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New Ethanol Fuel Cell Technology Rivals Fossil Fuels and Electric Car Batteries

August 10, 2023
University of Central Florida researchers have achieved new record-setting power density for ethanol fuel cells, helping advance the technology as a competitor to fossil fuels and electric car batteries. Ethanol fuel cells offer cleaner emissions than fossil fuels and no charging times compared to electric vehicle batteries. In recent studies published in the journals Nature Communications and Joule,…

Saltwater Is a Lithium-Ion Battery’s Worst Enemy. This Aqueous Prototype Embraces It.

January 18, 2023
Hurricane Ian caused billions of dollars in damage when it hit Florida in the fall of 2022. Along with $112 billion in damages, 152 fatalities, and countless uprooted lives, the fallout included at least 12 electric vehicle fires caused from lithium-ion batteries coming into contact with saltwater flooding in from the ocean. Unlike standard fires, however, these…

New UCF-developed Battery Could Prevent Post-hurricane Electric Vehicle Fires

January 10, 2023
A University of Central Florida researcher has developed technology that could prevent electric vehicle fires, like those caused by saltwater flooding from Hurricane Ian. The technology, an aqueous battery, replaces the volatile and highly flammable organic solvents found in electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries with saltwater to create a battery that is safer, faster charging, just…

UCF Researchers’ Ethanol Fuel Cells Offer New Alternative to Power Cars, Technology

December 15, 2021
A new material developed by the University of Central Florida may one day mean people could be pouring a drink for their car. That’s because UCF researchers are developing an alcohol-based power source for cars and other technology. The power source —an ethanol fuel cell — is a renewable energy alternative to fossil fuels and…

Yang Featured in WFTV Channel 9 Consumer Report

April 10, 2019
A local mom wants answers after her son’s laptop started sparking and smoking just a year after buying it. She claims its lithium battery could have started a dangerous fire. Action 9’s Todd Ulrich found laptop fires are rare, but there have been many recalls and you could reduce the risk. Nicole Jordan kept the…

Six Faculty Members Join the NanoScience Technology Center

May 30, 2018
Six new faculty members have joined the NanoScience Technology Center, housed within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Those faculty members are: Jayan Thomas Eric Jung Yang Yang Swami Rajaraman Tania Roy Yajie Dong They bring with them diverse backgrounds in materials engineering, chemistry, electrical engineering, and significant expertise in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The…