Treating cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar cell materials with cadmium-chloride improves their efficiency, but researchers have not fully understood why. Now, an atomic-scale examination of the thin-film solar cells led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has answered this decades-long debate about the materials’ photovoltaic efficiency increase after treatment.

A University of Adelaide mineralogy researcher has discovered a new mineral that is unique in structure and composition among the world's 4,000 known mineral species.

Arduous, year-plus-long scrutiny by the National Science Foundation (NSF) has found the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) rich in scientific discovery and exemplary in its use of government funds. CHESS has received its requested grant renewal of up to $100 million over five years, securing the national X-ray facility’s near-term future

Surface modification allows cell to absorb more light.

Stony Brook University undergraduate research allays concern, uncovers possible beneficial effects.

Using corn crop residue to make ethanol and other biofuels reduces soil carbon and can generate more greenhouse gases than gasoline, according to a study published recently in the journal Nature Climate Change.

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope confirms -- for the first time -- that planets the size of Earth exist in the habitable zone of stars other than our Sun.

Inexpensive computers, cell phones, and other systems that substitute flexible plastic for silicon chips may be one step closer to reality, thanks to new research published in the journal Nature Communications.

On the scale of earth-friendly materials, you’d be hard pressed to find two that are farther apart than polyester (not at all) and cork (very). In an unexpected twist, however, scientists are figuring out how to extract a natural, waterproof, antibacterial version of the first material from the latter.

Properly storing hazardous chemicals is an important part of many labs’ safety programs. But you wouldn’t expect it to be an issue in someone’s home. However, that’s just what firefighters discovered in a house in Seattle April 8 while giving one of the home’s residents a hand walking down his stairs, according to a USA Today article.

Porous silicon manufactured in a bottom-up procedure using solar energy can be used to generate hydrogen from water, according to a team of Penn State mechanical engineers, who also see applications for batteries, biosensors and optical electronics as outlets for this new material.

Anasys Instruments Corp. has licensed a Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology that allows for simultaneous chemical and physical characterization and could lead to advances in materials and drug development.