Taking nature’s cue for cheaper solar power
April 4, 2007
Solar cell technology developed by the University’s Nanomaterials Research Centre will enable New Zealanders to generate electricity from sunlight at a 10th of the cost of current silicon-based photo-electric solar cells.
Dr Wayne Campbell and researchers in the centre have developed a range of coloured dyes for use in dye-sensitised solar cells.
The synthetic dyes are made from simple organic compounds closely related to those found in nature. The green dye Dr Campbell (pictured) is synthetic chlorophyll derived from the light-harvesting pigment plants use for photosynthesis.
Other dyes being tested in the cells are based on haemoglobin, the compound that give blood its colour.
Dr Campbell says that unlike the silicon-based solar cells currently on the market, the 10x10cm green demonstration cells generate enough electricity to run a small fan in low-light conditions – making them ideal for cloudy climates. The dyes can also be incorporated into tinted windows that trap to generate electricity.
He says the green solar cells are more environmentally friendly than silicon-based cells as they are made from titanium dioxide – a plentiful, renewable and non-toxic white mineral obtained from New Zealand’s black sand. Titanium dioxide is already used in consumer products such as toothpaste, white paints and cosmetics.
“The refining of pure silicon, although a very abundant mineral, is energy-hungry and very expensive. And whereas silicon cells need direct sunlight to operate efficiently, these cells will work efficiently in low diffuse light conditions,” Dr Campbell says.
“The expected cost is one 10th of the price of a silicon-based solar panel, making them more attractive and accessible to home-owners.”
The Centre’s new director, Professor Ashton Partridge, says they now have the most efficient porphyrin dye in the world and aim to optimise and improve the cell construction and performance before developing the cells commercially.
“The next step is to take these dyes and incorporate them into roofing materials or wall panels. We have had many expressions of interest from New Zealand companies,” Professor Partridge says.
He says the ultimate aim of using nanotechnology to develop a better solar cell is to convert as much sunlight to electricity as possible.
“The energy that reaches earth from sunlight in one hour is more than that used by all human activities in one year”.
The solar cells are the product of more than 10 years research funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
Source: Massey University
-
BASF, Philips develop OLED lighting for use as transparent car roof
Jan 19, 2012 |
5 / 5 (6) |
6
-
New dye will lead to more efficient solar energy technology
Dec 13, 2011 |
5 / 5 (7) |
10
-
Shocking new way to create nanoporous materials revealed
Nov 27, 2011 |
4.4 / 5 (9) |
4
-
DSC recipe brings good news to solar cell economics
Nov 06, 2011 |
4.7 / 5 (11) |
20
-
Pairing quantum dots with fullerenes for nanoscale photovoltaics
May 10, 2011 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
3
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
-
polymer nanocomposites
18 hours ago
-
Corrosion Tests on Magnesium
Feb 09, 2012
-
polyethylene copper nanocomposite
Feb 09, 2012
-
Output of xrd analysis
Feb 08, 2012
-
Transport phenomena problem based on problems 18.B11 and 19B.6 from Bird, stewart, lw
Feb 06, 2012
-
Help with material selection - Car Piston
Feb 05, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Materials & Chemical Engineering
More news stories
What lies beneath: Mapping hidden nanostructures
The ability to diagnose and predict the properties of materials is vital, particularly in the expanding field of nanotechnology. Electron and atom-probe microscopy can categorize atoms in thin sheets of material, ...
11 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
New kind of solar cell could capture significantly more energy than current cells
New solar cells could increase the maximum efficiency of solar panels by over 25%, according to scientists from the University of Cambridge.
Feb 08, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
14
|
'Dark plasmons' transmit energy
Microscopic channels of gold nanoparticles have the ability to transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via "dark plasmons," according to researchers at Rice University.
Feb 09, 2012 |
5 / 5 (6) |
1
|
Nanoshell whispering galleries improve thin solar panels
Visitors to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building may have experienced a curious acoustic feature that allows a person to whisper softly at one side of the cavernous, half-domed room and for another on ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Feb 07, 2012 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
6
|
Revealing how a battery material works
Since its discovery 15 years ago, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) has become one of the most promising materials for rechargeable batteries because of its stability, durability, safety and ability to deliver ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Feb 08, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
0
|
Google users warned of threat to smartphone wallets
Users of Google smartphone wallets were being warned on Friday that there is a way to crack pass codes intended to thwart thieves from going on illicit shopping sprees.
Anonymous knocks CIA website offline (Update)
The website of the Central Intelligence Agency was inaccessible on Friday after the hacker group Anonymous claimed to have knocked it offline.
Complex wiring of the nervous system may rely on a just a handful of genes and proteins
Researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered a startling feature of early brain development that helps to explain how complex neuron wiring patterns are programmed using just a handful of critical genes. ...
New error-correcting codes guarantee the fastest possible rate of data transmission
Error-correcting codes are one of the triumphs of the digital age. Theyre a way of encoding information so that it can be transmitted across a communication channel such as an optical fiber o ...
The power of estrogen -- male snakes attract other males
A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest ...
Putting the squeeze on planets outside our solar system
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly ...