| Solar cell (31) |  |
| Solar cell (31) | |
and almost all of the precise work is done by robots that string together solar cells and seal them under glass.
Our results will help develop ways to use this new material in atomically thin electronics that will become integral components of a whole new generation of revolutionary products such as flexible solar cells that conform to the body of a car.
This multidisciplinary collaboration by the Energy Frontier Research center at Columbia University with Cornell University's Kavli Institute for Nanoscale Science focused on molybdenum disulfide because of its potential to create anything from highly efficient flexible solar cells to conformable
For example we can now imagine sandwiching two different monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides between layers of graphene to make solar cells that are only eight atoms thick--20 thousand times smaller than a human hair!
Say for example we want to make a solar cell. Now we need to have meters of this material not micrometers
which enables us to integrate it into large-scale flexible electronics and solar cells. The crystal synthesis optical measurements electronic measurements and theory were performed all by research groups at Columbia Engineering.
#Nanostructures improve the efficiency of solar cellsresearchers have been able to improve the efficiency of solar cells by coating the cell surface with extremely small nanoscale structures.
At Aalto University a research team led by Assistant professor Hele Savin is conducting studies on crystalline silicon solar cells
which are the main type of solar cells that are currently on the market. The advantages of silicon include the long-term stability sufficiency low cost and non-toxicity of the element as well as the advanced production technology.
Another benefit of these solar cells is their relatively high efficiency and technological compatibility with the manufacturing technologies currently used by the semiconductor industry Savin explains.
Promising techniques in the test benchthe efficient operation of solar cells may be compromised by impurities in silicon.
In solar cells it is not possible to use as pure a form of silicon as in for example microelectronics
Moreover the solar cell utilises the silicon disk in its entirety whereas transistors for example are located on the surface of the silicon disk
and accordingly impurities cannot be controlled in solar cells by means of the same methods as those used in microelectronics.
One goal of the research led by Savin is to find ways to produce equally efficient solar cells using the less expensive but impure silicon rather than the more expensive purified silica.
Certain promising techniques are currently being tested in production by a leading European solar cell manufacturer. Another new research topic involves the so-called light-induced degradation of silicon solar cells.
Light degradation is a harmful effect that reduces the solar cell efficiency by several percentage units during the first 24 hours of use after
which the situation becomes stabilised. The aim is to gain an understanding about the phenomenon itself and its causes.
In addition to biomedical applications the materials also have potential uses in solar cells and as nanosensors and biomedical imaging reagents Warner pointed out.
Georgia Institute of technology and Purdue University researchers have developed efficient solar cells using natural substrates derived from plants such as trees.
Just as importantly by fabricating them on cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates the solar cells can be recycled quickly in water at the end of their lifecycle.
The researchers report that the organic solar cells reach a power conversion efficiency of 2. 7 percent an unprecedented figure for cells on substrates derived from renewable raw materials.
The CNC substrates on which the solar cells are fabricated are optically transparent enabling light to pass through them before being absorbed by a very thin layer of an organic semiconductor.
During the recycling process the solar cells are immersed simply in water at room temperature. Within only minutes the CNC substrate dissolves
and the solar cell can be separated easily into its major components. Georgia Tech College of Engineering Professor Bernard Kippelen led the study
and says his team's project opens the door for a truly recyclable sustainable and renewable solar cell technology.
But organic solar cells must be recyclable. Otherwise we are simply solving one problem less dependence on fossil fuels
To date organic solar cells have been fabricated typically on glass or plastic. Neither is easily recyclable and petroleum-based substrates are not very eco-friendly.
Our next steps will be to work toward improving the power conversion efficiency over 10 percent levels similar to solar cells fabricated on glass
The group plans to achieve this by optimizing the optical properties of the solar cell's electrode.
Last year the center created the first-ever completely plastic solar cell. This research was funded in part through the Center for Interface Science:
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