Density functional theory (DFT) has been used to calculate electrical and photovoltaic properties of diaminonaphthalene and its derivatives, and optimize them. Findings demonstrated that time-dependent DFT investigations employing Coulomb-attenuated hybrid method with polarized split-valence 6-311G (d,p) basis sets and polarizable continuum model were able to predict excitation energies and spectra of the compounds in a reasonable manner. Levels of Energy of Highest Occupied and Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbitals from these compounds can have a positive effect on electron injection and dye renewal processes. Energy gap, short-circuit current density, light-harvesting efficiency, thermodynamic injection driving force and open-circuit photovoltage allowed for qualitative predictions about the reactivity of the different dyes.
This study develops and applies a hybrid model combining bagging (BAG), controlled autoregressive integrated moving average (CARIMA) and a Gumbel probabilistic model (GPM), hereafter BAG–CARIMA–GPM to generate climate-smart forecasts of monthly mean daily global horizontal irradiation H (MJ m⁻² day⁻¹) and photovoltaic performance in two climatically contrasting Nigerian cities, Warri and Sokoto. Bias-corrected outputs from five CMIP6 models (GFDL-ESM4, HadGEM3-GC31, EC-Earth3, IITM-ESM4 and BCC-CSM2) are processed using quantile delta mapping (QDM), N-dimensional multivariate bias correction (MBCn) and generalized extreme value (GEV) tail adjustment to obtain dynamically consistent projections of radiation, temperature, humidity and cloud fraction under SSP1–2.6, SSP2–4.5 and SSP5–8.5. The BAG–CARIMA–GPM model couples controlled autoregressive time-series structure, ensemble learning and extreme-value statistics through a normalized insolation parameter that embeds sunshine fraction, cloudiness and thermal gradients. Thirty empirical and machine-learning configurations were benchmarked. The BAG–CARIMA–GPM model achieved a reported held-out test R2 of 0.9718, compared with 0.9193 for CARIMA1, the strongest non-hybrid baseline. Climate-perturbed insolation is then propagated through published empirical PV/CPV response equations whose local calibration and electrical validation are not demonstrated for six flat-plate technologies (m-Si, p-Si, a-Si, h-Si, CdTe, CIGS) and dual-axis CPV. The results report Warri CPV changes of +24.1% in DJF, −25.6% in JJA and +7.1% annually under SSP5–8.5 for 2015–2099; under SSP1–2.6, the reported annual change is +4.0%, whereas small a-Si annual changes in Sokoto thereby establishing a robust gain or technology advantage in the estimates. The framework offers a transferable blueprint for technology–climate matching and risk-aware solar planning across data-sparse African regions, supporting investment decisions and policy pathways aligned with net-zero and energy-security objectives. By explicitly linking bias-corrected CMIP6 projections, hybrid forecasting and multi-technology performance envelopes, this study advances quantitative evidence for resilient solar infrastructure in rapidly warming, infrastructure-constrained tropical environments.
To review the current advances, persistent challenges, and future prospects of methanol fuel cell technologies, thereby supporting the transition toward low-carbon energy systems. This is a comprehensive review that analyzes recent global progress across key aspects of methanol fuel cell technology. The focus areas include catalyst development, membrane innovation, performance optimization, and system integration. Recent advances in electrocatalysts, nanostructured membranes, and hybrid system designs have substantially enhanced the efficiency, durability, and operational flexibility of methanol fuel cells. This progress has enabled their expansion in transportation, portable electronics, stationary power, and industrial energy generation. This review offers a holistic overview of the current state-of-the-art and identifies critical limiting factors, such as methanol crossover, limited long-term durability, and high production costs, that continue to constrain commercialization. It emphasizes the need for coordinated, multidisciplinary efforts in materials science and system engineering, alongside favorable policies, to accelerate adoption and position methanol fuel cells as an integral component of the future renewable-energy landscape.
Biopolymers are essential materials sourced from biomass. In response to the increasing demand for sustainable materials, research in biopolymers is rapidly growing. Biopolymers are biodegradable materials that can offer measurable environmental benefits over synthetic alternatives. Life-cycle assessments show that biopolymers such as polylactic acid (PLA) can produce 20–50
Geographers continue to analyze the politics of forest carbon offset projects, often emphasizing local-global and global North-Global South spatialities. Regional spatiality of the forest carbon economy remains largely unexplored, despite the analytical opportunities it offers. Drawing on analysis of data from ten (10) carbon offset registries, we map the uneven regional geographies of forest carbon offset projects (or REDD+ type projects) in West Africa. We found that private actors dominate West African carbon forestry projects, and more than half of the project proponents are based or headquartered outside Africa. The majority of carbon offset buyers are based in Europe, where companies in the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Construction sectors top the list. In addition to the much-analyzed Global North-South and local-global spatialities underpinning forest carbon offset projects, our study highlights the regional histories, politics, and socioecologies that also shape the dynamics of these projects in West Africa. We demonstrate that carbon forestry initiatives should be understood as space-making relations and processes that are reconstituting the West African region through the uneven distribution of influence over carbon, forests and land. Spatially explicit regional analyses of REDD+ are crucial for deepening our understanding of forest carbon politics as actors pursue net-zero agendas globally.
