Conventional silicon
based solar cells can capture a lot of light- but there is a lot they can't
capture as well. Traditional cells cannot capture the near-infrared region of
the spectrum- which accounts for almost 40% of the solar energy reaching the Earth's
surface. Imagine how efficient a solar photovoltaic panel could be if we didn't
lose 40% of that energy?!
That is precisely
what Michael Strano, the Charles and Hilda Roddey Professor of Chemical
Engineering at MIT and his team imagined. And they have made some big
discoveries! They recently developed a new all-carbon solar cell by combining
carbon nanotubes and C60, otherwise known as buckyballs. It's the first
all-carbon photovoltaic cell of its kind, and was made possible by recent
advancements in large scale production of purified carbon nanotubes. Unlike
earlier iterations, this new all carbon pv cell appears to be stable in air, a
big feat, for use in PV panel technology. The carbon based cell is transparent
to visible light, so it could potentially be overlaid on conventional solar
cells, allowing a PV panel that can harness almost all of the energy sunlight
is producing.
The first attempts
to create this highly efficient panel haven't been overwhelming successful,
they have an energy conversion efficiency of about -0.1%. But the research is
on the right path. And the game changing technology is just around the corner.
If you want to read all about this research- it will be published in an
upcoming issue of the journal of Advanced Materials. You can also read MIT's summary and more technical details of the research here.
No comments:
Post a Comment