Cheap, plastic solar cells may be on the horizon

Posted by Dale on Mar 29, 2002 at 09:06
(204.212.212.95)

University of California, Berkeley, chemists have found a way to make cheap plastic solar cells flexible enough to paint onto any surface and potentially able to provide electricity for wearable electronics or other low-power devices.

The solar cell they have created is actually a hybrid, comprised of tiny nanorods dispersed in an organic polymer or plastic. A layer only 200 nanometers thick is sandwiched between electrodes, and can produce, at present, about 0.7 volts. The electrode layers and nanorod/polymer layers could be applied in separate coats, making production fairly easy. And unlike today's semiconductor-based photovoltaic devices, plastic solar cells can be manufactured in solution in a beaker without the need for clean rooms or vacuum chambers.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2002/03/28_solar.html

Other than the fact that solar cells are made from carcinogens and we might be creating a small environmental problem if we cover the earth with a layer of carcinogenic materials, this seems to be a great idea.



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