269 research outputs found
New devices for energy harvesting and storage: integrated third generation photovoltaic solar cells and electrochemical double layer capacitors
No full textA worldwide conversion towards renewable energy sources has to be implemented in order to hopefully avoid the irreversible consequences of the global temperature increment caused by the greenhouse gases production.
In addition, the current need to benefit from electricity in every moment of daily life, mainly in case of limited access to the electric grid, is forcing the scientific community to an intensive effort towards the production of integrated energy harvesting and storage devices.
The topic of this PhD thesis is to investigate and propose innovative solutions for the integration of third generation photovoltaic (PV) cells and electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs), the so-called photo-capacitors.
Different photo-capacitor structures have been studied and experimentally fabricated. At first, flexibility was explored, as it is a mandatory requirement to cover non-planar or bendable surfaces, which are more and more common in nowadays portable electronics. Easily scalable fabrication processes have been used for both the harvester and the storage units, employing photopolymer membranes as electrolytes and metallic grids as current collectors and electrodes substrates. For this configuration, the best overall conversion and storage efficiency ever reported for a flexible Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC)-based photo-capacitor was demonstrated.
Subsequently, observing in the literature an evident lack in the exploitation of high voltage photo-capacitors, EDLC electrolytes with broad voltage windows have been examined. These electrolytes allowed to fabricate stable and reliable devices integrating the EDLC with a PV module and not only with a single solar cell, as normally is done. High voltage values, up to 2.5 V, have been obtained employing an ionic liquid electrolyte (Pyr14TFSI) or –alternatively- a solid state electrolyte (PEO-Pyr14TFSI) for storage section fabrication.
Moreover, novel electrolyte mixtures of organic solvents and ionic liquids with good physical and electrochemical properties have been employed with the aim to increase energy density and voltage with respect to commercial EDLCs.
Finally, a novel polymer-based platform has been suggested for the fabrication of an innovative “two-electrodes” self-powered device. The multifunctional polymeric layer, made of two poly(ethylene glycol)-based sections separated by a perfluorinated barrier, was obtained by oxygen-inhibited UV-light crosslinking procedure. For the energy harvesting section, one side of the polymeric layer was adapted to enable iodide/triiodide diffusion in a DSSC, while the other side empowered sodium/chloride ions diffusion and was used for on-board charge storage. The resulting photo-capacitor results in a planar architecture appreciably simplified with respect to other recently proposed solutions and is definitely more easily exploitable in low power electronics
Prefaces to Scalia/Ginsburg: A (Gentle) Parody of Operatic Proportions
No full textScalia/Ginsburg is for me a dream come true. If I could choose the talent I would most like to have, it would be a glorious voice. I would be a great diva, perhaps Renata Tebaldi or Beverly Sills or, in the mezzo range, Marilyn Horne. But my grade school music teacher, with brutal honesty, rated me a sparrow, not a robin. I was told to mouth the words, never to sing them. Even so, I grew up with a passion for opera, though I sing only in the shower, and in my dreams.
One fine day, a young composer, librettist and pianist named Derrick Wang approached Justice Scalia and me with a request. While studying Constitutional Law at the University of Maryland Law School, Wang had an operatic idea. The different perspectives of Justices Scalia and Ginsburg on constitutional interpretation, he thought, could be portrayed in song. Wang put his idea to the “will it write” test. He composed a comic opera with an important message brought out in the final duet, “We are different, we are one”—one in our reverence for the Constitution, the U.S. judiciary and the Court on which we serve.
Would we listen to some excerpts from the opera, Wang asked, and then tell him whether we thought his work worthy of pursuit and performance? Good readers, as you leaf through the libretto, check some of the many footnotes disclosing Wang’s sources, and imagine me a dazzling diva, I think you will understand why, in answer to Wang’s question, I just said “Yes.”
Preface by Justice Antonin Scalia:
While Justice Ginsburg is confident that she has achieved her highest and best use as a Supreme Justice, I, alas, have the nagging doubt that I could have been a contendah—for a divus, or whatever a male diva is called. My father had a good tenor voice, which he trained at the Eastman School of Music. I sang in the Georgetown Glee Club (directed by Washington Post music critic Paul Hume, whom President Truman rewarded with a valuable letter for his review of Margaret’s singing). I have sung in choirs and choral groups much of my life, up to and including my days on the D.C. Circuit. And the utter peak of my otherwise uneventful judicial career was an evening after the Opera Ball at the British Ambassador’s Residence, when I joined two tenors from the Washington Opera singing various songs at the piano—the famous Three Tenors performance.
I suppose, however, that it would be too much to expect the author of Scalia/Ginsburg to allow me to play (sing) myself—especially if Ruth refuses to play (sing) herself. Even so, it may be a good show
Bibliografia degli scritti di Giuseppe Scalia
No full textBibliografia integrale degli scritti di Giuseppe Scalia (1929-2017
THE TWO FACES OF FEDERALISM: From the Journal -Scalia A., Two Faces of Federalism, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol.6, No.1, 1982, 19-22
No full textThe article deals with the understanding of federalism by 20th century American conservatives, which seems to derive from the view of Alexander Hamilton, but essentially contradicts him. According to Scalia, Alexander Hamilton exalted the virtues of federalism and criticized colonial disunity, while twentieth-century American conservatives for more than five decades saw federalism as a critique of central control, thus opposing the national government's intervention and extolling the benefits of state and local control. The author disagrees with such an approach and cites a number of areas of legislation in which it would be appropriate to have federal legislation and in some cases impose regulations prohibiting states. Scalia's final call is that the federal government is good if we use it wisely.The article deals with the understanding of federalism by 20th century American conservatives, which seems to derive from the view of Alexander Hamilton, but essentially contradicts him. According to Scalia, Alexander Hamilton exalted the virtues of federalism and criticized colonial disunity, while twentieth-century American conservatives for more than five decades saw federalism as a critique of central control, thus opposing the national government's intervention and extolling the benefits of state and local control. The author disagrees with such an approach and cites a number of areas of legislation in which it would be appropriate to have federal legislation and in some cases impose regulations prohibiting states. Scalia's final call is that the federal government is good if we use it wisely
Le società di persone nell'ordinamento tributario
No full textIl contributo si occupa dell'inquadramento teorico e scientifico nell'ordinamento tributario italiano delle società di persone, con particolare riguardo al tema della soggettività passiva. Esiste, infatti, un dualismo. Ai fini delle imposte sui redditi le società di persone non sono soggetti passivi, perché il reddito è imputato per trasparenza ai soci; ai fini delle altre imposte sono riconosciuti come soggetti passivi
Portable High Voltage Integrated Harvesting-Storage Device Employing Dye-Sensitized Solar Module and All-Solid-State Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitor
No full textA dye-sensitized solar module (DSSM) and a high voltage all-solid-state electrochemical double layer capacitor (EDLC) are, for the first time, implemented in a compact Harvesting-Storage (HS) device. Conductive glass is employed as current collecting substrate for both DSSM and EDLC, leading to a robust and portable final structure. The photovoltaic section is constituted by a 4 series cells W-type module, while in the storage section an EDLC employing an ionic liquid-based polymeric electrolyte (a mixture of polyethylene oxide and N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, PEO-Pyr14TFSI) and activated carbon electrodes is used. The solid state EDLC is first characterized individually to determine its electrochemical performance before successfully proving the integration with the DSSM. The harvesting-storage properties of the integrated photo-capacitor are evaluated through photo-charge and subsequent discharge protocols performed at two different discharge currents, showing that in this configuration the EDLC unit can be effectively charged up to 2.45 V
Qatar and International Taxation: Part I - An Overview of the Legal and Tax Systems
No full textIn Part I of this article, the author presents an overview of Qatar’s legal and tax systems, providing a context for these systems with regard to international taxation
Qatar and International Taxation: Part III – Tax Treaties
No full textIn Part III of this article, the author presents an overview of Qatar’s treaty network, focussing on selected relevant issues. Qatari treaties are addressed against the background of the OECD and UN Models with an emphasis on their common elements
Qatar and International Taxation: Part II – The Income Tax Law and the Qatar Financial Centre Tax Regulations
No full textIn Part II of this article, the author focuses on the Qatari income tax system with specific emphasis on the Income Tax Law (ITL) and the QFC Tax Regulations (QFC-TR)
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