A new hybrid material could give solar energy the boost it needs to compete in the alternative energy lineup. According to researchers at Ohio State University, who published their work in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the new material behaves in a surprising, yet favorable way—it can absorb the entire spectrum of light emitted from the Sun, and it gives off electrons in a way that makes them easier to capture, and thus easier to convert into electricity.

The researchers developed this super-solar material, which combines conductive plastic with metals including molybdenum and titanium, with the help of a computer model. Once they identified a material with the best properties, they worked with National Taiwan University to synthesize these molecules.

The surprising, yet favorable behavior

The researchers say they were surprised by how the hybrid material responded to light. Instead of only fluorescing (like typical solar cells), these molecules fluoresced and phosphoresced. The cool thing about phosphorescence is that the ejected electrons hang around longer before falling back into the molecule than those generated through fluorescence. This gives the collector a little extra time to snag the electrons and convert them into electricity. While other materials are known to behave in this way, as far as the researchers know, this is the first time a material has been created that both absorbs the entire visible light spectrum and undergoes fluorescence/phosphorescence.

This is exciting news, but it's still in the lab. The researchers say that it will be years before the material is commercially available.

You talk to most people in the chemicals/materials industry and they'll tell you that nanotechnology, in the most basic sense of the word-tiny particles with dimensions no more than a nanometer-has been around for decades. The technology has been anointed as a trillion dollar market opportunity (also debunked) and now after numerous press articles, government involvement and even a few recalls of nanotech products, you'd assume that the word is out. Well, according to a recent survey of 1,003 adults, that's not the case. Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc. conducted the survey on behalf of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN; Washington), a partnership between the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Washington) and the Pew Charitable Trusts (Philadelphia).

The survey finds that less than 24% of adults have heard anything about nanotechnology, and 49% say they've heard nothing about it. Men show the greatest awareness with 33% having "heard a lot or some," and among adults with higher incomes 32% have "heard a lot or some."

Okay, so who cares?

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