From moths and cicadas come improvements to solar cells

Stanley Chih-Hung Sun (left), a University of Florida chemical engineering doctoral student, and Peng Jiang, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, take images of a moth eye with a powerful scanning electron microscope. The researchers are mimicking the microscopic structure of moth eyes and cicada wings to create new anti-reflective and water-repellant coatings. These coatings could make solar cells both more efficient and self-cleaning, and they may also lead to more transparent windows, more legible computer screens and other improvements to consumer products. Photo by Ray Carson/University of Florida