• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Moisture-sucking gels give solar panels the chills

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 11, 2020
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: © 2020 KAUST; Youssef A. Khalil

A cooling system developed at KAUST has improved the efficiency of a prototype solar panel up to 20 percent and requires no external energy source to operate.

Commercial silicon photovoltaic panels are only able to transform a small portion of absorbed sunlight into electricity, while the remainder of the radiation becomes heat. Because solar panels are less efficient for every degree rise in temperature, the problem of heat dissipation becomes more acute in hot environments, such as the Arabian desert.

Unfortunately, efforts to cool solar panels with conventional techniques, including refrigeration or air conditioning, tend to consume more energy than can be gained back through efficiency boosts. Now, a team led by Peng Wang from KAUST’s Water Desalination and Reuse Center has produced a proof-of-concept device that aims to solve this conundrum by tapping into the natural properties of the Earth’s climate.

Previously, the KAUST researchers developed a polymer containing calcium chloride, a powerful desiccant. When exposed to humid air, this material gradually expands as the calcium salts pull water into the gel, eventually doubling its initial weight. By incorporating heat-absorbing carbon nanotubes into the polymer framework, the team found they could reverse this cycle and trigger release of water with solar energy.

Renyuan Li, who was a Ph.D. student and is now a postdoctoral researcher in Wang’s group, notes that one of the intriguing properties of the gel was its ability to self-adhere to numerous surfaces–including the underside of solar panels. After controlled experiments with artificial sunlight revealed that a fully filled gel could free enough water to reduce panel temperatures by 10 degrees Celsius, the team decided to build a prototype for outdoor tests at KAUST.

During both summer and winter seasons, the researchers watched as the gel absorbed water from the muggy overnight air and then released the liquid as the daytime temperatures ramped up. Surprisingly, the solar panels showed an increase in efficiency even greater than that of the indoor experiments, a jump the researchers theorize may be due to improved heat and mass transfer outdoors, for example.

“This work shows the benefits of using atmospheric water generation to help fight climate change,” says Li. “We believe this cooling technology can fulfill the requirements of many applications because water vapor is everywhere and this cooling technology is easy to adapt to different scales. The technology could be made as small as several millimeters for electronic devices, hundreds of square meters for a building, or even larger for passive cooling of power plants.”

###

Media Contact
Carolyn Unck
[email protected]

Tags: Chemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesEnergy SourcesEnergy/Fuel (non-petroleum)Polymer Chemistry
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Impact of Hurricane Helene on Groundwater Chemistry: A Scientific Analysis

Impact of Hurricane Helene on Groundwater Chemistry: A Scientific Analysis

October 28, 2025
blank

Could Neutrinos Unlock the Mysteries of Our Existence?

October 28, 2025

Introducing the World’s First Online Course on Carbon Dioxide Removal: A Breakthrough for Climate Science Education

October 28, 2025

Nanographene Morphs: Oxidation Bends Molecules, Alters Properties!

October 28, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1289 shares
    Share 515 Tweet 322
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    311 shares
    Share 124 Tweet 78
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    199 shares
    Share 80 Tweet 50
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    135 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Study Finds Cocoa Flavanols Help Preserve Blood Vessel Function During Prolonged Sitting

Tracking Protective Antibody Decline After COVID-19 Vaccination

Garlic Extract Targets Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 67 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.