Imagine a kerosene lamp that continued to shine after the fuel was spent, or an electric stove that could remain hot during a power outage. Materials scientists at Harvard have demonstrated an equivalent feat in clean energy generation with a solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that converts hydrogen into electricity but can also store electrochemical energy like a battery. This fuel cell can continue to produce power for a short time after its fuel has run out. “This thin-film SOFC takes advantage of recent advances in low-temperature operation to incorporate a new and more versatile material,” explains principal investigator Shriram Ramanathan, associate professor of materials science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “Vanadium oxide (VO x ) at the anode behaves as a multifunctional material, allowing the fuel cell to both generate and store energy.” Purple plasma is visible through the window of this vacuum deposition chamber. The equipment is used for creating the extremely thin-layered electrodes and electrolyte on a wafer of silicon. The finding, which appeared online in the journal Nano Letters in June, will be most important for small-scale, portable energy applications, where a very compact and lightweight power supply is essential and the fuel supply may be interrupted. “Unmanned aerial vehicles, for instance, would really benefit from this,” says lead author Quentin Van Overmeere, a postdoctoral fellow at SEAS. “When it’s impossible to refuel in the field, an extra boost of stored energy could extend the device’s life span significantly.” Ramanathan, Van Overmeere, and their co-author Kian Kerman (a graduate student at SEAS) typically work on thin-film SOFCs that use platinum for the electrodes (the two “poles” known as the anode and the cathode). But when a platinum-anode SOFC runs out of fuel, it can continue to generate power for only about 15 seconds before the electrochemical reaction peters out. The new SOFC uses a bilayer of platinum and VO x for the anode, which allows the cell to continue operating without fuel for up to 14 times as long (three minutes, 30 seconds, at a current density of 0.2 mA/cm 2 ). This early result is only a “proof of concept,” according to Ramanathan, and his team predicts that future improvements to the composition of the VO x -platinum anode will further extend the cell’s life span. During normal operation, the amount of power produced by the new device is comparable to that produced by a platinum-anode SOFC. Meanwhile, the special nanostructured VO x layer sets up various chemical reactions that continue after the hydrogen fuel has run out. Each dark speck within the nine white circles at left is a tiny fuel cell. The AA battery is shown for size comparison. “There are three reactions that potentially take place within the cell due to this vanadium oxide anode,” says Ramanathan. “The first is the oxidation of vanadium ions, which we verified through XPS [X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy]. The second is the storage of hydrogen within the VO x crystal lattice, which is gradually released and oxidized at the anode. And the third phenomenon we might see is that the concentration of oxygen ions differs from the anode to the cathode, so we may also have oxygen anions being oxidized, as in a concentration cell.” All three of those reactions are capable of feeding electrons into a circuit, but it is currently unclear exactly what allows the new fuel cell to keep running. Ramanathan’s team has so far determined experimentally and quantitatively that at least two of three possible mechanisms are simultaneously at work. Ramanathan and his colleagues estimate that a more advanced fuel cell of this type, capable of producing power without fuel for a longer period of time, will be available for applications testing (e.g., in micro-air vehicles) within two years. This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), a postdoctoral scholarship from Le Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique-FNRS, and the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program. The researchers also benefited from the resources of the Harvard University Center for Nanoscale Systems (a member of the NSF-funded National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network) and the NSF-funded MRSEC Shared Experimental Facilities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Darrell Issa Puts Details of Secret Wiretap Applications in Congressional Record — Roll Call In the midst of a fiery floor debate over contempt proceedings for Attorney General Eric Holder, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) quietly dropped a bombshell letter into the Congressional Record. The May 24 letter to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), ranking member on the panel, quotes from and describes in detail a secret wiretap application that has become a point of debate in the GOP’s “Fast and Furious” gun-walking probe. Read more …. My Comment : Supporters of Attorney General Eric Holder must know that this drip-drip of information from House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa indicates that he has confidential contacts and (yes …. moles) within the Justice department …. otherwise this information would have never made the light of day. For the moment …. because of executive privilege …. this case is now in the memory hole. My hope is that one day a Special Prosecutor is appointed, and that the information which is now “protected” be released to satisfy those like myself who want to know the truth, as well as providing some peace to families like the family of slain Border Patrol agent Brian Terry who …. as unbelievable as this may sound …. are still waiting for answers. In the meantime …. supporters of Attorney General Eric Holder are pushing a different story. Update: Here is a good article from the Economist that tries it’s best to look at both sides of the issue. Update #2 : I guess some people are above the law.

Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman Morsi Wants To Free Sheik Who Plotted U.S. Terror — New York Times CAIRO — President-elect Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood pre-empted the military’s choreographed swearing-in ceremony by taking his oath of office a day early in a televised speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters in Tahrir Square on Friday. But his rousing tribute to Egyptian sovereignty may be overshadowed by a promise likely to complicate relations with the United States: to work for the release of the Egyptian-born Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, jailed for plotting to bomb a series of New York City landmarks. The comments appeared to come almost offhandedly in the context of a vow to free Egyptian civilians imprisoned here after military trials during the transition after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. Read more …. My Comment: We should not be surprised by these remarks …. there were rumors a few months ago that the US administration was itself prepared to release the “Blind Sheik” in return for the release of some US human rights observers.

Syrian Groups Say Bloody Day Left High Toll of Civilians — New York Times BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s opposition on Friday reported the deadliest 24-hour period so far in the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and said rebel fighters had seized two Syrian generals, one of them the highest-ranking officer to fall into insurgent hands. Accounts of the intensified mayhem in Syria came as Kofi Annan, the special envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League, prepared to hold a high-level meeting in Geneva that includes the five permanent members of the Security Council to rescue his sidelined Syrian peace plan from total irrelevance. Read more …. MIDDLE EAST Assad rejects external solution for Syria crisis. Assad forces bombard northern towns, avoid Turkish border. Military funerals in Syria suggest mounting casualties. Syria on agenda as Clinton, Lavrov meet in St. Petersburg. Iraq’s commitment to U.S. mission questioned in Congress . U.S.’s $51 billion Iraq projects at risk, inspector says. EU oil embargo on Iran goes into effect Sunday. National service proposal riles Israeli arabs . ASIA Report: US mulls clandestine raids into Pakistan. Australian vote keeps question mark over asylum seekers. South Korea puts off Japan military pact at last minute. China blocks Bloomberg for exposing financial affairs of Xi Jinping’s family. China’s Shenzhou-9 spacecraft returns to Earth. Democrats beat ruling party in Mongolian election. India police kill ’17 Maoists’ in Chhattisgarh. India floods: Many thousands flee homes in Assam. 15 years after China takeover, Hong Kong uneasy. AFRICA Democracy a learning process as Libya set to vote. Back-to-back coups hand ECOWAS huge challenge. Islamist militants stream into northern Mali town after victory. Egyptians pack Tahrir on eve of Mursi inauguration. Egypt’s defence minister hangs defiantly on to power. Amnesty International: Arms imports fuel S. Sudan violence. Khartoum: Sudan austerity protesters ‘tear-gassed’. EUROPE Breakthrough in Europe bank talks send Spain, Italy borrowing costs down. Merkel defends compromise deal on eurozone banks. EU deal for Spain, Italy buoys markets but details sketchy. Uzbekistan quits Russia-dominated security pact. Eta members arrested in London. Julian Assange remains at embassy after failing to report to police. AMERICAS Border Patrol union blasts Homeland Security instructions to ‘run away’ and ‘hide’ from gunmen. Republican hopes dimming to repeal health care law. Obama in Colorado to tour state’s worst-ever wildfire . President Obama signs Colorado disaster declaration . Mercosur ‘to suspend’ Paraguay over Lugo impeachment. Drug cartel rivals behead Zetas on camera. Mexican drug cartels work to sway local vote. Falklands responds to Argentine approaches on fishing and flights. Russian arms dealer jailed in U.S. will appeal. TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR House foreign affairs leaders band together on designating Haqqani Network as terror group. Pakistan Army facing greater threat from al-Qaeda: observers. Yemen says al Qaeda militants may have fled to Oman. London police arrest 2 terror suspects. ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS Barclays boss Bob Diamond says he will not resign. Nestle ‘failing’ on child labour abuse, says FLA report. Google gave us a week of product launches and impressive demos at I/O. Boeing, Embraer teaming up on military plane.

Iran is storing oil in tankers at sea, but may soon have to decommission wells if the EU trade emargo is not lifted. Photograph: Tim Chong/Reuters Iran Sanctions Are About To Get Tougher — Ramin Mostaghim and Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times Western governments are preparing to increase the economic pressure on Tehran, and already-scrimping Iranians will no doubt feel the impact. TEHRAN — As the West has tightened its economic chokehold in an effort to force Iran’s government to scale back its growing nuclear program, Iranians have coped by cutting back. Ali, a 31-year-old employee at a Tehran print shop, doesn’t buy as much chicken or red meat as before and has stopped going to the barber. He gave up smoking Marlboros for cheaper Iranian-made Bahmans, and asked his wife to quit her health club. Read more …. Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials Iran sanctions will halve oil sales but may still not succeed — Julian Borger and Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian Battle Rial: To end Iran’s nuclear program, it’s time for America to step up its economic warfare. — Mark Dubowitz, Foreign Policy Syria’s Threatened Christians — Daniel Brode and Roger Farhat and Daniel Nisman, New York Times Your Syria Is My Bahrain — Mark N. Katz, The Moscow Times Kuwait’s Crossroads: Islamists and American power imperil the Gulf’s freest state. — Doug Bandow, American Conservative US still faces ‘volatile situation’ in Iraq despite strategic gains — Carlo Munoz, The Hill Beijing, a Boon for Africa — Dambisa Moyo, New York Times Analysis: Sudan rulers dig in as foes look for Arab Spring — Alexander Dziadosz, Reuters Sudan’s fundamental questions — Mohammad Fadhel, Special to Gulf News Why Mexico and Paraguay are embracing controversial parties of the past — Sara Miller Llana, Christian Science Monitor What Really Happened at the European Summit? — Peter Coy, Bloomberg Businessweek Did EU Leaders Actually Deliver A Fiscal And Banking Union At The Summit? — Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes Putin’s Got America Right Where He Wants It: And that’s bad news for Obama. — Micahel Weiss, Foreign Policy