Register Log in  Scientific Method / Science & Exploration  New
fuel discovered that reversibly stores solar energy  Scientists
from MIT have identified a new solar thermal fuel that should be
…  Since the 1970s, chemists have worked on storing solar energy
in molecules that change state in response to light. These
photoactive molecules could be the ideal solar fuel, as the
right material should be transportable, affordable, and
rechargeable. Unfortunately, scientists haven’t had much
success. One of the best examples in recent years,
tetracarbonly-diruthenium fulvalene, requires the use of
ruthenium, which is rare and expensive. Furthermore, the
ruthenium compound has a volumetric energy density (watt-hours
per liter) that is several times smaller than that of a standard
lithium-ion battery.  Alexie Kolpak and Jeffrey Grossman from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology propose a new type of
solar thermal fuel that would be affordable, rechargeable,
thermally stable, and more energy-dense than lithium-ion