A method of extracting frustules from benthic pennate diatoms is disclosed. The method includes culturing benthic pennate diatoms in an industrial biofilm process, wherein in the industrial biofilm process the benthic pennate diatoms are growing on at least one surface in a water-containing compartment and wherein the benthic pennate diatoms forms a biofilm on the at least one surface; harvesting the benthic pennate diatoms from the at least one surface; and extracting the frustules by separating the frustules from organic biomass contained in the benthic pennate diatoms.

An energy storage device comprising a substrate comprising a groove having a first and a second face. A capacitor material in the groove. The first and the second face of the groove having a coat of metal. Wherein the coat of metal on the first face is not in electrical contact with the coat of metal on the second face.

A solar generator can include a photon-enhanced thermionic emission generator with a cathode to receive solar radiation. The photon-enhanced thermionic emission generator can include an anode that in conjunction with the cathode generates a first current and waste heat from the solar radiation. A thermoelectric generator can be thermally coupled to the anode and can convert the waste heat from the anode into a second current. A circuit can connect to the photon-enhanced thermionic emission generator and to the thermoelectric generator and can combine the first and the second currents into an output current.

The present invention relates to a light absorption layer for forming a photoelectric conversion element and a solar cell that have excellent photoelectric conversion efficiencies; and a photoelectric conversion element and a solar cell that include the light absorption layer. This light absorption layer comprises quantum dots dispersed in a matrix of one or more perovskite compounds selected from a compound represented by the following general formula (1) and a compound represented by the following general formula (2):

RMX.sub.3  (1) wherein R is two or more of monovalent cations, M is a divalent metal cation, and X is a halogen anion,

R.sup.1R.sup.2R.sup.3.sub.n−1M.sub.nX.sub.3n+1  (2) wherein R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 are each independently a monovalent cation, at least two of R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 are different monovalent cations, and at least one of R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 is a monovalent inorganic cation, M is a divalent metal cation, X is a halogen anion, and n is an integer of 1 or more and 10 or less.

A solar cell includes elements, a connecting portion, and a transparent portion. The elements include first and second elements arrayed in a first direction. The transparent portion is located between the connecting portion and the second element. Each of the elements includes first and second electrode layers and a semiconductor layer interposed between the first and second electrode layers. Between the first element and the second element, their first electrode layers sandwich a first gap and their second electrode layers sandwich a second gap shifted in the first direction from the first gap. The connecting portion electrically connects the second electrode layer of the first element to the first electrode layer of the second element. The transparent portion is located between the second electrode layer of the first element and the first electrode layer of the second element at a position shifted in the first direction from the connecting portion.

A method for manufacturing a electronic device is provided having a current collector capable of a high specific charge collecting area and power, but is also achieved using a simple and fast technique and resulting in a robust design that may be flexed and can be manufactured in large scale processing. To this end the electronic device comprising an electronic circuit equipped with a current collector formed by a metal substrate having a face forming a high-aspect ratio structure of pillars having an interdistance larger than 600 nm. By forming the high-aspect structure in a metal substrate, new structures can be formed that are conformal to curvature of a macroform or that can be coiled or wound and have a robust design.

An energy storage device comprising a substrate comprising a series of grooves. Each groove having a first and a second face. Wherein there is a capacitor material in each groove of the series of grooves.

There are provided a photoelectric conversion element and a photoelectric conversion element module including the photoelectric conversion element, the photoelectric conversion element including a transparent substrate, a first and second transparent conductive layer arranged on the transparent substrate, a photoelectric conversion layer arranged on the first transparent conductive layer, a porous insulating layer covering the photoelectric conversion layer, a reflective layer arranged on the porous insulating layer, and a counter conductive layer that are arranged on the reflective layer, in which the photoelectric conversion layer contains a porous semiconductor, a carrier-transport material, and a photosensitizer, and in which an area of the orthogonal projection of the porous insulating layer onto the transparent substrate and an area of the orthogonal projection of the reflective layer onto the transparent substrate are each larger than an area of the orthogonal projection of the photoelectric conversion layer onto the transparent substrate.

A bifacial light-harvesting dye-sensitized solar cell is provided and has: a first transparent substrate, a second transparent substrate, a working electrode, a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, a third semiconductor layer, a counter electrode, a light-transmitting catalyst layer, and a liquid electrolyte. A photoelectric conversion efficiency of the dye-sensitized solar cell is improved by using a specific working electrode structure.

Graphene photodetectors capable of operating in the sub-bandgap region relative to the bandgap of semiconductor nanoparticles, as well as methods of manufacturing the same, are provided. A photodetector can include a layer of graphene, a layer of semiconductor nanoparticles, a dielectric layer, a supporting medium, and a packaging layer. The semiconductor nanoparticles can be semiconductors with bandgaps larger than the energy of photons meant to be detected.