Scientists have increased the efficiency of low-cost solar panels - silicon soon will go down in history?

Scientists from the University of Washington succeeded in increasing the
efficiency of solar panels. Mention, it is not already the usual silicon
batteries, which can be found, for example, calculators, but about
tsvetosensibilizirovannyh solar, which were opened in 1991 Grettselem Michael
(Michael Graetzel). They represent photoelect elements, which are used
fotosensibilizirovannye mezoporistye oxide semiconductors

Solar panels for solar cells have a lot of advantages: they are flexible,
cheaper and easier to manufacture than silicon. Unfortunately, the efficiency of
transformation, they are substantially inferior to the latter.

To improve the efficiency requires that surface of the well absorbed light. The
material of which the solar cell has a homogeneous structure - all have the same
particle size. On the one hand, you can increase the size of the particles,
making them comparable with the wavelength of light - it will force many rays of
light reflected inside layer, increasing the proportion of light, transformed
into electricity. On the other hand, the smaller the particle, the greater the
total area of the surface, catching the light.

To resolve this contradiction, scientists have proposed an interesting approach:
shape of small granules microscopic balls (on the top picture depicted a
separate ball 300 nm in diameter, formed of 15 - nm granules). The small size
allows granules to increase the surface area and the relatively large size of
the balls - effectively capture rays of light, preventing them from affecting
the surface. The second picture shows a layer formed by millions of balls, and
at the bottom - light absorbing surface thickness of about 10 microns, which
consists of microscopic balls.

hard to believe, but one gram of particulate material, which is used in solar
batteries, have total surface area of about 100 sq. m. According to the project
participants, the result exceeded expectations.

In its formulation scientists used zinc oxide. It is easier to operate, although
it is less effective than the titanium oxide is used in commercial batteries.

Maximum efficiency achieved earlier in the batteries of zinc oxide was 2.4%. The
development has improved its approximately 2.6-fold, to 6.2%. It is expected
that a similar effect can be obtained for the oxide and titanium batteries which
now have a 11% efficiency. If successful, the efficiency of batteries surpass
the effectiveness of titanium oxide silicon batteries. In this case, they will
have to give way to new technology: the pain of cheap and efficient solar
batteries.

Source: washington.edu

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