Ni-coated Si electrodes for water splitting

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/november/nickel-water-splitter-111213.html

Thin film (~2 nm) Ni coated on Si electrode to prevent Si corrosion when splitting water.  Good performance over 3 days without corrosion.  Li-ion addition to electrolyte solution (instead or in addition (?) to KBO3) increases stability of the electrodes.

Singlet fission for efficient solar cells

http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/two-for-one-in-solar-power

Singlet fission to split singlet excited electron into two triplet excited states.  Phenomenon seen in organic molecules at high concentrations (more molecular collisions).

"The team used a combination of laser experiments - which measure timings with extreme accuracy - with chemical methods used to study reaction mechanisms. This dual approach allowed the researchers to slow down fission and observe a key intermediate step never before seen."

Probably refers to the use of ultrafast spectroscopy to measure transient absorption and emission...