In the midst of a race to find more efficient solutions in the field of renewables. With more success or less, it is the interest of the companies to obtain the panel is palpable solar more flexible.
Finding that ultra-thin solar paper amplifies opportunities to use materials photovoltaics in all types of devices; mobiles, laptops etc Without counting the resounding benefits that could carry in the transport field.
Silicon is by far the material most used in solar panels , but it is heavy and rigid, which means that it is not especially suitable for when we want to reduce weight or we need some flexibility.
In this context, the scientific community is seeking materials alternatives to silicon encountering a well-known obstacle, obtain an efficiency reasoned .
Now, researchers at the University of Stanford have achieved record efficiency in a promising group of photovoltaic materials .
According to the publication of Nature the new and effective material for solar panels is fifteen times finer than paper crazy!
Made with transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD), materials have the potential to absorb a level of sunlight higher than that of other solar materials, while that provide an incredibly lightweight alternative to silicon-based panels.
Stanford's new prototype reaches 5.1 percent percent power conversion efficiency , but the authors project that they could achieve nearly 27 percent efficiency if used optimizes optically and electrically.
That figure would be on par with the best solar panels of the current market, including silicon. In the case of silicon solar panels, that figure is close to 30%. For For its use to become widespread, the TMDs will have to close that gap.
They would be perfect and with a smaller volume for the solar panel that is rolled up and transported that we already discussed at the time. In addition, the prototype has achieved a power-weight ratio 100 times higher than any TMD developed to date now.
This relationship is important for mobile applications, portable, such as all kinds of electric vehicles, drones, etc When examining specific power – a measure of the production of electrical energy per unit weight of the cell solar -, the prototype produced 4.4 watts per gram, a figure that competes with other thin-film solar cells, including other experimental prototypes.
By obtaining a remarkable thinness, it also minimizes the use and cost of the material , obtaining some TMD solar cells that, apart from being light and flexible, can be molded to irregular shapes .
The Stanford team succeeded in producing an active set of just a few hundred nanometers thick. Set includes the tungsten diselenide photovoltaic TMD and gold contacts traversed by a layer of conductive graphene a single atom thick. All this is sandwiched between a flexible skin-like polymer and a coating anti-reflective that improves light absorption.
When fully assembled, TMD cells they are less than six microns thick. 15 layers would be needed to reach the thickness of a sheet of paper.
Although thinness, lightness and flexibility are highly desirable objectives in themselves, TMDs also present other engineering advantages for the photovoltaic sector. They are stable and reliable in the long term . Already unlike other contenders for the movie crown fine, does not contain chemical substances toxic . They are also biocompatible, so could be used in portable applications that require a direct contact with human skin or tissues.
Silicon makes up 95% of the current solar market, but it is far from perfect. We need new materials that be lightweight, flexible and, frankly, more environmentally friendly environment… “Powerful, flexible and durable, TMDs are a promising new direction in solar technology.” concludes the author of the project Nassiri Nazif together with Alwin Daus.
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