UCLA's Transparent Solar Cell - Closing Windows To Generate Electricity
Man’s craze, to generate electricity from each and everything they do, never seems to die. Thanks to them, #-Link-Snipped-#, use your touch screen mobile and you create electricity and the list goes on. Here is another way to produce electricity. Close those windows. Yes close the windows and you’ll soon be able to create electrical energy thanks to the efforts of researchers at UCLA.
They have come up with a new transparent solar cell that is made of photoactive plastic and is 70% transparent to human eye so you can still see outside. It produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light. Its applications may include add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows, building-integrated photovoltaics, etc.
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Polymer solar cells that are made from plastic-like materials, are lightweight and flexible and it mass production can be done at low cost. Many attempts were done to produce visibly transparent or semitransparent PSCs but each time it caused decreased efficiency of the device or low visible light transparency.
UCLA researchers from the California NanoSystems Institute, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and UCLA's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have come up with “high-performance, solution-processed, visibly transparent polymer solar cells through the incorporation of near-infrared light-sensitive polymer and using silver nanowire composite films as the top transparent electrode.†The proactive polymer absorbs more near infra red light and is less sensitive to visible light. This ensures visibility too.
A transparent electrode made from a mixture of silver nanowire and titanium dioxide nanoparticles replaces the opaque metal electrode used so far. It also allows the cells to be fabricated in an economical way by solution processing. This helps you to achieve the 4% device efficiency. This looks like a nice way to tap the energy in a cheap and effective manner.
Via: #-Link-Snipped-#
They have come up with a new transparent solar cell that is made of photoactive plastic and is 70% transparent to human eye so you can still see outside. It produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light. Its applications may include add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows, building-integrated photovoltaics, etc.
#-Link-Snipped-#
Polymer solar cells that are made from plastic-like materials, are lightweight and flexible and it mass production can be done at low cost. Many attempts were done to produce visibly transparent or semitransparent PSCs but each time it caused decreased efficiency of the device or low visible light transparency.
UCLA researchers from the California NanoSystems Institute, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and UCLA's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have come up with “high-performance, solution-processed, visibly transparent polymer solar cells through the incorporation of near-infrared light-sensitive polymer and using silver nanowire composite films as the top transparent electrode.†The proactive polymer absorbs more near infra red light and is less sensitive to visible light. This ensures visibility too.
A transparent electrode made from a mixture of silver nanowire and titanium dioxide nanoparticles replaces the opaque metal electrode used so far. It also allows the cells to be fabricated in an economical way by solution processing. This helps you to achieve the 4% device efficiency. This looks like a nice way to tap the energy in a cheap and effective manner.
Via: #-Link-Snipped-#
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