converter topology with lower losses and smaller sizes. The main objective of this paper was to provide a comprehensive overview of the WBG power devices commercially available on the market and employed in the modular converter topologies for renewable energy systems. The paper also provides a comparison between the WBG power technologies and the traditional ones based on the Si devices. The paper starts from the conventional modular power converter topology circuits, and then, it discusses the opportunities for integrating the SiC and WBG devices in the modular power converters to improve and enhance the system’s performance.

Hardware-in-the-Loop Techniques for Complex Systems Analysis: Bibliometric Analysis of Available Literature

Simulating complex systems in real time presents both significant advantages and challenges. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation has emerged as an interesting technique for addressing these challenges. While HIL has gained attention in the scientific literature, its application in energy studies and power systems remains scattered and challenging to locate. This paper aims to provide an assessment of the penetration of the HIL technique in energy studies and power systems. The analysis of the literature reveals that HIL is predominantly employed in evaluating electrical systems (smart grids, microgrids, wind systems), with limited application in thermal energy systems (energy storage). Notably, the combination of electrical hardware-in-the-loop (EHIL) and thermal hardware-in-the-loop (THIL) techniques has found application in the assessment of vehicle thermal management systems and smart cities and, recently, has also been adopted in building systems. The findings highlight the potential for further exploration and expansion of the HIL technique in diverse energy domains, emphasizing the need for addressing challenges such as hardware–software compatibility, real-time data acquisition, and system complexity.

Frequency Support Control of Multi-Terminal Direct Current System Integrated Offshore Wind Farms Considering Direct Current Side Stability

The frequency stability of modern power systems is challenged due to widespread application of large-scale renewable energy systems, of which the offshore wind farm (OWF) is one of the dominant resources. The OWFs are usually integrated into the grid by multi-terminal direct current (MTDC) transmission systems, which makes the energy flow complicated and the frequency control design challenging. A frequency support control method of MTDC system integrated OWFs (referred to as the OWF-MTDC system) is proposed in this paper. First, the wind turbine generation system (WTGS) is controlled to reserve a certain amount of available power according to the real-time wind speed for more comprehensive frequency regulation. Then, the frequency support control of OWFs is designed, and they can release the rotor kinetic energy and reserved power to support the onshore grid frequency. In addition, the virtual inertia control of a modular multi-level converter (MMC) is designed, which can also provide frequency support in an emergency by use of the DC capacitor. To ensure that the frequency control of the OWF-MTDC system does not degrade the stability of the system, a detailed DC impedance model of the MMC-based MTDC systems is developed, considering the constant power control and DC voltage control. Based on the impedance model, the impact of the frequency control coefficients on the DC side stability of the MTDC system is analyzed. Simulation results validate the stability analysis and verify the proposed frequency control method, which can effectively provide frequency support to the onshore power grid.

Validating EURO-CORDEX climate simulations for modelling European wind power generation

As the energy system becomes increasingly dependent on intermittent meteorological sources, there is a need to understand better the possible consequences of a changing climate on weather variability and how it will affect wind power generation in the future. Most previous validation studies of regional climate datasets focus on the distributional properties or, in fewer cases, the variability at lower frequencies, such as interannual and seasonal. However, accurate wind variability at a high-enough resolution (e.g., hourly) is crucial for many aspects of power and energy system analyses. Using European country-level wind generation data and metrics relevant to power and energy system applications, we validate the wind speed output from seven regional climate models from the EURO-CORDEX project. We show that the EURO-CORDEX models adjusted with the Global Wind Atlas (GWA2) can simulate temporal dependencies and generation distributions with accuracy similar to or better than the ERA5 reanalysis. The spatial correlations, however, are overestimated compared to observations by most analysed models. Assuming the GWA2 scaling is also valid for the future, the projections under the RCP8.5 scenario show a slight negative trend (2026–2065) in capacity factors for most analysed European countries.

Representation of uncertainty in market models for operational planning and forecasting in renewable power systems: a review

AbstractAs the power system is becoming more weather-dependent and integrated to meet decarbonization targets, the level and severity of uncertainty increase and inevitably introduce higher risk of demand rationing or economic loss. This paper reviews the representation of uncertainty in power market models for operational planning and forecasting. A synthesis of previous reviews is used to find the prevalence of stochastic tools in power and energy system applications, and it concludes that most approaches are deterministic. A selection of power market tools handling uncertainty is reviewed in terms of the uncertain parameters they capture, and the methods used to describe them. These all use probabilistic methods and typically cover weather-related uncertainty, including demand. Random outages are also covered by several short-term power market models, while uncertainty in fuel and CO$$_2$$ 2 emission prices were generally not found to be included, nor other types of uncertainty. A gap in power market models representing multiple dimensions of uncertainty, solvable on a realistic, large-scale system in a reasonable time, is identified. The paper concludes with a discussion on topics to address when representing uncertainty, where the main challenges are that uncertainty can be difficult to describe and quantify, and including uncertainty adds additional complexity and computational burden to the problem.

Investigation of efficient multilevel inverter for photovoltaic energy system and electric vehicle applications

Introduction. This research presents a simple single-phase pulse-width modulated 7-level inverter topology for renewable system which allows home-grid applications with electric vehicle charging. Although multilevel inverters have appealing qualities, their vast range of application is limited by the use of more switches in the traditional arrangement. As a result, a novel symmetrical 7-level inverter is proposed, which has the fewest number of unidirectional switches with gate circuits, providing the lowest switching losses, conduction losses, total harmonic distortion and higher efficiency than conventional topology. The novelty of the proposed work consists of a novel modular inverter structure for photovoltaic energy system and electric vehicle applications with fewer numbers of switches and compact in size. Purpose. The proposed system aims to reduce switch count, overall harmonic distortions, and power loss. There are no passive filters required, and the constituted optimizes power quality by producing distortion-free sinusoidal output voltage as the level count increases while reducing power losses. Methods. The proposed topology is implemented with MATLAB/Simulink, using gating pulses and various pulse-width modulation methodologies. Moreover, the proposed model also has been validated and compared to the hardware system. Results. Total harmonic distortion, number of power switches, output voltage, current, power losses and number of DC sources are investigated with conventional topology. Practical value. The proposed topology has proven to be extremely beneficial for implementing photovoltaic-based stand-alone multilevel inverter and electric vehicle charging applications.

Environmental stability of additively manufactured siliconized silicon carbide for applications in hybrid energy systems

AbstractA key consideration for the successful operation of hybrid energy systems will be the environmental stability of materials used for their construction, particularly when experiencing service environments containing water vapor at high temperatures. Here, we report results from the characterization of siliconized silicon carbide (Si‐SiC) prepared via binder jet additive manufacturing and reactive silicon melt infiltration after being exposed to environments representative of those in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes, and to exhaust gases inside a microturbine operating on natural gas. In both cases, it was found that oxide scales formed on the surface and that these scales were dense, continuous, and well‐bonded to the substrates, although there was evidence of transverse and longitudinal cracking most likely as a result of mismatches in the thermal expansion of the scale and the substrate. Measured values of the thickness of the oxide scale were compared to those predicted by parabolic oxidation kinetics of silicon, but the potential effects of silica volatilization induced by water vapor, and silica reduction when exposed to hydrogen are discussed. The overall results showed that the oxide scale is expected to be protective under the conditions of hybrid power generation systems.

Hybrid Energy Systems for Buildings: A Techno-Economic-Enviro Systematic Review

Hybrid energy systems physically or conceptually combine various energy generation, storage, and/or conversion technologies to reduce costs and improve capability, value, efficiency, or environmental performance in comparison with independent alternatives. Hybridization is an interesting energy sector solution for plants to expand their flexibility, optimize revenues, and/or develop other useful products. Integrated hybrid energy systems’ improved flexibility can hasten the integration of more renewable energy into the grid and help become closer to the target of zero-carbon energy grids. This paper aims to provide an updated literature review of design and applications of hybrid energy systems in buildings, focusing on economic, environmental, and technical viewpoints. This current study will analyze current and future trends toward hybrid energy systems for buildings and their functions in electrical energy networks as potential research study topics for the future. This study aims to enhance sustainable building techniques and the creation of effective electrical energy networks by offering insights into the design and applications of hybrid energy systems. The methodology used in this study entails assessing present and potential trends, as well as looking at hybrid energy system uses and designs in buildings. The higher flexibility of integrated hybrid systems, which enables enhanced grid integration of renewables, is one of the key discoveries. The discussion of potential research study themes and conceivable applications resulting from this research forms the paper’s conclusion.

Preface

These proceedings are based on the program of the workshop dedicated to New Energy System and Electrical Engineering. Understanding the path from New Energy Systems to Electrical and Power Engineering will involve a strong interdisciplinary interaction among experts in theory and applications. In this workshop a particular attention was devoted to applications in New Energy System and Electrical Engineering.2022 4th International Conference on New Energy System and Electrical Engineering (NESEE 2022) took place virtually in Chongqing, China from December 9th to 11th, 2022. It can be expected that with the recent developments in the fields towards more user-friendly new energy system and electrical engineering, new energy and electrical will become a vital link in the chain of sustainable development and highly automation in the near future.Many scientists and researchers all over the world have contributed to the emerging technology of new energy and electrical engineering. At this meeting we had a comprehensive overview of these fascinating fields and of future scenarios thanks to the participation of leaders of the most important projects. Fushuan Wen, a renowned professor from Zhejiang University, China, made a keynote speech and shared his research Restoring a Faulted Power System Having Rich Renewable Energy Generation in Electricity Market Environment with us. His research domains include: a) power economics and electricity markets; b) power system investment, planning and operation optimization; c) smart grids and electric vehicles; d) power system alarm processing, fault diagnosis and system restoration; e) artificial intelligence.The plenary sessions covered a broad range of topics, as we considered it important to promote communication between the communities pursuing research in different areas of new energy and electrical engineering. The topics discussed included Energy Saving Technologies, Energy Storage Technologies, Thermal and Power Engineering, Electrical Automation and Power Engineering, Smart Grid / Power IC, Power Machinery and Engineering, etc.The NESEE conferences in the past have proven to be an important forum at which energy scientists, chemists, electrical specialists brought together a critical mass of thoughts, findings and considerations and have been endorsed by many international and national energy and electrical organizations and publishers.We hope that this NESEE 2022 conference has been a useful contribution to the fields of new energy and electrical engineering, and that it may encourage the organization of subsequent NESEE conferences on these diverse, challenging and fascinating fields.Last but not the least is our acknowledgement. We would like to thank all the participants, especially those who contributed speeches, posters and manuscripts, for making NESEE 2022 such an exciting and memorable conference. We thank the Technical Program Committee members, for putting together an outstanding program. We gratefully acknowledge the support of editors and members of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series, for their efforts in making this volume published.The Committee of NESEE 2022List of Committee Member is available in this Pdf.

High frequency isolated bidirectional dual active bridge DC-DC converters and its application to distributed energy systems: an overview

Among the DC-DC converters, an isolated bidirectional dual active bridge converter is a core circuit for high-frequency power converters in distributed energy system applications. These high-frequency power conversion systems attract academia and industry due to various advantages, such as high-power density, less weight, reduced noise, high efficiency, low cost and high reliability. First, the importance of power electronic converters in modern-day life is introduced. Second, a topological overview of voltage-fed and current-fed isolated bidirectional dual active bridge converters is presented with their importance in integrating hybrid power sources. Third, switching modes of isolated bidirectional DC-DC converters are also presented with a degree of freedom of control. Forth, performance evaluation of voltage-fed and current-fed isolated bidirectional converters has been presented with an example. Their suitability in integrating fuel cells and photovoltaics with energy storage systems in low to medium-power applications is presented.

Robust Control of RSOC/Li-ion Battery Hybrid System Based on Modeling and Active Disturbance Rejection Technology

The application of new energy systems for industrial production to advance air pollution prevention and control has become an irreversible trend. This development includes hybrid systems consisting of reversible solid oxide cells (RSOC) and a Li-ion battery; however, at present the energy dispatching of such systems has an unstable factor in the form of poor heat/electricity/gas controllability. Therefore, the system studied in this paper uses the Li-ion battery as the energy supply/storage case, and uses the RSOC to supply power for the Li-ion battery charge or the Li-ion battery supply power to the RSOC for hydrogen production by water electrolysis. In this hybrid system, Li-ion battery thermoelectric safety and RSOC hydrogen production stability are extremely important. However, system operation involves the switching of multiple operating conditions, and the internal thermoelectric fluctuation mechanism is not yet clear. Therefore, in this paper we propose a separate control with a dual mode for hybrid systems. Active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) with a simple structure is used to achieve Li-ion battery module thermoelectric safety and control the hydrogen production/consumption of the RSOC module in the hybrid system. The results show that the required Li-ion battery thermoelectric safety and RSOC hydrogen consumption/production requirements can be met using the proposed controller, leading to a hybrid system with high stability control.

Nuclear-Driven Integrated Energy Systems: A State-of-the-Art Review

Because of the growing concerns regarding climate change and energy sustainability, a transition toward a modern energy sector that reduces environmental effects while promoting social and economic growth has gained traction in recent years. Sustainable energy solutions, which include renewable and low-carbon sources such as nuclear energy and natural gas, could minimize emissions of greenhouse gases, enhance air and water quality, and encourage energy independence. Yet, the shift to a sustainable energy industry is fraught with difficulties, including governmental and regulatory obstacles, technological and economic limits, and societal acceptability hurdles. Addressing these issues would necessitate the development of long-term, durable, and cost-effective energy systems containing nuclear energy and associated with the generation of both electricity and other by-products required by industry. Integrated energy systems (IES) are a novel way to maximize the use of various energy resources and technologies in order to deliver dependable, efficient, and sustainable energy services. IES entail the integration of various energy systems, such as electricity, heating, cooling, and transportation, in respect to energy sustainability and a system’s resilience and flexibility. Their development and implementation require the cooperation of several parties, including energy providers and policymakers. This study provides a state-of-the-art literature review of the most creative nuclear-driven hybrid energy system applications and methodologies, from which the research challenges and prospects for effective IES implementation emerge.

A Nonisolated Single-Switch Coupled Inductor-Based DC-DC Converter with High Voltage Gain for Renewable Power Generation Systems

This article proposed a new structure of nonisolated high step-up DC-DC converter based on a three-winding coupled inductor and voltage multiplier cells (VMCs) for renewable energy systems applications such as PV power generation. Continuous input current with low ripple, common ground between output and input ports, low voltage stress across semiconductors, low number of components, high voltage gain, and high efficiency are the main advantages of the proposed converter. In order to further increase the output voltage, the windings of the coupled inductor are combined with VMC. The combination of coupled inductor and VMC technique leads to a high voltage gain with low duty cycle, and therefore the conduction loss of power switch is reduced. Additionally, the diodes’ reverse recovery currents are reduced which improve the presented topology’s efficiency. On the other hand, the used VMCs clamp the voltage, and the peak voltages across power switch are decreased. The operational modes, steady-state, and efficiency analysis are discussed. Also, to demonstrate the performance of the recommended converter, an experimental prototype with 580 W output power and 400 V output voltage with the switching frequency of 25 kHz is built and the experimental results are presented. Also, another 1 kW, 400 V with the switching frequency of 50 kHz has been implemented and tested.

Electronic structure, thermodynamics, and thermoelectric properties of YxAl1−xN semiconductor alloys for new promising optoelectronics and energy conversion: Ab Initio study

Key characteristics such as structural, electronic, thermodynamic, and thermoelectric of wurtzite yttrium aluminum nitride (YxAl1−xN) semiconductor alloys (with 0≤ x ≤ 0.375) were investigated using Ab Initio density functional simulation within powerful full-potential linear augmented plane wave (FP‒LAPW) method. The equilibrium structural parameters (a0, c0, c0/a0,V0) were determined using the revised GGA−PBEsol approach in perfect agreement with experiments. The lattice a0-parameter varies almost linearly with yttrium concentration with a bowing of −0.08597 Å, while the c0-parameter has a bowing of −0.5715 Å. The lattice dynamics of doped YxAl1−xN systems were analyzed based on formation energy and phonon frequencies. Electronic structures of wurtzite YxAl1−xN described from a modern nKTB−mBJ potential show bandgap engineering with a range of [6.10 eV–3.85 eV] for x varies from 0 to 0.375, covering emission wavelengths [203 nm–322 nm] in the ultraviolet spectrum. The electron charge density contours indicate ionic bonding in wurtzite YxAl1−xN. Using the quasi-harmonic Debye model, thermodynamic properties of YxAl1−xN alloys, including volume (V0), mass modulus (B0), specific heat (Cv), thermal expansion (α), entropy (S), Debye temperature (ΘD) and Grüneisen parameter (γ), were calculated and analyzed under temperature and pressure effects. Moreover, electronic transport properties, such as the Seebeck coefficient (S), electrical conductivity (σ/τ), power factor, thermal conductivity (κel/τ), and figure of merit (ZT), of YxAl1−xN alloys were determined using BoltzTraP code. YxAl1−xN (at x = 0.25 and T = 600 K) exhibited the largest magnitude of S, with a value of ∼213.9 μV/K, and ZT ∼ 0.72. It also had the lowest value of κ/τ ∼9.9 × 1013 W m−1.K−1.s−1. Wurtzite YxAl1−xN crystal appears to be an extremely interesting candidate for potential applications in optoelectronics (UV) and future green energy system.

Two-dimensional Pd-Cellulose with optimized morphology for the effective solar to steam generation

Nanosized plasmonic metallic nanoparticles such as Pd have gained significant attention due to their diverse applications in catalysis, sensing, and light-to-heat conversion. However, the development of scalable and environmentally friendly synthesis routes for such nanoparticles is crucial for the sustainable development of industrial applications. In this work, we address this challenge by synthesizing Pd-nanoparticles on the cellulose filter paper (Pd-Cellulose) via two scalable green synthesis routes: low-temperature thermal and plasma synthesis. We found that adjusting synthesis conditions allowed us to achieve an optimum morphology that maximizes light absorptance. The nature of the reduction species during synthesis significantly impacts the morphology and heat-transfer properties of the resulting material. Compared to thermally synthesized Pd-Cellulose, the absorbers synthesized with plasma have smaller particles size and higher coverage, which leads to higher broadband light absorptance and more intense heat transfer to the surroundings. The optimized Pd-based light absorbers were utilized in a solar-to-steam desalination system, resulting in an evaporation rate of 1.30 kg/m2h for the open system and a filtration rate of 0.7 kg/m2h for the closed system. Our findings provide insights into the green and scalable synthesis and optimization of Pd-based light absorbers and their potential application in sustainable renewable energy systems.