Flower Solar Collector

When it comes to capturing the energy of the sun, what better model is there than photosynthetic plants? Researchers at North Carolina State University have cultivated a beautiful crop of germanium sulfide (GeS) “nanoflowers” that could be used to create next generation solar cells and ultra high-density energy storage systems. The nanoflowers have petals that resemble those of a geranium or marigold – although they’re only 20-30 nanometers thick and they’re capable of storing much more energy than traditional energy storage cells.

Hybrid Energy from Samsung

Why just harness light or vibration individually when you can use both to create electricity? Making sure to fully exploit both sun and sound simultaneously, researchers from Sungkyunkwan University and Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in South Korea have engineered a novel new device standing only 300nm tall. Publishing their work in the most recent issue of Nanotechnology, the team explained how their hybrid harvester could take advantage of the separate sources of energy to produce a single, constant output of electricity.